Tag: Arthur smith

Titans land in top 10 of The Athletic’s offense rankings

The Titans made the top 10 of The Athletic’s offense rankings, but should have been higher on the list.

The Tennessee Titans’ offense exploded in the second half of last season, performing as one of the best units in the NFL down the stretch.

After a 2-4 start that saw Tennessee score 16.3 points per contest, the switch was made from Marcus Mariota to Ryan Tannehill in Week 7, leading to the Titans scoring 30.4 points per game in their last 10 contests, the third-best mark in the NFL in that span.

As a result, Tennessee went on a 7-3 run, which ultimately helped land the team in the playoffs and allowed it to make an eventual postseason run all the way to the AFC Championship Game.

Things are looking good for the Titans to post similar numbers in 2020, as 10 of the team’s 11 offensive starters will return, with the lone exception being right tackle Jack Conklin.

Sheil Kapadia of The Athletic recently ranked every offensive unit in the NFL, and the Titans landed at No. 9 on the list.

If offensive coordinator Arthur Smith coached in a bigger market, owners likely would have been falling all over themselves to hire him as a head coach in the offseason. Smith was one of the most creative play-callers in the NFL in 2019. The Titans return 10 of 11 starters, including Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown, who averaged 2.98 yards per route run as a rookie — tops among all wide receivers. The questions with Tennessee are: How much will Tannehill regress? And how productive can Henry be after last year’s workload? Tannehill became the second player in NFL history (Joe Montana was the first) to complete over 70 percent of his passes and average over 9 yards per attempt. The chances of him repeating that performance are slim. If Tannehill regresses slightly and is still a top-10 quarterback, the Titans will be in good shape. If it’s more than that, they’re in trouble. Henry, meanwhile, is coming off a season in which he had 409 touches. Will he look like the guy we saw bowling over defenders in the postseason, or will he show signs of being worn down?

Here’s a look at the eight teams that landed in front of the Titans.

  1. Kansas City Chiefs
  2. Baltimore Ravens
  3. New Orleans Saints
  4. Dallas Cowboys
  5. Seattle Seahawks
  6. San Francisco 49ers
  7. Arizona Cardinals
  8. Indianapolis Colts

Of those eight teams, the Titans finished with more points per game (25.1) than two of them — the Cardinals (22.6) and the Colts (22.6) — so we can certainly make the case they should be at least two spots higher.

Whether or not the Titans can match or better their 2019 success will depend upon Tannehill, who is almost universally expected to regress after posting an elite season.

The good news for Tennessee is that nothing has really changed to make you think that will happen — or at least not to the lengths some are expecting.

Sure, Tannehill doesn’t have a track record of elite play to bank on, but he remains at the helm of a run-heavy, quarterback-friendly offense that runs through Derrick Henry and utilizes the play-action, something Tannehill excelled at last season.

And that’s an identity that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith embraces, so expect more of the same approach in the coming campaign.

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Titans’ Arthur Smith talks WR competition, Derrick Henry’s workload, more

Smith fielded a number of questions from reporters Wednesday.

The Tennessee Titans have quite the task to live up to in continuing last year’s offensive success.

The man in charge of all of that, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, fielded a host of questions from reporters on Wednesday.

Of course, some of those surrounding star running back Derrick Henry, who ended off last season with the NFL’s rushing title with a total of 1,540 yards on the ground.

Behind Henry, the Titans have rookie rusher Darrynton Evans out of Appalachian State.

Smith also weighed in on the addition of former offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson, whom the Titans selected with the No, 29 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Moving over to receiver, Smith mentioned several names for the fourth spot on the depth chart.

He also referred to wideout Corey Davis an “unsung hero” on some plays from the 2019 season,

The Titans look a bit different at tight end this year with veteran Delanie Walker officially off the roster. But there are some players to watch in that room, and Jonnu Smith probably comes to mind first.

Smith is looking forward to the pass-catcher continuing to come into his own.

As things begin to open up more and COVID-19 restrictions continue to loosen up across the country, it will be interesting to see how this year’s team comes together when they get back to the football field.

Titans HC Mike Vrabel seeking continuity at defensive coordinator

This could mean a number of different things.

We heard all about continuity last offseason when the Tennessee Titans promoted then-tight ends coach Arthur Smith to offensive coordinator.

Now, with the departure of Dean Pees in 2020, the Titans will aim for the same sense of continuity as they decide what to do about the current vacancy at defensive coordinator.

Head coach Mike Vrabel touched on that a bit on Thursday.

“I would say to bring in a guy who hasn’t been in our system and done what we have done in Houston or here isn’t what I want to do,” he said in a report by the team’s Jim Wyatt. “So whoever calls the defense, we are going to do pretty much what we have done. We are going to continue to add and enhance things, but to me that is not a big deal. I want guys that are loyal, that are great teachers and good developers.”

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This could mean a number of different things.

For one, the idea of Vrabel coaching the defense himself is far from out of the picture.

“The general feeling within the Titans facility is that Mike Vrabel isn’t likely to name a DC,” ESPN’s Turron Davenport said earlier this week. “Expect Coach Vrabel to have a larger role with the defense.”

The Titans could also promote from within, making outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen the team’s new defensive coordinator.

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Tennessee could also seek an outside candidate who has some sort of connection or experience with Vrabel who would settle in quickly and keep things moving in the direction they have been.

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5 takeaways from the 2019 Titans season

Despite the disappointing ending to a storybook season, Titans fans have to be pleased with what their team accomplished in 2019.

The Tennessee Titans came up just one game short of a Super Bowl LIV appearance, and were the team no one wanted to face down the stretch.

They were consistently counted out as underdogs in the postseason, recording impressive victories over the New England Patriots and the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens before finally being knocked out by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.

Despite the disappointing ending to a storybook season, Titans fans have to be pleased with what their team accomplished in 2019.

Here’s a look at five takeaways from what Tennessee put together this season.

1. Ryan Tannehill shocked everyone.

Who can truthfully say they expected the former Dolphins signal-caller who was so lackluster in Miami to do what he’s done in Nashville this season?

Tannehill was originally signed as nothing more than an “insurance policy” for Marcus Mariota, and now it is Mariota who will almost certainly be gone from the Titans’ roster in the 2020 season, and Tannehill who is looking at potentially securing a multi-year deal or being franchise tagged ahead of the upcoming season.

Tannehill finished out the season completing on 70.3% of his pass attempts for 2,742 yards, 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions over 12 games, named the starter in Week 7.

He led the league in yards per attempt (9.6), adjusted yards gained per pass attempt (10.2), yards per completion (13.6) and passer rating (117.5).

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Behind Enemy Lines: Finishing up the Texans’ season with Titans Wire

The Houston Texans finish off their regular season with a Week 17 tilt with the Tennessee Titans. Titans Wire helps go behind enemy lines.

The Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans finish off the regular season with a Week 17 tilt at NRG Stadium. For the Titans, a win means they are definitely in the playoffs. For the Texans, a conclusion to the contest with zero injuries is a win in and of itself.

To help preview the rematch, Crissy Froyd, managing editor of the Titans Wire, returns to give a preview. Crissy also manages the new LSU Tigers Wire, and helps preview a little bit of the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl between LSU and Oklahoma Saturday.

 

Texans Wire: What does it say about the culture Mike Vrabel has established that the Titans have clawed back to this point?

Crissy Froyd: This team has a lot of fight and is just a few small tweaks away from being a serious contender. Injuries have a lot to do with that as well. But we’re seeing a Titans team that can compete and play from behind — something that hasn’t always been the case.

 

TW: If the shoe were on the other foot, would the Titans players or the fans care about sweeping the Texans though everything is locked up?

CF: I wouldn’t say that. Resting important players ahead of the postseason would be the logical thing to do in that case, and I think if the Texans play their starters for a significant amount of time on Sunday, they’ve made the wrong decision.

 

TW: If the Titans do go to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs, how do you like their chances?

CF: The Titans took care of the Chiefs earlier this year, and they’re plenty capable of doing it again. The Chiefs are a strong team, but the Titans have proven they can shut them down.

 

TW: How big of a surprise has A.J. Brown been?

CF: I think we all knew he was capable of this, but how quickly he’s gotten to this level is what’s truly amazing. He’s fully cemented the WR1 spot, and rightfully so.

 

TW: Will Arthur Smith get any consideration for coaching gigs this offseason?

CF: Absolutely. He’s brought this Titans offense to a new level. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some head coaching gigs on the table.

 

TW: How do you think LSU will do against the Sooners?

CF: They’re heavy favorites for a reason. The Sooners are simply outmatched in terms of talent, and are dealing with suspensions and injuries on top of that. The Tigers win by at least 10.

 

tw: what’s your prediction for sunday? any bold predictions?

CF: The Titans will beat the Texans, 27-20. Bold prediction? Perhaps (and hopefully for the team’s sake) Watson will be on the bench by halftime.

Five standouts from Titans’ 31-17 win over Colts

Here are five standouts from the victory.

The Tennessee Titans (7-5) look like a much more put-together team than when they last faced the Indianapolis Colts (6-6) and fell 19-17 on their home turf.

That showed when they recorded a 31-17 victory on the road in Indianapolis this week. With the victory, the Titans now sit on a three-game winning streak.

Here are five standouts from the victory.

1. QB Ryan Tannehill.

Did anyone truly believe Tannehill would handle the offense as well as he has after taking Marcus Mariota’s place. He’s only lost one game as a starter for Tennessee, and the team seems to have totally turned themselves around in his presence.

Tannehill was 17-of-22 passing for 182 yards and two touchdowns — without an interception. Jacoby Brissett can hardly say the same.

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