Harold Landry III – Syndication Server

Titans vs. Lions: 3 causes for concern in Week 8

The Tennessee Titans head to Michigan to face the Detroit Lions on Sunday and here are three causes for concern heading into Week 8.

This Sunday, the Tennessee Titans head to Michigan to face the Detroit Lions. The Titans are 1-5 after six games, while the Lions are 5-1 and lead the NFC North division.

As much as the Buffalo Bills and Titans were polar opposites in Week 7, the Lions and Titans are equally as opposite. Jared Goff has exploded onto the scene as a reliable and consistent leader on the field. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs are sharing time and making the most of it. Even with the loss of Aidan Hutchinson, the Lions’ defense still presents a problem for the Titans.

The Titans have their work cut out for them on the road and there are three major causes for concern in Week 8.

Offensive woes are a persistent problem

Titans head coach Brian Callahan admits there’s a problem at right tackle. Leroy Watson played well against Indianapolis and didn’t allow a single sack but was penalized twice which resulted in Nicholas Petit-Frere getting back on the field against Buffalo. And we all know how that went.

On top of the offensive line issues, the Titans just traded away their top receiver DeAndre Hopkins to the Kansas City Chiefs. This still leaves them with Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd. And with Treylon Burks on injured reserve (IR), rookie Jha’Quan Jackson will likely see some playing time.

The thing is, if the quarterback, which looks to be Mason Rudolph as of right now, can’t get the ball to the receivers, then it doesn’t matter which receivers are on the field. Rudolph struggled against Buffalo in Week 7, and Week 8 against the Lions isn’t going to be any different.

Defensive changes will impact on-field play

The Titans traded away Ernest Jones IV on Wednesday. It was the second trade of the day, and this one had a bigger impact than the Hopkins trade. Jones was a leader among the defense, he is second in tackles behind Kenneth Murray Jr., and while he hasn’t recorded any sacks this season, his presence on the field will be missed.

On top of that trade, the Titans made it known that Harold Landry III is on the trading block and the team is open to offers. Landry will still go out there and play and he will do his job to the best of his ability, but that has to be in the back of his head and could affect how well he plays on Sunday.

The Titans’ defense is riddled with injuries, and with how this season started, it’s clear that Ran Carthon is looking forward and brushing this season off as a loss. Whether that’s his intention or not, that’s the perception, and you better believe it impacts how every player on the team performs.

The locker room is frustrated, morale is down

Losing games. Trading key players. The same problems happening week after week. The Titans’ locker room is frustrated, and it’s not just the receivers. No one likes losing, and the people who are most impacted by the losses are the players trying their hardest on the field. There is nothing more frustrating as an athlete than doing your own part and doing everything in your power to win a game, only to lose it because of coaching or front office issues.

That’s where the Titans are this week. Brian Callahan’s inability to make in-game adjustments has cost them at least three of their six games. Ran Carthon’s decision to trade both Hopkins and Jones feels like a gut punch,and is a clear indication that the Titans are going to rebuild, and they’re starting now.

When players are frustrated, they don’t play well. When they don’t play well, their mood comes down and turns to anger. Continuing to lose amplifies those feelings. Carthon just dropped a match on a tinder box filled to the brim, and it’s going to explode. Probably on Sunday if (when) they lose.

[lawrence-related id=152573,152559,152554]

Titans’ Harold Landry quietly one of the best in the game

Tennessee Titans edge Harold Landry is quietly joining elite company as a pass rusher.

Heading into their bye week, the Tennessee Titans will have a chance to get healthy and regroup while trying to build upon the momentum from their 31-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Monday night.

During that game, Titans pass rusher Harold Landry III notched his fourth sack in 2024 and moved into sole possession of third place on the Titans’ All-Time sack list with 45.5 sacks in his career. He is also only seven sacks away from overtaking Jevon Kearse for the top spot in team history.

Landry has developed into one of the top pass rushers in the league, and his stats quietly place him in elite company.

#Titans Edge Rusher Harold Landry and Steelers Edge Rusher TJ Watt have the same amount of pressures this season (10). #TitanUp

Watt has played 116 Pass Rush Snaps

Landry has played 89 Pass Rush Snaps

More on Landry and the start to the season for TEN: https://t.co/abkj9VvOeI pic.twitter.com/VsikuiYRjt

— SharmSports (@SharmSports_NFL) October 4, 2024

He is tied with former Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt with 10 quarterback pressures. What makes this even more impressive is that he has done this with 27 fewer pass rush snaps.

He is also doing this without tremendous help from the other edge players. Arden Key has been inconsistent and has yet to make an impact in 2024, and rookie Jaylen Harrell is still working his way into the system.

Landry appears healthy and is playing like the dynamic edge that the team envisioned when selecting him in the second round of the NFL draft 2018. If he continues on this trajectory, he will likely finish 2024 with a second Pro Bowl invitation and the All-Time Titans sack record in hand.

[lawrence-related id=151654,151633,151553]

Titans vs. Jets Player of the Game: Harold Landry III

The Tennessee Titans lost for the second straight week, this time to the New York Jets, and Harold Landry III earned our Player of the Game.

The Tennessee Titans fell to the New York Jets, 24-17, for their second consecutive loss.

The Titans returned home this week and hoped to wipe out last week’s loss to the Chicago Bears with a win on Sunday, but struggled early and fell behind.

In their efforts to regain control of the game, linebacker Harold Landry III rose to the challenge and exhibited strong play and leadership on the field. The result of his effort is earning Player of the Game honors.

Landry was everywhere on the field against the Jets. He recorded three tackles (two solo), 2.0 sacks, two tackles for a loss, and two passes defensed. When the Jets figured out they needed to contain Landry, it opened the field up to other players to make plays and stops.

The Titans defense as a whole played well today, allowing 265 total yards. They held Aaron Rodgers to 164 yards on 18-for-30 passing. It just happens that he also threw two touchdowns. But he was also sacked four times for 23 yards, and Landry had two of those.

Landry is in his sixth season with the Titans and in the NFL. He’s fast becoming a leader on the defense, and his play against the Jets is a good indication of why.

[lawrence-related id=150588,150582,150595]

The NFL’s 11 best edge defenders

The NFL places a premium on the ability to get to the quarterback. Here are the league’s 11 best pass-rushers heading into the 2020 season.

What makes a great edge defender? You can go over traits and production and add them together any way you choose, but when I spoke with Chiefs right tackle Mitchell Schwartz recently for the “Speaking of Everything” podcast, he talked about the importance of having multiple ways to get to the quarterback.

“On the whole, it’s guys who can do multiple things,” Schwartz said of the pass-rushers who give him fits on the field. “If a guy is really good at tone thing, for the most part, you can stop it. If it’s Justin Smith power, there’s only so much you can do against that. But for the most part, if a guy can only do one thing, it’s not the best version of it you’ve ever seen. If a guy is super-quick and that’s all he can do, you get him off the [snap], and he’s done. If a guy is really strong and only has a bull-rush, and you’re sitting on it, there are things you can do to disrupt the timing, and there’s not much else he can do. The thing [the best pass-rushers] can do is any combination of three moves — some variation of the inside move, some variation of the speed or outside move, and then, the power move. If you’ve got the ability to do two of those, let alone three, the offensive lineman doesn’t have anything he can wait for or predict.”

The edge defenders on this list can beat you in multiple ways, and from multiple gaps. And though the primary focus is on quarterback disruption, you’re not going to be one of the NFL’s top 11 pass-rushers if you can’t break off pressure to stop the run in an instant. And if you can drop back in basic coverage… well, that helps as well. Here are the best players when it comes to presenting impossible math problems to opposing offensive linemen.

Honorable Mentions

The Washington Football Team now has five first-round picks along its defensive line with the addition of second-overall pick Chase Young, but Ryan Kerrigan led the edge guys with just 37 total pressures. Matt Ioannidis, a fifth-round defensive tackle out of Temple in 2016, was the team’s best pass-rusher last season. So, there’s that. As far as guys who were tough to keep off the Top 11, let’s start with San Francisco’s Arik Armstead, who totaled 73 pressures and had 42 stops, tied for third-best in the league. Everson Griffen had 70 pressures and 30 stops for the Vikings last season and is currently an unsigned free agent. We’d expect that to change soon, depending on an actual football season happening. Brandon Graham of the Eagles seems perennially underrated because he gets more pressures than sacks, and he amassed 68 pressures in 2019, along with 38 stops. Harold Landry III of the Titans is an up-and-comer who could have a breakout season in 2020, and the Falcons certainly hope Dante Fowler Jr. can keep up the career-year pace he set last season with the Rams.

Now, onto the top guys.

Pages: 123456789101112

Secret superstars of the divisional playoffs

Though any are unknown, every player in the postseason has the opportunity to turn that around. Here are eight such players.

Every NFL postseason has its share of surprise performers. Whether it’s Otto Graham in the Browns’ first year in the NFL schooling the Los Angeles Rams in the 1950 championship game, or L.C. Greenwood — perhaps the least-known member of the Steel Curtain front four — racking up four sacks against the Cowboys in Super Bowl X, or then-Bills backup quarterback and current Colts head coach Frank Reich authoring the biggest comeback in NFL history against the Houston Oilers in the 1992 wild-card round, or Washington running back Timmy Smith shocking the Broncos with 204 rushing yards in Super Bowl XXII, it’s just as likely that the most important postseason performance comes from a guy whose name you’re not familiar with just yet.

This postseason is no exception, and there are all kinds of potential stars you might not know who are mere hours away from their breakout performance. Here’s one potential secret superstar for each of the eight divisional round teams this weekend.

Pages: 123456789

6 Titans the Colts must game plan for in Week 13

These Titans must be in the game plan in Week 13.

The Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts both sit at 6-5 ahead of a highly-anticipated AFC South matchup Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. This a must-win for both teams as they try to keep pace with Houston for the division and the tight race for the AFC wild card as well.

If the Colts want to get back on track after a long week, here are six Titans the Colts must game plan for in the Week 13 divisional matchup.

QB Ryan Tannehill

After winning four of their last five, Tannehill seems to be the short-term solution in Tennessee. Getting after him and forcing him to make rushed throws will be key for the Colts in this one. With the ability to spread the ball to a variety of receivers, shutting down Tannehill will be vital to a victory.

The Colts must also be aware of Tannehill’s ability as a runner, which is an underrated aspect of his game.

RB Derrick Henry

November-Henry is a real thing. The fourth-year back has been criticized throughout his career for being inconsistent on a week to week basis but in the month of November, Henry has been very productive during his time in Tennessee.

The Colts will have to shut down Henry in order to throw the entire offense off track in this one. When the Titans get the run game going, their offense becomes a lot more threatening.

WR A.J. Brown

The rookie receiver has been a great addition to this offense. With the size to go over the top of defenders and the speed to create separation, Brown has emerged as one of the best young receivers in the game.

Look for Pierre Desir to matchup against Brown on Sunday, mostly because of a size comparison. Don’t be surprised if Malik Hooker or Marvel Tell matchup against Brown as well.

LB Rashaan Evans

Leading the team in tackles with 85 on the year, Evans is one of the better linebackers in all of football. His run stopping ability is incredible and his speed makes it easy for him to cover tight ends as well. With Eric Ebron being placed on IR on Monday, Jack Doyle and others will have to find success after a lackluster performance in Houston.

CB Logan Ryan

Ryan has been dominant throughout his entire career, filling up a stat sheet week to week. His line on the year is 78 total tackles, three interceptions, three forced fumbles, 16 passes defended and 3.5 sacks. Ryan will most likely be on T.Y. Hilton all game as Hilton tries to bounce back after a pitiful performance against Houston.

LB Harold Landry III

The other linebacker in the Titans talented duo is Landry. Where Evans is more utilized in the passing game, Landry is moved all around the field and is a talented pass rusher. With eight sacks on the season, it will be crucial for the Colts to stop Landry blitzing up the middle in order to give Brissett time in the pocket.