Tag: Josh Dobbs

Titans film study: The good and bad from Josh Dobbs

Tyler Rowland breaks down the good and the bad from Josh Dobbs’ Week 17 start.

The Tennessee Titans turned away from rookie quarterback Malik Willis in Week 17 against the Dallas Cowboys and went with Josh Dobbs, a guy who had been with the team for basically a week but has been in the hearts of Tennessee residents for nearly a decade.

Dobbs most certainly played better than Willis has this year, but there were still a lot of downs to go with the ups.

It has been a toxic week in the Titans community. Arguments about how to develop Willis, how to judge Dobbs’ performance, and what the team should do from here have swallowed Titans Twitter whole.

Some will tell you Dobbs should be on the bench so Willis can develop, and some will goes as far as to say Dobbs is better than Ryan Tannehill (Vols fans are WILD).

The reality is, the truth is somewhere in between. Yes, Dobbs is better than Malik at this moment and it is not particularly close.

However, saying a journeyman QB who has spent most of his career on practice squads is better than a top-12 QB in the NFL is just as asinine.

How do we cut through the narratives and agendas to find the truth on Dobbs? If you know me, you know the my answer will be the film.

You’ve heard the old phrase, “Women lie, men lie, but the tape don’t!”

Well maybe I made that up, but it is true. So, as we always do, let’s take a look at the tape to see all the good and the bad that Dobbs offered.

Titans’ Josh Dobbs talks starting in winner-take-all game vs. Jags

On Tuesday, Titans QB Josh Dobbs talked about the task at hand in Week 18.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Joshua Dobbs will have been with the team two weeks on Wednesday, yet he’s being thrown into a situation that will either make or break the team’s season.

Dobbs was signed on Dec. 21, and just eight days later he was the starting for the Titans, taking over for rookie quarterback Malik Willis, who struggled in three previous starts while filling in for Ryan Tannehill.

And Dobbs delivered exactly what the Titans needed: hope.

No, he didn’t win the game against the Cowboys, but Dobbs was a clear upgrade over Willis, giving the Titans at least a little bit of momentum despite the circumstances.

Now, Dobbs is tasked with saving the Titans’ season in Week 18 after the Titans officially named him the starter on Monday.

“Josh will be our quarterback,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “I’ve talked to both quarterbacks and let them know that Josh will be our quarterback for this week and Malik [Willis] has to continue to prepare like a starter.”

For Dobbs, he fully understands the magnitude of the task at hand, which is only made harder by the fact that the Titans have to pull this off on the road.

“The game and obviously the magnitude of the game, everything around it, it’s what you dream of playing in [the] NFL,” Dobbs said. “You want to play meaningful football, especially in December and January, right? You want to play in those playoff games. I have watched and been a part of teams that have been a part of it.

“So to play in it, there’s a lot of excitement around it but there’s also recognition in the preparation, the lead-up to it, and maximizing the reps, my encounters with my teammates and helping them get prepared, helping them see what I am seeing from the quarterback position. So when Saturday comes we just go play football.”

While Dobbs provides an upgrade, the deck is still very much stacked for the injury-plagued Titans. That said, the scenario surrounding this team will only make it sweeter if Tennessee call notch an upset in Duval.

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Titans’ Mike Vrabel: Josh Dobbs ‘ready for the opportunity’ vs. Jaguars

It’ll be Josh Dobbs leading the Titans on Saturday, says Mike Vrabel.

The Tennessee Titans will start sixth-year veteran Josh Dobbs at quarterback against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, coach Mike Vrabel announced.

“Josh will be our quarterback,” Vrabel said Monday, via the Titans’ team website. “I think he is ready for the opportunity and is looking forward to it. … I just think he gives us the best chance right now.”

Dobbs, 27, was signed by the Titans on Dec. 21 from the Detroit Lions practice squad. A week after joining the team, Dobbs started a Thursday Night Football game against the Dallas Cowboys. He finished with 20 completions on 39 attempts for 232 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

Tennessee previously relied on Ryan Tannehill as its starter, but he suffered an ankle injury that required surgery and eventually landed him on injured reserve. Third-round rookie Malik Willis inherited the starting job, but didn’t eclipse 100 passing yards in any of his three starts and has no touchdowns with three interceptions on the year.

“I am fairly confident Malik is going to do something to help us win in this football game,” Vrabel said. “The message to Malik is to continue doing what he has been doing, which is continue to study, continue to use the practice reps to his advantage, to help the game slow down for him when he is out there, that is the most important thing.”

The 8-8 Jaguars are one game ahead of the 7-9 Titans heading into the regular season finale. A win for Tennessee would leave the teams with matching 8-9 records and the Titans would win the AFC South via a superior record in divisional games.

Titans’ Mike Vrabel talks Josh Dobbs starting in Week 18

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel spoke about the decision to start Josh Dobbs in Week 18.

On Monday, the Tennessee Titans made the announcement we were expecting them to ahead of a Week 18 do-or-die game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Duval.

During his Monday presser, Titans head coach Mike Vrabel revealed that last week’s starting quarterback, Josh Dobbs, would start the season finale in Jacksonville that will determine the AFC South champion.

“Josh will be our quarterback,” Vrabel said. “I’ve talked to both quarterbacks and let them know that Josh will be our quarterback for this week and Malik [Willis] has to continue to prepare like a starter. I am fairly confident Malik is going to do something to help us win in this football game. So, I am hopeful — and I know he will — continue to prepare like he has and continue to improve throughout practice.”

Dobbs completed 20-of-39 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown, one pick, and he lost a fumble during the Week 17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. Most importantly, he was clearly an upgrade over Willis.

“I thought he was decisive, and he did a nice job of progressing through when we gave him time,” Vrabel said of Dobbs. “I thought he tried to take the opportunity and run with it and lead. I just think he gives us the best chance right now.”

Of course, this has left some questions surrounding Willis’ future after the rookie struggled in his three starts in place of an injured Ryan Tannehill.

“The message to Malik is to continue doing what he has been doing, which is continue to study, continue to use the practice reps to his advantage, to help the game slow down for him when he is out there,” Vrabel said. That is the most important thing.”

Tennessee and Jacksonville will meet on Saturday night, with kickoff set for 7:15 p.m. CST.

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Former Auburn quarterback passed over for NFL start on Sunday

Malik Willis has been passed over for another former SEC quarterback.

One former Auburn quarterback will get a start during Sunday’s NFL slate, but another will not get the chance.

Former Auburn quarterback [autotag]Malik Willis[/autotag] has started three games for the Titans this season, but he will not start a fourth on Thursday night. Willis was available to play after an injury to starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill, but the Titans announced on Thursday that they’d go in a different direction. The team plans to start Josh Dobbs, who Tennessee picked up from the Lions’ practice squad eight days ago.

Willis hasn’t impressed in his three starts for Tennessee this year. The Titans have gone 1-2 with him at the helm, and he has thrown three interceptions and no touchdowns with a 50.8 completion percentage. Willis was a third-round pick, so Tennessee’s decision to go with Dobbs who has spent so little time with the team comes as a surprise. The Titans are still in the playoff hunt and will make the playoffs should they defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars in two weeks.

Willis didn’t play a lot for the Tigers during his time there in 2017-18, completing 11 passes for a touchdown. Willis also had two rushing touchdowns during his time with Auburn. Willis would later transfer to Liberty and finish his career under current Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze.

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Ex-Lions QB Josh Dobbs will start for the Titans

The Titans signed Dobbs off the Lions practice squad last week

Less than two weeks ago, Josh Dobbs was the third-string quarterback for the Detroit Lions. Signed to the Detroit practice squad earlier in the season, Dobbs got plucked off the unit on December 21st, signed to the active roster of the Tennessee Titans.

Having been in Nashville for less than two weeks, Dobbs is now the starting quarterback for the Titans. With Ryan Tannehill injured and rookie Malik Willis really struggling, Dobbs will take over as the starting quarterback for Tennessee’s critical game on Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys.

Despite his lack of time with the team, Dobbs was judged to give the Titans a better chance to win than Willis, who threw two picks in the final two minutes of Tennessee’s Week 16 loss to the last-place Texans. It seems like a desperate move by Vrabel and the Titans, who have lost five games in a row and fallen out of the lead in the AFC South.

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Former Browns QB Josh Dobbs getting the start for Titans vs. Cowboys

The former Browns quarterback is making his first career start tonight

A Cleveland Browns alum is getting his first career start tonight under center for the Tennessee Titans as they have benched Malik Willis in favor of Josh Dobbs. As they are still neck-and-neck with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC South crown, this is a huge move by the Titans as they enter a showdown in Week 18. Signing with the Titans just a week ago, Dobbs is now thrust into action.

Running back Derrick Henry is also doubtful in this game, so the Titans could be resting for their one-game playoff against the Jaguars next week. Regardless, the former Browns quarterback is getting his chance to shine as Dobbs is set to start a game for the first time in his career on primetime Thursday Night Football.

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Titans expected to start QB Josh Dobbs vs. Cowboys tonight

The Titans are making a change at quarterback, starting Josh Dobbs over Malik Willis tonight against the Cowboys

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The Tennessee Titans are making another change at quarterback. They are benching Malik Willis tonight against the Dallas Cowboys and are expected to start Josh Dobbs, as first reported by Justin Melo of The Draft Network.

Tennessee just signed Dobbs off the Lions’ practice squad eight days ago and he will now make his first start with the Titans.

According to Paul Kuharsky, Willis is indeed being benched, as the Titans want to see if Dobbs can give them a better chance to win after the rookie struggled over three starts this season.

Dobbs hasn’t played in a regular-season game since 2020 when he was with the Steelers, and in his career, he’s thrown just 17 passes with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He was a fourth-round pick by Pittsburgh in 2017 after playing his college ball at Tennessee.

For the Titans, everything comes down to Week 18 against the Jaguars. The winner of that game will claim the AFC South title and be the No. 4 seed in the AFC.

Ryan Tannehill was placed on injured reserve on Thursday, so any hope he might return for Week 18 were dashed. Now, it’ll be up to either Dobbs or Willis in the season finale to get the Titans to the playoffs.

Titans place Dillon Radunz on IR among 3 moves

The Titans placed Dillon Radunz on injured reserve on Wednesday.

So much for the Tennessee Titans having another option at left tackle: on Wednesday, the team announced it has placed 2021 second-round pick and offensive tackle Dillon Radunz on injured reserve.

This will end the North Dakota State product’s 2022 campaign. The Titans have just one more return from injured reserve designation left that they will likely use on linebacker David Long.

In addition to that move, the Titans signed quarterback Josh Dobbs off the Detroit Lions’ practice squad, a move that was revealed earlier in the day. Also, Tennessee signed offensive lineman Zach Johnson to the practice squad.

It was a disappointing season for Radunz, who failed to secure a starting job out of training camp after losing a competition to right tackle with Nicholas Petit-Frere.

Since then, Radunz served as a backup and it appeared he was destined for a full transition to guard, but he had a shot to take over at left tackle after the Titans deployed him in a rotation with embattled starter, Dennis Daley, in Week 15.

Radunz did play well in limited action there before going down to injury and leaving the game early. From there, pass protection deteriorated.

The signing of Dobbs signifies the Titans will likely be without their starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, who re-injured his ankle against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Dobbs will back up rookie quarterback Malik Willis, who is expected to start. The Titans also have quarterback Kevin Hogan on the practice squad.

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Josh Dobbs signs with Tennessee

Quarterback Josh Dobbs signs with Tennessee.

Former Vol quarterback Josh Dobbs signed with the Titans on Wednesday.

He was signed to Tennessee’s 53-man roster in the National Football League. The Titans issued a press release Wednesday.

Tennessee Titans’ press release:

The Titans have signed quarterback Josh Dobbs to the team’s 53-man roster.

Also, the Titans on Wednesday placed offensive lineman Dillon Radunz on injured reserve. Radunz suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s game against the Chargers.

The Titans also signed offensive lineman Zack Johnson to the team’s practice squad. Johnson, who played at North Dakota State, has spent time with the Broncos and Ravens.

Dobbs returns to the state where he played in college, at the University of Tennessee, from 2013-2016. He was signed off the practice squad of the Detroit Lions. Dobbs signed with Detroit’s practice squad on Dec. 5, following Tim Boyle’s departure to Chicago’s active roster. Dobbs was elevated to the team’s roster for the Week 15 matchup against the Jets, but he did not play.

Titans starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill reaggravated an ankle injury in Sunday’s loss against the Chargers.

Earlier this week, Titans coach Mike Vrabel talked about the improvement of back-up Malik Willis this season.

Willis, who has started two games this season in place of Tannehill, would be in line to start Saturday’s game against the Houston Texans at Nissan Stadium if Tannehill is ruled out.

Dobbs could serve as the backup option behind Willis. Dobbs last attempted a regular season pass in 2020. He has spent most of his time on practice squads the last few years.

The Titans also have quarterback Kevin Hogan on the team’s practice squad, after he was signed last week to replace Logan Woodside, who was signed to Atlanta’s active roster.

Dobbs started the season with the Cleveland Browns, but was waived last month when Deshaun Watson returned from his suspension. He then signed with Detroit’s practice squad.

Previously, Dobbs spent time with the Steelers and Jaguars. He has appeared in six career games, completing 10-of-17 passes for 45 yards, since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft.

Kickoff for Saturday’s Titans-Texans game at Nissan Stadium is set for noon.

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