Tag: Joshua Dobbs

Titans’ Mike Vrabel explains decision to start Joshua Dobbs over Malik Willis

The proof was in the pudding, but Mike Vrabel explained the decision to go with Joshua Dobbs over Malik Willis in Week 17.

Not that it needed any explanation after what we saw in Week 17, but Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel explained his decision to start Joshua Dobbs instead of Malik Willis on Thursday night.

The results spoke for themselves, as Dobbs clearly provided an upgrade over Willis and now gives the Titans the best chance to win going into a do-or-die Week 18 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars for the AFC South.

Based on his explanation, Vrabel and the Titans were trying to do what’s best for the team as of this very moment and aren’t focused on anything beyond that.

“In the end, it’s the same at every [position]: Who gives you the best chance to win, to win one game,” Vrabel said after the 27-13 loss.

“That’s where we’re at — that’s the only thing that matters, is winning one game, getting healthy, getting recovered and then winning one game, and finding out who is going to do that.”

Vrabel’s quote should give caution to those who are almost completely out on Willis after what transpired this week.

Of course, Dobbs coming in off the street and out-performing Willis isn’t a good look for the rookie, but it’s pretty much what should’ve been expected. After all, Dobbs has a six-year advantage in terms of development.

In reality, nobody in their right mind believed Willis would be ready to take over an NFL team in his first year, and especially not with all the obstacles around him.

Now, that’s not to say that Willis is going to definitely work out, but talk of his demise is premature and the Titans taking a win-now approach shouldn’t be an indictment on his future.

That said, the Titans will have an interesting situation on their hands going into the offseason, as Willis simply hasn’t shown enough for the team to put all of its eggs in his basket for 2023.

But that’s a story for the offseason.

As for Dobbs, Vrabel was happy with what he saw but also rightly pointed out there are things the signal-caller needs to improve, something Dobbs wasn’t shy about admitting after the game.

“A lot of positives, a lot of things we have to improve on,” Vrabel said of Dobbs. “We’re excited [Josh] is here, and I thought he took advantage of his opportunity. We’ll see where that leads — we’ll see where we go next week.

“Every decision that we make we want to put some thought into it and make sure it is thought out, and we’ll see what goes after this weekend.”

Vrabel wouldn’t go as far as to confirm that Dobbs is the starter for Week 18, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that’s the way Tennessee will go.

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Titans’ snap count takeaways from Week 17 loss to Cowboys

Titans rookie TE Chig Okonkwo took a step back in playing time in Week 17 with just 16 snaps

The Tennessee Titans dropped their sixth-straight game in Week 17, losing to the Dallas Cowboys, 27-13, in a game in which they sat several key players ahead of a huge Week 18 game that will decide the AFC South.

As a result of the Titans resting their players, they saw four new players take their first snaps this season, including quarterback Joshua Dobbs, offensive linemen Zack Johnson and Xavier Newman, and defensive lineman Jayden Peevy.

That brings Tennessee’s league-high total up to 86, which is five shy of the record the team set in 2021. As of now, it looks like they’ll fall just short.

So, how did the Titans fill their voids in Week 17? Find out now as we take a look at the snap counts, and the biggest takeaways from them.

Biggest takeaways from Titans’ Week 17 loss to Cowboys

The Titans now have a reason for hope going into a do-or-die game against the Jags.

The Tennessee Titans were expected to lose to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17, and while they did just that, there was a silver lining to the losing effort.

The Titans, who entered this game at just about rock bottom, now have a reason for hope in a Week 18 do-or-die contest against the Jacksonville Jaguars for the division title.

The source of that hope?

Journeyman quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who stepped into the starting role just eight days after joining the team and provided an upgrade over rookie quarterback Malik Willis, who started the three previous games Ryan Tannehill missed, but without any success.

Adding to that, the Titans showed fight overall despite not having several key players and gave the Cowboys more of a run for their money than anyone anticipated.

Now, with Dobbs under center and the Titans set to get key players back on both sides of the ball, head coach Mike Vrabel and Co. have a much-needed head of steam going into the most important game of the year.

Having that kind of momentum is just one of four of the biggest takeaways from Week 17.

Joshua Dobbs makes first NFL start for Titans

Former Vol makes first NFL start for Titans in loss to Dallas.

Former University of Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs made his first career NFL start Thursday in Nashville.

Dobbs passed for 232 yards and threw his first touchdown pass for the Tennessee Titans in their 27-13 loss to Dallas at Nissan Stadium.

Tennessee is Dobbs’ third team this season. He began the season in Cleveland but was released when Deshaun Watson returned from suspension.

Dobbs was then signed to Detroit‘s practice squad Dec. 5 before being signed by Tennessee Dec. 21 and placed on the Titans’ active roster.

Against the Cowboys, Dobbs was 20-for-39 with an interception. He also rushed for 12 yards on three attempts.

Dobbs, the MVP of the 2016 Music City Bowl, was selected in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers, going with the No. 135 selection.

He played for Pittsburgh from 2017-19 and from 2020-21. He was a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2019.

Dobbs has played in seven career NFL games and is 30-for-56 for 277 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.

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Titans’ Mike Vrabel not ready to name starting QB vs. Jaguars

Mike Vrabel isn’t ready to name a Week 18 starter, but it’s really not a tough choice.

Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel’s choice at quarterback for a Week 18 de facto AFC South championship game against the Jacksonville Jaguars seems obvious. He wasn’t willing to make that decision Thursday night, though.

Shortly after a 27-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Vrabel told reporters that he’ll wait to announce whether Joshua Dobbs or Malik Willis will be the Titans’ starter next week.

“Really, it was a great opportunity to evaluate [Dobbs],” Vrabel said of the decision to start the sixth-year veteran against the Cowboys. “You know, we’ll make a decision going forward. I thought he did some great things, I thought he’d certainly like to have a couple throws back, but we’ll kind of see where things are in a couple days.”

Dobbs completed 20 of his 39 passes against the Cowboys for 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception. While he threw a few passes into tight coverage, the Titans offense was able to move the ball for 317 yards of total offense against Dallas.

In three career starts, Willis has yet to eclipse 100 passing yards in a game and has zero touchdown passes with three interceptions.

While Vrabel’s decision to be patient about his decision makes sense, there’s really not much deliberation necessary. The Jaguars should fully anticipate Dobbs leading the Titans at TIAA Bank Field next week.

Titans’ winners and losers from Week 17 loss to Cowboys

The Mayor of Murfreesboro did all he could to give the Titans a chance to win in Week 17.

The Tennessee Titans couldn’t shake their losing ways in Week 17 after dropping their sixth-straight game to the Dallas Cowboys, 27-13.

Not lost in all of that was the fact that the Titans had markedly better quarterback play from Joshua Dobbs, who surprisingly got the start on Thursday night after it was assumed Malik Willis would get the nod.

While Dobbs isn’t going to be winning any MVPs anytime soon, he did offer an upgrade under center for Tennessee, which will no doubt give the team momentum going into a Week 18 do-or-die game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Dobbs was obviously one of the players to make the winners and losers list for the Titans in Week 17. Let’s see who else made the cut.

Joshua Dobbs emphatically makes case to start do-or-die game vs. Jaguars

There’s no question Joshua Dobbs gives the Titans the best chance to win in Week 18.

Tennessee Titans signal-caller Joshua Dobbs has shut the door on any quarterback controversy heading into next weekend’s massive AFC South showdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Tennessee product had an impressive outing considering he’s only been on the team for approximately eight days and was making his first career NFL start.

Dobbs finished the day by completing 20-of-39 passes for 232 yards, with one touchdown and one interception.

The most impressive and noticeable upgrade the Titans’ new quarterback provided was how decisive and quick he was to get the ball out of his hands. Dobbs also had a few dropped passes from his top two wide receivers that would have undoubtedly resulted in big plays.

The bad came in the form of the two turnovers he committed. Dobbs fumbled twice, losing one, and the sixth-year quarterback also had a sure pick-six that was fortunately dropped by Cowboys corner, Trevon Diggs.

Nevertheless, the 27-year-old was a significant upgrade from what the Titans had been getting out of Malik Willis this season.

To be clear, that’s not some sort of shot at the rookie quarterback, either, but he’s a raw quarterback that’s clearly not ready yet. Throwing him out there prematurely when he’s not equipped to survive just yet is likely to do more damage than good at this point.

Willis could very well become a good quarterback as the years pass, but it’s very clear that he is not capable of elevating this passing offense in any sort of way as of right now.

To further put into perspective just how much of an upgrade Dobbs was, he passed for 44 fewer yards on Thursday alone than Willis has all season long through three starts and some garbage-time opportunities.

More importantly, the former Volunteer allowed the likes of Treylon Burks and Robert Woods to significantly impact the game.

Burks finished with a total of 86 yards on five touches, while Woods added 39 yards and one touchdown on five receptions.

There’s no telling how this season will end, but if there’s one thing that is blatantly obvious after Thursday night, it’s that Dobbs gives this team the best chance to go into Jacksonville and snatch a third-straight AFC South crown away from a hated division rival.

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What Joshua Dobbs, Titans said about Week 17 game

Joshua Dobbs said he was “throwing routes out there on the field that we haven’t even thrown in practice” against the Cowboys.

The Tennessee Titans suffered their sixth-straight loss in Week 17, losing to the Dallas Cowboys 27-13, but in that loss there is a reason for optimism going into a division-deciding Week 18 game against the Jaguars.

That reason for optimism is Joshua Dobbs, who stepped into the starting job a little over a week after joining the team and provided a clear upgrade over rookie quarterback Malik Willis, who didn’t show much in three starts.

Dobbs wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but making his outing more impressive was the fact that it was his first career start a little over a week after he arrived, and it came against one of the better defenses in the NFL.

“It’s a unique situation and it’s a wonderful opportunity that I really embrace and have a lot of fun with,” Dobbs said. “There’s obviously things that I know that I can do better and be better at — especially situationally — looking back through the game.

“We’ll dive into that because I know that we have a big one coming up, but I thought through the preparation and the guys, just how we fought throughout the game, that was great to see,” Dobbs continued.

“I mean, shoot, we’re throwing routes out there on the field that we haven’t even thrown in practice with it being a short week,” he added. “Just being able to make those plays, make critical plays throughout the game, will propel us to this upcoming week where we actually have a full week to prepare for the game.”

Here’s what else Dobbs and the Titans had to say about Week 17:

Drafted in 2017, Joshua Dobbs throws first NFL TD pass

Joshua Dobbs threw his first TD pass in the NFL after being drafted in 2017

The less time you have been with a team the better on Thursday Night Football.

Baker Mayfield led the Los Angeles Rams to an unlikely victory over the Las Vegas Raiders a couple of weeks ago after arriving with the NFC West team two days earlier.

On Thursday, Joshua Dobbs started and played well for the Tennessee Titans against the Dallas Cowboys.

Dobbs was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2017 draft.

He hadn’t started a game until facing the Cowboys. In the second half, the former University of Tennessee star threw his first NFL TD pass.

The play was good for 7 yards and went to Robert Woods. After the PAT, the underdog Titans trailed, 17-13.

Through three quarters, Dobbs had completed 14-of-24 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown.

 

Cowboys to face QB Joshua Dobbs eight days after signing with Titans

The Titans will give the journeyman QB the Week 17 start over highly-touted rookie Malik Willis, who has not been impressive thus far. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys figured to be squaring off against a relatively inexperienced quarterback when they visit Nashville. But it turns out they’ll face someone with even less of an NFL body of work than the rookie they were expecting.

Tennessee will reportedly start newly-signed Joshua Dobbs at quarterback over third-round draft pick Malik Willis. That news comes from Justin Melo of The Draft Network just hours before the two teams’ Week 17 kickoff.

Dobbs was a fourth-round pick by the Steelers in 2017. He was with Pittsburgh for two full seasons, seeing action in five games before being traded to Jacksonville early in the 2019 campaign. After a year on the sideline, he was waived by the Jaguars and re-claimed by the Steelers. He got into the 2021 season finale for some limited snaps, his most recent paying time in the league. Dobbs started the 2022 season with Cleveland but was waived in late November upon Deshaun Watson’s return from suspension, then spent a few weeks on Detroit’s practice squad, and finally signed on to the Titans’ practice squad on Dec. 21.

Eight days later, it appears the ex-Tennessee Volunteer will be making his first-pro start for the Titans in a primetime matchup against Dallas and their top-10 pass defense.

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel has been complimentary of the 27-year-old’s work in getting a quick grasp on the playbook; offensive coordinator Todd Downing said just this week that “he’d be confident in using Dobbs if necessary … albeit with a pared-down scheme.”

Willis, the highly-touted rookie out of Liberty University, had been expected to make his fourth NFL start, filling in for veteran Ryan Tannehill, who is out with an ankle injury.

But if Willis is the Titans’ long-term plan at quarterback, he hasn’t done much to stake a strong claim on the job beyond this year. He is currently 31-of-61 passing for just 276 yards in eight game appearances. He has yet to throw an NFL touchdown, but has dealt three interceptions to opponents. Willis’s calling card is his dual-threat nature as a runner; he has 123 yards and one score on the ground on 27 attempts.

The career statline on Dobbs: 10-for-17, 45 passing yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception, 39.1 passer rating, 6 rushing attempts, 31 rushing yards.

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