Tag: Kevin Byard

Observations from Titans’ 42-21 win over Raiders

Here are some quick observations we made throughout the game.

The Tennessee Titans (8-5) recorded their fourth straight victory as they came into Oakland and defeated the Raiders (6-7), 42-21.

The game was a shootout at first, tied 21-21 at halftime, but the defense came alive and the team was able to leave with a dominant victory.

The Titans look like a team that compete as they face the division rival Houston Texans in Nissan Stadium next week.

Here are some quick observations we made throughout the game.

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– The Raiders won the toss and elected to defer, allowing quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the offense the first go.

– Tannehill attempted a slant deep in Raiders territory, and was intercepted by Maurice Hurst. Tannehill tackles him at the Titans’ 24-yard line.

– It took the Raiders hardly an time at all to put a D’Andre Washington touchdown on the board. This marked Washington’s second touchdown of the season.

– Khari Blasingame made his first career catch, a 24-yarder, on a wheel route to bring the Titans to the Oakland 23. It wasn’t long after that Derrick Henry took a 12-yard touchdown in to make it 7-7 with 3:21 left to play in the first quarter.

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– The Titans got a stop on the Raiders on the following drive, leaving them punting.

-A.J. Brown caught a 91-yard playaction touchdown pass from Tannehill to give the Titans a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.

– Carr hit Rico Gafford as the Titans got lost in man-to-man coverage, allowing them to tie the game up at 14-14.

– Tannehill connected with Anthony Firkser on what would have been a touchdown pass, but it was called back due to holding on offensive lineman Nate Davis.

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– Brown came up with his second touchdown of the day on a 16-yarder from Tannehill. He broke through three tackles as he drove his way into the end-zone.

– The Titans were nearly able to prevent a Raiders touchdown at the bottom of second quarter, but the defense gave way and allowed a touchdown reception by tight end Foster Moreau. The game was tied at 21-21 soon before halftime.

– Ryan Succop tried for a 42-yard field goal just before the half, but it hit the goalpost.

– After leaving the game at the two minute warning, Henry came out with the team in the second half.

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– Safety Kenny Vaccaro left the game with a concussion as Amani Hooker entered the game in his place.

–  Linebacker Jayon Brown came up with a near-interception, bringing up third down for the Raiders.

– Henry punched in the score for the Titans after a 38-yard reception by tight end MyCole Pruitt. The Titans led by a touchdown at that point.

– Tannehill found tight end Jonnu Smith on 17-yard touchdown at the top of the fourth quarter to extend the team’s lead to 35-21.

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– Cornerback Tye Smith forced a fumble, and Brown took it in for a score. Smith has now forced fumbles in back-to-back games.

– With just under four minutes remaining in the game, the Raiders went for it on fourth down at the Titans’ 1. There was nobody home when Carr went to throw the ball, and Tennessee took over on downs.

Titans safety Kevin Byard leads NFL in interceptions since 2017

Behind Byard are Marcus Peters (13), Kyle Fuller (12) and Xavien Howard (12).

Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard is recognized as one of the most valuable defensive players in the NFL — and that’s not without reason.

Not only is Byard a staple of the Titans’ defense, but he also totals more interceptions than any other player in the league since 2017 with a total of 16.

Behind Byard are Marcus Peters (13), Kyle Fuller (12) and Xavien Howard (12).

So far this season, Byard totals 63 combined tackles, eight passes defensed and four interceptions.

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Byard was also effective in the Titans’ 31-17 win over the division rival Indianapolis Colts last week, accounting for two tackles and an interception that helped to keep the momentum in Tennessee’s favor.

It was the first time he had forced a turnover since Week 6’s matchup against the Denver Broncos.

It’s been a successful year for the safety, who also marked a season-high of nine tackles earlier in the year on the Titans’ 42-20 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars to bring him to a total of 61 tackles through 11 games.

Byard and the Titans will look to extend their three-game winning streak to four games as they take on the Oakland Raiders at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday in Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Titans-Colts: a look at defensive snap counts

Here’s a complete look at the defensive snap counts.

The Tennessee Titans (7-5) looked like a much different, much more improved team as they faced the Indianapolis Colts (6-6) for the second time this season and recorded a 31-17 win in Lucas Oil Stadium.

Safeties Kenny Vaccaro and Kevin Byard, along with cornerback Logan Ryan all played in each of the game’s 72 defensive snaps.

Linebacker Jayon Brown played for all but one snap, for a total of 71.

Safeties Amani Hooker and Dane Cruikshank were in for 24 snaps on special teams. Cornerback Tye Smith saw action on 64 defensive snaps during the contest, including 15 on special teams.

Here’s a complete look at the defensive snap counts.

The Titans will face the Oakland Raiders next at 3:25 p.m. CT on Sunday in Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

What could a Jamal Adams extension look like?

Jamal Adams will want to be the highest-paid safety in NFL history, and the Jets can’t afford to wait to sign him if they want to keep him.

If Christopher Johnson really wants Jamal Adams to be a Jet for life, he’s going to have to pony up a lot of cash to keep Adams in New York.

Though the Jets control Adams through the 2021 season if they pick up his fifth-year option, they’d be apt to offer him an extension sooner rather than later, both as a show of good faith after a chaotic year and because of the potential price tag he could command in two years.

Adams is currently the 18th highest-paid safety with the $22.2 million rookie deal he signed in 2017 after the Jets took him sixth overall, but he will soon earn a much bigger salary. The Jets have three options with Adams: They can sign him to a contract extension at any point after this season, pick up his fifth-year option by May 3, 2020, or do nothing and let him play out the final year of his contract and let him hit free agency at the end of the 2020 season.

The Jets should take the first option if they truly believe Adams is the face of their franchise and the future of their defense. 

What would it take to sign Adams to a long-term deal? Well, you’d have to look at the two record-setting contracts signed by safeties Landon Collins and Kevin Byard last offseason. Collins signed a six-year, $84 million contract with the Redskins in March that included $44.5 million in guaranteed money. With an average annual salary of $14 million, he became the highest-paid safety in the NFL until Byard signed a five-year, $70.5 million extension with the Titans in July that included $31 million guaranteed and will pay him an average of $14.1 million annually.

Byard’s yearly salary is the starting point for Adams’ contract extension. In all likelihood, Adams would want somewhere close a $15 million annual salary, which isn’t completely unthinkable given Adams’ play of late.

The Jets also can’t afford to wait longer than this offseason to extend Adams because of the other safeties in line for massive deals.

If the Jets exercised Adams’ fifth-year option today, it would cost around $11.81 for the 2021 season. Since Adams was a top-10 pick, his option is calculated by taking the average of the top 10 safety salaries. That $11.81 million number could increase if another safety signs a deal that vaults him into the top 10.

That’s below anything Adams would ask for in a contract extension this winter, but by pushing the Jets’ deadline to sign Adams long-term by another season it could potentially raise the floor well for Adams if other safeties sign bigger deals.

The three names Joe Douglas will have to watch if he plays the waiting game are the Vikings’ Harrison Smith, the Bears’ Eddie Jackson and the Chargers’ Derwin James. Smith is up for an extension after the 2021 season when he’ll turn 32, so the odds of him setting the market price are low. James is already one of the best safeties in the league but also isn’t eligible for a new deal until after the 2021 season unless the Chargers exercise his fifth-year option where he’ll have to wait until after 2022. 

The price could go up for Adams if the Jets wait for Jackson’s impending deal.

Jackson is two years older than Adams and much more of a ballhawk, but he’s also one of the best safeties in the league and could easily sign a bigger deal than Byard and Collins as early as this offseason. If the Bears choose to extend Jackson before the Jets extend Adams, it could massively affect Adams’ asking price down the road.

The Jets shouldn’t wait for any of these dominos to fall. Getting Adams locked up before the market resets will be crucial to Joe Douglas’ ability to remake the roster and keep Adams at the same time. He’ll have at minimum $46.4 million to spend in 2020, and that’s before he inevitably cuts other contracts for overpaid players like Trumaine Johnson.

Yes, spending upward of $15 million per year on a safety is a massive risk for the Jets given the holes in various other positions on the roster. But for someone like Adams, it’s worth it given his performance this year. The Jets won’t just be paying for an incredible defensive back, but they’ll be paying for a top-flight pass rusher as well.

Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams has been able to unlock Adams’ versatility both in coverage and as a pass rusher. He’s blitzed Adams at multiple positions on the field – edge, safety, cornerback – which helped Adams notch five sacks the past two weeks (six on the season) and put him on pace to break the NFL record for most sacks by a defensive back (eight).

According to Next Gen Stats, Adams blitzed an average of 5.2 times per game over the first eight games of the season. Adams lined up as an edge rusher 14 times against the Redskins, rushed 13 times and finished with a 26.4 pass-rush win percentage, per Pro Football Focus. On the season, he ranks first among defensive backs in blitzes (55) and quarterback pressures (12). Though he only has one interception on the season, Adams has broken up six passes and allowed a completion percentage of 53.8 percent and a passer rating of 78.7 when targeted.

Retaining Adams will come at a hefty price, but it will be worth it to preserve the closest thing the Jets have to a superstar. Generational defensive talents don’t come around often and the Jets would be wise to lock theirs up for the foreseeable future.

Jamal Adams proving why Jets need to keep him

The Jets can lock up Jamal Adams as early as this summer and they should seriously consider it after his second consecutive three-sack game.

Remember the idea of trading Jamal Adams after the season? Scrap it. The Jets will and should pay Adams for what he is: the best safety in the NFL.

Adams proved to the Jets for the second-straight game how much of a game-changer he can be on defense. Adams followed up his two-sack, nine-tackle performance that included a fumble recovery touchdown in Week 10 with a three-sack outing against the Redskins on Sunday. He leads the Jets in almost every defensive statistic and looks like a reinvigorated man on a mission after trade rumors upset him after the deadline. 

“I understand my worth. I know what I can bring to a team. And I’m so excited to be a part of this Jets organization,” Adams said after the game. “I’m the best doing it. That’s all that matters.”

Players of Adams’ caliber don’t come around often. When they do, teams generally try and keep them around for as long as possible. Though Adams appeared to be on his way out of New York after a tumultuous trade deadline week — he refused to talk to Adam Gase or Joe Douglas and made ambiguous statements about his future with the franchise — the safety knows he’s due for a big paycheck as early as this offseason. Every week he puts up games like his past two, his price only goes up – either on the trade block or in the negotiating room.

Douglas rightly asked for the moon when discussing trades for Adams at the deadline, and now it looks like two early-round picks might not even be enough to acquire Adams’ services. The safety is a game-wrecker and is on pace to break the NFL sack record for a defensive back set by Cardinals’ safety Adrian Wilson in 2011. Adams has a team-high six sacks through 10 games and only needs two more to tie Wilson’s total and three to top it.

Credit to defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has unlocked Adams’ pass-rushing ability. Adams is blitzing more from the edge than he’s ever done in his career and he’s getting consistent pressure on quarterbacks. He has nine quarterback hits to go along with his six sacks. Adams is enjoying the blitz packages and his role as the versatile safety in Williams’ scheme. 

“The picks aren’t coming my way,” Adams said, pointing out his lone interception compared to his six sacks, “so I thought I’d do something different.”

Teams build identities off players like Adams. His swagger and skill blend seamless for what the Jets want to cultivate as they continue in the Gase-Douglas era. Adams provides the figurehead on defense next to Darnold on offense and to take that away for a couple of draft picks is a useless long-term play that detracts from any promising future the team may have.

But it will cost the Jets to keep Adams. A lot. Landon Collins and Kevin Byard each signed a contract this past offseason that pays them $14 million and $14.1 million a year, respectively. Those will be the starting point for Adams. 

He’s worth it.

You take away Adams and the Jets have no star on defense. No leader. No one who can terrorize quarterbacks and wide receivers alike. He is the heart and soul of the Jets defense and he’ll command a salary that recognizes that.

Christopher Johnson knows this. That’s why he told Adams he wants him to be a Jet for life. Douglas knows this even though he fielded trade calls for him less than a month ago. Gase definitely knows this and acknowledged Adams’ game-changing ability after the Redskins game.

“You feel him the whole game on the sideline [and] on the field,” Gase said. “He’s bringing everything he has. He’s just laying it all out there… It’s very impressive to watch him play. It’s as consistent as you can get, too. He’s making unbelievable plays week after week.”

The Jets don’t have many stars on their team. Darnold is still a work in progress, Quinnen Williams is young and who knows how long Le’Veon Bell and Robby Anderson will remain on the roster. Adams is the closest thing the Jets have to a face of the franchise, and they need to keep him around as long as possible.

Titans-Chiefs: a look at defensive snap counts

Here’s a complete look at the defensive snap counts.

The Tennessee Titans (5-5) came into Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs (6-4) looking to get back to .500, and did exactly that as they pulled off a 35-32 win on their own turf.

Safeties Kevin Byard and Kenny Vaccaro along with cornerbacks Adoree Jackson and Logan Ryan played every snap of the game (82).

In special teams percentages, safeties Amani Hooker and Dane Cruikshank, in addition to linebacker Daren Bates all had 88%.

Here’s a complete look at the defensive snap counts.

The Titans will face the Jacksonville Jaguars next on Nov. 24 and 3:05 p.m. CT in Nissan Stadium.