Tag: Todd Downing

What Titans said after preseason Week 3 loss to Bears

The Titans react to their preseason finale loss to the Bears.

The Tennessee Titans closed out their preseason on Saturday night against the Chicago Bears at Nissan Stadium but fell just short of a perfect exhibition record after falling to their opponent, 27-24.

The Titans deployed the vast majority of their starters on defense in the first two drives, but only a few key starters on offense saw the field for what was the final tune-up ahead of the 2021 campaign.

This game was more about getting a look at some of the younger players, who were either vying for a role or a roster spot ahead of final cuts on Tuesday, Aug. 31.

While some players helped their cause, like quarterback Logan Woodside and running backs Mekhi Sargent and Brian Hill, others like quarterback Matt Barkley and wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick hurt theirs.

After the game, several players and coaches took to the podium to share their reaction to the final preseason contest. Here’s what they had to say:

Titans placed in ‘Tier 3’ of Pro Football Network’s power rankings

We think the Titans should be a tier higher, but their overall ranking is solid nonetheless.

Far too many times we’ve seen the Tennessee Titans ranked outside the top 10 in various NFL power rankings over the course of the offseason, but Pro Football Network is going against the grain a bit.

PFN’s Dalton Miller placed the Titans in “Tier 3” of his rankings among teams he believes are “possible division winners/playoff contenders.”

We believe the Titans should be in “Tier 2” of Miller’s rankings — among the “Conference Championship contenders” — but at least he ranked them at No. 9 overall. Here’s his take on things:

The addition of Julio Jones is massive for the Titans from a personnel perspective, but it didn’t propel them into the second tier of teams. The biggest question surrounding the Titans is their secondary, and in particular, their cornerbacks. However, if Caleb Farley and Elijah Molden can play to their potential, the secondary should be serviceable.

Offensively, the biggest question they have to answer is how they replicate their fantastic efficiency with the loss of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Ryan Tannehill has been a top-10 quarterback with the Titans. If he continues that pace, this team will win the division.

First off, the loss of Arthur Smith is way overblown in our opinion. Yes, he was a good offensive coordinator and had immense success; however, that success can be directly correlated with the emergence of Ryan Tannehill.

As long as new offensive coordinator Todd Downing doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel — the Titans likely stayed in-house for their new OC to avoid that — Tennessee should continue to sport an elite offense.

Miller’s concern about the Titans’ secondary is valid. While on paper the team has a lot of talent all over the defense, the amount of question marks leaves no guarantees that this defense will be vastly improved.

The good news is that the Titans were able to overcome a terrible unit last season en route to making the playoffs. We expect the defense to be better, and if the offense can remain elite or reach what we believe is all-time great potential, the Titans will be primed to make a deep playoff run in 2021.

Titans’ Todd Downing: Offensive foundation won’t change with Julio Jones

Jones gives the Titans more options, but the team’s approach should remain the same.

The offensive foundation for the Tennessee Titans has been and will continue to be running the football with running back Derrick Henry, even after the addition of star wide receiver Julio Jones this offseason.

Just in case you had doubts about that, Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing is here to tell you otherwise.

When speaking to the media during the team’s mandatory minicamp this week, Downing revealed that things aren’t going to drastically change offensively because of Jones.

And that’s certainly good news when you consider the amount of success Tennessee’s offense has had when centered around their superstar running back, who has opened up the play-action game for quarterback Ryan Tannehill the past two years.

The good thing about the addition of Jones, who joins another No. 1 receiver in A.J. Brown in Tennessee’s receiving corps., is that the Titans can now make teams pay even more when they stack the box against Henry.

Once the Titans can establish that as fact, opposing defenses might be forced to leave a light box against the Alabama product, which would allow him to have more space to work with when getting the rock.

That should be a scary thought for the Titans’ upcoming opponents, as Henry has thrived even when facing extra attention upfront.

Perhaps most importantly, the addition of Jones gives the Titans a passing attack that can carry the team when Henry gets slowed down by an opponent, something that has helped lead to Tennessee’s last two playoff exits.

The Titans have no need to reinvent the wheel after having an elite offense the past two seasons with the same approach, and clearly Downing understands that.

Tennessee just has to build upon what it has done and take advantage of the big new wrinkle Jones adds in Nashville.

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What Titans’ coordinators, players said after Day 2 of minicamp

A.J. Brown, Taylor Lewan and Derrick Henry were among those who spoke.

The Tennessee Titans held Day 2 of mandatory minicamp on Wednesday, which was also the last on-field session the team will hold until training camp begins on July 27.

While the Titans will be in the building on Thursday for what is the final day of minicamp, head coach Mike Vrabel revealed on Tuesday that the team wouldn’t be hitting the field.

In case you missed the open session, you can check out the news, notes and video from beat writers on the ground right here.

After practice concluded, the Titans made running back Derrick Henry, wide receiver A.J. Brown, left tackle Taylor Lewan, offensive coordinator Todd Downing, and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen available to the media.

Here’s what they had to say about a number of different topics.

Titans’ Darrynton Evans expresses confidence in OC Todd Downing

New Titans OC Todd Downing has also received an endorsement from Jonnu Smith.

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Tennessee Titans running back Darrynton Evans is the latest offensive player to express confidence in new offensive coordinator, Todd Downing.

Downing, who is a former tight ends coach and has been an offensive coordinator one other time during his coaching career (Oakland Raiders, 2017), is stepping into big shoes in 2021.

He’ll be replacing former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, who was wildly successful in Nashville the past two seasons, leading to his getting a head-coaching gig with the Atlanta Falcons this year.

One player on Tennessee’s roster who makes no bones about his confidence in Downing is Evans. The 2020 third-round pick believes Downing will do “a really good job” as the Titans’ offensive coordinator, per Luke Worsham of AtoZ Sports Nashville:

“Todd, man, he’s a great dude,” Evans told Worsham. “Every time we were in the building, he was always positive. He actually helped me out a lot when I was going through my injury. He would come talk to me, check up on me, pull me off to the side to make sure everything was okay with me. I definitely appreciate him for that. I feel like he’s going to do a really good job. (Mike) Vrabel, Jon (Robinson), and everyone else — they put the right people in place to help us out.”

Another player who has given Downing the thumbs up is tight end Jonnu Smith; although he may not get to play under his former tight ends coach should the former third-round pick leave in free agency.

“One of the best offensive minds I’ve been around… He just knows ball so well. We’re putting the piece in places that we need, I think we’ve got a lot of room for success,” Smith said.

Downing enters into a situation in which there is already an offensive identity in place. All he has to do is expand on it by adding some new wrinkles into Tennessee’s game plan. Working Evans into the offense is one way to do it.

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2021 NFL coaching changes: Tennessee Titans

The Titans have new but familiar faces at offensive and defensive coordinator entering the 2021 season.

Following a 2,000-yard rushing effort from Tennessee Titans star Derrick Henry, second-year offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their new head coach, leaving a void in Nashville, Tenn.

The vacancy led Tennessee head coach Mike Vrabel to go back to the well once more. When Smith was promoted to the job in 2019, he replaced then-OC Matt LaFleur by promoting the tight ends coach, Smith, to the role. It worked out nicely for the Titans, so why not rinse and repeat?

Smith’s replacement is another internal choice, and one with the same title as his predecessor. This time, veteran NFL coach Todd Downing was named the offensive coordinator.

On the opposite side of the ball, Vrabel formally announced the 2020 unofficial defensive coordinator Shane Bowen will be given the title for the upcoming season — something that hasn’t sat well with plenty of Titans fans.

Coaching tendencies

Shane Bowen

We won’t invest much time here, mostly because fantasy defenses are a dime a dozen, and this one isn’t worth a nickel. The Titans generated the third-fewest sacks last year (19) but mustered 23 takeaways. Only one of those plays went the other direction, taking this defense from what would have been the sixth-worst unit to the ninth-weakest fantasy commodity in 2020. Bowen called the plays and scripted the plans for a defense that saw its two best players regress from the prior season.

One can argue there wasn’t enough talent, and that’s not an unfounded claim, though it is difficult to see a path for a major turnaround for fantasy purposes. What’s the argument then for why the best players regressed in their respective prime? Generally, it is schematic in nature.

Even if the Titans doubled their 2020 sack total to 38, we’re looking at what would be the 15th-best group in that department. Even Arizona’s 48 sacks didn’t help the defense finish higher than 16th in fantasy points.

Todd Downing

When an offense has fantasy weapons in the caliber of Henry, quarterback Ryan Tannehill and wide receiver A.J. Brown, a new playcaller is bound to get some attention in fantasy circles.

As mentioned, Downing was the tight ends coach for the past two years, but his NFL experience goes back to 2005 as an offensive quality control coach for the Minnesota Vikings under head man Mike Tice. The firing of Tice sent Downing to the St. Louis Rams as a defensive quality control coach and special teams assistant from 2006-07. He dropped the latter title for the 2008 season. Downing moved to Detroit in 2009 after Scott Linehan was fired by St. Louis early in the ’08 season.

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From 2009-13, Downing would move back to the offensive side and coach quarterbacks as well as returning to the quality control position. He briefly stopped in Buffalo (2014) before a successful two-year stint with the Oakland Raiders as the QBs coach that he parlayed into a dismal one-and-done 2017 showing as the team’s offensive coordinator — the first time in his career he was a playcaller. A return to where it all began for him in Minnesota for the 2018 campaign led to Downing coaching tight ends for the first time.

For the sake of using tangible data, we’ll look a little deeper into his lone year calling plays for the Raiders. The offense had been No. 6 overall in the 2016 season when Downing was the QBs coach and Bill Musgrave was the coordinator. Derek Carr enjoyed two of his finest seasons with Downing as his positional coach as the Raiders were built to maul on the ground and take deep shots, which sounds familiar. The line was hefty and was at its best using a power-blocking style as the primary scheme.

In Downing’s 2017 stint as OC, the offense took a visible step backward. He presided over the 17th-best offense in the league, and the big-armed Carr was relegated to a life of dinking and dunking. The overall playcalling volume shrank by nearly 10 percent. The average yards per attempted went from 7.0 to 6.5, while the average number of completions per touchdown pass rose from 13.1 to 15.1.

Carr’s interception percentage went from 1.1 to 2.5. The running game regressed as well, but not quite as steeply. The percentage of drives that ended in a score tumbled from 38.7 to 29.2 as Carr’s quarterback rating fell 10 points year over year.

Downing’s playcalling (with a similarly ranked defense, mind you) saw the 2016 Raiders go from rushing for the sixth-most yards on the 11th-most attempts as a team to 2017 ranks of 30th and 25th, respectively.

It wasn’t all bad, but we’re admittedly grabbing at straws here. The red-zone efficiency and third-down conversion rate both slightly improved under Downing. He also cannot be blamed for Amari Cooper dropping everything in sight that season. Nor can he be at fault for the Raiders starting a 31-year-old running back in Marshawn Lynch for 15 games — the hometown replacement for Latavius Murray wasn’t quite Beast Mode at that point in his career.

Also going for Downing is the emergence of tight end Jonnu Smith in this Tennessee offense. Just a few years ago, Smith was looking like a long shot in fantasy.

In Oakland, though, Downing’s offense was predictable and lacked any sense of exoticism. Say what you will about that fitting into what Tennessee likes to do, but at least Smith’s system took shots down the field. Tannehill averaged nearly 1.5 yards per attempt greater than Carr did under Downing, and Smith’s offense ranked ninth in explosive plays last year, whereas Downing’s 2017 Raiders ranked ninth from the bottom.

Finally, Tennessee ranked third in the NFL last year in offensive balance, only one of three teams to rush more than pass. Downing’s system in Oakland was fifth worst in balance and threw 21 percent more than it passed. While one may say, “So, today’s NFL is pass-happy?”, it doesn’t fit the Vrabel style of smash-mouth football that takes smart chances.

Now that we’re caught up on his vast experience spread over multiple cities and under several different styles of coaching, what should fantasy gamers expect from this offense in 2021?

Much of that comes down to the team’s moves in free agency….

Personnel changes

Fresh off of a breakout year, former first-round pick Corey Davis hits the receiving market ahead of his age-26 season. He certainly could opt to return, but after the Titans declined his fifth-year option for 2021, Davis may have no interest in coming back to the team, especially at what is bound to be a reduced offer given the Titans’ limited wiggle room with the salary cap.

A bevy of free-agent receivers set to hit the open market make Davis expendable. Wideouts Kenny Golladay, Will Fuller, Nelson Agholor, T.Y. Hilton, Marvin Jones, Allen Robinson, Chris Godwin, A.J Green, Curtis Samuel, Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Breshad Perriman all have a chance to sign with the Titans.

With a possible 2021 savings of $4.47 million, it won’t come as a surprise to see slot receiver Adam Humphries get the boot. It would save a few bucks over the next two seasons following a pair of injury-shortened years with the Titans.

As mentioned, Jonnu Smith blossomed under Downing’s guidance, and he’s set to test the market looking for his first big contract. The list of available tight ends isn’t quite as impressive, although the likes of Hunter Henry, Jared Cook, Dan Arnold, Gerald Everett and Jordan Reed could be on the short list if Tennessee is unable to retain Smith.

Otherwise, the core of the offense, including a fairly high-priced front five, should return in 2021, despite some chatter about left tackle Taylor Lewan (knee) possibly being a cap casualty after his replacement acquitted himself nicely. (Who knows what will happen with 2020 first-round pick OT Isaiah Wilson’s off-the-field issues.)

On Bowen’s defensive side, DE/OLB Jadeveon Clowney, DT DaQuan Jones, CB Desmond King and LB Jayon Brown all are impending free agents. The latter three will be missed a great deal should they defect.

Fantasy football takeaway

This one really could go either way. There was a ton of skepticism by yours truly over Smith taking over in 2019, but there’s a similar path to Downing being crowned OC, and Vrabel’s desire to pound the ball will be the X-factor here. Does he mandate Downing rushes it to the extreme volume we saw from Smith? Does Downing have the in-game selection and flow kinks worked out that plagued him in 2017? Does having “been there, done that” warrant the benefit of the doubt? One would like to think Downing has grown from the disaster in Oakland.

All great questions that will make or break Downing in 2021 … As long as he mostly adheres a “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” mentality and relies on his workhorse while incorporating extensive play-action passing, all should be fine in Nashville. After all, no one racked up more yards from play-action last year than Tannehill, and no running back accumulated more rushing gains than King Henry. The sooner Downing realizes and adapts to these realities, the more seamless the transition will become.

Tannehill could be a fringe QB1 but a far safer backup with matchup value. The potential holes to fill at wide receiver and tight end will largely dictate his overall fantasy worth.

Barring an injury, Henry is a lock in the first round for fantasy backs. He has workload concerns, sure, but if anyone is built to withstand that kind of beating, one has to believe he’s the dude.

At receiver, Brown has enjoyed two strong years and is on the verge of greatness. He will bounce between WR1 and No. 2 stock as the draft season plays out, but the third-year pro’s worth will fluctuate based on how the team addresses the Davis situation.

Tennessee’s fantasy defense under Bowen should not be considered as more than a fringe matchup play against the weakest of offenses.

We will revisit any of the key moves as they happen over the coming months.

Grading Titans’ promotion of Todd Downing to offensive coordinator

What grade do the Titans get for the promotion of Todd Downing to OC?

The Tennessee Titans announced the promotion of former tight ends coach Todd Downing to offensive coordinator on Friday to take over for the recently-departed Arthur Smith.

Downing has worked his way up the ladder over his two decades of coaching experience and has held positions such as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator with other teams.

In 2015, Pro Football Focus named him the Quarterbacks Coach of the Year for his work with the Raiders. However, in his one year as the offensive coordinator, the team took a step back from the year prior.

In 2016, the Raiders sported rankings of sixth in total offense, 13th in passing, sixth in rushing and seventh in scoring. In 2017, the Raiders ranked 18th in total offense, 16th in passing, 25th in rushing and 23rd in scoring.

Of course, that wasn’t all on Downing, as Derek Carr was coming back from a serious injury and seemed to lack confidence in what was a down year for him, but the 40-year-old’s play-calling did receive a lot of criticism at the time, also.

While that isn’t too promising to know, Downing will be in a much better situation in Nashville, as he walks into a ready-made, elite offense that already has a system in place.

And it’s a system in which head coach Mike Vrabel says will remain in place, with a few new ideas possibly being implemented. That’s great news for Tennessee, because if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

The regression the Raiders saw under Downing in 2017 will definitely be a concern from the get-go and this wasn’t a flashy hire by any stretch, but the move to keep continuity on offense leads to a respectable grade nonetheless.

Grade: C+

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Titans Twitter not happy about Shane Bowen’s promotion to DC

The promotion of Shane Bowen to DC was met with a negative reaction from Titans Twitter.

The Tennessee Titans officially announced the promotions of former tight ends coach Todd Downing to offensive coordinator and former outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen to defensive coordinator on Friday.

Downing served as the team’s tight ends coach for each of the past two seasons and has previous offensive coordinator experience after being the Oakland Raiders’ back in 2017.

The 40-year-old’s promotion should maintain continuity, as he’s expected to keep Tennessee’s current offensive system in place, which is certainly good news for an offense that was elite in 2020.

Bowen served as the Titans’ de facto defensive coordinator in 2020 without the title and oversaw a defense that ranked 29th against the pass, 19th against the run, and 24th in points allowed. On top of raw rankings, the Titans’ defense struggled with communication and making adjustments in-game.

While the move to promote Downing didn’t really rock the boat either way, Bowen getting the nod as the official defensive coordinator was met with negative reactions by those who follow the team.

Here’s a look at what Twitter had to say about both moves.

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Titans’ Mike Vrabel talks promotions of Downing to OC, Bowen to DC

The Titans announced the promotions of Bowen and Downing on Friday.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel shared his thoughts on the decision to promote tight ends coach Todd Downing to offensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen to defensive coordinator.

The much-embattled Bowen served as the team’s de facto defensive coordinator in 2020 without the title and oversaw a putrid defense.

Several factors played into that, including injuries, lackluster performances from key players and personnel changes, but Bowen was certainly one of the issues as the defense did a poor job of adjusting in-game.

However, Vrabel has apparently doubled-down on Bowen as his guy.

“Shane will move into the dedicated role of coordinator, with Ryan taking over the outside linebackers this year, and I am looking forward to him growing in that role,” Vrabel said. “We are going to work hard to improve that side of the ball through better coaching, improving our system and our players. I like the group we have on the defensive staff and I am confident that we will improve.”

As far as Downing is concerned, Vrabel expects the now-former tight ends coach to perhaps bring some new ideas into the fold, but expects Tennessee’s current offensive system to pretty much remain the same.

“Todd did a great job with the tight ends over the last two years and had important role in the game-planning process each week,” Vrabel said. “I was impressed with the details of his teaching and the production from his group and the offense in general. I am sure he will have some new ideas to implement, but the core system will be in place to build upon, which I think is important.”

While the promotion of Downing won’t rock the boat of Titans fans all that much, the one for Bowen certainly will after what we saw from the team’s defense in 2020.

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Titans officially promote Shane Bowen to DC, Todd Downing to OC

Bowen served as the Titans’ defensive coordinator last season despite not officially getting the title.

The Tennessee Titans have officially promoted tight ends coach Todd Downing to offensive coordinator and given outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen the title of defensive coordinator, the team announced on Friday.

Bowen served as the team’s defensive coordinator last season, as head coach Mike Vrabel revealed after the Titans’ playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens, but wasn’t given the official title. Now he gets it.

A report on Friday morning revealed that Downing was set to take over as the Titans’ offensive coordinator after two seasons as the tight ends coach, so we saw this move coming.

It wasn’t a good season for the Titans’ defense under Bowen. Tennessee finished 29th against the pass, 19th against the run and 24th in scoring, so the move to keep him in that role will come with controversy.

Of course, not all of that is on Bowen, as the defense saw lackluster performances from several key players and dealt with injuries, but Tennessee’s seeming inability to adjust on the fly was also an issue.

As for Downing, this will be his second offensive coordinator job after serving as the Oakland Raiders’ in 2017. Downing has a grand total of over two decades of coaching experience.

On top of announcing these two moves, the Titans made the hiring of assistant defensive line coach Kenechi Udeze official, and the team promoted Luke Steckel to tight ends coach, Ryan Crow to outside linebackers coach and Matt Edwards to assistant special teams coach.

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