Tag: Tony Pollard

A closer look at the Tennessee Titans backfield

What should we expect from the Tony Pollard-Tyjae Spears tandem?

From the moment Mike Vrabel was hired to be the head coach of the Tennessee Titans before the 2018 season, you knew you were going to get two things: a physical defense, and a heavy dose of running back Derrick Henry each week. After six years of that, it’s a new day in Nashville. Vrabel was fired after posting a 13-21 record over the last two seasons, and Henry signed with the Baltimore Ravens.

Vrabel’s replacement is Brian Callahan, who was hired after serving as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals for the last five seasons. In Cincinnati, he oversaw a pass-first offense led by young superstar quarterback Joe Burrow and the receiving tandem of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. While the Titans have upgraded their own receivers room, which now includes DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, and Tyler Boyd, a familiar face from Cincy, the jury is still out on QB Will Levis.

As such, the ground game should be important for the 2024 Titans. With Henry gone, Tennessee gave former Dallas Cowboys RB Tony Pollard a three-year, $21.75 million deal to join promising youngster Tyjae Spears atop the depth chart. Let’s look at what we can expect from them this year.

Titans HC Callahan shares insight on potential RB usage as training camp opens

Callahan talks how the Titans running back usage could look this summer.

Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan addressed the media as training camp opened on Tuesday. The first-year head coach fielded a number of questions surrounding a roster that saw turnover at key positions.

Among those was the departure of superstar running back Derrick Henry, who signed with the Baltimore Ravens after spending his first eight years in Nashville.

In what figures to be one of the more compelling position battles in camp, Callahan was asked about the running backs room, specifically, if Tyjae Spears or Tony Pollard would be named the starting running back going into the season.

Callahan did not commit to either player at this time but indicated that both guys could see their fair share of playing time in the backfield.

“The fun part for me is: How are we going to deploy those guys?” Callahan said via Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. “Maybe they both play at the same time, maybe one gets hot and you let him run, maybe we just rotate back and forth. I don’t know what that’s going to look like yet. But they are both going to play quite a bit of football for us, and I don’t view either one of them as a starter or a backup. They are both starting players to me.”

With a franchise pillar in Henry exiting this offseason, it was a fair question, especially considering how pass-centric the NFL has become. 

Spears had a solid rookie season in 2023, rushing for 453 yards on 100 carries and two touchdowns. The Tulane standout also hauled in 52 receptions for 385 yards and one touchdown.

Pollard joins the team after signing a three-year, $21.750 million contract in free agency. The 27-year-old, who played college football at Memphis, had a strong 2023 season in what was his first year as the feature running back for the Dallas Cowboys. Pollard rushed for 1,005 yards and scored six touchdowns, and he was also heavily involved in the passing game, bringing in 55 receptions for 311 yards.

Tennessee bolstered its offensive skill positions in the offseason to support second-year quarterback Will Levis as he takes over as the full-time starter in Callahan’s pass-first offense.

Despite this, Spears and Pollard are expected to have significant roles in the Titans’ new-look ground game this season. Both players will have the chance to display their skill set throughout training camp and the preseason.

Where Titans ‘triplet’ landed in CBS Sports’ rankings

The Titans landed in a less-than ideal spot in CBS Sports’ ‘triplets’ rankings.

The Tennessee Titans have greatly improved their offense during the 2024 offseason, but were their moves enough to get them a high ranking in CBS Sports’ triplets rankings?

The answer to that question is a resounding no, as CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin ranked the Titans’ triplet of quarterback Will Levis, running back Tony Pollard and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins at No. 27 in the NFL.

The main reason behind the ranking? You guessed it: Levis.

Levis’ debut season was extremely up and down. We’ll see what he looks like in a more pass-friendly offense with an upgraded offensive line and pass-catchers. Pollard looked terrible early last year coming off his broken leg, but came on down the stretch. The Titans signed Calvin Ridley this offseason, but Hopkins is still the better player. The dude is a marvel. Alas, we can’t justify putting the Titans higher without knowing more about Levis.

It was tough to truly gauge how much of Tennessee’s issues on offense were Levis’ fault during his nine starts last season because of the awful supporting cast around him. However, we do know that Levis showed enough flashes to warrant excitement about his future.

Even still, it’s understandable to have doubts after such a small sample size, which leads to rankings like this. We should point out, though, that Dubin has triplets with quarterbacks who haven’t taken a single snap in the NFL ranked ahead of the Titans.

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Cowboys RB room earns depressing ranking from PFF

The Cowboys looked to reset the position and as a result are graded as having one of the worst groups of running backs in the league. | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys have a long history of preeminent running backs across the NFL landscape. From Calvin Hill to Tony Dorsett to Emmitt Smith to DeMarco Murray and Ezekiel Elliott, the franchise enjoys employing a top-of-the-line option in the backfield.

That changed this offseason as the Cowboys have adopted a running back by committee approach. There is no star to carry the load and according to Pro Football, Dallas has the worst RB room in the league.

After moving on from their leading rusher each of the last two seasons, the Cowboys now turn to a group who doesn’t inspire much confidence. Gone is Tony Pollard, and back is Elliott, penciled in as the starter. Rico Dowdle and second-year runner Deuce Vaughn return from last season, and the team also signed veteran RB Royce Freeman to compete for carries. The transition from Pollard to a bevy of RBs didn’t impress PFF in their rankings.

32. DALLAS COWBOYS
After letting Tony Pollard sign elsewhere in free agency, and missing out on the top backs in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Cowboys re-signed Ezekiel Elliott to be their lead rusher.

Elliott’s glory days came with the Cowboys, but his yards per carry average has dipped below 4.0 over the past two seasons, resulting in a career-low 69.2 PFF rushing grade in 2023. Behind him are Rico Dowdle and Deuce Vaughn.

It’s hard to knock the analysis. Pollard had surpassed Elliott as the better Dallas running back a few years ago. Bringing back Elliott is good for nostalgia but he may not prove much of an improvement over the other options. Of those still in the room, Elliott had the most rushing yards last season with 642, and averaged just 3.5 yards a carry, the worst of his career.

On Thursday, the New England Patriots rewarded Elliott’s backfield mate Rhamondre Stevenson with a four-year, $36 million extension with $17 million guaranteed. His ypc dropped from 5.0 in 2022 to 4.0 in their 2023 offense where Elliott outproduced him in both the rushing and passing game.

The Cowboys considered bringing Pollard back, who offered a hometown discount, but they didn’t approach the deal he signed with his actual hometown team, the Tennessee Titans, and the team bypassed the best alternatives in free agency.

In the draft, Dallas also opted for other positions instead of selecting a RB, which could be a decision that haunts them in the 2024 season.

The good news is the season isn’t around the corner and the team has time to add to the room. Training camp and the preseason will give the Cowboys a sense of where they’re at with the position, and if they’ll need to find a better RB as the regular season approaches. There are teams who might have an excess of talent at RB and perhaps a trade could happen down the road, or the Cowboys could add a RB who was released near the end of the preseason.

Unfortunately for Dallas, they will face a six of the top nine backfields in the league this upcoming season, according to PFFs rankings. The list includes three NFC contenders in the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, and the rival Philadelphia Eagles, who added Pro Bowl RB Saquon Barkley in free agency. That’s not good for a team who has struggled to stop the run in recent years.

The Cowboys reset their financial picture at position. It’s odd to see the team without a star RB, but things didn’t fall their way this offseason. Although Elliott is no longer a bell cow RB, he should be able to grind out yards behind a rebuilt offensive line.

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Where Titans’ RBs room landed in PFF’s rankings

The Titans’ running backs room landed a better-than-expected spot in PFF’s rankings.

The Tennessee Titans will have a much different running backs room in 2024 now that Derrick Henry is no longer with the team.

Tennessee is returning 2023 fourth-round pick Tyjae Spears and added veteran Tony Pollard to give the team an intriguing one-two punch that can do just about everything on the football field.

Pro Football Focus’ Trevor Sikkema recently ranked the running back rooms for all 32 NFL teams and the Titans landed right in the middle of the pack at No. 15. Here’s Sikkema’s thoughts on the duo:

Tony Pollard finds himself in Tennessee after struggling to regain his form following a high ankle sprain and a broken leg in the 2022-2023 playoffs. But his 2023 numbers were still solid, including a 4.0 yards per carry average, 1,000-plus rushing yards once again and an 84.7 PFF rushing grade.

Pollard and Tyjae Spears will be the one-two combo for the Titans, and it’s a duo with a decently high ceiling after Spears recorded a 0.26 missed tackles forced per attempt average and a 4.6 yards per carry average.

That is actually a solid ranking considering the circumstances, with Spears being unproven and Pollard coming off a down year.

Spears no doubt flashed in his rookie season, both as a runner and pass-catcher, but he was also hounded by the fact that the Titans had one of the worst offensive lines in the sport.

Pollard wasn’t at his best in 2023. However, as Sikkema notes, he was also coming back from a serious injury. Pollard still managed to top 1,000 yards on the ground and over 1,300 yards from scrimmage, though.

In Spears and Pollard, the Titans have a pair of backs who can impact a game with explosive plays, both as runners and receivers. That will no doubt help keep defenses honest, no matter who is on the field.

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Titans’ Brian Callahan ‘can’t wait’ to utilize RB duo in 2024

Titans head coach Brian Callahan explains why he “can’t wait” to use Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard.

The Tennessee Titans are beginning a new era at the running back position in 2024 after parting ways with Derrick Henry earlier this offseason following an eight-year tenure that saw Henry ascend to elite status and build a foundation for a Hall of Fame bid.

2023 third-round pick Tyjae Spears is returning for his second season after a promising rookie campaign, and he’ll be joined by veteran and free-agent addition, Tony Pollard.

The thing that stands out the most about this duo is the fact that the two backs are similar. That will make it much tougher for defenses to predict what the Titans will do based on who’s on the field

“Everyone keeps saying interchangeable, and we see it that way,” offensive coordinator Nick Holz said earlier this offseason. “We don’t want any tendencies when those guys are in there. So, we think they both can have a skill set as pass catchers, skill set running the gap schemes and all the different zone schemes we are going to have. So, that’s where it is really most exciting as we go, you are not going to say ‘when this back is in these are the plays, and when this back is in those are the plays.’ They can really function on all three downs, and really, there are not any scheme limitations.”

Despite the obvious similarities in their games, Titans head coach Brian Callahan still believes they’re “unique” from one another, and that will make it fun to utilize the pair.

“I can’t wait to start playing around and using them in different ways because they both do things differently, they’re unique,” Callahan said, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “I’m excited about the style that we can run with. We can do a lot of different things.”

While we know what the Titans are getting in both backs, it remains to be seen how the workload will be split up between the two. It figures to be just about 50/50, but the Titans aren’t exactly paying Pollard like a 50/50 back at a little over $7 million per year.

“We see it 1A, 1B, and they’re both just gonna play a ton, get a lot of carries and let ’em roll,” Holz said of the workload distribution.

Both players are explosive, yet can run tough between the tackles, they can catch the ball out of the backfield and are strong in pass protection. Spears and Pollard should be a fun duo to watch in 2024.

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Titans OC Nick Holz gives more clarity on RB situation

Titans OC Nick Holz gave more clarity on how the team will use its running backs in 2024.

The Tennessee Titans made what amounted to at least a somewhat surprising move in free agency when they inked running back Tony Pollard to a three-year deal, which was one of their first reported moves.

It was surprising, not only because of the money they spent on the position ($7-plus million annually), but also because the Titans were expected to bring someone in who offered something a bit different than 2023 third-round pick, Tyjae Spears, who is very similar to Pollard.

Whatever the case may be, the question now becomes: will anyone take the reins of this backfield, or will it be a true split?

Head coach Brian Callahan failed to answer that question during the annual league meetings last month, but offensive coordinator Nick Holz gave more clarity during his first press conference of the offseason program on Wednesday.

“We see it 1A, 1B, and they’re both just gonna play a ton, get a lot of carries and let ’em roll,” Holz said, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com.

The good thing about having two similar backs is the Titans won’t be tipping their hand because of who is on the field, which was an issue during the Derrick Henry era.

Holz mentioned how Pollard and Spears are interchangeable and how both can operate on all three downs.

“Everyone keeps saying interchangeable, and we see it that way,” Holz said. “We don’t want any tendencies when those guys are in there. So, we think they both can have a skill set as pass catchers, skill set running the gap schemes and all the different zone schemes we are going to have. So, that’s where it is really most exciting as we go, you are not going to say ‘when this back is in these are the plays, and when this back is in those are the plays.’ They can really function on all three downs, and really, there are not any scheme limitations.”

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The Cowboys easiest free agent loss to fill in the 2024 NFL draft

The Cowboys have a lot of needs to address in the 2024 NFL draft but one position stands out as the easiest to fill.

The Cowboys sustained free agent losses across their roster this offseason. Their top running back signed with Tennessee, their starting center went to the Commanders, their starting left tackle signed with the Jets, two of their top edge rushers followed Dan Quinn to Washington and the biggest run-stopping defensive tackle signed on with Seattle.

A case can be made for any one of these positions to be targeted early in the 2024 NFL draft but with more needs than premium picks, tough decisions will need to be made. Luckily for the Cowboys, some positions are easier to fill than others. Draft depth and positional value can give Dallas options later in the draft.

But which position is easiest to fill?

Working backwards it appears LT is the hardest to fill . Tackle is considered a premium position for a reason; not only does he protect the QBs blindside and serve to prevent disaster, but he often works on an island facing off against some of the NFLs best edge rushers.

It’s traditionally one of the most heavily drafted and highest-paid positions and usually requires premium draft picks in order to fill it. If the Cowboys want to find a starting LT in the draft, it’s likely first round or bust.

The second hardest spot to fill is at DE. Much like LT, DE is considered a premium position. Elite pass rushers don’t grow on trees and teams have no qualms about using a top pick on a cornerstone edge player. The Cowboys lost both Dante Fowler and Dorance Armstrong here and don’t have a very inspiring group of young bucks waiting in the wings.

If the Cowboys can keep Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence healthy all season, they can survive their free agent losses at DE, but make no mistake, DE is a legit need in Dallas and filling it isn’t something any old Day 3 pick can satisfy.

Dallas also lost Johnathan Hankins and Neville Gallimore at DT. These two aren’t players to lose sleep over but the Cowboys are desperately thin behind them on the roster (figuratively and literally). There are options in the draft that run into the middle rounds but only a handful of good plug-and-play options exist. The Cowboys don’t sound concerned about DT, but they probably should be.

Center is a position which should be looked at with optimism. Not only do the Cowboys have a couple of potential options on the roster already but the draft appears to rich in options that run well into the later rounds. Replacing Tyler Biadasz shouldn’t be difficult.

The last big position in which the Cowboys suffered a free agent loss is RB. Tony Pollard, Dallas’ leading rusher in 2022 and 2023, signed with the Titans as a free agent. The depth behind him is shallow and the Cowboys unquestionably have a major need at the RB position heading into the draft.

Despite that need, RB is a position which has proven to be relatively easy to fill. Looking at to the top performers in the NFL today, most good RBs are found after Day 2 in the draft. This will give the Cowboys plenty of time to find a replacement to Pollard, who was a Day 3 pick himself once upon a time.

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Titans signing Tony Pollard named ‘most head-scratching move’

One ESPN analyst believes the Titans’ signing of running back Tony Pollard was the most head-scratching move of free agency.

One of the bigger surprises of the Tennessee Titans’ offseason was the team’s decision to sign running back Tony Pollard, who was the first reported deal Tennessee agreed to during the legal tampering period.

Not only did I not expect the Titans to spend as much as they did (or do it that quickly) on the position, I figured they would bring in more of a downhill runner to complement 2023 third-round pick, Tyjae Spears.

One of those reasons are behind ESPN’s Matt Bowen naming it the “most head-scratching move of free agency.”

Here’s his take:

Running back Tony Pollard to the Titans. Pollard fits best in a rotational role, maximizing his running and receiving traits. But I didn’t expect Tennessee, who drafted Tyjae Spears in the third round last year, to be in the mix here. Let’s see if the Titans target a running back in the draft with downhill power and goal line ability to complement the skills of both Pollard and Spears.

While not really thought of as a power runner, Pollard is no slouch at all. In fact, he finished third in the NFL in yards after contact last season, trailing only Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey.

Another thing that has made me come around to the move is the fact that the Titans won’t be tipping their hand depending on who is on the field, something that was always an issue with Henry.

Both Pollard and Spears are strong, explosive runners, and both are a major threat to catch passes out of the backfield. The Titans won’t be telegraphing anything when it comes to deploying their running backs in 2024.

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The Cowboys toughest free agent loss to fill in the 2024 NFL draft

The Cowboys are leaning on the draft to fill many of the holes on their roster but which hole is the hardest to fill in 2024? | From @ReidDHanson

To say the 2024 free agency period has been a tough one for Cowboys fans is a bit of an understatement. Dallas took their usual approach to the annual swap meet, letting the high-ticket items sort themselves out and waiting for the bargains to slip through the cracks and into their waiting arms.

The Cowboys came to terms with a handful of their own free agents, locking up RB Rico Dowdle, CB Jourdan Lewis, special teamers C.J. Goodwin and Trent Sieg. They even signed an outside free agent in LB Eric Kendricks to a reasonable deal. Yet all of these signings pale in comparison to their losses. It’s clear the Cowboys have a net loss in talent on their roster and will need the draft if they hope to climb out of the hole free agency has put them in.

Since not all positions are created equal and some solutions are easier to find in the draft than others, strategy will need to be employed if the Cowboys hope to build a contender in 2024. In the strategy sessions leading up to the draft, Dallas would be wise to identify the hardest positions to fill and prioritize accordingly.

But what position is hardest? Which free agent loss will be the most difficult to fill in the 2024 NFL draft?

The free agent departure who signed for the most APY and highest guaranteed happens to Dorance Armstrong. The Cowboys rotational DE played a big part on Dan Quinn’s defense in 2023 so it’s understandable Quinn took the young man with him to Washington. Joining Armstrong in the move to our nation’s capital is DE Dante Fowler. The two players combine to leave behind a significant hole at DE, making it an underrated need in Dallas this offseason.

Dallas’ leading rusher Tony Pollard followed the money out of town, leaving the Cowboys in a tough situation at the RB position. But RBs, much like LBs, can be found all over the draft so replacing Pollard should be a relatively doable task, provided the Cowboys do their individual scouting well.

The OC position is another spot which sustained a significant loss in free agency. But options are everywhere throughout the draft and the OC position is a spot where Dallas could tread water with even below average play.

The one position they can’t fake it is the position tasked with protecting Dak Prescott’s blind side. LT, vacated by Tyron Smith in free agency, is the most important position , and the hardest, to fill in the draft. Premium LTs are typically only found in the first round so the Cowboys can’t afford to miss out with their top pick this April.

Helping the Cowboys in this difficult task is the presence of Tyler Smith. Smith has LT ability and the Cowboys have expressed a willingness to use him at LT if they need to in 2024.

With Smith on the roster, Dallas wouldn’t be required to draft a plug-and-play LT because Smith could man the post in the short-term. It would allow the Cowboys to draft someone like Amarius Mims or Tyler Guyton who are more developmental in nature, but still require first-round investment.

The Cowboys sure didn’t make things easy for themselves this offseason but if they prioritize correctly, they should be able to fill many of their needs in the draft.

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