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Aside from the insane amount of injuries the team has suffered in 2021, one major problem for the Tennessee Titans continues to be the play of quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill has completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 2,774 yards and 14 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. The picks are tied for the same amount he had in 2019 and 2020 combined, and there’s still five games left to play.
While Tannehill no doubt deserves plenty of blame for his misfires that have led to missed opportunities and turnovers, not all of them have been his fault.
Titans quarterbacks coach Pat O’Hara believes Tannehill has to do a better job of taking care of the football, but also notes that each of those picks “have their own story,” per John Glennon of Sports Illustrated.
“(The interceptions) really all have their own story,” O’Hara said. “Some of the stories are shorter than others. Some you know right away, and there’s an explanation of why certain ones happen.
“But at the end of the day, it’s our job to protect (the ball). We have to protect the ball. Ryan knows that, and he’s really done an excellent job of that in his time here. We’ve had some turnovers here in the interim. We’re certainly going to work on that. This is a great week to kind of self-scout what we’ve been doing, who we’ve been doing it with, strengths and weaknesses.”
For example, as our own Tyler Rowland broke down in a recent film study, you can make the case that two of Tannehill’s Week 11 picks were on rookie wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick, who appeared to run the wrong routes.
However, as much as we can point to Tannehill having to deal with lackluster receiving options due to injuries and overall shoddy pass protection, those issues don’t explain away all of his mistakes this season.
Head coach Mike Vrabel says the team around Tannehill has to be better, but the signal-caller has to be better, also.
“I think Ryan has to be better,” Vrabel said. “I think everybody has to be better around him. We have to be better (blocking) in the middle of the pocket, we have to be better on the edges, get open quicker, be decisive and then ball placements and decision making from the quarterback. That is what it is.
“We do need to be better throwing the football with whoever we are throwing it with. It starts with protection. It starts with getting open and then the quarterback having the trust to throw to the guys and just like that.”
Coming out of the bye, Tannehill might be getting some reinforcements, as wideout Julio Jones is eligible to come off Injured Reserve and veteran Golden Tate could make his Titans debut.
From there, Tennessee is hoping A.J. Brown can return from IR when eligible in Week 16, and Derrick Henry can get back in time for the postseason.
We still believe Tannehill can help take the Titans to a Super Bowl, but he’s not going to carry this team on his back and will need help. Hopefully Tennessee can get that help before the playoffs begin.
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