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The day after the Tennessee Titans got their doors blown off by the Arizona Cardinals in Week 1, a clip circulated of the defense the team was running during wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins’ second score of the game that showed a familiar issue from the 2020 season.
In the clip, the Titans sent a zero blitz after quarterback Kyler Murray, but their defensive backs were playing off-man coverage and were behind the sticks on a second-and-5 play, leading to literally every single Cardinals receiver being open.
The result was Hopkins catching an easy pass from Murray, which turned into a touchdown after the star receiver put a filthy spin move on safety Kevin Byard.
A zero blitz with off man coverage. Where have I seen this before? pic.twitter.com/1j2eW3E9lo
— Superhorn (@Super_Horn) September 14, 2021
We saw similar head-scratching play calls in 2020. The Titans were routinely playing off their assignments, even on short-yardage situation, which was a big reason the defense was the worst in the NFL on third downs.
On Thursday, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen explained what his thinking was in calling the defense he did.
Bowen said zero blitz with off coverage was intended not to give away the blitz. Second-and-5 different than third-and-5. Byard was in correct spot, Hopkins made a play for TD. #Titans pic.twitter.com/aZ40JNaKLY
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 16, 2021
That is exactly the kind of answer you don’t want to hear, as it shows Bowen thinks he made the right call. That is troublesome to say the least.
We continue to hope that the Titans will get their defense fixed, but we remain highly skeptical that Bowen is the right man to get it done.
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