Wide receiver play has been one of many issues the Tennessee Titans have had on offense this season, but Week 9 was the group’s worst showing.
Titans receivers failed to record a single catch during the game, couldn’t separate, and there were two key drops that could have led to points if caught.
When asked about the putrid showing on Thursday, offensive coordinator Todd Downing took the blame.
“I don’t think anytime that there’s a lack of success or productivity it’s on one group,” Downing said, per ESPN’s Turron Davenport. “I’ll always say it starts with me; I’ve got to find ways to get those guys involved and find better ways to free them up and get some stuff going.”
After coming out strong in the second quarter, the Titans’ offense disappeared in the second half, partly because Downing went away from using Malik Willis’ legs in tandem with Derrick Henry’s.
While Downing didn’t directly address that obvious blunder, he did point to penalties and negative plays that put an already struggling Titans offense behind the 8-ball even more.
“I think we had a couple of opportunities that we weren’t able to take advantage of,” Downing added. “And then, by and large, the second half we put ourselves in some pretty bad spots… penalties or lost-yardage plays that kind of took us out of third-and-managables and kind of put us behind the sticks a little bit. So, a culmination of everything, but it certainly starts with me.”
Not a single Titans receiver averaged a yard or more of separation on Sunday night. As far as that’s concerned, Downing says the team has “built quite a catalog” of plays to try and help get receivers open.
“Certainly things that we try to do to help out [with separation] in those regards,” Downing said. “Obviously some very talented corners in this league — we’re going to play some this Sunday — and so we’re always trying to do that. And I think that we’ve built quite a catalog of trying to get some of those rub releases and things of that nature. And there’s always a balance in that, too; holding the ball too long or letting something long developing unfold can put a lot of pressure on the protection. So, we’re always looking for ways to try to scheme those guys up for sure.”
If that catalog has been in use this entire season, it’s time to get a new catalog.
One of many issues Downing has had with his play-calling is predictability. The Titans running the ball nearly 70 percent of the time after a first-down incompletion certainly qualifies as such.
How often teams run the ball on 2nd & 10 after getting an incompletion on 1st & 10 this season. Mike McDaniel just gets it, even in his first season as head coach. pic.twitter.com/zODK7gUdCs
— Arjun Menon (@arjunmenon100) November 7, 2022
Downing agreed that rate makes the offense predictable.
“I would say 70 percent is predictable, I would agree with you on that,” Downing admitted, per Paul Kuharsky. “I would tell you that there’s also tendencies on the other side of the football, where we’re getting some split-safety looks and that’s maybe some of the places we actually do see an advantageous box and feel like we can get ourselves into some of those third-and-shorter windows. And where we didn’t do a good job of that the other night is where we had some either lost yardage or incompletions and zero-yard gains. Now we would up in third-and-10, third-and-12 and that’s just not what we’re built to live in. There aren’t a lot of offense that are. There’s a balance there and certainly I try to keep track of that stuff and make sure that I’m not getting too far out of whack. And usually you can tell if the defense has changed their call off of something they’re well known for then it’s something I’ve got to be aware of and try to act accordingly.”
On top of the potential return of Ryan Tannehill this week, another glimmer of hope for the offense is the potential return of Treylon Burks, who was designated to return from IR and is on track to play this week.
Downing has been impressed with Burks’ rehab and preparation for his return to the field.
#Titans' Downing: Really impressed with Burks keeping himself in shape, and keeping mentally tuned in during inj. rehab. Impressive for a rookie who had some bumps in the road early in his career.
— John Glennon (@glennonsports) November 10, 2022
It’s nice to see Downing admit that his play-calling is predictable and he needs to do more to get these receivers open, but whether or not he can actually fix those issues remains to be seen.
So far, there’s nothing to suggest he can.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyh7crnrcs3ypf player_id=none image=https://titanswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[lawrence-related id=101774,101771,101766]
[listicle id=101777]