The sky isn’t falling, Titans fans. Sure, the team got its collective ass stomped at the hands of the Houston Texans on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean this is a bad football team. The 2017 Tennessee Titans, are in fact, about where most of the experts had them: 2-2. Many said they’d lose the Oakland and Seattle games, but it didn’t work out that way.
Still, opening with Oakland and Seattle out of the division, and then facing trips to Jacksonville and Houston….that’s a brutal way to start the season. Up next, the team faces five teams that look inferior to them so far: Miami, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. Those should all be wins, and it’s imperative that the team capitalizes on this stretch.
So, how do they go down to Miami and get the W?
For the Titans
They have to get to Jay Cutler, plain and simple. Last week, the defensive line did little to slow down Deshaun Watson, and he made them pay for it. When you can’t get the pass rush going, you’re asking your secondary to cover elite NFL receivers for an extended period of time. That’s something I don’t believe this unit is ready to do just yet. So help ’em out.
On offense, the run game has to get going….especially if Matt Cassel ends up starting. DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry were both non-factors against the Texans. Part of that was that getting so behind so early meant the Titans had to abandon the run a bit. But, even when Marucs Mariota handed off the ball, no one was doing anything with it. This offense goes as the run game goes.
Don’t give up early points. In both losses this season, the Titans have given up early touchdowns and haven’t been able to chase those points down. The team doesn’t really look like it’s comfortable when it isn’t control of the game, so they can’t let big plays happen in the first five minutes. Don’t give up those early points, and you take control of the game. That simple.
For the Dolphins
The Dolphins don’t have a DeAndre Hopkins, but let’s not act like DeVante Parker and Jarvis Landry are slouches. If the offensive line can keep Cutler clean, the Texans laid the blueprint for beating the Titans: attack the secondary. The question of course is whether or not Cutler can make the throws. It looks like Adam Gase has dialed the playbook back a bit for Cutler.
Another aspect of that blueprint – stop the run. If the Dolphins can keep Murray and Henry from getting going, it limits that offense.
X-Factor
For the Titans, I say it’s Kevin Byard. He’s developing into a fine safety in the NFL, and if the Dolphins decide to test the Titans secondary, he’s my primary candidate to make them pay for it. For the Dolphins, Kenny Stills has been the third option for Cutler so far, but against the Titans, he poses a particular threat. He’s fast, and look no further than last week and what Will Fuller did against the Titans secondary. He could be due for a big game if Cutler has time to throw.
Check out Big Game Paul and myself breaking down the Texans loss, offering a first quarter review, and previewing the Titans-Dolphins game on the latest episode of the uncensored SoBros Tennessee Titans Podcast:
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @WrestlingNewsCo
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