I don’t think it’s absurd to say that the Tennessee Titans defeated the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday due to Derrick Henry’s punishing running in the fourth quarter. If you looked at the box score, you probably wouldn’t think that, though. The second year running back only had 79 yards on the ground, but those were important yards late in the game.
He and DeMarco Murray split the carries rather evenly on Sunday. Henry tallied 13, while Murray tallied 12. So, it’s a pretty even sample size. But, out of that, Murray had nine yards. Nine. Yards.
Over the last several games, for whatever reason, Murray just isn’t performing as well as Henry, plain and simple. It begs the question: why not give Henry a start? What would it hurt to start Henry up earlier in the game than late in the second half? I mean, I can see the vision. Theoretically, you wear them down with Murray, and then late in the game, you just bury ’em with the tractor in cleats that is Henry.
But, that flat out has not been working. The ‘smash mouth’ part of ‘exotic smash mouth’ hasn’t really shown up this season. We’re still waiting on that. The offensive line isn’t playing like one of the NFL’s elite units like it was last season. The line of scrimmage is often crowded with bodies, as the line just hasn’t been clearing out the holes they were last year. That needs to change.
Until it does, this Titans coaching staff will have to make due with what it has. What’s working right now is Henry. He’s become the leading rusher for the Titans this season, with 520 yards on 114 carries. He’s shifty, big, and no one wants to tackle him when he gets going. Let’s see him get a chance with the lion’s share of the carries and see what happens.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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