The Tennessee Titans were pretty damn fortunate to come out of Denver with a win over the Denver Broncos, but as I’ve said a million times this week, “a win is a win is a win.” Among the things that were noticeable on Monday night was the lack of success on third and long – so, let’s take a look at what exactly happened on those plays.
Also, worth noting for the uninitiated, conversions from penalties don’t count in the third down efficiency stats. The Broncos committed two penalties on Monday that converted third downs for the Titans. So, I won’t be including those plays here.
First half
- 3rd & 5: Tannehill threw a little high. Brown could’ve fought a little more for it. Not sure who gets the blame, but the fact is that it was a failed conversion regardless.
- 3rd & 7: Tannehill incomplete, intended for Smith.
- 3rd & 4: The first of two Kalif Raymond drops on third down.
- 3rd & 1: Henry converts on the ground
- 3rd & 5: Tannehill to Humphries to convert
- 3rd & 12: The second of Raymond’s two drops on third down.
Not an ideal start for the Titans offense on third down by any stretch of the imagination. They went 2/6, with two bad drops, an incompletion, and a loss on a contested catch in traffic. The only two conversions came on a 3rd & 1 carry from Henry, and a nice little intermediate pass to Humphries. They were 2/4 on 3rd & 5 or less, while they were 0/2 on 3rd & 6 or longer.
Second half
- 3rd & 1: Tannehill converts on a successful sneak.
- 3rd & 3: Brown converts.
- 3rd & 1: Firkser converts.
- 3rd & 10: Jurrell Casey bats down the pass.
- 3rd & 2: Davis converts.
- 3rd & 5: Humphries converts.
- 3rd & goal: Henry is stuffed.
- 3rd & 1: Sneak fails.
- 3rd & 10: incomplete, tipped by Kareem Jackson
- 3rd & 1: INC for Brown
What a start for the Titans in the second half, going 5/6 on third down with the lone failed conversion coming off the fingertips of Jurrell Casey (I’m sure he liked that). But, when the situation called for it, the Broncos were able to bow up late in the game. They 5/10 on third down in the second half, but all five of those conversions came on 3rd & 5 or less. They were still conversion-less on 3rd & 6 or longer (0/2).
Summary
In total, they were 7/12 on 3rd & 5 or less, but they were 0/4 on 3rd & 6 or longer. That’s a swing of 58.3% to 0% – in other words, they were more likely than not to convert 3rd & 5 or less, while there was absolutely no chance on 3rd & 6 or greater.
The easy thing to point out is – duh – focus more on getting into third and short and avoid those third and long situations. Success on the early downs leads to better chances on third down.
But, the reality is that that’s going to happen in a game. There’s going to come a time or two when you need a chunk play on third down to extend a drive. In that case, you have to have guys reliably catching balls – clean up the drops. No doubt that Raymond is a capable and savvy receiver – it was the season-opener, everyone has a bad game every now and then. I said it on this week’s Unofficial Titans Podcast, he’s absolutely a guy that can get it correct. Tannehill’s misses weren’t that concerning – it looked more like a rusty game from him than anything else.
Finally, I’d call on the offense to utilize Adam Humphries a little more. Dude’s good at finding soft spots in the defense, he’s demonstrated good instincts on third down consistently throughout his time with the Titans, and they were 2/2 on third down when he was targeted. I understand sometimes you have to take what the defense gives you, but he should be a priority.
All in all, some minor tweaks and they’ll be just fine. 1-0 is 1-0 all the same.
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, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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