The Tennessee Titans must be eager to get back on the field and start working to correct the myriad of issues that plagued them in last week’s 38-13 thrashing at the hands of the Arizona Cardinals. However, the task at hand isn’t going to be any easier with a trip across the country to face the 1-0 Seattle Seahawks on deck. The Seahawks beat the Indianapolis Colts rather convincingly in Week 1, being particularly effective with the big play. Between that, and the Titans sucking ass in Nashville, oddsmakers have the Seahawks listed as the comfortable favorites (-6), with a point total set to O/U 54. Now, I know the Titans are a better team than the Week 1 result would suggest, and they’re going to play some good football at some point in 2021. Not to mention, they have performed well in spots such as this one in the past. That said, this Seahawks team is loaded in ways that are similar to the Cardinals. So, I’m staying away from that spread altogether – in fact, I ain’t even touching this game at all. But I, the pretentious degenerate football blogger, do have some ideas as to how the Titans can pull off the upset on Sunday afternoon.
Titans Keys to Victory: @ Seattle Seahawks (9/19/21)
*Adjust on offense – Todd Downing has to be willing to open up the playbook when things aren’t working, and Mike Vrabel has to ultimately pull rank if things aren’t going well. They have to be more unpredictable than running Derrick Henry on first down. Julio Jones is obviously still working his way back into game rhythm, but AJ Brown has to get more targets/opportunities. And, if a guy is struggling as bad as Taylor Lewan did on Sunday, damn it, you’ve got to give him some help with a tight end or SOMETHING. Downing could stand to be a little more fluid and reactive in his play calling. Also, crowd noise is going to be a factor in this one, so there’s not much room for error.
*Discipline on defense – I’m not quite ready to write the Titans defense off just yet as I withhold judgment until I see this unit perform when the offense isn’t shitting the bed. But, last Sunday wasn’t great, and this Sunday doesn’t look easy. That doesn’t look good – so, let’s start with a smarter game plan from DC Shane Bowen, and then play with some real discipline. The defense is going to be tested with this new look Seahawks offense under new OC Shane Waldron, formerly of the Los Angeles Rams organization. We’re already seeing Rams fingerprints on this Seahawks offense – the way they use motion, jet sweeps, play action, and play action bootlegs. This is a game during which the Titans holding their water will be of paramount importance – penalties, missed assignments, being out of positions…this Seahawks offense will feast upon those things. Also, the size of DK Metcalf is worth mentioning here too. He’s a lot bigger than whoever will be covering him on the Titans, so that could be a potential nightmare for the Titans if they can’t keep him in check.
*Spy on Russell Wilson – To be fair, I don’t know if the Titans just didn’t have a spy on Kyler Murray or if they did and they just failed miserably. I don’t know which is worse either, but that’s irrelevant to this point today. Murray shredded the Titans with his mobility and ability to extend plays. Wilson is not the speedster that Murray is, but that doesn’t matter – where Murray can extend a play and then take off to gain 20 yards, Wilson’s maneuverability allows him to extend a play and then heave the ball 50 yards into the end zone. He’s the best deep ball thrower in the league, and that should terrify Titans fans. So, while part of keeping him contained is to be better in the pass rush (which the Titans also need to do), the other part is to just keep a guy on him that can close in on him when he starts to get a little creative behind the line of scrimmage. Maybe Jayon Brown? I like the idea of using Elijah Molden in blitz packages, too – he’s twitchy, quick in tight spaces, and for lack of a better term…squirty. He is the perfect guy to penetrate when the Seahawks are in a formation that’s advantageous for the Titans. Now, you don’t want Molden dropping into coverage on Tyler Lockett, but I think he could be an x-factor in this game. Bottom line – it ain’t just the defensive line…the Titans could use a man behind ’em that’s responsible for keeping an eye on Wilson.
Between the crowd noise in Seattle and the matchup problems this Seahawks offense presents, this is a big time ‘discipline’ and ‘execution’ game for the Titans. If they’re good at both, they just may have a chance to pull this one off.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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