The Downing-Tannehill Marriage at Least Needs Some Hardcore Counseling

How is THAT for a headline?! Now, you’ve all pictured Todd Downing and Ryan Tannehill at the altar. Or, maybe since I mentioned counseling, you pictured the opening scene from Wedding Crashers. Anyway, you are welcome for that. Fire Downing. Cut Tannehill. Those battle lines have been drawn on social media this week between two sects of the Tennessee Titans fan base. And, look – I get it. Everyone’s sad. Everyone’s angry. Everyone wants something to change.

The end of the 2021 campaign feels a lot different than 2020. After that wild card round exit, we felt like the Titans had clear work to do on defense, but if they could get it right, they’d be fine. Well, they blew up their secondary and added pieces to their defensive front, gave Shane Bowen the defensive coordinator title, called up Jim Schwartz, and they got it right. But, this year is not so simple because you’re looking at a situation in which you have deficiencies at the most important position on the field, and an offense that was way too predictable at times. Sure, personnel upgrades would help, but this situation is a little more nuanced than that.

I don’t think it’s Downing or Tannehill. I think it’s Downing and Tannehill together.

Two plays really exemplify this, and they were two of Tannehill’s doomed interceptions. Right off the bat, the first play of the game, the Titans run play action and take a shot at Julio Jones down the field off of it. Jessie Bates III jumps the route and ends up with the ball in his hands. This play immediately gave a team that was already playing at a confident level a spark.

Jessie Bates III interception on the first play! #RuleTheJUngle #NFLPlayoffs

: #CINvsTEN on CBS
: https://t.co/3uvV4E3BTI pic.twitter.com/O4DZIC6fsm

— NFL (@NFL) January 22, 2022

I don’t necessarily disagree with the idea of taking a shot on play action to start the game from a philosophical standpoint. But, you can’t call a play with a formation that gives the safeties no one else to think about on the entire other half of the field (Jones and AJ Brown were both lined up to Tannehill’s right…no one to his left). And, you can’t be out there staring down your receivers in the NFL. Bates said as much, as quoted by ESPN’s Ben Baby: “Bengals S Jessie Bates said that on the first play from scrimmage yesterday, Titans QB Ryan Tannehill stared his target down and Bates knew exactly what was going on, leading to the INT.” This is an example of Downing and Tannehill dooming plays together. I’d like to hear an explanation as to what the thinking was on this play – to dumb brains such as my own, it certainly seems like poor design, but what do I know? Maybe if any of y’all with credentials get a chance, just let Downing know that I asked…

The other play is the Mike Hilton interception. No Flags Film had an excellent breakdown of Downing’s tendencies with the RPO that absolutely reared their ugly heads on this play and could’ve very well cost the Titans that game.

If you have a quarterback that isn’t going to necessarily manufacture plays on his own, your offense has to mask that deficiency. You’re not doing that well if everyone on the field knows exactly what you are about to do. That’s Downing putting the offense in a position to fail, but I’m also of the opinion that there’s no reason for Tannehill to have thrown that ball seeing Hilton staring him down. As long as Downing and Tannehill are together, this is going to be my issue with the marriage – it shows that the ingredients have to be absolutely perfect for this team to win a Super Bowl. How many perennial Super Bowl contenders have to say that?

I totally misspoke on this week’s game reaction pod (embedded below) – I said that these two interceptions are what killed the Titans season, and quite frankly, I just didn’t mean to. What I had jotted down in my notes was that these two plays were good examples of Downing and Tannehill fucking up together. Of course, the third pick was dumb, and effectively clinched the game for the Bengals, but I don’t think that can be attributed to play design. That was just a dumb decision on Tannehill’s part to force a ball to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in triple coverage. I just didn’t convey that well at all.

I would be surprised if Mike Vrabel fired Downing based on how he spoke of him in his press conference earlier this week, and he’s a big ‘loyalty’ guy to begin with. So, I’m operating under the notion that Downing stays for 2022. The only thing that has me thinking a move could be made is just how different Downing’s situation is from Bowen’s a season ago. They felt pretty sure that the issues on defense were personnel-driven. That’s not the case with Downing. Still, I find it unlikely and if I were a betting man (wait – I am…that phrase doesn’t work if you can actually bet on sports…), I’d bet on continuity. And, you’re stuck with Tannehill, like it or not, because of his contract and potential cap hit. As it stands now, if nothing changes, that should be concerning to Titans fans given how many times we called Downing predictable and how many times Tannehill threw unnecessarily aggressive passes that ended up in the other team’s hands. They are going to have to find a way to make it work in 2022, or we’ll be having this same conversation a year from now.

But, these two can’t make sweet beautiful music together when the chips are down in the postseason, and that’s the main problem here – when you get into the playoffs and you’re playing good teams, it’s easy to be wrestled away from your game plan. You absolutely can’t take the field with a quarterback that makes questionable decisions and an offense that doesn’t mask that.

How do they fix that without a change at either position? Maybe bring in a passing game coordinator? A quarterback whisperer? I don’t know – but I wouldn’t expect much to change until Vrabel is willing to make a change.

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to The Unofficial Titans Podcast on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Spotify, or wherever you take in your podcasts! You can also smash that play button on the embed below to listen to my game reaction to Saturday’s game:

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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