I stopped short of calling it a must-win game for the Tennessee Titans, but playing host to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, it was damn sure a really-could-use-a-win-here game. Both teams entered the game at 0-2. Both teams urgently needed to get in the win column. In the first half of the game, it appeared as though the Titans pretty clearly wanted it more. In the second half, it appeared as though the Titans wanted the Raiders to have it. Manners…southern hospitality…whatever you want to call it..it made Titans fans anxious as all get out. Nonetheless, the Titans were able to gut out a win after the Raiders failed to convert a two-point attempt that would’ve tied the game and likely sent it to overtime.
I’m a “bad news first” kind of guy, so let’s get through my critiques first. I’m going to echo the outrage over the Terrance Mitchell experiment, and I’m going to echo the confusion over how this staff is handling Caleb Farley. At this point, cornerback depth is a real concern for this team as it continues to cycle through “just a guy” after “just a guy.” This might come as a shock to you guys, but I’m actually not in the meeting rooms with the Titans defensive coaches throughout the week, so I have no idea what the thinking is on Farley. I don’t know if he’s being punished for the mistakes he made in the Buffalo game. I don’t know if this staff has lost all faith in him. I don’t know shit about fuck. But, I do know that you invested a first round draft pick in the guy for his physical gifts and talent. I know that you desperately need something to click among the cornerbacks. And, I know that the strategy you’ve deployed opposite Roger McCreary and Kristian Fulton has stunk. Could it really be much worse just riding out the growing pains with Farley than what we’ve seen between Mitchell and Tre Avery? I just don’t get this one. While McCreary played well in each of the first two games, it looked like he struggled a bit one on one with Keelan Cole. I’ll have to watch the tape Wednesday night to get a more insightful take on his game, but my initial reaction was “oh he gettin’ beat.” Finally, and I’m just going to whisper this one since no one seems to be talking about, but *the Titans defense was greatly aided by Raiders offensive miscues like Darren Waller inexplicably dropping a pass on a play during which he was wide open.*
Also, it seems like this team is the complete opposite of what we saw last year. This was a second half team that just seemed to get better as the game wore on in 2021. In 2022, they’ve done their best to give away two games by playing shitty football in the second half, and they succeeded in giving one of those away. I don’t understand how the offense can be so in-sync, effective, and successful in the first half, and then be so bland and vanilla in the second half. I don’t know if this was a case of the Raiders making adjustments, the Titans offense resting on its laurels, unserious play-calling, execution, or some hodgepodge of everything. But, if this trend continues, I can’t imagine the Titans will win many games against quality opponents.
Now, onto the good news, because I felt there was plenty of it yesterday. Namely, it was a big win for the offense, as that unit really got its shit together in terms of balance, communication, creativity, and execution. Todd Downing and company found creative ways to get the ball into the hands of Derrick Henry, and it worked. The offensive line had its best performance of the season so far. Ryan Tannehill was crisp, with the exception of that terrible interception. We’ve come to appreciate Tannehill’s decisiveness, and we know that’s an aspect of playing quarterback that this regime loves, but that was a case of that decisiveness blowing up in his face. I like the way this offense is trying to find different ways to get Treylon Burks involved. As a group, they just seemed in more of a rhythm than they’d been all season before (again, we’re talking about the first half). It felt like a good run that laid a foundation to build upon moving forward.
Defensively, I thought that if they were able to rattle and pressure Derek Carr, they could force him to be inaccurate. Watching him so far this season, it’s almost like seeing two different quarterbacks – Carr under pressure is very different than Carr with plenty of time. They only registered one sack courtesy of Rashad Weaver (who is coming along nicely this season), but it felt like they were constantly getting around Carr and moving him around the pocket out of his comfort zone. I wouldn’t say it was a get-right game for the run defense, but they looked better than they had before. And, even though Mitchell was beat several times, and Kevin Byard was beat by Davante Adams for a touchdown (shit happens – you can’t expect anyone to win every wrestling match with a guy like Adams), I didn’t see anyone blatantly miss an assignment. It definitely feels like this team, as a whole, started to jell in yesterday’s win.
Also, someone totally shit their pants in the broadcast booth and I don’t feel like we’re talking about that enough.
Someone just totally crapped their pants in the booth. #LVvsTEN pic.twitter.com/iSSZsIENC5
— The Unofficial Titans Podcast (@TitansPod) September 25, 2022
Game Balls
- Derrick Henry – The Titans made a concerted effort to get Henry the ball in space in more creative ways in this game, and he rewarded them for it to the tune of 143 total yards and a touchdown. It looked much more like the old King Henry than we saw in the first two games, and when he’s on, man, this entire offense moves a lot differently.
- Robert Woods – The stat line will read four catches for 85 yards, but Woods showed up much more than in just the passing game. He blocked well, and he was an upgrade returning punts as well. This felt like a bit of a coming-out party for Woods in the two-tone blue.
- Dennis Daley – I reserve the right to take this back once I watch the film because I know they helped him out a lot with Woods, among others, today. But, I think the guy deserves a tip of the cap at the very least for not being a liability as we feared he would be after Monday night’s game in Buffalo.
- Ryan Stonehouse – Shout out to the rookie who is booting balls to the moon on a weekly basis. Dude had a 70-yarder in this game, and definitely effected Raiders drives on two different occasions.
- Ryan Tannehill – Interception aside, Tannehill was as crisp as ever. More valuable was his ability to diagnose what the Raiders were doing at the line of scrimmage and attack accordingly.
- Rashad Weaver – Weaver continues to get better and better each week, and boy do the Titans need it with the absence of Harold Landry. He had an amazing sack on Derek Carr on which he showed tremendous bend and power. It felt like he was constantly in the backfield or around the quarterback.
- Jeffery Simmons – Big Jeff didn’t show up a lot in the box score, but his impact was felt in how he was constantly being double teamed by the Raiders. It felt like he was a problem that the Raiders had to commit more resources than they had to give to deal with.
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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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