To me, as far as where things stand at 5-2 for the Tennessee Titans, the defensive line is unquestionably the strength of this team. It is what is going to keep them in ball games, and who knows? If this unit stays hot well into January, it could be the reason they go on a run in the playoffs. Time will tell. Regardless, in breaking down the tape of Sunday’s dominant win over the Houston Texans, I noticed another strong game from Teair Tart. Dude just keeps delivering, and he continues to grow as a player in this Titans defense after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent rookie out of Florida International in 2020.
On the first play of the game on offense for the Texans, you’ll notice that Tart wins his battle with the center, driving the guy back into the pocket. This allows Jeffery Simmons to swing around and pressure Davis Mills, who dumps it off outside. The problem for the Texans is that this big stout mf named Teair Tart runs the play down and makes the tackle outside the numbers here. I mean, good gracious, look at the mileage Tart logs here before making the tackle:
Bro, that man is over three bills! The play recognition here is tremendous – Tart gets off his guy and steamrolls out to chase this play down before it can get going. This is some serious range, and it’s disgusting to see a 304-pound man run that shit down so quickly. If Tart ever ends up being a serial killer in a horror movie, that shit isn’t going to last longer than five minutes the way he’s running people down.
But, I also love Tart’s potential to eat up gaps with his lateral quickness and clog up running lanes. That was evident on this play:
The Texans try to double Tart with the center and right guard, but he is so explosive off his first step that he completely evades the center’s block. He beats the guard to the outside, and all it takes is getting one arm around Dameon Pierce to slow the play down and get the stop. I’d say that lateral quickness, and the range he’s displayed all season long (dude has ___ interceptions!) are the traits that give him “elite” potential. But, if you listen to Mike Vrabel at the pressers, there’s room to get more consistency out of Tart, and some of what makes him so inconsistent was on display on Sunday, too. On this play, he does a great job of bullying Kenyon Green back into the pocket, but whether he wears down, loses technique, or what, Green pivots and uses Tart’s momentum to drive him into the ground. I understand that not every rep is going to be perfect in the NFL, but I’d like to see him finish more instead of ending up on his back on plays such as this one:
His match-up with Green was a lot of fun to watch. Tart is an emerging stud in this league, and Green was one of my highest-floor players in this year’s draft. Seeing two up and comers go at it was a treat for football nerds like me, and it seemed as though each guy had their fair share of wins on Sunday.
Tart has a toolkit that makes him a valuable piece on this defense, and I’m not sure he gets the credit he deserves for it. He showed solid play recognition on Sunday. He plays with great speed and athleticism. He has a lethal first step moving sideways. I’d like to see more consistent drive out of him, but he flashes potential. He can clog up lanes, passing or running, and like all of the defensive linemen on this team, he does a good job of getting his arms up and tipping balls. And, the man’s not afraid to drop into coverage either when they need a 300-pound defensive back! When he’s on it, this man can work a guard or center loose and get in the backfield. Can we call a defensive lineman “rangy?” ‘Cause if we can, Tart’s the definition of a rangy defensive tackle. And, if we can’t, then fuck y’all, I’m going to call him rangy anyway.
As for some of the things that he could work on, he wasn’t consistently shedding blocks against the Texans. They actually double teamed him at times, and I thought that was awesome. You double team Big Jeff. You double team Tart. You double team Bud Dupree. Eventually, the opponent’s going to run out of bodies, and someone from this defense is getting through to the quarterback. But, Tart doesn’t play with the brute force that Simmons does on every down. He’s not just going to overpower those double teams. He whiffed on a tackle when he had Dameon Pierce dead to rights in the open field. He spins out of his block, and I don’t know if he just didn’t process that Pierce was streaking by him with the ball or what, but it looked a little wonky. So, whether it’s concentration or a lapse in effort as the game wears on, you definitely start to see those inconsistent reps show up as the game moves along.
The Titans also did a good job of rotating their defensive linemen. They took Tart out of the game early on and subbed him in and out the rest of the way. I wouldn’t read too much into that, though – that seems like a calculated effort to keep guys fresh. I don’t think it’s necessarily a reflection of performance. They utilized Kevin Strong, Mario Edwards, DeMarcus Walker, and even Larrell Murchison got some reps later in the game.
The way they use these guys is conducive to success. This has to be a hard defense to learn – it feels like there are a million different alignments on defense. They’ll rotate defensive linemen like crazy. They’ll spread ’em out. They’ll load up the box. In obvious passing situations, Simmons might be the only damn defensive lineman on the field. They’ll run stunts. They’ll bull rush. It’s reminiscent of their run game in how they like to offer up a little smoke and mirrors. It must be confusing as shit for opposing offensive linemen to sort out before the ball is snapped. So, between his talent and the system he’s in, it’s made for the perfect fit for a player like Tart.
Simmons deserves a ton of credit for being an absolute freak of nature. But, when you pop on the tape and watch the guys like Tart on this defense, you see how some of these guys free others up to make plays, and it’s an indication of just how dominant and deep this defense is beyond the “household names.” Like many others on this defense, Tart is a force multiplier, making the guys around him even better. His traits give him a high ceiling, and if he just irons out that consistency, he and Big Jeff could be running mates for a long time here in Nashville.
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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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