The ' surprising decision to retain Mike Mularkey for 's second season was a concerning one, especially when Mariota appeared to be regre sing early during the 2016 season. A bigger surprise? Identifying Mike Mularkey's offense as something that should scare the rest of the .When Mularkey it felt like an elaborate joke was being played on the rest of us.(The Titans are back at training camp! Don't MISS anything as they prepare to try and make the playoffs -- ) "(Opponents) are going to know we are going to be very hard to defend, and it is going to be a physical football game," Mularkey said back before 2016 began. "When it is all said and done they are going to know they have been in a fight." The Titans added and in the draft and traded for , but they were coming off a year where they averaged 18.
Andrew Benintendi Jersey 7 points per game with Mariota as a rookie. Tenne see was going all in on the running game in 2016 and it seemed like a questionable move with Mariota poised to develop into a franchise quarterback.It was anything but that. The diversity that the scheme provided for Tenne see was reminiscent of the in 2015, a team that was going to run the ball against
Dustin Pedroia Jersey you, but hardly did so in a simple way. The question now is how the Titans can incorporate their new receivers, and , to make the offense even more dangerous.One way that stands out immediately is in rushing formations that can still be utilized as a method of attacking via the air. Against the in Week 10 last year, the Titans really seemed to find their groove. Even on a third-and-14, they were willing to line up in a 21 personnel package (two backs, one tight end, two receivers). This isn't exactly an aggre sive pa sing formation, and when Mariota catches the snap it looks even le s so, as it appeared like the Titans were going max protect with the two running backs.Instead, the backs were running delayed routes (presumably once it was clear the Packers weren't bringing the house anyway).The backs flared out, drawing in defenders and giving some room to operate on the left side. There are creative pa sing elements built into the exotic smashmouth. Adding quality receivers like Davis and Decker only opens the playbook for what the Titans can do from that perspective. Additionally, the top two receivers from last year -- Sharpe and -- are suddenly the No. 3 and No. 4 options at receiver. Factor in , the team's third-round pick, and you have a potentially deep and dangerous receiving corps.The versatility of Decker and Davis is critical too.
Pedro Martinez Jersey , the Titans used motion on 56.8 percent of their plays last year, second in the league to only the . Mularkey and GM Jon Robinson cited Davis' "versatility" and his "ability to play inside or outside" as one of the things they liked most about their new wideout.Decker, likewise, is capable of playing all over the place, but thrives in the slot. In 2015 he had seven touchdowns out of the slot (tied for third in the NFL, per PFF) and 56 receptions out of the slot (fifth in the NFL). 68.3 percent of his routes run were from the slot that season, behind only and . That motion creates a ton of mismatches for the Titans too. On this third-and-3 against the Packers, Mariota brings Matthews back into the formation from the outside.When the corner covering
Kevin Plawecki Jersey him follows him inside, Mariota knows he'll probably have a good look at Murray coming out of the backfield. And he does, lobbing an easy pa s to the running back for a gain of 35 yards (Murray also does a nice job of making the catch).The traffic headed acro s the middle of the field created enough of a buffer to get Murray a ton of separation when Green Bay's makes the mistake of trying to go underneath. He's left playing catch up while Mariota and Murray play pitch and catch. Even if the throw to Murray hadn't been there, Sharpe and Matthews were running cro sing routes over the middle and both guys were going to be open if Mariota decided to step up and make that throw.According to NFL.com's Next Gen Stats, Matthews and Sharpe were hardly creating a ton of separation. Matthews had 2.2 yards of separation on average, while Sharpe had just 2.1 yards. Both numbers were in the bottom 10 of the NFL.As far as slot performance goes, the Titans relied largely on (201 routes out of the slot) and (112) along with Matthews (110). Both Wright and Douglas were north of 64 percent in terms of catch rate. But one thing they couldn't help much was in the red zone. Wright would actually score a touchdown in that Packers game inside the 20, but it was one of just two
Babe Ruth Jersey red-zone scores the Titans got from their wide receivers. Since 2012, Decker is scored. Mariota was one of the league's best quarterbacks in the red zone last year, completing 63 percent of his pa ses inside the 20 (and almost 70 percent of his pa ses inside the 10-yard line). He threw 18 red-zone touchdowns and not a single interception. He is a smart decision-maker with a highly accurate arm who can walk the line between being aggre sive and being unnece sary.Again: this would be a very nice spot to have Davis and Decker as upgrades. The combination of them added to the current roster, a suming a similar level of succe s from the run game, could be exactly what the Titans need to claim their first divisional title since 2008.
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