Titans Post game discussion

[barrett]

There is nothing better in the NFL than playing poorly and still winning. It gives a coach plenty of ammo to keep the team's attention during the week while not making them pay for it. It is especially nice in the early season. This is a league where you don't want to be that good in September because they hand out the Lombardi to whomever has a good January rather than the team who had the best year.

On offense we struggled from the 2nd drive until the 4 minute mark of the 4th quarter. It cracks me up that we dropped back for 50 passes today despite running for 6 ypc on 28 carries, and people still want to whine through the whole game day thread about how conservative we are. Today we couldn't pass block a lick and still went shotgun a ton. I wish we were more conservative today and ran it 35-40 times. We may have had a better day pass protecting.

To everyone who has argued in the past that Ben Tate runs better than Foster, it has looked true for 2 weeks in a row. I thought Foster looked much better today than last week, but Tate looked better than I've ever seen him. He is even catching the ball. My one complaint is I wish he turned immediately up field after catching it like he does when he carries. He likes dancing in place after catching it.

I really hope Andre is ok because he is playing great. I also love that after Tennessee rolled their coverage to AJ and had great success with it for the 2nd half, Hopkins grew up before our eyes. Even when Hopkins struggled, Schaub just kept going to him because it was the right read. Clearly Hopkins earned a whole lot of trust in camp.

Our OL was a mess today. We need to figure out how to run an effective draw or screen, because teams are loading up on us and our OL is not getting it done.

Maybe someone else can comment on Defense or on our Kickoff specialist and why he can't make a FG.

[Arky]

Stars:

Hopkins had 7 catches for 117 yards and a TD. First 100-yard game....

Tate had 93 yards on 9 carries. Arian was 79 yards on 19 carries.

Cushing had 11 tackles and 2 sacks.

Watt had 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 TFL's, 2 passes defensed and 4 QB hits.

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Schaub was 26/48 for 298 yards, 3 TD's, 2 INT's and a 76.6 rating. Sacked twice. A hot and cold performance.

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Like others have said, the team is somewhat bi-polar.... look great, then look putrid.

As I mentioned in the gameday thread, it would've sucked to lose to the Titans because the Texans are the better team. But they get the win. Raise your hand if you thought the game was over after Verner's INT with 5 minutes left in the game....

[HPF Bob]

As I've commented before, Watt's stats are going to fall because he is going to get more double-teams. What concerns me is that the Texans are not pass rushing effectively from the outside. That gives the QB time to pick apart pass defenses downfield.

To Wade's credit, the defense has been noticably better in the second halves of both games. Had Schaub not single-handedly given the Titans 10 points, there would not have been all the need for the late-game theatrics.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

As I've commented before, Watt's stats are going to fall because he is going to get more double-teams. What concerns me is that the Texans are not pass rushing effectively from the outside. That gives the QB time to pick apart pass defenses downfield.

To Wade's credit, the defense has been noticably better in the second halves of both games. Had Schaub not single-handedly given the Titans 10 points, there would not have been all the need for the late-game theatrics.

I agree about our pass rush. Brooks Reed is a great edge guy but hasn't sniffed the QB that I can recall. Cushing and Smith are our best rushers after Watt. It is a problem when the 34 OLBs do not crack the top 3 pass rushers for a team. Especially a team that plays as much man as we do.

[popanot]

I'd love to watch the All-22 of the last two games and focus solely on Reed and Mercilus. Maybe those two guys are doing things we just don't see or notice, but Wade's OLBs are usually very noticeable and this has to be a concern. Mercilus at least has been noticeable to me early in games, but has disappeared after the 1rst QTR. Reed I haven't seen do anything yet other than get beat in coverage by NE. Again, maybe he's doing the little things, but I want our OLBs to crush the QB once in awhile and create some turnovers. You'd think with JJ Watt on his side and often getting double-teamed, Reed would have a clear path or be one-on-one with a TE or RB much of the time. Very disappointed in our OLB play last year and so far this year.

[WMH]

At this point, I am more concerned about the OL than I am Schaub. The Titans threw the kitchen sink at us, seemed like on every play and we had few answers. The pick 6 was his signature WTF pick that he has a couple of times a year. The tipped pass was a result of pressure, coming off the left side. Wasn't a great game for Wade Smith, and D Brown has played better. Hope his ankle holds up.

Nuk is going to be a stud. Fun stuff watching him work. Martin had a really nice catch yesterday too. If he can lock down the slot, we will be in good shape for several years to come, especially with Posey showing promise.

I am hopeful the DLine will settle, now that Smith has his rust knocked off. Reminder, he hasn't been around for a month or so. Need to get more production from Reed and Mercilous. I wouldn't mind seeing Jefferson's speed off the edge for a change.