Four Days Until Kickoff: Four Views From Inside Titans
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers (11-3) will host the Tennessee Titans (10-4) in a, well, clash of Titans on Sunday night at Lambeau Field. Let’s get to know the foe with David Boclair of SI.com’s All Titans.
1. Derrick Henry is a beast. He's got a good chance to get to 2,000 yards this year. Pretty much every week, he makes some poor defensive guy look like a fool – like No. 43 on the Lions last week. He's obviously big and has breakaway speed. But there's got to be more than that, right? Give us your scouting report, please.
It's not an either/or thing with Henry. Many times, he runs through one tackler and then away from others. He is not shifty in a way that makes defenders miss him in the hole, but his size and strength make them pay for being there.
To that end, the scheme is designed so that it often is a linebacker or defensive back who is the first to take on the 6-foot-3, 247-pounder. Once he gets through that guy, he has big-time speed that allows him to accelerate past the secondary. Every team talks about getting to him early, before he gets to the line of scrimmage and gathers a head of steam, but few have managed to do so.
2. Ryan Tannehill was a first-round bust with Miami. He's obviously been tremendous for the Titans. What's made him so good?
Two things: Henry and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. Since he became Tennessee’s starting quarterback, Tannehill has used play-action passes to great effect. With defenses focused on stopping Henry, his passer rating (114.2) and yards-per-attempt (10.2) on play-action are better than his overall figures, 110.4 and 8.1, respectively. Plus, he and Smith immediately understood one another and the way each thought. That allows Smith to call a game in a way that makes sense to Tannehill and takes advantage of the quarterback’s strengths and preferences.
3. The Titans' defense, statistically speaking, isn't very good. Is it not very good or do the numbers not tell the story? And do they have the horses to slow Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams?
It is not very good, at least not when it comes to rushing the passer. And it does not have the secondary that can cover long enough to overcome that deficiency.
Jadeveon Clowney, who is on injured reserve, and Vic Beasley, who was released after five games, were signed to beef up the pass rush and neither one delivered a single sack. The Titans are last in the league with 14 sacks (every other team has at least 16) and they have none in the last three games. Rodgers, Adams and everyone else involved in the Packers’ passing game should really be looking forward to this one.
4. Both of these teams have Super Bowl aspirations. So, never mind Sunday night's clash, what's it going to take for the Titans to possibly join the Packers in Tampa, Fla., for the first week of February?
The defense is not going to get fixed between now and the playoffs, so it is up to the offense to start fast. That way, the Titans can stick to their game plan, which is to feed Henry, wear down the opposing defense and pull it out in the fourth quarter, if necessary. Henry has 20 carries or fewer in each of the four losses and 21 or more in all 10 wins. From there, if the defense, which is the NFL’s worst on third down, can make a timely stop or two, the Titans can beat anyone. If they get too far behind, the offense will continue to score but probably not enough.
