Mike Vrabel Discusses Titans' Lack Of Interceptions
NASHVILLE — An absence of interceptions is one of the glaring issues for the Tennessee Titans during a 5-11 season so far, with one game left on Sunday at Nissan Stadium against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Titans have picked off four passes, which last in the National Football League. No Titan defender one has more than one. Roger McCreary, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Amani Hooker and Elijah Molden all had a pick, and Molden was the only one who returned it for a score.
Molden's 44-yard pick-six against Houston on Dec. 17 was Tennessee's only defensive touchdown all year.
The Chicago Bears lead the league with 22 picks. No one is close to Tennessee at the bottom. The Green Bay Packers and Washington Commanders are next with seven each.
It would be easy to assume a lack of pass rush would be part of the problem, but that's not the case with the Titans. Not at all. They have 45 sacks, which is tied for seventh in the league with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Houston Texans. So they're getting to the quarterback, but Vrabel pointed out an area where the Titans could improve in generating more interception opportunities.
"Tipped passes get picked, so that's something that we always continue to try to emphasize,'' Vrabel said. "But it's never going to be about one specific — and also, we've had our hands on some footballs. Yeah, you've got to make the ones that you're supposed to make. You've got to catch the ones you get your hands on. We always say in man coverage, it's not about getting interceptions, it's about not letting your man catch the ball."
"And then if we're in zone, we have to be able to break and try to make a play on the football. And then obviously the pass rush plays a part in that. We go back-and-forth. Is it not getting there fast enough or they're throwing it before we get there? That's a fine balance of trying to work together to create ball disruption. We always say that we're trying to work together."
The absence of standout defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who is out with a knee injury, is an issue. Still, Vrabel feels the rest of the linemen can do better with getting their hands up to disrupt passes when they can't sack the passer.
"We've tried, and guys that have tackled the quarterback, whether the quarterback falls on it, whether Arden (Key) hits it out and it falls and the quarterback recovers it," Vrabel said. "But you do see a lot of tipped balls get intercepted. And that's something that I think is a fine line and a balance between rushing and then also, seeing that front hand—knowing that you're not there and sliding back into a throwing lane, and when that front hand comes off trying to go up and match."
"We don't want guys that just stand at the line of scrimmage and hop up-and-down. I don't think that does anything. But also, I think there is something to trying to work into the pocket and being able to get into those throwing lanes and try to tip a ball. So that helps as well."
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