My Two Cents: Sure It's Just Titans Preseason, But 8 Sacks Is Alarming
CHICAGO — NFL preseason games are the biggest consumer rip-off out there. Fans pay full price for a product that is grossly watered down, with no starters to be found — at least most of the time — and guys who won't even be in the league in a few weeks making so many mistakes.
Still, we watch, right?
The hardcore fans certainly do, and then they'll double down — or worse — on the craziness by extolling their opinions on how the entire season will play out based on a few meaningless snaps. It's every fan base that falls into this trap, all 32 of them.
Tennessee Titans fans are just as guilty, of course. They've got the entire 2023 season figured out already after Saturday's 23-17 loss to the Chicago Bears, and that would be a fatal mistake, of course.
None of the Titans' most important players saw any action on Saturday, so making any sort of determination on what comes through the rest of the 2023 season is moot. For me, there were really only two storylines in this game as I drove up to Soldier Field.
One, I wanted to see young quarterbacks Malik Willis and Will Levis play against somebody else. Both did some good things, and it was a very productive learning day for both of them.
Secondly, I wanted to see what the Titans' offensive line did. To me, this is the group that will determine the fate of the 2023 season, mostly because they did that last year, too. Injuries and poor personnel decisions rendered this group useless, and going 7-10 with a seven-game losing streak was all on them. Or at least most of it.
The Titans have a brand new offensive line this year, across the board. Center Aaron Brewer is the only holdover, and he's even playing a new position. Andre Dillard, a free agent signee from Philadelphia, is the new left tackle and first-round pick Peter Skoronski lines up next to him at guard. Daniel Brunskill is at right guard and recent signee Chris Hubbard starts at right tackle.
These were really the only starters who saw action on Saturday — and I was impressed. They played the first series, and all the Titans did was march right down the field on a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive. They created holes in the running game for rookie Tyjae Spears, and they gave Willis time to throw. He was 3-for-4 for 39 yards on the drive, and his only incompletion was a perfect throw to Chris Moore, who couldn't hold on to the ball after getting blown up by a Bears defender. The throw was perfect.
Spears did a great job running the ball, and Willis, who's got great wheels, had a couple of nice runs, too. He scored on a 2-yard run around the left side to put the Titans ahead.
It was the perfect start for the Titans, because that group needs to play well, and they did. They did it against the Bears;' No. 1 defense, too.
And that was impressive.
Terrell Williams, who was head coach for a day, spends the rest of his time as the Titans' defensive line coach. His guys have been going up against the offensive line for three weeks in practice now, and he's seen that group get better first-hand.
So their performance on that first drive made everyone happy.
""That first offensive line group, they protected well and we ran the ball and that was exciting,'' Williams said. "That group of Brewer and Peter and Dillard and that group, it was exciting to watch them block and protect and do those things.''
Willis liked what he saw too, ''controlling what we could control.'' The first-team offensive line did their job — and the Titans really need that.
"The first-team offensive line on that first drive was awesome,'' Willis said. "They did a great job of giving me protection and they did a great job of creating holes for Tyjae. We got down there in, what, 12 plays? It was a great drie and they did a great job.''
The first unit only played that one series, and things went downhill quickly after they left. The Titans allowed eight sacks — four each for Willis and Levis — but none came on that first drive.
"That was exciting. The eight sacks, none of them came from that (first) group,'' Willis said "We're proud of them in that group. They got better all training camp, so we're excited about that.''
When asked about the eight sacks, Williams was quick to point out more than offensive line play goes into that. It's usually a total team effort when things fall apart and end in a sack.
"It's always a combination. Usually when you give up sacks, you're looking at the offensive line and I'm speaking from a defensive line coach kind of protecting them,'' Williams said. ''It's not always the offensive line, and the offensive line coach. It's sometimes receivers getting open, it's sometimes a tight end not getting a chip block, or a back. It's sometimes a quarterback. Usually, when you give up a sack, it's everybody.''
Without making too much out of a preseason game, that was really the only part of Saturday's showing that was scary to me. I'll take some of Williams' comments for face value. You have two young quarterbacks who maybe waited a click too long to throw, and they also didn't have anyone open to throw to on several of those sacks.
But the back-up offensive linemen were getting beaten off the ball, too. I'll be curious after watching the film how they graded out.
Because eight sacks — in any game — are too many. It's too many in August, especially against a Chicago team that finished dead last in sacks (20) a year ago, and certainly too many in the rest of the season. Seeing all that on Saturday sent me flashing back to 2022, when the Titans never had any time to throw.
Fixing the offensive line was a priority in this offseason. The one good takeaway was that the first unit did its job. Is there any depth, though? That's what we'll find out in the next few weeks.
The Titans are practicing against the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday and Thursday before their Saturday night preseason game in Minneapolis, and watching the O-Line play again will be a priority.
We can take the good and leave the rest from Saturday, right? It's all about growth. Williams was very clear in saying that preseason games really are a part of training camp, not the full season schedule, and it's all about learning and getting better.
He's exactly right. There's plenty to fix. And they just need to keep getting better.
Related Titans Preseason Stories
- BEARS BEAT TITANS: Tennessee quarterbacks Malik Willis and Will Levis did some good things in Saturday's loss to the Bears, and both were frustrated in not converting late to pull out a win. Here is Tom Brew's game story. CLICK HERE
- ROOKIE SPEARS STANDS OUT: The Tennessee Titans lost their first preseason game of the season, but rookie running back Tyjae Spears was a bright spot on the day. CLICK HERE
- PHOTO GALLERY: Here is a collection of great photos from the Titans' first preseason game on Saturday against the Chicago Bears. CLICK HERE
- LIVE GAME BLOG: The Tennessee Titans opened their 2023 preseason on Saturday against the Chicago Bears, and you can re-live the game in real time from Tom Brew's live blog. CLICK HERE
- DRIVE CHART: Here's our story on what the Titans offense accomplished on every drive during their 23-17 loss to the Bears. CLICK HERE
- WATCH MALIK WILLIS' TD RUN: The Tennessee Titans scored on their first possession on Saturday, with Malik Willis scoring a rushing touchdown. Here is the video highlight of the score. CLICK HERE
- WATCH HASSAN HASKINS' TD RUN: The Tennessee Titans were able to tie things up in the second quarter with a Hassan Haskins TD run on fourth down. CLICK HERE
