My Two Cents: Titans' OC Tim Kelly's Balancing Act Working Fine So Far, With More to Come
NASHVILLE — Tim Kelly needed to make the Tennessee Titans' offense better this season after the disaster that was 2022. Being better? Well, it was a very low bar.
During the 7-10 season that included an ugly seven-game losing streak to end the year, Tennessee's offense was a mess. They were 30th — out of 32 NFL teams — in total points, and total yards.
The offensive line was a disaster, as was the quarterback play after Ryan Tannehill injured an ankle. It was so bad that Todd Downing, despite by most Titans fans, was fired at the end of the year.
Tim Kelly was promoted to the coordinator position, a role he's had before. He promised more speed, better tempo and better execution.
It's been nowhere near perfect so far, but this much we know for sure. It's been dramatically better than a year ago.
The Titans scored 27 points in getting their first win last Sunday when they beat the Los Angeles Chargers at Nissan Stadium. They scored 27 only ONCE last year, in their final win of the season on Nov. 17 at Green Bay. They averaged only 17.2 points per game.
They have had five scoring drives on consecutive games, first in the 16-15 loss to the New Orleans Saints that included five field goals and a brutal day by Tannehill that really skews all that Kelly is trying to do. He made several great play calls that Tannehill didn't execute well enough to keep the chains moving.
Still, five scoring drives on back-to-back weeks is kind of a big deal. They haven't done it since Oct. 24 and Oct. 31 of 2021, when they beat the Kansas City Chiefs (27-3) and Indianapolis Colts (34-31 in overtime) on consecutive weekends.
That's a long time.
The two things that have been worth watching on Kelly's watch is seeing some improvement in the passing game, and providing a better — and more productive — pass/run balance.
So far, we're seeing that — on both accounts. Tannehill's struggles — he missed open receivers on three occasions and threw three bad interceptions in the loss at New Orleans — negated the mostly good play-calling that day. Working around offense line issues has been a concern, but Kelly has found the right moments to hit big plays.
It happened twice in the win over the Chargers. The first one was huge. After struggling offensively through the first 19 minutes, Tannehill hit second-year receiver Treylon Burks on a bomb down the left side, and it went for a 70-yard gain. Tannehill's pass traveled 62 yards in the air — the longest in the NFL through two weeks — and hit Burks right in stride.
It was a game changer.
"It felt like we needed a spark,'' Kelly said earlier this week. "Our guys up until that point had been holding up pretty well in protection on first and second down. I felt good about the matchup and we liked the play going into the game. It was one of those things when you're looking at the call sheet and you say, 'alright, let's give this one a shot.' He did a great job of winning, they did a great job of protecting.
"Ryan delivered a great ball and it was just a well-executed play. I could have called anything at that point in time and if they executed like that, it was going to be a successful play.''
Tannehill also hit Chris Moore deep for a 49-yard gain later in the game. On both plays, the line held up and Derrick Henry did a great job in pass protection, giving Tannehill time to make the throw.
It's going to be interesting to see if that's a trend that will continue. The Titans play at Cleveland on Sunday, and the Browns have an excellent pass rush as well. Pass protection will be a priority again against a Cleveland defense that's only given up one touchdown the first two weeks of the season and are only allowing 133 yards passing per game, second-best in the NFL.
The second thing that Kelly has had to juggle is the balancing act at running back. Derrick Henry is still great, even as he approaches his 30th birthday, and defenses still give him plenty of attention.
But rookie Tyjae Spears, the third-round pick this spring out of Tulane, has shown a lot of flash, too, and Kelly has worked hard to get them both touches.
Through two games, Henry has 40 carries for 143 yards, a 3.6-yard average. His longest run has been for 23 yards, and he's also caught five passes for 71 yards, a 14.2 average. He had a 46-yard screen pass against the Saints.
Spears has 76 yards on just 11 carries, a 6.9-yard rushing average. He shows a lot of flash, and "I promise we will block for him someday,'' Titans coach Mike Vrabel said on Monday.''
But he's got moves and he always looks like he's about to break one. He's so explosive, that he needs touches, too.
And Kelly is trying to do that.
"I don't know if we necessarily have a pitch count, and so much of it is going to be dictated on how the game goes,'' Kelly said. "Whether you want to call whoever's got the hot hand, who's the better matchup, however you want to say that, we've got two very talented backs with two unique skill sets.
"It's a good problem to have for us to make sure we're getting touches for both of those guys.''
Just two weeks in, we've still got plenty of questions, of course. But it sure looks like a big improvement from a year ago.
Which isn't saying much. But it deserves to be said. Now we'll see where it goes from here. The Browns' defense will be a big test for Kelly and his guys.
Watch Tim Kelly's complete interview
Titans offensive coordinator Tim Kelly met with the media earlier this week and talked about last Sunday's win over the Los Angeles Chargers and previewed this Sunday's game at Cleveland. To watch the full interview, CLICK HERE
Related Titans-Chargers stories
- WEEK 2 DEFENSIVE GRADES: The Tennessee Titans defense took on a talented Los Angeles Charger offense on Sunday and while it wasn't always pretty, the defense got the job done and we saw that reflected in the player grades for Week 2. CLICK HERE
- WEEK 2 OFFENSIVE GRADES: The Tennessee Titans got a big overtime win over the Los Angeles Chargers and saw some excellent performances on offense, led by a brilliant game from quarterback Ryan Tannehill. CLICK HERE
- PHOTO GALLERY: Here are two dozen of the best pictures from the Titans' exciting win over the Chargers on Sunday. Lots of great stuff here. CLICK HERE
