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Mai
2019

The Tennessee Titans go into the regular season

very successful at keeping their new offense with coordinator Matt LaFleur under wraps.The first-team offense scored only two touchdowns in seven series during the preseason Brynden Trawick Jersey , and only Atlanta (27) scored fewer points than Tennessee (40) through four games.The result: the first winless preseason since 1997 when the franchise debuted in Tennessee at 0-4. That team went 8-8 in the regular season playing home games 200 miles away in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.First-year coach Mike Vrabel made clear Friday that the Titans stayed very basic on both offense and defense to see how players responded. He also cautioned against expecting the Titans to experience growing pains simply because they have a new offense."I don't think that," Vrabel said Friday. "No one here should concede that. We're professional football players, professional coaches. We're expected to put a product out there that's successful and geared toward winning and production. So I wouldn't start making excuses about the new offense or injuries or anything like that."Now the Titans can start putting together their first offensive game plan for the season opener Sept. 9 in Miami, and LaFleur should have at least two key starters back.Three-time Pro Bowl tight end Delanie Walker did not play a snap as he sat out the opener in Green Bay before getting hurt in a joint practice with Tampa Bay but expects to be ready for the opener. Starting wide receiver Rishard Matthews was on the physically unable to perform list with an undisclosed injury before being activated Aug. 26. He watched the preseason finale, a 13-3 loss to Minnesota, with 38 other Titans from the sideline.Walker and Matthews have been quarterback Marcus Mariota's top receiving targets over the past two seasons. Walker wasn't happy that the Titans went winless in the preseason."But it is the preseason. It's almost like a scrimmage," Walker said after the loss to Minnesota. "The outcome doesn't matter at the end of the day, but you still want to get the job done, and that's getting the W."Right tackle Jack Conklin spent the entire offseason and preseason recovering from surgery to repair a torn left ACL hurt Jan. 13 in a divisional loss to New England.Vrabel gave no indication of whether the Titans will keep Conklin on the physically unable to perform list to start the season, a move that would keep the right tackle out the first six games. The coach said only that no roster decisions had been made when he spoke to reporters at midday Friday with the NFL deadline to cut the roster to 53 looming Saturday afternoon."I would say Jack is progressing and doing well," Vrabel said.Mariota completed 61.1 percent of his passes this preseason and threw the two TDs scored by the first-team unit. He was intercepted once while being sacked three times. However the Titans attack the Dolphins, Vrabel made it clear he wants consistency. The coach was not happy with the first-team offense going three-and-out three straight drives in the third preseason game, a 16-6 loss in Pittsburgh .Actually the Titans went three-and-out on three of four drives, the fourth with the second-teamers in the game. The third drive ended when Mariota was intercepted on third down."You can't have three clunkers in a row where now they're getting opportunities and they're changing field position ... really forcing your defense into playing really perfect," Vrabel said.Follow Teresa M. Walker at teresamwalkerOffensive coordinator Matt LaFleur is going to be good for the Titans The 2018 Titans are entering Week 2 at 0-1 Johnathan Cyprien Jersey , and nothing can change this fact. Injuries to Marcus Mariota, Delanie Walker, Adoree Jackson and Taylor Lewan certainly affected the final outcome of the 27-20 road loss to the Dolphins, and that�s not even mentioning the injuries to Rishard Matthews, Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry. And that�s not going to make fans happy.However, there were a few bright spots from the Week 1 game, including new offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur. LaFleur was brought in to bring life to a passing game that had been entirely predictable under the previous Mike Mularkey/Terry Robiskie regime, and despite the loss, I think the design of this offense will be better than the one that preceded it.So to illustrate why I think LaFleur is putting the Titans offense in the right direction, let�s take a look at a few of his play calls from Sunday.gamepass.nfl.comUnder Mike Mularkey the Titans� receivers ran isolated routes that attacked the same level of the field, so the receivers often failed to create separation and Marcus Mariota more often than not was required to be perfect.From the start of this game, however, things were different. Mularkey wasn't offering this route combination here; Tajae Sharpe�s route is designed to clear up space for Delanie Walker, successfully I might add. Mariota sees this and has an easy throw to Walker, who takes the pass and converts a first down.Now Jayon Brown Jersey , as some of you know, I spend a lot of time covering Marcus Mariota�s ability to manipulate defenders with his eyes. It�s a special talent that went under the radar during his first three seasons, but with LaFleur�s scheme spreading the field, Mariota appears to have found a perfect match.gamepass.nfl.comAgain, LaFleur has his receivers attacking different levels of the field, and it looks like another easy pass to Corey Davis for the first down conversion.Upon closer inspection, however, we can see that Mariota cleared the way for the open middle of the field with his eyes.gamepass.nfl.comDolphins linebacker Raekwon McMillan (no, not the guy from Wu-Tang Clan) is looking at Mariota the entire time, which is exactly what the quarterback wants him to do. As Mariota�s about to release the ball, McMillan goes to what he thinks is the destination of the pass, when in actuality Mariota is clearing space for Corey Davis to convert another first down. A brilliant play with the help of LaFleur.Another staple of the Kyle Shanahan offense that LaFleur took with him is the quick screen pass, which was most notably used by Shanahan and LaFleur with the 2016 Atlanta Falcons. If executed correctly, it can catch the front seven off guard and lead to lots of open space for the receiver.gamepass.nfl.comOn this play, LaFleur�s design makes the play look like a run to the right or a play action fake.But the play as it turns out is a quick screen pass to Corey Davis LeShaun Sims Jersey , who takes the pass from Mariota and has a lot of open space ahead of him. Davis gets blockers ahead and converts the first down on an impressive play call.Finally, let�s take a look at yet another Kyle Shanahan staple: The tight end throwback.HELL YESgamepass.nfl.comThe tight end throwback is designed to have the quarterback deploy a play action fake on a zone blocking scheme, allowing the quarterback to rollout to the opposite area of the zone blocking, as shown here. The receiver on this play, tight end Luke Stocker, sells his block incredibly well, and races completely uncovered.Now, this should be a touchdown with a better throw, but Mariota under throws Stocker. Nevertheless, it�s a big completion that shows off how effective LaFleur�s play calling can become.Simply put, anyone suggesting that Matt LaFleur is a downgrade from Mike Mularkey and Terry Robiskie is living in a distorted reality. This offense is tailor made to fit Mariota�s quick style of passing and ability to move defenders with his eyes, and like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay�s offenses it�s helped put less pressure on the receivers to create separation. This is a more versatile offense that is actually consistent with the decade of football we watch.With that in mind, Titans fans need to consider this: Be patient with Matt LaFleur, because he�s going to be good for the Titans.