Notes from Titans vs Texans - Offense

The Titans traveled to Houston, Texas to play AFC South conference leader the Houston Texans who were undefeated and generally considered one of the best teams in the league. Unfortunately the Titans lost Jake Locker to a shoulder injury and it appears he will be out at least a few weeks if not more.Let's dive in and take a look at the offense, and see how it fares without Locker.

Chris Johnson looked really fast on the first and second plays from scrimmage. I thought the run blocking generally was pretty good. The right side of the line played well and kudo's to Steve Hutchinson and Michael Roos who had what I think was his best game of the season. He really played well. Look as how well he seals a block here.

Overall, I thought Chris Johnson ran with good effort and vision. He isn't quite the CJ of the past as he seems to have lost that "turbo" gear but he approaches the line quickly and for the most part reads the coverage well.

He does need to be careful about losing those pants. This isn't the first time it's almost happened. <insert joke emoticon> Finally, I do wonder if CJ sees the difference in his own performance and whether he is aware that he had issues of his own. Still, it is good to see the running game improve.

One thing I did notice was that on that run in the first quarter where CJ loses a yard we pull Leroy Harris from the right side to the left and JJ Watt comes in unblocked. It does look Craig Stevens was supposed to pick up two guys including JJ Watt.

That’s just a failure of the blocking scheme as Craig Stevens one on one with JJ Watt didn’t work too well on that 6 yard loss first play second quarter either. That’s just a failure of the blocking scheme as Craig Stevens one on one with JJ Watt didn’t work too well on that 6 yard loss first play second quarter either. 

The right side of the line generally struggled however and Amano and Stewart couldn’t hold anyone off at times. 

Finally, the offensive line did struggle to protect the quarterback as Jake Locker was put out of the game with a helmet to his shoulder on a sack. Matt Hasselback was under pressure a lot and he was sacked 3 times. He also lost a fumble. He finished 17 of 25 with 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions and a fumble.

Another thing I liked from the coaching staff was the use of Quinn Johnson in the passing game. I hope we see a little bit more of that as he looks good when he is catching and running with the ball and it has been successful so far.

Unfortunately, the passing game struggled some but there were some good things to see besides Quinn Johnson. I liked how we used Craig Stevens in the red zone to score the first touchdown. Also, Chris Johnson caught a couple of passes. Nate Washington continues to be a reliable veteran in the passing game and he really did a nice job blocking. Taylor Thompson struggles a bit with his blocking on the offense but the interception simply wasn't his fault just a poorly thrown pass by Hasselback.

Kendall Wright struggled early on but after watching the film it is easy to see the reason. I do not like to call other players or teams dirty but clearly the Texans play dirty. There were a ton of missed calls and Wright was held on the 2nd and 3rd incomplete.

 Furthermore, the last time I checked the NFL rulebook specifically prohibits the following: 

• A tackler using his helmet to butt, spear, or ram an opponent.

• Any player who uses the top of his helmet unnecessarily.

Well kids the Texans did that a lot as you can see from the following shots (pardon the pun).

Late hit and spear on Chris Johnson by Demps

He led with his helmet

A spear and a pile on

This is a spear (leading with helmet) on Hawkins

He lowers his head and leads with his helmet

After holding him for that incompletion, Kareem Jackson also took a shot at Kendall Wright after the ball was dropped. This of course wasn't called either.

Also, Damien Williams got mugged on that last pick six from Kareem Jackson who hot dogged it into the endzone. Kid, act like you've been there.

Finally, a note about David Stewart who clearly had reason to be angry. Having said that Son you can't lose your head like that and in retrospect Munchak should have pulled him for a few plays while he cooled down. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear we have a backup plan. 

Stewart lost his cool on the first Hasselback interception when a Texans offensive lineman kept grabbing him from behind. The Texan ultimately slung Stewart around and he retaliated by throwing a haymaker. I can't say I blame him but he has to shrug it off after that and play smart.

Obviously the Texans game was a struggle for the Titans offense and one only hopes to see improvement overall in the weeks to come. Let's also hope Jake Locker doesn't need surgery.

The Recruiting Fix: Bye Week

Welcome to the Recruiting Fix. Not a whole lot to talk about this week but plenty of relevant information to keep you updated. Here we go.

2014 DB Rashaan Gaulden will return to see Tennessee against Bama on Oct 20.

“I think highly of them,” the safety prospect told ESPN. “I went to the game against Florida and the atmosphere was pretty hyped, so that made them climb my chart. I'm looking forward to going back there for the Alabama game.”

Defensive tackle Montravius Adams says he'll be here for the Alabama game on an unofficial visit. He wants to narrow his choices down to 6 after his season. He was also in Athens Saturday to watch UGA take on the Vols.

Alvin Kamara was in Athens to see the Bulldogs take on the Vols as well. He's probably off our radar at this point. I think we've zeroed in on the two backs we are going to take. I expect that Kamara will commit to Georgia at some point.

It looks like to get Vonn Bell, Tennessee is going to have to battle Ohio State and Urban Meyer. They are the competition. You have to like Tennessee if Dooley does enough to stick around. If there is a coaching change though, I would expect Bell to play in Columbus.

AJ Turman certainly enjoyed his visit to Neyland Stadium as he told Rivals.

"I could myself in their system. I liked how they use their running back. They give them the ball a lot. I could see myself playing there," Turman offered. "I just got back from FSU Sunday. It was crazy, too," Turman. "Tennessee was louder, though."

"I'm still taking my unofficials. I don't know when I'm going to take my officials because I'm still during my football season. It's easy for me to go to one place for a day, but it's hard for me to take my officials. I might wait until after the season," Turman said. "I'll go to Tennessee for an official. Tennessee, I think Georgia, maybe FSU. I don't know."

I'll continue to say that this guy will be a Vol. I think it's already done just not publicly.

JUCO WR Jatavius Stewart says he isn't hearing from the Vols much. “Hinshaw talks to me a lil. <sic> Not much really though.”

He does say he's trying to set up a visit. Just hasn't heard from Hinshaw lately.

I think Jalean Strong is the number one JUCO target right now and coaches are hoping to get him in for the 2013 class. There's still a chance though I think it's more likely he's a 2014 receiver. Amazing that it took David Williams to turn us on to this guy. The coaches love him. Williams was all set to be a Vol and then I feel that he was put on the back burner.

Tennessee has offered Strong. Hinshaw is recruiting him. Coaches will be in to see him during the bye week as well as his teammates NT Marquel Combs and TE Beau Sandland.

Williams will official for the Alabama game so maybe there is a thought of taking more than two running backs. That would surprise me but it is a possibility. I think it's more likely the coaches are confident with Green but also know things change and are looking at a contingency plan.

Bad news on Sandland though. He has to eliminate the SEC schools because he will not be able to take the required math class the SEC mandates for JUCO transfers and wants to graduate in December. This really sucks because he would have made an immediate impact. Lucas Wilson is our most likely replacement and it's not a good trade.

2014 wide receiver Josh Malone was here for the Florida game. He said he thinks Tennessee is headed in a “good direction”. He'll be back to see the Bama game.

Coach Conklin was out to see a 2014 recruit recently. His name is Nick Ruffin, he already has a Tennessee offer and says the Vols lead. Ends up at either DB or WR. I don't know which.

2014 Athlete Myles Autry continues to be a big target for Tennessee. He was at the UGA match-up and liked what he saw from Tennessee's offense. He told 247:

“I like Tennessee a lot. Their whole program, I mean, they’re fun to be around. Some of their fans, they hit me up on Twitter. I mean, I love their atmosphere and the environment in Knoxville.

He says he remains in constant contact with Jay Graham and will definitely make it back up to see Tennessee again.

Defensive end Carl Lawson, currently committed to Auburn “most likely” will visit for the Bama game. He stays in contact with UT coaches.

5 star F Austin Nichols will be an official visitor for the Bama game and will announce shortly thereafter.

2014 outside linebacker/de Bryson Allen-Williams will be at the Bama game. It's very early in his recruitment.

Tennessee became the first school to offer Georgia running back Nick Chubb. He is the leading rusher in the state of Georgia with 1,411 yards through 4 games. Watch this kid.

And check out this kid Orlando Brown. 6'9” and 376 lbs as a junior in High School. Everyone in the country has offered including us. He's from Georgia and is in the 2014 class.

Several of our coaches are out on the road during the bye week with more likely to follow. Josh Conklin is in Texas and heading to California. Darrin Hinshaw is in Kansas. Sam Pittman is heading to Hawaii.

Yannick Ngakoue is likely coming for the Bama game. So is his teammate Derwin Gray.

Rod Crayton may be in Starkville to watch the UT game on the 15^th.

JUCO wide receiver Corey Smith who committed to Tennessee out of high school is not going to be an early enrollee. He continues to say we are on his list of top schools.

Texas TE Christian Morgan de-committed from FSU. A lot of folks think he is just waiting for a Texas offer, but I hope the coaches are all over this one. Kid can play.

That's all for this week. Stay tuned to me on Twitter @sabanocchio so you don't miss anything.

Notes from UT vs UGA - Defense

We took a look at the offense from the Georgia game here Breathe If You Love Football: Notes from UT vs UGA - Offense http://breatheifyoulovefootball.blogspot.com/2012/10/notes-from-ut-vs-uga-offense.html?spref=tw. Now let's turn to the defensive side and see how the Volunteers fared.

Let's start with the defensive line, primarily the nose tackle position where the "competition" seems to be between Darrington Sentimore and Daniel McCullers. Sentimore, at 6' 2" and 288 isn't the physically demanding presence of McCullers at 6' 8" and 360 but he is getting the bulk of the snaps and in my opinion rightfully so. Sentimore is just the better athlete with better technique. Having said that, I don't mind seeing McCullers get more snaps as I believe there is clearly room for both to play and play well.

Individual statistics are readily available for college players but I did pay close attention to their play against Georgia. One thing that sticks out in my mind is that McCullers was the nose tackle on the quarterback sneak on 3rd and about half a yard. Murray gained a yard for the first down and they scored a play later. Finally, the left side of the defense seemed to struggle in this game. Most of the long runs came from that side.

Our linebackers remain an enigma to me. After a good start in my opinion the play has become questionable. I am struggling to determine the root cause be it personnel or scheme or both. I don't think there is any doubt that Herman Lathers is our best linebacker. He had a sack that forced a fumble and was generally a force.

I love AJ Johnson and I think the guy is a beast. I just wonder if he is suited for the MLB role in our new defense. He gets taken out of the play a lot and sometimes I question his ball awareness. A middle linebacker needs to be a ball hawk and have good awareness of where the ball is located.

Furthermore, our defensive scheme creates a soft spot between the middle linebacker and the defensive backfield which Georgia exploited several times and it led to at least one touchdown. Johnson wasn't able to cover the receiver and the safety ended having to try and contain from a mile away. Its just a recipe for disaster that has to be corrected and let's hope it can be corrected.

I apologize for the poor quality of these photo's but I think you see the problem.

Likewise with Curt Maggitt. I lost count how many times you saw him chase Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall on their way to a long run for a touchdown. Also, the linebackers seemed to bite a lot on play action and generally had poor recognition in this game.

For the record, Georgia rushed for 282 yards and Marshall was the leading rusher with 164 yards on 10 carries and 2 touchdowns. He had a long run of 75 yards. Gurley added 130 yards on 24 attempts and 3 TD's with a long run of 51 yards. Our defensive backfield, particularly the safeties, were simply unable to stop him. Our linebackers were also completely unable to stop the sweep and that killed us early in the game. Byron Moore was the only defensive back with any success taking Georgia's backs down and even he struggled.

Again, I have no access to snap counts but every time I see Willie Bohannon in the game the guy is making a big play. I really do not understand why he doesn't get more playing time.

Finally, the defensive backfield is full of young talented guys who I believe can play much better. Again, I wonder if our scheme has a lot to do with the struggles you see there. Easily our best DB is Byron Moore who intercepted an Aaron Murray pass and returned it for pick six.

He is an athletic guy with good coverage skills and you have to love a lot about his game. Which is why I hate to seem like I am picking on him but he needs to tackle better. Its really the only flaw you see in his game.

This is how you do it baby

You also would like to see him challenge the receiver more often and I wonder if that is simply coaching/scheme versus player. In fact, none of our defensive backs seem to challenge the wide receivers very much. One final note on Moore he missed a block on special teams that led to a blocked punt and didn't even seem aware that he had created a problem. Now, I think he is a great player and could be elite but elite players don't make those mistakes.

Brent Brewer struggled early on but he settled down a bit. The TD play was the linebacker's responsibility but you would like to see Brewer make that tackle and prevent the touchdown. Brian Randolph made a really nice play late in the game to help force a punt.

A lot of these issues can be fixed simply with better fundamentals. I think also players are still adjusting to the new scheme and Georgia is the best offense this defense has faced to date. You have to like a lot about what you saw and just hope that the problems are able to be fixed. There is a long way to go and we are too talented to continue to give up so many plays and points. This defense has mental toughness and fight which goes a long way.

Notes from UT vs UGA - Offense

Coming off a rather baffling Akron game and a troubling loss at home to Florida where many questioned the Volunteers effort and fortitude, eyes were on the team as they traveled to Athens, Georgia to face the number #5 ranked Bulldogs. Not all those questions were answered, particularly regarding a defense that oftentimes fails to execute fundamentals. Could the Volunteers find a successful running game? How would often criticized junior quarterback Tyler Bray respond to a troubling Florida loss? Let's dive in and look for answers, starting with the offensive side of the ball.

Let's start with Tyler Bray who really had a better game than he is getting credited. Bray finished the day 24 of 45 and 281 yards of passing with 2 TD's and 3 INT's. There were two dropped passes that should have gone for touchdowns however.

Bray and Hunter also seemed to have some communication issues early on the pass where he threw a tad bit behind Hunter I think was more an issue of lack of Hunter continuing to come back from an ACL and Bray misreading his speed coming out of the break. Hunter really came off fast, much faster than I have seen this year. Another pass to Hunter was incomplete because the defensive back slipped but managed to trip Hunter up just enough to throw off the timing. One thing is for certain, despite complaints of locking onto receivers, he is not afraid to spread it around,  hitting 8 different receivers in this game for positive yards.

Furthermore, while the offensive line has made significant process particularly in the run game, Bray was under pressure most of the night.

A lot has been made of Bray's mechanics but really he throws a beautiful football and generally his mechanics are pretty sound. The only real issue I have is that sometimes he does have a tendency to throw low. A lot has also been made of his decision making but in my review of the game he only made two really bad decisions one of which was early in the game and insignificant and the other which happened late in the game which really hurt.

This throw to Bartholemew was incomplete when he had Cordarrelle Patterson wide open to the side on a screen didn't affect the outcome.

He threw a bad interception with 5:57 left to play in the game which was just a bad decision, but again the only one that was a game changer.

Finally, Bray needs to work on protecting the football. You can tell he wants so badly to make a play and lead his team but he can't fumble the football like this play at the end of the game.

Overall, his performance was actually good and he was clearly not the reason why this game was lost.

Despite the drop, Cordarrelle Patterson rebounded I thought pretty well from a lackluster Florida performance. I love the way we are creative and use him too. He finished the game with 3 rushes for 55 yards and a touchdown. He had 2 receptions for 31 yards.

Zach Rogers had a really fabulous game as well. He finished the day with 6 receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown pass. He is fast becoming a go to guy in the receiving corp and a good compliment to Hunter and Patterson.

Finally, Mychal Rivera is simply an intimidating force and a nightmare matchup in most situations and we simply must get him the ball more.

Officially listed at 6' 3" and 244 lbs he plays far bigger than advertised. He was also the leading receiver in the game finishing with 3 receptions for 82 yards.

I have to give a ton of credit to how much this offensive line has improved particularly in the run game. James Stone I thought had a very good game as did our tackles against a very tough Georgia defense. Having said that, Rajon Neal deserves volumes of credit for the work he has put in and how much he has improved and if forced to choose he would get my game ball.

He finished the game with 23 rushes for 104 yards and a touchdown. It was his second 100 yard rushing game having rushed for over 100 against Florida. He was also a force in the passing game with 5 catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.

What a solid and reliable guy he is becoming and it is a pleasure to watch. Marlin Lane and Devrin Young are nice compliments and also had some good plays. Most importantly there were no fumbles among any of the running backs.

The kicking game continues to be an area of concern. We simply must get it fixed or it could be a very long season in conference play.

Michael Palardy now only does kickoffs and and was called upon once to hit an extra point which was successful. Derrick Brodus is a great story but he missed a relatively easy field goal and an extra point. He hit one field goal of 34 yards and was 4 of 5 on extra points.

Overall, there is a lot to like about the offensive performance in this game and the areas of concern appear to be fixable. One thing you cannot question is the team effort and the desire to win this hard fought battle.