When "Fisherball" goes bad...

All the observations seem right on the money, which leads to the inevitable conclusion that the most pressing problem is play calling by the coaches. I don't believe that the majority of the players are inept; They are doing what they are told to do.

And if you think we're bad now, wait until next season when we lose what few good vets we have. Sometimes I think that's what the plan is. Maybe Bud wants all youngsters so he doesn't have part with too much of his money. I also think Bud is senile, but that's another discussion.

 

Everything you have said ( if you add that Pacman helped on the return game also) I agree with.

I can see these problems as others. Surly Fisher knows this but maybe its not easily fixed. I would think he had plenty of time at practice and preseason to figure out whether we had a good return man. I have the impression that he believes almost anyone can feel that role with a little coaching.

This 10 yard cushion when they need 5 yds for a first down? Seems easily fixed but what do I know. CJ is great, but he is as far away from being a power back as Richard Simmons competing in Extreme Cage fights.

Its hard to believe Kerry is not better than he has shown. Perhaps he is? Hes not showing it. He has been around long enough to know what works. Can it again be a play calling problem. Is it because the off line cant protect for more than three seconds. Is it because he is terrible at eluding? Despite his 10 yd scamper to the end zone and his celebration ( its been a while ) he knows he is a pocket passer.

He is good only when he has great protection, has a great running game, not playing from too far behind and also has to have confidence in his receivers. I also think he throws better when nothing is on the line. I doubt Vince would be better. At this point if several things are not fixed Manning would be perplexed to win with our line up.

I don't know the answer, but folks making a lot more money than I do are paid to know, adapt and adjust.

If they do not do it soon, we might be lucky to win three and I would not be too surprised if we only win one ( somebody has to have a worse day than the Titans sometime)

 

I agree with Jeff, hopefully a win or two will calm down this sudden burst of blood lust. Things are gonna get better. Considering the disappointing start I believe the year will end with us being proud of our Titans once again.

On a side note I work with this really annoying Colts fan. He's been giving me crap since the Pitt game and I'd love to stick it to him Sunday.

 

You might want to save that optimism until after the bye, because we aren't beating Indy or NE. If we do beat either one of them, that will be a game like when Miami beat the 2007 Pats.

I just don't see that happening. I'm optimistic, but also realistic.

 

I just believe. I've got a good feeling. This team will soon remember who they are.

 

I'm not saying they won't remember who they are, but at this point in this season, it's already a day late and a dollar short IMO.

 

There is a very real sense of lack of a gameplan. While other teams seem to watch what the Titans do bad and then exploit it, the Titans seem to just do their own thing.

Case in point, the Jags started the game off with the pump fakes by gerrard and the short screens. They really didnt entertain the run, they ran plays that were 100% designed to beat the Titans.

The Titans come out and right off the bat, they start running titan plays, the first play was the stupid run where crumpler is in motion and they run a stretch to the weak side. The Titans run that play consistently. There wasnt any, oh the jags get beat on draws, lets run that.

Same goes for the defense, the Jags moved the ball at will. The only times they didnt drive to a score was when they made a mistake, penalty/fumble,etc.

The same goes for the rest of the games, and even in the preseason you saw this team was lost and they kept saying we didnt put together a gameplan" well, 4 losses later, the preseason Titans are the Regular season titans and I still dont see much of a gameplan.

I mean I almost get the sense that the coaching staff mailed it in, like hey guys, just doi what you did last year, we are good........



My little less pressing issue is with leadership on the Team. Hate them or love them, guys like peyton manning, Ray Lewis,Hines Ward, Derrick Mason,etc. These guys get the team up, they hold people accountable. Who do we have? Keith Bullock? Hes not a leader, I am sorry. He doesnt get it done. He doesnt make plays when they are needed and Ive seen him miss tackle after tackle. Who is it? Kerry Collins? give me a break. CJ and Lendale? They are worried about themselves. Oh maybe Britt-Rookie. OLineman cant do it and Jevon is too far gone and KVB was possible but where is he? He filling out ensure vouchers getting prepared.

This is why the team look lost. All is good when you start out 10-0, but the second you hit some adversity, everyone is looking at each other and nobody is there to stand up. in 06 qualified or not VY stepped into the role and people listened and upped their game. This year itll be different as they are 0-4 and there is no signs of anyone stepping up.

The current leadership "bullock" is "out of excuses" why they suck. Woe is him.

 

Tj...

Here's the thing. When you know if they go playaction and maz protect that they will have 4-6 seconds to throw the ball down the field, you need to try and protect against that. Since our DE's aren't getting it done, you have two options. BLITZ - which they have been trying sometimes successfully and sometimes NOT. The other option is to play off people...which is why you see so many big cushions on the outside. The other teams are seeing this and taking the easy 5 yards. On the one hand, you give the QB an easy read and completion, on the other, the defense should now play bend don't break. Problem is, people are bending us and still breaking us inside the red zone. And a bend don't break defense is the oppositie of what this D is supposed to be about - getting off the field and creating turnovers.

So our lack of rush has changed our D philosophy and how our secondary is aligning which has given other teams a ton of passing yards. IMO, they need to not play scared and that is EXACTLY what's happening and why they look flat. No one wants to be aggressive because doing that has cost us big plays either through ineffectiveness or mistakes. They need to change up coverage more and adjust the defense. They had a good gameplan against the Jets which they didn't execute well at the beginning or end, but did well in the middle. Bring heat and smother teams. If they are gonna get some big plays off it, we will also get some big plays off it which should at least even it up some. Right now we feel like we're dying from a thousand cuts with no chance to stop it. Plus, going aggressive will get some of the aggressiveness back and it is sorely lacking.

When we play off like that, I can complete those passes!

For the most part, our run blocking was very consistent last year besides Amano. Now, Mawae and Scott have been more inconsistent which has really kept our running game from being a bread and butter play. We are seeing far too many 1st and 10 stops for 0-2 yards. That inconsistency is putting too much pressure on Collins to hit on 3rd and long all the time (in addition that he knows our D isn't stopping people).

They need to change his mindset which is the same problem some of our other vets are having...they are trying to do more than they can which is backfiring. Example...vs the Jets blitz we didn't throw one screen pass. Things like that are on the playcalling. But even Collins mindset needs to change from making a huge play to making the play he can make. Against the Jets, there were several times when he passed up Washington on a 7yd crossing pattern or CJ flaring out of the backfield to stand in their with pressure in his face and try and launch it 20-30yds down the field. We can't afford to hit 2 20yd passes but also give up 2 INT's. We're better off throwing shorter passes to open guys who then can run for more yardage....especially CJ. And that's on Collins...but he needs to have this emphasized by the coaching staff. If he can't adjust, sit him.

Against the Ravens in the playoffs last year, he looked unstoppable in the first half. Just keep feeding him the ball in various ways. This year, outside of splitting him out a few times, they haven't done much. He's a perfect screen pass back and there are multiple screen plays they should run. Split him out and give him a WR screen...put him at the slot and let him run a quick bubble screen as the Pats do with Welker. Put both WR's on one side and run our TE's to that side for an overload and flare CJ to the other side. If they keep 2 people to his side, you have an overload to the other. If not...it's CJ one v one in the open. A lot of this is on Dinger but Collins isn't even looking at him a lot. Is it Collins, Dinger or both? Both probably at this point.

Are the Titans gonna let White walk? I think there would be a fair expectation that White would stay. In addition, I don't think he will be a free agent since their is no salary cap changes the requirements. I think White and a few others will go back to being restricted free agents. Secondly, if he could help a team that needs a back now, they'd be interested. Secondly, some bad teams may be looking to offload good players to get draft picks for the future. The Browns come to mind for example. Doesn't Dallas have 2 banged up RB's? We have a RB, TE, DE amongst others that could be dealt with little hurt to us (for the future) and get us someone now. It doesn't happen often usually because coaches are stubborn and stay with what they've got. How many times do we see teams not even try to trade a player they aren't gonna use or re-sign?

The mistake most people make in thinking about this is the question is the guy on the bench better? Inevitably the answer is no...which is why you didn't start him the first time. But the value in sitting someone down is the perspective they gain and a change on the field. Right now no one fears for their job. Make a change at QB and everyone thinks, if they can bench our QB...EVERYONE is fair game. Secondly, Collins is making a lot of bad choices. Watching from the sidelines will give him perspective on what should be done and what IS being done by another QB. He watches VY have a great day, he sees WHY. He sees VY have a terrible game, he sees WHY. Right now he is justifying his decisions...the OL didn't block so I couldn't follow through, the WR ran the wrong route or dropped the ball, the defense put us in a hole so I had to force it. Hold the players accountable and gain some perspective. Even in the NFL, it works.

I never want anyone to get hurt, but our secondary needs to knock someone's head off and make players think twice about going over the middle. Additionally, we need to get Manning on the ground and hurry him. And seriously, on any action where he hands the ball off and rolls like he still has it, tackle him!

Cecil needs to bring the blitz from every direction and use everyone to do it. They need to get pressure and knock people out. They need to go back to the team no one wanted to play because it was gonna be as physical game as their is!

Gut

 

Good post Jeff I heard a lot of people say after 2006 teams figured VY out. I was wondering if the same thing hap pend to KC this year. As you see when a team Blitz it's over either INT or throw away. Maybe we should Max protect and send 2 Wr I don't know.