Tennessee
A Tale of Two Halves
NASHVILLE – On their first possession final Sunday, the Tennessee Titans regarded like a crew going locations.
The offense marched 76 yards on 10 performs for a landing, delivering the primary blow towards the Jacksonville Jaguars.
One half later, it was a very completely different story. On their first possession of the third quarter, the Titans produced a penalty, allowed a sack, and suffered a three-yard loss, winding up in a fourth-and-30 scenario.
The disparity between the preliminary first and second-half drives has been the case all too ceaselessly this season. By 13 video games, the Titans have nearly as many touchdowns (six) on their opening first-half drives as they’ve first downs (seven) on their opening second-half drives.
Perhaps much more alarming is the truth that these begins seem to go a great distance towards setting the tone for the respective halves.
The Titans common a good 13.2 factors per recreation within the first half (tenth within the league), however a depressing 5.4 factors per contest (thirty second) within the second half. Tennessee has scored all of 30 factors within the fourth quarter this 12 months. No different crew has fewer than 50.
“If (a primary possession of the half) is nice, you prefer to construct on it, and if it’s unhealthy, you’ve gotten to have the ability to take up a step again and wash it away,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill mentioned. “I feel that’s what it comes right down to. There’s going to be good performs, there’s going to be unhealthy performs, whether or not it’s in a drive or a collection.
“When you have a drive (and) you get stopped, you come to the sideline, you make changes after which come out able to go the subsequent drive. For those who’re capable of transfer the ball effectively and go down and rating, then you definately wish to construct on that, maintain that momentum going. That’s what the sport is. It’s about having the ability to construct on momentum when you’ve gotten it, and if you don’t have it, having the ability to make sufficient performs to get it again and go from there.”
A statistical comparability of the Titans’ first drives of the primary and second halves:
| Half | Poss. | TDs | 1st Downs | 3-and-outs | TOs | Penalties | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
First |
13 |
6 |
30 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
|
Second |
13 |
2 |
7 |
9 |
1 |
12 |
4 |
Simply how stagnant have the Titans been in the beginning of the second half?
They’ve failed to choose up a single first down on 10 of these 13 possessions, with 9 three-and-outs and one interception.
One of many largest variations between the Titans’ preliminary first-half and second-half drives has been penalties.
The 13 game-opening drives have included 4 penalties. However flags have flown 12 instances within the 13 drives to open the second half.
Sunday towards the Jaguars, for instance, tight finish Geoff Swaim was flagged for an unlawful crackback block on the primary offensive play of the third quarter. That instantly created a first-and-22 scenario.
“I’m not positive why penalties enhance (on drives to begin the second half),” Swaim mentioned. “But it surely’s clearly essential within the unhealthy manufacturing within the second half. It correlates.
“Particularly on early downs in drives, that’s what kills you, identical to that penalty killed that drive (towards the Jaguars). That’s on me. That places us behind the chain. For those who’re a play-caller attempting to make a play name for first-and-22 or second-and-20, who’s received plenty of good ones for that? So from there, that complete drive is simply behind.”
Lately, poor move safety has helped torpedo the primary drives after halftime. Tennessee has allowed a sack in every of the previous three video games in that scenario.
Ideally, the Titans will get out of the gate rapidly in each halves this Sunday towards the Los Angeles Chargers.
But when they occur to battle – as has been the case so typically to begin the second half – the problem is to not let the frustration of 1 deflating drive seep into the subsequent few possessions.
“(We don’t need) this roller-coaster of getting drive after which doing one thing that impacts that, after which actually letting it have an effect on the remainder of the sport,” coach Mike Vrabel mentioned. “(The protection) goes to make some performs. They’re going to get some stops. We now have to go proper again out each time we get the ball and get again and discover the rhythm.”