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Titans defense
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You’ll have to pardon my passion for Titans football, but I’ve become such an
admirer of the way this team plays that it’s difficult for me to contain myself.
Growing up in Chicago, I was weaned on smash-mouth, smack-over, power football. Tell
’em where you’re going, and beat ’em to the punch. Put fear into their eyes
with yours and attack with the ferocity of a rhino. I see much of those same
characteristics in these Titans.
Granted, they’ve shown flashes of flair. That "Music City Miracle" was a
neat little trick. QB Steve McNair’s five-TD-pass performance in Week 16 was
something to behold as well. But generally speaking, this team has won with defense.
Just look back at the Titans’ wild-card win over Buffalo. It was as clear as the
picture on my television set what they were doing in the second half. Hockey’s
Nashville Predators would call it the rope-a-dope. Once the offense took the lead, the
defense was going to make it stand. Only against the Bills, the strategy almost backfired.
But with the defense that coordinator Gregg Williams has in Tennessee, I foresee many
leads holding up, no matter the margin for error.
As good as the Titans were defensively this past regular season, they can be better. I
know, it sounds silly to say that a unit that set a franchise record for sacks in a season
(54) and forced 40 turnovers can play much better. But let’s put numbers aside for a
moment and focus on the fellas who are making those plays.
Overall, the Titans’ defense is young and loaded with potential, a combination
that has kept Williams in Tennessee and will keep the team competitive for years to come.
"I sure hope so," Williams says. "That’s one of the reasons why
I’ve stayed around here. I’ve had some opportunities to leave, and I want to be
a head coach.
"But (Titans head coach) Jeff (Fisher) and I are very, very close, and this
defense is young and it’s fast, and some of the best dynasties or organizations that
made runs on Super Bowls have been the teams that had great speed on defense. I think that
we have the makings of that right here."
The Titans are fast because they have to be. The "46" defense they run
requires it. The Titans have speed at cornerback, where Williams says it is most
important. They have speed at linebacker, where the team can get away with undersized
players. And now they have speed at defensive end, thanks to Defensive Rookie of the Year
Jevon Kearse.
"We have the package for the first time since I’ve been here," says
Williams, who joined the then-Oilers in 1990 and became defensive coordinator in ’97.
"Really, since ’93. We had it when Buddy Ryan was here, and then the salary cap
dismantled it. We’re just now getting back to that level of being able to have enough
speed on the field to play (the 46)."
You remember the 46, don’t you? It’s the defense made famous by the Bears
— see the connection? — under the guidance of Ryan, the team’s defensive
coordinator. Using layman’s terms, Williams says the 46 allows him to "dictate
how the (offense’s) protection is going to be handled and get one-on-one
(matchups)."
While the Titans’ defensive success has been a team effort, it’s actually
very fitting that only Kearse was named to the AFC Pro Bowl team, because he was the one
who ignited the unit.
"I believe Jevon’s presence has filtered throughout the defense,"
Williams says, "and him causing 10 fumbles is huge. But the contact and the speed
we’re playing at … we thought (turnovers) was an area that we were down in last
year. We weren’t causing enough fumbles. That’s where we took the big jump this
year."
I know I said I’d stay away from numbers, but this one’s too good to pass up:
Titans opponents fumbled only 11 times during the ’98 regular season. This past
season, they coughed the ball up 39 times.
But Kearse didn’t do it all by himself — and he won’t in the future
either.
Second-year CB Samari Rolle has turned into Tennessee’s top cover man, and
Williams has actually changed the scheme so that Rolle often matches up with the
opposition’s go-to wide receiver.
"Athletically, as a corner, he has some of the same gifts that Jevon has as a
defensive lineman," Williams says. "He has the ability to make those kind of
plays, and we want him around the ball as much as possible."
Williams puts a lot of pressure on his corners by leaving them on an island, but he has
confidence in the group. He also has very good depth, which few defenses can boast.
Williams has grown especially fond of ’99 fourth-round pick Donald Mitchell, whom
the coach dubbed "the defensive steal of the draft for us." Mitchell has seen
most of his action in the nickel and dime packages.
"I leave each ballgame with a guilty feeling if I didn’t play him
enough," Williams says. "That’s what I think of him right now."
Up front, Kearse is joined by Kenny Holmes, a third-year player who, like Kearse, was a
Tennessee first-round pick. Holmes came on late in the regular season, has played well in
the playoffs and will be counted on to parallel Kearse’s speed rushing on the
opposite side of the line.
The two areas that are relatively short on youth are linebacker and safety. While both
groups will likely be examined in the offseason, their production this season can’t
be dismissed. Of the Titans’ 21 defensive fumble recoveries during the regular season
— I know, more numbers — each starting linebacker (Joe Bowden, Eddie Robinson
and Barron Wortham) came up with three. And while starting safeties Blaine Bishop and
Marcus Robertson combined for only three turnovers, they ranked first and third,
respectively, on the team in total tackles and supply invaluable leadership.
Tennessee was successful this season with a blend of the old and the new. In the years
to come, the new will take over and make the old proud. |
