Lamar Jackson foresees 'explosive plays' vs Tennessee Titans, and why wouldn't he? | Estes
Lamar Jackson foresees a lot of big plays by his offense Sunday.
That’s what the quarterback said Wednesday in London. He was there early, along with the rest of the acclimating Baltimore Ravens, in advance of an overseas date with the Tennessee Titans, who were still practicing in Nashville.
Whether the Titans already should have been there, too — that's a debate for after the game. Most London-bound NFL teams opt for what the Titans did, waiting until Thursday to jet across the Atlantic. The Ravens are the unusual ones.
But I’m sure Mike Vrabel will be second-guessed if the Ravens beat the crumpets out of the Titans on Sunday morning (or afternoon, depending on your whereabouts) and if Jackson delivers on what he forecast when asked about his offense.
“I believe Sunday in London, it'll be a lot of explosive plays,” he said.
Sounds confident. And why wouldn’t he be?
This Titans defense does give up “a lot of explosive plays,” and this Ravens offense — more than others in recent memory — looks capable of lighting fuses. This season, Jackson is thriving under new coordinator Todd Monken (the guy who just won back-to-back national titles with Stetson Bennett at the University of Georgia), and Jackson has been doing more with his arm than his legs.
“He has been throwing the ball more this year,” Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons said. “I think that's one of the things he wanted to prove to the league. . . .
“We’re going to have to affect Lamar Jackson in order to win this game.”
I’d agree this week. I’d agree, though, on any Titans game week.
It has become apparent, through five games, that these Titans are going only as far as their defense is able to carry them. It's the stronger side. Most weeks, the offense will be hit-or-miss, hoping for consistency that’ll likely stay elusive unless the offensive line gets better. An alarming thought, really, because the defense also has its issues, especially in the secondary.
Look, we know all about the weaknesses.
The Titans need a strength.
They need something that truly scares the other team — and its quarterback — with the potential to take over a game. I don’t know if the Titans have that something, though I do know that they were supposed to have it.
It was supposed to be the pass rush.
Hasn't worked out that way. Some bright moments at times, but for the most part, opposing quarterbacks haven’t been bothered all that much. Was the Colts’ Gardner Minshew even sore after coming off the bench this past Sunday to complete 11 of 14 for 155 passing yards?
Not only did the Colts run all over the Titans, but the Titans finished the game with only two quarterback hurries. The Colts had eight — on a day where the Titans’ O-line protected fairly well.
The Titans have 14 sacks, but they have only 33 QB pressures, tied for fourth-worst in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference. Their percentage of hurries per dropback (3.3%) is the third-worst.
Mild pressure on opposing quarterbacks is a big reason why they are completing 71.8% of their passes (fifth-worst for a defense in the NFL). The Titans also haven’t intercepted a pass since the season opener and rank among the league's worst defenses in takeaways.
“We need to see production from a lot of people,” Vrabel said. “ . . . This is pro football. We pay them. They go make plays.”
Harold Landry has one sack and two QB hits in five games. You’ve had to look for him to notice he’s out there. I’m picking on Landry, but for good reason: He has the third-highest average salary on the team.
And it’s not just him. Arden Key showed he could dunk this preseason and in Week 1 against New Orleans, but he hasn't done much of that since. Key has 2.5 sacks and five QB hits — same as Simmons, who is second on that average salary list, ahead of Landry.
In a salary cap league, you are where you invest money. Earlier in the Vrabel era, the Titans were spending a large percentage of cap space on offensive linemen. The payoff in 2020 was a 2,000-yard rusher and one of the league’s best offenses.
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But in 2023, the Titans have dropped to 30th out of 32 NFL teams in percentage of their cap being spent on offensive linemen (per Spotrac). With the Titans paying four defensive players more than any offensive lineman, no one should be surprised with a declining run game and problems protecting quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
The Titans should, however, expect more from a defensive front with four of the 10 biggest average salaries on the team: Simmons, Landry, Denico Autry (ninth) and Key (10th).
“If we can get to the quarterback and make him fumble the ball and create turnovers, we can help this team get wins,” Simmons said.
And if they can’t — well, you’ve seen what happens.
Evidently, so has Lamar Jackson.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: For all of the Tennessee Titans' weaknesses, they need a strength
