Raiders Rivals: Getting to know the Titans’ offense
The Oakland Raiders (1-1) head to Nashville and battle the Tennessee Titans (1-1) in an intriguing AFC matchup. The Titans scratched their way to a 16-15 victory over the Lions Sunday, while Oakland dropped a 35-18 game to the Atlanta Falcons. The Titans bring an interesting franchise construction to the table.
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QB: Marcus Mariota enters this game with clearly defined goals. You will not see many passes over twenty-five yards. Head Coach Mike Mularkey wants a conservatively restrained passing attack. Where Mariota will Oakland is with the ability to get to the perimeter. He is fast enough to defeat the linebackers. If he gets to the second level, this game longer. There are two causes for optimism facing Mariota:
While he possesses the ability to gain yards on the ground, this allows pass rushers to get to eventually get to him. In two games, Titans’ opponents sacked him five times. Mariota will attempt to buy time that is not there.
Mariota’s vertical passes flutter. This is not an indictment on his arm strength, but his passes seem to hang in the air a bit, especially on deep outs. As awful as the Raiders’ secondary is playing, they will have chances on wobbly throws.
RB: The Titans desperately want to run the ball. They employ a two-back system. DeMarco Murray is recapturing his Dallas form. Murray is a decisive north-and-south runner with average speed. He will bolt into the open field, but fails to run away from defenders. He benefits the passing game as well with sure hands that do not flail for the ball. Rookie Derrick Henry’s game is similar to Murray but with an enhanced power aspect. Henry is a 247-pound bruiser with explosion to gash defenses between the tackles. Whoever is playing MLB needs to attack the hole before these two gain steam.
OL:
Blocking Scheme: Power Blocking
The Oakland defense will face an offensive line hell-bent on domination and imposing their collective will. This is nothing fancy, just straight-up force.
LT Taylor Lewan is the anchor of this group. Lewan is a brawling sort of lineman that is talented, but besieged by penalties. In his two plus years in Nashville, he’s tallied 14 penalties (Five holding and three illegal uses of hands) He will attempt to maul Khalil Mack. Mack will have the speed advantage, but will need to use power to defeat Lewan. Lewan’s tape shows quicker feet, but an inability to deliver a solid punch. His arms will occasionally paw or slide off intended target. This lack of hand placement gives defender a shot at using multiple pass rush moves. Lewan shows a tendency to over-commit toward a direction. Mack has the ability to consistently win here.
WR to Watch: Rishard Matthews: Matthews is another of the Titans’ larger receivers. He is unbelievably tough, as witness by this:
Matthews will run every interior route without hesitation, and will not show any fear of contact. With Mariota’s ball tending to coast, Matthews will be there. The Raider safeties need to know this.
TE: Normally, tight ends entering their eleventh season should not attract so much attention. Since the Raiders have continuously failed to adequately cover any, here we are with Delanie Walker. Walker is Mariota’s favorite receiver. In two games, he’s racked up nine catches (11 targets) and 125 yards. He can give Oakland problems streaking down the seam. This is the one Titans player that will see the ball often.
In 2016, the Raiders’ defense is playing atrocious football. The Titans are not the Saints or Falcons. There is no need to expect a shootout. Schematically, Tennessee is not built for that. They want to bludgeon the Raiders defense. This game will test the heart of this unit.
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