I said this repeatedly during the game on the frustration links! I don't think I'll do that again. Not really for the serious thinkers, more the kneejerk negative Nancys. But here goes:
I am VERY upset at the formational packages that we use offensively. When David Carr was in the game, we were consistently in one and two wide receiver sets. There were times on third and four or five when we had two tight ends, a fullback and AJ on the field. NO teams in the NFL deploy this kind of nonsense.
For the better part of the 1st half, we had two wide receivers to the left side and ran nothing but fades and hitches. Six and seven yard dumps. Nothing vertical. No crossing routes. No digs. No curls. No outs.
Salaam could not block my grandmother and yet our running backs were chipping the frontside and then getting out into pattern for two to five yard dumps. Nothing downfield and no help with our backs. The one time our backs stayed in was when EVERYONE stayed in and AJ ran a drag on playaction. This was Carr's INT. Here is a detailed version of the problems of the play. Football knowledgable folks will see where I am coming from.
Playaction passes work when you sell the run. At that point in the game, the Texans had run three times for 11 yards. Hardly selling the run. The fake went to the right and Carr was trying to throwback to his left. AJ ran a crossing route and his was the only route on the play. Hope was the DB to the left who came underneath the route and picked off the pass. There was no route to hold Hope, so he dropped back.
Carr has a tendency to force the ball, especially to AJ. If I am an OC for the Texans, why would I draw up a play where AJ is the only option on the play? How can you run a crossing route that does not have anyone holding or occupying the corner on the left side? If the tight end to the left simply releases into the flat on a delay, Hope jumps that route and the play is a completion. The safety was over the top and the other two defenders were trailing AJ by 3-5 yards
When Sage came into the game, our formations immediately changed. The fullback went to the bench and we were in three and four wides. We ran the ball successfully out of one back. We threw the ball well. We also protected better. Some folks mentioned that Sage was better in the pocket than Carr. Carr didn't have a pocket. When you dink and dunk, defenses come at you and the Titans came after Carr. The Texans did not protect Carr at all.
The Denver Broncos run game and their zone game is a one back scheme. When you bring a fullback into the mix, he determines where the play is going. Linebackers flow like crazy to the point of attack and it bastardizes the zone.
Defensively, we were better at times. I would like to see Mario on the field more often. I don't buy into the rotation of the entire defensive line. We aren't the Philadelphia Eagles and there is no need for Mario to be on the bench. He played well today and was explosive off the ball.
The Texans did Tennessee a favor with sell out blitzes. No need for it. Why send house with a guy who can scramble? There was very little in terms of disguising the blitzes either to confuse Young, who is easily confused and who forces balls. Our DBs aren't the best in man-to-man coverage and were exposed far to often.
Vince's numbers were putrid for a NFL quarterback 7-15 for 87 yards is pathetic for a NFL quarterback. He will not be a top notch NFL quarterback. Yes he threw a TD to a guy who wasn't covered at all. (very similiar to the balls he threw in the Rose Bowl). He did scramble into the end zone when the Texans got out of their rush lanes on a blitz while Mario dropped off into coverage to spy the flat to the side the blitz came from! Stupid! If you bring the house from the right side with all of your linebackers, then you drop your DEnd from the other side to spy.
Our punt returners stunk and killed us in field position. AJ needed to show some better hands on the INT.
I'd like to see us employ more of the same sets we used with Sage late in the game and give Carr a little more to work with. He has improved, but we will never see how much he has improved with the shackles on him.
Still a number of wins on the table here this year. Looking ahead, we need a more viable third wide receiver and obviously offensive line help.