So my brothers baby couldnt wait another day to come out so she'll forever be the "Tennessee Baby" to me!! Thanks alot Camilla!
Did the best I could to keep up on my phone, and worst part was in the hustle to leave the house I forgot to set the DVR!! Rookie Mistake! I've watched the brief recaps to catch up on any signature plays and I'll try to invest some time at some point to a deeper play by play dive. (hey did anyone catch if Watson was DRIFTING RIGHT???)
Offense:
So I see Deshaun is still a whipping boy! LOL ... for all the grief he gets and I suppose people will try to paint yesterdays contest as a "bad game", but in reality Deshaun did what he does best .. WIN THE BIG GAME. All kinds of pressure, hostile environment, chippy defense and he got it done. Credit to OBrien as well for calling a clean game FOR THE MOST PART. Run game was punishing! Just a mild case of "Tunsilitis" LOL no false starts, JUST a hold this game, I guess he switched to a Sativa!! J/J (kinda) ... Fuller was solid, Nuk was PHENOMENAL (as usual) dude was so clutch in the 4th Q huge grabs! Did ya'll see that pass where Deshaun is flushed out running full speed left, and he he squares his body on the move and delivers a FROZEN ROPE to Nuk for a critical gain - that was awesome. Only 2-3 QBs in the NFL can make that throw. Then he used the wheels in another 3rd and long to pick up the first down. IMO Deshaun played great (insert HOMER joke here_____) he completed 70% of his passes, QB rating 92.1 and threw 9 air yards per attempt. Again, on the road against a team who had been on fire, at their place? Awesome. I especially loved a sequence where Deshaun had about enough of the BS and he ran for a short gain out of bounds, dude SPIKES the ball and hurries to the huddle to open up a warm can of STFU for his offensive linemen and everyone in that huddle. Ya'll think de doesnt have the fire and capacity to get it done? LOL those guys that are going down with that ship will feel really dumb in the near future. My gripe is calling cute passes on the goal line when you've already shown you can run the ball down their throat, dont draw up plays where you have a congested playing space and those things wont happen. Thats not only on Watson, but on OBrien too, if you go with something else that doesnt happen. Simple. The first INT was all Watson.
Grade - B+
Defense:
Holy Schnikes was Cunningham a heat seeking missile out there yesterday. I was astounded how great he played. I was reading up on him last week, and some "stat nerds" were making the case for him as one of the best run defenders in the league .. yeah he pretty much solidified that opinion now. McKinney was average - I'd say almost expendable with that contract for a one dimensional ILB, and a guy who wont be the best run defender anymore = cap casualty. DBs had their moments. As a group they are piss poor at tackling, been the same problem all year. Attack it with numbers I guess, SWARM. JJO had a nice breakup early on, and each guy independently had flashes, but RAC is attacking his problem with scheme. He doesnt have what he needs to go exotic like when he has a true Elephant in there, no more amoeba fronts, or psycho alignments (JD/WATT lining up A GAP/moving all over the line) so his Triple B defense does JUST ENOUGH to win another game. RAC is the best coordinator on this team and I'd love for anyone to dispute that. Going "soft" in coverage has allowed the defense to stay competitive without giving up all the home run balls. Hey Mercy!! C'MON MAAAAN!! You gotta take that to the house!!! Need more conditioning after practice or something, Cunningham should have laid the dude out who made the tackle on that breakaway! Cool ass play, JReid with the huge plays again this game. EVERYBODY was on the Tanney Train, and we were able to see what regression to the mean looks like firsthand. Tanney left plays on the field himself, and as hot as he was, he didnt make as many as WAtson, thanks to this much maligned defense.
Grade - B+
Special Teams:
First blocked FG of the year couldnt have come at a better time!! I think Seely did a fine job, I particularly like the timeout at the end of the game which he directed so he could show his guys the alignment and what more to expect. Coverage teams where air tight and disciplined and they were one of the reasons we won the game. Fairbairn seems to be righting the ship somewhat.
Grade - A
Coaching:
OBrien had these guys ready to play early. No sleepy 1Q/1H .. went in there with running the ball as the priority and they succeeded. Play action once the run was established opened up the playbook. OBrien did what Tennessee had been doing. Pound, and play action. I couldnt find the TOP in my quick reference this morning, feels like we won that battle too. Not sure. OBrien had them ready for the Vrable "cute stuff" and we didnt get caught with our pants down this game. GOOD JOB - (see that OBrien sycophants I GAVE HIM happy belly rubs) I didnt like some of the plays and ultimately decisions made by Watson on the goaline INT, but for the most part it was a clean call. RAC did his thing on the defensive side and was able to slow down the Titan offense that EVERYBODY felt was going to run over us and would be a win for Tennessee.
Grade - A
*** NO LETDOWNS NEXT WEEK!!! Jameis Winston is REALLY ON FIRE (not the gimmicky PA stuff Tanney is doing, this guy is a straight up gunslinger) he did lose Godwin yesterday and no Mike Evans, so ON PAPER this should be a W, but dammit which team are we going to get next week? THIS IS THE TIME YOU MAKE IT A POINT TO DWINDLE THE PLAYBOOK AND DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO TROT OUT A CONSISTENT TEAM!! Playoffs are literally around the corner.
for all that went right in a must win game IMO. However, as much as I like Watson he just had too many errors. The INT to Vacarro was just a ridiculous decision and the second one to pass within ten yard line was just too stupid. I'm willing to wait for OBrien to come out tomorrow and say it was his play not #4 but it sure looked ridiculous the way Hyde was toting the rock. As my friend tried to defend him saying pass was deflected, I replied "could not been deflected if it was not in the air." From @riversmccowen
