Colts 27 Titans 13: Grading the Defense

by rsikes on Dec 18, 2011 10:30 PM CST

The game was out of reach when Donald Brown eluded the Titans defense in route to his 80 yard touchdown run, and the Titans also showed how not to tackle someone on the same play. Akeem Ayers appeared to have Brown stopped for a 5 yard loss, but after some nifty moves, well you know the rest. In total, the Titans allowed the Colts to run for 205 yards. The run defense has been a problem all year long, so let's hope the Front Office addresses that glaring hole (literally) in the draft.

Grade: F

The pass defense was a little better, but it still does not sit right with me that we allowed Dan Orlovsky to get his first career win, keeping in mind he was the starter for a majority of the Lions 0-16 season a few years ago. Orlovsky completed 11 of 18 passes for 82 yards and 1 touchdown. The one major problem that keeps bugging me is the lack of pressure we get on a quarterback. I am not ready to give up on Derrick Morgan just yet, but I have seen the Derrick Morgan on Criminal Minds take down more "bad guys" than the one that is on our roster.

Grade: D

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Comments

So you cna give the D and F but you cant give the O and F?

Whats up with that sikes?

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by Titans_Firefighter on Dec 18, 2011 10:32 PM CST reply actions

yeah i agree.... the def played pretty consistently outside of the two big plays...

if they get an F then everyone involved with the team should get an F this week

For the Jake of argument ...

by BythePowerofMunchak! on Dec 18, 2011 10:46 PM CST up reply actions

how about D gets an F and the O gets an F-

"you should have seen the look on my fathers face when I told him I wanted to be a ventriloquist"

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by stetix01 on Dec 19, 2011 7:00 AM CST up reply actions

I noticed an interesting stat comparison earlier....

2011 Sack total for Jason Babin – 18
2011 Sack total for Tennessee Titans – 20

Now I’m not saying he would have been a great fit for Jerry Gray’s defense, but if we had Babin and he got even 1/2 that total for us this year I think we would have come out with a couple of more wins.

The inability to get sacks has made it really hard for the defense to get off the field this year and I think it was a huge oversight by the Titan brass in thinking they would get it done with who they had at DE.

For the Jake of argument ...

by BythePowerofMunchak! on Dec 18, 2011 10:45 PM CST reply actions

huh. i guess they do look alike.

though i really had no idea that the shemar moore character is actually named derrick morgan if thats what you were alluding too.

by asian phil on Dec 18, 2011 10:52 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

other than being black, those dudes look nothing alike.(IMHO)

by Jason Jones on Dec 19, 2011 1:56 AM CST up reply actions

those two people do not look even remotely resemble each other

For the Jake of argument ...

by BythePowerofMunchak! on Dec 19, 2011 4:31 AM CST up reply actions

Not even close

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by gramsey712 on Dec 19, 2011 8:27 AM CST up reply actions

Man I almost forgot about Derrick Morgan...

Can’t afford that kind of talent to be so mediocre.

by coolcolin09 on Dec 18, 2011 11:30 PM CST reply actions

but Reinfeldt is so awsomeoame

For the Jake of argument ...

by BythePowerofMunchak! on Dec 19, 2011 4:31 AM CST up reply actions

What talent?

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by rothbard on Dec 19, 2011 8:15 AM CST up reply actions

Who is Derrick Morgan?

by franklintitan on Dec 18, 2011 11:51 PM CST via mobile reply actions

the guy we took over maurkice pouncey, demaryius thomas and dez bryant

For the Jake of argument ...

by BythePowerofMunchak! on Dec 19, 2011 4:36 AM CST up reply actions

So now that Ruud isn't starting anymore, is Morgan our latest punching bag?

Is he the source of all our woes and difficulties?

"Do the Titans have a miracle left in them in what has been a magical season to this point? If they do, they need it now. Christie kicks it high and short. Gonna be fielded by Lorenzo Neal at the 25; he dishes it back to Wycheck; he throws it across the field to Dyson. 30, 40, 50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 5, endzone...touchdown, Titans! There are no flags on the field! It's a miracle! Tennessee has pulled a miracle! A miracle for the Titans!"

by TennesseeTyrants on Dec 19, 2011 12:26 AM CST reply actions

a couple of things...

1. We decided to get bigger everywhere hoping to stop the run. We moved JJ to DE and kept Morgan and lost all of our speed rushers. Not resigning Jacob Ford was a mistake. We need lighter, faster guys on the end like him for the rotation. We could have moved Mathews to the practice squad and kept Ford or signed someone that’s great at sacks, but bad at run stuffing like Babin. (I’m glad we didn’t keep Babin though)

2. Why did Morgan fall so far in the draft? He was projected to be the 1st DE off the board, yet fell to us at the16th overall pick. If we had the 1st overall pick that year, we probably would have still picked Morgan. Did the other teams know something we didn’t? He’s not a terrible player, but doesn’t play like a first round talent either. He’s supposed to be this big run stuffer who can also get to the QB, but he seems mediocre. Do you think it’s just the injuries he’s suffered?

by Jason Jones on Dec 19, 2011 1:51 AM CST reply actions

I don't want anymore situational pass rushers

I want a fucking defensive lineman who can play on every down and be good.

I’m so sick of situational defensive linemen. It’s not working.

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by gramsey712 on Dec 19, 2011 8:28 AM CST up reply actions

Its working for Karl Klug

by Jason Jones on Dec 20, 2011 1:44 AM CST up reply actions

I think a lot of what you said is wrong in point 2.

He was projected as a top DE, but not necessarily the first DE overall. If my memory serves, we were expecting Morgan and JPP to be on the board when we picked, and everyone was having the classic debate of taking the athletic phenomenon with minimal production (JPP) versus the bigger, more well rounded, more productive college player (Morgan).

There ended up being a run on DEs with Brandon Graham and JPP going off the board, so the decision was kind of made for us.

Also, “If we had the 1st overall pick that year, we probably would have still picked Morgan” is just not true. Think about some of the names that went off the board in the top 10 in that draft: Gerald McCoy, N. Suh, ERIC BERRY, Rolando McClain. These are all players the Titans would have killed for.

I will give my actual thoughts on Derrick Morgan below.

by TennesseeTyrants on Dec 19, 2011 10:19 AM CST up reply actions

http://walterfootball.com/draft2010DE.php

Titans said after they picked him up that they never expected him to still be on the board when they picked. Every mock draft I looked at leading up to the day, always had Morgan gone by our pick. We were all hoping JPP would still be there and not Everson Griffen. JPP was a one year wonder with a lot of upside and a lot of back-flipping potential, but a possible bust. Morgan was a star athlete completing 12.5 sacks and 18.5 tackles for a loss in his final year of college. The Jags shocked everyone by picking Tyson Alualu as the first DE taken. Eagles took Graham and the Giants had their pick between Morgan and JPP and went with JPP.

As far as the 1st overall thing…I seriously don’t know what I was thinking…it was late. I do agree with you about the injury theory and anyone who says he sucks is silly. However, I think we were all expecting a big playmaker with our 2010 1st round pick and he’s not…so far

by Jason Jones on Dec 20, 2011 1:43 AM CST up reply actions

Morgan

I dont think we have seen what Morgan is capable of since the first few games, he must be struggling with coming back from his acl (as expected, sometimes it is a year before a guy is fully confident in his knee again) As long as he has no setbacks before the end of this season, he should be an impact player next yr as a well-rounded de.

by CeolsigeWK87 on Dec 19, 2011 3:20 AM CST reply actions

We are all upset

But a D for a defense that held the opposing QB to 82yards passing is hardly fair.

by AntiguanTitan on Dec 19, 2011 9:41 AM CST reply actions

Some thoughts on Derrick Morgan.

First off, I think any drop off in production can be directly attributed to his injuries. We have seen the kind of skill a healthy Derrick Morgan at the beginning of the last two seasons.

But what really bugs me is that I’m getting the impression everyone thinks he suddenly sucks based solely on his lack of sacks. That’s the only stat that most people notice when it comes to DEs, and that’s the only time one really gets noticed. But just because he’s not racking up double digit sacks doesn’t mean he’s not being a productive player.

I can’t personally say I’ve broken down his fits on running plays, his containment when he’s backside on a play, and things like that, but unless you have, I have a very hard time taking you seriously when you tell me how much he sucks at football.

by TennesseeTyrants on Dec 19, 2011 10:24 AM CST reply actions

I´ll give him more time before calling him the b word.

But watching a few games, it´s like he is not even there. Maybe he is doing something good for the team, but he surely doesn´t make big plays aften enough.

"He's an amazing talent. He's probably the most explosive back since Marshall Faulk and Barry Sanders." - Eddie George, about CJ.

by criollo_pcg on Dec 19, 2011 10:38 AM CST up reply actions

That's exactly my point.

You’re not happy because he’s not making big plays (read: sacks), but that doesn’t mean he’s not productive.

Don’t get me wrong, I realize he’s not playing at the level we had all hoped, but I think making him the scapegoat because of a lack of sacks (or big plays, or whatever you want to call them) is just silly.

And he may very well turn out to be a bust, but if he does, I think we have injuries and injuries alone to blame.

by TennesseeTyrants on Dec 19, 2011 10:43 AM CST up reply actions