Mike Munchak on Getting Off the Field on Third Down

One of the biggest problems the Titans had on defense last year was getting off the field on third down. You could pretty much bank on someone being wide open in the middle of the field every time the opposing team had a third down.

That hasn't been the case this year. Mike Munchak was asked yesterday about the success the defense has had on third down:

(on the success of getting off the field on third down)

I think Jerry (Gray) and the staff have done a great job, (Tracy Rocker) of getting those guys to know what kind of play to anticipate. A lot of teams are very predictable in certain situations, you are going to do what you do well and the thing is can you stop it. Occasionally you are going to get run or play-action, but on the goal line and on the field we have done a nice job of attacking the line of scrimmage and realized how important that play is to get off the field, especially after the first weekend when we couldn’t do it as well. You start developing that confidence in something that you can stop this. Even though they got eight yards, we can still make a stop here, let’s not give them the first down. It’s a confidence thing, I think you start believing that you can do that and guys just rise up and have made plays and it’s been different guys each time. You would rather it would be a third and 10 every time, but if get stuck in third-and-one or the situations we have, at least we were seeing that that’s what good defense do.