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Titans Midseason Review: Is Anything Changing?

With 8 games done, it's time to re-evaluate where the Titans are on both sides of the ball. At the quarter mark the results were ugly. Has either side of the ball improved?

One of the few improvements the Titans have had in the last four games.
One of the few improvements the Titans have had in the last four games.
Tom Szczerbowski

The Titans managed to grab an extra win in the second quarter of the season (2-2) compared to the first one (1-3) but unfortunately they are still struggling in several areas. The statistics were ugly - and unfortunately they aren't much better right now.

Offense

(rankings in parentheses)


After 8 games
After 4 games
Points/game
20.2 (21st)
20.2 (23rd)
Yards/game
326.6 (24th)
314.5 (23rd)
First downs/game
17.9 (16th)
15.8 (30th)
Pass Yards/game
235.4 (16th)
245.8 (18th)
Rush Yards/game
91.2 (25th)
68.8 (28th)

(As a disclaimer for all the stats, because they are cumulative the first four games are going to have a big impact, particularly when we had so many blowouts.)

Thoughts:
At least there are some signs of life on this side of the ball. We're gaining more yards and the biggest change is obviously the running game. In the most recent four games, we averaged 338.8 yards. In the running game, our yards per game went from 68.8 to 113.8. Those are both big improvements.

Outlook:
The passing game has been fairly consistent. They've seen a slight drop with Hasselbeck (225y/g in the last four), but it is hard to judge how much of that decrease is simply because we are having more success on the ground and don't have to pass as much. If Chris Palmer and Chris Johnson can keep the running game on this track, then this would have to be considered a successful year for the offense.

Defense


After 8 games
After 4 games
Points/game
32.1 (31st) 37.8 (32nd)
Yards/game
421.2 (30th) 421.5 (31st)
First downs/game
25.0 (30th) 26.0 (32nd)
Pass Yards/game
282.0 (29th) 285.0 (25th)
Rush Yards/game
139.2 (28th) 136.5 (27th)

Thoughts:

Well, we are at least consistent.
In both four-game intervals, we have allowed 421 yards on offense.
We averaged 279 pass yards against in the previous 4 games. That slight improvement in passing is offset by the slight increase in rush yards allowed (142y/g). These are just ugly numbers.

Outlook:
Pain. I really don't know what else to say.