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The Tennessee Titans defense was great tonight. Sure there was a touchdown pass given up, but it was only because the Titans punt unit did absolutely nothing to stop the Jacksonville Jaguars. Well, there was one other reason that the Jaguars scored on that play and it was something that killed the Titans the whole game.
Don't drop your best pass rushers into coverage
I understand that a big part of Dick LeBeau's defense is showing a certain coverage and then mixing it up and then bringing pressure from great angles. But it was blatantly obvious when players like Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan dropped into coverage.
First of all, it was obvious because without those two rushing there was almost no pass rush from the outside. Blake Bortles sat in the pocket and had time to find open receivers and challenge coverage. For a team that thrives on getting to the quarterback it was disappointing to see Bortles get breaks like that.
The other reason why it stood out so much is because THAT IS WHERE HE THREW IT EVERY TIME. I get that you want to mix coverage up, but as much as I like Derrick Morgan, he cannot stick with crazy athletes in space for a long time. Against the Atlanta Falcons it was his coverage that let Julio Jones score a touchdown to give them the 10-7 win over the Titans.
Tonight, it was his coverage on Julius Thomas that led to the only touchdown of the game from the other team that ultimately ended up giving them the win. That doesn't mean Morgan is bad or that I think of Dick LeBeau any less as a playcaller, I just think that the idea of an edge rusher covering anyone athletic is based on an older mentality where you didn't have 6'6" freaks running down the field with 4.5 speed. It is just a different game now.
It is hard to criticize the defense at all when they put up such a good game, and when it was the offense that caused the loss, but if I had to pick one thing to change it would be that. And I want more interior pressure, but you can't do that every time.