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It’s once again time to face the Colts, but this time following Andrew Luck’s retirement. The Titans went 2-0 against the Colts in 2017 when Jacoby Brissett was the starting QB, and he’s the very same QB starting on Sunday.
The difference between then and now is stark, mainly with the offensive line becoming one of the very best in the league. A huge piece of that offensive line is left guard Quenton Nelson, who also made a guest appearance on Taylor Lewan and Will Compton’s podcast Bussin’ With The Boys. Nelson is coming off a sensational rookie season, one that cemented him in the conversation as one of the best guards in football.
There’s not much that needs to be said about the quality player that Nelson is, but we’re going through with it anyway. Here’s a quick breakdown of Nelson’s tape in his two career games against the Titans so that fans will again get acquainted with his style of play. That’s going down in this week’s Titans Enemy Profile.
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Here’s how it all looks in full motion.
Let’s get to another example from this Week 11 matchup.
Lastly let’s warp to Week 17 of the 2018 season to take a look at how Nelson handles run blocking.
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The efforts from Nelson and Braden Smith on this run block open up a gap for Marlon Mack to run through. The arrival of the two rookies in 2018 breathed new life into the Colts offense, allowing for a highly efficient, far more realized offense that limited the pressures for the quarterback and lack of holes for the backfield.
The Titans pass rush committed a significant amount of pressure against the Browns offensive line in Week 1, but on their own home turf they have a different beast to combat in this Colts offensive line, which contains more talent. Quenton Nelson is the driving force of this unit, providing high quality as a pass protector and as a run blocker, with incredible power, quickness, and vision.
This won’t be an easy task for the Titans defensive line.