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Turron DavenportESPN
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Mike Vrabel, frustrated, gets on the podium and asks many questions about the Tennessee Titans' running absence on Sunday in their 21-0 defeat against the Baltimore Ravens. The Titans played badly on both sides of the ball, which prompted Vrabel to give the reporter the press title for his press conference.
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"We can all do better, we can do it better, we can do it better – and train better," said Vrabel. "That's the headline.The Tennessee Titans have not done enough on every level to win the football match or even make it competitive."
To a certain extent, Vrabel was right, but the offense did nothing to help.
The Titans were not excluded at home since December 11, 1976, when they were members of the Houston Oilers and had lost 21-0 against the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Houston Astrodome. The last time the team had been ruled out after moving to Nashville, it was in 2010, when the Houston Texans had cleared it at Reliant Field. The 21-0 defeat of the Ravens was the first time the Titans were excluded from Nissan Stadium.
The Defensive Coordinator of the Ravens, Don "Wink" Martindale, ruthlessly sent the troops after Mariota on a series of blitzes. The pressure came from everywhere. Martindale set off blitzes on cornerbacks as well as inside blues from linebackers and relied on forwards such as Za Darius Smith, Matt Judon and Terrell Suggs to attack Mariota.
Baltimore blitzed on 18 ballasts and returned it 10 times (56%), the largest number of such bags since the ESPN video tracking started in 2006. The 11 bags accounted for more than the total number of bags (nine) surrendered by the Titans in five games before the sixth week. Mariota completed 10 of 15 passes. The fact that he was fired more than once he had gotten passes testifies to the ferocity of Ravens in defense.
"It was a first," said Mariota to the question of whether he had suffered a defeat as he has just experienced it.
Sunday sackfest led Mariota to become the fourth quarterback to be fired 10 or more times and to complete 10 assists or less in a single game since 1970. Other members of the 10-10 club include Guido Merkens (Philadelphia Eagles 1987), David Whitehurst (Green Bay Packers 1978) and Greg Landry (Detroit Lions 1975).
The Tennessee attack has spent most of the game on his side of the field. The Titans went up to the 37-yard line twice, but Mariota was fired after each goal. They converted only one of their 11 third try attempts.
Baltimore outshot the ball in possession time, keeping the ball for 37 minutes, 34 seconds at 22:26 for Tennessee. The Ravens set the tone early by scoring 94 yards on 17 pieces in just over nine minutes in their first practice. The 40 offensive shots from Tennessee were almost doubled by the Ravens, who played 72 games in attack.
The Titans have to put this game behind them because they are ready to face the Los Angeles Chargers in London next week. Fortunately for them, two of the other three teams at AFC South have the same score of 3-3, and Tennessee already has two wins in the division and is therefore at the top. There is still hope.
Players and coaches will travel to St. Thomas Sports Park on Monday to take a look at the film so they can identify their mistakes and see how to fix them. After Monday, it will be on the shippers.
"Stick to the process," said Mariota. "You can not lose sight of the fact that the season is long, you have to come back tomorrow and make corrections, and then get ready for next week."
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