Audible: What’s Your Gameplan?
Posted on November 18th, 2008 by Bassett
Going through “cap hell” the past few years, the signs of life were evident in 2007, when the Titans had one of the best defenses in the league. Led by their defense again in 2008, the offense to take the pressure off of the other side of the ball this season, leading them to their unbeaten record.
With the Titans on the docket for the Jets this weekend, the Jets have a monumental task on their hands. What kind of a gameplan would you install to beat the as of yet undefeated Titans?
What’s important to emphasize? Who to you take away? What are you willing to give them?
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Offensively, use TJ/Leon for short passes until Haynesworth realizes he can’t rush. Then use play-action to get the ball moving downfield. Take advantage of the ailing secondary.
It’s difficult to say what or who we take away in this game. Collins proved with the Chicago game that if you stack the line, he will get it to 6′4″ Justin Gage.
Looking up and down at this Titans team, they have few flaws.
It’s my feeling that if we stay aggressive on defense at all junctures of the game, we can confuse their line at the very least. With our run defense playing as well as it has, I say play a tough man coverage thrown in with outside blitzes, stunts and zone blitzes to throw them off.
Kerry Collins got beat in the 2001 Superbowl by a tough and aggressive defense. If we stay aggressive on D, we should get to the flat-footed Collins.
On Offense, it will be about ball control. Favre, once again, must be smart with the football and not take unnecessary risks. I wouldn’t be surprised if TJ got 25 carries and LW got 15. Either way, these teams match up well and it is only the team that can be deceptive and surprising that will win.
My bet is on the Jets.
We must use the outside of the field to stay away from their linemen. Screens to TJ and Leon, Jericho and LC. Second half we run and throw over the middle to Keller.
Defensively we must stop the run and force Collins to beat us. I know he has good numbers, but I still think he is the weak link if he is forced to shoulder the burden.
Offensively, I think we need to be conservative. This will not be popular with the “let Brett be Brett” crowd, but Tenn is +10 in turnovers and we can’t afford to give them points. I think this will be a low scoring, close to the vest game.
Very simple use the pass to set up the run. On defense of course contain the run adn then attack Collins like they did against Warner. No rushing three and sitting back hoping Collins makes a mistake. LC and J-Co should have big games.Last year J-Co had 8 catches for 152 yds and LC didn’t play. Chad threw for 264 yds but threw 2 picks. Favre must not throw INT’s vs this team. They will lose then. In 06 Chad trew for 319 yds and LC had 8 catches for 153 yds. So Schotty knows how to attack this team with the pass. Jets 23- Titans 20
The Jets have to stop the running game. They have to mix and match schemes, so they have to use eight in the box with 4 down lineman on/off. I can’t wait to see them line up Jenx and Pouha over the guards and center/guard gaps on/off. Revis and Law can play man with Rhodes over the top, Elam playing strong to help versus run and pass versus Barton or Coleman…depending on Harris health.
I would play this game plan similar to how they handled the Buffalo game. Apply some pressure blitzing blind sides. Stuff the run. Force Kerry Collins to beat you…
On Offense is where I think the Jets have the edge. The jets are near the top in many categories and ahead of the Titans in many.
If the Jets are to win this game it will be with their Offense not Defense. That means we need TJ / LW to have dominating performances.
i am very worried about big justin mccareins having a revenge game vs the jets. i would have revis stick to him like glue and have safety help.
(note sarcasm)
The jests are not going to change their game because they know they are finally hitting their stride and getting stronger the last three games. The spent $140 million to run the ball and stop the run, this is their signature. If our deffense can keep their passing game reasonable and Farve can continue to be a game “manager “, stays within the game plan and not regress to slinging it, we will win!!!
I know a lot of people are going to say we’ll need to stop the run, run the ball and pass conservatively, since that’s been the winning formula of late, but I’m not so sure.
When I look at the Titans victories over teams like Baltimore (3rd rushing, 3rd against the run) and Minnesota (4th rushing, with the best RB in the game, 2nd against the run) I think it’s going to take something else to beat them.
I’d go to the spread a little, quick slants to LC and Stucki, seam passes to Keller, screens to Leon and TJ, attack deep to Cotch and LC, use the no-huddle, anything to get Haynesworth and co. running around a lot early and not just eating space in the middle. God, I am sick of the phrase, “Let Favre be Favre,” but he is a weapon that neither Baltimore or Minnesota had and you have to use whatever tactical advantage you own against a tough, well balanced team playing at home.
On D, the run defense will have to be stout and contain Johnson and White and get after Collins when he’s forced to pass. I don’t think the Titans have played a 3-4 D yet this year so maybe some tricky fronts and well-disguised blitzes could rattle him a bit.
This is a game that no one expects the Jets to win, playing an undefeated team at home, so it’s a good time to pull out all stops and be very aggressive.
honestly the last thing you need to worry about w the titans is mccareins. what has made them successful on offense this year is there 2 running pack system. johnson and white. these 2 along with there line have won the games on offense.
collins is still the old dunk from new york and i would much rather have him try to beat the jets
stack the line and attack the run from every where and we have a chance, dont and we are tied for 1st again for sure
On offense, the Titans have a big, strong offensive line. Collins is a big, immobile QB who makes smart decisions, takes what the defense gives him and doesn’t try and force things that aren’t there. He has a slow delivery and is very methodical in the pocket.
Johnson and White provide a formidable 1-2 punch out of the backfield, and Johnson is also an excellent receiver. As a matter of fact, if you look at their stats, you see something interesting:
Of 172 total receptions by Tennessee receivers, 95 have been made by the tight ends and running backs. That’s 55% for those of you scoring at home. Their two big threats are TE Bo Scaife (44 receptions) and RB Chris Johnson (30 receptions). Their main WR threat appears to be Brandon Jones (29 receptions), but I you can see the pattern here. They are not about chucking the rock all over the field.
A few other interesting tidbits:
The Titans only have 10 more first downs than their opponents (174-164). Don’t get me wrong..it’s a good number, just not what you would expect from a 10-0 team. They only have about 300 yards more total yardage than their opponents (about 30 yards per game), and they actually have *less* passing yards than their opponents.
So what is going on here?
First, they are +10 on the turnover front. That is huge, obviously, and all the more reason why we have to protect the ball on Sunday if we are to have any chance.
Second, pass rush/protection. The Titans have 28 sacks. They have only given up 6. SIX! If your QB is getting hit that infrequently, well, I think it speaks for itself, doesn’t it? We’re going to have to find some way to get pressure on him.
Third, touchdowns. The Titans score touchdowns, while their opponents kick field goals. They are outperforming their opponents in the touchdown area by a healthy 27-15 margin. So expect tough sledding in the red zone, but we gotta come away with 7 at least a few times.
Finally, and this related to # 3, is field goals. The Titans are 18/21 in their field goal attempts. Their opponents? 9/16! That’s 56%, for those of you scoring at home. So either teams are attempting 60 yard field goals against them, or the Titans are the beneficiary of some pretty atrocious field goal kicking.
And let’s keep in mind that when you miss a field goal, the opposition takes over at the hold spot, so this and the 25 turnovers they have accumulated (15 picks and 10 fumble recoveries) has likely resulted in some seriously good field position for the Titans.
I think we play straight up and let Tennessee try to beat us.
Where are their weapons? Their leading receiver is Bo Scaife, not a household name and a tight end. Next most catches for the Titans is Chris Johnson, a running back with 30 catches. After this, there isn’t much. Until last week when Justin Gage had a big day, their leading receiver ypc was Justin McCareins. He won’t scare any Jets fans, if he plays.
Tennessee can run but their running game can be stopped suggesting their Oline is better at pass protection (only 5 sacks allowed) than at run blocking. Mawae, in the middle, will need a lot of help blocking KJ. He’s well past his prime.
If we get a decent rush on pass plays, they’ll have to keep a RB in to block, limiting their options.
On offense, we keep doing what we’ve been doing. NE and Buffalo have excellent defenses and we’ve been ringing up points without much trouble in the past few weeks. Keller will probably be a big weapon off the run.
I think we try to outscore ‘em instead of twisting ourselves up thinking we’re facing a juggernaut.
Subway, good thought on the no huddle. Schottenheimer hasn’t done anything out of the ordinary the last few games, and I could see him come out in the no huddle for the first drive. I think with Ty Law, our secondary is much better than we’re being given credit for. Gage is good, but he’s no Randy Moss. And they don’t have a Wes Welker clone either. I’d like to see the D put our corners on an island a few times and get after Collins. Should be a great game, and I think the Jets get an edge with the extra days off and they are hungrier.
What it comes down to is which team will bend first and for how long. The two units for both teams will end in a stalemate as the game will ultimately come down to special teams. This is where we should edge them and Mangini has also had success against Fisher for the short part. He beat him in the 2006 opener in tennesse and last year Mangini with a disfunctional team managed to hold the Titans to under 13 points if I recall. So this time around Mangini will get a win again with a far improved team.
The absolute key to this game is the Jets Defense (more specifically pass defense). The biggest weakness for the Jets has been the short pass, and the Titans have feasted on the short pass (screen) this year. First of all Revis needs to be one-on-one with Gage all game…no over the top help. This guy isnt randy moss, dwayne bowe, lee evans, or torry holt. By leaving him on an island, you allow the jets use Rhodes/Law (or lowery?) on Scaife.
If there was one thing i learned from last week its that Pace might not be able to cover the elite TEs. He really struggled against Watson, and I think Scaife would pose a problem this week. I really think you could set up law on him which would be a really favorable matchup for us.
With Law on Scaife and Revis on Gage, I believe the Jets could easily defend the short passes to chris johnson and white. I’m hesitant about being blitz heavy this week because the titans have such a good offensive line. By playing tight in coverage and stopping the run, the jets will both avoid the big play and force collins into some tough throws.
THAT BEING SAID: My prediction is that Mangini will develop some blitz packages and if they are effective and the Jets can get to Collins 2-3 times, that will be a difference maker. If they can’t get to him, they will be burned for a few.
I’d say they need to mix it up on both defense and offense (as they have been).
Defensively, if Tennessee is so good at pass protection (only 6 sacks given up all year), then maybe sometimes instead of wasting time trying to blitz and seeing it come up short, they should stick with the three or four man rush and cover all the receivers. They’ve had a lot of practice at that with a far more talented group of receivers this week. Maybe they’ll even get a few coverage sacks that way.
It will be good for a change to try and match them and defeat them, rather than in previous years (including throughout the Herm era) when the Jets have been over-matched and gone into the matchup with the mentality to try and steal one. (Remember the 10-0 loss to the undefeated Bears, where the game was totally decided on Drew Coleman’s slip?…I think they’ve come a long way since then).
What if Collins gets hurt? Are they ready for Vince Young? (I know I bash VY – and rightly so – but he will give them a totally different look that the Jets may be unprepared for if called into action).
think the best offensive attack against this kind of physical and dominating defense is to get them thinking instead of reacting. So, I would start with a gadget play or two like flea flicker…and follow that with a bunch of play-action passes. I’d also mix in a lot screens to Jones/Washington…and even a Tight End screen or two to Keller. The whole focus is to keep the game close and to have the Tennessee defense unsure of what’s coming at them next.
Bo Scaife, like all other TEs, is going to have a huge game on Sunday against us. Just because he’s not a household name doesn’t mean he hasn’t been playing well. I hope I’m wrong, but I think the team would be stupid if it slept on his potential to light us up.
The hurry up offense could be important here if we want to wear down Haynesworth and the rest of the D.
Contain Scaife (put Law on him? rush Collins?), contain Haynesworth (hurry up?, screen passes?) and the rest should fall into place.
Field position and Turnovers are going to be the key in this game!(nothing new there) I think it will be a close game, which means no prevent defense, no heart attacks for us Jets fans. I am hoping the difference in this game will be Favre in our advantage leading for the game winning score, not turnovers.
On offense, get keller involved early, lot of quick throws, making sure favre doesnt take a licking. Stick to our game plan of establishing the runnning game. The titans will be doing the same, they wont give up on their running game unless we start blowing them out.
Our secondary should be ok, and should be flexible on who they cover cause they are lacking a true WR weapon. We need to bring the pressure, hit and sack collins, stop the run!
I guess this is the week of the hyperbole bowl. 10-0 vs. our beloved Jets. The key to victory is always the same-execution. Few or no turnovers, scoring TD’s in the red zone, field position, and pressuring Collins. Collins has not suddenly transformed himself into a stud; he is simply playing with good, not great players (with the exception of Haynesworth), players who make very few mistakes. If the Mangini/Schot game plan is well designed and flexible (i.e. they make sure they shut down the running game, so you pass more often) then they have a chance. If not,………….
get their d line moving and thinking. pass in rushing down vice verse. use the screen and the draw and make them that half second slower off the ball. hopefully a successful running attack will take place and play action over the top.
gonna have to use mr keller to stretch the seam and i would like to see chansi make some plays in the slot.
brad smith running the wild cat would be great too. definetly has the intangeables to be running that, pretty much cause that was his college offense.
jets win this one
If we focus on stopping the run, the rest of our defense is set up well to succeed. Revis is near unstoppable, taking away the deep ball that is usually Collins’ saving grace. Between he and Kerry Rhodes, I think the Jets force two turnovers if, and that’s a big if, we can stop Chris Johnson and LenDale White on the ground. We can give up that dink and dunk crap that, frankly, we’d be giving up anyway. Collins will want the deep ball if we can make them one-dimensional. Offensively, we need to scrap the thought of the deep ball – aside from maybe a heave once or twice to keep the Titans honest – unless they open the door wide with eight in the box. Follow these rules and I think the Jets win 24-14
no doubt, the titans have some threats we have to game plan for…but i wouldnt put Bo Scaife any where near the top of that list.
much has been made about the jets inability to cover slot receivers/tight ends, but lets not go crazy here. bo freakin’ scaife is not wes welker or antonio gates. he is a nice player but not an elite playmaker.
i would much rather see the D focus on stopping the run, and combining with special teams to win the field position battle. The titans lead the leage in rushing TDs. They are 5th worst in pass TDs (with TE/WRs only catching 8 all year).
we dont have to make it more difficult than it needs to be – on D, if we stop the run we will win.
two words…no huddle
I would def start off the game with 5 WR and go hurry up, kind of like what we did against Oakland, expect with better O line protection.
I might actually think about starting the game with Leon Washington and splitting him out as well. Running screens and playaction in the first quarter to really loosen them up and have them off balanced.
I think it might be a bit demoralizing for the Titans if the Jets can catch them off guard in the 1st Q with a 5 Wide and score on the first drive.
I believe that we need to throw a little wrinkle in the 1st quarter, (5 WR) to test them out and see how they respond and then adjust the game plan accordingly. I wouldnt be affraid to line up and smash these guys in the mouth either if I were the Jets but that can wait for the second half.
Biggest emphasis this game is the fron 5 on O and front 7 on D to be physical, protect Favre and stop the run.
Any word on David Harris?
Ben Watson isn’t Gates either. And look what he did with arguably less talent then Bo.
Get off the field on 3rd down and convert third downs……the team that controls the line of scrimmage will win…In my opinion it is as simple as that
what is the deal with harris this week
i say run at kearse untill they pull him. he’s smallish and speedrushes on the outside 8 out of 10 plays
I haven’t seen the Titans much, but I’m wondering why teams haven’t been able to run right against them. They have a killer weakside D with Haynesworth Vanden Bosch and Bullock. But, I always thought that Jevon Kearse was weak against the run and the rest of their strong side D is made up of no-names. My guess is that Haynesworth makes it impossible for the LG to pull and takes out the Center and LG, meaning that Kearse and Tony Brown face man on and beat the RG and RT with quickness. So, my assignment to Schotty is to somehow neutralize Haynesworth so Faneca can pull. The Jets have been good with TJ and counter plays. If the Jets can mount any kind of running game against the Titans, Brett has to test the Titans secondary deep with play action. Against Indy, Dallas Clark had 2 TDs, so I like TE and RB passes, but if Favre can get single coverage, especially on the weak side, go for it. Jericho for a 40 yarder?
Defensively, make Collins beat you. Put Revis on Gage. Heck, I’d be tempted to play 8 men in the box, single cover the outside guys and blitz Collins relentlessly. I liked the 4-3 with Jenks back to his RDT position, so how about a 4-4 look? Force them to keep Scaife in to block. Collins is not mobile, so getting him uncomfortable and stopping the run are the assignments. To me, the Jets D works best in full on attack mode, when Sutton gets passive, the D suffers, like against Oakland, the 3rd quarter against the Cards, the last series against the Pats, etc.
I think jets run d will be fine and the addition of law will help in secondary. On offense complete balance run, pass definatly hit those TE against a physical D I think the TE will be huge get the ball to keller he has been gold the last 2 games.
It’s simple, let them throw every pass to No Hands McCarreins. Do not cover him at any point the entire game.
Aarongg, Sackdance and Tish
All great input. We need to keep our balanced attack. However, anybody who says we need Favre to be a game manager is sadly disillusioned. We can get Trent Dilfer to come in a “manage” the game. Joe Torre and Terry Fracona “manage” games. When we need big first downs we have to put the ball in his hands. He proved last week that he has come a long way in this offense and can make the ALL the throws. Effective running game, slants and seam routes to counter their cover 2, and maybe a deep ball or two off playaction.
Defensivley we know we can stop the run. We have to get to Collins or there could be trouble. Tennessee does not beat themselves. Niether can we. I cant believe im writing this but “we have to play to WIN the game”. No draw plays on the 3rd and 8 or that debacle of a defense we tried to finish the game with. Should be a great one LETS GO JETS