Titans’ discipline key to convincing victory over sloppy Browns
Poise can be a vastly underrated attribute of winning teams in any sport. Same with coaching your team over and over, not just on what to do, but also on what not to do.
Cliches, sure. But both were huge factors in Tennessee’s 43-13 upset victory over the Browns on Sunday at Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium.
The Browns unravelled after taking a quick 6-0 lead. And with every one of Cleveland’s gaffes — 18 penalties for 182 yards
(the most any Browns team has committed since 1951), three turnovers, a safety, blown coverages on defence, and one player booted out for booting a Titans player in the face — the Titans just kept reminding themselves of one thing. It was something head coach Mike Vrabel underscored afterward: “We have to keep our composure.”
Player after player in the Titans’ locker-room afterward proudly pointed to that trait as a big reason for the team’s big opening-day win.
“We were the least penalized team in the league last year,” said safety Kenny Vaccaro, who Browns left tackle Greg Robinson inexplicably kicked in the face during the second quarter to get disqualified. “That’s being coached and that’s the culture. That’s what coach preaches, and that’s what we do.”
Browns fans began to boo over all the penalties being assessed to their team, as the first half dragged on amid all the interruptions; Cleveland was flagged 10 times for 107 yards in the first two quarters.
Fans even booed the officials as they left the field at halftime, with Tennessee ahead 12-6. Like, it was their fault.
It wasn’t. It appeared most, if not all, infractions were obvious and earned. Especially the unsportsmanlike face kick.
To their credit, many Browns players afterward disagreed with their fans.
“We killed ourselves with penalties,” receiver Odell Beckham Jr. said.
Dumb penalties too, Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield added.
Well, it’s drilled into every Titans player not to take them. They weren’t perfect in that regard against the Browns. But they were penalized only three times for 18 yards in the first half — 89 fewer yards than the Browns — and finished with just six for 54.
“We are taught on this team: no dumb penalties,” Vaccaro said, in reference to Robinson’s ejection. “We hit each other. I knocked him over and he kicked me in the head.
“The second guy is always the one to get caught. I didn’t really start anything, but at the same time, if you respond, you’re going to get caught. And that’s when you get a penalty.”
Composure was emphasized again in practices leading up to Sunday’s contest, Vrabel said.
“We talked all week (about it). Play with better detail, technique and fundamentals. Win the penalty battle, and win the turnover battle. And it was well executed.
“We know that you can’t kick players. You can’t throw punches . ... (Officials will) let you push and shove, but that was certainly something in a game with a lot of emotion — which there is every week in the National Football League — that you’re able to play physical and through the whistle. But also, keep your composure.”
Rookie Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens admitted he and his staff have to go back to the drawing board on this topic.
“That’s not the way we want to be represented,” he said at the top of his post-game news conference. “We lost our discipline, and we lost our composure. I did not do a very good job of making sure that we didn’t have penalties. That’s just as much the coaches’ fault, my fault, players’ fault.
“I didn’t see it coming. We will get it rectified.”
By emphasizing it. As coaches. Even if they’re starting to do so weeks too late.
Titans tight end Delanie Walker, who capped back-toback fourth-quarter drives with touchdown catches from quarterback Marcus Mariota on Sunday, was the most outspoken Titan afterward regarding all the Browns hype leading up to the opener. And how everyone ignored the Titans.
“They sleep on us every year. What’s new?” Walker said. “(The Browns) were who we thought they were. If you want to crown them, crown them. Do you get what I’m saying? They still have to play football. That fuelled us.” On Sunday night, Tom Brady tied Drew Brees with the second-most TD passes in NFL history, each with 520. Record holder Peyton Manning finished his career with 539 … Kansas City tied the NFL record for most consecutive games scoring 26-plus points, counting their 19th in a row at Jacksonville … Maybe Detroit’s T.J. Hockenson really was worth a top-10 draft pick. At Arizona he broke the NFL record for a tight end in his debut game with 131 receiving yards.