DEFEND TO THE END
VRABEL WANTS TITANS TO BE SHARPER IN THE FOURTH QUARTER
NASHVILLE — Mike Vrabel knows defensive improvement for the Tennessee Titans in his first year as their head coach must start with how they finish games.
Not giving up an average of more than a touchdown in the fourth quarter would be a big step forward.
“We’re going to do a better job of finishing games and understanding that’s when you have to be at your best is late in those games,” said Vrabel, the Houston Texans’ defensive coordinator last season.
Even if the offense shares some blame — for example, putting the defense in a tough position by turning the ball over — there’s nothing for Vrabel to like about giving up an average of 8.5 points in the fourth quarter.
The Titans finished 9-7 last season, not good enough even with a playoff victory to save Mike Mularkey’s job. Getting the most out of quarterback Marcus Mariota prompted the coaching change, but the Titans have plenty of room for progress on defense, where Vrabel’s 14 years of experience as a linebacker and four years as an assistant coach in the NFL should pay dividends.
Vrabel looked at what the Titans did last season and liked that they ranked fourth in the NFL against the run, giving up an average of just 88.8 yards per game, though he wants them to be even better. They also tied for fifth in the league with 43 sacks, and All-Pro safety Kevin Byard led the league with 10 total takeaways.
The Titans finished 17th in points allowed, though, giving up an average of 21.7 points per game and a total of 138 fourth-quarter points.
Titans cornerback Adoree’ Jackson said the defense’s priority is “just going out there and finishing the games.”
“Sometimes in the second half points got put on us, and it was a battle going through,” Jackson said.
Vrabel lured Dean Peas out of retirement to be his defensive coordinator, replacing Dick LeBeau. Peas quickly won over the Titans with his plans to switch up the defensive fronts with the possibility of flipping outside linebackers Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo to chase quarterbacks.
“It’s attack, attack, attack,” Orakpo said. “That’s what it’s all about. You’re going to see all kinds of different packages. I’m not giving away nothing right now, but man, we’ve got a lot in store to free up a lot of guys, get some good matchups, flipflop here and there, just all kinds of different things. I’m excited about this defense.”
The Titans also bolstered the defense by signing cornerback Malcolm Butler — he has been installed as a starter alongside former New England Patriots teammate Logan Ryan — and drafting linebackers Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry. Evans, a former University of Alabama standout, has missed most of the preseason with an undisclosed injury, but Landry, who played at Boston College, has taken advantage of a shoulder injury that has sideline Orakpo since the second day of training camp to get plenty of work.
Morgan likes what he sees of the defense’s potential.
“You always want to attack on defense, and in an intelligent way,” Morgan said. “We have a lot of different things that we can do, schematic-wise. They do a good job of putting us in the right position to be successful.”