The Todd Downing experiment in Tennessee was disastrous from the start and it didn’t take long to realize how big of a downgrade Downing was in comparison to what Arthur Smith brought to the team during his tenure.
This entire offseason, Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis has done a good job of pointing out just how lackluster Tennessee’s former offensive coordinator was, even calling Downing a “double agent trying to make life difficult for the Titans offense.”
Sharp recently decided to research a variety of topics surrounding first-half offenses around the league, and unsurprisingly, the Titans’ Downing-led offense didn’t fare favorably in either category.
The Titans not only finished with the most first-down runs which resulted in a maximum gain of two yards or less (58), Tennessee also produced the sixth-lowest pass rate on early downs (49.4 percent).
related to discussion in here: https://t.co/hWjYDJlAIt
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 6, 2023
Needless to say, routinely putting the Titans’ one-dimensional offense in 3rd-and-longs was a recipe for disaster, and it’s one of many reasons why Downing is no longer running the offense.
Let’s hope a Tim Kelly-led group produces a more balanced and unpredictable attack on early downs in order to help put the offense in more manageable situations throughout the game.
