This post will potentially begin a series that breaks down passing concepts within the Titans playbook. I suspect these will mostly focus on plays run with Locker in the game, as that is fresh on my mind, but we may look into some with Hasselbeck as well. Today we'll look at the Smash-7 combination. It's a common passing concept, yet one that can be exceptionally effective. The play was run during the Falcons game on the first series that Locker came in the game. The result was a touchdown.

The Titans are working out of "11" personnel (1 RB, 1 TE). Interestingly, Hawkins is lined up at Split End to the left. Cook is off set at TE to the right. Nate is in the slot. Williams is split out at Flanker. The coaching staff elects to roll the pocket on this play. They'll roll Locker out to the right, but the pocket will roll with him. Note that a designed roll out is not necessary to run the Smash concept.

The Smash concept describes the route combination at the top of the screen. The Flanker is going to a "smash" route, otherwise known as a 6 yard hitch. The inside receiver runs a flag pattern. He'll run 12 yards up the field and then break for the corner. This is called a flag or 7 route (which is why you'll also see this called a smash-7 combo). Traditionally, this route combination is meant to be a Cover 2 beater.

In a basic Cover 2 zone defense, you'll have 2 safeties over the top, and a corner to the outside. Just examining one side of the field (note the above scheme is not a Cover 2 look, so don't use this for a reference), the corner's responsibility is to cover the underneath routes (flat routes, speed outs, hitches, etc). The safety's responsibility is to work the deep outside. Essentially, this route combination binds the corner. Sink to the flag and the QB throws underneath. Sit on the hitch, and the quarterback places it over the corner and underneath the safety (this area is sometimes referred to as a deep void).

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Continuing with the Charting Jake Locker series, today we'll dig into the distances and direction thrown by Locker. When charting Locker's throws, an important thing I wanted to understand was the distance the throws traveled. Just the yardage picked up doesn't tell the whole story. For example, on the 16th dropback by Locker in the New Orleans contest, he threw the ball 3 yards on a quick slant to Williams, who then took it another 51 yards. Later, on snap 22, he threw the ball 34 yards up the seam to Washington who then took it another 6 yards for a touchdown. On paper, the Williams play is more impressive from a Y/A standpoint, yet the throw to Washington was clearly more difficult.

Further, I wanted to break down direction thrown for Locker. Really, I wanted that to be a separate post, but I quickly realized that the two are too intertwined to break it up. When charting left, right, and middle, it was somewhat subjective. I essentially used a marker just a few paces outside of the tackle box as the area that distinguished L/R from middle.

As NTT pointed out in the initial open discussion, the NFL play by play distinguishes long and short throws based off of a 15 yard threshold. Those shorter than 15 yards are a "short" throw. Those longer are a "long" throw. Now, I didn't use the NFL play by play, but I think that by using this same criteria it will offer some consistency should you choose to compare Locker to some of his peers. Note, there is one throw that is 15 yards exactly...we'll consider that a "long" throw. The chart below shows how the data shook out.

*You'll notice that one throw is missing (66 attempts this year). That was the spike against New Orleans.

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Over the past few weeks, I went back and looked at each of Jake Locker's drop backs this year. This post will begin a series where we breakdown Locker's performance from 2011. We'll look at specific areas such as direction thrown, distance thrown, types of drops, route variety, and targets. In fact, the specific posts will likely mirror those exact topics. And, as we get into each of those topics, we will then break down the performance statistically and, as best I can, mechanically.

When I initially began this process, my first thought was that I'd gather the information and lump it into one or two long posts. As I've gotten into it, however, I've realized that there's too much information to discuss in just two posts. There's so much going on in Locker's game that it'd be a shame to try and graze over topics that were worthy of further analysis. And, if we've got anything, it's time. So, over the coming weeks, or longer, we'll really start getting into Locker's play his rookie year. For the purpose of this post, I want to give some perspective of my opinion of Locker heading into this analysis.

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I'm finally finished with charting all of Locker's throws. And, I haven't really had time to dig into the data to try and extract any information. I thought we could use this thread as an open discussion regarding Locker's limited action as a rookie (76 drop backs). The subject is fresh in my mind having gone through every snap over the last few weeks. So, we can go over technical aspects of his games and what issues showed up in the film review. Or, we can just stick to the data. I'll have a more thorough article up in the coming weeks that involves the data collected, but for now let's talk about the future of the franchise.

And, in case you're wondering, here are the things I charted:

Shotgun (Y/N)

Drop (3, 5, Rollout, etc)

Distance Thrown

YAC

TD

INT

Target (player targeted)

Complete (Y/N)

Catchable (Y/N)

Route (Hitch, Slant, etc)

Out of Pocket (Y/N)

Area thrown (L/R/M)

Thoughts? Questions? The forum is open for discussion....

Rec it to the top.

Question to begin the discussion: Which rookie drafted in 2012 will be the first to receive a First Team All-Pro selection? Choose carefully. The knee jerk reaction is Luck or RGII, but remember that this designation only goes to the best in the entire league at a given position. For the purpose of this discussion, kickers and punters cannot be included.

Here's a link to this year's selections.

One of the better throws Locker made all year came on his second series against the New Orleans Saints. The Titans lined up in an offset I formation with pre-snap motion from the tight end, Stevens, from right to left.

The above picture outlines the route structure run by the primary receivers. The play is off a run fake to Chris Johnson, which it appears Locker and Johnson miscommunicate (CJ goes left, Locker fakes right). For this post, I'm not going to get into the defensive alignment, routes, etc. What interests me in this play is Locker's footwork. Even at the lowest levels, every QB coach will tell you that the throwing motion starts with your feet. Without a good foundation from the ground up, throws will be erratic.

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I love this week. It's the last football related event before heading into the long and dreaded offseason. So, use this as a place to discuss the upcoming draft. Topics include, but are not limited to:

• Individual opinions or evaluations: Really excited about a player? Post it here. Even better, get specific. Explain why you like or dislike a player.
• Mock Drafts? We'll see new mock drafts released every day heading into Thursday. Post the ones you think are relevant.
• Expert opinions
• Prospect videos or highlights

I've begun charting all of Locker's throws from 2011. The intent was just to get a grip on all the data to see if we could find anything interesting. As of now, I'm through CLE, HOU, and ATL. Watching the Atlanta throws, a handful of rookie mistakes showed up. Nothing totally glaring. This play, though, did make me cringe a little.

First, just a quick lesson on a Hot read/route. No doubt this is a term all of you have heard before. It essentially describes an emergency route. If a blitz is coming, a QB can sometimes signal to a receiver to run the hot route instead of his original route. Other times, no signal is needed, as is the case in the play below. Cook getting a vertical stem on his route anyways (could be a dig, out, or seam route). If a blitz comes, the "hot" throw is just getting him the ball a few yards from the LOS. The receiver needs to know that he is the "hot" receiver in the event of a blitz and to look for the ball. Other times in these scenarios, the WR will run an entirely different route (most often a slant or quick hitch) that allows the QB to get the ball out quickly. There are a number of different ways to handle this. Bottom line, a hot route is a way of punishing a defense for bringing extra defenders by getting the ball out quickly to the (typically) uncovered receiver.

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#3 is getting cluttered. Keep the off season discussion going here.

You know the drill: rec it to the top....

Pro Football Focus proved to be Titan-centric this Monday. In this case, the Titans are highlighted (lowlighted?) for all the wrong reasons. PFF took a deeper look into production in the inside run game in a post titled, "Gap Control: Interior Offense, 2011." I saw the post pop up on Twitter and thought, there's no way the Titans look good in this analysis. No surprise, my intuition was correct.

The posts looks at success in running plays through the A and B Gaps. So, before we get into their analysis, just a quick refresher on these gaps.

A run designed through the "A" Gap is between the Center and Guard. "B" Gap between the Guard and Tackle. No doubt most of you knew this, but just want to make sure we're on the same page. With that out of the way, on to the analysis...

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Today Pro Football Focus looked at the Tennessee Titans as part of their Draft Grade series where they've evaluated draft picks from each team from 2008-2010. Follow the link for details on how the grading works and where our draftees were rated. Two were worth noting for me as it pertains to draft strategy this year:

Jason McCourty, CB (203rd overall pick in 2009): It’s hard enough to find a quality cornerback in the first round, so the Titans must be happy that they’ve found one in the sixth. Good enough that he made it easy for Tennessee to say goodbye to Cortland Finnegan, McCourty has earned a +16.1 grade in 1,763 career defensive snaps.

Alterraun Verner, CB (104th overall pick in 2010): The Titans do have a knack of finding good corners don’t they? Verner had our 16th-highest grade of all cornerbacks in his rookie season, and while he was relegated to nickel duties (no shame given the talent in front of him) graded positively in 2011. Superb value once again.

Both our young corners were rated high by PFF. This isn't breaking news. We all have seen this with our own eyes over the past few years. However, PFF does bring up an interesting point about our knack for finding great corners outside of round 1. Given the front office's success in finding these talents later in the draft, and the fact that we're in a good position with our two primary starting corners, it might make more sense to look into other positions in round 1. Of course, if there's an outstanding corner talent that falls in the Titans lap at 20, you pull the trigger. All things considered, though, corner is an area I'd call a position of strength at this point.

One last thing that jumped out at me was the evaluation of Derrick Morgan. They've basically graded him as average based on his limited action due to injury. Pre injury, their evaluation was glowing:

Derrick Morgan, DE (16th overall pick in 2010): Morgan gets something of a pass after an ACL tear as a rookie. He looked to lack some explosion as he worked his way work to full health which was a shame, because as a rookie he flashed big time ability in just 114 snaps. Let’s hope he regains that burst a year further removed from injury.

I'll do a better job of keeping one of these open during the offseason. Rec it to the top. Once the thread expires as a recommended fanpost a new one will go up.

Use this thread to discuss anything on your mind, football related or otherwise.

Anyone who's spent time around MCM over the past month is aware of my interest in acquiring Stephen Hill in this year's draft. I have no problem admitting that interest was piqued immediately after he dominated the 40 yard dash among all WRs at this year's combine. Up to that point, my opinion likely resembled that of most fans, and even NFL coaches: This was a kid with raw talent, that was probably more athletic than most of his peers, but not a total athletic outlier. He led the nation in YPR, yet that was probably a result of the system he was in (which is still partially true). Given his size, I expected he'd run mid-4.5s. Still plenty athletic, but not exactly enough oomph to take the top off the defense.

That all changed the second "4.30 unofficial" popped up on the NFL Network feed (he ran an official 4.36). And, it got even better as the day progressed. 39.5" Vertical (Top 5). 11' 1" Broad Jump (#1). 6.88s Three Cone (Top 10). 11.43s 60 Yard Shuttle (Top 10). Oh, and he did all this at 6'4" and 215 lbs. Even better, Hill out shined virtually every other competitor at the Combine in receiving drills, looking fluid in the Gauntlet, catching with his hands in all drills, and even making the highlight of the weekend (a diving circus catch on a vertical route).

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You knew it was only a matter of time before someone in Houston caught up with Bud Adams and got him to say something crazy. Here is some of what he had to say to KHOU:

He also didn’t seem deterred by Manning’s health status, as he told Matt Musil he had spoken with several doctors involved in the quarterback’s recovery. He said he isn’t concerned with Peyton’s arm strength at this point because, in his estimation, it’s not as strong as it was before his last year’s surgery.

"I’m only concerned how strong it is in September, when he starts the regular season," said Adams during the phone interview with Matt Musil.

He added that he really likes Titans 2nd year quarterback Jake Locker and believes he has a great future, but with the chance to get someone as special as Peyton Manning, he just feels like he has to "go for it."

Again, it is clear that Bud wants the team to go for it right now. The decision is now Peyton's.

A little less than a year ago, Jake Locker polarized this fan base on draft day. What a difference a year makes. Today, Jake is the poster boy for the bright future of the Titans organization. In a cliche and hyperbolic sense, he embodies hope for the franchise. Even better, a lot of that optimism stems from live game performance. I've seen with my own eyes what this kid is capable of in a real, meaningful, NFL football game. It was phenomenal. Not without imperfection, but more than enough to breath life into an organization that's clearly in rebuilding mode.

The interesting thing to me is the stark contrast of the offense when Locker came into the game. Many of the concepts are the same, but one was always front and center: The Vertical Game. Hasselbeck is clearly a West Coast guy that excels in the quick game. I don't want to take too much away from his deep ball, as he has flashed an arm at times. It's just not his strongsuit. The opposite appears to be true for Locker, who clearly excels in that department. And, all was on full display when Locker would come into action. None of this is to say that Locker can't work in a West Coast offense. It's evident that the deep ball comes naturally to him, though. This alone makes one wonder just how much of his talents may have been wasted in his final years of college by constantly forcing that square peg into a round hole. No less, we don't seem to have that problem in Tennessee as Old Man Palmer has showed no hesitations in letting Jake cut the deep ball loose.

Today, we'll look at why these simple concepts can be so effective, and how the team can work to improve the situation through free agency, the draft, and adding Kenny Britt to the mix. This won't be a piece that dives into specific players we can acquire. It's more about what we need out of the receiver positions to really make this offense hum.

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The previous thread had plenty of activity, so we'll keep one of these up. Rec it to the top.

Typically here at MCM, we'll link stuff on the front page and offer our own insights. Every once in a while, though, something comes along that's so powerful (and in this case, ignorant) that it doesn't warrant further commentary. That's exactly what happened this morning when I headed over to PFF to check out their All-AFC South Team:

Guards: Leroy Harris, TEN and Jake Scott, TEN

It was like watching a different Harris this year, who looked much better in Year 2 as the Titans’ starting left guard. Both he and Scott were better with their pass protection, but given the level of play from the guards this year (featuring a real down year from Wade Smith) that was enough for both men.

...

Safeties: Michael Griffin, TEN and Antoine Bethea, IND

This wasn’t the easiest spot to pick, but in the end, we looked past Michael Griffins’ habits of biting hard on play fakes to link him up with the active Bethea who made 21 more tackles in run defense than any other safety.

Feel free to click through the link as there are other Titans on the list that actually deserve to be there. I love PFF and all the time they put into their work, but these latest evaluations really give me pause. If these three can slip through the cracks and be considered best in division, can any of their evaluations be trusted?

With things slowing down around here some, I thought a good, central open thread would be useful. Use this thread as a spot to discuss really anything. NFL Draft. Jake Locker's development. NFL Playoffs. Or, any (within reason) off topic subjects.

Maybe you've got an opinion that's longwinded, but not long enough to warrant a fan post. Post it here.

If this is something you'd all like to keep up, rec it to the top. If/when the thread gets too full, we'll get another open thread up....

• This quarterback issue has become interesting in the polarizing effect it's had on this fan base. Seems to me that the root of Hasselbeck's issues lately have stemmed from injuries. Can't this coaching staff "stick to the plan" and start Jake Locker this week? Of course, all this is predicated on Hasselbeck still being injured. I'm just leery of a coaching staff that's dogmatic about things when the situation has clearly changed. It's one of the things that frustrated me about Fisher. This staff needs to understand that they can go with Locker these final weeks without committing themselves to him as the outright starter in week 1 of 2012. Alternatively, if Hasselbeck's back to normal, I don't really take issue with starting him for the remainder of the season.
• With the quarterback situation being such a hot button issue, Chris Johnson's performance has not been discussed much. It probably should. One could argue that his performance had as much, if not more, impact on the final result against the Colts as did Hasselbeck's. Come on through the jump for a play that's a microcosm of what was happening all day on Sunday.

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This play has already been discussed at length. I thought it would be worthwhile to really sink our teeth into it. It's the final play of our game against the Saints.

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We all know how this works. I'll save you the fluff. Onward through the link for the pictures.

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This session we'll focus on Matt Hasselbeck. By most accounts, this was Hasselbeck's worst game of the year. Yet, it wasn't all bad. Today, we will look at two separate throws by the veteran triggerman, one good and one bad...both resulting in points.

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As August pointed out in the Daily Links, I hope this past game was Damian Williams coming out party.  Upon first glance, the DWill's big play in the first quarter looked like a bit of an anomaly.  It appeared as if it were some kind of busted coverage, and Williams just managed to take advantage.  Upon closer inspection, though, there's more to it.  No doubt, there was some poor tackling, but it was good communication and scheming that put Williams in a position to take advantage of that situation in the first place.

Enough with the narrative, though.  You know the drill....

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If you were as angry as I was when this play happened on Sunday, you know what play we're about to break down just from the title.  Up by 10, the Titans held the Bengals to a 3rd and 5 at the Titans 15 yard line.  Holding them to a field goal would have been huge for momentum.  The coverage called was adequate enough to defend the play had it been run correctly.  Unfortunately, Barrett Ruud had other plans.

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Even after a win over a division rival, it's still clear today that the run game is broken.  Against arguably the worst run defense in the league, our star running back couldn't muster up more than 3 yards per carry.  The question is why?  And, that's a difficult one to answer.  With so many moving parts on every given play, it's hard to peg it just on one person.  I can tell you, it's not just one person, or even one unit.  For the purpose of this breakdown, though, we'll just be examining Johnson's performance from 2010 against Indianapolis.

I went back and compared this year's Colts game to last year's.  It's not an apples to apples comparison, of course.  If anything, it should have been easier to run the ball this year, as Indy has struggled more against the run.  I'll do my best to show what's happening with the assistance of some pictures.  But, most of the time speed isn't accurately represented with the confines of a picture.  That's the thing that really struck me, though.  Chris Johnson was running at a different speed last year.  Not only top end speed, but also his acceleration and cuts.

For today, I'll break down just two plays from last year.  Although it is a small sample size, my hope is that it can help illustrate some of the differences between our run game this year and last.

So, onward through the jump for still shots of better times in our run game.

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This play is when you knew the game could potentially get out of hand.  Down 10-0 in the with less than five minutes left in the 2nd quarter, Houston had the ball on their own 22 yard line on 1st and 10.  The play that followed was total busted coverage by our linebackers, and Arian Foster made us pay to the tune of 78 yards and 6 points. 

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This couldn't wait.  On the heels of Chris Johnson's comment from yesterday, I had to go back and look for myself to see if his "reads" were right.  And if doing "the things he does" is enough to get the job done.  

This is CJ's 2nd Run.  It's only one play, and most of the others weren't explicitly this bad.  The play really jumped out at me, though.  And, by jumped out at me I mean that on each of the rewinds, it took everything in me to not scream at my computer at the office.

This one will be quick, and not quite as detailed as the others.

Enough with the filler.  You know the drill.  Click through the jump.  Beware.  It's ugly.

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There's been a lot of talk about exactly what went down on that first Steelers touchdown to Heath Miller.  On 2nd and Goal from the 8, the Steelers lined up in a power set two TE's.  In a flash, we saw Miller in coverage against Karl Klug our defensive tackle, with no additional help over the middle.  

This analysis will be a little different than others.  We'll look at the play from the All-22 shot, and the end zone view.  On this play in particular, I think this will help give better perspective on what's going on during the play.  Come with me through the jump and let's take a closer look at what happend on this play.

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The first play we'll dig into this week is the big run by CJ to begin the game.  There were reasons to be frustrated by CJ this past game (largely overstated, IMO), but this gave us a flash of the running back who's been the highlight of this team the last few years.  Moreover, just one small play like this gives me a little hope for our broken running game.  Given, it's only one play, but it was effective and simple.  An important distinction, as the counters, play actions, etc. aren't nearly as effective if you can't get the basics right.  The Titans run a simple zone play here, yet it's executed well enough that it results in a huge play.

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