New York Giants Week 1: First Look at Titans’ Offense

Let's get to know some of the names on the Tennessee Titans offense ahead of the New York Giants' visit to Nashville Sunday.

With the calendar having flipped into September and the fall season is just on the horizon, we can finally put aside all the hypothetical talk that consumed the preseason and arrive at the moment it was intended for: The return of New York Giants football.

A lot has changed within the organization since it limped to a 4-13 season last year. The front office and coaching staff received a total rehaul and welcome refresh with the hiring of general manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll from Buffalo.

Likewise, the Giants’ roster was heavily revamped to begin remediating the poor transactions that have landed the team in a huge salary cap nightmare. Several important veterans and other players were sent off as cap casualties, while a few younger and more exciting players entered through the 2022 draft.

Yet, even with these offseason moves, the Giants are still entering the new season at the beginning of a long rebuild, and there are questions left to be answered.

Will Daniel Jones show up in his fourth season to prove to his many critics that he can be the Giants quarterback of the future? Will players like Saquon Barkley and Kenny Golladay resurrect their careers in the Daboll-Kafka offense? Can Schoen do enough cap gymnastics to keep the team’s finances above water?

The answers to all those questions will begin to clarify Sunday afternoon as the Giants kick off their season in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans.

Whereas the Giants are just starting their journey back to relevancy, the Titans have chugged through their own difficult process to find themselves as one of the rising contenders in the AFC. After eight years of mediocrity dating back to 2008, the team has spent the past six seasons above .500, including two AFC South titles and four postseason appearances.

Last season, despite riding heavily off the strength of their defense (ranked 6th in points allowed and top five in stopping the run game), Tennessee’s offense ranked 15th in points per game (24.6 average) and scored at least 25 points in nine of their regular season matches. Much of that production was credited to the dominant run game, led by running back Derrick Henry, who helped the Titans’ backfield tally 14 touchdowns, the third most in the league.

The Titans weren’t world beaters when it came to moving the football—finishing 17th overall in total yards (342 yards/game)—but they had four games with at least 400 yards of total offense, a feat the Giants accomplished just once in 2021. The workhorse in that operation was the run game, ranking first in rushing attempts and fifth in yards per game (141).

One of their biggest offensive setbacks in 2022 will likely be the wide receiver unit, which lost two notable names to offseason transactions. A.J Brown, the Titans’ top receiver last season (63 catches for 869 yards and five touchdowns), was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. Alongside him, Julio Jones departed in free agency for Tampa Bay after one season after posting a measly 434 yards receiving and one touchdown in 10 games.

Thus, as the Giants defense prepares to meet their first challenge of the season in Tennessee, they should figure to see the offense run heavily through the arms of Henry. His presence in the backfield alone will demand the unit he physically tough and fundamentally sound, particularly in the red zone, where the Titans finished fifth in red zone success rate last year.

Quarterback

Since he was traded from the Miami Dolphins three years ago, Ryan Tannehill’s NFL career has ascended, and he has found himself a home with the Titans.

After six seasons in Miami with an impotent offense and injuries that derailed his status as the team’s starter, the former 2012 first-round quarterback’s Nashville introduction featured a Comeback Player of the Year campaign with franchise records in passer rating (117.5), yards per passing attempt (9.6), and completion percentage (70.3%) and the Titans’ first AFC Championship game appearance since 2002.

Over the next two seasons, Tannehill continued to improve, posting some of his best numbers in many of those same categories while leading the Titans to their best records (11-5, 12-5) in nearly a decade, two consecutive AFC South titles and postseason berths.

In the 2021 season, which saw Tennessee lock up the No. 1 seed for the first time in team history, things were no different for Tannehill. Through 18 games, he completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,734 passing yards (7.1 yards per attempt) and a touchdown to interception ratio of 22-17.

Despite playing behind one of the worst-pass blocking offensive lines in football last year, the 10-year quarterback showcased his ability to remain competitive in the pocket and execute under pressure. More often than not, he thrives at staying patient behind the line of scrimmage, waiting for the play to develop, then launching the ball downfield to his receivers for larger chunks of yardage.

In addition, thanks to the recent wide receiver talent at his disposal, including Jones and Brown, Tannehill isn’t afraid to place the football into tight windows or the most contested areas and let his playmakers win the catch battle over the top of the defender.

If he finds nothing available in the secondary and has open space near the line of scrimmage, Tannehill is also comfortable taking off and using his legs to advance the offensive drive. In the same 18 games, he posted 282 rushing yards (average of 4.9 yards per attempt) and seven rushing touchdowns, a career-high for a single season.

Where Tannehill may run into trouble--and where the Giants defense could capitalize off mistakes in Week 1--is with his body language in the backfield. At times last season, Tannehill was caught holding onto the ball for too long and staring down his intended receiver, an error that often led to very late throws and costly interceptions, including one that he threw in the AFC Divisional game that cost the Titans in a 19-16 loss.

It’s fair to wonder how things might change for Tannehill in 2022, given his two-most targeted wide receivers have left town in the offseason. However, he is still a respectable quarterback who has resurrected his career in Tennessee and is looking to lead the Titans to their first Super Bowl appearance since they were conceived in 1999.

If the Giants are looking to serve as the first obstacle in the way of that goal, they’ll need to put increased pressure on his pocket space and capitalize off any misguided reads that come their way.

Running Backs

Derrick Henry has arguably become the NFL’s scariest ball carrier and can pose massive production problems to opposing defenses if not slowed down weekly.

Since being drafted 45th overall by Tennessee in 2016, Henry has helped drive the Titans’ rushing attack into the top-5 status it enjoyed in 2021 and lay a bruising on the opposition standing in the way. Through 86 career games, he has pounded the line of scrimmage en route to 6,797 rushing yards, an average of 4.9 yards per attempt, and 65 touchdowns.

Henry, an alumnus of the Alabama Crimson Tide, spent nine games on the sidelines with a foot injury suffered midway through the 2021 campaign. Yet, he still found a way to muster up 219 rushes for 937 yards on the ground (ranked 9th overall), an average of 117 yards per contest, and 10 of the Titans’ 14 rushing touchdowns that season (tied for 6th-best in the league).

At his core, Henry is a tough, downfield power runner with both the size and physicality to break through the line of scrimmage and gain efficient yardage on early downs. Standing at 6-foot-3 and 247 pounds, he still has the impressive footwork needed to shift directions at the second level and, if he finds a gaping hole in the defense coverage, the deep speed and burst to take the football to the end zone.

Beyond that, what makes Henry so special is his ability to outmuscle defenders and drag them downfield with him. Per PFF, Henry has surpassed 700 total yards after contact in his last three seasons, including his career-high of 1,490 set in 2020. In 2021, he accumulated 728 yards after contact, with his average of 3.3 yards at the point of contact.

You also can’t count out the Titans’ comfortability with featuring Henry out of the backfield. On several occasions, the offense put Henry in the wildcat formation and allowed him to take a direct snap upfield or attempt a pass towards the endzone for a touchdown.

Completely stopping Henry in his tracks will be nearly impossible for the Giants, nor any other defense, to accomplish. That doesn’t mean you can’t slow down his ferocious running style and stifle the Titans’ offense. Doing so will require New York to keep Henry out of the secondary and send him back into the teeth of the front line and establish a presence on the edge to prevent any big-time runs down the sideline.

Wide Receivers

With the departures of A.J. Brown and Julio Jones over the summer, the Titans certainly have big shoes to fill in their wide receiver core.

Their most notable offseason acquisition was nine-year veteran Robert Woods, who projects to serve as Tannehill’s No. 1 receiving option this season. Woods, a 2013 second-round pick by Buffalo, comes over after spending five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, two of which included Super Bowl appearances.

During that stretch, Woods was one of the Rams’ most productive pass catchers and deep threats, securing 367 catches on 552 targets for 4,626 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also had three seasons with at least 129 targets, 10.4 yards per catch, and a long catch of 48 yards (career-high was 94 in 2017).

However, after finishing no lower than 13th among receivers in snaps, targets, and receptions from 2018-2020, Woods spent a chunk of 2021 recovering from an ACL tear he suffered nine games in, limiting his production to 45 receptions for 556 yards and four touchdowns.

Concerns now linger over Woods’ ability to be that reliable weapon for Tannehill and the Titans’ offense considering his injury history, age (30), and his moving into one of the league’s most run-heavy offenses. Yet, it would behoove the Giants defense not to sleep on a player with a resume of over 7,000 yards and whose average catch is still in the double digits.

Treylon Burks and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine are slated to be the No. 2 and 3 receivers behind Woods. Burks, 22, is the team’s first-round selection from the 2022 draft. Westbrook-Ikhine returns for his second season with the Titans after finishing second in receiving yards (476) and touchdowns (4) in 2021.

The Titans’ offense likes to favor Westbrook-Ikhine in the short passing game, targeting the undrafted receiver on sharp slants and inside routes down the middle or quick slants along the outside. He also can stem upfield for deeper routes and use his burst to create separation in the open field.

Tight Ends

Last season, the Titans didn’t rely as heavily on their tight ends to contribute to the offensive production, instead deploying them as additional blockers in 12-personnel formations.

Now, that could be changing with the acquisition of Austin Hooper. A 2016 third-round pick by Atlanta, Hooper joins Tennessee after two seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He had 84 receptions on 131 targets for 780 yards and seven touchdowns during that time.

If you look back at his film from Cleveland, Hooper sticks out as one of the more versatile tight ends in the entire league. The Browns lined up him in several different positions depending on the formation, including along the offensive line, in the slot, and out wide.

Hooper commonly gets involved by breaking off his block and extending into the flat or the screen game for quick completions. A few of his best highlights featured him in post routes as the slot receiver or dig routes coming out of the empty formation.

Not only does he have a diverse route tree, but excellent hands and ball protection skills. In the first six seasons of his career, Hooper has yet to fumble the football once, meaning the Giants defense must prioritize keeping the ball away from him by blocking it out at the point of the catch.

The Titans are bringing back Geoff Swain and Tommy Hudson from 2021 to fill the depth chart. However, Swain only managed 210 yards in 16 games, and Hudson is slated to start the season on injured reserve, bumping Chigoziem Okonkwo into the third tight end spot.

Offensive Line

Like the Giants, the Tennessee Titans offensive line is entering 2022 with a lot of change and uncertainty.

In the offseason, the team parted ways with a number of their front blockers from 2021, notably left guard Rodger Saffold and former starting right tackle David Quisenberry. Since then, those two roles have been open for competition throughout the training camp.

The Titans are looking to establish a more solid offensive line this season to protect Ryan Tannehill and give him more time in the pocket. In 2021, Tennessee boasted one of the worst pass-blocking offensive lines in all of football.

At least for Week 1 against New York, they seemed to have found their lineup.

Starting at left tackle, the Titans are bringing back one of their key offensive players in Taylor Lewan. A nine-year pro, Lewan has been one of the top left tackles in the league and has helped the Titans set and protect the edge for their running game en route to three Pro Bowl designations.

However, Lewan is returning from an ACL injury that he suffered in 2020, and it remains to be seen how he will bounce back from that in live competition. If he starts to struggle, the Titans may also have to consider changes at that position.

Aaron Brewer will assume the left guard role after beating out Jamarco Jones for Saffold’s old spot. While Jones is more versatile and Brewer isn’t as big (6-foot-1 and 295 pounds), the Titans picked him because of his athleticism and familiarity with the current system. Yet, he, too, will need to stay healthy to keep the job.

Ben Jones will serve as the team’s starting center. The 2012 draft pick by the Houston Texans signed a multi-year contract extension with the Titans back in March and looks to have solidified his position for the immediate future.

Nate Davis, a 2019 third-round pick by the Titans, will line up on the right side of Jones at right guard. Davis is fairly reliable (missing only three games in his career) and, like Lewan, has been instrumental in blocking for Henry out of the backfield, helping the running back dart to 2,000 rushing yards in 2020 and win his second rushing title.

Lastly, the Titans have elected to start 2022 third-round draft pick Nicholas Petit-Frere to fill out the right tackle position. If there’s any weak link in the Titans’ offensive line, it could be Petit-Frere, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Giants defense send a lot of different pressures his way. 

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