Strong Defensive Effort Included Foreseeable Errors

NASHVILLE – Mike Vrabel absolutely is one to say, “I told you so.”

And Friday’s 23-3 preseason victory over the Atlanta Falcons gave the Tennessee Titans head coach a couple of opportunities to do just that, particularly with his defense.

Overall, it was a good night for that unit. It did not allow a touchdown, and Atlanta’s offense only crossed midfield twice in 11 possessions. The Falcons barely had more completions (seven) than sacks allowed (five) and threw for a mere 52 yards over the four quarters. Tennessee’s defense did not allow a single first down passing.

That does not mean it was difficult for Vrabel and his staff to find reasons to be critical as they reviewed the game film.

One such moment occurred at the start of the second half when outside linebacker Rashad Weaver was called for illegal use of hands as he made contact with the helmet of an Atlanta blocker. The call gave the Falcons five free yards and a first down and afforded Vrabel some important evidence for a case, he says, he has been trying to make for some time.

“There are a lot of these things that show up in the game that we have coached for a couple weeks of training camp, and even going back into the offseason,” Vrabel said Saturday. “I can tell you a million times, ‘That is going to be hand-to-the-face,’ but until you actually look down and see the flag on the ground you will start to believe us. There were situations like that that always come up, and so hopefully we can learn from that in the preseason.

“… That one, I looked at (Kevin Byard) and said, ‘Yeah. Just like we showed from practice.’”

It was one of the few low points on the night for Weaver, a fourth-round pick out of Pittsburgh. He played 39 snaps, which was more than all but two members of the Tennessee defense, and was credited with three tackles, one and a half sacks, two tackles for losses, two quarterback hits and a pass defensed.

In all, his first NFL game experience was similar to that of the entire defense, which kept Atlanta bottled up most of the night.

Early in the fourth quarter, Falcons quarterback Felipe Franks got loose for 52-yard scramble, which easily was the longest play for either offense in the contest. Safety Tedric Thompson finally stopped Franks, but all 11 Titans on the field at that time – and everyone else in the defensive meetings – will be reminded of what happened more than once in the coming days because it is the kind of thing they can only talk about during their workouts.

“You don’t feel the pain of a quarterback scramble in practice because it is blown dead,” Vrabel said. “But then when you have an athletic quarterback, much like the one that was in there in the second half, you have to feel the pain of those scrambles and guys giving up those rush lanes. When you are in man coverage and somebody misses a tackle, those are big gains.

“… The rushers finished [better] when they realized which quarterback was in the game finally and started not running by the quarterback and being able to control him, which is good.”

So, it was not perfect, and their coach was perfectly happy to make sure they knew it.

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