Well, as the off season continues, the Titans, like most every other team in the NFL, have to be thinking about HOW to beat the Superbowl Champs. Not just because they won the Superbowl, but because they did it in such a dominant, dramatic way, coming from behind in nearly every game to win decisively.
Some teams want to beat them with pass rush. Mahomes completed around 80% of his passes when not under pressure, compared to around 40% when pressured (best in the league still). But if that 49ers front last year couldn't stop him, it's unclear what it would take to win solely with this strategy.
Some teams are loading up on offensive talent to try to beat them in a track race (Oakland, Denver). After losing Kendall Fuller in the offseason, and now losing Breeland for probably at least half the season, the Chiefs are decimated at CB. Mathiu is good, but he can't cover the entire backfield. This is a viable option IMO.
There is also the "run the ball, control the clock and keep the offense on the sideline" mentality the Titans tried to use last year. Unfortunately that only works to an extent as demonstrated by the Chiefs insane ability to put up huge numbers of points in very short pieces of time.
Looking at these possible tactics, I thought it would be fun to start a conversation about how we're prepared for each of them at this point. Have we increased our ability to get pressure? Could we better attack a depleted Chiefs secondary? Do we still have the power to control the clock?
Some teams want to beat them with pass rush. Mahomes completed around 80% of his passes when not under pressure, compared to around 40% when pressured (best in the league still). But if that 49ers front last year couldn't stop him, it's unclear what it would take to win solely with this strategy.
Some teams are loading up on offensive talent to try to beat them in a track race (Oakland, Denver). After losing Kendall Fuller in the offseason, and now losing Breeland for probably at least half the season, the Chiefs are decimated at CB. Mathiu is good, but he can't cover the entire backfield. This is a viable option IMO.
There is also the "run the ball, control the clock and keep the offense on the sideline" mentality the Titans tried to use last year. Unfortunately that only works to an extent as demonstrated by the Chiefs insane ability to put up huge numbers of points in very short pieces of time.
Looking at these possible tactics, I thought it would be fun to start a conversation about how we're prepared for each of them at this point. Have we increased our ability to get pressure? Could we better attack a depleted Chiefs secondary? Do we still have the power to control the clock?