48 Hours Later: Titans vs Saints

Taking an in-depth look at where the Titans are after one week of NFL football.

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We have a lot to cover today! These will mainly be driven by data with a mix of my personal, objective analysis of performances and themes coming from the game. Let’s hop right in because you have waited long enough.

Just remember almost everything in this article comes with an understood and implied caveat: Week One is a Liar.

The Replacements

In this section, I will visually show the comparison of a replacement player to the player he replaced. This will occur weekly so we can keep track of who was a successful free agent pick-up and a successful veteran to let walk.

• David Long vs Azeez Al-Shaair

• Daniel Brunskill vs Nate Davis

• Arden Key vs Bud Dupree

• George Fant vs Chris Hubbard

• 2022 Taylor Lewan/Dennis Daley vs 2023 Andre Dillard

Analysis: This was jarring to see. After the last few years of David Long’s usage here, to see him with just 17 total snaps in a game where there were 80 offensive plays by the Chargers is wild! For comparison’s sake, Andrew Van Ginkel was the other WLB who played for the Dolphins and amassed 51 snaps.

They obviously don’t trust Long in coverage, and he basically proved them right, allowing a massive 36-yard play on his lone target and reception. Van Ginkel didn’t even let a target come his way.

Meanwhile, the Titans continued to use their replacement, Azeez Al-Shaair, in every facet of the game, and he came away doing very well for himself, keeping everything in front of him.

Analysis: Well, well, well, well, well…Yes, it is only one week, but I’ll be damned if I am not going to take a quick preliminary victory lap. Essentially, I won the pole position for those F1 fans. All day yesterday, Mike Herndon avoided the smoke when discussing this discussion. He won’t be able to prevent it on this week’s show.

Davis will likely rebound from these numbers, but as I have said, Brunskill is as steady as they come. Davis had a rough offseason. He was showing up late, out of shape, and barely practiced. Meanwhile, Brunskill was the consummate professional. One of these is an 8a-4p guy; the other isn’t.

Analysis: I don’t think you need my analysis here. 8 pressures on 36 snaps vs 4 pressures on 50, says it all.

Analysis: I will let me tweet do the talking:

They are who they are.

Analysis: To no one’s surprise, Taylor Lewan is better than Andre Dillard. This will be much more interesting to track as the year goes on and Daley is added into the mix.

More on the offensive line later.

The Great Field Goal Debate