The Tennessee Titans' Lack of Analytics Department Hurt Their 2022 (Part 3 of 3)

The Grand Finale of a series on how the "I am the Analytics Department" approach by Jon Robinson was a huge reason for the demise of the 2022 Tennessee Titans.

A lot of this data comes from various sites that have this available to you, me, and the team. Also, I draw a lot of inspiration and information from Warren Sharp’s book which is a must read on all 32 teams.

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It is the final countdown! Today’s article may feel a little light but consider it a palate cleanser for all the data you have had to wrap your head around the last two days. There is still going to be some great insight and valuable data that you need to know, just maybe won’t be as wordy and nerdy as the previous two.

Not a guarantee though, because I am writing the intro before actually having written anything.

These articles though have always been what I enjoy writing about most. I love the data driven stuff even if it may be too deep or complicated for a larger audience, but it is what I consider the crux of being a smarter football fan.

A lot of these fan-centric sites tend to avoid these types of articles. Hell, some don’t even offer them. Hell, some sites that you may pay for you’re even lucky to get a Titans article once a month let alone once a day. So, while I may not always meet the 8a/830a CST deadline of something in your inbox, I always try my damndest to make sure you get something.

That is why it’s important for me to be upfront with everyone. Those of us producing the content (really anyone who produces any kinds of content) depends on you sharing and talking about our articles on Twitter or wherever you do your social media. In real life too. Use this stuff in discussions and debates and tell your friends, family, enemies, and pets all about the site.

It’s the only way to grow, keep it going, and hopefully, add more quality writers. So, that is all we ask. See a tweet from one of us about our article. Like AND retweet it. Quote tweet it. Even if you disagree. Dialogue and discourse is good it sometimes sparks other articles or ideas.

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In part one of this article series, I provided context to the 2022 season and talked about how data could’ve helped the Titans win more games by using more play-action passing.

In part two, I talked about the detriment of Todd Downing as play-caller, but also gave you some good vibes surrounding Mike Vrabel and how this team always plays well against the Chiefs.

Today, I am going to give you a Titans secret weapon that they can, and likely already are planning to, use this season. But first, let’s talk about that Golden State Warriors comment by Ran Carthon.

Golden State Warriors Football

This has been rehashed a lot, but everyone knows what Carthon said in his press conference and a few times after that.

“It’s cute and sexy to play Golden State Warriors football in September and October when the weather is good, but the teams that play in January play tough defense and run the football.”

Now, a lot of people have misconstrued this quote as his philosophy towards team building or his must have offensive philosophy. However, it is truly just because he has worked under Kyle Shanahan who has teams that love to run the ball and play great defense. They have been very successful.

This philosophy isn’t unique in anyway. In fact, if you hooked up every coach in the NFL to a polygraph and asked them if they agree. I would say about 70% would agree. However, you also have to be adaptable. If something isn’t working you need to adapt.

There is no perfect formula. This is a tried and true formula, but it doesn’t guarantee that your team goes 17-0 and a hoisting a Lombardi. Every year, every situation is unique. Is this the safest route with how the team is currently constructed? Yes. Is this the future? No.

I think that is the tough pill to swallow for fans. Is that this team isn’t built currently to do what the Chiefs do on offense. Just a fact. However, while that is okay to realize, what is not okay is for the Titans to refuse to see that passing the ball was better for them.

We talked about that in the last article. They’d probably would’ve won more games if they had rainless and passed more on early downs.

So, to tie this back into Carthon’s statements, I did an experiment. I looked at the 2022 NFL Playoff Teams, added the Titans, and split up the season into Weeks 1-8 (September-October) and Weeks 9-18 (November- January). I looked at the run vs pass rates and their EPAs.

Not only did I split it up by weeks, but I also look at quarters 1-3 and only 1st and 2nd downs. I wanted to avoid those garbage times and obvious passing situations.

Now, I don’t want to get bogged down so I just wanted to compare some averages and give you some notes.