The Tennessee Titans' Lack of Analytics Department Hurt Their 2022 (Part 1 of 3)

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.

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The title isn't shocking in the slightest. Many in the media and in the fan base have been talking about how the lack of analytics in the building has been an issue for a few years now.

However, Mike Vrabel was able to mask a lot of that by being a damn good football coach and getting wins. But last year, the chickens came home to roost for this Titans team, and they had no one in the building to help bail them out.

I am not saying that analytics could've helped them win the Super Bowl or kept people healthy. I am just saying that in-season analytics and data could've helped Vrabel and his staff see what was working and what wasn't. That is the beauty of cold, complex data.

It's a science. It's math. Just facts. No emotion. You can ignore it (many people do), but at the end of the day, amid an awful losing streak, analytics could've helped get the Titans into the playoffs.

Sure, Vrabel had some "in-game" analytics courtesy of John Streicher, but how detailed and how it was used seems to be very limited from the outside looking in.

Weekly and real-time data is available. Especially if you have a fully fleshed-out analytics team inside the building. PFF, SIS, NextGen, and others can be combed for information that could've helped this team. Hell, just having your analytics department watch film and keep up with data in-house could've helped.

Honestly, this Titans team was so bad on offense last year you shouldn't have needed an analytics department to figure out what was working and what wasn't. It was blatantly obvious. However, sometimes you need a voice of authority.

Jon Robinson famously said, "I am the Analytics Department." Total disregard for how analytics can be used and helpful. This rigid old-school thinking is part of what led to his firing.

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.

Enter Ran Carthon

Ran Carthon comes from the San Francisco 49ers, and they heavily use analytics as a tool. A side dish, if you will. A loaded baked potato with a salt-crusted skin. That is how data should be used.

It isn't the end-all-be-all, but it supplements football instincts and game-planning. The Titans under Vrabel have always been prepared. No doubt about it. Data can make them even more prepared.

In my opinion, Carthon's most significant change has been his infusion of data into this front office. Chad Brinker has brought in his own data tools on various subjects like salary cap and injuries. The Titans have also hired numerous staffers to help build out a more modern analytics department.

Robinson had one person in a broom closet somewhere, probably playing candy crush on his phone. Hopefully, they weren't forgotten and have been removed from the dark hole he was crammed in.

This is all well and good. It will be interesting to see and test the analytics department this year. However, this article is about last year. So, how badly did the lack of analytics hurt the Titans' season?

Putting the 2022 Season in Perspective

If you're not on "Threads" and just on Twitter, you probably missed out on me mentioning 14 things that put the Titans' 2022 season in perspective. Here are those 14 things: