The Titans Offense: Speed & Personnel

The Tennessee Titans have talked about getting faster all off-season. What does that mean and do they have the personnel for that?

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Today, I wanted to focus on some of the offensive schematic changes that were alluded to in the Titans press conferences last week. Do the changes match the personnel? What does it actually mean to be fast?

First, I wanted to talk about the passing game and why we have to keep in mind that Kyle Philips is an important piece to this team’s 2023 outlook.

11-Personnel: Stop Discounting Kyle Philips

While he isn’t the only person disrespecting Kyle Philips, Tyler (@TicTacTitans) was the latest person to discount the potential of the second-year wide receiver. I am tired of the Philips disrespect quite honestly.

First, before we get into why he shouldn’t see disrespect we need to look at the reasons why people say they’re not expecting much. Tyler’s was more towards how the Titans employ their offensive personnel. Other reasons:

• He muffed punts.

• He is little.

• He is slot only.

• He got hurt.

Some are valid concerns and like always, I am not telling you how to feel about Philips, but objectively he is going to be used and the Titans are obviously going into the season with the expectation he is going to be a big part of the offense.

Let me go on a mini-rant: If your assessment of how well a player can play the wide receiver position is based on that player’s ability on special teams, you’re off your fucking rocker. This is a completely asinine take. Devin Hester and Dante Hall are two of the greatest return specialists I have ever seen. Cordarelle Patterson is right there, but none of these guys are some fantastic wide receivers.

Hall and Hester were horrendous when they lined up as wide receivers. These things do not correlate to one another in terms of success and failure. The Titans obviously do not want to put him back there anymore either, because Vrabel directed Carthon to find him some returners. So, stop using this as a reason/excuse as to why you may be out on Philips.

The he’s little/got hurt thing is true concern to have. He says he is bulking up, adding muscle, to prevent these injuries. The injury he suffered in the regular season is not directly tied to being little. Mark Andrews last season, and several bigger players, have suffered the same injury. It’s just a freak accident from falling. It was a freak accident beyond anyone’s control.

As he was coming back from that injury, and getting back into the groove, he suffered the dreaded Titans Hamstring injury. Keeping him out for most of the year. Two devastating blows that really have nothing to do with his size.

Philips was a little over 5’11” and 189 pounds at the combine. Obviously, he can add muscle to his frame, but how much can realistically be expected? He is wanting to about 190 to 195 pounds, and that is around the weight he played at UCLA, but way more than what he said he weighed at the start of his rookie season.

The good news is that he knows he need to do this while maintaining his quickness but also getting more explosive. He is wanting to help the team. However, can a slot only wide receiver find the field to contribute on this team?

Absolutely. I am not sure if fans and analysts are stuck in a weird time loop, but the Titans run the majority of their pass plays out of 11-personnel (3 Wide Receiver sets). It’s been the trend going on 4 years, with the lone exception being that of Arthur Smith’s 2020 year.

Though they do normally pass more with two tight ends on the field than the league average, the Titans do not spend a lot of time in 12-personnel (1 RB, 2 TEs) on pass plays. I am not just talking out of my ass. I have the evidence to back it up.

Titans Personnel Usage on Passing Downs:

• 2022 Titans (Todd Downing OC): 64.8% (11-p) | 20.9% (12-p)

• 2021 Titans (Todd Downing OC): 72% (11-p) | 16% (12-p)

• 2020 Titans (Art Smith OC): 48% (11-p) | 31% (12-p)

• 2019 Titans (Art Smith OC): 66% (11-p) | 21% (12-p)

Tim Kelly as OC | Texans Personnel Usage on Passing Downs:

• 2021 Texans: 74% (11-p) | 17% (12-p)

• 2020 Texans: 72% (11-p) | 22% (12-p)

• 2019 Texans: 70% (11-p) | 27% (12-p)

The average for NFL teams to pass from the 12-personnel over the years is typically around 16%. So, while the Titans and Texans have typically been more than that, they’re still passing the majority of the time from 11-personnel.

This idea that the Titans won’t have ample opportunity for Philips to find the field is ridiculous. All they did was put him on the field in the Giants game (roughly 48% of offensive snaps) and Tannehill sent the ball his way. The team is obviously expecting Philips to pick up where he left off last year. Being a reliable go-to target for the quarterback.

He’s also not “slot-only”. He’s more “slot mostly”. Philips played 21 snaps on the outside versus 41 snaps in the slot. The Titans want to be multiple and versatile with their players, and he can be that. While he is shorter than most wide receivers, he isn’t Josh Downs or Tank Dell short. He can play on the outside.

The team is expecting Philips to be an integral part of this offense in his second year. They’re expecting Burks, Chig, and Philips to take a sophomore leap and help this offense become more efficient.

Stop discounting Philips.

Speed & Titans Players