By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

The results haven’t been revolutionary for the Titans' new offense under Tim Kelly through two games. The team ranks 20^th in scoring offense at 21 points per game, 21^st in terms of yardage, and 22^nd in offensive expected points added (EPA) per play. Those marks are all up from the dysfunctional 2022 offense, but not radically different.

It is fair to point out that Kelly’s numbers are probably being dragged down by the worst performance of Ryan Tannehill’s tenure as the starter in Tennessee, which is currently half of the sample size that we must work with as of today.  

However, more important than any of the numbers right now is the fact that the process has been markedly different

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Through two games, Tyjae Spears has been on the field for 45 percent of the Titans’ offensive snaps.

He’s only carried the ball 11 times and he’s only caught three passes. But on the ground, he’s been very effective, with a 6.9-yard average. That’s an impressive 3.3 yards better than Derrick Henry so far.

It’s hard to worry about reduced use of the guy who’s been the centerpiece of the Tennessee offense for the last five years when he is second in the league with 40 carries through two games. Henry approached 400 touches in 2020 and 2022 and would have been there again in 2021 but for the Jones fracture of his foot that cost him the second half of the regular season.

In his two full seasons over the last three years, he’s touched the ball on 38.5 percent of the team’s offensive plays, and even with the relatively meager game against the Saints he’s at 36.8 percent so far in 2023.

But while the touches are up there, the rushing yardage isn’t so far. On that list he’s ninth 

That’s too many numbers in my windup to this: Is Spears going to hurt Henry’s chances at the Pro Football Hall of Fame? [Unlocked]

By JAKE DOWNARD

Jake Downard is a law student who creates NFL and NBA content focused on analytics on Twitter as @JakeAndBall. He also works with fanspo.com. Today's his first post at PaulKuharsky.com where we are going to see what you think of his analytics and stats work.

Preface

Before I dive into the analytics of the Titans Week Two matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers, it is important to contextualize each advanced statistic that I will be referencing.

While I will incorporate basic counting stats like completion percentage, targets, and yards, other lesser-known numbers are helpful as well, so here is a quick breakdown of those abbreviations that will hopefully make them look less like hieroglyphics. [Unlocked]

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. –  During the week leading up to the game studying film of the Chargers from a personnel perspective, they were without a doubt the better team on paper Sunday and should have won this game in a commanding fashion.

The Titans won on Sunday because they had a plan and executed it despite their opponent’s talent level.

Mike Vrabel’s team has intangible qualities that show up against talented teams that consistently underperform. The Titans out-coached the Chargers staff. Their players outplayed the Chargers in critical situations. 

Individual Titan players had outstanding games: Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, Kevin Byard, Jeffrey Simmons and Denico Autry. But this game was won and lost by the play style and coaching plan of each team.

The Titans got back to playing their brand of football.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Trouble came at Ryan Tannehill plenty on Sunday, and he stared it down.

It didn’t prompt bad decisions, interceptions or fumbles. He was sacked five times for 46 yards, all five of them ending drives. But he got up and kept at it. The Titans had the good sense to bail on Xavier Newman after two series, as he couldn’t handle what the Chargers were bringing at him, and Dillon Radunz helped settle things down in the absence of left guard Peter Skoronski, out sick.

The Titans ended an eight-game losing streak with a 27-24 overtime win over the Chargers at Nissan Stadium when Nick Folk hit a 41-yard field goal in overtime. Look at the game and the route to points was clear:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Well that was a whole lot better than what we saw in New Orleans.

An opportunistic team that withstood the bad, made some good things happen and outlasted a team with more talent. That's what we are used to seeing good Mike Vrabel teams do on a lot of NFL Sundays. After eight consecutive losses, they finally got back to it.

Last week you came to the postgame chat awfully angry. You were in a delightful mood this time and I was happy for all of you.

You can rewatch at the private Facebook page or the secret YouTube channel below.

Our weekly postgame conversations are a popular feature of PaulKuharsky.com and you can become a member and be part of one this week and another from the press box in Cleveland after next week's game. 

Maybe we will be talking about a two-game winning streak.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Shockingly, I opened the mailbag and it was filled with Ryan Tannehill questions.

I did my best to dig through them and I think we get to some interesting information about him.

First, I encourage you to make sure you get to this week's podcast between now and kickoff. Quality stuff in there with a lot of Titans' voices and my commentary.

Get it on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube.

Onto the best of what you passed along. Thanks for that and feel free to send questions via Facebook or Twitter (I'm not calling it X) anytime. If you're a member you can easily find me through the private Facebook page, and those questions get priority.

Alex Law What is Tannehill’s history after bad games - does he normally bounce back quickly or does he go on cold streaks?

Read More...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A lack of a dominant offensive tackle means a quality pass rusher is going to require chip help, and chip help means an eligible receiver is going to be limited in what he can do as an option for the offense.

We start this week's podcast looking at chips from that perspective, and also from the perspective of the Titans defense, where Jeffery Simmons said he can regard a back or tight end trying to slow him as a wasp sting that may hurt a little bit but also wears off.

The new episode awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube, which is below.

Other subjects I dive into:

💥 Backside wide receivers can be open and helpless
💥 What does a great run defense mean if you give up a bunch of big passes?
💥 Lack of wide receiver separation

It's all brought to you by Jasper's.

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