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Taylor Lewan: Arthur Smith will combine best elements of Terry Robiskie and Matt LaFleur run games

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- My No. 1 wish for Arthur Smith as the Titans’ offensive coordinator is that he plugs into the No. 1 desire Jon Robinson had for Mike Vrabel when he hired the head coach: Find ways to maximize the talent.

Certainly, Smith needs more than the Titans have, and he needs Marcus Mariota to be healthier than he has been.LewanTampaIntro

But the Titans offense needs to find ways to get the good Mariota early and often, and the same goes for Derrick Henry and Corey Davis who need to be layered in with a recovered Delanie Walker.

Those should be the big four, but the same demand trickles down for everybody: Jonnu Smith, an offensive line that may have some new parts, a receiving corps that includes Taywan Taylor and Tajae Sharpe and whoever Mariota’s backup is because they will probably going to need him.

Figure out what they do best, get them in position to do it. Figure out what they can’t do and don’t ask them to do it.

I have no doubt that Smith is a smart coach. And every smart coach takes pieces he loved from guys he coached under and uses them, and takes pieces he did not likes from coaches he worked under and tosses them.

Smith had worked under Mike Munchak and Dowell Loggains, Ken Whisenhunt and Jason Michael, Mike Mularkey and Terry Robiskie and Mike Vrabel and Matt LaFleur.ArthurSmith

That is a very diverse pool of coaches with varied approaches to offense. They were all influenced by a large number of coaches themselves.

Smith’s got a big library.

Indications I've gotten are that Vrabel wants an offense that is at least somewhat similar to what the Titans had last year, though obviously it needs additional pieces and it needs to be more effective.

While Smith will bring continuity, I am certain he is not charged with running LaFleur’s offense but with continuing to build on it, fitting the scheme with what the Titans have.

While contemplating the possibility of Smith as coordinator last week, a player told me Smith would meld the best of Mularkey’s smashmouth run game and LaFleur’s inside and outside zone.

“He will take the best parts of what we ran with our last coach and adapt it with our offense from last year,” Taylor Lewan said.

That’s a perfect example of a next step the Titans can take under their new coordinator.

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