A side-effect of the Titans terrible defense is that it has left fans pining for Dean Pees.

I found that interesting, because, while I liked Pees, I don’t remember his units being anything special.

So I compiled stats to highlight the differences between 2019/2020.

THREAD:

The 2020 DVOA numbers will probably shift for the worse once the Colts performance is recorded, but I’m sure many would be surprised to see the rankings so similar.

The pass defense basically grades out the same as last year, while rush defense goes from a strength to league avg

Side note: I have been chuckling at everyone raging at Bowen/Vrabel for having their CBs play so far off the line.

This is a Pees staple! Not only did he favor it while he was here, but he’s always done it.

Also...don’t get your hopes up this changes when Adoree gets back

I included league rankings alongside the other stats, as I think it’s important we view the comparisons with respect to the rest of the NFL.

The Titans are giving up almost a TD more per game this yr, but have a BETTER Pts/game ranking. Defenses across the league are struggling

Looking at opponent yards per play, we again see evidence of a declined rush defense. The passing net yards/attempt is basically the same.

I know the secondary issues are what get talked about most, but the rush defense is what really deteriorated from 2019 to 2020.

Why the dip?

I’m willing to attribute this to the poor play of the ILBs & safeties. I don’t think the DL has dropped off as much.

I know we love to blame coaching, but I’m less inclined to do so for run defense. Players have to make plays.

PS: I think Austin Johnson is missed

Sc% is the percentage in which an opponent’s drives results in points.

We again see how bad 2020 defenses are, as the TEN Sc% is 9% higher in 2020, yet still ranked better.

To me, this shows that the classic Titans “bend but don’t break” defense is breaking more often.

And now we get to arguably the crux of the defensive issues - 3rd down defense.

It should come as no surprise that this is by far the most glaring variance from 2019 to 2020.

The team went from a top 10 unit to bottom of the barrel. And that has a major trickle down effect...

The drive stats also show a substantial negative variance, and there is certainly a correlation to poor 3rd down play.

Think of it this way - 2020 teams avg 10-11 drives a game. An increase of 25 sec per drive and .67 points per drive equates to 4.5 min of TOP and 7 points. Oof.

The last two stats show that the Titans have blitzed and pressured at low rates both in 2019 and 2020, though there has been a decent dip in 2020.

The drop in pressure despite an increase in blitz % is also concerning. I do think Pees was much more effective with his blitzes.

Stats never tell the full story, but what inferences can we make from them?

First off - I don’t think this defense has changed as drastically as people think. It is basically the same, just underperforming in a couple key areas.

This is still very much a Pees defense, which might be part of the problem.

Vrabel/Bowen appear to be trying to recreate his scheme. The problem is that, even w/ Pees coaching it, it wasn’t overly impressive.

Without Pees play calling finesse this defense goes from meh to bad.

It’s erroneous to pin all the defensive struggles on the poor third down play, but I see it is a major factor.

Extending drives tires the defense and keeps the Titans offense off the field. Adding 4.5 to your opponents drives effectively creates a 9 min TOP swing - that’s huge!

Unfortunately, there’s not really an easy path for that to improve. Adding Adoree/King will surely help, but I still think Bowen lacks the play-calling touch in these situations.

We can’t expect major schematic/play-calling changes, so we have to hope our players step it up.

Sorry this hasn’t been an encouraging thread lol.

In sum, I don’t think Pees was as great as people remember. But trying to live in his shadow is surely a downgrade.

This team needs a revamp on defense, which will likely have to wait until next season.