In the end, the New England Patriots won quite comfortably against the Tennessee Titans in Week 7. However, the final score of 31-13 does not show that the team of head coach Mike Vrabel once again started
slowly on the defensive side of the ball.
The Titans, who were ranked 31st in points per game entering the contest, scored on three of their first four possessions. While they eventually ran out of steam in the second half, they managed to keep the game close in the first — a familiar theme for the Patriots this season.
While they are ninth overall in expected points added per defensive play over full 60 minutes (-0.014), their ranking drops to 23rd when only looking at first halves (0.075).
Needless to say, the Patriots have to find a way to start faster on the defensive side of the ball.
“The biggest thing is just making sure that we we have good eyes, good keys, and communication. Communication is key and vital for our defense,” said linebacker Jahlani Tavai.
“They’re trying to get into a rhythm sometimes or whatnot. It depends on their OC or their head coach. But again, for us, it has to come down to communication. Communication clarifies everything, and once we get everything communicated, our eyes are next and it’s a whole domino effect from there. It starts on 1st-and-10 or P-and-10 and as long as we can get them off track then it will be in our hands.”
Versus Tennessee, that contrast was stark.
The Patriots surrendered a field goal on their opening drive, followed by a touchdown, punt and another field goal. Along the way, the Titans’ offense had passes of 38, 20 and 18 yards and averaged 6.5 yards per play.
And then, suddenly, the flip started to switch. New England’s defense shut out its opponent in the second half, registering two turnovers and even scoring a touchdown on a K’Lavon Chaisson fumble return.
“We just started playing our game, correcting little mistakes and fixing our eyes,” explained Tavai. “Once we settled down and played our defense and our style it started clicking for us.”
