Tennessee Titans DC Dennard Wilson must adapt in Week 2
Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson debuted his aggressive defense in Sunday's Week 1 loss to the Chicago Bears. Wilson's defense was flat-out outstanding. The Bears did not score a single offensive touchdown and were limited to three field goals and a 15.3 percent third-down conversion rate (2-of-13).
Had Titans quarterback Will Levis and special teams not thrown the game away, the Titans would have Wilson and his dominant defense to thank for their 1-0 record.
The Titans own the league's top-ranked pass defense entering Week 2 against the New York Jets after allowing Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to throw for just 64 net passing yards. Wilson's unit was one of two defenses in the league (Minnesota Vikings) that did not allow an offensive touchdown to be scored.
And Wilson's defense achieved that by staying true to the aggressive nature that was promised throughout training camp and the preseason. The Titans sacked Williams twice, and recorded eight tackles for loss, and five quarterback hits. Williams struggled versus pressure. According to Pro Football Focus' charting, he went 3-of-11 when blitzed for 20 yards.
The Titans created havoc up front, posting a pass-rush-win-rate (PRWR) of 42%, 15th-best in the league, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Their total defensive Expected Points Added (EPA) per play was seventh-best (-0.279) in Week 1.
And they did it by being aggressive.
The Titans were in Cover 0 on 9% of their coverage snaps, third-highest of any defense, per Football Insights. If you're unfamiliar, Cover 0 is an aggressive man-coverage concept with no deep defender. It's a staple often used by Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles, who Wilson often calls a mentor.
You may notice that the San Francisco 49ers, the Jets' Week 1 opponent, didn't spend a single snap in Cover 0 by comparison. That's the correct approach versus Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who's one of the calmest, most effective quarterbacks of all time when blitzed and under pressure.
Titans head coach Brian Callahan acknowledged that earlier this week.
The 49ers spent 35% of their defensive snaps in Cover 1, which utilizes one free safety roaming the middle of the field with underneath defenders in man coverage. They also played Cover 2 with two deep defenders on 23% of their snaps. The 49ers dominated the contest, winning 32-19.
The 49ers wisely avoided blitzing Rodgers almost altogether. PFF charted 19 of Rodgers' 21 passing attempts as "not blitzed." In 2022, when Rodgers was last fully healthy for a full season, he actually completed a higher percentage of his passes when facing the blitz (65.8%) compared to not facing blitz defense (64%). Rodgers' completion percentage dropped to 47% when facing pressure, with the total numbers indicating the majority of pressures occurred via traditional three-or-four-man rushes as opposed to ones that sent extra defenders.
The 49ers posted a PRWR of 45% against the Jets, slightly better than Tennessee's 42%. And despite not really facing blitzes, the Jets' pass-block-win-rate (PBWR) was a below-average 53%, 21st-best in Week 1, and their run-blocking-win rate (RBWR) was even worse at a 28th-best 65%. The Titans should manage to make plays around the line of scrimmage without feeling required to overload the box with defenders.
Wilson's defense was elite in Week 1. The former defensive backs position coach aced his first test as Callahan's DC. Pay close attention to Wilson's approach and process against Rodgers. It'll offer insight into his willingness to adapt his game plan appropriately to his opponents.
