Tennessee Titans

Tajae Sharpe should be in for a big Thursday

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Tennessee Titans just had a tough loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. That happened in large part because the Titans failed to use their two headed running back tandem to bully the Colts.

Identifying an opposing team’s weakness is right up there with the most important parts of a coach’s job description along with talent development. While I have almost no faith in this coaching staff to do this, here is what makes sense.

Find a way to get Jalen Ramsey isolated on Rishard Matthews.

On paper, this is very easy to do. Split him out wide to Ramsey’s side, or force the scheme to dictate the coverage.

Ramsey has been doing very well in the early part of the season and he has been physical in routes. So, in an ideal world the Titans only go his way when he has cleanly been beaten.

The other times, the Titans should use heavy sets to run the ball, or spread everything out and let Marcus Mariota attack from the shotgun like he did against the Cleveland Browns and the Miami Dolphins.

If the Titans only look for Rishard Matthews on specific situations, then that sets up for a huge game for Tennessee’s #2 WR, Tajae Sharpe. And this meshes with where the Jacksonville Jaguars have been weak. Look at this trend.

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Week 1: #1 WR Jordy Nelson. #2 Davante Adams 3 receptions, 50 yards, TD

Week 2: #1 WR Travis Benjamin. #2 Tyrell Williams 3 receptions, 61 yards, TD

Week 3: #1 WR- Steve Smith. #2 Mike Wallace 3 receptions, 34 yards

Week 4: #1 WR- T.Y. Hilton. #2 Phillip Dorsett 1 reception, 64 yards, TD

Week 6: #1 WR- Alshon Jeffery. #2 Cameron Meredith 11 receptions, 113 yards

Week 7: #1 WR- Amari Cooper. #2 Michael Crabtree 8 receptions, 96 yards, TD

So that is an average stat line of 4.8 receptions, 69.6 yards and 0.6 TDs. That is a terrible job of stopping opposing #2 WRs.

If Tajae Sharpe can get that sort of line, and score then the Titans could essentially run the ball and get DeMarco Murray’s almost automatic 100+ yards and a TD.

That puts the Titans in a great position at home against a Blake Bortles led offense that has been turning the ball over at a very high rate.

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So, while I think the best option is to pound the ball early and often behind a very talented offensive line, this may be the week to break that mold a little. Sure use Murray a lot, but have several plays built in where it is Sharpe running the routes you really want while Matthews is used more as a decoy almost.

The Titans don’t NEED this game in the way a 1-6 team needs a win, but man if they could get to 4-4 and have some momentum it would go a long way for this team’s mentality and their playoff hopes.

The Titans are the better team, but they were last week too. If they can’t win here, then they are already halfway towards being swept in one of the worst divisions in football. That is a bad look for Mike Mularkey who has every opportunity to save his job. All he has to do, is use Tajae Sharpe.

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