Titans game - Week #2
Posted: Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:24 pmLittle preview courtesy of The Athletic:
Seahawks vs. Titans: Why Tre Flowers’ improvement is so important, X-factor, game prediction
By Michael-Shawn Dugar Sep 17, 2021
Oliver Davis is often studying defensive back play, so when he saw a teachable moment during Week 10 of the 2019 NFL season, he posted a clip to his Instagram page.
The clip shows a young cornerback lined up about 5 yards off the line of scrimmage, 2 yards deep in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt. The receiver across from him runs a delayed slant without any interruption from the cornerback, turns and catches an easy pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the end zone.
The receiver on the play was San Francisco’s Kendrick Bourne.
The cornerback? Seattle’s Tre Flowers.
Davis, a private defensive backs coach, posted the clip on Nov. 12, 2019, one day after the Seahawks outlasted the 49ers in overtime. In the caption he wrote that Flowers, with whom he did not have a prior relationship, should have played closer to the line and put hands on Bourne after the snap. “You must disrupt timing,” Davis wrote.
Flowers, then in his second season as Seattle’s starting right cornerback, commented an objection. Davis had a rebuttal, and they came to an understanding. A couple of months later, shortly after the Seahawks’ season ended in Green Bay in what was a disappointing evening for Flowers, Davis received a message from Flowers about the possibility of them working together in the offseason.
“It was like look, man, I’m trying to work,” Davis recalled Flowers feeling, “I’m trying to get better.”
The Seahawks are one week into the 2021 season, and much of their success in their Week 2 matchup with the Tennessee Titans — and the rest of the season — relies on just how much Flowers has improved. Flowers came to the Seahawks as a fifth-round pick in 2018 who played safety at Oklahoma State. At 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, he was converted by Seattle to outside cornerback. Because of a few injuries to the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart, Flowers wound up starting as a rookie and never relinquished the job.
Then came the spring of 2019, which followed a disappointing end to a sophomore campaign in which Flowers surrendered seven catches on nine targets for 123 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay’s Davante Adams in the divisional playoffs. Seattle for the first time in Flowers’ career sought a replacement, trading for Quinton Dunbar. Despite showing up to camp late and not completely in shape because of a felony armed robbery case (charges were dropped), Dunbar beat out Flowers for the starting right cornerback job. Dunbar’s lingering knee injuries thrust Flowers back into the lineup during the regular season, and he produced mixed results. Flowers suffered an injury himself just as he appeared to have turned a corner in Week 12, but by the time his hamstring healed, D.J. Reed had taken his spot.
The 2021 offseason marked the second straight year Flowers connected with Davis, an Atlanta-based defensive backs coach whose Sweet Feet Performance roster of NFL pupils is longer than a Costco grocery receipt and includes familiar names such as Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey. In studying Flowers prior to their initial sessions, Davis saw a long, athletic defender who knew how to play within the scheme and put himself in position to succeed but wasn’t necessarily making the game-changing plays. The play he posted on Instagram was a perfect example.
The Seahawks are playing Cover-2 on a two-point conversion, meaning Flowers is responsible for the flat. Because he’s expecting inside help, Flowers doesn’t press, jam or attempt to re-route the receiver after the snap. Technically, Flowers did his job, but because the help didn’t come it looks like he gives up an easy conversion. Where Flowers could take the next step, Davis felt, is doing more than his job, realizing that because he didn’t have a threat in the flat — the running was on the opposite side of the field — he could squeeze Bourne’s route and potentially record a pass breakup or an interception.
“He’s a good athlete, he just has to lock in and make every rep count, really,” said Davis, who spent about two to three months in each of the past two offseasons with Flowers in Atlanta. “The ceiling is high when you look at the tangibles and what he could be and the potential.”
The Seahawks agree. Flowers, the coaching staff feels, is a good player who plays fairly disciplined football. Talent is not his issue, they believe. If anything, it’s consistency and, to some extent, making those instinctual, splash plays the great players at his position make.
“He’s very smart, he knows down-and-distance, he knows splits, he picks up on tendencies,” Davis said. “For Tre, it’s more him going out and playing that way, actually believing that he can and understanding he is a vet now and capable of making game-changing plays. It’s just up to him to turn it on. That’s where we’re at now, waiting on that.”
This was the point of emphasis when Davis most recently trained Flowers. They began each day with a warmup and a ball-oriented workout, followed by a specific focus on a different aspect of coverage, whether that be press-man coverage, off-man coverage or zone concepts and dissecting routes. The sessions were simple but structured, much like a Pete Carroll defense.
About once a week Davis would bring in receivers to spar with the defensive backs so the defenders can rep attacking the ball, an area Flowers has admitted he needs to improve in. Seattle believes he has improved, otherwise Flowers wouldn’t have been reinserted into the starting lineup at the expense of Ahkello Witherspoon. One of the many compliments paid to Flowers by the coaching staff during camp came from defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., who said, “In this particular summer he tried to master his craft. He’s been really physical, focused on his game, and we expect that to turn into high-level performance.”
Seattle first put this to the test in Week 1 against the Colts, which had a rather pedestrian starting lineup of receivers in Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell and Zach Pascal. Coupled with constantly pressured Carson Wentz, Seattle’s cornerbacks didn’t see much action. Flowers was targeted three times and allowed three receptions for 28 yards, according to Sportradar. This includes the only touchdown Seattle allowed in man coverage: an 11-yard reception from Pascal on a post route in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee’s receiving tandem of A.J. Brown and Julio Jones is far from pedestrian. Brown is a rising star and Jones is at the back end of his career but can still play at a high level. They’re both built like NBA shooting guards. Reed, listed at 5-9, is in for a challenge, too, but Seattle’s faith in Flowers feels like a much bigger gamble, one that will be tested against one of the more physically imposing receiving duos in the league.
“It’s a real challenge,” Norton said of Jones and Brown.
How Reed and Flowers respond to that challenge may not only determine the outcome but showcase the potential ceiling of Seattle’s defense. Davis, like Seattle’s staff, has faith in Flowers, noting that he’s “more patient with his eyes than he used to be. More patient in press-man than he used to be. Just trusting himself more.” Flowers said one of his goals is to “put it all together” in Year 4, the final season of his rookie contract. Putting it all together this Sunday would be a step in the right direction and perhaps silence doubters who have pegged Seattle’s CB room as one of the worst in the league.
“The next step for him is to actually be in that position in a game and just trust what he’s already done,” Flowers said. “I feel like if he does that, he’ll make a lot of plays.”
I expect a big game from …
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. On defense, the Titans were 26th in dropback EPA, according to RBSDM.com and 26th in passing DVOA, according to Football Outsiders. One of their starting safeties is on injured reserve. An already below-average secondary is facing one of the best quarterbacks in the league, with arguably the best receiving tandem in the NFL at his disposal. This is a mismatch, and even though the Titans have talent on their defensive line I’d be surprised if Wilson, fresh off one of the most efficient performances of his career, doesn’t take full advantage of Tennessee’s passing defense.
The X factor will be …
Julio Jones. Acquired in a trade from the Falcons in the offseason, Jones had a disappointing Titans debut. He ran 34 routes, saw six targets and caught three passes for 29 yards, averaging 0.85 receiving yards per route run. That ranked 88th among qualifying receivers in Week 1, according to TruMedia. For reference, Jones was fourth in yards per route run in 2020. Jones against Arizona had multiple drops, one in the end zone and another that led to an interception. His head coach called him out after the game. Despite being a run-first operation, Tennessee has had a dynamic passing offense since handing the keys to quarterback Ryan Tannehill during the 2019 season. Adding Jones to the mix was supposed to form a borderline unstoppable pairing with Brown, a Pro Bowler last season. Jones has a talent advantage over Flowers and Reed and if he exploits that matchup on Sunday, it could be the edge the Titans need to pull the upset.
The Seahawks win if …
They replicate Arizona’s Derrick Henry Plan. Using a defensive front similar to the one Seattle is expected to use, Arizona shut down the reigning rushing champ to the tune of 58 yards on 17 carries. The Cardinals were fully committed to limiting Tennessee’s strength, as Henry faced eight or more defenders in the box 35.2 percent of the time, the ninth-highest rate in Week 1, according to Next Gen Stats. He was tackled by the line of scrimmage a league-high four times, according to Sportradar. Arizona’s front seven, led by linebacker Isaiah Simmons, defensive tackle Corey Peters and versatile defensive lineman J.J. Watt flat-out dominated Tennessee’s offensive line in a concerted effort to clog the run lanes. If the Seahawks do the same, Seattle wins easily.
The Titans win if …
The offensive line shows up. Left tackle Taylor Lewan after the game tweeted a thank you to Arizona defensive end Chandler Jones for kicking his ass and exposing him, which says everything you need to know about how the Titans’ front line performed in Week 1. There’s a viral clip of Budda Baker, a safety, strong-arming Lewan into the dirt. Only Wentz was hit more than Tannehill in Week 1, according to TruMedia. Everything for Seattle starts with the front line. Ditto for the Titans on offense. If the Titans can somehow win that battle, then maybe they can win the game.
Game prediction
Seahawks 31, Titans 24
Tennessee’s offensive line can’t possibly be worse than it was against Arizona, which is why I’m predicting more points for the Titans this week. But the Seahawks have a reliable run defense, an explosive passing offense and a talented front seven that should be enough to win and cover the spread in their home opener.
Seahawks vs. Titans: Why Tre Flowers’ improvement is so important, X-factor, game prediction
By Michael-Shawn Dugar Sep 17, 2021
Oliver Davis is often studying defensive back play, so when he saw a teachable moment during Week 10 of the 2019 NFL season, he posted a clip to his Instagram page.
The clip shows a young cornerback lined up about 5 yards off the line of scrimmage, 2 yards deep in the end zone on a two-point conversion attempt. The receiver across from him runs a delayed slant without any interruption from the cornerback, turns and catches an easy pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the end zone.
The receiver on the play was San Francisco’s Kendrick Bourne.
The cornerback? Seattle’s Tre Flowers.
Davis, a private defensive backs coach, posted the clip on Nov. 12, 2019, one day after the Seahawks outlasted the 49ers in overtime. In the caption he wrote that Flowers, with whom he did not have a prior relationship, should have played closer to the line and put hands on Bourne after the snap. “You must disrupt timing,” Davis wrote.
Flowers, then in his second season as Seattle’s starting right cornerback, commented an objection. Davis had a rebuttal, and they came to an understanding. A couple of months later, shortly after the Seahawks’ season ended in Green Bay in what was a disappointing evening for Flowers, Davis received a message from Flowers about the possibility of them working together in the offseason.
“It was like look, man, I’m trying to work,” Davis recalled Flowers feeling, “I’m trying to get better.”
The Seahawks are one week into the 2021 season, and much of their success in their Week 2 matchup with the Tennessee Titans — and the rest of the season — relies on just how much Flowers has improved. Flowers came to the Seahawks as a fifth-round pick in 2018 who played safety at Oklahoma State. At 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, he was converted by Seattle to outside cornerback. Because of a few injuries to the veterans ahead of him on the depth chart, Flowers wound up starting as a rookie and never relinquished the job.
Then came the spring of 2019, which followed a disappointing end to a sophomore campaign in which Flowers surrendered seven catches on nine targets for 123 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay’s Davante Adams in the divisional playoffs. Seattle for the first time in Flowers’ career sought a replacement, trading for Quinton Dunbar. Despite showing up to camp late and not completely in shape because of a felony armed robbery case (charges were dropped), Dunbar beat out Flowers for the starting right cornerback job. Dunbar’s lingering knee injuries thrust Flowers back into the lineup during the regular season, and he produced mixed results. Flowers suffered an injury himself just as he appeared to have turned a corner in Week 12, but by the time his hamstring healed, D.J. Reed had taken his spot.
The 2021 offseason marked the second straight year Flowers connected with Davis, an Atlanta-based defensive backs coach whose Sweet Feet Performance roster of NFL pupils is longer than a Costco grocery receipt and includes familiar names such as Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey. In studying Flowers prior to their initial sessions, Davis saw a long, athletic defender who knew how to play within the scheme and put himself in position to succeed but wasn’t necessarily making the game-changing plays. The play he posted on Instagram was a perfect example.
The Seahawks are playing Cover-2 on a two-point conversion, meaning Flowers is responsible for the flat. Because he’s expecting inside help, Flowers doesn’t press, jam or attempt to re-route the receiver after the snap. Technically, Flowers did his job, but because the help didn’t come it looks like he gives up an easy conversion. Where Flowers could take the next step, Davis felt, is doing more than his job, realizing that because he didn’t have a threat in the flat — the running was on the opposite side of the field — he could squeeze Bourne’s route and potentially record a pass breakup or an interception.
“He’s a good athlete, he just has to lock in and make every rep count, really,” said Davis, who spent about two to three months in each of the past two offseasons with Flowers in Atlanta. “The ceiling is high when you look at the tangibles and what he could be and the potential.”
The Seahawks agree. Flowers, the coaching staff feels, is a good player who plays fairly disciplined football. Talent is not his issue, they believe. If anything, it’s consistency and, to some extent, making those instinctual, splash plays the great players at his position make.
“He’s very smart, he knows down-and-distance, he knows splits, he picks up on tendencies,” Davis said. “For Tre, it’s more him going out and playing that way, actually believing that he can and understanding he is a vet now and capable of making game-changing plays. It’s just up to him to turn it on. That’s where we’re at now, waiting on that.”
This was the point of emphasis when Davis most recently trained Flowers. They began each day with a warmup and a ball-oriented workout, followed by a specific focus on a different aspect of coverage, whether that be press-man coverage, off-man coverage or zone concepts and dissecting routes. The sessions were simple but structured, much like a Pete Carroll defense.
About once a week Davis would bring in receivers to spar with the defensive backs so the defenders can rep attacking the ball, an area Flowers has admitted he needs to improve in. Seattle believes he has improved, otherwise Flowers wouldn’t have been reinserted into the starting lineup at the expense of Ahkello Witherspoon. One of the many compliments paid to Flowers by the coaching staff during camp came from defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr., who said, “In this particular summer he tried to master his craft. He’s been really physical, focused on his game, and we expect that to turn into high-level performance.”
Seattle first put this to the test in Week 1 against the Colts, which had a rather pedestrian starting lineup of receivers in Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell and Zach Pascal. Coupled with constantly pressured Carson Wentz, Seattle’s cornerbacks didn’t see much action. Flowers was targeted three times and allowed three receptions for 28 yards, according to Sportradar. This includes the only touchdown Seattle allowed in man coverage: an 11-yard reception from Pascal on a post route in the fourth quarter.
Tennessee’s receiving tandem of A.J. Brown and Julio Jones is far from pedestrian. Brown is a rising star and Jones is at the back end of his career but can still play at a high level. They’re both built like NBA shooting guards. Reed, listed at 5-9, is in for a challenge, too, but Seattle’s faith in Flowers feels like a much bigger gamble, one that will be tested against one of the more physically imposing receiving duos in the league.
“It’s a real challenge,” Norton said of Jones and Brown.
How Reed and Flowers respond to that challenge may not only determine the outcome but showcase the potential ceiling of Seattle’s defense. Davis, like Seattle’s staff, has faith in Flowers, noting that he’s “more patient with his eyes than he used to be. More patient in press-man than he used to be. Just trusting himself more.” Flowers said one of his goals is to “put it all together” in Year 4, the final season of his rookie contract. Putting it all together this Sunday would be a step in the right direction and perhaps silence doubters who have pegged Seattle’s CB room as one of the worst in the league.
“The next step for him is to actually be in that position in a game and just trust what he’s already done,” Flowers said. “I feel like if he does that, he’ll make a lot of plays.”
I expect a big game from …
Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson. On defense, the Titans were 26th in dropback EPA, according to RBSDM.com and 26th in passing DVOA, according to Football Outsiders. One of their starting safeties is on injured reserve. An already below-average secondary is facing one of the best quarterbacks in the league, with arguably the best receiving tandem in the NFL at his disposal. This is a mismatch, and even though the Titans have talent on their defensive line I’d be surprised if Wilson, fresh off one of the most efficient performances of his career, doesn’t take full advantage of Tennessee’s passing defense.
The X factor will be …
Julio Jones. Acquired in a trade from the Falcons in the offseason, Jones had a disappointing Titans debut. He ran 34 routes, saw six targets and caught three passes for 29 yards, averaging 0.85 receiving yards per route run. That ranked 88th among qualifying receivers in Week 1, according to TruMedia. For reference, Jones was fourth in yards per route run in 2020. Jones against Arizona had multiple drops, one in the end zone and another that led to an interception. His head coach called him out after the game. Despite being a run-first operation, Tennessee has had a dynamic passing offense since handing the keys to quarterback Ryan Tannehill during the 2019 season. Adding Jones to the mix was supposed to form a borderline unstoppable pairing with Brown, a Pro Bowler last season. Jones has a talent advantage over Flowers and Reed and if he exploits that matchup on Sunday, it could be the edge the Titans need to pull the upset.
The Seahawks win if …
They replicate Arizona’s Derrick Henry Plan. Using a defensive front similar to the one Seattle is expected to use, Arizona shut down the reigning rushing champ to the tune of 58 yards on 17 carries. The Cardinals were fully committed to limiting Tennessee’s strength, as Henry faced eight or more defenders in the box 35.2 percent of the time, the ninth-highest rate in Week 1, according to Next Gen Stats. He was tackled by the line of scrimmage a league-high four times, according to Sportradar. Arizona’s front seven, led by linebacker Isaiah Simmons, defensive tackle Corey Peters and versatile defensive lineman J.J. Watt flat-out dominated Tennessee’s offensive line in a concerted effort to clog the run lanes. If the Seahawks do the same, Seattle wins easily.
The Titans win if …
The offensive line shows up. Left tackle Taylor Lewan after the game tweeted a thank you to Arizona defensive end Chandler Jones for kicking his ass and exposing him, which says everything you need to know about how the Titans’ front line performed in Week 1. There’s a viral clip of Budda Baker, a safety, strong-arming Lewan into the dirt. Only Wentz was hit more than Tannehill in Week 1, according to TruMedia. Everything for Seattle starts with the front line. Ditto for the Titans on offense. If the Titans can somehow win that battle, then maybe they can win the game.
Game prediction
Seahawks 31, Titans 24
Tennessee’s offensive line can’t possibly be worse than it was against Arizona, which is why I’m predicting more points for the Titans this week. But the Seahawks have a reliable run defense, an explosive passing offense and a talented front seven that should be enough to win and cover the spread in their home opener.