Interesting article from Cimini on Chad. Every team knows about his shoulder issues and they are going to be gunning for him. Expect to see a lot of blitzes this weekend, which is scary with two rookie O-Linemen and an inexperienced back. I expect to see more of Barlow in the backfield than many expect just because he is much better picking up the blitz than the others. Unfortunately, we will probably also see a lot more dinks and dunks with Chad never getting a chance to set up and look longer. Some successful screens and draws can help loosen up the Defense so I am looking forward to seeing how Schott and Mangini game plan this aspect of the contest. Should be interesting to watch..... http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/450077p-378806c.html Chad braces for rush job Titans mounting an all-out blitz By RICH CIMINI DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER For Chad Pennington, the season opener has a warm and fuzzy feel to it. His first regular-season game since his second major shoulder injury, nearly a year ago, will be played in Nashville, about three hours from his Knoxville roots. Naturally, the Titans have a different perspective on Pennington's feel-good story. They see a quarterback with a surgicallyrepaired wing and limited arm strength, a potential sitting duck. They want to teach the Jets' signal caller a lesson: Home is where the hurt is. "Chad is a very smart guy. He knows where to go with the ball and he makes good throws, but he's coming off that shoulder surgery and I hope we can get after him a little bit so he can't use those attributes," Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said yesterday. "We're going to try to go out and knock him around a little. If he gets comfortable and gets it going, he's as good as anyone out there." Did someone say "heavy blitzing"? It's obvious the Titans aren't too concerned about getting gunned down by Pennington's arm - Bulluck rated his arm strength as a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 - so they figure to attack the Jets with pressure-oriented schemes on Sunday. The Titans aren't dumb; they studied the preseason tapes. Pennington faced heavy blitzing in the preseason, and he acknowledged that teams probably will test him to see if his twice-repaired throwing shoulder still has enough zip to beat a blitz. When a good defense senses it can attack a quarterback with little fear of reprisal, "It's like sharks to blood," Pennington said. In the preseason, the Jets surrendered 12 sacks in 119 pass plays, a horrible ratio. For Pennington, it was three sacks in 37 pass plays. The blitz pick-up was a major issue, especially among the running backs, and it would be an upset if the Titans don't dial up a few blitzes of their own. "Their offense is protection-conscious," said Titans coach Jeff Fisher, who was being kind. "They're not going to get him hit and he gets rid of the ball." A year ago, when Pennington returned from his first shoulder operation, he was an immediate target. In three games, he saw just about everything, but he responded reasonably well. Against blitzes, he completed 17 of 27 passes for 218 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, according to STATS, LLC., a solid 85.1 passer rating. But now Pennington has a rookie center making the blocking calls (Nick Mangold), a rookie tackle protecting his blind side (D'Brickashaw Ferguson) and no Curtis Martin, an underrated pass blocker, in the backfield. That the Jets don't have a consistent playmaker at wide receiver - a home-run threat who can beat man-to-man coverage - also could make them easier to blitz. Considering his past injuries, Pennington threw the ball reasonably well in the preseason, but his passes outside the numbers lacked zip, according to an opposing scout. Pennington didn't seem at all concerned by the circumstances, or by the prospect of exposing his injury-prone shoulder to the wolves. Of course, he also seemed confident before the 2005 opener, and look what happened in Kansas City: He fumbled six times, losing two, and threw an interception. He was a bag of nerves. "I certainly learned from that," Pennington said. "There may be some similarities (to this year) in that it's another road game and it's a new system. But I learned from those things and we all feel confident that it's not going to happen again." Originally published on September 7, 2006
One other note. What the hell is up with this picture embedded in the article. Must be the loud music being played at practice.... :smile:
If Chad can connect on a few 20-40 yard passes the Titans will have to back off. If and only if the RB's block............................................. I can see Brad Smith getting some action as the number three not getting a lot of coverage and maybe even the TE's. No more vanilla, I know there's some sorta offense in there somewhere. ....Must surpress the Sunshiner in me.:wink:
The Jets should open the game throwing downfield. If the Titans are blitzing then they'll be exposed to that sort of play.
It's my hope that at least Mangini and his staff will gameplan to minimize the impact of the blitzes, while Herm & Co. were sitting and watching KC bring the heat and never were able to adjust. "Dick, what are they doing out there? "I don't know, Herm, but let me know when you want a time out"
I am expecting a lot of 2 TE sets this week, add to the protection packages, and an excellent safety valve that can beat a blitz. I know I am in the minority here, but I still wish we had Becht.
The Jets should run the ball down the Titans throats until they prove they can stop it and move the ball against our O. If we can establish the run than Chad has a shot to do what he does best which is play action, move in the pocket and have a nice clean lane to throw in the middle of the field. We run the ball and mix in some screens. We beat the blitz by having fast backs like Barlow hit a couple of seems or a nice screen to Blaylock or Leon. Chad is not going to be able to drop back without setting his feet and release the ball down field to beat the blitz, he just doesn't do that very well.
