According to SIS, the Titans currently account for the seventh-most pressures in the NFL (48), however, those pressures aren’t translating into sacks nearly as much as Tennessee would like.
Sack leaders for the #Titans after Week 3:
Rashad Weaver- 3
Jeffery Simmons- 2
Denico Autry- 1
Bud Dupree- 1— Titans247 (@NFL_Titans247) September 26, 2022
As a team, they’ve only recorded seven sacks on the year, largely because injuries have already challenged the depth of this group.
When this Titans team is at its best, it has four capable defenders who can harass the opposing quarterback by applying consistent pressure from all angles without having to frequently blitz.
When only rushing four, the 2021 #Titans ranked (playoffs Included):
•1st in sacks per game (2.4)
•2nd in sack percentage (23.9%)
•2nd in solo sacks (39)
•2nd in combined sacks (43)
•T-3 in Batted Passes (8)
•T-5 in forced fumbles (9)
•6th in pressures (212)#SavageSZN 🔜 pic.twitter.com/DUczRsoxSt— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) August 5, 2022
Back in Week 1 when Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, Bud Dupree, and Rashad Weaver were all healthy, they accounted for 16 pressures and five sacks, per SIS.
Since then, the team has only accounted for two sacks in two games despite recording a handful of pressures over those contests.
The biggest difference is the fact that Tennessee’s defensive front now had one less capable defender (Dupree), which often creates an opening somewhere whenever pressure finally arrives.
Most quarterbacks these days are athletic enough to slide away and/or escape pressure from one loose defender, but real havoc is created when a defense has multiple pass rushers winning throughout the same rep.
This is something the Titans frequently excelled at during the 2021 season, and it’s something they’re occasionally flashing through three games even after losing someone like Harold Landry for the entire 2022 season.
Weaver in particular is the one who is seizing the opportunity that’s in front of him. The Pittsburgh product has significantly increased his role in the defense and is taking a massive step forward in his second season.
He currently leads the Titans in sacks (three) while also recording the second-most quarterback pressures (10) on the team.
Rashad Weaver is looking REALLY good.
Now the #Titans just need Bud Dupree to get healthy ASAP.It truly is a shame that we aren’t going to see a pass rush rotation that features Harold Landry, Bud Dupree, and Rashad Weaver in 2022 https://t.co/HvJe83ZUFt
— Shaun Calderon (@ShaunMichaels31) September 26, 2022
Simmons is the obvious star of the group. He not only eats up double teams to free up his teammates, but he has proven that he’s more than capable of single-handedly beating multiple blockers to make the play himself.
Jeffery Simmons swipes the hands aways & gets the strip sack. Have a pass rush plan! #passrush #titans pic.twitter.com/nsq3um2ZtJ
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) September 15, 2022
The former Mississippi State star currently ranks second on the team in sacks (two) while also leading the team in pressures (13). Then you have Dupree and Autry, who may only have one sack each this year, but the two of them have been a nuisance whenever they’re out there.
Bud Dupree (@Bud_Dupree) goes speed to power & walks his blocker back into Josh Allen! #passrush #titans pic.twitter.com/j9o6dePXyA
— DLineVids (@dlinevids1) September 20, 2022
According to Next Gen Stats, in Dupree’s lone full game of the season, he averaged the shortest distance on the team between a pass-rusher and the opposing quarterback on a down-by-down basis (3.37 yards of separation).
The next shortest distance on the year was Autry’s Week 3 performance against the Raiders, where he averaged 3.67 yards of separation from himself and the opposing quarterback at the time of the throw — the shortest average out of both teams.
Denico Autry is sick lol pic.twitter.com/tKeBJt64JO
— JP Acosta (@acosta32_jp) September 26, 2022
In fact, Autry, Simmons, and Weaver all finished last Sunday’s game well below the league average of 4.53 yards of distance between the rusher and the opposing quarterback at the time of the throw (or sack).
The next step towards once again becoming a dominant pass-rush unit is finishing these pressures and turning them into sacks. For that to happen, they need Dupree to not only get healthy, but they need him, along with everyone else, to remain healthy as well.
If Tennessee is able to keep those four defenders together and healthy for the rest of the year, the defense should be able to successfully get after the quarterback and make up for loss of Landry.
Dupree’s health status for Week 4 is still up in the air, so be on the lookout for any updates throughout the week, with the first one coming on Wednesday in Tennessee’s first injury report of the week.