Whether he actually believes in Bowen or not, it's the right move. He's the guy now, try to make the best of it and of course, nothing wrong with taking some self accountability too. I'm sure he recognizes he didn't have a perfect season.
Probably not the last player to do so either. There’s really nothing else a player could say. And, as you said, players and fans have to make the best of it.
Yeah I dont consider the Ravens a rivalry either. I dont like them and I suspect they dont like us, but there are much bigger fish to fry when it comes to rivalries for both teams.
Back with Eddie and McNair there was somewhat of a rivalry but I wouldn't call it one now.
Do the Titans really have any rivalries going? Divisional games are tough but I wouldn't say rivalries
Don't see us being able to afford him
We play the Ravens almost every season and they were in our old division
Plus we go back and forth beating eachother
Theyre a rival for sure
Plus we go back and forth beating eachother
Theyre a rival for sure
We were in the AFC Central until 02'.
The games between Balt / Ten had hard hitting, dirty cheap shots, and actual fights. Those have at least somewhat continued today (note the CJ2K breaking in half, the dancing on logos, etc.)
For current rivalries, I think it takes a lot more give and take, wins and losses. We been spanked by Indy for so long, there really hasn't been any animosity in the games from the back and forth.
We've spanked Jax (and they're a bad team) for so long, again, not a lot of give and take. My understanding from the few fans I've talked with, they hate Ten, but we kind of laugh them off.
Houston is probably the biggest annual rivalry we have. Close games, back and forth victory and losses. The only thing that keeps it from really getting nasty, is like every other team, the constant player turnover.
-Vrabel discussed the decision to elevate Shane Bowen from outside linebackers coach to defensive coordinator: "I think first and foremost, Shane is qualified, and he is very intelligent," Vrabel said. "I think he communicates well, and I think he has a great vision for what we want to do." Vrabel said he'll continue to be involved on defense, just like he is in all facets of the team. "Nothing is really going to change," Vrabel said. "I am still going to have an input on what I feel like is all three phases of our football team. ... I like being a part of all three phases, and that won't change. Shane is now going to have the title that everybody covets."
That has to be one of the most disappointing things I've heard in years regarding this team.
Tells you that Vrabel and Co. are convinced that personnel was the primary reason for last years struggles on defense. They're going to live and die with their soft, bend don't break scheme.
If they think personnel was the problem don’t you think the scheme was based on personnel too?
As a head coach and a defensive coordinator, Vrabel's teams have run basically the same defensive scheme, a lot of zone, with a bend, don't break mentality. It's who Vrabel is as he doesn't want his team to give up the big play and wants to force offenses to have to slowly move down the field.
So no, I don't see the overall scheme changing much no matter what personnel is on the defensive side of the ball. As Vrabel himself said today, nothing is really going to change and retaining Bowen demonstrates that the defensive scheme will be very much the same as last season. Why else would Bowen, someone who has followed Vrabel at all of his coaching stops, be retained?
Will there be some adjustments, I'm sure there will be as Bowen has a year under his belt and hopefully is more comfortable calling plays. But I still expect to see the corners playing nearly 10 yards off and a lot of 4 man rushes. It's what Vrabel scheme is. Keeping the scheme the same tells me that they think the personnel from last season weren't executing the defense well enough. And to be honest, there is evidence to suggest that there were communication issues on the field.
It's why I hope that the Titans invest heavily in their defensive line and Bowen learns to rotate some of the key defensive players so as not to wear them out by the middle of the season (Landry and Simmons come to mind). Upgrade the pass rush and some of the weaknesses of the scheme will be less of a factor.
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Defense is absolutely atrocious and this dude has the audacity to say "nothing will really change". Yikes. What's the definition of insanity again?
I get what you’re saying but I think it’s fair to say Vrabel has a lot of the same pieces on defense his entire time here, right?
Bend but don’t break isn’t a scheme lol the corners playing off ball is a direct reflection of talent. If you have smaller corners who are having to play press on bigger receivers that’s a disaster waiting to happen.
If one thing has been clear in JRob and Vrabels time here is they have a good pulse for the team and the weak spots of the team. Literally every offseason they have addressed needs that even us fans thought needed to be addressed. Now that doesn’t mean every acquisition worked, but that definitely added players to try and help that spot on the team.
We need to step off the cliff a little bit. We whiffed on Beasley and Clowney got was starting to get it going when he got hurt. Let’s see what personnel moves we make this offseason before we overreact about these comments or this move.
In isolation the statement seems ludicrous, but have a look at the context with which he said it. He was talking about his involvement.
Vrabel said he'll continue to be involved on defense, just like he is in all facets of the team. "Nothing is really going to change," Vrabel said. "I am still going to have an input on what I feel like is all three phases of our football team. ... I like being a part of all three phases, and that won't change. Shane is now going to have the title that everybody covets."
Vrabel said he'll continue to be involved on defense, just like he is in all facets of the team. "Nothing is really going to change," Vrabel said. "I am still going to have an input on what I feel like is all three phases of our football team. ... I like being a part of all three phases, and that won't change. Shane is now going to have the title that everybody covets."
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