I liked what the Titans did with their offense last year. Mike Mularkey wanted to run more and take the heat off Marcus Mariota, and he was able to do that. They had a disappointing end to the season (pissing away a chance at the playoffs with a 21-point loss at Jacksonville) but for the most part the season was a success.
The offensive line in particular.
In 2015, the Titans gave up 105 quarterback hits. Only six teams gave up more (this is using offensive line data published at NFL.com).
In 2016, Tennessee was able to trim that down to 51 quarterback hits, 2nd-fewest in the league.
That’s called getting better.
QUARTERBACK HITS | |||
---|---|---|---|
Team | 2015 | 2016 | Diff |
Tennessee | 105 | 51 | -54 |
Green Bay | 104 | 76 | -28 |
Detroit | 103 | 79 | -24 |
New England | 97 | 73 | -24 |
Oakland | 64 | 41 | -23 |
Miami | 107 | 93 | -14 |
San Francisco | 94 | 82 | -12 |
New Orleans | 80 | 70 | -10 |
Kansas City | 78 | 68 | -10 |
NY Giants | 74 | 64 | -10 |
San Diego | 107 | 98 | -9 |
Pittsburgh | 60 | 56 | -4 |
Jacksonville | 89 | 85 | -4 |
Baltimore | 81 | 77 | -4 |
Chicago | 77 | 73 | -4 |
Seattle | 114 | 111 | -3 |
Washington | 81 | 80 | -1 |
Tampa Bay | 109 | 109 | 0 |
Los Angeles | 95 | 95 | 0 |
Philadelphia | 97 | 98 | 1 |
Dallas | 67 | 69 | 2 |
Denver | 97 | 100 | 3 |
Buffalo | 79 | 85 | 6 |
Minnesota | 96 | 104 | 8 |
Indianapolis | 118 | 128 | 10 |
Houston | 86 | 97 | 11 |
Cincinnati | 58 | 70 | 12 |
Cleveland | 123 | 140 | 17 |
Atlanta | 89 | 106 | 17 |
Arizona | 103 | 127 | 24 |
NY Jets | 71 | 95 | 24 |
Carolina | 61 | 93 | 32 |
Other teams with greatly improved offensive lines (or schemes/play-calling – they gave up fewer hits) include the Packers, Lions and Patriots. Teams allowing a lot more QB hits include Carolina, Arizona and the Jets.
Cleveland is supposed to have a pretty good line. On paper, it seems to grade out above-average every year (maybe now even a top-5 type line after signing some free agents) but the Browns have allowed more quarterback hits than anybody else two years in a row. That’s not necessarily all on the offensive line. Quarterbacks can hold the ball too long or fail to recognize blitzes. But still.
—Ian Allan