tamil yogi
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As someone who’s been tasked with developing plans to ruin days for opposing quarterbacks, Tennessee Titans head coach Robert Saleh — a former defensive coordinator — is well aware of when they’re most effective.
He saw firsthand in his previous stop as a head coach with the New York Jets how much the team relies on a quarterback playing well. Saleh’s time featured a defense that finished in the top five in fewest yards allowed in 2022 and 2023. While the defense was elite, the Jets failed to make the playoffs mostly because of an inefficient offense, starting with the quarterback.
It’s no coincidence that one of Saleh’s first moves after becoming the Titans coach Jan. 20 was hiring offensive coordinator Brian Daboll seven days later to maximize the talent Cam Ward flashed down the stretch last season after being the No. 1 pick in 2025. Saleh’s success with the Titans will depend in large part on how well Ward performs in three specific areas outlined by Saleh at the start of training camp.
“The quarterback metric is third down, red zone, two-minute [drill],” Saleh stated. “Those are the three categories where the quarterback shines and pulls the team along.
“When it comes to third down, everyone knows you’re about to throw. In two-minute, you got to have it. In the red zone, everything’s sped up, and the windows get a lot tighter. That’s where the quarterback shines.”
Daboll’s previous experience should give the Titans hope of improving in third-down conversions and red zone touchdown scoring percentage.
The Buffalo Bills had the league’s 30th-ranked third-down conversion rate (31.63%) in Josh Allen’s rookie season with Daboll as the offensive coordinator in 2018. Daboll and quarterbacks coach Shea Tierney helped Allen and the offense rise to the fourth-best rate two years later in 2020 (46.64%) and finish second only to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 (47.33%).
The Titans are hoping to enjoy the same type of results the Bills did when Brian Daboll worked with Josh Allen. Daboll’s goal now is to help Cam Ward take the next step. AP Photo/George Walker IVDaboll goes over a multitude of scenarios to help Ward make an informed decision in clutch situations. That’s why Daboll consults with Bennie Contrino, whom the Titans hired in July to be the team’s director of strategy and analytics.They looked at various scenarios over the last five years, such as down-and-distance, time left on the clock, where the ball is placed and more. It was all broken down into percentages and presented to the quarterbacks because things change drastically in third-down situations.”How you perform on early downs can really help you in those situations,” Daboll stated. “Once you get to third-and-4-plus [yards], it’s significantly an advantage for a defense. And that’s any defense. So you try to stay out of those situations, but when you’re in them, everything’s not going to be perfect.”There’s a lot of bullets flying. Different pressures, disguises, looks. And it’s not always going to be perfect on third down.”Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley added that third down comes down to creativity.”It all comes back to affecting the quarterback and getting him off schedule and getting those third-and-7, 8, 9, 10 ranges rather than living in third-and-2 to 3 or third-and-3 to 4,” Bradley stated. “You’ll see different nuances, different things that maybe you wouldn’t see on first and second down.”Daboll will be tasked with helping Ward and the Titans make a similar jump in third-down percentage after the offense posted a 31.9% conversion rate last season, ranking Tennessee second-worst in the NFL. Ward shared on the “Deebo and Joe” podcast that the main thing he has learned under Daboll was how success as a quarterback is heavily influenced by their performance on third down.”Those are downs that can win or lose you the game,” Ward stated during training camp. “It’s when quarterbacks are paid the most to be successful on. It’s where it has to click for you if it doesn’t click on first or second down.”You gotta have an awareness of situational football because that’s when it matters the most.”Best of NFL Nation• Inside Lamar’s adjustment to Minter
• How rookies spent their first paychecks
• First look inside new Highmark Stadium
• Kubiak brought urgency to Raiders
• Is Packers rookie Cisse a lock to start?
Third-down improvement was one of the key reasons free agent receiver Wan’Dale Robinson was a priority for the Titans in March. Robinson excelled from the slot position for Daboll over the past two seasons with the New York Giants.
“That’s where I like to think I make a lot of my money is on third down,” Robinson told ESPN. “Just being able to always be open and catch anything and everything.”
Daboll’s offense in Buffalo also saw great improvement in red zone touchdown scoring percentage. The Bills jumped from 16th in the league (59.46%) in 2018 to No. 1 in 2021 by scoring touchdowns on 66.28% of their visits inside the 20-yard line.
Tennessee could use a similar boost in red zone scoring after finishing 13th last season. Sure, 13th isn’t bad, but the Titans ranked 30th with 16.7 points per game. That average would look better if they had managed to get into the end zone more than 57.58% of the time last year.
Allen credited Daboll for the Bills’ red zone efficiency improvement by simplifying reads, tailoring quarterback run packages and trusting Allen’s physical decision-making in the condensed space inside the 20-yard line.
Current Titans backup quarterback Mitchell Trubisky was the backup for the Bills when their offense peaked in third-down conversions and red zone scoring percentage. Trubisky feels Daboll does a great job of helping the quarterback find the balance of making plays but also limiting turnovers.
He mentioned how Daboll emphasizes not trying to force throws and, at times, just taking what the defense gives you to get to the next play.
“You don’t take away a kid’s natural ability, his talent to make plays on the run, but you got to eliminate the turnovers,” Trubisky told ESPN. “Let’s not force [a play] and put our defense in a bad spot [after a turnover]. Let’s maybe throw underneath and make the defense tackle.”
Ward already likes the way Daboll has shown trust in him to use his playmaking ability in clutch situations.
“I think this system is a young guy’s system that gives us a lot of freelance,” Ward stated. “It gives myself and the receivers freedom to do as we feel space-wise.
“He warns me when I need to be a better decision-maker, but he never holds me back. He always wants me to go out there and be a confident gunslinger, whether that’s throwing it down the field, checking it down or throwing it across the middle. It’s been great. Coach Dabes lets me be me.”
✔ today silver rate
✔ 2026 winter olympics
✔ chat gtp
✔ silver rate today
✔ silver rate today live
✔ 2030 winter olympics
Sports
