Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky
They haven't schemed. They aren't playing the starters long. It's just the preseason.
I understand all the reasons the Titans offense shouldn't be a big concern despite 12 possessions for the starters yielding a grand total of six points.
But there is one big reason I'm not quite buying all the spin.
Jeff Fisher's teams have traditionally done well addressing his points of emphasis, be they week-to-week or season-to-season.
The Titans threw nine touchdown passes last year and posted a league-worst 36.4 red zone touchdown percentage.
So passing TDs and red-zone production became points of emphasis.
The Titans have not shown anything in three games to suggest the passing attack will be better at finding the end zone or that the team will be more effective inside the 20.
In those 12 possessions, the first-team offense has produced two field goals and one trip into the red zone. (Incidentally, the Titans turned the ball over on downs to end that series, the first series in the first game.)
Maybe Tennessee throws the ball effectively into the end zone multiple times on Sept. 7 when it hosts Jacksonville in the opener.
It's not unreasonable to suggest it might help the Titans find their way to such things by showing they can do them Thursday night in Green Bay. Body language on offense at practice Tuesday was not good. I don't believe it's only the media questioning what the Titans can do right now.
The Packers are playing their starters a series or two. The Titans will play theirs into the third quarter.
Just for the sake of putting the topic to bed, I hope Tennessee will break with tradition and scheme enough to ensure some success in Green Bay.
If the Titans can string together a few drives and score a few touchdowns - maybe even with passes - against the Packers' second- and third-teamers, they'll quiet concerns.
If they can't, they'll tell us it's meaningless and they will be right.
At least until we see similar failures against the Jaguars.
Kuharsky joined ESPN.com in 2008 after 12 years covering the Oilers/Titans and the NFL for The (Nashville) Tennessean. The New Jersey native and Columbia graduate lives in Nashville with his wife.
