Titans trying to find run game in final four games
“The number of carries are down as compared to years past, and that’s the difference,” Fisher said Wednesday.
The Titans have run the ball only 295 times this season combined through 12 games, easily their lowest total over the last four seasons. Even in 2004 when they went 5-11, they still had 328 rushing attempts at this point.
That’s compared to 366 rushing attempts through 12 games of 2003 and 355 rushes at the same point of 2002 _ the franchise’s last two winning seasons.
Now Tennessee (3-9) is coming off its worst rushing performance of the season in which the Titans rushed 20 times for a season-low 40 yards even though they didn’t have to start throwing to play catch-up with Indianapolis until the second half.
“We want to eliminate that,” Fisher said. “We want to get back, for example the 49ers game, we got the ball back at eight minutes and kept it for five minutes on the ground. You have to sell that, and it becomes a mindset and a mentality.”
The problem hasn’t been Chris Brown, the third-year running back who has started every game this season. The Titans also haven’t used Travis Henry, the insurance running back picked up in a trade from Buffalo.
But neither running back has rushed for 100 yards in a game this season, and the Titans have topped that mark as a team only four times this season. Part of the problem has been a young team that has had to play catch-up in most of its games.
Brown leads the Titans with 724 yards and five touchdowns on 181 carries for a 4.0-yard per rush average, which works out to 60.3 yards per game. He came closest with 95 yards on 22 carries in a loss in windy conditions that forced the Titans to run at Cleveland on Nov. 6.
Henry was suspended for four games and did not play against Jacksonville. He ranks second with 203 yards on 51 carries with 86 yards coming in that 33-22 victory over San Francisco on Nov. 27.
Experience wasn’t supposed to be the problem.
The Titans brought back four of their offensive linemen, but have watched the veterans wipe out three touchdown runs by Brown with penalties. That included a 35-yarder against San Francisco and a 3-yarder on Oct. 9 in a 34-20 victory over Houston.
Sunday seems to offer the perfect opportunity for the Titans to get their running game working again. The Houston Texans (1-11) are last in the NFL defending against the run, allowing 151.4 yards per game.
Titans left guard Zach Piller is ready and waiting.
“That’s what we’re trying to establish something here, and that’d be great. I think we ran the ball 30 times against Houston. That was the last time we ran the ball 30 times. I hope we’re given the opportunity that’s for sure,” he said.