NFL1000: The New Offense NFL Defenses Can't Stop

"We felt like we controlled the game."

That's what Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker told reporters after his team beat the daylights out of the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The 47-25 win was a negative referendum on Green Bay's offense and defense to a point, but that shouldn't negate what this formerly dormant Titans offense is doing.

Remember in February, when Titans head coach Mike Mularkey said he wanted to run an "exotic smashmouth" offense and most people found it funny? Well, that's what happens when, in the season before, your team finishes with a 3-13 record the year after finishing with a 2-14 mark, and your head coach (Ken Whisenhunt) gets fired during the campaign.

Mularkey had been the team's assistant head coach and was named interim head coach in early November 2015, so it seemed it would be more of the same.

Not so, said Mularkey at the 2016 scouting combine.

The coach, who was the Steelers' offensive coordinator from 2001 through 2003, discussed the "exotic smashmouth" concept with reporters:

"

I was asked about the style of play in Pittsburgh and it was described in Pittsburgh, not by me, by somebody that described the style of play that we had as "exotic smashmouth." And a lot of that was because what we did, again, I'm a big believer in you fit the scheme around your players' talents. ...

... We had guys that gave us the ability to do a lot of things that kept defenses off-balance. The exotic part is basically what that was describing. The smashmouth was, you knew you were going to be in a physical football game when you played us. And that's definitely going to be still the case. But I'm not describing this team, this offense as that. That's what was described back in Pittsburgh when I was there.

"

There are common threads between this offense and that one, but what's happening now is the Titans are scoring a ton of points, and second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota is benefiting enormously from Mularkey's game plans.

Tennessee has scored at least 20 points in each of its last seven games and more than 30 in its last three. Over that seven-game stretch, Mariota's numbers are eye-popping: 136 completions on 210 attempts for 1,759 yards, 17 touchdowns and four interceptions. He's tied with Matt Ryan over that stretch (minimum 100 pass attempts) for the most touchdown passes, he's fourth in yards per attempt at 8.38 and he's fourth in quarterback rating (110.0) despite ranking 19th in completion percentage.

Week	Opponent	Points
1	vs. Minnesota	16
2	at Detroit	16
3	vs. Oakland	10
4	at Houston	20
5	at Miami	30
6	vs. Cleveland	28
7	vs. Indianapolis	26
8	vs. Jacksonville	36
9	at San Diego	35
10	vs. Green Bay	47

Running back DeMarco Murray, who gained just 702 yards on 193 carries in Philadelphia last season, already has 930 yards on 191 carries. Murray was the star in the win over Green Bay with 123 rushing yards, 33 receiving yards and a touchdown pass, and we'll start our study of this offense with two of his plays.

This is Murray's 75-yard touchdown run on the Titans' first play from scrimmage, and it's an instructive look at how Mularkey likes to design his run game. He wants to play physically and rely heavily on the run, but that doesn't mean he's calling a bunch of wham and blast plays up the middle with no imagination.

Pre-snap, Mariota sent fullback Jalston Fowler in motion from right to left, and it was clear the Packers were reading run all the way—with an aggressiveness that would get them in trouble in many instances. At the snap, tight end Anthony Fasano pulled from left to right to block outside linebacker Nick Perry, and several Green Bay defenders were caught short following receiver Tajae Sharpe, who faked an end-around.

On the replay, you can see linebackers Joe Thomas and Blake Martinez starting their pursuit where Fowler is blocking but peeling off to follow Sharpe. By the time they figured out Sharpe didn't have the ball, it was too late—they were out of the play.

On the back side, where Murray was going, Fowler took out linebacker Julius Peppers, and left tackle Taylor Lewan hit the second level to deal with safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Packers end Mike Daniels did have a free lane to Murray when left guard Brian Schwenke pinched inside after chipping him, but Murray juked Daniels inside and went outside into free space.

There are a lot of moving parts in a run play such as this, and the Titans executed them flawlessly.

That play ended Tennessee's first drive successfully. Murray's 10-yard touchdown pass to Walker ended the second in a similarly positive fashion.

Here, the run action was perfect. Fasano stayed in from the right side of the formation to block, rookie right tackle Jack Conklin pulled to the right, and Walker (who was at fullback depth) did a great job with his delayed release to further fool the Packers into thinking it was a run play. Green Bay had 10 defenders in the box before the snap and nobody available to cover Walker up the seam:

As we will see, run action (where offensive linemen fire out as if it's a run play when it's a pass) is an important part of Mularkey's arsenal.

These two 14-yard passes from Mariota to Walker on Tennessee's third scoring drive tell two different, interesting stories.

Watch the formation on the first one. It's bunch left, with Walker in the backfield and moving right to left to catch the quick screen. Coordinated downfield blocking on screens and run plays out of a bunch formation has been a hallmark of the Steelers offense since Mularkey was there, and the Ravens appropriated the idea years ago.

Here, tight end Phillip Supernaw takes out defensive back Micah Hyde, receiver Rishard Matthews blocks cornerback LaDarius Gunter, and Fasano takes on Thomas early in the play. Out of a creative three-tight end set, Walker has a free lane until Clinton-Dix takes him down:

Walker's second 14-yard catch of the drive has a backstory. According to ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky, Walker was upset about an opponent scouting report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which maligned Mariota's targets.

Here's what one scout said in the report:

"

They're lacking in skill on the perimeter. It's maybe by design. They put their money up front and with the running backs ... Walker is a former wide receiver that has had a really good career. He gets consistent separation if you cover him with a linebacker ... (Tajae) Sharpe is a good player for a rookie. Still not a top guy. You want better. But he runs good routes and gets separation. (Rishard) Matthews is a tough guy with good size at 220 [pounds]. He'll do more of the dirty stuff. On most teams he'd probably be a No. 3. I'm not a big fan of Kendall Wright. He's a quick slot who doesn't have speed, and I have some issues with him in traffic.

"

Not that the report is inaccurate about the receiver corps; Walker (42) and Murray (37) have caught the most passes on the team this season. Still, Walker went into this game looking to prove a point, and he took it out on safety Kentrell Brice at the end of this play with a violent stiff arm that sent Green Bay's trainers onto the field:

Walker spoke about his mindset, per Kuharsky:

"

Sometimes you've got to bully. I was a little upset. I read an article that was out there that was saying me, Kendall Wright and Rishard Matthews were trash and that we only had DeMarco Murray and Marcus Mariota.

I take that as disrespect; it's like you smiled at my face and talked behind my back, so I was kind of upset.

"

Walker ended the day with nine catches for 124 yards and a touchdown, and when he talked about controlling the game, this kind of attitude played a major part.

But none of that motivation means a thing if you can't execute on the field, and Mariota's touchdown pass to Fasano at the end of that third drive was but one example of how dialed in the offense is.

Supernaw's move from the line to fullback depth caused the Packers to bite on the possibility of the run, and Fasano's delayed release on the right side of the formation (an important part of the play) had everyone thinking he wasn't running a route. That was even more reason to go after the run, and it's why Fasano worked through the back seven unobstructed:

"It is a huge stepping stone," Mariota told reporters after the game. "It is getting us in the right direction. There's still a lot of season left, a lot of things we have to go and accomplish. But hopefully we can use this as momentum for the rest of the year."

The Titans now stand at 5-5. They've equaled the win totals in their last two seasons—combined. Mariota and Murray have proved their worth, Walker is one of the better receiving tight ends in the league and Conklin is a huge asset on the right side. According to Pro Football Focus, the rookie hasn't allowed a sack in 668 passing snaps, an amazing stat for a first-year tackle with a right-hand-side running quarterback.

This isn't yet a complete team, but the Titans now have an offense that can put fear into most opponents, and that's a major step forward.

Turns out "exotic smashmouth" was more than a cute phrase all along.