Ken Whisenhunt's Game Management a Major Contributor to Titans' Mess

NFL coaches, as a general rule, fail when it comes to concepts like game theory, clock management and timeout usage. They do it so often that Grantland's Bill Barnwell was able to create a weekly column about it for years. So, because of how often we're exposed to this, critiquing mistakes in this area feels a little like shooting headsets in a barrel. 

But given how we've seen improvements, like Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera showed us in 2013, it's still an important area to discuss. Not every NFL head coach is going to be a Bill Belichick or Chip Kelly, but we can at least strive to see the consensus get a little smarter every season.

And given how the season has gone for Tennessee head coach Ken Whisenhunt, it's hard to not point to him as a major reason why the Titans are now 2-8. The Titans are 1-3 in games decided by three points or less, and their one win came only after they blocked a last-second field goal against a 1-9 team. Monday Night Football's troubling display of game management only brought Whisenhunt's failings to the national audience. 

To borrow a bowling term, Whisenhunt rolled a turkey last night. First, Whisenhunt settled for a field goal on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line in the second quarter. Then, he punted on 4th-and-4 in Pittsburgh Steelers territory in the middle of the fourth quarter, down three. (He never saw the ball again.)

Finally, on the Pittsburgh's game-ending drive, he challenged an incomplete pass to Le'Veon Bell that looked to have zero chance of being ruled a catch-and-fumble, donating a timeout to the Steelers in the process. 

According to Advanced Football Analytics, Tennessee's chances of winning skyrocketed from 61 percent to 62 percent after its 4th-and-goal field goal. Punting on 4th-and-4 in Steelers territory actually raised the chances of Pittsburgh winning from 63 percent to 71 percent. 

Good game management is about knowing the percentages and playing them. Whisenhunt has failed to do that at some point in each of the four close games the Titans have played in this season.

Even once we get past lightning-rod talking points like "blowing a 28-3 lead to the Cleveland Browns at home" or "allowing Colt McCoy to lead a game-winning drive," the pure decisions that make up Whisenhunt's game management have been abysmal this season.

The common denominator? Punting on favorable downs in enemy territory. Here's how some crucial punts have gone for Tennessee this season:

Game	Situation	Decision	WPA subtracted	Result
vs. CLE	4th-and-1 at TEN 42, up 6, 3:09 to play	QB Sneak	-7%	L 29-28
vs. JAX	4th-and-1 at JAC 42, up 9, 7:20 to play	Punt	-1%	W 16-14
@ WAS	4th-and-7 at WAS 37, down 3, 6:16 in 3Q	Punt	-0%	L, 19-17
vs. PIT	4th-and-4 at PIT 48, down 3, 7:06 to play	Punt	-8%	L 27-24

The one time Whisenhunt did decide to go for it—4th-and-2 with 3:09 left to play against the Browns—he did so from the Tennessee 42-yard line. This wasn't necessarily the wrong call, as Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com pointed out, but it's also the kind of memorable loss and sticking point with the media that will keep Whisenhunt from attempting to be aggressive in the future. 

More importantly, Whisenhunt created that extra opportunity for the Browns in the first place by abandoning the run game against Cleveland in the fourth quarter. On their two fourth-down drives in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Titans ran the ball a grand total of twice in 10 plays. Tennessee ran 10 plays from 6:49 left in the game and drained just 3:27 of game clock and one Cleveland timeout.

Then, to put the cherry on this turd sundae, Whisenhunt challenged the spot on quarterback Charlie Whitehurst's sneak attempt on that fourth down, losing a timeout that would have been crucial as Tennessee attempted its final comeback. 

Whisenhunt has faced a lot of criticism this year from fantasy football owners who drafted running back Bishop Sankey or wideout Justin Hunter. Whisenhunt has faced criticism from those who believe that Jake Locker is a better quarterback than Zach Mettenberger. I can see why Whisenhunt is on the side he's on when it comes to the personnel—I think these critiques are unfounded.

But unless the Titans are intentionally tanking the season, there's no reason for them to be giving away WPA like Halloween candy. When you consider how terrible their defense has been this season, there's even more reason to be aggressive with the ball. 

If there's anything Whisenhunt needs to learn from this, it's to take these critiques like Rivera did in Carolina. Because at the end of the day, coaches are still judged by their win-loss record, and if Whisenhunt is going to weigh his win percentage down, he'll be right back in the Peter Principle pool with Wade Phillips and Norv Turner. 

Rivers McCown is the AFC South lead writer for Bleacher Report and the co-host of the Three-Cone Drill podcast. His work has also appeared on Football Outsiders and ESPN.com. Follow him on Twitter at @riversmccown.