Robert Saleh Surprised by Titans Lack of Physicality Against Jets

The Tennessee Titans were not able to deliver a win over the New York Jets on Sunday at Nissan Stadium. 

We've heard all offseason that the Titans have improved and are now a better team, with all the upgrades that arrived. 

Unfortunately, they didn't look very different from how things have been over the last couple of years. 

It started with the Titans' opening kickoff going out of bounds and giving the Jets good field position for their first drive of the game. The Jets scored a touchdown on the first drive, and the Titans managed only a field goal. 

There were special teams mistakes from Chimere Dike, and the offense as a whole couldn't move the ball. It spiraled from there. 

The Titans lost 23-10 and finished with 195 yards of total offense. The defense allowed the Jets to have 367 yards of offense. What really stands out is that the Jets were worse at converting third downs than the Titans. 

The Titans went 4-of-12 on third down, and the Jets converted 2-of-12. It seems that the Jets were moving the chains on 1st and 2nd down and didn't really need 3rd down to score. 

Fans were very disappointed and even began booing the team. 

The Jets were the more physical team on Sunday. Robert Saleh acknowledged that at his press conference. What really showed that was the Jets' 19-play drive in the first half, where they moved the ball with little to no resistance. 

"They definitely in all three phases executed," Saleh said. "They did a really nice job in the running game, leaning on us. Especially in the first half, had that 19-play drive. They do a good job staying on the field. We did not. They had 41 minutes of possession. We had something like 18, but either way, they got after us. 

Then, Saleh was asked if he was surprised that the Jets were the more physical team than the Titans throughout the game. 

"I was a little surprised," Saleh said. "I'm surprised by it. I was expecting coming out in the second half with the score being 10-3. I think we all felt really good about where we were. You know, to their credit, they get the stop, we don't execute on the punt to win the field-position battle, and they have a couple of explosives in the pass game. It just wasn't a good second half of offense." 

With how much 12- and 13-man personnel the Titans used during the game, the goal was definitely to be physical and establish the run. The Titans had 68 rushing yards as a team and weren't able to achieve that goal. 

It's not a great sign when you aren't the most physical team at home. Luckily for the Titans, it's only Week 1, and this is a correctable mistake.