On Wednesday, head coach Robert Saleh announced to the media that starting RB Tony Pollard was inactive in practice with an undisclosed injury.
Pollard has time to return to practice and trend toward playing against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Last week against Houston, the Titans were held to a season-low 57 rushing yards with Pollard receiving all but three carries out of the backfield en route to a 26-3 blowout loss.
"You go to the Jets game and last game will be two games in the second half where it got a little out of hand," Saleh said. "Your run game will look like shit."
Saleh spoke candidly about the offense being withheld from running the ball consistently due to trailing in the second half, specifically against the Jets and Texans. In both of those games, the Titans were trying to come back from being down by two scores, limiting the chance to run the ball.
"Offensively, let's get a two-score lead, and then see what our run game looks like when we get to close out a game," Saleh said. "That would be freaking awesome."
The production is the problem, not the amount of carries
Situational football is a factor in how many times an offense can run the ball. However, the truth is the Titans have a middle-of-the-road run game.
Tennessee runs the ball nearly 40% of offensive snaps for an average of 3.8 yards per rush, which ranks 17th in the NFL.
Pollard has 68 of 91 rushing attempts from the Titans, excluding QB Cam Ward, which is nearly a staggering 75% of the carries. According to PFF, Pollard's four yards per carry ranks him 23rd of 44 qualified runners despite having the 20th most carries.
How Spears could make a difference in the Titans' offense
If Pollard is inactive against the Colts, Daboll will have to turn to backup RB Tyjae Spears, who has primarily served as the blocking back. Spears has been a steady receiving back for Ward; he has the third most receptions on the team with 14 for 68 yards.
There's no denying the Titans offense needs change. An increase in opportunities for Spears may benefit a stagnate offense, especially against a Colts defense that allows the fifth most rushing yards per game.
Through five games, Spears has only 17 carries for 65 yards. He has the Titans only rush for more than 20 yards all season.
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