Ryan Tannehill?Marcus Mariota?Luke Falk?Yes Authentic Jayon Brown Jersey , Falk, a fourth-string rookie who won't even play, has altered preparations by both teams. Miami signed him last week after he was released by Tennessee on cutdown day, and the Dolphins are sure to pick his brain about the Titans' scheme under rookie coach Mike Vrabel.All of which adds lends another layer of unpredictability to the season opener.Here are things to know about two teams who didn't excite preseason prognosticators:QB MATCHUPRyan Tannehill returns after missing the Dolphins' past 20 games, and says he'll be ready rather than rusty. He's coming off reconstructive knee surgery that wiped out his entire 2017 season, and says he never doubted he would be ready for the 2018 opener."I always felt confident that this would be where we ended up," he said. "It's finally here and I'm ready to go."While Tannehill has never played in the postseason, counterpart Marcus Mariota is trying to become the first quarterback to lead the Titans to the playoffs in back-to-back years since Steve McNair in 2002-03.That will require proving wrong the oddsmakers who predict Tennessee will win eight games. Miami, led by third-year coach Adam Gase, is widely projected to repeat last year's 6-10 record.THE OTHER QBWhile Falk will be able to provide the Dolphins some insight into Sunday's matchup, Vrabel says it could have been worse.The Titans' new coach wanted to install the entire offense during training camp, but offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur 鈥?mindful the team would have to waive some players 鈥?talked him out of it."He wanted to hold some stuff," Vrabel said. "I said, 'OK, I'll defer to you on this one.' As it turns out, he was kind of right. There'll be some things that I'm sure Luke can give them. But then again, I am glad that Matt was adamant about holding some stuff until cutdown day. I think he had been burned by some of that stuff in the past."The Dolphins kept some of their playbook under wraps during the preseason, too. They're expected to have packages for veteran newcomer Albert Wilson and rookie tight end Mike Gesicki that they didn't show in exhibition games."There were a few plays going into Week 3 that Gase wanted to run," Tannehill said with a smile. "I said, 'Hey, those are great plays. Let's save those.' We have some things that we haven't shown that we're excited about."HOMECOMINGNFL active rushing leader Frank Gore will make his Dolphins debut, and at 35 he's thrilled to return to South Florida www.titansfootballauthentics.com , where he was born and raised and starred for the Miami Hurricanes.Gore will play in his 113th consecutive game, and he needs 76 yards to become fourth-leading rusher in league history.HEY, I KNOW YOUMiami and Tennessee added former Patriots teammates during the offseason. Receiver Danny Amendola joined the Dolphins, while the Titans acquired cornerback Malcolm Butler. The Titans' other starting cornerback, Logan Ryan, is another Amendola friend and former Patriots teammate.Tennessee's secondary also includes All-Pro safety Kevin Byard and cornerback Adoree Jackson, who started every game as a rookie last year."We're super excited to see what we've got," Ryan said. "It's the most excited I've been to start a season off."STREAKING IN TENNESSEEThe Titans have won five consecutive road openers, the NFL's longest such streak. Three of those came in season openers. The streak includes three coaches, and three of the victories came by 16 points or more, including last year's 37-16 victory at Jacksonville in Week 2."The mindset is to win," linebacker Brian Orakpo said. "I mean, it's point blank, period, win. Win ballgames. Take it week by week and win, no matter if it's 50-49 or 3-0."Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.Follow Steven Wine on Twitter: ://Steve_WineOffensive coordinator Matt LaFleur is going to be good for the Titans The 2018 Titans are entering Week 2 at 0-1, and nothing can change this fact. Injuries to Marcus Mariota, Delanie Walker, Adoree Jackson and Taylor Lewan certainly affected the final outcome of the 27-20 road loss to the Dolphins, and that’s not even mentioning the injuries to Rishard Matthews Tennessee Titans T-Shirt , Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry. And that’s not going to make fans happy.
However, there were a few bright spots from the Week 1 game, including new offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur. LaFleur was brought in to bring life to a passing game that had been entirely predictable under the previous Mike Mularkey/Terry Robiskie regime, and despite the loss, I think the design of this offense will be better than the one that preceded it.So to illustrate why I think LaFleur is putting the Titans offense in the right direction, let’s take a look at a few of his play calls from Sunday.gamepass.nfl.comUnder Mike Mularkey the Titans’ receivers ran isolated routes that attacked the same level of the field, so the receivers often failed to create separation and Marcus Mariota more often than not was required to be perfect.From the start of this game, however, things were different. Mularkey wasn't offering this route combination here; Tajae Sharpe’s route is designed to clear up space for Delanie Walker, successfully I might add. Mariota sees this and has an easy throw to Walker, who takes the pass and converts a first down.Now, as some of you know, I spend a lot of time covering Marcus Mariota’s ability to manipulate defenders with his eyes. It’s a special talent that went under the radar during his first three seasons, but with LaFleur’s scheme spreading the field, Mariota appears to have found a perfect match.gamepass.nfl.comAgain, LaFleur has his receivers attacking different levels of the field, and it looks like another easy pass to Corey Davis for the first down conversion.Upon closer inspection, however, we can see that Mariota cleared the way for the open middle of the field with his eyes.gamepass.nfl.comDolphins linebacker Raekwon McMillan (no, not the guy from Wu-Tang Clan) is looking at Mariota the entire time, which is exactly what the quarterback wants him to do. As Mariota’s about to release the ball, McMillan goes to what he thinks is the destination of the pass Tennessee Titans Hats , when in actuality Mariota is clearing space for Corey Davis to convert another first down. A brilliant play with the help of LaFleur.Another staple of the Kyle Shanahan offense that LaFleur took with him is the quick screen pass, which was most notably used by Shanahan and LaFleur with the 2016 Atlanta Falcons. If executed correctly, it can catch the front seven off guard and lead to lots of open space for the receiver.gamepass.nfl.comOn this play, LaFleur’s design makes the play look like a run to the right or a play action fake.But the play as it turns out is a quick screen pass to Corey Davis, who takes the pass from Mariota and has a lot of open space ahead of him. Davis gets blockers ahead and converts the first down on an impressive play call.Finally, let’s take a look at yet another Kyle Shanahan staple: The tight end throwback.HELL YESgamepass.nfl.comThe tight end throwback is designed to have the quarterback deploy a play action fake on a zone blocking scheme, allowing the quarterback to rollout to the opposite area of the zone blocking, as shown here. The receiver on this play, tight end Luke Stocker, sells his block incredibly well, and races completely uncovered.Now, this should be a touchdown with a better throw, but Mariota under throws Stocker. Nevertheless, it’s a big completion that shows off how effective LaFleur’s play calling can become.Simply put, anyone suggesting that Matt LaFleur is a downgrade from Mike Mularkey and Terry Robiskie is living in a distorted reality. This offense is tailor made to fit Mariota’s quick style of passing and ability to move defenders with his eyes, and like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay’s offenses it’s helped put less pressure on the receivers to create separation. This is a more versatile offense that is actually consistent with the decade of football we watch.With that in mind, Titans fans need to consider this: Be patient with Matt LaFleur, because he’s going to be good for the Titans.