Mike Vrabel playfully suggested that it is a secret that will die with him.
Facing a fourth-and-2 from the Indianapolis Colts’ 5 following the first-half two-minute warning Sunday, the Tennessee Titans coach sent his offense out on the field. That unit broke the huddle and got in formation.
Maybe Vrabel hoped to draw the Colts defense offside. Perhaps he really intended to run a play designed to produce a first down or even.
Neither happened because right guard Dillon Radunz moved before the snap. The penalty cost the Titans five yards and forced Vrabel to turn to his field goal unit, which delivered when kicker Randy Bullock made a 28-yard field goal.
So, exactly what was Vrabel’s intent when he put the offense on the field?
“I guess we’ll never know,” he said Monday with a wry grin.
Radunz’s mistake turned out not to be a big deal in the big picture given that Bullock’s field goal (one of four he made on the day) extended the Titans’ lead to 13 points in a game they eventually won by nine, 19-10. Their current win streak is now at four games and they remain alone in first place in the AFC South.
But the penalty – the only one called against Tennessee’s offense in the contest – was the latest instance that illustrated coaches and franchise officials still don’t know what they have the 2021 second-round pick out North Dakota State.
Tennessee drafted Radunz with the idea that he would be a starting tackle before long. As a rookie he never factored seriously into a competition at right tackle, and the job fell to journeyman David Quessenberry, who stayed there for the entire season. This year, Radunz spent the offseason as the presumed starter at that spot, but by the end of the preseason the job belonged to rookie Nicholas Petit-Frere.
As of now, coaches don’t even consider him a primary backup at tackle and – instead – have worked him as a guard more often since the start of the regular season. That is how he ended up on the field in each of the last two contests when starter Nate Davis was unable to play because of injuries.
To hear Vrabel tell it, Radunz has done nothing in victories over Washington and Indianapolis to convince anyone that he has a long-term future at that spot either.
“I think it was about the same [in both games],” Vrabel said. “There was some plays that need to be better. There are. There are some plays there that we would expect him to be able to make and be able to adjust to. But then there were other plays where he was good. He helped us in the run game.”
The numbers don’t make things look any better. Pro Football Focus’ grade for Radunz on Sunday was 41.8, which was only a slight improvement from the previous outing at Washington (40.5). In both, he was the lowest-graded member of the offensive line, according to the website.
Say this though: Radunz now has started three games in his career (he filled in for Taylor Lewan at left tackle once in 2021) and the Titans have won all three. In each of the last two, Derrick Henry has rushed for more than 100 yards.
Of course, Radunz has committed four penalties in those three games. Three of them – one in each of those contests – were false starts.
“He had the penalty, which isn’t something we’re looking for but is going to happen,” Vrabel said of Radunz’s latest outing. “I’m sure he was geared up and ready to go, but we just have to fix those things and make sure that they don’t hurt us the next time.”
Or to make sure that they don’t leave any unanswered questions.
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