Few situations in the NFL provide more fear in opposing defenses than having to tackle Derrick Henry. Henry has the size to effortlessly knock defenders over and the speed to run by them. He has the ability to combine the two and run straight through defenders without breaking stride.
He’s one of the hardest players in the league to take down and he gets the ball so often that the threat of a broken tackle feels constant. For whatever value body blows have on opposing defenses, it can’t be fun attempting to tackle Henry for an entire game.
The Tennessee Titans’ offense is completely built around that threat. Tennessee has the highest run rate in the league on early downs in the first three quarters this season (58%) and no offense runs more on first-and-10 (68%). It helps that the Titans are generally efficient on those runs (as rushing efficiency goes) with the highest EPA per attempt in the league on running back carries this season.
The Titans then build off that with the highest play-action rate in the league at 34.3%, per Sports Info Solutions.
Tennessee also uses a ton of heavy personnel packages to both run and sell the run for play-action. The Titans use 12 personnel at the third-highest rate in the league (29%) behind only the Philadelphia Eagles (34%) and Arizona Cardinals (31%). They also use 21 personnel on 12% of offensive plays and that leaves them with the second-lowest rate of 11 personnel this season (41%) above only the Minnesota Vikings (31%).
Because of that heavy personnel, opposing defenses react with heavy personnel of their own. This season, the Titans have faced one of the highest rates of base defense in the league:
Top Rates Of Base Defense Faced, 2020
| Team | Base Defense Faced % |
|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 55% |
| Cleveland Browns | 44% |
| San Francisco 49ers | 42% |
| Tennessee Titans | 41% |
In 12 personnel, the league-wide rate of base defense faced is 54%. The Titans have seen base defense 59% of the time this season.
Defenses attempt to go big in order to stop the run, but that can work out in the offense’s favor, especially when there is still enough speed on the field. That’s where we see designs for the likes of Kyle Shanahan pick on linebackers who shouldn’t be on the field. It’s also a huge boost to a play-action game when base defense has a linebacker in coverage instead of the extra defensive back that nickel defense provides.
But with the threat of Henry’s ability to throw smaller defenders to the ground (RIP Josh Norman), defenses want that size on the field to bring Henry down. But what if the better overall strategy to attack the Tennessee offense is to go smaller?
Putting more defensive backs on the field against Henry might seem counterintuitive (and why most defenses haven’t done it to this point) but there may be some benefits. Last year, Nate Weller of Sports Info Solutions took a look at how the Titans took advantage of stacked boxes against Henry. Because he can break tackles so often, condensing defenders close to the line of scrimmage opens up the potential for a big play if the back is able to break a tackle. The Titans also killed those stacked boxes when they dropped back to pass, using all that open space in the second level of the defense where Ryan Tannehill was deadly on intermediate throws.
By not overcommitting to the run by personnel or alignment, the defense has the ability to cover more ground against both the run and pass.
The Denver Broncos did this well against the Titans in Week 1 of this season. Denver often used five defensive backs against Tennessee’s 12 personnel. Even on plays when Henry was able to break a tackle or two, there was enough spacing and speed to flow to the ball carries, like this gain of zero yards on a first down run.
Henry had over 100 yards in that game, but that was volume-based thanks to 31 carries. He had five broken tackles in the game, but just four first downs on the ground.
A similar attack was planned by the Buffalo Bills, which despite the Norman toss, was a game in which Henry was held in check — 12 carries for 57 yards with two short touchdown runs. Buffalo often kept the strategy of getting defenders to Henry in waves to slow down the back. The play below on a first-and-10 had an outside corner come in for initial contact and even while Henry was able to get through that attempt and slip a tackle from linebacker Trumaine Edmunds, safety Dean Marlowe was able to make a stop after just two yards.
It’s also not impossible to take down Henry on first contact. Having an extra defensive back on the field can also give the defense added flexibility against pre-snap motion. Henry was stopped for a loss against the Bears after the Titans motioned Corey Davis against a zone call from Chicago. The Bears would have had Davis covered with Kyle Fuller on the outside and the motion left an opening for slot cornerback Buster Skrine to rush in untouched for a tackle for loss.
If we take a look at Henry’s runs this season from 12 personnel, they have been less effective when five defensive backs are on the field. Even though Henry has broken the same amount of tackles on fewer carries, the ability to get more defenders flowing to the run quickly has limited the damage.
Derrick Henry 12 Personnel Runs, 2020
| Defense | Att | Yards (YPC) | Broken Tackles | First Downs | EPA/Att | Positive Play% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 57 | 314 (5.5) | 4 | 11 | 0.02 | 38.6% |
| Nickel | 23 | 73 (3.2) | 4 | 2 | -0.17 | 34.6% |
The big difference in EPA compare to the small difference in positive play rate lends to the theory that breaking through heavier defenses gives Henry a quicker and easier path to open space in the second level.
The base/nickel split is a trend for the Tennessee offense as a whole. When the Titans have used 12 personnel this season, they have lower EPA per play against nickel than base. The biggest difference has come against the pass.
Titans EPA Per Play From 12 Personnel, 2020
| Type | vs 4 DB | vs 5 DB |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 0.10 | 0.00 |
| Pass | 0.28 | 0.04 |
| Rush | -0.01 | -0.04 |
For as much as Henry does in the run game, the Titans get their biggest plays while taking advantage of heavy defensive personnel with the pass. It’s their key to sustaining offense for as long as they have and allowing Henry to be a high volume back.
On play-action passes from 12 personnel, Tannehill has completed 65.9% for 0.39 EPA per attempt and a 60.9% positive play rate against four defensive backs as opposed to 61.1% completions with 0.06 EPA per attempt and a 54.1% positive play rate against five defensive backs, per SIS.
With more defensive backs on the field, defenses can be more prepared for the pass while the lack of size against the run might not kill them as much as one would think. Slowing down Derrick Henry is what opposing defenses have focused on against the Titans. The key to that could be part of doing more to get smaller and faster.
