Whitehurst's Fourth Drive: What Whitehurst Did, Part 2

I don't want to give away any trade secrets but I have my doubts about Mansfield Wrotto's future at left tackle.

8. 3-9-TEN 43 (11:14) (Shotgun) 6-C.Whitehurst pass short middle to 88-C.Morrah to TEN 29 for 14 yards (56-C.Allred).

It's third and nine. Tennessee's ends are attempting a pure, ears-pinned-back edge rush. Charlie Whitehurst is relying on Wrotto and Joe Toledo to slow the edge rush. Whitehurst is relying on himself to survive it. Shotgun, Whitehurst takes, drops, faces immediate edge pressure closing from both sides, steps up and into his throw and sends a strike to Morrah for 13 and the first.

And at this point, the drive stalls.

9. 1-10-TEN 29 (10:33) 6-C.Whitehurst pass incomplete deep middle to 1-M.Williams.

This could be route confusion. This could Whitehurst tossing to the spot of a curl while Mike Williams runs a skinny post. This can not be Whitehurst missing his target because Williams stumbles, as Warren Moon rationalized. No, I think this was either an underthrown pass or another bout of confusion on an option pattern.

Whitehurst drops, reads Williams and zings it far enough behind Williams that he can only stab an arm out and attempt a nigh impossible cross-body catch against his momentum.

11. 3-11-TEN 30 (9:49) (Shotgun) 6-C.Whitehurst pass incomplete short right to 19-K.Heckendorf.

The formation is four wide, but Anthony McCoy is in the right slot. This is tendency Jeremy Bates shares with Greg Knapp: playing tight ends and running backs at wide receiver positions. Quinton Ganther was the right wide out on another four-wide receiver set. It bungles accurate note taking. It makes me wonder how much value there is in tracking formations.

Kole Heckendorf runs a skinny slant pattern and Whitehurst tosses it behind him. Another three-step drop misstep.