NASHVILLE – Harold Landry isn't making excuses for his quieter ending to the 2019 season.
The Titans outside linebacker, who led the team in sacks last fall, said he would like to be a consistent force sacking quarterbacks from beginning to the end in 2020, however.
And he has a plan to make it happen.
"I feel tremendous, and I'm ready to go," Landry said. "I feel great, and I am ready to take that next step.
"My goal when I came into the league was to be a better player every single year. I feel like I took a step from year one to year two and now it is time to take a step from year two to year three. I think I'm ready to do that. I have put in a lot of work, and I am excited for this season."
During a video conference call with reporters on Monday, Landry also said he's working to master several pass-rush moves instead of focusing on adding a bunch of new ones.
"I am not necessarily looking to have, like 1,000 moves in my repertoire," Landry said. "I am just looking to have two or three and being able to make those the best rush (moves) possible.
"And another thing is being versatile – being able to rush not just on the edge, but wherever they want me to rush from, depending on the call. That's what I feel like I need to do to take the next step."
Earlier this offseason, Titans outside linebacker coach Shane Bowen took the blame for Landry's sack totals slowing down at the end of 2019 – he thinks he played too many snaps.
According to Pro Football Reference, Landry played in 85.84 percent of the team's defensive snaps in 2019 – a total of 952 snaps. He played another 25 snaps on special teams.
"He played a lot of plays for us and he did, probably, too much -- that's on me," Bowen said of Landry. "I've got to do a better job of not putting so much on him in terms of play count."
It's all good, said Landry, a second-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Boston College who led the Titans with nine sacks in 2019, and he added another in the postseason. He finished second on the team with 28 quarterback pressures.
Landry recorded all nine of his regular sacks in the first 12 games, and he went the final four games of December without one. Despite not tallying a sack in the final four games of the regular season, Landry was still around the quarterback – he was credited with eight quarterback pressures in the final four games combined.
In the postseason, Landry added a sack of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, and he was credited with eight quarterback pressures in the three postseason games combined despite playing in 98 percent of the team's snaps. Landry played in a whopping 95 of the team's 97 defensive snaps in the team's playoff win at Baltimore.
Landry said he felt like his preparation was the same throughout the season, "but I just had like a cold spurt. You hate to see it, but it happens."
"I hold myself to a high standard, so I feel like whenever he wants me out there, I should be able to perform at a high level," Landry said. "So that's on me. I just need to be able to perform at my best, full-go, every single play and I think it has more to do with me than (Bowen), but I appreciate him having my back."
Landry said he built a home gym during a house renovation this offseason and spent most of his offseason working in Tennessee.
Landry played in all 19 games, including three postseason contests, in 2019. He finished the year with 89 tackles, and 36 pressures in addition to his sacks, while also tallying five tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
In 2019, Landry became the team's first player with a four-game sack streak since 2016, when outside linebackers Brian Orakpo (five games) and Derrick Morgan (four) each accomplished the feat. Landry ended up with a five-game sack streak.
"I want to be a player, that when I go out on the field, all of my boys I am out there with, they can count on me," Landry said. "I want to make impactful plays, and just cut it loose and be relentless every single snap."
Titans Online looks back at outside linebacker Harold Landry's 2019 season (Photos: Donald Page)