As the NFL offseason
is in full swing, it’s a perfect opportunity to evaluate where each team was in
2017, and where they plan to go in the New Year. Let’s begin the review of
the Tennessee Titans.
2017 Season Recap:
Yet we come to another team that began the 2017 season with an immense
level of hype attached to prove they were able to elevate their game to the
next level. Behind their young, mobile, super talented franchise quarterback
Marcus Maritoa, things sure did look bight. Coming off a 2016 season that saw
Marcus raise his performance to new heights, the natural reaction was for
expectations to climb also. While the Titans still possessed a very talented
offensive line that could rival the best in the business, they were also
returning a cast of characters that were able to produce large numbers
offensively.
As the season got underway, Tennessee struggled out of the gates dropping
their opening match to the Oakland Raiders. Getting back on track, the Titans
were able to produce mounds of offense in weeks two and three beating the
Jaguars and the Seahawks in rather impressive fashion. Running into super-star
rookie Deshawn Watson in week 4, the Titans were obliterated to the toll of
57-14. Following up that terrible showing, the Titans dropped a very winnable
contest to the Miami Dolphins. Holding a record of 2-3 after five weeks in the
season, it was clear that Coach Mularkey wasn’t using his running game much
like he did in 2016 that generated a multitude of offensive success. With an
easier slate of games on the horizon, Tennessee was able to muster enough to
get victories against the Colts, Browns, Ravens, and the Bengals to vastly
improve their record to 6-3 going into the home starch of the season.
Understanding that four more wins would ultimately get them into the
postseason, the same offensive shortfalls rang, as most fans screamed for the
Titans to find their run game. From week 11 to week 13, the Titans managed to
win two and lose one to improve their record to 8-4, placing them in the driver
seat for at least a wildcard spot. With four weeks remaining on the schedule,
the Titans simply had to win two games to secure their place as they held
majority of the tiebreakers. To the dismay of the fan base and the coaching
staff, Tennessee picked the absolute wrong time to falter in dropping their
next three contests to the Cardinals, 49ers, and the Rams, placing their season
on critical life support facing the Jaguars in the season finale. Receiving a
gift from above, as the Jags benched most of their starting roster and the
Titans received extensive help from teams losing providing them the edge in the
tie-breakers, Tennessee limped their way into the playoffs with a 9-7 record.
Going into wildcard weekend the Titans found their way to Kansas City to
be placed a massive underdog against the Chiefs. Starting the way Vegas had
predicted, the Chiefs began the rout on the Titans jumping out to and early
21-3 lead at halftime. With confidence overshadowing reasonable thought, the
Chiefs sat back as watched Tennessee finally employ their run attack helping
them gallop all over the Kansas City defense that was inept at stopping the
run. Behind Derek Henry, the Titans scored 19 unanswered points while shutting
down the Chiefs offense to surprise and eliminate the once AFC potential
favorite from the postseason. To the jubilation of the fan base, Coach Mularkey
essentially saved his job in getting his club to the next round of the
playoffs. While winning the wildcard round gave them a sense of pride, the
inevitable task of traveling to New England to face off against Tom Brady and
the Patriots would pose to be a much greater challenge. Up to the task, the
Titans struck first scoring the opening touchdown of the game while the media
and viewership began to think if a colossal upset was in the making. As Tom
Brady normally does, he instantly put those thoughts to rest exposing the great
weaknesses of the Titans sending them packing to the tune of 35-14. A
successful season that saw much tribulation ended in showing how far off
Tennessee really was.
2018 Offseason
Workbook:
Offseason Review:
While the Titans
initially gave Coach Mike Mularkey a vow of confidence after the Titans made a
slight run in the playoffs, the decision was quickly rescinded and the sides
chose to mutually part ways ending his short tenure as their head coach. Acting
quickly to replace their bench boss, Titans management and ownership pilfered
former Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel to become the new coach of
Tennessee. Adding to his staff, Vrabel hired Matt LaFleur as his offensive
coordinator while adding Dean Pees to man the defense as the new Titans
defensive coordinator. Bringing in new schemes and playbooks could provide a
breath of fresh air to this club that houses a lot of potential.
The largest issue as seen
from film that inhibited the offense to create the success as they did from a
season ago was the lack of commitment to the run game. Granted DeMarco Murray
had a down year and the offensive line (though still superb), also saw a
downward trend in their performance, it was clear the coaching staff was
forcing Mariota into situations he wasn’t prepared for. Coming off a season (2016)
that saw Marcus throw for over 3400 yards and 26 touchdowns with only 9
interceptions, the common thread was to inflate those numbers by promoting more
of a passing attack for Mariota. The failure on behalf of Mularkey to realize
that this team was built to run the ball first with two solid running backs
eventually created openings in the pass game with a viable play action option.
Being extremely efficient in their 2016 redzone attack was also provided by one
of the top running groups in the NFL. A straight downgrade in 2017 saw the
Titans rank 19th in points scored generating a not so great 20.9
PPG. With most offensive statistics failing to even meet last year’s
production, Tennessee has chosen to release DeMarco Murray in favor of former
Alabama product Derek Henry. With Murray on the roster and gaining the starting
role on a weekly basis, Henry was relegated to a cleanup role which he
succeeded with great triumph. Watching rookie standout Cory Davis lose valuable
experience to injures, it was clear when he was in the lineup; his skillset
could shine provided he could stay on the field. Adding depth to an already
stout offensive line and providing a third down back to take pressure off of
Henry, this team should try and recreate a run attack that will place fear in
the opposition allowing Mariota to progress in the right direction.
Defensively the Titans
were a much improved unit finding their way to hold middle of the pack
rankings, improving form their bottom feeder status from a season ago. Trying
to shore up the defensive back field Tennessee drafted athletic freak Adoree
Jackson to man the outside with hopes he could turn his play into a coverage
lock down island. Gaining valuable experience, Jackson was the highlight on the
backend as his progression was extremely noticeable with each passing week.
Teamed with league leader in interceptions, safety Kevin Byard took his game to
another stratosphere in his second year showing his ball hawking ability and
taking advantage of teams shying away from Jackson’s coverage. Though this Titans
group saw great improvement from their 2016 campaign, there still remains a
boat load of work to get this unit where new coach Mike Vrabel would like it.
Adding pieces to the defensive line and line backing core is a definite
priority as production was hit and miss at times. Employing a scheme with more
of a blitzing nature, the Titans were able to produce 43 sacks with line
backers Brain Orakpo and Wesley Woodyard leading the way. Improving the defense
would be the first thing on the to-do-list for Mike Vrabel entering this
offseason.
Rostered Free Agents:
With definite holes on
the roster, the Titans do house an impressive 59 million dollars in available
cap space to help close the gap while providing a talent infusion that would
benefit the growth of this squad. As mentioned, Tennessee has already cut bait
with over paid – under producing talent in Demarco Murray and Da’Norriss Searcy
clearing roughly 12 million off the books. With a short list of players vying
for new contracts as their pending free agents, this list won’t overwhelm
anyone. Eric Decker and Harry Douglas were depth receivers that the past regime
had hopes could help Mariota develop by providing open lanes to throw to. These
two should see themselves hit the market not returning to the Titans. With
backup quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Brandon Weeden both looking to hit the
street, Tennessee will have to address the need but it shouldn’t be with these
two players. Other than that, the list sees not much coming back to the Titans
for the 2018 season.
Looking to see players
as viable cut candidates, Logan Ryan who came to Tennessee last season from the
Patriots holds a contract not conducive to his skillset. Finding a replacement
for Ryan might be difficult which may hold his roster spot for this season, but
if general manager Jon Robinson elected to cut bait, he could save the team
roughly 8 million dollars. Delanie Walker is an interesting player that could
be on the outs in Tennessee as replacement tight end Jonnu Smith is waiting
patiently in the wings with a much cheaper cap hit - as the Titans could save
6.2 million in releasing Walker from the roster. While Brain Orakpo was one of
their most consistent pass rushers from a season ago and is likely to keep his
place on the team, his cap hit of 9 million with savings of 7.8 million would
help generate more money on the books. Aside from that, Tennessee is fairly
thin in terms of big money deals as they look to keep building on what they
currently have.
NFL Draft:
Entering the NFL
draft, the Titans house just six picks missing their 7th round
selection. Picking 25th overall, general manager Jon Robinson will
have to either hit on most of the talent he brings in, or find a way to trade
back in the first round to garner more picks to help bring talent to the club.
As mentioned, the defense should be the place where this draft board should
gravitate to so adequate playmakers and a clear depth infusion could round out
a team that still requires help in many facets.
Overall for 2018:
While some believe in the strengths of Marcus Mariota to be a viable
franchise quarterback in the NFL, we at ADF feel he does possess a great
skillset but requires the correct system and individuals around him to elevate
his game. Its difficult form the three seasons on tape to endorse the
suggestion that Mariota would be able to raise his game to another tear placing
him in the conversations with the elitist in the league at the position. Giving
Derek Henry the keys to the backfield should finally provide an understanding
of what type of back he can be. Is he ready to handle a full workload of a 300+
carry season? Can he improve his receiving ability to stay on the field for
third downs? Can he adequately pick up blitzing line backers to keep Marcus off
the turf? While these questions will be answered quickly into the year, we do
fully expect the Titans to improve from their 2017 season, provided they add
talent in the appropriate places. *As recent news broke, the Titans have signed former Patriot Malcolm Butler to the team. This is the type of splash Tennessee needs to continue making to help build this roster.
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