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Off-Season Report Card: Tennessee Titans

Did the Titans do enough this off-season?

Like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Tennessee Titans had solid losing season streak going until last year, when they broke through with a 9-7 record. Unlike the Bucs, the Titans had a real shot at making the playoffs until quarterback Marcus Mariota broke his leg on Christmas eve in a 38-17 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans were down 25-10 when Mariota went down with less than three minutes to go in the third quarter. That’s a whole other quarter with which to come back from a two-touchdown deficit and even with Mike Mularkey at the helm, I’d not count against it.

But, it didn’t happen. The Titans lost that game and it effectively eliminated them from playoff contention. Of the other six games they lost, four were by a touchdown or less. This is a team right on the cusp and the only thing holding them back is the worst head coach currently in the NFL. Let’s see if Mularkey and general manager Jon Robinson added any bullets to the rifle for 2017.

Free Agents Kept

Matt Cassel, Quarterback

Karl Klug, Defensive End

Phillip Supernaw, Tight End

Nate Palmer, Linebacker

Free Agents/Players Gained

Darren Bates, Linebacker, formerly of the Oakland Raiders

Jonathan Cyprien, Safety, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars

Logan Ryan, Cornerback, formerly of the New England Patriots

Sylvester Williams, Defensive Tackle, formerly of the Denver Broncos

Eric Weems, Wide Receiver, formerly of the Atlanta Falcons

Tim Lelito, Offensive Lineman, formerly of the New Orleans Saints

Eric Decker, Wide Receiver, formerly of the New York Jets

Free Agents/Players Lost

Anthony Fasano, Tight End, signed with the Miami Dolphins

Sean Spence, Inside Linebacker, signed with the Indianapolis Colts

Chance Warmack, Offensive Guard, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles

Al Woods, Defensive Tackle, signed with the Indianapolis Colts

Kendall Wright, Wide Receiver, signed with the Chicago Bears

Brian Schwenke, Offensive Guard, signed with the Indianapolis Colts

Josh Aubrey, Safety, currently a free agent

Jason McCourty, Cornerback, signed with the Cleveland Browns

Andre Johnson, Wide Receiver, retired

Bennet Okotcha, Cornerback, retired

Daimion Stafford, Safety, signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers

 

2017 NFL Draft

Round 1: Corey Davis, Wide Receiver, Western Michigan

Round 1: Adoree’ Jackson, Cornerback, USC

Round 3: Taywan Taylor, Wide Receiver, Western Kentucky

Round 3: Jonnu Smith, Tight End, Florida International

Round 5: Jayon Brown, Linebacker, UCLA

Round 6: Corey Levin, Offensive Lineman, UTC

Round 7: Josh Carraway, Outside Linebacker, TCU

Round 7: Brad Seaton, Offensive Tackle, Villanova

Round 7: Khalfani Muhammad, Running Back, California

Proposed Offensive Starters

QB: Marcus Mariota

RB: DeMarco Murray

WR: Corey Davis

WR: Rishard Matthews

WR: Eric Decker

TE: Delanie Walker

LT: Taylor Lewan

RT: Jack Conklin

LG: Quinton Spain

RG: Josh Kline

C: Ben Jones

Offensive Outlook

Getting a healthy Mariota back under center is the key to everything the Titans can accomplish this season. For my money, he’s the top-ranked quarterback to come out of the draft since Andrew Luck and last year he delivered it on the field. Mariota completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 349 yards and two scores.

The Titans backfield is almost too deep, with DeMarco Murray the entrenched starter and second-year back Derrick Henry holding down the future. Tennessee has an out with no dead cap money on Murray’s contract after this season, so don’t be surprised to see him share the load with Henry, who will become the feature back in 2018.

While everyone will want to look at rookie Corey Davis, I see Eric Decker as the most important upgrade in the Titans’ receiving corps. Rishard Matthews had the best season of his life in 2016, catching 65 passes for 945 yards and nine touchdowns. If Davis can turn into a No. 1 receiver, Matthews is a solid No. 2 and even more solid slot guy with Decker on the outside. Delanie Walker continues to show he’s one of the top tight ends int he league. Last year he caught 65 passes for 800 yards and seven touchdowns.

The same offensive line returns from last season, led by Taylor Lewan at left tackle. This unit is arguably the second best in the league outside of Dallas.

Proposed Defensive Starters

DE: DaQuan Jones

DT: Sylvester Williams

DT: Jurrell Casey

OLB: Derrick Morgan

OLB: Brian Orakpo

ILB: Wesley Woodyard

ILB: Avery Williamson

CB: Logan Ryan

CB: LeShaun Sims

FS: Jonathan Cyprien

SS: Da’Norris Searcy

Defensive Outlook

Up front, the Titans have just one change in bringing in Sylvester Williams to replace Al Woods at defensive tackle. Frankly, neither guy is worth much other than a body to take up space. DaQuon Jones and Jurrell Casey aren’t much better. Both guys combined for just 6.5 sacks last season.

In Dom Capers’ defense, the pressure is designed to come from the linebackers and Tennessee got that, with Brian Orakpo posted 10.5 sacks to go with with his 46 tackles, one forced fumble and four passes defended. Derrick Morgan had nine sacks, 33 tackles and one pass defense. Wesley Woodyard took over at an inside linebacker spot alongside Avery Williamson in the second half of the season and finished fourth on the team in tackles with 53 to go with two sacks, five passes defended and one pick. Williamson, for his part, is an underrated player who posted his second straight 100-plus tackle season, recording 104. He added two sacks, one forced fumble, one pass defense and a pick.

The Titans corner position was a mess last season. The team cut starter Perrish Cox in November and replaced him with LeShaun Sims, who will probably keep that job opposite free agent acquisition Logan Ryan. Ryan replaces Jason McCourty, a guy I don’t think the Titans could afford to cut. The Titans made just as bad a decision in letting safety Daimion Stafford walk. He was easily their best safety. While Jonathan Cyprien is a solid replacement, he’ll be playing alongside Rashad Johnson who took over at free safety for the final seven games last season.

Grade: C-

The addition of Decker should make a real impact on the offense, but the Titans couldn’t afford to lose talent on a defense that was already hovering in the middle of the pack. For a team that lost four games by a touchdown and won six by that same margin, there’s no room for error. One play flips per game and this was a team that could have gone 13-3… or 3-13.

O/U wins: 7.5

Preseason Schedule

Week 1: at New York Jets

Week 2: Carolina Panthers

Week 3: Chicago Bears

Week 4: at Kansas City Chiefs

Regular Season Schedule

Week 1: Oakland Raiders

Week 2: at Jacksonville Jaguars

Week 3: Seattle Seahawks

Week 4: at Houston Texans

Key game: The Titans face both their first AFC South opponents on the road, with a rematch from the final game of the 2016 regular season here with the Houston Texans. Tennessee won but Houston still made the playoffs even though both squads finished 9-7. Getting a game up this early could keep that from happening again. 

Week 5: at Miami Dolphins

Week 6: Indianapolis Colts

Week 7: at Cleveland Browns

Week 8: BYE

Week 9: Baltimore Ravens

Week 10: Cincinnati Bengals

Week 11: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 12: at Indianapolis Colts

Week 13: Houston Texans

Week 14: at Arizona Cardinals

Week 15: at San Francisco 49ers

Week 16: Los Angeles Rams

Week 17: Jacksonville Jaguars

To make a wager on any sport, go to the world famous Diamond Sportsbook by clicking here.

Written by Adam Greene

Adam Greene is a writer and photographer based out of East Tennessee. His work has appeared on Cracked.com, in USA Today, the Associated Press, the Chicago Cubs Vineline Magazine, AskMen.com and many other publications.

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