AFC South Training Camp Preview: Tennessee Titans

For the majority of its existence, the AFC South has been dominated by the Indianapolis Colts. But the three other teams have spent the offseason making drastic moves to unseat the Colts. Could this be the year one of these teams challenges the reigning division champs? We look at the AFC South as the teams get ready for training camp.

Tennessee Titans

2014 Record: 2-14

2015 Projected Record: 5-11

Key Additions: WR Harry Douglas, OT Byron Bell, C Fernando Velasco, DE/OLB Brian Orakpo, S Da’Norris Searcy, CB Perrish Cox, TE Anthony Fasano, QB Marcus Mariota*, WR Dorial Green-Beckham* (* rookie)

Key Losses: QB Jake Locker, WR Nate Washington, , OT Michael Roos, OT Michael Oher, ILB Colin McCarthy, S Bernard Pollard, S George Wilson, KR Leon Washington.

The Tennessee Titans were a mess last season. They started three different quarterbacks, were in the bottom of the league statistically, and won just two games in 2014. 2015 doesn’t project to be all that much better.

The silver lining might come in the form of a longterm option at quarterback with Marcus Mariota (assuming he actually signs his contract). Outside of Mariota, the team made some small tweaks in order to get better but have more questions than answers heading into camp.

Offense

2014 Stats:
29th in Yardage
30th in Points
29th in Efficiency

May 26, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans first round draft pick quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) passes during OTA drills at Saint Thomas Sports Park. Mandatory Credit:

Jim Brown

-USA TODAY Sports

The entirety of the offense for the Titans is going to depend on the development of Mariota and how coach Ken Whisenhunt adapts his system to fit Mariota’s skill set. The best thing for Mariota would be for the Titans to commit to a spread offense, but they won’t be doing that (at least not completely).

It also doesn’t help that the offensive line is a mess. Taylor Lewan is moving over to left tackle, but right tackle will likely be a turnstile. Pro Football Focus has the Titans with just two “Good” players on the line, the rest are average or worse. In fact, the Titans have just four “Good” players on the offense, per PFF, with the rest being either worse or rookies.

Mariota also won’t have a lot of help from the Titans rushing attack. A good running back can take the pressure off a rookie QB (see: Russell Wilson and RGIII), but that isn’t the case with Bishop Sankey or Dexter McCluster. The two combined for just 3.5 yards per carry as the team rushed for 90 yards per game (and that was with Shonn Greene helping out). There is a real chance that fifth round draft pick David Cobb could start this season.

At wide receiver, Kendall Wright is a good option in the slot and Green-Beckham should start from day one. They also have below average Justin Hunter and Colts cast off Hakeem Nicks. Tight end Delanie Walker is still a talented player, and made the most of the rotating door at QB last season where he averaged 14.1 yards per reception.

This offense will be a work in progress and a lot will depend on Mariota adjusting to a pro style offense, the protection, and the effectiveness of run game. That’s an awful lot of questions for this offense heading into next season.

Defense

2014 Stats:
27th in Yards Allowed
29th in Points Allowed
29th in Efficiency

The Titans defense was a dumpster fire in 2014. They suffered nine blowout losses and struggled to stop any barely competent offense last season. The Titans did make a few moves to shore up this side of the ball for 2015.

Sep 14, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins outside linebacker Brian Orakpo (98) celebrates against the Jacksonville Jaguars at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

They signed Searcy away from the Bills to improve the safety spot and picked up once great pass rusher Orakpo as well. Orakpo is going to be a big question mark as his career has been mostly derailed by injuries and he’s missed 24 games over the past four seasons.

Searcy, along with cornerback Jason McCourty will help shore up the secondary (at least half of it) and might be able to give pass rush stud Jurrell Casey and Orakpo enough time to get to opposing QBs. But the Titans also had two of the worst CBs in the league in Coty Sensabaugh and Blidi Wreh-Wilson, so the depth chart is a bit bare at the position and they won’t be able to work through any injuries.

This defense is going to rely heavily on health and players being able to work together. Much like the offense, there are more questions than answers heading into camp on this side of the ball.

Challenging the Colts

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The Titans were dominated twice last season by the Colts. In Week 4, they were throttled at home 41-17, a week after Jake Locker went down for the season. They were also defeated in Indianapolis in Week 17 27-10 by the Colts backups.

The new additions on defense might be able to slow the Colts at times, but with so much more firepower on this side of the ball for Indianapolis, it will be a tall task to stop Andrew Luck and company.

With a weak roster overall and a rookie QB, I don’t see how the Titans can challenge the Colts next season. The two matchups might not be as one-sided, but the Colts can essentially pencil in two wins against the Titans.

2015 Prediction

The Titans could see marked improvement and still finish fourth in the division. Their season will hinge on how Mariota develops as a quarterback but this isn’t a team that can go from worst to first in 2015.

Don Banks at Sports Illustrated agrees and has them last in the division. I have them doubling their win total due to around average QB play and consistency (read: health) at the position.

The Titans improve to 4-11 in 2015.

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