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[mike oxlong]

State of the Team Tennessee Titans

After ending the 2006 campaign reeling off the wins, fans had high hopes for Vinsanity to explode last season. That didnt happen. People seem to forget that playing QB in the NFL is not easy, even for the most talented players. Opposing NFL coaches and players are smart and it was inevitable for Vince to have some growing pains. The Madden Curse had nothing to do with it. How could you not see it coming? What did they expect when after last season; they got rid of his #1 WR and #1 RB and then expected him to get better. It doesnt happen like that in the NFL.


Coaching Changes

The Titans grew impatient with Norm Chow and his offenses progression (or lack thereof) over the last 3 seasons and fired him over the telephone. Obviously, Mr. Fisher felt that Norm couldnt handle the responsibility of taking Vince to the next level and couldnt say it to his face. In steps the man that helped shape the game of Steve McNair in his first stint with the Titans, Mike Heimerdinger. This is a perfect fit for Young as dinger will have the patience to deal with Vinces mistakes and help him learn from them rather than regress further then he did last season under Chow.

2008 Team Needs

WR Everyone knows the lack of talent at the WR position. Gage would show some flashes, making some crazy catches, then drop one in his breadbasket. Vince Young is still in the early part of his career and landing a franchise WR would do wonders for his development.

CB Tennessee did not address the Cornerback a season ago as there was still hope they would welcome back Pacman this year. Now that its not going to happen, they have a big void to fill. No matter who they attempt to fill Pacmans shoes with, they still need a pass rush to take pressure off of the secondary, see my next team need. A cornerback with speed that can return kicks as well would be ideal.

DE - The Titans hoped to re-sign either Travis LaBoy or Antwan Odom, but they lost both. As I stated above, a good secondary can be helped by a solid pass rush and with a couple of geriatric ends leading the way, no one fears the Titans in this department at all. They are going to have to find another player that will help in making up for the 14 sacks that LaBoy and Odom took with them when they left.

OL/C Benji Olsen retired. Mawae is 36. Jake Scott will help, but he is only one guy and depth is certainly a need for the near future if this team, especially if there is an injury along the interior line. Jacob Bell was extremely overpaid by St Louis to leave Tennessee, but Scott is cheaper and an upgrade over him anyhow.

Possible Free Agent Solutions

The Titans were able to fill a need at the Tight End position via Free Agency. They first signed Veteran TE Alge Crumpler to a two year deal and then grabbed a blocking TE from Atlanta, Dwayne Blakley. These two should more than make up for the loss of Ben Troupe who will try to prove that he is more than a blocker in Tampa Bay. Another great signing was Offensive Guard Jake Scott. Scott has been a solid player for the Colts since he was drafted in the 5th round of the 2004 draft. Just as he is starting to come into his prime the Titans steal him to help solidify a line that has lost Titan staple and now retired Benji Olsen. The signing of McCareins can only be explained by the fact that Heimerdinger has a hard on for him and has since he coached him when he was the Titans OC during his first stint. I just dont see it. Where Mike goes, Justin is soon to follow.

Possible Draft Solutions:

The Titans currently hold the Following picks

24th (1st round)
54th (2nd round)
85th (3rd round)

In addition they have a 4th (120), 5th (149), & a 7th (211)

In the 1st round, the Titans are going WR. The only question is who? Limas Sweed is the pick. First off he played with Vince at Texas and you know Young would love to have the big man roaming the field for him again. He can even play TE in max protect formations. Justin McCareins is not a #1 WR, Sweed is. If Sweed is gone, look for the Titans to nab Devin Thomas who I think will be a better pro than Sweed anyway.

In the 2nd round, the Titans find Pacmans replacement in the form of Justin King. They were targeting Tracy Porter, but the Steelers nabbed him just one pick before. King is a shutdown corner. King led the Big Ten this season with 17 passes defended despite most teams throwing away from him. King has defended top receivers all season, facing Dorien Bryant, James Hardy, Mario Manningham, Arrelious Benn, and Brian Robiskie with good results. He is blazing fast, can return kicks, even play some offense. He has had a relatively small amount of experience playing corner, so as well as he plays, he can only get better with NFL level coaching.

With the 3rd round selection, Tennessee selects Georgia Tech Defensive End Darrell Robertson. After losing both Odom and LaBoy to Free Agency, the Titans went out and signed has been Jevon Kearse. Both Kearse and Vanden Bosch are on the decline of their careers and Robertson is a pure pass rusher and will be a great player to groom to be a starter in this league. He racked up 6.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss as a senior. A year earlier, he tallied 3 sacks and 7 tackles for loss. They will get him in the third because he needs to bulk up in order to not be blown off the ball. His nice first step wont mean much if he is getting mauled by NFL level Tackles. If he can bulk up without losing any speed, he will be a force to be reckoned with in just 2 years time.

Conclusion:

The Titans have tried to fill some holes, but have only helped themselves minimally thus far. Heimerdinger should help the offense, but he needs playmakers and a Running Back to step out and take control of the position. The offense needs to establish an identity that is not drop back, nothing open and Vince make a play with his legs. The draft is real big for them this year as they have many picks to work with and need playmakers or depth at almost every spot on the field. Dont expect too much this season from the Titans as they are building around Vince. The coaching staff is solid and should have this team ready to play with the big boys in 2009.

[mike oxlong]

any thoughts?

[Bulluck53]

Did you write this?

Whoever wrote this did their homework.... very good job, IMO.

A few things, though. The thing that jumped out at me the most is saying that KVB is in the downside of his career. I see him right in his prime. In his three years with the Titans he has had two with 10+ sacks and the odd year he had around 6 with no help on the line (it was the same line as '07 but Haynesworth played at no where near the level he did in '07). He had the highest sack total of his career last season.

Also, in the draft needs section. I would change DE to D-line. Kind of ticky-tack I know but I don't see DE being more of a need than DT. I see them being equal. Tony Brown (DT opposite Haynesworth) can play outside on passing downs. KVB is an every-down guy and I agree that another DE is needed but I don't see it as pressing (I don't think a DE is necessarily needed to be drafted in the first few rounds). I can't fault whoever wrote this for forgetting that the Titans drafted two defensive ends in the mid-rounds last year who never got to play because of injury. I think we could use a tackle in the draft/free agency just as much as a defensive end. That said, this years end class is a lot deeper than tackle.

As far as the draft goes, I could see us taking a range of positions in the first. Receiver is obviously there but if a DL is there I think we nab him. If one of the top CBs fall I see it as a possibility. But i think Fisher and Co. will try and go after Merling in the first and if he's there I have no doubt they will take him. This year is deep in receivers but no one stand out as a true #1 in the NFL so I think we can nab one in the 2nd. I also would like to see one of our 4ths (we were awarded a compensation pick late in the round) on an interior offensive lineman as you pointed out.

Again, very good job especially when you take into account that you are doing 32 of these things. Thanks for writing it.

[mike oxlong]

yes. I have done many State of the team previews on here


I actually am only doing 16 teams for another site

www.barracudafantasysports.com - I hope putting that link is ok

If you go to football's main page you can check out all the team previews I have done.

I am doing half the league and another writer is doing the other half, my last division is the NFC South which I am working on right now

I have already done the NFC East/AFC North along with the AFC south which I have just finished


thanks for the words, I really take pride in my writing about football

I hear what you are saying about the Line, and see your point on KVB and didn't take into account that he did come into the league older than most (turned 24 in his rookie year) I give end such a high importance because Fisher loves to rotate players at end.
One thing about the guys that left, because of the stout middle, LaBoy and Odom thrived, but they could have also looked better than they were because of Haynesworth and crew inside. I think a player like Robertson in the third would be an awesome addition.

However, I do think that there are more pressing needs as I went CB and WR in the first two rounds and thanks again for the compliments. It is definitely appreciated

[KJ3]

if this is all accurate (and bulluck confirmed that) sounds like the titans are going to have a pretty bad year....

[brakos82]

Originally Posted by KJ3

if this is all accurate (and bulluck confirmed that) sounds like the titans are going to have a pretty bad year....

Especially since Jeff Fisher's been doing Hillshire Farm commercials... :cowboy1:

[Bulluck53]

Originally Posted by KJ3

if this is all accurate (and bulluck confirmed that) sounds like the titans are going to have a pretty bad year....

I don't see why. I see no real drop-off on the O-Line (Bell is replaced by Scott and Olsen was nowhere near his usual self, he couldn't do much anymore) Our only loss was the defensive line and we will address that in the draft.

[KJ3]

your only loss was the defensive line? damn i guess norm chow was just that bad. face it man, vince has some big-time turning around to do....sure it's not all his fault but this isn't high school and he needs to step it up if ANY offensive system is going to work. "let vince be vince" isn't an offensive philosophy. new offense, new OC...your big signing so far is alge crumpler? jevon kearse? ya'll's d-line went from scary to meh real quick, and since it was clearly the strength of the team....i'd say yeah, the titans are most likely headed back a step.

[Bulluck53]

Heimerdinger is light years ahead of Chow in the QB development department. Like it or not that has been a fact in the NFL. VY in Heimi's hands makes me feel a lot better than him in Chow's. The whole back to school/missing OTAs thing with Vince and the new offense means nothing. Heimerdinger will work with VY and get him ready to go.

As far as the D-Line goes, we lost two guys that were a product of the system and you will realize that when they do next to nothing in the long run with their new teams. With Haynesworth and KVB we simply plug someone in on the other side and thats the rotation. Kearse will face single blocks all season, or until he starts ripping the QB as he used to. When he gets tired someone else will be plugged in and do the same (thats where the draft picks/second year guys I mentioned come in).

People's reaction over Odom and LaBoy leaving is hilarious.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3327124

[KJ3]

it really wasn't a comment of chow being terrible, that much was fairly obvious. a new guy with a new book is the point. vince wasn't that great with the other book, so this one is just supposed to work because "heimerdinger will work with VY and get him ready to go" like that isn't EVERY OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR'S JOB. what makes you so sure that this OC will pull VY out of the "so far...bust" category? is heimerdinger that special as an OC? if not when does vince start carrying around his bust label? i think everyone else is tired of carrying it for him. maybe it was the "no recievers" bit, maybe it was chow, maybe vince is just too worried and really should just "be vince", maybe it was a not-so-great running game but one thing is totally clear to anyone with eyes at this point:

vince young is not a good quarterback in the nfl.

4 guys on your d'line, now 2. your d'line is half as good. j/k but seriously haynesworth and KVB both had as close to a "career year" as they have come. you expect that same production from them with 2 other guys that you're just going to "plug in"? all the while the 2 other guys filling in the voids left by their predecessors? highly unlikely. fat albert and KVB aren't spring chickens either. they've both hit their peak in my view. and seeing that your d'line WAS the strength of your team....what is now?