NFL Preview: Tennessee Titans

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Owner: Bud Adams
LP Field
Head Coach: Jeff Fisher 136-110 regular season, 5-6 postseason,
Offensive Coordinator: Mike Heimerdinger
Defensive Coordinator: Chuck Cecil
Special Teams Coordinator: Alan Lowry
GM: Mike Reinfeldt
2009 Record: 8-8, 3rd in AFC South
Additions:
Jason Babin DE
Raheem Brock DE, Indianapolis
Samkon Gado RB, St. Louis
Tye Hill CB, Atlanta
Chris Simms QB, Denver
Will Witherspoon LB, Philadelphia
Rookies
Rd 1, Pick 16 (16) Derrick Morgan DE, Georgia Tech
Rd 3, Pick 13 (77) Damian Williams WR, USC
Rd 3, Pick 33 (97) Rennie Curran LB, Georgia
Rd 4, Pick 6 (104) Alterraun Verner CB, UCLA
Rd 5, Pick 17 (148) Robert Johnson DB, Utah
Rd 6, Pick 7 (176) Rusty Smith QB, Florida Atlantic
Rd 6, Pick 38 (207) Myron Rolle SS, Florida State
Rd 7, Pick 15 (222) Marc Mariani WR, Montana
Rd 7, Pick 34 (241) David Howard DT, Brown
Notable Rookie FAs:
LaGarrette Blount RB, Oregon
Losses:
Alge Crumpler TE, New England
Kyle Vanden Bosch DE, Detroit
LenDale White RB, Seattle (trade)
2009 Rankings
Team Ranking Overall Rushing Passing
Offense 12th 162.0 (2nd) 189.4 (23rd)
Defense 27th 106.9 (10th) 258.7 (30th)
2009 Individual Leaders
Vince Young 152-259 1879 YDS 58.7% 7.3 YPA 10 TDs 7 INTs 82.8 RTG
Chris Johnson 358 ATT 2006 YDS 5.6 AVG 14 TDs
Chris Johnson 50 REC 503 YDs 10.1 YPC 2 TDs
Stephen Tulloch 121 TCKL
Jacob Ford 5.5 SCK
Cortland Finnegan 5 INTs
2010 Outlook:
The Chris Johnson contract situation seems to be on the back burner for the upcoming season, but will no doubt be the number one priority for the Titans as soon as the 2011 offseason starts. Vince Young avoided any suspension for being involved physically in a fight in a strip club over the summer. Derrick Morgan also had his run-in with the law during the summer. This season is when Vince Young needs to prove he’s the Titans’ QB of the future. If he can’t prove it, the Titans will be looking for a new franchise quarterback. The passing game looks like it will be improved with Kenny Britt and Jared Cook having a year under their belts. The Titans will again have one of the best offensive lines in the league. If VY doesn’t screw up and manages game well, the rest of the players will take care of the offense.
To say the Titans missed Albert Haynesworth last year would be an understatement. They fell from 2nd to 28th. Jovan Haye, Tony Brown, and Jason Jones will be in the middle trying to plug it up and collapse the pocket. The Titans added Derrick Morgan at DE so they could improve upon their 32 sacks and to cope with the loss of Kyle Vanden Bosch. Keith Bullock was getting too old, so he was allowed to walk. Will Witherspoon, Stephen Tullock, and Gerald McBath will be the starters, Tullock being their leading tackler a year ago. Cortland Finnegan and Michael Griffin will be improved from last year since they were both troubled with nagging injuries during the year. Jason McCourty and Ryan Mouton will battle for the corner spot across from Finnegan and Chris Hope will be the other safety.
Impact Fantasy Players
Chris Johnson
Kenny Britt
Prediction
The Titans certainly do have outside distractions (Johnson’s contract, Young’s accusation, and Morgan’s arrest). If there’s one coach that could get a team through that however, I would think that it would be Jeff Fisher. The Titans’ defense is improved, but not enough to put them back into the top half of the league. Chris Johnson will have to carry this team again and the Titans will have to fight to get to .500 with a pretty tough schedule in the second half of the year. I see them going 6-10.
Projected Starting Lineup
Offense
QB: Vince Young LT: Michael Roos
RB: Chris Johnson LG: Leroy Harris
FB: Ahmard Hall C: Eugene Amano
WR: Nate Washington RG: Jake Scott
WR: Kenny Britt RT: David Stewart
TE: Jared Cook K: Rob Bironas
Defense
DE: Derrick Morgan OLB: Gerald McBath
DT: Jason Jones CB: Cortland Finnegan
DT: Jovan Haye CB: Jason McCourty
DE: Jacob Ford FS: Chris Hope
OLB: Will Witherspoon SS: Michael Griffin
MLB: Stephen Tulloch P: Brett Kern
Schedule
1 Sep 12 vs. Oakland 1:00 PM
2 Sep 19 vs Pittsburgh 1:00 PM
3 Sep 26 at New York Giants 1:00 PM
4 Oct 03 vs Denver 1:00 PM
5 Oct 10 at Dallas 4:15 PM
6 Oct 18 at Jacksonville 8:30 PM
7 Oct 24 vs Philadelphia 1:00 PM
8 Oct 31 at San Diego 4:05 PM
9 Bye
10 Nov 14 at Miami 1:00 PM
11 Nov 21 vs Washington 1:00 PM
12 Nov 28 at Houston 1:00 PM
13 Dec 05 vs Jacksonville 1:00 PM
14 Dec 09 vs Indianapolis 8:20 PM
15 Dec 19 vs Houston 1:00 PM
16 Dec 26 at Kansas City 1:00 PM
17 Jan 02 at Indianapolis 1:00 PM