After Sunday’s absolute throttling at the hands of the Houston Texans, it may feel like the Tennessee Titans have regressed. One step forward, two steps back, right? Same old Titans. Well….the sky isn’t necessarily falling yet. Before the season started, a lot of people were looking at this first quarter and thinking 2-2 was a reasonable record for this team. But, those people probably counted Oakland and Seattle as losses. It didn’t pan out that way.
Moving forward, you hope the Texans didn’t just lay the blueprint on how to beat the Titans. But, it sure seems obvious that the secondary isn’t quite where it needs to be just yet. If this team is going to make it to the playoffs, it will be off the back of the offense. So, sit down, folks…grab your favorite beverage, and let’s take a look at where our beloved Titans are through four games.
(Side note: can y’all believe a quarter of the damn season is already gone?!?!?)
Offense
It’s hard to criticize the offense so far, and while the team failed to put more than 14 on the board in Houston, they sure took care of Seattle and Jacksonville. I’m willing to give them a pass for the Oakland game. The onside kick to start the game had them chasing seven points the entire game, and it looked like they played a bit out of their comfort zone.
The Titans are in the top ten in scoring, and are one of just nine teams to score at least 100 points so far. It just so happens that the Texans and Jaguars are both (strangely) ahead of them on that list. They’re sixth in the NFL in rushing yards, but are leading the NFL with seven touchdowns on the ground. Just looking at the eye test, though, I’d say Kansas City is the only team in the league that is definitely better than the Titans at running the ball. I think if you asked Mike Mularkey, he’d take that. This offense is clicking as planned.
As a whole, the offensive line is about what we expected – one of the best in the league. At one point, it looked like Derrick Henry was poised to step up and take the starting job from DeMarco Murray. That talk has grown quiet. Corey Davis looked great in the season opener, but has since vanished with an injured hamstring. The biggest surprise so far has been the lack of involvement from Eric Decker, while rookie tight end Jonnu Smith has been a pleasant surprise.
Grade: B+ – this is a unit that’s looking good so far, but are we ready to consider them among the NFL’s elite? I don’t think so.
MVP: It’s Marcus Mariota…..as clearly evidenced by what Matt Cassel did when he came into the game against the Texans on Sunday.
Defense
Wasn’t this unit supposed to take the next step this season? Isn’t that why they brought in Logan Ryan and drafted Adoree Jackson? Those were the missing pieces! Well, I don’t know who to really point the finger at, but this defense is lousy.
The Titans are 29th in the NFL with just seven sacks on the season. Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo aren’t getting to opposing quarterbacks very much. That’s adding pressure on the secondary, and they clearly aren’t ready for it. They’ve only intercepted three passes – good for 14th in the NFL. They’ve forced four fumbles, but only recovered one of those. These are middle of the road numbers, as the Titans clearly don’t force a lot of turnovers.
In terms of sheer yardage, they’re allowing 112.5 rushing yards per game, and are the 4th worst pass defense in the NFL. Along with the Patriots, they’ve allowed the most receiving touchdowns with 11. They’re not doing much to stop opponents, or even really slow them down.
Let’s call a spade a spade – this is a bad defense. Whether you want to blame Dick LeBeau, Jon Robinson, or any number of the players, it doesn’t matter. This is a bad defense.
Grade: D – there are certainly worse defenses in the NFL, but given the talent on that side of the ball, the Titans defense can only be described as underwhelming and disappointing.
MVP: I appreciate what Wesley Woodyard has done this season, but for me, it’s Kevin Byard. He’s second on the team in tackles, and appears to be developing into one of the league’s best young safeties in the game.
Special Teams
Ryan Succop is looking as reliable as always, going 10/11 on field goals, with his only miss coming from beyond 50 yards. He’s perfect on extra points as well. Adoree Jackson has looked electric in the return game and would have a touchdown against the Seahawks if it wasn’t called back for a block in the back. Special teams coverage was a weakness of the team last year, but it looks like the moves Robinson made in the offseason have paid off as they’re looking better as an overall unit.
Adjusting the Picks
The Titans should rattle off five straight wins to get to 7-2. Up next: @ Miami, Indianapolis, @ Cleveland, Baltimore, and Cincinnati. Based on what we’ve seen so far, the Titans should beat all five of those teams. If that’s the case, this team should be in charge of the AFC South going into a Thursday night game in Pittsburgh. Those three NFC West games late in the season look a lot different, too. At this point, they could go to Arizona and come away with a loss. The 49ers look tougher and more competitive than we initially thought, and the Rams have the best offense in football so far. I still say this is a 10-6 football team. They’ll have to wait until December 3rd before they can get their revenge on the Texans in Nashville.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley, @WrestlingNewsCo
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