2012 Mock Offseason

[EverythingTitan]

Hey there, I've been reading this forum for the past few years, so I finally decided to join, and my account finally got activated today, so I decided to introduce myself by posting a mock offseason that I made about two weeks ago. Enjoy!

Let Into Free Agency:
FB Ahmard Hall
WR Lavelle Hawkins
OG Fernando Velasco
OT Mike Otto
DE Dave Ball
DE William Hayes
DE Malcolm Sheppard
LB Barrett Ruud
LB Kevin Malast
CB Cortland Finnegan
SS Chris Hope
FS Michael Griffin
FS Anthony Smith
FS Robert Johnson
LS Ken Amato

Cut:
DT Shaun Smith

Draft:
1st Round: Zach Brown, OLB, UNC
2nd Round: Kelechi Osemele, OG, Iowa State
3rd Round: Antonio Allen, SS, South Carolina
4th Round: Shea McClellin, DE, Boise State
5th Round: Chad Diehl, FB, Clemson
6th Round: Julian Miller, DE, West Virginia
7th Round: Christian Thompson, FS, South Carolina State

Depth Cart:
QB:
Matt Hasselbeck
Jake Locker
Rusty Smith
RB:
Chris Johnson
Javon Ringer
Jamie Harper
FB:
Chad Diehl (5th Round Draft Pick)
WR:
Kenny Britt
Nate Washington
Damian Williams
Donnie Avery (Resign)
TE:
Jared Cook
Craig Stevens (Resign)
Daniel Graham
LT/RT:
Michael Roos
David Stewart
Byron Stingily
Troy Kropog (Futures Contract player, Swing Tackle)
LG/C/RG:
Kelechi Osemele (2nd Round Draft Pick)
Eugene Amano
Jake Scott (Resign)
Leroy Harris
Kevin Matthews
DE:
Derrick Morgan
Jeremy Mincey (FA Signee)
Shea McClellin (4th Round Draft Pick)
Julian Miller (6th Round Draft Pick)
DT:
Jurrell Casey
Jason Jones (Resign/Move from DE/Will swing to DE at times)
Sen'Derrick Marks
Karl Klug
Zach Clayton
SLB:
Akeem Ayers
Patrick Bailey (Resign/Special Teamer)
MLB:
Colin McCarthy
Gerald McRath (Move from WLB)
Tim Shaw (Resign/Special Team Captain)
WLB:
Zach Brown (1st Round Draft Pick)
Will Witherspoon
CB:
Jason McCourty
Alterraun Verner
William Middleton (FA Signee)
Ryan Mouton
Chris Hawkins (Futures Contract player right now)
SS:
Tyvon Branch (FA Signee)
Antonio Allen (3rd Round Draft Pick)
FS:
Jordan Babineaux (Resign and move from SS)
Tommie Campbell (Move from CB)
Christian Thompson (7th Round Pick)
K:
Rob Bironas
P:
Brett Kern
LS:
Josh Harris (Rookie FA Pickup)
KR/PR:
Marc Mariani

Breakdown of each position:

QB: Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker, Rusty Smith

The battle between veteran Matt Hasselbeck and second-year player Jake Locker for the starting quarterback position in Tennessee this upcoming season will be the most watched competition in training camp for the Titans, come late summer. Hasselbeck, with the exception of a five game stretch, was a very capable and efficient quarterback. If it was not for his two game turnaround at the end of the season following that five game plummet, Locker would be the favorite to win the starting job, heading into training camp. However, those last two games of the season will probably cause Munchack to attribute that five game skid more to injury concerns than to wear and tear. This, paired with Hasselbeck’s command of the locker room, puts the savy veteran as the favorite to win the starting job. However, if he does not produce early, don’t be surprised to see Munchack pull the trigger on Locker early in the season.

RB: Chris Johnson, Javon Ringer, Jamie Harper

I thought of mocking Terrence Ganaway of Baylor in the 4th-5th Round. The reasons being? Well the first one is a biggy: Chris Johnson’s production vs. contract. The whole league has witnessed his huge, and I mean huge, drop off in production over the last two years, which can obviously be attributed partly to a loss in speed. But everybody can also all agree that an even bigger reason was the horrendous interior line play of Leroy Harris and Eugene Amano. With the addition of Osemele (2nd round draft pick) however, our interior run game should vastly improve (more on that later), so this could deter his selection. The second reason: The Titans need a more capable backup, more specifically a powerback. Ringer (3.1 YPC) and Harper (2.7 YPC) just aren’t going cut it. Ganaway would be a perfect mold for this, as he comes in at 5’11” and 240 lbs. And although he lacks top end speed, runs only a 4.62 supposedly, and isn’t a receiver out of the backfield, he has shown the ability to block well, run the ball with willpower, and score a touchdown every game. (1547 yrds, 6.2 YPC, 21 TDs this season). Then there is the third reason: Ganaway can also play FB. He has shown the ability to block, and the Titans could devise plays to allow him to run the ball in a two back set, consisting of him and Chris Johnson. However, the Titans have more apparent needs here, and will fill their needs with a DE in the 4th, and a more conventional FB in the 5th. Then again, I see the Titans getting a compensation pick in the 4th Round possibly, and the selection of Ganaway would be a steal. And if this were to happen, I could see Johnson as the starter, Ganaway as the backup, Ringer as our third down back, and Harper cut. However, with the draft order as it is, I see us keeping the same draft order Tennessee has now.

FB: Chad Diehl

The truth is, as much as Ahmard Hall is a fan favorite, he seems to have lost his intensity over the last couple of years, and just isn’t the same player and blocker. This can obviously be attributed to his age, 32. Furthermore, no matter how much I want to believe Hall when he said that the performance enhancing drugs he took were stimulants to keep him awake when he was driving home late at night, I can’t. Those drugs would most likely not be still in his system, and he would not have been suspended for the same stretch of games as Brian Cushing was the previous season, four games. The truth is that he was probably taking drugs, cause he saw his body was starting to slow down, and he still wanted to maintain a high level of performance on the field. So because of those reasons, I see the Titans moving on, and taking Chad Diehl in the 5th Round. This guy is huge, 6’2” and weighing in at 260 lbs. But he’s all muscle, and an excellent blocker. He reminds me a lot of “The Sarge”, maybe even better.

WR: Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, Damian Williams, Donnie Avery

Now let me point one thing out real quick: I only have four wideouts here for two reasons. The first being that Marc Mariani is, for the most part, just a return man. So even though he is a wide receiver, I have him listed under the KR/PR title. Secondly, the Titans have Jared Cook, who they could easily use in four and five receiver sets. Now, onto the discussion. Even though Kenny Britt has been injury prone his first three seasons, I see the Titans having trust in him to put those concerns behind him, and him finishing a full season next season as our starter. Then there is Nate Washington, our second, who really stood up this season, and is firmly in place behind Kenny Britt. Damian Williams is then our third, and has shown flashes in an inconsistent season. Then there will be the competition between Donnie Avery and Lavelle Hawkins for the fourth slot. This past season Hawkins seemed to step it up a notch, reeling in 470 yards and a score on 47 catches. Then thee is Donnie Avery, who had only 45 yards and a score on three catches, albeit in one game. Many would say take Hawkins over Avery. However, Hawkins only averaged a measly 10.0 YPR. When taking this into account along with the notion that he was the 5th receiving option in our offense (behind Nate Washington, Damian Williams, Jared Cook, and even Chris Johnson), you would only see is production drop next year with Kenny Britt in the starting lineup, making Hawkins the 6th option. Plus, Munchack seems to have taken a liking to Avery, and I believe that Munchack would lean more towards the more athletic receiver who can get more YPR when deciding who to resign as our 6th receiving option, and 4th wideout. So therefore, he’d go with Donnie Avery.

TE: Jared Cook, Craig Stevens, Daniel Graham

The tightend situation in Tennessee is actually much more interesting than it appears on the surface. The reason being: Daniel Graham's contract, it was a three-year deal worth $8.5 million. Who pays their 3rd String TE that kinda money? Nevermind that Craig Stevens would be asking for more than that, and the Titans could be talking 3.5 - 4.0 million dollars a year if we compare it to Daniel Graham's contract. And who would be willing to pay 6.5 - 7.0 million dollars a year for two blocking tightends? I wouldn't, but Mike Munchack would. As a Hall of Fame lineman, and former line coach, he loves great blockers, and would love to keep both of them under contract, and on the roster. The only reason Tennessee might not keep both depends on our cap room for the 2012 season, and the free agents we sign. In which case the Titans would cut Daniel Graham.

*footnote* I make this offseason mock before I saw the news of the Stevens new contract. However, my account was just activated today. Plus, I was surprisingly right about how much the Titans would be paying Stevens on a yearly average.

LT/RT: Michael Roos, David Stewart, Byron Stingily, Troy Kropog

The two staples of our offensive line are firmly cemented in their places: Michael Roos at left tackle, and David “Big Country” Stewart at right tackle. The only discrepancy is who will be their backups. Byron Stingily got quite a bit of praise during training camp and offseason, leading the Titans to not wish to sign the primary backup, Mike Otto, to a Futures Contract, while signing Tony Kropog to one. Now, even though most Titans fans dread the possibility of Kropog taking the field, me included, he wouldn’t be to bad of an option as the fourth tackle.

LG/C/RG: Kelechi Osemele, Eugene Amano, Jake Scott, Leroy Harris, Kevin Matthews

Most fans of the Titans wish to see a shakeup of the entire interior offensive line. However, changing out three, even two (especially if one is the center), players on the offensive line could spell disaster for any offensive line, mostly because of a loss in chemistry; and being a former lineman himself, as well as a line coach, Munchack realizes this. Because of this, I see Titans selecting Kelechi Osemele is the second round. This guy is big, even for a guard (6’5” and 347 lbs.), and if you watch film on him you can see that he is a devastating run stopper. The only reason he is only the fourth ranked guard in the draft is because he doesn’t come from a big name school like the three ranked before him, because he comes from Iowa State. With the LG position now shored up, Leroy Harris will become the primary interior lineman backup, as he was two years ago. Eugene Amano will be given one more year to prove his worth with a better guard to his left, and the Titans will resign Jake Scott, who is the best of the three interior lineman. Kevin Matthews will then keep his spot as the 5th interior lineman.

DE: Derrick Morgan, Jeremy Mincey, Shea McClellin, Julian Miller

This position will have the most shakeup of any position besides the safety spots, because the Titans only have one DE under contract. That’s right, one! However, I do see us resigning Jason Jones, but I also see us moving him back to DT, where he can still move to the DE position in certain situations. I therefore see us going after a good DE in free agency, not amazing, but better than Tennessee had last year, and the most likely scenario is signing Jeremy Mincey, formerly from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The reason: he comes from Jacksonville’s no-name 6th ranked defense last year, where he played a huge role. He accumulated 7.5 sacks and was strong against the run. He also has the size, and isn’t the most sought after DE in free agency, especially with last season being the only season he got significant playing time. Now, most teams would not be drafting two defensive ends in the mid to late rounds of a draft, and have them be 3rd and 4th on the depth chart. However, Jason Jones is technically would be the 3rd DE, as he can be kicked out there, and Sen’Derrick Marks can be used at DT in his place, where he was the starter last year. So they then have Shea McClellin drafted in the 4th Round and Julian Miller drafted in the 6th Round, both of which have the size Jerry Grey craves, and the ability to get to the passer, which the Titans lacked last year at the DE position, and the ability to play all tree downs. Another point, is that Dave Ball will not be resigned, due to concussion issues, which almost caused him to retire in the middle of this past season.

DT: Jason Jones, Jurrell Casey, Sen'Derrick Marks, Karl Klug, Zach Clayton

The Titans have acknowledged that moving Jason Jones from defensive tackle to defensive end was a dud - it just didn’t work. But, in the long run, this move may help Tennessee more than most people think. The reason being? With his drop in production comes a drop in his market value. This means that the Titans have a higher chance of retaining their favorite defensive lineman, as opposing teams will not be willing to pay as much to acquire Jason Jones’ services as they would have a year ago. After resigning Jason Jones, I see the Titans keeping all remaining defensive tackles from this years active roster through preseason until the final cut, where they will finally cut Shaun Smith, while retaining the other four defensive tackles that served on this years roster.

SLB: Akeem Ayers, Patrick Bailey

Although Akeem Ayers has not had the immediate impact that many in Tennessee had hoped he would have, Ayers has proven to be sturdy and consistent, as well as having the endurance to play every down. However, what most people are forgetting, or just didn’t know, was that Ayers was in no way viewed as a 4-3 OLB in any way, and was viewed solely as a 3-4 OLB. This has shown through his play, which improved throughout the season, and should transition into next season, were his impact should be greater felt. With Ayers ability to play every down, Tennessee does not need a very good backup, and will go with resigning a player who is a standout on special teams, Patrick Bailey.

MLB: Colin McCarthy, Gerald McRath, Tim Shaw

There was a reason why the Titans only signed Barrett Ruud to a one year deal, they believed that they had found their future starting middle linebacker in Colin McCarthy, but wanted to have him sit on the bench and wait a year. Then, he came in late last year when Ruud was injured, and produced at a higher level than the organization was expecting him too. Because of his production late last season, McCarthy is fully in place as the starting middle linebacker. Then, by taking Zach Brown in the first round (which I will get too later), the Titans can move McRath back to his more natural position, middle linebacker. The Titans will then resign their special teams’ captain from last year, Tim Shaw.

WLB: Zach Brown, Will Witherspoon

This position will probably be the second most interesting training camp battle during train camp and preseason. The reason being? The Titans need a playmaker on defensive, and this notion of mine was only confirmed even more when I read a recent article that stated Munchack wanted to take a playmaker in the first round. Therefore, I see the Titans selecting Zach Brown in the first round. This past season in college he accumulated 105 tackles, 12 for a loss, 5.5 sacks, and 3 interceptions. Put these stats along with his 4.4 speed and you have one of the biggest playmakers at the weak side linebacker position in the league. The only issue is that when the NFL Combine rolls around his stock will soar, and he most likely will be out of our reach. But if he is there, this will be the selection made, and a trio of Ayers, McCarthy, and Brown will be our starting lineup for at least the next three to four years. The only question come training camp is will the Titans sit Zach Brown for his rookie season, just as they did former first round pick Keith Bullock for a season and much of his second? My answer is no, for two reasons. The first is that Mike Muchack is not Jeff Fisher, and he has shown his willingness to immediately insert rookies into the starting lineup. And the second reason is that Munchack said he wants to draft a playmaker on defense to play “next year”, so I see him being put into the starting lineup. However, Witherspoon was much better this season than last season, but I see the Titans going with the player with the wow factor, and that’s Zach Brown.

CB: Jason McCourty, Alterraun Verner, William Middleton, Ryan Mouton, Chris Hawkins

Now we all know how valuable Cortland Finnegan was to the Titans’ defense this last season, but he is expendable, in a sense. He will most likely get a bigger contract offer from another team than from us, so he will most likely go to another team if he hits free agency, and we don’t use the franchise tag on him. And I do not see us using the franchise tag on him, cause he is not worth $10 million for one year, he just isn’t. The reason: Alterraun Verner is a similar, younger player with more upside, and in my opinion he will be our best corner next year. The only reason he did not start opposite Finnegan this season was because their playing styles do not compliment one another, and having two corners with their skill sets can risk disaster. Now most people hate how McCourty plays so far off the line of scrimmage, but that’s his role in the defense, just like it was Harper’s role a few seasons ago, but McCourty is much better than Harper. So because these McCourty and Verner compliment well in our defense, they will be our starters next season, and we will let Finnegan go. Now Mouton has the athletic ability to be at least the 3rd corner, but he is too injury prone, and Hawkins is too inexperience. I therefore see the Titans obtaining a cornerback in free agency, and getting a former divisional foe William Middleton, in free agency from Jacksonville, where he has shown some abilities, and can automatically be our third corner. I also then see us moving Tommie Campbell to free safety, as he can play this spot, and we have no safeties under contract.

SS: Tyvon Branch, Antonio Allen
FS: Jordan Babineaux, Tommie Campbell, Christian Thompson

First question I have to ask the Titans: How do you have yourself in a position where you have no safeties under contract? Now, I can’t blame Munchack or Reinfeldt for this, cause Fisher used to have control of the entire 53 man roster, and there were many holes that had to be filled immediately last off season. But still. Now, I see us taking Tyvon Branch in free agency. He is a excellent, hard tackler, something that we’ve been missing at safety lately. And while he isn’t spectacular in coverage, he isn’t worse than what we had this past season. I then see us selecting Antonio Allen in the 3rd Round of the draft. He is a good solid safety, who can also intercept balls, and can work behind Tyvon Branch as a solid backup who might take over the starting job in three seasons. As for the free safeties, I see the Titans opting to resign Babineaux to a two year deal, and moving him from strong to free safety, so that we can at least retain one safety from last season. I then see us moving Tommie Campbell from cornerback to free safety, where he can back up Babineaux for those two seasons before taking over the starting position. However, I see us drafting a free safety in the draft, by selecting Christian Thompson in the seventh round. Thompson will then be a project in the late round from a small school, who didn’t have much playing time, but has the athletic ability to succeed in the NFL, and if he doesn’t show football skills to stick, then he was just a 7th round prospect that didn’t pan out.

K: Rob Bironas

Not much to say here, except “Ro-Ro-Ro-Roooooobbbbb-Bironas.”

P: Brett Kern

He’s consistent enough to stick and not be cut.

LS: Josh Harris

Ken Amato is 34 years old, and at this point I am leaning toward us not resigning him. However, I do not see Jake Ingram, a long snapper who signed a Futures Contract with us, as our answer to long snapper (there is a reason why he has been around the league these past few years but never stuck). Therefore see us trying to sign Josh Harris as a rookie free agent, or, if we get a 7th Round compensation, I see us taking him with that selection. Harris has shown to be consistent, and has a nice spiral, so we won’t have to worry about high balls or low balls.

KR/PR: Marc Mariani

I list Mariani purely as a return man and not a receiver, because that is what he is, a return man. But he is consistent, and will stick onto the 53 man roster.

[KingTitan]

I want to say this is a badass 1st post.

Excellent breakdown and reasoning of each pick and move.

Welcome!
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"I'm not locked in here with you. You locked in here with ME!"

[EverythingTitan]

[-Hope-]

Welcome to FF my man. Way to arrive in style.

On the whole this offseason would make me extremely happy (I'm struggling to come to terms with not having Finny back but it's happening slowly ) except for one thing: I don't think we address our stagnant pass rush enough. Mincey is decent but not the force we need and depending on 4th and 6th round picks to generate pressure doesn't seem like a great idea.

I'd be all for adding an explosive pass rusher in the first round. Zach Brown is good, but Witherspoon is serviceable and we can hang with him for another year, especially since he doesn't see the field in our nickel sets anyway. What we can't do for another year is go without fixing a pass rush that ranked 31st in the league in sacks.
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Sig by Kempes

[EverythingTitan]

I admit, our pass rush truly is pathetic. But Munchack has been quoted to say that he is looking for a playmaker in the first round, and the defensive ends where we are picking just don't fill that void, as they are primarily just pass rushers. However, Zach Brown is fast (4.4 speed), can tackle consistently, gets sacks, TFL, and gets picks. Now that's a playmaker. Plus, Brown can at pressure on blitzes. And on another note: Klug was a fifth rounder, but he got 7 sacks. And I believe that McClellin can make the same sort of sack numbers as a rookie, as he can play primarily DE, but also DT. Plus, Jones back in the middle will free up or DEs to get more pressure.

[ttitansfan4life]

Like others have said, great 1st post. The only negatives I see is that you have us resigning Scott and keeping Amano as the starter. I'm sorry but our O-Line would be just as bad next year with those 2 (especially Amano) starting again. Amano needs to be benched or cut. The other thing I don't like is Finny not being resigned. Unless he's asking for some kind of absurd amount of money, then there's no reason why we shouldn't resign him. Love the Branch signing but I doubt Oakland lets him leave.. As far as the draft I love the 1st 4 picks. McClellin is a high motor guy and would be a great addition to our pass rush. Zach Brown also screams playmaker to me. Reminds me of Bulluck actually and I wouldn't be mad if he was our 1st round pick. Gives us 1 of the best young potential LB cores for the next decade. Nice job besides the O-Line.
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Props to "Joe is the Best"

[EverythingTitan]

[EverythingTitan]

Plus, I actually see Oakland letting Branch go. First, there is new management, and because Branch doesn't have a big name like Landry, I doubt Oakland's new management realizes his true value. And because of this, they won't franchise him, cause even though $7 million is cheap for a franchise tag, previous huge overhauls in management show that the new management almost always thinks that they can always bring in better guys.

[Blazed-]

I don't think OLB need is that important. We use the nickel a lot and have Ayers and Colin already.Amano and Scott are still here so that sucks. The only person I liked in your mock draft was Kelechi Osemele. We didn't adress our crappy pass rush with FA or the draft.

What size does Gray crave? 6-3 240 pound DE's?

Alterraun Verner and Cortland Finnegan are not really that similar imo. The reason he didn't start was because McCourty was better than him.

You must really like Jacksonville players Jeremy Mincey and William Middleton. You want to sign them because they had 1 decent season and I don't think Middleton had that great of a season. Chris Hawkins actually played well against the saints IMO and throughout the season when he played.

[ragevsuall17]

Welcome...

I really think the Titans need to do more at the safety spot too (along with the DE and C position, which has been mentioned ad naseum). Tyvon Branch may be a good fit for SS, but Babs would be a bad, bad, bad move for FS. He's played it before, but he's alot more suited for the SS role. He doesn't really have the range to provide that kind of deep support, and his man coverage skills (assuming Branch is the same type of SS who's coverage skills are subpar) would leave our passing game in a huge bind and would limit Gray's aggressiveness, with no safeties who can cover TEs or RBs in man coverage.
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[EverythingTitan]

[Blazed-]

[EverythingTitan]

[Chocolateman78]

The Titans haven't played man to man defense since Greg Williams left town. Cover 2 and Cover 3 are Titan defensive staples.
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**RIP Steve McNair**

[UK_Titan]

May aswell start like you mean to go on! I'm expecting every post to of this detail from now on ... good luck lol