Longest and Most accurate Titans write up on ESPN ever?

[VinceYoung1010]

Grantland, a great sister website to ESPN, published this article today about the Titans and their recent struggles. I really feel like they put together some nice research that doesn't just start with, "CJ is terrible, so they're terrible." I hope you guys enjoy it.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8493902/the-tennessee-titans-team-way-down
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[Flylow]

Great article.


I agree 100% that we need to focus on building up our offensive/defensive lines, instead of going after some 'player-maker' at WR/HB..
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[Obie09]

[MrOneWayRoad]

Paraphrased summary of the article: The Titans used to be good in the trenches, but due to aging, personnel turnover, and the fact that they haven't invested enough in either unit for a while, they are not good in the trenches anymore.

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It's nice that someone out there actually took the time to do some research, but we've been saying this for 2 years now. The FO actually made an attempt to upgrade the offensive line by trying to sway a couple of centers our way. We were unsuccessful, but its worth noting. I also think our front 7 is better against the run than this article lets on. Just my opinion.

EDIT: The article also referred to Eugene Amano as being "competent" at center. Points deducted for that one as well.
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[bfreod2]

good article.

just wondering, with Casey, Marks, Martin, and Klug all young and promising would it be too much to draft a DT early like Star?
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[VinceYoung1010]

I don't think so, Star is completely different than those guys. I really think a Star/Casey lineup with marks and klug rotating is the best thing we could do. Also Klug has decided to fall off the face of the planet so I wouldn't necessarily consider him all too promising at the moment.
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[Finnerception]

DT is the one position where it seems like this regime can draft stud after stud in the mid-rounds.. so I wouldn't touch a DT in the first round.

Reason for the offensive line getting worse every year is Munchak's stubbornness. There's absolutely no way any team would go into the last few seasons with an interior OL of Harris/Amano/Scott(and now Hutchinson) without grabbing an early round pick for competition or at least having some sort of competent depth that would actually give any of those guys a legitimate scare of benching. Leroy Harris was being touted as the replacement for Mawae for years and now Munchak refuses to admit his mistake.
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[ThatTitansFan]

Defensive End is by far our biggest need on defense- however, the pick we spend there is not decided yet. If Morgan can build off this game and become a clear, strong starter, then I'm fine with drafting for depth (maybe a second and 4th/5th). If Morgan doesn't lock down the starting spot (obviously we're not playing anyone else there now, but if he isn't performing at a high level by the end of the year), it becomes a much bigger need. At that point, I honestly think our 1st-4th round picks should be DE, OL, OL, DE.

I'm honestly quite happy with our rotation at DT. Martin is showing fantastic things, Casey is still great, Marks is a let down from the preseason, but an ankle injury is tough for a DT. Klug will eventually get his plays- his problem is that we so rarely have forced 3rd and long this year that his talent is wasted. Our run defense might only be league average this year (yards per carry, obviously we're way worse in total rushing yards because of how bad the defense has been as a whole), but we also had to play without McCarthy until this week (he was clearly still not at full health last week, albeit an improvement over Witherspoon. A good/great MLB can make an enormous difference. What was failed to be pointed out in this article is that our run defense has sucked pretty hard since Haynesworth left- Tulloch was a terrible run stopper (why Detroit hasn't gotten rid of him yet is beyond me).

That said, I'd still rather have Star over any DE but the pair from LSU. If they're gone and Star isn't, we should choose him. He's such a fantastic prospect we can't afford not to.

Also, I'd rather have Montgomery than Mingo. Montgomery has much better size and strength for playing 4-3 DE than Mingo. Mingo could excel in a system like Seattle's or Jim Washburn's. But with where we line up our DEs now, he's going to get too eaten up and too worn down.

If we keep winning and end up in the middle of the round, I'd like Werner or Okeafor.

I have to say, this is a lucky year- DE is clearly the biggest need on defense, and this draft is incredibly deep and talented at it. If only there was a better group of centers and guards...

[ThatTitansFan]

Also Barrett Jones has been really dominating at Center. I hope he ends up staying there the whole year (reducing the chance a team snags him to be a Left Tackle). If we're pick 14-22, he's the first center since Mack and Mangold to clearly be worth the pick. He's massive, athletic, powerful, and best of all, nasty. Having him in the middle would instantly move this line to another level. Finally pull Harris out, and put Amano back at guard where he's actually average to above average.

[ThatTitansFan]

Also, if we end up in the top 10, I'd be ecstatic if we could work out a deal that gave us a mid first and an extra second, and then we moved back into the first-

Barrett Jones and Chance Warmack. Can you imagine taking both? A line with Roos-Hutch-Jones-Warmack-Stewart would be something to behold. I can't imagine that line not paving the way for a top 10 rushing attack. Hell, I think I could get 4 yards a carry playing behind it.

[TitanSS]

The defensive line would look a lot better if they weren't on the field 45 minutes a game. A strong offensive line and running game would help us out. Also better rotational and situational players at DE.

The defensive line would look better if the coverage held up longer than 3 seconds. Typically right over the middle. A safety that could lay some wood would help us out.

The defensive line would look better if we had someone who could collapse the pocket, rather than just trying to get around his defender allowing the QB to step up into a wide open pocket.

I'm not sold that our defensive lineman are horrible right now. I think they are merely victims of circumstance and would benefit from us investing in

C
G
FS
DT
DE - depth/rotational
NB - get Mouton off the field

[Titans_31]

[bfreod2]

[prozac77]

What worries me is what if the coaches think the line will be better when Amano is back for next season?
A starting line of Roos-Hutch-Amano-Velasco-Stewart doesn't inspire much confidence.
If they use a high pick on a center/guard and pick up a center/guard in free agency and let there be an open competition for those positions, it would put my worries at ease.

[latinoaustino]