Defence Must Regain Old Form, Chris Johnson Must Lead
The Tennessee Titans have only known one way in their franchise history; the way of Jeff Fisher. Fisher has coached the team for 15 years back to when they were the Houston Oilers. All pieces of Fisher’s group in the magical 1999 season are gone. The team has moved on with new, young players and are looking to get back to playing Titans football. Run the ball, smash-mouth defence, and getting big plays from the quarterback when needed.
Fisher and the Titans organization saw the need to go with a youth movement on defence. Following the departure of Albert Haynesworth a year ago and the team’s former defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz taking the Lions head coaching job, the team’s defence struggled in 2009 and was a major reason for the Titans 0-6 start.
On offence, the team was much more potent. There was Chris Johnson of course, who rushed for 2006 yards and was the offensive player of the year. Then there was Vince Young, who was given back the starting job after Kerry Collins failed to win a game in all six of his starts last year. Young stepped in and led the Titans to an 8-2 finish to bring the team to .500 and give the organization renewed faith in him. The 2010 season now will be about how Young follows it up and if the defence dominates again.
On offence, things start with running back Chris Johnson (C.J.). Johnson may not officially be the franchise player, but he is the most important. While it may be a lot to ask of him to redo what he did a year ago, he still must have a spectacular season. His performance determines how potent this offence could be.
Johnson also has an excellent lead blocker in fullback Ahmad Hall. Johnson though, may not be able to touch the ball as often as last season and some carries will go to Javon Ringer.
Vince Young for his part must now not only begin to dominate, but he must emerge as the leader. His attitude and mechanics have been doubted, but he showed last season that while he may never statistically dominate a game, he knows how to win. He is 26-13 in his career as a starter, and with C.J. behind him, and an improving receiving corps, he now must begin to develop as a pocket passer, while still using his legs as only he can, when he needs to.
The team’s receiving corps has been a weakness for years and the team has built it through the draft as they chose not to go after coveted free agents. Wide receiver (WR) Kenny Britt has the build to be a 1000 yard receiver. He is big, fast, and athletic and showed flashes of the great receiver he could be last year. A breakout year from him means a lot for the offence. He’ll have to take on Nate Washington and Justin Gage for the starting job. Both are occasional playmakers, but are inconsistent with either dropping balls or running a poor route.
On the offensive line, centre Eugene Amano, guards Leroy Harris and Jake Scott, along with tackle David Stewart, all have excellent chemistry and provide good pass-protection and create holes for C.J. Tight ends Bo Scaife and Jared Cook are also great on the line and provide Young with a safe option.
Defensively is where the largest improvement must be made. They were 30th overall last year. The defence is athletic and talented, but make many mistakes.
On the line, defensive tackle Tony Brown leads the group and plugs the gaps up the middle. Javon Haye is also a solid contributor next to Brown. At the ends, defensive end Derrick Morgan is expected to make an immediate impact. He can help in the pass-rush and against the run. On the other end is William Hayes, who is a force against the run.
The team made a change at linebacker as they let Keith Bulluck walk away and brought in Will Witherspoon on the outside, along with David Thornton. The team is hoping that rookies can step up and win these jobs but that is unlikely right now. Up the middle, Stephen Tulloch is intelligent and can develop into a star.
At cornerback, Cortland Finnegan will have to find his 2008 form if the Titans are to improve against the pass. He’s still a great shutdown and proves that size isn’t everything. Opposite of Finnegan, the No. 2 job is wide open and can fall with either Jason McCourty or Ryan Mouton.
At safety, Michael Griffin admits he played poorly last season and will need to make better decisions in coverage at the free safety spot. Chris Hope will have to do the same, plus he is still a good run-stopper at strong safety.
The Titans special-teams is set to be one of the best in the league. Kicker (K) Rob Bironas has both one of the strongest legs in the game and one of the most accurate. Punter (P) Brett Kern has big shoes to fill from a retired Craig Heintrich, but he punted in 10 games last year proving he was more than capable.
The returning job is likely to go to Damian Williams, who wowed everyone at USC and will give the Titans return game some much needed help.
The team made some steps forward and some steps back last season. The offense got better, but the defence was a lot worse. If Young plays like the player he was drafted to be and the defence regains a form similar to two years ago, and if C.J. comes anywhere near the season he had last year, this team can very well return to the playoffs, though they may still not be good enough to take the South from the Colts.
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