32 in 31: Tennessee Titans

Another year of 32 for 31, Sports News on Tap takes the month of August to preview the National Football League. We spend every day of the month looking at a new team and how they will fare in 2013. 

There are teams in all professional spots where they are just stuck in neutral with no signs of getting out any time soon. One of those teams in the National Football League is the Tennessee Titans. They have some quality pieces, but for the most part, the Titans are rather average or slightly below. There is really nothing to love about the Titans this year and their chances to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2008 are pretty slim. 

OFFENSE
Fantasy football has a tendency to warp our judgment on players and their collective years. This definitely happened with Chris Johnson. Since his 2,000 yard season, Johnson has three consecutive 1,000 yard seasons but in the last two years, he only has 10 rushing touchdowns. People judge Johnson on the touchdowns and not his actual gained yardage. Therefore this whole notion of Johnson having a bounce back year is extremely inaccurate. Johnson is still producing as a top five running back, just not in fantasy terms.

A big reason why the playoff hopes are slim for Tennessee starts at their quarterback position. Jake Locker has struggled in his first two years in the NFL. Locker only threw 10 touchdowns last season and completed 56 percent of his passes. Defenders of Locker might point out he has yet to get a full season under his belt and that is fair. They did add Ryan Fitzpatrick and at times, he looked like a competent starter in Buffalo. In my opinion, he is a better option than Locker, but Tennessee are trying to make Locker happen like the word 'Fetch.' The worst thing the Titans can do is flip flop starters like they did last season. They should make up their mind and stick with their pick for at least the first six weeks of the season.

DEFENSE
They have a promising young defense that might the key to pull them back into the playoffs in a couple years. Akeem Ayers and Zach Brown could be really special for them at the linebacker position. They came on very strong by the end of the year. Derrick Morgan and Mike Martin are two young defensive lineman who played well last year despite Morgan's injuries at the end of the year.  All four of these players could really end up being big time players for the Titans. In the secondary, they have the complete opposite from the front seven. Most of them are longtime veterans whether they have been with the Titans for awhile like Jason McCourty and Michael Griffin, or they are new free agents like George Wilson and Bernard Pollard.  Even if this defense is not full of world beaters, they have enough to keep the Titans in a few games this season.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Rob Bironas had as tough of a year as Mason Crosby and he might be on the chopping block if he struggles early on in the year. Brett Kern is a solid punter for them. It will be intriguing to see what they do in the return game with Darius Reynaud who had three touchdowns last season and Marc Mariani, a former Pro Bowler, trying to come back from a horrible leg injury.

KEY ADDITIONS
OG Andy Levitre, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, LB Moise Fokou, DT Sammie Lee Hill, S Bernard Pollard, S George Wilson, TE Delanie Walker - Levitre is a big addition on the offensive line, but we have seen teams get burned by overpaying for interior lineman.

KEY DEPARTURES
DT Sen'Derrick Marks, TE Jared Cook, OG Steve Hutchinson OG Jared Harris, QB Matt Hasselbeck

TITANS DRAFT PICKS
OG Chance Warmack, WR Justin Hunter, CB Bildi Wreh-Wilson, LB Zaviar Gooden, C Brian Schwenke, DE Levar Edwards, CB Khalid Wooten, S Daimon Stafford -   We did not talk much about Warmack and Hunter, but both have the potential to be awesome for this season.  Hunter and Wright could be really special on the outside.  Warmack is just a beast and he will be great this season at some point of this season.

GAME TO WATCH
Thursday November 14th - vs. Indianapolis 7:25 pm - They host Andrew Luck and the up and coming Colts for a Thursday night game in mid-November. If the Titans surprise some people early on, this could be a huge game.

PREDICTION
5 to 7 wins - They have a pretty tough schedule having to face the NFC West and Tennessee also finishes the year with four of their last six games on the road. I see no way Mike Munchak keeps his job.

Charlie.