2011 Tennessee Titans Predictions
The Titans looked like they might emerge as perennial contenders in the AFC South a couple years back. They captured a Wild Card spot with a 10-6 record in 2007 and won the division in 2008 with an NFL-best 13-3 mark. Unfortunately, Tennessee hasn’t been able to sustain that success.
The Titans had to rally after an 0-6 start to finish 8-8 in 2009, and they fell to 6-10 last year, completely falling apart after a 5-2 start.
Bouncing back won’t be easy, especially if the Titans can’t come to terms with star running back Chris Johnson.
Offense: Tennessee ranked 27th in the NFL in total offense last season with 302.1 yards per game. It ranked 17th in scoring with 22.2 points per contest. The Titans have the potential to improve on these numbers, but they need Johnson in the backfield to do so.
While the owners are hopefully smart enough not to let this thing drag out too long, it’s starting to look like Johnson may not be in the lineup when the Titans head to Jacksonville on Sept. 11. That would be a big blow.
Johnson is arguably the best running back in the NFL. He rushed for 1,364 yards and 11 touchdowns on 4.3 yards per carry in 2010. He also led the Titans with 44 receptions.
It won’t be Kerry Collins or Vince Young handing Johnson the ball this season. Instead, the Titans are looking to three-time Pro Bowler Matt Hasselbeck, who may actually end up being an upgrade over Collins and Young.
Jake Locker, who Tennessee took eighth overall, is the future face of the franchise. He could crack the starting lineup this season given Hasselbeck’s injury history.
Kenny Britt and Nate Washington are legit deep threats. Britt averaged 18.4 yards per reception last year and ended up with 775 yards and nine scores. Washington averaged 16.4 yards per catch and had 687 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Tackles Michael Roos and David Stewart anchor a solid front five. The boys up front tied for sixth in the league last season with only 27 sacks allowed.
Defense: The Tennessee stop unit ranked 26th in the league in total defense in 2010 with 367.7 yards allowed per game. It ranked 15th in scoring defense with 21.2 points allowed per contest.
These numbers could improve drastically if the Titans can do a better job against the pass. They ranked 29th in the NFL last year with 252.0 passing yards allowed per game. This stat comes as a surprise considering how strong the pass rush was. Tennessee tied for eighth in the league with 40 sacks last year.
The pass rush may not be as strong this season with Jason Babin, who led the team with 12.5 sacks, now in Philadelphia. Losing him puts pressure on Derrick Morgan, who tore an ACL last year, to step up. It also puts pressure on the secondary to perform a lot better than it did in 2010.
Cortland Finnegan is being challenged to return to the form that earned him All-Pro status in 2008.
The linebacking unit has a chance to be better after adding Barrett Ruud and Akeem Ayers.
Prediction: 3rd Place AFC South – The NFL is a quarterback’s league and the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts have better signal callers than the Titans. NFL odds makers have listed the Titans as a 75/1 to long shot win the Super Bowl.
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