Tennessee Titans

I would hate this. It already seems like an eternity from the end of the season to the draft- adding two or three weeks to that might make me lose my mind. The NFL is trying to become a year round league, but I am not sure that any of us can take an extra few weeks of sorting through mock drafts (of course it would help if the Titans would make the playoffs). There is also talk that free agency would start before the NFL combine if they move the draft back. That would be interesting because right now the combine is where executives from NFL teams go to tamper with potential free agents. A few people have (sarcastically) suggested that they should just make the first round one pick per day from the middle of April to the middle of May. There is no way that will actually happen....is there?

The Titans hosted a couple of free agents on Monday: tackle Winston Justice and guard Antoine Caldwell. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Justice, 28, played in 12 games for the Colts last season after spending five seasons with the Eagles, who picked him in the second round of the 2006 draft. Caldwell, 27, was a third-round pick of the Texans in 2009 out of Alabama. The 6-3, 307-pounder played in 39 games for Houston, including 11 games (with six starts) last season. Share on FacebookPosted In: Team News

@evansilva SF would def be 1st for me...and would have Titans higher— Matt Williamson (@WilliamsonNFL) May 8, 2013 The Titans offensive line better be really good this season. The Titans have invested A LOT in the offensive line this offseason in terms of money and draft picks. Add to that the fact that the head coach and the offensive line coach are both Hall of Fame offensive lineman, and you have a situation where there really is no choice but to succeed. It is really hard to say at this point where the line will rank in comparison to other offensive lines in the league, but they have done what they needed to do in order to upgrade from last season. They got 2 guys to play guard that will absolutely be better than what they had last year, and they signed some back-ups that will compete in camp and can play if someone goes down. Mike Munchak is going back to what he knows best in a year where he has to win or be fired- so like I said above, the line better be good. Where do you think they should rank?

This time, we'll be taking a look at the speed merchant linebacker that the Titans drafted with the last pick in the third round named Zaviar Gooden. Player name: Zaviar Gooden Height/Weight: 6'1 234 School/Class: Missouri, Redshirt Senior Position: Outside Linebacker Measurables: 4.46 40, 27 bench reps, 38.5" vertical jump, 10'11" broad jump, 6.71 3 cone drill Workout with Titans?: NO The tape: Career Highlights 2012 vs Tennessee 2012 vs Georgia Pros: - Speed demon - Gooden is a speed merchant that converted to linebacker after playing safety in high school. He posted a 4.47 40 at the Combine. He fits well as a Zach Brown type of linebacker that can run all day. - Natural agility and quickness - The agility and quickness doesn't look forced and is second nature to him, allowing rapid advance to the ball once it has been sighted. Converting to linebacker may have unearthed a gem. - Doesn't get lost in the wash easily - Despite his size or the lack of it, he finds the ball on a routine basis while taking on much bigger blockers. - Experienced the rigors of major D-1 play - Gooden is well versed in the play of two different conferences of offensive philosophy. While Missouri was in the Big 12, he got to experience the high powered spread option passing attacks that includes the likes of Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma State, and Oklahoma. After the change in conferences, he got valuable experience in the more traditional SEC ground and pound offense with the likes of Alabama and Georgia on the schedule. This education in both schools of thought should serve him well learning the complex NFL systems. Cons: - How good are the actual "football" skills? - We all know and are in amazement over his "wow" workout numbers but how does that translate to the field? Is he too small to play linebacker on a heavy snap count? Is he relegated to special teams duty because of it? It will be interesting to find out this coming year. Summary: The Gooden pick was the right value given his projections as an early to middle fourth round candidate but I'm a little wary of taking a workout warrior even if he's accomplished what he has in his college career. It's certainly possible that he enjoys a surprisingly sensational rookie campaign that teammate Zach Brown did. I see him making the team as a special teams ace at first then being phased into the defense eventually. I also see him bumping long time special teams captain and fellow backup linebacker Tim Shaw off the roster. The team properly addressed the backup linebacker position after watching Shaw and Patrick Bailey to an certain extent, repeatedly get abused and turned around when forced into the lineup. Gooden could be used as a less regimented, go run around and make a play freelance outside linebacker in certain (pass rush) situations. He certainly has the natural speed and agility to do it, only needing more refinement in the more technical aspects of the game. More reports: 7th Round pick Daimion Stafford 6th round pick Khalid Wooten 5th round pick Lavar Edwards 4th round pick Brian Schwenke

1) I was surprised that Moise Fokou was able to keep his alleged DUI quiet for so long. It's likely the Titans knew about it prior to signing him so I doubt it alters their plans but this story hasn't yet been completed. Tennessee has seemingly made an effort to target high-character guys through the draft so I'd be interested in hearing what was really being said behind closed doors. 2) Last week the Titans signed former Giant and Jaguar Greg Jones, who has had some time at MLB. I liked Jones coming out of the draft two years ago and thought he went really low when New York scooped him up in the sixth round, but his stock's gone even lower since then. Still I'm (likely irrationally) hoping Jones can pick up his play and compete with Fokou to be Colin McCarthy's backup. Whoever lands that position could be in line for a lot of playing time. 3) Dwight Freeney signed a fairly sizeable deal with the San Diego Chargers over the weekend and for that money I'm glad we passed.. I will keep repeating this though: Israel Idonije is still the best defensive end out there and gives us a possible defensive tackle option too. ProFootballFocus loved his work last year. Unfortunately, danomite said the team is more interested in John Abraham. He's a decent option too but a lot older. I am not sold he's got a lot left in the tank. 4) Chris Johnson came in at number 62 on NFL Network's Top 100 players of 2013. I have not watched a minute of that show and honestly can't bring myself to even feign outrage over whether CJ is too high or too low. 5) This is Smash's Google Map of Titans fans around the world. I don't want to act like I go to a new age feel-goodery, but that is so cool. To see where we are all from is creepy a credit to the Titans fanbase. 6) What will this coaching staff do with Karl Klug? He was not used enough last year but the idea of kicking him out to end (link) is a poor one. As soon as you move him outside he'll become a liability. 7) It's late May and the Jacksonville Jaguars quarterbacks are Blaine Gabbert, Chad Henne and Matt Scott. That has to bode well for the Titans. 8) The Vikings new stadium looks great in my opinion. Not usually a big fan of closed stadiums but I'm familiar enough with Minnesota weather to know it's an important feature in this case. 9) Seattle Seahawk Bruce Irvin was suspended four games for Adderrall. That makes five PED-related suspensions for Seattle since 2011, not including Richard Sherman's over-turned one. You can file that one under "Things that Make You Go Hmmm." 10) Which quarterback gets the most wins this year: Matt Stafford, Mark Sanchez or Josh Freeman? Those were the top three QBs chosen in the 2009 draft. Stafford's Lions are up and down while Sanchez and Freeman are both facing competition from rookies. I'll take Stafford, but not by much.

The draft and the bulk of free agency are behind the Titans, so it's a good time to look at their 2013 schedule a little more closely.

Tracy Rocker and the Titan's defensive linemen talk with Amie Wells about taking the next step. Rocker talks about how he will be expecting more out of Derrick Morgan this year. John Clayton recaps who spent what in free agency. We ranked third in dollars spent behind Miami and Indy. Paul Kuharsky does his weekly chat and here is the transcript. Blidi Wreh-Wilson is learning on the fly. And he's fine with that, as he's used to it. Here is the NFL.com video on CJ's inclusion into the NFL Top 100. I think its funny that Babs is one of the guys that talks about him. Kendall Wright lost 14 pounds this offseason by ditching junk food. He says he's in the best shape of his life. Ruston Webster talks about what has been done so far this offseason and what to look on moving forward. NFL.com makes a player/character comparison for Star Trek. I'm not a fan of hardly any of these comparisons. Do your own player/character comparison in the comments. Quote of the Day: "How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life." -James Kirk

Why The Tennessee Titans Haven’t Strongly Pursued A Defensive End September 16, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Tennessee Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan (91) and linebacker Kamerion Wimbley (95) celebrate after a sack during the second quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports Currently the only gripe Tennessee Titans fans have after an eventful free agency and draft, is the lack of obvious upgrade at the pass rusher position.  The Titans decided to address other positions early in the draft, and have yet to sign a marquee veteran defensive end in free agency. One may say that the Titans don’t really need pass rush help, although Derrick Morgan and Kamerion Wimbley did play 80% of the snaps last year which is way too much.  The addition of Gregg Williams, combined with the likes of Bernard Pollard, lends credence to the idea that the Titans will be more inventive in finding ways to get to the quarterback.  The evolution of Akeem Ayers as a pass rusher could play into that same vein as well.  Ayers and Pollard could rush out of 3-4 sets and Ruby packages respectively.  The addition of 330 lb. Sammie Lee Hill in the middle of the line is expected to have a large effect as well.  Morgan and Wimbley both were able to get close to the quarterback on a number of occasions last year, only to have the opposing signal caller step forward into a clean pocket to evade the outside rush.  Putting Hill next to Jurrell Casey and Mike Martin on the interior of the line, should make that a lot harder on the opposing teams. Image courtesy of ESPN.com All this is well and good, but what fans need to realize is that the sack total of a team doesn’t translate very well to wins.  As much as fans bemoan the Titans edge defenders, the team ranked 9th in the league last year, with a total of 39 sacks. To put that in perspective, the Superbowl Champion Baltimore Ravens had 37 along with the always enviable New England Patriots.  The other team in the Superbowl?  The 49ers had 38. The Seattle Seahawks, another playoff team, finished 18th in the regular season for sacks.  While the Washington Redskins and Indianapolis Colts both tied for 23rd ending up with a mere 32 sacks. Yes, the Broncos, Texans, Bengals, Packers and Vikings finished in the top 10, but so did the Titans, Rams, Dolphins, Bears and Panthers. I’m not saying sacks aren’t great and admit they do turn momentum in a game.  Only they seem to be a bit overrated when it comes to a measure of a teams success. The Titans defense had much larger problems than it’s quarterback pressure last year.  Such as covering tight ends, blown assignments, and an inordinate amount of missed tackles.  If those issues are addressed first and foremost, I won’t worry about the sack total so much. Follow me on Twitter @gunnelsj

Lets not sugar coat anything here, Jake Locker hasn't been a huge success early, but as I listed in an earlier post he has actually been a lot better than most fans and the media have given him credit for in his short time in the league. So then the question is why does he need to have a big camp? Firstly, Locker needs a big camp because he needs to become familiar with the new offense. This isn't going to be Chris Palmer's option route, pass heavy, stay in the pocket offense and hopefully he will see a lot more simple 1-2-run type situations. He needs to grow in this system and show his new OC that what he can't do and what he can do so that they can both have success. Secondly, he needs to conquer the question that people have been asking all offseason: can Jake Locker be a franchise quarterback. The answer, of course, is yes. Locker has an NFL caliber arm and just needs to adjust his touch (or find a WR that can locate and run under his ball AKA Justin Hunter) on deeper passes. He needs to show the media, the fans, and most importantly his team that he is the leader long-term. Finally, he needs to have a good camp so that he can build up a head of steam going against the Steelers. The Steelers are a weaker team than they were in years past, and the Titans actually beat them in their last meeting. If Tennessee could beat an established powerhouse in their stadium it would build confidence for both Jake Locker and the team. An aging defense shouldn't be able to hold up to the ground and pound style of offense the Titans should run and if Jake put up something like 20-27 for 220 yards, 2 pass TD, and a rushing TD that would do wonders for the whole team's mentality and it would reaffirm faith in coach Munch and the organization. Poll Do you think Jake Locker can comeback from a bad season and lead the Titans to the playoffs? Yes No 3 votes | Results

For the second time in two years the Titans drafted a dynamic wide receiver in the first two rounds, and when you have that influx of talent you can't help but have competition at a position that can only start three players regularly. One of these players needs a big camp to stay on the roster, and the other could sneak into a lot more playing time with a good camp. Nate Washington is the obvious odd man out, whether that means the rumors of a pre-draft trade or the inevitability of the Titans setting up a future without him. Nate Washington needs to wow the coaches and fellow players with work ethic, concentration, and an obvious re-commitment to being a Titan after embarrassing games late in the season last year. Due $4 million this year doesn't help his case, but if he can prove that he is more than just a deep threat and if he and Kevin Walter prove to be solid teachers to the young WRs then it could make sense to hold on to the former 1,000 yard target. On the other hand, Damian Williams is forgotten name among Titans fans and I don't know why. Williams isn't a giant target but he plays big and his hands are much more reliable than Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, or even Justin Hunter (until he proves otherwise) so why do the fans and coaches not seem to like him. If he has a big camp and builds a connection with Jake Locker then he could be a great option in the redzone given his fantastic ability to tap his toes inside the back of the endzone and his ability to maximize his frame. If Kenny Britt gets in trouble or hurt (which I obviously hope isn't the case) then Williams could be step up and prove himself a long term option as a "Boldin-type" WR. In fact I think he has a lot of similarities to Texans first round pick DeAndre Hopkins. Poll Which would you rather see starting on opening day? Nate Washington Damian Williams 14 votes | Results