TitanInsider Board

In 2011-12, I saw the Titans as an 8-8 team and was very excited to see a team that should've gone 10-6.....stupid Colts. With the offseason moves by the staff, I think the Titans are probably back in the 8-10 win range, but does the schedule allow this?

Wk (with prediction)
1 Patriots - L
2 Chargers - W
3 Lions - L
4 Texans - W
5 Vikings - W
6 Steelers - L
7 Bills - W
8 Colts - W
9 Bears - W
10 Dolphins - W
11 Bye
12 Jags - W
13 Texans - L
14 Colts - W
15 Jets - L
16 Packers - L
17 Jags - W

In this senario I have the Titans going 10-6, but keep in mind that a few teams like the Bills, Dolphins, Bears, Chargers, or Texans have very good chances of giving us another loss. So we easily could end up 8-8.....especially with the first 6 games of the season being as brutal as it is.

5 Stories to pay attention to throughout the season:
1. OLB vs Center: Center was a major need going into the 2012 season. The Titans did not address this. Instead they addressed the OLB position with the 2nd pick of the draft. This was probably the only pick in the draft that raised an eyebrow.....so it's worth noting.
2. Pass rush from the DE's: The anemic pass rush was not addressed directly by signing a proven DE. Instead they signed an athletic former DE who has played OLB for the last few yrs. Morgan also is a few yrs now removed from his surgery. He has no excuses this yr in order to cause an impact.
3. Pass coverage vs pass rush: We lost Finnegan which will hurt. Will we generate enough pass rush to offset the loss at CB?
4. QB battle: It's so nice to have a good enough veteran QB that we can afford to bring along "the future" slowly. But has the time come?
5. Run game: CJ was not CJ last yr. And the interior of the line was not very good at run blocking. The Titans placed a temporary (but very good) patch at guard with Hutch, but neglected the other 2 positions. We'll see...

2013 off season:
Needs: I like everyone that the Titans chose during the 2012 draft, but they really didn't address any of the need positions. They also didn't do a great job of fulfilling the needs in free agency either. So it is likely that the Titans will again need a pass rushing DE, a new center, a replacement guard for Hutch (this may not be an immediate need), and a replacement for Griffin (who I feel is going elsewhere next yr).