SB Nation - Jason McCourty

The Titans Five Biggest Defensive Questions Heading Into 2009

Jimmy — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:20:46 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

Who you think gonna replace me?(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Now that free agency and the draft have ended, we can start to take a look at the 2009 version of the Tennessee Titans. Today we will look at the five biggest defensive questions for 2009.

1. How will the rotation replace the loss of Albert Haynesworth?

No one player is going to be expected to replace Albert. It will be done by the rotation. The question is how good is the rotation?

They know what they have in Tony Brown. He is a space eater that can get after the quarterback a little. Jason Jones excited us last year with his solid play early and stand-out game against the Towel Boys. He played defensive end in college so he is more of a pass rusher. Sen'Derrick Marks is probably the most athletic of the bunch and should be able to get after the passer. Jovan Haye is the wild card. He had 6 sacks in 2007 but 0 in 2008. Let's hope we get the '07 version. Kevin Vickerson, at the back end of the rotation, is a space eater that seemed to make huge strides last season (minus the performance enhancing drug suspension).

Obviously the Titans are hoping for the whole to be greater than the sum of the parts. The odds are it will be with Jim Washburn guiding the ship.

2. Who will step up to be the #3 corner?

Most of us would have liked the Titans to take a corner before the end of the 3rd round in this draft after losing so many corners in the offseason. They didn't, so that leaves a huge question in my mind. The Titans did sign DeMarcus Faggins in the offseason, and he is a nice player for depth purposes, but I am not going to feel really good if he has to be on the field for any extended period of time.

They obviously saw a lot of potential in Ryan Mouton, but he appears to be a project at best. I doubt he will be ready to step in and play if Cortland Finnegan or Nick Harper go down.

Cary Williams? Jason McCourty? That just isn't change I can believe in yet.

3. How much different will the defensive scheme look with Chuck Cecil at the helm?

The honest answer here is no one really knows. Jim Schwartz took a very statistical approach to the scheme (Think Moneyball meets the NFL). There weren't a lot of "risky" blitzes, and the secondary sat in zone coverage for the most part. I expect things to be different with Cecil calling the shots. We all know he played hard nosed football 100% of the time, so I just don't see him sitting around waiting for the other team to make a mistake like Schwartzy did. Of course we won't know how he will call games until they take the field at Towel Boy Stadium on opening night.

4. Is there a quality linebacker on the roster behind Keith Bulluck and David Thornton?

Bulluck will be 32 and Thornton will be 30 when the season starts, so the odds of both of them staying healthy for the whole season are not very good. (Not to mention the looming free agency for Bulluck) The Titans have not spent a high pick on a LB since they took Bulluck in the first round in 2000. This could be the year we find out if any of them are going to be quality NFL players.

5. Will the defensive ends hold up for the whole season?

Just as with the linebackers, the starting defensive ends on this team aren't getting any younger. Add to that the fact that Kyle Vanden Bosch missed most of last season with a groin injury and Jevon Kearse isn't exactly the Cal Ripken Jr. of football, and you can see why the depth question is important here. The front office obviously felt good about the sport since they didn't spend a draft pick on an end for the first time since the Lincoln Administration. It is easy to see why the would be comfortable with the depth when you look at the production they got from Dave Ball and Jacob Ford last season. Combine that with the portential they see in William Hayes, and they seem pretty set. The question then becomes how well those depth guys would play in expanded roles.

Tennessee Titans 2009 NFL Draft Grades

Jimmy — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:17:51 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Browse more photos »

Let me start off by saying that grading a draft today is a little bit ridiculous. We have no idea how any of these guys will pan out, but there are still some ways we can grade this draft that aren't as ridiculous.

Right now we will look at what they did to address their need positions. I have to give them a B+ on that one. The only thing that keeps them from getting an A here is the fact that they didn't take a corner until the 4th round, and when they finally took a corner it was a very questionable one. Overall though I love the fact that they took a receiver in the first round. We have seen a parade of middle round receivers in here over the past decade that never amounted to anything. They took a flier on a guy that they were really impressed with, and I applaud them for that. All of the reports I am hearing is that they were really high on Kenny Britt and Clay Matthews. Had the Packers not traded up to get Matthews, there is a very good chance that he would have been the pick pick. I know they need depth at linebacker, but I am really glad that we ended up with Britt instead.

The Sen'Derrick Marks pick was an interesting one. Defensive tackle depth was a need, but I felt they had bigger needs that could have been addressed with the pick. Marks is an athletic guy with a lot of upside so there is a good shot he will end up a very good player under the guidance of Jim Washburn.

The first really questionable move they pulled was trading next year's #2 to the Patriots to move up and take Jared Cook. The move was questionable to me on two fronts:

If I were an NFL GM, I would never make a deal with the New England Patriots. In the words of August, "They always win."
We didn't have a need at tight end. We already have future Hall of Famer Bo Scaife there.

However, if Cook can become the player that we all hoped Ben Troupe would be, it will prove to have been a great move. Vandy fans will remember Cook because he torched them in that Thursday night ESPN game last season. He presents all kind of match-up problems and should open some things up for the running game.

Then comes the Ryan Mouton pick. This is one of those picks that I really don't understand. Mouton really only started for one season in college and had just 3 picks in his college career. He also has durability concerns. I am going on record right now that there is only a 20% chance that Mouton ends up being a better in NFL corner than D.J. Moore.

The Titans finally addressed their LB depth need in the 4th round when they took Gerald McRath. McRath played inside linebacker in college, but from everything I have heard should be able to easily make the transition to outside linebacker. I would assume the Titans took him because he was the best available linebacker on their board.

The next pick was Troy Kropog from Tulane. He appears to be Daniel Loper part two. He played tackle in college but will probably be the back-up at tackle and guard for the Titans. I have never heard of him, but Mike Munchak will coach him up. i have no doubt he will be a solid player.

I was shocked to see the Titans pick a running back because they just never do that. /sarcasm Javon Ringer was an All-American last season. It is never a bad thing to pick up one of those in the 5th round. Ringer is a horse. He carried the ball 635 times in his last 2 seasons at Michigan State and scored 22 touchdowns last season. That is a lot. He also catches the ball well out of the backfield. Ringer obviously will not unseat Crazy Legs, but he is a good insurance policy for when The Round Mound walks after this season. Say goodnight Chris Henry.

I like the Jason McCourty pick in the sixth. He is really fast, 4.30, and was a return guy in college. Sure he is a project, but a guy with that type of speed is worth picking up in the sixth round.

I alos really like the Dominique Edison pick in the sixth round. August rained all over my Edison parade when he responded to my text message with "Is he Filani part 2?" But hey, 6-2, 204, 4.45 in the sixth round is worth a shot. He may not pan out, but at least he is really, really fast.

I don't know anything about the guys picked in the 7th round, but I bet we eventually see Ryan Durand playing meaningful minutes for this team. I have that much confidence in Munchak.

With the exception of taking Mouton over Moore, I really like what they did with this draft. I love that they finally took a receiver in the first round, and they did a good job addressing the needs with the rest of the picks.