SB Nation - Coty Sensabaugh

NFL Roster Cuts Loom: Tennessee Titans 53-Man Roster Prediction

August West — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:35:41 -0000

Today is the day every fringe NFL player marks on their calendar, thinks about when they workout and dreads when it arrives: it's final cut day. Teams have to get down to 53 players by this evening, and tough decisions will have to be made.

However, the Titans don't really have many tough decisions when it comes to their roster. Outside of one or two competitive spots, it's crystal clear who will get that all-important thumbs up from Munchak and Webster. Making the case even easier, the Titans will have an extra roster spot while Kenny Britt is suspended next week, and guys like Ryan Durand and Dave Ball could conceivably start the year on the PUP list.

All that said, below the jump is my stab at naming the lucky 53 men who will have the honor of sporting the two-toned blue on Sundays.

QB:

RB:

FB:

Quinn Johnson

TE:

WR:

Kenny Britt* (One week roster exemption due to suspension)
Kendall Wright
Nate Washington
Damian Williams
Lavelle Hawkins

OT:

OG:

Fernando Velasco

DE:

DT:

LB:

Collin McCarthy
Will Witherspoon
Akeem Ayers
Zach Brown
Patrick Bailey
Tim Shaw
Zac Diles

CB:

Rob Bironas

Brett Kern

LS:

Beau Brinkley

Tennessee Titans Top the New Orleans Saints In Certified Snoozefest, So Ends the NFL Preseason

August West — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 02:10:48 -0000

Medical history was made tonight at LP Field as scientists discovered a non-habit forming sleep aide safe for over the counter sale: the game tape of the Titans season finale.

Between the two teams, around 40 regular players never even put on a helmet. The Saints benched almost their entire starting line-up, and the Titans sat down anyone who's had a bruise in the past calendar year. It's games like this that give the preseason a bad name, and infuriate season ticket holders who are obligated to by tickets at face value.

To top it all off, the guys who did hit the field failed to do much of anything spectacular. Follow me through the jump as I try to make this recap entertaining.

Offense:

Not exactly the kind of performance by Locker that Munchak had in mind when he declared the youngster would play past the first quarter. Locker didn't throw any picks, but he did have a bad fumble at the end of a scramble in the red zone. Locker finished the night 9/16 for 81 yards. He wasn't victimized by drops this time, he just never got it locked in. When Palmer finally opened up the offense, and Jake started taking big shots down the field, he misfired on a bomb to a wide-open Damian Williams that should have been an easy TD...
Of course, Williams did what he always does on deep throws: he slowed down as he turned his head to find the ball in the air, which resulted in lost steps and a pass skimming off of his fingertips. Three years in, you'd think he'd fix that at some point, but you'll see it all year long.
Kevin Matthews played well in his (I think) first preseason start. He certainly looked good enough that if Harris can't get his game right, the coaches will have to consider him as a suitable replacement.
Jared Cook made another classic Jared Cook play tonight: failing to realize he was standing out of bounds while catching a wide-open pass.
If you sneezed in the second quarter, you missed Matt Hasselbeck's performance.
If there really is any discussion about whether the Titans should carry three QBs, Rusty Smith didn't help himself at all tonight. After all of the raving I've done about his progress, he showed he's still got one epic gap in his game: if the play doesn't develop on schedule or the pocket is compromised, he falls apart.
Gotta love seeing 230+ Jamie Harper get ankle tackled by a DB in space. He didn't get near as much flack for that as he should have.
Darius Reynaud saw extensive time in the regular offense, and was one stumble away from a great TD on a screen pass where he crossed almost the entire width of the field.
One injury that may put a wrinkle in the roster cut-down tomorrow: Ryan Durrand getting rolled-up on after a Saints defender decided to tackle FB Mooney after the play was over. Even though he eventually got up and limped off the field, it looked like a classic ACL injury to me. If Durrand isn't healthy and Otto can't go right away, the front office might have to look outside the organization to add a healthy veteran who can help Matthews cover the back-up guard spots.

Defense:

No idea if it'll keep going when the games count, but this defense has caused a comical amount of turnovers this preseason. We've totaled 14 takeaways in 4 games. For comparison, we had 23 takeaways all season last year.
Mike Martin should get more time with the second string defense than he is. Martin has absolutely dominated the chumps he's faced all preseason.
A whole lot of people are going to know Collin McCarthy's name by the end of this season. Book it.
After being meh in coverage most of the preseason, Coty Sensabaugh showed up with a couple of very nice batted passes. Don't know if he'll make the 53, but he's an interesting prospect for sure.

Tomorrow is one of the toughest days of the year for many of the guys who played extensively tonight. 20+ players will be cut loose or stashed on the practice squad. I don't think anyone on that bubble made too much of an argument either way tonight, but the coaching staff is going to be left with a couple of very tough decisions.

Quick Pre-Camp Assessment--The DBs

FIGUREFOUR — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:00:18 -0000

We continue to discuss thoughts prior to the meat of camp. Today we'll look at the defensive backs. Like the other coaches/positions, we reviewed Coach Cheese and his functional group following last season. Clemson's biggest loss from a year ago was Coty Sensabaugh. Coty improved steadily over last season to become an effective and skilled player at the corner position.

Robinson and Breeland will start fall drills as the cornerback starters with Cortez Davis and Martin Jenkins as backups. Darius Robinson has the skills to play and play a lot but needs more snaps/experience. Breeland really excited the coaches through Spring and we expect him to play a large part in this defensive season. We need to point out that we also expect quality snaps out of Jenkins and want to see the staff rotate him in more than one season ago. We'll also point out that we would like to see the staff try to get Davis reps at the free safety role, especially if he isn't getting significant playing time at corner.

Jonathan Meeks will see a lot of time at the strong safety position and Xavier Brewer at free safety-both there obviously because there are questions about Rashard Hall and either could be replaced by Hall if healthy. Garry Peters is the last name on the safety list and, unless we see vast improvement from spring, see the same playing time this fall as last.

Assuming that Rashard Hall is recovered, he will take one of those spots. His recovery is a huge wildcard, as many players would have shut it down last season following a severe knee injury suffered early in the '11 campaign. This will be one player we specifically watch as we really hope that Hall's surgery and offseason rehab will have him back to pre-injury form. We spoke very highly of his play in '09 and '10 and think that this young man will play on the next level if he can rehab and return to the level of play early in his career.

Meeks really frustrated us last season. He looked confused most of the time, was out of position, and never wrapped up when he tackled. We'll look to see if he realizes he can use another tactic other than the flying headbutt to bring offensive players to the ground.

We fully expect to see true freshman Travis Blanks on the field this fall. He is just too good to be on the sidelines. Venables is content to bring him up to speed relatively slowly, breaking him in at the nickel role. Blanks may have been the most talented recruit of the '12 cycle and will be a stud here once he gets more comfortable with the college game and the Venables defense.

Clemson absolutely has to get better play out of these guys this season. Our safety play last year was less than stellar, mostly because of Hall's injury and Meeks' struggles. Unfortunately, I don't think that the Tiger defensive line is going to be much help to this group, particularly with their inexperience. That means there will be more pressure on the defensive backs because opposing quarterbacks will have more time to throw. They will be required to play closer to the line of scrimmage to assist in run support. Consequently, coaching decisions will be key, particularly early on as the Tigers gain experience both up front and in the secondary.

As you can see, this group needs folks to return to form following offseason surgery, youngsters to contribute, and improvement from players who contributed a year ago.

Here is a complete list of the Clemson defensive backs going into camp:

No.	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class
5	Jonathan Meeks	S	6-1	210	Sr.
9	Xavier Brewer	DB	5-11	190	Gr.
11	Travis Blanks	S	6-0	195	Fr.
14	Martin Jenkins	CB	5-9	175	Jr.
15	Ronald Geohaghan	DB	6-0	185	Fr.
17	Bashaud Breeland	CB	6-0	185	RSo.
21	Darius Robinson	CB	5-10	170	Jr.
25	C.J. Jones	CB	6-0	180	RJr.
26	Garry Peters	DB	6-0	190	RSo.
27	Robert Smith	S	5-10	210	So.
29	Cortez Davis	CB	6-2	195	RFr.
31	Rashard Hall	S	6-1	210	Gr.
36	Jerrodd Williams	S	6-0	205	RJr.
37	Dante Stewart	CB	5-8	185	RSo.
47	Taylor Watson	S	5-10	195	RSo.
49	Beau Brown	S	6-0	200	RFr.

Titans Flag Football: Who You Got?

Jimmy Morris — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:30:09 -0000

Winni and I have finished the process of drafting our flag football teams, and you now have the chance to vote for the winner. See our pitches for our teams and vote in the poll after the jump.

Winni's Team

Chris Johnson
Jared Cook
Jason McCourty
Damian Williams
Akeem Ayers
Alterraun Verner

Winni's pitch:

The pitch here is easy. My players are fast AND good at football. Offensively I have a lot of matchup problems. Chris Johnson and Jared Cook are going to win their individual battles consistently. Damian Williams is a good third option. Jason McCourty and Alterraun Verner can help out as well. J-Mac and ATV also help me win the defensive battle. They are the best cover corners the Titans have. I think my defense can slow down Jimmy's offense just enough to give me the win. Jimmy will boast that his team is fast, which is great if we're holding a track and field day. My team is fast too. ATV has a 40 yard dash that is 0.10 seconds slower than Coty Sensabaugh's. Jason McCourty's is 0.01 seconds slower than Tommie Campbell's. The difference is that my players excel at football. To paraphrase alijeal, the gap in talent between my players and Jimmy's exceeds the small gap in speed. I'll take my team over Team Chris Henry all day.

Jimmy's Team

Kendall Wright
Nate Washington
Tommie Campbell
Zach Brown
Taylor Thompson
Coty Sensabaugh

Jimmy's Pitch

Well Pooh is right about one thing, my team is really, really fast. He says that we would win a track meet but not a football game, but the thing is, this is not an NFL football game. It is a flag football game where straight line speed is king- where the difference in a 40 time of .10 is actually a really big deal.
He says that CJ and Cook are going to win their match-ups consistently. I would contend that Campbell can lock down CJ and ~~Thompson~~ Zach Brown can lock down Cook, and my pass rush can actually contain Jake Locker. I will be sending Zach Brown and Taylor Thompson after the QB on every play. Locker won't be able to get the corner on either of those guys like he can on Ayers, who has to be rushing the passer for Winni because he sure can't cover anyone on my team.

Advantage: Jimmy

Cast your vote below.

Poll

Who ya got?

Team Winni

62 votes

Team Jimmy

25 votes

87 votes | Poll has closed

With the 12th and Final Pick in the Titans Flag Football Draft....

Jimmy Morris — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 02:02:07 -0000

Winni boasts of how good his flag football team is going to be on defense. That is nice, but that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee at the gas station. There is really no such thing as coverage in a flag football game.

This last pick was a tough one because there are really only two options left in my mind, Lavelle Hawkins and Coty Sensabaugh. There really isn't another player left that would really help me here.

The case for Lavelle Hawkins is an easy one. He is a shifty receiver who knows how to get open quickly underneath. That is very important in flag football.

The case for Sensabaugh is that he ran a 4.42 forty at the combine.

All of that being said, I would be a hypocrite if I didn't got with Sensabaugh here. I have been preaching the importance of speed from the beginning because that is what flag football is all about. With this pick, I have assembled the fastest flag football team in the history of the world. Winni has CJ, but the other six members of my team are faster than anyone else on his team.

Check out this line-up:

Kendall Wright
Nate Washington
Tommie Campbell
Zach Brown
Taylor Thompson
Coty Sensabaugh

Good look stopping that line-up.

With the Eleventh Pick in the Titans Flag Football Draft...

Daniel R — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 15:30:09 -0000

This pick completes my seven man team, and I'm quite pleased with the players I've landed. Jimmy chose Taylor Thompson with his most recent pick. I considered calling Thompson a poor man's Jared Cook but at this point even that's not a fair statement. As we've seen with the Cookie Monster, it takes a lot of time to pick up the nuances of the game and Thompson's set for a big learning curve. Still Thompson should be able to provide Jimmy's team with a bit more height and athleticism.

This pick was a no-brainer. Offensive options have been exhausted by both squads. In yet another attempt to stop Jimmy's high-powered offense, I looked for a proven, productive defensive player. I passed on defensive linemen and linebackers in favour of speed and athleticism once again.

This player should really help in pass defense and can play both ways for the team. We've seen him develop the past two years and the Titans are expecting even more growth from him this season.

By selecting Friend of the Blog Alterraun Verner with this selection I've nabbed the two best cover corners on the Titans. ATV and Jason McCourty match up well against Kendall Wright and Nate Washington. I considered the faster Coty Sensabaugh instead, but Verner's coverage skills were too great to pass on. ATV has underrated closing speed, even if he isn't known as a fast player. He also completes my defensive trio: ATV-Ayers-McCourty. That looks pretty solid to me.

Here's my final team:

Jake Locker
Chris Johnson
Jared Cook
Jason McCourty
Damian Williams
Akeem Ayers
Alterraun Verner

With the Ninth Pick in the Titans Flag Football Draft...

Daniel R — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 13:00:43 -0000

Jimmy is not the only one that's mastered coachspeak. I was quite pleased that he took Zach Brown yesterday so I'll trot out the company line of "I couldn't believe the guy I wanted fell to me." With the seventh pick I took Damian Williams, thinking that I would choose between the remaining defensive players for the next selection. Zach Brown really wasn't on my radar. Perhaps he'll be better at flag football than he is at contact football but Jared Cook is going to dominate him.

I considered going defensive end or corner at this spot. Alterraun Verner and Coty Sensabaugh were both on the board. Had Jimmy taken one with the previous selection, I would have scooped up the other happily. With both still left, I'm going to pass on them yet again. Verner is the better corner but Sensabaugh is the faster one. Maybe I'll take one with my last pick but I had bigger needs.

Getting pressure on the quarterback is important and all I had in that role was Cook. Kamerion Wimbley was hard to pass up but ultimately I think I've found a player more versatile to the team. This selection will help in the trenches and has enough speed to cover a bigger player if needed. Jerry Gray uses him all over the field so I know that he can be a multi-dimensional player for me.

Akeem Ayers is my favourite linebacker on the Titans. He has a unique blend of size and speed for an outside linebacker and I was thrilled to get him at this spot. On defense I can use Cook and Ayers as rushers to contain and sack Jake Locker. Ayers might not be as fast as Zach Brown but he's a far better football player. That is basically the same argument I had for McCourty over Campbell. All the players I've targeted are fast but I want them to be good at football too. Ayers can act as my defensive captain, taking charge of the team and taking whatever role is needed on a play.

Titans Player of the Week: Coty Sensabaugh

Kenneth G. — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 12:00:26 -0000

Good morning, MCM. Today I continue looking at the newest editions to the Titans roster. I've gone down the line of the draft and have reached the fourth round. In the fourth round, our beloved Titans finally took that cornerback that many experts believed should have been taken in the first round. Coty Sensabaugh, the former Clemson Tiger, is now a Tennessee Titan.

Stats

Mr. Sensabaugh has recorded four interceptions in his four seasons of college football (well, five, considering he was redshirted in 2007). He recorded one interception each year.
He recorded 97 tackles in his four seasons, 48 of these in 2011.
He never forced a fumble, sacked the quarterback, or scored a touchdown.
(ESPN)
He ran a 4.42 at the combine.
(NFL Draft Scout)
However, he did record 13 pass deflections in his 993 snaps in 2011.
(Scout.com)

Personal Facts

The 23 year old was born on November 15th of 1988 in Kingsport, Tennessee.
He attended Dobyns-Bennet High School.
Gerald Sensabaugh, the safety for the Cowboys, is his cousin.
Coty stands at a height of 6'1", weighing 200 pounds.
He was picked 115th overall, and his college number was #15.
(Wiki)
He was a team captain in his senior year at Clemson.

Expectations

The expectations for Mr. Sensabaugh are not very high in 2012. I expect him to fight Tommie Campbell and Chris Hawkins for the 3rd corner spot. Although he may not ever start in 4-3 schemes, we can expect him to get plenty of play time in the dime packages with four corners.

Let's watch this short video of his lone interception of 2011. It was against Auburn to clutch the win (Warning: it gets loud).

He put his body on the line to make that great play. Although he didn't start until his senior season (per PFW), he did open many eyes. I expect him to be a huge contributor for the Titans within the next few years, although not necessarily in 2012.

AFC South Offseason Report: Tennessee Titans

Adam Stites — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 15:00:33 -0000

Did you know the Titans finished with a winning record in 2011? No, seriously they finished 9-7. Maybe it was just me, but they never really felt like that good of a team to me and certainly snuck under the radar en route to their fifth winning season as members of the AFC South.

In Mike Munchak's first season as head coach, the Matt Hasselbeck-led Titans finished 17th in total offense and 18th in total defense. That's a stat that very much embodies who the 2011 Titans were. Just a supremely average football team capable of finishing with a winning record, but not quite powerful enough to compete for a championship.

But with a top 10 draft pick in 2011 invested in a quarterback that had very little role in his rookie year, the ceiling for the Tennessee offense to get better is certainly there. However, whether or not Jake Locker sits another year is a question that has still not been answered.

Until that question gets the official answer on week one, an actual idea of what to expect from the Titans is still in the air to some degree.

Free Agency

Perhaps the most notable news for the Titans in the 2012 free agency period was the departure of All-Pro cornerback Cortland Finnegan to the St. Louis Rams. With Finnegan out, the Titans will have to hope that the pairing of Jason McCourty and Alterraun Verner can fill the void. The loss of defensive tackle Jason Jones and linebacker Barrett Ruud to the Seahawks also cost the Titans defense a playmaker.

But besides the loss of Finnegan and Jones, the Titans did add some players in free agency that should have an impact. Signing Kamerion Wimbley, Zac Diles and Leger Douzable certainly add talent to the front seven and Steve Hutchinson helps on the interior offensive line, perhaps the biggest weakness for the Titans to address this offseason.

Draft

With a severe drop off from Chris Johnson's 2,000 yard rushing season to a 1,000 yard season, it seemed obvious that the Titans should target offensive lineman to get CJ back on track. There was talk that they could trade up for Stanford G David DeCastro, yet with him still on the board for them at the 20th pick, they instead selected Kendall Wright.

While Wright will certainly add an interesting spice to the offense, Castro is a pick that seemed too logical to pass up for the Titans and the fact that they didn't select an offensive lineman with any of their next six selections didn't help much.

That said, the Titans did make an effort to add speed and athleticism in the draft with Wright, Zach Brown, Mike Martin, Coty Sensabaugh and Taylor Thompson with their first five picks. Maybe that's what a supremely average team needs to become more than that.

Conclusion

Barring a rash of injuries, I don't think the Titans will be a bad football team. But with Hasslbeck still at the helm and the likely starter, it would also surprise me if they're legitimately good. Instead another close-to-.500 season where the Titans compete for a spot in the playoffs seems the most likely scenario.

If Locker takes over after beating Hasselbeck in camp (which is a very real possibility), the ceiling for the team goes up in my eyes, but it would essentially be his rookie year and that very rarely goes really, really well.

Poll

How many wins will the 2012 Tennessee Titans finish with?

1-4

5 votes

5-6

15 votes

7-8

125 votes

9-10

106 votes

11-12

44 votes

13-16

6 votes

301 votes | Poll has closed