The Tennessee Titans currently sit at 2-4 and the time to make some hard decisions is quickly approaching — most importantly being to repair or rebuild.
Both decisions come with pros and cons. Nothing will set a franchise back further than delaying a rebuild. On the other hand, rebuilding ultimately means giving up the season, and possibly the season after.
If a repair is elected, it is possible to save the season. However, if the repair doesn’t work out, a rebuild would be set further behind. Let’s take a closer look both options, and possible outcomes to each.
Repair.
If the Titans decide to try to save the season, the time has come to start looking at other rosters on who may still be available. The interior offensive line position should be the first position to look into.
Nate Davis is without a doubt the weakest link among Titans players slated as starters. It is close to impossible to run the ball off the right side, and his pass protection isn’t any better.
Rodger Saffold has shown solid play, but at times he has let defenders skate right by him. When the offensive line can’t push defenders out of their gaps and allow pressure right up the middle, this offense is crippled.
A perfect example of a successful repair comes from just a season ago when the Houston Texans started the season 0-3, but finished 11-5. With the right adjustments, the Titans can too.
As mentioned before, the first thing the Titans should do is look for better offensive line talent on the trading block, but the second would be adding new ways to attack defenses in the playbook.
If they stop the run, and don’t bite too hard on play-action, it will be difficult for the Titans to score on them.
In the past, we’ve seen the Titans line up in 12-man packages with Dennis Kelly in the tight end position. We haven’t seen that lately, but maybe we should start seeing it again.
Multiple back backfields could also help free the Titans offense up with more blockers or passing options.
With the skill sets of both Marcus Mariota and Ryan Tannehill, there are certainly opportunities to introduce packages with both quarterbacks on the field.
Rebuild.
A rebuild simply means stripping a team down, and starting over with new and fresh talent. This could include players only, or coaching changes as well.
Joe Burrow has been a popular pick for the Titans in many mock drafts. With the benching of Marcus Mariota, the Titans are going to need a new quarterback in 2020 whether they try the rebuild or the repair approach.
However, Burrow has been moving up draft boards quickly and could be the first or second overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft. If that is the case, the Titans will have to trade most of their already limited draft capital, and possibly even some players.
Some of those players could include Jack Conklin, Dennis Kelly, Derrick Henry, Logan Ryan, or LeShuan Sims — all of which are on the final year of their contract.
While taking a new rookie quarterback would give them the salary cap space to re-sign all of these players, not making some moves could stop the Titans from moving up to get their guy at quarterback.
The Titans may also need to look into a new offensive line coach.
It is clear the best coaching Mariota has had throughout his career has come from veteran, second-string quarterbacks, and when it comes to the offensive line, the drop-off from Russ Grimm’s departure is evident.
When we look at a team who went through a successful rebuild, the Philadelphia Eagles come to mind. They built a team, hired a coach with a proven track record of developing quarterbacks and calling games, and then inserted a successful quarterback in Carson Wentz.
The Titans could do the same considering they already have a great defense, solid receiving corps, talented pieces on the offensive line and a run game that can take over games. A dominant quarterback could put this team over the top.
Conclusion.
It’s likely the Titans fall somewhere in the middle of a repair and rebuild this season. Moves will be made to get the squad back on track, and we may see some new things and find some success.
However, with the quarterback and offensive line situation, it likely won’t be enough to win a championship. Then in 2020, we could see another conservative free agency and then an action-packed draft in which the Titans move up to grab a signal-caller.
