The Tennessee Titans’ offensive line looked to be in shambles in the early part of last season, particularly in pass protection, where it was a sieve.
Not only was the team trying to integrate two new pieces in left guard Rodger Saffold and right guard Nate Davis, but the anchor of the line, left tackle Taylor Lewan, was also suspended for the first four games.
But as the season progressed, Lewan and Saffold began to round into form and the O-line as a whole began to impose its will, especially on the ground. Davis took a little longer, but he made huge strides from Week 15 on.
Tennessee will be returning 80 percent of its offensive line in 2020, with the lone exception being right tackle Jack Conklin. However, Tennessee is set to replace him with Dennis Kelly, who has spent four seasons in Nashville and played alongside the starters in 2019.
Saffold believes the continuity upfront will help both he and the offensive line “start off on the right foot”, as he told the media during a Zoom call on Friday.
“We get to start off on the right foot from the beginning,” Saffold said. “I know what the coaches want from me. I know what they’re looking for as far as speed wise. And it’s just going to help our entire offensive line all around because now we have a bunch of veterans that know what’s going on with the offense and we can help out the younger guys when they need to come along.”
With more familiarity and experience in the Titans’ offensive system, Lewan believes it’s about “fine tuning” the details in 2020, as opposed to having to start from scratch and get new players up to speed on things.
“We know the offense,” Lewan said. “You can put up a plan, 95 percent of guys will be able to rattle off the keys of that play, what the scheme is, and everything. But now, it’s about fine tuning those details and I think that’s a really big deal for us being in the third year of this offense.”
