Another Tennessee Titans’ Player Makes the Wrong List
Just when it looked like the Tennessee Titans were making all the right lists I start finding the bad ones. Today’s really did surprise me.
I’m a fan of Will Witherspoon. I like him as a person and he has been a capable starter for the Titans the past couple years. I noticed he’d miss a tackle every now and then, but I was never counting…
So without further ado, I bring you today’s report from PFF’s “Three Years of Tackling Efficiency” series staring linebackers.
Via PFF:
| Rank | Player | Snaps | Tks | Ass | MT | Tackling Efficiency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sean Weatherspoon | 1427 | 120 | 20 | 23 | 7.1 |
| 2 | Geno Hayes | 2563 | 208 | 28 | 38 | 7.2 |
| 3 | DeAndre Levy | 2430 | 209 | 28 | 37 | 7.4 |
| 4 | Stephen Cooper | 1599 | 110 | 17 | 19 | 7.7 |
| 5 | Quincy Black | 1833 | 157 | 21 | 26 | 7.8 |
| 6 | Lofa Tatupu | 1319 | 85 | 19 | 15 | 7.9 |
| 7 | Julian Peterson | 1910 | 110 | 29 | 20 | 8.0 |
| 7 | Ben Leber | 1267 | 82 | 9 | 13 | 8.0 |
| 9 | Ernie Sims | 1801 | 129 | 23 | 21 | 8.2 |
| 10 | Channing Crowder | 1226 | 80 | 7 | 12 | 8.3 |
| 10 | Nick Roach | 1296 | 100 | 17 | 16 | 8.3 |
| 12 | Chris Gocong | 2303 | 133 | 32 | 22 | 8.5 |
| 13 | Keith Bulluck | 1253 | 102 | 13 | 15 | 8.7 |
| 13 | Will Witherspoon | 2952 | 180 | 36 | 28 | 8.7 |
| 15 | Rocky McIntosh | 2335 | 186 | 40 | 29 | 8.8 |
| 15 | Larry Foote | 1528 | 134 | 22 | 20 | 8.8 |
When tackling’s your job it’s never a good thing to be amongst the worst at your position. On a side note, ex-Tennessee Titan Stephen Tulloch came in second of all linebackers with 308 tackles. I’m okay with that just on the fact that he had never forced a turnover until this past year.
Colin McCarthy forced three in his rookie year as well as recovering two fumbles. I’ll take McCarthy any day.
The Titans drafted OLB Zach Brown in the second round of this years draft and he’s the heir apparent to Witherspoon’s spot. It’ll be interesting to see how long it is before Brown does take his spot. Witherspoon is the weakest link of a very young and strong linebacker group and it’s only a matter of time. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brown step up and take over some time during this coming season.
Brown’s a fast linebacker who excels at pass coverage and has a bit of a chip on his shoulder from:
A. Falling to the second round (Akeem Ayers, anyone?)
and
B. Having Mike Mayock tell everyone he’s “allergic to contact.”
I really hope to see him prove Mayock wrong and just wreak havock out on the field. If Brown turns out, the Titans will have a top-5 linebacker group sporting Ayers, McCarthy, and obviously Brown. That would be great to see after the past few years of uncertainty that have surrounded the linebacker position in Tennessee.
You can find me on Twitter @JustinLStewart