Tennessee Titans: Examining the Predictions
By Les Bailey
As the 2015 NFL Season gets underway tonight, I thought it would be fun to do an article about some of the predictions around the media and in Las Vegas concerning the Tennessee Titans. After a 2-14 season in 2014, you have to know the Titans are at the top of a lot of lists, or should I say near the bottom?
More at Titan Sized: Titans vs Bucs: Five Matchups to watch
While Paul Kuharsky at ESPN predicted a six-win season for the Titans in 2015, not the same could be said for his cohorts at NFL Nation.
Kuharsky said he wasn’t married to that number, but expected an improvement on the 2-14 effort the team had last year.
NFL Nation, as a group, say the Titans are a one-win team in 2015 and the only vote for that one win came from Jacksonville Jaguar writer Mike DiRocco.
DiRocco gave the Titans one win over his Jaguar in their second meeting on November 19th in Nashville.
The 13 reporters who predicted games for the teams that will play the Titans combined to average a 27.1-14.6 score in the favor of those opponents.
If the Nation has any clue, the next prediction will be very important.
Jimmy Morris at Music City Miracles put up an article on Tuesday via Bovada that says Ken Whisenhunt is the third most likely coach to get the axe at the end of the season or before.
I checked it out, and there he is.
With Mike Pettine from the Cleveland Browns sitting on the top of the list at 11 to 4 odds, Jay Gruden of the Washington Redskins is next at 3 to 1, Ken Whisenhunt is third at 9 to 1.
To get a little flavor from the list, former Titans head coach and current St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher is 11th on the list at 25 to 1, Bucs head coach Lovie Smith at 14 with 25 to 1 odds, Colts head man Jim Caldwell number 16 at 33 to 1 odds and Dallas Cowboy coach Jason Garrett last at 50 to 1.
I went over the list three times and couldn’t find Bill Belichick anywhere on the list. Looks like he won’t be fired for “deflategate”. Go figure!
The news doesn’t get much better for the Titans over on NFL.com where Elliot Harrison has the Titans in last place in his Power Rankings.
A list that has the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots at the top has the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans at the bottom in that order.
I’m not sure why Harrison thinks the Colts can beat Tom Brady and the Patriots, but he cites the lack of a running game, a so-so defense and a so-so offensive line as the reason he has the Titans at the bottom.
Maybe the national media hasn’t been to Nashville lately and seen the changes on the offensive line and didn’t notice that Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan didn’t play much in the preseason.
Or maybe they didn’t see the change in attitude on this team that’s been apparent during training camp and in preseason games.
Oh well!
I saved the most positive and best for last. Chris Wesseling from Around the NFL has rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota listed third on his Top Ten Rookie Offensive Player of the Year candidates.
Wesseling has Detroit Lions rookie running back, Ameer Abdullah in his first slot, and Oakland Raider wide receiver, Amari Cooper ahead of Mariota in second place, but that’s a positive. Right?
"What more could Mariota have done to silence his pre-draft skeptics this summer? He drew persistent raves from teammates and coaches for his “unbelievable” accuracy, mental acuity and leadership in an “essentially flawless” training camp. Mariota went on to finish his first preseason with an impressive 70.0 completion rate for 10.9 yards per attempt and a 102.9 passer rating. More important than the numbers was his unshakable poise and composure. Don’t be surprised to see Mariota running Chip Kelly’s offense after the Titans coaches slow-played the rest of the league in August."
He slots Tampa Bay rookie quarterback Jameis Winston in fifth place with the Rams Todd Gurley bringing up the rear in tenth position.
Predictions are just that. Look into the crystal ball and pull some numbers out of your A__!
Hey….it works for me!
Next: Titans vs Buccaneers: Injury Report