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Media power rankings: Week 8

By Will Lomas

Oct 27, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray (29) is called for a face masking penalty on Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. (56) after a short gain in the second half at Nissan Stadium. The Titans won 36-22. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 27, 2016; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans running back DeMarco Murray (29) is called for a face masking penalty on Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. (56) after a short gain in the second half at Nissan Stadium. The Titans won 36-22. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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A common theme around the media during the early part of the week is power rankings. Whether they are ranking college football teams, baseball teams, basketball teams, or NFL teams it is something that most major outlets do.

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ESPN and NFL.com are no different, and they are the two that I pay the most attention to during the week. They generally use either a composite ranking to get their list, or they have someone assigned to watch every game before they make their list.

With other sites, there is a lot of guess work and assumptions that become pretty clear by around Week 8 and I have no intention of using them in these articles.

So, let’s take a look at how those two sites ranked the Tennessee Titans in their power rankings.

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    • NFL.com: 21 (LW: 25)

    “Unreal numbers to come out of the absolute buttkicking the Titans gave the Jaguars on Thursday night. Tennessee’s first-half point total (27) outweighed Jacksonville’s first-half play total (22). Dude. Dick LeBeau’s defense held the Jags’ rushing “attack” to 5 yards in the first half, while the Titans gained over 350 yards in the first half. In the second half, the good guys tapped the braaaaaaaaaaakes big time — but not before racking up 494 total yards. Back to LeBeau: Although Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles was sacked only twice, he was under pressure when the outcome was still in doubt (if it ever was). Tennessee is on pace for 44 sacks.”

    -Elliot Harrison

    It is hard not to love what Harrison is saying. Without even specifying any players in particular, the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars was utter domination.

    This defense is allowing a lot of yards and that vacuum over the middle of the field early in drives infuriates me. However, they are doing a great job holding teams to few points and getting to the quarterback.

    The Titans are on pace to have two pass rushers with 10 or more sacks this year, and one of them (Derrick Morgan) missed a game this season.

    This year has the potential to be a special building block if this defense can find their identity before the offense gets some upgrades at a few key positions.

    And sure, CB and ILB may need a new face or two on defense, but this front 7 is pretty much locked in for next year.

    ESPN.com: 23 (LW: 23)

    “The Titans have already surpassed their 2015 win total (3-13). QB Marcus Mariota has shown improvement, especially from the pocket. His Total QBR from inside the pocket has improved by 21 points this season.”

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    This is a weird quote, but one that is really interesting. Not the win total part, but the Mariota inside the pocket part.

    Is this system actually helping Marcus Mariota develop as a pocket quarterback? Or are the Titans misusing Mariota’s ability to move outside of the pocket. I am not sure, but it will be interesting to see exactly how much the Titans do with Mariota as a runner from here on out.

    While he may be better inside the pocket than last year, it is hard to argue how much better the offense flows in a drive when Mariota takes one around the corner for a big gain.

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