Oct 28, 2012; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks (94) and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (99) leave the field after a game against the Indianapolis Colts at LP Field. The Colts beat the Titans 19-13. Mandatory credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Titans surrendered a franchise record 471 points during the 2012-13 NFL season. One reason for that was the lack of production from their defensive linemen. Too many players didn’t play to their potential. How much of that was from coaching? How much of that was from overrated talent?

Here are some position grades for each of the defensive tackles (DT).

Jurrell Casey
16 games played, 54 tackles, 5 stuffs, 0 pass deflections, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles

Jurrell Casey followed up his 2011 rookie season with another good year in 2012. His run-defense wasn’t as noticeable because his supporting cast didn’t offer much support. His sacks and forced fumbles increased. For a defensive lineman, he had a high amount of tackles.

Overall, Casey played well.

GRADE: B+

Sen’Derrick Marks
14 games played, 41 tackles, 3 stuffs, 3 pass deflections, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble

Marks is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. In 51 career games (26 starts), Marks has 99 tackles, eight pass deflections, three sacks and three forced fumbles. In 2012, Marks recorded a full sack against the Miami Dolphins. That was his first full sack since 2009.

Marks plays far too much to have one full sack in three seasons (he also had two half-sacks). Mike Martin would’ve offered more to a run-defense that ranked 24^th in 2012.

How many great plays has Marks made? His lack of production stems from either unreached potential or the coaches not using him properly. Maybe it’s a combination of both. Regardless, Marks has failed to capitalize on his many opportunities.

It’s a mystery. Marks doesn’t pass the eye test. He doesn’t pass the stats test. Pro Football Focus gave him a -7.7 rating. Including restricted free agents, that makes him the 47^th-best interior defensive lineman available in free agency.

Marks, you are the weakest link. Goodbye.

GRADE: D

Mike Martin
16 games played, 37 tackles, 4 stuffs, 0 pass deflections, 3 sacks, 0 forced fumbles

Consider this: in 51 career games (26 starts), Marks has six stuffs and three sacks. In 16 games (one start), Martin has four stuffs and three sacks. Martin doesn’t even project as a good interior pass-rusher. Yet, he has already shown more in that department than Marks.

Martin will start in 2013. If Colin McCarthy can stay healthy, the run-defense should significantly improve.

GRADE: B

Karl Klug
16 games played, 7 tackles, 0 stuffs, 1 pass deflection, 3.5 sacks, 0 forced fumbles

Karl Klug is a one-trick pony: he rushes the passer. Starting is not in his future. Klug is a player who’s effective on obvious passing situations. Get him in the game on third down. Play him on second-and-long.

There are games when Klug plays fewer than 10 snaps. That didn’t keep him from leading all defensive tackles (on the team) with 3.5 sacks. Those numbers would inflate if he were used on third downs more than Marks.

GRADE: C+

DaJohn Harris, Leger Douzable
Not enough playing time to form an opinion.

GRADE: I

OVERALL GRADE: C
This low grade is weighted from Marks’ ineffectiveness (he’s a starter), players not swatting enough passes and Jerry Gray using poor rotations. Gray must learn how to use Martin and Klug to their strengths, not just blindly play Marks because he’s second on the depth chart.

Fans should look forward to a rotation with Casey, Martin, Klug, Harris and another role player for short-yardage and goal-line situations.

Sep 16, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (99) gets up off of San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) during the second quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

At least one Tennessee Titans player will be making the Pro Bowl this season. Unfortunately, it’s not the real Pro Bowl rosters, it’s ProFootballFocus’s Pro Bowl rosters. But who cares about the Pro Bowl anyways. It’s a popularity contest anymore and hardly has anything to do with who really deserves the “honor.”

But enough of the pity party; let’s take a look at the Titan who made PFF’s AFC Pro Bowl roster:

DT Jurrell Casey (TEN)

…While we appreciate how excellent Vince Wilfork has been in recent weeks, we plumped for the more consistent Casey. There’s a player who produces week in and week out.

Casey came in behind the Bengals DT Geno Atkins and Buffalo’s DT Kyle Williams. I guess that’s pretty good company to be with.

While Casey hasn’t done anything shocking this season, he’s been solid all the way through. His stats look like they’ll end up pretty close to his rookie year’s stats, plus a forced fumble or so. He was a little slow coming on this season, due to an elbow injury that hinder him through some of the first games.

Casey was the only Titans player to make PFF’s AFC Pro Bowl roster, which makes sense. The Titans have been the definition of inconsistency on both sides of the ball this year. An ever growing injury report certainly hasn’t helped any.

With another solid draft and some good growth from all the young players on the team during the offseason, the Titans could show up as an entirely different team this next year, something much closer to what we were expecting to see this year.

There’s something to put faith in, or at the very least, some hope. The Titans had things in their favor as they headed into this season, but whether it was due to poor coaching, unfortunate injuries, or a combo of the two, the Titans underwhelmed us all.

Here’s to a better next year, perhaps with a few more Pro Bowl worthy candidates.

You can find me on Twitter @JustinLStewart

September 16, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Tennessee Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan (91) and defensive tackle Jurrell Casey (99) celebrate after a sack during the second quarter against the San Diego Chargers at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Tennessee Titans DT Jurrell Casey is somewhat familiar with New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez, having spent a year with him at USC. Terry McCormick had an article on the Nation Football Post yesterday from an interview he had with Casey about his history with Sanchez and how the Titans feel headed into Monday’s game.

You’ve got to step up to the plate, and he ain’t stepped up to the plate yet. We’re just going to keep embarrassing him and bringing more heat and let their fans do what they’ve got to do.

Sanchez has thrown 12 TD’s to 13 INT’s, with the last time he threw a TD being back on Novemeber 22 against the New England Patriots.

The Titans have been coming very alive on the defensive line, terrorizing their past couple opponents QB’s. Sanchez could struggle mightily against a re-energized front. The Titans could actually finish a game looking as good in the second half as they do in the first.

Hopefully it’ll make for a good show Monday. The Titans have been a disappointment thus far, and the Jets obviously haven’t been much better.

It’ll be worth watching if the below happens again. I can’t get enough of the GIF.

You can find me on Twitter @JustinLStewart