Tennessee Titans: Silently Building A Great Defense
By Devon Lloyd
Coming into this NFL off-season, defense was the top priority for the Tennessee Titans. As a unit the Titans finished with only the 27th ranked defense in the NFL.
That was something the Tennessee Titans wanted to change. The start came when the Titans had agreed to terms with former legendary Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
While in Pittsburgh LeBeau has led the Steelers defense to ten top five finishes and five first overall finishes in the NFL defensive rankings.
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The Titans then decided to fill each and every defensive need as efficiently as possible. Instead of the flashy big name signing that would cost the team a lot of money, the Titans elected to skip on players like Ndamukong Suh and find players who would fit Dick LeBeau’s scheme at a lower cost.
The Titans remained quiet during the first two days of free agency but made a splash on day three, by signing former Washington Redskins OLB Brian Orakpo and re-signed Derrick Morgan.
As long as Brian Orakpo has been healthy, he as consistently been a very productive player in Washington and will tremendously help out the Titans pass rush, which was lacking last season.
The Derrick Morgan re-signing was also a top priority for Tennessee. For a while it looked as if Morgan would take his talents else-where after taking visits with other NFL teams, however the Titans opened up their checkbook to keep a player who is underrated but provides great overlooked production for Tennessee.
Another weakness for the Titans defense last season was clearly their defense. Tennessee struggled to stop the pass even against mediocre passing teams.
Tennessee has made moves to shore up the secondary this season, by adding former Buffalo Bills safety Da’Norris Searcy and San Francisco 49ers cornerback Perrish Cox. Both players help fill a void in the Titans secondary.
When Tennessee released safety Bernard Pollard, the Titans immediately had a whole that they had to fill, and they did a good job filling it with Da’Norris Searcy.
Perrish Cox is a player that is expected to start opposite of cornerback Jason McCourty. The addition of Cox creates a duo that could evenly compete with most NFL team’s receiving corps. Cox was a career back up before injuries allowed him the opportunity to see the field last season. Once the opportunity came Cox did not look back, he earned the position of full time starter, and eventually a contract with Tennessee.
The Tennessee Titans have upgraded their defense, and they have done so without much of a national buzz. However Tennessee fans are becoming more and more excited with each and every move the Titans make.