Reading the analysis: ESPN grades the Tennessee Titans offseason
By Will Lomas
I usually don’t like to talk about when other people say something I don’t agree with about the Tennessee Titans. There are multiple takes on everything in the NFL and that is one of the reasons that it is so fun and entertaining to read sports media.
However, sometimes people say things that just get under your skin because they are clearly not true. So when I saw that ESPN gave the Tennessee Titans a “B-” in their offseason grades column, I didn’t think it what upset me, but here is why it did.
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The group that grades offseason gave the Tennessee Titans a “B-“ (insider) but they were ranked below 22 other teams in the league so it wasn’t that much of an accomplishment. First of all, the Tennessee Titans managed to add the best defensive coordinator in the league, a franchise caliber quarterback, a wide receiver with #1-caliber skills, and two veteran pass rusher that should make a big impact. In addition, you should also have to factor in the fact that Jurrell Casey was scheduled to be a free agent after the 2014 season, and the Tennessee Titans signed him to an extension before he ever had a chance to look at free agency.
Ok, enough venting on how good the Tennessee Titans offseason was, lets look at what the commenters said:
Bill Polian: “Tight end was not a strength last year, but I think that was largely because of the quarterback.”
I don’t think I really agree with this at all. Delanie Walker has the fourth most receiving yards for a tight end in the league last season topping names like Jimmy Graham, Travis Kelce, Antonio Gates, and Jason Witten. All of that and he didn’t even play a full 16-game season.
I don’t know how that equates to not being a strength for the Tennessee Titans.
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Bill Polian: “The offensive line quietly got better. The defense could still take a while.”
I won’t spend a lot of time on these two, but I don’t really agree with these either. The defense is in the second year of the Dick LeBeau/Ray Horton 3-4 defense, which should speed up the transition. Also, the team is now stacked with savvy 3-4 veterans like Perrish Cox and Brian Orakpo that should help immediately.
The offensive line really didn’t get that much better. Michael Oher was terrible last year, but the only additions the team really made was adding a talented guard/tackle in Jeremiah Poutasi and an underrated center in Andy Gallik. The Byron Bell addition was really a lateral move to be honest.
Field Yates: “Yates thought the Titans should have made a stronger player for a Stevan Ridley or Zac Stacy in the veteran market for running backs.”
This is a weird thing to say given the state of the running back position. First of all, when has any player left the New England Patriots and been really good for someone else? Rarely if ever.
The Tennessee Titans added David Cobb in the 5th round which is a great value pick and a good addition. Why add someone with tread on the tires when you can get a good fit for your offense so late in the draft?
Summary
I really like the work of all of these writers/personalities, however I don’t think they hit the mark on this one. I think it might have been too big of a project for them to focus on all in one article, because of how many different players and factors they had to consider.
The point of this article is to show you that when you see a grade on anything (even if it is a good grade) you should read the comments and analysis to make sure that the person who graded it is coming from a place of knowledge. It also is meant to say that even talented writers/personalities can say things that don’t quite make sense and that is still alright. Don’t kill they for this, but realize that if they make a criticism it isn’t like they have a crystal ball or they are all-knowing.
I would have like to see the Tennessee Titans in the top half of these grades at least, but ultimately it will be how the Tennessee Titans preform in the 2015 season that dictates how good they are, not what someone says in the preseason.