First Down And Tenn: Tennessee Titans MiniCamp Continues
By Les Bailey
It’s a little funny that after the Tennessee Titans hired defensive head coach Dick LeBeau, and before the 2015 draft, all of the talk around Music City was about the defense. Since drafting Marcus Mariota in the first round, most of the eyes and buzz is about the offense. Let’s include some news about the defense as we roll into a weekend that includes a heat-wave in the Southeast.
Reserve safeties lead list of Titans getting extra snaps – Paul Kuharsky ESPN
The best-case scenario is that everyone is on the field all the time.
It’s also an unrealistic scenario.
So while some high-ranking Tennessee Titans have sat out the high-speed 11-on-11 drills of organized team activities (OTAs), the guys behind them have gotten a good deal of valuable work.
A look at the guys who’ve been the big beneficiaries of someone else’s recovery time.
"Safeties Marqueston Huff and Daimion Stafford: The duo has gotten a bunch of extra work higher in the pecking order because Michael Griffin has been held out of team work. Griffin’s shoulder is close to better. While he’d likely play this week if the Titans had a game, the team sees no need to press the issue. Huff and Stafford are both carrying themselves with confidence and the buzz is that things have clicked in for both of them. The Titans could be in good shape at safety with these two behind Da’Norris Searcy and Griffin and they could see action in certain nickel and dime packages."
Titans’ Michael Griffin Deserves Criticism, Praise – Marc Macaluso PFSpot
Tennessee Titans free safety Michael Griffin is entering his ninth season in the NFL, with the only professional team for which he has ever played. Griffin has been a starter for the Titans since 2007, earning Pro Bowl berths in 2008 and 2010.
Griffin had what seemed to be a statistically solid season in 2014, accumulating 112 tackles, two interceptions, five passes defensed, and a career-high three sacks. It was the second time in Griffin’s career that he has gone over 100 tackles, even posting a career-high six tackles for loss, according toSportingCharts.com.
Titans: Morgan and Orakpo are balanced LB combo – Jim Seki PFF
Three years removed from their last winning season, the Tennessee Titans are trying to turn around their recent woes. They’ve made nearly a dozen moves in free agency, but two in particular stand out—signing a nice combination of linebackers in Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo.
Drafted by the Titans in 2010, Morgan recently signed a four-year deal to remain in Nashville. Last year Morgan produced results against both the run and pass. Rushing from the left 68.3% of the time, Morgan had Pass Rush Productivity of 8.9. Although that was slightly below average for outside linebackers, his 43 total QB pressures ranked 16th of 47 and was the highest for any AFC South OLB. Not only could he rush the passer, he was also good in coverage—his +4.7 coverage grade was the highest for all OLBs. Against the run Morgan’s 5.6 stop rate only ranked 24th, but his 24 run stops were tied for second-most.
Titans eye new kick-return candidates – John Glennon The Tennessean
A year ago, Leon Washington handled 31 of theTitans‘ 48 kickoff returns, averaging 23.8 yards per attempt.
With Washington gone, coach Ken Whisenhunt said Wednesday there are at least three candidates – wide receiver Jacoby Ford, running back Antonio Andrews and running back Dexter McCluster – to replace him.
Next: Who Will Make An Impact At Wide Receiver?