Tennessee Titans: Five Keys After the Bye Week
By Les Bailey
The Defense
Sep 27, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Indianapolis Colts tight end
Jack Doyle(84) rushes against Tennessee Titans inside linebacker
Zach Brown(55) during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Indianapolis won 35-33. Mandatory Credit:
Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
The Titans used the 2015 draft to help the offense, but the big moves in free agency was to bring in players who could run Dick LeBeau‘s 3-4 defense, and I think most of those signings are working out pretty well.
Perrish Cox has lived up to the preseason hype, and has earned a seat at the table. He has given up a couple big plays, but so has Darrell Revis. Those guys have a short memory and and I predict Cox will turn into a real threat when he gets Jason McCourty back on the field.
Your leading tackler so far is Zach Brown with 14 solo take downs. OLB Derrick Morgan is right on his heels with 10.
Derrick is also the leading sacker at this point with three, and fans should credit free agent Brian Orakpo for some of his success.
Orakpo has been a terrific signing for the Titans and as he gets more comfortable dealing with his pre-game prep as to stay off the injured list, will contribute even more to this already emerging unit.
In one of his articles last week, Will Lomas expressed concern with Michael Griffin‘s age, and diminishing capabilities at this stage of his career, but is second to Brown in tackles, with 11 on the young season.
I’m anxious to see Cody Riggs back on the field. He’s been out with a knee problem since the Bucs game in week one, and I’m not sure if there is a schedule for his return, but I would like to see more of him at this level.
This team has played the run well for most of the season, and have put pressure on the quarterbacks when needed. Other than some kinks in the secondary that I feel will improve with the return of Jason McCourty.
They are not on a par with the Seahawks or New York Jets at this point, but they are on a positive track, and we should see vast improvement as the season continues.
I want to see more!
Next: PFF Takeaways for the Tennessee Titans