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Tennessee Titans power rankings: Week 2

By Will Lomas

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 10: Quarterback Marcus Mariota
NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 10: Quarterback Marcus Mariota /
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Where do the Tennessee Titans stand after a loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Alright guys, if we are going to look up the power rankings when the Tennessee Titans do well, we should also check them out when they get down. Just to keep our expectations in check.

I’m going to go ahead and use NFL.com and Bleacher Report, because I think they did a pretty good job keeping up with the Titans in the offseason.

Let’s take a look at what they thought about Sunday’s performance.

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NFL.com: 14 (Last week: 11)

“Ugly performance from the Titans. Yes, the Raiders are one of the better teams in the NFL, but only 16 points scored on that defense? Other concerns: Running back DeMarco Murray was far from explosive, which was not too different from the preseason. Quarterback Marcus Mariota is still taking hits that could result in him missing time for the third straight season. If the third preseason game — in which Tennessee lost to the Bears, 19-7 — is the dress rehearsal for the regular season, and this was the first glimpse of the real product, 9-7 might be a bit lofty for this team. Still believing. For now.”

-Elliot Harrison

The hits thing is overrated (or kinda just incorrect), he really wasn’t touched as often as that would lead you to believe. In fact, NFL.com themselves only list Mariota as getting hit 2 times, which is tied for 2nd best in the NFL.

The Titans had some miscues on offense, but they did also have three drives that ended up inside the 10-yard line. With Marcus Mariota at the helm, I don’t expect them to settle for field goals twice in the redzone again.

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    • Bleacher Report: 15 (Last week: 12)

    “The question coming into the regular season was whether the Titans could get enough out of their passing game to win when opponents shut down the run game. Quarterback Marcus Mariota played well, but he didn’t have enough weapons to answer this question positively against the Raiders.

    The Titans have to be disappointed with how their run game performed, too. This was one of the league’s best rushing attacks last season, and it generated just 95 yards against the Raiders.

    The Titans defense was solid throughout. The Raiders have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, but Tennessee didn’t let the game get out of reach until late. Is there enough talent in the secondary to consistently slow elite passing attacks? That’s still a question.

    This was a disappointing loss for the Titans. They should be considered favorites to win the AFC South. If they want to prove they’re a playoff contender, they need to win games like this one. Beating Oakland would have made a statement.”

    -Chris Simms

    This review hit correctly on a lot of things. I think the lack of chemistry early with Eric Decker was an issue, which hurt the Titans when they tried to target him.

    As the game went on I think Mariota had come great chemistry with Rishard Matthews and Corey Davis, and if the Titans had this game again they would gameplan more touches to them than they did Sunday.

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    The defense is the big concern to me. The players looked fine and guys like Adoree Jackson, Kevin Byard, Brian Orakpo, Derrick Morgan, and Jurrell Casey all have the potential to be bigger factors on defense.

    However, they were way too content to sit back and let the Raiders spread them out and dink and dunk. If teams are going to do that, you have to have a way to stop them.

    If you can’ t stop them with just four, you have to send pressure. If they are getting the ball out early then you have to play tighter coverage or disguise it somehow. That may leads to more busts, but it also has a chance to lead to big plays.

    Sometimes you have to take those chances to win a ball game against a good team.

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