The Tennessee Titans’ Special Teams is Taken for Granted

Football has three main focuses: Offense, Defense and Special Teams. Many fans only seem to care about the first two, but the third is just as important. Luckily, Tennessee Titans fans have a great unit on special teams to get through the season.

Tennessee Titans fans have certainly been spoiled with the team’s special teams play since the Oilers moved to Nashville. There has been a lot of consistency with the players that has led to success. The two main figures that are leading the charge now are punter Brett Kern and kicker Ryan Succop. Kern went to his first Pro Bowl in 2017 and Succop has been one of the more consistent kickers in the NFL since he came into the league in 2009.

Although he still had a solid season, Succop had a bit of a down year, by his standards, in 2017. Succop made 83.3% of his field goals and 93.9% of his extra points. Both of those statistics are down from 2016, but they are not horrible numbers. Part of that is because Succop had a really amazing 2016. With that being said, Succop is still one of the top kickers in the NFL.

Kern had a Pro Bowl year and it absolutely showed. The game of field position is completely underrated in the NFL and Kern owned it. He averaged 49.7 yards per punt, which was the highest of his career. There are not a ton of exciting statistics about punting out there, but Kern had a great season.

Going Forward

Besides the two guys that kick the ball, the special teams has Beau Brinkley snapping the ball with precision. If you want to talk about an undervalued position in the NFL, it is the long snapper. Brinkley has been with the team since 2012 and most fans probably have no idea who he is. They would, though, if someone else was snapping the ball. He manages to get the ball exactly where it needs to be and that is all the team can ask of him. Also, Brinkley picks up a few tackles along the way, too.

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The return game is the least consistent out of the bunch, but that has to do with the change in the NFL. Kickers are knocking the ball through the end zone on kickoffs, making it difficult to return the ball. That leads to less touchdowns and big plays. The punting game is where teams are more likely to grab a score or get a big runback. Adoree’ Jackson has the skills to be the best return man in the league. He showed some potential, but it was not what fans saw from him in college. Maybe his second year in the league will help to push him forward and get some scores.

Conclusion

Overall, the Titans had a solid special teams season in 2017 and will look to continue their success in 2018. Pro Football Focus has the Titans ranked at 17th in league in terms of special teams, which is middle of the pack. If Jackson had some bigger plays in the return game and Succop was a little more consistent, the Titans would be right at the top. Next season should be an exciting one. Look for the Titans to continue their consistency on special teams in 2018.