Tennessee Titans projected to go 6-10 in SI’s back-and-forth prediction

The Tennessee Titans have been projected to go 6-10 and finish in last place in the AFC South in Sports Illustrated’s season prediction.

Sports Illustrated made its annual predictions for the records of all 32 NFL teams, and the write-up about the Tennessee Titans’ prospects for 2019 was back and forth to say the least.

Yes, SI’s Connor Orr did project the Titans to finish 6-10 and in last place in the AFC South, but it seems there was quite a bit of hesitation in his writing.

He likes the Titans, but doesn’t like the Titans, but then again he likes the Titans, but then he doesn’t.

Still with me? No? I don’t blame you.

"A team that I genuinely disrespected my first time through, and probably still am. I listed the Titans as one of my “franchises stuck in neutral” this offseason and while it’s difficult to get excited about their offensive additions outside of AJ Brown’s long-term prospects, they’re also one of the harder teams to pick against on a weekly basis. Are they good enough to beat the Rams? Maybe not. Are they good enough to cause consistent problems for teams like Carolina, Jacksonville and Cleveland? Yes."

Despite his overall prediction—which we wholly disagree with—Orr gives the Titans more credit than most analysts do in saying this team is “one of the harder teams to pick against on a weekly basis.”

And that’s true, even if you don’t like their 2019 season outlook. The Titans were able to beat multiple playoff teams last season, including the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Super Bowl champs, the New England Patriots.

In particular, the Titans rolled the Patriots, 34-10.

Where Orr misses the mark here is in his picking the Titans to go 6-10 and finish in last place.

The Jacksonville Jaguars seem to be liked more than the Titans this upcoming season, which is perplexing to say the least. After all, the Titans have owned the Jags in recent years, and outside of the addition of Nick Foles, how is Jacksonville that much better than last season?

Meanwhile, the Titans have added multiple impact wide receivers in Adam Humphries and second-round pick A.J. Brown to help form the best receiving corps. quarterback Marcus Mariota has ever had. He also has the support of a rushing attack that was the seventh-best a year ago.

The offensive line will be improved with any combination of the return of Kevin Pamphile or third-round pick Nate Davis at right guard, and left guard Rodger Saffold, who is one of the premier players at his position.

On defense, the Titans sport a front seven with a slew of talent at all linebacker spots, including two potential breakout stars in Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry. Not to be forgotten in the least is a secondary that is among the deepest and is led by the best safety in the NFL, Kevin Byard.

Not to mention, this unit finished as the third-best defense in terms of points allowed per game last season. Now, it has the potential to be even better than that.

My question: which team in the AFC South is as well-rounded on both sides of the ball as this 2019 Titans team?

My answer: none of them.

Taking all of that into consideration, the Titans deserve the kind of respect that Orr seems to want to give them, but simply refuses to at the end of the day.

It baffles the mind how a team that can go 9-7 in three-straight seasons and only improve this past offseason is still so underrated.

Welcome to the world of the Tennessee Titans.