Tennessee Titans: Breaking down Cameron Wake’s sensational debut

Cameron Wake’s impressive Tennessee Titans debut has left fans salivating at the mouth as they wonder what heights this team could potentially reach if their new star pass-rusher consistently plays like he did yesterday.

Back in March, the Tennessee Titans signed a 37-year-old pass-rusher in Cameron Wake to a three-year, $23 million contract.

This deal naturally caused some confusion among Titans fans, as GM Jon Robinson’s apparent solution to one of the team’s biggest needs was giving a contract to someone who will be 40 years old at the conclusion of the deal.

What Titans fans were failing to realize at the time was that they were not getting your average 37-year-old pass-rusher. In fact, the word “average” is the last thing anyone should say when discussing Cameron Wake’s NFL career.

https://twitter.com/titans/status/1170767646289203204?s=21

After two consecutive years as the ‘Most Outstanding Defensive Player’ in the Canadian football league, Wake got his first legitimate shot at the NFL after he signed with the Miami Dolphins prior to the 2009 season. Wake dominated in the NFL just like he did in Canada. He quickly solidified himself as one of the most disruptive defensive players in the NFL.

The former Penn State standout created an impressive resume during his 10-year tenure in Miami that could ultimately land him in Canton someday. As a Dolphin, Wake made the Pro Bowl five times, while also landing on the AP All-Pro team four times. He accumulated an impressive 360 tackles, 98 sacks, and 22 forced fumbles from 2009-2018.

Following another impressive individual campaign in Miami, Wake made the decision to leave and take his talents to Nashville following the 2018 season. Wake joined an already stout defense that finished as the No. 3 scoring unit the season prior.

On paper, Wake helped fill an obvious need for a defense that didn’t have many holes. However, to say a lot of people were skeptical that he could still be a disruptive force at his age is a massive understatement.

On Sunday afternoon, Cameron Wake put all of that skepticism to rest, as he was an absolute force in his Titans debut.

https://twitter.com/thecheckdown/status/1170788063376625664?s=21

The former Dolphin only played in 24/73 defensive snaps (33%) for the Titans on Sunday, yet he made his presence felt every time he stepped foot on the field.

Wake was a stud on the edge in the Titans season opener. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees used Wake as a situational pass-rusher on obvious passing situations, which was a plan that worked beautifully as the ageless pass-rusher provided consistent and constant pressure on Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield throughout the day.

According to ESPN’S Next Gen Stats, Wake finished with the second-highest “pass rush win rate” on the day as he won 5/12 pass-rush plays (41.7%).

The Titans’ new pass-rusher finished the day with the highest defensive grade on the team by a relatively large margin. Wake finished his extremely impressive Titans debut with a grade of 89.9, per Pro Football Focus.

Wake finished his two-tone blue debut with three tackles, 2.5 sacks, one safety, two tackles for loss, and four QB hits on 24 snaps. His second sack of the day resulted in the 100th sack of his illustrious career.

https://twitter.com/titans/status/1170853178520342528?s=21

The former Dolphin has the potential to be a true difference maker to a front seven that is already loaded with talent. A front seven that still has not fielded first round pick and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons yet. The former Mississippi State standout is expected to return to the field sometime this year and will undoubtedly add to the embarrassment of riches that the Titans defensive coordinator has at his disposal.

The sky is the limit for this defense if Cameron Wake is able to provide similar production as a situational pass-rusher on a consistent basis, while arguably the best secondary in the NFL patrols the back end.

We may be in for something special if the defensive performance from Week 1 is any indication of how good this defense will be in 2019. Only time will tell if this performance was an anomaly or not.