Charley Casserly says Titans have to keep underdog mentality
By Will Lomas
Casserly’s ideas on what the Titans need to do this season.
NFL.com is rolling out division by division predictions and storylines, and the Tennessee Titans and the rest of the AFC South were featured this week.
Charley Casserly has been talking to his sources, and there are a couple of questions I have, but I will talk about that in a second.
First, let’s talk about what he said the Titans need to do to make sure they can get back to the AFC Championship game.
After talking to his sources, this was his note on the team:
"When teams lose in the conference title game, they often feel like it’s a guarantee they will be there again next year. That’s what Mike Vrabel and his team are trying to avoid. He won’t let his team become complacent and knows the “us against them” underdog mentality is, in part, what got them there last season. To return to the AFC Championship Game, the Titans must stick to their identity of being a physical team that emphasizes and executes the fundamentals."
I would say that no team in the NFL has doubled down on their own identity more than the Tennessee Titans this past offseason. For example, the Titans let Jack Conklin go only to spend a 1st round pick on an even bigger right tackle who they believe will be a mauler in the run game.
They also booted Dion Lewis in favor of Darrynton Evans, a running back who has skill as a pass-catcher, but who is also an exceptional ZBS runner.
Jurrell Casey‘s price tag wasn’t matching his production, so they let him go in order to give their two best defensive tackles from the 2019 season more reps.
Big bodies in the trenches, speed at EDGE, players who can get yards after contact, and players at skill positions that focus on doing their job first and making plays second, that is the identity of the Mike Vrabel-led Titans.
As for keeping their underdog mentality, the world is picking the husk of Philip Rivers and an overhyped Indianapolis Colts team ahead of the Titans to win the AFC South, so I don’t think they will have much of a problem playing with a chip on their shoulder.
A little bit confused.
This isn’t really a big deal, but I wanted to address it since I am addressing the article anyway.
Casserly mentions three positions as “position battles” in his article: RT, CB3, DT.
At right tackle, he says it is Dennis Kelly vs Isiah Wilson, which is right.
Then at CB3 he says that it is Kristian Fulton vs Johnathan Joseph. I think that battle is decided already and Joseph was clearly an afterthought to add depth and veteran knowledge to the CB room.
Finally, he says that the DT spot up for grabs is between Jack Crawford, Matt Dickerson and Matt Ivie saying:
"Along the defensive line, Jeffery Simmons and DaQuan Jones have solidified themselves as starters, leaving the trio of D-linemen listed above to vie for the last starting spot."
First of all, I don’t think the Titans will run as many 3DL fronts this year, opting to go with a more traditional 4-2-5 look. Right now that is the way this team’s roster is built, and even the pursuit and potential addition of Jadeveon Clowney would support that.
Also, if the Titans start 3 DL somehow, then I expect that Larrell Murchison and Isaiah Mack will be given the most opportunities to win that job and they aren’t even mentioned on his list of competitors.
When it comes down to that battle, I think it will all depend on which one of them is most efficient getting to the QB on limited snaps. That should be a fun camp battle.