How the Tennessee Titans can win a Super Bowl with Ryan Tannehill
By Will Lomas
Where do the Tennessee Titans need to upgrade?
To win a Super Bowl without an elite quarterback, it helps to have an offensive coordinator that can make things easier. Unfortunately, it seems like the Titans are going to stick with Todd Downing and that is going to make everything substantially harder.
Remember, Ryan Tannehill spent two years with a good OC in Arthur Smith and he looked fantastic. During that time his numbers were:
-516/767 passing (67.3%)
-55 TDs, 13 INTs
-6,561 yards (8.6 yards per attempt)
-795 points (30.6 points per game)
This year under Todd Downing his numbers were:
-357/531 passing (67.2%)
-21 TDs, 14 INTs
-3,734 yards (7 yards per attempt)
-418 points (24.6 points per game)
As long as Todd Downing is there, the Titans are playing with one hand tied behind their back. The only way to get away with that is to have elite playmakers surrounding Ryan Tannehill.
Again, the good news is that Tennessee seems to already have two players that fit that bill in Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown.
This offseason they need to find big upgrades at tight end and wide receiver depth where the guys they were hoping to step up just completely failed for the majority of the season.
Guys like Geoff Swaim, Anthony Firkser, Chester Rogers, Marcus Johnson, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine have to be looked at as players that need to be replaced with urgency. If they serve a purpose on special teams then they don’t necessarily need to be cut, but they have shown that they don’t add anything of value on offense.
The blueprint is simple, fire Todd Downing and get in someone who can mimic what Arthur Smith did with the Titans. If you do that with a slightly improved roster, this team is going to be right back in contention.
If Mike Vrabel won’t do that, then “plan B” is to try to make this offense too talented to fail. Supplement the elite skill position players you have now with another wide receiver and a tight end, preferably with players who can play immediately.
It isn’t going to be easy, but it wasn’t supposed to be this easy to revamp the defense in an offseason. Jon Robinson has stepped up to every task he has been given and there is no reason to expect him to fail here.