The Tennessee Titans come into town to play the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football. They come into the game 0-3, with a chance to get new head coach Brian Callahan’s first win of the year. Below I will break down their staff, team, and strengths/weaknesses.
It all starts on offense for the Titans, they have a new offensive mind at head coach in Brian Callahan. Callahan comes from Cincinnati where he was the offensive coordinator there. Callahan led a top offense there, even when Joe Burrow was out of the lineup. He finds ways to get his playmakers the ball in space, as well as feature his top targets.
Second year man Will Levis is the signal caller for the Titans, it’s been a rough year for him. Levis has a negative touchdown to interception ratio and has yet to lead his team to a win. He has made a lot of rookie mistakes this year, despite being in his 2nd year in the NFL. If he plays cleaner it’s possible the Titans have a win on the board by now.
Their money on offense is from their run game and trench play. Starting in the trenches, the Titans have some people moving offensive lineman who create good push in the run game. They are highlighted on the left side of the line with monster 2024 first round pick JC Latham and 2023 first round pick Peter Skoronski. The Titans new offensive line coach is Bill Callahan, the father of head coach Brian Callahan. He is considered one of the NFL’s best offensive line coaches.
They use backs Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard in a committee approach, both have explosive big play ability. Pollard has more carries on the year however and 100 more rushing yards than Spears. Both backs played their college ball in the AAC, with Pollard coming from Memphis and Spears coming from Tulane.
The receiving game is a weakness for Tennessee no doubt, as their leading receivers in receptions are their running backs. On paper it looks like a good core for Will Levis to throw to, but it has been the opposite. All 3 receivers (DeAndre Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, and Tyler Boyd) have struggled to be a consistent separator. And it does not help that Levis is as inconsistent of a starting quarterback in the league to anybody.
A guy I am a fan of is tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo, he is a talented young tight end who is explosive. He is similar to Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith, a shorter tight end with run after the catch ability.
On defense, it gets better for the Titans. They are led by new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson, who was the defensive backs coach for Baltimore. He has a good secondary already in place with L’Jarius Sneed, Roger McCreary, Chidobe Awuzie, Amani Hooker, and Quandre Diggs. They all are sufficient in both man and zone coverage.
Their run defense is a strength of the team, they have big gap eating defensive lineman who give offensive lineman issues. Jeffrey Simmons is a superstar interior defender, rookie TVondre Sweat is a massive nose tackle, and Sebastian Joseph-Day is best against the run. Edge defenders Harold Landry III and Arden Key are pass rushing specialists, while Simmons is great against the pass too.
Their linebacker unit is solid, but they are inconsistent at times. 2020 first round pick by the Chargers Kenneth Murray is now in Tennessee, and as you can assume it did not work out there. Murray is a hit or miss player who needs to learn to play with consistency if he wants to become a superstar. Ernest Jones is next to him, who unlike Murray has played consistently well to earn a contract.
The special teams units in Tennessee are nothing crazy, both Nick Folk and Ryan Stonehouse are good starters in their respective positions. Folk has been a kicker for a long time, most known for his time at New England. Stonehouse has only been in the NFL for 3 years, and he has impressed Tennessee. He has one of the biggest legs of all punters in the NFL, the numbers back it up.