Nearly 2 years ago now the Tennessee Titans made a very impressive playoff run. After finishing the regular season with a mediocre 9-7 record they then proceeded to lock in and go on to beat the reigning Super Bowl champion Patriots in the Wild Card round.
After that, they beat the 14-2 Ravens to secure their spot in the AFC championship where they would play the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs went on to win the game 35-24 but the Titans looked poised for an epic return the following season.
The next year they came out looking like potential Super Bowl favorites with a hot 5-0 record to start the season. In those games, Derrick Henry already had 588 rushing yards and 6 TDs and Ryan Tannehill had 1370 passing yards and 13 TDs.
The offense was unstoppable, but the defense looked to be their Achilles heel, giving up 126 points, or an average of 25.2 points per game. This flaw quickly caught up to them and they finished the season with a respectable 11-5 record, going 6-5 in its last 11 games and losing to the Ravens in the wild card round.
This year really does look to be the year for the Tennessee Titans. With the trade for Julio Jones from the Falcons, the Titans’ offense looks to get that much better. Julio will benefit the team far more than just catching a lot of passes.
The presence of Julio Jones, who has been one of the best receivers throughout his career, creates a menagerie of problems for any opposing defense.
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Firstly, Julio will presumably be addressed by every other team as the WR1 which means he will be covered by the other team’s best cornerback and likely also be closest watched over the top by any safety as well.
This is an issue because across the field, as Titans clear WR2, is AJ Brown who has been a 1,000 receiver in both of his first 2 seasons and has already accumulated 19 Touchdowns.
With Julio taking the top cornerback AND safety attention, that will leave the number 2 cornerback with the responsibility of covering AJ Brown likely by himself without much safety help.
This is not the only reason Julio is such a benefit to this Tennessee Titans offense. There is another, even more, the important reason the titans wanted Julio and his name is Derrick Henry. Henry is coming off a season where he led the league in rushing yards, Touchdowns, and rushing attempts.
The reason Julio is important for Henry is simply because the defense only has so many players and they will now have to choose every play which aspect of the Titans to try and defend against.
They can either load up the box closer to the line of scrimmage to defend against big bad Derrick Henry or they can play off coverage and try to contain the elite WR duo of Jones and Brown.
Doing both of these at the same time will be nearly impossible for just about any defense in the league. Ryan Tannehill is an underrated passer that has the experience to dissect defenses, spot how they are lining up, and audible accordingly.
The Titans’ defense is going to be the only thing that can stop this team from achieving Super Bowl success. Last year they ranked 24th in the league overall. Primarily being hurt by their abhorrent secondary and inability to stop opposing offenses when it came to the red zone.
They added a lot of pieces this year, primarily on the line to shore up the run game but the secondary still remains a large concern for this team. Notable defensive additions this offseason include LB Bud Dupree, DE Denico Autry, and CB Janoris Jenkins.
They also signed CB Kevin Johnson but he retired shortly after signing. Whether or not these additions signal the beginning of the turnaround this team needs on defense or not, one thing we do know is this team will be a force to be reckoned with in this year’s playoff race.
