The Inside Slant: Tom Gower of TotalTitans

Each week on the Inside Slant, I'll be talking with a writer from one of the teams in the AFC South. First up is Tom Gower of TotalTitans.com. Tom's work can also be read on the FootballOutsiders.com.

BR: Are there any lasting lingering effects from Bud Adams pursuing Peyton Manning?

Gower: The lingering effects of the Peyton pursuit are the unknown foregone opportunities. There have been reports both before and after free agency started the Titans were a front-runner for Mario Williams, and the favorite to be the first team he visited. Signing both him and Peyton wasn't really an option, though, and he never made it out of Buffalo.

They also dove into the center market, but both Scott Wells and Chris Myers re-signed before Peyton did. Could they have gotten Williams and one of the marquee centers had they not been pursuing Peyton? We'll never know.

BR: If the Titans do ______ between now and training camp, you'll favor them to win the AFC South.

Gower: Kneecap Arian Foster and Andre Johnson? Convince Chris Johnson to run with effort and vision on every drive? There aren't any big-impact external moves that I see happening. The free agents likeliest to make a difference have been signed, and there aren't any restricted free agents I see them making a big move for.

Beyond free agency, the best thing that could happen in the draft would be to find an edge-rusher who could have the same impact Jevon Kearse did as a rookie in 1999. Like the 2011 Titans, the 1998 version (the final year of the Oilers) was a reasonable run defense with problems against the pass, created in part due to an anemic pass rush.

Picked in the middle of the first round, Kearse had 14.5 sacks as a rookie and made the other rushers better as well. Unfortunately, guys who have an immediate impact like Kearse don't come around very often, and this doesn't seem to be regarded as a great defensive end class.

BR: If the best player available when the Titans select in the first round happened to be ____, you'd be thrilled.

Gower: I doubt either player will be there, but two guys the Titans would love to see available at No. 20 are David DeCastro, who'd fill the vacant right guard spot quite nicely, thank you, for the next 10-plus years, and Fletcher Cox, who could play DE or DT on early downs and who'd be a nice interior penetrator on third downs.

My thanks to Tom for his time. Be sure to check out his work whether or not you are a Titans' fan. He's a must read in the division.