Tennessee Titans Fill Their Needs, but Having an Impact Will Be a Toss Up

The conclusion of the NFL Draft and most of free agency has team’s set up for a summer of preparation for the 2009 NFL season. Such is the case for the Tennessee Titans, who look to build momentum from an amazing 13-3 season and AFC South Championship.

The hopes of many Titans fans were that the team would bring back franchise defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. However, in the beginning hours of free agency, the Washington Redskins and $100 million were too great to pass up for the University of Tennessee alum. That left the Titans with a 6’ 5”, 320 pound hole to fill.

That hole was addressed with several offseason moves.

First, Jovan Haye was brought over in the Titan’s first move of this free agency period. Haye had played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and broke out in 2007 with a 68 tackle, six sack season. However, he was plagued with injuries last year and did not record a single sack.

Tennessee’s second round pick, Sen’Derrick Marks, comes over from Auburn. Marks is the opposite of Haye, as he played in all but three games in college.

Finally, breakout star Jason Jones looks to be in the rotation. The former Eastern Michigan player started only three games last year, but wrapped up 3.5 sacks against Pittsburgh and five sacks total.

The receiving corps of the Titans did well with what they had last year, but it just wasn’t quite enough to get them past the Ravens in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs.

With the many options they had, such as bringing in T.J. Houshmandzadeh via free agency or perhaps Terrell Owens with a trade, the Titans chose instead to bring in Super Bowl winner Nate Washington from Pittsburgh. In the 2009 NFL Draft, Tennessee also selected Rutgers wide receiver Kenny Britt with the 30th pick.

Tight end was another issue, as the Titans franchised Bo Scaife this offseason. Scaife was the Titan's second leading receiver, only marginally behind Justin Gage.

Alge Crumpler was added last season to help the blocking up front for the running game, but his catching ability hasn't been there. This year's third round pick, Jared Cook, looks to be a potential replacement for Scaife next season and has similar tools. Cook can also become a nice big play man, as he has a great ability to break short passes for long gains.

These additions look impressive at first glance, but the realization is that no one truly knows how each player will play until they enter the field of play. You can analyze tape as much as you want, but there are so many outside factors that play into how a player performs.

Does he study the tape? How hard is he working in practice? Will he get injured at some point in the season? Just look at the New England Patriots. They lost Tom Brady at the beginning of the season. No one predicted it, but it didn’t hurt the team too badly.

Another issue is personality. Does a player’s personality conflict with others? So many variables go into how a team works together.

It is as simple as this though; the one team that works the best together always overcomes obstacles and holds up the Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year.