Best of Times Or Worst Of Times? Titan's '09 Will Be Somewhere Between

At the conclusion of each season, every team begins a transformation process brought on by the importing and exporting of free agents, coaches, and incoming collegiate players. While the cumulative effect of all the changes is impossible to gauge until the games actually begin, the projections and prognostications have become a cottage industry within NFL fans.

The Titans underwent one of the more invasive makeovers as they lost their long-term defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz and the engine within the defensive unit in Albert Haynesworth. Titans fans need not be alarmed though because Jeff Fisher and his staff are no strangers to changes. Though the personnel losses may resonate deeply within the organization make no mistake, adjustments will be made.

What follows is my assessment of the different realistic scenarios facing the Titans due to the changes in personnel and philosophy throughout this off-season.

Offensively, there were minimal departures to the starting unit so offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger can focus on the assets he acquired and how to better use the holdovers from previous years. The most noteworthy acquisitions were receivers Nate Washington and Kenny Britt.

It Could Be the Best of Times…
In a perfect world, Kerry Collins will be as sharp as last year, the line will any major injuries and LenDale White will show up to camp weighing less than Tony Soprano. Nate Washington’s addition to the offense will finally give Collins a player who can competently stretch the field, which means that opposing safeties are forced to play deep. This, in turn, opens up the running game as Chris Johnson’s speed and White’s power will consistently face defenses that are unable to saturate the box with defenders.

But the biggest tweak to the playbook is when Heimerdinger unveils the new Chimera package, which puts Kerry Collins in the Shotgun formation at QB with Vince Young and Johnson in the backfield with him. Washington, Britt and Gauge would be split out wide as receivers forcing the defense to stay honest in coverage as a pass is just as likely as a speed option with Young and Johnson.

It is lauded as the evolution of the Wildcat formation and leads to Michael Vick being signed by, ironically, the Browns. Vick’s image is slowly rehabilitated by a genius marketing effort featuring the new quarterback interacting with members of the Dawg Pound. But I digress....

Or the Worst of Times…
Collins’ level of play will dip slightly as he is another year older combined with a tendency to struggle slightly in the years after a playoff appearance (see years ‘97, ‘01, ‘03 after playoff campaigns in ’96, ’00, and ’02).

Nate Washington will struggle as a starting receiver and many will wonder if the Titans were too blinded by the glint of gold off his championship ring to notice that his game lacks a consistency needed to be a successful starter.
Vince Young will be heard from, but not in an innovative offensive package. If Collins flounders, chances are good that the franchise will look to evaluate Young for the last time in deciding how to proceed with him.

Defensively, the main storylines will be Chuck Cecil’s ascension to his job coordinating the defense and how he plans on filling Haynesworth’s sizable (and face-gashing cleats).

It Could be the Best of Times…
Cecil ‘s approach is both fresh and innovative and he manages to build off of the foundation left by Schwartz while tweaking it to put his nuances into action.

The emergence of Jacob Ford and shrewd draft picks along the defensive line will allow the Titans to employ a deep rotation of capable lineman. Though Haynesworth was a devastating presence in the middle, his departure allows the Titans to develop young players and, through the unrelenting wave of fresh-legged defenders, the Titans are able to consistently control the line of scrimmage. This means that the secondary can cover aggressively knowing that play-actions won’t gash them and long routes will be rendered obsolete due to the hellacious pass rush.

Or the Worst of Times…
The Titans will struggle with establishing a defensive identity, as Cecil won’t want to change too much from his predecessor’s attack. This will be extremely detrimental as much of what Schwartz did revolved around the disruptive abilities of Haynesworth. Though the Titans’ depth at defensive tackle will try to replicate Haynesworth’s impact, they will be unable to do so and the double teams will focus on stifling Kyle Vanden Bosch and the emergent Ford.

As a result, though the Titan defense will still resemble the gritty and physical squad from last year, they will not be able to dictate the tempo to opposing offenses. This will result in them becoming more and more reactive instead of maintaining the proactive attack from last year and thus infinitely more susceptible to consistent offenses.

Logically speaking, we can expect the actual season to be a blending of both scenarios. If there is anything that we have learned throughout the last decade in the NFL, it is that every team is capable of inverting an expected performance for better or for worse in any given year. Except for the Raiders.