Tennessee Titans: Defensive Line Becoming Unexpected Heroes

It may be hard to believe, but there are other big things to talk about with the Tennessee Titans these days that has nothing to do with Randy Moss.

How about this defensive line that is pretty much a mystery outside of Tennessee? 

Despite not having a player on the defensive with more than seven years of NFL experience, the DL continues to be the heartbeat of the defense.

If you've gotten the chance to watch a Titans game this season then you know how much intensity the Titans defensive line plays with. Sometimes that intensity gets them a penalty of the 15-yard variety, but more times than not, it leads to big stops.

A few opposing teams have already come out this season and called the Titans a dirty team, but I think it's just playing smart football.

The Titans defensive line may not have the star power that other great defensive lines have like the New York Giants or the Indianapolis Colts, but they still figure out a way to be effective.

What makes them so great is that there really isn't a weak link in their line

There were questions surrounding the defensive end position going into this season with Kyle Vanden Bosch leaving for Detroit and two new starters stepping in.

Those two new starters were Jason Babin and David Ball. Both guys have stepped it up big time and have accounted for 13 sacks between them—with Babin having seven of them.

In fact, Babin sits fourth in the NFL in sacks with three other players.

Both Babin and Ball have already surpassed the team leader in sacks in 2009, which was Jacob Ford with 5.5 sacks.

The Titans defensive tackles are doing their jobs effectively as well. Jason Jones is leading the way with six tackles for loss and two sacks.

The run defense isn't nearly as dominant as it has been in the past, but they're still sitting in the middle of the pack in the NFL in terms of rushing yards allowed per game.

Another thing that really makes this defensive line so good is how deep they are. Guys like Jacob Ford and Jovan Haye are very strong backups that defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil depends on a lot.

It's important that this defensive line keeps up this success because the secondary still has a ton of problems that need to be fixed.