Tennessee Titans: 5 Bold Predictions for the 2011 Season

Last season the Tennessee Titans jumped out of the gate to a 5-2 start, before things went haywire. Vince Young was playing through injury up until his final meltdown as a Titan; the team's undersized defensive front seven began to wear down under the tutelage of first-year defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil. Emerging star receiver Kenny Britt went down to a hamstring injury and Chris Johnson found himself being wrapped up in the backfield on most plays.

Well, a lot has changed since then. Gone is Young and wily veteran Kerry Collins, Jeff Fisher saw his reign as the longest tenured head coach was finally cut loose, sack-leader Jason Babin and tackle-leader Stephen Tulloch were allowed to walk in favor of a new defensive philosophy.

All-in-all this season is all about change, but the question is what will these changes bring for the upcoming season.  

Kenny Britt Joins the Elites

In 12 games played last year, Kenny Britt finished with 42 receptions, 775 yards and nine touchdowns. Britt was a starter in only seven of those appearances—one of which resulted in injury before he could make a single catch. 

It didn't matter who was throwing the ball to him, Britt was on his way to becoming a big-play receiver, averaging more than 90 yards per game in games started. He finished fourth in yards-after-the-catch average beating out the likes of Mike Wallace and DeSean Jackson.

With a full season as a starter and consistent quarterback play from newcomer Matt Hasselbeck, Britt will establish himself as one of the elite receivers in the game gaining more than 1,200 yards and eight-plus touchdowns. 

Chris Johnson Puts Up 2,000 Yards

Calm down, I don't think he'll rush for 2,000 yards again, but he will rip off 2,000 yards from scrimmage this year. For whatever reason, the Titans got away from getting the ball to CJ2K through the air.

How it makes sense to not get the ball to arguably the fastest player in the league in space, I don't know?

Under Jeff Fisher and Mike Heimerdinger tended to avoid running any screen plays all season. Citing there not being enough value in the plays for the amount of effort—Young wasn't very good at delivering short passes either.

New head coach Mike Munchak has stated that the team will make a concerted effort to get Johnson the ball in more ways.

“Any way we can get him the ball, it doesn’t have to be handed to him,” Munchak said. “Hand it to him, pitch it to him, throw it to him—I think we’ve done a good job of that. He’s made a big impact on the running and passing games. Defenses do a great job of trying to take those passes away."  

Defense Moves into the Top 10

In the 2010 season, the Titans finished in or near last in almost every major defensive statistic. They were on the field for more time than any other defense in the league, gave up the most first downs in the league, fielded the fourth worst pass defense in the league and much more.

With Jerry Gray tabbed as the new defensive coordinator, the Titans have quickly gotten much bigger in their front seven, bring the 325 pound Shaun Smith to play defensive tackle, moving Jason Jones to defensive end, drafting Akeem Ayers to start right away at linebacker, signing Barret Ruud and everyone else simply bulking up.

New addition CB Frank Walker has likened the new scheme to that of the Baltimore Ravens with Ayers playing the role of Terrell Suggs. 

With the Titans bigger size up front, teams should find it much more difficult to find room on running plays and have less time on passing downs. 

Jake Locker Will Not See the Field in His Rookie Season

This is or was the plan for many of the rookie quarterbacks that come into this league, but Munchak and the Titans will follow through this season.

As big a prediction as this is, it is equally as big to predict a healthy season for the oft-injured Matt Hasselbeck.

Hasselbeck hasn't played a full season in more than three seasons, but that was behind an awful pass blocking line in Seattle. The Titans have consistently ranked among the best in the league in sacks allowed, even when starting the statuesque Kerry Collins.

When given time Hasselbeck is a very capable passer and will give no reason for first year head coach Mike Munchak to have to make the difficult decision to pull him. 

They Win the Division

Every year there are teams that finish under .500 one year only to come back the next and become a playoff team. I'll go a step further and predict them to do the unthinkable ... beat out the Colts for the AFC South division crown.

In the five games Kenny Britt missed, including the game he was injured in, the Titans were 0-5. I already have him making it through a full season, and that should help swing things in their favor.

With Hasselbeck bringing stability at quarterback, Britt joining the ranks of the elite and CJ2k returning to form the Titans will take advantage of a weakened Colts team and a Texans team that is still yet to prove themselves worthy of being the annual preseason hype machine.