Offtopic » What to watch for during Titans-Vikings

The final preseason game is always a little bit ridiculous. Neither team really wants to be there and the few starters that actually suit up don’t stay on the field for long. It usually ends with some unknown running back getting 20 second half carries as the team tries to run the clock out and get on to preparation for Week 1 as soon as possible. That being said Youth Quinton Spain Jersey , there are a few compelling reasons to tune in for this one.Rishard & Rak Return?Jim Brown-USA TODAY SportsThe Titans got great news this week when Rishard Matthews was activated off the PUP and returned to practice. For all the progress that Corey Davis, Taywan Taylor, and Tajae Sharpe have shown over the offseason, Matthews is still the most reliable receiver on the roster. He’s led the Titans receiver room in receiving yards and touchdowns each of the past two seasons. Getting Matthews back on the field will be a huge help for Marcus Mariota and the passing game. Vrabel said that they “might target Rishard for Thursday” which means there is a chance that we see #18 on the field briefly as he continues to try to knock the rust off prior to Week 1 in Miami. If he does play — and that’s a pretty big “if” — I would expect it will just be for a series or two at most. There is also a slim chance that we’ll see Brian Orakpo get a few snaps on Thursday after he returned to practice for the first time since injuring his shoulder on the second day of training camp. Like Matthews, Rak is a steady, productive veteran who will be a big asset for this team as they get geared up for meaningful football. Correa’s DebutPhoto by Joe Robbins/Getty ImagesThe Titans sent a 2019 6th round pick to the Ravens on Tuesday in exchange for linebacker Kamalei Correa. Correa is expected to play mostly as an edge rusher/outside linebacker in Tennessee, though he can also contribute as an inside linebacker as needed. He has the benefit of two years experience in a Dean Pees defense which should help him hit the ground running, but getting some snaps with new teammates in a live game setting could be helpful for the newcomer. Derrick Morgan is still recovering from a torn meniscus and likely a couple weeks away from a possible return. To make matters worse, on Tuesday Harold Landry and Sharif Finch were both absent during the portion of practice open to the media while Aaron Wallace and Brian Orakpo were doing side work with other players easing back in from injuries. That would leave Josh Carraway and Tobenna Okeke as the top two fully healthy edge rushers on the roster. No offense to those guys, but it’s no wonder Jon Robinson felt compelled to make a move for Correa. Even though Correa has played for Pees before, the Titans defense is unlikely to be exactly the same as what he was running in Baltimore. It would make sense to me for him to see a good number of reps on Thursday to help speed up his integration in to the outside linebacker rotation. Depending on the status of guys like Morgan and Landry and Wallace over the next couple weeks, it’s possible that Correa could be an opening day starter for the Titans. Bubble BattlesBenny Sieu-USA TODAY SportsThis is normally the biggest reason to watch the final preseason game and it should still provide some interest despite the possible overshadowing from Matthews, Orakpo, and Correa. I feel like most of the roster has been determined at this point, but there are still a few spots that could swing on a big performance Thursday night. A few that I’m interested in:Akrum Wadley vs Dalyn Dawkins: Will the Titans keep 4 RBs and if so, which of these two gets the nod? The wrinkle here is whether or not Wadley will be healthy and available Thursday night. He could use a good final impression before cut down day in my opinion. Darius Jennings vs Deontay Burnett vs Devin Ross: We know the top 4 WRs, but there is at least one and possible two spots for other receivers to make the final cut. With Nick Williams likely to miss Thursday night with a hamstring injury Kevin Byard Jersey , this is the chance for one of the young guys to make a move.Anthony Firkser and Luke Falk vs numbers at other positions: Falk and Firkser are in similar spots. Both need to convince the Titans to keep an extra player at their respective position and both likely have some work left to do to get there. I actually like Firkser’s odds better than Falk’s right now. Kenneth Durden vs The Field: Durden has separated himself from the rest of this competition over the last two weeks with his impressive play. I think guys like Rico Gafford and Joshua Kalu are on the outside looking in right now. Durden will have a chance to further drive his claim on the 5th cornerback spot home on Thursday.Julius Warmsley vs Matt Dickerson: These two have blown by the incumbent DL5, David King, during camp and preseason. The question now becomes which one — if not both — make the roster. They’ll get one final chance to show what they can do Thursday night.Robert Spillane vs Daren Bates: Spillane is a guy who has clearly made a big impression on Mike Vrabel during his time here. The head coach spoke glowingly about his young linebacker this week and made the comment that “loving football will get you a good, hard look around here”. That sounds to me like a guy who has at least worked himself in to the conversation at inside linebacker. All of these guys listed above should see a lot of snaps against the Vikings (except for possibly Wadley due to the injury) and could certainly help or hurt their case for the 53-man roster based on what they’re able to do with those opportunities. Will the Titans go winless in the preseason for the first time since 1997?Obviously, preseason records are completely meaningless, but the Titans haven’t gone winless in the preseason since the 1997 season when they played in Memphis as the Tennessee Oilers. Over the past five seasons, ten teams have gone 0-4 in preseason action. Three of those teams — the 2017 Falcons, 2014 Colts, and 2014 Cowboys — went to the playoffs. For what it’s worth, the 1997 Oilers finished the season 8-8, missing the playoffs. The record truly isn’t going to matter one way or another.Another similarity between the 1997 Oilers and the 2018 Titans is that they were/are both quarterbacked by 24 year olds. The 1997 season was McNair’s first as a starter after sitting for most of two seasons behind Chris Chandler, but his stats from that season are startlingly bad. He completed just 52% of his passes with a yards per attempt of 6.4 while throwing 14 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. McNair turned out to be a pretty darn good quarterback, splitting the MVP award in 2003 with Peyton Manning, but it took time for him to get there.Unlike many other NFL positions, quarterbacks don’t truly peak until their late 20’s. Even some of the best in the game today struggled through ups and downs during their early 20’s. Go check out some of the stats from Drew Brees and Tom Brady when they were 24 years old. Aaron Rodgers didn’t start his first game until he was 25. My point is that it’s largely unrealistic for the expectation to be that a quarterback enters the league and becomes a year-in-year-out star before age 25. Those guys are extremely rare. Only Russell Wilson and Andrew Luck really fit that description among the current crop of NFL quarterbacks and obviously Luck has had his issues since that hot start.Obviously, Mariota has far more game experience at 24 than McNair did at the same age and he should be held to a higher standard, but overall he’s still a very young quarterback and he shouldn’t be viewed as a finished product http://www.titansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-austin-johnson-jersey , especially considering the fact that he’s on his 4th playcaller in as many seasons. All Titans fans want Mariota to be great right now, but I would advise patience as he continues to learn yet another new offensive system and continues his development as an NFL quarterback.The five things I’m most excited to watch during Titans-Packers The “new look Tennessee Titans” is a particularly apt phrase for what fans will see tonight in Green Bay. The team quite literally will have a new look as they appear on a football field in their new uniforms for the first time (the navy helmets are beautiful). The team is also going to look much different in a football sense. New head coach Mike Vrabel and his coordinators — young up-and-comer Matt LaFleur on offense and the wise veteran Dean Pees on defense — will have new schemes installed. We will also see the debut of some new players added through free agency and the draft since the end of last season. We have spent the offseason talking about all of these changes around here, but Thursday represents the first chance to catch a glimpse of them in action, even if it’s a watered down version. I already hit on six of the under the radar players to watch, but here are the big storylines that I’m most excited to see tonight.Harold LandryChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsThis should come as no surprise to anyone who reads this site regularly, but I’m downright giddy about seeing Landry in action for the first time in a game situation. Nothing that I’ve seen at training camp has dampened my enthusiasm about Landry’s pro prospects. In fact, my thoughts about him — which you can check out at length here — have only been reinforced. Landry has been disruptive as a pass rusher in camp, particularly when lined up against anyone not named Taylor Lewan. It will be exciting to see him work against some opposing tackles for a change, and Green Bay’s two starters, David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga, are both going to be sitting out tonight as they recover from injuries. That could spell a big night for the Titans 2nd round pick rushing off the edge.Landry’s best weapon right now is his speed, but I want to see if he can add some additional combos and counters to his pass rush arsenal as he continues to work with Vrabel, outside linebackers coach Shane Bowen, and his veteran teammates Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan. Early reports are that he’s really taking advantage of the extensive resources at his disposal, including picking the brain of his frequent practice opponent, Lewan. Thursday will be a good chance for him to put what he’s learned in camp to use and I can’t wait to see it.The New OffenseChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsProbably the most discussed topic of the offseason has been the change from Mike Mularkey and Terry Robiskie’s “exotic smashmouth” to Matt LaFleur’s non-nicknamed version of the west coast offense. The guess all along was that LaFleur would incorporate heavy influences from Sean McVay, Kyle Shanahan Authentic Derrick Henry Jersey , Mike Shanahan, and Gary Kubiak based on his previous coaching stops in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, and Houston. His biggest influence is likely the younger Shanahan — now the head coach of the 49ers — as LaFleur had spent eight of his nine seasons as an NFL coach working under Kyle. Earlier this offseason I took a deep dive into some of LaFleur’s previous stops to get a feel for what the Titans offense might look like in 2018. You can check that out here, but the short version is that you can expect to see a lot of outside zone runs — something SuperHorn detailed beautifully here — as the base of the offense with a bunch of screens, bootlegs, and other west coast passing concepts built off of it. There will be heavy usage of play action, something that Marcus Mariota was extremely effective with last season. The beauty in the design of this offense is that many of the plays look the same even for a second or two after the snap. The outside zone blocking technique allows offensive line to help sell play action far more credibly.Its a system that really marries well on paper to the personnel the Titans have on multiple levels. Mariota’s mobility, quick release, and play action proficiency make him an ideal quarterback to run this offense. Derrick Henry had success in college working in a zone blocking run scheme and has looked natural running it in practice so far.Even the wide receivers — a long time issue with this franchise — should be excellent fits. The offense is designed to get the ball to playmakers in space and let them work. Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor in particular are players that present some real danger with the ball after the catch. Despite my excitement for this offense, I should mention that patience will be needed. This system is one that takes time to really grasp and be comfortable with, particularly for quarterbacks. It shouldn’t be alarming if we see some growing pains from Mariota as he adapts to yet another new offense. I am really looking forward to seeing the offense operated in a true game situation for the first time tonight, even if it is a watered down preseason version of what we eventually see when the regular season starts.MMCNBChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsThe MMCNB secondary — MMCNB stands for “My Man Catch No Balls” if you missed it — has been the talk of Titans training camp so far. New free agent addition Malcolm Butler started his first Titans camp with a bang, making play after play in the secondary. Not far behind him in camp have been Adoree Jackson, Logan Ryan, and Kevin Byard who all have been outstanding in the practices that I’ve seen. Jackson Youth Delanie Walker Jersey , in particular, looks like a star in the making right now. Coming off the first football only offseason of his entire career, the young cornerback looks more comfortable than ever and has regularly been locking down receivers who line up across from him. You could see the light starting to come on for Jackson at the end of 2017. If he can continue that trajectory in to this season it could be a really special season for him.When Johnathan Cyprien went down with a season ending torn ACL early in camp it looked like a tough blow for this group, but a strange glut of safety talent this late in the offseason played to the Titans favor as they were able to sign former Saint Kenny Vaccaro. Vaccaro has quickly gotten up to speed and is already working with the first team defense and I would expect to see him get a lot of snaps tonight as they try to make up for lost time with him working in this defense. As a player, I think Vaccaro could actually be a slight upgrade over Cyprien and he should fit in perfectly with this secondary.The leader of the group is fiery defensive backs coach Kerry Coombs — pronounced “Combs” — who has won over Titans fans everywhere with his high energy approach. His top lieutenant is All-Pro safety Kevin Byard whose outstanding work ethic and study habits have endeared him to Titans coaches, players, and fans alike. Byard organized group workouts all offseason with the other defensive backs, helping build a camaraderie within a unit that requires outstanding communication. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees has also noted that Byard often comes in to defensive meetings with questions about parts of the defense that they haven’t even installed yet and has taken it upon himself to spend time meeting with 5th round pick Dane Cruikshank one-on-one to review film together. This group has the potential to be one of the elite secondaries in the NFL in 2018. The nickel package of Byard, Vaccaro, Jackson, Butler, and Ryan is experienced, talented, and hungry across the board. The ability for the Titans to matchup play press man coverage without exposing a glaring weakness is pretty unique in the NFL and could make this defense feel suffocating at times. We likely will only see the full MMCNB crew for a series or two tonight, but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless.Taywan TaylorChristopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsWe likely won’t see Corey Davis tonight — though he reportedly did make the trip to Green Bay so there is a chance — but we almost certainly will see some Taywan Taylor. The Titans “other” second year receiver has been making his presence known in camp and appears to be on track to have a pretty large role in the Titans offense this year. Obviously, we still need to see where the receiver group stacks up when Rishard Matthews eventually returns from the PUP, but for now http://www.titansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-taylor-lewan-jersey , Taylor is a clear starter.Last season, he got the majority of his work in the slot, but this year he has spent camp working almost exclusively outside, often as the X receiver. Playing outside is nothing new for him though. He spent over 85% of his snaps as an outside receiver during his senior year at Western Kentucky according to Matt Harmon’s Reception Perception. Comparing his usage in practice so far to the roles of Matt LaFleur’s 2017 Rams receivers, Taylor appears to be playing the Sammy Watkins role as a split end with deep speed that can run clear outs and stretch the defense vertically. Taylor has really shined in this role in camp and appears far more confident. His speed and quickness in and out of his breaks make him dangerous and he’s improved his ability to hang on for contested catches. Of course, hanging on to contested catches in practice is one thing, but hanging on to them in live action with hard hitting safeties coming at you full speed is another. It will be interesting to see if these improvements carry over tonight. Jonnu SmithMark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsThe leap in performance from Year 1 to Year 2 is often the biggest jump in an NFL player’s career. In addition to Corey Davis, Taywan Taylor, and Adoree Jackson, another guy poised to make that leap is tight end Jonnu Smith. Last year Smith was inconsistent, mixing some great work as a receiver with some rough moments as a blocker. Like Taylor, Smith looks more confident heading in to his second season. He has received praise from the coaching staff throughout camp and appears to be in line for a large role in the offense. The Titans first depth chart listed Smith as a starter opposite Delanie Walker, and while that depth chart was mostly hogwash, it largely matches the usage that we’ve seen so far in camp. Matt LaFleur has been toying with ways to create matchup problems for defenses using Walker and Smith together. Smith isn’t going to overtake Walker as the top target among the Titans tight ends any time soon, but I think he will blow by his numbers from 2017 — 18 catches for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns — with ease. If his blocking takes the next step as well, the Titans will boast one of the best tight end combinations in the NFL.