Titans Fan Guide: A Speedy Greedy Saturday Edition

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The Battle of the SEC West Tigers commences once more with LSU traveling to the Plains. LSU is 2-0 with a beatdown of Miami in the season opener while Auburn is 2-0 with a hard fought win over Washington. A win by LSU would go a long way in securing Ed Orgeron’s job status. These two teams are very good defensively and the offenses were sloppy when facing a quality opponent so expect a defensive slog. LSU QB Joe Burrow will need to ramp up his game significantly for the Bayou Bengals to have a shot. LSU prospects to watch1. Greedy Williams 6’1 182 CB RS Sophomore- Williams has the speed and athleticism thing down pat along with the height. Lateral agility is a major plus. Can keep up with any receiver in the nation. Has consistency issues that pops up every now and then. Among the best corners in the nation. 2. Devin White 6’0 240 LB Junior- Next man up to take the star linebacker turn in Baton Rouge before going pro. White has flashed a bunch over his first two years. He’s now the leader of the defense. Height may be an issue at the next level but the athleticism isn’t. Plus character and work ethic. Somewhere between Duke Riley and Kendall Beckwith. 3. Nick Brossette 6’0 221 RB Senior- The heir apparent to current Washington Mascot That Shall Not Be Named RB Derrius Guice. He played really well in the season opener against Miami. A different type of back than Guice. More of a thunder type of back. Auburn prospects to watch1. Jarrett Stidham 6’2 214 QB RS Junior- Stidham is one of the top ranked quarterbacks in a class in which the perception is generally down. He has a lot of arm talent and can make virtually any throw asked of him. Physically looks the part. The biggest flaw is the program that he chose. Auburn’s offensive system is very poor in terms of development for the next level. Fundamentally poor as the reads are so simple that a high school QB can thrive in Auburn’s system. Will need a ton of development time as a backup before he can start. Oblivious to pressure and will give up unnecessary sacks to elite defenses.2. Derrick Brown 6’5 325 DL Junior- He was in the Washington backfield so much that he owns property there now. One of the best interior linemen in the SEC. Academics are on point as he’s been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll every year. Could be one of the more underrated DL prospects due to the talent in the class. BYU at #6 Wisconsin 3:30 PM ABC- Madtown gets a visitor from out west in the form of the Cougars’ stingy defense. BYU is 1-1 with an impressive win over Arizona and a hard fought loss to Cal. Wisky is 2-0 after ho hum victories over UNLV and New Mexico. RB Johnathan Taylor is once again a Heisman candidate after a sensational freshman year. Not the most entertaining matchup but it should be fun to watch the BYU defense try to out wit the powerful Wisconsin offensive line. Wisconsin in a laugher. BYU prospect to watch1. Sione Takitaki 6’2 231 LB Senior- It could be argued that Takitaki was the best defender on BYU’s team last year. From what I’ve seen of him , he’s very good at reading and reacting to the play. Versatile athlete in that he’s been played both as a defensive end and outside linebacker. Lined up everywhere. Very good athlete. Due to size, he gets lost in the wash rather easily.Wisconsin prospects to watch1. The entire OL- Collectively, they are the best offensive line in the nation. Like clockwork, this year’s edition is back to being Wisconsin OL of famous lore. #1 Alabama at Ole Miss 7 PM ESPN- The top ranked Tide visit the Grove to take in the lovely atmosphere there and also to play some football. Can the Ole Miss defense make enough stops to give its high powered offense a chance? Can the inexperienced Tide secondary hold up against the Rebels’ outstanding receiving corps? Tua is easily the Heisman favorite as of right now. Can he keep it up for the duration of the season? Also, will Jalen Hurts play or is he going to stick to his reported plan of redshirting? Alabama prospects to watch1. Damien Harris 5’10 216 RB Senior- He’s very instinctive as a runner and knows where and how to attack a defense. Takes what he can get and goes down. Knows what he is and doesn’t deviate from that much. A power back. It will be interesting to see if he raises his stock high enough to warrant not going to any of the postseason all star events.
Off to a good start in 2018.2. Raekwon Davis 6’7 303 DL Junior- The latest in a long line of standout defensive linemen for the Tide who patiently waited his turn to shine. He was a terror to guard against as a sophomore and has carried his play over to the 2018 season thus far. Could be one of the better DL that the Tide has produced before its all said and done. 3. Mack Wilson 6’0 231 LB Junior- Ho hum. Another year, another standout linebacker for the Tide. Wilson is just #good as advertised. The medical history bears watching though. Ole Miss prospects to watch1. D.K Metcalf 6’3 225 WR RS Sophomore- Physically looks the part. A deep ball specialist that can also run routes like a technician. Is considered one of the best receivers in the country. He’s WR2 on my board. A major weapon for the Rebels. 2. A.J. Brown 6’1 225 WR Junior- Excellent slot weapon at the next level. Knows how to run all the routes and vary his speed and footwork in each. Has the measureables to make an impact in the NFL. Could use another year of college. Bonus games to watch#5 Oklahoma at Iowa State Noon ABC#17 Boise State at #24 Oklahoma state 3:30 PM ESPN#4 Ohio State vs. #15 TCU 8 PM ABCHouston at Texas Tech 4:15 PM FoxWhere are the Titans scouts? A massive hole was left for the Tennessee Titans offensive output in the first quarter of the season. Delanie Walker is an irreplaceable talent for many reasons and Rishard Matthews replacements were on the roster, but still aren’t where the team needs them to be.Matthews played in 33 regular season games as a Titans receiver. He accumulated 1,751 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. That equates to an average of around 53 yards per game.Walker has played in double the amount of games and is highly productive. He has amassed 4 ,208 yards, 26 touchdowns, averaged a little over 62 yards per game and was Marcus Mariota’s most dependable set of hands.Outside of Corey Davis’ breakout game against the Philadelphia Eagles, this Titans team hasn’t come close to replacing the production of Matthews or Walker.Evoke ProductionOC Matt LaFleur has done well in alleviating the production loss over the first month of the season. However, the lack of threatening weapons finally showed up against Buffalo.LaFleur aimed to get the passing game going early - but a turnover in the Titans own territory set up a seven point Josh Allen touchdown that weighed heavily in determining the outcome.A running game lacking rhythm and balance has proven to be a difficult wrinkle to iron. Without a semi-productive ground attack, defenses are showing little to no respect of Titans pass catchers outside of Davis - at least the Bills defense didn’t.Jonnu Smith is seasons away from reaching the level of production Walker had - and had Walker still been available, the team could afford to be patient. But - the Titans need Smith to produce now and it starts with repairing the trust with Mariota.Whether or not Mariota avoided Smith in favor of Nick Williams on that game-defining play because he lacked trust is a mystery. Mariota explained it was the coverage he observed that influenced him to read through his progressions. LaFleur echoed the same in an interview conducted today regarding the play.A report surfaced via social media of Smith staying after practice catching footballs, which at least show he’s making an extra effort. Bringing up Anthony Firkser to the active roster also served as a push.Klutz to ClutchDrops. Drops. Drops.This has plagued this group of pass catches even dating back to last season. It’s also taken stats off the paper that would show the true level of production Mariota should have. The Titans have yet to make a big splash sign or trade , but if lack of production from people outside of Davis continues it’s likely Jon Robinson tries to make a move if he hasn’t already.Mariota has been putting the ball exactly where it needs to be. Yes, he’s made a few misreads and tossed a few errant passes he’d like to take back. However, he is still throwing catchable footballs. The receiveing weapons have to avoid butterfinger moments.The group will have a chance at redemption, but the Baltimore Ravens defense won’t make it easy. If Mariota drops dimes but the receivers can’t hold on to the football, looking around the league is something that has to happen.

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