Tennessee Titans: Why the Titans are a Good Team
By James Dugger
With all of the negativity surrounding the Tennessee Titans season, here are a few reasons to be positive with how the 2017 season is going so far.
The Tennessee Titans have been winning close games all season and they have been receiving some flack for it.
It’s something good teams do — they win the ugly games. While some people might look at all the negative surrounding them, I chose to look at the positive.
Marcus Mariota’s Improved Run-Game
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Marcus Mariota has been struggling to find rhythm this season through the air. While he has not quite made the step we’ve all been expecting in the passing game, he’s been able to catch some luck in the running game.
Mariota has already set a career high with five rushing touchdowns this season. This is more than he had in his first two years combined. One reason his running game has improved is because people have to now track the three-headed backfield monster of Mariota, Derrick Henry, and Demarco Murray.
Mariota is on pace to have almost seven touchdowns on the season which would nearly double his previous career total of four. This is a good showing of Mariota’s overall improvement as a quarterback and leader of his team.
The Run Defense
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The Tennessee Titans’ pass-defense is one of the worst in the league, but that doesn’t mean they have a terrible defense overall. The run-defense is the best been quite impressive this season. They are a top-3 run stopping team currently.
The Titans’ run defense is giving up an average of only 86.2 yards per game and 3.5 yards per attempt. The Dick LeBeau led defense has been a monstrous front for backs to face. The defense has also only allowed five rushing touchdowns through 12 games.
One of the reasons the run-defense has been so good is because of the outstanding play of Kevin Byard. Kevin Byard has been outstanding in the passing game and the run game.
He has 45 tackles so far through 12 games. Byard is also the league leader in interceptions with six. He’s on pace to finish with eight interceptions and 60 tackles.
Special Teams
The Titans’ special teams play was a thorn in their side last year giving up multiple special teams touchdowns. This year was looking to be the same when the Titans started off dead last in return yardage. However, because of one man, the special teams have become one of our best phases this year.
That man is Brett Kern.
Brett Kern has been outstanding all year long while leading the league in both net and gross yardage. Kern has been able to flip field position all year and has consistently been effective.
While Kern has been putting in a pro-bowl caliber season, the Titans’ gunners and blockers haven’t been doing too bad either. The Titans have not allowed a blocked punt this season. Don’t be surprised to see Brett Kern on the AFC pro-bowl team this season.
The Titans are far from a perfect team, but they are not as bad as people say they are. You can expect to see the Titans in January for the first time since 2008. Also, be on the lookout for the week 17 rematch against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It could end up being the division title game and possibly flexed to Sunday Night Football on NBC.