Tennessee Titans: Three Wild Predictions for Week One
If there is any good news amidst all of the drama going on in the world right now, it's that Tennessee Titans football begins in just over two weeks. Their Monday Night game with the Denver Broncos is a long time coming for Titans fans, who are eager to see what this team can do […]
If there is any good news amidst all of the drama going on in the world right now, it's that Tennessee Titans football begins in just over two weeks. Their Monday Night game with the Denver Broncos is a long time coming for Titans fans, who are eager to see what this team can do to follow-up their AFC Championship Game run.
And since we are in the "prediction season" of the NFL calendar, I figured it's time to drop some for the Titans. Let me say, I am confident at least one, if not all, of these predictions will happen.
Prediction 1: Titans will sign Jadeveon Clowney prior to week one
The Tennessee Titans fan base has been waiting so long on free agent Jadeveon Clowney to just choose the Titans already. The wait has been so long, five months to be exact, that some fans have decided they no longer care.
There's one person, however, who still cares. It's Titans' General Manager Jon Robinson. He has seemingly placed his eggs all in the Clowney basket. He did not draft a pass rusher, he signed Vic Beasley (who can't really be relied on at this point), and he paid Derrick Henry long-term, creating a lower 2020 salary cap hit.
That sends a message, at least to me, that Robinson is confident he can reel Clowney in to Nashville. I am confident the news will break before week one that the Titans are agreeing to terms with Clowney, and it will change the landscape of the matchup in Denver.
Prediction 2: Titans and Broncos will be a shootout, over 70 combined points
Both the Titans and Broncos have decent defenses. I mean, that Broncos defense stifled the Titans offense into a 16-0 shutout loss last season. But at the time, the Titans defense was on an impressive run with consecutive games of not allowing more than 20 points.
So if you read that headline and said "this guy is crazy," that's understandable. Two decent defenses going head to head screams low scoring field goal fest. However, let me explain why I think a shootout will be the case.
This is a weird season for NFL football. Because of the coronavirus, the NFL canceled the preseason and left teams with just training camps to prepare for week one. Week ones in the NFL are usually a little sloppy even with preseasons. There are usually a fairly high number of penalties and mistakes.
So can you imagine a week one game without a preseason? Teams have done all they can during camp to get the team ready, but there is nothing like real game action. I think this game will be filled with mistakes and errors made from being a little rusty. That will lead to a very offensive game.
Not to mention the Titans offense has looked very strong throughout camp so far, which is not something we can say every season. This offense bursted onto the scene in week ten of the 2019 season, and we saw the Titans finish the season scoring more than 30 points five times in their last seven games.
Prediction 3: Derrick Henry will have a big night
Before I say what I am going to say, let me acknowledge the fact that every NFL player works hard throughout the offseason to prepare their bodies. It's their job. They train, condition, and prepare for yet another grind to a Super Bowl.
But, man, did you see Derrick Henry putting in work this offseason? I've already written a piece on why he will continue his success, so I fully believe this will be yet another season of King Henry. Based off his offseason training, he is ready to prove me right.
Because of the catastrophe that week one will likely be, Henry will thrive while taking advantage of that. I predict he will have around 150 yards rushing on the night against the Broncos and help lift the Tennessee Titans to a win. And if it is a shootout, Henry should account for about 2 or 3 of those touchdowns, both on the ground and through the air.
As I said before, I believe at least one of these will happen week one, if not all of them. We will find out which one it will be in two weeks from Monday when the Tennessee Titans visit the Denver Broncos, with no fans in attendance, on September 14th.
Featured image by Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports