COLUMN: Titans' Preseason Opener Showed Major Improvement in Two 2020 Problem Areas
It can be difficult to truly learn about an NFL team during the preseason, and it's the time of year where overreactions are most abundant. But the Tennessee Titans proved in their preseason opener, a 23-3 win over Atlanta on Friday evening, that two of their major deficiencies from the 2020 season have been resolved. […]
It can be difficult to truly learn about an NFL team during the preseason, and it's the time of year where overreactions are most abundant.
But the Tennessee Titans proved in their preseason opener, a 23-3 win over Atlanta on Friday evening, that two of their major deficiencies from the 2020 season have been resolved.
The 2020 Tennessee Titans failed to find a secondary pass rusher to give OLB Harold Landry some relief. They also weren't very good in the punt return game, with primary returner Kalif Raymond providing little to no spark.
Based on OLB Rashad Weaver's dominating performance as a pass rusher and WR Chester Rogers' dazzling punt returns in the Titans' first preseason game, it looks like both of those holes will be capably filled.
ANOTHER OPTION UP FRONT
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was looking forward to watching Weaver heading into the game.
"I would love to watch Weaver," he said on Wednesday. "He has had a good couple of days, he has been active."
Vrabel got his wish and then some.
Weaver, one of the Titans' two fourth-round picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, wreaked havoc from start to finish against the Falcons' hapless offensive line.
The rookie, who's also flashed in Training Camp practices, recorded 1.5 sacks, two tackles for a loss, and a pass breakup in his NFL exhibition debut.
The future isn't necessarily going to be all sunshine and rainbows for Weaver, as the 23-year-old has an October court date stemming from an April misdemeanor simple assault charge in Pittsburgh, and the results of that proceeding could very well affect his eligibility.
If Weaver does play more than just a handful of games for the Titans in 2021, though, he'll give the team a big boost.
Because none of the Titans' other pass rushers were anywhere near Landry's level of talent in 2020, he was forced to play entirely too many snaps. Weaver emerging as a legitimate threat would keep that from happening again in 2021.
While Bud Dupree's presence will certainly help ease Landry, both of them would end up playing too much and, in turn, exhausted without the Titans having a competent tertiary pass rusher.
Weaver is on track to be just that.
A SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT
Rogers also shined brightly for the Titans on Friday. While he did contribute on offense, recording a 17-yard reception in the first quarter, his biggest impact was on special teams.
The 27-year-old receiver returned two punts on Friday, the first for 14 yards and the second for a whopping 57.
The 57-yarder was very nearly a touchdown, but Falcons safety T.J. Green managed to lead him out of bounds just 14 yards from the endzone.
"That was a fun play," Rogers said. "It was good to get out there and get the jitters out of the way, and it was good to get out there and show the team the type of play I am capable of."
It's been years since the Titans last had a punt returner who was more than just a steady hand.
Raymond, their primary returner in 2020, never managed to use his impressive speed to his advantage. CB Adoree' Jackson, who returned several punts during his four years with the team, frequently made poor decisions and created turnovers.
WR Adam Humphries was decent at the job in 2019, but an early-season injury prevented him from establishing any kind of consistency.
Before Humphries and Jackson came the not-so-all-star crew of Dexter McCluster, Harry Douglas, Perrish Cox and Darius Reynaud.
Rogers proved in just two returns on Friday that he's better than all of those players and could finally put an end to the Titans' woes at that spot.
That's far from an overreaction. Rogers was smooth, elusive, decisive and fast on Friday. He looked infinitely more apt than the aforementioned laundry list of returners who spanned from average to nightmarish.
Because the Titans are a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations, their overall worth isn't going to be revealed during August; that won't come until well into the regular season.
For now, though, fans can and should take solace in knowing that the team should be much improved when it comes to getting after the quarterback and returning punts.
Cover image: George Walker IV/The Tennessean
