The Offseason Thread

[deeluxx3]

52 minutes ago, TitanSS said:

Davis and Taylor bring speed on O. Just haven't seen them on the field enough. If we move to an offense with more horizontal passing concepts I think we'll see a lot of improvement

Davis speed and Taylor speed are two completely different things, if you ask me

Davis is plenty fast, but not near the quick twitch speed that Taylor has. We need more of that.

[TitanSS]

My takes on this years FA/off-season

SS: Really anticipating letting Cyprien and Searcy go, which makes SS a priority. I like the looks of Morgan Burnett. He's not going to be Eric Berry, but he's a definite improvement over what we've had, and just turning 29 this week he has a few good years left. Eric Reid and Kenny Vaccaro would also be big improvements.

CB: Adding another quality corner is a must this year, be it draft or FA. #3 CB is a starter in today's NFL. Kyle Fuller, Aaron Colvin, and Bashaud Breeland all would be upgrades and hopefully not priced too far out of #3 CB territory. Someone like Breeland might get too much from a desperate team.

EDGE: Adding another edge rusher isn't an absolute must for 2018, although adding youth at the position is very desirable. Morgan and Orakpo are both FAs following the 2018 season. I anticipate one, if not both of them, being extended this off-season. Morgan, being 2 years younger (29) the most likely of the two. If we switch to a 4-3 there are a few guys who could be decent #3 rushers, however, if we stay in the 3-4 I anticipate we resign Walden on a cheap deal. He has been good as depth.

DL: This could be very dependant on our scheme. I anticipate at least an attempt to re-sign Jones, although I could see us being easily outbid. Williams is paid more than he's worth, but we would incur moderate cap penalties for cutting him, saving about 3mil this year and 5mil next year. If hes cut and we don't bring back Jones, Star Lotulelei and Dontari Poe would be appealing. Sheldon Richardson is probably out of our price range in most scenarios.

C: I don't anticipate cutting Ben Jones, but he did have a very bad year. Snaps were low more often than not and he was in our backfield more often than Derrick Henry. I would like to see him replaced, either with a mid-round pick or a FA, although OG is more likely to be replaced this year. If we do let him go, Weston Richburg would be a good signing. I read that Jones played injured all year, if true, he's even more likely to get a second chance to up his game.

OG: Anticipating that Spain is resgned and Kline walks. I think Andrew Norwell is too expensive, especially for the money we'll have on offense in a few years and the type of offense Mariota should be in if we're going to be successful. If Jack Mewhort is capable if being healthy I would like that signing, and Brandon Fusco could be a reliable stop-gap and upgrade over Kline. Justin Pugh is also intriguing at OG, but he's played some OT, so I'm not sure if other teams will offer him OT money.

ILB: I dont see Williamson staying. He will be overpaid by someone else. This would mean we have to find another LB in the draft, the type depending on if we're a 4-3 or 3-4 team. I dont see Brown playing a lot of base 3-4 snaps at ILB. He's better suited as a WLB in a 4-3 and I dont think he's shown enough against the run to play every down inside.

RB: Murray needs to be released which clears up monies. Dion Lewis is the only FA RB I'm really interested in. I've seen mention of Jerrick McKinnon, buy I view him solely as a RB on passing plays, and not a runner who can spell Henry. I'd like to add a more balanced back to compliment Henry, not his exact opposite. (I've seen mention of interest in Sony Michel from Georgia in the draft, and I absolutely love him. Would take him if he was there day 2.)

WR: Some really solid guys are set to hit FA, and I don't think we make a run at any of them. I would love to add any of Sammy Watkins, Allen Robinson, or Jarvis Landry.

QB: Move along folks, nothing to see here.

TE: Stocker looks to be a good #3 blocking TE and we should be set.

OT: Maybe a better backup than Kelly, but non-priority.

[KingTitan]

13 minutes ago, deeluxx3 said:

Davis speed and Taylor speed are two completely different things, if you ask me

Davis is plenty fast, but not near the quick twitch speed that Taylor has. We need more of that.

Davis is fast as or faster than. Hopkins. So I think he has enough speed to make plays down field. I think he has the ball location skills too. 

Davis should be getting almost double digit targets.

Taylor has to do better and be more consistent. 

[deeluxx3]

4 minutes ago, KingTitan said:

Davis is fast as or faster than. Hopkins. So I think he has enough speed to make plays down field. I think he has the ball location skills too. 

Davis should be getting almost double digit targets.

Taylor has to do better and be more consistent. 

Davis should absolutely be getting double digit targets. He should be a 90+ catch a year guy.

Agree on Taylor. My point is more that we need someone closer to his speed than Davis' speed. I'm talking lightning quick (finding this is obviously easier said than done)

[TitanSS]

3 minutes ago, deeluxx3 said:

Davis should absolutely be getting double digit targets. He should be a 90+ catch a year guy.

Agree on Taylor. My point is more that we need someone closer to his speed than Davis' speed. I'm talking lightning quick (finding this is obviously easier said than done)

I agree that we need someone like that on the offense, but I think we only need one WR with those qualities. The preferable solution is that Taylor thrives in a new offense and can put that quickness on display.

Part of the problem is that Taylor wasn't used in the slot unless he was being used as a gimmick. Otherwise we had slow Decker in the slot because they liked using him to block. Taylor's speed looks more desirable blazing across the field horizontally from the slot, as opposed to lining up outside and trying to run by people down the sideline. 

There were so many design flaws with our offense last year, and Mularkey seriously thought his last press conference was going to fly. Joke.

[dtait93]

33 minutes ago, TitanSS said:

I agree that we need someone like that on the offense, but I think we only need one WR with those qualities. The preferable solution is that Taylor thrives in a new offense and can put that quickness on display.

Part of the problem is that Taylor wasn't used in the slot unless he was being used as a gimmick. Otherwise we had slow Decker in the slot because they liked using him to block. Taylor's speed looks more desirable blazing across the field horizontally from the slot, as opposed to lining up outside and trying to run by people down the sideline. 

There were so many design flaws with our offense last year, and Mularkey seriously thought his last press conference was going to fly. Joke.

I still can't believe all the WR screens to Decker. Was absolutely infuriating.

[TitanLegend]

Regarding the OL, if we're going to move to a pass happy system, we might as well just keep the o-line we have in place. It's arguably the best pass blocking o-line in football and has been for two years in a row now, and with more innovative play calling, it's good enough at run blocking.

[TitanSS]

I would like to replace Jones and Kline either way. Kline was a good pass-blocker, but Jones' snaps were awful and he allowed the pocket to collapse often. Kline's appeal in a new offense would be that he is far more mobile than Spain, but not as good run-blocking.

[tntitans4life17]

One thing I wouldn't mind us doing is taking a QB in one of the later rounds in the draft (5th-7th round range) to develop long term as Marcus' backup. I know that we will need to sign a veteran QB for this season just because if Marcus does miss a game or 2, you don't want a late round rookie having to take over. Only thing with doing that is likely carrying three QBs on the roster and that will be interesting to see what the next regime thinks about carrying 3 QBs on the active roster.

[tntitans4life17]

9 minutes ago, TitanSS said:

I would like to replace Jones and Kline either way. Kline was a good pass-blocker, but Jones' snaps were awful and he allowed the pocket to collapse often. Kline's appeal in a new offense would be that he is far more mobile than Spain, but not as good run-blocking.

I agree we need to upgrade the OL, but this made me think of how badly I want a DL that can collapse the pocket in the middle to prevent QBs from being able to step up in the pocket and avoid our edge rush.

[-Hope-]

taylor on screens and drag routes all day, pls. it’s absolutely bonkers that i literally can’t remember that happening once.

[deeluxx3]

2 minutes ago, -Hope- said:

taylor on screens and drag routes all day, pls. it’s absolutely bonkers that i literally can’t remember that happening once.

why run him on a screen when you can line him up on the line with his hand in the dirt?

[deeluxx3]

28 minutes ago, TitanSS said:

I would like to replace Jones and Kline either way. Kline was a good pass-blocker, but Jones' snaps were awful and he allowed the pocket to collapse often. Kline's appeal in a new offense would be that he is far more mobile than Spain, but not as good run-blocking.

I am not a savant at evaluating centers, but I found it interesting how Houston let Jones walk after his rookie deal expired

[KingTitan]

19 minutes ago, deeluxx3 said:

I am not a savant at evaluating centers, but I found it interesting how Houston let Jones walk after his rookie deal expired

Probably felt they could do better. 

Like we let Kendall Wright go...he didn't suck, but he wasn't worth a contract. 

[TitanRedd]

I think Corey Lewis is going to shock some people & end up becoming our starting center,I was impressed watching him in preason... I’m sure a year in the strength & conditioning program is going to help him out even more.

CB I think we should look at Prince Amukamara, he’s very solid allows us to be flexible wit matching up against big receivers & we can move Logan around more like a Swiss Army knife.

I really hope we take a look at Muhammad Wilkerson once he’s released. Word is Wilkerson quit in the jets cause he wanted out. He’s an intriguing piece for the fact with his skill set; he can rush anywhere on the field. He can play 5tech & 3 & the nose. We can kick him inside on passing downs & you’ll have to pick your poison with him & Cassey. 

In the draft we’re picking at 25; I’m a firm believer in picking the best player over need. I like kristian Kirk. Kirk was projected to be a top 15 pick this yr, he’s been compared to OBJ, Percy Harvin, & Steve Smith. This year,however his stock has slip thanks to inconsistent QB play from a freshmen. He adds another element of speed to our offense we haven’t seen since Chris Johnson. A mismatch in the slot, a threat to score any time he touches the ball, a playmaker in the return game. Can put him on KR & leave adoree on PR, or vise versa.