Thanks to Saturday’s disappointing loss to the Baltimore Ravens, instead of preparing to host next week’s AFC Championship Game, the offseason has officially begun for the Tennessee Titans.
Over the next several weeks, the Titans will have many important decisions to make that will play a huge role in shaping the team’s roster for next year and beyond.
Let’s get the offseason ball rolling by discussing three burning questions that the Titans need to answer before the start of the 2009 regular season.
1. What’s gonna happen at the QB position?
Perhaps the biggest question mark heading into the offseason is at quarterback.
IMO, Veteran Kerry Collins has earned the right to be the team’s starting signal-caller in 2009. Replacing an injured Vince Young, KC provided the Titans with a veteran presence in the huddle. He was a great fit for Mike Heimerdinger’s offense and emerged as a leader on the AFC’s best team during the regular season.
In the other corner, we have the talented but enigmatic Vince Young. Optimistically, the lessons learned from a frustrating 2008 season would propel Vince into a comeback year of sorts in 2009. Realistically, there’s a good chance that even in the best-case scenario, he may have a shot of competing for his old job next year.
Gonna be interesting to see how this situation plays out. Stay tuned…
2. To re-sign or not to re-sign Big Al: that is the question.
Albert Haynesworth’s dominance has been well-documented. He’s perhaps the league’s premier DT and whether it’s courtesy of the Tennessee Titans or another franchise, Big Al should expect a big payday in a month or so.
Life without Haynesworth was horrible in 2007 but when Al was befelled by injury in 2008, rookie Jason Jones stepped up with a memorable 3.5 sack performance in a playoff-type matchup with the Steelers.
Can Jones replace Haynesworth on a full-time basis or are the Titans better off locking up “Fat Albert” for the long haul?
3. Can we get another playmaker on offense, please?
The ankle injury that prevented rookie sensation Chris Johnson from playing in the second half of Saturday’s loss exposed the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the room for the Tennessee Titan offense.
The Titans are in dire need of a speedster at the WR position. Justin Gage, as indicated by his clutch performance against the Ravens, is a keeper. However, instead of a non-contributor such as Justin McCareins, Gage needs to be paired with a more dynamic player who can consistently make plays down the field.
Needless to say, with the offseason officially upon us, the Tennessee Titans will have some big decisions to make in the weeks and months that lie ahead.
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