Better late than never is my motto. Going to crank these last few out before the draft, really.
After defensive line, our second stop on the defensive side of the ball on our trip around the Tennessee Titans as we head (deep) into the offseason is outside linebacker.
When I did the DL positional analysis, I noted the basic questions were pretty much the exact same ones they would have been in February had I done these positional analyses at the time I originally pretended I was going to do them. The same is most emphatically not true at outside linebacker. Had I written this in February, it would have been dominated by the need to find at least two players capable of being starter-level contributors playing most of the snaps. Writing it in late April, we now know the Titans have signed two players who, barring injury, will be starter-level contributors playing most of the snaps. That kind of changes the tone of this piece, or at least the questions I pose in it.
What does not change from the hypothetical February version of this analysis to this one is the inclusion of an analysis of what the outside linebackers did in 2014. The consensus answer, with no signification dissensions I can think of, was “not enough.” Ray Horton’s scheme is not as dependent on the outside linebackers as some other 3-4 defenses (like, say, new defensive maestro Dick LeBeau’s), so this lack of contributions from outside linebackers was simply yet another part of an overall defensive performance I would characterize as disappointing but not unexpected.
I was among those who wondered how Derrick Morgan would fare in the new scheme. In the preseason positional analysis, I indicated I did not expect the new scheme to have a positive impact on his number. What resulted was, by and large, an exceptionally Derrick Morgan-like season that despite the scheme change resulted in the same things we’d seen from Derrick Morgan in past seasons-some solid work in run defense and a lot more hurries than sacks, notwithstanding that he led the team in that category with 6.5. He played a bit more than I expected, clocking in at 1004 snaps (88.0%); I’m sure the overall weakness of the position group was part of that. He looked okay in his 150 pass coverage snaps (per him in a radio interview). The Titans re-signed him this offseason, and he’ll be back for another season of being Derrick Morgan.
As expected, Kamerion Wimbley played the most after Morgan (538 snaps in 13 games, 47.2% of total, 57.8% when active). I had very modest expectations for his overall performance, though my hypothetical over/under in August on his sack total would have been higher than his actual 2.0. After last offseason’s contract restructure, his base salary is $1.85 million, a reasonable number for a rotation veteran who has experience playing in a similar scheme in the past. The arrival of Brian Orakpo and re-signing of Morgan leave him no higher than third on a full depth chart, and Orakpo’s injury history suggests the Titans could benefit from a reliable veteran option who could step into the lineup. I expect him to make it not just to training camp but to Week 1 and beyond.
For the first 11 games, Wimbley was in a rotation with Shaun Phillips (350 snaps, 30.7% of total, 43.4% when present). Bye week re-evaluation apparently indicated Phillips was not playing effectively and his playing time plummeted until Wimbley was injured during the Week 12 game against the Eagles. The Titans waived him after that game, and he finished the year with the Colts. He finished the season with 2.0 sacks in Tennessee and 0 in Indianapolis. Also parted ways with during the season was Akeem Ayers, who was active twice in seven games (10 snaps, 0.9%, 1.9% when active) before being traded to the Patriots.
Familiarity with a scheme and a coordinator is great for job security. Just ask Quentin Groves. Signed September 1 after he failed to make the Texans, he finished fourth in the position group with 240 snaps, 203 of those in the final seven games after Phillips’ obsolescence and eventual release and Wimbley’s injury (21.0% of total, 41.0% in last seven games). Not under contract for 2015, he remains unsigned and could be available as an “in case of emergency, break glass” veteran (31 in July) unless there’s an old Pittsburgh player LeBeau would prefer (note to self: check that at some point).
After Phillips’ release and Wimbley’s injury, the Titans added two outside linebackers to the roster before Week 13. Kaelin Burnett was almost exclusively a special teams player, playing 2 snaps on defense in the final five games; I’ve never gotten his game and did not expect to see him return, but the Titans re-signed him when offseason workouts began this week. The other was Dontay Moch, an explosive athlete selected in the third round by the Bengals who has struggled to translate his physical gifts to on-field performance. I saw in the same in 78 snaps from Weeks 13-15 (6.8% of total, 37.1% when active), and apparently the Titans did too because they left him inactive for the final two games. Under contract for 2015, he’s by default among the candidates for the fourth outside linebacker spot. I prefer my developmental players younger than 27 (in July), but Dick LeBeau’s Steelers had the oldest defense in the league from 2007-13 so you never know.
Both Nate Askew and Chaz Sutton were signed to the practice squad during the 2014 season and were signed to futures contracts at season’s end; I have nothing interesting, even to me, to say about either player. Like Burnett and Moch, simply by virtue of being on the roster they’re candidates for a spot beyond the top three.
I hope to have more on what Brian Orakpo brings to the Titans in a post later in the offseason, like maybe July depending on Football Outsiders Almanac 2015 scheduling.
Conclusion-Type Things
The Titans entered the offseason with two huge needs at outside linebacker with their only good regular at the position heading to free agency. They added two starter-level players in free agency to fill those needs and have the solid third veteran they need. Depth beyond the top three (and youth!) seem to be weaknesses. I do not believe the Titans are likely to, or should, be looking for an outside linebacker with the second overall pick and believe it is very likely they’ll spend the 33rd pick elsewhere, but would not be surprised to see them add an outside linebacker in the draft.
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