After defensive line, outside linebacker, and inside linebacker, our next stop on our position by position trip around the Tennessee Titans as we head deep into the offseason is a look at the cornerbacks.
My preseason positional analysis for the Titans’ prospects at cornerbacks in 2014 included references to panic level one, panic level two, and On the Beach. I’m very tempted to declare that analysis as a whole to have been a tad optimistic. Ray Horton’s schemes put a lot on cornerbacks to play well in man coverage. Unfortunately, the questions we had about the Titans’ corners heading into 2014 were mostly answered in the negative: no, the one established cornerback could not be the sort of matchup shutdown #1 Horton had enjoyed to vary degrees in the past; no, the second-year man who barely played as a rookie could not be a good starter; no, the more established slot cornerback would not improve the way you wanted him to; no, there was not enough depth beyond the top three when The Inevitable Injuries came. The result was a pass defense that was in the bottom seven by Football Outsiders numbers (I write for FO perma-disclaimer) and the worst performance in the league against opposing number two receivers.
Now enter the possibly new defensive scheme. Dick LeBeau has typically favored much more zone defense and much less aggressive man-to-man; association with the zone blitz gives him a reputation as being aggressive (and I hope to say more about that later in the offseason, and definitely will if I win the lottery), but the zone blitz was designed to get “safe” pressure, not an all-out cover-0 blitz. It could be a better fit for what the Titans have at corner; it might have been hard to find a worse fit (okay, Horton in Cleveland in 2013, beyond Joe Haden, might have been about that much fun).
By doing this now instead of in February like I originally pretended I was going to, I can note the Titans added a contributor-level cornerback instead of writing about their desperate need to add a contributor-level player.
Jason McCourty was the one answer I saw at the position group in the preseason, and, well, I should have been stronger on his questionable fit for Horton’s preferred top corner role. I didn’t think he had an atypical season, based on what he’d done in the past, but we got to see all his various weaknesses at various points. Take, for instance, the pass interference penalty that set up Washington’s game-winning field goal in Week 7, which highlighted his occasional ball skills lapses. If you doubted my concerns about his agility and how some receivers have the ability to take advantage of him, go watch him what Odell Beckham did to him when he had over 100 yards in the first 20 or so minutes of the game and the Titans were forced to make an adjustment. He had some better performances-what Dez Bryant did before he went out in Week 2 (missed 39 plays that game; over season played 1077 snaps, 94.4% of the total) showed his strengths, as did some relatively modest performances by Andre Johnson, a player he’s performed well and not so well against at times over their tenures. By our charting numbers at Football Outsiders, he was one of the most-targeted cornerbacks in the league and posted a pretty mediocre success rate, albeit with a reasonable yards per pass, which means he didn’t give up many big plays. No matter exactly how you rate his performance last season, he’ll be back for another year of playing a lot.
Per the FO charting numbers, Blidi Wreh-Wilson actually had a better success rate in coverage, though he gave up more yards per play thanks to things like DeAndre Hopkins’ 58-yard touchdown in Week 13. He also had perhaps the Titans’ lowest moment of the season, whiffing on what could have been an easy pick-6 and instead allowing Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton to beat him for a touchdown reception. The rest of his 668 snaps (58.5% of total, 92.8% when active) weren’t as bad, though I bring up the Hopkins and Dalton plays for a reason-when he looked bad, he looked awful bad, and against a generally easier slate of opposing receivers than McCourty faced due to the Titans’ matching up more than they had in past years. He missed Week 5 against the Browns with a concussion, Week 12 against the Eagles with a back injury, and went to injured reserve after Week 14 with a shoulder injury. The hope is he’ll learn from the experience and be better in 2015, but he’ll have to fight to retain a starting job.
His main competition, though, not might be Coty Sensabaugh, the man he beat out in training camp for the starting job. Sensabaugh played mostly in the slot when Wreh-Wilson was healthy last year, but moved into the starting lineup in the other games. My sense from reading people who are actually around the team is the Titans may have been somewhat disappointed in terms of how much he’s developed compared to their expectations. He got better from his first to second season in the slot, but I’m not sure how much more he’s done. Heading into the final season of his rookie contract, the new scheme brings a new chance for him to earn playing time in an important season (721 total snaps, 63.2% of total, 78.4% when active since he missed Weeks 6-8 with a knee injury).
Wreh-Wilson’s main competition for a starting job will probably be the man the Titans added in free agency, Perrish Cox. Right now I don’t have anything to add to what I wrote after the Titans signed him. Very talented athlete, but with only a limited track record of quality NFL play, especially since he was drafted in 2010. He has a good shot to displace Sensabaugh from the slot job and will compete to start.
The Titans re-signed Brandon Harris, who they added off waivers at the start of the season. He doesn’t run well, but showed when he was effective against Odell Beckham when Jason McCourty wasn’t where his strengths were. That Giants game was his most prolific performance on defense, as he played 24 of his 106 total snaps (9.3% of total, 12.6% when active) that day. He’s not a man corner, so the scheme could help him, but he’s still a marginal roster player.
Where to put Marqueston Huff? Should I discuss him with the corners? With the safeties? Is he more than a sub package defensive back? The Titans still list him as a DB rather than as a CB or S. He was on the depth chart Week 17 at both CB2 (behind Sensabaugh) and FS2 (behind Michael Griffin). I don’t see him as an outside player in the NFL, except in an emergency in-game situation like the Browns game last year. For a player who played 269 snaps (23.6% of total, 27.4% when active), I feel like I should have a much stronger take on him than I do; his work came in the slot in the games Wreh-Wilson or Sensabaugh missed.
I will discuss Khalid Wooten with the safeties. Ri’Shard Anderson was signed to a futures contract after finishing the season the practice squad. Brandon Ghee played 80 snaps, 70 against the Eagles and was waived after the Texans game the next week. Jemea Thomas was signed to the active roster when Wreh-Wilson went to injured reserve and played 0 defensive snaps in Week 15 and was inactive the final two games. I have nothing interesting to say about him or Anderson and consider them roster longshots, but who the heck knows.
Conclusion-Type Things
Well, it shouldn’t be worse than was in 2014. There’s a case for both internal and scheme-related improvement. Depth is better, even if the Titans don’t spend a pick on a cornerback, probably on Day 3, like I expect them to and they do most seasons. But I still don’t see it as a strength unless every player who ends up playing plays to the best of their theoretical, for the most part demonstrated only briefly potential. Or maybe I’m just a cynical jerk who’s jut being Sour Gower again.
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