After quarterback, running back, fullback, wide receiver, tight end, offensive tackle, guard, center, defensive line, outside linebacker, inside linebacker, and cornerback, the final defensive stop, and penultimate stop overall, on our trip around the Tennessee Titans position by position as we head into the 2016 offseason is a look at the safeties.
So, back in the offseason positional analysis, I spent a lot of time stressing that we couldn’t be quite sure how the safeties in a Dick LeBeau defense without Troy Polamalu might be deployed. By the preseason, I’d mostly dropped that and noted they’d probably run more interchangeable than pure strong and free. The state of the season, my time, and shiny rookie QB meant I never bothered to properly conceptualize the role of the safeties in the 2015 Titans defense. More importantly, new defensive backs coach Deshea Townsend stressed that safeties must be interchangeable because opposing offenses won’t let you. That’s one thing we know about safety position in Tennessee in 2016.
The second thing we know is that there will be a new starter. Michael Griffin was released after nine seasons in Nashville. He was the mainstay of the position group, playing 942 snaps while playing 15 games (missed Falcons game, 942 snaps, 88.9% of total, 95.6% when healthy, 97.6% when healthy and excluding Week 1’s garbage time). I don’t normally in this space rehash the contributions of already departed players, so I’ll note that Griffin played a lot, he’s had better seasons, and there was absolutely no surprise with a hefty base salary and declining play he’s no longer in the Titans’ plans.
We know the other starter will be back, and that’s Da’Norris Searcy. I didn’t come into the season with a strong book on Searcy, and my failure to take the time to evaluate and conceptualize what the Titans safeties were asked to do and how well they did it meant I still don’t have as strong a take on him as I should. He was a credible starter, not really a high impact player, and that leaves an awful lot of wiggle room in the evaluation of what he did and what he’ll be asked to do in 2016. That he didn’t faceplant in his transition from part-time player to full-timer (888 snaps, 83.8% of total, missed Week 15 Patriots game due to hamstring injury suffered during Jets game) was itself a success. 55 tackles (42 real), one interception, four passes defensed, 0.5 sacks. Griffin made more tackles against both the run and the pass than he did, and have I mentioned lately how much I distrust individual defensive statistics and how safety statistics are probably the most dependent on usage and role rather than performance?
Searcy will start and play a lot again in 2016, and finally going in-depth on him would be a great topic for a deep offseason blog post if I wasn’t quitting March 9.
Jim Wyatt offered the obligatory look at what the Titans might do to replace Griffin, in which Jon Robinson was properly non-committal. In the games both Griffin and Searcy missed, Daimion Stafford stepped into the starting lineup. Between that and his service as the dime back, and that he played all 16 games, he ended up playing the fourth-most snaps of any defensive back (331 snaps, 31.2% of total). I like him much better as a box player, and I believe that’s mostly where he played as a dime player. Of the in-house options to replace Griffin, I’d guess he’s the one the Titans would be most comfortable with. More likely, they’ll add a player they expect to be a starter-level contributor, most likely in free agency, and Stafford will back up at least Searcy, maybe both spots, and be a core special teamer.
In early December, I thought Marqueston Huff was a goner for sure. He seemed to completely disappear from the team’s plans, barely seeing the field on defense (18 snaps in Weeks 2-13). Searcy’s injury got him some work late, then he did play over Stafford in the season finale in Indianapolis (85 overall, 8.0% of total, down from 269 as a rookie). He was nominally Griffin’s backup at free safety, which is more of where he fits. He also has slot corner experience, and enough work on the outside to me to state I don’t want him as an outside corner. Gun to my head, he’s more likely to play for Cleveland in 2016 than the Titans, but it’s also not impossible he could start in Griffin’s stead.
Josh Aubrey was added for depth purposes the final three weeks of the season when Searcy went down. He played special teams only against New England, then was inactive the final two weeks. My preliminary take on him for 2016 is the same as it was in the preseason-he’ll have a roster shot if they like his special teams work.
Conclusion-Type Thoughts
The Titans have one starter they’ll count on to be a starter again. The release of the other starter means the Titans have a blatant, glaring roster need at safety. I expect them to fill that void by adding a starter-level player, most likely in free agency (Tashaun Gipson?). It wouldn’t also surprise me to see the Titans tinker more with the bottom of the roster, looking for the right developmental projects and special teams performers.
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