For Some Strange Reason He Guided Me to Tennessee

After Kerry Collins repeatedly came in to clean up after Vince Young for pretty much every season Young was on the team, people are still clamoring for a quarterback.  Young's time in Tennessee is over.

There was a time when back-up quarterback Chris Simms showed a lot of promise and toughness in Tampa. He lost his job due in part to injury and in part to an arrogant coach.  Tennessee should have learned from its mistake and let some other team groom your quarterback for you before you draft him in the top 10.

There are a number of free agent quarterbacks out there, many of whom would love to throw to Kenny Britt, with Chris Johnson as a check-down, and line up behind bookend tackles like Michael Roos and David Stewart.  There’s good depth at wide receiver too.

Then there’s the defense that Jerry Gray will take over.

At linebacker Gerald McRath is an elite athlete still learning. Stephen Tulloch and Will Weatherspoon were elite tacklers last year.

All the cornerbacks tackled pretty well.  Alterraun Verner and Jason McCourty could grow into what Cortland Finnegan already is-- a very good NFL corner.

The problem is up front, where the Titans lost several key players early in the season.  Defensive end Derrick Morgan will be back in his 2nd year.  Jason Jones proved a little light for every down duty in the middle without Tony Brown next to him, and starting ends Jason Babin, Jacob Ford, and Dave Ball are all 260 pounds or lighter.  Babin and Ball are both noted motor guys.  Ford is more athletic but doesn’t play the run as well.  New defensive coordinator Gray has promised to build a disciplined team oriented defense.

So getting stronger up front is where the Titans should go with pick 1. The quarterback slot is a luxury when the team should be built around the Chris Johnson.

As such, the Titans should pick Alabama defensive tackle/end Marcell Dareus.

Dareus gets after the passer well and spends a lot of time in the backfield. He’s a player who could move to end in some schemes, but he’s only 6’3”, and his 310 pounds make him a good sized tackle for a team that didn’t have a defensive starter over 300 lbs last season.  It’s possible the Titans could go with a big play end because as a former defensive back, Gray recognizes the idea that a pass rush helps the defense, but getting an interior rush and not asking all of your defensive backs to make 100 tackles is big too.

Dareus could have gone any from 1 to 8 and Tennessee is lucky to find him here.