Seven takeaways from the initial lineup of 53 players and the Titans' training team

The Titans have made their cuts and are now ready with the 53 players with whom they will start the NFL 2019 season, with the 10 players who will form the training team. From 90 to 53 years old, we learned a few things about Jon Robinson, Mike Vrabel and the Titans as a franchise. Here are the seven most remarkable things I remember from this process:

1. The Titans really liked the list of players they had at camp.

Jon Robinson has not received any waiver requests – we do not know yet where he has made one – and has held nine of the ten squares of his team training with the players that he has. he had in the camp. That tells me that they felt very good with the guys that they had here this summer.

One of the cuts to the Titans team – center, Corey Levin – was claimed by the Broncos. The team traded another player – receiver Taywan Taylor – for a seventh round pick before the cutoff date. Two players will be on the list. of the list – Taylor Lewan and Jeffery Simmons – who do not currently count against the list of 53 men. All in all, this means that the Titans had 57 players in the camp who will start the season with the NFL Aligners and 9 others who will be part of a training team (maybe more if guys like Jeremy McNichols, Anthony Ratliff-Williams, Kenneth Durden and LaDarius Wiley catches somewhere).

It remains to be seen whether this confidence in their own profits will pay off, but I would say that it's usually a good sign when your GM does not feel the need to feast on the leftovers of other teams' table.

Good teams often become accustomed to rejecting more usable talents than they do during the resignation process on the day of downsizing. The Titans do not have the depth of their roster yet, like the Patriots, Rams and Eagles, but they are in better shape in shots 48-53 than they have been in a long time.

2. When Mike Vrabel speaks, we should listen.

Jeremy McNichols captured the hearts of Titan fans everywhere thanks to his strong performances in pre-season, but was eventually sidelined from the final roster, losing fourth place to the back by Dalyn Dawkins. McNichols was one of two missing from my last showing on my list of 53 players – pats my back furiously – and I'm angry at myself for not seeing the signs. Whenever Mike Vrabel was questioned about McNichols' pre-season high performance, he always downplayed them. His sound notes would go like this (paraphrasing):

Reporter: "Mike, McNichols' long run against the Eagles really started the offense early. Can you talk about what he has done in camp so far?

Vrabel: "This game was perfectly blocked. To be honest, McNichols probably got the minimum of what he should have there.

He followed these lines every time McNichols came. The head coach often conjured up special teams and explained how he needed to see something from his offensive midfielder out there he wished to turn away from the list. In my final draft, McNichols was not on my final list of 53 players. I had the feeling that Vrabel was doing everything possible to curb, but when I woke up in the morning, the article published, I disassociated myself and put it in it. Next time I'll listen when Vrabel gives a hint like this.

3. All QB carousels are not created equal.

There was a lot of talk about whether the Titans would keep three quarters on the list because of Logan Woodside's strong pre-season. The media and the fans thought that if Luke Falk could be claimed for renunciation, surely Woodside, who had better light years than Falk last year, would be taken over by a rival team.

I exchanged a little about this subject. Woodside has shown well and has the advantage of being a long-term backup, but no team really wants to use an alignment point on a third quarter.

The Titans bet on being able to get waivers at Woodside despite losing Falk last year and they were right. They will be able to continue developing their young quarterback without using a valuable position on his lineup. Woodside's journey with the Titans remains to be seen – that's exactly the case for three quarters of the team now – but having a possible relief option for the 2020 season with offensive experience is definitely a good thing.

4. The depth of the Titans' defensive line looks better than expected.

Upon entering the training camp, I think it's fair to say that the line of defense – with the exception of quadruple Pro Bowler Jurrell Casey – was one of the team's most important issues. We can not really answer this question before the start of the regular season, but things look better on the defensive front than a few months ago.

DaQuan Jones built close ties with Harold Landry during the off-season, as both players stayed in Nashville and spent a lot of time training together in the team. The results were good for both players. Landry has come to camp noticeably, with more power and more power to move quickly. Jones was selected by the coaching staff among the four winners of the off-season – joining Marcus Mariota, Matt Dickerson and David Fluellen – and presented an outstanding camp.

Brent Urban is expected to complete the starting defensive line at the technical 5 position against Casey when the Titans defend the base. Its length at 6 "-7" and 300 pounds brings a different element to the front. At the beginning of the camp, Urban felt like a disruptive force and he is very good at placing his big paws in the halls of batting or throwing at the line of scrimmage.

Behind this group, Austin Johnson made a good camp and was congratulated by Mike Vrabel for his progress. Matt Dickerson joined Jones as coaching choice for off-season rewards after accumulating 16 pounds of weight to compete in the trenches in his second season as a professional. The biggest surprise, however, was the emergence of unprepared rookie Isaiah Mack of UT-Chattanooga. At 6'-1 "and 299 pounds, he looks a bit like Jurrell Casey and a bit like Casey during the pre-season, using his lateral quickness and hands to beat blocks and play in the backfield.

Then you have the glowing reports about Mike Vrabel's recovery by Jeffery Simmons last week. Simmons has finally landed on the NFI list as planned – which means that he will be unable to train or play until the 7th week at the earliest – but it seems more and more likely that we will see the 19th pick of the 2019 draw this season, perhaps even in the beginning of week 7 or week 8. It goes without saying that a healthy Simmons would significantly strengthen the Titans' defense even if it started with a simple rotating role to bring it to the break.

Obviously, there is still a lot of "if" with this group. Yes Jones, Johnson and Dickerson can turn unwarranted reasons into regular season results. Yes Mack may be disruptive against the offensive lines of the first team, as he was against substitutes in the pre-season. Yes Casey and Simmons can fix their knee problems between two seasons. However, I think this band is in fashion right now and it's very good news for Titan defense.

5. The Titans have abandoned two choices of 2017.

One of them was a slow build. The other was very abrupt.

Taywan Taylor struggled in 2018 after a relatively promising 2017 season. At the opening of the camp in the 2019 season, no player was under the microscope more than the former Western Kentucky star. Unfortunately, the same problems that plagued him last year continued to manifest themselves in the camp and in action before the season: body capture, loosening of passes, mismanagement of the ball and inability to stay. on the same wavelength as his quarterback.

Despite some rebounding practice after this terrible first day pre-season against the Eagles, Taylor continued to fall in the depth chart. When he entered the match against the Steelers only after Darius Jennings and Kalif Raymond, it became clear that his role in the lineup could be compromised and ultimately Jon Robinson took the difficult decision to pass from one guy that he exchanged. choose in the third round only a few years ago.

Even as someone who believes that the ability to create explosive games and threaten a defense vertically is crucial to offensive success, I can not argue too much with the decision to cut the bait now. Taylor's confidence seemed to be in decline and with Adam Humphries and AJ Brown being added this off season, it was clear that it was no longer considered a part of the Titans' long-term offense. . A new start can be beneficial for all parties.

The other player the Titans gave up was much more abrupt from the outside. Corey Levin had been the relief center for the team for the past two seasons. In 2018, he started a left guard game while Quinton Spain was injured. At half-time, Ben Jones slipped to replace an ineffective Spain later in the season.

It seemed that Levin was on a trajectory that could see him in the mix to join the starting lineup this season. However, despite an open battle for the right guard for which Levin had to compete – directly or by pushing Ben Jones from one center to another – he did not arouse much interest from coaches while the team focused on Kevin Pamphile and Jamil. Douglas after Nate Davis got injured early in the camp.

Levin played pretty well in pre-season, although there were some problems with high strokes that appeared more often than you would like (at least three in the first two games of my account). The chance to take shots with the first team never materialized and Vrabel commented in front of the press that Levin was a center that had to learn to play the guard. When discussing decisions like Douglas on Levin, it's important to remember that the limited pre-season snapshots that fans can see are just a small glimpse of what the team is evaluating. Months of work on the practice grounds and in the meeting rooms probably outweigh the pre-season work by a sizeable margin. In the end, the Titans decided not to like what they saw of Levin. Instead of letting him inherit Jones' starting center position next season, they decided to continue and pay the premium to keep Jones as a pivot for the next two years.

It will be interesting to follow Levin and Taylor's career from now on. Can Taylor regain self-confidence and unleash his enormous potential with a fresh start? Will Mike Munchak turn Levin into a starting center in Denver? One thing is certain: Jon Robinson does not hesitate to cut the bait with the sting or signature that goes in the wrong direction.

6. The depth of the Titans offensive line is not extraordinary.

While the defensive line appeared to be in better shape than we thought when entering the camp, the depth of the offensive line took the opposite direction. The suspension of Taylor Lewan is the biggest part of this equation. The removal of the best player from the offensive line of any team will have a significant impact. The Titans are fortunate to have Dennis Kelly as a high-quality substitute, but it's not fair to expect him to intervene and look like the Pro Bowl tackle three times he's replacing.

It also means that instead of being part of the lineup, David Quessenberry will play the role of pivot tackler in the first four games. Quessenberry did his pre-season job well, but he also played almost exclusively with, and more importantly, against the three. His selection in the 53-man roster looked more like an indictment of what Austin Pasztor and Tyler Marz had put on tape during the camp than anything else. I suspect it will be quickly lifted when Lewan returns, unless there is an injured tackle by the fifth week.

Meanwhile, Kevin Pamphile "won" the right guard battle and is ready to start the first week against the Browns, but it's not like he ran away with the job. This place is like the weak link in the Titan lineup that we all thought we could imagine.

The good news, aside from the fact that Jack Conklin looks like Jack Conklin again, is that some help might be on the horizon. Obviously, bringing Lewan back to the 5th week will be a big deal. His presence, especially when he is next to Rodger Saffold, makes the Titans much more dangerous on the ground and in the air. We also saw rookie goaltender Nate Davis resume training today at full capacity. As Mike Vrabel said at his post-training press conference, "you can not win that time", I would not expect the old Charlotte 49er to immediately interfere in Training. However, if he manages to supplant Pamphile at some point in the season, that would be good news for his development and for the maximum performance of this offensive line.

One point to emphasize about the offensive line is that the weak points of the top five players are not unique to the Titans. Despite the addition (extremely expensive) of Laremy Tunsil, Texans always start a very bad right tackle, raw recruits at both guard posts and a medium to below average center. The Browns' offensive line that the Titans will face in the first week includes Greg Robinson on the left tackle, Eric Kush on the right and Chris Hubbard on the right tackle. Robinson is an excellent choice who finished tied with Tyler Marz as the 84th best PFF tackler in 2018. Kush is a career replacement who is best known for his love of longshoremen in the Rams' Hard Knock season. He checked twice below Josh Kline as a guard at 68th PFF. Hubbard is also a career replacement who equaled with Ereck Flowers' 56th best tackle from PFF in his first year as a full-time starter.

Having a lower than average starter – or even downright bad – somewhere in your offensive line is the norm, not the exception. Titans starting from five, even with Lewan, should be good enough to run at an average level of the league. When their left opponent comes back, he has a chance of being really good.

7. Titans have an affinity for players smaller than skill positions.

The two most surprising players in the 53-player roster are Dalyn Dawkins of 5'7 "and 183 pounds and Kalif Raymond of 5'-8" and 182 pounds. They join Darius Jennings, one of the smallest players in the lineup. The training team also includes Papi White, 5'-9 "and 163 pounds, while Cameron Batson, 5'-8", 175 pounds, remains on the IR team list.

According to mockdraftable.com, a website compiling the combined measures over the years, it appears that 3% of NFL players are 5'-9 "or less. It is therefore rare that the Titans have five of these players on their list. In the modern NFL, where teams want to position themselves in the field and try to create inconsistencies, it's possible that these under-sized guys are inefficient in the marketplace.

After all, smaller players like the Tyreek Hill of 5 "-10" and 185 pounds, Antonio Brown of 5 "-10", 185 pounds, the Odell Beckham of 5 "-11" and 198 Books, the 5 "-10", 183-pound Brandin Cooks, and the TY 5 "-10", 183-pound Hilton represents five of the top ten totals in receiving yards since 2016. I do not suggest any of the players Titans smaller than the talent to become a Tyreek Hill next obviously, but it's interesting to me that Jon Robinson seems to attract this guy more than most.