The Titans will likely try a Thunder and Lightning type of offense like the Atlanta Falcons used to run.  The Thunder will be LenDale White who really stepped up last season for the Titans.  But, he’s a one trick pony as he’s a power runner between the tackles and that’s pretty much his whole game.  White played in 16 games (all starts) last season for the Titans and he carried the ball 303 times for 1,110 yards (3.7 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also caught 20 passes for 114 yards (5.7 avg).  With rookie Chris Johnson behind him this season look for White to play a little bit less in 2008.  White has now played in 29 games (16 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 364 times for 1,354 yards (3.7 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also caught 34 passes for 174 yards (5.1 avg).

The lights finally went on last season for Chris Johnson at East Carolina as he didn’t play that well in his first three seasons there.  Johnson started 13 games last season for East Carolina and he carried the ball 236 times for 1,423 yards (6.0 ypc) with 17 TD runs.  He also caught 37 passes for 528 yards (14.3 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  The Titans will use Johnson a lot in the passing game as he has home run hitting ability.  He also will handle a lot of the running on sweeps and screens due to his speed.  Johnson will get to split the playing time almost evenly with LenDale White as he doesn’t have as many limitations to his game.

Chris Henry was a complete bust for the Titans as a rookie.  The Titans took him early in the 2007 NFL Draft based on his athletic ability instead of watching game film as Henry was never that good of a player in college.  Henry played in 7 games (0 starts) with the Titans last season and he carried the ball 31 times for 119 yards (3.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 6 passes for 53 yards (8.8 avg).  If Henry gets a lot of playing time in 2008, the Titans will likely be picking high in the 2009 NFL Draft.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-

The Tennessee Titans made the NFL Playoffs last season in spite of getting downright horrible play out of the QB position.  If Vince Young doesn’t improve this season the Titans won’t get anywhere near a playoff spot.  He has a good arm and he’s one of the best running QBs in the NFL but he’s very careless with the football turning it over at a alarming rate.  He actually regressed last season and the Titans need him to just manage the game instead of throwing the ball into double coverage.  Young played in 15 games (all starts) last season for the Titans and he completed 238 of 382 passes (62.3%) for 2,546 yards with 9 TD passes and 17 interceptions (71.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 93 times for 395 yards (4.2 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  If Young produces numbers like that in 2008, the Titans will be lucky to win 8 games.   Young has now played in 30 games (28 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 422 of 739 passes (57.1%) for 4,745 yards with 21 TD passes and 30 interceptions (69.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 176 times for 947 yards (5.4 ypc) with 10 TD runs.

Kerry Collins is on the downside of his NFL career but he started the game that got the Titans into the playoffs.  He still has a strong arm but he’s not very mobile often looking like a statue in the pocket.  Collins played in 6 games (1 start) for the Titans last season and he completed 50 of 82 passes (62.3%) for 531 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 interceptions (79.9 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 3 times for -3 yards (-1.0 ypc).  Collins can probably still get the job done if something happens to Vince Young…..at least for a short period of time.   Collins has now played in 162 games (149 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 2,918 of 5,254 passes (55.5%) for 34,717 yards with 174 TD passes and 172 interceptions (73.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 326 times for 622 yards (1.9 ypc) with 9 TD runs.

Ingle Martin and Paul Thompson will battle for the #3 QB job this season.  Martin has played in 1 game in his NFL career and he didn’t attempt a pass.  He did carry the ball 2 times for -5 yards (-2.5 ypc) as he was kneeling down at the end of a Packers win.  Thompson has no regular season experience.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D

The Titans drafted Cary Williams because of his athletic ability as he was not a dominating player despite playing at Washburn & Fordham.  Williams played in 36 games (24 starts) in college and he made 94 tackles and had 7 interceptions including one that he returned for a TD.  It will be a surprise if Williams does anything more than playing on special teams in the NFL.

Stanford Keglar plays hard all the time and that’s his greatest asset on the football field.  He is 6′1″, 245 pounds and he runs a 4.69 40 which is good for a man his size.  He played in 50 games (41 starts) at Purdue and he made 250 tackles, had 1.5 sacks and made 13.5 tackles for a loss.  He’s not flashy but he projects into being a backup linebacker and special teams ace.

The Titans needed to get help for Vince Young at receiver and they waited until the 4th round to draft one.  Lavelle Hawkins is good at catching bad passes so he should do well in Tennessee as he will get more of them than good ones from the overrated Vince Young.  Hawkins is on the small side at 5′11″, 187 pounds but he runs a 4.49 40 which is pretty quick.  Hawkins played in 35 games (12 starts) at California and he caught 136 passes for 1,748 yards (12.9 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Look for Hawkins to be a #4 or #5 WR as a rookie and for him to help out on special teams but he could be much more than that down the road.