The Titans ended Jeff Fisher’s tenure as the head coach after the 2010 season.  They then signed 51-year old Mike Munchak to replace him.  Munchak spent 17 years as an assistant coach with the Titans/Oilers.  He also played 12 years at guard for the Oilers and he made it to the Pro Bowl 9 times.  He was elected into Pro Football’s Hall of Fame as a player in 2001.  The Titans were only 6-10 last year but the Titans have made a lot of changes.  I think Munchak was the right choice for the Titans as he already knows the players and I think his system will likely mirror that of Jeff Fisher.

25-year old RB Chris Johnson is one of the most electric offensive players in the NFL due to his speed and toughness.  He is sitting out of training camp in a contract dispute and the Titans can’t afford not to have him ready for Week #1 of the 2011 season, because the offense revolves around him.  Johnson played in 16 games (all starts) for the Titans last season and he carried the ball 316 times for 1,364 yards (4.3 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He also caught 44 passes for 245 yards (5.6 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Johnson played in 47 games (46 starts) in his first three years with the Titans and he has carried the ball 925 times for 4,598 yards (5.0 ypc) with 34 TD runs.  He has also caught 137 passes for 1,008 yards (7.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far in his career.  The Titans need to get Johnson into practice really soon because the longer he stays out of action, the greater chance that he will get hurt when he returns.

24-year RB Javon Ringer has been lightly used in his first two years with the Titans but that could change if Johnson stays out of camp.  Ringer played in 16 games (0 starts) for the Titans last year and he carried the ball 51 times for 239 yards (4.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 7 passes for 44 yards (6.3 avg), which were the first catches of his NFL career as he didn’t catch any as a rookie in 2009.  Ringer has now played in 23 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he has 59 carries for 287 yards (4.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Ringer was the main man in college at Michigan State, so he can handle a much heavier workload if the Titans need him to.

21-year old, 5’11″, 233 pound Jamie Harper was drafted in the 4th round out of Clemson last April.  Harper will be the Titans’ power back this year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS RBS IN 2011:   With Johnson:  A+    Without Johnson:  C-

UPDATE:  (9/3/2011) – Chris Johnson has ended his holdout after the Titans extended his contract for four years and $53.5 million bucks, with $30 million guaranteed.

35-year old Matt Hasselbeck was signed to be the starting QB for the Titans in 2011 while at the same time mentoring 23-year old rookie QB Jake Locker.  Hasselbeck played in 14 games (all starts) for the Seahawks last year and he completed 266 of 444 passes (59.9%) for 3,001 yards with 12 TD passes and 17 INTs (73.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 23 times for 60 yards (2.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs for the Seahawks last year.  Hasselbeck still has it as he led his team to a stunning win over the Saints in the playoffs when no one was giving them a chance.  Hasselbeck has now played in 170 games (131 starts) in his first 12 years in the NFL and he has completed 2,572 of 4,279 passes (60.1%) for 29,579 yards with 176 TD passes and 128 INTs (82.2 QB Rating).  Hasselbeck has also carried the ball 306 times for 1,139 yards (3.7 ypc) with 8 TD runs so far in his NFL career.  Hasselbeck has a 69-62 record (52.7%) as a starting QB during the regular season in the NFL.

23-year old first round pick Jake Locker is the Titans’ QB of the future.  He would have likely been the #1 overall pick if he came out in the 2010 draft instead of returning to school.  Therefore, the Titans think they are getting a bargain as they took him #8 overall in last April’s NFL Draft.  Locker has good mobility and a very strong throwing arm, so he has the tools to be a really good NFL QB.  The Titans are hoping to give Locker a year or maybe even two to polish off some of the rough edges of his game.  That is because he’s a gunslinger who likes to take chances which has often led to his team getting burned.  That being said, he still has a huge upside.

24-year old Rusty Smith will battle 26-year old Brett Ratliff for the #3 QB job in 2011.  Smith played in 3 games (1 start) as a rookie for the Titans last year.  He completed 20 of 40 passes (50%) for 200 yards with 0 TD passes and 4 interceptions (25.0 QB Rating) for the Titans last year.  The Titans lost his only start.

Brett Ratliff has been around the league for a while but he has yet to appear in a regular season game.  Still, he could beat out Smith with a good training camp.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS QBS IN 2011:  C+

21-year old WR Kenny Britt would likely be returning kickoffs for the Titans if the season started today.  He playe din 16 games for the Titans last season and he returned 24 kickoffs for 523 yards (21.8 avg).  The Titans would probably prefer to use Britt just on offense and that seems likely what the scenario will be in 2010.

Rookie 3rd round pick Damian Williams could be the primary kickoff returner in 2010 for the Titans.  The Titans have three WRs ahead of Williams on the depth chart but they still want to have a big role for him in 2010.  That means he will have a great chance to return kicks in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  C

There is a reason why the Titans can run at will.  Sure Vince Young and Chris Johnson are outstanding runners but they wouldn’t be nearly as good behind any other O-Line in the NFL.  LT Micheal Roos is one of the best blind side blockers in the NFL.  He protects his QB well and he wins most of his battles at the line of scrimmage.  LG Leroy Harris is also a really good athlete and he really gets off the line of scrimmage to hit moving targets.  He could also handle playing center or RT if the Titans needed him to.  Eugene Amano will be sliding over to center after playing guard the last couple of year.  Amano is a excellent run blocker as he loves to hit moving targets on the second level of the D.  RG Jake Scott is another mauler in the running game.  RT David Stewart is solid at everything.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS O-LINE in 2010:  A

52-year old head coach Jeff Fisher certainly has a slick look to him.  But he’s got far more substance than flash to his game with a headset on.  The Titans were 8-8 (50%) last season as they missed the playoffs.  But when Fisher changed QBs from Kerry Collins to Vince Young (at owner Bud Adams suggestion) the team took off.  Fisher has been the head coach of the Titans/Oilers for 16 years now and he is 136-110 (55.3%) during the regular season.  He is also 5-6 (45.5%) in the post season including a very tough loss in the Super Bowl in 1999 to the Rams.  Fisher seems to almost always get the best out of his players and I don’t see that changing much in 2010.

32-year old kicker Rob Bironas has a really big leg and that’s important for the Titans whose offense sometimes bogs down short of the goal line.  Bironas played in all 16 games for the Titans last season and he connected on 27 of 32 field goals (84.4%).  He also made all 37 of his extra points as he had 118 points last year.  Bironas has now played in 80 games in his NFL career and he has made 136 of 161 field goals (84.5%).  He has also connected on 167 of 169 extra points as he now has 575 career points. 

24-year old Ricky Schmitt comes to training camp to likely help limit Bironas’ work load.  Schmitt played in 1 game for the Niners as a rookie last season and he made 2 of 3 field goals.  He also made both of his extra points as he finished up with 8 points in his rookie year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS KICKERS in 2010:  A

The Titans don’t throw the ball a whole lot but they have decent WRs.  26-year old Nate Washington is the top guy for the Titans.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Titans last season and he caught 47 passes for 569 yards (12.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Washington has now played in 65 games (22 starts) in his 5 years in the NFL and he has caught 151 passes for 2,274 yards (15.1 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  Washington has also carried the ball 11 times for 41 yards (3.7 ypc) in his NFL career.

21-year old Kenny Britt was solid as a rookie last season and he has a nice upside.  Britt played in 16 games (6 starts) for the Titans last season in which he caught 42 passes for 701 yards (16.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He is a big target who should even be better in 2010 with a year under his belt.

29-year old Justin Gage played in 12 games (10 starts) last season for the Titans and he caught 28 passes for 383 yards (13.7 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  He has now played in 89 games (45 starts) in his 7 years in the NFL and he has caught 181 passes for 2,692 yards (14.9 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  Gage is a decent receiver.

Rookie Damian Williams, a third round pick out of USC, will have a good chance to make a mark in 2010.  He’s on the thin side at 6’1″, 197 but he’s fast and he has a nice set of hands.  He will have a excellent shot of being the #4 WR for the Titans in 2010.

24-year old Lavelle Hawkins has not played too well just yet for the Titans.  He played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Titans last year and he caught 7 passes for 110 yards (15.7 avg).  Hawkins has now played in 23 games (1 start) for the Titans in his two years with them and he has caught 14 passes for 178 yards (12.7 avg).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS WRs in 2010:  C

29-year old TE Bo Scaife is one of the best receivers on the team so look for Vince Young to look his way a little more in 2010.  Scaife played in 14 games (10 starts) for the Titans last season and he caught 45 passes for 440 yards (9.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 76 games (49 starts) in his five years in the NFL and he has caught 215 passes for 2,065 yards (9.6 avg) with 8 TD grabs. 

23-year old Jared Cook is looking to have more action in his second year with the Titans.  Cook had a outstanding pre-season for the Titans last summer but they decided not to use him much in the passing game when the games counted.  Cook played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Titans last season and he caught 9 passes for 74 yards (8.2 avg).

The Titans have recently signed 30-year old Sean Ryan and he will battle Jared Cook for the #3 TE job.  Ryan played in 10 games (8 starts) for the Chiefs last season and he caught 14 passes for 135 yards (9.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 53 games (15 starts) in his six years in the NFL and he has caught 26 passes for 240 yards (9.2 avg) with 2 TD grabs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS TEs in 2010:  C

30-year old Ahmard Hall never gets much credit but he throws a lot of good blocks for Chris Johnson.  Hall is a tad undersized at 5’11″, 235 pounds but he plays bigger.  He played in 16 games (7 starts) for the Titans last season and he carried the ball 1 time for 5 yards.  Hall also caught 12 passes for 79 yards (6.6 avg) last season.  Hall has now played in 57 games (29 starts) in his four years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 17 times for 55 yards (3.2 ypc).  He has also caught 49 passes for 415 yards (8.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS FBs in 2010:  B