The Tennessee Titans are apparently a team the Houston Texans should not overlook.
Heading into the 2024 season, the AFC South hierarchy is well-defined. The Houston Texans are clearly the team to beat, having clinched the divisional title in 2023. Their strong offseason improvements have bolstered an already formidable roster, setting them up as favorites to repeat their success and make a deeper playoff run.
Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars showed early promise in the 2023 season but faltered later on, allowing the Texans to surpass them in the standings. Despite maintaining most of their core players for another season, they’ve made efforts to enhance their team to prevent a recurrence of their late-season struggles.
The Indianapolis Colts were also in the hunt for the AFC South in 2023, but a change at quarterback has many wondering if they can repeat that success. Anthony Richardson may have started for the team as a rookie, but he got injured and replaced by future Pro Bowler Gardner Minshew. He did a great job leading them to a winning record. He’s gone now, and Richardson has to prove he can repeat the success that Minshew had with relatively the same team.
Then there’s the Tennessee Titans, a team that no one expects to compete for the AFC South, but a team that Pro Football Focus is suggesting they not be overlooked. The team lost Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry in the offseason while firing their head coach Mike Vrabel. They replaced Tannehill with second-year quarterback Will Levis. They replaced Henry with Tony Pollard, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys. Then they replaced Vrabel with Brian Callahan. Essentially three unknown commodities in their new roles.
The Titans did add Calvin Ridley, who had 1,000 yards with the Jags in 2023, but little else of note. Yet, the folks at PFF still think they’re a team to look at. The working theory from the website is that, while not a playoff contender, they’re expected to be better than fifth-worst in the league. That’s a tall order as Callahan is in his first year as a head coach anywhere. A jump that DeMeco Ryans made look all too easy.
Callahan will have his very famous father Bill Callahan to help him out. The elder Callahan is known for his offensive aptitude, as well as his ability to coach up offensive lines. Yet, the team was a dumpster fire last year and not much has changed with the talent added. A turnaround is possible, just not likely at this stage in the game.
You could say they’re not the fifth-worst team in the NFL, but what’s the difference of a spot or two? The Titans are still likely to be a bad team this season.
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