A sunny July 30 practice made two this preseason for the Tennessee Titans. Let’s get to it, shall we?
The offense is clearly behind the defense
I suppose it should be expected this early in training camp to see the defense getting the better of practices, and that’s been the case through two days for the Titans. Offensive units haven’t been shut out necessarily, but very little is looking easy in the passing game – except for screen passes (and we’ll get back to that).
Completions down the field have usually beaten tight coverage, and all the quarterbacks have been routinely rushed and flustered in the pocket (more on that later, too).
Perhaps related: None of the team’s top three quarterbacks have been consistently effective. Mitch Trubisky (much like Will Levis the day before) had a rough
practice on Day 2 with the No. 2 offense, looking that of a QB who’d missed the previous practice.
As for Cam Ward, there’s been some good. Shout out to Elic Ayomanor on that. The receiver’s connection with Ward showed a couple times impressively, including one extended play where Ward rolled out and waved him into an improvised completion near the sideline and another where Ayomanor snatched a pass over Cor’Dale Flott and turned it into a TD. It's a good start to this camp for Ayomanor.
But there’s still some bad – too much of it – for Ward. He seems to struggle at times to make that short throw from second base. Like a 100 mph fastball that sailed behind Wan’Dale Robinson, hitting off his hands and being intercepted by Cedric Gray near the sideline (very nice tip grab by Gray).
Ward could be more accurate deep, too, though. He’ll flash at times, but if there’s a word I’m going to continue to search for with him, it’s consistency.
The offense’s biggest gainers, as noted, were mostly screen passes. That tells you something about the aggressive, downhill style this defense is already demonstrating for Robert Saleh.
And here’s why the defense is ahead
It has been a while since I’ve seen a Titans position group as deep and healthy as this defensive line. Here’s what I mean: The backups were out there at one point on Day 2, and you had Keldric Faulk on one edge and Femi Oladejo on the other. That’s a first-round pick and a second-round pick.
And you had Anthony Hill, another second-round pick, at linebacker behind them. Hill did flash on Day 2 with a nice pass breakup, for anyone wondering.
Faulk and Oladejo aren’t finished products by any stretch, but the point is there’s a lot more natural ability and potential on the Titans’ backup defenses than on their backups offenses. The defense also added a lot of players familiar with Saleh and his defense. Remember that when hearing about these early struggles for the offense.
“They (on offense) don’t know what’s coming when we get pads on,” said Jermaine Johnson II, one of those Saleh guys. “And we say that in the best way possible.”
As for the Titans O-Line
When Saleh was asked prior to practice about a left tackle getting beaten badly on a play by an edge rusher, I felt like I needed to check off a box on a bingo card.
Hello to the old training camp trope of worry over edge rushers beating offensive tackles in early practices. Two days without pads is too early to be overly alarmist about this Titans O-Line, especially since JC Latham is still working his way back to health (though he should be back out there soon).
But that said …
There are real concerns with this offensive line. The Titans are still searching for a starting right guard. Latham’s health issues aren’t ideal. Dan Moore Jr., while a serviceable NFL left tackle because “He’s reliable,” (Saleh’s words) can’t be a liability. They need him to be one of the more productive players on the offense.
And here’s the thing: All these O-Line concerns are going to be highlighted daily against a D-Line for the Titans that is no joke.
That matchup could get ugly. Really.
But, hey, if these offensive linemen can stand up to this defense, they’ll know they can stand up to anyone.
Today’s name to know
This past spring, I bumped into a Titans player and asked him, just in conversation, who was a player on this team that was better than everyone realized. His reply? Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson.
The Titans are looking at BCD, a former undrafted free agent from Florida, as a swing offensive tackle than can play left and right tackle in a pinch this season. I wouldn’t count him out.
One extra point
The Titans have scaled back a planned practice for Friday, making that just a walkthrough in advance of a practice Saturday that’s expected to be open to fans. There’s additional seating on the practice field this time, making it better suited for a bigger crowd in attendance.
See y’all out here.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Tennessee Titans' offense can expect a rough camp vs. this defense | Estes
