Free agency priorities

Quarterback

Jake Locker isn’t NFL ready, especially if this lockout significantly cuts into rookie practice time. They’ll probably resign Kerry Collins or a similar veteran to at least give Locker some competition. 

Wide Receiver

There’s a reason they signed Randy Moss. They were desperate for another receiver opposite Kenny Britt, who has since been arrested. Nate Washington belongs in the slot. They won’t resign Moss, but they’ll add some veteran receiver. 

Center

They struggled at center without Kevin Mawae last year and didn’t find Mawae’s replacement through the draft. They’ll look at free agent centers. 

Guard 

Their hole at left guard is as big as their hole at center.

Draft Needs 

Quarterback

Vince Young is as good as gone, so unless the Titans plan on going into 2011 with a 38 year old Kerry Collins and a terrible Rusty Smith, they’ll address this position in the offseason. Jeff Fisher’s in the last year of his contract so his job depends on how the Titans fare in 2011. He’ll almost certainly try to add a veteran (Donovan McNabb?) rather than risking his job on a rookie.

Drafted Jake Locker (#8) 

Defensive End

Jason Babin is a free agent and will be looking for an expensive longterm deal after a breakout year in 2010. It’s simply not in the Titans’ nature to give big, expensive longterm deals to 30+ year old players. Besides Babin’s 12.5 sacks, this team only had 27.5 sacks last year and no one other than Babin and nickel rusher Dave Ball had more than 3.5 sacks.

Drafted Karl Klug (#142) 

Defensive Tackle

The Titans have been looking for Albert Haynesworth’s replacement since Haynesworth left. They will be the front runners to land Haynesworth this offseason if the Redskins trade/release him. If they don’t get him, they could address this position through the draft.

Drafted Jurrell Casey (#77), Zach Clayton (#212) 

Wide Receiver

Randy Moss is probably on a missing person’s list somewhere, but the fact that they even took a risk bringing him in shows how much they need receiving help across from Kenny Britt. Nate Washington was their #2 receiver last year, but he’s better off in the slot.

Outside Linebacker

The Titans could actually upgrade all 3 linebacker positions in the offseason, but the biggest need is at outside linebacker. Gerald McRath shouldn’t be starting.

Drafted Akeem Ayers (#37), Drafted Colin McCarthy (#109)

Middle Linebacker

Stephen Tulloch could be gone as a free agent. 

Guard

A big part of the reason why Chris Johnson struggled on the ground this year was that his interior blocking wasn’t what it was in 2009.

Drafted Byron Stingily (#175) 

Center

Kevin Mawae retired after last season and this season showed that his replacement is not on the roster.

Cornerback

Alterraun Verner had a decent rookie year, but they need depth behind him and Cortland Finnegan.

Safety

Chris Hope is a fairly marginal player.

Drafted Tommie Campbell (#251) 

() FA Rank 

QB Kerry Collins

FB Ahmard Hall

WR Randy Moss

TE Bo Scaife

OT Mike Otto

G LeRoy Harris

DT Marques Douglas

DE Jason Babin (#35) 

He had 12.5 sacks this season, but his previous career high was 5 and he’s 31 in May. Giving longterm deals to 30+ year old defensive ends after one year of success is normally a bad idea.

DE Dave Ball

DE Jacob Ford 

OLB David Thornton

OLB Tim Shaw

OLB Colin Allred 

MLB Stephen Tulloch (#20)

Tulloch broke out in 2009 and has 280 tackles in the last 2 tackles. He was 2^nd in the league with 159 this year. He struggles in coverage occasionally, but I’m nitpicking.

S Donnie Nickey

P Brett Kern- resigned 4 years 5.2 million 

Offseason moves:

Resigned Brett Kern

Draft

WR Joe Adams (Arkansas)

S Mark Barron (Alabama)

DT Michael Brockers (LSU)

OLB Zach Brown (North Carolina)

DT Josh Chapman (Alabama)

DT Fletcher Cox (Mississippi State)

OLB Lavonte David (Nebraska)

WR Michael Floyd (Notre Dame)

DE Tim Fugger (Vanderbilt)

G Gino Gradkowski (Delaware)

CB Stephon Gilmore (Tennessee)

CB Chris Greenwood (Albion)

CB Casey Hayward (Vanderbilt)

MLB Dont’a Hightower (Alabama)

WR Stephen Hill (Georgia Tech)

DE Melvin Ingram (South Carolina)

OLB Bruce Irvin (West Virginia)

WR Alshon Jeffery (South Carolina)

WR A.J. Jenkins (Illinois)

MLB Mychal Kendricks (Tennessee)

CB Dre Kirkpatrick (Alabama)

C Peter Konz (Wisconsin)

MLB Luke Kuechly (Boston College)

DT Mike Martin (Michigan)

DE Shea McClellin (Boise State)

DE Whitney Mercilus (Illinois)

DE Ernest Owusu (California)

S Sean Richardson (Vanderbilt)

DT Devon Still (Penn State)

DE Courtney Upshaw (Alabama)

OLB Bobby Wagner (Utah State)

WR Kendall Wright (Baylor)

2010 Record: 6-10

Draft Position: 8

2010 Season Recap: Click Here

Offseason Needs: Click Here

Free Agents/Team Transactions: Click Here

Draft Grades: Click Here

Key Offseason Moves: None

Trade for Denver: I’m a huge Tebow fan, but I don’t disagree with anything the Broncos have done so far. Unless you have a proven franchise quarterback (Tebow not quite there), Peyton Manning was worth the risk. Then, once you have Manning, you have to trade Tebow. Not only is he too expensive to be a backup, his presence on the bench would just be an unnecessary distraction for the team. The Broncos can find a capable backup through free agency or on the 2^nd day of the draft. Good for the Broncos for at least getting something back for Tebow (4^th and a 6^th rounder).

Grade: A 

Trade for New York Jets: Mark Sanchez won 4 playoff games in his first 2 years as a starter with a great supporting cast, but with a weaker supporting cast in 2011, he regressed and showed his true colors, as the Jets went 8-8 and missed the playoffs. Surprisingly, Sanchez actually had career highs across the board in terms of his stats, so there’s still some hope for them, but if he continues to prove he’s not an elite quarterback, it definitely helps to have a backup like Tebow.

Tebow took a worse supporting cast to the playoffs last season (albeit with the same 8 wins that the Jets had) and beat Sanchez head to head (albeit in Denver with the Jets on short rest). He did this all starting out in a 1-4 hole and I think he is the superior quarterback and better leader. He won’t be the week 1 starter, but he wasn’t last season.

I think the situation is very similar to the one he was in last season in Denver. He’s not great in practice, so he’ll lose the starting job to a mediocre incumbent. However, like last year, after a rough start, the Jets will cave to fan pressure and put Tebow in as the starter and he’ll prove he should have been the guy from the start, reenergize the fan base and the locker room and help the Jets sneak into the playoffs as a wild card in a weak AFC. I think he’s the long term solution and if he isn’t, whatever it’s just a 4^th and a 6^th rounder and it’s not like Sanchez really is either.

PS: If the Tebow led Jets beat the Manning led Broncos as touchdown-plus dogs in Denver in the first round of the playoffs, Twitter will literally explode.

PPS: How slapped in the face would you feel if you were Jacksonville? You’re Tebow’s hometown, but you’re so dysfunctional that Tebow would rather compete with a QB who just signed a 40 million dollar extension than play for you. 

Grade: A

The Jacksonville Jaguars football franchise is in a pretty poor state financially, so much so that in a few years, the team, as we know it, might not even exist. Despite the fact that they were 7-9 last year, and looking like a playoff team until about week 13, they sold out a grand total of 1 home game last year. The fans didn’t even care enough that 7 games were blacked out to actually come out and support the team A lot of the blame has been placed on the fans, for not coming out to support the team, but there is also the excuse out there that, in a recession, a relatively small town like Jacksonville, Florida is going to have trouble having enough money to show up and support their team, especially with 2 other in state teams. While that is somewhat true, there is one thing that can get the citizens of Jacksonville to spend their money. And his name is Tim Tebow.

This is not an article about what I think of Tebow as a football player. If you want that, click here instead. This is not an article about what I think of Tebow as a person. If you want that, click here instead. This is purely what I think of Tebow as someone who can sell tickets. Tebow is a very polarizing figure. Depending on who you ask, he’s either amazing or awful. However, despite that, one fact is true, the city of Jacksonville loves him.

Tim Tebow was back in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida this weekend and it was pretty noticeable. He was doing an autograph signing at a local mall, selling his autograph for $160 dollars to benefit his charity (yeah, he has his own charity, in case you didn’t notice, he’s a bit of an overachiever). He was scheduled to arrive at 1 PM. The line started forming at 6:30 AM. He filled the mall and sold roughly 1500 autographs, raising (roughly) an amazing 240,000 dollars. 1500 people in Jacksonville were willing to line up early in the morning and pay 160 dollars for Tim Tebow’s signature on a piece of paper. Imagine how many people will pay 50-60 dollars for a ticket to see him throw footballs for the hometown.

He’s a borderline cult figure in town, having grown up in town, and having become a star down the road 75 miles in Gainesville as a Florida Gator. The Jacksonville Jaguars would be wise to draft him, in fact, they might not exist in a few years if they don’t. Tebow is a project, but even if he comes in and does decent for 5 years, winning 6-8 games per year, he’ll still make the franchise a ton of money. I don’t care how they do it, though it might be smart to trade down and not use the 10^th pick on him (not because he’s not a good quarterback, but because it’s unnecessary to take him that early), they need to get Tebow somehow in this draft. 

Quarterback

Florida

6-3 236

40 time: 4.72

Draft board overall prospect rank: #12

Draft board quarterback rank: #3

Overall rating: 88*

 3/17/10: He didn’t look great in terms of throwing delivery at his Pro Day, but he certainly, mechanically looked a ton better than he did in the Senior Bowl and all last season. In fact, the work he has made on his throw is a huge testament to his amazing work ethic and love of the sport. He’s still a project and far from a finished project, but he has good upside and I think he has the work ethic to fulfill it. I don’t see why some places regard him as less than a 2^nd round prospect.

1/30/10: Contrary to what the media is saying, Tebow did not struggle in the Senior Bowl, in fact, his Senior Bowl was painfully neutral. I say painfully because I wanted him to either show me he’s not a true quarterback or that he is, but he did neither. He didn’t make a ton of tough throws, although he threw one impressive curl, and he completed 8 (should have been 9 if it weren’t for an easy drop) out of his 12 throws, but he was operating with Miami’s playbook which is one of the most college esque playbooks in the NFL. Basically, he was playing with the same Florida playbook he was comfortable and we didn’t get to see him be challenged by a pro style offense. So, basically, I learned nothing about Tebow in his Senior Bowl. 

1/16/10: Showed in the Sugar Bowl his ability to throw the football and step up in big games by throwing more touchdowns than incompletions, but his mechanics are still poor. However, I don’t believe he has a single mechanical issue that can’t be fixed at the next level and he’s an extremely hard worker. His intangibles are off the chart. Right now the #10 pick is his to lose, based off of the comments Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver made about him earlier this season, so he’ll need to step it up once again in the Senior Bowl.

12/12/09: Alabama exposed his weaknesses, but this is a hell of a tough player who can play quarterback at the next level, though he’ll do it rather unconventionally and won’t fit all offenses.

Update (11/2/09): I love to watch him play, but I fear that his ugly release will cancel out his heart and hustle at the next level.

7/2/09: Many people don’t like Tim Tebow as an NFL quarterback prospect. Do not count me as one of those people. Yes, he plays in an unconventional system and has an unconventional skill set, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Look at Ben Roethlisberger. He came into the league with very little experience playing from under center and in the pocket, and it didn’t matter, because that’s not the type of player he is. Both Tebow and Roethlisberger move around in the pocket in the backfield, roll out of the pocket, move away from defenders, break tackles, and extend the play, sometimes even with a long run. Both Big Ben and Tebow are great leaders who seemingly can will their teams to victory at times. Many people will mistake Tebow for a great quarterback. He’s not and neither is Roethlisberger. Both are great leaders from the quarterback position, that make smart decisions, make everyone better, and have all those intangibles, like toughness and that uncanny knack to get people to follow them. His arm is a little weaker than Roethlisberger, but its actually stronger than most scouts think. Many people don’t like Tim Tebow as an NFL quarterback prospect. But that’s just how he likes it. No one has ever really believed in him and he plays that way on the football field, with a chip on his shoulder. He’ll be a great addition to any team, whether as a quarterback, running back, wildcat, but he’ll have the most value as a quarterback. And if he’s lucky he’ll get a perfect situation, a good team that lacks an offensive leader, such as Minnesota, and he can be the one that will take that team to the places it wants to go.

NFL Comparison: Ben Roethlisberger

*For a breakdown of what this means, click here

Jennings is a system specific player who doesn’t have a whole lot of value outside of the Bears’ scheme, but 4.15 million over 2 years for a solid starting cornerback? That’s a very good deal. Jennings ranked 17^th on ProFootballFocus last season and was one of two players to play more than 75% of their team’s snaps and not allow a touchdown (Lardarius Webb).

Grade: A

Quarterback 

Western Michigan

6-4 229

40 time: 4.94

Draft board overall prospect rank: #241

Draft board quarterback rank: #18

Overall rating: 49*

            7/23/09: Tim Hiller is a smart quarterback who definitely has a future in the NFL. He’s not the type of guy who is going to help a team right away, but he’s definitely worth a 3^rd round flier. He is tall, smart, with experience in a pro style offense and has great touch. He doesn’t have the strongest arm and can be a bit erratic in games where he is counted on to make long throws, but his good short to medium range throw accuracy allows him to be a solid game manager. He has good leadership and has those intangibles that you want in a quarterback. His footwork needs work and he’s not the most mobile of quarterbacks. He isn’t going to out run the rush, but does a good job of reading blitzes and seems to know exactly when to throw away the ball. Put up great production last season as a 4^thyear junior, though he didn’t have the toughest of competition in the underrated, but still not top tier MAC. He’s going to be 23 by draft day 2010, after finishing college as a 5^th year senior, which shows he has the experience, but does not have a ton of upside. He’s likely a career backup, but a very good backup, who can step in and lead a team if needed.

NFL Comparison: Derek Anderson

*For a breakdown of what this means, click here