FanPost

The Offensive Line (#5 in Series Rebuilding the Titans)

I believe that outside of the QB position, no group on a team plays a more significant impact on a team's won/loss record than the offensive line. The Titans offensive tackle position was decimated by injuries. In turn, all 3 QBs sustained injuries while in the 'pocket' playing behind them.

Unweighted the offensive line was the worst ranked group on the Titans in 2014. That sounds bad. Very bad. But the news here is more mixed than that suggests. In fact, I am going to make an argument that we are one player away from being a very good offensive line.

Here are the main fan themes relative to this line:

  • · We wasted a first on Taylor Lewan when we already had Michael Roos.
  • · We reached for a Guard in Chance Warmack in the first and he has been a complete bust.
  • · We overpaid for a Guard in free agency in Andy Levitre and he has been a disaster.
  • · Brian Schwenke has been ok, but has been weighted down by Warmack and Levitre.
  • · Michael Oher was the worst signing in Webster’s long list of free agent signings.
  • Let’s look a little deeper.

Pro Football Focus scored the Titans the third worst pass protection team in the NFL with a -61.6 score. Only the Dolphins and Bucs were worse. I think Jake, Charlie and Zack would all agree that the blocking was disappointing. The line was significantly better run blocking. PFF has the Titans in the 16 spot at -5.6, just behind the Colts and ahead of the Packers, two teams headed to the playoffs. Balance this bit of good news with the realization that the offensive line scored next to last in penalties against with a -15.7. Thanks Tampa for setting the lower mark at -22.3. Notice the recurring theme … Tampa and Tennessee neck and neck for the worst of the worst across virtually every position group.

Crazy thing? Tampa was the media darling to win the NFC South before the season.

In short, shit happens.

But here is the thing. Much of the ‘fan speak’ has proven to be mistaken.

The Oline has three very positive occurances in the second half of the year, four if you are willing to squint your eyes and imagine.

· Taylor Lewan proved to be the best LT taken in the last draft. LT is one of three premium positions on a team: QB, rush end/linebacker, and LT. The Titans have their guy for the next 10 years and I can prove it with numbers.

· Chance Warmack had the light come on in the second half of the season. His grade of 12.1 over the final 8 weeks ranked him the #7 Guard in the NFL. He was ranked the 5th best run blocker during that period. He slipped to 26 in pass protection, but still scored positively over that period with a +1.7. Chance also has proven to be durable in his first two seasons playing virtually every snap. He too could be a fixture on this line for the next 8 seasons.

· Andy Levitre has underperformed expectations. Knee injury. Appendicitis. System change. Lots of issues and in no way reconcilable to his contract. But Andy finished the season in the green the last three weeks. Over the final 8 weeks he graded positively, albeit slightly, at a +.2. That ranked 38th amongst all Guards. He too was better in the running game, finishing +1.5 over 8 games, 36th in the league. Pass blocking continued to dog him, with a -1.8. He balanced that by committing fewer penalties. None of this is what was expected from him when Webster signed him. We expected Pro Bowl. But I think he is finally recovering from injuries and health issues. I believe he, Chance and Taylor can form the power nucleus that Munch envisioned.

· Injuries at OT were ridiculous. Relying on street free agents wasn’t going to work. Byron Stingily got his first extended look at playing time because of the injuries to Roos, Lewan and Oher. He wasn’t good. But statistically, he was certainly equal to Oher at a far lesser cost. He might be worth a re-signing to continue in his role as back-up swing tackle.

· Chris Spencer also got significant exposure at C when Schwenke went down. He wasn’t Travis Frederick (the much laughed at Cowboy first round pick who was the #1 ranked C in the NFL (2x better rated then #2 guy), but he was at least serviceable as a spare part for the injured Schwenke.

· Michael Roos. I would be remiss not to say that he once again had a good start to his season. He played 5 games and rated +4.6. He has been a very good player on this team for nearly a decade. Injuries have likely ended his career. Just want to say thanks to him for being the kind of a player that makes it easy to be a fan.

O-LINE RANKINGS/SPLITS

Michael Roos +4.6, 30% of total snaps

1st 5 games -+4.6 300 snaps

2nd 8 games 0

Andy Levitre -4.8, 100%

1st 8 games: -6.0, 499 snaps

2nd 8 games; +1.2, 489 snaps

Brian Schwenke -13.7, 67% of total snaps

1st 8 games: -8.9, 499 snaps

2nd 3 games: -4.8, 165 snaps

Chance Warmack +5.6, 100% snaps

1st 8 games: -8 , 499 snaps

2nd 8 games: +13.6, 487 snaps

Michael Oher -20.2, 68% snaps

1st 8 games: -20.6, 499 snaps

2nd 3 games: +.4, 150 snaps

Taylor Lewan +2.2, 36%

1st 8 games: +6.1, 209 snaps

2nd 3 games: -3.9, 150 snaps

Chris Spencer: -6.5, 33% of snaps

1st 8 games: -2.4, 5 snaps

2nd 6 games: -4.1, 325 snaps

Byron Stingily -6.4, 25% of snaps

1st 8 games: .5, 1 snap

2nd 7 games: -6.4, 247 snaps

Will Svitek -11.8%, 19%

1st 8 games: DNP

2nd 3 games: -11.8, 190 snaps

Jamon Meredith: -14.4, 20%

1st 8 games: DNP

2nd 3 games: -14.4, 197 snaps

Torrin Jones, -2, 4%

1st 8 games: DNP

2nd 1 game: -2, 43 snaps

CONTRACT SITUATION

Levitre, Oher, Lewan are on the books through 2017 season.

Warmack and Schwenke through 2016.

All others are unrestricted free agents this offseason.

The first hard decision is on Michael Oher. His contract had a team friendly out clause at the end of this season. His play in the first 8 weeks of the season was abysmal. He did score positively in two of the three games he played in during second half of the season. Moreover, the play of Meredith, Svitek and Smith was a great reminder that things could be much worse.

But no one in their right mind sets the bar at Jamon Meredith level. At minimum, the bar is a healthy David Stewart.

The second and third contract decisions are on Spencer and Stingily. Neither guy were great in relief of Schwenke and Oher. Neither guy is likely to command significant attention in free agency. At best, these guys are serviceable back-ups based off of their 2014 performances.

Which is in part why I think the Levitre discussion (fan favored cut) is a complete non-starter. If Andy plays as he did in the final 3 games of the season, he will be more than adequate starting next to Taylor Lewan.

My Call

The team is likely to carry 8 or 9 offensive lineman on the opening day roster. Lewan, Warmack, Schwenke and Levitre are locks to return, though I would be disappointed if the team doesn’t bring in another Center to compete with Schwenke for the starting spot.

I don’t see Oher returning, and I question if Stingily or Spencer do as well.

Titans could be looking for as many as five offensive lineman including a new starting RT, a new starting C, and new backups at swing guard and swing tackle. I anticipate a very active free agency market at offensive line, and potentially one or two draft choices.

To me, RT is one of the team's three most significant needs heading into this offseason.