Titans to start mammoth free agent at LDE?

Jim Wyatt made a bold prediction about the Titans defensive line on Thursday:

"Don't be surprised when …

… Ropati Pitoitua starts at defensive end in Week 1 at Pittsburgh. Despite the return of veteran ends Kamerion Wimbley and Derrick Morgan, the Titans plan to rotate those two and put more beef on the other side on early downs. Rotating Wimbley and Morgan could help them be more productive in addition to being fresher. The 6-foot-8, 315-pound Pitoitua worked with the first team throughout the offseason."

That would be a shocking turn of events in my opinion. Pitoitua doesn't have the quickness to rush the passer, but he is a great matchup against right tackles in the NFL. His sheer volume alone makes him tough to move in the running game, which is the number one job of the right tackle in most schemes.

My issue with this is moving Derrick Morgan to RDE. Going against right tackles Morgan was able to beat the lineman off the snap and threaten the tackle with both his quickness and speed, my concern is can he do that with the physical specimen that play left tackle?

Luckily for the Titans and Derrick Morgan the Steelers starting left tackle won't be tough to contend with, and it will give Morgan a nice warmup for true NFL LTs like Duane Brown of the Texans.

This move definitely shows that the Titans are determined to stop the run in 2013 and they aren't afraid to sacrifice some pressure on the quarterback to do so.