Silverman: Titans Appear Ready To Take Next Step Up Ladder

By Steve Silverman
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The Tennessee Titans just may be the NFL's breakout team in 2017, and they just may be the team to beat in the AFC South.

They tied the Houston Texans last season for the division title, but lost the tiebreaker and missed the postseason. Now the signing of wide receiver Eric Decker gives quarterback Marcus Mariota one more game-changing weapon. Decker, as Jets fans know, can make athletic, circus catches that are often the difference between keeping a drive alive or settling for a field goal.

Adding running back DeMarco Murray was a significant move last year for the Titans, and the combination of Decker and rookie wideout Corey Davis is another step up for this team. Davis may be the best of this year's first-year wideouts, and Mariota should be able to take advantage.

The Titans are in the NFL's least impressive division. The Texans may finally have their quarterback of the future in Deshaun Watson, but it may take a year or two before he is comfortable in the NFL. The Colts are searching for more players to complement Andrew Luck. The quarterback has taken severe physical abuse during his tenure in Indianapolis, and he may be a long way from full health this year.

The Titans, meanwhile, have an aggressive coach in Mike Mularkey who developed a sharp partnership with Mariota last year. As they continue to grow together, the Titans can emerge as a playoff team that has a chance to play in the AFC championship game.

But if that's going to happen, they must find a way to beat the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders were clearly the No. 2 team in the AFC for the large majority of the 2016 season, but they fell apart when quarterback Derek Carr broke his ankle late in the year.

Carr should be able to make a full recovery, and the Raiders have brought in a hard-nosed running back in Marshawn Lynch to take over for Latavius Murray. While Murray had speed, power and agility, he lacked consistency. Lynch is back in the NFL after a year of retirement following a brilliant career with the Seahawks.

Oakland's passing game was dominant for much of the season, and Carr has a couple of brilliant weapons in Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper, and new tight end Jared Cook is going to be a major addition on third-down plays.

The Raiders also have a top-three defensive player in Khalil Mack, who can come around the corner with a head of steam and a full dose of nastiness. Mack may be the most intimidating defensive player in the league.

The Raiders, however, are lame ducks in Oakland. They will be moving to Las Vegas eventually, and their long-supportive home fans may back away a bit in 2017. That could come into play later in the season when the Raiders need to win a key home game against the Broncos, Giants or Raiders, and they find that the support is no longer there.

Across the bay, the 49ers are a completely new-look team with Kyle Shanahan at head coach and John Lynch at general manager.

The 49ers don't have the talent on their roster to contend for a playoff spot, but the new blood in the regime must wash out the stench within the organization that has been in existence since Jim Harbaugh was sent packing after the 2014 season.

The Niners have undergone big changes with the addition of quarterback Brian Hoyer and wideout Pierre Garcon on offense and top draft picks Solomon Thomas and Reuben Foster on defense. The Niners may suddenly become quite assertive if those two rookies work out for first-year defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.

Meanwhile, the Giants took a huge step up the ladder last year as they beat the Cowboys twice and made the playoffs under first-year head coach Ben McAdoo.

The defense made a 180-degree turnaround in 2016 thanks to the performance of free-agent signees Damon Harrison, Olivier Vernon and Janoris Jenkins, along with the huge step up taken by safety Landon Collins.

This year, it's the offense that must turn things around. The biggest questions surround the receiving crew, where Odell Beckham Jr. may be as talented as any pass catcher in the league, but you have to wonder if he has any respect for McAdoo.

Bringing in Brandon Marshall is a huge roll of the dice. He can certainly use his size and strength to overpower defensive backs, but he is a locker room diva who may or may not be a distraction. Marshall usually behaves well in his first year with a team before tearing a team apart in Year 2 and beyond.

McAdoo proved far superior to Tom Coughlin in game management last year –how many games did the Giants blow in 2015 because of Coughlin's gaffes? – but he is going to have to channel some of Coughlin's toughness if he is going to keep Beckham and Marshall in line.

The second act is often far more difficult to sustain, and McAdoo is about to find that out with training camp a little more than one month away.

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