The Titans were already on the upswing last season before Mariota got injured and they still somehow finished 9-7. Then, in the offseason they shored up the defense with great pickups including Sylvester Williams, Johnathan Cyprien, and Logan Ryan. Also, they have the 5th pick in the upcoming draft thanks to the Rams and their own pick at 18th. So, it's not hard to fathom that with a healthy Mariota and a great draft, the Titans could take the divisional crown while the Texans are still looking for their starting QB.
I don't think we can assume that Mariota won't get broken again and also a lot of his numbers were due to receivers getting YAC, I'm not ready to start considering him all that good. We'll see what happens but in the end, IMO the Titans will still be the Titans.
Yeah but every year Texans fans pick a random AFC South team and hype them up to overtake the Texans. 2 years ago it was "Now that Andrew Luck is back healthy, the Colts are going to dominate the division", then last year it was the ridiculous hyping of the Jags to overtake the division. I suppose it's only fair that the Titans be the team that fans overhype going into this season.
To be fair, the Titans finished tied with the Texans last year or 1 win back if you don't count the meaningless last game. It's not a crazy thing to say that they could compete this year. I agree though that it's not super motivated. I'm not aware of moves they've made that would make them a ton better.
I'm of the belief that the Titans will be a good team this year. I wasn't one of those Texans fans that thought the Jaguars were going to be a good team last year. I thought they had the pieces in place to become a good team 2-3 years down the road. Obviously with the way Bortles played this season that looks far less likely now. I look at the Titans and I see a lesser version of last year's Raiders. I don't think the Titans will go on to be one of the best few teams in the NFL like the Raiders did last year, but the Raiders took a big step forward from '15 to '16 and I expect the Titans to do the same. Mariota is one of the better young QB's in the league and he should keep getting better. They have a great RB duo in Murray and Henry. They will likely add a weapon to their receiving corps (O.J. Howard, Corey Davis or Mike Williams). Each one of those guys would provide the Titans with a big bodied receiver that can go up and high point the ball and be a legit red zone threat. That's something the Titans haven't had since Kenny Britt's breakout seasons several years ago. They will likely be able to address their defense with one of the elite DB's with their #5 pick in the first round. Once again, I'm not saying that I expect the Titans to win the division, but I absolutely expect it to be a close race between the Texans and the Titans. And if Savage proves to not be the answer at QB then I fully expect Tennessee to win the division.
That's fair, but the Texans should be a good deal better this season with the return of Watt. It says something when you can be missing the best defensive player in the league and still easily win the division. I also think that teams will catch up to Mariota given that a lot of what he did was short passes with a ton of yac. I don't see him as a top tier type QB and I think that's what a lot of the Titans hype will be built on. I think they'll compete, but I just think the Texans should be able to simply outclass them due to superior talent.
Two 1st round draft picks don't hurt. A draft with Malik Hooker (or Jamal Adams) and OJ Howard (or Mike Williams) would make them better.
