To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.
Sun Tzu
What this quote means is that you have to beat the best to be considered the best. Jeff Fisher has done that and is the best coach in the division by a sizable margin; he is a top-five NFL coach. He is the rock of that organization, much like Gene Smith is on his way to becoming in Jacksonville. A successful general (Fisher) garners trust from his King (the owner).
First of all, let's banish the idea that Chris Johnson is going to have a protracted holdout, he's not. Running back is not a weakness on this team, and LenDale White is easily replaceable. In fact, I expect one of their recently acquired backs to fill his role easily this season.
That being said, the Titans are not unstoppable and have a few glaring holes on their squad that must be assessed and targeted.
The Secondary - Last season the Titans ranked 28th in total defense, and 31st in the league in pass defense. Their pass rush wasn't as strong last season which led to the exploitation of the secondary, similar to what we saw here in Jacksonville. The Titans focused on the safety and cornerback positions in the draft, using 4th and 5th-round picks on cornerbacks Alterraun Verner from UCLA, and Robert Johnson from Utah.
They followed by using a 6th rounder to draft Myron Rolle, FSU's Rhode Scholar who runs a 4.7 40-yard-dash on a good day. Not enough speed in my opinion, but he was only a 6th rounder. The Titans will need these three players to develop quickly to add depth and competition at the corner and safety spots.
The Defensive Line - The interior of the Titans line got a boost when Tony Brown signed a long-term contract to stay with the team this offseason. Kyle Vanden Bosch is no longer with the organization and is a tough player to replace, however, the team arguably struck gold when Derrick Morgan fell into their laps. He is the most NFL ready defensive end in the draft and although his ceiling isn't nearly as high as a guy like Jason Pierre-Paul, he's leaps and bounds ahead of him technically.
The Titans seemed to have focused on defense much the way the Jaguars did this offseason. We'll see if they solved their issues and continue rebuilding. They have had what appears to be a very solid offseason, so it will be interesting to see how Jeff Fisher is able to utilize his new players.
The Quarterback - I'm sorry, but when Vince Young is your QB, that's a weakness. He's not Michael Vick in his prime, and he never will be. He's entering the last year of his original contract and has thrown more INT's than TD's in his career. Yet, according to him, he's going to the Hall of Fame... "Let you tell it Willis!"
Yes, Young can run around and make plays with his feet, but he's not a great decision making QB. He has one of the ugliest throwing motions I've seen, and although it has slightly improved over time, he's not consistent and will make technical errors more often than he should. He's below average in the passing game, and if the Titans didn't have Chris Johnson to keep defenses focused on the run, then Vince would be an anemic passer.
Sun Tzu would say we have to attack Vince, and attack him decisively, as he's clearly the most glaring weakness of the enemy's army.
-Collin Streetman