In the most Bruce Buffer voice ever … IT’S TIME! Football season is back (Nobody really counts the Hall Of Fame Game, right?)! This can only mean one thing: We have a new sport to bet on that isn’t baseball for the first time in a couple of months. There are 11 games on the schedule for tonight, including the Tennessee Titans traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles. Let’s dive deeper into that one.
Offseasons
Let’s just take a quick look at what each team did in free agency and the draft to get a better feel of who these teams are in 2019.
The Titans made some interesting moves in free agency. The headlining move would be trading for QB Ryan Tannehill from the Dolphins for two mid-round picks. Tannehill was then signed to a one-year deal worth $1.875 million, making him the 48th-highest-paid QB in the league. Tannehill threw 17 touchdowns in 11 games last year and heads into 2019 as Marcus Mariota’s backup. The Titans also signed WR Adam Humphries from Tampa Bay, coming off a season where he had 800 yards and five touchdowns. Also moving to Tennessee will be DE Cameron Wake, OL Roger Saffold, and S Kenny Vaccaro, among others.
The Titans drafted defensive players with four of their six picks, but the best pick might be second-round WR A.J. Brown out of Ole Miss. They selected Jeffrey Simmons in the first round.
For the Eagles, they were fairly quiet in free agency and were more focused on signing their own guys. While they did lose the likes of Nick Foles, Golden Tate, and Jordan Hicks, they re-signed big pieces like Jason Peters, Ron Darby, and Brandon Graham. Their biggest splash came on Malik Jackson, who signed in Philly for three years and $30 million. They also traded a sixth-round pick next year for RB Jordan Howard.
The Eagles’ draft is what stole the show. They drafted OT Andre Dillard in the first round for Carson Wentz protection, and then gave Wentz some weapons in the second round. They took Penn State RB Miles Sanders with the 53rd pick and Stanford WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside with the 57th pick.
Training Camp
The most interesting thing about the Titans, for me, is their offense. They have had the same five guys taking first-team reps the last couple days, although Titans reporters aren’t ready to call the RG battle just yet. Coach Mike Vrabel has said multiple times that Mariota is the starter, but it will be interesting to see how long of a leash he has with Tannehill looming. Derrick Henry isn’t going to play Thursday due to injury, but he’s heading into his second season as the feature back. 2018 was a complete success with over 1,000 yards and 12 TDs for Henry. The Titans wide receiver group is very good. Corey Davis, Adam Humphries, AJ Brown, Taywan Taylor, and Tajae Sharp are all legit NFL pass catchers. That seemingly will leave one spot for every other wideout in camp.
One of the biggest notes out of Eagles camp is of Sidney Jones. Philly reporters cannot stop raving about how good he has been. With Darby and Jalen Mills already on the outside, Jones’ position is undecided, but you can never have enough good corners in today’s league. One other note to mention here is how good Miles Sanders has been. He is already drawing LeSean McCoy comparisons. He will be one to watch tonight.
The Pick
We have nothing to really go on with this being the first game of the preseason. I have a feeling the Eagles will get out to an early lead with Wentz and Co. on the field. But the Titans have two quarterbacks who will get a good chunk of time tonight, so that’s what I’m going to use as the needle-mover here. Take the Titans -3.
