What I Hope to See from the Titans During the Rest of the Season

Coming out of the bye week 1-8, the Tennessee Titans season has been nothing short of a disaster but with 8 games left, we are already without a Head Coach for the future and still looking to put the first full game together. All that being said, there is plenty left to be excited to watch, with a promising rookie class. I'm going to give you 3 things that I want to see for the remainder of the season.

• PROTECTING CAM WARD

  • After spending 2 first round picks in 3 years on the offensive line and spending big on Lloyd Cushenberry and Dan Moore in back to back seasons, you would think the offensive line would be solidified. That has failed to be the case and protecting our biggest and most important investment in Cam Ward will be one of the biggest priorities the remainder of the season. Although the line has been banged up (JC Latham, Kevin Zeitler and Cushenberry), they have shown continued improvement in my opinion. I would like to see some of Jackson Slater and am really looking for improvements from Moore and Latham. With 4 of the 5 starters under contract next year, the ideal scenario is continued growth and improvement and then don't think you have to spend as many resources on the OL outside of replacing Zeitler this offseason but if the line doesn't show continued improvement, we could be back to investing in the OL heavily.

• CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT OF CAM WARD

  • Outside of protecting Cam, I'm looking to see Cam continue to take steps forward in his development. Cam is the most important player on the team and while some seem ready to give up on a rookie QB in probably the worst circumstances in the league, I'm not even close to being there. To me, Cam has shown plenty enough to build around, all he needs is an infusion of talent around him and the continued development of the youngsters around him. He has already shown improvement in little things and it seems as if he doesn't make the same mistake twice. I want to see him put together a full game and carry the team to at least one win. It's high expectations and I know we want to lose out for the higher pick but seeing Cam have a great game or two down the stretch and bring back that winning feeling and promise will take a lot of the tension from the fan base. Look no further than how much time the Falcons game bought Will Levis.

    

• ROOKIE SHOWCASE AND FOUNDATION

  • While the Titans first rookie draft class under Mike Borgonzi looks promising, this second half of the season should be used to get them as much playing time as possible. Chimere Dike has proved he will be a foundational piece on the special teams but can we get him more involved in the offense and see what he brings to the table there? Elic Ayomanor flashed early but seems to have hit a rookie wall, will the bye week rejuvenate him? Chig Okonkwo wasn't traded but it seems as if he could be on his way out with no extension talks to date, can we get a higher snap share out of Gunnar Helm? Does Kalel Mullings provide enough juice to move on from Pollard, who is on a team friendly contract, this offseason or will we need to address the running back position? I definitely want to see what Kevin Winston can bring to the table on the defense. Others to note would be guys like Cedric Gray, Calvin Ridley, T'vondre Sweat and Femi Oladejo (once off of IR). I want to see what guys are going to be the foundation of the future and step up outside of Cam Ward, Peter Skoronski and Jeffrey Simmons.