Five least likely NFL teams to win the Super Bowl
By Andrew Garda
4. Tennessee Titans
Whereas Washington is the loud, annoying neighbor who gets arrested weekly, drunk on his roof, which he accidentally sets on fire, the Tennessee Titans seem to be the nice couple down the street who shock us when it’s revealed they had 20 bodies in their basement.
In other words, the Titans are quietly bad.
Some of that is going to change because of quarterback Marcus Mariota. I like Zach Mettenberger but Mariota definitely seems to be a step up. He can’t carry the whole team though, and this is a situation where he’d have to.
The defense is one of the biggest issues, and it wasn’t pretty in 2014. According to Football Outsiders, Tennessee ranked No. 29 in both weighted defense and non-adjusted defense.
Their hope defensively hinges mostly on Brian Orakpo, though adding Perrish Cox and Da’Norris Searcy should help the secondary a bit. But it’s hard to imagine them dragging the defense up all the way to contention-level, and while their free agents might solve some of the pass-related issues, it won’t solve the run stopping problems.
Even against the pass, it’s likely this group will struggle whether it is facing a young quarterback like Blake Bortles or a mediocre one like Brian Hoyer. Andrew Luck might not even notice a change.
Back on the other side of the ball, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows whether Mariota is there or not.
The backfield isn’t much to speak of, as Bishop Sankey hasn’t been impressive, nor has rookie David Cobb. Harry Douglas is past whatever minor prime he had, Justin Hunter could be suspended depending on how his upcoming trial shakes out (per Adam Vingan of The Tennesseean), Kendall Wright is solid, but Dorial Green-Beckham is a rookie with a lot of off-field questions.
This is not an offense I am hanging my hat on.
Nor is this team.
Next: 3. Cleveland Browns