Projections (9/02/03)

Passing Stats

Rush Stats

Receiving Stats

Fantasy

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Totals

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Quarterbacks
Starter - Steve McNair
Backups - Neil O'Donnell, Billy Volek

Starting Quarterback: How can somebody not like Steve McNair? The guy simply will not stay on the sideline no matter how banged up he is. Sometimes it appears as thought he is held together with duct tape but he gets the job done on the field. Last year he passed the ball very well, completing a solid 61.2% of his throws for 3387 passing yards and a career high 22 touchdown passes. As always, he added a great deal with his legs, rushing for 440 yards and 3 touchdowns. He isn't as graceful of a runner as he was several years ago but knows how to pick up yardage when the receivers aren't open. He'll always be a solid fantasy starter because of his dual-threat capability.

Backup Quarterback(s): Neil O'Donnell is a solid backup for the Titans. He has been solid for the Titans over the year when the team needed him to step in and he doesn't mind taking a backup role at this stage in his career. He is a great fit for this team.

Update - 8/27: Steve McNair is still healthy and has played well this preseason.

Running Backs
Starter - Eddie George
Backups - Robert Holcombe, John Simon, Chris Brown
Fullbacks - Greg Comella, R.J. Luke

Starting Running Back: The storied career of Eddie George continues in 2003, but he is showing signs of a long decline that generally signals the twilight of a NFL back's career. The man is made of iron (he's never carried the ball less than 315 times over his 7 year career, and is usually in the mid-300 carries range), but his 3.4 yards per carry average on 343 carries was the third year in a row sub-4.0 (3.7 in 2000, 3.0 in 2001, and 3.4 in 2002). He did manage to get back into double-digit touchdown range, with 12 rushing scores and 1165 yards, while adding 36 receptions for 255 yards and 2 scores through the air. The offensive line is essentially unchanged from last year's group. We see George continuing to produce at a level similar to last season, with 300 carries for 1050 yards and 8 scores, while adding 37 receptions for 270 yards and 2 scores. That level of production marks him as the 20th fantasy back as of 6/29/03, making George a marginal #2 RB or a strong #3 on most fantasy rosters.

Backup Running Back(s): Robert Holcombe, John Simon and rookie Chris Brown are the main members of the Tennessee stable, with Holcombe being the #2 guy on the squad. Holcombe averaged 5.1 yards per carry in his first season as a Titan (47 rushes for 242 yards), but fractured his left hip during the 2002 season and missed a lot of time.

Fullback(s): Greg Comella is #1 on the depth chart, but his role with the Titans is more of a lead-blocker, rather than as a pass-catcher like he was in his New York Giants days. In fact, he was inactive for some of the Titan's games last year, despite being healthy (when the team decided to go with a two-TE formation and spurned using a FB). He only caught the ball 10 times for 70 yards last season, and it doesn't look like the team's philosophy will change anytime soon. That makes Comella a fantasy nonentity. His backup is R.J. Luke.

Update - 8/27: Eddie George keeps getting the job done in Tennessee. We think he'll be right about where we projected back in late June (300/1074/8 rushing with 39/293/2 receiving). Rookie Chris Brown was injured early in training camp, which wrecked any fantasy value he might have had in 2003.

Wide Receivers
Starters - Derrick Mason, Drew Bennett
Backups: Justin McCareins, Tyrone Calico, Jake Shifino, Darrell Hill

Starting Receiver(s): Derrick Mason has improved by leaps and bounds since he entered the league in 1997. He runs good patterns, has good hands, and is an exceptional runner after the catch. However, he lacks great size and speed, and can be taken out of the game when opposing defenses decide to double-team him. Drew Bennett has the inside track at opening the season as the starter opposite Mason, replacing Kevin Dyson. Bennett, entering his third year in the league, has great size and can make the tough catch, but has been inconsistent thus far in his career.

Backup Receiver(s): Justin McCareins and Tyrone Calico will battle Bennett for the starting job opposite Mason. McCareins, like Bennett, is a big receiver with decent speed, but also like Bennett, tends to drop too many passes. Tyrone Calico was the Titans' second-round draft pick this year, and could see substantial playing time as a rookie. He has an outstanding combination of size (6-3, 220) and speed (4.3-ish), but it remains to be seen how quickly he will adjust to the pro game. Second-year speedsters Jake Schifino and Darrell Hill will battle for roster spots.

Update - 8/27: Drew Bennett has been lining up with the first unit opposite Derrick Mason, but HC Jeff Fisher says that there won't be a true #2 WR this year: the Titans will use a committee approach with Drew Bennett and Justin McCaerins both in the rotation, and perhaps Tyrone Calico as well. Eddie Berlin, Darrell Hill and Jake Schifino will battle for the final two roster spots.

Tight Ends
Starter - Frank Wycheck
Backup(s) - Erron Kinney
Frank Wyckeck is still rolling along and has potential to go off on any week with big numbers. His age and the changing Tennessee offense are working against him, but Wyckeck should be considered a viable fantasy backup player. Reserve Erron Kinney started to take a bite out of Wycheck's numbers, but this is probably a thing of the past. Tennessee is moving to more of a spread formation and using dual tight ends less than in the past.

Update - 8/27: Frank Wycheck suffered a concussion for the third time in his career during the second preseason game. He sat out of the week three preseason game but was cleared to play by the team. Reports today have him scheduled to meet with a head-injury specialist in Houston and hint at Wycheck considering his long term future. If he does happen to hang it up, Kinney would become a very good fantasy TE.

Place Kicker
Joe Nedney: Nedney is a consistent kicker with an average leg playing with a mediocre offense. He might be decent value late in your fantasy draft, but don't take him expecting monster numbers. To put up big numbers the Titans will need to keep too many players healthy for the whole year (McNair, George, Wycheck), which is just not that likely.

Offensive Line
C-Tom Ackerman; G-Zack Piller; G-Benji Olsen; T-Brad Hopkins; T-Fred Miller
Just an average collection of talent here. The best lineman on the team continues to be Hopkins who is very experienced and gets the job done. Miller is a talented player but is often rattled and can get off of his game. This unit won't hurt the Titans but won't dominate on a weekly basis as well. There biggest strength appears to be keeping the defensive lineman off of Steve McNair and that is important to the success of the team. Backup lineman Jason Matthews has the talent to start on this line and is a valuable backup.