What are the biggest issues still facing the four teams in the AFC South?
Despite how drastically the United States has changed over the past three months, the NFL has continued to go about its business. Free agency was a breeze and, though the draft was held virtually and the Hall of Fame Game has been canceled, things have been moving forward towards playing the regular season as normal.
Teams are still set to report to training camp on July 28, will go through a four-game preseason and the regular season will get underway on Thursday, Sept. 10 with the Chiefs hosting the Texans. Until then, we’re looking at the biggest questions for the teams in each division.
Four down (AFC East, AFC North, NFC East and the NFC North) and it’s time to look at a division that has somewhat been dominated by one team in recent years as Bill O’Brien’s Houston Texans have captured the AFC South four of the past five years.
Both Mike Vrabel and Frank Reich begin their third seasons with the Tennessee Titans and Indianapolis Colts, respectively, and the former took his team to the AFC title game in 2019. And after coming within one win of Super Bowl LII in 2017, Doug Marrone and the Jacksonville Jaguars have brought up the rear of this division each of the last two seasons.
So what are the biggest issues for each of the four clubs in this division? There’s now less than three months before the start of NFL 2020 and lots of work to be done by each organization in preparation of what could be a very different season.
Note: Teams are listed in order of finish in 2019.
Houston Texans: Can new DC Anthony Weaver have an immediate impact?
While the defensive unit of the Houston Texans still has its share of big names, the truth is that this group has not performed all that well the past two seasons. Yes, Bill O’Brien’s club has managed to win back-to-back division titles. In 2018, the team became just the sixth in NFL history to overcome and 0-3 start and reach the playoffs.
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Most of the issues have seemingly come in the secondary, where the Texans had been ranked 28th and 29th in the league, respectively, the past two years. And in 2019, only four clubs in the league allowed more total yards than O’Brien’s club.
Hence the major move made by the organization earlier this year (via ESPN’s Adam Schefter), defensive line coach Anthony Weaver was promoted to defensive coordinator and takes over for longtime NFL coach Romeo Crennel.
Despite reaching the playoffs this past season, the Texans actually allowed more points (385) than they scored (378). O’Brien addressed the safety position in a big way in free agency and Houston used its first two picks in April’s draft on defensive tackle Ross Blacklock (2-TCU) and linebacker Jonathan Greenard (3-Florida). The club can’t afford to be subpar on this side of the ball once again.
Tennessee Titans: Will QB Ryan Tannehill pick up where he left off in 2019?
It was a turnaround that earned a former first-round draft choice NFL Comeback Player of the Year honors in 2019. Last offseason, the Tennessee Titans worked a trade with the Miami Dolphins to acquire quarterback Ryan Tannehill, the eighth overall pick in the 2012 draft, to back up young signal-caller Marcus Mariota.
A year later, the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft is now a member of the Las Vegas Raiders. And Tannehill, who inked a four-year, $118 million contract extension three months ago (via Spotrac), is firmly entrenched as Mike Vrabel’s starter.
The 31-year-old performer started the Titans’ final 10 regular-season contest this past year and threw for 22 scores compared to only five interceptions. He also ran for four scores and all told, turned over the ball just eight times during the club’s impressive 7-3 finish.
Now Tannehill has the job from the get-go and has quite the supporting the cast in 2019 NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry and emerging offensive weapons in wide receiver A.J. Brown and tight end Jonnu Smith. He also has one of the league’s better offensive lines in front of him. But can the former Dolphins’ field general duplicate or improve on his strong finish from a season ago?
Indianapolis Colts: Who will emerge as the team’s top ball-carrier this season?
The Indianapolis Colts got off to a 5-2 start this past season. But a number of issues derailed the club, perhaps the biggest being a knee injury suffered by quarterback Jacoby Brissett in Week 9 at Pittsburgh. It was the beginning of seven setbacks in the team’s final nine games.
Of course, to blame the team’s downfall on just the quarterback’s issues would be foolish. But this offseason, the organization did bring in veteran Philip Rivers and in April, used a fourth-round draft choice on Jacob Eason (4-Washington).
The pride and joy of Frank Reich’s team is the offensive line and running back Marlon Mack (1,091 rushing yards) comes off his best NFL season. And the backfield got even richer this April with the second-round addition of University of Wisconsin workhorse Jonathan Taylor. He racked up quite the yardage with the Badgers, but…
“Jonathan hasn’t played any NFL football,” stated Colts’ running backs coach Tom Rathman to George Bremer of the Herald Bulletin earlier this month. “So he still has to grow into that role, and we all see it. We all anticipate it. We all expect it. But are you gonna see it right away? I can’t say that.
“But hopefully he comes out of the gates, and – boom – he’s playing at the same level as all these other guys, and they all elevate their game.”
Mack, Taylor and a top-notch offensive line. Every team should have such “issues.”
Jacksonville Jaguars: What impact will Jay Gruden have on Jacksonville’s offense?
He certainly had his moments as head coach of the Washington Redskins, leading the team to the NFC East title in 2015. Even before then, he made an impression as a play-caller as the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals (2011-13). And there were also seven seasons as an assistant with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers under his brother Jon more than a decade ago.
Jay Gruden is now in charge of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense and it will be interesting to see how utilizes the team’s talent. The club has a promising young quarterback in Gardner Minshew, who needs to overcome some turnover issues that plagued his play later in the year.
While he threw for 21 scores and only six interceptions in 14 outings, the 2019 sixth-round pick from Washington State also lost seven of his 13 fumbles. The supporting cast includes running back Leonard Fournette, Pro Bowl wide receiver D.J. Chark and veteran tight end Tyler Eifert, late of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Gruden should bring some consistency to this attack. The Jaguars scored only 300 points this past season and the offense reached the end zone only 27 times. All told, Doug Marrone’s club was limited to 13 points or less seven times, all of those outings resulting in losses.