Last Season Recap
The 2015 Tennessee Titans season was literally the worst of any team in the league, though if the 2014 season was anything to go by, they weren’t exactly NFL betting darlings to begin with. The Titans finished last in the AFC South with a 3-13 record, and even though they tied with the Cleveland Browns in terms of win-loss record, they were still the worst team in the NFL, statistically speaking. Sadly, they couldn’t even get that right, trading the right to the top pick in the draft (QB Jared Goff) to the Los Angeles Rams. Matt Cassel surely would have loved being Goff’s back up, and 2015’s second overall pick Marcus Mariota didn’t exactly set the world on fire.
What’s New
The 2016 season will be the Titans’ 47th in the NFL, and the first with new head coach Mike Mularkey. Previous coach Ken Wisenhunt was fired last November for obvious reasons, and then-tight ends coach Mularkey took over on an interim basis – that is until January of this year, when the Titans made his appointment full time. In lieu of Goff, the Titans selected offensive tackle Jack Conklin from Michigan State as the 8th overall pick in the first round of the draft. Tennessee also picked defensive end Kevin Dodd, defensive tackle Austin Johnson, running back Derrick Henry, safety Kevin Byard, wide receiver Tajae Sharpe, CB LeShaun Sims, offensive guard Sebastian Tretola, OLB Aaron Wallace, and CB Kalan Reed. Henry, the 2015 SEC offensive player of the year – among many other accolades –, is the one that stands out the most in the bunch, as we’ll see why below. In that way of trades, the Titans made a huge acquisition with RB DeMarco from the Philadelphia Eagles in in exchange for the Titans’ 2016 4th round draft pick. More recently, Tennessee sent diamond-in-the-rough (more rough than diamond, though) wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham to the Eagles in exchange for offensive tackle Dennis Kelly. Which has many NFL betting fans asking themselves is who actually Dennis Kelly is.
What to Expect
The above-mentioned trade, however, is indeed a clue as to what Titans fans who enjoy betting on NFL can expect from the team this season. General manager Jon Robinson was impressed with Kelly’s size, smarts, toughness, and versatility in terms of how he can help the Titans’ overhauled offensive line – which is expected to be based around the notion of running backs Murray and Henry wreaking havoc on smaller and quicker defensive fronts. This is also an indication that Titans NFL betting fans – as well as the players themselves – can expect Robinson to keep moving things around until he moulds the team in the exact shape that he wants it to be. Finally, the coaching staff are putting Mariota in the same class as Tim Brown, Matt Ryan, Marcus Allen, and Bo Jackson – at least as far as work ethic goes – so they clearly have high expectations for him despite his slow rookie year.
Odds to win Super Bowl 51: +12000
