Interview with the Enemy: Tennessee Titans

With the New Orleans Saints first regular season matchup comes our first interview with enemy. Each week we’ll reach out to the opposing team's SB Nation site and ask them five questions regarding that week's matchup.

This week, Jimmy Morris with Music City Miracle joins up for this week's interview.

LH: Opening day of the season, 0-0 record, what do you look forward to most about the Tennessee Titans this season?

JM: This Titans’ defense is going to be really good. I can’t wait to watch them. They have one of the best defensive tackles in Jeffery Simmons. They have their best EDGE rusher, Harold Landry, coming back from an ACL injury he suffered right before the 2022 season. They have Denico Autry who can play on the line or rush from the edge and is one of the most underrated players in the NFL. Combine that with Arden Key coming off the EDGE as well and Kevin Byard at safety. Mike Vrabel loves to give multiple looks on defense and he has the personnel to do it well this year. They are going to be a nightmare for opposing QBs.

We have some pretty high hopes for the offense but also some pretty big question marks. This defense should be good enough to keep them in games until the offense can figure it out.

LH: Tyjae Spears is a New Orleans native that many Saints fans wanted the Saints to draft. He adds a big receiving threat to your backfield and should complement Derek Henry well. What do you want to see from him in this game and what would you consider to be a successful season from Spears?

JM: I want to see more of what I saw from him in the preseason in this game. He’s such an explosive player. Not only will he be a good compliment to Derrick Henry, but I think he and Henry will be on the field at the same time at times. That’s how dynamic Spears is as a receiver. One of the question marks I mentioned above is whether or not the Titans have enough weapons on offense. They should look to get Spears involved in the passing game early and often.

As for what would be a successful season, if he can give them somewhere between 650-800 yards of total offense and 5+ touchdowns that would be a great rookie year!

LH: As of now, it looks like Peter Skoronski is going to be starting at guard for the Titans, do you think he’s ready to step into the pro level and contribute right away?

JM: Sadly enough, Skoronski might be the Titans’ offensive lineman I have the most confidence in heading into the season. He has been the starting right guard since he walked in the building and has played well by all accounts. The only returning Titans starting offensive lineman from last season is center Aaron Brewer he played right guard last season. That is the unit that we have the most questions about as Titans fans. If they can just be a middle of the pack offensive line this team should be pretty good. I just hope they can get there.

LH: The addition of Deandre Hopkins should help the passing game tremendously this season. Do you think he can come out Week one and put up a big game, or do you think it may take some time to get comfortable with Tannehill and this offense?

JM: He should be ready to go from the jump. Hopkins came in and participated in pretty much every practice during training camp. All reports said that he and Tannehill had great chemistry all camp long. He also doesn’t have a ton of competition for targets. The Titans second year receiver Treylon Burks suffered a knee injury in the second week of the preseason. He did return to practice last week, but he might not be 100% for this game. Tannehill should look to Hopkins early and often here.

LH: Both teams boast a top defense and have some new faces on offense. The over/under is set at 41 points on DraftKings Sportsbook. Do you think the offenses can score enough to hit the over, or will this be a defensive battle and cash the under?

JM: I’d take the under here. As I said above, the Titans defense should be really good and I have so many questions about the offense. I just don’t see a lot of points being scored here. It should be a tight game that could very well come down to a kick in the 4th quarter.

Thank you to Jimmy for joining us for this week’s interview. You can check out his work @TitansMCM.

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Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.