Missing Haynesworth

[Andy Freeland]

I know he's just 1 player, ok maybe 1 1/2 players, but Haynesworth affected the whole line. Drawing double teams, he made average players (Ball, Ford, Vickerson) look so much better. With those players exposed, the Titans went from the 7th ranked defense to 28th in 1 year. Now Vanden Bosch is gone too, I know he hasn't been the same player the last couple of years, but he was still an effort player that offensive coordinators had to account for.

1st round pick Derrick Morgan is a good player. A 3-down DE and one of the safest defensive picks in the draft. But he's still just a rookie.

[Gandalf2300]

Certainly, when the middle of your defense is weak, it is hard to succeed defensively in the NFL. The Titans have proven that since Haynesworth left. There will be a lot of pressure on Morgan to fill the shoes of Haynesworth and stiffen up that D-line right away. It will be hard for the Titans to make the playoffs or even finish .500 if their defense is as bad as it was last year.