Jon Robinson adds one of the best guards in the league to play next to his three time Pro Bowl left tackle."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Tennessee Titans PodcastWhat are the Titans getting in free agent G Rodger Saffold?New Womens Malcolm Butler Jersey ,149commentsJon Robinson adds one of the best guards in the league to play next to his three time Pro Bowl left tackle. CDTShareTweetShareShareWhat are the Titans getting in free agent G Rodger Saffold?Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY SportsThe Titans landed the top free agent guard on the market on Tuesday when it was announced that Rodger Saffold was signing a four year, $44M deal to join three time Pro Bowl tackle Taylor Lewan on the left side of Tennessee’s offensive line.Let’s hit on the note at the end of Rapoport’s tweet for a moment before we get into who Saffold is and why Titans fans should be extremely excited about this addition. Back in 2014, Saffold was set to leave the Rams and sign a lucrative contract in Oakland, but failed his physical with the Raiders and ultimately returned to the Rams for less money (this turned out to be a major stroke of luck for the Rams). The issue found had to do with Saffold’s shoulder and it turned out to be accurate as a season ending shoulder injury in 2015 sent the big guard under the knife to repair a torn labrum. Since that repair, Saffold has missed just one game due to injury over three years — a minor knee injury in 2016 — and his play has taken off to another level. Saffold was originally drafted by the Rams at the top of the second round in the 2010 NFL Draft after a successul college career at Indiana University. His transition to the NFL was bumpy, in part, due to playing on some really bad Rams teams. He also was moved around quite a bit, starting at left tackle early on before moving to the right side and then eventually inside to guard. Saffold was viewed as a solid, but unspectacular starter until Sean McVay arrived in LA and move the Rams to a zone based blocking scheme. That system fit Saffold’s athletic game like a glove. He got a Second-Team All-Pro nod in 2017 and was excellent again in 2018.He was arguably the best offensive lineman on an offensive line that ranked third and first in 2017 and 2018 in Football Outsiders’ Adjusted Line Yards. When you break those numbers down based on where the run went, you find that the Rams finished — comfortably — in two areas: off left tackle and middle/guard. Those just happen to be the areas patrolled by Saffold. The Rams also ranked third and sixth in Adjusted Sack Rate in those two seasons. Saffold has been credited with just four sacks allowed over the past two seasons per PFF charting.Saffold has always been an above average pass blocker ever since moving inside to guard. His quick feet and powerful frame at 6’-5” and 321 pounds allow him to mirror quicker players while still being able to anchor against power rushers. However, where Titans fans will really see a difference is in the running game. The jump from Quinton Spain to Rodger Saffold is going to be striking when it comes to the zone blocking scheme the Titans want to run (if you weren’t sure before, this signing confirms that ZBS will remain the staple in Tennessee under new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith).Let’s take a look at some examples. Very few NFL guards move like Saffold and he has an outstanding feel for technique in the outside zone. Here you can see him helping center John Sullivan get squared up on the 1-tech before climbing to the next level and completely removing linebacker Mychal Kendricks from the box. NFL Game PassHere’s another example of combination blocking as Saffold effectively helps both Whitworth and Sullivan on either side of him before climbing to cut off Jaylon Smith. Want to know how the Rams made C.J. Anderson look like Todd Gurley late last season? It was blocks like this from the league’s best run blocking line. NFL Game PassIn zone blocking systems, the guards are often uncovered and therefore asked to climb to the second level and block linebackers. That can be a tough ask when you look at the speedand agility of modern NFL linebackers, but Saffold makes it look easy. Here, he quickly gets to the second level, gets Leighton Vander Esch in his sights, and then locks on and takes him for a ride ten yards away from the play. NFL Game PassThis time he’s on the front side of the zone run and shows off his power as he literally bounces Smith out of the hole.NFL Game PassSaffold moves in space with rare grace. That’s on display here as he manages to pancake not one, but two Eagles on the toss play. NFL Game PassThose movement skills were a key part of the Rams prolific screen game the past two seasons. Here you can see him getting out in front and managing to pick off the Vikings safety 30 yards downfield to spring Gurley.NFL Game PassAs I mentioned above, the major difference between Saffold and Spain will be seen in the running game, but Saffold is a very competent pass protector as well. He does a good job of anchoring at the top of the pocket and not getting pushed back into the quarterback’s feet. Here, you can see his quickness and power at work against one of the league’s best pass rushers in Brandon Graham. NFL Game PassThe Titans got Saffold for $11M per year which slots him in as the sixth highest paid guard in the NFL behind Zack Martin, Andrew Norwell, Kevin Zeitler, Kelechi Osemele, and Trai Turner. Given the way the free agent market operates, I think that’s a surprisingly reasonable deal for a guy that ranks as a top ten guard and fits exactly what the Titans want to do. NFL Network analyst and former NFL offensive lineman, Brian Baldinger is a big fan of Saffold’s.So what does this mean for the Titans in 2019 and beyond? Well Womens Brian Orakpo Jersey , for starters, they now boast arguably the best left side of an offensive line in football with Lewan and Saffold. Those two will be blocking for a running back in Derrick Henry who loves to run left because it allows him to unleash his dominant right-handed stiff arm. This really seems like a match made in two-tone heaven. The Titans now figure to be in good to great shape at three offensive line positions with Taylor Lewan, Rodger Saffold, and either Jack Conklin or Dennis Kelly (I tend to believe that we see a bounce back year from Conklin in his second year removed from the ACL surgery) manning the left tackle, left guard, and right tackle spots. Ben Jones and Josh Kline are returning starters at center and right guard, but I think it’s pretty clear that those are still upgradeable spots. The Titans currently have some options on the roster for those two spots though as Corey Levin, Kevin Pamphile (who was re-signed yesterday), Aaron Stinnie, and Hroniss Grasu (another free agent addition earlier in the offseason) can all play either center or guard in addition to Jones and Kline. However, I would not be surprised if they still address this position early in the draft. With the money they have committed at left tackle and left guard (and potentially right tackle if they exercise Conklin’s fifth year option), they’ll need cheaper solutions at center and right guard beyond 2019. Jones is heading into the final year of his current contract and the team could move on from Kline easily in 2020 if they can find a long term replacement. A Garrett Bradbury or Chris Lindstrom could really lift this group over the top for the foreseeable future.Regardless of what happens at center and right guard, Saffold’s addition changes the ceiling for the Titans offense as he and Lewan will form a formidable and ridiculously athletic left side that should make Derrick Henry a very productive back in 2019. Whew."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Tennessee Titans PodcastRecap: Titans find a way, beat Redskins without Marcus Mariota, 25-16New,365commentsWhew.ByTerry A. Lambert@TLambertTNDec 22, 2018,6:15pm CSTShareTweetShareShareRecap: Titans find a way, beat Redskins without Marcus Mariota, 25-16Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY SportsIt was an... uncomfortable night at Nissan Stadium. After trailing for most of the day and dealing with multiple injuries, the Titans found a way to win and keep their season alive. Here’s how it happened.Derrick Henry finds the endzone once againAfter a Redskins’ field goal to open the game, the Titans got the football and went right back to work on the ground. It was Derrick Henry doing the bulk of the work, with a couple of Marcus Mariota passes to Corey Davis and Taywan Taylor sprinkled in. Tennessee made it look easy as Henry stretched out to claim the Titans’ first lead of the day, 6-3. The extra point was missed by Ryan Succop.Redskins answer with 17 play touchdown driveWashington — behind the arms and legs of Josh Johnson — took control of this game in the second quarter. It was a near 11 minute drive, which featured Adrian Peterson ripping off chunk after chunk. Johnson finished off the drive by finding Michael Floyd for the score. Marcus Mariota exits with injuryThe Titans had a chance to answer before halftime following that drive and were making some headway. Marcus Mariota found a little bit of a groove, completing a couple of out routes to bring the Titans near the redzone. The Redskins ended that by dialing up a blitz, which got home and put Mariota on the ground. Mariota appeared to land on his elbow Womens Tajae Sharpe Jersey , the same elbow that has given him fits all year. He exited the game during the timeout and Blaine Gabbert came on in relief. Succop added the field goal to make it a 10-9 game at half. Mariota remained in the locker room with what the Titans called a stinger.Field goals for everyoneAfter trading possessions, Johnson put another drive together for the Redskins. He picked up a couple of third down conversions, then hit a big play over the middle to Jamison Crowder. The defense bent, but they didn’t break. Washington added a field goal to make it a 13-9 game. Gabbert delivered a nice throw down the seam to MyCole Pruitt, then (somehow) completed a strike to Darius Jennings that probably should have been picked off. Derrick Henry remained bottled up, but was able to find daylight for an 11 yard run on this drive. The Titans were suddenly moving, which was a step in the right direction. Gabbert couldn’t cap the drive with six, but Succop added three more to make it a 13-12 game.Washington came right back with more Adrian Peterson, who the Titans once again couldn’t stop. Josh Johnson kept making enough plays to keep the chains moving, until they hit the redzone. Their drive stalled again, but the Redskins made it a 16-12 lead with another field goal. The Titans were going to have to find the endzone to win this one — and they did.Gabbert completed a long pass play to start the drive to Taywan Taylor, who got behind a couple of defenders to get out to midfield. Blaine came back with a near miss on a 40 yard strike to Pruitt, who couldn’t make the catch. Derrick Henry finally got rolling on this drive, picking up five, then six yards. Henry then ripped off a long one to get down to the two yard line. Matt LaFleur dialed up play action from there, which Gabbert completed to Pruitt for the score. Just like that, the Titans led 19-16. Johnson makes his first mistakeJurrell Casey went down to start the drive and could be seen holding his knee. If the Titans were going to get a stop to win this, they were going to have to do it without Casey, who is still the Titans’ most important defensive player. To make matters worse, Rashaan Evans joined him on the sidelines. The Redskins kept hammering away with Peterson and attacking short over the middle with Crowder. They appeared to be ready to drive again, until Johnson made his first mistake. He overthrew Josh Doctson and Kevin Byard made him pay. Washington got one final chance, but Malcolm Butler housed a pick six to finish this one off. The Titans found a way tonight, eerily similar to the Jets game a few weeks back. Tennessee now needs help from Baltimore, who will play the Chargers tonight. Above all else, they have to find a way to beat Andrew Luck and the Colts next weekend at home. Of course, all eyes are now on the injury situations of Marcus Mariota and Jurrell Casey.
