The Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints will do battle at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday to start their respective 2023 campaigns.
Both teams are coming off a disappointing season in which they missed the playoffs with a 7-10 record, but the Titans and Saints have made some significant changes to give themselves hope for 2023.
Buy Titans TicketsIn New Orleans, the Saints are sporting a new quarterback in Derek Carr, who is no doubt an upgrade over the likes of Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston, both of whom struggled mightily last season.
Meanwhile, the Titans have completely revamped their offensive line after a dreadful showing in pass protection last year. In addition, Tennessee beefed up its receiving corps. with the signing of wideout DeAndre Hopkins.
The underdog Titans have plenty of reasons for optimism going into their Week 1 game against the Saints, but reasons for concern exist, as well.
Let’s take a closer look.
Optimism: Saints' run defense
The Saints finished with the No. 24 run defense in 2022 and have since lost key players on the inside like defensive linemen David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle, and linebacker Kaden Elliss.
This is one matchup the Titans should be able to exploit by utilizing running back Derrick Henry between the tackles. Look for The King to have a big day to start the 2023 season, assuming the O-line holds up its end of the bargain.
Optimism and concern: Titans' offensive line
While absolutely nothing could be worse than the starting offensive line the Titans trotted out there in 2022, that doesn’t mean the 2023 group will be totally up to snuff.
With right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere suspended, the Titans will be sporting four new starters upfront in Week 1, and five if you want to consider Aaron Brewer’s switch from left guard to center as another new starter.
Expect growing pains as this unit gels early on in the season, and to make things more difficult, the Saints have a pair of talented edge rushers in Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson to worry about.
On the bright side, the group was mostly solid in pass protection and run-blocking during the preseason, but most of those reps didn’t come against many starters.
Optimism and concern: Titans' new offense
Staying with the “things couldn’t get much worse” theme, the Titans will have a new offense in 2023 now that offensive coordinator Tim Kelly has mercifully replaced former offensive coordinator, Todd Downing.
On one side of the spectrum, the change was much-needed and should move the Titans in the direction of a more modern-day offense where they spread it out and utilize the passing game more.
Adding to that, quarterback Ryan Tannehill has a much better group around him after the addition of wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who joins a pair of promising young pass-catchers in wide receiver Treylon Burks and tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo.
On the other side of the spectrum, installing a new offense can take time and that might lead to some shaky play early on in the season, especially if the offensive line doesn’t gel quickly.
Optimism: No Alvin Kamara
With Kamara suspended for the first three games of the season, the Saints won’t have one of their very best weapons on offense.
Granted, Kamara wouldn’t have been much of a concern on the ground given Tennessee’s elite run defense, but he’s a major threat in the passing game the Titans no longer have to worry about.
Taking Kamara’s place is veteran back Jamaal Williams, who isn’t anywhere near the kind of threat Kamara is as a pass-catcher out of the backfield.
Optimism and concern: Saints' passing attack
Even without Kamara, the Saints have still some talented weapons through the air, and namely wide receivers Chris Olave and Michael Thomas, and tight end Juwan Johnson.
Tennessee will combat Olave on the boundary with Kristian Fulton and Sean Murphy-Bunting, both of whom must be at the top of their games if they want to limit the 2022 standout.
The Titans are sporting a new slot cornerback in Roger McCreary and a pair of new linebackers in Azeez Al-Shaair and Jack Gibbens, all of whom will have their hands full with Thomas and Johnson on the inside.
However, the Saints are also debuting a new quarterback in Derek Carr, who may not be at his best in a new offense early on in the season, and the Titans’ pass-rush is fully healthy and should take a ton of pressure off the back end.
Optimism: Titans' run defense
Tennessee sported the No. 1 run defense in 2022 and that doesn’t figure to change much with the vast majority of the defensive front returning this season.
And that’s great news for Titans, as they’ll be able to drop extra players into coverage knowing that the stout front can handle things without needing extra help.
