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Houston Texans: Week 2: Three Titans pass rushers that will cause trouble

By Brian K. Patterson

MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Mike Vrabel of the Tennessee Titans during the game in the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Mike Vrabel of the Tennessee Titans during the game in the second quarter against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on September 9, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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JACKSONVILLE, FL – SEPTEMBER 17: Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars looks to pass in front of Derrick Morgan #91 of the Tennessee Titans during the first half of their game at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL – SEPTEMBER 17: Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars looks to pass in front of Derrick Morgan #91 of the Tennessee Titans during the first half of their game at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images) /

Player #1: Derrick Morgan

You probably weren’t even thinking I’d list his name right?  But he deserves to be on this list.  After nine seasons in the NFL, all with the Tennessee Titans, Derrick Morgan is still part of a fierce pass rushing front and is getting the job done.

He’s off to a slow start this season, recording just one tackle against the Miami Dolphins this week as he’s still on limited snaps — he only had 14 of those — as he tore his meniscus and had surgery in the off season.

But with the Titans reporting that he will be close to 100 percent against the Houston Texans this Sunday, I’m sure he’ll be ready to rock-and-roll.  After being limited in practice this past Wednesday, he did participate in full practice yesterday and I’d expect the same for today as well.

Morgan led the team in sacks for 2017, amassing 7.5 over that period of time but with the 9.0 sacks that he imposed on his targets in 2016, this gives him 16.5 sacks over a two-season span which is certainly more than notable.  His 44.0 career sacks are good enough to already be on the Titans’ all-time Top 10 sack list, with Morgan being ranked 9th.

I’m telling you, this guy is as good as they come on the edge and I don’t think an injury like this will set him back despite the guy approaching the age-30 mark.  He has made the transition quite solidly from a defensive end to a 3-4 outside linebacker as the team wants to groom other prospects like DaQuan Jones for LDE position.

If Bill O’Brien decides to give Julie’n Davenport the nod again to start at right tackle, I think the second-year offensive lineman will have some trouble protecting Watson.  Of course, Morgan is no Trey Flowers but I think he will be able to give Davenport all he can handle.

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Morgan had a 44.7 overall defensive grade, tackling (73.2) and pass rush (50.8).  Out of the 14 snaps that he took, 11 were in pass rush-mode.

We’ll have to see just how troublesome he is against the Houston Texans‘ offensive line.

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