Ownership decided that winning is too expensive...

This team fate was sealed when ownership/management decided to let Verner walk for nothing, when they had the cap speace to re-sign him. If you let your only 2013 pro bowl player walk for nothing in FA, either you were extremely confident in what you have in the pipeline for CB, or that tells me that winning is just too expensive for the ownwership of this team.

When I saw #25 completely wiff on the QB catch yesterday, that confirmed it for me. There was no way they thought that they had suitable CB's on the roster to repalce Verner. If #25 was better than anyone else you had in camp, there is simply no excuse for letting Verner go. That shows ownership on the cheap, which in pro sports, is just disprepectful to the fans and community of the team. If this ownership group was committed to winning, it would have made the following types of off-season moves:

• Verner is the FA priority, considering the lack of secondary talent and depth, compared to the DL and LB's, Verner had to be priority, if they were aiming to win and win now.
• No way this year should have started with a starting QB that you didn't have enough confidence in to extend his contract. CJ was your best playmaker on O, but no RB will ever win you a Super Bowl without a decent QB and a strong D, of which we had neither. So trading CJ would have been understandable. Sign and trade CJ for a legit starting QB, Cousins could have been had for CJ and 3rd round pick.
• Gradually switch to the 3-4 after acquiring the type of talent suited to the 3-4. Seeing Morgan in space is laughable. A 3-4 requires true cover corners. 4-3 just needs corners who can tackle. I think Cinci just completed another slant pass in press coverage on the Titans, SMH.

Way back when the team let Javon Kearse walk for nothing in FA, I knew that the owners were cheap. The saving grace back then was that we had studs under contract for the forseeable future (McNair, George, Wycheck, etc.). Now, the talent is gone. There are no playmakers on this team, on O, D, or even ST. They would have to win with Belicheck , heck Greg Popavich level coaching, which is also very hard to come by.

Locker has to be the QB this year, barring injury. There isn't a real QB option on the roster at this point. Saddle up, it's gonna be a long season.

 

$9 million/yr is too much for Verner, but the Titans are a small market team (similar to the Grizzlies in the NBA). Small market teams have to overpay in FA to keep/get elite talent. Small market teams can't afford to simply let good talent walk, because good talent isn't just going to come to Nashville, TN when they can go to New York or Miami.

The alternative is what you saw yesterday. Yeah, $9 million would have been too much for Verner, but I guarentee you that QB catch would've been a pick 6 with Verner out there rather than #25.

 

McCluster will be ineffective if the QB can't get him the ball. McCluster isn't elite talent, but good, and definately isn't the playmaker you need to make up for Locker's weaknesses.

Missing Verner isn't the only reason why the Titans are bad this year, but they could have resigned him, and had a much better secondary than they have now, which they are going to need, because this team will not get good pressure on good teams. As it stands, if an average NFL QB gets time against the Titans 3-4, they will shred this secondary to pieces. There are no paymakers on D, except for Casey, who isn't relied upon in the 3-4 to make plays.

Again, small markert teams have to overpay for good talent in FA. A team like the Titans can't afford to let players like Verner just walk, when you have the cap space to sign him. Sitting on millions of dollars in cap space while the team is talent poor makes no sense. Losing costs this team way more than overspending for a player like Verner.

 

A small market team that paid him. Verner got paid by another team, while the Titans needed him badly, considering who they had in camp.