NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans have loaded up on the defensive line, adding six new players via free agency or trade.
Robert Saleh, Gus Bradley and Aaron Whitecotton intend to send them in waves at opposing passers and to stop the run.
Many of them, particularly front-liners John Franklin-Myers and Jermaine Johnson, have the versatility to move around and be a presence inside and out.
“They understand that none of us are selfish people. We'll play any position. And the best part of it is I can go outside, (Jermaine) can go inside, (Solomon Thomas) can go inside. Jeff (Simmmons) can go outside, inside. Everybody can do it all.
“And so you can kind of mess with protections. You can dictate how you want the slide to go. And that's the beautiful part of what Saleh does -- he's able to get us one-on-ones, put us in mismatches every game. I think you guys will see that soon.”
Franklin-Myers said he played both roles under Saleh with the Jets. More recently in Denver, he was used more inside -- something he admitted he wasn’t a big fan of initially — but he grew to understand it. He thinks that experience will help him now as he returns to moving around more.
When he was introduced, Saleh talked about how Brian Daboll’s Erhardt-Perkins system won’t be easy for defenses to prepare for, given how much time they spend on variations of Shanahan offenses. Titans weeks will be a change-up that pulls opponents out of their comfort zone.
The same principle should apply to offensive lines trying to protect against this front. A tackle or guard won’t be able to 
focus on one or two rushers. There will be far more variation — and more to prepare for.
Interior linemen will see Simmons and Franklin-Myers, but also snaps of Johnson, Thomas or maybe Jordan Elliott.
The Titans intend to be a handful in more ways than one.
“The thing about this defense is it thrives — it lives on the front four getting home or affecting the quarterback,” Johnson said. “If you don't have a front four that can affect the quarterback, there's not going to be a lot of blitzing.
“So coach very much emphasizes that if the quarterback is holding the ball for longer than three or four seconds, you guys are dead wrong.”