By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

The 2023 NFL season is upon us, and after an offseason that sometimes seemed to be veering in multiple directions, we’ll finally get to see what Ran Carthon’s first version of the Tennessee Titans looks like when it kicks things off in New Orleans on Sunday.

The Saints represent an interesting measuring stick for the revamped Titans squad. New Orleans finished 7-10 last season, Dennis Allen’s first as head coach following Sean Payton’s temporary retirement. Defensively, Allen’s group was stout, allowing just 20.3 points per game, good for ninth-best in the NFL, but they were even better down the stretch as they didn’t surrender more than 20 points to any team over the final eight games of the season.

Their 5.0 yards per play allowed was sixth-best in the league in 2022 and they ranked top-five in virtually every pass defense statistic. The run defense, however, took a big step back from their league-best ranking in 2021, allowing opponents to rush for an average of 4.5 yards per carry, the ninth-highest rate leaguewide.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Harold Landry attacks Ryan Crow, who’s wearing arm pads, edging tightly around his position coach. The edge rusher takes on his coach, over and over, working with great care, precision, attention.

While large groups of their Titans teammates participate in special teams sections of practice, players who are uninvolved typically take advantage of the time to work on specifics on their own, with their position coach and sometimes some teammates who may not be involved in the special teams' work either.

“I feel like get a lot out of those periods because in individual and all the drills we are working as a group, we’re working on what Crow thinks we need to work on collectively,” Landry said. “But during those special teams’ periods is a chance for me to really hone in on what I need to work on individually."

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans are coming off a season in which they fell apart.

Injuries headed the list of their issues, but it was not just the number of guys being scratched and heading to IR that undid 2022 when a 7-3 season ended with a seven-game losing streak and a 7-10 record, a game out of the playoffs.

Are they fixed?

They certainly feel that they’ve addressed the problems that were at the core of the unwinding.

“I think that was the No. 1 thing coming in here and being in this role was to address the things that we felt needed to be addressed,” said Ran Carthon. “I felt like we did that. Again, the work's not done. So we'll continue to do that.”

Things have looked pretty good in practice, but what is the confidence level that the Titans turn that into game success?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Happy Labor Day Weekend.

Here's to our final weekend without NFL games.

I hope to catch some bass with my boy, spend some family time at the neighborhood pool, do some reading and watch some soccer and college football. Maybe a few innings of the Yankees though it's harder and harder to stay interested.

Much appreciate your questions as always. It's exciting to know we'll be building up to a game and a road trip so soon.

Do we know or truly feel this offense will be different or is it the same madness we suffered through last year? New OC and a vet receiver can’t shift philosophy that much right?

— CP24 (@Cp24Dawg) September 1, 2023

NASHVILLE, Tenn. --  Nick Folk makes field goals from 40 yards and in. He tried 60 in the last four years for New England, and he made all 60.

So the Titans should feel great about their new kicker in that department.

He was also 36 of 40 from 40-49 and 12 of 17 from 50 and over.

But Folk will turn 39 on Nov. 5. His kickoff leg has been poor for the last four years when his punter has not handled the duties, with just a 12.2 percent touchback rate. Also, oddly, he missed 11 extra points.

He spoke on Thursday about these issues, and that's where we begin this week's edition of the podcast.

The new episode awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube, which is also embedded below.

Other subjects I dive into:

It's all brought to you by Jasper's

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Thomas Odukoya is on the Titans practice squad, but he's still earmarked as an international exemption which means he's not eligible to be called up.

That means he's the 17th player on their practice squad. Their original list included 15 others, and not Cade York, the former Cleveland kicker who's reportedly on his way.

#Titans’ practice squad pic.twitter.com/r14R0uUDrT

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) August 30, 2023

That designation means Odukoya is ineligible to be called up to play in games. He is  also frozen with the team, as he is not allowed to sign with another franchise.

[Unlocked]

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The 2023 Tennessee Titans officially cut down from 90 to 53 players along with the rest of the NFL on Tuesday. I want to hit on a couple of overarching thoughts before we drill down into the roster and discuss some of the biggest decisions that Mike Vrabel and Ran Carthon made at each position.

First, the team kept 11 rookies on the initial 53-man roster. That’s just over 20 percent of the roster made up of first-year players. It’s not quite as high as the Bucs (13) or Rams (14), but it’s certainly towards the top of the league in that category.

That 11 included all six draft picks along with five undrafted players. That speaks to the lack of depth that we’ve talked about all offseason. Yes, some of these undrafted players made an impact in camp and preseason to earn a roster spot, but there was also plenty of opportunity available at the back of this roster for Kearis Jackson, Caleb Murphy, Otis Reese, Anthony Kendall, and Matthew Jackson to win a job.

Last season, only the Bears – who would go on to finish with the league’s worst record – started the season with five or more undrafted

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Thoughts on the Titans' initial 53-man roster, and depth charts built out of it. 

💥 Five undrafted rookies, four on D: LB Otis Reese IV, CB Anthony Kendall, OLB Caleb Murphy, S Matthew Jackson, WR Kearis Jackson.

Reese surprised me the most. I felt Mike Vrabel’s affection for him but I did not see him pop. 

Kendall may have outplayed Eric Garror on special teams, but Garror seemed to be more of a playmaker on defense. Special teams are a big factor for the fifth or sixth corner, depending on how you’re counting Elijah Molden, who’s the dime.

Matthew Jackson kept showing up as a punt return team gunner, and the Titans aren’t going to waste those snaps in [Unlocked]