Let's stay on the o-line, and take a peek at guards.
#4 Eugene Amano
2004-present
All-Time Career
108 games, 52 starts
Though he's since shifted to center in place of Kevin Mawae, I much preferred Amano at guard. His struggles last year in the middle were well-documented, and I can only hope the Titans are willing to shuffle in order to cover up that weakness.
Amano has been around for ages. He's the third-longest tenured Titan behind long snapper Ken Amato (interesting coincidence, no?) and special teamer Donnie Nickey, and I always assumed he'd forever remain o-line depth. He was promoted to full-time starter in '08, and he was quite good at guard.
He was key in the Titans' vaunted ability to prevent sacks and create big holes for running backs, and I hope he manages to recapture some of that lost luster. I like him for being around forever, plus it's nifty to have a dude from Manila on the line. Coupled with the Estonian Michael Roos, they're 2/5 foreign, and that's kinda neat!
Danny Watkins for the surprise Titans draft pick, perhaps? Yeah, I know. No point in loading the line at an unnecessary time just for the sake of snagging a Canadian. ...kinda...
#3 Jacob Bell
2004-2007
Titans Career
55 games, 46 starts
All-Time Career
97 games, 88 starts
Something of a forgotten entity during Tennessee's transitional years, Bell was phenomenal for us during his brief tenure, and I'm used to Titans linemen staying on-board for a long time. Instead however, he gobbled up a huge contract in 2008, and that's been that since then.
I haven't really followed his fortunes in St. Louis (because Drew Bennett was the far more important free agent to head that way in my book), but last year was his first full season there, missing a trio of games in both his premiere seasons as a Ram.
Not a whole lot more to be said... But I dig the dreads. Especially on the o-line, where you've got mean, nasty defensive tackles grabbing at whatever they can on a consistent basis. You know a dude's got balls when he's letting his hair flow in the trenches.
#2 Jake Scott
2008-present
Titans Career
48 games, 48 starts
All-Time Career
108 games, 105 starts
In the same vain as Eugene Amano, Scott has been frowned upon recently for inconsistent play, but I think his overall body of work since making the jump from those damnable Colts has been pretty good.
For one thing, the dude hasn't missed a start in three seasons with the Titans, and moreover, hasn't been absent for a single game in his career since becoming a full-time starter in 2005.
You want your interior linemen to be sturdy, and Scott certainly has that attribute. Plus, take a look at his recent NFL.com mugshots. THE DUDE HAS A WICKED BEARD. Caveman Jake, you'd call him. And he'd reply with a hearty 'URRRRMMM' before clubbing you over the head and stealing your fire.
...In case you couldn't tell, it's hard for me to write up interesting paragraphs in relation to offensive linemen. So such ridiculous claims as previous will have to suffice.
#1 Benji Olson
1998-2007
All-Time Career
152 games, 140 starts
Yet another longtime, solid starter for the Titans during their Super Bowl era. It's amazing how many guys they had on that team who had either been around for ages, or would be around for ages.
In today's age of free agency, players jump ship more often than a pirate on a pogo stick, but back then, the Tennessee Titans stuck together.
Anyhow, it's difficult to keep tabs of offensive linemen over the years when you hardly get to see any games (two Raiders games a year is a certainty in Australia, but beyond that, any other team is a crap shoot), but dude, Olson was my boy in Madden, opening up those holes for Chris Brown. Most of my big runs were off to the right, I owe my YPC average to the hard work of the digital Olson. Good on him.
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