NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans got their men. Brian Orakpo and Derrick Morgan will be their starting outside linebackers in 2015 and, they hope, for several years beyond that.
The two players are similar in a few key ways, starting with their size. Orakpo is 6-foot-4, 257 pounds; Morgan 6-3, 261.
They also share a reputation. They are good players, but the talk is often about how they both influence plays without finishing sacks.
It's unfair to judge a pass-rusher purely on sacks. But it's the primary stat we have to look at and it's the goal for every pass-rusher on every passing snap.
Orakpo has 40 sacks in 71 games.
Morgan has 23 sacks in 66 games.
My Washington Redskins colleague John Keim writes that while Orakpo was good in Washington, he'll probably be remembered more for what he wasn't. The conversation was always about how he could have, should have, done more.
The same sort of thing is true of Morgan. In November 2013, I wrote of how he was getting close but he just wasn't getting to the quarterback. He was an end in a 4-3 then, and is backer in a 3-4 now. But the theme of the piece has remained true in the time since then.
I like the moves. But we cannot say the Titans got the difference-making pass-rusher who offenses will have to account for on every snap. Those guys are hard to find and the Titans may still try to draft one.
Maybe Orakpo and Morgan can help each other finish more often. Maybe assistant head coach/defense Dick LeBeau's scheme will help them get more consistent favorable matchups.
As pass-rushers, they've been good players, not great.
Orakpo is heading into his seventh season, Morgan his sixth. That far into their careers, they probably have shown what they are and can be.
For the Titans to get better, they both need to be more than they've been.
