These Players Could Be 'X' Factors Against Kansas City
NASHVILLE – Everyone is important.
That is the message Mike Vrabel tries to send to the Tennessee Titans. The second-year coach does not see much distinction between an All-Pro or the 53 man on the roster, anyone on the practice squad or any available player who might factor into their plans on any given week.
“The mentality that, I guess, I try to live my life with is that there's no job too small to help us win,” Vrabel said. “… And I think that, I hope that that's some sort of motivation for these guys to continue to work and develop, and our coaches coach them. (Coaches) work with them in individual drills, they watch tape of their show team reps at the end of the week.”
With that in mind, here are three players outside of the obvious (Derrick Henry, Jurrell Casey, Ryan Tannehill and the like) who could have a significant impact on Sunday’s AFC Championship at Kansas City:
• Adoreé Jackson, CB: He missed the final four games of the regular season with a foot injury but returned in time for the start of the postseason. In the victories over New England and Baltimore, he broke up a team-high six passes, one fewer than he had in 11 regular season contests. With Malcolm Butler on IR, Jackson is undeniably the fastest player in the Titans’ secondary. That speed will be critical in dealing with Kansas City’s wide receivers, a group built on speed.
• Anthony Firkser, TE: He scored just one touchdown during the regular season, and it was against Kansas City. The backup also had three receptions in that contest, which tied his season high. Firkser is far from the first concern for most defenses, but he has a way of making an impact. Of his 14 regular-season receptions, nine went for first downs and five were gains of 20 yards or more. Plus, he scored the first touchdown in the wild card victory over the Patriots. So, he already has shown he can be counted on at this time of year.
• Amani Hooker, S: The rookie has been primarily a special teams player this season, but he logged 27 snaps with the defense last weekend against Baltimore, a team that features tight ends in its passing game. The Chiefs have one tight end who presents a problem, Travis Kelce, but he is a significant problem. If Tennessee’s linebackers can’t match up with Kelce, the job will fall to Hooker (pictured), a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft who is a part of some of the Titans’ less traditional personnel packages. There were four games during the regular season in which he made multiple tackles, and the victory over Kansas City was one of them.
