On Friday, the National Football Post reported the Titans cut DE Jay Moore and TE Gerald Harris.  Why would the Titans cut two players in early July?  Because, under NFL rules, draft picks do not count against the 80-man roster limit until they are under contract.  With training camp approaching at the end of the month, the Titans will have to create roster spots for all their unsigned picks.

Per Brian McIntyre's invaluable list of rookie signings, the Titans have agreed to terms with 5 of their 9 draft picks from this year.  If the roster on the official site is to be believed, the Titans currently stand at 85 players on the roster, including Moore and Harris, and not including Rod Hood, who's been placed on injured reserve.  That's an inconsistency, probably explained by one of the rookie's deals not being official until recently, but I'll just ignore it for lack of it mattering to the question I'm interested in: who won't make it to training camp?

Thursday saw the release of Football Outsiders Almanac 2010, the latest edition of the annual put out by Football Outsiders.  As I've mentioned on here before, I now write for FO, which means I wrote the Titans chapter in this year's edition.  Over the next couple weeks or so, I'll be writing a few posts on some of the things in that chapter, and some of the things that didn't make into the chapter.  Just as a disclaimer, most of these posts will probably be heavily influenced by FO's numbers.

When the Titans made the playoffs in 2007 and 2008, it was largely on the back of one of the league's best defenses, and with every starter but Haynesworth back for 2009, it seemed reasonable to expect the same in 2009.  That clearly didn't happen, as the Titans gave up 300 yards passing  and 20+ points in in 5 of their first 6 games in falling to 0-6.  The rest of the year, the Titans only gave up 300+ yards passing once and held 6 of their 10 opponents under 20 points.  Obviously, that improved performance was the result of the defense playing better, right?

Well, not really.

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As rookies, the 2009 Tennessee Titan draftees saw their share of playing time.

First-round WR Kenny Britt emerged as a valuable part of the team's passing attack. The M&M boys (CB's Jason McCourty and Ryan Mouton) were pressed into on-the-job training due to the Titans' myriad of injuries in their secondary. Unheralded 4th round LB Gerald McRath imposed his wrath against the opposition by stepping up on special teams' and playing well when given time at his natural LB position.

Let's take a look at what's in store for the '09 draft class as they embark upon year-two of their playing careers.

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As the long and seemingly unbearable offseason prepares to come to a grinding halt later this month, let's continue our analysis of what lies in store for the Tennessee Titans in 2010.

Today, I'll take a look at the players who could be on the cusp of a breakout performance this year. These are the guys who for one reason or another, whether it's because of injuries, inconsistency or a combination of the two factors, have failed to step up. However, as the new football-year approaches, the following list of players should get the chance to seize the moment and emerge as valuable contributors for the Titans.

My list of 2010 Tennessee Titan breakout candidates, after the jump.

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