Both the Tennessee Titans and the Atlanta Falcons are beginning new eras for their franchises that they are certainly hoping are more successful than the past few seasons. The Titans are starting over with a new rookie quarterback in Marcus Mariota who was drafted No.2 overall while the Falcons have an entire new coaching staff headed up by Dan Quinn. Both teams will get a look at just how well rebuilding is going on Friday in the first preseason game of the year.
The Falcons take the field with many of their franchise staples still in place, but a new coaching staff to direct them. Quinn is taking over after a successful stint with the Seattle Seahawks that included a Super Bowl win. He is joined by Kyle Shanahan who is looking for a bounce back stint after struggling with the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns. Matt Ryan returns with both Julio Jones and Roddy White while several young rookies and free agent additions are aiming to try and make their spot on the depth chart.
The defense has a lot of young players preparing to make some positive noise on the field. First-round draft pick Vic Beasley is expected to start above several veterans. Quinn has remained extremely complimentary of the defensive end as Beasley has big expectations to fill coming out of Clemson. The Falcons desperately need a pass rush and he is it. Jalen Collins is another rookie expected to be all over the field. With the minor injury to Desmond Trufant, Collins will get the start and has a chance to get a starting spot over Ricardo Allen or Robert Alford.
Mariota represents the re-tooled offense for the Tennessee Titans. The former Oregon star entered camp as the immediate starter despite Zach Mettenberger still being on the roster. Mariota is another rookie with heavy expectations to fill as the Titans need him to be an immediate star. He will work with several new wide receivers. Dorial Green-Beckham, Hakeem Nicks and Harry Douglas were added to compete with Kendall Wright and Justin Hunter. The Titans are hopeful that they are enough to get a better record in 2015.
