Choosing your NFL/EFLI team - Optimists

Tennessee Titans

Colours: Sky Blue, Navy Blue

Mascot: T-Rac (a raccoon)

Stadium: LP Field

Home City: Nashville, Tennessee

Super Bowl wins: 0 (1 appearance)

Records over last 5 years: 36 wins, 44 losses, 0 playoff appearances

Best Players: Jurrell Casey, Michael Roos, Alterraun Verner

Bio: Older readers with a little bit of NFL knowledge will remember this team by another name entirely; the Houston Oilers. The franchise began life as the Oilers in 1960 in Houston, Texas, as a charter member of the American Football League. The Oilers were successful immediately, winning the first two AFL championships.

The team relocated from Texas to Tennessee in 1997, and moved from Memphis to Nashville in 1998. The Oilers changed their name to the ‘Titans’ in 1999.

What this team has done in recent years won’t mean a whole lot to a new fan. The coach, Mike Munchak, is gone. He has been replaced this off-season by Ken Whisenhunt, an offensive mind who took the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl in 2008. The running back, Chris Johnson, is likely to be let go. He had one of the greatest seasons a running back has ever produced in 2009, but has failed to replicate that form since.

With a lot of young and emerging talent, this team is set for a transformation. They are likely to bring in a new running back, utilise new and young wide receivers and reinvent the Titans brand. It has after all, been a brand that hasn’t seen the playoffs since 2008.

If quarterback Jake Locker can get healthy, this team could be a bit dangerous moving forward. But they are a huge question mark at this point, and choosing them as your team is going to be a gamble if you are expecting success; nobody knows what this team is going to be able to do in the near future.