Andrew Luck - Titans Ever On

A Few Thoughts About Andrew Luck

These are the worst takes about Andrew Luck’s retirement.

This is a Titans’ blog. So, why am I talking about Andrew Luck? That should be obvious. Luck’s retirement will likely play a huge role in the Titans’ season. The Titans are infamously 0-11 against the Colts when Andrew Luck starts. That is impossibly bad. The truth is, Luck stepping away from football should make the road to the playoffs easier for the Titans in 2019.

But, this isn’t even really about that. It’s just a jumping off point. I want to address a few of the most popular and eroneous online takes in regards to Luck’s retirement. I’ll take them one at a time.

Five Reasons Every Titans’ Fan Should Love Marcus Mariota

My man-crush on Marcus Mariota is real and spectacular.

If you had polled Titans’ fans prior to last season, I am convinced that an overwhelming majority of them would have been “all in” on Marcus Mariota. They would have believed he had proven that he was the franchise quarterback this team has been looking for since the Steve McNair era. Then the 2017-2018 season happened and the narrative about Mariota changed. Drastically. He went from being one of the most exciting young QB’s in the game to one of the most head-scratching. He threw more interceptions than touchdowns last season, his accuracy seemed to get worse, and he clearly did not have the same sort of electric speed and mobility of his first two professional seasons. Now, it is not uncommon to hear Titans’ fans talk about Mariota being a bust or that the team needs to draft his replacement. We live in crazy times.

I am firmly in the camp that believes that last season was an aberration. Due to a myriad (yes, I used myriad – deal with it) of factors, Mariota took a step back in his development last year. Here’s a quick recap of a few of those factors:

A Look Around the League (The NFL on REO)

We take a quick trip around the league. (1, 061 words)

“Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow”

How amazing was the Colts vs. Bills game on Sunday? The records didn’t matter. The actual game-play didn’t matter. All that mattered was the snow. It was an ugly game for on-field execution, but is was a beautiful game for aesthetics. Seeing giant, super-human type athletes slog through the snow was about as fun as it gets. Seeing clouds of snow explode after every tackle or diving catch was mesmerizing. And even though Adam Vinatieri missed two field goals, watching him nail the game-tying extra point from over 40 yards away was one of the greatest kicks I have ever seen.

I hope we get a few more of these types of games this season. They make some of these less interesting matchups much more enjoyable.

The NFL on REO: Game Time!

The Regular Season is here! We rank all 16 games and we give our staff predictions for the Tennessee Titans’ record. (947 words)

It’s game time baby!

The NFL season kicks off tomorrow with the defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, facing off against the Kansas City Chiefs. I am so excited, even if this first game includes my most hated team in the history of all sports – the Patriots. It’s real NFL football for the first time in over half a year! What is better than that?

To commemorate this momentous occasion, here is my interest level for each game this week. We’ll start at the bottom.

The NFL on REO: Tennessee Titans Edition

We go “all-in” on the Tennessee Titans! We recap Preseason Game 3, do Five Questions with Paul Kuharsky, and get your predictions for the upcoming season. (1,572 words)

The Tennessee Titans – High Hopes and Legitimate Concerns

This week, we are going to take a little break from our usual league-wide coverage, and focus only on the Tennessee Titans. For those that think that seems unfair, too bad. It’s my column and I can do whatever I want. Last season, the Titans finished second in the AFC South with a 9-7 record. They missed the playoffs in a tie-breaker to the Houston Texans. The Titans have made what look to be smart moves this offseason to improve the roster and hopes are high in Tennessee.

Or, they were high until the preseason started.

The Titans were uninspired and seemingly bored the entire first preseason game against the New York Jets. Their offense was anemic and their first team defense gave up a quick score to an awful Jets’ offense. The Titans rebounded and looked good the following week against the Carolina Panthers. Both sides of the ball made plays and they calmed the doubts and fears that had been festering in the hearts of the Tennessee fan base after the first game.

Titans Tuesday: The Top Ten Things I Am Thinking

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

In keeping with the Top Ten theme of the week here at Rambling Ever On, I decided to list the Top Ten things that have been bouncing around in my head the past few days. Obviously, these are the Titans’ related thoughts I’ve had. I do think about other things from time to time. So, without further ado:

10. The J-E-T-S are the worst, worst, worst.

A win by the Jets last night would have knocked the Indianapolis Colts to 5-7. That would have been huge for the Titans and their playoff hopes.

Titans Tuesday: Perspective

Is Marcus Mariota the same QB as Jake Locker?

I live in Nashville. I am a huge sports’ fan. Therefore, I listen to a lot of sports’ talk radio. Too much, to be honest. And it is driving me crazy.

After the Tennessee Titans had won two games in a row, and clawed their way to a 3-3 record for the season, too many of the local shows were starting to talk playoffs.

Playoffs?!?

(I won’t bore you with the whole Jim Mora bit. I’m sure you’ve heard it many times.)