Atlanta Falcons - Titans Ever On

Monday Morning Reaction: A Solid Day at the Office

Don’t overreact! Don’t overreact! Don’t overreact!

It wasn’t a perfect game but the Tennessee Titans did what was necessary to get a road win in Atlanta. I am not taking anything away from the team. They played physical. They played smart. (Most of the time.) But, I want to avoid declaring that all things are great after a big win. This team has plenty of potential. We just need to see it consistently.

Tennessee Titans at Atlanta Falcons: Keys to the Game

Is everyone okay? Have we all recovered from the last week of football? I saw some Twitter warriors postulate that the last week (losing to the Colts and the Jaguars in 5 days) was one of the worst stretches of Titans football ever. How quickly we all forget about the past. In 2014, the Titans ended the season on a 10 game losing streak. Yes, the last two games were incredibly frustrating but let’s not lose our minds about them. Things could be much, much worse.

The Tennessee Titans go into Atlanta this Sunday needing a win. But, possibly even more than that, they need to play a good game. The past two weeks the team has been bad. If they have another bad performance this week, it is going to take something special to pull them out of that spiral. So, if they want to get the train back on the track, here are the three keys to the game against the Falcons.

Wild Card Round Preview (The NFL on REO)

It’s playoff time! Here is your preview for the Wild Card Round – picks included.

Tennessee at Kansas City

by Michael Lytle

The Tennessee Titans are big underdogs in the Wild Card match up with the Kansas City Chiefs.

This is not surprising. The Titans are without their starting running back, they have played poorly on offense for most of the season, and they are short on playoff experience. The Chiefs, on the other hand, have an explosive offense, a very successful head coach, and are playing at home. Even as a Titans fan I admit that it makes sense that the Chiefs are a 9 point favorite.

Two Tales of One City (The NFL on REO)

Updated Power Rankings a look at sports in Nashville. (1,505 words)

Power Rankings

I got some help this week for the NFL Power Rankings from fellow REO contributors Gowdy Cannon and Mike Lytle. I asked them to rank their top 15 teams. We then assigned a point value to each team based on where they were ranked and then added those points together to get the final product – The NFL on REO Top Ten. (Example for the ranking: A 1st place vote receives 15 points, a 2nd place vote receives 14 points, and a 15th place vote receives 1 point.) I’ve listed the total point value for each team so you can see how this all came together. For the tie-breakers, I listed the rationale for why one team was placed above the other.

1. New England – 45

Back when the Patriots were 2-2 with what was by far the last place team in defensive points given up, it looked like the rest of the league may have had a prayer of not having to deal with this constant playoff juggernaut this year. It was a testimony to how incredible the offense is that they were 2-2 since most teams would have been 0-4 giving up 38 points every week.

Stream of Consciousness (The NFL on REO)

I am on drugs. I am sorry. (604 words)

I’m all hopped-up on pain meds so you will have to excuse this week’s installment. At least you are getting one, as I came this close to not writing anything.

I had my gallbladder removed on Friday and I am still in the recovery phase. I have to eat bland food for a bit and rest and take it easy. And I have to take the aforementioned pain meds. They are nice pain meds. They make me feel warm and fuzzy. Mostly fuzzy. But with less pain. So it’s a good fuzzy. The surgery went well and my recovery seems to be going well also. I thought about ending that sentence with another “as well” but quickly realized that was a bad idea. But I can’t really trust my judgment since I am currently on drugs so maybe it wouldn’t have been a bad idea.

Frankly, I don’t care. Moving on.

Quarterback: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (The NFL on REO)

Highlighting some of the most interesting Quarterback stories in Week 6 of the NFL. (796 words)

The Good

Carson Wentz

I will readily admit that I did not expect Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles to be this good this quickly. Wentz burst on the scene last year and had all the East Coast media hyperventilating. He came crashing back to earth in the second half of the season but the buzz had been built and the media declared him one of the up-and-coming Quarterbacks to watch in 2017. For once, the media was actually correct. At least, the signs appear to be pointing in that direction.

Through six games, Wentz has thrown nearly 1,600 yards, 13 touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions. He has a passer rating of 99.6. If you look a little more closely at his numbers, his improvement seems to be pretty easy to pinpoint: He protects the ball better than last year and he is making his completions count more. His completion percentage is actually almost 2% points lower than his rookie season, but he is throwing for a much higher TD% and a much lower INT%. Also, his Yards Per Attempt is substantially better in 2017. Eagles’ fans have to be excited about the future with the growth they have seen in year two for Wentz.

Quarter Season Power Rankings (The NFL on REO)

We have new Power Rankings! (669 words)

Phill’s Quarter-Season Power Rankings!

We should probably call this edition: “Not Available.” That will make more sense in a bit. This season has been unpredictable, which is one of the reasons the NFL is so much fun. Contrary to some opinions, there have been some really good games this year and we are once again shaping up to have a good number of new playoff teams in the mix. As you will see below, the Top Ten has been invaded by many new faces this time around. And that’s a good thing. I don’t know if these teams will be able to keep it up for the next 12 games, but so far, they have earned their spots on my list. Feel free to tell me I’m an idiot in the comment section below. I can take it. (You can view the first Power Rankings right here.)

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: Dominance

This week’s column contains more Gowdy Cannon zaniness and our first Power Rankings of the season. Number 3 will blow your mind! (1,741 words)

The Insane Ramblings of Gowdy Cannon

On to 2017…

Yes, I’m the guy who wrote a 2500-hundred word counseling session on how Tom Brady is the most overrated quarterback of all-time. But don’t let that keep you from reading what I’m about to write. You should appreciate it primarily because I wrote the Brady article.

While players can be overrated or underrated to team success I do not think there is any way to get around claiming team superiority in an objective way. For example, we could argue all day whether Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Matt Ryan was the best QB in the NFL last year, but we cannot argue that New England was the best team. That was objectively settled on the field.