Delanie Walker - Titans Ever On

Thank you, Delanie Walker

A letter to Delanie Walker.

Mr. Walker, I see the Titans just placed you on IR for the remainder of the season. That is very disappointing. It is disappointing because it means your season is over. But, it’s more disappointing because it means your time with the Tennessee Titans is probably over as well. I hope not, but that’s typically how these things work.

You don’t deserve to go out like this. You have been a consummate professional in your time in Tennessee. You are one of the main reasons the Titans were able to leave the dregs of the NFL behind and become a winning franchise again. You are the best Tight End in the history of the team, no offense to Frank Wycheck. I’m convinced that if you had played for a Dallas or a New York and put up the numbers you did in Tennessee, you would be a household name. Instead, you produced at an All-Pro level for 6+ seasons in virtual anonymity. Again, you don’t deserve that.

So, if this move to IR is the end of your time with the Titans, I just want to say “thank you.” You have exemplified what it means to be a professional, a leader, a teammate, and a role model. You have excelled at your craft and worked harder than everyone around you. The results speak for themselves: 381 catches. 4,423 yards. 28 touchdown in your time with Tennessee. Those kind of numbers don’t happen by accident. They happen because of all the hard work and time you put into perfecting your skills. They happened because of your unstoppable work ethic and drive.

I hope this isn’t the end of your time in two-toned blue. We loved cheering for you. You did more for this franchise than most players who have walked through the doors at St. Thomas Sports Park. If this is goodbye, you did everything you could to make this team great and the fans won’t forget it.

Thank you, Delanie Walker. Thank you for being a Titan fans could be proud of. The number 82 is yours to keep. The team won’t need it for anyone else after you are gone.

Tennessee Titans at Cleveland Browns: Keys to the Game

For a Titans’ win, these three things need to happen. Titans Ever On: Keys to the game.

If all goes according to plan, this will be a weekly installment. I’ll do my best to be succinct and not waste anyone’s time with too many words. (I tend to ramble a bit…) Every week, I want to focus on three areas (keys) that I believe are the most important for success for that particular game. No more preamble. Let’s get to the keys to the game for week one.

Five Titans Season Predictions

I might as well go big for my first real article on Titans Ever On. These predictions are not for the faint of heart. I will be pulling no punches. Fortunate favors the bold and all that. So, buckle up and hold on tight. (I’m all out of cliches…) Here are my five Titans season predictions.

1. The offense will share the load.

In the Return of the King, one of the most iconic scenes is when brave and loyal Samwise Gamgee carries Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom. (If that sentence has you questioning whether this is a sports’ article or the musings of a nerd, the answer is both. You might as well come to terms with that now.) Frodo is completely worn down by the weight and power of the ring he is carrying. (Seriously, if you don’t understand this reference, I’m not going to re-tell the entire story. Go watch the movies or read the books.) Sam realizes he cannot carry the ring – its power would consume him as well. So he decides to carry his friend instead. It’s an amazing and powerful moment in a film full of amazing and powerful moments.

The Tennessee Titans: A Glass Half-Full Examination of the 2018 Season

One fan’s wildly optimistic take on the 2018 Tennessee Titans.

I am a pessimist. I like to consider myself a realist, but when you strip away all the fancy words, you are left with someone who typically expects the worst. In my defense, the worst is usually what happens which is why my stubborn realist philosophy seems validated.

I have a few exceptions to my pessimistic personality, with a big one being my sports’ teams. When it comes to my teams, I am an eternal optimist. I always see the silver lining. I always hope and believe that the future will be bright, even in the face of all evidence to the contrary. My hope for this article is that I can balance both sides – the optimist and the pessimist. I hope that balance will make for a more nuanced and rational take on what has been an incredibly frustrating season for my favorite team – the Tennessee Titans.

The Blame Game (The NFL on REO)

We talk Titans, referees, and the incompetence of the commissioner. (1,342 words)

Titans Talk

Sunday’s game in Miami was brutal to watch. The Titans were never able to find any offensive rhythm under backup QB, Matt Cassel. It is no surprise, that after a 16-10 loss to a painfully bad Miami Dolphins’ team, many people in the Titans’ organization are getting blamed. And there is plenty of well-deserved blame to go around. Unfortunately, most of the local writers, radio talkers, and fans are pointing their fingers in the wrong direction. That is where I come in. Consider this the official Blame Index for the debacle in South Florida.

Titans Tuesday: How You Like Me Now?

All I do is win, win, win.

I’m not sure what else needs to be said about the Tennessee Titans’ absolute dismantling of the Green Bay Packers. We could talk about how good the running game looked. We could talk about Delanie Walker and the stiff arm of doom. Talk about the weapon Rishard Matthews has become in the offense. Talk about the game plan the coaches constructed that kept the Packers’ defense on its heels the entire game. But, as I have made it clear on numerous occasions, I have a massive man crush on Marcus Mariota, so we are going to spend a little time on him today.

Titans Tuesday: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

We saw the best and the worst the 2016 Tennessee Titans have to offer. What does it all mean?

The Tennessee Titans’ loss to the San Diego Chargers was a microcosm of the 2016 Titans’ season. There was a lot of good. There was a little more bad. As I have said many times before, the Tennessee Titans are a team that is playing with very little margin for error. They cannot afford to make mistakes; especially not big mistakes as they did on Sunday. When the Titans play a clean game, they can beat almost any team in the league. Unfortunately, they do not seem to be capable of playing mistake-free football in consecutive games.

Titans Tuesday: Run Like the Wind!

The Tennessee Titans are on a one game winning streak!

Welcome to the new and improved Titans Tuesday. From this point on, these articles are going to be quick and easy little numbers and will be spotlighted on the sidebar of the website. I took last week off because I was on vacation and unable to watch the game. I’ll sum it up: The Titans lost because they turned the ball over too much. That seems to be a common theme with this team.

Titans Tuesday: Do Better

We examine exactly why the Tennessee Titans lost to the Raiders on Sunday.

The Tennessee Titans are 1-2.

They could easily be 3-0.

They could easily be 0-3.

Where does this leave us? How good or bad is this team?

At this point, I don’t think anyone knows for sure. There are plenty of positive signs for the team, but there are also plenty of negatives. As head coach Mike Mularkey said after the loss, “We have to coach better, we have to play better, and I think they have to officiate better. All of us have to do things better.” Many Titans’ fans believe the team would have defeated the Oakland Raiders if it were not for three questionable calls/no-calls at the end of the fourth quarter.