Derrick Henry - Titans Ever On

The Playoffs Start Now

There is no tomorrow. Today is all the matters. The playoff run starts this Sunday.

I realize the title of this article is not exactly accurate. I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, the playoffs start on Sunday for the Tennessee Titans. There really is no other way around it. Obviously, the Titans could still make the playoffs with a loss against the Houston Texans, but I think we can all admit backing into the playoffs is not the best approach for a team that has been a .500 club over the last 10 games.

Did you catch that? Over the last 10 games, the Tennessee Titans are 5-5. For a team that started 5-0 and showed such early promise, the majority of the season has been average at best. True, they have some big wins but they also have some inexcusable losses. (I’m looking at you, Bengals.)

Yes, the offense has been spectacular throughout the season, with only a few hiccups along the way. I’m not going to hit them too hard for a few missteps. (The first Indy game and the recent debacle in Green Bay come to mind.) Taken as a whole, the offense has been better than any fan could have hoped for. Tannehill, Henry, Davis, Brown, and company have created the best offense Titans’ fans have ever seen. It’s been impressive, to say the least.

But (you knew it was coming), the defense has been equally as bad. Maybe worse. I’ve been watching Tennessee Titans’ football since Day One, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a defense this pathetic or inept. Sure, I’ve seen defenses equally as bad, but those had zero to little talent. This squad has talent. You will never convince me otherwise. Perhaps we all overvalued the talent on the roster, but I firmly believe the talent is mostly there, outside of edge rushers. Virtually no one on the defense has played up to their talent. Most have had career worst seasons. It’s mindboggling and exasperating. And I see no scenario where is gets much better this season.

So, it’s been a mixed bag. Offensively, this should be a 12 or 13 win team. Defensively, it should be a 1 or 2 win team. It’s miraculous this team has clawed it’s way to 10 wins so far. But, with the way last season ended and the historic firepower of the offense, fans have a right to expect great things from this team. Losing to Houston on Sunday and missing out on the playoffs and the division are not part of the plan.

The playoffs start now. The Titans have no business losing on Sunday to a depleted Houston team. The Titans have the talent to win 11 games, win the AFC South, and host their first playoff game since 2008. This is not a throwaway game. This is a game that will set the tone for the remainder of the season, one way or another. If the Titans win, they have the potential to make another run, maybe all the way to the Super Bowl. (Yeah, I think they are good enough to hang with anyone on any given Sunday.) If the Titans lose, the could miss the playoffs entirely and the fan base would have every right to be more than a little disappointed. Missing the playoffs with this roster and this offense, would be a lower point than anything in the Mularkey era.

The playoffs start now. Titans, go down to Houston this weekend and establish your dominance. Take control of the game from the opening kick and never let it go. Crush the will of the Texans early and keep crushing it until they cry “Mercy!” The playoffs start now and your fans will accept nothing less than a win, a division title, and trip to the playoffs. We’ve stuck through the lean years. There needs to be a payoff for all the suffering. Make it happen.

The playoffs start now.

Monday Morning Reaction: “This is my happy face.”

That was fun.

Show of hands: How many of you saw THAT coming? Be honest. I’ll wait…

It is really nice to get a game like that after about a month of really close nail biters. I enjoy those as well, but sometimes, I just want to be able to relax at the end of a Titans’ game. Yesterday’s game was just what the doctor ordered.

Here are my main reactions to the game:

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.

Tennessee Titans at Jacksonville Jaguars: Keys to the Game

Punch them in the mouth!

It’s a short week so I’m going to keep my commentary short. These are the three Keys to the game against Jacksonville tonight.

Monday Morning Reaction: Everything is NOT Awesome

This was less fun that Week 1.

Well, that was not optimal.

How are you guys feeling about the Titans allowing the Indianapolis Colts to ruin the home opener? Me, I’m not feeling all that great. If I had written this article last night, it would have been incoherent and borderline insane. I’m glad I let the dust settle, because, as the name of this series suggests, this is a reaction. Not an overreaction.

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.

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 Needs To Change (The NFL on REO)

The NFL has a lot of problems. What are they and how do we fix them? (1,569 words)

The NFL is in trouble. That’s the bad news. The good news is that most of the problems with the league can be corrected, as long as the NFL acts decisively and quickly.

The NFL is best seen as a giant battleship. It’s enormous and built to last, yet its size makes it unwieldy and difficult to change course quickly. Right now, it is the biggest and baddest ship on the water, but it is headed in the wrong direction. To make matters worse, it has dozens of small cracks along its hull that are slowly taking in water. Not one of those cracks is enough to sink it, but collectively, those cracks will eventually bring it down.

Titans Tuesday: Win All the Games!

The long, dark winter (offseason) is over. Football is back! God bless us, everyone!

The Preseason is over. The regular season is about to begin. Words cannot express the joy I am feeling. Perhaps this video can do what my words cannot.

That is how I feel every year the week leading up to the first kickoff in the NFL season. As I’ve asked before, if you are a fan, why would you approach the new season with anything other than enthusiasm and optimism? Let us all take a few moments and just enjoy this moment when everything is great, because it won’t be long when many teams and their respective fans realize that they are going nowhere in 2016.

Titans Tuesday: Fill in the Blank

In this edition we talk about the schedule, the third preseason game and how the Oakland Raiders are the armpit of the NFL.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: I have no idea what this article is going to be about today. I nearly decided not to write an article today, but I would hate to let down my 37 faithful readers. I will press on, writing one word after another until an idea hits me.

Last week, I promised that we would look at the Titans’ regular season schedule, so, I guess that is as good of a place to start as any. “Officially”, the Titans should have one of the easiest regular season schedules in the league, since they finished with the worst record in the league last year. Some years, that works out well, and this year seems to fall in that category. Frankly, I haven’t been thrilled with the schedule for the Titans the past few seasons. Too many tough matchups early on, or a bye week that falls at the wrong time, or too many road games early in the schedule seemed to lend to the death spiral that has been the Tennessee Titans in recent history.