[FREE] Put Up or Shut Up Time for the 2023 Titans
The Titans are at a crossroad...sound familiar?
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When you open the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word tribulation is defined as “distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution”.
Now the Titans aren’t suffering from any oppression or persecution, but they’re dealing with a level of distress the franchise hasn’t seen in quite some time. That might sound a bit over the top when you think about it, especially considering just how successful this organization has been over the last few years.
But when you compare the Titans’ current situation to their winning ways of the past, then you start to understand why the word “tribulation” resonates so much with the current 2023 Tennessee Titans.
They sit at 2-3, have major problems on both sides of the ball, and are concerningly close to falling behind in a division race that has normally been dominated by them over the last 2 seasons.
For some, this sort of setback would only be seen as a normal bump in the road, a piece of junk that makes traveling on the highway difficult and somewhat dangerous.
But for these Titans, this setback looks to be a mountain sized boulder that won’t budge from its current spot. And for that reason, is why some are starting to believe that this season has already met its most crucial moment yet.
What has led to these feelings of despair?
Why does this setback feel so negative for the Titans?
Well, their problems are ones that are expected and unexpected at the same time. The expected problems have come offensively, as the unit under offensive coordinator Tim Kelly remains a major work in progress.
Why?
Honestly, it’s all due to the crude bug known as consistency.
The Titans have scored 27 points in just two of their 5 games this season, while failing to hit the 20-point mark in the remaining 3 contests. One of the main reasons for this disastrous consistency, has been the fact that the Titans have played two elite defenses over the first 5 weeks.
Cleveland and New Orleans respectively.
Another issue has been the play of the offensive line, as pass protection has been up and down, along with the quality of the play up front in the run game. As a result, the Titans’ bread and butter has been limited to moldy bread and stinky butter, leaving this offense in a bit of a bad rut more times than not.
The most unexpected problem, however, has come from a defense that many saw as the strong point of this team.
Not only has this defense been the lifeline for the Titans over the past few years, but it’s also been a unit that has single handedly kept this team relevant while the offense has struggled to prevent itself from drowning.
At some point this season, almost everything has gone wrong defensively. The pass rush hasn’t been as expected, the front 7 has lost way too many battles at the line of scrimmage, and the secondary has been a major liability.
What’s concerning is that the first two issues are ones that the Titans haven’t had to worry about in years. They’ve usually had the fortune of relying on their stout front 7, now though it seems they must worry about it even being much of a threat.
Why the feelings are so negative
With all that being said, it’s easy to see why the feelings are so negative.
The Titans have branded themselves as a team that’ll give you a fight each and every gameday. It might not look pretty, the neutral sports watcher will probably spurn the Titans in favor of watching the league’s next hottest commodity, and the media that covers the league probably won’t care enough about this team to write a time-consuming column about their success and the extensive details residing within it.
But that hasn’t mattered in recent years, because like previously mentioned, this team was going to fight until the last whistle, grind out every possible yard, and leave you wanting an ice bath by the time Monday morning arrived.
However, when you lose that edge, that toughness, that effort, that passion, you’re left with a football team that’s running around trying to win without an identity to drive them forward.
And when you’re a team without an identity, you’re likely going to look at yourself in the mirror, not recognize the face you’re used to seeing, and eventually you’re going to walk away with your head hanging in disappointment and shame.
It sounds pretty dramatic, but for a team that prides itself on winning the battle of physicality and grinding until the last possible moment, it doesn’t seem so dramatic once you see how much of the oomph has been lost.
Overview
There’s still time for the Titans to regain their composure.
It’s only Week 6, a lot of teams are still trying to get themselves together…. like the Titans. But time isn’t on the Titans’ side, theoretically that is.
If they can’t recover soon, they’ll have to face the reality that this season is lost. When a season feels lost early on, you start to see a lot more buyout from players, which of course leads to a lack of effort, and eventually more losses on the win-loss column.
The Titans have a strong group of guys, so that concern seems more on the low side. But it’s usually a concern anyways, so it’s something you usually must watch out for.
Additionally, a lost season tends to lead to questions roster wise. For the Titans, if they aren’t within striking distance of January football, there needs to be tough conversations regarding the future.
Specifically at quarterback.
I touched on this a few weeks ago and it still stands now. If the Titans can’t find their footing soon, there needs to be more talk regarding the plan at quarterback. And that includes giving their young options precious game time to work out flaws, as well as give the Titans a clue as to whether they should be in the running for a quarterback in next spring’s draft.
But I know Mike Vrabel and his team don’t want to be in that situation.
So, it’s put up or shut up time.
Let’s see how this team responds, starting with Sunday’s tough game in London against the Baltimore Ravens.
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