[FREE] Wild Card Lessons for Titans
What the Tennessee Titans can learn from the NFL's Wild Card Weekend
Get 20% off forever by clicking the button below.
The NFL playoffs kicked off this weekend, with many intriguing storylines and juicy matchups awaiting our very eyes.
But although playoff football is fun for a lot of us, it kind of felt weird without the Titans not being included in the league’s exclusive invite only January affair.
Yes yes, the Titans missed the playoffs last year, so maybe fans are used to it by now. But the team was on a high from 2017-2022, so you can’t blame fans for not getting attached to the ecstasy known as playoff football.
For the Titans to get back there, they’ll need to address a lot of big questions first, notably the new head coach and some important roster holes that need to be filled as soon as possible.
But we’re ways away from any of that happening — not the head coaching hire, that could be within the next 2-3 weeks depending on certain results for specific teams — with free agency not arriving until early to mid March and the draft not going down until late April, so until then, let’s talk wild card weekend.
More specifically, what the Titans can learn from the games over the weekend and on Monday.
Bobby Slowik and Ben Johnson Have to be 2 of the Titans’ Top HC Candidates
One of the hot topics surrounding the Titans right now, is who will become the franchise’s next head coach.
Mike Vrabel was canned, with owner Amy Adams Strunk citing alignment and vision as the main reasons for the firing. Now, with an opening in place, attention immediately turns towards just who the Titans will hire to replace Vrabel.
But there isn’t much thinking required on this one, as the Titans should already have an idea on who that man should be.
This past weekend, HC candidates Ben Johnson and Bobby Slowik both coached in their team’s respective wild card games. Johnson against the Los Angeles Rams and Slowik against the Cleveland Browns.
The results? Pretty much a success all around.
Slowik’s offense dominated the vaunted Browns defense, as CJ Stroud and company appeared to have zero trouble managing against Jim Schwartz’s unit.
Johnson on the other hand was a bit less precise, but his unit still looked good for the most part against the Rams’ defense.
Both have HC opportunities on the horizon, but they calmly stayed focused and delivered for their current teams, which led to two important wins.
Because of that, the Titans won’t be able to interview both of them until they get eliminated from the playoffs. That obviously stinks, but seeing them both thrive should only make the decision clearer for the Titans.
And that decision is that one of Johnson or Slowik — throw in Brian Callahan if you want to — has the team’s next head coach, at least right now.
Every year we have “hot coaching candidates”, but both of these men have shown to be strong offensive minds, something the Titans need with Will Levis entering his second season.
Weapons and Security Are Needed Offensively
Speaking of offense, these past wild card games have only emphasized just how much personnel change the Titans need offensively.
We saw the Texans, Bills, Buccaneers, Chiefs, Lions, and Packers all display some wonderful execution offensively, all on the backs of their personnel that made the difference.
Seeing these teams strut their stuff with the personnel they have, should’ve only sparked the Titans to recognize their personnel problem and address this upcoming offseason. Offensive line help, receiving help, the Titans need both badly next year in the worst way.
How will they go about it remains to be seen, but there needs to be some sort of action there, which is stating the obvious.
Mike Tomlin Standard = Mike Vrabel Standard?
This is just a random thought here.
Watching the Steelers over the weekend gave me two thoughts:
I still don’t understand how the Steelers keep sneaking into the playoffs like this
Maybe the Mike Tomlin standard — which is predicated on physical football with shut down defense (remind you of someone) — has begun to age
Obviously the first thought will never be answered because the Steelers have some sort of black magic on their hands.
But the second one makes me think further. Tomlin has been in Pittsburgh for a very long time, 17 years in fact. He’s won a lot of games, coached some of the best teams in the franchise’s history, and has etched his name into the record books as one of the best coaches in NFL history.
However, in recent years, it seems the fire has lost its spunk.
I know the Steelers won’t fire Tomlin, but there has to be some thought on just how long this ride will continue to last, right?
You can only ride on the back of a flawed plan for so long. And if you stay on for too long, bad things could happen and could happen fast.
It kind of reminds me of Vrabel’s situation with the Titans.
His way of things had gotten the franchise to heights it hasn’t seen since the early days of the franchise’s stay in Tennessee. But things had obviously grown stale over the past two years, signaling that it was time for a change.
I know the correlation isn’t 100%, but the broad similarity between the two situations made me think a bit.
It Can’t Be “My Way or the Highway”
One last Vrabel note, is that his way of doing things never seemed to gel with a few players that walked through the doors of Saint Thomas Sports Park.
One of those players was Josh Reynolds, a current receiver for the Detroit Lions.
Reynolds was brought in during the 2021 offseason, to help compensate for the team’s lack of a true WR2, after the departure of Corey Davis. His light success with the Rams provided some optimism, but as we saw, that optimism quickly turned into pessimism.
Reynolds never really fit in, struggling to make a name for himself in Tennessee, before eventually being waived late in the season.
Fans cited him not “buying in” as a cause of his failures, failing at the time to realize that his “failures” weren’t the sole reason for his time in Tennessee being so disappointing.
He was picked up by the Lions and — would you know it — has turned himself into a very valuable depth piece for the Lions’ offense.
In fact, just last game in the franchise’s first home playoff game in God knows when, Reynolds put in a shift that consisted of 5 catches for 80 yards, production the Titans could’ve used over the last two years.
I know this is a bit of revisionists history, but there’s a legit fire with this smoke.
The Titans have had a weird view on receivers for years now and it’s prevented them from recognizing the potential in some of the options they’ve had. Not “franchise mainstay” potential, but “solid for the season” potential.
To put it in other words, the Titans have got in their own way.
Maybe this view changes with Carthon now at the helm and a new head coach in place. But man, it’s hilarious to realize that maybe the Titans could’ve had some problems solved at receiver during such crucial times.
It’s Okay to not Be in a Big Market, Like Philadelphia or Dallas
This is just one little footnote.
But man, being a small market isn’t the worst thing in the world. Take the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys for example.
Both entered the playoffs in different fashions, with Philly limping into the dance and Dallas with all the hype in the world.
In the end, Philly got bounced out in embarrassing fashion, and Dallas got trounced after one of the worst modern playoff games in their team’s rich history.
The aftermath? Nasty and downright vicious.
Philly, for starting 10-1, then losing 6 out of their last 7 games with a rumored discontent locker room. Dallas, for losing to the 7 seed Packers in a way that makes you thank God you’re not Mike McCarthy.
These two teams play in hellacious markets with constant media criticism. These eye opening losses didn’t help their cause whatsoever.
The Titans on the other hand, haven’t gotten this type of media criticism…ever. They’ve had their losses, but players have usually been able to take the loss normally, instead of having rabid fans and media slinging to deal with.
It almost makes you appreciate small markets and tbe decreased attention they bring.
You can also share Stacking The Inbox to anyone you may think will enjoy this comment! sharing is caring!