Was Choosing "Glow Up" the Right Move?

We can all agree that based on the offseason the Titans have chosen to "Glow Up" the team over "Blow Up". Is that the right choice?

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We are deep in the offseason and now in that weird “dead” period between OTAs and Training Camp. The Titans don’t report back to the facility until late July, so this is where the real genius content creators cut their teeth. You’ll probably see a ton of silly articles over the next month or so, but we will try to keep that to a minimum.

I put dead in quotations above because it’s dead for the media but crucial for the players. Something to keep in mind is that players have been sent home with instructions and things for them to work on during this period. Obviously, they must stay in shape, but there are mechanics, techniques, drills, etc., that they are heavily suggested to work on.

This period can make or break certain players and it will instantly show who put in the work and who didn’t when training camp starts. Good luck to them, but are the Titans in need of some serious good luck?

Outside of praying to Asclepius, the Greek God of Health, for good fortune, the Titans are also in need of some good luck for their season on the field. They have chosen to go with a “Glow Up” of their roster instead of a “Blow Up” and most analysts think that could be a mistake.

Let’s dive into a few ways of look at this debate.

My Definition of “Glow Up” & “Blow Up”

I think a lot of the debates and discussion around this topic have multiple people using the same word but different definitions. You start talking with someone about wanting to blow it up and they really kind of just want to do a minor fart instead of a full-on shit. So, I think it helps if we start clearly defining what we mean in most sports talk situations.

So, for me, there have only been two paths for this team all offseason and that is to “Glow Up” or “Blow Up” the roster. People like to use rebuild, restart, retool, etc., and those don’t accurately reflect what I want to convey in the most general usage of the words. They’re also tired descriptors.

I have always thought this team was going to “Glow Up” the roster. It is just how Mike Vrabel is wired and why Ran Carthon was brought on board. After all, if they didn’t want to contend (Blow Up) they wouldn’t have made all the statements they made since firing Jon Robinson. Including Amy Adams Strunk who felt this team wasn’t on the correct path to a Super Bowl.

They needed a pivot in how they bring in players and the personnel used to scout them. A pivot on the staff as well adding a myriad of staffers to where it feels like they have thirteen positions coaches just on offense. Anyways, they were never going to blow it all up just to try and get better draft position in 2024.

This team felt like it was always going to want to contend and compete…though I have varying degrees of belief that they will…this is what they thought of their team. While I usually do disagree, I always look at their possible perception or decisions surrounding the team from their perspective. It also gets confused for my perspective even though I use the correct words and add extra emphasis.

So, they chose a “Glow Up”. This to me means that they just need to tinker with the roster. I am a remodeling show guy. They’re wanting to take a home move some walls around, get some of the bad flooring out, and put their personal touch on it. Essentially, removing bad contracts, bad players, bad staff, and set themselves up for success immediately.

Now the level of immediate success they can achieve is going to depend wildly on who you ask. Myself? They will be better than next year and lose in the first round of the playoffs. However, that is success in the right direction and proof of concept that this thing can work.

What a lot of pundits and fans wanted was a “Blow Up”. Essentially, trade or cut everyone. Start completely over and just accept that no matter what the team does it isn’t going to win. Ryan Stonehouse kicks the season to 2024 and just start from scratch.

The problem is rarely is this a successful approach. Think of perennially bad teams who have had to go through roster, HC, and GM resets with very little sustained success. How many QBs, HCs, and rosters have the Lions been through over the last two decades? They’re finally favored to win the NFC North and that may be due to Aaron Rodgers no longer being there.

Now flip to the other side where you see teams do seamless transitions to maintain a level of success that keeps them in the conversation. It is a lot harder to come out the other side a Super Bowl winning team through a Blow Up than it is a Glow Up.

However, in this team’s particular case…are they just delaying the inevitable?

Learn by Example: Nashville Predators