Sigh, Let’s Talk About Where The Titans Went Wrong (Hint: It’s Not Tannehill)

I am numb. My heart aches. I feel like I just listened to an entire Smiths album. I don’t want to do anything today. My wife made me go to the grocery store and it took me two hours because I caught myself just wandering aimlessly down the aisles. I also couldn’t find Clif Bars. The NFL season is so damn long (even longer now), and to earn the 1-seed only to go one and done in the playoffs has to be the biggest rug pull of all time. لعبه بينجو I could watch the ending to Marley & Me on loop and still not be as sad as I am right now.

And now Titans fans and the national media are going to be flinging a lot of Ryan Tannehill jokes and hate around like monkeys flinging poop this offseason, but I’ve always been a believer of the philosophy “don’t be critical without offering a solution.” And really, what is the solution here? Due to Tannehill’s contract, you can’t just trade him. You can’t cut him. Nor do I think you should, either. (I’ll get to that in a sec.) You’re not going to draft a QB – or at least you shouldn’t. This year’s quarterback draft class is one of the worst in years (no offense to A.D. and his boy Kenny Pickett).

To me, this is simple and obvious. It starts above Tannehill.

From 2019 (when Tannehill took over as starter) to 2020, Ryan Tannehill was the top-rated quarterback in the NFL. That’s not hyperbole. He had a higher passer rating than Brady, Mahomes, Rodgers, and even Sam Darnold!! Tannehill also produced the most game-winning drives in the 4th quarter and overtime of any quarterback in football in that same time span. Again, not a joke. Since taking over for Mariota, he’s played at an elite level. People won’t talk about it, because it doesn’t fit the Tannehill sucked in Miami narrative, but it’s 100% true. In fact, Tannehill was the signal-caller for the 3rd best offense in football last season, an offense that was the top-ranked offense in the NFL for most of the season. 1xbet arabic

So what changed from last year to this year?

This.

Former tight ends coach turned offensive coordinator Arthur Smith left to coach the Falcons. And by the looks of it, he’s loving it.

So who did the Titans choose to take his place? Well, they tried catching lightning in a bottle twice by promoting another tight ends coach and instead electrocuted themselves with Todd Downing.

To be blunt, I’d rather have this Todd calling plays on the Titans sideline.

At least his play calls would be sexual and violent.

But for real. Tannehill turned the ball over a lot this season. Yes, a majority of that is on Tannehill, but the fact that he didn’t progress? الربح الحقيقى من الانترنت The fact that he actually regressed into old bad habits? That majority is on coaching. I know I can’t put all of the blame on Todd. This Titans team was plagued with injuries this year. And that’s an understatement. They were the most injured team in the history of football. Again, not hyperbole. They set an NFL record by Week 12. So it’s not like he had a full deck to work with. But when he did, like on Saturday, it was extremely underwhelming. And yes, you can rip Downing for a lot of his play-calling. Many Titans do every week. But to me, it’s deeper than that. It’s the lack of progression or improvement that we saw throughout the season.

So again, don’t be critical without offering a solution. What’s my solution?

Do what you did last year with the defense to this offense. Reshuffle the coaching assignments. They brought in a defensive stud like Jim Schwartz and went from one of the worst defenses in the NFL to a team that sacked Joe Burrow *Ferris Bueller’s principal voice* NINE TIMES in a game. All in one year. So now do whatever it takes to fix this. Because one look at Todd and it’s a clear “this ain’t it, chief.” Especially when you consider what he produced in his one season as Raiders offensive coordinator, and pair that with what he did with a trio of Derrick Henry, AJ Brown, and Julio Jones on two weeks rest yesterday.

Tannehill can be great. We’ve seen it. We can see it again. He just needs the coaches and offensive gurus around him to help get him there. The Titans need a guy who can whip Tannehill out of bad habits when he regresses. He’s only had that once in his career so far. Adam Gase was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Todd Downing clearly ain’t the answer in Nashville. Tannehill only had success when he worked under a great coach. Titans just need to find that guy again.

Easier said than done, I know. But it feels like every year there’s a new whiz kid rising in the ranks. Get yourself a Sean McVay, a Brandon Staley, hell, maybe you can lift Kellen Moore from the Cowboys for cheap after that idiotic quarterback draw call in his two-minute offense. And to the people who say, “Why would you want him after that call?” I view it the same way I view plane crashes. The safest time to fly is after a plane crash, which means the safest time to hire Kellen Moore would be after that plane crash he has against San Francisco. Buy low, sell high, ya know?

But if the Titans can flip that defense in one year like Chip and Joanna, there’s no doubt in my mind they can do the same to the offense. It’s just gonna take some serious look in the mirror, come to Jesus moments within the walls of that building. It’s gonna take a lot of pride swallowing. It’s gonna take finding an O.C. who isn’t obsessed with 2nd and 10 run plays and screens to Chester Rodgers. But just do whatever it takes, Titans. Because there is a championship window for this team, but it’s closing fast. So get after it. Not now, but right now.

Also, please change the name of the stadium to Nissan Coliseum this offseason. Thank you.