It’s August 1st. I step outside the house and am hit with a wave of humidity that comes with the territory here in middle Tennessee this time of year. I don’t even want to leave the house – it makes me want to turn and run. Alas, we have tickets for Barry Manilow at Bridgestone Arena. Aura is asking for restaurant suggestions. I can’t think of any. Keeping up with the food scene in Nashville can be like trying to sweep up a tsunami with a broom. She mentions this place called aba that she’s been wanting to try. For lack of a counter option, I concede. It’s fine.

We arrive in the Wedgewood-Houston neighborhood of Nashville around 4:30PM. I refuse to call it “We-Ho” and I make my position known to anyone within earshot. I have a bizarre moment thinking about my 40 years in this city. When I was younger, this area was nothing. No, not just nothing…it was an area to be avoided. We only came down here on Sundays when the Nashville Flea Market was running. 

Now, this has become one of the trendier parts of town. People walk by in suits,  sunglasses, nice dresses, and the like. I’m here in my shorts, tennis shoes, and my Memphis Grizzlies hat. It seems an odd choice for this environment, and I think it’s probably an even odder choice for a Barry Manilow show. Anyway, we arrive at the front desk, thinking a table is a long shot since we don’t have reservations. But, I’m surprised to hear the hostess state that if we don’t mind waiting a moment, they could seat us outside. 

“Great,” I think to myself. “Early dinner with a side of swamp ass.” We stroll outside, and while I don’t get a full look at the restaurant inside, I get enough of a glimpse to know that Aba feels like stepping into a different world. Soft lights, Earth tones, and plants that make it feel like a tame sort of jungle – it’s beautiful. We’re seated on the patio, and I notice an abundance of fans meant to keep the heat at bay. They work. The early evening air felt tremendous, and I thought back to how Wedgewood-Houston has become so en vogue. Aba is certainly doing their part to make this pocket of the city feel luxurious.

Sarah greets us and asks if we’ve ever dined at Aba before. We haven’t. She explains it’s a Mediterranean cuisine with a California twist to it. Good. It sounds as if we’ll certainly be traveling far from Nashville on this evening. I admit I missed a few details because I was so focused on the drink menu, but the “per my email” cocktail is staring at me in a cold sweat. Sazerac rye, Pierre Ferrand 1840, cynar, blackberry, and lemon. I have no idea what most of the ingredients are but it’s exotic. I feel like living dangerously, so I order it. It just about knocks me on my ass, but I’m good at diffusing conflict and I convince it to let me stay long enough to mellow and enjoy the sunshine. 

It’s time to order food, and we opted to take our meal family style, getting a few plates and sharing. We started with the whipped feta. The house bread was warm and seasoned quite well, a phenomenal vessel for this exquisite feta creation. Topped with pistachios, olive oil, and lemon zest, it made for a wide array of flavor. The tang of the feta and lemon zest was balanced by the earthy tones of the pistachios and olive oil, while the pistachios added a dynamic texture to the dish. I could’ve eaten it with a spoon, and I wonder if I could’ve gotten away with it without being thrown out. 

From there, we ventured on to the roasted pork belly, served with grilled peaches on a bed of harissa honey and topped with mint. Another poetic blend of ingredients. The pork belly was cooked to the perfect temperature, giving way beneath the edge of my fork. It was a no-knife-needed type of tender. The harissa honey and grilled peaches added a sweetness to the pork belly that kept the dish from teetering overboard in the salty department. 

Finally, the crispy potatoes balanced the meal as a hearty and cheesy complement to the pork belly. Topped with mizithra cheese and rosemary, and served with a scallion crema, it was a fresh take on a staple side. 

Okay, so maybe pork belly and potatoes isn’t too adventurous a stride into a Mediterranean restaurant. But, the menu was chock full of choices, and I’m a weak man who can’t resist pork belly when it’s on a menu. Aura and I concluded fairly early into the meal that we’d be coming back for certain – the kebab is safe for now, but I make no promises for the future. 

Aba combines a positively atypical menu with an ambience that feels like dining in a storybook. It has instantly become one of my favorite dining experiences in this city. 

The sun begins to set, the early crawling of golden hour, as we walk back to our car. It’s a bit of a reprieve from the heat and humidity. But, I catch myself thinking about how different that meal was to most other meals I’ve had in this city. It’s as if the thought cannot escape my mind. Im satisfied, not bloated…left contemplating the artistry of Aba’s chefs…and I have a solid buzz going. The wind hits my back, and I think this must be paradise. 

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

Elsewhere on the SoBros Network: Check out Stacking The Inbox for premium coverage of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft. Subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch for all of our movie content. We get weird on Phone It In, the history podcast that explores legendary tales, important historical figures, and events.

If you watched much NFL football last year, you probably noticed more two and three tight end sets than usual. It’s a real shift, not just a perception. Teams combined for the most three-tight-end snaps in a single season since ESPN started tracking that stat back in 2007, and this year’s draft class had a record 17 tight ends drafted in the first five rounds. Tight ends are having a moment.

So naturally, you’d think the Titans — with new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll and a tight end room that got a real upgrade this offseason — would be jumping on the bandwagon. Except Daboll’s offense doesn’t really work that way, and this year’s roster isn’t built for it either. Let’s get into what the numbers actually show, whether stacking tight ends even helps you score more, and what it means for Tennessee. 

11 Personnel: Where a lot of teams still live 

One running back, one tight end, three receivers — that’s 11 personnel, and it’s still the bread and butter for almost everyone, usually 60-80% of snaps in a normal game. The Cowboys ran it more than any team in football last year, racking up almost 4,900 yards and 22 touchdowns out of it, and they were also the most efficient team doing it, averaging 6.6 yards a play. On the flip side, the Ravens barely used it at all, which tracks with how run-heavy and multi-tight-end their whole offense was under Todd Monken. 

12 personnel: Where things get interesting 

This is the “two tight end” grouping, and it’s kind of the norm right now. Cleveland ran it more than anybody, but here’s the catch — just because you run something a lot doesn’t mean you’re good at it. Three of the five teams that used 12 personnel the most last season actually finished outside the top 20 in efficiency doing it. Meanwhile Atlanta, which didn’t run it nearly as often, was arguably the best team in football at it — second-best efficiency in the league, most yards, and a ridiculous 49 explosive plays. Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts give them so much flexibility that defenses genuinely can’t tell what’s coming. 

13 Personnel: The Rams basically started this whole trend 

Thirteen personnel — three tight ends on the field — is the offensive style everyone’s talking about, and that’s the Rams’ fault. They ran it seven times in 2024. Seven. Last year? 388 times, nearly a third of their offensive snaps, roughly triple the next closest team. And it wasn’t just a gimmick — it worked incredibly well. Their efficiency out of 13 personnel was nearly five times better than the second-best team in football, and Matthew Stafford completed almost 70% of his passes out of it for 20 touchdowns. The kicker is why they did it: their receivers behind Puka Nacua and Davante Adams were pretty thin, but their tight end room was loaded, so it just made more sense to put a third tight end out there than a mediocre third receiver. 

Does stacking tight ends actually help you score? Sort of, but it’s not automatic. The Rams and Falcons prove it can be devastating when you have the right pieces. Cleveland for example ran a ton of 12 personnel without much to show for it. Plus, that stat about most high-volume 12 personnel teams not even cracking the top 20 in offensive efficiency tells you the grouping itself isn’t magic. It only works if your tight ends can actually do two things at once — block well enough that the defense has to respect the run, and also be real receiving threats so the defense can’t just sell out against the run every time there are multiple tight ends on the field. If a team is running heavy personnel because their receivers aren’t good, or because their tight ends can only block and can’t catch, it usually just looks like they’re trying to hide a weakness, and it shows up in the numbers. 

Where that leaves Tennessee 

This is what makes the Titans worth watching. Under the old coaching staff last year, Tennessee ran 12 personnel on barely 16% of snaps. Daboll’s Giants offense ran it at almost double that rate. Some of that gap comes down to who was on the field — last year’s tight end room had rookie Gunnar Helm next to Chig Okonkwo, who was a beast after the catch but genuinely one of the worst blocking tight ends in the league. So if both of them were out there, defenses could basically bet on a pass every time. There was no disguise to it. 

That’s changed heading into 2026. Okonkwo left in free agency, and the Titans went out and paid Daniel Bellinger — someone Daboll already knows well from their years together with the Giants — to come be his TE2. Bellinger can actually block and still catch the ball, and he’s pairing with Helm who’s reportedly spent this offseason specifically working on his blocking technique heading into year two. For the first time, Tennessee has two tight ends who can legitimately do both jobs, which is really the only reason to run more 12 personnel in the first place. 

That said, don’t expect the Titans to chase the Rams into full-on 13 personnel mode. They just don’t have the depth at tight end for that — Bellinger and Helm are solid, but after those two the room drops off fast. A bump toward Daboll’s old Giants numbers in 12 personnel? Sure, that tracks. Trying to be the next Rams with three tight ends on the field regularly? Not really realistic with this roster. 

The more interesting move might be Wan’Dale Robinson. If Tennessee isn’t going to fully join the heavy-personnel party, their better play might be doing the opposite of everyone else. That’s where Wan’Dale Robinson comes in. He signed a four-year, $70 million deal this offseason to reunite with Daboll, who coached him for four years in New York. Last season was his best yet — 92 catches, over 1,000 yards, and he actually led all receivers in the league in yards out of the slot, ahead of guys like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Puka Nacua. 

Robinson is 5-foot-8, 185 pounds, so he’s obviously not winning with size. He wins with quickness and the ability to separate in a hurry. And that skill set happens to be a pretty direct counter to what’s happening around the league right now. As more offenses go heavy with tight ends, defenses are responding by keeping bigger, run-stopping linebackers on the field longer to match up. Those guys are built to handle tight ends coming off the line, not to chase a shifty slot receiver around in space. Put Robinson against a linebacker in that spot and it’s a mismatch almost every time — basically the opposite of what teams going heavy on tight ends are trying to create. With Carnell Tate, Calvin Ridley, and Elic Ayomanor drawing coverage on the outside, Robinson should get a steady diet of exactly that look underneath. 

So what’s the takeaway? 

The tight end trend is real, and for teams built to run it — the Rams, the Falcons — it’s paying off big time. But it’s not a cheat code. It only works with the right personnel, and a lot of teams running it in volume aren’t actually getting much out of it. Tennessee’s upgraded tight end room should let them lean into 12 personnel more under Daboll, but this roster was never going to be the next Rams-style 13 personnel team, and honestly it doesn’t need to be. The more interesting story in Nashville might be Wan’Dale Robinson quietly picking apart defenses that are getting bigger and slower to deal with everyone else’s tight ends — while the Titans zag right past them.

This article was researched and written by Tucker Lovell.

Elsewhere on the SoBros Network: Check out Stacking The Inbox for premium coverage of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft. Subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch for all of our movie content. We get weird on Phone It In, the history podcast that explores legendary tales, important historical figures, and events.

Ah, yes – Blazing Saddles. Where to even begin? Watching this renowned classic for the first time in 2026 certainly feels different than watching it 1974, I’m certain. There are surely things in this movie that are said that you simply can’t say in the modern era. Language aside though, I found that the themes behind this stinging satire have held up surprisingly (and may discouragingly) well for all these years. I had never seen it before, but I was happy to discover it for the first time. Brandon and I dig into what makes this such a memorable movie and theorize as to why it has stood the test of time as one of the greatest comedies in cinema history on the latest episode of Movie Review Rewind!

Keep up with all of our work covering the world of movies on Nashville Movie Dispatch. Listen to the Movie Review Rewind podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you take in your podcasts! Just search for ‘Nashville Movie Dispatch’ and you’ll find us. Or, just smash the play button on the embed below!

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

Elsewhere on the SoBros Network: Check out Stacking The Inbox for premium coverage of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft. Subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch for all of our movie content. We get weird on Phone It In, the history podcast that explores legendary tales, important historical figures, and events.

Sometimes, I feel as though folks look at our fair city and see nothing beyond the bright neon lights of Broadway. “The good time,” as I call it – cowboy boots, cowboy hats, rhinestone, and country music on loop. It’s our equivalent of a casino that has no clocks on its walls. You can lose all sense of time in a place like this. But, I know, as a 37-year-old Mount Juliet native who has spent his entire life around Nashville, that the city is much more than that in 2024. It’s something I enjoy being apart of from afar. Mount Juliet is the perfect distance to be accessible to all of the things I do love about Nashville, while also being far enough away to avoid all of the things I don’t love about Nashville.

When my wife and I went down to the Mount Juliet Public Library back in January, all of these thoughts smacked me in the face. The clerk told us that upon signing up for a library card, that they’d like us to check out at least one book. I guess to get us in the system. I picked up Lost Nashville, and immediately felt as though I was on the receiving end of my favorite one-liner, “there’s more to Nashville than you realize.” So, it was an easy choice. That would be my book that I’d use to kick off my membership in the Wilson County library system.

Courtesy of Goodreads:

Nashville is chock- full of music landmarks, but there are quite a few historic structures that have been lost to time. The elegant Maxwell House Hotel served a breakfast blend that grew into the nationally known coffee brand. Public transportation first arrived in Nashville by way of horse-pulled streetcars in the 1860s. Fort Negley was the largest stone fort built during the Civil War. The Nashville Female Academy once served as the largest school for young ladies in the United States during the nineteenth century. Author Elizabeth Goetsch digs into the archives for some of the Music City’s lost structures.

For someone that prides himself on being up to date with the goings-on in Nashville, it never sunk in that in my 37 years, I still hadn’t taken the time to stop and learn more about this city’s history (outside of the stray trip to The Hermitage, of course).

What Goetsch does in Lost Nashville is take readers through a digestible quick-hit tour of the city’s past. We start at the onset of Nashville’s time as a river city…Fort Nashborough to Public Square…when this was essentially a pioneer city. It’s weird to think about it now, but it didn’t sound so different from some of the old towns I’d read about in history books about the wild West. Geotsch dives into the wharves of Nashville giving us a completely different view of what the banks of the Cumberland River could look like. This book was also an introduction to “Smokey Row,” an unsavory place that I’m sure none of us would even think about visiting if such a thing still existed today…

Nashville’s history in the publishing industry, higher education, the theatre, and our communal love of baseball are all highlighted. And, of course, I’m elated that Goetsch didn’t leave out Gerst Brewery. Gerst is still one of the best local brews around in my book! For those of you curious about the city’s history, Lost Nashville is a great place to start. If you’re well-versed in it, well, it’s an easy refresher. Regardless, it’s a fantastic weekend read that will give you a quick history lesson on Nashville. In my case, it made me feel a little more connected to my Music City roots.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, second on Football & Other F Words, analyst for Stacking The Inbox, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, the NFL Draft, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

Elsewhere on the SoBros Network: Check out Stacking The Inbox for premium coverage of the Tennessee Titans and NFL Draft. Subscribe to Nashville Movie Dispatch for all of our movie content. We get weird on Phone It In, the history podcast that explores legendary tales, important historical figures, and events.

On Friday, July 31st I visited the Gladeville Community Center in Gladeville, Tennessee for Pro Wrestling Alliance. For those unfamiliar, Gladeville is in between Lebanon and Mt. Juliet, and about a 40 minute drive from Nashville. The beautiful thing about going to a PWA show is that you truly get a Memphis style show. This show is as much apart of the Gladeville community as friday night lights and the county fair. A crowd of 175+ people came to cheer their heroes, boo their villains and above all else, enjoy some old school rasslin’. 

Our first match was a triple threat, as crowd favorite Nate Starr took on Jay Solis and Mr. Gold. This reporter very much enjoyed the Golden fiend, weighing in at “tons of gold” and hailing from “Goldburg” Kentucky. To the crowd’s delight, Nate Starr won with a sunset flip. Our second match had 1/2 of the Original Sins, “The Problem” Tyler Lydol taking on Dewey Barnes. Some may be more familiar with the latter from his TNA run as White Tiger, but I’m familiar with Dewey as a long time mainstay of Tennessee wrestling. Barnes won this match with his feet on the ropes. 

Honcho Hensley and Austin Cruz easily had two of the most memorable moves of the evening. The first saw Cruz easily be the largest competitor I’ve ever seen successfully hit a Canadian Destroyer. After a run-in distraction by Dewey Barnes, Hensley would hit a vertebreaker on Cruz, to the shock, awe and horror of the crowd. Hensley’s devastating move would earn him the pinfall victory.

Our fourth match was for the PWA tag team titles, held by “The Gargoyle” Kerry Awful and “The Gremlin” Larry Cooter, a group, managed by Lucky, known as “The Present”. Let me tell you, these three are not afraid to piss off a crowd, and as they riled the crowd into a fervor, Big & Rich’s 2004 classic “Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy” echoed throughout the community center, as “The Measuring Stick” Danial Starling and “Mr. Boom Bastic” Azrael Row made their way to the ring as their challengers. Mr. Boom Bastic was something to truly see, and while Kerry and Larry may have underestimated him for his small stature, they quickly found out that this man is full of fight. However, with help from Lucky ringside and a sick double team move, The Present would go on to retain their titles.

The semi-main saw the defense of the U.S. Championship, as the champion Matt Starr would take on “The Jackal of Bluegrass” Jackie Thad. About a minute into the match, Thad would collapse with what appeared to be a knee injury. This however, was a ruse as Thad would take his opening to rake the eyes of Starr. Thad would continue to show that there was no line he was unwilling to cross, as he hit a well disguised low blow while distracting the ref. Thad would take too long relishing in his dirty deeds, leaving a window open for Starr to roll up his opponent and retain his title. 

The PWA Heavyweight title was on the line as their champion, “The Neglected” Landon Bradley defended against “Raddy Daddy” Cole Radrick. Avid wrestling fans know Radrick from his time in GCW, and for always having the coolest throwback Nascar shirts I’ve ever seen. Landon had Jay Solis with him in his corner for the main event, and the room was deafening with boos for the duos. After a thrilling back and forth twenty minute match, Radrick would get the pinfall victory, and just as we thought a new PWA Champion would be crowned, we saw Landon and Jay’s master plan come into play. Prior to hitting his finisher, a metal chain passed from Solis to Bradley was tucked into Cole’s singlet by the champion. They quickly disputed the match’s result with the referee, and with Radrick caught red headed with the unused smoking gun, the decision was reversed. While the crowd absolutely exploded with rage at the result, I thought it was one of the most creative insurance plans I had seen from a conniving champion in a minute.

I really appreciate the hospitality that the Pro Wrestling Alliance staff showed to me during my visit. I think they have something really unique going on, and I highly encourage anyone looking for a fun friday activity to go check them out. You can find PWA on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. I want to thank anyone who took the time to read this, and as always, get out of the damn house and go watch and support your local rasslin show!