I hate to be the guy to complain about the national media’s lack of love for the Tennessee Titans. By and large, it doesn’t matter. The perspective of the big boy journalists doesn’t affect my enjoyment of Titans football. Really, it shouldn’t have an affect on any of our enjoyment of Titans football. But, it seems like human nature to want to have something to proud of, something to brag about, y’know stuff like that. So, I guess I get it to a certain extent.
But, this season, I have to admit – it actually got to me a bit. I know that the Jacksonville Jaguars just made it to the AFC Championship, and I know how good the Houston Texans looked with a healthy Deshaun Watson. Hell, I even know that a healthy Andrew Luck could change the entire dynamic of the division.
Lost in the shuffle, though, seem to be the Titans. Why? The Titans just made it to the final four of the AFC. They went on the road in the playoffs and engineered a hell of a comeback to beat a good Kansas City Chiefs team. They have a lot of young talent, and appear to have a coaching staff that is ready to bring this team into what we call “modern football.” I don’t get it.
Well, finally, at least as far as I’ve noticed, someone has taken the Jags dick out of their mouth and called the Titans what they are: underrated.
Courtesy of Mike Tanier at Bleacher Report:
The Titans roster is swarming with young talent from the 2015 through ’17 drafts, including playmakers Derrick Henry and Corey Davis, who are just scratching their potential. Mike Vrabel’s arrival brings the risk of another disappointing Diet Patriots experience, but off-brand Bill Belichick is a significant upgrade over the Knute Rockne tactics the Titans were shackled to on both sides of the ball last year.
The Titans aren’t crossing their fingers that their best players will get healthy like the Colts and Texans or prematurely chirping after one good year like the Jaguars. They’re just a young team that reached the second round of the playoffs last year. Remember that? Didn’t think so. It’s tough being a small-market AFC franchise whose genius draft moves are sooooo two years ago.
If the Titans don’t finish 2018 with a winning record….say they finish 6-10 like Colin Cowherd thinks they will…then I think it’ll have more to do with the AFC South getting better as a whole than the Titans trending downward. What is there to dislike about this team? Where are they so incredibly vulnerable that you’d call them weak? Some would say the receiving corps, but I like the Titans receivers. Maybe it’s the pass rush? Well, they still have Derrick Morgan and Brian Orakpo this season….and they drafted Harold Landry. If anything, it’s probably having a rookie head coach. Otherwise, this team doesn’t have a lot of glaring holes. And, they just came off of winning a playoff game playing football from the 1970s.
Shit, what is there to dislike about this division right now? I think it could very well become the best in the AFC as soon as this season.
While a lot of us Titans fans understand the true potential of this team, it’s always frustrating to read from media members who don’t quite have their finger on the pulse of the team. It’s refreshing to see an institution such as Bleacher Report run something like this….plain and simple…this may as well have been The Friday Feel Good for Titans fans.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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