Happy New Year, everyone! It’s my first day back “in the office” after a two-week break. Our 2021 victory lap is over and it’s time to get back to work. Honestly, though…that first Monday after a holiday like this has to be among the worst days on the calendar. Just forgive me if I’m a bit rusty as I ease back into “the grind,” as it were. Anyway, the Tennessee Titans got a huge win over the Miami Dolphins yesterday. They completely clogged up the Dolphins offense and made short work of a defense that had been playing among the best units in the entire league. With Miami creeping into the 7th seed in the AFC entering the game, it was essentially a playoff game for them, and the Titans absolutely handled them, 34-3.
Now, thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals uprooting the Kansas City Chiefs in a wild fireworks show, the Titans find themselves atop the AFC standings, and in control of their own destiny with the top seed in the conference. It’s simple – beat the Houston Texans next week, and they’ll insure that the road to the Super Bowl runs through Nashville in the AFC. Naturally, the conversation in the national media is going to be about how the Bengals are the new team to beat in the AFC, and how there’s no reason to worry about the Chiefs, and/or about how the Titans are frauds as the #1 seed. We’ve already seen some Grade A horse shit out there on the internet from the analytics crowd, but I was happy to see the Titans get a little love from the Good Morning Football crew. Particularly, Kyle Brandt points out something about the Titans that I don’t feel enough people truly appreciate.
Are the @Titans the sleeping giants of the #AFC ❓❓❓
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) January 3, 2022
“This team is dangerous… they play with a style, that’s always in style in the #NFL“
— @criscarter80 on the #1 seeded @Titans pic.twitter.com/uq7JOvSXQI
“Hardass guys” – that’s it. Everyone talks about the run game and the defense, and that’s all well and good. But, what is that a byproduct of? A mindset that dictates that “we are going to be the most physical team on the field.” We hear Mike Vrabel, the man who undoubtedly should be the front runner for Coach of the Year, talk about being the most physical team in the victory speeches the Titans post on socials following wins. We see this defense flying around and hitting hard. We see that, even in the absence of Derrick Henry, a guy like D’Onta Foreman can take the field and run in a punishing manner. We know that this team likes its big physical wide receivers, too. The resiliency and toughness that you see week in and week out from this team is the result of this team being a bunch of tough motherfuckers that believe in each other. That, by the way, is another reason that Vrabel should be the front runner for Coach of the Year, but that’s neither here nor there. My point is that this mindset is the secret sauce for this Titans team, and it shouldn’t be underestimated.
By the way, Titans fans absolutely should not be butt hurt about all of the disrespect and the bad takes on this team from people that don’t know it – the Titans, under Vrabel, thrive with that chip on their shoulder. Imagine how this team is going to feel if they can secure the top spot and people are still doubting them. Hell, I tuned into SportsCenter last night and heard Tim Hasselbeck say his big takeaway from the AFC yesterday was how the Raiders….THE RAIDERS….have gotten hot after all of the adversity they’ve faced. They will literally say anyone else in the AFC, but I’d imagine that’s just fine to the guys in that Titans locker room. We’ll see who is left standing come February….my bet right now is that it’s the most hardass dudes.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, 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, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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