A lot of things are inevitable in this world, things that couldn’t be prevented and were certain to happen. I’m pretty sure along the line of life, death and taxes, the universe didn’t plan for a Tennessee Titans AFC Championship appearance along the way, but that’s exactly what we’re dealing with next Sunday. After just barely sneaking into the playoffs at 9-7, the Titans shocked the world after an ugly hard fought victory over the Patriots in Foxborough behind the legs of Derrick Henry who’s seriously began to establish himself among the upper echelon of running backs in the NFL.
Henry’s name is in the mouth of everyone in league when you mention the Titans, I mean his name was already known nationwide even has a high school phenomenon,and Heisman Trophy winner. He already claimed the rushing title this year, is tied for the most rushing touchdowns this season and is looking to top off this spectacular season with a Lombardi Trophy. When Henry first entered the league I was expecting superstar performances from him on a weekly basis, I mean how could you not? The Titans essentially had a linebacker with 4.5 speed in the backfield paired with Heisman trophy quarterback Marcus Mariota, just get him the ball and let the offensive line create opportunities for him, and the Titans could easily find themselves in the playoffs every year. The outcome of my expectations resulted in two subpar seasons from Henry, and left many of us wondering if he was even still a force to be reckoned with anymore. He finally put together a solid 2017 campaign which instilled hope, but nobody could’ve predicted how he’d turn out this season. Henry has career highs across the board and is definitely one of the names you mention when the conversation for “best running backs in the league” comes up. To add to that, things are looking up when you consider that head coach Mike Vrabel’s offensive system caters perfectly to running backs, it should be interesting to see what kind of damage he creates in the future.
I also want to give credit where credit is due, I’ve never been a fan of Ryan Tannehill and I believe the Miami Dolphins put up with him for far too long. He’s never been an elite quarterback, and frankly never capitalized within an offense that included Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, Kenny Stills and Jakeem Grant. In my mind this team should’ve had one of the NFL’s most elite passing offenses in the league, then again a rather lackluster pass protection all season didn’t help.
I’ll be honest, I had no idea he was even traded to the Titans until I saw him on TV late last year, and he looked like the star quarterback the Dolphins expected him to be. He won AFC Player of the Month in December, finished with the highest passer rating in the league and turned the Titans into a scoring machine, putting up 30.4 points per game in the 10 games Tannehill played in. He hasn’t been anything spectacular in the playoffs, but then again he doesn’t need to be when Henry’s having the best season of his life and you have an offensive line that can get it done on the field. There’s no telling what will happen to Mariota as he enters free agency along with Tannehill so we’ll figure out the future of both quarterbacks after the season, but after the poise he displayed this season, Tannehill has earned another chance to become a true starting quarterback in the league. Whether that’s with the Titans or not is yet to be decided.
I want to tip my hat to Vrabel on the success of his team, something many fans don’t see is the impact that coaches can have on the success of the team. You don’t see the culture and values that these coaches are instilling not only into their players, but also their staff and anybody connected to the program. I feel like the biggest tell of a coach’s influence on a football team is displayed in the attitude of the players. When I look at the Titans I can tell they’re having fun playing football again. You can see it in their faces, and when the Titans were walking back off the field after their shocking win against the Ravens. You could just sense the appreciation that every player had for what Vrabel has been able to do for this organization in the short span of two years. Nobody expected this Titans team to upset not only the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, but also the seemingly unstoppable Baltimore Ravens led by MVP favorite Lamar Jackson. Vrabel along with defensive coordinator Dean Pees have essentially been able to shut down two of the league’s best quarterbacks in two consecutive weeks on one of the league’s biggest stages.
On the offensive end, it hasn’t been spectacular, but the Titans have adopted a workhorse running mentality that uses Henry to punish the front seven between the tackles, and then use play action to open up the field when the defense tries to stop the run. It’s a solid scheme that focuses on maintaining the ball and limiting mistakes, something that has clearly worked out very well for Vrabel’s team. The defense isn’t necessarily riddled with superstars outside of safety Kevin Byard, but stabilizing presences such as Jurrell Casey and Rashaan Evans have certainly turned the Titans defense into a respectable one. The Titans have mostly relied on the right players being plugged into the right schemes, which gives the Titans a great chance against any offense every week courtesy of the coaching staff. Over the course of the game, the defense manages to come up big when they’re needed, and it results in a transition of momentum that the Titans have been able to utilize throughout the playoffs.
In my opinion, there’s nothing spectacular about this Titans team, but I’ve seen firsthand what a mix of the right system and motivated players can achieve in the game of football, especially over the course of these past two games for the Titans. There’s no telling what this team will look like on Sunday against former MVP Patrick Mahomes, but I can assure you that this is a battle tested team who’s going to leave it on the field when it’s time.
As I mentioned before, I never saw this Titans crew shocking the league like it did, their style isn’t flashy and it won’t always dominate the highlight reels, but it always gives them a solid chance to win every time they step onto the field. This Sunday, if they’re able to go out on that field and focus on their game, they’ll see themselves competing for their first Super Bowl appearance since 2000.
