King Derrick Henry
The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard! Let us keep this article simple. Goodbye 2020. Hello 2021, a new year and a Titans division title! YeeeYeee Tennessee!
So let’s not go on a tangent about how that moron Governor Cuomo recently announced he will keep his boot at the throats of business owners in New York shortly after announcing the Buffalo Bills can have fans in the stadium, himself included. Walk a mile in any direction from that stadium, the restaurants are closed, and business is dead. Yet Cuomo slaps all those business owners begging for work in the face, keeping them closed while allowing 7,000 Bills fans special exemptions. Why would I complain about that?
Unconstitutional lockdowns, business-killing restrictions!
If you’re reading this and you live in Tennessee, you should be thankful to live in a state that many progressives like to ridicule—that’s a good thing, by the way! I won’t complain about how I believe it’s up to me and my family to decide what is best in regards to our safety, and not the government’s place to tell me how—or, more accurately, stifle my ability—to make a living.
The most worrisome thing for me is imagining what all of this is doing to us. Will today’s youth grow up into a bunch of crazy, depressed germophobes? How many suicides will we see in the next couple of decades because of this? How many Americans lost their jobs, their homes, their marriages? We cannot be so scared of dying that we stop living.
When some politicians’ answers are far worse than the virus itself, there will be a reckoning.
Sometimes you just have to get a thing off your chest.
The New Year is a chance to be better and look at the future in brighter colors. I always have and always will embrace life; I love it, and cherish every day. Taking care of my family will always be one of the things that keeps me happy and grounded. The other thing is the game of football. I love it and I am passionate about it. If you have read these articles over the years you know my motto, the 5 F’s: “Faith, Family, Football Food and Friends!” Live life following my motto and life will reward you.
So, let’s talk Titans!
The Titans clinched the AFC South with a big week-17 win against The Texans, Tennessee’s first division title since 2008. Who would have thought a replacement kicker, Sam Sloman, would be the hero with a 37-yard field goal as time expired that doinked off the crossbars before going in? Let’s be honest, though—that amazing 52-yard bomb Tannehill threw and the amazing catch from A.J. Brown with 18 seconds remaining in regulation was the play of the game.
As cool a play as that was, the hero of the day and season for your 11–5 AFC South Champs was King Derrick Henry! Henry joined an incredibly talented group of players—all in the Hall of Fame—in leading the NFL in rushing yards in back-to-back seasons. Not only did King Henry eclipse the 2,000 rush yard mark, becoming only the eighth running back in the history of the game to do so, he did it in amazing fashion. Henry entered the week-17 matchup vs. Houston sitting at 1,777 yards and decided it would be a good day to have the best game of his career. Henry rushed for a career-high 250 yards, finishing the season with 2,027 yards. That is the fifth-highest total in NFL history, proving to all that this man is the best running back in the NFL and that the Titans were justified in signing his recent contract.
How about I hit you with a little history lesson? Only eight players have rushed for over 2,000 yards in one season in NFL history, and the Tennessee Titans are the only team in the league to have two players on that list.
’73 O.J. Simpson. ’84 Eric Dickerson. ’97 Barry Sanders. ’98 Terrell Davis. ’03 Jamal Lewis. ’09 Chris Johnson. ’12 Adrian Peterson. And now in 2020, Derrick Henry.
Conventional wisdom tells us the 6-foot, 3-inch, 250-pound beast that is Derrick Henry (boasting a bigger build than almost any running back we have ever seen in this game) gets stronger as a season goes on and the defensive players get worn down. In the last four games of 2020, King Henry ran for 710 yards as he pushed to surpass 2,000 yards and, more importantly, win games for his team.
I could go on and on bragging about the play of Derrick Henry, who in all honesty is probably the humblest player in the NFL. But I should also try and send my shout-outs to a few other key players on this team.
The non-Pro-Bowl-snubbed QB Ryan Tannehill led six game-winning drives this season, the most in the NFL. Not bad for a game manager, ha-ha! Henry may set up the play action like no other, but Tannehill is playing lights-out since taking over for Mariota last season, and the Titans have found their franchise signal caller.
Since taking over last season, Tannehill has a 20–9 record as a starter, playoffs included. Ryan threw for nearly 4,000 yards this season with an amazing ratio of 33 touchdowns to 7 interceptions. Tannehill has also shown all season long he is extremely efficient on the run when asked, racking up nearly 250 rush yards and 7 TDs on the ground this season. Respect has been earned and Tannehill has rightfully been added to that top tier list of signal callers.
Wide receiver A.J. Brown is a superhero. The second-year player has now surpassed the 1,000-yard receiving mark both seasons with 19 total receiving TDs. The 2019 second-round draft pick has a chance to be the greatest wide receiver to ever wear a Titans uniform. I believe he is that talented, and a perfect fit in this offense.
With that said, it can be easy to forget about wide receiver Corey Davis, who many (myself included) wrote off as a bust being such a ridiculously high draft pick, fifth overall, in 2017. But here we are at the end of the 2020 season and Davis is having the best season of his career just 16 yards shy of having himself a 1,000-yard season. It’s nice seeing Corey start to look like a WR1. Too bad he waited until year four to pop off, but I believe if the Titans want to enjoy another top-five caliber offense next season, they can’t let Corey walk away.
Talking about the Titans’ upcoming free agents is another article all by itself, but the fact is Corey put up a good season and teams took notice. Someone will pay him in 2021. The Titans? I do not know the smart move there. The Titans have deep struggles at defense and that may be where the bulk of the cash goes in the off-season. It would be a shame to break up the best wide receiver duo I have seen in my 22 years cheering for the Titans. The chemistry would just continue to grow.
A quick shout-out to tight end Jonnu Smith as well. Smith is a player that has gotten a little better every season. His value is more than just stats, though he put together a nice season with eight TDs.
I could list off some other players but we’re running out of paper here and, let’s be honest, it’s not as fun for me talking about an offensive lineman as it is the stat machines on offense.
Alright, let’s end this with a quick Titans-versus-Ravens breakdown. I am 36 years old so of course I remember the glory days of Eddie George versus Ray Lewis. It was one of the better rivalries in the game back in the early 2000s. Since 2000 the Titans have met the Ravens four times in the post-season and the series is split at 2–2. The Ravens head to Nashville to play the Titans on Jan 10. The Ravens will be looking for revenge after the Titans knocked the No. 1 seed Ravens out of the playoffs last season. The Titans also defeated the Ravens in week 11 of this season in a wild comeback game 30–24. I will never forget the ’08 season, the last time the Titans won the division and the last time the team hosted a playoff game in Nashville. The editor in chief of this paper and I went to that game and left in defeat.
Back in 2000 the Titans were defeated in the divisional round of the playoffs to a Ravens team that went on to win the Super Bowl. In ’03 the Titans got revenge knocking the Ravens out of the playoffs in Baltimore.
I believe Lamar Jackson has more pressure than anyone on that field to play well, and he may prove yet again he isn’t capable in the playoffs. I am very worried about the Titans’ ability to stop Lamar. We need the same game plan as last year: box him in!
I know the Titans have a Super Bowl-ready offense, but let’s be honest—this defense isn’t great, and the Titans need some players to step up if we’re going to advance. I believe we can beat the Ravens, but if this defense doesn’t step up, I don’t see how we compete with teams like the Bills, Chiefs and Packers.
The Train is rolling into the station! Much love to all my readers. Titan Up! Have the heart of a Titan. I believe in this team’s grit, hard-fought victories, pounding the ball. I need my defense to step up and get a few extra stops, a few extra sacks and a few extra takeaways. Do that and we may have something special this post-season!
