T’Vondre Sweat and Jeff Simmons; photo courtesy Tennessee Titans

The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard!

Life is chug-a-lugging along so fast! I mean, football is only weeks away, and someone told me recently we officially are just under 100 days until Nov. 5 and the insanity of the coming presidential race.

Fun fact: my birthday is also on Election Night, Nov 5, and it’s the Big 40. Say what you will about getting older, but daggum if I don’t make 40 look good! Don’t believe me? There’s a first time for everything, and this is the first time I have ever shouted-out one of my social media accounts after 10-plus years writing for the Pulse. Check out my TikTok account, where we talk Tennessee sports in detail @ZTRAIN84.

Alright let’s talk sports—specifically, Titans! Before I get rambling about that, let me say this.

The Olympics are going on right now as Team USA does what it typically does: smacking other countries around and bringing a ton of medals back home. But the French, being the French, gave us some strange stuff the other night during the opening ceremony.

Dudes in drag, literal ball sacks on display, the mockery of Christ, shameful stuff. They had an actual child on stage to participate in the disgusting over-sexualization of dudes in drag. The organizers of the ceremony don’t hear the criticism; to them you are just a bigot if you didn’t like the drag queens mocking Christ.

The Olympics are supposed to be about sports and people from around the world coming together to enjoy the best of the best competing and representing their countries, not an opportunity for drag queens to mock religion. But I won’t take that nonsense out on the athletes that had nothing to do with it, so bring those medals home, Team USA!

Alright, I got my complaining out of the way, so let’s talk Titans. It really is crazy that the day this issue of the Pulse hits the stands, the first Thursday of August, is the same day we get underway with the NFL Hall of Fame Game, the start of the preseason.

The game between the Bears and Texans kicks off in Canton, Ohio, on Thursday, Aug 1. ESPN will then air the Class of 2024 Hall of Fame Enshrinement the following weekend as the hall welcomes seven new players: notable names like Dwight Freeney, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis.

Tennessee Titans fans hearing those names just cringed a bit. Two of those dudes were nightmares for the Titans—Dwight Freeney as a Colt 2002–12, and Andre Johnson as a Texan 2003–14. It’s weird to think Andre was a Titan his final season in 2016, but Tennessee has a history with bringing in elite, aging receivers. Names like Randy Moss, Andre Johnson and Julio Jones have all been on the Titans’ roster late in their careers . . . and none of them really worked out.

You won’t catch me putting DeAndre Hopkins on that list, because he popped off a great season for the Titans last year and I expect him to have another good one in 2024.

Titans nation, be excited for this coming season! We have three preseason games and then, BOOM!—we put the beef in this enchilada and the 2024 NFL season officially kicks off on the road against a rookie QB and the Chicago Bears.

I am looking forward to Big Jeff Simmons taking all that frustration out on number-one pick Caleb Williams in his first NFL game. Have you all seen the pictures of Big Jeff standing next to the Titans’ second -round pick T’Vondre Sweat in training camp? Daggum! T’Von looks massive. I never expected to see Jeff looking small next to another DL player.

I know there were many skeptics out there when Tennessee drafted T’Von, but he looks great, a 6’4″ dude weighting in around 350. Normally a dude like that would look flabby, but he looks solid. Those two together could be nightmares for opposing lines and QBs. If T’Von works out, that duo could be one of the best in the entire NFL. That’s not an outlandish statement given their size and strength and the fact Big Jeff already is one of the best in the game, the anchor of this Titans defense.

I know we have been focusing on this new-look offense for the Titans and I do believe they will be the backbone of this team. But don’t sleep on this defense, Titan nation. The Titans have the talent and leadership in the secondary with Sneed and Cheeto handling business, but up front there is size and power and I expect this defense to surprise many. For now, the weak point feels like it will be making tackles in the middle of the field, but if the dudes up front wreak havoc and the dudes in the back lock it down, that’s already a recipe for success for any defense!

Regarding the offense, you already know what’s up. I will certainly miss King Henry and I shed a little tear typing this up, but I am more than excited about this flashy group the national media wants to continue to disrespect.

Everything about this offense is better than last season. That includes running back! Will Levis is the wildcard, and he has been handed the keys to something special—make it work. Levis showed promise as a rookie and now he goes into Year 2 with one of the best trio of receivers in the league with Hop, Ridley and Boyd.

This new-look offense is going to be faster and less predictable, and I love the options at RB with two talented all-around backs in Spears and Pollard. Most importantly, that offensive line should be much better. I am excited to see how much better. It may be just an average line, but that beats two back-to-back seasons of the Titans having the worst OL in the NFL.

I expect Chig to be a solid option at tight end here in year 3 of his career. He is quick, talented and explosive when the ball hits his hands. He is the perfect tight end for a Callahan system. Hopefully Josh Whyle takes a step forward as well. The team certainly could use the 6’7″ size of Whyle at the position given Chig is a tad undersized for the more physical demands of the tight end position.

What else do you want me to say about the offense? Expect some growing pains but the talent and speed are there and I won’t be surprised if Tennessee starts the season off fast and efficient.

I was happy to hear Coach Callahan say he plans on playing his starters in the preseason. Good! I know some people hate that, but I feel like that was a problem in the Vrabel era of football: being scared to start players and then starting off slow when it mattered.

I know keeping players healthy is vital to the season, as is depth. Titan fans are aware how important staying healthy is after leading the league in injuries in consecutive seasons under Coach Vrabel. I have no real answers as to why this organization has dealt with such a bad injury history of late, but hopefully that’s a thing of the past with a new staff. Much about this team is new, and chemistry is everything in a league that goes from 0–100 in the blink of an eye. I believe Callahan understands the importance of getting these guys ready and having them play in these preseason games. Of course, you go about that sparingly, but it beats what Vrabel was doing and not playing any of the starters for the most part.

I want to start the season off week 1 in Chicago looking competent and follow that up with 2 good performances at home against the Jets and Packers. A 3–0 start would be nice, but even a 2–1 start would go a long way in shutting up the national narrative that the Titans are a bottom feeder team in the NFL to begin the 2024 season. Titan Up!

Alright, I am done rambling, free-writing these things from the brain of the Train. It makes it rather easy when all I do is submerge myself in football (remember, I am smurt!). The Train is rolling into the station. Choo-choo!