Malik Willis led the Packers to their first ever win in Nashville; photo by Jessie Rogers / tennesseetitans.com
The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard! First, let me start off by saying the last article didn’t age well. I still believe every word of what I wrote, but daggum if the Tennessee Titans didn’t let us down to start the season.
They tell me it’s just a game, but many of you, like myself, invest so much of our time and feelings into this game. I may question my fandom during these tough times, but I know without doubt that I am addicted, and I will never not be 100% in. We ride or die in this household, so no matter how bad it gets, I am there every weekend cheering this damn team on regardless of who is under center!
Let me apologize to Malik Willis. I said in my last article, and I quote, “I imagine uninspiring football will follow him to Green Bay.”
Malik Willis, probably one of the humblest dudes in the NFL, had other plans as he came into Nashville as QB1 for the Packers and nearly singlehandedly whooped that Titans’ ass in one of the most embarrassing losses we have seen in years.
It just felt like something that would happen to the Titans! I mean, Malik looked a mess for years. If he had to throw the ball more than 10 times for the Titans it was a disaster in the making. And then he gets sent to Green Bay and starts looking like Brett Favre. Good for him.
Someone also told me in a very angry email that I should apologize to Anthony Richardson for calling him the “Combine Kid” who runs around like a chicken with his head cut off. Why should I apologize for that? I honestly don’t know if the higher-ups in Indianapolis are trying to help Anthony Richardson develop or kill him? He isn’t lasting long in the NFL the way he is playing. The combine kid can jump high and run fast but he looks a mess on the field.
Even with how big of a mess Will Levis has been for the Titans to start the 2024 season he hasn’t been as dismal as Richardson. I say that while looking down at my feet!
Don’t get it twisted—both signal callers have been liabilities for their teams with both QBs having thrown more interceptions than touchdowns a quarter of the way into the season.
It’s just different kinds of bad—pick your poison! Do you want a freak athlete QB with no care in the world for his health, struggling to complete simple throws, hovering near a 50% completion rate? Or do you want a quarterback who has shown he can make the throws, who even now with his struggles is sitting right at a 70% completion rate, but the problem is this quarterback evidently has a jelly bean for a brain.
I understand Levis has been ugly for the Titans to start 2024. Bro literally leads the NFL in turnovers as I am writing this, with Jalen Hurts and Anthony Richardson rounding out the top 3.
The déjà vu of week 1 to 2 was mind blowing! These games had two of the dumbest plays I have ever seen from an NFL quarterback followed by back-to-back punt blocks. This team easily should have started the season 2–0 with wins over the Bears and Jets. Instead the team shot themselves in the foot and still managed to only lose both of those games by a single score (both games by scores of 24–17, in fact).
The Bears return a blocked punt for a touchdown in the season opener against the Titans; photo courtesy chicagobears.com
I, and the Titans, have no excuses for the Packers game. That was just a good old-fashioned ass-whooping and a well-deserved victory for the Packers.
Before I get talking about other aspects of this Titans team, I will say one last thing about Will Levis and his future in this league. I am deeply concerned about his situational awareness. Robert Downey Jr. said it best in Tropic Thunder: “Everybody knows you never go full retard. . . . Then you got Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump. Slow, yes, retarded, maybe, braces on his legs. But he charmed the pants off Nixon, and he won a Ping-Pong competition. That ain’t retarded.”
Somebody needs to tell Titans quarterback Will Levis you NEVER go FULL RETARD! When the play gets stretched in a crucial moment and the defender is bearing down on you it’s okay to take the sack, it’s okay to check it down but it is not okay to throw a pick 6. If he wants to be a QB in the NFL he has to learn that. A QB like Mason Rudolph has learned that and it’s why he is in the situation he is in right now.
It’s a new-look team with new pieces everywhere in a Callahan system that isn’t learned overnight. Nobody should be surprised if it doesn’t work year 1, even though we all are very simple creatures who just want immediate satisfaction.
The offensive line certainly is an issue, but it’s been a problem for numerous years, a horrific problem. I have faith that another year of Daddy Callahan and that line will start to look as it should. The weapons are there if the line can learn to give Levis just a little time.
I wasn’t happy when I originally saw the Titans had a Week 5 bye, but I certainly am not complaining now. After finally pulling off a victory against the lowly Dolphins on prime time, this team needs a reset. Look at the good done in that win and take another step forward. I am not even worried about who the QB is right now. Levis or Rudolph, whatever!
Levis gives up the ball against the Jets; photo courtesy tennesseetitans.com
I do know if Mason Rudolph starts balling out, I am going to buy a Rudolph jersey, some antlers and a red nose, and for Halloween I will be the coolest person in the room, bet that.
What do I want to see from this Titans team after the bye to finish out the season? I don’t need hope of playoffs or a division battle. I just want to see the young QB start to get some confidence back. Or maybe I want to see Mason run the offense Callahan wants to run if Levis continues to be so reckless. I want to see the coaches vibing and the locker room buying into what they are selling. That’s enough for me! If this team can start to play respectable football down the stretch and have some excitement for growth heading into 2025 that’s a huge win. That’s all I want, simple enough.
But if this team doesn’t learn from its mistakes it is going to be a long season being the laughingstock of the NFL. I don’t give two turds about looking ahead to the draft and hoping for a high pick. I am looking to the now and a victory any given Sunday is a victory for my mood and that makes me a happy fan.
As a diehard Vols fan I certainly could have gone with them on this issue and gloated about how great things are right now. But I feel like the Titans need all the help they can get right now.
Between this article and the next I will have turned 40 years old, and we will have a new president! I don’t know about you, but for the sake of my wallet I sure hope President Trump is victorious. That’s all the politics you will get from me. I prefer my motto over politics.
The 5 F’s—Faith, Family, Football, Food and Friends. How can you hate on that? Having faith, loving family and enjoying the unpredictable beauty of football all while eating some amazing food! I don’t know about you, but I believe I have my priorities in order.
That’s it, the Z-Train is rolling into the station. Choo-choo!
