NASHVILLE – It's time to turn the page to Week 2 – and the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Titans will play their home opener on Sunday at Nissan Stadium, when they'll aim to get into the winning column.
I've heard from a lot of you in the past week, starting with the Tuesday mailbag.
The mail kept coming in all week.
Let's open up another batch of mail and see what's inside.
Here's the link to submit questions: CLICK HERE
Filip Vukovic from Spreitenbach, Switzerland
Question: Hi Jim. Im from Switzerland and a huge Titans fan! since my brother lived in the State of Tennessee and I was able to watch them on my visits. And im happy to be able to see my Titans in London soon!
A question I've picked up from others concerns the strength of Ryan's arm. After he underthrew a deep route during the game against Saints, he overthrew to Spears and Chig. So the conclusion was, Ryan lost his confidence in is arm after the underthrow and then didn't had the "right feeling" for the shorter routes to throw it smooth, pushed it too much. What is your observation in training, was there ever concerns about arm strength and throwing it deep? or alternating long and short throws did he had any issues this week? Nevertheless I believe its to early to questioning Ryan, but it was definitely a bad game. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next game and for Ryan he can bounce bag, TITAN UP!
Oh and before I forget it, another question: I'm sure you are good connected with people in the NFL. Please let them know, that the decision to provide the NFL Game under DAZN was a mistake. For the people in Europe, and I talked to many NFL fans im not the only on people here hate the DAZN App, to watch the games the old NFL Game Pass International was great and worked. Under DAZN we lost some content (5' Highlights as example) and it doesn't work proper. I missed the whole first week because they are not able to activate my account :-( And im not alone many "Apple ID" Buyers are effected. So please please whenever you get a chance let the NFL know, the should push DAZN to make the NFL again enjoyable for the people in Europe. Thanks!
Jim: Hi Filip. Good to hear from you. I've heard this Tannehill take from others in the wake of Sunday's performance as well, some from folks who watched him all of training camp and never said a word about his arm strength. Here's my take: Yes, he was short on some of his throws in the opener. Yes, it appeared on some of the out patterns, the football floated in the air too long. But I'm not going to make a judgement after one game. I need to see more, because I didn't notice anything different in training camp after watching him throw 249 passes in 7-on-7 and team drills combined. … This is the first feedback I've heard from DAZN. Will be curious to see if others feel the same way. See ya in London!
Omar Parker from Bay Area, California
Question: Well, I flew out for the opener in New Orleans and the best thing I can say is the food was great (highly recommend the charbroiled oysters from Drago's).Also, I was looking but didn't get a chance to see you, maybe next time. What in the etoufette was Ryan Tannehill doing? Let's hope we never see that display ever again. Anyways, a few quick questions. Is there any chance we take a look at La'el Collins for the Oline? And secondly, I read we will be in good shape with the salary cap next season, any chance we extend Denico Autry during the year so we can avoid any off- season questions? As always, thanks for taking the time to answer our questions Jim!
Jim: I was out and about, Omar. Made my way down to Jackson Square when we landed on Saturday. Listened to some live music, and had the New Orleans Sampler – chicken gumbo, shrimp creole, red beans and rice, jambalaya and some bread pudding – at the Corner Oyster Bar. So, I got my taste of New Orleans, without waking up on Sunday morning feeling rough (I learned my lesson from past trips, I guess). And, I can appreciate your etouffee lingo here. … Ryan had a bad day as everyone, including Ryan, knows. ... It sounds like Collins is generating a lot of attention as he returns to good health. Read something this week that up to a dozen teams are interested. … I don't think anything extension-wise is going on right now, but everyone loves Denico.
Andriy Lakusta from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Question: Hi Jim, I hope things are well, and that you managed to dig your way out from under the avalanche of questions and complaints in the mailbag after week 1.
I wanted to write in and defend the Defence. Way too many people saying the defence was good but not good enough, including yourself. Heck some even going so far as saying they were a disappointment. No defence is perfect, and is going to give up some plays here and there, and let's be honest, if the game plan is for our defence to make a BIG stop in the last 2 minutes just so our offence has a chance to try and get a winning field goal or touchdown, we're not going to be winning a lot of games.
In week 1, there were 11 teams that held their opposition to 16 points or fewer, the Titans being one of them. Guess what, the Titans were also the only team that lost of those 11. If your defence is only giving up 16, you should be winning, at least that 's what the numbers show, and by a long shot.
Cherry picking one missed tackle, one missed pass defence or one bad series, is not fair to the defence, they're the ones that even gave us a hope of a chance to win. Can they improve some things? Sure, but overall they were pretty damn good, and will only get better as long as we don't get hit by injuries. No team is going to be perfect, 0 points allowed, 0 rush yards, 0 pass yards, so we need to realize that our defence isn't going to be either.
One quick question, any update on Fulton's hammy? Hoping this isn't going to be yet another lingering issue for him.
Anyways, take care, and here's hoping we get a better result against the Chargers in week 2.
Jim: I hear ya, Andriy. And, yes, it was an avalanche this week. I agree with you on the defense, or defence. Kristian is working his way through the hamstring issue, but he's been ruled out for Sunday's game. I hate he's dealing with it again; he really has busted his rear end to avoid having issues.
Walter Weglarz from North Fort Myers, Florida
Question: Hey Jim, we used to chat years ago when section 119 was putting bags over our heads after the 0-4 start.... have since moved to Florida bit still have my season tickets and get back when I can. Funny I ran across the bag in my "Titans stuff' box, glad I know here it is because I have a bad feeling!!!! Thanks for listening and keep up the good work!
Jim: I remember those days, Walter. Hopefully your bad feeling doesn't turn into reality. Also, I hope the Fort Myers area is making a good recovery.
Buzz Reisinger from Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Question: Love what you do. Second time writing. Just want to say to all of our so called "fans", the season is 17 weeks! All of the naysayers and wannabe coaches need to just CHILL! This is a team that is coached by one of the, if not the BEST, coaches in the league! Our GM IS AWESOME! Miss Amy is a class act! Real fans recognize what we have, support what is happening! These boo hoo babies don't have a clue what a fan is!!!!
Jim: Appreciate it, Buzz. It can be a roller coaster of emotions during the NFL season for sure. Hopefully the tone of these mailbags will be much improved next week …
Mitch Wilson from Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Question: First, I'm a Tannehill fan. Gave him the benefit of the doubt last year because of the o-line/receiver situation but Sunday he played like a rookie. He locked in on DHop and couldn't see anyone else. He threw three interceptions and missed three touchdown passes either by not seeing open receivers or overthrowing the receiver when they were open. If he is going to play like a rookie at the end of his career, let's play a real rookie and give them some experience that could help us in the future.
Second, I'm an old soldier....retired from the Army. You reinforce success not failure. Tannehill played poorly, Henry played great. What did we do? We put the game on Tannehill's shoulders played TS, tried to pass our way to victory and sat Henry down. What were we thinking?
Third, I'm a big, big Vrabel fan. I think he will get us there. He is defensive minded. Defense wins superbowls. He uses economy of force and has made some very wise decisions about personnel in the past. This last game has instilled doubt. When you are in charge you have to make the tough decisions. The O-coordinator play calling was pitiful in the second half. Tannehill's play was even worse. O coordinator forgot about Henry. Tannenhill tried to play pass the ball to DH. Only thing that surprised me was that we did not lose by more. Kelly you need to look up the principles of war and think about how they apply to football. Tannenhill you need to make your progressions with a different receiver being target one every play. DHop will be great and contribute massively is you balance your throws. If he is your sole target, he'll be less effective, get hurt or be a pick off piazza for the rest of the year. It was clear the Titans were probably going to lose in the third quarter. What was Vrabels decision point to pull Tannenhill and give Willis some experience. I think they reached it and ignored it. Or even worse they didn't have a decision point.
They may have felt RT was the best chance to win the game, the short term best solution, but Willis could have lit it up. We don't know because we reinforced failure and he didnt get a chance. In any case Willis getting experience would have been better for the long term and it would have sent RT a message...perform or pack your bags. Like I said, I'm a RT fan. I don't waste time reinforcing failure...you just get more failure. If I had to make a decision today based on 2021 playoffs, last seven games last year and Sunday, I'd tell RT to pack his bags and take my chances with Willis/Levis.
Fourth, Thought injuries and atrocious O-line from last year was the reason Tannehill played so bad. Gave him the benefit of the doubt for the horrible game against Cincinnati despite the fact he was the main/almost sole reason we lost the game. I still can't understand why we did not do more to fix the o-line during the draft. Fixing the O-line would have fixed the run game and given the QB, any QB, a better chance of success in the passing game. With a great run game and a marginal receiving corps, a great o-line would have given us a chance to compete. Instead, we went after another QB and draft another running back when we already have the best RB in the league. Our DB play has been sub par and we did nothing to fix it. It's like our goal was to get just enough everywhere instead of fixing anything. We saw the results Sunday.
Last, our patch work O-Line play was marginal...what I would expect for the first game with 5 new players. If they stay healthy they may surprise us and put another feather in Vrables hat but it will not change the fact that not doing more to fix the O-line during the draft was a mistake. I think we could have lived with our defense. There are enough free agents to bubble gum and tape the receivers together. Our DB play, if they stay healthy, will keep us in most games. But instead of fixing our O-Line, we tried to fix everything and as a result fixed nothing.
Hang in there Willis/Levis with this O-line, O coordinator and a quarterback with a DHop fetish you will be playing, more likely sooner than later. You'll be running for your life most of the game but at least you'll be able to practice passing on the run.
Jim I know you are going to be saying...after one game...we' have had the same problem for the last two seasons and we learned nothing
Jim: Thanks for weighing in, Mitch. And, thank you for your service.
Joan Dutton from Cerritos, California
Question: Everyone needs to relax, it's a long season! I anticipate a better game out of everyone this Sunday against the Chargers! Titan up!
Jim: Need to bounce back Sunday, Joan.
Steve Boxwell from Corpus Christi, Texas
Question: Hello Jim. From Texas. Thank you for keeping us updated.
Believe we should Trade Tannehill to the Jets. That way there is no problem.
Then start Malik. And if not use Levis. Eventually we're going to have to.
Put one or both of them since we used draft picks not good if we let them just sitting on the bench holding clipboard. At least they have mobility to run and throw. Tannehill is past his prime. Good Luck
Jim: Way to premature for all of this, Steve. Time will tell – not one game.
Rick Smith from Union, Kentucky
Question: Hey Jim, most important I hope all is well with you and your family! now on to football. I did not want to write in for Tuesday's mailbag and regurgitate things that were going to be said over and over, so I decided to wait. Lets role play for a minute, I am a coach playing against the Titans, here is my process for Defense, load the box on Henry and key off on Tannehill, more than likely very few yards, or Tannehill gets sacked, throws and interception or an incompletion simply because he does not have a quick release and cannot observe the field quick enough. On Offense, The Titans front D is pretty good against the rush, but the D backs are clueless, and that includes KB so for the most part I am passing all day. I would like to say that was the case just from game 1of this year but its not, this has been a theme for quite some time. Who in there right mind didn't think D Hop would not be double teamed all day yet he got most of the attempts and interceptions against him? Nobody fears the rest of our receivers and honestly why should they, they have not proven anything. A couple of catches when they are actually on the field and not hurt does not scare anybody. Here we are with the same quotes "we need to get better" "we need to coach better" no kidding, you did not score a single touchdown with the best back and one of the best receivers and one of the best D lines in the league. Jim you responded to a fan Tuesday that KC, Cincinnati, and Buffalo are probably saying the same things, since I live 10 miles from Cincy I can tell you there not. As much as it pains me to say, they are completely blowing it off as no big deal at all. Even the fans are not that bent out of shape about it. They know what they have, unfortunately us Titan fans know what we have and it is not very promising. Yes I will be down for the game Sunday and there is nothing I would like better than to be proven wrong but time will tell if I am or not. Take care of yourself Jim, and thanks for the time.
Jim: Good to hear from you, Rick.
Sobuke Cameron from Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Question: What's the giveaway for the game Sunday vs LA Chargers?
Jim: Titans 25th season rally towels.
Rick Folz from Harrisburg, North Carolina
Question: Glad football is back. I think this team just needs to play to it's strengths. Run first until the opponent proves it can stop you and smash mouth D. This league wants the new pass happy offense, but that isn't for every team. I agree are WR's aren't our strength but screens to the RB's can wreck havoc on our opponents just like Henry has proven. I'm just an armchair analyst but I've watched this team for nearly 40 years. You're thoughts are welcome and thanks for all you do.
Jim: I'm glad it's back, too, Rick. Definitely gives us something to all talk about. I think each week's game plan will be different. I do think we'll see more from Derrick Henry moving forward, including on Sunday.
Michael Miles from LaVerge, Tennessee
Question: Jim good to hear from you again this year. Sunday's game was so bad I had to go to Barcelona Spain to get over the disgust. Right now my wife and I are sitting on a cruise ship in France waiting to set sail. Question, why did we run Derrick so few times when he was getting four or five yards per carry? Why did Ryan play as bad as he did? I know my questions are late but so was the Titan performance. I will be in Italy on Sunday and will not see the game but I will read you answers to the question on Tuesday the 19th. COME ON TITANS PLAY THE DAMN GAME LIKE YOU WANT TO WIN!!!
Jim: Michael, you need to enjoy your vacation. If your wife finds out that you are writing into the mailbag she might leave you in Eiffel Tower!
John Burnett from Dickson, Tennessee
Question: Not wanting to throw in the towel after one game as a lot seem to be ready to do. I do however see a problem in the making if they are going to under utilize Henry. 53 yds at half at a 5.2 clip then zippy in 2nd half. Ryan had a bad game and I want to ask you what you think about this. Hopkins gives the Titans a great option but do you think Ryan looked for him all the time and missed others. He forced a lot in my opinion. Henry in the backfield makes the opposing defense have to work harder in coverage. He is still an awesome strength. I wish I looked as good as him at 30 lol.
Jim: I hear ya, John.
Joe Levickis from Joelton, Tennessee
Question: Were you shocked to see how much play Elijah Molden got week 1? I was pleasantly surprised as he's always been severely underrated by our fanbase over his tenure with the team. I think he's the perfect fit to get on the field instead of Gibbens on third downs. Just wanted your thoughts on that nuance I saw while at the Superdome. Hoping for a big week 2 from the boys!
Jim: Hey Joe. Well, Elijah ended up playing 49 of the defense's 65 snaps. Yes, it was a lot. Coaches like him, and his versatility. And with Amani Hooker in concussion protocol and out for Sunday's game, expect to see a lot more of him this Sunday.
Paul Montalvan from Shelton, Washington
Question: Hi Jim. Thinking our defense looks really good! Just not going to hold up when they're constantly on the field. Eventually they get tired and give up the bigger plays. It's up to the offense now to stay on the field and find some consistency or we're gonna be right back where we were last year. We've got some great talent offensively, but if the team can't stay balanced, we're going to struggle again this season and guys are goin to get hurt.
Long time fan here, thank you for your efforts to keep us all updated week to week.
Jim: Appreciate it, Paul.
Barrett Sutton from Nashville, Tennessee
Question: Jim, I am taking it personally that unpunctuated stream of low grade consciousness, "Tannyhill still sucks" and "Vrabel has lost 11 in a row" make the mailbag, and my last three messages haven't made the cut . I love reading the mail bag, and will continue to do so. Hope things pick up for the Titans and that I can get a question answered without wondering why Henry didn't get more carries. Since there's no question in here, I won't look for an answer. Thanks for the hard work you do. As a Titans fan, I appreciate your efforts for the greater good.
My question, if I had one, was what the titans are saying about Levis. He was Carthon's legacy move, and seems destined to be crowned qb1. Think the jets would have any interest in our other two? Me either.
Jim: Not all questions make the mailbag, Barrett. Some come in past deadline, others sometimes don't make it because I have dozens on the same topic, and I feel like it's beating a dead horse to include them all (like all the questions on Henry's playtime last week). Don't be offended if your questions/comments sometimes don't make the cut. I'm not intentionally excluding anyone, I promise. Just keep firing away and I'll do the best I can. But by my count, you've made it in here at least eight times. Certainly no reason to pull up on me … As for Levis, he's a backup QB who missed two out of three games in the preseason because of an injury. He's not a big topic of conversation right now. The talk is about getting the starting QB on track.
Heather Mims from Columbus, Ohio
Question: Hello Jim How are you this afternoon it's Been A Minute since the Last time I came on Here I know everyone Had a Great Long Break since the season was over My Question is that Why is Ryan Tannehill Is the only Quarterback on the titans that Has the worst Season from the NFL?the Reason why I asked that Because ever since Tannehill came to Tennessee Titans either 2018 or 2019 after Marcus Mariota Left The Titans When Tannehill Took the team to the playoffs in 2020 against Kansas city chiefs Lost before headed to the superbowl in 2021 for Division Round against the Ravens and Lost and Last year on My Birthday January 22nd 2022 We Lost to The Bengals #1 He threw 3 Interceptions 3x in A Roll When season was kicked off.
It was embarrassing Moment and Disappointing game Ever! Tannehill is Not the Right Person for the Titans Team The Fans are Fed up with Tannehill When are they going to Do something about this?
Then 2 Them Referee cheated Big Time When the Titans Fumble the Ball when Kevin Byard Got the Ball and Ran with it and Make the Touchdown That airhead Referee called it Back That Right There is Bad Really Really Super bad Then Ryan Tannehill said on social media I know you have Heard it He said when they asked Him a question about the Interception that He Made He said to them and said It doesn't matter that was A dumb answer period Now everyone Is talking about Tannehill How terrible He Really was Same way when he was in Miami that's the Main why they got Rid of Him All I wanted the Titans to win a superbowl also find a Better Quarterback that knows How to Throw the Ball and Not Holding the Ball too long Jim Wyatt Can you please share this with GM RAN CARTHON And COACH VRABEL PLEASE AND THANK YOU
Jim: I'll pass this along, Heather.
Bear Butler from Somerville, Tennessee
Question: Hey Jim. I didn't write in after the loss last week because I was too disgusted lol. Even though that was probably the worst I've seen RT17 play for the Titans, it still should have been a win, Byard's scoop n' score should have counted.
Even though RT17 played bad I think alot of the blame goes to the OC, everyone at the Titans organization should know Tannehill does best in play action. That was almost nonexistent. The offense looked very different but I wouldn't say less predictable. That completely empty backfield thing leaves no doubt that it's going to be a pass.
And the fact that Henry was playing as well as he was but kept getting taken off the field is mind boggling.
In my opinion Spears is a rookie who should only see the field when Henry signals he needs a break.
What happened to Vrabel making rookies earn their playing time through special teams. I have nothing against Spears but he only made a few plays in preseason against other rookies and backups, there is no way he should get more snaps than Henry.
Also in my opinion, lol, the way to be unpredictable and get the most out of the offense is run multiple plays out of just a few formations, if they load the box to stop Henry, fake the ball to him and burn them through the air, when they back off the line feed Henry the ball. The man ain't lost a step, I still say he could get 2k this season and more seasons to come.
Jim: I hear ya, Bear.
Kenny Gore from Horse Cave, Kentucky
Question: Hey Jim... I know you've had a BUNCH of likely emotional (Irrational) mail bag questions/comments this week. I, myself, have often been called negative when talking about the team... However, I think I'm more realistic... I can be negative at times for sure tho... I will say: I've seen a LOT of people complain about Tim Kelly's offense. It's crazy to me. We've ALL been asking for a more modern/less predictable offense; & that is EXACTLY what I saw Sunday. It was HORRIBLY executed. However, that's not on Kelly IMO. I saw some really good play design, I LOVED that we actually passed more than we ran!! I've been SO bored w/the 3hrs of runs in the offense for yrs; to finally see passing be important... It was nice. I wish it had been executed MUCH better by the offensive players... But again that is on the players; NOT Kelly.
The other thing I've seen a lot of, I don't agree w/ is: "The defense was great." While I think the DL played VERY well most of the game; & the pass rush was great in the 1st half... The Secondary was NOT good IMO. There were guys WIDE open nearly every series... And in the 2nd half of the game; the DL wore down & allowed the Saints good pockets/room to run... Letting them salt away the game in the final drive.
I've seen people say: "Taking the FG was the right call. Take the points & trust the defense; you can't trust the offense to get into the end zone on 4th down." I feel like it's much more likely to expect them to score from there or to continue the drive... Than to expect them to drive the field AND SCORE. The defense was playing better than the offense. However, even if we didn't get the TD; the Saints would be backed up & we would've had better field position, IF the defense got the stop we were banking on... Just my 2 cents.
We need the secondary to be MUCH better this week. We are getting ready to see a MUCH better group of skill position players this week IMO. Herbert, Allen, Williams, & Johnston at QB/WR plus Eckler who is a threat on the ground & as a receiver... We will need MUCH more than 15 points as well. Hope we see that same offensive identity... Just w/MUCH better execution! It's the type of offense we NEED if we really want to be contenders!! Run Run Pass isn't going to get it done; we've seen that the last decade... LOL.
Jim: Good to hear from you again, Kenny. Don't be a stranger.
Have a great weekend everyone!
