SEATTLE – After a long week, it's time for the Titans to get back to work.
The challenge on Sunday is a tough one, vs the Seahawks at Lumen Field.
But hey, it's not supposed to be easy in the NFL.
On Tuesday, I let you guys and gals sound off. There's some leftover angst in here. But it's time to turn the page and get ready for a new one…
Let's go.
Here's the link to ask questions: CLICK HERE.
Henry Martin from Kingsville, Texas
Question: I am kind of speechless right now and lost for words. I am going to act like what happened on Sunday was preseason game #4. This was the 1st game our starters played together as a group, so no need to hit the panic button just yet. The one thing I am concerned about the most is the offensive line. I am not worried about the Ryan, Derrick, AJ, Julio and supporting cast. If the line does not fix their issues within the next few weeks then it is going to be a LONG season!
As far as the defense goes, not quite there yet but the miscues on offense puts more pressure on the defense. I think the phrase of the day was "Your defense is only as good as your offense." One player that stood out to me was Kristian Fulton. I think he was on the field more than any other defensive back. He held his own, what did you think about his performance?
On a further note, the Cardinals are a loaded team I give them credit for their performance. I am hoping we can get it together soon because we have some playoff bound teams in the upcoming weeks!!! As always, love reading your post!!! #TITANUP #GOTITANS!!!
Jim: Hey Henry. Unfortunately, it wasn't the preseason. And yes, it was ugly, and it raised a lot of concerns. But, 16 other teams lost in Week One as well. It's too early to panic. Heck, if things don't go well in Seattle, I'll say the same thing. It's a long season. As for Kristian Fulton, he was a bright spot for sure. I liked his toughness, and physicality. Good to hear from you again, Henry.
Stuart Silver from Coomba Bay, Australia
Question: Hi Jim, this is my first time asking a question but I am a long term Oilers/Titans fan from Down Under for family reasons. I am tired of reading cliche reasons/excuses from our HC after a loss, such as "we've got to coach better" when they have 8 months to prepare for 17 weeks. Why isn't Vrabel asked what he means by this statement and how he and his staff will "coach better"?
Jim: Hey Stuart. Well, it''s pretty much him not wanting to point the finger at anyone when things go wrong. He oftentimes says, "We have to play better, and have to coach better." I know fans are tired of hearing that line, but it's the truth. And let's not pretend he's afraid to call guys out either. Just ask Julio.
Kelly Veenstra from St. Albert, Alberta, Canada
Question: Hi Jim. The O line in week 1 looked eerily similar to the Mariota era O line. How soon before the Titans make drastic changes to prevent Tannehill from getting beaten to oblivion and becoming Mariota v. 2? It needs to be sooner than later this time.
Jim: Hi Kelly. If you're expecting Taylor Lewan to get traded before the game, it's not going to happen. The o-line played a terrible game against the Cardinals. No one is disputing that, or making excuses. The answer is to play with better technique, awareness, strength, toughness, you name it.
Carrie Fletcher from Tampa, Florida
Question: Hi Jim. Former Nashvillian here and longtime Titans fan. This question is more personal; I hope you don't mind. Covering the team for the newspaper for so many years and now working for the club, what is your favorite Titans memory that you've see live and in-person? Is it a team memory like Music City Miracle? Super Bowl in Atlanta against the Rams? Or is it a specific player memory, Like Steve McNair being the first African-American QB to win the MVP Award, or King Henry topping 2,000? Curious to know from someone who has been associated with the team for as long as you have. Thanks!
Jim: Hi Carrie. I appreciate the question, and for following my coverage all these years. My favorite memory remains the Super Bowl run in 1999, for a number of reasons. It was my first year on the beat at The Tennessean. Prior to that year, I was covering high school sports, and was a general assignment reporter. And I loved doing it. But I got an opportunity to cover the Titans in 1999, and the way the team and the city, my hometown, took off was amazing. From the 13-3 finish, the Music City Miracle, the playoff win in Indy, the AFC Championship win in Jacksonville, the whirlwind week at the Super Bowl, and the game itself, is something I'll never forget. My dad used to kid me about going from the Clinic Bowl (the high school title games) to the Super Bowl. I'm fortunate I got the chance back then, and I'm thankful to have the job I have now. It's been a fun run, but that 1999 season remains my fondest memory on the beat. And, as you mentioned, I've seen a lot of cool stuff, met a lot of really cool people, along the way.
Tyler Price from Fayetteville, North Carolina
Question: Hey Jim! That was not the start we hoped for but thankfully it was a non-conference loss. The matchup this week does not get easier but is another great test for the Titans before their AFC opponents. The concerns in all three phases of play are warranted but it was one game. Nobody has seen enough of the Titans yet to draw conclusions on the entire season's outlook. This is a proud organization and humble team. They will bounce back because they have been through adversity before. We all remember the slow start two seasons ago and how the win over San Diego changed the entire season. I am confident in the team's resiliency and that they will be prepared for Sunday. I agree with you that the Titans will not need a top five defense to be successful this year but they need improvement on disrupting the QB and not letting them extend the play. What is your opinion on Kristian Fulton? I thought he had a good game with the TD prevention early in the game to include other defended passes. I am excited to see him play more and encourage other defenders. #TitanUp!
Jim: Hey Tyler. You and Henry are thinking along the same lines with Kristian Fulton. Hang in there and thanks for writing in.
Wayne Tippett from Clayton, North Carolina
Question: Long time Titans fan her in NC, thanks for all you do. I know we are better than the performance we say this past Sunday, Coach V will get them turned around. Seems our kicker has been an issue for the past several years it seems, tell J-Rob and Coach they should give a close look at kid out of East Carolina (Jake Verity). He would be a Raven now if they didn't have a Pro Bowl kicker already. I believe the kid is the real deal, watched him throughout his college career at ECU I believe he could be the answer and is available. Titan Up, let's go blue! Thanks for your time.
Jim: Hey Wayne. Appreciate the tip, Wayne. It's Randy Bullock's job for now, and kicker Ryan Santoso was signed to the practice squad on Friday. And, who knows, maybe one day the Titans will go from using a variety of kickers, to Verity? Right now, it looks like he's on Baltimore's practice squad, behind one of the best kickers on the NFL in Justin Tucker …
James Moore from Jackson, Tennessee
Question: Hey Jim, I just wanna start this one off by saying I CAN KICK. I attended the open practice back in August and I was tempted to rush the field to kick one in when J Rob was moving Ficken around testing his distance and accuracy, but Ficken looked alright so I let it be. However after our performance on Sunday I've been back to the goal post putting them over. Tell J Rob bring me in for a week on the practice squad and I'll show him some bironas type work I don't require much just 3k for the week to put my family in a hotel while I'm there. Tell him we can work on contract details after the season cause I guarantee the points will get on the board when my cleats hit the ball. After all why settle for less when u can get Moore.
Jim: Why settle for less when you can get Moore… I must admit, I got a kick out of that line…
Alberto Armando Téllez Salcedo from Durango, México
Question: El partido que viene es contra un ataqué más fuerte que el de Arizona, más sin embargo su Front Seven no es tan dominante y explosivo. Sera un gran problema cubrir a DK Metcalf y a Tyler Lockett, espero y jueguen Kristian Fulton y Caleb Farley contra ellos, de Janoris Jenkins no lo vi con velocidad. Debería de ser un juego de muchos puntos donde Henry, AJ, Julio, Josh y Firkser tengan un gran partido de la mano de Tannehill. Habrá que mandarle doble bloqueó en corrida a Bobby Wagner y tener cuidado con los Blitz de Jamal Adams. Es tiempo que despierte Lewan o que mejor juegue Radunz en el RT y David Quessenberry en el LT. Esperemos que Randy Bullock y Bradley McDougald aprovechen está oportunidad.
Titan Up desdé México!!!
Jim: Estoy de acuerdo con lo que dices, Alberto. Este es un gran desafío, y en parte, por diferentes razones. ¡Esperamos un mejor juego el domingo! Qué tengas un lindo día.
Mark Nevar from Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
Question: Hey Jim. Second time writing in. I am a franchise fan since 78. My three boys are die hard fans as well. Yes we are thoroughly disappointed by that performance but…. lets not push the panic button yet folks!!!!!!!!. As bad as we were, the Cardinals were that much better than us on both side of the ball. To say that this is a wake up call is a no brainer. I am sure all of the players especially Lewan (as he has tweeted ) are embarrassed by the outcome. I am also confident that as professionals they will do everything they need to do to show themselves, and us, who we really are in the next couple of weeks. If we don't then we should all push that button. Titan up!!!!!
Jim: I hear ya, Mark. Everyone has been in a bad mood this week. So here's hoping for a mood-changing performance!
Larry Odom from Lebanon, Tennessee
Question: Were you embarrassed that the fans booed and cursed out loud as the team headed for the locker room at half time? In my 23 yrs in section 143 I never seen such display of foolishness from the fans. Really? A few plays could have changed the game. The 12th man needs to get with the program! Booing your team is no way to lift the team in support! I was embarrassed and the other team fans laughed at the mockery!
Jim: Hey Larry. I heard the boos myself. Hey, I get that fans were ticked. And the boos will be louder this Sunday in Seattle, so maybe it was a good tune-up …
Kenneth Harding from Nashville, Tennessee
Question: Hey Jim I Have something to say about Sunday's game against the Cardinals: Taylor Lewan couldn't hold his man. Taylor Lewan gave his man five sacks and it shows that he needs to retire or be traded Taylor Lewan is no more a football player in my book he played really poorly Sunday and I love my Titans but Taylor Lewan should be traded!!!!
Jim: Hey Kenneth. Taylor had a bad game, but let's be factual here – he didn't give up five sacks.
Hector Sanch from California
Question: Ok, I'm not going to overreact over one game, given it was a bad one but just by reading the rest of the comments here people think we just lost the Super Bowl lol I'm not going to lie I did believe the off season hype we were getting and I honestly still do. We just need to focus, my boy Lewan knows he had a bad day but he's going to use that as motivation and get better this I promise you. I can't wait for all the guys here talking trash to eat their own words when we start winning again lol
Jim: Appreciate you taking the time, Hector.
Aaron Garfrerick from Nashville, Tennessee
Question: Hi Jim. I can understand the frustrations of our FA base, we did not show up against the Cardinals and that's what happens in this league; if you don't come ready to go you will get exposed. Hopefully this will be a great lesson for us to improve on and be better.
Good night, some of these so called "fans" of ours are completely asinine after reading the latest mailbag. Calling for Vrabel and Robinson jobs or putting them on the hot seat? Do they not remember how pitiful this franchise was from 2010-2016? We made it to the AFC championship first time since the '02 season and won the AFC south for the first time since like '08 under this regime. In the words of Aaron Rodgers, R-E-L-A-X. I understand expectations are high, but be realistic. This is a week in and week out league. I remember two years ago we blew out Cleveland in their house in the opener and everyone was on their high horse, then we were 2-4 at one point till we decided to bench Mariota and made a deep playoff run.
Week 1 is certainly an eyebrow raiser, but the Cardinals are a very good team IMO personally and IT'S ONE WEEK. There are 16 more games to prove ourselves. Show some support and cheer loud for our boys. They will get it together. TITAN UP!
PS how is Farley progressing?
Jim: Thanks for writing in, Aaron. As for Farley, it's been slow-going for him as he works his way back. He's been dealing with a shoulder injury this week, which has slowed him down even more. He didn't make the trip to Seattle after being ruled out on Friday.
Randy Porter from Hendersonville, Tennessee
Question: Hi Jim. Well, it could have been worse. Like many fans, I arrived at the stadium on Sunday, brimming with excitement, but left hot and deflated. Like you, I hardly blame everything on lack of continuity and rust. Most fans expected big, exciting plays from A.J. and Julio and we couldn't wait to see Henry get a good start on a 2000 yard season. Well, none of that happened and primarily because of zero production from the O-line. Everything starts there.. or ends there. It ended there. Also, we couldn't wait to see our new, rebuilt defense, smother offenses and terrorize quarterbacks. Well, that didn't happen either. We were treated with flashbacks of past lackluster defenses, that seldom even inconvenienced other teams, not to mention the atrocious kicking that resurrected nightmares of the past. There were dropped passes, missed blocks, penalties and lack luster effort at times. One-on-one battles were lost play after play and no adjustments were made to correct these mismatches. This was the biggest concern for me. Even when watching the recorded game again, it was obvious that few adjustments were made on either side of the ball, so nothing changed. In the end, I'm actually relieved. Relieved we weren't beat worse, but more relieved that our QB wasn't hurt. Ryan Tannehill is tough and it's a good thing. He was beat, battered and ran for his life the entire game. Can the team get better ? - no doubt. But, more practice will not solve everything I'm afraid. There is big talent on the field that must play better, but that talent must be managed better too. Yeah, it's just one game, but our schedule is tough and doesn't allow time to slowly "get better".
Jim: All fair, Randy. Good to hear from you again.
Franky Markle from Dyersburg, Tennessee
Question: Wow!! Glad week one is behind us. Let's move forward. I think coaches press conference after the game put everyone on notice. Hopefully we got an early wake up call, just because we show up doesn't mean we will be good, we have to show up and play great to be good. I think we get back to Titans football this week, it will be tough because it's the Hawks home opener. Hopefully we can come back 1-1. What do you think will be the #1 thing we need to do to win in Seattle?
(besides score more points than them ) haha!! Lots win one!! TitanUp
Jim: Hey Franky. So many keys to winning this one. But it all starts with attitude, and toughness. All the players this week talked about having a fighter's mentality, and coming out swinging on Sunday. This is going to be a tough game, but it's a winnable game. I'm looking forward to kickoff!
Have a great weekend everyone!
