NASHVILLE – It's time to head west.
The Titans travel today to face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, with hopes of keeping their season from going south.
The win over the Patriots last Sunday was great, but it didn't solve everything.
Now, the team needs to find a way to win back-to-back games for the first time since October of 2022.
While we wait for kickoff, let's dive into this weekend's mailbag…
Here's the link to submit questions: CLICK HERE
Scott Caldwell from Dresden, Ohio
Question: Jim, first of all, good for the fellas for getting a much much needed win. I hope there are more coming this season. Last post I called out the overpaid injury-prone free agent acquisitions the team had acquired and I would like to validate this previous comment. Jamal Adams injured and now gone. The Bengals defensive back acquired, Chidobe Awuzie, and not sure he even has played a game this season, defensive back Sneed injured , defensive back Diggs (who I thought did a really good job ) injured and gone for the season, center Cushenberry, (who again thought was playing well), injured and gone for the season.
My question is: It has seemed, whenever the team, over the years, has acquired these free agents, they either do very little to help the team win, or they are injury prone. Why is this the case for our team, but for other teams, big name free agents Seem to contribute and make a positive impact on that team?
I know Pollard is doing well for the team, god bless him, as an acquired free agent, and my hat is off to him, however, he is the exception. Maybe the answer lies in a complete rebuild with a couple of years of good drafts of good young talent? Go titans!
Jim: Hey Scott. I wish I could explain this one, as it relates to injuries. In the case of Jamal Adams, his injury issues could have been predicted. He's been hurt the past few years, so, I admit, I was skeptical about him coming in myself. Awuzie, to some degree, had also dealt with injuries of late. But not Sneed, who didn't miss a game with injury over the last three years, or Cushenberry, who played in every game in 2020, 2021 and 2023, with an injury-shortened year in 2022. Quandre Diggs has also been very durable in his career, playing in 75 straight games before his injury on Sunday. But injuries aren't just a Titans thing. This is an NFL thing, just look around. Aidan Hutchinson, Christian McCaffrey, Jordan Love, Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, Puka Nacua, Rashee Rice, AJ Brown, and Tua Tagovailoa have all missed significant time with injuries. Some are done for the year. There are many more. Sure, the Titans have had some bad injury luck of late, but they're hardly the only team dealing with injuries. … With that said, I do think a big point of emphasis moving forward will be to use analytics and other methods to better predict which players could be more durable/available once they come aboard. It could be tied to age, snaps, injury history, etc. Picking the right players, regardless of injuries, will also be paramount.
Lloyd Frizzell from Houston, Texas
Question: Jim... If the Titans organization has not already found out who Will Levis is as a QB, then I question their judgement. Dont you think that if they put Levis back out there and they lose by some bone-headed mistakes by #8 that the locker room will start to get frustrated??? The coach has to think about the whole team and who gives them the best chance to win. I am firm believer that winning fixes a lot things....
Ill say it once and I'll say it again... #11 brings maturity and stability to the QB position. With his performance which was altogether fairly clean on Sunday, he has earned an opportunity to continue to lead this team. Wouldn't you agree??
Lean in to that running game with TP and Spears, keep utilizing our dynamic TEs and play good defense/win the TO battle... that should be our approach each and every Sunday.
I think Callahan is a smart guy and hopefully his Dad is speaking some wisdom into him as well about who to go with at QB for the sake of not losing the locker room.
Cant wait for Sunday!
Jim: Hey Lloyd. The organization doesn't quite know what it has in Levis – he's played in 14 games. And, that's why he'll be back in the saddle on Sunday. Has he looked great so far? No. But I can think of a whole lot of quarterbacks who also looked shaky after 14 games, although I'm not going to start comparing Levis to any of them. He'll have to earn his way, and if he doesn't, then this chapter will close. I will say this, and I've said this in here before, I was at Adelphia Coliseum for the 1999 season opener when Steve McNair was loudly booed by a lot of Titans fans who were done with him, and wanted him benched for good in favor of Neil O'Donnell. That was McNair's 46th game. I'm not saying Levis is going to turn into McNair. But I know a lot of folks didn't think McNair was going to develop into the QB he became.
As for Levis and Rudolph, this is not a question – and has never been a question – about who is the better QB at this point. Again, it's about finding out about Levis moving forward, and trying to win along the way. No one wants to go through this again next year, so there's no sense kicking the can down the road.
Brady Harris from Nashville, Tennessee
Question: Hey Jim. I'd like to respond to the Donley Canary post from your most recent Mailbag. I applaud you giving up your season tickets. Frankly, "fans" like you are not necessarily a problem but are a nuisance. Win or lose, we cheer for and support the Two Tone Blue. I am sure that once your new team enters a rebuilding process you will cut sail and go for whoever the next bandwagon team is. We are Nashville, we are Tennessee and WE ARE TITANS! TITAN UP!
Jim: Thanks for chiming in, Brady. I've gotten a few emails similar to what Donley wrote earlier this week, fans who are jumping ship. Hey, I get fans are mad and disappointed – it's been a rough 2 ½ years. The team has lost 24 of its last 32 games. That stinks, we all know it. But it was just three seasons ago when the team entered the playoffs as the No.1 seed, which capped a five-year run that included four playoff appearances in five years, with back-to-back AFC South titles. A few of those teams ultimately underachieved, imo, which I'm sure has added to the frustration. Right now, the team is in a bad cycle, in part because there have been a lot of changes to try and fix things. It's taking time. I can't promise when things will dramatically improve. I can't promise you it won't get even worse before it gets better. But when things get turned around, and I suspect they will at some point, the real, loyal fans will appreciate it even more. And plenty of others will take the place of those who jumped ship.
Mark Jarboe from Clarksville, Tennessee
Question: Are the Titans going to be wearing their throwback uniforms this year?
Jim: Hey Mark. The plan is for the Titans to wear the Oilers throwbacks against the Texans in the season finale.
Tony Saluzzo from Clarksville, Tennessee
Question: Hi Jim. Many of us up here in the Fort Campbell area are anxious to find out when in November the Salute to Service game will be. Do you know yet. We were hoping it would be announced already. We are just ready to roll for that game again this year. Thanks!!!!
Jim: Hey Tony. The Salute to Service game will be next weekend, against the Vikings.
Richard Robles from Springfield, Tennessee
Question: Hi, Jim. The Tennessee Titans needs to focusing on winning the game against the Chargers.
Titans Keys To The Game for Week 10
1. Make a trick play for Calvin Ridley to make a catch.
2. Run the ball with Tony Pollard to get more running game touchdown
Jim: I'll pass these along to Coach Callahan, Richard!
Enrique Bernal El Paso, Texas
Question: Hola Jim !! Espero y te encuentres bien , aquí solo para agradecerte tu recomendación y ayuda en mi viaje a Nashville, si visitamos el evento del día de Muertos en Cheekwood y la pasamos muy bien , también paseamos por la avenida Broadway , muy buen ambiente de vive ahí , cenamos en un restaurante que se llama Palm , es un steakhouse muy bueno lo recomiendo, y por último es partido estuvo muy emocionante , la pasamos increíble y mi equipo ganó fue lo mejor , saliendo del estadio pude obtener un autógrafo del coach Callahan !!!
Por último quería pedirte un favor , sabes que quería comprar un jacket de diseñador negro satin edición Oilers que estaba en la tienda de el estadio y pensé que ya podía ordenarla en línea pero no la encuentro el precio es de $170.00 dlls , no se si me puedas mandar bien la información del producto que te menciono de hecho tengo la foto del jacket por si la necesitas , muchas Gracias por todo , saludos y Titán Up !!!!! Oiler titans for life !!!
Jim: Hola Enrique! Me alegro que lo hayas pasado genial. Parece que hiciste muchas cosas interesantes. No estoy 100 por ciento seguro de la chaqueta de la que estás hablando. Llamaría a la tienda del estadio y vería si pueden ayudarme: 615-565-4221. Déjame saber si tienes algún problema.
Have a great weekend everyone!
