After yet another ugly loss in Week 10 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, one thing is very clear for the 2023 Tennessee Titans: this just isn’t a good football team.
I’m old enough to remember when the Titans were considered the biggest threat to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ AFC South crown. Unfortunately, that hasn’t come to fruition as the Titans sit in the cellar of the AFC South.
Tennessee has now failed to win a single road game over the course of an entire calendar year, and the team is a dreadful 3-13 since that last road victory.
The reality is, the Titans aren’t going anywhere this year and now it’s all about keeping rookie quarterback Will Levis alive the rest of the season while also hoping he continues to develop under terrible circumstances.
The Titans failing Levis once again in Week 10 is just one of the six takeaways from Tennessee’s loss to the Bucs.
Titans failed Will Levis
There were definitely some poor throws from the rookie quarterback in Week 10, but it’s hard to put any semblance of blame on Levis after the kind of pass protection he had to play behind. Furthermore, awful run-blocking put even more pressure on his shoulders.
As if all that wasn’t enough, offensive coordinator Tim Kelly did zero to help his young quarterback (more on that shortly), who was flat on his back for much of the afternoon, mostly because Tennessee had zero answer for the Bucs’ blitz.
If we’re going to take a positive away from this game for Levis, it’s that he still stood strong in the pocket despite the disaster going on around him. This game didn’t change my positive outlook on him, but I am concerned he may not make it out of this season alive.
Titans lack talent and discipline
Why are the Titans having so many issues executing in just about every facet?
Well, one explanation is a lack of talent (we’ll get to the other shortly), which can partly be blamed on terrible decisions by former general manager Jon Robinson in the past few years.
General manager Ran Carthon deserves some of the blame, too, but it’s hard to assign him too much considering the pennies he had to work with this offseason.
But his grace period will end in 2024, as the Titans are set to have about $100 million to work with next offseason.
Whoever you want to blame it on, the Titans just don’t have the horses on either side of the ball to be a good team. And it’s not just about a lack of talent with the starters, either, as the Titans also lack depth behind those suspect starters.
As if all that wasn’t bad enough, back-breaking penalties continue to plague this team on both sides of the ball, even though that’s a major point of emphasis from the head coach.
That issue is partly because of talent, as well.
The coaching staff deserves plenty of scrutiny
Head coach Mike Vrabel once again made some questionable decisions on fourth downs, which has been an issue all season long.
Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen continues to show he’s incapable of creating pressure without an outstanding showing from his front four. The Titans aren’t blitzing enough, and when they actually do, players aren’t winning their matchups to get to the quarterback.
But the biggest issue was offensive coordinator Tim Kelly’s play-calling, which was far too conservative and predictable. Kelly also left his young quarterback out to dry by not at least trying to get him rolling out more against a defense that dominated his offensive line all game long.
Talent is at the root of the issues, but the coaching is only making things worse. Another stain on the coaching staff is the seeming lack of development of several young players.
Peter Skoronski MUST be given a shot at LT
I’m not ready to abandon Dillon Radunz at left tackle just yet — especially when knowing the Titans will likely go back to Andre Dillard — but I’m moving in that direction after some brutally ugly reps and penalties on Sunday.
Bwahahahaha. Watch #75 at LT. That’s just sad. He did nothing and fell down. #titans pic.twitter.com/6cXTp8flUT
— Big Joe (@BIGJOEONTHEGO) November 12, 2023
Barring Radunz turning it around big time, the next step should be giving Skoronski a look at left tackle. I mean, at this point, what do you have to lose if you’re the Titans?
Perhaps the solution at the weakest link upfront is the guy playing next to that spot. And he’s the same guy who was a star left tackle in college, so it’s not foreign to him.
If it pans out, the Titans will have filled a major void and can focus elsewhere in 2024. If not, I’m fully confident Skoronski is good enough to take it on the chin and move back to left guard without an issue.
Tennessee simply cannot go this entire season without giving the Northwestern product a shot. It would be negligence.
20 points doesn't tell the story of the defense
The Titans are giving up exactly 20 points per game this season, which ranks as the 10th-lowest mark in the NFL. However, this defense feels nothing close to a top-10 scoring unit.
Tennessee gave up 20 points for the second straight week, but it was an ugly 20 points (and Tampa should’ve had more than that), with the Bucs slinging the ball all over the field at will and connecting on big plays.
This defense is solely reliant on an inconsistent pass-rush, which has easily been the unit’s biggest disappointment of 2023. The secondary simply isn’t equipped to provide any resistance when opposing signal-callers have the time to throw, and we saw that once again in Week 10.
There’s no question defense isn’t the biggest issue this team faces when you consider what’s going on with the offense. However, that doesn’t mean the defense is immune to criticism. In fact, it deserves plenty of it.
“Playoffs? Are you kidding me? Playoffs?!"
It goes without saying the Titans are screwed in terms of the making the playoffs. Not only do they have to crawl out of a 3-6 hole to do so, they simply don’t have the talent to pull off something like that.
According to the New York Times playoff simulator, Tennessee has a measly three-percent chance to make the postseason. Only five teams in the NFL have a worse chance, and only one of those teams is in the AFC.
The Titans are inching closer to a top-five draft pick, though, which would put them in position to land a top left tackle, like Joe Alt or Olu Fashanu, or quite possibly the top receiver, Marvin Harrison Jr.
But as bad as things are, I fully expect the Titans to win enough down the stretch to land just outside of that range.
