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The Tennessee Titans Have a Culture Problem

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The Tennessee Titans have a culture problem, and it’s not what you think. When you hear that a team or organization has a culture problem, it usually means negative, disrespectful, lazy, or just generally focused on the wrong things. The Titans aren’t lazy by any stretch. They aren’t disrespectful. They aren’t negative. And their focus is on football.

Their culture problem comes from a loser, underdog mentality. One that is stuck in the mindset that they are constantly rebuilding from those lost years, looking for blue-collar lunch pail guys instead of game-changing and dynamic players. Vrabel is a winner and a player’s coach. But he is part of the problem.

An article from 2018 in The Ringer by Kevin Clark provides insight into Vrabel’s playing days when faced with an evolving offense: “Various Dolphins could hear linebacker Mike Vrabel yelling “play real football!” at his opponents.” And I don’t think that mindset has changed.

Sure, Vrabel and his offense allow Derrick Henry to take the occasional shotgun snap and either throw or run the ball - and it’s worked to pretty good success! But that mindset of “real football” has never really left when it comes to personnel and playing time. I think what’s more, that extends to GM Jon Robinson, who has even more say over the roster.

Trading for Ryan Tannehill and trading away AJ Brown will be the hallmarks, for better or worse, of his tenure in Tennessee. Tannehill’s success is directly related to the success of the Titans. How the team fares without the best wide receiver in franchise history will be a similar direct correlation to the organization’s success because it reveals something about this team - they know what kind of guys they want on the team and nothing will stop their vision.

Titans Offense in the Redzone
Titans super stars Cody Hollister and Geoff Swaim on the field

In many instances, that’s totally fine. Adoree Jackson is a prime example of a mid-roster guy who doesn’t fit the team’s mold of player and was let go. You don’t form your team around those players. You do, however, build the team around your blue chip, top tier, high caliber, X-factor players that can change the course of your franchise. Did they do that successfully with Derrick Henry, a clear cut top of the league running back? You could easily argue that yes! They absolutely did for a few years. The offensive line was solid if not great, the defense was improving, and quarterback play was more than competent. What’s more, the team added young receiver talent in AJ Brown and this team took to the stratosphere.

And then the playoffs happened. Several times. They could never get over the hump and we could point to many different reasons why that is. But when the team had to decide who to build this team around and what to focus on for the future, they were at a crossroads and chose to stay traditional with their workhorse back who was aging and coming off a foot injury.

Was Brown and his agent in the wrong for their demands? Possibly. We aren’t in those rooms where it happens and anything we hear after the fact is all PR and CYA. But one thing I do know: the Titans won games without Henry. Their replacement-level running backs did the job well. Is The King legendary and game-changing? Absolutely. But this team got the number one seed in the AFC without him for half the season.

AJ Brown as an Eagle
AJ Brown drags defenders as an Eagle

This should really tell us all we need to know about offenses in 2022. I love Derrick Henry. I have his jersey. He’s my fiance’s favorite player. She has a jersey. But this team needed superstar wide receiver talent more than superstar running back talent. And with a chance to update the philosophy of the team and the direction of the organization, they made a choice.

Let me be clear: this is not about Treylon Burks, who looks great, nor is this about the salary cap, which is admittedly tight this year. This is about this team’s overdependence and infatuation with average players asked to do above average things. A team that constantly tells the media they want to be underdogs will always play like that. The problem? That has not and will not work in the playoffs and Titans fans deserve better.

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