Well well well. Look where we have all found ourselves. Back in the playoff hunt baby. Like we never left. I’m coming off hot today and I have a lot to say and I don’t reckon the haters are gonna be liking it one bit. Sorry for being a little inconsistent with the blogs, finals ya know.

What a game what a win, absolutely needed it. Now, there are good and bad to this win, but we’ll get to that. Let me just soak in the win for a bit, really get to enjoy before they inevitably break my heart again. I told friends before this game, if there was a game for the Titans to look like Super Bowl Contenders, it would be this game and look what happened. We looked good! Wow! There were still plenty of dumb shit that happened and stuff to fix and improve upon but hot damn this team can be fun, who knew!

In on Levis

Its official, I am all the way bought in on Levis. I still have my doubts and he is 100% still one of the cringiest guys in the NFL, but i’ll be damned if he’s not fun. My biggest takeaway for Levis was his poise and ability to move around the pocket without freaking out, he was able to maneuver around a good Dolphins defense and have the confidence and ability to throw some perfect balls. Did he have a bad pick 6 early, yes but i’m officially declaring that not his fault. I have no evidence to back this up but it’s true. Did he miss a pitch to Derrick to give the Dolphins a free score? Yes, but we can chalk that up to a rookie mistake. He came back out and was just so cool and collected and ran the Titan’s best play, throw it to DHop. Now you may say, “But Preston, you said we need to run the ball!”, and I would agree I stand by that, but Derrick ran 17 times for 34 yards. Not good. But, him getting two redzone touchdown dives pulls in the defense, defenses are still scared of him (as they should be) and are willing to sacrifice 8 or 9 guys in the box to make sure he doesn’t let loose a 60 yard run. They do this because historically the Titans have never been an air raid offense, especially with a rookie QB and booty Offensive line. But Levis was able to take advantage of that and step up to throw some perfect balls, even with the Dolphins D-Line all in his mouth. I am as impressed with Levis as I have ever been and him willing to throw a shoulder and fold Jalen Ramsey is exactly what I want. People may not like this, but I compare him to Baker, he’s just got that IT factor willing to do anything to make a play. Yes, I am still a Baker guy, but it’s for reasons like that, willing to get down and dirty and throw your body on the line for the love of the game on a nothing 2nd and 6. That’s football baby. And you can tell Levis loves ball.

Deandre Hopkins still that guy, still a top 5 reciever in the league. People don’t like this take, but if you look at the catches he’s had to make this year and how he angles his body and hands, he’s still got it. To quote Deandre himself, “Everybody talking about the old DHop, nobody want to talk about current DHop.”. That is purely off memory and probably not what he said, but it stands true. Current DHop is still, maybe not as good but, a great WR1 option who can catch any ball.

Now for Derrick. I think it’s become pretty obvious this season that he’s lost a step. He’s not 2021 Derrick anymore, but that’s okay he doesn’t have to be. I still think he needs at LEAST 18-20 carries a game to get in his rhythm, but you can tell his body has taken some hits over the years and he isn’t the same. Do I still think he’s the best true RB in the league? Absolutely. Can he do what he used to be able to do with 99 yard touchdown runs? Who’s to say. I think he’s definitely lost a step, but still has the power and scary factor to change how a defense plays us.

Defense & Wefense

What a game for the defense wow. Terrorizing Tua all night, even without Jeffery Simmons. I’m not gonna lie, I was borderline calling Harold Landry a bum, but he had a hell of a game. Landry, Autry, Al-Shaair, and Tart all played their ass off, even had a Rashad Weaver cameo. The defense is still elite and it’s crazy how apparent that is when you have a competent offense. Dolphins didn’t score on a real offensive drive, they had a pick 6 (not good), bad pitch fumble (not good) and the muffed punt (really not good). That’s how they scored, off silly no reason turnovers, not good offense. This same team scored 70 points earlier this season, and I thought they might score 100 last night, but the defense held so strong and was flying around the ball all night.

Now the bad. The Wefense. Special Teams. The fuck was that. I thought we fired the old special teams coach so this wouldn’t happen. Who ass do I have to lick to get a returner who can catch the ball and knows even the slightest bit of situational football. Get away from it! Run! Don’t touch it! I am not going to call him out by name because, knowing Titans football and special teams, he should (and deservedly so) get cut this week and that fellas’ got enough on his plate. But to quote Mike Vrabel, “I don’t give a fuck”. He tried to lose us the game and almost muffed a second punt. That is inexcusable and not allowed on my football team.

Why was this win maybe not good?

Draft picks. Always comes down to picks. Before this game, Titans were set to have the 6th pick in the draft, most likely getting a cornerstone tackle (Penn State guys is nasty), or reports are saying maybe Dallas Turner (Bama, gross), which would be sick. But with this win we have options. A playoff push is not off the table. In theory, Titans could run the tables, Jaguars continue to fall apart (they were never good I hate them), and the Colts and Texans show how young their teams are and collapse. Titans have 4 games left, Texans, Seahawks, Texans, and Jags. All winnable. A little too winnable. And I have my hopes up. Texans are coming to Nashville next week and if we can win that game, and the Jags/Colts lose, we’re so back. Now you may say, “Come on you don’t really think they can make the playoffs”, I would say yeah you might be right. But what if we do. The only big issue is, if we win a few more games and end up missing the playoffs, this win looks a little for nothing except give us a worse pick. It may look that way, but i’m living in the now, and right now, the team is at an all time high. All about getting hot at the right time, and it’s December, which is Titans time.

I truly think this win does so much for this team, not only confidence, but also keeping the season alive and giving us something to look forward to and build around. I was skeptical about Ran’s plan, but his in season moves and first rookie class has surprised me. I’ve got my eye on you Ran, but I want to believe so bad.

Titans might be back. Playoffs might be back. Officially in the hunt.

Haters can’t stand it, certainly not feeling well.

Currently Taking Questions.