Titans Showing Improvement

                                                                           By Jamal Dinkins  

                       After two back to back disappointing seasons for the Tennessee Titans, they have finally proved they could be contenders for the AFC South Championship. The franchise finished the 2014 season 2-14, suffering their worst season since 1994. The Titans have won a total of five games in the past two season as of Oct.23. Part of the Titans’ fan base blames coaching for the struggle over the past two years, and some may think it’s the player’s production why the Titans have not been winning games.

                 The 2014 Tennessee Titans team was led by head coach Ken Whisenhunt, who was eventually released after losing to the Houston Texans and falling to 2-6 during the 2014 season. Whisenhunt was fired just 23 games into his job as head coach. Whisenhunt could have been a good coach to me, but I don’t think he understood what to do on the offensive side of the ball. He was replaced by Coach Mike Mularkey, who was brought in to be the interim head coach. Mularkey once served as assistant head coach/tight ends under Whisenhunt.

                 The Titans franchise is looking to turn things around this season by bringing in new General Manager Jon Robinson. The Titans also decided to re-sign coach Mike Mularkey after he was brought in as interim head coach. Jon Robinson showed that he was not scared to make big moves to better the franchise. Since his arrival, the Titans have had one of the most successful and dramatic off seasons in recent franchise history. The team traded for running back DeMarco Murray from the Philadelphia Eagles. De Marco Murray has showed that he is an elite RB in the National Football League. Many commentators believe that Murray is the most complete RB in the NFL, behind a much improved offensive line. The Titans struggled to protect their rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota last season. The Titans knew to have success in the future, they would have to protect its franchise quarterback.

                  Mariota seemed to be ready for his sophomore season in the NFL after showing his ability to run and pass the ball his rookie season. But coming off a slow start by throwing five interceptions in the first four games was not a good sign. Marcus looked to get back on track week five against a struggling Miami Dolphins team. The Titans dominated the Dolphins, winning 30-17. Mariota got back on track as expected by completing 20-of-29 passes for 163 yards, with three touchdown passes. His passer rating was 117.5, his best of the season.

                 Mariota and his team took on The Cleveland Browns in week six, looking to win back- to-back games since 2013. Mariota continued to stay red hot throwing three touchdowns and one interception. The Titans pulled off a 28-26 win over the Browns, who tried to make a late comeback in the fourth quarter. Learn more about how things stood out from the Titans win versus the Browns at www.titansonline.com/news/article.

                  The Titans come into week 7 ready for a AFC division showdown against the Indianapolis Colts. Looking to extend their 2 game winning streak to 3 games the Titans come up short once again against the Colts. The Titans have not beat the colts dating back to October 30, 2011. After that lost Sunday the Titans are now 0-10 versus the colts in the last 7 years. A couple of injuries for Titans fans to look out for. Delanie Walker has a bruised chest, Tajae Sharpe knee sprain, Spain more a significant bruise out 3-4 weeks, and Perish Cox is on the NFL’s concussion protocol list.

                 You can check out the 2016 schedule and see how the Titans are doing now at www. Titansonline.com/schedule/season. I plan to attend the Titans game on Thursday October 27, 2016. The Titans are preparing for a long time division rival against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hopefully the Titans can get a win in front of a loud and cheerful home crowd in Nissan Stadium Thursday night.

                 My name is Jamal Dinkins I currently attend Motlow State University and my major is Mass Communications. By next year I plan to graduate from Motlow and transfer too Middle Tennessee State University.   

                

What's Up With The Titans?

By Myka Honeycutt

            Being a huge Titans fan, it is hard to see them fall and not get back up. They were on a five-game losing streak with a whopping losing record of 2-7. My question to you is, will they make it? Is there any possible way the Titans can come back this season with a winning record? This might seem impossible with the way they finish games and with Marcus Mariota possibly not coming back into the game on week 7 because of the knee injury he suffered playing against the Dolphins in week 5.

         

           The Titans have made a tremendous come up since last year with a very big pick-up in this year’s draft, the star rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota. Mariota is a great player/leader for our team and an amazing athlete. He is having a great season with the Titans so far. His first game against his other new rookie rival Jameis Winston coming out of Florida State was spectacular. They had a huge game, winning 42-14, with Mariota having four TD’s and over 200 yards. Since that game he has had a rough ride, losing five games that were too close to call. A sad division loss to the Colts only losing by two points with the final score being 33-35 came down to a missed two point conversion at the end of the game. They played great, but just made a few critical errors that caused the loss. Another hard game to lose was against the bills in week 4. They let their guard down towards the end of the game, allowing Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor, to a 24 yard run for a first down on a game winning stop for the Titans on third and 23. They were holding the win in their hands being up by 10 points but just could not hold it.

As the season went on, the Titans played two rough games without Mariota against the Falcons and the Texans. Playing against the Falcons at home was a huge chance for us to gain some confidence and come back for a winning record. Our backup quarterback Zack Mettenberger threw for 22 of 35 pass attempts for 187 yards. That seems pretty good until you look at the two critical picks he threw at the end of each half. Also, they were one for nine on third down conversions, which is inexcusable. You have to make plays and get the ball down the field. They simply just did not play well and did not play as a team. In order to play as a team, you have to execute and most importantly be prepared. Games like this get very hard to lose with our defense playing outstanding with some of the best stats in the league, but only losing by a few points. Now that’s a true loss. Poor judgment by Mettenberger on very critical plays cost the game. The next game against the Texans, Mettenberger played a little better with his QB rating being a 70.8. He threw 22 completed passes out of 31 with only one pick this game. The stats might seem a little better, but the score sure didn’t. They lost by two touchdowns with the final score being 20-6. We just did not make the big plays we needed to make to beat a team like the Texans. Our defense did not have any interceptions, which is upsetting, showing how well the defense has played and how many turnovers we have forced.

Moving on with the season, Mariota is finally back in the game playing against the saints in week 8. In the middle of the week, the Titans fired head coach Ken Whisenhunt praying for a change. With a new way of looking at things, Mike Mularkey was named the interim head coach on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015. The Titans came in and played amazing against the Saints. The game was close and brought into overtime. It ended with Mariota driving the ball down the field not even giving the Saints a chance to score with a walk off victory of 34-28. This could be a huge turn around for The Titans. They have a very hard game coming up next playing the undefeated Carolina Panthers. Cam newton is trying to lead them to victory. It is going to be tough, but anything is possible. The rest of our schedule seems pretty easy playing against the Jags twice, the Raiders and the Jets. All of those games can be won as we look forward to getting some division game wins over the rest of the season. I do think that the Titans can come out to a winning season if we just keep our heads up and keep moving. They cannot drown themselves in the losses they have had in the past. They can overcome those and come out first in their division. My answer to you is they can make it! For more information and statistics on the Tennessee Titans you can go to http://espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=400791582.