In Week Seven, we went to battle against the Buffalo Bills, and for the first half, it looked like we had them right where we wanted. But then the second half kicked off, and, well… things took a turn. Let’s break it all down in this week’s edition of The Good, The Bad, and The WTFugly—or as the cool kids say, #GBWTF.
THE GOOD
FIRST HALF MASON RUDOLPH
In the first half, Mason Rudolph looked like a blend of Joe Montana, Joe Namath, and maybe a touch of Joe Flacco. Okay, more like Joe Dirt, but hey, he got the job done! He went 12/15 for 100 yards, threw a touchdown, and posted a 116.7 rating. As Larry David would say, that’s pretty, pretty, pretty good. But in the second half... well, let’s just say we’ll skip that part.
TONY POLLARD IS STILL OUR BEST WEAPON
Week in and week out, Tony Pollard answers the call. It makes you wonder just how much more he could do with consistent quarterback play. He reminds me a lot of Warrick Dunn—one of the most versatile backs to ever play the game. I’d love to see us run more of the offense through him and Spears, but without a steady QB situation, both of these guys are going to wear down as the season grinds on.
EVERYONE LOVES TIGHT ENDS
This past Sunday, all three Titans tight ends combined for 11 receptions and 109 yards. If we want the offense to start clicking beyond just the run game, we’ll need to keep utilizing our TEs like we did this week. Sure, we took the L and completely fell apart in the second half, but it was encouraging to see all three tight ends contributing. Chig led all receivers with 50 yards on four catches, which is a promising sign going forward.
ok, maybe we don't love ALL TE's
NWI WORLD ORDER
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has somehow become our most reliable weapon in the passing game—on a team that includes Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, and, well, had D-Hop. Let that sink in for a few hours. Honestly, we might as well start planning his induction into the Titans Ring of Honor because, at this rate, he’s going down in history as the greatest Titans wide receiver in franchise history!
THE BAD
SECOND HALF MASON RUDOLPH
Yeah, let's just not talk about second half Mason Rudolph, ok?
PLAYCALLING PITFALLS
Coach Callahan is in way over his head when it comes to critical situations and second-half adjustments—two areas where a coach needs to be at his best. Running the same Pollard play back-to-back, then going for it on fourth down from our own 40 with plenty of time left, and only down by three, was the moment we completely lost control. I don’t expect perfection, nor do we need it at this stage, but he can’t be making boneheaded calls like that if he wants to be taken seriously.
SECOND HALF DISAPPEARING ACT
That top-ranked defense showed up strong in the first half of last week's loss to the Bills, but it was nowhere to be found in the second half. Sure, facing the Wyoming Mountain that is Josh Allen had a lot to do with it, but they definitely ran out of "phone a friends" after halftime.
AGENT ZERO-ACCOUNTABILITY
Jaguars fans warned us about Calvin Ridley—how he’d misread routes, over/under run his targets, and drop perfectly placed passes. But no, we didn’t want to listen. Instead, we backed up a Brinks truck full of cash so he could complain about targets while dropping every one that comes his way. But wait, there’s more! Now he’s airing his frustrations through the media, which is always an effective way to communicate and never makes things worse, right? Let’s grab the popcorn and watch this implosion unfold.
THE WTFUGLY??!!
Thanks for being a real one, D-Hop. We're going to miss ya.
THE TANK IS ON
While you were sleeping, our beloved DeAndre Hopkins hopped on a midnight train to Kansas City, joining forces with Andy Reid and his band of Mahomes minions—aka the refs. It's tough to see you go, DHop, but we wish you well. Between Derrick Henry launching a one-man war against the league and one of our favorite receivers linking up with Mahomes in KC, it’s been a rough day. Honestly, I might as well just throw some money on both of those teams—at least then I’ll have something to soften the blow for the rest of the season.
Titans fans. We have officially jumped the shark.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TI is the brains behind both the "Titans Idiot Nation" and "Sports Idiot Nation" as well as an avid sports fanatic and pop culture enthusiast who is unhealthily obsessed with football, especially the NFL. When he's not yelling at his TV, he enjoys running, spending time with his family, and of course, yelling at his TV some more while tolerating the Tennessee Titans.
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