Titans Head Coach Mike Vrabel may have been dazed by his team's irregular performance, especially in Nashville, but he wasn't confused about why it happened. The implication in Tennessee this week is that a team that was 20-10 in its last 30 games perhaps saw itself as having already arrived.
"Your best players, they have to play good on Sunday for you to win," Vrabel said. "That's how this game is set up. That didn't happen for us on Sunday. The only thing we need to focus on when we wake up tomorrow morning is that were ready to go to work, that we're ready to improve. And quit thinking about being good. We've got to go and be good."
Titans left tackle Taylor Lewan has been one of the game's best, having been to the Pro Bowl and named All Pro. He didn't allow a sack in 2020 and in each of the last two seasons before that he allowed only two sacks all year, but on Sunday against Jones, he gave up a pair. He took to Twitter this week to fall on the sword and let folks know he took it personally:
"Got my butt kicked today, no way around that. I let the team and the fans down. Thank you @chanjones55 for exposing me. It will only force me to get better."
That's the kind of humility and accountability Vrabel is looking for as the Titans head to Seattle Sunday for another big game. If they don't play well, it could put them behind schedule as it relates to their playoff position – or at least the place they are thinking they belong.
Colts Head Coach Frank Reich wasn't chastising his team after a 28-16 loss to the Seahawks in Indianapolis, but he wasn't happy that an offensive line considered among the best in the NFL allowed three sacks, 10 quarterback hits and 18 total pressures of quarterback Carson Wentz.
"Overall, the protection aspect was probably not up to our standards," he said earlier this week. "There was a little bit more to it than just the offensive line play, but we need to be better. We need to be better as coaches, we need to be better as players in that area. We have very high standards there."
The Colts' offensive line was in flux for most of August with All-Pro guard Quentin Nelson and center Ryan Kelly dealing with injury and illness and free-agent left tackle Eric Fisher still working back from an Achilles injury from 2020. Fisher is still considered week-to-week and you can add right tackle Braden Smith to the injury report with a foot issue he sustained on Sunday.
Meanwhile there were more direct conversations with linebacker Darius Leonard whose expectations for that side of the ball are equal to the offensive line. The Colts' highly regarded, and very talented defense, allowed Seattle 5.8 yards per carry and hit them for eight explosive plays. That happens when you play Russell Wilson, but Leonard was having none of it.
"You get your (butt) kicked, what do you think?" the linebacker retorted to a question he thought had an obvious answer. "You're pissed off. We didn't do enough on our side. You're upset. You've got to find a way to get the job done."
The silver lining for both the Colts and Titans is that each faces a brutal start to the season so neither likely will get too far ahead of the other early.
"story" - Google News
September 17, 2021 at 08:00PM
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Story of the South: Week 2 - jaguars.com
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