NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans better be ready for prime time, and Mountain time, 

If the NFL schedule starts as planned, Tennessee will open in Denver as part of the second Monday Night Football game on Sept. 14, leading into a short week to prepare for Jacksonville at home, the first of seven consecutive noon home starts and at least a dozen total.

The Titans played in Denver on Oct. 13, 2019 and the pathetic offensive showing in a 16-0 loss dropped them to 2-4, got Marcus Mariota benched and triggered the Ryan Tannehill takeover at quarterback that saved a season that resulted in an AFC Championship Game appearance.

It's the first Monday Night Football appearance of opening weekend in franchise history.

The schedule doesn't lead with all four of the Titans' matchups against NFC teams or appear to be built to be shrunk if the NFL must start late because of the coronavirus pandemic. Multiple reports ahead of the schedule release said it would be built in such a fashion. [Unlocked.]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Corey Davis is not a bust.

JaMarcus Russell was a bust. Justin Blackmon was a bust. Lots of first-rounders have been busts.

Davis hasn’t been what a fifth overall pick should be, and that’s a disappointment.

But we need to expand our language. We simply cannot use the same word for him that we use on guys like Russell and Blackmon, or guys like them who bomb out of the league in short order.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – I had no objection to the Titans not using a draft pick on a kicker.

It’s simply too much of a roll of the dice and waiting to sign a guy as an undrafted free agent is a plan that makes sense.

The idea that being the best kicker in college will make a guy the best kicker in his NFL class it too simple. The Patriots were the first team to pick a kicker – and it wasn’t Rodrigo Blankenship of Georgia (who hit field goals at a 82.5 percent clip) or Tyler Bass of Georgia Southern (79.4), the two kickers widely regarded as the top two guys in the pool.

New England chose Justin Rohrwasser in the fifth round. The Marshall kicker was the lone drafted player not mentioned in the extensive draft preview written by Dane Brugler of The Athletic. He hit at a 78.6 percent clip in his college career. 

Bass (79.4) went to the Ravens in the sixth and Sam Sloman of Miami (Ohio) (79.0) went to the Rams in the seventh.

After the draft was over, the Titans quickly agreed to terms with Tucker McCann out of Missouri.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – While Ryan Tannehill is throwing a few days a week in South Florida with Jonnu Smith, the rest of his leadership in his first offseason as a starter is coming electronically: Through texts to draft picks and in Zoom meetings in the first week of what now qualifies as OTAs.

Like everything given the restraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not ideal.

But a year ago Tannehill was learning how to sit back and be a good backup to Marcus Mariota, quieting the leadership voice he’d used in six seasons as the starter when healthy in Miami.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Signing a free agent after 3 p.m. CT Monday means he has no bearing on the NFL’s compensatory draft formula.

So Jadeveon Clowney's ability to negatively influence a pick the Titans will get in 2021 as a result of losing Jack Conklin in free agency.

(Photo courtesy of Seattle Seahawks.)

But Jon Robinson said on The Midday 180 that won't be the thing that triggers a deal with Clowney. [Unlocked.]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans drafted a likable bunch of seemingly talented guys, but…

With the draft and front-line free agency over – even if Jadeveon Clowney still joins this team – can you name one primary contributor returning from 2019 who’s at risk of losing his job or even significant snaps because of what the Titans have done this offseason?

Every addition has been a replacement for something lost or let go. Odds are not one middling player is going to be pushed off the roster by any of the free agents or draft picks, that will be left for undrafted rookies if they are up to the task.

How many upgrades have been made, even?

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Shortly after the Titans finished adding six new guys through the draft, Mike Vrabel wasn't making any declaration of roster progress.

"To address, ‘Is it better?’ it hasn’t won a game so it can’t possibly be better," he said. "But there were some things that we needed to get done out of this draft, and I think we all feel like we did."

That's disappointing that the automatic answer isn't at least, "We haven't shown a thing, but we sure expect we're better."

A breakdown of the roster and my rough sketch of a depth chart...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Chris Jackson was the capper on a six-man Titans’ draft class who all sounded as if they fit the Jon Robinson-Mike Vrabel mold of hungry, self-motivated, team-first football players.

The defensive back from Marshall brings 4.46 speed to a secondary where the Titans have been talking about being better equipped to keep up with the steady influx of speedy receivers coming into the NFL.

Kansas City’s blazing receivers were an issue for Tennessee in the AFC Championship Game, and if Jackson can establish himself as the fourth or fifth cornerback he will be an upgrade in the pace.

But reads his self-description and its easy to see how he’s a Titans’ fit. [Unlocked.]