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An apology to Logan Ryan

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – I screwed up Tuesday. I might suffer long-term consequences for it.

I hope not, but either way, I spend a lot of time asking people to be accountable, so I am here to be so myself.

Mike Vrabel gave what I thought was a bad answer to a question about leadership at the start of the week, saying that he didn’t tie production to leadership, he tied production to good players.Cornerback Logan Ryan, Tennessee Titans

On Logan Ryan’s show on The Midday 180 the next afternoon, I asked him about that and he told a story about a gathering of Patriots defensive leaders in which they talked about that very thing and agreed that production was a necessary ingredient in leadership.

I did not preface the question to Ryan with what Vrabel had said, nor did I fill Ryan in after his answer with what Vrabel had said. The moment his time with us on the phone was over, I texted Ryan a tweet of a video of what Vrabel had said. He reflected on it a bit and I texted that he should say what he said there on the record to flesh out the context of the different stances.

He declined and said he wanted to stay out of it.

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As he heads to bench, some outside views on Marcus Mariota

As he heads to bench, some outside views on Marcus Mariota

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Depending on how things go for Ryan Tannehill, we could see Marcus Mariota again in the Titans’ final 10 games.

But the team’s hope, frankly, is that it doesn’t need to call on No. 8.MariotaDemoted

That would mean Tannehill provides the spark they seek and provides at least reasonable baseline-level quarterback play.

Things sure don’t look good at 2-4. Last year’s Titans never feel two games behind .500.

Still, this season is salvageable. There are three winnable games ahead right now, with the Chargers and Buccaneers coming to town before a trip to Carolina.

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Titans making the switch to Ryan Tannehill for Chargers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- In Ryan Tannehill, the Titans are bringing in the paddles and looking to shock their offense back to life.

Ian Rapoport tweeted Tuesday evening that Tennessee is making the change at quarterback and I've confirmed it.

Sure, game-planning, play-calling, pass-protection and receiver-separation have all been issues for the stagnant offense in addition to quarterback play.Tannehill1(Photo courtesy Miami Dolphins)

But Marcus Mariota really bottomed out in Denver before getting pulled in the third quarter, with accuracy issues handcuffing an offense that needed signs of life.

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Two Titans who won with Patriots have different views on key leadership qualities

Two Titans who won with Patriots have different views on key leadership qualities

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Mike Vrabel's Monday comment about a locker room leader not needing to be a productive player surprised me.

That's the stance of one former multiple Super Bowl-winning Patriot.

I asked another with the same credentials for his thoughts on the topic.

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The Titans made the change, now it's time to go all the way with Ryan Tannehill

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans made the change, so they should make the change.

Pulling Marcus Mariota from the Denver game and giving him back the job would be less than a half measure, and the Titans are desperate for full measures. He is a broken quarterback who couldn't complete a screen and other short stuff on Sunday, and with accuracy on even basic short stuff in question, the Titans are a very easy team to defend.Marcus Mariota Black and White PhotoStack the box to stop Derrick Henry and dare Mariota to beat you. With the current poor state of his field vision, decision making and accuracy the Titans have scored seven points over their last eight quarters of football. In their last three losses, they've scored a grand total of 14. [Unlocked]

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Scout's Take: What the Titans should be doing, how personnel limits the offense and a bad-throw breakdown from Denver

Scout's Take: What the Titans should be doing, how personnel limits the offense and a bad-throw breakdown from Denver

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans played two QBs on Sunday, but it didn’t matter who was playing as they both took sacks and turned the ball over. Ryan Tannehill was sacked four times and threw an interception; Marcus Mariota took three sacks and threw his first two picks.

The popular opinion will be to try a new QB to see if that can jump-start this offense.DBsDEN

I don’t think moving to Tannehill will change the offensive production.

The first thing that needs to happen is changing the offensive philosophy from a run-first to set up the pass to an open offense with

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Titans need to find a way to regain confidence on offense

Titans need to find a way to regain confidence on offense

DENVER – The body language starts with the quarterback, and Marcus Mariota’s certainly was not very good during Sunday’s 16-0 demoralizing showing by the Titans at Empower Field at Mike High.

As his poor accuracy keyed a miserable offensive day that led to him being pulled, he slumped.MariotaDenver

And it was hard for the offense not to slump with him.

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At Mile High, Titans' struggling offense shipwrecks

At Mile High, Titans' struggling offense shipwrecks

DENVER – The visiting team that played Sunday in the only NFL stadium that is a mile above sea level is sinking fast and even a quarterback change didn’t alter the offense’s course to the deep dark.

This is an absolute shipwreck. A good-to-great campaign now features losses to three franchise the Titans arguably have more talent than – the Jaguars, the Bills and the Broncos. The Titans are 2-4.IMG 0845

No matter what dramatic turnaround we can dream up that may be ahead, after a 16-0 disaster at the hands of the Broncos, the Titans are 1-4 in the AFC with only seven remaining.

The change from Marcus Mariota, who was horrible, to Ryan Tannehill with 4:49 on the clock in the third period didn’t alter things too much, at least not in terms of scoring. They moved the ball better, with Tannehill winding up with more than double Mariota’s passing yardage, but the end zone remained off limited. Another winning effort from the defense was for naught.

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