NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Pat O’Hara pointed to the underside of his chin.
“All of us have a scar, right here under our chin,” he said. “It’s called the quarterback scar. It’s kind of a badge of honor.”
Ryan Tannehill didn’t come away with a cut to scar-up Sunday against Jacksonville, but the hit Josh Allen put on him as he let go of an 18-yard touchdown pass to Adam Humphries was a significant enough one to have done the job.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans have let Jadeveon Clowney try to play himself into shape through the first two weeks, which serves as quite an indictment of Kamalei Correa.
Clowney has clearly been tired on some snaps and unable to give maximum effort, but the Titans have judged that to be better than a fresh Correa.
Mike Vrabel played coy when asked about weighing tiredness and productivity in making substitutions.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ticket sales are underway for limited capacity Titans games at Nissan Stadium, and while the team is indicating all season-ticket holders who did not opt-out should wind up in seating pods in the building, some are likely to be upset about placement.
There was significant social media debate about the order in which season-ticket holders were lined up to buy. [Unlocked]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – As I mentioned in the preview, Jaguars' safety Andrew Wingard is not an NFL-caliber safety and I am not sure how many touchdowns and receptions he will give up before the Jaguars look to upgrade the backup safeties.
This is personnel and coaching malpractice.
I don’t blame Wingard that he isn’t good enough to cover tight ends or slot WRs. But he is constantly put in those situations. This is a coaching issue with how they use their personnel.
He gave up multiple big passes and multiple scores on balls thrown that a competent NFL defensive back will make a play on the ball in the air.
The Titans did a good job of attacking this weakness.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The scenario is incredibly unlikely and it takes a good bit of luck to come to fruition. But you’ve also got to be prepared for it.
The Titans were Sunday at Nissan Stadium, and it was one of the reasons they pulled off a 33-30 win over the Jags in front of seven fans, zero paid.
(Screenshot from CBS)
The Jaguars had closed to 21-10 with 15 seconds before intermission and Josh Lambo banged a squib kickoff as is the custom in such circumstances: Force a non-returner to field the ball, eliminating the risk of a return for a score, leaving the opponent with a Hail Mary chance or, more likely, an opportunity to take a knee and head in for halftime.
But Josh Kalu was coached to watch for a chance to make a play on such a kick, and he did. Central on the front line of the Titans' kick return team, he knocked the ball down and recovered it, got his head up and gained 2 yards.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vic Beasley’s chances to prove he’s been worth the hassle will not start Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
The outside linebacker who missed all of camp after a 10-day unexcused absence and a stay on the Non-Football Injury list is listed as questionable (knee), but he is not going to play against the Jaguars in the Titans’ second game of the season.
There appeared to be cause for optimism this week as Beasley was limited Wednesday and then was a full participant in practices on Thursday and Friday.
The Titans signed Beasley to a one-year, $9.5 million guaranteed contract as their biggest outside free agent move and he attended offseason Zoom meetings with the team and extra one-on-one sessions with Shane Bowen.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Happy day before the home opener, which I know feels nothing like the day before the opener for a lot of you who would typically tailgate and be at Nissan Stadium.
But there is still a game to watch and the small attendance for the next home opener to be excited about.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A Jaguars’ team that was destined for the 2021 first pick in the NFL draft win its first game of the season.
Numbers from the first game vs. division opponent Indianapolis would indicate that the Colts won the game easily.
Total Yards: Colts 445, Jaguars 221. First downs: Colts 27, Jaguars 17.
But the big stat that the Jaguars won was turnover margin: 2-0
The Jaguars defense is built on speed and quickness…
Jacksonville attacked the Colts’ run game and their strong offensive line with movement along the defensive line and added extra defenders in the box. This was available because of the inability of QB Philip Rivers to run and use his legs against the fast-flowing defense. The other factor was the Colts do not threaten defenses downfield because of the lack of Rivers ability to consistently push the ball downfield anymore.
A big loss for the Jaguar defense is safety Jarrod Wilson who landed on the IR after the game with a hamstring injury. Wilson is a solid player with speed and cover ability and the Jags do not have a viable replacement.
(Screenshot from CBS)
