NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- We will review the Titans' nightmare season-opening loss to the Cardinals in a member's only broadcast at 6:30 pm CT.

Please offer me your second screen then, at the private Facebook page or on YouTube below.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Never mind fixed or better. The Titans looked nothing close to the same in a season-opening debacle. They looked a lot worse.

One game is a small sample size, and the Cardinals are unique.

© The Tennessean-USA TODAY NETWORK

But in a 38-13 thrashing the Titans' stars they are counting on to do a great deal for them were overwhelmed. And didn’t play the complementary football their coaching staff talked about all offseason.

It’s not a sign of a great team when month-long messages get lost at a long-awaited kickoff.

By BLAKE BEDDINGFIELD, special correspondent

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Cardinals are an interesting club.

Former first overall draft choice quarterback Kyler Murray has star-type qualities to go along with perennial Pro Bowlers J.J. Watt, Chandler Jones, DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green.

The youth of Murray, Isaiah Simmons, Zaven Collins, Rondale Moore and Christian Kirk adds some intrigue and excitement to the team.

But coach Kliff Kingsbury has had his chances to shine and has yet to produce a winning record on either the college or professional levels. Kingsbury's reputation is as an offensive guru but he has yet to produce winning football teams.

General manager Steve Keim is the 10th longest-tenured GM in the NFL dating back to 2013. He continues to add names and star power but it hasn’t produced winning teams.

NASHVILLE, TENN. – As he prepares for an opponent, Janoris Jenkins looks at the film for one precise situation of which to take advantage.

He’s more disciplined than the jackrabbit whose name he’s assumed. His path to the ball is not a zigzag to avoid prey, but a more direct route resulting from what he’s studied.

© Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

“Once you figure out that specific play, that you practiced on and figured all week, once they show you that formation, there’s your chance,” Jenkins said. “Take advantage of it….”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When Taylor Lewan joined the Titans in 2014, the locker room was dingy and divided.

Defensive backs including Bernard Pollard and George Wilson and running backs like Antonio Andrews and Shonn Greene had lockers in a central area that blocked the flow of the room and blocked teammates from seeing each other.

It was hardly the key to the chemistry problems at the time – the 1999 Super Bowl team had the same setup – but a few years later it was considered symbolic when those booths were eliminated in a locker-room overhaul.

Pool photo: George Walker, The Tennessean

Lewan, the second-longest tenured member of the team, was part of a 2-14 season his rookie year and a 3-13 campaign the following season that was just as bad.

That locker room was torn up and rebuilt after the 2015 season, the first piece of a total overhaul of the team’s headquarters that will be completed sometime this fall or winter when a new, second building will be completed.

A more significant project that started in 2016 is also well along. It doesn’t have a completion date and requires constant oversight.

The culture of the football side of the franchise, bolstered by all the capital improvements, has improved greatly since Jon Robinson became the general manager and gotten better since Mike Vrabel became his coach in 2018.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans' early-round patience will be on display again Sunday when they open the season against the Cardinals at Nissan Stadium.

First-rounder Caleb Farley won’t start or work as the nickel back and second-rounder Dillon Radunz will, at best, serve as tackle-guard swing depth on the offensive line.

Tennessee is regarded as one of the AFC’s top teams, FanDuel has them fifth to win the conference at +1300.

The Titans did not come into 2021 as a team in need of no help.

Farley is part of a large-scale revamp at cornerback and Radunz was drafted as a cure right tackle, where the team needed a solution after absolutely bombing with first-rounder Isaiah Wilson a year ago.

Still, the two continue a trend: Players picked in the first two rounds aren’t asked to help early in Nashville, where the head coach started his career with the Steelers and worked as a role player and key special teamer for four years before he became a key piece of the Patriots’ defense.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – They’ve had all offseason to plan for their opener, but as Mike Vrabel and the Titans put their final touches on the first game plan of 2021, it's probably not what you think.

The Cardinals, like many teams, are starting from close to zero.

There are some basics from last season that are sure to carry over. But with new personnel and a blank sheet, they can do anything, and Tennessee will have to respond and adapt more on Sunday than in most games this season. They are in position to make Arizona do likewise.

We tend to picture whiteboards and iPads filled with months’ worth of ideas for the first game, but it sounds like the buildup to Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium won’t have been like that at all.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Happy Labor Day weekend.

I hope you are able to enjoy the final days of summer and the last without NFL football. The Titans are off until Monday.

In the meantime, here's a great mailbag covering several key issues.

If you are not a member, it's a great time to sign up for an annual membership, If you are a fantasy football person, the first 13 who sign up get a spot in a league with me and we will have a blast.

Photo courtesy Tennessee Titans

Onto your excellent questions.

Bryan Harris Following the preseason, which area of the defense are you more confident in having success this year after last year’s struggles: pass rush or coverage?