The two-thousand and eighteen season is under way. We’ve endured the summer with the utmost excitement for week one and finally it’s here. However, there is no question it is not the start that the Titans wanted. Between the weather delay, the injuries, and the terrible officiating there are bigger concerns after the ugly week one outing for the Tennessee Titans.

One o’clock pm EST finally came and relief of seeing the two-tone blue on the field again was all too real. First quarter, the team was rolling and had two very good offensive and defensive series. Mike Vrabel made a gutsy decision to go for it on fourth and one from the two yard line, which I was okay with, even with the result lacking points. The Dolphins then took the ball ninety-eight yard down the field and scored, so we all realized, “Okay, we’ve got a game here. New offensive and defensive schemes, got to work out some kinks, but we’ll be alright.” Then came the weather delays and fast forward to the second half, when in my opinion, the shift happened in the game. Third quarter with nine minutes on the clock, Mariota drops back and floats a pass to Tajae Sharpe that results in an interception. As Reshad Jones picked the ball off, he falls to the ground, makes contact with Sharpe, but the play was not blown dead. Jones takes the ball back roughly thirty yards, and former Jaguar Andre Branch throws a cheap shot on Taylor Lewan that results in Lewan lying face down on the field, and a brawl ensues. Lewan is taken to the locker room and is later confirmed to have sustained a concussion on the crack-back block, which wasn’t even considered a penalty, although most fans watching were calling for an ejection. As Lewan walked to the locker room, you can hear Branch yell, “body bag” at Lewan. Fast forward a bit, and down goes Mariota due to a late hit that happened after a RPO hand off, which would’ve been called if the back of his jersey read, “Rodgers” or “Brady.” A sixty-two yard TD run by Derrick Henry was negated due to a holding call on Delanie Walker, which anyone who saw the instant replay would agree that the “hold” in no way qualifies as a hold penalty (with Walkers hand on the outer part of his pectoral region), and should’ve been waved off. Fast forward a bit more, and down goes Delanie Walker. All this happening after the game is delayed a total of four hours and numerous missed calls by the officiating crew.

Now, the game resulted in a loss, and here is what concerns, and frankly embarrasses me as a Titans fan. Throughout the marathon of a game, Titans fans took to Twitter and Facebook to complain about Mike Vrabel, Marcus Mariota, and how the Titans will be picking in the top-five in the twenty-nineteen draft, etc. – after watching one of the worst games in the history of the NFL. We’re talking about a game that after the delays, neither team was able to established any offensive rhythm and after the second weather delayed it was full of one-shot highlight plays with two kick/punt returns for touchdowns, and a long pass to Kenny Stills that couldn’t have been thrown any better. Titans fans cried about how Mariota was soft, and how Vrabel looked like a deer in the headlights, and even went to the point of saying that they made a mistake by firing Mike Mularkey. Last week, prior to the NFL kickoff, Titans fans were predicting a ten win season with Mariota winning comeback player of the year honors, and after one game, we’ve stooped to the level of calling our Quarterback a bust, after he led the team to their first playoff win since two-thousand and three! You are absolutely pathetic Titans “fans.” I understand that it’s been a while since the Titans have consistently produced a winning record, and Nashville has changed over the course of the last ten to fifteen years with a huge influx of Californians and others tourists moving to Nashville. The Titans have not given them anything to cheer for, which I understand, but it’s the self-professing Titans loyalists that lead the charge with these outrageous claims. One minute the Titans “fans” are preaching “In JRob we trust,” and the next minute they’re calling him a fool for cutting Luke Falk and him “giving away our playbook to the Dolphins” – which has already been reported that the Titans didn’t give him the meat of the playbook, knowing that he most likely wouldn’t make the fifty-three man roster. I know that there are insane fans out there and each NFL team has it’s die-hard fans, but if you’re calling yourself a Titans “fan” who loves the team when they win but you’re the first to overact and call for people’s jobs, you’re the underbelly of the NFL. You’re petty with the same amount of loyalty as Benedict Arnold, and I wish “fans” like you would take off the Titans gear you buy and give it those who wear it proud and not only when it’s cute and fun to be a Titans fan.

In the opening of this post, I wrote, “Between the weather delay, the injuries, and the terrible officiating there are bigger concerns after the ugly week one outing for the Tennessee Titans” – the bigger concern is the fickle fans who preach loyalty. Like all NFL teams, the Titans coaching staff and players will watch film and review their week one loss and adjust their game to improve. The sad thing is the “loyal” goons who call themselves fans won’t adjust anything and continue to moan when Mariota makes a mistake and criticize the coaches and GM’s when a fan would fold under the pressure those jobs entail.

So with all that said, we (the real loyalists) are moving on to Houston..

Join us live on Facebook at 7pm EST this coming Monday night where we we will recap the weekend! Thanks for reading and share with your friends!