Tennessee Titans: Bud Adams Is Pissed!
By Josh Gunnels
Mike Munchak looks for Santa to bail him out of Sunday’s game. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
Bud Adams is PISSED, and rightfully so. The Tennessee Titans went like sheep to the slaughter in Lambeau on Sunday as the Green Bay Packers had their way with our boys in blue. Not many people held out hope that the Titans could pull an upset against the Packers, but after the way they had played recently, I don’t think many anticipated what happened either.
It’s going to be a hard sell for Munchak and the gang to explain this to Bud. In an exclusive interview with Mr. Adams, Terry McCormick, said that Bud wants answers. He also said that he likes Mike Munchak, but that wouldn’t keep him from doing what needs to be done.
EXCUSES
1) The only excuse the Titans have going for them, at least on the offensive side of the ball, is injuries. Mainly those to the offensive line. You can see here just how decimated the line is. There are now 5 offensive lineman on IR, 4 of which were the starters when the season began, so it’s not like they are just losing depth. Part of being a good NFL squad is being able to overcome injuries to your team, but this is ridiculous. It’s hard to get anything going up front when you’re signing guys off the street every week. Add to this the loss of Kendall Wright and Jared Cook.
2) The only excuse the defense could possibly have is that the offense kept them on the field and the Packers were given the short field consistently. In the first half, they scored 20 points on only 144 total yards, their longest drove being 56 yards. I could almost forgive the defense for the first half. The offense couldn’t string together more than 3 plays for the first 5 drives, with 3 punts and 2 interceptions. The second half is a different story altogether, where the wheels came off for good defensively.
None of this is explanation enough though and Bud will be looking for more. Is Jake Locker really the future? Why can we barely win against crappy teams, and get slaughtered by good ones? Is it the coaching or the players? Both?
This isn’t the first time this season that Bud has spoken up either. After getting trounced by the Bears at home, Bud put the entire organization on notice. A week later the Titans played hard and beat the up and down Dolphins 37-3. The problem is the backslide afterwards. After a bye week and extra time to prepare, the team laid an egg in Jacksonville of all places and couldn’t put together a winning drive. Two more division losses followed, and they finally broke the losing streak Monday Night against the hapless Jets.
And now this. A beating second only to the 59-0 drumming by the Patriots in 2009.
It was widely assumed that if Munchak and the current staff went 2-1 in the last three games, then they would survive another year. Now, I’m not sure that beating the Jaguars will be enough to erase the stench from this loss. Much like the first half of the season, it’s not the losses that are so upsetting, but the dramatic fashion in which they are occurring. Bud Adams has proven he can handle a struggling young team finding its way and can be a patient owner that’s faithful to his coaches, but this may just be too much for him to stomach.
The one thing coach Mike Munchak and this team has had going for it was that they hadn’t quit on each other. They continued to play hard for each other and hadn’t mailed it in yet. Now I’m not so sure the coaching staff can make that claim, especially after the way the second half unfolded on Sunday.
Will Bud Adams continue to be patient? Is this bluster just for show? Or do you think Munchak and friends are done after the season?
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