Tennessee Titans: Paul Kuharsky is Spot On
By Les Bailey
At 2-8 on the season, is it time for the Tennessee Titans and Mike Mularkey to start looking to the 2016 season?
After the Tennessee Titans lost another football game in the fourth quarter to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night, I was surprised that at 2-8 with some pretty good teams remaining on the 2015 schedule that interim head coach Mike Mularkey still thinks he can win the pathetic AFC South divison.
Did I miss something here, or did the Titans not go 0-3 against all divisional foes with one game to play with each before the season is over?
In his Friday presser, the Titans ESPN reporter Paul Kuharsky grilled Mularkey on the subject and I agree with his subsequent post entitled: Mike Mularkey’s loyalty to his message screams he is not the Titans’ guy.
Unless the Titans are planning on signing a couple of wide receivers like Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns and maybe Adrian Peterson between now and the end of the season, I’m not sure what changes he can make that will serve a different outcome this year.
Paul Kuharsky is right, now is the time to see what some of the youngsters can bring to the table while they have a chance to compete at the NFL level.
Harry Douglass is not the answer, Justin Hunter is never going to be an outside threat that will go up and get the football. It’s time to throw Dorial Green-Beckham to the wolves and let him, Tre McBride and Rico Richarson play football.
I know that Ken Whisenhunt grew weary of the same old story after the losses started to pile up and now we are starting to see the same from Mularkey.
His message is starting to go stale as well, and I’m sure he is starting to see the writing on the wall as his chances to retain this job past the end of the season are fading quicker than the winter sun in Music City.
The part of the message that I have a particular problem with is:
“When we are efficient and playing with the effort that we are playing with, we are a good football team. I’m not going to change the message, I never have in my 21 years of coaching. So that’s not changing. We do have proof that we’re a good football team. We have to just finish the games.”
The term in this message that points to his ignorance regarding the situation is “we’re a good football team”.
The Titans continue to play just well enough to stay in games, but they can’t finish because they are NOT a good football team.
They are a “good football team” on the defensive side of the ball, but there are not enough playmakers on the offense that can overcome the inability to move the chains and put points on the board after half-time adjustments are made.
All football teams, even “good football teams” make mistakes, but they have enough firepower on offense to change the outcome, the Titans don’t!
Both Whisenhunt and Mularkey danced to the same tune about finishing games, but let’s face it, they just can’t.
To add some salt to the already exposed wounds, Mike Mularkey was out-coached by the Carolina Panthers, and again by the Jags on Thursday night.
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Accepting the penalty in the Red Zone and giving Cam Newton two downs instead of making them kick a field goal would have given the Titans a chance to win that close game, and trying to kick a field goal from 53 yards instead of going for a fourth and two may just be the reason this young team can’t finish.
Paul Kuharsky is right!
Next: Help Wanted: Tennessee Titans need General Manager and Head Coach
The Tennessee Titans are very close to being able to compete in this league.
They have a franchise quarterback that has shown promise, and they have the makings of a great defense, providing Dick LeBeau sticks around.
What they need now is some weapons on offense that can turn in some plays when the chips are down and a head coach that can drive the boat!