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Tennessee Titans midseason awards: Who’s the MVP?

By Michael Moraitis

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 29: Tennessee Titans members celebrates a defensive stop against Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons late in the fourth quarter of a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 29: Tennessee Titans members celebrates a defensive stop against Matt Ryan #2 of the Atlanta Falcons late in the fourth quarter of a game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 29, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /
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Titans QB, Marcus Mariota.
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 27: Marcus Mariota #8 of the Tennessee Titans during the NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Nissan Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Bryan Woolston/Getty Images) /

Biggest Disappointment: Marcus Mariota

There were high hopes for quarterback Marcus Mariota going into the season. The Titans didn’t extend him prior to the start of 2019 and many of us expected him to answer the bell in a prove-it year with what was thought to be the best supporting cast of his career.

While Mariota was able to stay healthy, he didn’t get much help from his offensive line, which allowed him to be sacked far too often. After awhile, it looked as though Mariota might have been broken, with his throws becoming inaccurate and his decision-making in the pocket leaving a lot to be desired.

We may have seen the last of Mariota now that he’s been benched for fellow quarterback Ryan Tannehill, and it’s nothing short of a disappointing ending for the man who was once thought to be the franchise quarterback in Tennessee.

The saddest part? It wasn’t all his fault.

Honorable mentions: Mike Vrabel and Arthur Smith

We already knew coming into this season that head coach Mike Vrabel wasn’t the best decision-maker, but he has shown that in spades once again in 2019. Vrabel’s decisions late in games on fourth downs have been dreadful, and a lack of changes on his coaching staff (particularly his offensive line coach) show he hasn’t learned a thing.

There was a lot of optimism with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, but eight games into the season he looks as lost as you might expect a rookie OC to look. His play-calling has been awful, and some of his personnel groupings have been downright outrageous. If confidence was Mariota’s final undoing, Smith directly had a hand in helping with his downfall.

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