What you should watch out for and what matters most for the Tennessee Titans.
The NFL is making a big spectacle about the 2020 NFL Schedule and honestly I have no problem with that at all.
In this vacuum of space and time (but mostly sports), you can’t convince me that it is a bad thing to kick back and watch analysts break down new potential games for the first time in months.
However, I will say that I understand why a lot of people are turned off by it and you are more than welcome to follow this site since we will post the schedule along with any interesting notes as soon as that information is confirmed.
At the end of the day though, we already know who the Titans are playing the only thing that we are really watching for is the times and order.
Well, that isn’t technically true. Let me break down three things that matter beyond the obvious and explain why those would be bad or good for the Tennessee Titans as they face a season where they expect to go from late-season Cinderella story to establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the AFC.
Don’t play in Denver early.
If you like finding things out on Twitter, go follow Justis Mosqueda who has been one of the better and more interesting follows for about a decade.
One of the many gems you could have seen is this:
Out of 59 home games in the first two weeks of the season since the merger, the Denver Broncos have only lost eight.
— Justis Mosqueda (#13for12) 💎🤲 (@JuMosq) September 9, 2018
They're 19-1 in their current stadium.
At the moment, they're up at the half.https://t.co/JviVQVPg93 pic.twitter.com/L8HJf3eEsA
You do not want to end up playing Denver early in the season if you have to play them in Denver. Right now, that figure should be adjusted to 21-2 which is every bit as intimidating as 19-1.
The most likely cause of this is the struggle to adjust to the climate in Colorado which any player will say is a real thing. In Mile High, players just struggle to keep their energy levels especially early in the season when conditioning isn’t where it needs to be for everyone.
After an offseason with sketchy training programs because of the virus outbreak, this would be even more dangerous than normal.
Look for a potential early-season run
Over the past few years, the Tennessee Titans have struggled in the early part of the season and it seems fans are just begging to get back to .500 in Week 6 and Week 8. Wouldn’t it be great if the Titans did something crazy like capitalize on late-season momentum from the year before?
Whether it is the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, or Houston Texans, the dream is to see a soft spot in the Week 3-7 range that sets the Titans up for success after gaining their footing through the first two games of the season.
In the past we have seen the Titans beat the likes of the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Dallas Cowboys, and other contenders down the stretch after Week 10. Their problem hasn’t been finishing strong, it has been hitting rock bottom before they decide to play all out.
Rosters aren’t final, but you can be pretty sure of 95% of each team’s roster right now. So even teams that might find a way to be good by the end of the season like the Bengals or Browns would be better to face in the early part of the schedule before all the pieces mesh together.
How many primetime games will the Titans have?
After a decade of most Titans games taking place at noon, it feels like a great time to put Tennessee back in the spotlight.
I’m not talking about one Thursday Night Football game per year against the Pittsburgh Steelers or Jacksonville Jaguars, no it is time that we see the Titans on Monday night and even Sunday night.
How many of those games will the Titans get? Well, they do get to match up against playoff teams in the Minnesota Vikings, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans (twice), Green Bay Packers, and Buffalo Bills throughout the year.
Will all of the Titans stars still the same, it is easy to run a lot of the same footage that the crews got last year to build up hype and there is a good chance that Tennessee is really good this year for the entire season and not just a dark horse team.
The other day I think it was Todd Furman on 104.5 in Nashville who said that he thinks that 3.5 is a nice over/under number for Tennessee primetime games this season. I would be more than happy to see the Titans in the spotlight three times this year outside of TNF.