Tennessee Titans PSA: Everyone should be furious

Titans COVID outbreak PSA.

In a world where people are often overly sensitive and looking to be mad about something, I think that this is a case where everyone around the Tennessee Titans COVID outbreak has a right to be furious.

There is a lot of vitriol going around online and some people are genuinely upset while other people are just incredibly toxic and want attention.

I wanted to take a second and talk to every group involved in this situation and tell you why no one can tell you that you don’t have a right to be mad. Let’s start with the players.

To the players…

In a league where every game matters for the team and one bad game can change your career, you were being strung along for two straight weeks with no precedent for what the short term future held.

Were you going to play the Steelers on Sunday? Monday? Tuesday? At the end of the season? After swapping a bye? There seemed to be no clear plan in place for what to do when this happened despite more than half a year of “preparation” by the league.

After not having an outbreak for weeks despite just mostly following the protocols, all of the sudden your friends and teammates are sick and now the NFL is changing the rules. Now you might have to forfeit games or lose draft picks because the league didn’t have a backup plan in place and you felt backed into a corner?

You should be furious.

To the beat writers…

It is not your fault if you are reporting that the Titans were doing illegal things. Your job description is to cover the team and report on what they are doing, that means the good, the bad, and the ugly. This is the ugly.

If this is something that the league already knew, but no fans knew, then breaking this story is you doing your job so that the fans understand why the NFL is punishing the Titans when that punishment comes down.

Also, by “beat writers” I mean Paul Kuharsky, who should be furious.

To the other teams affected…

From your perspective, the Tennessee Titans knowingly practiced and broke protocols. Despite the clear and obvious risk that it presented, they put your team, your players, and this season at risk because they selfishly wanted an extra practice.

And for what? Is running in a shirt and shorts really going to help NFL athletes prepare for a game without coaches? Is playing pitch and catch with no defense going to help get anyone ready for a matchup against the undefeated Buffalo Bills? What about defensive backs running around covering other defensive backs? Is that going to stop Stefon Diggs?

No. But what it will do is keep a virus alive and propagating that could be disastrous to the league as a whole, not to mention to the individuals it could spread to. They were selfish and short-sighted and ultimately for nothing because it cost them even more practice days.

You should be furious.

To Titans fans…

I’m so sorry Titans fans.

For the first time in a decade, the team started 3-0 and looked like it was finally ready to get past the middle of the pack “9-7” level of play that has slowed this team down.

Instead, Mike Vrabel (whose biggest strength is supposed to be his leadership) allowed his team to get together and practice off-site. This reportedly happened on September 30th which was last Wednesday. You probably remember that as the day that the Titans put Kamalei Correa on the COVID list or the day after Beau Brinkley, Tommy Hudson, and Daquan Jones went on the list.

Or maybe you remember it as the day before the Titans only rookie worth a draft pick so far (Kristian Fulton) went on the COVID list. Either way, you should probably remember it as the middle of the streak that saw the Titans lose nearly a dozen players to the COVID list.

And that is only the tip of the iceberg here. Not only did the coach not have tabs on his players during all of this, but he did this knowing that they weren’t supposed to be gathering together because OF COURSE THEY CAN’T BE GATHERING TOGETHER THAT IS THE WHOLE POINT OF NOT HAVING THE FACILITIES OPEN.

Now your favorite team who finally looked like they were on the right track to real, sustained success, has put their:

-Receptions leader, Adam Humphries

-1st round star DT, Jeffery Simmons

-Best run stuffer, Daquan Jones

-Leader in receiving yards, Corey Davis

-Only good draft pick from the 2020 draft class Kristian Fulton

…all on the COVID list and no one has any idea what the timetable looks like for any of them.

They ignored the plan that was working for 31 other teams, in favor of trying to get a competitive edge and you are right to think they are stupid, selfish, and short-sighted for what they did and how they did it.

Not the NFL is going to make the Titans and example, and that is going to mean forfeiting a game, losing draft picks, or both and it is going to hurt this team badly. All for what?

When they are finally allowed to field a team again, it is going to be sparse, inexperienced, overmatched, and every team in the NFL is going to be furious when they prepare for you.

You especially should be furious.