There’s that thing about not getting too high or too low after a loss, and then, there’s Mike Vrabel. During just about every one of the Tennessee Titans‘ head coach’s press conferences, it’s nearly impossible to determine, on body language alone, whether we’re looking at someone who just won a game or lost it.
That’s cool though. He’s a head coach in the NFL. No one will throw a penalty flag on him for that, but following Week 1’s drubbing at the hands of an Arizona Cardinals team that was supposed to be the underdog, Coach looks different. He sounds different too.
It’s pretty easy to determine what we witnessed in Week 1 isn’t sitting well with anyone, and during Vrabel’s Monday afternoon presser with several members of the Tennessee media, the sound bytes kept coming.
Here are a few quotes from the Tennessee Titans HC that stood out on Monday.
As you might expect, it didn’t take long to get a few theories from Mike about Sunday’s performance. Here’s what he had to say on that subject.
"It’s disappointing when you lose, it’s disappointing when you lose at home. There is no other way to put it. It sucks when you lose, sucks when you get your ass kicked. All the credit to Kliff (Kingsbury) and his staff and those players. You know, they beat us and outcoached us."
The question is can they fix all of these issues before the kickoff of that one? If the leaders step up, there’s no reason to assume they can’t. In the meantime, you can best believe Vrabel is holding everyone accountable, from the rookies to the proven vets.
Look no further than what he said about a certain future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee on the roster (Julio Jones).
“That would fall into the category of doing dumb (expletive) that hurts the team, right there, in bold letters” said Vrabel in reference to a personal foul penalty that turned a third and one opportunity into a third and 16 opp, one the Titans wouldn’t convert.
The focus now shifts from one game to the next. That’s the nature of the NFL, and that’s where the refusal to get too high or too low after wins and losses comes from. The Tennessee Titans have to wipe this one from their minds, or they’ll be 0-2 after their next tilt, one that takes place in the Pacific Northwest versus a good-looking Seattle Seahawks team