One trademark of a Mike Vrabel-coached team is “fight.” Eight losses in 13 games will tell you that this Titans team has been outmatched most of the season.
Despite that, this edition of the Titans reflects a trait that Vrabel probably admires and appreciates more than any other – the ability and drive to hard despite the odds being stacked against them.
You need only look at the most recent two games – one a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Colts at home, the other Monday night’s improbable comeback win against the Dolphins for their first road win – to see this team hasn’t made tee times for January just yet.
Yes, it would be the longest of long shots for the Titans to still have playoff life by the end of the season. But a squad that is incredible short on talent – from its patchwork offensive line to suspect secondary – is still battling and scrapping just the same as it would if the Titans were 8-5 instead of 5-8.
Critics will point out the coaching staff’s play calling or perhaps Vrabel being too loyal to coaching staff members. All of that is fair game when things have gone the way they have for this team over the past season and a half.
But effort is the one thing that has been a constant from a Vrabel-coached team, even as the team has fallen out of contention and been embarrassed at times with its struggles, like the ones that have taken place in the two most recent games with blocked punts and turnovers coming at the most inopportune times.
“I think it says a lot about our football team and its growth,” Vrabel said after the late comeback over the Dolphins. “...I’m proud of the way they compete and fight. We’ve just got to eliminate some of the mistakes that are going to be too costly most of the time.
“Watching players improve and watching players be happy is what coaching is about – getting players to develop and improve and to inspire them to go out and get better each week,” he added. “Theres a lot of guys out there that people aren’t real familiar with, but they’ll fight and compete, and that’s why I love them.”
That competitive fire and tough play kept the Titans in the game Monday night against a Dolphins team that could play deep into the postseason.
“This is not the record we had hoped to have at this point in the season, not the position we had hoped to be in in the playoff race and all that, but all we can do is just keep pushing,” rookie quarterback Will Levis said after becoming the first rookie to pass for 300-plus yards during a Monday night game.
Spoken like a true Vrabel disciple.