The Tennessee Titans Need to Calm Down

The Titans were one of the teams people were watching during the preseason with quarterback Jake Locker taking over behind center. He had his growing pains then, but the hope was that they could be alleviated some in the regular season after the team saw the return of the real Chris Johnson--CJ2K as he likes to go by--instead of the ineffective running back that the team had seen since 2011.

Johnson ended up being a disappointment against the New England Patriots gaining just four years on 11 carries. He was a bit more successful in the passing game catching six balls for 47 yards, but the team needs him to do what he was once really good at--run.

Locker wasn't too bad on the day completing 71.9 percent of his passes (23-31), but for only 236 yards, one TD, and one interception. He started off the day on a good note leading the team on a 12-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in a 28-yard field goal. That, however, was one of just two sustained drives the team had the entire day.

The overall ineffectiveness of the Titans offense has led to some grumbling among some of the players that second year offensive coordinator Chris Palmer is the issue. According to some reports players are wondering if he is up to the task.

The fact that a question concerning what Palmer has done has arisen is indicative of the problem that some of these players have. It would be real easy for anyone to find out what Palmer has done with his career. All they had to do was go to the team's website and look at his bio.

If there is a problem in Tennessee it is not Palmer. Last season he led the unit to the fourth highest passing total in team history (the top three were all during the team's run n' shoot days); five wide receivers set new career highs yards. If that isn't enough, he coached Tony Romo during Dallas's last playoff win and helped guide Eli Manning for three seasons as well.

Palmer has worked with some of the best in football and helped make them look even better each time. Rather than waste time in pointing fingers at someone (other than themselves), maybe the Titans offensive players need to try harder to do what Palmer says--or just play harder period.

Pointing fingers is never a good idea. It only succeeds in setting the stage for internal dissent and the eventual breakdown of the team. While a 34-13 loss is concerning, it needs to be remembered that the Titans were playing one of the best teams in football, the New England Patriots. Call me crazy, but maybe--just maybe-- the Patriots are simply better than the Titans.

Hopefully head coach Mike Munchak is able to convince his players to look within for improvement rather than just blame someone else. If he can't, the Titans might be in for a very long season.