NASHVILLE, Tenn. – So limited is the Titans' leadership, especially on offense, that the first guy to talk about it this week, felt it needed to be kept secret.
“I’m not going to single anybody out, it’s a collective group,” Nick Vannett said Monday after saying change needed to be spurred by player leadership. “For me, I focus on the tight ends. I start with us. There are a lot of guys in the O-line room, a lot of leadership in that room as well. I’m not going to single anybody out and say who’s a leader, cause I think there are a lot of guys who lead in their own ways. But I just think we’ve got to be more vocal about it. That’s all."
I find Vannett to be a thoughtful guy. But not singling people out is something you avoid for a bad thing, not for a good thing.
Bruce Matthews, Eddie George, Steve McNair, Frank Wycheck, Samari Rolle, Keith Bulluck, Brad Hopkins, Derrick Mason, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Kevin Mawae, Chris Hope, David Thornton, Jason McCourty, Jurrell Casey, Brian Orakpo, Delanie Walker, Kevin Byard, Ben Jones, Logan Ryan, AJ Brown, Derrick Henry and Ryan Tannehill all led in different ways.
But every one of them would have raised his hand and said he was a leader. None of them would have not wanted to be singled out for it, and none of their teammates would have been put off by them being singled out.
Walker watches this team closely and he’s wondering about leadership.
“Yeah, they did get veterans but were those guys actual leaders on the other teams definitely great players, but were they leaders?” he asked. “We all say we are leaders until you have to lead and motivate other guys to be their best on Sundays. It’s easy to lead when you win. But when you start losing, what type of leader do you become?”
I’m most concerned with the underperforming offense.
The coach named names.
He said Tony Pollard jumps off the page and Lloyd Cushenberry has been fantastic with the offensive line room. JC Latham continues to improve with his growing leadership and Tyler Boyd is leaned on as a guy who was a captain on a Bengals Super Bowl team. He also mentioned Tyjae Spears and Peter Skoronski.
“We’ve got guys that know how to lead and we’ve got some young players that are learning to find their voices too, and I think that’s a positive thing,” Callahan said. “I feel good about the leadership and I’m certainly open to more of it.”
He did not mention Will Levis or Mason Rudolph, and when a quarterback is not in the mix that's a problem.
Callahan believes production is an important ingredient in leadership.
“I don't think you have to necessarily be an All-Pro player to be a good leader, and we rely on a lot of guys to lead in that way,” Callahan said. “But yeah, the production sometimes cements your ability to command because of what you've done on the field.”
In addition to the coach, players mentioned Pollard as a top offensive leader. He likely qualifies as the Titans best offensive player, with 4.3-yards per carry. Tyjae Sharp has cut into his workload and when the Titans fall behind he’s featured less when the throw to catch up.
“Leadership, that’s something with the way that I carry myself around, lead by example, how I practice, how I go about my business,” Pollard said. “I probably could be a little bit more vocal, but I’m not the type of guy to do too much out of myself.”
Jeffery Simmons said the team’s troubles don’t include a leadership problem, it’s about being better in details and discipline.
He listed telltale signs of a locker room breaking down: When there is a great deal of tension, when guys aren’t playing hard and for each other, when guys are worrying about their stats, when there is finger pointing.
“I haven’t felt that,” he said.
On the day DeAndre Hopkins, the clearest leader with the most stripes, was traded, Latham spoke of the receiver’s influence on him.
.@TKJaayy got leadership lessons from @DeAndreHopkins. #Titans pic.twitter.com/XKmbmemRtK
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) October 23, 2024
“It’s a vacancy and a vacant spot,” Latham continued. “Someone’s going to have to step up. …You’ve got to stepo up and do the most to take advantage of the opportunity. DHop was a legend. But I have no doubt that the guys who are going to step up are give everything they have despite whatever circumstance that we’re in.”
Ernest Jones also showed high-quality leadership characteristics in his short stay. SO both sides of the ball took a dent with the Wednesday trades.
Vannett said energy lulls on the bench when things go badly and the team doesn’t rebound from them. Skoronski said the team doesn’t respond to adversity and when it hits the inflection point, it’s not able to bounce back.
Callahan has picked up on a theme Mike Vrabel carried before him: A team’s true character is revealed in adversity. And the Titans' character is not very strong right now.
Strong leadership is a main ingredient in digging out of such things, in helping a team better dig out of hard times. Yes, there are some guys on this roster with some characteristics. For all the talk about Derrick Henry’s yards in Baltimore, the Titans miss his leadership just as much. He could patrol the sideline, look guys in the eye, help get them to refocus, then go produce after the team hit a rut and bring people with him.
That was a special brand of leadership for sure.
Who’s doing anything close to that now, particularly on offense? Who’s capable of it?
I’d argue nobody.