NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The worst season in the Tennessee era of the Titans franchise was 2014, the first in Ken Whisenhunt’s 23 games that extended for one season plus seven games.
The Titans were 2-14 that year, 2-4 through six games.
Brian Callahan’s Titans are 1-5 and have a lot of time and an extra game to fare better than the first version of Whisenhunt’s version of the franchise.
But it’s fair to compare them at this stage.
So let’s dig into the 2014 team through six games and the 2024 now.
Whisenhunt was an experienced coach who'd taken Arizona to the Super Bowl in his second season. He was 27-21 in his first three seasons, but 18-30 in his final three seasons. He came in a lot different than Callahan, who'd been an assistant for 13 years, the last five as a non-play-calling offensive coordinator.
Tommy Smith was the Titans acting owner after Bud Adams' death and he hired Whisenhut. Smith said he liked the idea of his head coach calling plays, but he couldn't articulate why. The gruff Whisenhunt influenced poor personnel decisions and never got things going.
|
POINTS |
Offense |
Defense |
Differential |
|
2014 |
17.2 |
25.5 |
-49 |
|
2024 |
17.7 |
24.0 |
-38 |
Hardly a dramatic difference, but Callahan’s team is doing slightly better.
Adjusting for the era, a 2014 team should have scored .2 more points per game than a 2024 team. So this year's team is doing better in comparison here.
|
RUSHING |
Carries |
Yards |
Avg. |
TDs |
|
2014 |
149 |
697 |
4.7 |
4 |
|
2024 |
157 |
680 |
4.3 |
5 |
Whisenhunt had terrible backs. Bishop Sankey had the most carries at this stage, with Shonn Green second and Dexter McCluster third. Good running by Jake Locker and a big run from Kendall Wright bolstered the average.
Still, that those backs led a group that was 0.4 yards per carry better than this Tony Pollard-Tyjae Spears-led group to this stage of the season is not a good sign considering the Titans consider their run game a relative success right now.
In 2024, teams are running for 11.7 more yards per game than they were in 2014 and the current Titans still trail here.
|
RECEIVING |
Catches |
Yards |
Avg. |
TDs |
|
2014 |
109 |
1,385 |
12.7 |
7 |
|
2024 |
117 |
999 |
8.5 |
6 |
Delanie Walker was the leading receiver for the 2014 team, with 27 percent of the catches at this stage and 30 percent of the yards. Wright, Justin Hunter and Nate Washington were next.
These Titans have been more receiver-centric and Calvin Ridley, the departing DeAndre Hopkins and Tyler Boyd are averaging 11.7 yards a catch, fewer than all Whisenhunt’s pass catchers combined (12.7) through six games.
|
PASSING |
Att-Comp |
Yards |
Percent |
Y/Att |
TD |
Int |
Sacks |
Rating |
|
2014 |
189-109 |
1,385 |
57.7 |
7.33 |
7 |
6 |
17 |
79.8 |
|
2024 |
182-117 |
999 |
64.3 |
5.49 |
6 |
8 |
19 |
71.2 |
Indicting numbers. Will Levis and Mason Rudolph are not good at all. But we are comparing them to Jake Locker and Charlie Whitehurst with five Zach Mettenberger attempts tossed in.
The starting line was rookie Taylor Lewan, Andy Levite, Brian Schwenke, Chance Warmack and 
Michael Oher – a group I’d say had much less upside than what the Titans are fielding now.
Teams are passing for 27.7 fewer yards a game than they were in 2014. Take that away from the 2014 team and it still tracks better than Callahan’s team – 1,221 passing yards to 999.
Through six games, Ken Whisenhunt had a better-producing offense.
The 2014 Titans tied Tampa Bay for the worst record in the NFL and wound up drafting second overall.
They finished 29th in offense, 22nd in passing offense, 26th in rushing and 30th in points.
At a certain point, it won’t matter if Callahan surpasses those numbers or not.
He really needs not to be at that point.
