A.J. Brown Takes You Inside the Toughness of Tennessee
In this story:
PHILADELPHIA - The Tennessee Titans are one of those teams in the NFL, a hard-nosed, tough, and physical bunch whose reputation stems from head coach Mike Vrabel, a 14-year linebacker in the league and three-time Super Bowl winner in New England.
The Titans play the old-school version of the game in a new-school age, relying on a strong running game and a stingy defense as its cornerstones, something that has the team in line for its fourth consecutive playoff berth as the heavy favorite in the AFC South.
“This is a tough, physical football team,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said, playing into the narrative. “(They) really take after their head coach. Mike Vrabel is a tough, physical."
Vrabel will bring his first-place Titans to Philadelphia for a matchup against the first-place Eagles on Sunday (1 p.m./FOX).
The Tennessee style has its limitations, though.
Most NFL teams play with a physical, tough style.
The trick, according to Vrabel, is doing it for all 60 minutes.
"I think that’s the nature of football," he said. "It’s physical and it’s professional football. Everybody is going to play that way and you hope you have your guys prepared by putting the time in to be able to sustain that throughout the game."
Derrick Henry helps set the physical tone the Titans use. The 6-foot-3, 247-pound battering ram and two-time rushing champion topped out at 2,027 yards in 2020 and this season he has already passed the century mark with 1,048 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Jonathan Gannon's defense typically employs light boxes in order to prevent explosive, over-the-top plays. That may not be the best approach on Sunday.
Most teams want Ryan Tannehill throwing the football vs. Henry emasculating them for 200 yards, though the Bengals held Henry to just 38 yards on 17 carries in beating Tennessee last week in Nashville to drop them to 7-4.
“(Vrabel) likes to manage the game,” Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham said. “He likes to keep it physical and keep doing what they’re good at. Running the ball and the clock is their game.
"We’ve got to make sure we do our best at what we’re good at. We’ve got to get off the field. We’ve got to make sure we keep numbers to the ball, and you know, put out fires before they think they can just run on us.”
Helping that could be the presence of rookie nose tackle Jordan Davis, who has missed the past four games with a high-ankle sprain. The Eagles started Davis' 21-day practice window on Wednesday and the big rookie was back working in drills by Thursday's on-field session.
Philadelphia has until Saturday at 4 p.m. to decide whether to activate Davis, who would give Gannon an imposing rotation in odd-man fronts with veteran Linval Joseph.
READ MORE: A Lighter Jordan Davis Eyes Return - Sports Illustrated
No one on the Eagles understands the culture in Nashville better than A.J. Brown and the star receiver confirmed it all starts with Vrabel.
"When you go into a bar fight and you got two or three, he'll make you believe that two or three will whip like 20 people; that's the type of person he is," Brown said of his former coach.
It's a mindset for Vrabel and one he wants to instill in his teams purposefully, according to Brown.
"He wants guys to always have this chip on their shoulder," Brown said. "Even if you are privileged he wants you to have this blue-collar type of worker - you know go to work even if you are like a top guy, he still wants you to be a blue-collar guy.
"Work like you got nothing."
The whole approach can intimidate opponents.
"I hope it doesn't (intimidate us)," Brown laughed.
But the toughness and physicality are real.
"I think the DNA he played (with) in the era he played and he wants his team to be like that," said Brown. "He wants guys and leaders to impart what he's saying and to really buy into it."
The Eagles typically pride themselves on being more physical than their opponents. This week, they might have to settle for a stalemate in that battle of wills.
"This will be a great challenge, Philadelphia is," said Vrabel. "Up front on their offensive line as good as they’re playing. I have a lot of respect for the talent and not only the talent but the effort the guys play with defensively."
-John McMullen contributes Eagles coverage for SI.com's Eagles Today and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John, alongside legendary sports-talk host Jody every morning from 8-10 on ‘Birds 365,” streaming live on YouTube. John is also the host of his own show "Football 24/7 and a daily contributor to ESPN South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen
