Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Tennessee Titans Debate That Shouldn't Be A Debate
NASHVILLE - Let's get a few things straight from the outset, AJ Brown is gone, and he's not likely to ever return, so those in the national media who feel the need to use that to bash the Tennessee Titans over the head with it should move on.
No, I'm not making excuses or defending one of the dumbest moves in the history of this franchise. However, in response, Amy Adams-Strunk took care of the cause of the disastrous decision to trade Brown by firing general manager Jon Robinson.
Now both Brown, who has grown into one of the better wide receivers in the NFL, and the man who traded him are gone, and Robinson can no longer access the GM's office inside St. Thomas Sports Park.
Enter Ran Carthon, who replaced the dethroned former GM and was tasked with fixing the mess left by the Brown trade and the failure to add more than just Treylon Burks to a position group that needed more help.
On Sunday, it was announced that DeAndre Hopkins would sign with the Titans, to add another much-needed weapon to the offense and this receiver room.
On Monday, former NFL GM Michael Lombardi took to his radio show to take the Titans to task for the Brown trade and Hopkins signing. While some of his points were logical, one was simply foolish.
His contention that the Titans were like the Three Stooges in the famed fishing boat skit is asinine. If that were the case, and the Titans were trying to drain the boat by putting another hole in it, then Robinson would still be here.
Robinson created the hole, Carthon was left to patch it, and any attempt to suggest that those in control of this franchise aren't at least trying to fix the leak.
As for Lombardi, his career as a scout and upper-level manager for multiple NFL franchises, though he spent most of that career with the Cleveland Browns.
After three seasons as a scout with San Francisco, he moved to Cleveland in the same capacity (87-89), where he spent three seasons before being elevated to their director of pro player personnel (89-93). He was then promoted to director of player personnel (93-95).
During Lombardi's time in Cleveland, the Browns went from 12-4 in 1986 to 10-5 in 87 and 10-6 in 88, as the remnants from the previous administrations played out.
From 1989 to 1995, with Lombardi a part of the team's upper-level48 management, the Browns posted a combined 48-63 mark, with just one winning season (1994) among them.
After leaving Cleveland, Lombardi spent time with Philadelphia, Oakland, and Denver before returning to Cleveland as their general manager in 1993.
Under his esteemed leadership, the Browns proceeded to post a 23-25 mark before he was fired and replaced by Ray Farmer following the 1995 season.
Lombardi has chosen to take aim at the Titans in this situation as a media member, and he has some legitimate reasons to stand on in his critique.
The Titans have not always been the best-managed franchise or even close. There have been dumb moves and questionable calls, but since Adams-Strunk took over as the controlling owner, this franchise has posted a combined 69-66 record, with two losing seasons against six winning campaigns.
Granted, those numbers aren't exactly awe-inspiring, but it is still superior to that of Lombardi, who produced two winning and five losing seasons as part of the Browns' management team.
And keep in mind that Adams-Strunk doesn't select the players; she's chosen the people to do that for her, while Lombardi was part of the selection process, which included time in the GM chair leading the roster-building process by the lake,
There's no doubt that trading Brown was as bad as it can get, given that they could have found a way to retain and pay him. At the same time, Carthon is cleaning up the mess left to him, and adding Hopkins, who is not at the same level as Brown at this point in their two careers, was the best move he had left on the board.
While Hopkins is closer to the end of his career than the beginning, he is still an excellent, capable player that can produce for this team, and his cost was not nearly as high as Brown's.
We can debate the intricacies of the two contracts and break down things into specific numbers, but none of that matters now, as what is done is done, and Lombardi has the right to his opinion, even if it is foolish and wrong.
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