My Two Cents: Titans' London Travel Itinerary Much Ado About Nothing
The Tennessee Titans have played three road games so far this season, and they've lost them all after last Sunday's 23-16 defeat in Indianapolis against the Colts.
The Titans are 2-3 on the season and now are in London to take on the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. It's their longest trip of the season, by far, and the second time the Titans have played in London as part of the NFL's International Series. They are technically the home team this week, but it's still a long way from home.
The Ravens left on Monday, and have been in London all week. The Titans took a different approach, treating it mostly like a normal week and doing everything at their Saint Thomas Sports Park facility in Nashville through Thursday's practice before flying overnight on an eight-hour Virgin Atlantic flight.
They got here Friday and had meetings and a light workout. They'll take it easy Saturday and play Sunday before heading back home and into their bye week.
Lots of people are making a big deal out of the Ravens being here all week and already being adapted to the time change. They have a big edge, these people say, in Sunday's game, which starts at 8:30 a.m. CT and 2:30 p.m. local time in London.
My reaction to that? Phooooey!
Whoever wins this game will have absolutely nothing to do with who handles the time changes better. It means nothing compared to who blocks better, who tackles better or who — well, you know — finally scores some touchdowns in the red zone. Jet sweeps matter more than jet lag.
This is still football. And for a Titans team that has played five straight games that started at Noon CT, starting a few hours later really doesn't mean anything. They are professional athletes and they are used to doing what the NFL says. There are early Sunday games, late games, Sunday night games, Monday and Thursday nights, too.
It does not matter.
The long plane flight? A good stretch on Friday fixed all that. And game prep? Well, I'll give the Titans the edge there. They put their game plan in back in Nashville and worked through it all before they got on the plane. They've worked all week and got treatment all week in the friendly confines of their own practice facility.
They slept in their own beds every night, too, and if you think that's not a big deal, ask any 6-foot-5, 310-pound lineman how uncomfortable it is to sleep in hotel beds.
Again, not of that matters. It's about the football when the ball gets kicked off. It's Titans football vs. Ravens football and all the other stuff is just noise.
Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill has made this trip several times before, once as a Titan and a few other times when he was with the Miami Dolphins.
This is not a vacation. It's a business trip, plain and simple. And the work to be done? It will get done on the field at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, a premier soccer stadium in London.
It's all about the football, not the travel, or the sightseeing.
"I don't think I have seen Big Ben in all my trips over here," Tannehill told Jim Wyatt of the Titans' official website. "I really need to get out and check it out, right? I really need to come back and check it out when I am not getting ready for a game.
"I would love to see a little bit more of what London has to offer – my wife and kids are exploring, and they are sending me pictures from Big Ben and all the hot spots around town, but we are here to win a game and get mentally and physically prepared to do that.''
Tannehill said the same thing on Wednesday when he met with the media. He said he told his teammates to rest on the plane — which they did — and rest on Friday night when they get here. They've done that, too, apparently.
"Just try to convey to the guys: Take advantage of the rest on the plane, and when you get there, hit the ground running, take advantage of your Friday and try to get a good night's rest on Friday night once we get there," Tannehill said. "Then after that, handle business as usual, and don't try and look back and see what time it is in the U.S. Look at the clock (in London), and whatever time it is, that's what it is.
"For me, the biggest thing is: Don't try to compare what time it is back home. You can't think about it that way.''
So let's move on from any of the pregame jibber-jabber. Let's keep it to football, which is what matters most. Can the Titans' defense do a better job of stopping the run this week after getting gashed for 193 yards by the Colts last Sunday? Can they keep the always scary Lamar Jackson in check? Can they finally start clicking on offense and score some touchdowns away from Nashville?
Those are all the things that matters.
And it's true, too. It's still just all about a football game. It's still all about wondering if the Titans can get back to .500, and about if they can score some touchdowns. They've had 10 scoring drives away from home, and nine have ended in field goals.
So that's what will matter on Sunday, scoring touchdowns, not what time their plane took off.
Related stories on Titans-Ravens
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- WEEK 6 KEYS TO VICTORY: The Tennessee Titans are desperate for a win in London against the Ravens and if they want to come back to the states at 3-3, they will need to will need a few things to go in their direction. CLICK HERE
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- DON'T BENCH FULTON: Tennessee Titans cornerback Kristian Fulton has had a rough start to the season and even with head coach Mike Vrabel considering benching the corner, the Titans shouldn't give up on Fulton just yet. CLICK HERE
