My Two Cents: Titans' Season Begins, But How Will It End?

NASHVILLE — The players have arrived, and in the morning the Tennessee Titans start training camp. A season on the brink has arrived, and all the blood, sweat and tears — hopefully few tears — starts on Wednesday.

Outside of the Titans' complex, there's not a lot of talk about how good the Titans will be in 2023. They're in the bottom 20 percent, according to the experts, and the projections say they'll be lucky to win seven games.

Me, I'm not going there. Not on the first day.

Be forewarned, Titans fans, as you get to know me this year. I am a glass-half-full guy, and I give the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise.

I am a believer in the Bill Parcells ''you are what your records says you are'' philosophy when it comes to evaluating football teams, and I'll do the same with the Titans.

Here's the hiccup in that logic, though. I spent my preseason preparation watching all 17 games in 2022, and I saw TWO Titans teams last year, the one that opened the season 7-3 and the one that staggered to the finish like a drunken sailor, losing their last seven games and spitting away the AFC South title in the process.

If they are what their record says they are, are the Titans a 7-3 type of team when healthy, or an 0-7 train wreck on the verge of a complete roster implosion?

Can they win? Of course they can, especially if they're healthy. Will they win? Well, that's the billion-dollar question.

But yeah, they can win.

Look at it this way. They have upgraded at offensive coordinator with Tim Kelly replacing Todd Downing. Check. They are much better at wide receiver, with the recent signing of DeAndre Hopkins, who's still a serious threat. Check-check. We think the offensive line will be better, and this defense is still really good.

"We are all undefeated right now now, and we'll see how this journey goes,'' Titans coach Mike Vrabel said Tuesday in his kickoff press conference to start training camp. We're focusing on today, and I'll be here giving this team everything I've got. I'm going to ask the players to do the same thing.''

Vrabel has made enough coaching staff changes to feel better about where the Titans stand. New general manager Ran Carthon has upgraded the roster enough to feel better, too.

They're ready to get to work. Getting to work means learning how to win.

And that's the plan.

''We talk about training camp, and we try to accomplish three things,'' Vrabel said. "We try to build our foundation, what our culture is, who we are and how we want to play. We want to try to make sure we're developing a team, that there is a level of camaraderie and trust and accountability that we all have for each other.

"The last one is we, most importantly, have to prepare to win. That's what we're all here for. That was my message the other day, and that will be my message this afternoon. We have to build a foundation, and start over. There was improvement in the spring and we have to continue that. But building a foundation, developing a team, and then preparing to win. The players will define their roles as we go through camp.''

Adding Hopkins to the roster had absolutely no impact on the national projection path for the Titans. According to Fanduel, the over/under wins total for Tennessee is 7.5, which was exactly the same number a month ago.

Their line to win the division is plus-310, which has trickled down slightly. Jacksonville is the leader at minus-155, so that's a heavy favorite. Only the Kansas City Chiefs are predicted to win the AFC West at a higher spread.

The Hopkins addition, I think, is a big deal — and it will equate to wins. He may be 31, but he's still in great shape and he's always been a big IQ wide receiver. He makes the Titans' receivers room dramatically better and, yeah, I know it a low bar. But his presence alone makes Treylon Burks better, as it does right down the line.

He'll also be receiving balls from a veteran quarterback in Ryan Tannehill, and he'll be part of an offense with Derrick Henry, who's still one of the best running backs in the game.

Tannehill and Hopkins will make a quick connection. That 0-7 finish? It means nothing to any of them.

"When I've been around him, he's always developed a strong relationship with the quarterback, there's a big trust factor there, and that will have to get built.,'' Vrabel said of Hopkins. "We're excited that he's here and we're all moving forward. I've had a relationship with DeAndre since I was a coach at Houston, and I've tried to maintain that relationship with him.

"When we do start practicing tomorrow, last year isn't going to have anything to do with how we practice.''

Hopkins met with the media as well on Tuesday, and he's here to win, too.

"I'm in year 11, and I wanted to be with people that I'm comfortable with,'' Hopkins said in choosing the Titans in free agency. "One out of 10, I think it's a 10 (in his belief about winning). I have a lot of confidence that we can win here.

"They're right there, with how these guys play and how competitive these guys can be. I think last year, they were still very close to still winning. I feel great being here, and everybody's made me feel real comfortable so far.''

Hopkins likes the idea of playing with a veteran quarterback, too. This is a not a ''start-over'' situation.

"It's off the field, just not on the field. That's one thing that helps, just having that communication,'' Hopkins said when asked about what it takes to get comfortable with a quarterback. "I just try to find certain things they they like. Ryan and his wife came in while I was here (for his visit last month), and we kicked it off right away. That says a lot about him. I think he's a great quarterback.''

Hopkins and Henry are great friends, too, and that matters as well.

"Derrick played a big factor in me coming here,'' Hopkins said. "I've played with some great running backs, but Derrick Henry is one of the best running backs I've ever played with and he played a big part in me coming here.''

Vrabel wants to get a lot done early in camp, with quality installation time the key to the first week or two.

"Just the normal install, as we work our way through it,'' Vrabel said of the early priorities. "Just being good in critical situations as we get to those things because games are so tight and how you operate and function and the end of the half and end of the game, that's are always important.

"More than half of the game is played on first and second down, 20 percent of it is played on third down, 20 percent of it is played in the red zone, so every bit of it is critical.''

It sure is. All of it is critical. This can't be a lost season for the Titans, not when you play in the AFC South. Jacksonville is a team on the rise, sure, but the Titans aren't dead yet.

Give them the benefit of the doubt? Of course I will. Like Vrabel said, they're undefeated. Everyone is. But they're also healthy, and I remember what a healthy Titans team could do last year.

So they go to work on Wednesday. And let's all take it one day at a time.

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