The Tennessee Titans are 3-11 and out of playoff contention, but head coach Brian Callahan is adamant that this is not due to a lack of toughness. In fact, he made his thoughts on the matter quite clear with a long and passionate rant.
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The head coach made the comments on Thursday while meeting with media members. He faced a question about how he would respond to people calling his team "soft."
"To be honest, I think that's complete and total bulls*** if you want my honest opinion," Callahan said. "These guys are tough f******, man. They go after it every day. They play hard as hell. At no point have we ever put on tape — at any point this season — that this is a soft football team.
"I can't even wrap my mind around how that would even be a conversation. Just because we don't win games doesn't mean we're soft. These guys play their a** off, they play hard, they play physical. You can ask any team that plays against us. That when they come off the field, they know they played us."
"Just because we don't win games doesn't mean we're soft. ... I'd like you to walk in there and call one of these guys soft and see what happens" 👀—Titans HC Brian Callahan
(via @Titans) pic.twitter.com/TOeq3cGxiC
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) December 19, 2024
Callahan continued and said that these comments mean that they don't watch the Titans and that the people making the comments don't know anything about NFL football. He went one step further and challenged the people to go into the locker room and tell any of his players that they are soft.
"You can kind of shove that one right up your a**, to be honest with you," Callahan said.
The Titans sit in an interesting spot in terms of offensive and defensive rankings. According to Fox Sports, the Titans are second in the league in average yards allowed to opposing offenses (297.4 yards). However, the defense has allowed the second-most touchdowns (45).
This disparity is due to the split between pass defense and run defense. The Titans are third in the league with an average of 182.2 passing yards allowed. They are 12th in the league with an average of 115.2 rushing yards allowed.
In terms of offense, Callahan's specialty, the Titans have struggled. The passing attack is the 26th in the league with an average of 190.6 yards per game and 18 touchdowns.
Former starter Will Levis has been inconsistent this season while only throwing 12 touchdowns compared to 12 interceptions. Mason Rudolph, who takes over as starter this week, has six touchdowns and five interceptions.
The rushing attack led by Tony Pollard and backup Tyjae Spears ranks 19th with an average of 110.4 yards per game and nine touchdowns.
