How Titans HC Brian Callahan Defines His Team's Identity

Titans Must Capitalize On First Win Momentum

Winning cures all ills, usually.

The Titans victory over Miami, however, did not provide much clarity. Starting quarterback Will Levis exited midway through the first quarter with an injury, and was replaced for the duration by back-up Mason Rudolph. Defensively, Tennessee is leading the league in total yardage allowed in a four game sample size. Their competition in those four games has been less than impressive.

Coordinator Dennard Wilson's group has yet to be truly tested.

"I think we're a really physical defense," said Callahan before the break. "I think we're aggressive and we fly around. We make life hard on opposing offenses. I think we're a good rushing football team. I think we're a physical front when it comes to running the ball. I think when we play complementary football and we don't turn the ball over, we're going to be competitive as any team in football. We've got to protect the ball better than we have."

Turnovers Have Wrecked Titans' Start

The Titans -7 turnover differential is tied with the Las Vegas Raiders (2-3) for the worst in the league.

Levis has been the primary source of those troubles. The second-year starter is tied with fellow sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson for the most interceptions in the NFL (6). Levis has also fumbled in all but one of his starts this season, losing all three to opposing defenses.

For now, Callahan's team is defined more by the bad it has put on tape than the good.

The first AFC South contest of the season in Week 6 will likely see Levis return from the shoulder injury that knocked him out against the Dolphins. Whether or not he can right his wrongs and put together a clean performance remains to be seen. The crux of the frustrations with Tennessee has been plenty of good football washed out by a few glaring mistakes.

Callahan has backed Levis as his undisputed starter when healthy at every turn.

The rest of the locker room will sour on the entire experience if the former second-round pick keeps undermining the team's progress, though. The Titans did score 30+ points for the first time in 1,002 days against Miami with Rudolph under center. Offensively, Tennessee is still in a five-way tie for the ninth fewest touchdowns scored per game (2.0).

"We've got to keep improving our drop back game, both in the protection portion and the overall success of it, it hasn't been good enough yet," Callahan said. "So, we've got to keep that part rolling and keep working on that. But I'm happy with what we've shown so far. I think we're better than 1-3, but we're 1-3 at this point because of some mistakes we've made. And we got to keep limiting those and letting our defense go play and then complementing them on offense."

The Titans host the Indianapolis Colts (2-3) in Week 6. Watch/listen to Titans Radio's pregame coverage starting at 9 am CT on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville.