One thing is true for fans across team sports, and that is even though their favorite team might be bad, they at least don't want their teams to give up. According to one Indianapolis Colts player, though, the Tennessee Titans did just that in Week 3.
Of course, maybe that might have made sense late in the game with Indy so far ahead, but there would be no excuses earlier in the game. The Tennessee offense, with rookie quarterback Cam Ward, didn't appear to quit. The unit wasn't effective, but they at least tried.
Wide receiver Michael Pittman saw something different on the field, however. Speaking with reporters after the game, the wideout dropped a brutal opinion that no Titans fan will ever want to hear, especially so early in the season. Tennessee could get better as the season goes on, but only if the players believe in what they are being asked to do.
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman says Titans didn't want to play
Even worse, Pittman implied the Titans gave up before the game even started. If that is the case, the Tennessee coaching staff needs to have their jobs questioned.
Pittman said, "Saw it on the pre-game intros. They kinda looked a little sluggish; they were kinda walking around, nobody was really bouncing. Right then and there, we all sat there and were like 'They don't want to play today.'"
Titans head coach Brian Callahan didn't coach with any kind of sense of urgency, either. This led to him being booed before halftime. Instead of attacking the Colts defensively, Callahan seemed happy to let the clock run and not try to mount any kind of comeback.
Maybe a comeback was not going to happen, of course, but a coach shouldn't approach any part of a game in a way that gives players and fans pause. If one were a Tennessee player, one might be asking why the team wasn't fighting late in the first half after they were down.
To state the obvious, a team cannot make a game tighter if they don't try to. Callahan didn't try to. Or maybe he saw the same thing Michael Pittman did; his team simply didn't want to play. While players need to be able to motivate themselves, a coach sets the culture. That seems to have failed in Nashville.
Not that this directly matters to the Indianapolis Colts. If the Titans are falling apart, good. That just means another guaranteed victory for Indy later in the season. One thing is certain, though: Shane Steichen has his players ready to win as the team is 3-0 for the first time since 2009.