Patriots Pregame Thread Titans Fire Head Coach Brian Callahan / Week 7 Pregame Discussion

[TheRainMaker]

We have to beware of the dreaded Interim HC curse. Players love all of the sudden want to play hero ball for them.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS​

DID NOT PARTICIPATE
S Jaylinn Hawkins, Hamstring
LB Anfernee Jennings, Ankle
LB Harold Landry III, Ankle
LIMITED PARTICIPATION
DT Christian Barmore, Not Injury Related / Other
WR Stefon Diggs, Chest
OT Morgan Moses, Hip
CB Charles Woods, Knee
FULL PARTICIPATION
CB Christian Gonzalez, Hamstring
DE Keion White, Elbow

Week 7 Injury Report: Patriots at Titans

 

[goheels22002]

Great to see Keion White as a full participant this week. The pass rush needs to get back to full throttle and in synch to keep the train rolling down the tracks. Now they're defending 1st place in the division and there's no reason to let some QB have a big game that could derail this.

 

[TommyD4207]

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS​

LIMITED PARTICIPATION
OT Morgan Moses, Hip

Anyone else laugh at this one?

 

[Pape]

was looking at their roster...

Outside of Jeffrey Simmons & Calvin Ridley, do they have any play makers? Tony Pollard, i guess could be one... most points they have put up on the boards is 22, vs the Cards...

Cam Ward has more Ints than Tds... 55% completion rate... makes some bad throws... only 36 yards rushing, no tds... Haven't watched a second of him play... the numbers show a very raw rookie...

the game screams trap... Outside of "Any Given Sunday", do they have the talent to actually make it a trap game?

 

[KCSVEN]

the game screams trap... Outside of "Any Given Sunday", do they have the talent to actually make it a trap game?

Vrabel return to TN? Players are going to want to win this for him. No way it is a trap game, which statistically don't exist anyways.
Third road games in a row is a minor disadvantage, but TN is so bad this should be an easy win.

 

[Pape]

Third road games in a row is a minor disadvantage, but TN is so bad this should be an easy win.

Interesting bit of trivia - The Pats have not won three road games in a row since 1961...

and whether or not "trap games" exist statistically, we all know they are real

 

[ErniesPinkStripes]

I dont know much about the Titans this year so I went to one of their forums and looked up the week 7 thread thinking they would be talking about the upcoming game. I read through about 5 pages of zero discussion about the match up. They talked about everything but the game...wtf.

Week 7 Titans vs Patriots Discussion

www.titansreport.com

Not all sports forums were created Equal.

We Are Blessed.

 

[Pape]

a look at the offensive stats from last years game (the defensive stats were unavailable):

Passing


Receiving


Rushing

 

[Mike the Brit]

Vrabel return to TN? Players are going to want to win this for him. No way it is a trap game, which statistically don't exist anyways.
Third road games in a row is a minor disadvantage, but TN is so bad this should be an easy win.

The statistics found for me by a certain well-known LLM gives a 33.6% win rate for teams in their third consecutive road game versus 43% for road teams in general.

I hope it won't be enough to overcome all the other considerations, but that looks like a major disadvantage.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Anyone else laugh at this one?

Don't laugh too hard. Some of us are right there...

 

[Patsfan1645]

Not all sports forums were created Equal.

We Are Blessed.

indeed

 

[irishfanatic]

Not all sports forums were created Equal.

We Are Blessed.

100% this

 

[turkeyneck]

Interesting bit of trivia - The Pats have not won three road games in a row since 1961...

and whether or not "trap games" exist statistically, we all know they are real

In regular season ... but ...

1985 Playoffs

@ JETE W

@ LAR W

@ MIA W

 

[PatsFan219]

Pats win 41-16. Defense overwhelms Ward. I hope we can avoid any injuries. Buckle up everyone, this is going to be a fun season.

 

[lancerman]

So I was at an event yesterday at Gillette stadium where many different vendors in MA/NE had booths on the club level of Gillette Stadium. At one point a Gillette employee came and yelled out "everyone put your phones away, no pictures".

The team came out and did their walkthrough practice for an hour. It was no pads. Obviously everyone was watching.

Funniest thing was, Vrabel literally took every single snap at linebacker for like a half hour.

 

[jmt57]

FWIW (nothing) some comments from various Week 7 power rankings

PFT's Week 7 2025 NFL power rankings

Through six weeks, the Buccaneers are the best team and Baker Mayfield is the MVP.

www.nbcsports.com

30: Titans (No. 29; 1-5): They’re 4-19 since firing Mike Vrabel. He’s 4-2 this season.

NFL power rankings: Packers, Bucs, Patriots rise; Bills, 49ers, Eagles drop in shakeup at top for Week 7 | Sporting News

How do all 32 teams in the NFL stack up against each other coming out of Week 6 of the 2025 NFL regular season? Here's an updated look from best to worst.

www.sportingnews.com

31: The Titans can't generate the needed offensive support for Cam Ward to even get a fair evaluation. It's a shame, because their defense is doing as much as possible to keep them in games.

NFL power rankings Week 7: Another new No. 1, losses by Lions, Bills creating disarray

Another week of NFL chaos leads to a third No. 1 team in power poll's past three weeks.

www.usatoday.com

31: It's been 47 games since they managed back-to-back wins … so they can only pin half that blame on dismissed HC Brian Callahan. But that run of ineptitude will likely continue, the Titans' next three games against opponents who all currently have at least four wins.

NFL Power Rankings 2025: Chiefs Move Into No. 1 Spot After Win Against Lions – WalterFootball

walterfootball.com

32: The Titans are 1-5, but they’ve played against the Broncos, Rams, and Colts, three teams listed in Group B. They beat a Group C team, though they needed a lot of luck to do that. They then went back to their losing ways against the Raiders, as Maxx Crosby dominated Tennessee’s poor offensive line.

NFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Chiefs move to No. 1, Ravens rise with Lamar Jackson's return

Amid a week of more upsets to powerhouses, the PFF Power Rankings gets an overhaul before Week 7.

www.pff.com

31: Tennessee Titans (No change). Chance of making playoffs: 1%

2025 NFL Power Rankings Week 7: Lions, Eagles Make Room for New Number One | FOX Sports

Ralph Vacchiano has a new number one atop his NFL Power Rankings entering Week 7

www.foxsports.com

31: ↓ Previously ranked 30
Super Bowl odds: +100000

Is there anything this team actually does well? That fluke win over the Cardinals is going to stick out like an unlikely sore thumb when this season is over.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Mayfield, Darnold and Jones lead redemption QBs

Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones have revived their careers and their teams in 2025.

www.cbssports.com

30: They fired coach Brian Callahan on Monday, but does it matter? Cam Ward needs to pick up his play this week against the Patriots.

Titans Plummet in Week 7 Power Rankings

With yet another Tennessee Titans loss this past week — the Las Vegas Raiders are the latest team to claim what may be the league's easiest victory — time appea

www.si.com

31: Unsurprisingly, the Titans first win last week failed to translate to what became another by-the-books loss for a franchise that flew completely off the rails under former coach Brian Callahan. On a rare positive note, rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor has looked the part alongside Cam Ward as veteran wideout Calvin Ridley works through injuries and his own lack of production.

NFL Week 7 Power Rankings: Our 1-32 poll, plus the biggest lessons learned so far for every team

We reshuffled the teams in our NFL Power Rankings ahead of Week 7. Plus, here are the biggest lessons for each roster so far this season.

www.espn.com

31: It's hard to imagine the Titans being worse than last season after selecting QB Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick. But here we are. The Titans' offense has scored only 83 points, which is the least by a Titans/Oilers team through six games since 1985, per ESPN Research. The Titans' loss to the Raiders was their fourth by 10-plus points this season, the most in the NFL. No one expected Tennessee to compete for a division title. But there were supposed to be signs of growth in Year 2 under Brian Callahan, who was fired Monday. Ward is the fourth consecutive quarterback drafted No. 1 to see his coach dismissed during his rookie season.

NFL Power Rankings 2025: Week 7, All 32 Teams

Power rankings for all 32 NFL teams heading into Week 7, ranking NFL teams for 2025, Top NFL teams: Bucs, Rams, Colts, Lions, Eagles

www.sharpfootballanalysis.com

31: After a 4-19 start as Tennessee’s head coach, the organization decided to fire Brian Callahan on Monday morning. Special teams coach Mike McCoy is set to take over while upper management seeks a full-time replacement. There’s some irony in this timing, as Mike Vrabel’s impending trip to Tennessee at the helm of the Patriots feels like a visit from the ghost of Titans past.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 7: Baker Mayfield-led Buccaneers hit No. 1, while Seahawks crack top 3

(NFL.com) 31: Ultimately, not even Week 5's miracle comeback victory could save Brian Callahan. The Titans followed that up by once again flopping in a non-competitive loss to the 1-4 Raiders, who pretty much put the game away midway through the third quarter -- and it's not like Las Vegas played great. The Titans were just not progressing on the whole, and Cam Ward was new GM Mike Borgonzi's handpicked quarterback to lead this team. They couldn't wait any longer on the QB's progression, which has stalled in a frustrating start to the season, so you can bet that Callahan's full-time replacement will be a candidate who can help get the No. 1 pick right. Ward has logged an interception in four straight games, and he lost two fumbles Sunday, but he's not getting much in the way of organizational support now.

 

[Ross12]

The “fired HC bounce” really doesn’t apply here. That commonly happens because a fired HC was not well-liked by his players, and so the players play better for one week because the guy they disliked is gone. For Tennessee, as far as I am aware, the players DID like Callahan but he was just a poor coach. If anything it seems likely they’d play worse for a week as they presumably start getting coached harder.

 

[captain stone]

There are still a couple dozen players on the team this year, that LOST to this dogshit team last year.

It's not only a Vrabel revenge game.

Our QB would also like to set things straight down there I'm fairly certain, his end-of-regulation heroics notwithstanding.

 

[captain stone]

Imagine if J Simmons was next to Barmore and Williams was a DE. Nice!!

I wonder if Vrabel's been in contact with him, officially or otherwise...