Mike Mularkey’s kryptonite shows up on the schedule and I’m not talking about the Baltimore Ravens (4-4). Instead, for the head coach of the Tennessee Titans (4-3), the opportunity to lead his team to three consecutive wins comes along once again Sunday inside Nissan Stadium. It’s something that Mularkey, at no point in his head coaching career, has been able to do.
If you want to watch history happen (maybe), you can tune in to your local CBS station at 1 p.m. EST.
The Game: Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans (-3.5)
O/U: 43.0
The History
The Ravens and Titans have played 21 games with Baltimore holding an 11-10 edge in the all time match up.
They last played on November 9, 2014. The Ravens won 21-7 at M&T Bank Stadium.
BALTIMORE RAVENS (4-4)
The Ravens have put forth a couple of dominating performances this season. They’ve also been dominated in their share of games. Baltimore is .500 right now and that looks like something they’ll be dealing with all year, regardless of what happens Sunday in Nashville.
Joe Flacco has yet to really deliver an elite performance this season. In last week’s 40-0 shutout win over the Miami Dolphins he admittedly didn’t have to do much with the way the defense completely manhandled Miami. Flacco obliged by doing as little as possible, completing 10 of 15 for 101 yards and a touchdown.
Now, I’m not one to regularly down Joe Flacco. I like him, think he’s a good quarterback that seems to turn into great if the team makes the postseason. He’s obviously not 100 percent after dealing with a back injury that kept him out of the preseason. It isn’t something that’s just going to get better with the pounding an NFL quarterback has to take, week in and week out. And the Ravens don’t have the quarterback situation where they can afford to rest him a few weeks. It’s Ryan Mallett for God’s sake.
Against the Dolphins, Alex Collins continued to make his case to be the long term answer at running back for Baltimore. He carried the ball 18 times for 113 yards. Flacco spread the ball around to six different receivers led by free agent acquisition Jeremy Maclin’s three catches for 53 yards and a touchdown.
Wide receiver Michael Campanaro, safety Chuck Clark and running back Terrence West are all listed as out. Nick Boyle is listed as questionable and didn’t practice all week. I don’t expect him to play. He’s dealing with a toe.
TENNESSEE TITANS (4-3)
I know it seems like I shit on Mike Mularkey for the fun of it, but there is a purpose to my constant disdain for the man as a head coach in the NFL. This isn’t an assault on his character. He could be a decent guy. I don’t know. As a position coach, I’m sure he’s fine. But Mularkey is a bad head coach. In fact, he’s the worst active head coach in the NFL. That’s not my opinion. It’s science.
Mularkey has a .388 win percentage as a head coach and that’s after a 9-7 Titans season last year. He would have to win his next 18 games without a loss to reach a .500 record as a head coach. The next closest guy to Mularkey, the Washington Redskins’ Jay Gruden, has a .445 winning percentage. Mularkey would have to win his next 12 straight games to hit that mark.
There are only two worse head coaches statistically of this era and neither guy is a head coach today. Gus Bradley had a .226 winning percentage and Jim Schwartz a .363 winning percentage. They both went back to the jobs they’re best at, calling defenses. Schwartz is the DC for the Philadelphia Eagles. Bradley coordinates the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Pick
On paper, this game should be the one where Tennessee really punches its ticket to the top of the AFC South, especially with Deshaun Watson going down for the Houston Texans. Instead, it will just serve as one more example as to why Mike Mularkey should be fired from this head coaching job and never be allowed to lead a team onto the field again. Ravens 20, Titans 17
This week
Straight up: 0-1
Against the spread: 0-1
Last week
Straight up: 9-4
Against the spread: 8-5
Season
Straight up: 69-50
Against the spread: 58-61
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