Before the season, it was thought that Brian Callahan would need to demonstrate a level of success, among other things, in his second season in Tennessee. With new management and the man who hired him, Ran Carthon, no longer there, Callahan was entering a situation where he needed to solidify his position with the new management that he was the right person for this team now and moving forward. After Week 1, with 13 penalties for 131 yards and a 20-12 loss in Denver, the heat is intensifying on Callahan, and there are two specific situations that have drawn the ire of those who were unsure of Callahan.
The first issue was a reception by rookie wide receiver Elic Ayomanor. Rookie quarterback Cameron Ward threw a pass that Ayomanor caught and got his right elbow inbounds. The officials ruled Ayomanor out and Callahan did not challenge the ruling. When asked about it after the game, he said that the receiver would need to get a foot in and that an elbow does not equal two feet. The reality is that it actually does equal two feet and he should have challenged that play. Callahan came across as if he did not know that rule in the game. Although he acknowledged in the press conference on Monday afternoon that he probably should have challenged that play and took the blame for not challenging it, it did not come across well to those who were already skeptical about Callahan coming into this season.
Another situation that happened on Sunday was the last full offensive series for the Tennessee Titans before halftime. The Titans had the lead at 6-3 and just had the ball punted back to them with under a minute left in the half. What many expected the Titans to do was run the football and force the Broncos to use their last two timeouts, essentially running out the clock and going into halftime with a 6-3 lead. What happened was two incomplete passes and a Ward sack in a possession that only took up twenty seconds. The Broncos were given time to make something happen and they did, scoring a touchdown right before half and taking a 10-6 lead. Titans kickoff returner Chimere Dike returned the ensuing kickoff deep into Broncos territory and that resulted in a field goal to bring the Titans to within one at 10-9 at the half, but the Titans should not have been in that situation. Callahan spoke about wanting to be aggressive in that position after the game, but it didn't work. However, it was a situation that did call for that type of aggression. The offense was already having some issues protecting Ward at the time, so caution would have been the best course of action, as it would have protected the lead.
These two critical mistakes could have helped the Titans be in a better position to win this game. However, along with the other issues that occurred during the game, these factors contributed to the Titans' loss. There were plenty of mistakes that happened, but these are two that could have been helped by Callahan and simply were not at two crucial points of the game. There already seemed to be a microscope on Callahan before the season started, and now, after one game, the heat appears to have turned up just a little on Callahan as we enter Week 2 in the NFL.