Titans coach penalized for lashing out on referees, a breakdown
What Happened
In a tightly contested game between the Tennessee Titans and the Minnesota Vikings, both teams are fighting for their first win of the season. The score is tied at 20-20 late in the fourth quarter, and the Titans are facing a crucial 4th-and-goal situation. Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill attempts a pass to the corner of the end zone, but the receiver, wide receiver Treylon Burks, is unable to haul it in. On the following play, the Titans try to punch it in on the ground, but the Vikings' defense holds strong, setting up a pivotal 4th-and-goal. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel decides to go for the touchdown, rather than attempt a field goal. On the crucial play, the Titans' offense is stuffed, but a flag is thrown. Defensive back Patrick Peterson of the Vikings is called for unnecessary roughness, giving the Titans a new set of downs and a first-and-goal opportunity. Vrabel is visibly upset with the officiating and can be heard yelling at the head official, Clete Blakeman, saying, "I told Perry, I told Perry that is fucking ridiculous." It's unclear who Vrabel is referring to, but it appears he has previously voiced his concerns about the officiating to the NFL's senior vice president of officiating administration, Perry Fewell. After a brief discussion, Vrabel is penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, pushing the Titans back further. Despite the setback, the Titans are able to punch it in for a touchdown, cutting the Vikings' lead to one point. The Vikings then attempt the extra point, but it is no good, keeping the score at 21-20 in favor of Minnesota. Vrabel continues to express his frustration with the officiating, yelling, "No, no, no. Tell him, tell him, stripes. We stopped him." The Titans' comeback effort falls short, and the Vikings hold on to win 21-20, securing their first victory of the season. The game is marked by a tense exchange between Vrabel and the officiating crew, with the Titans head coach clearly unhappy with the calls made throughout the contest.
Full Transcript
Click timestamps to jump to that momentTennessee and Minnesota have mirror records.
1-7-2, 1 is 2-7.
This breakdown is brought to you by Captain Morgan.
And here's a fun fact about the Tennessee Titans this year.
If you're a Titans fan, it's not fun.
They have allowed 28 scores on all 28 opponent red zone drives.
Only team in the NFL with 100% year you can score now
percentage.
So that's not good.
They're looking to end that right here, right now.
Second and goal.
They go to the corner and he can't corral it.
39 is going to take all the credit.
Yep, that's me.
That's me.
Doesn't matter that it's in his hands.
Totally catchable.
And he dropped it.
That's me.
Then they try to run it in.
Boom.
Brick wall stopped.
Are they going to do it?
Yep.
We're holding them.
It's fourth and goal.
They could have gone for the field goal here and easily it would have
been 29 out of 29 times, but they're saying, no, we'll test our luck
and go for the touchdown.
Fourth and goal, Tennessee.
You just got to stop them.
You just got to stop them.
And it's, it's not 100% anymore.
They did.
Oh, double flag.
What for?
What for?
Come in.
Unnecessary roughness.
Defense number 44.
That should not be.
Half a visit to the goal line.
Oh man.
Unnecessary roughness.
They, did they think he hit him in the head?
Is that what they saw?
Because, because the defender left his feet, maybe the announcers did not think this should
have been called his helmet hits the ball first, which actually breaks up the catch
and then his shoulder and his head go into the guy's chest.
He does get roughed up.
Was it necessary?
Seems like it.
That's a weird way.
No, probably not, but it's clean, right?
Anyway, the coach not happy about it.
He says right in the chest, you guys have been fucking terrible.
It comes back and there was some conversation in the middle.
And then he said, and nobody calls.
I told Perry, I told Perry that is fucking ridiculous.
Yes.
So I told Perry, I told Perry, I actually went on Twitter and I said, guys, I cannot
figure this out.
I thought it looked like he was saying, I told Barry, but there's no berries.
None of the officials name are Barry.
None of the officials names are Perry.
I went to Twitter and I said, guys, help me out.
Make me, make me feel dumb and get this right away.
And Michael Casper said, others have already said it, but I think it's, I told Perry, Perry
being NFL ops SVP.
Yes.
And Perry fuel, he handles outreach to the leagues, head of head coaches and general
managers.
So I looked up our guy Perry and he currently serves as the senior vice president of officiating
administration for the national football leagues, officiating department, and is incredibly
soft.
I think that's, I think I screenshotted this.
I didn't realize that I just Ron Burgundy just read.
I didn't realize it.
I said that at the end, sorry, Perry, I didn't mean to shots fired at you.
Someone else wrote that.
I just read it.
I screenshotted it before it got corrected, I guess.
So I think the conversation we don't see is I've been complaining about this.
I've been complaining about this and nobody calls.
Like I've been trying to reach out and hear about this and nobody calls.
Maybe that's what he's saying.
And then he's saying, I told Perry, like I told on you guys already.
I told him this was a problem.
I told him you guys were botching this.
It's.
An issue.
So thank you to Michael Casper and to Perry.
And if you really slow it down, you can really see that he does not hit him in the head.
And again, maybe it's the leaving of his feet that got the call and not the head to head
contact by the rules.
And what everyone says is a clean hit.
It's under the shoulder pads, hit him in the body, which he does.
You know, he's below his shoulders.
He does not hit him in the head.
He might come up and they might hit heads afterwards right there.
But that's more so the guy falling and him standing up, not really part of the hit.
And he does get really dropped.
Like it looks like it didn't need all of that.
Anyway, the coach is about to get a flag on him.
And now he's yelling at the head official.
Cletus is his name.
And he says, hey, clean this.
Get the fuck over here at least.
Then you should let me.
That's fucking horse shit.
He's not happy.
About it.
Love the spit coming out.
Shit.
Oh, yeah.
And I think when he was yelling at Cletus, he's saying, come, come talk.
Tell me.
You haven't even talked to me yet.
You're about to flag me.
You won't even talk to me.
Like, I think he's saying, get over here at least.
Then you should let me know.
You know, let me know what's going on.
So he comes over there.
They have a quick talk.
It's blocked a lot, but he does end up getting a penalty.
Half the distance to go on.
And first down on the Tennessee coach.
And Minnesota is then able to QB sneak it and run in.
And now it's 29 out of 20 times.
He says, no, no, no.
Tell him.
Tell him stripes.
We stopped him.
And they come in and they say, nah, touchdown.
And then they get the extra point.
Psych.
They don't get the extra point.
You all got tricked by me right there.
He's not happy.
Fans are happy.
Yay.
Look where we are.
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