The Titans back to trying to clean up their 'SINS' after season-opening loss

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Calvin Ridley took responsibility for a rough day in Tennessee's opening loss. Rookie quarterback Cam Ward isn’t pointing fingers after dropped passes, saying he knows he’ll be intercepted during this season.

Three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said that the Titans' message is clear: Don't do stuff that hurts the team.

“We all know who we’re supposed to be and what we need to do to eliminate the penalties and hopefully we can put that on show Sunday," Simmons said Wednesday.

The Tennessee Titans called them “SINS," the self-inflicted negatives that cost them so many chances in a 3-14 season. That's why coach Brian Callahan devised a competition to help the Titans hold each other accountable as they worked to clean up those issues during the offseason.

All the attention to detail didn’t translate in the loss in Denver. The Titans were flagged 13 times for an NFL-high 131 yards on penalties. Chicago came closest with 127 penalty yards on 12 penalties, while New Orleans tied the Titans with 13 accepted penalties.

The Titans also didn't help Ward out in his NFL debut with a smattering of dropped passes, and he was sacked six times. Callahan had his own issues, including being slow to get play calls into Ward on occasion.

Asked about all the penalties — which didn't include two not counted — Callahan said some penalties happen with offensive linemen and cornerbacks because it's the nature of playing those positions. The challenge are those the Titans themselves can control, and Callahan said they didn't do a good job.

“Pre-snap and post-snap penalties are the ones that I think we’ve spent the most effort on just trying to get rid of,” Callahan said. “We did a good job offensively. We didn’t really have any false starts. We didn’t have any delay of games. Those things are things we can control.”

Simmons took blame for his two penalties after the loss in Denver, a neutral zone infraction that kept a Broncos' drive alive that finished in a field goal in the first quarter. He also was flagged for unnecessary roughness after a stop on third down with 2:51 left and the Titans needing the ball back.

“Those are the things that we can control,” Callahan said of Simmons' second penalty. “Control our emotions, play within the echo of the whistle and protect our football team.”

The Titans know they need to make corrections quickly. They host the Los Angeles Rams (1-0) on Sunday to start a two-game homestand before hitting the road again for three straight games.

Ridley, who had a couple drops and another ball a bit high go off his hands, said he was frustrated at his performance following a good training camp and week of practice. Ridley caught four of eight passes for 27 yards.

“I didn’t expect to do that at all," Ridley said "At all.”

The Titans have been looking forward to their next game since walking off the field in Denver. Simmons said even with all the penalties, the Titans still had a chance to win that game on the road.

“Eliminate the penalties, I mean we can be a good football team," Simmons said.

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