With punter Brett Kern injured and on IR, the Tennessee Titans turned to fellow punter Ryan Allen in Week 9, who promptly rewarded them with an impressive performance against the Chicago Bears that saw him average 50.5 yards per punt, with a long of 65.
However, in Week 10, the Titans made the puzzling decision to elevate recently-signed punter Trevor Daniel from the practice squad and start him over Allen, which is the definition of over-thinking things.
Daniel went on to have a disastrous night, as he shanked one punt and then had another blocked. Those two plays changed the course of the game, as Indianapolis was able to turn both into touchdowns.
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel explained what went into the decision after the 34-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, per Emily Proud of WKRN:
“The process is what happens in practice and we did what we feel like was best for the team,” Vrabel said. “That’s the decision that we made.”
And it’s a decision that might have cost the Titans an important divisional game. I think it’s safe to say that we’ll see Allen return to the starting role when the Titans travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens in Week 10.
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