During his tenure with the Tennessee Titans, general manager Jon Robinson has done a plethora of great things, both tied to football and away from the football side of things as well.

He's spearheaded an accelerated rebuild, one that was built on physicality, and guided this franchise to the spotlight of relevance, a spotlight this organization — at the time — hadn't come close to stepping into for the better part of over a half decade.

The resurgence has given this team numerous postseason appearances, multiple division titles, and a metaphorical returning of the crown — the AFC's top overall playoff seed — an honor the Titans haven't received since 2008, the last time the organization had secured the "crown" before last season.

All of these accolades deserve serious praising, as well as a respectable amount positive compliments.

But as well all know, for as heart warming as positive achievements are, nothing — the process, the results — are perfect.

The current read on Robinson and the Titans is no different, as their painful, yet rewarding journey is beginning to take on some very sour characteristics.

The sour characteristics this vision is beginning to fall victim to, are ones you usually don't see some a team that has established itself as a franchise full of class and has gained the respect of many peers across the football world.

These sour, or in other words, negative characteristics, or important details, are specifically aligned toward the idea of roster building.

Robinson has identified himself as a decent roster builder, as his free agency plucks and draft selections have hit more than they've missed since his start as the Titans' head personnel honcho.

But this past off-season, Robinson hit a bit of a snag that has somehow stuck onto this team like a bug, well into the regular season.

Where has it plopped itself for a long rest you might ask? Well, if you take one look at the receiving group, you'll easily understand the gist.

After the Titans traded AJ Brown, there was a lot of intrigue as to how the team would replenish its receiving group after an emerging star was taken away from it in the blink of an eye. But instead of going all gung-ho and being aggressive in terms of finding more replacement talent, Robinson remained steadfast and stuck with the group he tinkered with throughout the off-season.

Robert Woods — who was brought in to be the Titans' new WR2 — was now WR1. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was supposed to be WR3, but he became WR2 and secured a significant increase in snaps and snap importance.

Treylon Burks would contribute whenever he could, Kyle Phillips would be this team's WR4 or slot specialist, and Racey McMath was supposed to this team's certified deep threat since his straight line speed was the only amount this group possessed.

This decision has come back to bite the Titans in the rear end, due to injuries and expected disappointing play. But despite that, the Titans have stayed true to the course and have found ways to win many football games despite a clear talent deficiency as a key position.

But we knew sooner or later, that once this offense had to face off against serviceable opposition — like the Kansas City Chiefs — this offense was going to have to reach deep into their bag of tricks to prevent themselves from becoming a laughingstock.

Either that, or somehow find some luck within a receiving core that has major problems across the board.

The Titans met the latter scenario against the Chiefs on a brisk Sunday night in Kansas City, during a game the offense couldn't muster up an ounce of a threat in the passing game, and during a performance in which the Titans' defense deserves flowers, despite the eventual loss that came to be.

NWI on receivers being held without a catch pic.twitter.com/9uIuSs5V4W

— Buck Reising (@BuckReising) November 7, 2022

The struggles in the passing game were to be expected, since Malik Willis' shortcomings as a passer and the lack of talent at receiver were well documented. But despite Willis' obvious flaws, the passing attack still had a shot at being halfway decent.

There were instances where this receiving group separated down the field and allowed themselves to open up opportunities to make plays.

But drops played a part in these instances bearing nothing but rotten fruit, which left this offense hopeless and without answers throughout much of the night.

A development which led to an eventual 20-17 loss in overtime.

Jon Robinson might've talked himself into balking this year when it came to adding talent offensively. Cap reasons and an eye towards the future certainly played a part, which are both perfectly understandable reasons.

But if that isn't the case, and Robinson has high hopes for this season, even title contending hopes, then he certainly needs to temper whatever expectations or dreams he might have. Because his inability to add talent is going to cost this team, regardless of how many yards Derrick Henry runs or how little points the defense allows to opposing offenses.

That's an aggressive position to take obviously, since anything can happen in the playoffs if your defense plays up to its potential and your running game can control the clock.

But this league is different now, explosiveness reigns supreme most of the time, and if you don't have any as an offense, you'll drown.

Robinson still has the rest of the season to see if his gamble or balk job buys him some unexpected luck.

But that's unlikely to occur.

What's more likely, is the witnessing of a failed plan burning down in real time and on full display for the many eyes to see. And if that happens, we'll be asking questions along the lines of why things went wrong and what went down to make things happen in the way that they did.

Which won't be good for anyone involved.

Featured image via George Walker/The Tennesseean