The Disappearance of Lendale White

When the smash & dash moniker was broken by "Every Coaches Dream" Chris Johnson in the offseason, I didn't realize that Lendale White's career in Tennessee was going to be broken as well.

White had a career high 15 TD's last season, and a new slimmed down version (since he kicked his tequila habit) was poised for an even better 2009 campaign. I speculated in a previous blog that Tennessee might use less of Lendale this season because he is playing for a contract. Less touches mean less yards & touchdowns, which results in a smaller contract if the Titans plan on making a move to keep him in town. Through 11 games this season Lendale White has only 61 carries for 208 yards & 2 touchdowns.

Yesterday, an all-time low for Lendale White as he appeared to be a healthy scratch as rookie Javon Ringer got the nod to back up Chris Johnson. White was late for a team walkthrough on Saturday, but I really think there is more to the story then just being late. I think Lendale might have an attitude problem about his lack of carries he is getting this season.

I would be shocked to see Lendale White back in Nashville next season. The college class is not great at RB this year, so White will definitely be one of the most sought after RB free agents this year. I could list a dozen teams that could use him. Any off the field problems either with Fisher, or with his good friend Patron and White could find himself out of the league. So memo to Lendale, finish the rest of the year with Tennessee and keep quiet, the pay day is still out there.

Chris Johnson best back in the NFL ?

In previous blogs, I have mentioned that Chris Johnson is the AFC version of Adrian Peterson. I think today we can finally put that to a rest and just say that Chris Johnson is the most electrifying back in the NFL.

Johnson's performance today in a 41-17 win vs Buffalo was just fantastic. (26 carries for 132 yds, 2 TD & 9 receptions for 100 yards) He leads the NFL in rushing yards with 1,091. He has a ridiculous 6.4 yards per carry average which is also tops in the league. He averages 150.3 yards total per game which puts him on top of the league among RB's, and he is almost on pace (25 yards shy) of beating Marshall Faulk's single season record for total yards in one season.

The most amazing stat of all is that Johnson is having this season on a team that has a losing record. The Titans are 3-6 on the season and have been playing catch-up a lot this season. Also, take into consideration that opposing teams stack the box against the Titans because the QB play was horrible for the first 6 games of the season.

You can't go wrong taking either Peterson or Johnson. It is like the debate back in the 90's with Barry Sanders & Emmitt Smith. Remember those Sanders days where you would see his carries look something like this 2,1,-3,-1,62,-1,4,71,3. That is what you get with Johnson. You have that homerun threat every time he touches the ball.

The Titans ran the option a couple of times today effectively. It generally doesn't work in the NFL because the defense is so much faster then it is in the college game, but I believe the Titans can be successful using it on a limited basis. The option is a gimmick much like the wildcat is. Just knowing that the Titans have a few plays in their playbook will force their opponents to spend time in practice defending it. Mike Heimerdinger is very good at designing "decoy" like plays. The obvious reason not to run the option is that you do not want to get your QB killed, but just the threat alone will help.

Even though the Titans are 3-6 and pretty much out of playoff contention (unless they run the table) Chris Johnson gives this fan and all Titans fans hope for the future.

Vince Young strong in first win of the season

Titans coach Jeff Fisher's hand was forced by owner Bud Adams to make a change at QB, and it paid off ten fold in a huge win on Sunday vs their rival Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans won the game 30-13 giving them their first win of the season.

Chris Johnson was the obvious most valuable player from this game giving his two long ridiculous TD(52,89)runs. Johnson rushed for a career high 228 yards on 24 carries. Johnson once again showed why he is the AFC version of Adrian Peterson as the most electrifying player in the conference.

The real story of the day though was the performance by Vince Young. Young had a stellar day completing 15 of 18 passes and 1 TD when he connected on a perfectly thrown pass to Nate Washington to extend the Titans lead to 10-0 early in the 2nd quarter.

It is far too early to expect performances like this on a weekly basis from Young however. Defenses will make adjustments, and Young will have bad games. He adds another dimension though that Kerry Collins couldn't provide. The pursuit from the backside DE will decrease as they have to stay in their lanes because of the scrambling ability of Young. This should give Chris Johnson & Lendale White more space in the run game. You saw it yesterday first hand, give Chris Johnson a hole and he can take it to the house. I think you will see a lot of misdirections, bootlegs & option type plays from the Titans from here on out.

"I told him he played like I thought he could play," Titans owner Bud Adams said. " … I see him having a great future with us here." If Young is the future in Tennessee they will certainly need to re-work his deal for next season as he is due an outrageous 14 million dollars. The only way Young plays for the Titans next year is if he renegotiates that deal or he leads the Titans to 14 straight wins and a Super Bowl championship.

The Titans got back to basics on offense Sunday. 37-18 was the rush/pass balance. In recent games this year, the results were almost exactly opposite with a 2-1 ratio in favor of the pass. The Titans got their identity back on Sunday.

I think the coaching staff tried to get too smart in the off-season. All you heard from the media was the Titans need a big time receiver to win it all. The Titans will never win it all playing their style of offense. So what does Tennessee do? They franchise their top receiver in TE Bo Scaife, add Nate Washington in free agency and draft a receiver in the 1st round in Kenny Britt, the first Titans WR drafted in the 1st round since Kevin Dyson. So the Titans finally have the pieces on paper to make a legit Super Bowl run and the coaching staff tries to turn this team into a passing offense. You have to blame the coaching staff for the change in scheme. I am aware of the dozens of dropped passes that have plagued this team for years, and they definitely didn't help this season either but throwing the ball 40 times a game is not what this team does best.

The Titans would be 0-7 if it wasn't for Bud Adams, as there would have been no way Fisher would have made that move to switch QB's. Thank you Bud for giving me and and all of Titania hope again.

Titans time is now to rebuild with trade deadline looming

With the trade deadline approaching tomorrow, I think it is the perfect time to start unloading some players. The NFL is not a trading league, and trade deadline deals are not the norm, but that doesn't mean that the Titans should not try to make some moves.

The Titans are without their 2nd round pick in next years draft after trading with the New England Patriots to select TE Jared Cook in the 3rd round in this years draft. At the time it wasn't such a bad move because Tennessee was looking at a late 2nd round draft pick, and they added a player in Cook who was graded much higher then where he ended up. Is Jared Cook worth the 55th overall pick in next years draft. No doubt in my mind he is. Is Jared Cook worth a pick in the mid 30's. Only time will tell, but as much as I love Cook's potential, a player picked in the early 2nd round usually has first round talent.

So lets take a look ahead at some possible players that the Titans should shop around the league.

RB - Lendale White
This is clearly Chris Johnson's team, and rookie Javon Ringer has impressed me enough where you can pop him in to spell Johnson. Lendale is no schlub at RB. There are plenty of teams that could use his services. Seattle for instance who is only 1-1/2 games back in the NFC West could use a back like White. I don't think Lendale will get a huge pay day in free agency, but he will be one of the top sought after RB's in my opinion. He will definitely be priced out of a return to Nashville.

TE - Alge Crumpler
Did Lendale's stomach magically transform into Crumplers body, because he looks a hell of a lot bigger this year. I am not sure what the market would be for someone like Crumpler, but if they could even sniff a 5th or 6th rounder out of some team for him I would make the move.

DE - Kyle Vanden Bosch
KVB is a free agent at the end of the year, and although he is one of this teams best defensive players, the Titans will not pony up the cash for him. A perfect trading partner would be the Cincinnati Bengals who just lost former Titans DE Antwan Odom for the season with a torn achilles tendon.

LB - Keith Bulluck
Bulluck is one of my favorite Titans of all time, but I would love to see the Titans move Bulluck to give him a shot at a title. He is not the same pro bowl linebacker as he was in the past, and he definitely will not be resigned in the offseason unfortunately knowing how the Titans treat their veterans. There are plenty of teams that could use a leader like Bulluck. How about the New England Patriots? They seem to love veteran linebackers.

I would be highly shocked if any of these players do get traded, but why not throw it out there. I would also be shocked if the Titans resign any of these players in the offseason. Getting a mid round draft pick is better then not getting anything at all isn't it?

Titans Embarrased on National Television vs Colts

What a crazy day of football yesterday. The Chiefs hanging with the Cowboys. The Broncos upset the visiting Patriots to go 5-0. The Bengals beating the Ravens on the road. The Titans were poised to end their losing streak on primetime vs the arch nemesis Indianapolis Colts.

The first series of the game the Titans looked like the Titans of 2008. The front four was getting pressure on the QB. Nick Harper & Jason McCourty both made some nice open field tackles. The Colts offense sputtered and it looked like the Titans were back.

The Titans opening possession was fine until TE Alge Crumpler fumbled on a great hit by Colts safety Antoine Bethea that was reminiscent to the key fumble that Crumpler lost in the playoffs to the Ravens last year. Peyton Manning and the Colts did what Peyton Manning and the Colts do. That is capitalize on turnovers, and with a short field the Titans were down 7-0.

The Titans went three & out on their next possession and after a punt that hit an Indy player, the Titans were finally giving a break with great field position at the Colts 37 yard line. A bad penalty on Kevin Mawae ended this drive, and luckily the Titans were able to get a field goal.

The next Colts possession Peyton Manning was intercepted by Keith Bulluck and the Titans started again inside Indy territory on their 34 yard line. Once again though penalties killed the drive. Ahmad Hall's 2nd holding penalty of the game, and a false start by Justin Gage pushed the Titans back near field. Luckily again the Titans ended up with a field goal. We will get back to this drive later.

The Titans defense stepped up again forcing a three and out next drive, and then another questionable call on the ensuing drive for the Titans offense. 3rd & 1 on their own 46 yard line. Kerry Collins over throws Justin Gage on a deep pass on the left sidelines. We will get back to this later as well.

The Colts offense finally got on track and drove down 81 yards on 12 plays to give them a nice 14-6 lead with a 1 yard Joseph Addai TD run.

The Titans got the ball back with just 5 minutes left to go in the half, and put a great drive together until predictible passes (seven in a row) occured once again, and the Titans had to settle for another FG to cut the lead to 14-9.

With 1:04 left in the half and starting at your own 7 yard line, you would expect most teams to just take a knee and take the lead going into half. When you are playing the 2009 Titans and you have a hall of fame QB apparently this is not the case as Peyton led the Colts to another TD in just 47 seconds. 30 of these yards were because of roughing the passer penalties. Kyle Vanden Bosch came in low which drew the flag for one, and a cheap shot by Jacob Ford was the other flag. The game was pretty much over here, and won't get into any more of the recap, but will offer some analysis.

The entire coaching staff was terrible starting


Mike Heimerdinger
Heimerdinger must be living in the past, because Kerry Collins is not Steve McNair. Another big play of the game was a 3rd & 1 on the Titans 45 yard line. Instead of keeping the drive going with a short pass with a high completion rate or just running it down the throat of the opponent like the old Titans would do, a stop & go with Justin Gage? Seriously? When you are battling a team as good as the Colts are, you need to capitalize on these drives.

The play calling is absolutely terrible. Chris Johnson only had 9 carries in the game. Johnson needs 25 touches a game period. He is a game breaker. Find ways to get him the ball. Coaching is one big chess match, and it seems Dinger is always a move behind.

Jeff Fisher
In a previous blog this year, I suggested that maybe a coaching change was needed in Nashville. I certainly feel stronger about that after Sunday nights game. One of the big plays of the game was a 3rd & 19 from the Indy 43. Raheem Brock of the Colts jumped offsides which gave the Titans a free play. Collins connected with Bo Scaife for a 18 yard completion, which left them 1 yard shy of the first down at the Colts 25. If you accept the penalty you have a 3rd & 14 from the Indy 38. Bironas does have a strong leg, but most likely the Colts give you the underneath stuff here anyways and you gain a few yards and Bironas field goal attempt is maybe a 50 yarder instead of a 43 yarder. If you decline the penalty, you go for it on 4th & 1. Fisher elected to decline the penalty, and then kick the field goal. You have to give your team a chance to win.

Kicking field goals vs a team as good as the Colts is not going to win you the game. Fisher should know this by now. Fisher was even crazy enough in 2004 to do the unthinkable. 3 onside kicks (2 of which were recovered) in one quarter vs the Colts back in a game in 2004. The Colts ended up winning that game 51-24. That Jeff Fisher had the "marbles" to make that kind of move. If you play on the Titans defense, and you are shutting down the Colts for 1-1/2 quarters like they did last night, and your offense is only putting up field goals, it has to get a little bit frustrating.

This team also lacks the discipline that it needs to win games. Wide Receivers should never have a false start penalty. Ahmad Hall had two terrible holding penalties that could have been avoided. The personal fouls have got to stop. There is no accountability anymore. Fisher used to bench someone for making dumb mistakes, now he puts them right back in. (ex. Mouton Jets game)

Fisher used to be that young energetic coach. He got the most from his players, it just seems to me that the players have given up on him and his system. I think it is time for a change in Nashville. Fisher is one hell of a coach, but I think he could benefit from a year off, and then a possible return to coaching elsewhere in 2011.

When it rains it pours, Nick Harper to be sidelined for up to 6 weeks. The already banged up Titans secondary battle an upset Patriots team this weekend. 0-6 anyone?

Titans need to get back to basics on offense

The moniker "Smash & Dash" has quickly faded this year in Tennessee. Chris Johnson self proclaimed "Every Coach's Dream" is having a fine season this year leading the NFL in rushing after 4 games.

Lendale White on the other hand has hardly been used at all. White has had a disappointing first quarter of the season statistically gaining only 82 yards, 1 TD on 23 carries. Compare that to 2008 where after 4 games he had 161 yds, 5 TD on 60 carries. Chris Johnson had 337 yards, 2 TD on 67 carries in '08.

Lets compare the two totals after 4 games
2008 - 127 carries 498 yards 7 TD
2009 - 92 carries 516 yards 3 TD

This above stat shows me a few things.

1. The Titans are running the ball quite well. Yes, a lot of those yards were Chris Johnson's on his career day vs the Texans, but he has been effective in every game.

2. The Titans are not running the ball enough! 35 less carries is too much of a difference. The only game they were out of it was the Jaguars game. The Jets game was played in terrible conditions, yet Kerry Collins had 37 pass attempts that game. Does this make sense to anyone?

In fact, through 4 games this season Collins has thrown for more passes (153) then everyone in the NFL other then Tom Brady (174). In Collins first 4 starts last year he only had 113 pass attempts. 40 more pass attempts this year then last season. Quite a difference.

I am sure you have heard the phrase, if it's not broke, don't fix it. Well the Titans offense did not need to be changed. They just needed some more playmakers on offense to help make those plays. They took care of this in the offseason by franchising TE Bo Scaife, signing FA WR Nate Washington, and drafting rookie WR Kenny Britt in the first round of the draft this year. What wasn't needed was changing this team from a smash mouth run the ball down your throat offense to a run & shoot offense like the old Oilers days.

Memo to Jeff Fisher & Mike Heimerdinger: You don't have Warren Moon or Steve McNair at QB. You have a 36 year old grizzled veteran who is being put in a situation where he clearly isn't comfortable being in.

Remember the days where you would sit and watch a Titans game with a friend of yours who wasn't a Titans fan, and you would hear comments like, "Wow, this is boring" or "This is like watching high school football with all this running" That is Titans football, not 3 consecutive incomplete passes and a punt.



What made the Titans such a great team over the years was their ability to play this brand of "Titans Football". Run, Run, Run....wear the defense down, control the clock, keep your defense fresh, and by the time the 4th qtr hit the opposing teams were waiving the white flag because they were just physically beaten.

The Titans need to be running the ball 30-35 times a game to win, not 20-25 times a game like this year. Lendale White has looked really good this year despite his pretty low ypc avg. His touchdown run vs the Jets was one of the best runs I have seen Lendale have in a long time. Use Lendale more in this offense. Be creative with Chris Johnson. Johnson has great hands, use him in a Reggie Bush kind of role with Lendale on the field at the same time. Find more ways to get Chris Johnson the ball. He is the most electrifying RB in the AFC hands down, and probably only 2nd in NFL behind Adrian Peterson. I would like to see a game plan like Johnson 20 carries, 6 receptions & Lendale 12 carries. If the Titans can get numbers like this, then beating the Colts might actually become a reality on Sunday night.

Lets get the ball into the hands of the players that can actually win a game for us this year, and that is not you Kerry Collins.

Fire Jeff Fisher, is he on the hot seat ?

The Titans fell to 0-3 today, and there are many grumblings around the online Titans community that Jeff Fisher is on the hot seat.

Jeff Fisher has been on the sidelines since 1994 making him the longest tenured coach in the NFL. Fisher has a regular season record of 128-105, and a post season record of 5-6. His first and only trip to the Super Bowl was back in 1999 where Kevin Dyson came up one yard short vs the Rams.

Is it time to make a change in Nashville? Lets take a look at some interesting head scratching moves that Fisher has made recently.

Personnel
Yes, A lot of this is on GM Mike Reinfelt has well, but I think Reinfelt has actually done a great job with this team since his arrival. Why on earth is Craig Hentrich still on the roster? This has nothing to do with a GM, but everything due to Fishers loyalty to his veteran players. Hentrich is at the age (38) where injuries are going to bother him more, thus the Titans are forced to carry an extra punter on their squad because of this. Do you think it was Reinfelt's decision to re-sign Hentrich to a one year deal in the off-season? This was Fishers decision.

The Titans lose CB/KR Chris Carr to free agency and they do absolutely nothing about it. Instead they rely on rookies Javon Ringer, Ryan Mouton & Jason McCourty to return kicks. If the Titans didn't have to keep 2 punters on their roster, they could have at least kept WR Chris Davis on the roster to return kicks where he was at least servicable last year.

Game Decisions
Ryan Mouton had two fumbles in Week 2 vs the Texans, but yet he was back in action in Week 3 vs the Jets. Does Fisher just have a soft spot in his heart for CB's? I remember back in the old Fisher days where when you make a mistake, your ass is on the bench. Mouton was giving ANOTHER shot in the 3rd qtr today vs the Jets and muffed another return. You fix these things in practice, not in a must win game like today.

Rob Bironas has one of the best legs in the league, but yet Fisher will not give the guy a chance to put up points on the board. If you are inside the 35 yard line, you need to be kicking field goals and attempt to put up points on the board. Going for it on anything more then 4th & 2 is crazy. This has happened in 2 of 3 games this season, and a handful last year.

Mike Heimerdinger was great back in the Super Bowl years, but Heimerdinger also had a great QB to work with in Steve McNair. Kerry Collins is not a great QB. He is a game manager, not a game breaker. McNair was a game breaker. The Titans need to get back to their smash mouth run offense. They need to find more ways to get Chris Johnson the football. The Jets were attacking all day today. How many screens/draws did the Titans run today. ZERO. Lendale White who also played well today needs more touches. The Titans win by running the ball, not by throwing it 30 times plus a game.

Defensively adjustments needed to be made in the Pittsburgh game. It was Chuck Cecil's first regular season game as defensive coordinator and Ben Roethlisberger was picking apart the Titans soft zone defense. Fisher needs to step up and make an adjustment on the fly if his coaches are not doing it. Coaching is one big chess match, and Jeff Fisher is certainly no Bobby Fischer.



Back to Kerry Collins. How many times has he actually put this team on his shoulder and won a game? When is the last time he has made a clutch throw late in the game?
Fisher does not have the cajones to make the move back to Vince Young. That would be admitting that he was wrong about the switch to begin with. Young might not be able to throw the best pass, but I remember a few games where he battled back and won a game late for us. (Giants comeback, Texans OT game) Vince has actual weapons now in Chris Johnson, Kenny Britt & Nate Washington to work with that wasn't there two years ago. The change needs to be made now at QB, not for the sake of this season but for the sake of the franchise. Tennessee needs to see if Young is a franchise QB NOW before the draft next year.

I am one of the biggest Jeff Fisher fans out there, but his coaching has cost the Titans all 3 of the games this season. It is time for a change at QB, and if Fisher does not make that move, then it is time for a change at head coach. Jon Gruden anyone?

Titans fumble away win vs Jets

It was by far the best game of the year the Titans played but costly turnovers on special teams resulted in two Jets touchdown drives on short fields and a 24-17 loss.

After a great 1st drive put together by Mark Sanchez and the Jets that resulted in a touchdown, Titans rookie CB Ryan Mouton fumbled on the ensuing kickoff which led to another Jets touchdown to give them a 14-0 lead.

The game was far from over though as the Titans clawed back into the game. There wasn't a lot of running room for Chris Johnson today, but he did finish the game with 97 yards on 22 attempts. Kerry Collins looked especially good in the 2nd & 3rd qtrs of the game and the old vet led the Titans back with 17 unanswered points to give them the lead. Lendale White played great today. He hit the hole hard and was always fighting for that extra yard. His TD run today in the 2nd qtr was probably his most impressive TD run I have seen from him in a long time.



The big story of the day was the Titans defense. They were getting pressure with their front four, and a few timely blitzes from DC Chuck Cecil who failed miserably in his debut vs Pittsburgh. The Titans defense was the reason why they were able to come back in this game.

The Jets had no answers on offense for the Titans defense, but like earlier in the game benefited from another huge turnover as Ryan Mouton fumbled another return deep inside Tennessee territory. The Jets capitalized with a Jerricho Cotchery TD Reception and they never turned back. The fumble was clearly the turning point in this game, as the momentum was shifted back into the Jets favor.

Tennessee did have some chances to get back into the game, but the same problems that have plagued this offense in the past showed up again in the 4th qtr. The inability to make a clutch catch, Justin Gage, Nate Washington, Kenny Britt & Alge Crumpler all dropped passes that need to be caught in this league. The sloppy conditions might have been a small factor, but a couple grabs here and there would have resulted in a possible comeback.

Kerry Collins was 0-13 in his last pass attempts but a lot of the passes should have been caught. I don't blame Kerry for the loss even though both of his interceptions were bad throws. His play was very good today.

"It's frustrating," Collins said. "By no means can we start pointing fingers and start pushing panic buttons. We've just got to stay together and keep believing in what we are doing and we'll get it turned around."

So what now? Since the expanded playoff format in 1990, only 3 teams have made the playoffs since going 0-3. The last team, the 1998 Buffalo Bills. Can this Titans team make it 4? It will be very tough to do so in the AFC as it looks right now that the Jets,Ravens have a pretty good hold of both wildcards being 3-0 right now. (I still expect New England & Pittsburgh to win their divisions) For a wildcard in the AFC you will need to be at least 10-6 to be considered.

So lets look at the schedule. 4 more losses ends the season. A split vs Indy & Houston, a sweep vs Jacksonville. 4-0 vs the NFC West which I don't think will be a problem. That puts the Titans at 8-4. That means the remaining games vs the AFC are absolutely critical. (New England, Buffalo, Miami & San Diego) 2 of 4 from this bunch would result in 10-6.

The talent & coaching is there, lets just hope lady luck is on their side.

Titans lose heartbreaker vs Steelers

The Titans dominated the majority of the game in the season opener at the defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers Thursday night, but came up short in overtime as their tired defense could not stop another Ben Roethlisberger 4th qtr comeback.

The Titans defense started the 2009 season as expected with a forced 3 and out, but Tennessee CB Courtland Finnegan who was returning punts for the first time in his NFL career made a costly mistake by not fair catching a punt which would have given the Titans ball on their own 10 yard line. Instead, Finnegan let it drop and Steelers CB Keenan Lewis downed the ball at the 2 yard line.

The Titans first offensive possession of the year was a quick one, as their backs were up against the wall. Troy Polamalu made two tackles on the drive and the big one on 3rd & 6 where he hit Chris Johnson like a bullet coming out of a gun.

The Steelers started their 2nd drive of the game on the Tennessee 43 yard line, but 2nd year DL Jason Jones who dominated Pittsburgh offensive linemen last year with 3-1/2 sacks got to Roethlisberger and knocked the Steelers out of FG range.

The Titans second possession started on their own 11 yard line, and they quickly marched down the field behind a 32 yard run by Chris Johnson with a personal foul late hit by Troy Polamalu, and a 20 yard pass completion to TE Bo Scaife. The Titans drive stalled on the Steelers 19 yard line, and a bad snap by center Ken Amato made Rob Bironas push a 37 yard field goal attempt wide right.

Pittsburgh couldn't capitalize on their next attempt with the ball. DT Tony Brown sacked Roethlisberger on a 3rd and long and the Steelers had another 3 and out.

The Titans moved down the field well there next possession until Kerry Collins hung one on a long pass attempt to rookie WR Kenny Britt. Britt made a rookie mistake by not playing defender and Polamalu made a great one handed interception.


The Titans quickly got the ball back as Ben Roethlisberger threw and interception of his own on a 3rd and long to S Vincent Fuller. The 1st quarter had ended, and the Titans defense was outstanding. Three drives, two sacks, 1 interception, and zero first downs.

Titans punter Craig Hentrich pinned the Steelers down at their own 5 yard line, but Big Ben finally connected on some passes and had two nice first downs before finally having to punt.

Tennessee marched from their 27 yard line all the way down to the Steelers 13 yard line. Collins threaded a pass perfectly in the endzone to Justin Gage on a 3rd and long, but Gage could not hold on. Bironas who has been one of the best kickers in league history in terms of accuracy had his next field goal attempt blocked. Troy Polamalu got injured on the play when Alge Crumpler fell on his knee when Polamalu was trying to scoop up the block.

The Steelers moved down the field with their two minute offense and Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes on a 34 yard passing touchdown on a pump fake where Chris Hope just bit big time.

The Titans were resilient though getting the ball back with only 1:22 left in the half. Collins hit a wide open Kenny Britt, and Britt did the rest on a nice run after the catch. Collins hit Justin Gage on the very next play in the endzone for the touchdown to tie the game.

The Titans scoring drive was only 34 seconds long, so Pittsburgh did get the ball back, and managed to drive all the way down to the Titans 42 yard line. It was looking like the Steelers would have a shot at a FG until DE William Hayes came up big with a sack pushing the Steelers back to midfield. The Steelers were forced to throw up a hail mary which Courtland Finnegan almost pulled a James Harrison by returning it for a TD. Finnegan ran out of gas, and blockers.

Going into the 2nd half, there was some big news for Titans fans. Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu who was all over the field in the 1st half would not be returning to the game. Polamalu suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee and he will be out a few weeeks.

The Titans once again marched right down the field only to have their drive stalled when Bo Scaife fumbled after getting hit in the knee.

"He dove at my leg. It was a cheap shot,'' Scaife said. "I have been playing my whole life and no one has ever hit me like that. So I know when it is real and when it is not real. So it was a cheap shot and I don't care if that gets back to him either."

This was the turning point in the game as the Titans lost their #1 receiving option.


The Titans had another nice drive to start the 4th qtr and Rob Bironas finally connected on a field goal when he hit a 45 yarder with just over 11 minutes left in the game.

Pittsburgh finally went back to what was working in the 1st half with their next possession when they ran a lot of no huddle which stopped Tennessee from substituting their players on the d-line. Pittsburgh moved right down the field, but when they got to the Titans 10 yard line on a 2nd & 2, they ran two consecutive run plays. The Titans stuffed both of them, and then didn't jump offsides on a 4th & 1 where Roethlisberger was trying to draw the penalty. Jeff Reed nailed the chip shot to tie the game with just about 3 minutes left.


On the ensuing kickoff Tennessee had a huge holding penalty, that cost them 10 huge yards. Collins to Gage got those yards back, but then the Titans offense sputtered for the first time pretty much all game when Pittsburgh brought the heat and Justin Gage dropped a catchable pass on 3rd & 10 which would have kept the drive going. The Titans did not take any time of the clock in this drive. The Steelers received the ball back with just under two minutes left in the game.

Once again, the Steelers two minute offense was too much for the Titans conservative defense and Roethlisberger tore up the Titans soft zone. It looked like a Titans loss until Hines Ward fumbled at the Titans 10 yard line on an incredible strip by Michael Griffin. All Ward had to do was fall to the turf and the game was over, he admitted it was a mistake after the game in a post game interview.

The game went to overtime when you guessed it, the Steelers win the toss and march right down the field against a soft zone defense and mediocre pass rush. Jeff Reed nailed the game winner and the Titans lost 13-10.

Some things I noticed

1. The Titans need to utilize the screen pass a little more. Find more ways to get Chris Johnson the ball. When Johnson has the ball in the open field he is as dangerous as any player in the league. The Titans had 2 called vs Pittsburgh, but the pressure came too quick before the screen developed.

2. The defense strives on rushing with their front four, putting pressure on the QB and forcing mistakes. They are able to do this by rotating fresh bodies in at a constant basis. When teams go no huddle against them, tired legs are in the game and they don't get the same result. Defensive Coordinator Chuck Cecil will need to mix it up with a blitz every once in a while, otherwise the Titans will be sitting ducks all season. 30 other NFL teams took note of how to beat the Titans defense, so hopefully changes will be made in the next game.

Titans D-line will be strong even without Haynesworth

When you lose a defensive MVP type of player, you would expect a team to have a set back the following year. This will not be the case in the '09-'10 with the Tennessee Titans.

The Titans decided to let all world DT Albert Haynesworth test the free agent market, and lost him to the Redskins. Haynesworth signed a 7 year $100 million dollar deal which included $41 million in guaranteed money.

Haynesworth actually was offered more money from the Buccaneers In a recent radio interview with Adam Schein, (who might I add, I am big fan of his show Loud Mouths on Fox Sports NY) Haynesworth said

"I could've made more money with Tampa Bay if I really wanted to. They offered me a whole lot more, and even with their tax situation, it could have been 20 percent more. But you look at Washington, they've got a lot of the pieces together. They're right there. They're in a huge market. It's one of the largest markets in the world. You've just got a large, huge media outlet and it can be life beyond football. Going to Tampa, I mean, great city. Looking at it from the off-season standpoint, I love the water. I love to be out in the sun. It's just awesome, but it would've been like another Nashville. Tampa doesn't have that big market and they don't have a huge fan base like the Washington Redskins do, so I think it was just a choice just to look at it that way"

Haynesworth has been the best defensive player in the NFL over the past two seasons in my opinion, but in the past he did have a bad rap for taking off plays, and he has been injury prone his entire career. Haynesworth has missed time every year since his rookie season.

Haynesworth really turned his career around after the ugly face stomping incident back in 2006 against the Cowboys. Haynesworth was suspended five games, an NFL record for an on field action.



Since the incident, Haynesworth has been a changed man. Playing in the NFL was a privilege that he did not want to lose. The injuries still occurred, but you didn't see him taking any plays off. He was a dominating force. Most thought that his career season was because he was in the last year of his contract. I am not one of those believers. I think Haynesworth just grew up.

Haynesworth was slapped with the franchise tag after the '07 season. Titans GM Mike Reinfeldt wanted to see Haynesworth do it one more season before rewarding him with a large contract. This was obviously the right decision given his track record. Needless to say, Haynesworth outplayed his '07 season with a monster season last year, thus pricing him out of Tennessee. Franchising Haynesworth last year allowed the team to secure CB Courtland Finnegan and both starting offensive tackles Michael Roos & David Stewart. If you look at the contracts they received, Tennessee got these players at a bargain price in my opinion.

So where does this leave the Titans for the 2009 season? Suprisingly, I think the team is in excellent shape heading into the season. The loss of Haynesworth hurts, but I think the loss of their depth at corner losing Chris Carr & Eric King stings just a bit more.

Tennessee added free agent DT Jovan Haye from the Buccaneers in the offseason, and also drafted DT Sen'Derrick Marks in the 2nd round out of Auburn. Marks was hampered by an ankle injury last year, but when he was healthy, he was one of the best DT in the nation.

Tennessee drafted a pair of defensive linemen last season as well getting DE Jason Jones who has since slid over to DT, and DE William Hayes from Winston-Salem State who was ranked 66th among DE prospects from draft guru Mel Kiper. The duo of Jones/Hayes registered 4.5 sacks in a week 16 game against the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, a game played without Albert Haynesworth. (Jones 3.5, Hayes 1)



The Titans also have DT Tony Brown who CBS Sports writer Pete Prisco called the most underrated player on the team. I agree with Prisco 100% with his assessment.

Jacob Ford, Dave Ball & Kevin Vickerson round out the rest of the Titans "unknown" defensive line. Ford had 7 sacks, Ball had 4.5 sacks, and Vickerson is very effective as a run stopper.

The other two linemen are of course Kyle Vanden Bosch & Jevon Kearse. Vanden Bosch is entering the final year of his contract, and I think we might see a Haynesworth type of performance out of him this year. Vanden Bosch was plagued with injuries all last season. He ended the year with only 4.5 sacks, his lowest number since joining the Titans. Kearse was effective at times last year, but he clearly isn't the player he was five years ago. He has only managed 3.5 sacks in each of his past three seasons.

The most important piece to this Titans defensive unit is defensive line coach Jim Washburn. This will be Washburns 11th season with the Titans. He has made careers out of many players including Vanden Bosch.

The Chain Gang will be back in the '09/'10 season, some of the faces might have changed or they might not have the "flashy name", but one thing is certain. The results will be the same.

Kerry Collins starting QB but should he be ?

When the 2009 NFL Season opens in Pittsburgh on September 10th, the man behind center will not be the future of the franchise Vince Young, it will be journey man Kerry Collins.

Collins lead the Titans to a NFL best 13-3 record last year, more importantly managed the games and limited turnovers. Collins only had 7 interceptions and 1 fumble lost last year. Compare that to Vince Young who in 2007-2008 season had a total of 20 turnovers. Young didn't have the benefit of having a superstar running back like Chris Johnson to work with though, or a good receiving core either. Young had 2 interceptions and 2 fumbles (both recovered by Tennessee) in the season opener against the Jags last year.

WR Justin Gage had a great year despite only 34 receptions. He looked great down the stretch, and should look good along side free agent speedster Nate Washington and first round selection Kenny Britt. This was the first time the Titans drafted a WR in the 1st round since their draft blunder in 1998 where they drafted Kevin Dyson over future hall of famer Randy Moss.

New Offensive Coordinator Mike Heimerdinger who was the Titans OC during the Steve McNair days also was added to the mix last year. Could Young have had that same success that Collins had last year? We will never know, but Heimerdinger did wonders with McNair who was a "project" coming out of 1-AA Alcorn State.

In a recent ESPN interview below, Young said,

"I'm ready to play football, And I don't know what NFL player around the league don't want to play or be a starter. So what I'm saying is that I'm ready to play ball. And if it's not here, in my next two years that I'm not going to be able to play here, then I'm telling guys around the league, I'm ready to play ball. That's basically what I'm saying. ... I'm just saying I'm ready to play football, and if I don't get a shot to play again here, then obviously I'm not going to be here."

I do believe there will be an open competition for this spot, but clearly Fisher will not tolerate Young's mistakes and pouting. Young actually has a better career completion percentage then Collins does, and he can make plays with his legs that Collins cannot. On the flip side Collins throws one of the nicest deep balls in the league, and that is something Vince has struggled with so far.

When your team is built around a solid running attack, ball control & good defense, you need to have your quarterback limit his mistakes. Tennessee made mistake after mistake in the playoffs last year against the Ravens, and still almost won the game. Throw in a pick or two from Young in that game and it would have been a 10 point game.

This fan is hoping that Vince can turn it around and start playing like the QB we all thought and hoped he would be coming out of college. We need a new hero in Nashville, and I believe Vince can be that guy.

MVP Steve McNair murdered

Steve "Air" McNair was not only one of the best quarterbacks that I have seen play in my lifetime, he was also my favorite Titan of all time. McNair was found dead in a residence he was leasing yesterday. Autopsy results show that this was a homicide.

The Tenneessee Titans organization was waiting for coach Jeff Fisher to address the media about this tragic situation. "I am deeply saddened and at this point do not have the words to describe this loss,’’ Fisher said. “It is an extremely emotional moment and I don’t have the words to explain how I am feeling. I ask people to please pray for Mechelle and the entire McNair family. This is a tragic moment for his family, and it is a tragic moment for anyone who knew and loved Steve.’’

McNair was known for his warrior type leadership. He played injured numerous times and he led the Titans to their only Super Bowl back in 2000. The game was most known for Kevin Dyson getting tackled at the 1 yard line as time expired, but it was the drive that Steve McNair led in the final moments of that game that defined his career.

McNair had numerous other accolades including 3 pro bowl births, and Co-MVP in 2003 with Colts QB Peyton Manning.

In 2006 the Titans broke the hearts of many fans by releasing McNair. It was a move that saved the Titans nine million dollars against the cap. Many Titans fans myself included were more upset over the way they handled the situation. "Steve was told that until he got his contract straightened out, he wasn't welcome at the facility," said Cook. "Heck, he's got his contract already straightened out and now he's trying to fulfill it by reporting for the offseason."

McNair signed with the hated Ravens and led them to a 13-3 record in his first season. McNair battled injuries the rest of his career with the Ravens and was forced to retire.

He may not have hall of fame numbers on paper, but Steve McNair is a hall of famer in my book.
Heres hoping that another player the caliber of McNair graces the Titans franchise in the near future. We definitely could use one.

Lendale White contract situation.

The Titans have a big decision to make after this up coming season, and by big, I mean big as in Lendale White. White is only under contract for this coming season, and reportedly is 20 lbs under last seasons weight.

"Listen, Listen.Contract year or not, I know what they’re going to say and it’s hilarious, yeh. I’m not doing this to have the titans redo my contract or make it better. This is the end of my contract with the titans, if the titans Titans don’t pay me, someone will. My heart is with the titans, I want to be a Tennessee Titan, I didn’t lose this weight to get a better contract.” White said

We saw first hand in the playoffs what kind of player Chris Johnson is against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Johnson gets injured, and the offense was just not the same. Lendale had some good games, including a monster game against the Chiefs where he had a 80 yard touchdown run, but the future is with Johnson not White.

White clearly wants to cash in big during free agency. The Titans FO is not stupid, the more TDs Lendale gets next year, the higher the price tag will be to resign him. I expect to see a lot of Chris Johnson in the redzone.

The NFL is a two back league now, but I don't see how the Titans can pony up the cash for him next year, unless he really proves to be more than just a short yardage back.