SB Nation - Chris Henry

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: The Media Coverage Feels Like A Practice Week Too Edition

August West — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:51:28 -0000

For the love of all things holy take it easy this week, Vince. We need you as close to 100% next week for the 'phins.

Chris Johnson fell off of his pace to beat Eric Dickerson's single season record, but he's claiming a litany of important records every weekend now:

Johnson now has eight consecutive 100-yard rushing game, eclipsing the seven in a row he shared with Hall of Famer Earl Campbell.

Johnson also surpassed Campbell’s franchise record for most yards from scrimmage (1,981) as he now has 2,017 yards between rushing and receiving this season and is within range of Marshall Faulk’s NFL record of 2,429 yards with three games to play. He became only the fifth back in NFL history to reach 2,000 yards from scrimmage in 13 games.

Peter King gets it wrong even when he gets it right:

c. Loved Keith Bulluck's back-to-the-future game against the unfortunate Keith Null: 10 tackles, two interceptions, a pass broken up. The Titans' D played with a ferocity a defense can play with when it knows the quarterback can't beat it downfield.

Note to the front office: there was no 'back-to-the-future' game there, that was just what you get with Keith Bulluck.

The Titans walked away with five interceptions yesterday. Even more surprising: they did so while Nick Harper was on the field.

The Associated Press compared that game to a practice week. I'd venture a guess that the crowd at LP Field was quieter than they are for the average pre-season game.

Welcome to the NFL, Keith Null.

This would have ended in disaster in weeks 1-6: On Chris Johnson's long reception, he was supposed to stay in and block, but the pass rusher came on a delayed blitz and it was too late before CJ realized it.

What is it with the Texans and former Volunteer state-based running backs? They could close the season with Chris Brown, Arian Foster and Chris Henry on the active roster.

Have love, need links: mcmaugustwest@gmail.com

The Worst Ten Tennessee Titans Draft Picks of the Decade

Jimmy — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 17:15:08 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

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With the decade coming to an end in a few weeks, we here at MCM decided it would be a good time to do a top 10 list or two- because who doesn't love a top 10 list?

Today we have the worst 10 draft picks of the decade. Here is how this list was compiled- August, gramsey, hal and I all came up with our own list. They sent their lists to me, actually shared it with me via google docs (which are awesome), and I averaged the four lists together to come up with what I am posting here. After the jump I have added a link that lists all of the picks the Titans made in the decade.

One note on this list; if you need further evidence that the Titans are terrible at picking receivers, here it is- they drafted 15 receivers in the decade. 15! What makes it even worse is that only three of them are still on the active roster. (and gramsey notes that only two of the other 12 are still in the league)

So without further adieu I present the worst 10 draft picks of the decade as voted on by the esteemed panel:

1. Chris Henry, RB, Arizona (2007, Round 2, pick #50 overall)

The Chris Henry pick is pretty much the only one on the list that just never made sense. The Titans fell in love with hal's boy because of the numbers he put up at the combine. They apparently failed to check and see if he was actually any good in college. He was widely known as Cockroach because he ran to darkness. That isn't a good thing, in case you didn't know.

2. Andre Woolfolk, CB, Oklahoma (2003, Round 1, pick #28 overall)

If there were to be another guy on the list that never made sense it would be Woolfolk. Here is an interesting tidbit about Woolfolk that I did not know- all three of his career INTs were thrown by David Carr. If you ever wondered how bad Carr was..

3. Adam Pacman Jones, CB, West Virginia (2005, Round 1, pick #6 overall)

As Danno said yesterday, it has been far too long since we talked about Ol' Pacman. The pick of Adam made football sense but not common sense. He was a dynamic returner and a good cornerback when he played his assignment instead of what he wanted to do, which was about 32% of the time (get it?), but he there isn't really an adjective that adequately describes what he was off the field.

4. Paul Williams, WR, Fresno State (2007, Round 3, pick #80 overall)

P-Dub couldn't decide in college if he was a corner or a receiver. Maybe he should have picked corner.

5. Tyrone Calico, WR, MTSU (2003, Round 2, pick #60 overall)

August loves Calico. Calico had a lot of raw talent, but he had trouble staying healthy. He also had some trouble catching the football which is a problem for a receiver. Too bad for him that he didn't get drafted by another team because he would have gotten a lot of money from the Titans in free agency eventually.

6. Ben Troupe, TE, Florida (2004, Round 2, pick #40 overall)

Troupe had more NFL success than any of the other guys on this list. The problem was he could never put it all together. He had loads of potential but was hampered by injuries, the inability to learn the offense (allegedly), and the inability to catch the football at times.

7. Courtney Roby, WR, Indiana (2005, Round 3, pick #68 overall)

Roby was really good in the preseason pretty much every year.

8. Tank Williams, S, Stanford (2002 Round 2, pick #45 overall)

And now Danno hate us. Tank started his career playing pretty well but suffered an ugly ACL injury and was never the same.

T-9. Byron Frisch, DE, BYU (2000, Round 3, pick #93 overall)

This is a name that none of us even remembered. He actually never played a game with the Titans and was cut after the 2000 season. He ended his career with 5 sacks after playing one season with the Cowboys and one with the Giants.

T-9.Shad Meier, TE, Kansas State (2001, Round 3, pick #90 overall)

Shad Meier had my favorite stat line ever in a game at San Diego in 2004- 9 catches for 31 yards. That's 3.4 yards per catch. He finished his career with 42 catches. I need more than that from a third round pick.

Others receiving votes: Chris Brown (2003, round 3, #93), Brandon Jones (2005, round 3, #96) and Donnie Nickey (2003, round 5, #154).

$1,000,000 MCM bucks to the first person to identify who put Nickey on the list.

Click here to see the complete list of draft picks.

And there you have it. We would love to hear your comments on our list, or even your own list in the comments.

Sage advice from Mo Egger for new/returning Bengals bandwagon fans:

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:37:20 -0000

This is just brilliant satire from our friend Mo Egger's blog over at The Homer. You'll see it was posted a couple of days ago due to the fact that he refers to Brad St. Louis as a current Bengal, but I'll parenthetically repair that. With Mo's permission I lovingly repost this piece that gave me more than one belly laugh yesterday when I read it. Hit the jump to read one of the best things I've read in a while.

-This week, and for a while until the team falters, the number of Bengals bandwagon fans you'll see will increase. I like bandwagon fans. The more people that want to talk about my favorite team, watch games, tailgate, the better. To an extent, we're all bandwagon fans. Your interest in a team or sport ebbs and flows depending on the success of whom your rooting for.

So if you're a bandwagon fan, new to the 2009 Bengals, welcome. We're glad to have you and we hope you're here for a while, though we know we're just a loss or two away from seeing you leave our lives for a while. Let's enjoy the time we do have. Let's go through a couple of things....

First, let's get rid of that "2005 AFC North Champions" shirt. You need some new gear. That shirt isn't gonna help you blend in. It's been four years, and besides, a team from the Bengals' division won the title that year. Keep it as a keepsake if you must, but don't wear it.

Same for the lame "Two Johnsons and one big Willie" shirt you bought about four years ago. There's a Johnson still on the team, his name is Brandon. Rudi's gone, his effectiveness slipping probably around the time you checked out, sometime late in 2006, injured in '07, cut before last year. He's looking for a job. Chad is still here, but he doesn't go by "Johnson" anymore. He's "OchoCinco" now. And Willie's gone too, blown out before last season. Bobbie Williams, who was actually here when you last wore the orange and black, is the wise-old one on the offensive line.

Actually a lot of players you loved when you were last a fan are gone. Justin Smith has moved on. So has Landon Johnson, Levi Jones, Chris Perry, Madieu Williams, and Eric Steinbach, just to name a few.

Carson is still the quarterback, though he's just now rounding back into form after missing most of last year, when you were wondering why people still went to games and figuring out ways to scalp some Colts tickets.

Remember how much fun you had saying "Houshmandzadeh?" Yeah well, he's not here either. The fun name to say is "Maualuga." (MAH-WUH-LOO-GA)

The crazy hair guy is Domata Peko. Defensive line. Where John Thornton used to play. Shayne Graham is still on the team. He hangs out at 2009's place for the pretentious, Bootsy's. Speaking of Bootsy's, he's so 2005. Crack Sauce is the new Bootsy.

Oh yeah, and speaking of pretentious, Paul Brown Stadium still has luxury suites, football domain of the pretentious and bandwagon jumpers alike. I'm sure if you find your way to PBS, you'll be bee-lining the suites. Give the other a-holes my best. Ask how many people had to be laid off the retain it and how many of their company's lower-salaried workers get to enjoy it.

Also, when you last left us, our men were running up quite the arrest tally. Most of those fellows involved aren't here anymore. Odell Thurman has moved on the something called the UFL (I'd explain that concept, but your head would explode). What may surprise you is that Chris Henry is still here, and believe it or not, acting every bit the model citizen.

Marvin Lewis is still the coach. Mike Brown is still the owner. You won't understand why most of us still can't stand him despite the team's record. Perhaps you do your shopping in Butler County.

Let's see, who else might you be looking for? David Pollack? Neck injury forced him to retire. Sam Adams? Biggest free agent bust in team history, though he was possibly a worse owner than nose tackle. Owned a team called the Jungle Kats that played Arena Football. Actually, he might've been a worse owner than Mike Brown. Torry James is gone too. Replaced by Leon Hall. He and Jonathan Joseph are forming quite the duo in the defensive backfield. Cedric Benson is the new Rudi, wearing number 32. He's doing quite well. However, screams of "Ceeeed" are not repalcing "Ruuuuudi." Just yell "go!" when he carries it. There's also this newcomer named Andre Caldwell...he's been money late in games, caught the game-winning TD passes against both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, which since you might have been rooting for the Steelers at the time, is probably something you remember.

Brad St. Louis is now the object of our frustration. He's the long snapper. (Note from Craig, here's the reference to St. Louis I wrote about earlier. When this was posted two whole days ago he was still a Bengal.) Actually he was the long snapper when you were last with us, but you didn't know who he was because no one knows who the long snapper is if he's good, which he is not. You'll hear some grumbling about a guy named Andre Smith too. He was the Bengals' first round pick this year. He weighs as much as your Prius.

Anyway, welcome back to the bandwagon. It's great to have you. Throw on your new Bengals t-shirt (iron out the folds) or your Maualuga jersey and settle in for the season. At least until they lose two in a row.

BREAKING NEWS: Texans Will Sign RB Chris Henry

Jake — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:10:29 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

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Apparently the either the Redskins didn't want former Titans running back Chris Henry, or Henry would prefer to play for the Houston Texans. John McClain is reporting that the Texans are on the verge of signing Henry, initially just to the practice squad.

I first thought that this might be a sign of displeasure with Steve Slaton, but it might be more of a threat to veteran Chris Brown, who fumbled on the goal line to seal the defeat against the Jaguars a week and a half ago. Brown ran well during the preseason but has not been an impact thus far in the regular season, and Gary Kubiak might be looking to make a move. Then again, Kubiak might just be preparing for the inevitable Brown season-ending injury as well.

Henry was a second round pick in the draft, but did not fulfil those expectations on the field, although in his defense he was playing behind LenDale White and Chris Johnson. Henry is a powerful back and could be ideal for the one-cut running system needed in the zone blocking scheme.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: K-Horns Edition

August West — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:06:16 -0000

More photos » by Dave Einsel - AP

Hey Houston: Run Defense. You're Doing It Wrong.

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Steadfast reader/commenter Pigskinpundit knows it: Bedazzlers fans really, really don't like us. I guess it's from all of those beatdowns we handed-out during their glory days, and the now infamous remark Fisher made about Alltell stadium being one of our home stadiums. Here's a pretty good re-cap of the history of this rivalry from a Jacksonville bent.

You mess with the K-Bull, you get the horns... and a good stiff kick in the ass is a large part of what this squad needs right now:

"I can’t really say we have a winning attitude, because if we did, we would have won some games," Bulluck said. "This team needs to establish themselves in this game."

Mark Jones is being given the rarest of gifts in the NFL: a second chance. The most interesting tid-bit here though is Bulluck's continued chirpiness:

"I definitely feel better about having someone who has experience returning and handling the ball,'' linebacker Keith Bulluck said. "It's about time we got somebody.''

Jason McCourty and Ryan Mouton are going to be counted on very heavily in Jacksonville this weekend. Also, maybe we haven't seen the last of Chris Henry?

Fisher said the Titans could re-sign Henry to the practice squad.

The AOL Fanhouse looks at how crucial it is for us to go at least 2-1 over the next three tough games. As Kimmy's link noted yesterday, after we're through this stretch the schedule really breaks our way for the first time all year.

Matt Bowen at National Football Post looks at the challenge we have ahead as well.

Maurice Jones-Drew is coming off a week where he was named the AFC Player of the Week, but lets hope we don't sell-out to the run quite as much as we have in the past...

If there's anything you would like to share with the MCM community, please take advantage of the comments, fanshots and fanposts to do so! Or, you can always email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: It Really Is Your Fault Edition

August West — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:43:51 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Something tells me this was not what Chuck Cecil drew out on the white board.

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I get the feeling that before the Titans cut Chris Henry yesterday Fisher and Reinfeldt stood in front of each other, repeating the phrase 'It's not your fault'. Question is, who started crying first?

What SI.com's John P. Lopez doesn't know, is that we've got the rest of the NFL right where we want them:

Don't bet on a return to the playoffs. The road is too tough and the odds stacked against them.

Our guys love the underdog card... you hear that groaning sound? That's me reaching a long way for that one.

I didn't post this yesterday because it hurts me, but Boom King really has been the biggest disappointment out of the front seven so far this year. If you focus in on him, he just isn't beating tackles and ends up on the ground way more than I've ever seen him do as a Titan. I'm not sure what the fix is, but he needs to find it because he's our best chance to demand consistent double teams.

Follow us though the jump to see who is filing a restraining order against Albert Haynesworth...

The most surprising thing about this week's DVOA rankings from Football Outsiders: the Titans actually rank 11th on defense... of course we're 23rd on offense and 32nd on special teams. That last one may yet be a little generous.

Albert Haynesworth's divorce case is starting to get ugly, as his wife is filing a restraining order and alleging a laundry list of charges mostly relating to money.

Hey, at least we have the second most prolific RB in the league.

Pretty good team recap from Fox Sports.

In local news, MBA alum and former Titan practice squad player Ingle Martin has signed with the UFL's New York Sentinels.

Tennessee Titans Sign Mark Jones and Kevin Kaesviharn

Jimmy — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:20:00 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

I'm back baby! (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

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The Titans agreed to terms today with returner Mark Jones and ~~cornerback Rod Hood~~ safety Kevin Kaesviharn. Both guys have experience in the return game and Hood can step in and help at corner.

To make room on the roster the Titans released running back Chris Henry and placed punter Craig Hentrich on IR, probably ending his career. Still no word on what practice squad move has been made to make room for Cary Williams.

It is good to have a couple of issues addressed with these moves, but it really makes me angry thinking about what would be different had they never cut Jones in the first place.

[UPDATE]- The Hood signing isn't confirmed yet. Sorry for the error.

[UPDATE #2]- Apparently there is no Hood signing. My bad guys.

BTSC Weekly NFL Musings: Week 3 Edition

Blitzburgh — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:19:02 -0000

It's widely acknowledged that Week 2 in the National Football League is the most difficult week to bet on or predict. The reason being that people too often draw far too sweeping conclusions about where they think teams are headed after just a single game. Anyway, one game's certainly not enough, and two really isn't either. But after three weeks, we can start to get an idea about the players and teams that are shaping up to have fine seasons, and vice versa. Here are some of my musings after three weeks. As always, please jump on in and share your own.

* Let's start in the NFC North - the inter-conference division that the AFC North is paired up with this year. Through three weeks, the NFC North has one of the five undefeated teams in the league (Minnesota), and two other clubs at 2-1 (Chicago, Green Bay). At 8-4, the Norris division is tied with the NFC East as the division with the best record in football. Pittsburgh still has Green Bay on the road, Detroit on the road, and Minnesota at home on tap. If they could win two out of three, I'd be pretty pleased. It wouldn't at all surprise me to see one of the two NFC Wild Cards emerge from that division. This past Sunday, the storyline was Brett Favre leading his team to a last second victory over the San Francisco 49ers in what was a hard fought and extremely tightly contested game throughout. It still baffles me why Adrian Peterson only gets 19 carries a game, but I suppose if they can keep him healthy by giving him the rock a little bit less than they might ideally like to. Congratulations as well to the Lions for getting off the snide. When we travel to play them in two weeks, it's not out of the realm of possibility that that team could make a few huge plays in the passing game; and if they get a turnover or two from the Steelers, then who knows. It seems inconceivable to even think of, but nothing at all is free and easy in this league.

*Here are my three teams from each conference that I think can win it all. Injuries to star players can of course change things - like if Peyton Manning, Big Ben, Drew Brees, etc go down. But assuming we're talking about more or less the same cast of characters we're seeing out there now, here's who I think is good enough to take home the hardware come February.

AFC: Indianapolis, Baltimore, New England, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati

NFC: New York, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Minnesota

I'd probably put them in that order as well. Some may wonder why no New York Jets? Well, they've been impressive so far, no doubt, but I just can't see a rookie leading a team to a Super Bowl in year one. Not without an amazingly dominant running game, which I don't think New York has. They'll be in a lot of games because of their defense, great coaching and a solid offensive line, but it's not there time yet. I was very impressed by Cincinnati on Sunday. They were much better in the trenches - particularly along the offensive line. They have a brusing running game that they're committed to, and if they can catch a few breaks and keep their entire defense healthy for most of the year, they could sneak in to the playoffs. From there, a talented quarterback, multiple game changers at the playmaker positions and a money field goal kicker are all great ingredients to have for a playoff run. I do wonder if they'll be able to generate enough pass pressure to disrupt the league's most efficient offenses when the stakes go up later in the year. Finally, it's a bit too early to tell with Baltimore, but they sure look outstanding through three games. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron has handed over the reins to Joe Flacco in his second year and Flacco's making him and everybody else in purple look good. Let's see how they do on the road against better competition in two of the next three weeks. They travel to New England and Minnesota, and I'll be intrigued to see if their defense doesn't show a bit of vulnerability.

* Through three weeks, only four quarterbacks have thrown the football more times than Big Ben.. They are..

Name (team record)	Attempts	Completion %
Tom Brady (2-1)	142	61.3 %
Kurt Warner (1-2)	122	65.6 %
Phillip Rivers (2-1)	114	58.8 %
Ben Roethlisberger (1-2)	109	71.6 %
Byron Leftwich (0-3)	107	54.2 %
Matt Schaub (1-2)	107	64.5 %

First of all, considering how close all three the Steelers games have been, that passing attempts number should tell us something about what our 'identity' is shaping up to be - a passing first team. We can agree or disagree about whether or not that style of play best suits our personnel, but I think we can all agree that we're lucky to have such a top-notch quarterback in Roethlisberger. That's tremendous accuracy for how much he's been asked to throw the ball, and frankly, that number could be even higher if not for a few drops the past couple of weeks. Having thrown just over 36 passing attempts per game through three games, Big Ben is on pace to heave it about 575 times this year. That would be more than 100 more passing attempts than he attempted in 2006 and 2008, when he set and matched a career high with 469 attempts. Will that pace keep up? Probably not quite at that clip. But it appears to be a safe bet that he'll surpass 500 attempts on the season for the first time in his career.

* Even though I've lamented the dropoff in the play of the defense compared to last year, the Steelers are still ranked 7th in the NFL in scoring defense, ranked 6th in rushing defense, but just 15th in passing yards allowed. By Football Outsiders metrics, the Steelers were ranked 12th overall in DVOA, through the first two weeks (Week 3 has not yet been added to their calculations). That's a respectable number, but I imagine it will dip even lower after Sunday's loss to the Bengals. By their calculations, the Steelers have been quite poor against the pass, coming it at just 22nd compared to 15th by traditional yards per game statistics. That's not going to cut it over the long haul.

* Jack Del Rio may have saved his job on Sunday by beating the Houston Texans on the road 34-31. The Jaguars looked pathetic the week before against Arizona. They weren't just bad either. They looked like they weren't even playing hard and had totally given up on the game (and their coach). This is following in the wake of last year's disaster for the Jaguars when reports surfaced later in the surface about the lack of confidence and respect the team had for their head coach. Del Rio's probably gone by year's end anyway, if you ask me, unless Jacksonville somehow made an unexpected run to the playoffs. That's not likely though whatsoever. Before moving on, has there every been a quarterback less deserving of all the money he got than Jaguars signal caller David Garrard? I mean, he didn't really do all that much to deserve the mega-extension he signed in 2007 (if I recall correctly). He had won some games, protected the football nicely and allowed his two-headed running attack (MJD and Fred Taylor) do most of the heavy lifting. Anyway, since that extension, Garrard has been pretty darn average. He went 5-11 last year as a starter and threw only 15 TDs and 13 INTs. Not horrible numbers, but franchise quarterbacks are paid to lead their teams to better records than that. So far this year, Garrard's been uninspiring as well, completing under 55% of his passes.

* Everybody's loving on the New York Jets for their 3-0 start, so I'll take a rain check and not comment except to say that the I love what Rex Ryan brings as a football coach - someone who just truly LOVES everything about his job and the game. That said, I don't think they have the horses to really be a threat this year. Not enough weapons on offense or defense, even if they get really lucky injury wise. Their offensive line is quite good and they're athletic on defense, but I still think they are a player or two away from really being great in Ryan's system. It won't hurt to get Sanchez a little bit of seasoning either. Even though I don't think they can win it all this year, I do think the Jets defense will hold up pretty well and keep them in plenty of games. A 3-0 start featuring wins over Houston, New England and Tennessee is impressive, but Houston may not be as good as some thought having lost two home games already (surprise, surprise!); the Patriots were still finding their way in Week 2; and Tennessee may very well be 0-6 after three more weeks have passed. I'd just say echo what the Big Tuna once said, let's put the anointing oil away for now. For starters, let's see how that defense holds up next week at the Super Dome in New Orleans, and how Mark Sanchez does when he's forced in to his first NFL shootout potentially.

* Speaking of New Orleans, if I had to guess right now, I'd say the MVP race will come down to Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. Purple Jesus, aka Adrian Peterson will be in the running, but I wonder if he'll get enough carries to really put up a huge number and contend for individual hardware. Something tells me Brett Favre may be getting the ball put in his hands more and more as the season goes on. That'd be a mistake, but something tells me that's in store. Anyway, Manning and Brees are essentially stride for stride through three weeks and show no signs of slowing down. Saints fans should rejoice in the fact that their two Eastern seaboard road games (Philly, Buffalo) came in September rather than when the weather turns. Now all they have left in terms of road games are trips to Miami, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Washington, Atlanta, and Carolina. That's two domes and two non hostile Florida venues in addition to those home games where the Saints are extremely tough to slow down offensively.

* How quickly has LaDanian Tomlinson's career come grinding to a halt? What's the latest on his status for Sunday's game at Heinz Field?

* Do you think Byron Leftwich wishes he was backing up Big Ben in Pittsburgh rather than being pummeled around on a sorry Tampa Bay team that's looking for any reason to see what they have in rookie Josh Freeman? Poor Leftwich, he was TKO'd out of Sunday's shutout loss to the Giants and likely won't see the field again with the Buccaneers. Actually, scratch that. It's Josh Freeman. He'll forfeit his right to playing time at some point in the not too distant future. But for not anyway, Leftwich will sit, beaten up physically and mentally.

* On a somewhat similar note - poor Jake Delhomme. It's hard not to like the Louisianian. But his days may be numbered after throwing yet another devastating interception in Monday night's 21-7 loss at Dallas. Delhomme's got mental problems at this point and at 34 years of age, he may not get a chance to work through them, be it in Carolina or elsewhere. I hope that's not the case though. Seems like a good guy, whose teammates are always sticking up for. Kinda reminds me of Woody Harrelson's character, Billy Hoyle, in White Men Can't Jump. An aw shucks attitude, talented, but at the end of the day, kind of a head case that you don't really want to put your faith in.

* Fantasy Question of the Week for you - would you trade Chad Ocho Cinco for Matt Forte? Forte's value is fairly low right now after three non productive weeks. Ocho Cinco meanwhile looks to be back to his old ways, but from the looks of the Bengals' offense, it looks like they will continue to lean on the running game and distribute the ball fairly equally between their triumvirate of wide receivers - #85, Laverneus Coles and Chris Henry.

* This week's Hothead Coach of the Week is Jim Mora of the Seattle Seahawks, who called out his kicker Olindo Mare after the game publicly for missing two crucial field goal attempts in Seattle's loss to the Bears. Mora said:

"There’s no excuses for those. If you’re a kicker in the National Football League you should make those kicks – bottom line. End of story. Period. No excuses. No wind, doesn’t matter. You’ve gotta makes those kicks."

True, but what Mora failed to mention was that Mare converted on four other field goal attempts, two of which came from 46 yards out. Check out Field Gulls for more commentary on Mora's unreasonable rant, something we've never, and will never see out of head coach Mike Tomlin when things go awry.

* Tennessee is done. At 0-3, they're in a huge hole considering they haven't faced Indy yet. All three losses have come against AFC teams too, meaning it's highly unlikely they'll be able to win a tiebreaker for a Wild Card. They also play at Jacksonville, then host Indianapolis, and travel to New England before their BYE Week. 0-6 is a distinct possibility. Time to move on from Kerry Collins, that's for sure. He kept them afloat last year with some decent play, but he looks bad this year and isn't worth sticking with. Makes much more sense to play Vince Young, evaluate how he does, then decide to ride with him or trade him away for pennies on the dollar at season's end before his cap hit gets too high in the future. I also wonder if the Jeff Fisher era may be coming to an end in Nashville. He's the longest tenured coach in the league currently, and certainly deserves credit for what he's accomplished. But his brand of football isn't all that aligned with how the NFL is trending as a league. He's also never really broken through, despite hanging around .500 or better and making the playoffs plenty of times in his long career. Cowher had his flaws as a big-game single-game coach, but he was consistent like Fisher in the regular season. The difference though is Cowher won his division eight times compared to four for Fisher, and advance to six AFC Championship Games compared to just two for Fisher. He's been a very good coach. Just not that great. And his time may be coming to an end, particularly if the team opts to start fresh with Vince Young under center in 2010 and beyond.

* My Offensive Offensive Players of the Week (i.e. those guys who stunk it up): Cleveland QBs Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson (combined 17/27, 126 yards, 4 INTs in 34-3 L to Baltimore). How bad are things in Cleveland? And to think there was a quarterback 'controversy' the past two years. Neither one's good enough to lead Cleveland to victory. It's a shame for Cleveland and their fans because it looked like they were legitimately ready to turn the corner just 12 or so months ago.

Poll

Most impressive team in Week 3?

Baltimore

202 votes

Indianapolis

86 votes

New England

9 votes

New York Giants

58 votes

New York Jets

131 votes

Cincinnati Bengals

101 votes

Minnesota

22 votes

609 votes | Poll has closed

Previewing Cincinnati's Visit To Lambeau

Mitchell_M — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:28:19 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

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It may have been ugly, but our beloved Packers started off the season the right way with a thrilling comeback against Chicago, 21-15. Whether you classify it as two great defensive performances or two awful offensive ones, the only important thing is that Green Bay is 1-0 in the division and tied with Minnesota for the NFC North.

This week, Green Bay has a significantly less imposing challenge in the Cincinnati Bengals. Do not take this statement as a sign of arrogance, because Cincinnati is still a dangerous team with weapons on offense and talented defenders; dangerous enough to exploit the weaknesses Green Bay exhibited on Sunday night.

Cincinnati is 0-1 after losing on a comically fluky 87 yard TD from Kyle Orton to ~~Brandon Marshall~~ ~~Leon Hall~~ Brandon Stokely. They kept Denver in check for most of the game, and Carson Palmer guided the offense on a 11-play drive ending with Cedric Benson scoring the go-ahead TD with 38 seconds left. They were one ill-tipped pass away from winning, and I'd bet they feel that they have something to prove this week.

While they still have players with character issues, terrible luck, and their less-than-stellar reputation to shake off, these Bengals are no pushovers. Let's look at the main matchups for Week 2.

CIN rushing vs. GB defense: Cedric Benson is infamous for two things: vastly underperforming his fourth-overall draft status, and the second-most notorious boating incident in the NFC North's recent history. But all that aside, he is starting out on a tenuous path to redemption with the Bengals. After coming away from his legal troubles unscathed, the Bengals signed him in Week 5 of 2008 after DeDe Dorsey went on I.R. He was eventually promoted to starter, and helped propel the Bengals to a 3-0 finish behind his 423 all-purpose yards. Benson continued to display promise against Denver with 108 all-purpose yards and a 1-yard score.

At 5'11", 225 lbs, Benson uses his size to push his way through running lanes. He is also agile enough to prevent defenders from getting a clean look at him. His speed is above-average at best, but he's refined enough between the tackles to eat up yards at a respectable pace. Backing up Benson is Brian Leonard, a former draftee of St. Louis (and a proud Rutgers product). Leonard is not as strong as Benson, but he is by far a better athlete.

Up front, Cincinnati boasts a starting line comprised of players that I have never heard of (from left to right: Anthony Collins, 6'5", 315; Bobbie Williams, 6'4", 345; Kyle Cook, 6'3", 312; Evan Mathis, 6'5", 295; Andrew Whitworth, 6'7", 335). Whitworth and Williams are the unit's best players; the other three have very little scouting information at all. However, a minor X-factor here is the recent reactivation of rookie Andre Smith, who I assure you I have never heard of. Ever. Period. Will he play after holding out for most of training camp, promptly breaking his foot after signing the deal, and getting added to the roster today? I doubt it; his conditioning is nowhere near where it should be.

As for Green Bay's defense, we got a good look at what the 3-4 can do to corrall a well above-average RB like Matt Forte (55 yards on 25 carries). Green Bay only gave up 86 yards rushing as a whole, including 5 stops behind the line. While they certainly won't maintain the outstanding 2.8 ypc allowed all season, the run defense seems to be off to a good start. Johnny Jolly, Cullen Jenkins, and Ryan Pickett were constantly disrupting the offensive line, the linebacker rotation worked like a charm, and B.J. Raji should be able to play at least a dozen snaps.

Advantage: Green Bay. There's simply too many ways for the Packers to plug running lanes against Cincinnati's lackluster offensive line.

CIN passing vs. GB defense: Carson Palmer really hasn't been the same ever since Kimo von Oelhoffen accidentally shredded his knee in 2005. While he made a full recovery and has been starting since 2006, his mobility (which was already suspect) took a nosedive. If he gets time in the pocket, Palmer can make any throw to any receiver at any time. He is outstanding at reading coverages, going through progressions, looking off safeties, and following through on throws. But the minute the pocket collapses, Palmer gets himself into trouble. This was evident in the Denver game, as Palmer was sacked 3 times, losing 26 yards, and threw two interceptions in the game. He managed to pull the team together for what could have been a winning drive, showing that he certainly has the ability to get it done. But if he doesn't look like the second coming of Drew Bledsoe, I don't know what does.

At receiver, the Bengals took a hit when T.J. Houshmandzadeh chased the money all the way to Seattle. They replaced him with the slightly underrated Laveranues Coles, and they still have Chris Henry and Chad ~~Johnson~~ Ochocinco. They also added Chase Coffman in the draft, who will be a decent receiving option at TE. Cedric Benson is able to create out of the backfield as well.

The Green Bay pass rush made life hell for Jay Cutler, forcing 4 interceptions, several more incompletions, 2 sacks, and 9 QB hits. However, Cutler was still able to find Earl Bennett, Desmond Clark, and Devin Hester for some nice completions (including Hester's TD). If Nick Collins is struggling with injury, as he was for a few series, the defense immediately becomes more passive and conservative in its playcalling. Thankfully, Collins was afflicted with cramps, which should not persist. Atari Bigby has a slightly more serious issue to deal with, but he's not exactly an adept coverage safety.

Advantage: Push. Green Bay has the talent to shut down opposing offenses, but Carson Palmer is just too good and has too many options. If the Bengals' offensive line falters, then this swings in Green Bay's favor by a wide margin.

GB rushing vs. CIN defense: On the one hand, Ryan Grant is healthy, the offensive line has a group of five established starters, and the oft-ineffective zone blocking scheme has been scaled back in favor of a more useful man-up scheme. While they certainly didn't blow anyone away with their run game, Grant exceeded my expectations with 61 yards on 16 carries, including a few 10+ yarders (one of which was called back by holding). Allen Barbre, for all his pass blocking struggles, actually shines as a run blocker, and the decision to start Jason Spitz over Scott Wells has proved to give the team more pop between the tackles.

On the other hand, the Cincinnati defense kept the Denver Broncos (usually a great running team) to 75 yards with no attempt going for more than 14 yards. The recent additions of Rey Maualuga and Roy Williams, combined with Keith Rivers' return from injury, have turned the Bengal defense into much more than just a paper tiger (lol, pun). Granted, the main reason the Broncos were so inept at rushing the ball was because Cincinnati was stacking 8 men in the box all day long, and Kyle Orton's deep ball is so erratic he literally needs help from opposing cornerbacks to complete a long throw.

Advantage: Push. If Cincinnati puts 8 men in the box, then they'll keep Green Bay under 100 yards rushing. But that would probably be a stupid thing to do, because...

GB passing vs. CIN defense: Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph are good coverage corners. Not great, but good. Chris Crocker is solid if unspectacular in pass coverage. But there's a weak link in the Bengals' secondary. A huge weak link. Two words: Roy. Williams. Roy L. Williams, to be exact, but the only thing the middle initial does is differentiate him from Roy E. Williams, because it sure doesn't help him cover receivers.

Don't get me wrong, Williams is excellent in run support. Even Troy Polamalu isn't as adept at breaking through blocks and making tackles near or behind the line of scrimmage. But he's awful in pass coverage. How bad? He needs to regularly be subbed out for Chinedum Ndukwe on passing downs. He reportedly lost nearly 25 pounds in the offseason to help improve his speed and quickness, but I don't think any amount of weight loss can make up for the massive amount of suck that has cursed Williams ever since he came into the league. I cannot wait for one of our receivers to be matched up with him on a deep route.

Their pass rush is better than advertised. Antwan Odom managed 2 sacks on Kyle Orton, with Jonathan Fanene adding another. This group isn't well known for their pressure, but they're not exactly starved for talent either; Tank Johnson and Dhani Jones are both effective at getting to the quarterback. It helps that they drafted Michael Johnson in the third round, a DE out of ~~Texas~~ Georgia Tech that Brandon may have been pining for with Green Bay's second round pick.

Green Bay struggled mightily with Chicago's pass rush, which kept them from getting anything going in the passing game until the end of the fourth quarter. Four sacks and several additional hits kept Aaron Rodgers out of his rhythm, and both Donald Driver and Jordy Nelson were struggling with drops. However, Rodgers was able to avoid any costly mistakes (discounting the safety, which was partly his fault) and showed off decent escapability when he had an opening. He made the throws he needed to make, and it came together at the end. I expect his deep ball to be much improved by Sunday.

Advantage: Green Bay. Antwan Odom is no Adewale Ogunleye, and Rodgers and company (should have) learned from his struggles against Chicago. If Cincinnati tries to stack 8 in the box, expect Rodgers' deep ball to be much better calibrated than in the opener.

Preliminary verdict: I'm not one for predictions, so I won't waste your time with picking a winner and an arbitrary final score. I can say that Green Bay matches up very well with the Bengals and, if they can force Carson Palmer into mistakes (a tall order), contain Chad Ochocinco and Cedric Benson (a slightly shorter order), and take advantage of openings in the defense (a much more reasonable expectation), the Packers are in good shape to take the win.

Poll

What outcome do you see for Week 2 vs. Cincinnatti?

Big GB win.

954 votes

Close GB win.

373 votes

Too close to call.

20 votes

Close CIN win.

102 votes

Big CIN win.

47 votes

Ochocinco will pull a stunt.

67 votes

1563 votes | Poll has closed

Options to replace injured Rams

VanRam — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 12:03:35 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

St. Louis Rams running back Samkon Gado has a rib injury. How will it impact the Rams backup RB situation?

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It's a big day today for the St. Louis Rams as they shave 21 players off their roster to meet the league's deadline for finalizing their 53-man roster before the start of the regular season. Overlapping that imposing deadline is the news that DT Adam Carriker could be out for a while with a shoulder injury and Samkon Gado, the backup runner, is nursing a cartilage damage in his rib cage. Rams GM Billy Devaney and Co. are going to be very busy today.

First, Gado. There's possibly some good news there as the official Rams site says that it's mostly a pain tolerance issue for Gado. Of course, for a running back, pain in the rib cage could be pretty dicey. I'm not convinced enough by Gado to minimize anything that could slow him down. Roster cuts always carry a potential solution or two at running back, so keep an eye on what names emerge this weekend. Gado is going to test it out in practice this week, which means a move on this front might not happen immediately. The free agent scrap pile doesn't have much left on it at the moment - Shuan Alexander anyone? - outside of some oldsters and guys who once shined in Denver's infamous system. Here's a report from Scout.com looking at some names that might be job hunting after cuts today. Running backs of interest on that list include: Jamal Lewis, Justin Fargas, Chris Henry (TEN), and Lorenzo Booker.

Fargas is the most complete, and a reduced role would cut down on the injury risk. Henry is fast and could do special teams work.

As far as Carriker goes, they could stick him on IR and go with the four DTs we mentioned yesterday. That looks kind of like an expansion team list of DTs. From that same Scout.com report, Oakland's Terdell Sands could be a roster cut, and would be an upgrade in the run stopper role. The Browns might be looking to trade Corey Williams who doesn't have a place in their new 3-4. He'd be more of the gap shooting type DT. Former Jets and Broncos DT Dewayne Robertson is still out there, sitting by his phone waiting for a call from some team desperate at DT.

One thing that helps the Rams at DT is the fact that Spags and Flajole like to use DEs in those spots on blitz packages. That could have an impact on roster decisions.

Stay tuned. We've got you covered.