SB Nation - Patrick Ramsey

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: I Always Hated The Bachelor Edition

August West — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:40:03 -0000

More photos » by Stephan Savoia - AP

For the second year in a row, we're about to bench a quarterback with the Captain's patch on his chest. That's always a good sign.

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Today, after practice, a decision will be made. Two quarterbacks remain in the competition, but only one will get the sacred rose from coach Fisher. Stay tuned to MCM to find out who will be the lucky fella, and who will lose-out... seriously though, there's no way Collins starts Sunday, right?

NFP's Matt Bowen thinks we should trust Fisher's call on the QB situation, and fears Bud Adams going the Jerry Jones/Al Davis route by dictating who should play. I think Matt Bowen should shut the hell up.

Vinny Fuller is back at practice, making it quite likely that he'll be ready to step-in and solidify the nickel spot on Sunday.

Follow us through the jump for the latest on Cortland's health...

We really need to see Finnegan practice today if he's going to be active and starting on Sunday, so stay glued to the site to find-out if he's on the field today or not. I'm not going to feel good about our chances to win any game he doesn't start.

It'll be 2 more weeks at least before we have the pleasure of watching Nick Harper play CB again.

I don't know about you folks, but I'm much happier with John David Booty as the developmental 3rd QB than Patrick Ramsey. Booty could actually develop into a nice starter in this league, which is a ship that sailed years ago for Ramsey.

You could rename this article 'One Big Sign That I'm A Reactionary'. You can't declare parity dead as a whole just because there are some very bad teams around the halfway point of the season. Parity is still alive and well, it's just that this year you're seeing exaggerated effects of good and poor management. That's always been the deciding factor in the NFL: management and ownership.

If you see anything good or Titans related on your travels around the internets, be sure to send it to mcmaugustwest@gmail.com!

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Peter King = Thought Leadership Edition

August West — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:46:26 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

Lost in the shuffle last week was the tremendous performance of William Hayes.

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Donnie Nickey is having a little fun simulating Troy Polamalu in practices this week as the Titans prepare for the Steelers... which for some reason involves a rather large wig.

LenDale White is pumped for info about the towel stomp yet again, and he's still singing the same tune of unrepentant pride. Of course, you gotta love how NBC is showing footage of it in their promos. (Also note that in the Tennessean link Fisher sounds pretty confident that we may end up signing return man Mark Jones again this season.)

Peter King is a friggin thought innovator, whose tremendous mental faculties leave his mad-hater theories and wild ruminations somewhere in the ether beyond the perceptions of us mere mortal football fans. Prepare to have thine mine blown again:

It was never much in doubt, but Vince Young won the backup job over Patrick Ramsey. Know what I wonder? Why not let Young take five Wildcat snaps a game?

Follow us through the jump to find out more in-depth information about last weeks' cuts...

So Chris Henry is still on this roster only because Quinton Ganther would have been out 4-6 weeks after the calf injury he suffered against the Packers. That's a little more understandable, but Q had done so much better than Henry since day one, I'd almost still contend that he'd be worth putting on the PUP list for a while.

Shortly after we cut him, the Steelers signed Tuff Harris to their practice squad... I wouldn't really be too worried about the Steelers pumping him for information since, as Paul K noted here as well, there probably isn't much he can tell a guy like Dick LeBeau about some else's defense that LeBeau doesn't already know just from the film room.

The Sporting News ranked all of the position units around the league, and the Titans got lots of love: 2nd in running backs, 2nd in offensive line and the best secondary in the league.

R. J. White at the Fanhouse delivers one of the best season preview pieces you're liable to see on the interwebs.

Mark Jones = Not healthy. Maybe that had more to do with him getting cut than his see-saw performances.

This is just confusing, to me...

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.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:30:14 -0000

More photos » by Ed Andrieski - AP

3 months ago: Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels, left, talks to quarterback Tom Brandstater during a break in the action at a NFL preseason football game against the Arizona Cardinals in Denver on Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009. (AP Photo/ Ed Andrieski )

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It's a regular season Football Tuesday, friends. What could be better? Welcome to another edition of ST&NO. I didn't watch a lot of Week 4 preseason football this week, because, let's face it, most of those games feature very little play by regulars. I did get into college football though, and I did put together some thoughts toward a season preview. Without further ado, let's jump right into it. Ready......... BEGIN!!!

1. You have to love the MSM echo chamber. A couple of these guys get to saying something, and next thing you know, the (mostly uneducated) opinion of a few becomes FACT. The funniest example to me was the 2006 Draft. The evening before the big day, the Texans, who had been assumed by everybody in the media to be preparing to draft Reggie Bush first overall, announced that they had agreed to terms with Mario Williams, and would be picking the Defensive End first the next day.

The Texans got brutally hammered by the instant analysis, as you'd expect. This must be about money, the punditry said. Charley Casserly must be cheap and/or out of his mind. Why would Bob McNair even let him run this draft, when he knew he was being let go? Was Casserly trying to sabotage the team on his way out?

After one year, it was ACCEPTED FACT that the Texans had screwed up. Williams struggled a bit, like young defensive linemen usually do, and Bush showed some flashes, especially in a playoff game against the Bears. The Texans screwed up, and they should serve as a lesson to other teams who are blessed have the first overall pick, and who don't want to screw it up themselves.

A funny thing happened in 2007, though. Mario Williams turned into (and continues to be) the best Defensive End in the NFL, and Reggie Bush proved to to be an injury-prone, part-time player. You haven't heard any mea culpas from Len Pasquarelli or John Clayton, in the aftermath of this. They were sure, and they had it DEAD WRONG, and there's no acknowledgment of that fact, whatsoever. I personally think that makes them cowards, and I remember it as an example of how not to behave, when I get something wrong, which I do from time to time (but far less often than they do.)

Remember when Bill Belichick stuck with Tom Brady for the playoffs, even when Drew Bledsoe got healthy back in 2001? He got killed, until Brady won their first Super Bowl against the mighty St. Louis Rams. This happens all the time.

Fast-forward to 2009. Clayton projects that the Broncos will go 3-13 this season, and be the second worst team in the NFL, behind Detroit. Unless a New York Mets-like spate of injuries befalls the team, he is DEAD WRONG. If I am wrong, and he is right, I will man up to it publically, like I always do, but that's not going to happen. The 2009 Denver Broncos are a competitive football team, I am sure of it.

I fancy myself, among other things, to be something of a football philosopher. The following beliefs dominate my thinking about the game.

a. The most important determinant in winning or losing football games is turnovers. The second most important determinant is field position. (Turnovers get the edge, because they usually afford the opponent excellent field position, in addiiton to the ball.)

b. Successful offensive teams must be able to pass the ball in the first half to get leads in games, and run the ball in the second half to protect leads. The ability to throw is of foremost importance, though.

c. Successful defensive teams must understand item b. and be prepared to act accordingly.

d. Scoring area offense and defense are always the difference between average teams and excellent teams. At the end of the day, your offense needs to score more points than your defense allows.

This 2009 Denver Broncos team has been put together brilliantly, and it adheres very closely to the philosophy which I just laid out. Consider the following facts about the Broncos, as presently constructed:

a. Kyle Orton has a pretty good history of protecting the football, where the previous Quarterback had a history of giving the ball to the defense a lot.

b. The Broncos, in the preseason, at least, showed better punt and kick coverage outcomes than we've seen in years, the one long Devin Hester return notwithstanding.

c. Alphonso Smith didn't get to return a lot of kicks, but he looked explosive every time he touched the ball, and that's something to be excited about. We know Eddie Royal can make plays in the return game, as well.

d. This team will pass the ball very well, regardless of who is doing the throwing. The offensive line is outstanding in pass protection, and there is no better group of players catching the ball (between WR, TE, and RB) in the NFL. Trust me, the ball is going to move through the air, and a lot of teams who rely heavily on rushing the passer are going to struggle to contain the Broncos, when their guys don't get close to Orton.

e. I believe the Broncos are going to run the ball very effectively as well. We didn't get to see Knowshon Moreno much in the preseason, but he looked tremendous when we did. Peyton Hillis and Correll Buckhalter are also capable runners, and Lamont Jordan at least used to be one.

f. The defense, which was one of the worst in NFL history last season, is much improved, against both run and pass. I particularly like the physicality I see from the front 5 in the running game, and Elvis Dumervil's ability to get pressure off the offense's left edge. Robert Ayers has been steadily improving too, and it won't be long before he starts on the left side of the defense. The secondary is older, obviously, but has shown a very nice ability to cover on the outside. If we see a lot of Wesley Woodyard in for Andra Davis in second-and-long situations, this can be an above-average defense, against both run and pass.

g. The scoring-area performance is the wild card. This is an 8-8 team with average performance there, and a better team with better performance. I believe that scoring area defense will be excellent, and that scoring area offense will be above average, and improve as the season goes on.

This is an 11-5 football team, and it's one that is only going to improve as it adds more quality talent in the next few years. I put my money where my mouth is too, donating $11 to the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, on John Bena's wife's behalf. Please do the same thing, if you can, by donating $1 for every win you think the Broncos will get this season. Things have to break right for that to happen, sure, but I think they will. Forget last season, this is a totally different thing.

"Professor" John Clayton thinks that so much roster turnover is bad, but when you were terrible on one side of the ball, it's actually really good. I personally like having 8 new starters on defense, from last season. And remember, there's only 1-2 new starters on offense, depending on how RB works out. And, by the way, Clayton couldn't be a professor at The College of Wig Design and Basket Weaving. Knowledge doesn't come with looking like a complete nerd, I'm sorry. He is going to be proven wrong again, and all anybody in the MSM will say is "They came out of nowhere. Who could have possibly seen it coming?"

2. Wow, 11-5, huh? I actually went through the entire NFL schedule, and picked it game by game for all teams. It satsified my accountant's need to have the total wins equal the total losses, and it seemed more scientific than just throwing a high-level WAG (accountant-speak for Wild-Ass Guess) at each record. The following is my prediction for team records.

As I indicated, I did this game-by-game, with no thought given to what final records should end up being. For example, I thought Green Bay might have the best record in the NFC, but their schedule played out to 11-5, the way I figured it. I feel like I have the Jets, Bengals, and 49ers somewhat too low, but that's how it came out.

By the way, the Broncos five losses are to the Patriots, Giants, and Raiders at home, and the Chargers and Eagles on the road. I know a lot of people will groan at the thought of losing to Oakland at home, but let's face it, the Broncos annually lose a game they have no business losing, and I had a feeling that that would be the one. I think they can beat Baltimore and Pittsburgh, because they protect the QB, and will be strong defensively against the run. It's about matchups, in those cases. Really, I believe that the Broncos can beat any team on their schedule if they execute, and consistently do the things you need to do to win football games.

At a league-wide level, give me Pittsburgh and Indianapolis as AFC Wild Cards, and Philadelphia and Minnesota in the NFC. I'll take the Eagles to beat the Titans in the Super Bowl, as things stand today. Of course, I speculated all of this, but I think I put more time into it than most MSMers did, and I feel pretty good about the results, for the most part.

3. Some random college football thoughts, from the opening weekend:

a. Notre Dame is a lot better than I thought they were. They have a lot of speed on defense, now, and I think they're primed for a big season. Of course, as we know, anybody who ever worked under Bill Belichick is doomed to failure, but expect Charlie Weis' seat to cool considerably, because the Irish should be in a BCS bowl game this year.

b. How about BYU, beating Oklahoma? People will point to the Bradford injury, and they have a point, but the Cougar defense was fast and physical, and they won the game. BYU may have a shot to play in the National Championship game, if you look at their fairly-strong schedule, and consider the credibility that Utah gave the Mountain West Conference last season.

c. Greg Paulus is a good QB for Syracuse. He may even emerge as a decent NFL prospect, though I am not ready to call him that yet. Remember, the Packers looked at him this offseason, before he decided to go to grad school at Syracuse.

d. Florida is still definitely the team to beat, and only Alabama looks like they have a chance of doing it, in the SEC. They wouldn't see each other until the SEC Championship game, which would be a rematch of a pretty tense, close game from last December, if it happened.

e. I'd like to see USC's restocked defense against a real team. Since there aren't any on their schedule until they play California the first weeknd in October, and there are none after that, Ohio State will have to do, this weekend.

f. Big up the Naval Academy for going toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes in Columbus, which is a really tough place to play. I expect the Midshipmen to have a nice year, and play in a solid bowl game. Their QB, Ricky Dobbs, might be the best one they've ever had.

g. I don't mind beating up on ESPN from time to time, but I do give them a lot of credit for being progressive with gender roles on their broadcast teams. I watched a lot of the Syracuse-Minnesota game on Saturday, because I was curious about Paulus, and Pam Ward did a fantastic job on play-by-play. She and Ray Bentley make a very nice team, and really, they should be on some better games, instead of the terrible Mike Patrick and the just-OK Craig James.

ESPN also has Doris Burke as an analyst for men's college and pro basketball, which is even more progressive. She does a great job too, and she really knows the game, having been a coach in the past. Despite the sort of chauvinistic slant of sports media over the years, it's good to see women who have something to contribute being given the chance to do so. Here at MHR, we get outstanding contributions from women like Colorado Kitten, mhrsgirl, batgirl, Silverblood, and others, and it's great to see that happening in the broadcast media, as well.

h. I'm with SI.com's Stewart Mandel on one thing at least:

Only one weekend in, and I already want to pound my head into a wall every time I hear that Kenny Chesney snippet. Why, ESPN? Why?

I think Kenny Chesney totally sucks anyway, but usually I can just choose not to listen to him. Now, ESPN/ABC is forcing him on me. I hate this song already, like Bill Simmons quickly came to hate "Use Somebody" by Kings of Leon over a recent weekend in Vegas. You see that, Kenny? I compared your awful song to the vacuous, peppy nonsense they play in casinos to keep people smiling and playing. I'll just need to have a steady supply of minimal-damage things on hand to throw on Saturdays, I guess. Sigh. Why can't these producer types just let football be FOOTBALL? I tell you, the best telecasts are the standard Sunday afternoon NFL games on CBS, where they just have a football game.

4. Having watched a bunch of college football on Saturday, I had occasion to see several future professional QBs play. It got me thinking that there were a lot of guys playing college football right now who can be first or second round picks in the NFL Draft, and challenge for starting jobs. You always hear that all of the spread-out schemes that are being used nowadays dilute the ranks, but I really disagree. I think that kids are getting better coaching at younger ages, and it's resulting in a lot of them maximizing their natural ability. Consider the following list:

a. Sam Bradford Oklahoma Junior 2010 Draft - The leader in the clubhouse right now to be the first pick in the 2010 Draft, if his shoulder injury isn't too serious. (As of Monday night, it sounds like it isn't, in the long-term sense.) Bradford is tall and very accurate, and has an average NFL arm. I like him, but don't love him, personally.

b. Jevan Snead Ole Miss 4th year Junior 2010 Draft - Snead flashes outstanding ability as a passer, and is a pretty good athlete. He's not as experienced as the other big name guys, because this will only be his second season as a starter. (He backed up Colt McCoy at Texas as a freshman.) Snead has all the tools you look for, and somebody will draft him very high. He looked rusty on Sunday, but you can see the nice ball he throws.

c. Tim Tebow Florida Senior 2010 Draft - Tim Tebow is almost certainly going to finish up his career being known as the greatest player in college football history. A lot of MSMers say he can't play QB in the NFL. They are wrong, and I am 100% sure that time is going to prove me right. Unlike most unconventional QBs who think they're going to change the QB position in the NFL, (think Vince Young or Michael Vick,) Tebow is humble enough to let the QB position in the NFL change him. Tebow has better arm strength than any of these 2010 guys, except Snead, and he's a huge threat on the ground, as everybody knows. He is the best short yardage runner I have ever seen, and is just different than any other QB to play the game in the modern era. The downside of Tebow is a slowness in his delivery, but that's coachable, and it's being worked on by his new QB coach, Scott Loeffler. Scouts are going to come around to this, and realize that Tebow is very similar to Donovan McNabb, when he was coming out of Syracuse 10 years ago. He is from a college-only system, and needs NFL coaching, but has all the tools. The MSM will still say that he should be an H-Back, which nobody even uses in the NFL, but they're wrong. Tebow is going to be a first round pick, and he'll win championships in the NFL, because a winner is a winner.

d. Jimmy Clausen Notre Dame Junior 2010 Draft - It's kind of hard to imagine a Notre Dame QB who was a top recruit being under-the-radar, but Clausen really fits that description, due to the Irish being down in recent years. He is poised for a huge junior season, having gotten started Saturday against Nevada (15-18, 315 yards, 4 TDs.) Clausen has been coached by a pro coach, (don't forget that Charlie Weis is excellent as a QB coach) and he is the most ready to run a pro system of any of these guys. I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Clausen ends up actually being the first pick in 2010, if he measures OK at the combine. He'll leave, and Weis won't try to stop him, because he has a really good backup in Dayne Crist, waiting for his own chance.

e. Colt McCoy Texas 5th-year Senior 2010 Draft - McCoy is accurate, athletic, and has had an excellent career at Texas. His arm is the weakest of this 5 man group, he's thinly built, and I personally like him the least. He will probably shake out with a Jake Plummer or Drew Brees-like grade, and be a late first or early second rounder. If he can maximize his talent, like Plummer and Brees did, some team will have something. McCoy could also easily end up being a career backup in the NFL, though, like Kellen Clemens or Patrick Ramsey.

f. Tim Hiller Western Michigan Senior 2010 Draft - I got to watch Hiller some on Saturday against Michigan, and while he is said to be well-regarded by scouts, I didn't love him, from what I saw. He has a strong arm, and good pocket awareness, but he didn't look like a playmaker to me. I will be keeping an eye on him, as the season progresses.

g. Dan Lefevour Central Michigan Senior 2010 Draft - A highly productive run-pass player from another directional Michigan school. I like his quickness, and his ability to throw the ball is solid. Lefevour may rise into the bottom of the first round, once he gets tested at the combine, because he's just behind Tebow as an athlete, and ahead of the rest of the 2010 guys.

h. Terrelle Pryor Ohio State Sophomore 2011 Draft - This guy is going to be the first pick in the 2011 Draft, and you can almost write it in ink now. He can throw it, and run it, and he's not a spread guy. He plays under center a lot at OSU, in a pro-ish scheme. There's never been a 6-6 guy who is so fast and fuid with the ball, and he can really fire it down the field, with both strength and accuracy.

i. Jake Locker Washington Junior 2011 Draft - Locker is another first round lock, if he waits until 2011. He's a junior, but he missed most of last season, so he'd probably be best served to do so. He has a fantastic arm, and excellent athleticism. He's also going to get excellent coaching from Steve Sarkisian, and I expect big things from him.

j. Ryan Mallett Arkansas Third-Year Sophomore 2011 Draft - Mallett started a lot of games as a freshman at Michigan, and transferred to Arkansas when Rich Rodriguez brought in his option offense. Mallett is 6-7 and 238 pounds, and is a prototype NFL thrower. Nobody thinks much of Bobby Petrino as a man in the NFL, but everybody remembers that he can coach the hell out of the QB position, though.

k. Matt Barkley USC Freshman 2012 Draft - Will probably be the first pick in 2012. Barkley is the first true freshman to start at QB for USC in more than 30 years, and he looks like the real deal already.

l. Dayne Crist Notre Dame Sophomore 2012 Draft - He played some snaps on Saturday, and completed both throws he attempted. He has all the ability, and will get the benefit of outstanding coaching from Weis. He's eventually a first round pick, after starting for 2 years once Clausen leaves.

m. John Brantley Florida Third-Year Sophomore 2012 Draft - Brantley is much more of a Pro-style prospect than Tebow, and he projects very well to the NFL. He'll have the same college system concerns, but he's a good-sized player who can throw the ball with strength and accuracy. After 2 years as a starter, he'll be well-regarded by NFL scouts.

That's 13 guys playing college football right now, and probably 10-11 will be first round picks in the next 3 years. Are there 13 current NFL starters who are on their way out during that time? You'd have to say the answer is yes, because the talent replenishes itself. You can make a case for some other guys emerging as prospects, like Zac Robinson, Jonathan Crompton, Jacory Harris, Christian Ponder, Greg Paulus, Greg McElroy, Kevin Riley, Aaron Murray, Zach Mettenberger, Tom Savage, and Tate Forcier too. There is plenty of talent on the way in the next 3 years.

5. Welcome back, Brandon Marshall. Now, don't screw it up. Really, it's pretty simple with Marshall at this point. He needs to swallow his pride, work hard, and produce at a high level on the field, while staying out of trouble off of it. It is the only way he is going to get what he wants, be it from the Broncos or another team. Since I am not the arbiter of what is right and wrong, I am happy with him if he plays well and helps the team win. Hopefully, he can do that, because he'll be a Bronco all year, that much is clear.

6. Speaking of people who have been alleged to assault their girlfriends, we should all remember that we weren't there when whatever happened, happened, between Shawne Merriman and Tila Tequila. If he's guilty, I hope justice is done, at both the NFL level, and the judicial level. We just can't know whether he is or not, until a judge and jury say so, so please resist the temptation to gloat or moralize about it. It will work itself out, with or without any of us paying attention to it. Remember that each of us would appreciate the presumption of innocence, until proven guilty, if we were accused of a crime.

The same obviously goes for RIchard Quinn, who got arrested Monday, and spent the night in jail.

7. Retired for John Elway

8. Really interesting stuff going on with Offensive Coordinators getting canned lately, on the eve of the season.

a. First, Chan Gailey got whacked in Kansas City. The surprise was that Todd Haley kept him from the previous staff in the first place, not that he got fired. Haley wants to call the plays, and now, it seems that he'll get a chance to do so. It's clear that Scott Pioli is in charge in Kansas City, so the timing of the decision strikes me as a little strange.

b. Jeff Jagodzinski being canned in Tampa Bay was also interesting. Have you ever heard of an Offensive Coordinator delegating the play-calling to a position coach (RB coach Steve Logan, who was his corrdinator at Boston College)? It's bizarre, almost like Jagodzinski thought he was the head coach. It's clear that Raheem Morris didn't quite know what he was getting with Jagodzinski, and he acted decisively to correct a mistake from the past. Morris and GM Mark Domenik, two young guys, have been getting beat up in the MSM for this, but correcting a mistake is always better than living with one to avoid criticism. It shows me that Morris has strength in his convictions, an essential character trait for success as a head coach. A LOT of people, in all professions, stick with mistakes rather than admitting making them, and cutting their losses, which is always the right thing to do. Now, Morris will just have to get better at interviewing assistants, but that comes with experience. I'm not particularly high on Tampa's chances this season, but I think they and Morris have a bright future, once they get some more talent in there.

As for Jagodzinski, he might be out of work for awhile. He left Boston College, on bad terms, because he wanted to get back into the NFL. Now, the NFL found him to be lacking as a coordinator, so where does he go? He could maybe be an NFL Tight Ends coach again, like was at Green Bay. More likely, he tries to get back into the college ranks after this season, and lands somewhere less prestigious than BC.

c. The most Jerry Springer-ish divorce comes from Buffalo, where Dick Jauron let Turk Schonert go this week. Schonert claims that Jauron wanted a Pop Warner offense, and handcuffed his ability to be successful, by limiting the number of formations and plays he could use. Going public with that stuff is juicy for the fans, but may get him black-balled for awhile in the NFL. Look for Schonert to possibly re-materialize in college next season.

9. This is going to sound contrarian, but I actually like the Raiders trading for Richard Seymour. Even at Silver and Black Pride, SBNation's Raiders blog, the opinions are wildly mixed.

Only 42% like it there, so why do I? I doubt anybody in Oakland is thinking really far ahead, because if Michael Lombardi is to be believed, only Al Davis does any thinking that counts there. The long-term is why I like the move, however. To get there, I will start with the here-and-now, though.

In the last 6 years, the Raiders have selected Robert Gallery (2nd), Michael Huff (7th), JaMarcus Russell (1st), Darren McFadden (4th), and Darrius Heyward-Bey (7th.) They paid huge money for these players, and have gotten minimal Return On Investment. Their salary structure dictates that they quit making Top 10 picks, because with a salary cap, (and with the small-market economic reality of Oakland, even absent a cap,) they can't build a team full of those high-priced guys.

Seymour comes to Oakland, with a chance to help them be more competitive than they've been in recent years. That would get them out of the Top 10 business, anyway. He'll personally be motivated to produce at a high level, because he's in a contract year. The Raiders can franchise him after the season, they could overpay to keep him, or they could let him walk, and get a pretty sure 3rd round compensatory pick for him.

As for the price Oakland paid, it sounds steep, but remember that you have to discount the pick one round per year of waiting for it. That makes it worth a 3rd rounder in today's dollars, and it also prevents the Raiders from having to exercise another high pick in 2011, if their efforts to improve fail.

So, you get a chance to be better this year and for the next few years, with at least a 3rd rounder coming back, for the price of a 3rd rounder today. That makes sense to me, for the Raiders. (Admittedly, it would make less sense for the Broncos.)

I like Oakland making a move to be better now, because they've sure been terrible and irrelevant for a long time now, and what they've been doing just hasn't been working.

That's all I've got for now, but I'll be working on Lighting Up The Scoreboard, to run on Friday night, for the Bengals game. Have a great week, friends, and let's get fired up for some regular season Broncos football.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Can't Leave Well Enough Alone Edition

August West — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:42:29 -0000

More photos » by David Richard - AP

Raise your hand if you were also cussing at the screen when this play happened.

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Tonight's Dateline on NBC (airing at 9:00 CT) will focus on the murder of Steve McNair (the promo is on the right side of the page). There's almost no way this ends in a way that adds a damn thing positive to Steve's legacy. It'd be nice to think they could just leave well enough alone, but that's not the day and age we live in.

VY is guaranteed the no.2 spot on the depth chart despite generally erratic play in the preseason.

We all know Mark Jones' debut on Saturday was a major disappointment, but he's guaranteed to have at least the Green Bay game to show some of the skills that we signed him for.

Follow us through the link to find out if VY's fortune spells out Ramsey's doom...

Fisher sounds like he wants to keep Ramsey around as well, meaning it's yet another position group where we'd have a stretch of personnel. The 53 man roster cuts are going to be spicy.

Terry McCormick writes about how the Titans are using last season's disappointing end to fuel a more successful run this year.

Paul K has some notes from the game last Saturday including one that I didn't notice on TV:

Cornerback Cortland Finnegan worked on the left instead of his usual spot on the right, getting some work in case the Titans need to shuffle or for an occasion when he might draw a particular receiver and have to follow him over there.

Since Cort is clearly the no.1 CB, it's great to see the team try to get him used to both sides of the field, that way teams can't just shuffle their top WR's positioning to get away from him.

Yahoo! delivers some notes on the AFC South after the next to last preseason contest.

Supplemental Titans Training Camp Report For 8/11/09

August West — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:05:34 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

This image is enough to make QBs wet the bed at night.

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Let me start this by pointing out the fact that Hal has been killing the professionals when it comes to training camp practice reports. His stuff is easily better than we've gotten from local or national media on the other side of the fence. It's almost like he knows the roster, football fundamentals and pays attention the whole time (go watch a camp practice and take note of the media schmoozing... then you'll see what I mean).

I've had the last few days off work, so the soon-to-be Mrs. West and I decided to check out Tuesday's open practice session. This was my first full session this year after last week's evening practice was a bust. I was looking for Hal out there, but we must have just missed each other. I'm guessing got there on time, which means he got a better spot than mine (which was perched behind Hope Hines, at whom I was tempted to mumble insults under my breath).

Now, just to clarify, these aren't judgements made from long trends nurtured over extended evaluation throughout this camp. They're a compilation of what I already know about these guys and what I saw on this particular day.

Here are the things that stood out to me:

• Lets get this one out of the way: Vince Young looked bad. Epicly bad. He botched an option pitch, that's how bad he looked. I didn't see him even attempt a pass beyond 15 yards, and he didn't complete many that were more than 5 yards away. He looked unsure of the offense and didn't go through his progressions across the field. I never saw him scan from right to left, and I never saw him look off a DB. On at least two occasions he committed the most boneheaded thing bad QBs do: he pump faked at a receiver who was open (or at least open enough), didn't look away, then threw at the same receiver after the coverage had gotten into position. This resulted in multiple INTs. His footwork looked better than I'd seen it so far, but it still lacks consistency. He was also holding the ball for a few ticks too long.

All in all, Vince can't expect to start anytime soon with performances like that.

Follow me through the jump to find out which QB looked worse than Young yesterday...

• Vince's poor performance was one-upped by that of Patrick Ramsey. Ramsey was off the mark all day in a performance that certainly didn't inspire any confidence. The lesson I took away? Kerry better stay healthy.

• Kerry Collins looked good leading the first team offense all day. He sprayed passes all over the field with excellent zip and accuracy, and had completions to pretty much every available receiver as practice moved on. He also looked in even better shape than last year. You could tell pretty quickly that the team responds to his leadership in the two minute drill.

• During the sprints at the end of practice, LenDale made it a point to finish first when the RB group had to go. None of the backs were going 100%, so I appreciated the effort from Smash.

• The WRs were miles ahead of the atrocious display we had to watch last year. Nate Washington made some great moves after the catch, and he's definitely as quick as he is fast. Kenny Britt is bigger than I expected, caught the ball with his hands like a natural (this is much less common in rookies than most people think) and he got off the jam with ease thanks to good technique and tremendous arm strength.

• If Jared Cook can block a LB or DE for three seconds more often than not, there's no way they can keep him off the field. After being leery at first of trading a second round pick for him, I now fully endorse that move.

• The outrageous depth on the defensive line made the second team offensive line look rough at times. They did a nice job giving VY a pocket to step into, but you could quickly tell which unit was deeper when the ball wasn't in the air after four seconds. Still, for these mostly reserve O-lineman to mostly hold their own against D-lineman who will see heavy playing time was a good sign to me.

• HOF Game hero A.J. Trapasso punted during the special teams portion of practice. He showed some solid leg strength and very good hang time. He's absolutely a solid back-up plan should Craig Hentrich's back problems worsen, but he isn't beating out Craig anytime soon.

• Chris Henry is a cut man walking. He dropped a few catchable passes, missed holes and ran away from space on multiple occasions. Put it this way: the first thing I saw after I got settled in was RB coach Ernest Byner making Henry do push-ups as punishment.

• Boom King looks pissed and healthy. That makes me very, very happy.

• Stanford Keglar might end up being the steal from last year's draft. He has popped up consistently with impressive plays in various practice reports and he had some nice ones yesterday. The things he brings that I like the most are that he closes quickly, has great size and plays the pass just as sharply as he does the run. He cut his teeth on special teams last year (which is a biggie with this coaching staff) and could unseat Tulloch as the primary back-up on the weak side should KB go down.

• I felt a little better about the CB depth after watching solid, if unspectacular, play from Mouton, Faggins and Cary Williams. All I needed to see was that they had the speed and didn't look totally lost out there.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: We Do Have Players Other Than Vince Young Edition

August West — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:32:49 -0000

More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP

Chris Johnson's dreads are out of control...

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Jim Wyatt talks with Fisher about competition for the number two spot on the depth chart, and the prospect of Vince getting a start during this preseason.

Patrick Ramsey showed he's no wash-out on Sunday night, but he's got a ways to go before I'm impressed. Still, you have to feel better about him than you have some of our previous third string guys (I'm looking at you, Tim Rattay)

People are concerned about the 'sluggish' run game on Sunday just because... they need something to talk about. Trying to discern trends from that performance is as useless as saying that it looks like we won't punt the ball on most 4th downs this year because of the fake. This was pre-pre-season, and not to be watched that closely.

Well, at least he didn't stomp it...

Follow us through the jump to figure-out if Chris Johnson missed the bus or not.

Chris Johnson missed a team bus because of his gold teeth? This doesn't make sense...

Everyone around this team is raving about Jared Cook and his highlight reel catches almost every time he hits the field. When 'Diger says you could compare to Shannon Sharpe, whom he once coached, you know you could be something special with the right focus and a few good breaks.

Yahoo! does a great job chronicling our years-long quest to get a big-framed receiver who can scoot down the field and make some big plays; failed attempts included Calico, Troupe and the truly horrible Mike Williams.

If this quote alone doesn't make you click on this link to Football Outsiders, then you're not much of a football fan by most accounts:

[Dan] Marino is the NFL's all-time comeback king, not Elway.

Is your NFL fan experience missing some mindless minutia? The CBSSportsline.com has just the cure...

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: This Wouldn't Have Happened On Howard Cosell's Watch Edition

August West — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 13:56:51 -0000

More photos » by David Richard - AP

Almost as good as seeing the Titans return last night was seeing Fisher's Elaine Benice kick dance celebration make a triumphant appearance!

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Paul Kuharsky has a slew of posts on the Titans, Alge's weight, Nickey's in-poor-taste headshot and VY's chance to change his reputation.

Jim Wyatt weighs in on Vince Young's mixed bag of a performance last night (horrible INT, beautiful lob into the end zone) and looks at Kerry Collins and Patrick Ramsey as well.

Maybe I'm alone on this one, but last night turning into a Tony Dungy interview with the Titans game going on in the background annoyed the bajeezus out of me. Then he starts shilling for that degenerate dog killer/gambler, and I was done. Dungy was a great coach, and by most accounts a pretty good guy (and I understand that goes up a bump if you're into the religious thing), but why do I have to hear more from the man after he's retired? I mean if NBC is dead set on doing an in-booth interview why wouldn't you line-up a few of the new members of the Hall of Fame instead of a recently retired coach?

Follow us through the jump to find-out why Ben Roethlisberger isn't liked in his own locker room...

Here's a big ole' FAIL for those who thought Kerry was going to be terrible this year simply because he was so solid last year. Kerry looked even more comfortable driving the offense last night, which should take a little pressure off of a defense that was letting the Bills drive down the field.

For those who didn't catch it or just want to see it again, here's video of the fake punt and touchdown run by A.J. Trapasso from last night. I loved that call because teams will fear our special teams trickeration all season now, even if we don't call another fake this year.

Houston folks still not liking our boys wearing the throwback unis.

In my favorite blind item round-up, via PFW, sources within the Steelers locker room say Ben Roethlisberger is not a popular guy at all and is seen as 'arrogant and lazy'.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Please Hammy, Don't Hurt 'Em Edition

August West — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:56:38 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Alex Mortensen (far left) is still enjoying his time at NFL fantasy camp. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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Lavelle Hawkins certainly didn't earn any more playing time at Jeff Fisher's Celebrity softball game last Saturday:

-Current Titans receiver Lavelle Hawkins was named the Least Valuable Player. At one point, Fisher had Hawkins fake an injury in a bases-loaded situation for his team so he could have former Titan quarterback Steve McNair come up to bat.

Also, if anyone knows who was heckling VY at a damn charity softball game, please smack them in the back of the head for me. You're classier than that Titans fans.

Kenny Britt 'tweaked' his hamstring in OTAs once again... this better not be a preview of things to come.
Kevin Mawae's recovery from off-season elbow surgery has actually been a boon for our O-line unit: it means LeRoy Harris has gotten to go through the entire off-season working as the starting center. So, if anything happens to the captain, Harris will be more prepared than ever to step in, have the respect of the huddle, and make the blitz adjustments on the line than ever before. That's big because Terry McCormick is right: if we're getting to Miami this year, we're getting there on the backs of our big O-line.

DE Jevon Kearse is looking improve upon his 3.5 sack performance last year, and hopes that his legs are a little healthier this year than last year.

Meanwhile second year player William Hayes is looking for a break-out year, and even set the lofty goal of a double digit sack total. Hayes is probably the wildcard in our DE rotation: if he has a year like Jacob Ford had last year you can pretty well bet that means we have the sickest, deepest D-Line unit in the league... which is a huge advantage late in games and over the course of a full season.

This towel stuff just keeps on coming back around.

Patrick Ramsey didn't sign with the Titans to become the no. 3 guys, and he's pushing VY with everything he has to make himself the back-up.

A statistical measure for which game was more exciting? It's a nice thought anyways, but I'm not buying that or their list of the most exciting Titans games.

Travis Henry may be the father of two more kids: twins in Florida. He might as well be gunning for some record now.

So if you and your brother were mega-NFL stars who already had championships, boat loads of money and were at the peak of your worldwide influence, you could probably pull some strings to see some amazing shows right? Well who did the Manning brothers use their tremendous pull to see? Better Than Ezra. Somehow I can just hear them bother doing that weird noise-sing thing their lead singer does compulsively ('aww- haw' does not count as a lyric).

Now that the slower period of the off-season is upon us your help in finding out of the way Titans stories is more important than ever. If you have a link you'd like to submit for tomorrow's Morning Links email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com! (Be sure to include your commenting handle so I can give you glowing, semi-anonymous credit.)

Is Washington Redskins' Vinny Cerrato a Watered-down Matt Millen? (Comparison Chart)

KevinE — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:53:02 -0000

I recently came across a Washington Post article from 2005, where Mike Wise spoke with Vinny Cerrato about his worst decisions and lessons learned:

"Biggest regret? Probably in 2000, signing all those older guys," Cerrato said. "I learned you can't put a lot of signing bonuses on veteran players cause they're not going to play out those years. That was a mistake I made and learned from. Bruce Smith, Deion and Mark Carrier were the big ones...Now, we try to avoid dead money, money that counts against your cap and doesn't go to anybody."

(The Redskins are among NFL leaders with $16 million of their 2005 salary cap devoted to players no longer on the roster).

This is pure comedy. Fast forward four years to today and the Redskins are almost exactly at $16 million in dead cap money (Brandon Lloyd leading the charge at $5mil+). In my opinion, Cerrato correctly fixed the problem with signing veterans past their prime, but we certainly have not fixed the problem of building through the draft. It's the blue-print every Super Bowl team has, yet the Redskins front office chooses to go the George Steinbrenner route. Assuming Washington doesn't lose a draft pick for the Haynesworth tampering, the Redskins will have all their 2010 draft picks (minus the 6^th round pick due to the Jason Taylor acquisition). Not bad! Let's just pray the Skins stay healthy so the trigger happy front office doesn't unload them for more free agents.

Even today, the distaste for Cerrato in DC is quite high, so that got me thinking (it is known to happen), how many similarities does Cerrato have with Matt Millen, arguably the worst GM of all time? Here's my findings:

Matt Millen		Vinny Cerrato
	loves to draft WRs in the first 2 rounds¹
	has drafted only bust QBs²
	passed on Demarcus Ware & Shawn Merriman in the 2005 draft³
	had/has a website lobbying to getting that person fired
	supported by the owner but none of the fans
	under .459 total win percentage in tenure
	less than 1 year as an ESPN analyst
	given extension/promotion despite not making the playoffs
	has a Super Bowl ring with the Redskins
	fired by potential future Hall of Fame coach⁴
	demoted draft day decision-making by Hall of Fame coach⁵
	had a losing record in his collegiate playing career
	has cool, Chuck Norris-esque mustache

1	Calvin Johnson, Mike Williams, Roy Williams, Charles Rogers <---> Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, Fred Davis, Taylor Jacobs
2	Joey Harrington, Drew Stanton <---> Patrick Ramsey, Todd Husak, Sage Rosenfels, Jordan Palmer
3	Joe Gibbs was running the show this year so Cerrato cannot take all, if any, of the blame. We'll dole this one out to the Skins as a whole (although Cerrato did take some credit for the Sean Taylor pick, which I thought was all Gregg Williams).
4	Marty Schottenheimer
5	Joe Gibbs

I couldn't find much on Cerrato's times at Notre Dame when they won the championship, though Dan Steinberg uncovered a gem, which led the NCAA to add a rule named, the "Vinny Cerrato Rule."

Cerrato's resume included a stint as chief recruiter for Lou Holtz at Notre Dame, where he'd gained notoriety for impressing prospective recruits by standing on the Notre Dame sideline during televised games feeding them play calls in advance via cell phone--a tactic the NCAA later banned with a special "Vinny Cerrato rule."

I guess when it comes to tampering, the Redskins' front office know how to safely tip-toe around the boundaries!!

"They were all watching the game," Cerrato said. "I knew they would be. So I called their houses all over the country, and I said: 'This is Vinny Cerrato from Notre Dame. I'm on the sidelines at the Orange Bowl. You watching?' And then I'd tell them what the next play was going to be."

State of the Tennessee Titans Roster: Quarterback

Jimmy — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:32:39 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Hey Dinger, Why doesn't SuperHorn think I am good? (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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Over the next few weeks we will be taking a look at the State of the Titans Roster as we head into training camp (which right now seems like a million years away). We will start today with everyone's favorite topic, the quarterbacks. I am starting with this one mainly because I want to get it over with.

Kerry Collins proved last year that he is exactly the type of quarterback this team needs.

He takes care of the ball- He only threw 7 picks last season and only fumbled 5 times (only lost 1).
Gets rid of the ball on time- Collins was only sacked 8 times in 2008. Obviously a lot of that has to do with the offensive line, but Vince was sacked 25 times in 2007 behind a very similar line.
Throws it to where the receivers are going- How many times in 2007 did we a receiver break one way and Vince Young throw the ball the other way? At the time we had no idea if it was VY's fault or the receivers. That question was answered when we saw how few times it happened with Collins behind center.
Can win a game when the other team decides to sell out to stop the run- There was a stretch of games last season against the Colts, Packers and Bears where Collins threw the ball 37+ times in a win. The biggest question in my mind about Collins was if he still had the ability to win a game with his arm. He answered that loud and clear. (Not to mention the game which shall not be mentioned where he led the team down the field on a couple of different occasions that ended in disaster that was no fault of his own)

Vince Young is "doing all the right things" this offseason. If you have read this site ever, you realize that people have very different opinions on the future of VY with the Titans. I am still of the belief that barring an injury to Collins, VY coming in a playing really, really well, 2009 will be his last season in the two-toned blue. Only time will tell.

Patrick Ramsey seems to be another one of these project guys they bring in to see if there is anything there. I don't think Chris Simms has much of a future in this league, and I think Ramsey has even less. They will never actually put Ramsey ahead of VY on the depth chart, but don't be surprised if there is an open competition in a week where Collins might not play because of injury.

I have nothing to say about Alex Mortensen for obvious reasons.

As long as Collins stays healthy, quarterback is one of the strengths of this roster. If he misses any significant amount of time it would be a scary free for all, and that could spell trouble of the '09 version of the Tennessee Titans.