SB Nation - Cortland Finnegan

MCM's Tennessee Titans Team of the Decade

Jimmy — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:06:16 -0000

I made the team!! (AP Photo/Dave Einsel)

We are continuing our "of the decade" series today with the Titans team of the decade. This list was compiled by August, Hal, Gramsey, and me. It was a fun exercise. Some of the selections were no brainers that were easily agreed on by all parties, but there were a few that were hotly debated.

The team and some comments on it after the jump.

OFFENSE

QB- Steve McNair
RB- Chris Johnson
FB- Lorenzo Neal
WR- Derrick Mason
WR- Drew Bennett
TE- Frank Wycheck
OT- Brad Hopkins
OT- Michael Roos
OG- Bruce Matthews
OG- Zach Piller
C- Kevin Mawae

DEFENSE

DE- Jevon Kearse
DE- Kyle Vanden Bosch
DT- Kevin Carter
DT- Albert Haynesworth
LB- Keith Bulluck
LB- David Thornton
LB- Randall Godfrey
CB- Samari Rolle
CB- Cortland Finnegan
S- Chris Hope
S- Michael Griffin

SPECIAL TEAMS

K- Rob Bironas
P- Craig Hentrich
RS- Derrick Mason
LS- Ken Amato

A few thoughts:

The first debate we really had was between CJ and Eddie George. It seems somewhat blasphemous to keep Eddie off the team, but you can't include 1999 and without that CJ's numbers in 2 years are more impressive.
We all wanted to come up with a way not to put Drew Bennett on the team because all any of us can think of when we think of Drew is the drop in New England, but when you look at the numbers he had to be there.
Gramsey wants Sarge over Lorenzo, but the thing that gave Lorenzo the nod for the rest of us was the decline in Eddie's career when he left.
Everything else offensively is pretty much a no-brainer.
We cheated a little bit on the defensive line putting Carter in there at tackle. He did play some tackle in his time here, but it really came down to the fact that those four guys are the four that it had to be. Who else would you put at tackle? Tony Brown was close, but Carter's numbers were so good that it was justifiable.
Linebacker was a little bit of a debate between Randall Godfrey and Peter Sirmon, but Godfrey was more dominating so he got the nod.
The safety positions might have taken us the longest. Blaine Bishop was the first thought in everyone's head, but when you look at the numbers from this decade his aren't that good. Griff would have made it a lot easier on us had he not gone in the tank this year, but his season last year was better than any season posted by a safety in the last 10 years- ergo he makes the list.
The returner debate is still going on between the four of us as I am writing this post. The numbers are close enough that I can put Mason on the list and not feel bad about it. Gramsey and Hal are all about he who shall not be named. He was electric, but he only did it for 2 seasons. That is how I am justifying leaving him off. Gramsey says I will close the comments so no one can prove me wrong. He doesn't have that "Hater" title for nothing. Have at it..

Nice To Be On The Other End Of A Blow Out - Photos From The Titans - St. Louis Rams Game

Titanfan — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:11:47 -0000

When the Patriots clobbered the Titans by 59 points it didn't look like there was anyone out there that the Titans could beat. So even though the Rams were coming in with a 1-11 record I still had my apprehensions about this game. I'm glad that it didn't take long for those fears to be put to rest. It's been a roller coaster of a season with lots of highs and lows and after the Colts provided the low of not winning out this game provided lots of high marks. They are still in the playoff picture and that's a pretty remarkable feat to be able to say in December after the September and October they had. They just keep coming on.

More pics after the jump.

The first offensive play for the Titans was this 31 yard completion to Kenny Britt.

66 yards later Chris Johnson took this five yard pass for a touchdown.

Vince Young pulled up after gaining 44 yards on this run with a strained hamstring muscle. He was on his way to having a big day until that happened.

Insert Kerry Collins and the Titans keep moving.

Chris Johnson almost gave me a Heisman pose here. Stick that arm out and it'd be perfect.

Keith Bulluck and the Titans Defense held the second leading rusher in the NFL to 47 yards. Bulluck had 2 interceptions and 10 tackles in the game.

A huge Defensive performance by the Titans. Cortland Finnegan high stepping after the first of his two interceptions.

Steven Jackson is a huge individual.

The high point for St. Louis was this fake punt for 51 yards.

Alge Crumpler scored his first TD in Nashville since joining the team last year. He's had a tradition of seeking out a youngster in the stands and giving them the ball after scoring. So that was the first time Alge had been able to do that in Nashville. I headed for home shortly after this and just as I got out the gate Vinny Fuller intercepted a pass and ran it right towards my seat for a 45 yard TD. That probably would have made for my best photo of the day. (still kicking myself)

Miami comes in here Sunday in a make or break game for either team to maintain playoff hopes. It don't get any better than playoff atmosphere. I'm looking forward to it.

Dolphins vs Titans: Three Key Matchups

Matty I — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:15:08 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

Most important part of Sunday's game: containing this man.

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It's time to turn our attention to Sunday's game in Tennessee between the Dolphins and Titans. For the third consecutive week, the Dolphins will play in what is essentially another "playoff game" - meaning a loss and their season could be over. A win and they live to play another meaningful December football game the following week. After the rough start that Miami went through, this is all we could ask for.

The Titans also had their own rough start but have battled back themselves, recovering from an 0-6 start to win six of seven and get back into the playoff picture. Their lone loss in their last seven came at the hands of the undefeated Colts. Needless to say, this one promises to be a battle.

Onto my weekly critical matchups:

Chris Johnson vs Dolphins rush defense
This is obviously a no-brainer. If the Dolphins are to win this game, then they must find a way to slow down the most dangerous runner in the NFL. Chris Johnson leads the NFL in rushing yards, over 300 yards in front of the second ranked rusher. He's run for over 100 yards in eight consecutive games and has his sights set on a 2,000 yard season. And his 6 yards per carry average is tops among all backs with at least 100 carries. He's simply a dynamic play-maker who has 20 runs of 20+ yards this season and 7 of 40+ yards and is a threat to score every time he gets his hands on the football.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, have done a much better job over the past few weeks in stopping the run. They held the Patriots to just 96 yards rushing and 3.8 yards per carry. Then last week, Miami limited Maurice Jones-Drew to just 59 yards and 3.3 yards per carry. Impressive, for sure - especially for limiting MJD like they did. But this unit has not faced a back as fast and elusive as Chris Johnson. And outside of MJD, the most talented runner the Dolphins have faced this season, DeAngelo Williams, ran for 122 yards on just 13 carries against this defense.

Needless to say, the Dolphins most focus this week on limiting Johnson's impact on this football game.

Dolphin receivers vs Titans Secondary
While the Titans will look to run the ball on Sunday, I have a feeling that the Dolphins' game plan will be to throw. The Titans are seventh in the league defending the run but 31st defending the pass. Now part of that is because Tennessee has had to play some games without starting corners Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper. But still, with both of those guys in the lineup, Matt Leinart was able to complete 68% of his passes for 220 yards.

On the season, the Titans are allowing over 258 yards per game through the air and have surrendered 27 touchdown passes - the second highest total in the league, just two fewer than the Lions. But one of my favorite pass defense statistics is even more telling. The Titans are letting over 67% of the passes thrown against them get completed. And don't let a Titans fan tell you this is because of the injuries they've sustained in 2009. Finnegan is allowing 64% of the passes thrown his way get completed while Harper's completion percentage against is a staggering 73.3%. In fact, opposing quarterbacks have a rating of 115 when throwing in Nick Harper's direction.

The Dolphins, meanwhile, have really been looking to throw the football more often these past two weeks. Chad Henne is completing 62% of his pass attempts over these last two weeks and is averaging 278 yards in that span. Miami's receivers have been the key. Henne has had places to throw the football and his receivers have been consistent catching the football. In these last two games, the Dolphins have had two different 100 yard receivers - Davone Bess against the Pats and Greg Camarillo last week in Jacksonville.

For all of their faults, one thing you can say about this group of receivers is that they have a number of reliable targets. And I think the Dolphins will be able to exploit Tennessee's nickel corner. Whether it's Vincent Fuller or Jason McCourty, the Dolphins should get a favorable matchup against either - or both - of these two. Fuller has allowed 83% of the passes thrown his way to get completed while McCourty has let 89% get completed for an average of ober 14 yards per reception.

This is one matchup the Dolphins have got to exploit.

Ted Ginn vs Titans kick coverage
Here's a little "did you know." Did you know that Ted Ginn Jr. leads the AFC in yards per kick return, averaging 28 yards per attempt? Did you know that no player has more kickoff returns for a touchdown this season than Ginn - and only one player has as many? Did you know that Ginn is fourth in the AFC in kickoff returns of over 20 yards and second in the AFC in returns of 40+ yards? In fact, 72% of Teddy's returns result in at least 20 yards - the same percentage as "return star" Josh Cribbs. And only one player has more 40+ yard kick returns in the AFC than Ginn.

Meanwhile, the Titans are one of the worst teams in the league in kickoff coverage, surrendering 25 yards per kickoff return - the third most in the entire league. And with only 9% of Tennessee's kickoffs resulting in touchbacks, Ginn figures to have some opportunities to make plays on Sunday.

So how about it? Can we see something special out of one of the most polarizing players on this Miami roster?

Rams 7 Titans 47 Quick Recap

smashville — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:53:02 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

6 days ago: Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson (28) celebrates with teammate Nate Washington (85) after running for a 39-yard touchdown against the St. Louis Rams in the first quarter of an NFL football game on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2009, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Russell)

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Final - 12.13.2009	1	2	3	4	Total
St. Louis Rams	0	0	0	7	7
Tennessee Titans	14	9	10	14	47

Complete Coverage >

Despite Vince Young going down in the second quarter to a hamstring injury, the Titans still managed to blowout the Rams to move to 6-7 this year. This was the first time we have won by 40+ points since October 18, 1998, when we were still the Tennessee Oilers.

The defense managed to get five interceptions, two each from Keith Bulluck and Cortland Finnegan, and one from Vincent Fuller. The only disappointing thing about this game besides Young's injury was that Chris Johnson went farther off the pace to break Eric Dickerson's record by gaining only 117 yards. This game proved that CJ really does need VY.

Join August and Jimmy for MCM Radio tonight at 9 central by clicking here.

The Top Ten Best Tennessee Titans Draft Picks of the Decade

Jimmy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:00:21 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Cortland Finnegan celebrates being named by MCM as the Titans top draft pick of the decade. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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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 start with the top 10 draft picks of the decade. Here is how this list was compiled- August, gramsey 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 three 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.

So without further adieu I present the top 10 draft picks of the decade:

1. Cortland Finnegan, CB, Samford (2006, Round 7, pick #215 overall)

Obviously this pick came down to Finny and Chris Johnson, but when you look at the fact that the Titans were able to draft and franchise corner, or as gramsey puts it "The best corner to ever wear Titan blue, and that includes Samari Rolle," in the seventh round, Finnegan gets the nod.

2. Chris Johnson, RB, East Carolina (2008, Round 1, pick #24 overall)

He is the best running back in the league. ‘Nuff said.

3. Keith Bulluck, LB, Syracuse (2000, Round 1, pick #30 overall)

You obviously expect big things out of every first round pick, and KBull has provided those big things and so much more. He has been the heart and soul of this defense for a long time. Interesting story on this pick is that the Titans had planned on taking Deon Grant here because they never dreamed Bulluck would fall to them. Looks like they ended up on the better side of that one.

T-4. Robaire Smith, DE/DT, Michigan State (2000, Round 6, pick #197 overall)

August thinks Robaire is overrated. That may be the case, but the Titans got waaay more than they ever could have expected out of a guy they took at #197. This was another testament to pretty much the only thing Floyd Reese was good at besides backloading contracts and early round busts (more on that tomorrow), finding diamonds in the rough.

T-4. David Stewart, OT, Mississippi State (2005, Round 4, pick #113 overall)

The credit here goes to Mike Munchak as much as anyone, but that doesn't change the fact that the Titans got book-end offensive tackles in the same draft. The only thing that gets Big Country the nod over the next guy on the list is that he was selected two rounds and 72 picks later.

6. Michael Roos, OT, Eastern Washigton (2005, Round 2, pick #41 overall)

Roos is a Pro Bowl left tackle. That is a win no matter where they are selected, but it is even more impressive to get one in the second round.

7. Bo Scaife, TE, Texas (2005, Round 6, pick #179 overall)

2005 was a good draft for the Titans. I have been critical of Scaife in the past, but that by no means takes away the successes he has had in this league after waiting until the 6^th round to come off the board. I wonder how many sixth round picks have ever been given the franchise tag..

8. Stephen Tulloch, LB, NC State (2006 Round 4, pick #116 overall)

The Titans drafted three linebackers in the 2006 draft, and Tulloch has been the only one to stick. Tulloch has proved to be a vital member of this defense as he is currently the starting middle linebacker but has also played both outside linebacker positions in his tenure with the Titans.

9. Eugene Amano, C, SE Missouri State (2004, Round 7, pick #239 overall)

We had a little trouble forgiving Pinoy's boy for his transgression on Sunday to add him to this list, but it is impossible to ignore a guy that is a starting offensive lineman selected in the seventh round. Amano highlights two things about the draft strengths of the Titans- 1. they are good at picking offensive lineman and 2. they are good at finding good players from small schools.

10. Vincent Fuller, DB, Virginia Tech (2005, Round 4, pick #108 overall)

Vinny is yet another gem from the 2005 class. Fuller has held down the nickel back job for a couple of years now, and we all saw how valuable he was when he missed a few weeks earlier this year with a broken forearm.

Others receiving votes: William Hayes (2008, round 4, #103), Albert Haynesworth (2002, round 1, #15), and Justin Hartwig (2002, round 6, #187).

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.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: All The Titans News You Need To Drive Off A Bridge Edition

August West — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:53:39 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Congratulations on continuing to deactivate our co-leader in interceptions against the best passing offenses in the league because you're loyal to the worst CB in the NFL. That's swell.

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Peter King takes is easy on us, and he's right that we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that we lost to an 11-0 division rival on the raod. I'm not going to kill our guys for that, but it's the hole we're in, and it still sucks losing to the most boring franchise in NFL history. Watching the Colts go 16-1 will be almost as good as the Pats going 18-1.

There would be no miracles or marches this time, as the Colts executed their game plan to perfection on both sides of the ball yesterday... which may be the best indicator of all that it's still the regular season.

For all of the people who made dumb mistakes that cost us that game (Brown, Washington, Fisher, etc.), you certainly can't complain about the job Cortland Finnegan did. He held Reddie Wayne to 4 catches for 44 yards and blanketed one of the league's most polished receivers all day.

Follow us through the jump for more cheapshots as I work through a combination of bile and disdain...

The Colts straight baited Tony Brown just before the half, obviously worrying that they couldn't get into field goal range without tripping over their own dresses on their own merits, but Brown still has to know when to back downand recognize that they're playing him for the retaliation penalty.

Nate Washington KILLED us in the first quarter with that drop: good teams don't let those opportunities slip away during a playoff run. This team is built to play from ahead, and 7 easy points right there keeps it even...

David Climer complains about the FGs, but in all honesty, if we make both FGs the two times we go for it on fourth down, we'd have been in a one possession game during that on-side kick.

Don Banks says we didn't capitalize on our chances (after incorrectly stating that VY had two INTs).

MJD asks a good question: where did the option go? Anyone else feeling like the play calling has been much more generic and predictable over the past few weeks? Does 'Dinger feel like he used up his bullets already? If he still had some left, these last two games were the time to use them...

Bonus Analysis: So for all of those linked articles diagnosing what went wrong, how come none of them point out the terrible D-line play much at all? Tony Brown was the only lineman we had to got penetration all day... when you take away a 100% Jason Jones and Jacob Ford this unit looks real mediocre real quick.

Tennessee Titans vs. Indianapolis Colts Series at a Glance

Jimmy — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 17:00:29 -0000

The Colts lead the all-time series between these two teams 17-13, and the Titans are 7-10 in Indy. There has only been one postseason meeting between the two that was won by the Titans. The last six meetings have been split after the Colts won the 7 previous.

The earlier meeting this season was won by the Colts going away. That game was also played without Cortland Finnegan and Vincent Fuller.

Chris Johnson owes the Colts one because he was held to a season low total of 34 yards rushing in that game.

As a side note, Peyton Manning is still the bane of my existence and is leading the league with 3,415 yards passing. That is 310.5 yards per game which is crazy and puts him on a pace for just shy of 5,000 yards.

The broadcast will be handled on CBS by Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon.

Info from the NFL release after the jump.

PASSING	Young: 83-132-1,010-4-2-90.2	Manning: 298-423-3,415 (1L)-24 (1C)-11-102.5 (1C)
RUSHING	Johnson: 217-1,396 (1L)-6.4-9 (T2C)	Addai: 160-583-3.6-7
RECEIVING	Britt (R): 33-521-15.8-2	Wayne: 79 (2L)-987 (2L)-12.5-9 (T1L)
OFFENSE	351.3	393.4 (3L)
TAKE/GIVE	-5	+7 (3C)
DEFENSE	368.2	332.2
SACKS	3 tied: 4	Freeney, Mathis: 9.5 (T3C)
INTs	Finnegan, Hood: 3	Bethea: 4
PUNTING	Kern: 45.4	McAfee (R): 44.7
KICKING	Bironas: 77 (3C) (23/23 PAT; 18/22 FG)	Stover: 41 (20/20 PAT; 7/8 FG)

NOTES

TITANS: Aim for 6th consecutive win…QB VINCE YOUNG is 23-11 (.676) as starter & aims for 10th consecutive win. Is 10-4 (.714) as starter against AFC South…RB CHRIS JOHNSON seeks to become only player in NFL history with 7 consecutive 125+ yard rushing games. Is only player ever to rush for 125+ in 6 in row & avg. 5.0+ yards per carry in each game. Johnson (1,396) needs 55 rush yards to surpass EARL CAMPBELL (1,450 in ’78) for 4th-most rush yards in franchise history in season…Rookie WR KENNY BRITT (Round 1, Rutgers) leads AFC rookies & ranks 4th among NFL rookies w/521 receiving yards…TE BO SCAIFE (199 rec., 1,912 yards) needs 1 rec. to surpass ALVIN REED (199) for 2nd-most career rec. in franchise history for TEs & needs 88 rec. yards to become 3rd TE in club history to reach 2,000 (FRANK WYCHECK, 4,958; Reed, 2,818)…DE KYLE VANDEN BOSCH aims for 3rd consecutive game w/sack…K ROB BIRONAS aims for 4th consecutive game w/50-yard FG…COLTS: Have won franchise-record 20 consecutive regular-season games & can tie 2006-08 Patriots (21) for longest such streak in NFL history. Ind. is 1st team in NFL history w/7 straight seasons with at least 11 wins…QB PEYTON MANNING (24) needs TD pass to become 1st player in NFL history with 25 TD passes in 12 consecutive seasons. Manning is 5-2 at home vs. Ten. & has completed 130 of 175 passes (74.3 pct.) for 1,468 yards with 12 TDs vs. 4 INTs & 112.3 passer rating. Colts have won 13 consecutive games when Manning passes for 300+ yards…RB JOSEPH ADDAI has 3 rush TDs in past 4…WR REGGIE WAYNE (987) needs 13 receiving yards to record 6th consecutive 1,000-yard season. Wayne (892) needs 108 rec. yards to reach 1,000 career against Titans…TE DALLAS CLARK (74) needs 4 receptions to surpass career-high of 77 in ’08 & seeks (834) 15 receiving yards to surpass career best of 848 in ’08. With 84 rec. yards, Clark (3,916) can become 2nd Colts TE with 4,000 (JOHN MACKEY, 5,126)…DE ROBERT MATHIS tied-2nd in NFL w/5 FFs in ’09 & has 35 career. Mathis needs 2.5 sacks to surpass career-high of 11.5 in ’05 & ’08...LB CLINT SESSION posted 1st career INT-TD return last week.

Arizona Cardinals Chat With The Enemy: Music City Miracles

Andrew602 — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 21:10:53 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Vince Young has undoubtedly been the difference maker on offense and has led the Titans to a four-game win streak.

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We were recently able to talk with Jimmy, the lead blogger at Music City Miracles about the Tennessee Titans. We also answered 5 questions for their site, which you can view here Music City Miracles.

1 - The Titans are obviously on a roll after a really rough start to the season that included tough losses to some of the best teams in the AFC. Some have listed the quality of your opponents as one of the big reasons for the turnaround while others note the lack of turnovers from the offense. What is the biggest difference in your mind between the first six games and the past four?

It is hard to say what the biggest difference is. A lot of it has to do with the secondary getting healthy. The biggest concern for most Titans fans in the offseason was the lack of depth at corner, and in the first 5 games they lost both starting corners and their nickelback. All of those guys are back now.

Of course switching to Vince Young has provided a spark to the offense. He has played well and having him on the field opens some things up for Chris Johnson, but I would say that the defense was the bigger problem in the first 6 games.

2 - Chris Johnson is starting to challenge Adrian Peterson for the "best back in the league" title and it seems as that he can do just about anything with a football. After seeing him first hand for the past year and half, does he have a noticeable weakness that you'd attack if you were a defensive coordinator? Or is it simply about praying that he doesn't hurt you too much?

The only real knock on his is that he takes a lot of negative plays. Obviously his biggest asset is his speed, and sometimes he thinks he can pick up some yards running to the sideline if a defensive line gets some penetration. I am not sure that I would really call that a weakness, but it is the one thing that people point too when they are making the case for Peterson.

That really is about it. I would say defending him is all about keeping him from the 1 or 2 big runs he has been getting every week through this four game stretch especially.

3 - Vince Young seems to do just enough at QB to keep defenses honest and it seems as if they're tailoring the offense around him finally (options and option reads out of shotgun), but he still looks pretty raw as a passer. How do Titan's fans feel about his future with the team and how do you see him ultimately making his mark in this league?

We are starting to feel really good about his future with the team. A month ago pretty much every Titan fan thought VY would be on another team when 2010 kicked off, but he has played really well over these four games. He spent time in the film room really learning the offense and has been making great decisions.

As for his mark in the league, I would say it will be in an offense like he is running right now. He is never going to be the Manning/Brady type that shreds a defense from the pocket. He is at his best when he is throwing some from the pocket and making some plays with his legs.

4 - The Titans defense seems to have turned a corner during the recent win streak as well. To what do you attribute their improved play over the past four games?

The health of the secondary. Vincent Fuller, the Titans nickel back, went down in week 3. Pro Bowl corner Cortland Finnegan went down in week 4. That left the only remaining starter Nick Harper, and he is terrible. Both guys returned after the bye week, and the team has played a lot better.

5 - The general consensus at ROTB after watching last nights game is that the Cardinals must shut down Chris Johnson and the Titans run game in order to win. Regardless of how that's done (jumping out to an early lead or stacking the box), is Vince capable of winning a game right now if he has to truly shoulder the load?

That is the question we as Titans fans are all waiting to see the answer too. It is really impossible to tell because he hasn't had too at this point, but judging by the way he has handled the offense in his 4 starts I really think that he is. Hopefully we don't have to find that out.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: What Day Is It? GAMEDAY!!!!! Edition

August West — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:02:56 -0000

More photos » by Dave Einsel - AP

Houston Texans fan. 'Nuff said.

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Vince Young has a pretty good history of playing the state of Texas, and he's always excelled on the big stage. We're going to need him to keep that history going if we're going to walk away with a win and get closer to .500 in the process.

LenDale wants to be the starter, but he knows better than to disrupt a good thing. He knows he doesn't have much of an argument as long as Chris Johhnson is running like the best back in the league, but that doesn't mean he's satisfied on the bench either.

For all of the star power and hype on several match-up heading into tonight, I think it's hard to argue that the match-up of Cortland Finnegan and Andre Johnson is one of the best you'll see all year, never mind all night. It'll be interesting to see if Cort follows Johnson around, or if he sticks to his one side of the field like he did in week two... if it's the later then you can bet they'll be working on getting Johnson working deep against Michael Griffin.

ESPN has a dedicated page for the Monday Night match-up, so check it out for updated content through the day.

Follow us through the jump to find-out who has us ranked above the Giants at the moment...

PK has a long passage on the maturity of Vince Young, and in a rare moment of non-NFC East butt kissing, PK keeps the Titans in the Fine 15 while the Giants are outside looking in:

15. Tennessee (3-6). Save your breath, Giants fans. Tennessee's playing better over the last month than the Giants are, and the way I consider this ranking is if the teams played today on a neutral field, who would win? If they lined up tomorrow in Morgantown (well, they'd both be a little tired, particularly Tennessee, which plays tonight), I'd pick the Titans to win.

Another sign this is a big game: how often do you see a Titans game previewed in the LA Times?

Houston fans have good reason to despise our throwback jerseys, and if the sales numbers are any indication Titans fans don't care too much for them either. If you've been around here very long you probably know my stance on this: I wish the Oilers history had been left in Houston ala the Ravens/Browns dynamic, but I can certainly understand why Bud Adams would refuse to leave behind the legacy of the team he founded from scratch.

On a related note, John McClain was there when the surviving members of the inaugural Oilers team reunited yesterday, including Hall of Famers Ken Houston and Elvin Bethea.

For those who missed it over the weekend, here's the ad Bud Adams took out in Sunday's Buffalo News to make up for his double barrel salute last weekend.

PFW reports that Steve Slaton won't just get the start tonight, but will carry the majority of the load as long as he's not putting the ball on the ground.

Congrats to former Titans coordinator Jim Schwatz for leading his Detroit Lions to a nail-bitting win. Sure it was over the laughable Browns, but there are no small victories in Detroit this year.

Every time you read a great Titans-related story on the web and don't share it with the MCM community through the fanposts, fanshots or by emailing me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com Matt Schaub gains one health point. Is that what you want?!!!!?!?!

How Good is the Tennessee Titans Secondary Now?

Jimmy — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:02:03 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

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We have spent a lot of time talking about how much better the Titans secondary is now than it was at the Boston Massacre. But my question is how much better are they? They looked good against Jacksonville, San Francisco, and Buffalo, but none of those teams have a passing attack that really strikes fear into anyone. Thus the real test comes Monday Night in Houston. The Texans have the 3rd ranked passing attack in the league, and feature one of the best receivers in the game in Andre Johnson. AJ can accurately be called a Titan Killer. In his last 2 games against the Titans he has 207 and 149 yards receiving respectively with 3 touchdowns.

The good news for this particular match-up is there is no way AJ will ever be lined up across from Nick Harper. Most of the big plays to Johnson have come with Harper "covering" him. I would love to see the Titans chance the philosophy a little bit and line Cortland Finnegan up across from Andre on every play, but even if they still refuse to do that at least he would be Rod Hood's assignment instead of Harper's.

This game is also arguably the biggest of Michael Griffin's career. August wrote a couple weeks ago about Griffin addressing his poor play (via Kuharsky). Griffin has played better, but stil got caught peeking in the backfield last weke against the Bills. Pretty much all of us here thought that after the season he put up last year Griffin was on track to become one of the best safeties in the league. He has regressed this year, and Monday night would be the perfect opportunity for him to re-assert himself in the upper echelon of safeties.

It seems that his biggest problem this year has been guessing run far to often and letting receivers get behind him. Gramsey offered me the perfect solution for this yesterday:

I wish MikeGriff would never ever, ever, ever, ever, evaevaevaeva, read run, eva

Sounds like a plan to me. Kuharsky made the point on the radio this morning that there is really no reason for him to worry about the run in the scheme the Titans play because most of the time he is 12-15 yards away from the ball when it is snapped and there are at least six other guys that have run responsibility before it gets to him.

I still have faith that Griffin is going to be a star in this league. No better time than Monday night on a national stage to prove that. His play will go a long way in determining if this secondary is ready to be the strength of the defensive unit as it was a year ago.