SB Nation - Craig Hentrich

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

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..

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: CJ's Awesomeness Average Continues To Grow Edition

August West — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:04:12 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

If CJ's going to get 2,000 yards he's going to need a lot of barf bags, never mind the cars for his O-line.

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Sunday's match-up will feature a coaching duel steeped in Chicago Bears tradition as former teammates Jeff Fisher and Mike Singletary square-off. Here, Coach Fisher shares some of his thoughts about his former teammate and current opponent.

Sunday's game will also feature two highly drafted QBs who are attempting to prove to their respective teams that they have the chops to thrive in the league. Both Vince Young and Alex Smith have lost their jobs and taken a beating in the press at times, and have thrown the exact same number of TDs (23) and INTs (33).

It's been nearly 40 years since any week 8 rushing leader averaged better than Chris Johnson's 6.92 yards per carry, and that rattling you hear is the 49ers run defense after watching the film reel. However, the 49ers currently rank 2nd in the NFL at stopping the run (84.9 yards per game), and they handled studly running back Steven Jackson earlier in the year.

Our recent history west of the Rockies is a bit gory: after a string of 8 straight losses out there, we're sitting at 1-9 in the last 10 games.

Follow us through the jumps for a pile of better than usual links...

Chris Johnson's absurd production so far this season continues to turn heads.

Chris Davis is humbled by his DUI experience, and wants nothing more than to make the most out of this second chance he's been given.

Kevin Mawae talks about being voted as one of the league's dirtiest players (the complete list included Cortland Finnegan as well), and notes that he can't remember the last personal foul he got... which seems odd for a notoriously dirty player.

The Sporting News went deep to come-up with a the All-Time greatest defense of Titans/Oilers players. make sure you take some time to read this primer of the Oilers days as only punter Craig Hentrich makes the list from the Titans era.

PFW's latest edition of Audibles has an interesting note about our upcoming opponent, who are mired in a 3 game losing streak:

• "Mike Singletary's bravado will only carry the 49ers so far. At some point, you have to be able to coach and teach and get past all the bravado. You can't turn chicken (feathers) into chicken salad with a bunch of fist pumps. At some point, it becomes negative because everyone has heard it enough. He called a timeout in the first half just to rally the guys (vs. Atlanta in Week Five) — to get them all around him and give an 'Iron Mike' speech — and it wound up costing them seven points. The ball was not fumbled on the kickoff (before the first half ended), but they did not have a timeout to challenge the call. It's another pants-down thing. You have to be better than that in the NFL."

A tip of the hat to gramsey for pointing it out, and a much heartier congratulations to Steve McNair Jr., who has chosen to matriculate down the football field at Southern Miss. Interestingly enough, Steve's father usually hosted his summer QB clinics on the campus of Southern Miss, so the campus locale is pretty familiar to the young WR recruit.

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 a Ravens (or Steelers) fan smiles. Is that what you want?!!!!?!?!

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: This Is A Little Trickier With An Instrumental Friday Jam Edition

August West — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:50:33 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Looking forward to a much better dressed coach this week...

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Sunday's game in Jacksonville will be blacked out. A divisional game against what is apparently their most heated in-division rivalry, and they can't get sell it out. That's when you know things are rough, my friends.

Chris Johnson has the second worst percentage of plays that go for no gain or a loss this year, despite having the most total yards of any non-QB in the league so far. While on the surface it's a pretty ugly stat, you also have to put some of that blame on the O-line because not many RBs can do much when a nose tackle gets a clean paw on you in the backfield. Our guys are undeniably better at pass protection than the mauling, road clearing run-blocking style Johnson would excel the most with. If only we had a bigger back to loosen things up around the line...

Still, pound-for-pound we have one of the most talented O-lines in the business, which might make them the Bela Fleck and the Flecktones of the NFL. Heck they even both feature greatness named Big Country (the linked song, and right tackle David Stewart) Once you're done with the links, take an hour or so to watch some footage of Bela and Victor Wooten's solo stuff on there... these cats are absolutely unreal.

Follow us through the jump to see what difference make should be back for us this weekend...

Even if Jacksonville fans can't see it, Sunday should be Bo Scaife's return from his week one knee injury. Bo had the game-changing play last year on a brilliant little TE screen which he broke for a long gain.

Cortland Finnegan is almost certainly going to miss the game Sunday, and that ain't good news, but (like Jimmy said earlier in the week) this is the week for him to miss if it's going to happen in the first half of the schedule.

PFW takes a look at the Titans' propensity to play Young over Collins, and comes away pretty convinced it'll take a whole lot more before Fisher is ready to make a change there. The one caveat is Bud Adams, who could change all of that with a phone call. Direct all comments here, the official MCM home for Collins vs. VY arguments.

Hentrich will probably retire in the wake of the calf injury that put him on the IR, but he's not really ready to go that far just yet. How crazy is it that what may have well been Craig's last NFL punt was also the 1,150th of his career?

Here's a breakdown of Sunday's match-up from the Miami Herald.

Haterade clean-up in isle 3.

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 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.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Flip Out Edition

August West — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:38:14 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Should have been an incomplete pass.

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Coach Fisher sounds like a man who knows what he wants to hear from the league when it starts handing out fines and suspensions related to the mob scene on the Texans bench:

"The coaches tape does not show a punch thrown. I’ve looked at the TV tape and I could not see a punch thrown. Andre Johnson jerked Cortland down by the facemask on their boundary and that started the fracas in the bench area," Fisher said. "I didn’t see the punch thrown, but again, they’re not going to eject a player without being fairly sure it was thrown."

Fisher wants the competition committee, which he co-chairs, to take a good long look at the fair catch rules that led to Sunday's idiotic situation. Even if it's the way the rule is written, it just doesn't follow the baseline logic that most NFL rules do and could be better applied.

Mike Florio and I finally agree on something: There's no way you can allow Jacoby Jones' touchdown catch in the wake of the ruling and explanation given to Raiders fans on Louis Murphy's non-touchdown in the Raiders/Chargers game.

Follow us through the jump to see which Titans vet is already out for next week...

Craig Hentrich is going to miss Sunday's game, and rookie A.J. Trapasso is in town for a work-out along with other available punters. Sucks for these guys that their first good crack at our line-up will happen in the windy Meadowlands.

Sure, the Jets defense hasn't allowed a touchdown yet. But, they also haven't faced a team that can run the ball whenever it wants yet either. We'll see how they hold up against a balanced attack this Sunday.

All of this whining and finger-pointing will not stand, man. This un-checked complaining will not stand!

Turmoil in Tennessee? I'd say it's not there yet, but it damned sure could be very soon.

Why don't I buy into the 13% playoff chance talk? Not many 0-2 teams return 20 of 22 starters from a roster that went 13-3 the year before.

Steelers 13 Titans 10: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Jimmy — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:18:05 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

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Last night was a tough way to open the season, no doubt, but it is important to remember that it was only one game. Here is what I take away as the good, bad and ugly from last night.

The Good

The run defense. The Steelers had 23 carries for 36 yards. We will take that.

Kenny Britt. Britt had 4 catches for 85 yards last night. I think that already makes him the best rookie receiver the Titans have ever had.

The Bad

The defensive play calling. I still can't understand how they don't either blitz, press the receivers, or both in overtime. And don't come at me with the crap excuse that blitzing Ben Roethlisberger doesn't work. How did giving him all day to do that stupid pump fake work out for you? Combine that with giving his receivers a 10 yard cushion, and you have the recipe for not seeing the ball in overtime.

Dropped passes. Alge Crumpler let a ball hit him in gut. Justin Gage dropped a catchable ball in the end zone (now in fairness, he may have had that ball knocked loose when he got popped afterwards). Gage also had the final third down of the game go off his finger tips. They never gave us a replay that showed us how catchable that ball really was, but an NFL receiver needs to make that play.

Offensive play calling. Chris Johnson and LenDale White combined for 23 carries in the game. That simply isn't enough, and it wasn't like the run wasn't successful. They averaged 3.7 yards per carry. Now that isn't setting the world on fire, but it is more than serviceable against the Steelers' vaunted defense.

The Ugly

Special teams. All facets of special teams were bad last night. Stefan Logan averaged 29 yards per kick return while Javon Ringer averaged 19.7.

Cortland Finnegan looked lost on punt returns, but you can't blame that on him. The blame for that falls squarely on the shoulders of Jeff Fisher. Cort had only returned 4 punts in the NFL before last night. He looked lost because it is something he has never really done, and it killed the Titans last night. Signing a guy that can help in the return game should be the #1 priority before the game against the Texans. Heck, I don't care if you bring Mark Jones back with only one hamsting. At least he catches the ball when it is punted.

Craig Hentrich shanked a punt at the most inoportune time.

And then there was the field goal team. It really doesn't matter if you blame Rob Bironas, Ken Amato, or the line. In the end all that matters is both of those kicks have to be made.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Hoping For Record Cold This Winter In America's Hat Edition

August West — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 13:22:55 -0000

More photos » by David Richard - AP

Keith Bulluck doesn't need no stinkin' head to take you down, Jamal!

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Jimmy weighed in on the Dateline piece last night, and my quick thoughts are in the comments. Here, Jim Wyatt comes up with roughly the same assessment.

And so it goes: Pacman Jones is back playing football. Despite numerous blown chances and a complete inability to stay out of trouble Pac will suit up for... the Winnipeg Blue Bombers! HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!11!11!!1. Damn, that just made my day. Mainly because I still hate that jerk for ruining a high draft pick for us. Congrats on going from the self-proclaimed 'America's Team' to America's Hat.

David Climer and I actually kind of agree on something:

Mistakes cannot be totally eliminated, but there comes a point when they must be minimized. And as the Titans move toward the season opener, their No. 2 quarterback needs to quit putting himself in so many bounce-back situations.

Fisher wants the starters to play only one or two series before giving way to the guys who are fighting for the final roster spots and auditioning for other squads this week, fully aware that they'll be cut when the roster must shrink to 53.

Craig Hentrich dropped 29 lbs. in the off-season thanks to a doctor-monitored diet and a 4 week cleansing process. He says it makes him stinky, but maybe that will help ward off potential punt blockers!

This '5 things we know' format is becoming very tired. Usually because it's completely mailed in.

The Stock Report, however, I still like. Glad to see a lot more up arrows than down ones...

Outstanding Titans scribe for the AP Teresa M. Walker writes about the explosion of U-Stream, Twitter and Facebook, with Bulluck and CJ right in the middle of it.

The folks at Bodog.com say we're likely going 10-6. What do we at MCM think? Stay tuned for that prediction... remember that Jimmy nailed out scorching hot start last year and everyone called him crazy for it.

He's a very good QB, who could be great, but Matt Schaub is already hurt.

Tennessee Titans @ Cleveland Browns: What Are The Titans Looking To Accomplish?

Jimmy — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:00:17 -0000

More photos » by John Russell - AP

Your preseason MVP. (AP Photo/John Russell)

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Most teams use this preseason game, the third for most teams and the fourth for this team because of the Hall of Fame Game, as the game where they play their starters into the second half to get them used to warming back up after the intermission. Over the last few years Jeff Fisher has played this game more like any other preseason game and used the fourth one for that. I think this will be the year that the starters come out after halftime, and we will see a lot of the starters not even play next week.

With that in mind, this is the most important preseason game the Titans have played to this point. As good as we all think this team is going to be, there are still some things that the Titans haven't accomplished this preseason that they need to tomorrow night in Cleveland.

Get the running game on track

Let me say again that I am not worried about the running game because the offensive line has been healthy and it is the preseason, but it will make me and everyone else breath a little more easily if Chris Johnson could have a solid performance tomorrow night. It looks like there is a decent shot that Mawae is going to play, so the Titans will have 4/5ths of their offensive line together for the first time since the Hall of Fame game. No better time to get some things on track in the running game.

Get Mark Jones some return opportunities

Javon Ringer, the preseason MVP to this point, looked good returning kicks last week, but the Titans signed Jones because they feel he can have a similar impact to what Chris Carr did last season. We haven't gotten to see Jones do anything because of the hamstring injury and tomorrow night may be his shot to make this roster.

Get some pressure from the defensive line

The defensive line let Tony "The Tool" Romo have all day to throw last week in Dallas, and he marched all over the field on them. We all know the biggest question surrounding this team heading into this season from the national media, and it would be nice for them to take some steps toward answering that tomorrow night.

Get a chance to run a two-minute drill with the first team

You can never have too many chances to practice the two-minute drill, and I would be good if the Titans could get a shot to do it tomorrow night before the half. It would also be a good chance to see Kenny Britt in that situation as the #2 receiver. I don't know about you, but a two-minute offense with CJ, Britt and Jared Cook seems pretty exciting to me.

Those are four that come to mind for me. Anyone have anything to add to the list, and please don't make this another "which punter should they keep thread." Spoiler alert: The answer is Craig Hentrich.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Titans Receivers Make Believers... In Curses Edition

August West — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 13:57:54 -0000

More photos » by Sharon Ellman - AP

You see that thing that's happening to Jake Scott's facemask? They should really make a rule about that or something...

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You know how everything we've heard about Jared Cook has been almost too good to be true? The hands, the speed, the athleticism, the acrobatic catches.... Haven't we all been silently waiting for that crappy part of the pick to come out that you just wish you didn't know? Well Gary Estwick is here to whack that curious cat: Cook's older brother is in camp with the Ratbirds! (h/t to Michaeltastic, who I just noticed had sent me this same link!)

I can't ever remember a back-up punter making as many headlines as A.J. Trapasso, but this time it's Craig Hentrich making the headlines by saying A.J. will be an NFL punter for a long, long time.

Tullly is back! And just as an addendum to the post on guessing the roster and the discussion of surprise cuts: the scuttlebutt on 104.5's broadcast from training camp yesterday was that Ryan Fowler may be headed out, largely because of the talented depth in that group and Fowler's lack of special teams impact...

Follow us through the link to find out what other injured guys are headed back to the line-up for Saturday...

Dear Mark Jones: we need you to be as good, if not better, than advertised. This team relies on good special teams plays and field position a little too much, so take full advantage of your first chance to play on Saturday.

Kevin Mawae is now expecting to start in Saturday's exhibition against the Browns. You gotta feel bad for Leroy Harris, who has shown he's ready to start in the NFL, but it'll be nice to have the old bear back at center.

Jim Wyatt has some unanswered questions about the receiving corps. Fortunately I'm here to help: maybe, Jones, a little, nope and studly.

Paul K recaps the two minute drill results from yesterday's practice, as well as the hijinks that usually occur as camp is breaking.

Jonathan Mohan asks (with Joe Biddle-like piecing powers of observation): Is the Titans' receiving corps cursed? I'd say no, but the careers here of Pickens, Thigpen, Dyson, Givens and now Washington's injury would be enough to make Richard Dawkins start to at least consider believing.

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.