SB Nation - Bo Scaife

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)

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.

Colts 27 Titans 17 Recap: It's Officially Over Now

Jimmy — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 23:44:12 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Peyton waived goodbye to our playoff hopes. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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That will pretty much do it for the 2009 Titans. I know we were all hoping for the miracle playoff run, but the seventh loss of the season pretty much ends that. The thing that is even more frustrating about today is that Chris Johnson was held under the pace he needed to catch Eric Dickerson and even to get 2,000 yards. It seems that is the only thing we are going to have to cheer for the rest of 2009.

You got an idea of what kind of day it was going to be on the Colts first play from scrimmage when Peyton Manning's pass to Austin Collie deflected off of his hands right to Pierre Garcon for a 27 yard play. Three plays later Nick Harper fell down trying to cover Garcon, he went for 36 yards, and set up the Colts first touchdown- an 8 yard run from Joseph Addai.

I think it is time that we stop getting mad at Harper. I wouldn't get mad at my 15 month old son if he let an NFL receiver run right by him, so why should I get mad at Harper. The person we should be mad at is Jeff Fisher for being so dang stubborn about letting veterans play. Fisher job isn't to be loyal. It is to put the best players on the field to help his team win. He clearly isn't doing that, and save the fanposts when the same thing happens to Britt when it is healthy. That is the reality of having Fisher as the coach. It always has been, and it always will be.

One of the few smart decisions Fisher has made this year is finally letting Britt return kicks. I guess someone finally told him that it is legal for rookies to do that kind of thing.

The second thing that happened during the game that made me really mad at Fisher was in the red zone on the Titans first possession. LenDale White, your short yardage back, gets 6 yards on first down to the three yard line. Instead of giving him the ball again Fisher decides to put Chris Johnson back in the game. No gain on second down with CJ, an incomplete throw on third down and the Titans have to settle for a pointless field goal.

A couple things here- LenDale is the perfect back to run against the Colts undersized defense. We talked a lot about that after the first game between these two teams. Why do you even have him on the roster if you aren't going to use him in this situation? I understand you don't want to take carries away from CJ, but inside the 5 the home run is 5 yards long. LenDale is the perfect guy to pick up those yards.

Secondly, if you are inside the five yard line against the Colts it should be four down territory every time unless a field goal will win the game as time expires. I understand why the field goal is kicked there, but it just seems all the more reason to let LenDale hit it up in there a couple more times and see where that gets you instead of being satisfied with the field goal in your back pocket.

The Titans defense stopped the Colts on their next possession and should have taken the lead following that but Nate Washington can't catch the football. We were all mad at the Steelers fans for saying what they said about Washington in week 1, but it turns out they were right. The Titans signed Washington for one reason, to make big catches down the field. He has proven time and time again this season that he cannot do that.

The next Colts possession saw another receiver running by Nick Harper, a horse collar penalty on Vincent Fuller, and big chunks of yards all over the field before another Addai touchdown run. You started to get the feeling at this point that the game was getting away from the Titans, and you got that feeling all the more when Ahmard Hall coughed up the football on the ensuing drive.

I know that we all love the Sarge for a lot of things that he does, but he has proven in his career that giving him the ball is dangerous. He has 102 touches in his career and has lost 4 fumbles, and it always seems to come after he has picked up a bunch of yards.

The next Titans possession ended in an interception. It actually could have ended earlier had Kelvin Hayden been able to pick off an out intended for Lavelle Hawkins. Rich Gannon analyzed that play perfectly when he said it was a bad decision by Young and a bad play by Hawkins when he didn't come back to the ball.

The thing that really frustrated me after the interception was the knee injury that crept up on VY after he had bounced back in bounds to hit Jacob Lacey and sat on the bench for about 30 seconds. I know the VY people are going to kill me for saying that, but that is how it looked to me. If anyone else has another explanation I would love to hear it.

The Colts did what they do with a short field and scored a touchdown to go up 21-3.

The Titans would answer with a nice drive of their own that ended with Britt catching yet another touchdown pass. The big play on that drive was a 24 yard reception by The Hawk. This will probably seem weird since I was criticizing him a few paragraphs ago, but another thing that makes me mad at Fisher is that the only thing Lavelle has done since getting to see the field is make plays. You have to wonder why he didn't get a shot sooner.

That touchdown was encouraging because it cut the score to 21-10 with the Titans getting the ball after halftime, but of course 20 seconds is way too much time when you can't cover kickoffs, can't cover receivers and Tony Brown can't keep his head. The Colts got a field goal to take away the momentum the Titans were able to build.

The second half was even more frustrating than the first. The Titans offense was able to move the ball down the field but were unable to capitalize in the red zone until it really didn't matter. The first red zone miscue came late in the third quarter. The Titans faced first and goal from the one. First down was a fumbled snap. Second down was a hold on Eugene Amano that backed the Titans up 10 yards then a 2 yard pass to Bo Scaife. Third down was a VY scramble to the two yard line. Fourth down was a horrific play call on a fade to Britt in the back of the end zone.

The defense held again only to see a Titans drive stall in the red zone again. That drive started with a snap to VY that he wasn't ready for, no idea who was at fault, and ended with a bad throw to Hawkins.

That pretty much did it. The Colts got a field goal to push the lead to 27-10 after a 15 play drive that took 7:23 off of the fourth quarter clock. The Titans came back after that to get a touchdown that didn't matter. Then they actually recovered the onside kick, but all comeback hopes were laid to rest after four incomplete passes.

This team looked a whole lot more like the team that started the season 0-6 than the one that was 5-0 out of the bye. A lot of people were talking this week about how the Colts aren't that impressive because they have barely won a lot games, but we saw today why they are so good. They don't make mistakes that kill them, they are really good on third down and their defense bends but doesn't break. That is the type of ball that wins championships. The Titans just simply aren't there this season.

If you loved how negative this recap was, you will love MCM Radio tonight at 9 for sure. Click here to join us.

Titans 20 Cardinals 17 Recap: Vince Young to Kenny Britt

Jimmy — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:06:11 -0000

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

There's your winner. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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I don't even know what to say about this game. It was that unbelievable. I have said it a lot of times over the last month, but the transformation this team has made in 5 weeks is nothing short of amazing. Instead of feeling like the Titans are 2-3 years away from contention, I feel like they are in contention this season and are 2-3 players away from being a really, really good team next year.

Let's start with the obvious- Vince Young is a winner, and today he was a winner with unfathomable numbers. He was 27 of 43 for 387 yards and 1 touchdown. 387 yards! He answered a couple of the questions I have had about him today: 1. How will he react when faced with adversity? It was a pretty bad play at the end of the half to let the time run out, but he didn't hang his head. He came back even better in the second half. 2. How will he do when a team knows he has to throw to win the game? How does 9-16 for 93 yards sound? And oh yeah, he did that in the final 2:37 of the game. VY is a legit NFL QB, and he is proving people wrong, myself included, with each passing week.

And then there is Chris Johnson. The pace he is on is just crazy. He had another big TD run in this game, 85 yards, and finished the game with 18 carries for 154 yards and a touchdown. He only needs to average 120.8 yards per game for the rest of the season to get 2,000 and 141.8 per game to tie Eric Dickerson's single season rushing record of 2,105.

What about Kenny Britt? This kid has stepped up in the absence of Justin Gage and proven that he is a legitimate NFL receiver. It has been a long, long time since the Titans drafted one of those. He came up big time and time again in this game including a great catch of the first fourth down of the final drive and the game winning touchdown catch. And you have to love the comments he makes about it after the game:

Kenny Britt, gripping the ball he caught for winning TD, just told me he’s put it down only for a shower. "I’ll never let it go,’’ he said.

(h/t) smash

The Titans defense came out strong in the game forcing the Cardinals to go three and out on their first offensive possession. The Titans did catch a break not having to face Kurt Warner, but Matt Leinart looked better than I expected him too. He looks to lack arm strength, but he is very accurate and gets the ball out on time. On an unrelated note, how much do you think Leinart hates VY? There is little doubt in my mind that he was having flashbacks to the Rose Bowl in the final 2:37 of this game.

Vince got off to a fast start in the game hitting Nate Washington for a 29 yard gain on the Titans first offensive play. That play set up a 52 yard field goal from Rob Bironas that gave the Titans an early 3-0 lead. Bironas struggled in camp and the early in the season, but he has returned to his form as one of the best kickers in the game.

The defense held again and the Cardinals downed the punt at the Titans 5 yard line. Vince took the offense 90 yards to the Arizona 5 before the drive stalled forcing another Bironas field goal. That drive included a big pass to Bo Scaife and another to Britt.

Arizona would get on the board with 2 minutes remaining in the first half when Neil Rackers hit a 41 yard field goal. Vince would hit two big plays on the ensuing drive to get the Titans in field goal range. Unfortunately the Titans would not get a field goal because of the one bad play Vince made on the day. He took a snap with eight seconds left in the half and scrambled around before he was sacked at the half ended. SuperHorn made a good point in the quick recap that about 50% of the time Young makes a TD happen on the play. While that is a good point, Vince has to have better awareness of the time there and get down in time to give Bironas a shot. I have no doubt that VY will learn from that play.

The third quarter was pretty boring until CJ took a hand off and went 85 yards for a TD while running away from two Cardinal defensive backs that had an angle. Kick coverage, which has haunted the Titans all season long, haunted them again on the ensuing kickoff when LaRod Stephens-Howling went 99 yards for a TD. Momentum stolen.

The Cardinals would take their first lead of the game on a six yard TD run by Tim Hightower. That was set up by a 21 yard completion from Leinart to Beanie Wells on Nick Harper as shocking as that may be.

I found it interesting that Rod Hood and LenDale White were inactive for this game. Fisher was very short about the decision on White in the postgame which leads me to believe that it could have been disciplinary. However that is pure speculation on my part. The more interesting one was Hood. What did Fisher expect to happen if Harper or Cortland Finnegan were injured? Did he not watch Hood play in the three games he filled in for Harper? I am really at a loss on that one.

The defense would hold twice after the TD drive to give the offense a chance at the end. It looked like the Titans were going to take the lead after the first stop when VY hit Britt for 51 yards, but Britt was stripped from behind by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and the Cardinals recovered.

And here is the final drive play by play:

Play 1- Vince does a nice job of avoiding the rush in his own end zone and finding Britt for a 6 yard gain. I wondered while watching live why they weren't quicker to get on the ball, but I figured that they were planning to run once because the two minute warning was coming up. I was wrong.

Play 2- Incomplete pass to Scaife on the sideline. Looked like a play he should have made.

Play 3- Incomplete on a slant to Britt. The throw was a little low but in a good place because it was either going to be caught by Britt or no one.

Play 4- Maybe the best throw of the drive. Vince throws what looked to me like a stop fade to Britt. The DB never saw the ball coming. Britt made a heck of a play on it.

Play 5- This was the crazy tip ball that ended up in the arms of Scaife for a 19 yard gain. The Titans got a huge break here because balls that are tipped up like that rarely land in the arms of the offense.

Play 6- Lavelle Hawkins catches a 2 yard out. Not a big play but positive yardage and clock stoppage.

Play 7- Jared Cook makes an appearance with a nice catch and run of 12 yards.

Play 8- Incomplete intended for Nate Washington.

Play 9- Vince scrambles for 6 yards and gets out of bounds.

Play 10- Vince does a great job of getting away from the blitz and throwing the ball away.

Play 11- The second 4th down conversion on the drive in the form of VY to the Hawk for 13 yards and out of bounds.

Play 12- Complete to Scaife for 5 and out of bounds.

Play 13- Incomplete on a shot down the field to Washington.

Play 14- Cook makes his second play of the drive 17 yards and out of bounds.

Play 15- Incomplete on a miscommunication between VY and Scaife.

Play 16- Vince sacked, but not a terrible play because it was only a loss of 1 and the Titans still had 2 timeouts.

Play 17- Incomplete on a ball that Washington should have been able to come down with.

Play 18- Vince steps up like he is going to run while keeping his eyes down field and finds Britt in the back of the end zone for the game winner.

And there you have it. 5 in row in a season that continues to boggle the mind with the playoffs still being a possibility. It is really unbelievable to watch.

Site note: I understand people having a problem with the countdown to the draft remaining up on the front page, but the Titans haven't lost since I put it there. I refuse to have a loss on my head so it stays.

Who Would You Take From The Tennessee Titans?

Andrew602 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:00:13 -0000

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Although it's a holiday, we never stop discussing Cardinal-football and that's what lead me to the next question - who would you take from the Tennessee Titans? It's a question we've been asking every week when the Cardinals play, and this week is no different - so make your selection. It can be a young or older player, a starter or a back up, etc. You can also take their current contract status into consideration, as if we were actually signing the player. Also look at who may be leaving our team after this season. Don't let the 0-6 start fool you, this team has talent, starting at offensive tackle.

Michael Roos, T: An offensive lineman I would love to see in Cardinal red is Roos. He's only 27 years old and would be a dominant force on the outside of the offensive line. He's also a very good pass protector but he can obviously run-block like the best of them - just look at Chris Johnson's production. With Mike Gandy uncertain to return next year and the lack of production by Levi Brown, the Cardinals would be grateful to pick up Roos.

Chris Johnson, RB: Even with the emergence of the Cardinals rushing attack, who in their right mind would pass up on Chris Johnson? As he stated, he's every coach's dream, and I'll add that he's every fan's dream. Johnson is already on pace to break the single season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson, and started doing it on an 0-6 team. He's got explosive speed and is a threat break a long run no matter what defense he's lining up against. He's also a capable receiver and can be an every-down back.

Kevin Mawae, C: Kevin may be 38 years old but he's still one of the best centers in the league. The leadership he brings to the offensive line is unmatched and if he had one good season left in him he'd be a great addition to the Cardinals offensive line.

Bo Scaife, TE: Scaife is one of the more underrated tight ends in the league and has had a down year for obvious reasons, but don't let that fool you, he's a gamer. In the previous two years he had a combined 104 catches for 982 yards and 3 touchdowns. If he was to play for a pass-happy team like the Cardinals, his production would fly.

If the Cardinals could make these picks happen, they would feature one of the more elite teams in the league. What picks would you make from the Titans?

Titans 20 Texans 17 Recap: Vince Young Reclaims Houston

Jimmy — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:48:35 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Money! (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

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That was a really fun game. The transformation this team has made since the Boston Massacre is really astounding. They are playing with a fire that they really didn't in weeks 4-6. I am not sure how much of that can be attributed to Vince Young, but it is safe to say that his enthusiastic style of play is rubbing off on the guys around him. It is fun to watch.

The Titans came out of the gate hot last night forcing Houston to go three and out on the first series. The third down play was especially sweet as the front four collapsed the pocket around Matt Schaub before Tony Brown brought him down for a sack. Chatt Town Tony Brown has made himself a lot of money this year playing so well outside the shadow of #92. It is amazing that the Titans brought him in basically off the street- another in a long line of success stories under Jim Washburn.

The Titans went three and out as well on their first possession after a Lavelle Hawkins! sighting would have given them a first down but was negated because of an illegal shift. Anyone else curious why we never see Hawk returning anything. I am pretty sure he returned at least kicks in college, and if he is going to be active the might as well find a way to use him. The third down call- screen to Bo Scaife- was horrendous.

The Texans would get the first score of the game after a terrible 34 yard punt from Brett Kern gave them great field position. The play that set up the score was a Schaub 15 yard completion to Andre Johnson with our secondary chasing him Reynaldo Hill style. The touchdown came on a little underhanded toss to Slaton.

After both teams traded punts the Titans would put together a 9 play 80 yard drive that was capped off by a 13 yard pass from VY to Kenny Britt. The play was a really good read by Vince because he had Chris Johnson short but waited for Britt to come open in the end zone. Britt also had a 16 yard catch on that drive. Britt is easily the best rookie receiver the Titans have ever had, and should stay on the field even when Justin Gage comes back from his injury, but of course we know that it is impossible for a player to lose their starting job to injury, unless they are named Vince Young.

The next score came from the Texans when AJ ran right past Nick Harper (SHOCKING!) for a 12-yard TD catch. That prompted a whole host of jokes involving Harper, a vacuum, and Andre's last name in the game thread. Let me take this opportunity to thank everyone that participated in the open game thread. I don't get to be in those nearly as much as I would like, and I had an absolute blast being there last night.

The Titans would answer once again with another long drive- 75 yards this time. That drive included another catch by Britt, a 36 yard run from CJ and the first of two plays on the night that made me run around my living room in celebration when VY faked the pitched to CJ and took the ball to the one. He had been setting that up for a couple of week now and executed it to perfection. The nearly forgotten LenDale White punched it in on the next play to tie the game.

The Titans had a nice drive going coming out of the half that was halted when, in the words of gramsey, Vince went Kerry Collins and fumbled running by himself. The Texans made a couple of big plays off the fumble but were unable to capitalize when Kris Brown missed a 49 yard field goal wide right. That was a huge play in the game because the Texans get a lot of momentum if he is able to hit that kick.

The Titans came back and got a field from Rob Bironas that was set up by a 12 yard run by Vince Young. I can't remember if that was the option read or not, but the option read they ran was a thing of beauty. The Texans defensive end crashed on the fake to CJ, Vince kept the ball and got a big gain. Again, it is amazing how well he is running this offense. He is obviously putting in the time to really understand what Dinger is wanting to do, and it is paying off.

The Texans got a field goal of their own after both safeties decided to watch Johnson run by himself. Maybe Johnson has really good running form and the guys in our secondary are just trying to learn from it. That play went for 49 yards to the Titans' 8 yard line, and to the defenses credit, they were able to hold forcing the field goal.

Bironas missed a 49 yard field goal on the Titans ensuing drive, and things didn't look good for the Titans. The Texans had been hitting big plays and had good field position, but the defense stepped up. Tony Brown got another sack that forced a third and long and AJ dropped a pass going across the middle. He was being defended by Keith Bulluck on that play, and as much as we all love Bulluck, that is a HUGE mismatch. That prompted Hal to ask me why we kept having linebackers covering Johnson. Excellent question.

After trading punts again the Titans had the ball at the Texans 6 with 2:52 to play. The first play was CJ for 3 yards, but the Titans got the phantom horse collar call. Yes, it was a bad call, but they owed us one from the non-call when Vince was tripped. We all know how it played out. My only problem with the last drive was we had 1st and 10 at the Texans 40 with 1:09 left- I understand they wanted to get closer, but they should have run the ball at least once. Best case scenario CJ breaks another one to get us even closer, and worst case scenario it gets stuffed and they are forced to use one of their timeouts. I love that there was never any doubt about the Bironas field goal from the moment it left his foot.

The same cannot be said for Kris Brown's field goal that never had a shot. I was scared when we gave the ball back to the Texans after the horrible pooch kick. They had good field position, :44 seconds and two timeouts. The announcers were quick to tell us that K. Brown had been hitting them from 80 in warm-ups. I have never understood how that is relevant. The Texans hit plays of 16 and 11 before attempting the kick. I probably would have taken one more shot had I been them to try and get it closer. They didn't, K. Brown kicked it a mile to the left and I once again ran around my living room.

Winning is so much more fun. That one was especially fun with all of the crap leading up to the game. Now on to Arizona.

Bills Fantasy Friday: Week 10 Start 'Em/Sit 'Em

Kurupt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:52:42 -0000

It seems like an eternity since they last played, but Buffalo Bills football returns this Sunday as the team travels to Nashville to take on the "surging" Tennessee Titans. The Bills last took the field in Week 8 and saw the offense put up another feeble effort as the defense finally fell apart in the fourth quarter, losing 31-10 at home to Houston.

The lack of fantasy success for Bills skills players continued, and there may be no end in sight. Trent Edwards returns from his concussion suffered way back in Week 6 with low expectations. It's been a struggle for him following a decent start to the season, as both he and the Bills' offense has become totally out of sync. The bumbling Bills will be facing a hot Tennessee offense led by the NFL's leading rusher, Chris Johnson. Things could get ugly for the Bills' run defense this week.

Let's take a look at the individual fantasy players of note for this week, after the jump.

Quarterbacks
Trent Edwards - Edwards hasn't played since being knocked out in the 2nd quarter of the Bills victory over the Jets back in Week 6. The offense was just as bad without him, and maybe worse. Don't be surprised by an early jolt of life from Edwards and the Bills offense, especially going against the league's 32nd ranked pass defense. However, with the way he's played since mid-September, it'd be hard to believe he'll have the success that other quarterbacks have seen against the Titans. Pro Bowl Cornerback Cortland Finnegan has come back the past two weeks, after a hamstring injury, to help the Titans defense allow a very respectable 181.5 passing yards per game. The Titans pass defense has also allowed just 4.4 yards per passing play the past two weeks. To me, the Titans defense, with a healthy Finnegan, is much closer to the past two weeks' performances than of the prior six. I expect Edwards to have some nice plays in his return, but struggle for the most part. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Vince Young - Young has led the Titans to both wins this season after replacing the ineffective Kerry Collins. He hasn't produced big numbers (297 total passing yards, 44 rushing yards, 2 total touchdowns), but has limited his mistakes (no interceptions, one sack taken) during this time. Young won't be much of a threat through the air, though the Titans like to go deep, but could really hurt the Bills with his legs. He's done it before. Still, I wouldn't expect much production yardage-wise, but he could find the endzone multiple times. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Running Backs
Marshawn Lynch - While the Titans pass defense has improved significantly the past two games, their run defense has taken a hit allowing 325 yards on the ground, 3 touchdowns and 9.0 yards per carry. Lynch and the Bills run offense have really struggled all season. Lynch is averaging just 43.4 yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry. Also, after 11 receptions in his first two games back from suspension, he has caught just six passes in the past three games. It's tough to recommend starting anyone on the Bills offense at this point, but in this matchup, Lynch might be the top choice. With Edwards back in the lineup, expect to see Lynch utilized in the passing game more. He's a flex option and not much more. Verdict: Start 'Em as a flex only

Fred Jackson - Jackson has just 14 carries in the past two games, and hasn't caught a pass since the Cleveland game. I wouldn't expect a huge spike in production this week, so keep him on your bench once again. He needs to be given more touches again before he is fantasy worthy. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Chris Johnson - Johnson leads the NFL in rushing with 959 yards. Johnson is averaging a ridiculous 6.7 yards per carry. Johnson has 12 rushes of over 20 yards (the Bills have four). Johnson has six rushes of over 40 yards (the Bills have one). Johnson has five 50+ yard touchdowns (the Bills have none). Simply put, he's damn good. Going against the Bills feeble rush defense, ranked 32nd in the NFL, looks like a major mismatch....and it is. I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson rushed for well over 200 yards this week, and fully expect him to have some big plays. If you have him on your fantasy team, be happy about it. If you don't, sit back and hope the Bills can miraculously shut him down. Verdict: Start 'Em

LenDale White - White has just 56 carries for 198 yards this season, and looks to be losing nearly all his touches as Johnson gets better and better. He's no longer a touchdown vulture, so he has little value to fantasy owners. Don't expect much. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Wide Receivers
Terrell Owens - As of right now (Friday morning), it's looking like Owens will be very iffy come Sunday. He is battling a hip injury that came out of nowhere on Tuesday, and is said to be "struggling" with it. It's not looking good for him this week. Knowing Owens, he's likely to try and play through the injury, but he'll probably be even more ineffective than usual. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Lee Evans - Evans saw a bit of a revival with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, but struggled in his last outing against the Texans finishing with just 2 catches for 29 yards. With Owens potential out, and Finnegan playing at a high level again, it could be another stinker for him this week. I did what I said I wouldn't do again this season and recommending starting Evans against Houston. Never again! Let him do the opposite of what I say! He should see more looks this week, but don't expect a huge game, or even a good game. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Nate Washington - Washington leads the Titans with 23 receptions, but has just 202 yards to show for it. He has a respectable 4 touchdowns on the season, but hasn't been the deep threat that Tennessee expected. Expect the Titans to throw only when they really need to, so Washington isn't much of a play this week. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Justin Gage - Gage leads the Titans with 302 receiving yards and looked good last week hauling in 4 passes for 97 yards. Young seems to like him, and the Titans will probably look to get him deep, so the potential for some big plays is there. Unless you are really desperate, look elsewhere. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Kenny Britt - Britt has just 3 catches in the last four games. I still think he's going to be a very good NFL WR, but it'll take some time (and a better QB). Keep an eye on him in the future. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Tight Ends
Shawn Nelson and Derek Fine - Nelson returns to the field this week following a concussion and subsequent migraines. Fine is still the starter. Neither have been effective this season. Fine has just three catches since week 3, and Nelson has flashed his potential only occasionally. Going forward, it'll be imperative to work Nelson into the lineup and passing game much more. Let's hope he responds with some production. Neither is fantasy relevant though. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Bo Scaife - Watching the Titans the past three or four seasons, Scaife proved to be one of Vince Young's favorite targets. He has six catches since Young returned to the lineup this year, and could be a sneaky play this week. The Bills defense has struggled against tight ends all season, so there should be opportunities for Scaife underneath. Don't be shocked if Scaife puts up nice numbers this week. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Alge Crumpler - Crumpler isn't a fantasy option anymore. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Kickers
Rian Lindell - Lindell is tied for 8th in the NFL with 13 field goals made for the season. He's been one of the few bright spots for an otherwise desolate team for fantasy purposes. Going against one of the league's most generous defenses could give Lindell more chances than usual. Still, it's tough to use the kicker for one of the worst offenses in the league. Go with a kicker from a better offense. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Rob Bironas - See Lindell, Rian. Bironas has more value because the Titans have the ability to move the ball on the ground. If the Bills can get stingy on 3rd downs in their own territory, Bironas could be a nice option this week. Again, I'd go with a kicker for a better offense, though. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Defense/Special Teams
Buffalo D/ST - The Bills defense has been quite opportunistic of late, forcing 13 turnovers and adding 6 sacks in the past three games. However, the Titans, under Vince Young, haven't turned it over and have allowed just one sack. Something has to give. If the Titans can control the ball and run wild on the Bills, as expected, sack and turnover opportunities just won't be there. But if the Bills defense can slow down Johnson and force some 3rd and longs, Young could be forced into some mistakes. I tend to believe it's more likely the former will happen. Verdict: Sit 'Em

Tennessee D/ST - The Titans D/ST has really taken a hit this season after performing as one of the better fantasy units the past few years. They are coming on though. In the past two weeks, they've forced six turnovers and accumulated eight sacks. I'd expect the sack numbers to continue. Playing at home could give them a nice boost as well. This unit makes for a good one week fill-in, if that's what you're looking for. Verdict: Start 'Em

Sleepers
Buffalo - Honestly, I don't see one. The offense has been so bad, it's hard to imagine any player making an unexpected huge contribution.

Tennessee - I'd say the Titans D/ST makes for a quality sleeper this week. It's unlikely many teams have been starting this unit this year, so they could put up an uncharacteristic total against the struggling Bills offense.

*****

It's hard to believe it's already Week 10, but here we are. It's the stretch run for fantasy leagues, so time to pull out all the stops. Make some trades to pick up players who will get you wins now, and go with the guys who have been producing this season. Good luck to all, enjoy the games and go Bills!

FANTASY WEEKEND REPORT by Craig T

Niko Houllis — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:20 -0000

Craig T's FFH (we lied about the year established. Stolen via Google search. How's that for honesty.

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Our good buddy Craig T has his internet down, let me guess, Brighthouse? Remember when Brighthouse tried to make everyone think the NFL Network was the bad guy? Now BH is the only one that Doesnt have it. Heck, I get NFL Network on a sprint phone for goodness sake!! " You carry 8 shopping channels, but no NFL Network!!!"

Anyways..This message brought to you by Verizon's Fios. JK, ....

Take it away Craig T...

Welcome, BucEm fans, to what will be our weekly look at some fantasy football help some of you might be musing over. With 8 weeks down and 5 to go, many of you are likely jockeying for playoff berths, so let's get down to it...

QBs TO START (excluding weekly automatic starts P. Manning, Brady, Roethlisberger, Brees, B. Favre, A. Rodgers, and K. Warner)

1. Tony Romo @ PHI. 8 TDs, 0 INTs in last 3 and seeing field as well as anyone.

2. Matt Hasselbeck vs DET. Weak SEA running game + weak DET defense = big bounceback game for Hasselbeck.

3. Donovan McNabb vs. DAL. Like Romo, also seeing field well in what should be a game filled w points.

4. Philip Rivers @ NYG. Clicking V-Jack lately and has passed for not less than 249 yds this season. NYG defense still not right.

5. Matt Schaub @ IND. First time he and Andre Johnson have been on the field together vs IND since 2007.

Sleeper: Jason Campbell @ ATL. Yes, ugh, I know, but WAS is coming off a bye and ATL can't stop anybody through the air. Look for a solid, if not great, game from Campbell Sunday.

QBs TO SIT

1. Eli Manning vs SD. He's just not trustworthy since injuring his heel.

2. Matt Ryan vs WAS. Roddy White is iffy for the game and WAS pass defense has been solid this season. If you have a 2nd option, consider it.

3. Jake Delhomme @ NO. If you were considering Jake as a bye-week replacement, dig deeper for an option, such as Alex Smith or Campbell. Delhomme vs a turnover-minded defense like NO is a nightmare.

4. Jay Cutler vs ARI. Has hit 3 PaTDs only once since week one.

5. Kyle Orton vs PIT. Steeler D boosted by return of Polamalu.

RBs TO START (excluding C. Johnson, Gore, MJ-D, Turner, LT, SJax, AP, Forte, Ronnie Brown, B. Jacobs)

1. Ryan Grant @ TB. Duh.

2. Joseph Addai vs. HOU. Comeback player of year candidate has scored in 4 straight.

3. Ray Rice @ CIN. Now the guy in BAL, should be key piece of offense in a close game.

4. Marion Barber @ PHI. With trio of RBs, no longer an auto start, but still gets majority of carries and goalline touches and should be started when DAL offense is clicking like it is.

5. Pierre Thomas vs. CAR. Still the main guy in the backfield of the most explosive offense in football.

Sleeper: Jamaal Charles @ JAX. Did you see what Johnson and Titans did to this run defense last week? Charles will get majority of carries and should have a good chance to score.

RBs TO SIT

1. LeSean McCoy vs DAL. Westbrook back and Cowboys have been strong against the run.

2. Laurence Maroney vs MIA. Sammy Morris' return clouds backfield picture and MIA also solid vs run.

3. Cadillac Williams vs GB. GB ranks near the top of the NFL in rushing YPGA. Certainly you've got a better option.

4. Rashard Mendenhall @ DEN.

Denver ranks 3rd against run and Willie Parker to get some work as well.

5. Beanie Wells @ CHI. Still splitting 50/50 w/Hightower, and appears not to be getting majority of goalline carries. Maybe a flex play, but not RB2 material.

WRs TO START (excluding R. Wayne, A. Johnson, L. Fitzgerald, M. Colston, R. Moss, W. Welker, Desean Jackson, R. White, Calvin Johnson, H. Ward, Vincent Jackson, D. Bowe, B. Marshall, Ochocinco)

1. Santana Moss @ ATL. Falcons giving up yards in droves to opposing number 1 WRs. Moss on Grimes' backup should be a mismatch.

2. Miles Austin @ PHI. Ride him til he bucks ya.

3. Nate Burleson vs DET. Hasselbeck's main target should cash in Sunday.

4. Donald Driver @ TB. Bucs' secondary will get a stiff test Sunday, and Driver has been Rodgers' go to guy. Jennings also a solid play.

5. Kevin Walter @ IND. Should have more one on one matchups than Johnson and targets should increase with loss of Owen Daniels.

Sleeper: Steve Breaston @ CHI. In line for solid number of targets with Boldin re-aggravating his ankle.

WRs TO SIT

1. Ted Ginn, Jr @ NE. Don't be fooled by his 2 KRTD performance against NYJ... He still hasn't earned his starting WR spot back yet from Hartline/Bess.

2. Roy E. Williams @ PHI. I don't care that he scored last week. He stinks and doesn't have trust of his QB.

3. Eddie Royal vs PIT. Only receiver worth trusting right now is B. Marshall. Gaffney stealing some of Royal's targets.

4. Lance Moore vs CAR. Gimpy, may be a GTD. With Meachem and Henderson likely to get targets, consider better alternatives over Moore if you can.

5. Mario Manningham vs. SD. Manning spreading around the targets and is having a tough time throwing an accurate deep ball, which hurts a big play WR like double M.

TEs TO START (excluding Witten, Gates, Clark, V. Davis, Shockey, T. Gonzalez)

1. Brent Celek vs DAL. Even though DAL has been great at holding down opposing TEs, he's too valuable to this offense lately to sit.

2. Kevin Boss vs SD. Great underneath option for Manning, who's struggling to step up and make deep throws.

3. Fred Davis @ ATL. TE is a big part of WAS passing game, and Davis has the athletic ability of a WR.

4. Donald Lee vs. TB. Rodgers looks at TE in red zone often and matchup problems exist for Buccaneers. Sub in Jermichael Finley here if he's cleared to play.

5. Heath Miller @ DEN. With Denver's defense so tough against the run and in the red zone, Big Ben's go to guy in the red zone should get some scoring looks.

Sleeper: Ben Watson vs MIA. Scored in 2 of last 3 games.

TEs TO SIT

1. Brandon Pettigrew @ SEA. If you're looking for a bye-week filler, look elsewhere. Without Stafford healthy, Pettigrew is a forgotten part of the offense.

2. Kellen Winslow vs TB. Yea yea, Freeman's gotta throw it to somebody, but who can really tell who he'll connect with? If you've got another solid option, consider it until we see how he connects with K2.

3. Bo Scaife @ SF. Niners 3-4 defense matches up their athletic LBs very well with opposing TEs.

4. Todd Heap @ CIN. Good for 3 catches, 40-50 yds, and that is all.

5. Tony Scheffler vs PIT. Except for his big game against SD a few weeks ago, has done nothing this year.

5 KICKERS TO START:

1. Shaun Suisham @ ATL

2. David Akers @ DAL

3. Nate Kaeding @ NYG

4. Kris Brown @ IND

5. Shayne Graham vs BAL

5 KICKERS TO SIT:

1. Dan Carpenter @ NE

2. Jason Elam vs WAS

3. Olindo Mare vs DET

4. Robbie Gould vs ARI

5. John Kasay @ NO

5 DEFENSES WITH GOOD MATCHUPS:

1. PIT @ DEN

2. SEA vs DET

3. NO vs CAR

4. JAX vs KC

5. SF vs TEN

5 DEFENSES WITH TOUGH MATCHUPS:

1. DAL @ PHI

2. NYG vs SD

3. PHI vs DAL

4. MIA @ NE

5. ATL vs WAS

Mining your way to fantasy gold - Week 9 Edition

Andrew Davidson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:00:06 -0000

When you're right, you're right; when you're wrong, you're Andrew Davidson. I'm going to start off this week's edition by recapping last week performance of projections and suggestions. I was correct in most of my sit/start match-ups, but not by much. In other words, the guys I suggested to start barely outperformed the guys I recommended sitting. Let's take a look:

Marshawn Lynch vs. Ryan Grant - I forecasted Lynch to have 50 total yards and 0 TDs; he had 49 total yards and 0 TDs. Grant was forecasted for 110 total yards and 1 TD; he had 51 total yards and 0 TDs. Grant outperformed Lynch, but this is a loss eithe way. Feel free to lynch me.

Braylon Edwards vs. Michael Crabtree - Well, I said Braylon wouldn't get a TD and he did. I said Crabtree would get a TD and he did not. Yardage wise, Crabs outperformed Edwards, but just barely (81 to 74). To make matters worse, Crabtree also had a Fumble Lost.

David Garrard vs. Matthew Stafford - Garrard helped me out here, I forecast 190 pass yards (w/30 rush yards), 1 TD and 1 INT. He ended up with 139 pass yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs (w/ 22 rush yards). If you benched Garrard, you're welcome. If you started Stafford, I'm sorry; the Lions QB had 168 pass yards, 1 TD (rushing), and 1 INT. Stafford out performed Garrard, but most QBs did (even Kurt Warner's 6 turnovers).

Dustin Keller - I seriously high fived myself when I saw his stat line: 76 yards, and 1 TD. I recommended Keller as one of my sleeprs, and boy did it pay off. This is the only pick I really felt great about, mainly because it's the only one I nailed.

San Diego DEF - The Chargers forced just 1 turnover and allowed JaMarcus Russell to complete 63.6% of his passes. The Team D allowed 16 points, but also had 5 sacks to go along with the INT. Not a great performance, but Shawne Merriman finally did get a sack (actually he had 2).

After the jump, I attempt to out-do myself in this week's forecasting...

RB to Start

Ryan Grant GB @ TB - I'm going to roll with Grant this week, because I know he can have a big game against the Bucs. Tampa Bay proudly owns the third worst rush D in the league, allowing 162.4 ypg (7 TDs isn't quite as embarassing). Both Buffalo (worst run D) and Cleveland (second worst) have a BYE week, so Tampa gets picked on in Week 9. Of course, Tampa is winless, and coming off a BYE; however, the Packers got Favred at home and are probably looking to take it out on Tampa Bay. Give Grant the Green Light, as I'm essentially taking the easy way out here. Week 9 Forecast: 110 total yards, 1 TD (where have I seen this before?)

RB to Sit

Rashard Mendenhall PIT @ DEN - The Broncos are coming off a loss to Baltimore and have the pleasure of facing Pittsburgh at home on Monday Night Football. Denver's run defense is third best in the league at stopping the run, allowing 86.1 ypg and 3 TDs. Ray Rice had a fine performance (84 rush yards, 1 TD), but averaged just 3.7 ypc; had the Ravens not been leading by such a large margin, Rice's carries would've decreased. While Mendenhall has a knack for breaking free, the Steelers won't find much success running against D.J. Williams and Company Monday Night. Week 9 Forecast: 70 total yards, 0 TDs

WR to Start

Michael Crabtree SF vs. TEN - If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. This time, my Crabtree suggestion makes much more sense as the Titans are allowing 299.1 pypg second worst in the league and slighty worse than San Francisco (269 pypg). This is the week that Michael Crabtree scores his first NFL TD, and has his first 100-yard receiving game. Mark it down. I said MARK IT DOWN. Further more, after this week, Crabtree will be a no-brainer when it comes to sit/start, so this will be the last time you see him on this list. If I had to gamble on Crab getting 100+ yards and 1 TD, I would. Start Crabtree, I promise he'll do what I'm forecasting. Week 9 forecast: 100 total yards, 1 TD, 0 FL

WR to Sit

Marques Colston NO vs. CAR - I am totally going out on a limb here, let's hope it doesn't break. Perhaps you're saying "but Colston is a must start no matter what", and I can't blame you for that. Forget that Colston has averaged just 63.6 ypg against Carolina in 6 career game, or that he's scored just 3 TDs in the same span. The Panthers are the best at keeping Drew Brees in check out of all the teams in the NFC South. Carolina also boasts the top pass defense in the NFL (176.3 pypg), and forced Kurt Warner into have one of the worst games of his career last weekend. Sit Colston, because I think it will be the other Saints WRs (since they have a million threats) that produce this week. Week 9 forecast: 70 total yards, 0 TDs

QB to Start

Joe Flacco BAL @ CIN - Flacco had a bad outing versus Cincinnati in their first meeting, but the Bengals are allowing 268.7 pygp and 10 PaTDs. I look for Flacco to get his revenge this weekend, even though the Bengals will win the game. I could've went the easy route this week, and said Matt Hasselbeck vs. Detroit, but since I'm going with Crabtree and Grant, I'll make it a bit harder on myself. The Bengals have the fifth-best run D, so I expect the Ravens to go to the air, because they'll have greater success there. Flacco doesn't have to face Antwan Odom, and the Bengals pass rush may not be as disruptive this time around against Baltimore. Week 9 forecast: 275 pass yds, 2 TDs, 0 INTs

QB to Sit

Philip Rivers SD @ NYG - I'm out on that limb again telling you to bench a guy like Philip Rivers, a QB who is arguably a guy you never want to sit. However, would you want to face a Giants defense at home that got embarassed by Philadelphia last Sunday? I wouldn't, and I think Rivers is going to find out he's in for a long day once the whistle blows. This is also the first time Rivers and Eli Manning square off in their NFL careers; if you recall, the two were involved in a draft day trade during the 2004 NFL Draft. I think the Giants show Rivers a "good" time in New York, as he'll be enjoying the scenery from his backside all game long. Yes, go ahead and bench Rivers. Week 9 forecast: 175 pass yds, 1 TD, 2 INTs

Sleepers

Jacksonville Team DEF vs. Kansas City - The Jaguars are allowing 25.3 ppg and 370.7 total ypg this season, pretty paper thin if you ask me. Luckily for the Jags, the Chiefs are quite terrible offensively, averaging 15 ppg and just 251.6 total ypg. Further more, I expect Jacksonville to bounce back after allowing Tennessee to get their first win in 2009 this past week. The Jaguars are at home, and should thump the Chiefs who are without Larry Johnson. If you've got Minnesota's Team DEF and need a BYE replacement, take a look at Jacksonville, they're probably on the waiver wire. Week 9 forecast: 13 pts allowed, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 1 Def TD

Bo Scaife TEN @ SF - To be honest, the 49ers have done pretty well against opposing TEs in all but 2 games. Those two games just happen to be their previous two games. Now, Bo Scaife is no Owen Daniels, nor is he Dallas Clark's doppleganger. However, I think the Titan TE will be involved in catching a lot of short passes against San Francisco with Vince Young under centre. Last week, Tennessee TEs had 7 catches total, compared to the 6 that the WRs had. Scaife was on the receiving end of 4 of those passes (for just 24 yards, but you get the point). If you are in a PPR (points-per-reception) league, Scaife might be worth looking at if you're other TE has a less than favourable match-up. Week 9 forecast: 7 receptions, 55 total yards, 0 TDs

That's it for this week and just because I went out on a limb doesn't excuse me from getting absolutely thrashed if I end up being wrong. I have Rivers in the Niners Nation FleaFlicker league, and I'll be benching him if I can find a suitable replacement. Further more, I have Colston in a FF League that has pride on the line and I'll be benching him in favour of Greg Jennings or DeSean Jackson (any help is appreciated chickmagnet). To say the least, if I'm wrong, I'm hurting myself more than anyone. See you guys next week.

Everything That is Wrong with the 2009 Tennessee Titans in One Drive

Jimmy — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:45:09 -0000

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In Sunday's game against the Jaguars, there was one drive that sums up all the things that are wrong with the 2009 Tennessee Titans.

The Jags had just scored a touchdown to go up 17-3 with 7:35 remaining in the 2nd quarter. At down 14 with 37 minutes left to play is no time to panic. There is still plenty of time left in the game to grind it out. Keep in mind that to this point the Titans had only one drive that lasted more than 3 plays. The defense, which is bad and decimated by injuries, had been on the field most of the game. It is on the offense to put together a drive that lets them catch their breath.

The drive gets off to a good start with Chris Johnson gaining 9 yards on first down. Now if they would have called me at that point and asked me what to run, I would have told them to bring LenDale White in the game and either just hand the ball to him or run play action with him and take a shot down the field.

What do the Titans do? Hand the ball to CJ for no gain. Now don't get me wrong, I love CJ, and I know that he has the ability to break any given play, but short yardage is not his specialty.

So now it is 3rd and 1. So the Titans brought LenDale in and handed him the ball, right? Nope.

Well they at least had LenDale in the game and did a play fake to him, right? Wrong again.

With CJ still lined up at tailback, they do a play fake to him and roll Kerry Collins out. Way to play to his strengths. Bo Scaife was supposed to sneak out into the flat, but he fell down. Incomplete pass. PUNT TEAM!

I understand that the play calling I suggested is pretty predictable, but it is about time for this team to get back to predictability. It worked for them.

/not that any of this matters anyway because the defense couldn't stop the high flying Jags passing attack

What is Wrong with the Tennessee Titans?

hal41605 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:31:03 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Have Jeff Fisher and the Titans ever fallen so far short of expectations?

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"And you may ask yourself: Well....How did I get here?"

-David Byrne and Brian Eno

Nothing about the Titans season has gone as planned. A team that most people expected to at least be among the 10 or 12 best teams in the league sits at 0-3. On the bench, one of the most respected coaches of the last two decades holds in his hand a roster that returned all the crucial, marquee players, save one, from a team that went 13-3 last year. It's a roster full of Pro-Bowlers and other assorted veterans, some of whom have rings on their fingers from their previous destinations. The rookies on that roster belong to a highly regarded draft class that provided much to be optimistic about during the preseason.

The Titans lost a coordinator, but promoted from within in hopes of maintaining a great system. They lost an All-Pro, but put trust in the best in the business, Jim Washburn, to turn another nobody into a somebody, yet again, as he has done so regularly throughout his tenure in Tennessee. The players were steaming mad and itching to complete some unfinished business after squandering one of the easier roads to a Super Bowl one will ever see last season with the fiasco at home against Baltimore in early January. This was a team that had absolutely every reason to come storming out of the gates, tough schedule or not, and assert themselves as a contender early on.

And they now sit at 0-3.

The Titans have problems, big problems in all three phases of the game. Some are personnel based, some are errors in execution, and still others are coaching related. After the jump, my take on the State of the Titans and what must happen, starting on Sunday with Jacksonville.

Special Teams

Special teams is by far the worst unit on this football team this season. It is basically impossible to find anything good to say about special teams, as their dead last DVOA ranking would suggest. The Titans have allowed a blocked kick, missed a kick, and done worse than nothing on both kick and punt returns. Football Outsiders gives separate values for each phase of special teams, and an examination of each phase tells you exactly what you already know if you have been paying attention. The best parts of the Titans special teams are the kick and punt coverage units, which both rank near the middle of the league. On field goals and extra point kicks, only 5 teams have done worse so far this season. On kick returns only the hapless Rams are worse and no team in the league is below the Titans on punt returns.

Plenty has already been written about the Titans decision to go without an experienced return man this season. The decision to let Chris Carr walk was, I believe, justifiable based upon his insistence that he have a regular role on defense in the secondary-a role he simply wasn't that good at. But Chris Carr signed with the Ravens on March 18^th. There is no excuse whatsoever for not using the next 5 months between losing Carr and the beginning of the season to find a guy who can return kicks and punts. There simply isn't. This is the first of two massive blunders that the front office made this offseason that should have never been allowed to happen. The Titans recently went crawling back to return specialist Mark Jones, whom they cut after an injury plagued training camp, but how effective he is going to be remains to be seen, considering he failed a physical in Carolina less than a month ago. It must be said, however, as long as he doesn't fumble away touchdowns for the other team, he's an upgrade.

Pass Defense

The Titans pass defense, which has been infuriatingly inept, is currently ranked 29^th in terms of raw yardage and 26^th by Football Outsiders' DVOA metric. From where I sit there are two causes, one schematic, one personnel. In terms of scheme, the Titans are trying their hardest to stick with the Schwartz system of only rushing four lineman 90% of the time. While I have no problem with this being our core philosophy, Defensive Coordinator Chuck Cecil has to do a much, much better job of recognizing when our four-man rush simply isn't getting the job done and blitzing more accordingly. When Roethlisberger was getting all day on every single play in the second half against Pittsburgh, Cecil's failure to adapt and do what was necessary to get more pressure was a huge part of why the Titans lost that game. It should be noted that our four man line ranks 10^th by DVOA against the pass and is towards the top end of the league with 7 sacks this season. It is not the case that our line can't get pressure on the QB, it's that they cannot do it consistently and they cannot do it late in games when they have spent the majority of the game on the field. The line misses Albert Haynesworth, no question, because he made everyone better, but I still think this defense can be just as nasty as last season with a little more imagination in regards to how they bring pressure.

The personnel aspect of our passing defense woes begins and ends with Nick Harper. When you have a cornerback averaging almost 9 tackles per game and who has no pass defenses in 3 games, you have big problems. It has become obvious that Nick Harper simply does not have enough left in his legs to be effective. The pass rush may not be as potent this season, and I do think that is part of the problem, but Nick Harper is leaving receivers open early and often, so it's hard to imagine that he would be serviceable even with more QB pressure. In fact, several times when the Titans have blitzed, it has been Nick Harper's man that served as the safety valve on a quick slant. Through the first three games, it is almost impossible to avoid the conclusion that Harper, at 35 years old, simply cannot play corner effectively in the NFL anymore.

The decision to let all of the experienced back up corners walk this offseason, when they knew they had a starter who was going to be that old, was, in my opinion, the biggest blunder made by the front office this offseason. It is no secret that once a corner loses his legs he is next to worthless in this league. Wide receivers are just too fast. By letting our depth at that position walk, especially Eric King, and only adding rookie replacements, the front office went "all in" on the bet that Harper would be fine this season. It looked like a sucker bet during the offseason, but the events of the first 3 weeks have cemented the choice to not pursue another quality, experienced cornerback as an unmitigated disaster.

While there have certainly been other scheme and execution problems in the secondary, such as Michael Griffin and Chris Hope simply not living up to their Pro-Bowl performances from last year and simply not being as good when asked to cover longer than last year, not having a good 2^ndstring option with which to replace Harper has been, and may continue to be, a fatal error. Now that Vincent Fuller and Cortland Finnegan are both banged up, this blunder will only become more and more costly, as replacing Harper will not be possible if the Titans are too busy dealing with injuries to other players at the same position. If the Titans go quietly into the night the season, this will be as much the reason as anything else.

Offensive Scheme

There are always plenty of opinions about the merits of having a "game manager" at quarterback and even more opinions about what, exactly constitutes a "games manager". Well, Titans fans, the answer is simple. Last year Kerry Collins was a game manager. This year, he is not. The distinction basically centers on how many and what kinds of throws the quarterback is asked to make every game. Last year, Kerry made very few passes deep down field, and got the majority of his completions through tight ends and running backs. As a result, Kerry was among the best at protecting the ball last year and not taking sacks. He made quick, precise throws to short and mid-range targets and it was exactly what a team with a dynamic rushing attack and a bruising defense needed: a game manager.

This year Kerry Collins is no longer being asked to be a game manager. Last season he attempted roughly 26 passes per game. Through three games this season he has attempted 35, 33, and 37 passes, on average 9 more passes per game than last season. Last season, 150 of the team's 265 completions went to people who didn't play receiver, or 56.6%. So far this season the count is 30 to 28 in favor of receivers, or 51.7% in the other direction, a swing of over 7%. Going forward, the Titans need to reestablish their low risk brand of passing game, and getting Bo Scaife and Jared Cook into the game plan after injuries will be key.

Simply put, Collins is being asked to make more plays in the passing game, and make plays he has-both good and bad. Kerry only threw 12 TDs all of last season but is on pace for 21.3 TD passes this season. Last season he averaged 167 yards passing per game. This year he is averaging over 40 more yards per game with 210 yards per game. It becomes clear that when you ask Kerry to do more, he can do more. But what has not yet been said and what most people have probably been thinking while watching the games is that Kerry is also making a lot of mistakes. Kerry was only intercepted 7 times all last season, roughly 1.7% of his passes. This season he has already been picked off 4 times at a rate of 3.8%--more than twice as often as last season. The other big change has been in the sack department. When you make more throws to wide receivers down field, the quarterback is asked to hold the ball longer. Kerry has already been sacked 5 times after being sacked just 8 times last season.

So the situation seems clear. When we ask Kerry to throw the ball more often, especially down field to wide receivers, we get a lot more production of every sort: more yards, more TDs, more critical mistakes. The Titans have seemingly forgotten what made Collins so successful last season and are currently asking him to do more than he is capable of doing without significantly increasing the number of negative plays he makes. Last season, Collins threw less than 11 incompletions per game. This season he is up to almost 16. The Titans have lost the time of possession battle, a crucial stat for a Jeff Fisher team, in every game this season. Adding 5 clock-stopping incompletions per game is part of that. The other part of that is what we aren't doing when we are busy throwing the ball too much.

Last season, Chris Johnson and Lendale White combined to average just over 28 carries per game (remember, Collins averaged 26 passes per game). That number is down over 3 carries per game this season, and it's Lendale's carries that are really suffering. He is down to only 7 carries per game from his average of 12.5 carries per game last year. So not only is the increased load on Collins' shoulders causing him to create turnovers that we cannot afford, it is also contributing to the marginalization of Lendale White, and is thus neutering the vaunted 1-2 punch in the running game.

Lendale is in a contract season, lost all that weight and now we are choosing to pass the ball 35 times a game instead of milking our running game like we ought to. Lendale has NEVER been this good, and the Titans have never used him less. In a word: stupid. Our mediocre at best run blocking (a dark secret about this team that is rarely talked about) has been less than effective much of the time, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that Chris Johnson can't move the pile or wear down defenses. Astute ESPN columnist Paul Kuharsky pointed out how almost half of CJ's touches have gone for a yard or less. Chris Johnson is that fastest man alive in football pads, but Lendale, slimmed down though he may be, delivers a load that Johnson cannot begin to simulate. The Titans desperately need to get him more touches, especially early on, in order to keep the ball moving forward on the ground and to put a strangle hold on time of possession. Lendale's touchdown run against the Jets was an absolute thing of beauty, showcasing an incredible mixture of strength and agility. A big part of the reason why we are losing games late instead of winning them is because we aren't pounding the rock on offense, milking the clock and wearing down the other team. For someone who has watched the Titans ever since they existed, this seems like Jeff Fisher Football 101, but astoundingly this version of the Titans have seemingly forgotten that lesson.

Coaching and Management

As someone who generally regards Jeff Fisher as the best coach in football without a ring, this final section is particularly difficult to write and think about. The simple fact is that, besides the draft, the coaching and player personnel staffs have done a borderline awful job since the end of last season. From a coaching standpoint, this team has been terrible at making in game adjustments. Beyond that, this team has lost its identity.

On offense, the smash mouth, run first philosophy that defined this franchise has gone out the window in favor of a near 60/40 split in favor of the passing game. The Titans have trailed this season, but never to a large enough margin to justify abandoning the run. Offensive Coach Mike Heimerdinger needs to get his head back on straight and remember what it is that this team does well. Yes, the Titans have upgraded their wide receiver corps substantially, but none of those additions comes close to justifying this kind of swing in philosophy.

On defense, the coaches should have realized that losing Albert Haynesworth would hurt our pass rush, at least to some degree. If you know there is a pretty good chance that there will be a decline in quarterback pressure, leaving a 35 year old out there at corner with no quality backup is foolish. I don't think Albert's departure has to be such a big deal, but if the coaching staff continues to use the exact same scheme as if he were still on the roster, the impact of his departure will continue to be magnified.

From Here on Out

As far as I am concerned, last year was a blueprint for exactly what this team needs to be about: clock control (via a run first attack and a safe passing game), winning the turnover battle, stuffing the run and not giving up big plays. The Titans, through three games have failed at three of those four key tenets. Looking at it that way, it should be no surprise that this team finds themselves exactly where they are at this point of the season- on life support. There is simply no way to be successful when you combine a team straying from its identity with the killer lapses in execution on the field. If these Tennessee Titans expect to right the ship and make something of this season, it is imperative that they take a good long look in the mirror and remember what made them tick last season. It is by no means too late to turn things around, but it has to start Sunday against the Jaguars. Stop asking Kerry to be something he is not, reintegrate Lendale into the offense, figure out how to bring more pressure through blitzing, and hope that Mark Jones can get the job done.