SB Nation - Ryan Fowler

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: You Hide, You Hide, But Will Be Found Edition

August West — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:56:12 -0000

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Cushing: "How do I get to 0-2?" ------------- Helpful samaritan: "Go that way, take a left, and you'll see LP Field just ahead... can't miss it."

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Jared Cook got more reps at practice as he gets closer and closer to game-ready. The coaching staff are still hopeful that he'll be ready on Sunday. Titans fans, meanwhile, are dying to see what he can do in real games after he lead the entire team in receptions during the preseason.

Ryan Mouton will also be active this Sunday, and that means we'll get a look at the cat coaches believe in so much they've by-passed a bevy of experienced returners who are currently street free agents.

Now if Cook is inactive and Ryan Mouton stinks up the place on returns Sunday, it'll be a true nightmare scenario for us. And the worst part? We'll have to watch it All Nightmare Long... by Metallica! (Yeah I'm doubling up on the Metallica for my Friday Jams, but the show on Monday was that damned good... and yes, that's Lemmy from Motorhead playing the encore. This video is also one of the best I've seen in years. I'm a complete junkie for any well done zombie movie.)

Follow us through the jump to see what Houston RB Chris Brown is saying about the Titans...

Four years into his career as a Titan, Stephen Tulloch has really come into his own in the eyes of the coaching staff, as evidenced by the cutting of Ryan Fowler. Of course, we here at MCM have been big fans of Tully for years, so seeing that faith pay off is always satisfying.

Surprise, surprise: many of the Titans are big fans of the MMA reality show Ultimate Fighter, and that's even more true this year as one of the contestants was a former 7th round pick by the Titans named Wes Shivers.

Chris Brown doesn't harbor any hard feelings against the Titans despite how his time ended here. Frankly, I don't see how he could have much to complain about regarding the final few years because I'm sure they put all of the comfy furniture and Capri Suns in the training room he needed.

Sunday's contest is almost guaranteed to be on an ultra-sloppy field as the game moves on (for non-locals, it's been raining for about a week here in Nashville, and the forecast is calling for more of the same through the middle of next week). For Chris Johnson, that could be a very good thing.

Ahhem... Lavelle, I'd pay good attention to this note from PFW's Whispers section:

• Should the Titans add a veteran receiver in the weeks to come, second-year WR Lavelle Hawkins' roster spot could be in jeopardy, a source close to the club told PFW. Hawkins was inactive for the season opener at Pittsburgh.

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.

Another Roster Move

John B — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:30:29 -0000

The Jets drop a fullback and pick up a linebacker:

The New York Jets have signed free agent LB Ryan Fowler and have waived FB Jason Davis. The announcement was made by Jets general manager Mike Tannenbaum.

Fowler, a 6'3", 250-pound Duke product, was released by Tennessee on Sept. 6, 2009. Fowler spent two seasons with the Titans after signing as a restricted free agent on March, 20, 2007. He has played in 62 games (21 starts) and has recorded 119 total tackles with two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. In two career postseason games, Fowler has posted one tackle. Originally beginning his career in Dallas, Fowler signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cowboys on April 30, 2004.

I must be missing something. What's the point of signing guys only to cut them a day later? The point of signing somebody is you think they improve the football team. How much do they really help the team if you think of cutting them within 24 hours? It's not like we're talking about changing the starting quarterback, but it's starting to seem like this team is just making moves for the sake of being active.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Rinse. Repeat. Edition

August West — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:32:21 -0000

by David Richard - AP

Who knew having an ankle could be such a bad thing?

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Cortland Finnegan has no doubt in his mind that he can take down Big Ben... without a running start. I'm not so sure, but I've also learned that telling Cortland he can't do something is the best way to get it done.

Titans. Steelers. Towels. Rinse. Repeat.

Nate Washington and Justin Gage have been bonding over the fact that they're both guys who overcame tremendous odds and worked hard to create their own breaks... well that makes it sound like they end the conversation by both leering at Kenny Britt and forcing him to do something humiliating...

Follow us through the jump to find out which Titan is more excited about tomorrow than Nate Washington...

Who is more excited about this game than Nate Washington and LenDale White combined? Jason Jones, who racked up 3.5 sacks in last year's contest...

Mike Tomlin made a big impression on Nate Washington, and one note in particular serves as a regular motivation for the wide-out.

No wonder these were the yahoos paying Mike Florio before he grew-up into an NBC shill: The Sporting News ranked the top 100 NFL players, and the first Titan on the list is Chris Johnson at no. 70. You read that list though, and it's obvious that hype and name recognition are the most important qualifications: How else would Ray Lewis be no. 11 (this isn't 2001, folks) and Roethlisberger be no. 12 (3rd overall QB and 6 spots ahead of Drew Brees)?

T-Rac's Posse previews almost every strength, weakness and question heading into tomorrow's game against the Steelers.

The Jets continued their pilfering of former Titans by signing MLB Ryan Fowler. It'll be Fowler's return to the 3-4 defense he played in Dallas after spending his time here in a 4-3 system.

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.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Ribonucleic Acid Freak Out Edition

August West — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:32:56 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Chris Davis dropped the ball... in life. /goes back to writing after school specials

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Chris Davis certainly didn't help himself get a roster spot by getting popped for a DUI last night around 4 a.m. The team had already left for Dallas, but Davis was staying behind due to a hamstring injury. In an incredibly weird twist, the arresting officer was the same guy who was suspended after pulling McNair over in 2003, and the same cop who pulled McNair and his killer over (she got a DUI) two days before his murder.

This is about as close as we'll get to an apology from LenDale for his fumble in the Baltimore game, and it was actually nice to read:

"I'm a humbled man," White says. "When the clock strikes triple zeroes and you have to walk off the field knowing you're one of the reasons your team lost, it hurts man."

To his credit, White didn't duck reporters afterward. He made himself available for waves of repeat questions, and came away saying the experience taught him three things.

"I think I learned how to be a football player, and I learned how to grow up," he says. "And I learned I need to hold on to the damn football."

This week's edition of the Friday Jams features my boys Clutch (who I've linked to before, but they're that good), and their binary coded masterpiece: 10001110101.

Follow us through the jump for a mountain of links...

After being told he had too many carries in college to have a long NFL career, Javon Ringer is dead-set on proving those folks wrong. Given that he's about to take a former 2nd round pick's roster spot, I'd say he's well on his way. Here's another post from the excellent blog Sparty and Friends by a Michigan State fan who is pulling for Ringer.

SI.com's John P. Lopez goes through the AFC and comes up with the player each team could least afford to lose. Ours was Boom King, but there are legit concerns about his health that he really needs to answer this year. if he's able to stay relatively healthy, then I'd expect him to have another Pro Bowl caliber year.

Tonight's game is extra exciting for a few Titans, namely former Cowboy Ryan Fowler and Texas native DeMarcus Faggins, as they'll be part of history by breaking in the new Cowboys stadium.

Stephen Tulloch is out for tonight, but plans on practicing all next and resuming his starting role against Cleveland. I hope he can get back to 100% soon, but it is nice knowing that we have reliable back-up like Fowler right there when we need him.

The ever-dligent SoCal points us towards this season preview on examiner.com.

Colin Cowherd is a definite douchecanoe, even if he did side with our boy here. You gotta love that this is cutting edge programing on ESPN. I'm just waiting for them to come up with a Chelsea Handler type show where three comedians and friggin' Erik Kuselias sit around and crack jokes in the 'Best Week Ever' vein... you know this is coming soon.

So will Dungy go out on a limb for the other Vick brother? Hell, the worst he ever did was stomp on Elvis Dumervil back in college. Marcus had the same crappy raising and influences, so where's the out cry for his 'second shot'?

I'll have to admit, when Ochocinco is in a good headspace, he can be one of the funnier players in the league.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Blue Chippers Edition

August West — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:19:27 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

This is what it looks like when KB is shooting his Ustream show in the locker room. Not really a joke there I just found that interesting... hang on: is Bulluck wearing a Lion King the musical t-shirt?!?!

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Kenny Britt is getting a look at punt return duty. I seriously doubt the coaches get him to do this in a real game, but it shows the kind of 'put me in wherever coach' attitude that Fisher loves to see in a rookie.

Mike Lombardi at the National Football Post takes a look at who in the AFC South qualifies as a 'blue chip' player. For the Titans it's Michael Roos, Chris Johnson and Cortland Finnegan; with Bulluck, Griffin, Brown and Boom King being right on the cusp. If you swapped Chris Hope in there for Tony Brown I'd agree with that list a whole lot more... and Griff is definitely a blue chipper.

The Titans vs. Steelers game that opens the season on Sept. 10 will be preceded by a free concert featuring Tim McGraw and The Black Eyed Peas because the NFL hates my ears.

Follow us through the jump to find out who almost redeemed national football reporters everywhere with his tremendous Titans training camp report...

After hammering the national and local press for their lax coverage of training camp, Don Banks goes and proves us slightly wrong by turning in a great write-up of Titans camp. To bad he was only here for a few days. After an offseason that some saw as a little more lackadaisical than expected, it's great to hear things like this:

2. All you have to do to get a strong reaction from a Titans player this camp is mention the word "Baltimore.'' Tennessee's players are still smarting from their playoff-opening homefield loss to the Ravens in the AFC divisional round, and that's the way they want it in the wake of last season's 13-3 regular season and one-and-done playoff appearance. Suffice to say the theme of unfinished business hangs heavily in the air.

"There's almost nothing good that came from that Baltimore game, other than the fact that guys were in that next week working hard,'' Titans right defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch told me. "We had a bad taste in our mouth. Even though we went [an AFC best] 13-3 last season, nobody feels like we accomplished anything. That's the one bright spot, with the way the season ended last year, nobody's satisfied around here.''

The scribes at the Tennessean have unveiled a new feature: a stock report that offers quick updates on players' recent performance. It looks like it will he updated very regularly. That counts as cutting edge innovation at a Gannett newspaper.

Donnie Nickey and Ryan Fowler were fined $5,000 each for illegal hits in the Hall of Fame Game.

Hal pointed it out in yesterday's Camp notes, and it made an impression on Terry McCormick too: TE Craig Stevens was involved in multiple shoving matches yesterday as he tries to carve out a spot near the bottom of this crowded roster.

And finally, Jimmy is gone to the Windy City today to watch his beloved Cubs today (any readers in Chi-town?), so make sure you keep an eye out for him on WGN. Hopefully with Jimmy in the house, they'll class the place up a little!

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: My Biggest Mistake Was Loving You Too Much, And Letting You Know Edition

August West — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 13:42:29 -0000

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

Not a single word on VY in today's links. Well I mean except for this caption, but you know what I'm getting at. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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The coaching staff has been very upfront about the fact that Ryan Fowler is back in the mix for the starting MLB spot, but Stephen Tulloch will not go quietly into the night. He tells Jim Wyatt all about it:

"Now that I am getting my opportunity I'm not giving it back. The only way I give up this job is if they carry me off the field. To finally have the opportunity to start, I think the sky is the limit for me and I want to showcase my abilities. I'm just getting started.''

Look, Ryan Fowler seems like a good guy, but if the coaching staff is really debating starting him over Tully I just have on thing to say, and I know The Band agrees: Don't Do It!

Kerry Collins used his appearances at the CMT Awards earlier this week to meet some of his musical heros, and talk to Alan Jackson about diggin' on some Alan Jackson.

Former Titans Rien Long and Zack Pillar were selected in last night's much ignored UFL draft. This is actually a cool story for Rien Long, who has been battling back from a near fatal car accident in January of 2008.

I don't put much credence in rumors of Pac being resigned by the Cowboys, but Mike Florio has an interesting tidbit that would be an odd one for someone to make up:

There’s a rumor making the rounds that Pacman Jones is still living on property owned by Jerry Jones.

I think we'd all agree that it's time for Pac to give it up, and focus on preparing for his true life's calling: being a strip club DJ.

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

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Congratulations Mike Florio, You're Officially Part Of The Problem Edition

August West — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:13:53 -0000

More photos » by Ray Stubblebine - AP

Peyton Manning does great charity work in the community by helping sick children focus on happier things. Here, he also uses the opportunity to introduce the Colts' newest coaches. /rimshot . (AP Photo/Hasbro, Ray Stubblebine)

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Congrats to those hammering VY for doing some charity work... the comparison to Pacman that's being made is still so damned ignorant and infuriating. It's only those who are miles outside of the loop that has been the past 5 years in pop culture that think Pacman had a monopoly on that thing; either that or irresponsible tabloids marketing to mouth breathing douc...

Jim Wyatt has a response to Gary Estwick's column with Ryan Fowler that we posted yesterday: MLB is Tully's spot, and Fowler didn't give it away as much as Tully won it by making plays and being a better option at MLB.

I give props to Florio for saying something good about our organization in his list of the top ten off-season moves, but then he makes an idiotic point at the end. It's becoming hilarious how many NFL observers don't understand why tampering matters. I don't care if all of these guys who cover the NFL see it all the time and just choose not to write about it because 'that's how these things work'. To my mind that makes them part of the problem. Things only work like that because you allow them to work like that.

Cortland has quite the t-shirt collection going on these days:

• CB Cortland Finnegan(= had a bunch of T-shirts at his locker on Thursday, all representing different colleges of his Titans teammates. The catch, all the t-shirts were from non-Division I-A level schools. Finnegan himself played at Division I-AA Samford.

Other shirts represented in the collection, included Grand Valley State (Nick Harper), Montana (Tuff Harris), Montana State (Ken Amato), Washburn and Fordham (both Cary Williams), South Dakota (Ryan Fowler), Dartmouth (Casey Cramer) and Eastern Washington (Michael Roos). Finnegan said he just ordered a Tiffin t-shirt to honor Nate Washington and is working on getting a Maine t-shirt for tight end Matthew Mulligan.

I'm just linking to Paul K's full blog here because there are three good posts dealing with Peyton Manning's whining.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Tampering With Good Taste Edition

August West — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:53:13 -0000

More photos » by Jason DeCrow - AP

Ahh the Redskins: when they're not violating the CBA they can often be found having to defend their offensive nickname in court. That's tradition, people.(AP Photo/Jason DeCrow, File)

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The NFL has formally began investigating tampering charges surrounding the signing of Albert Haynesworth by the Redskins. The Titans claim that their negotiations since the end of last season were hindered by illegal outside interference.

Ohh Peter King, I'm sure it's hard to think things through when you're on Brett Favre's lap, so let me break this down for you [emphasis added]:

4. I think I don't expect the NFL to find the Redskins guilty of tampering with Albert Haynesworth -- Jason Cole of Yahoo! reported the investigation Saturday -- because I believe much of the investigation will center on the very public displays of affection Washington owner Dan Snyder had with Haynesworth's agent, Chad Speck, in Indianapolis at the scouting combine. Snyder and Speck had dinner in full view of half the coaches and scouts in the city. You'd be naïve to think they weren't discussing Haynesworth; that's one of the reasons the league's owners are considering a new rule that will make it legal for teams to speak with agents and looming free-agents in the week before the free market opens.

I understand the Titans think Washington poisoned the water for Haynesworth and made it impossible for him to even consider coming back to Tennessee, but the flaw in that logic is that the Titans were never, ever going to pay Haynesworth the landmark contract he got from Washington.

You see Peter, the point is that during the period where he was only allowed to negotiate with the Titans, Albert should have never KNOWN that he was pretty much guaranteed a ludicrous contract 2 minutes after free agency started. Can you see where that would pose a problem? If your ill-thought out point was the rule of law there wouldn't be any need for rules against tampering because the best contract would always win no matter when it was offered or by whom. There would be a constant open market. Why even have franchise rights or restricted free-agency then?

Last friday wrapped up the OTA's for May, and Fisher tells Terry McCormick that this is when the rookies really start to show their commitment to winning:

"We will learn a lot about them when they come back for the June OTAs to see who has gotten in the books and who didn’t," he said. "We threw a lot at them because they knew coming in that by the time the June OTAs are over that everything is going to be in and they will have experienced everything that they are going to experience at training camp."

The Titans coaches seem to agree on two things when it comes to back-up guard/center Leroy Harris: He's ready to start in the NFL, and there's little chance he's going to start for the Titans anytime soon unless there's an injury.

Joe Biddle puts in a very good read on Bud Adams, the founding of the AFL and the concurrent evolution of Nashville.

Ryan Fowler is trying to win the MLB job back after losing it to Tullloch last year, and I don't know that admitting that you loafed last off-season is the best way to get back on the coaching staffs' collective good side.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: A Final Four Of Our Own Edition

August West — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:57:03 -0000

NFL teams across the league are preparing for their own Final Four: the final four weeks before the NFL Draft on April 25-26. As that day draws near, ESPN (Insider subscription required) has gone through each franchisee' draft history to find their best overall class. For the Titans/Oilers franchise the winner was the 1983 class, which brought in HOFer Bruce Matthews and All-Pro Keith Bostic.

Yahoo! says that while Kerry Collins lost 20 lbs. on his own during last year's off-season, his plan this year is to commit 100% to the Titans weight training regimen in the hopes of tacking on around 5 lbs. of muscle.

The New York Times has a draft preview for the Titans, and the Fan's Take comes from a MCM's pater familias, Jimmy!

30 days after the Cutler/Broncos saga began, things have so failed to improve that many observers in the Denver media are speculating that Cutler could be traded by the time draft day rolls around. I hope the Titans are getting the house loaded into the catapult and aiming it west because they would be fools not to make a serious run at making this happen. It's still a long shot, to be sure.

The Titans will be hosting speedy U. of Cincinnati 4-3 defensive end/3-4 linebacker Conner Barwin for a workout, further cementing the view that the organization is content to take the best player at almost any position when they come up for the 30th pick of the draft.

PFW thinks the Titans will use there bounty of comp. picks to swing a few draft day trades; even though compensatory picks can't be traded our original picks can. Given the Titans' past behavior there will probably be some movement in rounds 3-5 thanks to the flexiblity these comp picks give us.

Here's a story on IMG, a massive multi-sport training complex in Florida that some may find interesting. One of the players mentioned as training there this off-season is Titans MLB Ryan Fowler.

Every time you email me a link the football gods smile upon you, so if you have a link you'd like to submit for tomorrow's Morning Links email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com! (Be sure to include your commenting handle so I can give you semi-anonymous credit.)