Now make no mistake: I fully agree with Robert Griffin III winning the Heisman over Andrew Luck. If you want to know why, head over to Rivals or Scout and compare recruiting classes for those programs over the last 5 years. If that is too boring for you, then consider it this way: where going into bowl season Stanford had the #24 scoring defense at 20.3 points per game, Baylor had #109 at 35.7. So, Griffin III and Baylor won 10 games with a defense that gave up 5 TDs a game ON AVERAGE, and did it against the #8 schedule in the country. Meanwhile, Stanford won 11 games against the #45 schedule.

But that is the Heisman race. The Heisman race doesn't go to the best player. (If it did, defensive players would win it A LOT more.) It goes to the most outstanding player, a different criteria. Luck is a better college player than Robert Griffin III, is a better NFL prospect, and for the first few years of his career will be a better NFL player. Yes, Robert Griffin III has more "upside", but consider Andrew Luck's upside. Some regard him as similar to Peyton Manning, except a good bit more mobile. Others regard him as similar to Drew Brees, only taller and with a stronger arm. Either way, isn't "possibly better than Peyton Manning or Drew Brees" upside? Even if you take the argument that "sure thing" is better than "upside" with the #1 overall pick at QB (see JaMarcus Russell's "upside" versus Matt Ryan's "sure thing", they didn't come out in the same year of course, but the point is still good) the fact is that Andrew Luck's "upside" is significant.

There are other considerations. The offense of the Colts and the Stanford offense are so similar that were the Colts to part ways with Manning immediately, they could put Luck in and run the exact same thing on opening day. Even if Manning stays a year or two, you could just replace one with the other and not skip a beat. Not so with Robert Griffin III. While the Michael Vick comparisons are way off-base (and stereotypical) the fact is that Baylor runs a shotgun-spread offense that does not translate well to the NFL, plus Robert Griffin III's skill set AS A PASSER is far different from Manning's. Griffin III would require a completely different offensive system, likely with new personnel. Even if Griffin III had the same risk level as does Luck - and he doesn't - that alone would justify taking Luck over Griffin III.

As it is, the risk level is totally different. With Luck, there is no risk. Other than the fact that there is no such thing as a "can't miss player", there is almost no chance that Luck won't go to several pro bowls. Even the main argument - the suspect talent level of Pac-12 defenses - is mitigated by the lack of talent that Stanford had at wide receiver (their best offensive formation was a 3 TE one). Meanwhile, regarding Robert Griffin III, I will say that he is the best shotgun-spread QB prospect since Drew Brees. The problem is that no shotgun-spread QB has really succeeded BUT Drew Brees in the NFL, despite major college teams running them for going on 20 years. The high profile prospects like Tim Couch and Ryan Leaf have been busts, and perhaps an even bigger problem: the many guys who went in the later rounds haven't worked their way up as starters.

That said, Robert Griffin III has a strong chance of being good, and a chance to be great. But Andrew Luck will almost certainly be good, and actually has a better chance of being great than Robert Griffin III does. Yes, Luck has a better chance of being a Hall of Famer who wins 2 Super Bowls than RG3 does. RG3 merely has a better chance of being a Joe Montana type who wins 4 than Luck does. Big deal! The issue is that the chances of RG3 being Joe Montana are so small, why bother shooting for it?

The Colts will take Luck, and they won't waste a lot of time discussing it.

This is why. See link 1. See link 2. Notre Dame already has a traditional Thanksgiving rival, or actually two of them. In even years, they play at USC for Thanksgiving weekend. On odd years, they play at Stanford. They've traditionally played Southern Cal on Thanksgiving (either every year or at least every other year) for decades, going back to at least the 1940s. See link 3. Granted, their practice of playing Stanford on alternating Thanksgiving is relatively recent, and they would possibly be willing to give that up in theory (although not necessarily in practice, more on that later). But ND is not going to give up their longtime Thanksgiving date against USC, who is their primary rival, for anyone, including Texas.

The best that you could do is try to get Notre Dame to agree to alternate between playing USC and Texas every other Thanksgiving, essentially replacing their recent practice with Stanford. But who would Texas play in odd years? Also, consider it from ND's perspective. For the Irish, that would mean ending each regular season with a loss more often than not. Tough sell. And that is in addition to whether Notre Dame will decide that playing two traditional powerhouse programs from the sun belt region of the country every year - regardless of the date of the games - is in their interests. Keep in mind: they also play Michigan and Michigan State every year. You be the guy to make the case why playing USC, Michigan, Michigan State and Texas every year is a good idea for Notre Dame (or any other program for that matter) especially since ND isn't exactly going to just drop all their other traditional rivals and tough games. ND wants to play a national schedule to maintain their profile, but they don't want that schedule to be so hard that it doesn't allow them to contend for the BCS and national titles. Since they aren't in a conference and can't automatically qualify for the BCS by winning one, ND can't lose more than 2 games in a lot of years, and definitely can't lose more than 3. So, even if they would emerge from Michigan/MSU/USC/UT with a 2-2 record, they would have to run the table against everybody else.

So give up the Notre Dame delusion. It ain't happening.

Bohls is being absolutely self-serving and dishonest here. Really, Texas fans need to end this stuff. For the umpteenth time (and I am not even an Aggie fan or a Longhorn opponent):

 

1. A Texas A&M network would not generate $300 million.

2. A Texas A&M network would not be partnered with ESPN.

3. A Texas A&M network would not cause ESPN to take favorable editorial stances towards A&M whenever it is convenient (see A&M to the SEC for exhibit A ... ESPN has been roasting A&M, a clear contrast with their praising Colorado and Nebraska for leaving the Big 12 last year, and their advocacy of the Pac-16).

4. A Texas A&M network would not influence Texas recruits significantly (where the Texas Longhorn network will) and will not influence recruits nationally at all (where the Longhorn network will THANKS TO ESPN).

Add it all up, and the only beneficiary of A&M starting a network would be ... you guessed it ... TEXAS. Whenever anyone criticizes Texas over their network, $300 million contract, and their relationship with the very powerful ESPN, Texas will be able to simply reply "Why are you bashing us when the Aggies have their own network too!"

Basically, you guys want A&M to start their own network for YOUR benefit (knowing full well that A&M's network won't do squat for that program ... like Kansas State is going to start contending for national titles thanks to their Internet HD network that no one is going to watch for example) just like you want them to stay in the Big 12 for YOUR benefit. Here's a question: instead of demanding that A&M do things to benefit Texas, why not acknowledge that they have the responsibility to work to better themselves?

The way the Big 12 is structured, no one - including A&M - are ever going to consistently compete with UT or Oklahoma so long as those two programs are good. That's a good deal for UT and Oklahoma, who get to go to the BCS every year. (One or the other has been to the BCS in each of the last 10 years except 2001). It's also a good deal for the likes of Iowa State and Baylor, who would be in Conference USA otherwise. But if a program has options, why not let them exercise it? 

That is the main thing. You guys have no problem with doing whatever you want to advance yourselves, even up to joining the Pac-10 (which you nearly did twice) and the LHN (which is the ONLY reason why you didn't join the Pac-10). Fine. But why take the attitude that you guys are the ONLY ONES who should seek their own destiny and everyone else has to fall in line behind what you guys do? 

Going to the SEC might be good for A&M. Or it might be horrible for A&M. So what. That's their business, and they should be as free to pursue their business as you guys are. Look, were Auburn to attempt to bolt the SEC for the ACC (it wouldn't be a bad idea actually ... it would help them academically and they certainly would win more conference and possibly national titles from that league) Alabama would just roll their eyes and say "fine, do whatever you want, just make sure that you show up for your annual beating Thanksgiving weekend." Were Vanderbilt to go to the ACC or Mississippi State to the Big 12 (not that you would take them, just as an example): ditto. And the rivalries would continue, just like Georgia and Georgia Tech still played each other after Tech left the SEC, and like Clemson and South Carolina continued to play each other despite their switching conferences several times. 

It is not like the Big 12 needs A&M to begin with. Lose A&M and you are basically the same. Make a good decision in replacing A&M, and you could pick up TV and recruiting markets and get stronger.

Bottom line: please quit pretending as if you are looking out for A&M's interests by saying "stick around and start your own (absolutely certain to be totally irrelevant and complete waste of time) network and enjoy the great benefit of finishing no better than 3rd behind Texas and Oklahoma every year." You're not. You're looking out for your own interests. Not that there is anything wrong with that. My own problem is how you guys are trashing A&M for doing the same thing that you guys are: looking out for themselves.  

It is rather simple: Lane Kiffin should defend himself by telling the NCAA that he was only doing what he was hired to do, and that he had the full support of the Tennessee community - from the fans and boosters to the administration - the whole time that he was there. Kiffin SHOULD NOT allow Tennessee to get away with the idea that "we warned him and he did it anyway" or that "he failed to monitor the program." 

Let me be honest: I am not a USC fan. I am also certainly not a Lane Kiffin fan, and am very glad that the guy is out of the SEC. (That said, I believe that Kiffin will do very well for himself at USC ... I just hope it won't be at the SEC's expense.) But I really don't want Tennessee to get away with claiming that Kiffin came in and ran amok.

Well, actually, Kiffin DID come in and run amok. The issue is that he did it because he was encouraged to and allowed to. Nothing that Kiffin did was a secret. It was fully known to everybody. And fans and media from other SEC programs denounced it from day one ... predicting that this day was going to come because of the obvious, flagrant violations. Other SEC coaches and adminstrators, the SEC office, even the NCAA itself issued warning after warning. (The SEC office even created "the Kiffin rule.")

And what happened? Tennessee closed ranks around Kiffin. More than that, they rallied behind the guy! They took the position "if everyone is so mad at him, it is obviously because he is a better coach than they are, and is doing something right ... something that they wish they thought of first!" Tennessee fans actually began passing around the idea that there was some grand SEC/NCAA conspiracy to force Tennessee to fire Kiffin before he could build the Vols into a better program than Florida and Alabama. (Why the SEC or the NCAA would favor Florida and Alabama over Tennessee or anybody else is a question that you have to ask the Volunteer faithful to answer.)

The main thing isn't the support that Kiffin got when he was beseiged by media, SEC and NCAA criticism from delusional Volunteer fans. Instead, it is the support that he got from the Tennessee administration. Kiffin was never reprimanded or told to change a thing by the Tennessee president, athletics director or compliance office. Since the "people who mattered" were fine with what Kiffin was doing, there was no reason for him to change. The only thing that ever caused Kiffin to back off - a little - was a hefty fine from the SEC office. But it wasn't anything from the athletics director, president or compliance office to the effect of "hey, Lane, can you cut it out with the secondary violations?" Quite the contrary, the university president and the athletics director publicly and repeatedly backed Lane Kiffin every step of the way. 

It was no "Lane Kiffin failing to monitor." Instead, it was "Lane Kiffin was encouraged to push the envelope and bend the rules by the Tennessee administrators and university climate/culture." Now did Lane Kiffin commit wrongdoing? Of course. But he was put in place by people who wanted him to do so, encouraged him to do so, rewarded him for doing so, and defended his doing so.  Please note that now that Kiffin is at USC with an athletics director and president that insists on adhering to NCAA regulations (as well as expecting one to behave maturely in public), he hasn't had a bit of trouble. No secondary violations, not even the barrage of insults at competing coaches. 

Tennessee hired Kiffin to act like a brat and a delinquent and he did so. Kiffin gave Tennessee exactly what they wanted from the job ... someone who would do whatever it took to get players, and who would talk trash to Urban Meyer, Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban ... some bizarre combination between football coach and professional wrestling promoter. Even when Kiffin publicly challenged the NCAA, claiming that secondary violations "aren't really violations" and dared the NCAA to punish the Vols based on them without going after everybody else - especially Florida and Alabama - Tennessee backed him!

So, yes, punishments should come down based on the violations that Lane Kiffin committed at Tennessee. But the bulk of the punishment should go to the university that hired Kiffin to be the sort of coach that Kiffin was for that school ... precisely the sort of coach that Tennessee wanted. Tennessee folks convinced themselves that Florida, Alabama, LSU and Georgia were dirty, and the only way to beat them was to hire a "bad guy" coach who was willing to be even dirtier. They found their man - who incidentally was just an actor playing the character (or caricature) that Tennessee fans wanted - and now they want to distance themselves from it? Yeah, sure.

Granted, Kiffin should be punished for his role in this, because no one forced him to take the job in the first place. So, he shouldn't get off totally free. But Kiffin's punishment should be MINOR. The REAL punishment has to be on the University of Tennessee. Because had Kiffin not taken the job, then another guy would have, and he would have done the same thing because that was the job description. The only difference: that guy would still be Tennessee's head football coach, and the Vols wouldn't have such an easy scapegoat.

Kiffin bears some responsibility, but it is very small. The vast majority of the responsibility is owned by the Tennessee administration, alumni, boosters and fans who created this situation and the climate. They are the ones who should pay most of the bill. 

And no, I am not a Tennessee hater. Instead, I was cheering for the Vols when they beat FSU for the 1998 national title. I am just sick of seeing the same Volunteer fans and administrators who spent nearly a year and a half defending and supporting everything that they hired Kiffin to do (and that is the key here, everything that Kiffin did he was hired to do it so that he could beat Florida and Alabama!) now claim that it was all Kiffin's idea and all his fault from day one. 

Well, we now know that what Jeff Fisher wants most of all is a quarterback from USC. (What he wanted SECOND most of all was a running backs coach from USC, and we see how that worked out.) Why? Not just because he spent five years pouting over not getting to draft Matt Leinart in 2006 (and in my personal opinion, working to undermine the QB that his team actually did draft ever since) but because his longtime personal agent and director of public relations - excuse me, ESPN blogger/reporter Paul Kuharsky - floated the idea, then promoted the idea, and came back promoting it again to debunk the people who protested that it was a bad idea. Come to think of it, Kuharsky's PR/agent skills are in overdrive right now, as he is also providing cover for Jay Cutler (for the millionth offseason in a row ... oh gee, I wonder why some Nashville-based QBs can't do wrong with this guy while others can't do right). Now one could go on and on about the Jay Cutler thing, or about the fact that Jeff Fisher's using Nashville media guys (like Kuharsky) to publicize his own ideas and schemes so that he never has to be publicly held accountable for them himself (a guy doesn't become the longest tenured coach in the NFL despite presiding over debacle after debacle by accident) but why not go ahead and point out why bringing Carson Palmer to Nashville is a bad idea.

1. Carson Palmer is 31 years old. He has five or six good years MAX.

2. Not only is Carson Palmer 31 years old, but his body is totally shot, which means that he may not even have five or six good years left. Not only has he taken a pounding behind those notorious Cincinnati offensive lines, but he has never been the same since that horrific knee injury OR since his not quite as dramatic but very serious elbow injury on his throwing arm. When Palmer came into the NFL, he had amazing arm strength as well as very good mobility for a dropback passer. Thanks to the knee injury and the elbow injury, Palmer is just average to above average in both departments. Add that to the battering that the rest of this body has taken, and he is never going to perform at a Pro Bowl level again.

3. Carson Palmer: zero career playoff victories. And he is expected to perform better here why? Before you protest "He plays for the Bengals" I will respond "Give me the evidence that the Titans have been a better run organization that has fielded more talented teams since Jeff Fisher joined the front office and particularly since Floyd Reese was scapegoated/fired." If Palmer wasn't a difference-maker for a bad Bengals franchise/organization when he was in his prime, he won't be for the Titans.

4. But can't the franchise improve when they get rid of Fisher and his backers? Yes, but why stick the replacement with the QB that the previous coach/regime wanted? You might say that the same applies to the QB that Jeff Fisher drafts. Well, not really. Whoever the Titans' draft, it is expected that he will be the QB for the next 10-15 years if he is taken in the 1st or 2nd round (especially first). But acquiring Carson Palmer, who won't come free or cheap (he has a big contract and will take a draft pick to acquire, that is unless the Bengals are willing to trade straight up for Vince Young) would merely be a gambit for the Titans' to win now in order to save Jeff Fisher's job. The Titans should not give up draft picks and take on big veteran contracts in order to give Jeff Fisher "one last shot."

5. The evidence that Carson Palmer would be effective in Nashville: zero. Keep in mind, Palmer even in his prime owed a lot of his success to playing with receivers like Chad OchoCinco Johnson, T.J. Houshmanzadeh, the late Chris Henry (and please note that the Bengals' haven't been nearly as explosive since the other troubled West Virginia product died) and so on. Say what you want about the Bengals, they have always had the philosophy of acquiring and stockpiling as much talent at WR, TE, and RB as possible. And Palmer would go from that type of skill talent in Cincinnati to throwing to Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, Lavelle Hawkins, Justin Gage, Bo Scaife, Jared Cook, Craig Stevens, Damian Williams etc. Basically Palmer would go from being around the most talented skill players in the NFL to a bunch of guys who can't beat out Jordan Shipley.

Granted, one can make the case that a lot of these guys aren't going to be on the roster next season. Fine: who are the Titans going to replace them with? A better question: do you honestly believe that Jeff Fisher can go out and get the type of talent at WR that Carson Palmer needs - guys who can run routes, get separation, and make plays downfield consistently - and do so in the few years that Palmer has left? If he can do it now, why couldn't he do it before?

Don't get me wrong. Carson Palmer was a potential Hall of Fame talent ruined by the Bengals organization. Had he gone to a better franchise, he'd be mentioned as right up there with the other top QBs in the NFL. But facts are facts. Palmer won't produce in Nashville, he particularly won't produce with Nashville's wide receivers, and he especially won't produce in an organization coached and run by Jeff Fisher. The only reason to pretend otherwise is if you have this belief that the Titans are a dropback passer - any competent dropback passer - away from contending from the Super Bowl, instead of being a team that has serious issues on both sides of the ball that needs about 3 years of good front office moves (drafts and free agency) to fix.

We know that Jeff Fisher has this belief, which is why Fisher continued to declare the Titans to be a Super Bowl contender until well into that 0-6 start in 2009. But people who aren't Jeff Fisher know that this team needs WRs and TEs that can get open catch, interior OLs that can pass and run block, DLs that can stay healthy and play, LBs that can make plays, and can do a lot better than they have in two of the four DB spots. Sure, sign Carson Palmer and the Titans make the playoffs a couple of years (but only because the AFC South stinks ... Indianapolis is crumbling and Jacksonville and Texas are what they are) and Jeff Fisher's playoff record goes from 5-6 to 5-8. Whoopee! But do not delude yourselves: that is all that it would accomplish (and that is the ceiling mind you). And the reason for this is that the Titans won't be as talented as the other teams, including at QB, where San Diego, Pittsburgh, the Jets, Baltimore, New England and Indianapolis won't be starting passers that their organizations have allowed to be battered into lunch meat.

What the Titans need is a cheap veteran QB to keep them respectable (not really) while their new QB is acquired from the draft and developed. An alternative: trading for a QB developed by another team like Jacksonville did for Mark Brunell years ago and Kansas City did for Matt Cassel. But Carson Palmer? The only reason for it is that he is the guy that Jeff Fisher wants. Which, of course is why Paul Kuharsky is promoting it.

Acquire Carson Palmer, and you will have a guy who A) can no longer sidestep pass rushers as he once did because of his knee injury and B) can no longer rifle the ball to covered WRs as he once did because of his elbow injury and put him with a VERY bad wide receiver situation and an interior OL with protection (and run-blocking) issues. Keep in mind: a major reason why the Titans have been as effective as they have been (which isn't a whole lot) the past few years has been their having a dual threat QB, which alters a defense's coverage and blitz strategies. Yes, Kerry Collins has come in from time to time and had success, but only because it takes NFL teams awhile to adjust to lineup changes during the regular season (playoffs are a different story). But give the teams that play the Titans an entire offseason to prepare for a QB who can't scramble anymore (let alone run), no longer has elite arm strength, and has a WR corps that is basically Kenny Britt and a bunch of backups, and you will basically have the beginning of the 2008 season all over again.

Why anyone expects any different is a mystery. If you have bad players, why expect anything else but bad results? Yes, Jeff Fisher is no different. Instead, with Jeff Fisher the problem is that he refuses to acknowledge that these players are bad because he drafted them! Which is why we spend entire offseasons hearing about how great Lavelle Hawkins is, and how Javon Ringer is SO MUCH BETTER than LeGarrette Blount. I still wonder if Jeff Fisher regards Jason Babin as "a better value" than Julius Peppers (another nugget passed onto us via Kuharsky, who predicted that Peppers would bomb and be the ire of irate fans in Chicago by now ... oh yeah he also predicted that Lovie Smith would be fired and replaced by Mark Heimerdinger, who would go about the task of saving Jay Cutler's career by now too ... oh the stuff that guy gets away with saying at ESPN that would never fly if he were covering any other division than the AFC South and its small market teams).

Look, whether Kuharsky wants to face it or not, Jeff Fisher is going to be fired. The question is whether the Titans will be stuck with Carson Palmer when it  happens. Folks who want the Titans to be competitive should want the answer to be NO.

Please consider that Craig Johnson is a former college offensive coordinator and longtime QB coach who wants to be a coordinator or head coach one day. But this season made it obvious that Fisher had little regard for Johnson's ability. It was one thing to never consider Johnson for the offensive coordinator role, which Fisher never did, and Johnson did interview for offensive coordinator jobs on other teams, most recently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1999.

But after losing Kennedy Pola, Fisher showed his real estimation of Johnson by dumping him from QB coach to RB coach. Why not make Dowell Loggains the RB coach instead? But here is the best part: promoting Dowell Loggains from quality control coach to QB coach, and then allowing Haggins to call plays when Heimerdinger was ill instead of Johnson. Yes, Craig Johnson's title is "assistant head coach", which is utterly meaningless ... it only signifies a small raise and an attempt to assuage someone's ego in order to keep them from leaving in a lateral move. But Dowell Loggains' title? "Passing game coordinator." Which, of course means that Loggains is the eventual successor to Mike Heimerdinger.

Now Johnson has been in coaching for 17 years, and that includes 10 years in the NFL. What was it like to have been leapfrogged by a 30 year old? To put it another way ... Craig Johnson's coaching career began in 1983. Dowell Loggains was born in 1980. Granted, it can be said that Johnson's not being hired as an NFL offensive coordinator in all this time is an indictment that he is only cut out to be a position coach. Then again, when you consider the makeshift (to be kind) parts that Johnson has had to work with on offense (you all may be a bit familiar with my frequent rants against the talent level at WR and TE, and for much of the Johnson tenure, the RB and OL positions were very problematic also) it isn't as if he has had the opportunity to show what he can do.

Small wonder that Johnson didn't rip the Titans' organization or head coach on his way out of town the way that Heimerdinger did when he left for the Jets years back, and Jim Washburn did yesterday. But next season, when the Vikings will very likely have an accomplished veteran QB getting the ball to all that talent in Minnesota, Johnson will probably wonder why he spent so many years on Jeff Fisher's staff in the first place. He should have got out when his stock was highest, after Steve McNair's co-MVP season, and parlayed that into a lateral move to another staff, or even a college job.

One thing that really irks me is how Jeff Fisher supporters (including his media organs Paul Kuharsky, Jim Wyatt, David Climer, David BoClair and Joe Biddle, plus a few pliant types in the national media) keep making this a "Jeff Fisher versus Vince Young" dispute. What that does other than help Jeff Fisher get another job I have no idea. What do people expect this story line to accomplish?

It presumes that having the best record in the NFL and failing to win a single playoff game TWICE (2000, 2008) is OK.

It presumes that all of these free agency busts and failed high draft picks are OK. (Now that Floyd Reese is long gone, Fisher fans can stop scapegoating the guy ... if anything the personnel moves have gotten even worse).

Continue reading this post »

Preface: Yes, I know that Jason Babin was named to the Pro Bowl. I also know that Babin - and Dave Ball - benefit from a scheme that gets them sacks at the expense of other areas of the defense, and that there isn't a single other team in the NFL where Babin and Ball would combine for 19.5 sacks. If there were, the Titans wouldn't have picked either of them up for the minimum salary.  But the fact is that Babin only had 17.5 career sacks in the 7 years prior to this one - and only 4.5 since 2006 - and Ball had 4.5 sacks in 6 years before this season. If this information offends you, then you might as well quit reading. Or maybe you would like to tell me why the Titans' are 28th in pass defense if Babin and Ball are so good at rushing the passer (oh yeah, they're 21st in run defense also). And this despite playing in a lousy division.

All right, I have been getting grief for constantly coming on here and bashing Jeff Fisher. Well, ok ... I will defend Jeff Fisher the coach. Fisher hasn't done a bad coaching job this year. Instead, the problem is the players. Pick a coach who would have done a better job with this group of players.

I know, you guys love the Titans players. But you like them because they are Tennessee Titans. They play for your team, they make plays for your team, and they do good things for the fans and the community. That's great. But the fact is that they aren't good football players as a group.

When I first started listening to sports talk radio years ago, there was this excellent host on the One On One Sports Radio Network (now Sporting News Radio) named Bob Kemp (named sports radio host of the decade by Sports Illustrated, who now regrettably works for a local station in Arizona). Kemp is a former professional athlete (MLB pitcher) who is very knowledgeable and no-nonsense. He'd get calls from fans all the time irate about why he bashed their teams. Kemp would simply reply "they don't have very many good players." When they would protest, Kemp would give them a simple test: "How many players on your team are better than the players for the opposing teams?" Almost always, that would leave the (irrational homer) fan with no rejoinder.

Well, let's apply the Bob Kemp test to the Titans. Go down their two deep depth chart and identify the players that would make the average NFL team better. No unfair stuff, like naming guys who'd get playing time for the Carolina Panthers or Buffalo Bills, or pointing out that a guy stinks because he wouldn't get on the field for the Patriots' offense or the Steelers' defense. Instead, name the guys on the Titans' team that would get the same playing time for the average NFL team. Let's go down the list of guys who started most of the season.

QB: Vince Young - he has his merits (see his record as a starter) but no

RB: Chris Johnson - yes

FB: Ahmard Hall - yes

TE: Bo Scaife - not a chance

WR: Nate Washington - get real

WR: Justin Gage - please

OT: Michael Roos - yes

OT: David Stewart - yes (but don't make Stewart to be more than what he is)

OG: Leroy Harris - no

OG: Jake Scott - no

C: Eugene Amano - not for $25 million!

Clearly you have a below average offense. The Titans have the worst group of TEs and WRs in the NFL, and the problems in the interior OL negate the strength of the offense, which is at LT, RB and FB.

Now for the defense.

DE: Dave Ball - no

DE: Jason Babin (or Jacob Ford) - no

DT: Jason Jones (or Jovan Haye or Sen'Derrick Marks) - no

DT: Tony Jones - yes

LB: Will Witherspoon - no

LB: Steven Tulloch - no

LB: Gerald McRath - maybe (but don't overrate McRath, he'd be a reserve for the Texans)

CB: Cortland Finnegan - yes

CB: Alterrun Verner/Jason McCourty - no (they have upside but aren't there yet)

SS: Chris Hope - no

FS: Michael Griffin - no (this will be controversial ... yes the guy was great in 2008, but horrible in 2009, a nonfactor in 2007, and very inconsistent, far more than a 4th year player should be, in 2010).

This is actually worse than the offense.

Granted, there are some players who aren't on here (Kenny Britt and Derrick Morgan, who was looking quite good before he got hurt) but there just aren't that many players on here that you could plug in on a team likely to finish around 8-8 and say "he'd really make them a better team!" Or even some teams worse than 8-8 ... take Houston. The only players that the Titans have that would make that team better are Tony Jones and Cortland Finnegan. San Francisco? The only players that makes them better are Vince Young (yes, it's true, he's better than Alex Smith, and if they had him, they'd make the playoffs) and Cortland Finnegan.

This is how bad it is: an alarming number of Titans starters and key players couldn't get their careers going elsewhere. Justin Gage was buried on Chicago's depth chart. Dave Ball and Jason Babin are journeymen. And no one in Pittsburgh misses Nate Washington. Add that to the large numbers of struggling high draft picks (those still on the roster anyway) and the guys with big contracts that aren't producing (add up the combined contracts/salaries for Kerry Collins, Nate Washington, Bo Scaife, Justin Gage, and Eugene Amano and you will see that the Titans are certainly PAYING for a productive offense!) and it results in a shocking conclusion:

Jeff Fisher and staff are actually getting MORE out of this team than the average coaching staff would.

This is the same team that at midseason looked to be headed towards the playoffs, being 5-2 with victories over playoff contenders Philadelphia and the Giants, and dominating performances against teams that contended for the playoffs in Oakland and Jacksonville. Granted, along the way there was evidence that things were fragile: the losses to Denver and San Diego, the humiliation against Pittsburgh, and barely escaping Dallas. But the fact that this team was COMPETITIVE with Bo Scaife, Nate Washington and Justin Gage catching the ball and Dave Ball and Jason Babin rushing the passer is not a small thing at all. It is not as if Scaife, Washington and Gage had anything approaching the running game that the Titans had in 2008 and 2009 supporting them, or Ball and Babin have these outstanding Pr Bowl DTs and LBs that teams are concerned with blocking.

The Titans are among the NFL leaders in penalty yardage? Well ... bad players commit a lot of penalties, usually because they're being physically whipped by superior players on the other team (holding, et al) but also because they don't have the discipline to become good NFL players despite their natural ability. Not so much evidence that they're undisciplined and poorly coached as it is evidence that they aren't that good.

So, no bashing Jeff Fisher for being unable to coach up a bunch of guys who simply lack the talent to play better than they are. Other than his strange refusal to give more playing time to Kenny Britt and Damian Williams, that is being mighty unfair to Fisher.

So what IS fair? Going after the guy who put this lousy team together in the first place. The guy who has done terribly in the draft and even worse in free agency. That's the guy you want. That is the guy that you need to go after. And who is that guy?

Well, hey, you take a guess. I will say it: if Jeff Fisher is in a situation where a strong GM is in place (one that makes most personnel decisions) he does fine. Think about it: some of Fisher's worst decisions as a coach have come from his attempts to justify his own personnel decisions. If someone else is making those personnel decisions - good ones - then Fisher has no incentive to do anything other than putting the best players on the field and getting them in position to help them win ball games. Fisher can do that, and he can do it in Tennessee. Bud Adams knows this, and that is why he doesn't really want to fire him.

The issue is whether Fisher would accept an arrangement where virtually all his personnel/front office power is given to a GM. The answer: not if Fisher thinks that he can get a better deal elsewhere.

To all Jeff Fisher fans seeking to scapegoat Vince Young in order to save your coach (as well as to people wondering what's wrong with Chris Johnson this year): remember Earnest Byner? You know, the veteran NFL RB who became one of the better RB coaches in the NFL? The guy who was behind the dominant running game that got the Titans to the playoffs in 2008 (really, folks, it is past time to admit that Kerry Collins was just along for the ride) and whose position coaching Chris Johnson credited for his 2,000 yard season this year? Note: experts have stated that Johnson looks tentative this year and is also too quick to try to bounce plays outside when running the football. Gee, isn't that something that a position coach should help his young RB with? Having a proven RB coach that your RB respects - instead of a guy who has been stuck at QB coach for 10 years and was moved to RB coach at the last minute along with the meaningless "assistant head coach" title while the quality control assistant leapfrogged you on the coaching ladder and got a chance to call plays this season - that your star RB respects and listens to when he says "don't try to break a big play on every down, but hit the hole hard to draw the defense in and THEN bounce it outside when you can" ... boy that would have helped.

So why isn't a respected, successful veteran position coach who himself was a longtime NFL RB around to help Johnson through the turbulence in Nashville this season? Oh, I don't know ... COULD IT BE BECAUSE JEFF FISHER FIRED HIM? Yeah, yep, that's right. And why fire a guy who has molded your high risk small college 1st round draft pick into a 2 time NFL Pro Bowler? Because Kennedy Pola was SO MUCH BETTER. Wow. Well, let's look at how many yards Maurice Jones-Drew had last year when Pola was his QB coach: 1391. And look at how many yards he has THIS YEAR with Byner as his QB coach: 1278. Barely 100 more yards IN THREE FEWER GAMES. At this rate, Jones-Drew will have 1600 yards and will finish #2 in the NFL in rushing. (Chris Johnson will finish at about #6. Maybe.) 

But surely if Kennedy Pola is SO MUCH BETTER than Earnest Byner, the USC Trojans that hired him away would have had a dominated rushing attack, right? Errr ... wrong. Despite all those 4 and 5 star recruits (and playing against inviting defenses), USC's running attack was only marginally improved from 2009, and was actually worse than it was in 2008. Pola didn't turn Allen Bradford, Marc Tyler, or any of the other underachieving USC RBs into superstars. 

And why should we be surprised? There was never a bit of evidence that Pola was a better RB coach than Earnest Byner. The only "qualification" that Pola had was the same one that led Jeff Fisher to hire Norm Chow (disaster), draft LenDale White (disaster), sign Mike Williams (disaster),  draft Damian Williams over Jordan Shipley (disaster), and spend the last 5 years pouting because Bud Adams took Vince Young (33-17 as a starter with a playoff appearance under his belt) over Matt Leinart (disaster): their association with Jeff Fisher's alma mater, USC. 

And proof that the Nashville media is bought and paid for is that NO ONE, not Kuharsky, not Climer, not Wyatt, not Biddle, not Boclair, not Glennon etc. has even bothered to ask the question! No one has bothered to ask Chris Johnson, Jeff Fisher or raise it in a blog, column or article, whether Jeff Fisher's firing Earnest Byner has anything to do with Chris Johnson's decline in production this season. Allegations that Vince Young missed meetings and practiced poorly during the week of the Pittsburgh game? That was fodder for stories, columns and blogs for weeks. Allegations that Vince Young was taking his time coming back from the knee injury in Jacksonville, and stories about how he went to open a restaurant in Houston rather than rehab in Nashville (when he wasn't even required to rehab in Nashville, and other players take similar trips during bye weeks during the season all the time)? Ditto. But asking Jeff Fisher: "Hey, don't you think that firing Earnest Byner PLAYED A HUGE ROLE IN WRECKING OUR SEASON?" That question hasn't been asked ONCE.

Amazing that Kuharsky at ESPN claimed that "if Bud Adams chooses Jeff Fisher over Vince Young, then say goodbye not only to Jeff Fisher, but his longtime assistants like Mike Munchak." That's a fair point. Maybe. But did Kuharsky bother to mention that it is because of Jeff Fisher's terrible job performance that one of the best, most critical coaches on his staff isn't around anymore? Again, Fisher's whole system is built on running the ball, and Fisher fired his RB coach, who makes his RBs more effective! Why is NO ONE talking about this? (Then again, why is NO ONE talking about the fact that Jeff Fisher signed Kerry Collins to a $15 million deal 2 years ago, declaring him the QB of the present? That's why Vince Young's being hurt is no excuse for Fisher, because had it been up to Fisher, Collins would have been the QB to begin with. But that is another story for another day.)

One of the reasons why Fisher and Byner weren't that close ... because Byner was too willing to speak his mind about players and strategy. (Meaning that Byner was willing to speak up and say "Hey, this LenDale White guy is never going to put in the work to be an NFL player ... and we used a 2nd round pick on CHRIS HENRY thinking that he'd be a better player in the NFL than he was FOR A LOSING ARIZONA TEAM .... what were you thinking?) So ... do you think that JUST MAYBE if Byner were still around, he would have stated "Look Jeff ... this LeGarrette Blount kid is 10 times the player that Javon Ringer will ever be. Besides, we're going to get into situations where we need a big back for a change of pace and on short yardage, and Ringer isn't that guy ... he is basically the same body type as Johnson, except nowhere near as fast or explosive. But Fisher found his "yes-man" with his meaningless "assistant head coach" title to go around claiming "Blount won't help us this year anyway ... Ringer's a better player, so let's see if we can keep him on the practice squad." And why? Oh gee ... could it be because that Fisher didn't want Blount to lock down the 2nd RB spot this year? Why not? Wow, because Fisher wants Stafon Johnson, yet another USC product, to have another shot at the backup RB job when he gets off IR next season. So won't next year's backup RB job be a hoot. It will be between a pair of 200 lb. RBs that don't have a whole lot of natural ability. Who do you think will win? (Answer: it doesn't matter.) 

This is what needs to happen this offseason.

1. Jeff Fisher gets fired.

2. Whoever the new coach is brings Earnest Byner back from Jacksonville, even if it takes an assistant head coach title or grooming Byner to be an offensive coordinator (which, again, Fisher seemed strangely unwilling to do for Byner or for Craig Johnson ... as for why you'd have to ask him about that).

Oh yeah, and if Bud Adams has somehow forgotten that firing Earnest Byner was a major reason why this season fell apart (because the Nashville mafia that has helped protect Fisher for so long certainly wants Adams to forget!), someone needs to go remind him.

Can someone help me out? Can someone please explain to me how or why Vince Young is part of the problem? Because I think I see a pattern here. Vince Young is on the bench in 2006, the Titans stink. He is inserted and the Titans aren't great (because they have real problems in other areas like WR and defense), but  are respectable. Vince Young plays in 2007, including through hamstring and other leg ailments, and the Titans are respectable. Not great, but respectable because - again, there are real holes at RB, WR and defense. Vince Young gets benched in Jacksonville, Kerry Collins leads the Titans to a 10-0 start (thanks to Chris Johnson, Albert Haynesworth wanting a contract, and oh yeah playing a very easy schedule, including catching the Vikings when most of their key players on offense were hurt or suspended, and the Colts when Peyton Manning was struggling with a knee injury), but once the games against the good teams start, the Titans go 3-4 and lose in the first round of the playoffs.

The next year picks up where it left off: the Titans are horrible until Vince Young gets in the game, and then they become respectable (again, holes in the defense and no WRs worth much except flashes from Kenny Britt, who was mostly kept on the bench). This year: same story. With a healthy Vince Young, the team is respectable. Not great, because for the umpteenth year in a row, the defense still has holes (indeed, the same holes year after year) and except for Kenny Britt, who AGAIN was mostly kept on the bench in favor of $15 million dollar man Justin Gage and $25 million dollar man Nate Washington, the WRs were too. Except that unlike 2008 and for most of 2009, the running game was struggling because of an interior OL led by $25 million dollar man Eugene Amano and by Leroy Harris, whom the Titans spent THREE YEARS developing and raving over, isn't getting the job done. And oh yeah, the Titans sorely miss a "big back" to get the tough yards thanks to Fisher's releasing LeGarrette Blount, who right now ONLY has 600 yards and 5 TDs for the playoff bound Tampa Bay Buccanneers, and he is playing for the Bucs because Fisher and company INSISTED THAT JAVON RINGER WAS OBVIOUSLY THE BETTER PLAYER. But when Vince Young gets hurt ... well THIS is the result.

So, in the final analysis: ... when Vince Young plays, the team is competitive. Not great like the Patriots or Steelers, because they don't have Patriots or Steelers personnel. Or coaching. Or front office people. Or ... never mind. 30-17 as a starter folks, with several of those losses not being his fault. But when Vince Young doesn't play ... with the exception of 2008 (which is increasingly looking like a fluke ... people Kerry Collins only had 12 TD passes that year, and 58% completions, and ... well you get the picture) the result is, well ... this.

So, where did the idea that VINCE YOUNG IS THE PROBLEM come from? Why do we believe THAT THE TITANS NEED A NEW QB? Right now, the only thing against Vince Young is that JEFF FISHER DOESN'T LIKE HIM, and since JEFF FISHER DOESN'T LIKE HIM, then THE NASHVILLE MEDIA SYCOPHANTS THAT HAVE BEEN PROTECTING JEFF FISHER FOR OVER A DECADE IN RETURN FOR "LEAKS" AND "EXCLUSIVES" DON'T LIKE HIM EITHER.

The only LEGITIMATE gripe with the guy ... he is injury prone. I will grant you that. He won't win any tough man competitions against Brett Favre or Steve McNair. (No references to Peyton Manning or other guys who never get their uniform dirty because they have great coaching and an outstanding supporting cast, please.) So, if you want to roll the dice on Ryan Mallett or Jake Locker (Andrew Luck will be long gone) because Vince Young is brittle ... wow, wouldn't you rather see what getting better WRs and TEs than Bo Scaife (keep in mind, he is getting paid as the franchise player FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW), Craig Stevens (a 250 lb. blocking TE who can't catch, gee wonder who made that draft decision IN THE THIRD ROUND), Jared Cook (a 240 lb. TE who can't block, catch or run routes, gee wonder who gave up the 2nd rounder for that guy?), Justin Gage ($15 million for a guy that the Bears didn't want, and neither did anyone else), Nate Washington ($25 million for a guy that the Steelers were actually glad to be rid of), Lavelle Hawkins, and so on and so on? And how's about a tailback on the roster that's more than 200 lbs? Wouldn't that be nice? And how about better interior OLs than Harris, Scott and Amano? 

So Young had a screaming match with Jeff Fisher. Since he is the guy who put this team together, and has been scapegoating Young in order to distract people from that fact FOR YEARS (remember the "Kerry Collins gives us the best chance to win/Collins isn't why we are losing games/the receivers are dropping passes and the defense isn't making plays" bit from last year), don't you think that it was about time? Hey, coach, I banged my hand against a Redskins' defender's helmet because this group of WRs that you put together STINKS! No one was open downfield! MAYBE IF WE STILL HAD LEGARRETTE BLOUNT INSTEAD OF LAVELLE HAWKINS - YOU DO REMEMBER RELEASING BLOUNT TO GIVE YOUR GUY FROM CAL ANOTHER SHOT - WE COULD HAVE HANDED OFF ON THAT PLAY! OR MAYBE IF YOU HAD DRAFTED JORDAN SHIPLEY INSTEAD OF YOUR USC GUY DAMIAN WILLIAMS, SOMEONE WOULD HAVE BEEN OPEN DOWNFIELD!

If Vince Young said something like that to Jeff Fisher during that shouting match ... then wow, it was time that someone did. And someone else should have shouted at him "YOU SPEND THE FIRST HALF OF THE SEASON LEAKING NONSENSE TO THE MEDIA ABOUT HOW WE WERE ONLY THROWING THE BALL 15 TIMES A GAME BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW THE OFFENSE, YET YOU LET RUSTY SMITH THROW THE BALL 31 TIMES?" (Oh, by the way ... the Titans "fans" who boo Vince Young every time he sneezes ... did they boo Rusty Smith? Did they boo Kerry Collins yesterday? Of course not ...)

I say that the pick that you guys want to use on Ryan Mallett (who would have NO CHANCE with these WRs and would have REAL PROBLEMS with that interior OL) ... use it on Julio Jones. Or A.J. Green. Or Alshon Jeffrey. Or AT LEAST TRADE DOWN AND GET A TIGHT END WHO CAN RUN ROUTES, GET OPEN DOWNFIELD AND CATCH THE FOOTBALL, BECAUSE THE TITANS HAVEN'T HAD ONE SINCE FRANK WYCHECK AND ERRON KINNEY RETIRED.

And don't give me this nonsense about "he's a running quarterback." So is Michael Vick. The Eagles would be 3-9 with Andy Reid and that whole bunch on the way out the door if it wasn't for Vick coming on and saving their season. Vick's had more 300 yard passing games this season than he had his entire career beforehand. Why? Because he is no longer being coached by Jim Mora Jr. and Greg Knapp (guys who have also been fired since they left Atlanta), and he is no longer throwing the ball to ... well can you name any of those guys? They weren't exactly DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, were they? 

Blaming Vince Young is convenient, because I know, I know, he isn't Peyton Manning or Jay Cutler. (Then again, this IS Jay Cutler's FIRST winning season, and he is on a TEAM that is MUCH BETTER than the disaster roster that is Tennessee, AND he has MUCH BETTER coaches.) But is it an honest, helpful way of looking at things?

Poll

Is Vince Young The Problem?

20%

Yes

22 votes

79%

No

86 votes

108 votes | Poll has closed

David Boclair wrote a column pointing out that Vince Young isn't throwing the ball to the TEs as often as did Steve McNair and Kerry Collins, and is proposing some possible reasons why, including the nonsense idea that Young does so because he can't read defenses (when the truth is that it is the QBs who struggle reading defenses and going through their progressions that are more likely to go to the TE-RB "security blanket" and are hence given the title "captain checkdown"). However, the truth is almost certainly that the WRs are better than the TEs, or more simply that the TEs aren't very good. That is what was missing from Boclair's analysis, and it shows just how unwilling the Nashville media is to criticize how the Titans are constructed, because that would mean confronting the guy most responsible for constructing the team, Jeff Fisher.

The truth is that Vince Young is throwing to the better players, the guys who can make plays, and that is a good thing. Moreover, Steve McNair did the same! The difference is that for most of McNair's career, the TEs like Frank Wycheck and Jackie Harris were pretty good while the WRs (i.e. Chris Sanders, Joey Kent, Willie Davis, Yancey Thigpen, Carl Pickens, Eddie Berlin, Justin McCareins, Kevin Dyson, Drew Bennett, Tyrone Calico etc.) were terrible. (Don't protest about Dyson, McCareins, Bennett and Sanders ... I realize those guys may have had a good season or two but that was all ... other than Derrick Mason, McNair never had consistently effective players at WR.) People claimed that the WRs were actually good and McNair was holding them back, but when those guys left in free agency and did even less (again with Mason being the only exception), it was obvious that McNair was actually making them look better than they actually were.

Boclair claims that McNair began favoring the WRs later in his career because he was no longer a mobile QB. While it is true that spending his career in an offense that lacked downfield passing threats caused McNair to wear down physically, the truth is that McNair was still plenty mobile and willing to scramble right up until the very last one or two seasons of his career. The real reason why McNair began favoring the WRs over the TEs is by that time, the WRs were better. Jackie Harris was long gone, Frank Wycheck was past his prime and retired after the 2003 season because of concussions, and Erron Kinney also had his productivity and career shortened by injuries. On the other hand, Derrick Mason was a Pro Bowler at WR, and WRs McCareins and Bennett put up some of the better numbers of their careers during this time.

Similarly, Kerry Collins might have utilized Bo Scaife and Alge Crumpler a good bit, but who did the Titans have at WR back then? Justin Gage, Brandon Jones, Justin McCareins, Eric Moulds, and people like that, right? So like McNair back in the day, Collins didn't have much choice. In 2008, the TEs were as good as or better than were the WRs, so getting the ball to the TEs gave the Titans the best chance to win. (Incidentally, it is fair to mention that Young seemed to get Scaife involved more in 2007 and 2006 than he is this year also, and for the same reason ... who were the WRs in 2006-2007? Bobby Wade, Roydell Williams, and guys like that.) Now the situation is different. Kenny Britt would be on his way to being a #1 NFL WR if Jeff Fisher would only allow it. Nate Washington is also a capable NFL WR, even if he isn't a starter on most teams. Damian Williams has real potential, as does Marc Mariani, and Justin Gage shows up from time to time. Not the best group of WRs in the division (let alone the league) obviously, but when you compare them to the TEs, it's obvious that the WRs need to be the focus of the passing game.

Bo Scaife: a guy who fell to the 6th round because of a lack of speed due to shredded knees, and of course if you come into the NFL with bad knees, over time you get even slower. Also, at 6'3", 249 lbs, he is undersized (he is the same height as Britt and shorter than Gage, and 10-15 pounds lighter than most TEs, and is practically tiny as compared to the 6'5" 277 lb. Erron Kinney). With all due respect, Scaife isn't quick or fast enough to separate from defenders reliably, and isn't big or strong enough to overpower them. Boclair needs to write columns asking why such a mediocre talent was able to get $10 million from the Titans' organization the past two seasons when he would have had difficulty getting more than the minimum salary elsewhere (unless, that is, the GM who gave Brandon Jones that $15 million contract is still employed!) and challenging whether Scaife should be on the roster after this season instead of asking why Vince Young isn't throwing him the ball more.

Craig Stevens: well, let's just say that the Titans used a 3rd round pick to draft a blocking TE who showed no potential whatsoever as a pass-catcher in college (Stevens had 51 receptions in his college career, and was a 3 year starter!) when most teams pick up players like that as undrafted free agents. Try to find anything on what Stevens did catching the ball during his college career at Cal. A typical blocking TE, Stevens isn't particularly good at getting open and doesn't have reliable hands. Again, Boclair should be asking why the Titans passed up guys who can actually catch the ball in the 2008 draft (Mario Manningham was available!) to (again!) address a need that most teams fill with CHEAP free agents instead of pressuring Vince Young to throw the ball to a glorified offensive lineman. 

Jared Cook: the guy appears to be a great athlete who has yet to figure out how to be a good football player, and this was true of his college career also, where everyone talked about his "potential" for his entire career. Comparing Cook to the bust Ben Troupe is indeed unfair: to Troupe. Lest we forget, Troupe had 88 catches for 859 yards and 5 TDs in his first two seasons. Were Jared Cook giving anywhere near that type of production - instead of 11 catches for 96 yards so far - everyone would be absolutely thrilled. Again, the pressure should not be on Vince Young to get Cook the ball, but on Jeff Fisher to explain why he passed up guys like Mike Thomas and Brian Hartline (who unlike Cook are actually playing and catching the ball) in the 2009 draft, or for that matter whether the Titans could have used any number of great players with the 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft that the Titans traded away to get Cook.

Incidentally, the problem isn't just Scaife (who actually is performing great for a 6th round pick), Cook and Stevens or even Ben Troupe before them. The truth is that the Titans have been horrible at drafting TEs during the Jeff Fisher era (i.e. 3rd and 4th round picks for guys like Shad Meier and Michael Roan). Further, other than guys who came cheap like Crumpler and Wycheck (whom the Titans got after the Redskins cut him), the Titans don't address the position in free agency. So, as bad as the Titans' history is with WRs under Fisher, the truth is that except for getting lucky in finding a Pro Bowler on the waiver wire in Wycheck and also the brief time that Jackie Harris passed through the franchise (and the Titans let Harris go in free agency despite having ample money to retain him!) their TEs have actually been worse. Right now, it would be difficult to identify a worse group of TEs in the NFL. That's why a column on why Vince Young isn't throwing to the TEs is so absurd. Instead, there needs to be a "the Titans need a better TE!" column.

Indeed, because TE is #1 need position in the offseason. This is not to say that there aren't other needs, of course, but rather that TE is the main one, and since the Titans' appear to have covered all their holes in the starting defense and on special teams in the last two offseasons (good ones for a change, even with the Jared Cook and Ryan Mouton draft picks) there are no excuses. A big time TE would do wonders for this offense. The reason is that the need to defend the running ability of both Chris Johnson and Vince Young forces defenses to leave open the middle of the field. They have to use some defenders to either spy Young or keep him in the pocket, and play the rest at the line of scrimmage to stop Johnson. A TE with good hands that can get down the field quickly like a Brent Celek, Zach Miller or Jason Witten would do major damage.

So, right now Vince Young is sticking with the WRs because he has the football smarts to get the ball to guys who are actually capable NFL athletes who can make plays. Get guys as good as are Nate Washington, Kenny Britt, Damian Williams and Marc Mariani at TE, and Vince Young will throw them the ball also.

People questioning Chuck Cecil's performance are missing the boat. Mostly. Instead, consider this.

One question: do the Titans have good personnel, especially at DE, OLB, CB and safety? Last year, the answer was most definitely NO. The starting DEs at the beginning of the season (Jevon Kearse, Kyle Vanden Bosch) are now gone, and no one misses them. Except, maybe, Paul Kuharsky and Jim Wyatt, who for years insisted that Vanden Bosch was a lot better than he actually was. (The truth is for all the talk about his having a "non-stop motor" and all the leadership and effort and drive he brought to the team - he was a team captain and all, right? - Vanden Bosch only actually exceeded 7 sacks twice in Nashville: in 2005 and 2007 when he greatly benefited from Albert Haynesworth double teams. And by the way ... Keith Bulluck hasn't been missed either. At least, er, not on the field. The guy has 11 tackles for the Giants, only two more than Jamie Winborn, who will be returning to the bench soon.) This year, the answer is DEFINITELY. The DEs and CBs are much better, the safeties are playing better, and when McGrath returns, the LBs will too. So, the problem last year wasn't Cecil, it was the players, especially some guys that were held onto for too long, and with guys who were going through injuries and other issues and at least one guy who wasn't ready (Jason McCourty) thrown in. 

Another question: if the Titans have good personnel at OLB at safety, then why haven't the Titans been able to defend spread offenses in over ten years? Now THAT is what we should be focusing on.

Throughout the Jeff Fisher era, the Titans have done great against teams who go with the traditional two back two WR formation where the QB drops back and tries to go through his progressions and throw downfield. They stop the run, which keeps the QB in negative down and distance situations, and a combination of great (or at least good) pass rushers and aggressive CBs make throwing deep against this defense very difficult. 

OK, fine. The problem is that virtually no one does it any more. The Giants still do. You saw the result against the Titans. The Raiders do - or at least did at the beginning of the season. And you saw the result. (Incidentally, the Raiders have since junked Jason Campbell and their vertical offense - no protection for Campbell - and gone with a short passing game with Bruce Gradkowski.) And the Broncos did it ... for the first half. But the second half? That's the problem. And it has been for years. Whether it was the Rams in the 1999 Super Bowl. The Raiders in the AFC title game. The Patriots in the playoffs. A bunch of regular season games with the Colts. And so on. Whenever a team abandons the 2 WR/deep ball strategy and goes to 3 or 4 WRs and a quick underneath passing game, the Titans have no recourse. The QB gets the ball out before the DEs get there. And the WRs avoid what the Titans like to do in coverage by running short, underneath or timing routes. So, they have no problem dropping back and completing passes.

Big deal, the Titans can just stop them for short gains, right? Wrong. If you complete a bunch of 5 to 7 yard passes, it is the equivalent of a tailback getting 5 to 7 yard runs. You move the sticks. Also, the Titans DBs are better at run support - flying to the line of scrimmage and the ball and stopping tailbacks for no gain - than they are at limiting the yards after the catch of WRs (and TEs). 

Now again, this has been a problem FOR YEARS under a number of different coordinators. The Titans really haven't been hurt that much because few teams had the ability to effectively run a short passing offense. But now, thanks to the rules changes and the copycat NFL building a bunch of Colts and Patriots clones, they're all over the NFL. And the Titans are going to have real problems going forward unless they change their personnel and scheme to be able to stop these "death by a thousand cuts" dink and dunk offenses. Against the Titans, you don't have to run the ball, and you don't have to throw downfield. Instead, if you have a reasonably accurate QB and WRs that are decent at running routes and catching the ball, you can do the same thing to the Titans that the Broncos did on Sunday. 

That's why going after Cecil is just scapegoating. Cecil didn't put this defense together, Jeff Fisher did. And it isn't Cecil's playbook or philosophy that he is running: it is Fisher's. Fisher's defense is basically based on defending what NFC East and NFC Central teams were running in the 1980s and 1990s. Well, what would have worked against the Dallas Cowboys or Green Bay Packers in 1989 is not going to work in today's NFL, and especially not in the dink and dunk happy AFC. (It would work better in the NFC where there are still a lot of more traditional dropback/west coast offense teams, but even a lot of those can go to a dink and dunk offense for a game or three if they need to.)

So, instead of talking about Cecil, the discussion needs to be about why the Titans' need to upgrade their defensive scheme and get the personnel needed to run it. In other words, the same problem as it is with the offense. (Incidentally, the Titans were a lot better against these spread type offenses when they had a penetrating DT like Albert Haynesworth who could collapse the pocket and disrupt the timing of these dink and dunk offenses. Not saying that the Titans need to pursue Haynesworth. But if they are going to keep their current philosophy on defense, getting another DT LIKE Haynesworth is a necessity. However, my position is that the Titans need a MODERN philosophy on defense. And a modern one on offense wouldn't hurt either.)

The remedy to Tennessee's running game is actually simple: quit pretending as if he is Eddie George. The Titans' vanilla offense worked (kinda sorta) when Eddie George was the feature RB because a big 245 lb. tailback can consistently move the pile against loaded fronts, getting at least 2-3 yards on every carry without losing yards. That would often set the Titans up with 3rd and short to intermediate situations where Steve McNair could have a run-pass option (basically either dump it off to Frank Wycheck or take off) to move the sticks. Do that 3 or 4 times a drive and you are in field goal range, especially if either George, Wycheck or McNair actually has a long gain. And do it five or six times a game, and it shortens the game and keeps the opposing offense off the field. Also, by punishing the opposing defense with George and McNair, often defenses would get tired, and George would really get going in the second half. Or at least that was the theory. In practice, it only worked about half the time, usually against bad teams. But at least with George, it made sense.

But with Chris Johnson, who is a 190 lb. speed back and not a 245 lb. power back, this has no chance. When he runs into an 8 man front, he isn't going to move the pile and keep the Titans into third and short. He isn't going to move the sticks to get into field goal range and keep the opposing offense off the field. And he certainly isn't going to punish a defense and wear it down so he can get going in the second half. All running Chris Johnson into 8 man fronts produces is 3 and outs. Even if Johnson breaks a long run, defenses will give up a long TD run in return for keeping the Titans' bottled up for most of the day on offense. 

Now of course, Jeff Fisher and the Titans' coaches know this already. So why are they sticking with this ridiculous game plan that is guaranteed to fail? Simple: they are back to their "we are stuck with a QB that we don't want in Vince Young so we are just going to make sure he is a bystander as much as possible so that he doesn't get any credit for our success and the hope that we can get a QB that we actually want is alive!" old ways. Don't be fooled: these are the same guys who let Kerry Collins throw the ball as much as 40 times a game in 2008 and 2009 despite his 58% completions, 12 TDs against 9 INTs, and 80 rating (in 2008 ... it was much much worse in 2009). Not only that, the Titans allowed Vince Young to throw the ball a lot more in 2007. What's going on is that Fisher believes - or at least believed until Sunday - that with a great OL and a great defense, he would win games while marginalizing Young at the same time. Or at least that WAS the plan.

Now Fisher knows that his interior offensive line isn't nearly as good as he thought it was (how's that 5 year $26 million dollar contract for Eugene Amano looking right now!) and that his secondary isn't either even when the Titans are rushing the passer effectively (6 sacks Sunday and they still give up 35 completions!). In short, Fisher knows that in order to win - and save his own job in the process - he has to let Vince Young make plays and take credit for victories in order to open up the running game and keep pressure off the defense. 

How? It really isn't that difficult. All the Titans need to do is abandon the Eddie George-Steve McNair power offense that they don't have the personnel for, and switch to a scheme that they DO have the personnel for: more of a spread style offense. Go with 3 WRs or 2 TEs (not that it matters because other than Kenny Britt, none of the WRs or TEs are particularly good) and spread the field. Incorporate the shotgun to give Young a better view of the field, and to give those WRs more time to get open, and to give Nate Washington (who really doesn't like contact) more space to operate. That would get those defenders out of the box and Johnson more room to run.

This isn't to say that the Titans should become the Colts, Saints or Patriots. Vince Young isn't that type of QB, and more important the Titans don't have their WRs. (Anyone think that Randy Moss and Wes Welker or Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark or Andre Johnson and Andrew Walter or Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Lance Moore instead of Justin Gage, Bo Scaife and Nate Washington wouldn't make Vince Young a much better QB? Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?) They can throw the ball 25 times a game (really, this doing their level best to humiliate Young by only allowing him to throw it 15-18 times has to stop ... like we don't remember that Young went threw a stretch where he had 41, 41, 31 and 31 attempts in 4 straight games in 2007, and this was with Roydell Williams, Eric Moulds and Brandon Jones catching the ball!) with a lot of short passes and slants with the occasional deep throw to Nate Washington mixed in to keep defenses honest. 

Sound familiar? It should. The 2 TE offense was used to get the Titans to the 1999 Super Bowl with Frank Wycheck and Jackie Harris. Now Scaife and Cook are no Wycheck and Harris, but they are all the Titans have. Also, going with a lot of 3 WR looks was what got the Titans to the playoffs in 2002 and 2003. They don't have any WR as good as Derrick Mason (although Britt has the potential to be), but they have guys who can be as good as Justin McCareins and Drew Bennett (neither of whom did squat when they left Nashville and were no longer playing with McNair) or better. 

But realize that the point of doing this isn't to have a passing game that produces 4000 yards and 30 TDs. The point is to get Chris Johnson going again. With Johnson running for 150 yards a game (or even better, with Johnson and Ringer combining for 200 rushing yards a game) they don't need a passing game like the Patriots, Colts and Broncos have. If Fisher can just get past his "I wanted Matt Leinart in 2006, and had we gotten him Norm Chow and I would have developed him and things would be great but now I am stuck with Vince Young!" temper tantrums, it would happen, and the result would be a Titans' team that competes for the playoffs, possibly makes it, and even wins a game or two.

But if that happens, Vince Young gets his long-term deal, and Jeff Fisher is stuck with him. Basically it comes down to what Jeff Fisher wants more. Does he want to win? Or does he want to get rid of Vince Young? The irony is that most of the success that the Titans have would be credited to Chris Johnson and the defense anyway, and Fisher would get credit for drafting Chris Johnson when everyone else had the guy rated as a 3rd round pick, and would naturally get credit for the great defense. People would see Young as a passenger with Fisher and Johnson being seen as the pilot and co-pilot. But hey, when you are dead set on running a guy out of town, I guess logic doesn't matter much?

Three things.

1. Remember, we are only talking about an undrafted third string RB. Even if he would have been drafted pretty high had the Boise incident not ruined his senior season (which by the way is extremely debatable, a lot of people claimed that he was only a 5th or 6th round prospect based on ability) the fact is that he was given a shot in camp just like everybody else, and didn't come close to threatening Javon Ringer. That shouldn't surprise anyone. Ringer was the entire offense for Michigan State. By contrast, when Oregon suspended Blount they didn't miss a beat because his true freshman backup LaMichael James was a much better player. So all evidence points to Ringer - who dropped in the draft because people felt he took too many hits in college - simply being better than Blount anyway. Plus Ringer spent last year learning pass-protection and receiving skills, which Blount never learned playing in that Oregon offense. Bottom line: Johnson and Ringer are going to play this season. Blount never was.

2. The idea that Blount was going to be this short-yardage/red-zone specialist this season was a delusion existed only in the minds of fans. There is NO WAY the Titans were ever going to put in some undrafted rookie who barely made the team in the game on 3rd and goal. You be the coach who tries something like that, and you be the coach who has to face the fans/the media/the GM/Bud Adams/the other players on the team who wanted the ball in that situation but didn't get it if (or more like when) it doesn't work. If you call a handoff to Chris Johnson or a run/pass option to Vince Young in that situation, no one says anything. But blow a critical short yardage play against Jacksonville because the #53 guy on the roster fumbles or misses the hole ... again you be the head coach or offensive coordinator in that scenario.

3. When McRath comes off his suspension and/or Thornton off PUP, the Titans will dump the "extra" LBs. (That is, unless they are dynamite on special teams, which Blount isn't.) That will allow the Titans to add Blount to the active roster. What if someone else signs Blount? Again, see #1 and #2. This team that signs Blount will be doing so in order for Blount to do what for their team on game day, exactly? But even if they do, or if there is an injury to Johnson or Ringer, big deal. The Titans can just sign an RB off someone else's practice squad. Like who? Maybe Charles Scott from LSU, who is like Blount except more athletic. Or they can bring an out of work veteran like Samkon Gado on. Whoever it is, that guy will still be #3 behind Johnson and Ringer, two guys that the Titans really like and for good reason. So in order to actually get playing time, the guy will have to be better than Ringer. If not, in order to be worth keeping, the guy will need to be able to contribute in the passing game and play special teams. As Blount is neither, the Titans correctly figured that they can live without him this season if need be. 

Bottom line: no big deal. Much ado about nothing.