SB Nation User Blog: hal41605

What is Wrong with the Tennessee Titans?

hal41605 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:06:15 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

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

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

-David Byrne and Brian Eno

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

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

And they now sit at 0-3.

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

Special Teams

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

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

Pass Defense

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

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

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

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

Offensive Scheme

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coaching and Management

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

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

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

From Here on Out

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

Vincent Fuller Out 4-6 Weeks

hal41605 — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:04:01 -0000

Vincent Fuller Out 4-6 Weeks

If he can come back that fast from surgery for a broken arm it will be amazing.

Tennessee Titans Training Camp Report: August 12

hal41605 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:40:11 -0000

The Titans were in shoulder pads and shorts once again today, but that didn't keep things from getting quite physical, both before and after the whistle. By my count, the Titans have only been in full pads once in two weeks. It's hard to see how our tackling, which was pretty bad against Buffalo, is going to get any better if they don't at least go through hits at full speed every now and then. I know they want to avoid any injuries, but I would at least like to see a couple of tackling drills out there. More thoughts after the jump.

Kerry Collins looked sharp. Vince Young and Patrick Ramsey did not. Vince threw a short swing pass that hit Lendale White in the foot. Lendale showed off his soccer skills, kicking the ball away. Vince did make some nice throws, including a pretty corner route to Dominique Edison.
Cortland Finnegan was given the day off. He ran through a few exercises early on, but sat out all of the contact drills. I was told by one of the Titans staff that there was no cause for concern and that it was just a routine day off that coaches grant from time to time. DT Jason Jones was still in a walking boot and WR Chris Davis and LB Steven Tulloch were also still out.
When a starter misses a day, that means a back up gets a chance to show his worth with the first team. With Finnegan taking it easy, CB DeMarcus Faggins took advantage and made a couple of really nice pass break-ups. CB is one of the positions that I worry about most in terms of depth, so it's great to see Faggins step up like that.
Nick Harper showed no signs of aging today. He stayed right with some of the younger receivers during one on one CB/WR drills. He also broke up 2 passes, one against Justin Gage and another against Jared Cook in the red zone passing drill.
This Hawk update is brought to you by Pinoy Titan: WR Lavelle Hawkins looked great today. He made one fantastic grab with Michael Griffin draped all over him. In Chris Davis's absence he even got some reps out of the slot with the first team offense. He caught every ball that it came his way, and didn't have any noticeable mental errors. He showed again today that he has all of the physical tools to be a weapon out of the slot if he can just get his head straight.
Paul Williams had really bad day. From the very beginning in routes practice (no defender) he was dropping balls that hit him in the hands. That trend continued throughout practice in 7 on 7s. I counted at least 4 truly unforgivable drops. For a guy who hasn't shown squat in his first two seasons, days like today could lead to him being shown the door in favor of rookies like Dudley Guice and Dominique Edison. Both Guice and Edison continue to improve and probably have more raw physical skills. I'm all for keeping guys who show early promise over a guy who has done less than nothing with his first two seasons.
TE Jared Cook is a monster. He can beat people down the field with his speed, and even when guys do stay with him he knows how to use his huge frame to shield off the defender. He ran a go route and Michael Griffin was with him all the way, but Cook still made the catch because Griffin simply couldn't wrestle the ball away.
At one point during the full team scrimmage, the 2nd string secondary was going against the first string offense. Not a fair fight. Nate Washington torched CB Cary Williams and S Tuff Harris and caught a beautiful bomb from Kerry Collins. Nate also burned CB Tanard Davis on a triple move during 1 on 1 practice. Not only is Nate quite fast, he's probably even quicker.
When they practiced kick off returns, they had a trio of young guys taking reps at returner. Corner backs Ryan Mouton and Jason McCourty, who have done this previously in camp and RB Javon Ringer all took their turn and looked pretty good, though the focus of the drill was on blocking schemes so it wasn't close enough to full speed to make any judgements.
Rookie Sen'Derrick Marks was unblockable at times during the pass rush drill. He flat out whipped back up players Doug Datish and Fernando Velasco. Tony Brown go the best of Eugene Amano and rookie Mitch King showed some of his first flashes in camp against Jason Murphy.
Michael Griffin jacked up rookie WR Dominique Edison over the middle after a catch.
DE Larry Birdine appeared to injure his right knee but he came back after the trainers looked him over for about 10 minutes. Birdine has been one of the best no-namers in camp and I think perhaps a darkhorse to make the roster on our crowded d-line. I was glad to see him get back on the field.
TE Craig Stevens is a brawler. We had 3 scuffles after the play today and he was involved in all 3. He threw down with DE Dave Ball, LB Stanford Keglar, and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch. I don't know who in their right mind would try to fight with KVB, but TE Alge Crumpler apparently sensed the danger Stevens was putting himself in, as he sprinted across the field to try and pull him out of the fray.

Tennessee Titans Training Camp Report: August 11th

hal41605 — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:31:37 -0000

The Titans were back out on the practice field today in shoulder pads and shorts. I hate to stoke the Vince Young fire any further, but there's really no way to talk about today's practice without doing so. But you're going to have to read to the end for the juicy stuff. Thoughts after the jump.

Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back! LB Rocky Boiman made his return to Nashville in camp today, replacing QB Alex Mortensen on the roster. Mortensen never really had a shot to make this team (or any team from what I saw), so it was really just a matter of time for him. At least he got to throw a TD pass before we let him go...oh wait that was to the wrong team.
Jared Cook and Kenny Britt made several nice catches each. Watching today, you had to love the way the two rookies looked out there.
Vince Young did not look good today throwing the ball. On multiple occasions his passes were well behind the intended receiver. On one of those, Nate Washington was only able to get a finger tip on the ball, and it would have been better if he hadn't. The ball deflected right into CB Cary Williams hands for an INT. Then during the final hurry up drill, he threw a terrible pass down the sideline that free agent signee CB DeMarcus Faggins picked off.
During 11 on 11 drills, Kyle Vanden Bosch pushed a lineman so far into the backfield that QB Patrick Ramsey's pass went off the back of his helmet and was picked off by rookie Ryan Mouton.
There was a nice all-Texas moment when Vince Young threw a pass to a heavily covered Bo Scaife. Michael Griffin was all over Scaife, but Vince threw the ball low and to the outside where only Scaife could get to it and Bo made a great diving catch.
During punt formation practice, the entire starting secondary made appearances on the coverage team, including Pro-Bowl safety Michael Griffin, who split reps catching punts with Tanard Davis. With return specialist Mark Jones still unable to practice, you would think they would give those reps to one of the wide receivers who is on the bubble as far as making the 53 man roster. I have a really hard time believing that they are seriously considering Griffin as a punt returner, given his incredible value in the secondary.
During the half line pass rushing drills, several guys who are currently near the bottom of the depth chart (no shame shame in that around Baptist Sports Park) stood out. Defensive end Larry Birdine and rookie defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks looked great. Both guys bring a nice mix of speed and strength to the table. Marks especially looked good. He possess quickness that you seldom find in a guy his size. Defensive tackle Tony Brown also looked to be on the top of his game.
Jason Jones was in a walking boot today. The word is that he sprained his foot in the Hall of Fame game, but that it isn't too serious. Other players missing practice included LB Steven Tulloch, TE Alge Crumpler, and WR Chris Davis.
At the end of practice, Coach Fisher put the team through some sprints. For reasons unknown to me, Kenny Britt had to start it with a 50 yard suicide run, touching each 5 yard line. Then Fisher went down the roster and had guys pay for the excessive penalties that happened during the second half against Buffalo.
And now the part everyone has been waiting for: The Option. The version they were running today had Vince lined up in shotgun. The first string version usually included Chris Johnson lined up to one side of Vince with Nate Washington motioning out of the slot into the backfield on Vince's other side. Vince looked quite comfortable, though he did botch one pitch. It looks like they have more than just a simple option in mind, as they ran one look that included a reverse to Washington. They did not show any passing looks.

Tennessee Titans Training Camp Report: August 6th

hal41605 — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:48:27 -0000

Today the Titans were finally in full pads, and that makes for a much more interesting practice. It was hot today, but it was easily the most crowded of any of the day practices so far, and the players gave the fans a pretty entertaining afternoon. My thoughts after the jump.

Chris Henry was the victim of several big hits today. In 7 on 7's, he caught a pass out in the flat and immediately got absolutely destroyed by CB Cary Williams. Then during the goal line session, on separate plays Steven Tulloch and Larry Birdine took turns laying the wood to him. But the Cary Williams shot was pure "Jacked Up" gold. Henry did have one really nice run right up the middle that would have probably gone the distance in a real game setting.
Today was a very good day for wide receivers. Nate Washington looked fantastic, making several catches against Cortland Finnegan including a beautiful bomb from Kerry Collins. Lavelle Hawkins had a great day as well. He went up for a ball over the middle, absorbed a pretty good shot from a line backer (Ryan Fowler, I believe) and still held onto the ball. He also caught a nicely thrown deep ball from Patrick Ramsey over newly acquired CB DeMarcus Faggins. Hawkins showed off his ample physical skills, and if he can just keep his head in the game he would be a great asset in the passing game.
DT Jovan Haye looked like he is beginning to settle in quite well. He was a real force in the middle of the field goal blocking unit and showed some very impressive strength in the one on one drills.
Quinton Ganther showed off some power at Vincent Fuller's expense and ran right through him.
CB Tanard Davis jumped a post route and picked off a pass from Patrick Ramsey.
Alge Crumpler may not be much of receiving weapon anymore, but he has to be one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL, and he proved it today against Kyle Vanden Bosch. The two put on quite a show this afternoon, with both of them going all out and getting the better of the other at various points.
DT Kevin Vickerson and G Doug Datish had to be separated at one point. Nothing really nasty occurred, mainly just some extra shoving, but it's amazing how putting on full pads raises everyone's intensity level.
DE William Hayes appeared to injure his left knee toward the end of practice.

Tennessee Titans Training Camp Report: August 4th Morning Practice

hal41605 — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:53:58 -0000

The Titans practiced this morning without pads. They were, however, sporting the ultra-fly baby blue Oilers throwback helmets and they look great. Without the pads on, they mostly focused on the passing game, and spent about half of practice playing 11 on 11. They will take the field again tonight at 7:30 at Baptist Sports Park under the lights, and according to one member of the Titans Radio staff, they will be in full pads. Come on out if you can, because there is not a better free ticket in town.

My observations after the jump.

Nate Washington showed exactly why the Titans signed him. From the slot, he streaked past Nick Harper and Michael Griffin and caught a beautiful bomb from Kerry Collins. Moreover, Kerry looked great today, much better than yesterday.
We may have an answer to our problems with corner back depth. Rookie Ryan Mouton made a great play on a badly under thrown deep ball from Vince Young that was intended for Nate Washington and picked it off. He had another interception, this time from Alex Mortensen in rookie 7 on 7's after practice ended.
LenDale White is a lot faster. They ran a sweep and he made the corner with ease. I am officially upgrading him from LenWhale to LenDolphin.
Javon Ringer showed a flash of brilliance in the passing game, making a highlight reel one-handed grab on a pass that was thrown behind him.
It's always risky to read too much into the plays a team runs in camp, but I hope what I saw today was a sign of things to come. On multiple occasions they put Chris Johnson in the slot. Last season he was used almost exclusively as either a safety valve out of the backfield or on screen passes, so maybe this is a sign that they are going to expand his role in the passing game and have him run some real routes.
I've been harsh with Lavelle Hawkins in the past, but you have to give credit where credit is due. He looked very good out there today, catching every ball that came his way including a beauty while toeing the sideline. He even managed to avoid any obvious wrath from Coach Heimerdinger. Justin Gage, on the other hand, had a day he would probably prefer to forget, with 2 pretty bad drops.
Jared Cook continues impress. They used him in both the slot and out wide and he looks really comfortable out there. I never saw a ball thrown his way hit the ground today.
Rob Bironas was back in street clothes today after making his training camp debut yesterday.
Ahhh the indignities of being a rookie. When Coach Fisher decided to practice with the offense backed up to their own goal line, he had the rookies stand in the back of the endzone and provide a little "crowd noise".

Tennessee Titans Training Camp Report: August 3rd

hal41605 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 23:15:11 -0000

Today was my first day this season to get out to Baptist Sports Park and watch training camp. I was really impressed by the new parking setup right across the street from the facility (no shuttles!). I plan to be at pretty much all of the rest of the practices, and would definitely encourage others to catch a few if you can.

My thoughts after the jump.

Jared Cook is the biggest wide receiver you will ever see. I know many people may think that is a typo, and the roster backs that up, but I never saw him line up once with his hand on the ground. Jared looked good, for the most part, operating out of the slot. He DID drop a catch in the endzone during the hurry up drill however, but he made several other nice catches and has little to no problem getting separation on defenders in the secondary.
We have some serious motor at defensive end. Jevon Kearse and Kyle Vanden Bosch were flying around the field on every drill, often chasing after running backs 20 yards down field. Kearse looked like he's shed a couple years during the offseason. He was mighty fast rushing off the edge and gave David Stewart trouble a couple of times. At defensive tackle, Tony Brown and Jason Jones both looked good. Both of those guys got really good push up the middle and both batted a pass down at the line.
Wide receiver is still the biggest question mark as far as who is making the team. Chris Davis looked like a guy determined to make the roster, making a couple of nice catches and taking all the reps catching punts. Lavelle Hawkins, on the other hand, continued to look like a guy who is just happy to be there, causing Coach Heimerdinger to chew him out at one point for a pre-snap miscue. Rookies Dominique Edison and Dudley Guice both looked good, and if Hawkins can't be bothered to get his head in the game, I'm all for letting one of those guys take his spot.
None of the quarterbacks did anything to write home about. Kerry only threw it down the field a couple of times, and one of those was terribly under-thrown and only avoided being picked off because two defenders collided going up for the pick. Vince Young made some good throws and some bad throws, but that's pretty much what you would expect out of a guy who has struggled since he arrived in Tennessee with consistency. Patrick Ramsey looked good directing a hurry up drill, and would have scored if Cook had held onto the ball. Alex Mortensen had trouble handling snaps, fumbling twice during a running drill.
On special teams, Rob Bironas was back on the field after sitting out the first few days with some issues regarding a leg strain. He looked like his old self, though they didn't push him to kick anything too long. A.J. Trapasso took all of the punting reps, and he looked fantastic, dropping 3 punts inside the 2 yard line and keeping them out of the endzone.
It's pretty tough to tell anything about running backs until they put full pads on, but Javon Ringer looks good. He runs low to the ground and has incredibly smooth strides. He almost floats along. Chris Henry still can't see where he is going, and ran into the pile a couple of different times. If he is on the 53 man roster I will be shocked and Coach Fisher will have some serious 'splaining to do.
Remember the name Larry Birdine. This is his second stint in training camp in Tennessee, and he was an absolute handful at defensive end. We may not have room for him in our crowded d-line stable, but if he can't make the final 53, another team would be wise to give him a shot.

The Road that Lies Ahead: Week 3 @ New York Jets

hal41605 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 21:07:28 -0000

More photos » by Mark Avery - AP

Mark Sanchez prepares an insurance policy should he be run out of town by rabid Jets fans. (AP Photo/Mark Avery)

Browse more photos »

Last time, I looked at the season opener against the Steelers, and part of what I talked about was that, as I see it, the Titans match up extremely well against the Steelers. Well, in this installment of the 2009 Opponents Preview series, I will look at a team that potentially flips that script on the Titans, the J-E-T-S Jets.

The Jets come into this season having jettisoned the nauseatingly over-hyped, old and busted Brett Favre, choosing instead on draft day to trade up 12 slots and pick USC QB Mark Sanchez. The Jets also kicked Head Coach Eric Mangini to the curb, making him the most recent Belichick disciple to fall flat after leaving New England. Mangini has been replaced by former Baltimore Ravens defensive architect Rex Ryan.

More on why this could be a nasty trap game for the Titans after the jump.

LAST YEAR:

Last season these teams met in Week 12, with the 10-0 Titans coming off of back-to-back gutsy road wins against the Bears and Jaguars. The Jets entered the game plenty hot themselves, on the heels of a 4 game winning streak including the previous week in Foxboro against their hated AFC East rival New England Patriots. On the day, however, only one team showed any evidence of riding a big win streak. In what was easily their most miserable all-around performance of the season last year, the Titans fell 34-13 without ever looking dangerous.

Looking back at that game, the Jets succeeded because they gave the Titans a heeping dose of their own medicine. The Jets rolled up 192 yards rushing at a clip of 4.9 yars per carry with both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington going for 85+ yards. On the other side of the ball, they flat out dominated Smash and Dash, which was really more like just Dash, as on the day, Lendale White would see only 1 carry for -1 yards. Kerry Collins was decent but he would have had to be other-worldly, walk-on-water amazing to lead the Titans to a win that Sunday. In the end Justin McCareins was the leading receiver with 4 catches for 43 yards. Ugh.

STRENGTHS:

This New York Jets team should be a real handful on defense. One year removed form switching to a 3-4 scheme, the Jets appear to actually have the right personnel in place this season. Not only did they take Baltimore's Defensive Coordinator to be their new head coach, they also added former Ravens ILB Bart Scott, FS Jim Leonhard and DE Marques Douglas. But the Jets didn't stop there. They also added CB Lito Sheppard, who will be a darn good #2 CB across from one of the better young corners in the league, Darelle Revis. For a team that was already in the top half of NFL defenses last season to add 3 quality starters under a proven defensive mastermind like Rex Ryan and his "right hand man" Mike Pettine, a long time assistant in Baltimore as well, is a big statement. If this defense stays healthy, they should be one of the best in the NFL this season.

Up front, this 3-4 defense is not going to give up much on the ground. According to Football Outsiders, the Jets ranked 7th against the run last season, thanks in large part to the All-Pro season that NT Kris Jenkins put together. Adding a force like Bart Scott at ILB to fill the gaps that Jenkins creates will make for a nearly impenetrable interior run defense. Also keep an eye out for the other ILB, thrid year man David Harris. He has showed plenty of promise in his first two seasons, though injuries cost him 5 starts last year. Sticking Scott next to him, who is a blocking priority on every play, can only help.

The secondary was suspect at times last season, but the Jets hope that an infusion of quality starters will lock it down. As mentioned, they replaced an over the hill Ty Law with Lito Sheppard, and sent an oft ineffective Abram Elam packing in favor of Jim Leonhard. With Darelle Revis and Kerry Rhodes already in place, the Jets have, at least on paper, one of the best secondaries in football.

The other major strength of this New York Jets team is the running game. Like any good rushing attack, it starts with the big guys up front, and this unit was stellar in run blocking last season, ranked #2 overall by Football Outsiders. Behind that line, Thomas Jones had a great year last season, coming in ranked at 5th in DYAR and 7th in DVOA. Leon Washington was also a great asset, scoring a DVOA roughly equivalent to Brandon Jacobs. Keep in mind that DVOA is a measure of per play value, and Jacobs had almost 3 times a many carries as Washington. However, when the ball was in his hands, few people were more valuable than Leon Washington. Despite great success last season, the Jets still felt it necessary to add Iowa RB Shonn Greene to the stable. There were plenty of people that were high on this guy in the lead up to the draft, and if he pans out the Jets could have quite the 3 headed monster in the backfield.

WEAKNESS

One doesn't have to look hard to find the glaring weakness on this Jets team. The passing game could very easily be one of the worst in the NFL. At QB, the Jets will either start a rookie in Mark Sanchez or a 3 year veteran with a 59.3 career QB rating in Kellen Clemens. I am going to assume, as most people are, that Sanchez will get the nod to start immediately, simply because Clemens is pretty awful. Last season we saw Matt Ryan put together a phenominal rookie season for the Falcons, and we saw Joe Flacco do well managing games in Baltimore. However, both of those guys had at least one high quality wide receiver to help them along. That certainly does not appear to be the case with the Jets, who let Laveranues Coles walk this offseason. That leaves Jericho Cotchery as the only wide receiver on their roster that anyone has ever heard of. The only thing that might hold their running game back is the fact that teams are going to play 8 and 9 men in the box on every play.

QUESTION MARKS

Mark Sanchez. This one is too obvious to devote much space to, but the big question here is whether Sanchez will be more Carson Palmer or more Matt Leinart. It's pretty much impossible to tell until the guy gets on the field, so I'm not going to waste everyone's time speculating. What I will say is that I am a big fan of starting QBs from Day 1, as long as your offensive line is good enough to keep him alive. If you drafted the right guy, he should be able to take the lumps early and be better for it.

Vernon Gholston. The 6th overall pick in the 2008 draft fell flat last season, struggling mightily to make the transition from defensive end to outside rush linebacker. He started a grand total of zero games, recorded only 13 tackles and zero sacks. However, Gholston is an eye-popping athlete and now he will be tutored by new Defensive Coordinator Mike Pettine, who previously made a living coaching outside linebackers in Baltimore. If he can teach Gholston some of the same things he taught Terrell Suggs, Gholston could be headed for a breakout season.

KEYS FOR THE TITANS

This should be a nasty slugfest because the Jets present all sorts of match-up issues against the Titans. I think this Jets defense, if healthy, could be one of the 3 best defenses in the NFL next season. They are loaded with quality starters at every level and are adding some world class defensive coaching at the expense of the Ravens. The Titans are going to have to avoid basically everything that happened between these two teams last season, like being held to only 44 yards on 11 rushes. Seeing as how the Jets defense looks to get better this season, especially with the addition of Bart Scott, running the ball just may not work very well. It is going to be absolutely crucial that Kerry Collins and the WRs show up to play early. Collins went 7-22 in the first half of that game, though he was helped to that woeful total by several drops. That simply won't cut it.

On the other side of the ball, the Titans allowed Favre to go 25/32 for 224 and 2 TDs, 1 INT. If they let Sanchez put up similar numbers in what would be his 3rd career start.... nevermind, that won't happen. The real focus of the defense will be doing a much better job of stopping the run. Letting two different guys exceed 85 yards on the same day is inexcusable. Time of possession will be a very telling statistic in this match-up again this year. Last year the Jets held onto the ball for just over 40 minutes. When a Jeff Fisher team has less than 20 minutes of possession, odds are they are getting blown out.

The Titans may have been reading a bit too much of their own press when these two teams met last season. It's probably pretty easy to lose perspective when you are 10-0, but they had better remember the way the Jets simply dominated them when they weren't so focused. Even with a fully focused and hungry team, beating a team with a defense and running game like the Jets should have, especially on the road, will be tough. By the end of Week 3, we will know what kind of defense we have sans Fat Albert and we will know how much the WR corps has been upgraded. The fact that we play our division plus the Patriots and Steelers in the first 6 weeks could lead some to overlook the Jets. But don't be fooled. This is a Jets team that is built to win ugly, and the game is in New York. The Titans will need to be running on all cylinders to redeem the egg they layed last year and win this one.

The Road that Lies Ahead: Week 1 @ Pittsburgh

hal41605 — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:42:45 -0000

With training camp only a week away, I can almost taste it. Football season will soon be upon us and the black hole of interesting sports that is the month of July will have finally passed. With training camp on the horizon and, with it legitimate football news, it's time to get out the last drops of preseason speculation. What follows is the first entry in a 13 part series in which I will give a broad overview of the teams standing between the Titans and the playoffs. I will go through the schedule in order, saving the divisional opponents for last.

This season, besides the 6 divisional games, the Titans get the NFC West and the AFC East, as well as the other 2 AFC Division Champions from last season (Pitt, SD). The first 6 weeks look to be nothing short of brutal, with road trips to Pittsburgh, New York, Jacksonville, and Foxboro, and visits from Houston and Indianapolis. The schedule makers did Tennessee no favors there. The goal for the Titans will be to simply survive early on this season and then cash in on some more favorable match-ups in the second half of the season, when they will close with 3 of the last 4 games at LP Field.

After the jump, I will start things off with a preview of the grudge match which opens the NFL regular season on Thursday, September 10 in prime time between the Tennessee Titans and the Defending Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

WEEK 1 (9/10) : @ Pittsburgh Steelers

LAST YEAR:

Last season these were two very good footbal teams. The Steelers went 12-4 during the regular season, winning the AFC North Crown en route to the Super Bowl, where they defeated the surprising Arizona Cardinals 27-23 to secure the franchise's sixth NFL Championship, and first under Head Coach Mike Tomlin. According to the statistical gurus over at FootballOutsiders.com, who use Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) to rank teams, the Steelers paired the #1 overall defensive unit, headed up by James Harrison and Troy Polamalu, with the #21 offense, led by QB Ben Roethlisberger. When looked at all together, the Steelers ranked #2 overall last season in Total DVOA.

These two teams met last year in Nashville during Week 16 with the #1 seed in the AFC Playoffs at stake. The Titans ran away with it in the second half, proving to be a nightmarish match-up for Steelers. The Titans neutralized their defense by protecting Kerry Collins from their fearsome pass rush, running the ball, and minimizing turnovers. On the other side of the ball, the Titans, missing stars Haynesworth and Vanden Bosch were able to exploit the Steelers young and ineffective offensive line to the tune of 5 sacks, 2.9 yards per carry and 5 forced fumbles. Michael Griffin came up huge with 2 interceptions, including a late 83 yard ~~touchdown return~~ dagger to send the final score to 31-14.

I was there, it was awesome, we stomped some towels. One of the worst parts of going away to school has been missing out on my family's season tickets. Interestingly enough, I only got to attend 2 regular season games last season: the Jags in Week 1 and the Steelers in Week 16. I was there for VY's meltdown, and I was there for the true masterpiece of the season. Unfortunately, things would not be this good again, as the Titans had a nightmare game of their own only 3 weeks later. But on that day, it was electric at LP Field.

STRENGTHS:

When talking about any good Steelers team, the conversation always begins with defense. As mentioned, last year the Steelers led the league in Defensive DVOA, as well as both yards per game (237) and scoring (13.9 per game). They excelled at putting teams in nasty down and distance situations, as well as getting off the field on third downs. This is indicated by their #2 overall defensive DVOAs on both first and third downs. They ranked 2nd in the NFL with 51 sacks. Their secondary was also outstanding, coming in tied for 4th with 107 passes defensed, and tied for 6th with 20 interceptions. Any way you look at last season, the Steelers had an incredible defense that returns 9 starters this year.

On offense, the Steelers have several ways to hurt opponents in the passing game. They return 2 Super Bowl MVP's at the wide receiver position with Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. Ward particularly had a good year, eclipsing the 1000 yard mark with 7 TDs and recording the 7th best DYAR for a WR-- Football Outsiders' measure or aggregate value over a season. They will also look for 2nd year man Limas Sweed to contribute as the #3 receiver in the wake of Nate Washington's departure to the Titans. At tight end, Heath Miller ranked 8th last season in DVOA, and caught 73% of the passes that came his way, making him one of the most reliable targets in the league at the position.

WEAKNESS:

This one is easy. The Steelers offensive line, which started a rookie and two 2nd year players, was abysmal last season. When these two teams met in Week 16 last year in Nashville, a Titans D-line missing both Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch abused them all day, including a 3.5 sack outburst by rookie Jason Jones. The front four were in the backfield early and often, generally manhandling them all game.

The DVOA stats only further reinforce my contention that this was one of the worst offensive lines ever to win a Super Bowl ring. On running plays, the Steelers offensive line ranked 24th in the league, comfortably below average. But it was on passing plays where they really fell apart. The Steelers surrendered 50 sacks, approximately 1 sack for every 11 (9.2%) times Roethlisberger dropped back to pass, or roughly 3 times as often as the Titans gave up a sack (3.2%). Only three teams gave up sacks with greater frequency(Oakland, San Francisco, Detroit) and they combined for a 12-36 record last season. I know some of the blame for such a high total has to fall on Roethlisberger's shoulders for holding onto the ball too long, but I was in attendance for the Steelers/Titans contest last season and it was obvious that the level of chaos the Titans inflicted on the Steelers line of scrimmage had plenty to do with the big guys up front.

The Steelers made no immediately substantive changes to this unit in the offseason, choosing instead to return each guy that started 11 or more games last season. They did use 2 draft picks on Kraig Urbik, G, from Wisconsin and A.Q. Shipley, C, from Penn State, but expecting rookie contributions from the 79th and 226th overall picks is a bit of a stretch. Until something comes around with this group, the Steelers will continue to struggle to beat good teams that can get after the quarterback (such as their losses last season to the Giants, Eagles and Titans where they allowed a combined 19 sacks.)

QUESTION MARKS:

The biggest question that I have about the 2009 Steelers is the running game. Willie Parker simply has not been the same player over the last two season that he was in 2006 when he recorded almost 1500 yards and 13TDs. He was banged up last season as well, which gave Mewelde Moore a chance to see significant carries. Moore did as well as anyone could expect in a limited, back up role, earning the 6th best DVOA among running backs last season. However, the Steelers ranked just 23rd in the league in rushing yards per game. Going back to 2004, the Steelers had ranked 2nd, 5th, 10th, and 3rd over the previous 4 seasons in that stat, so a drop to the bottom quarter of the league was fairly surprising. I would expect the Steelers to focus a good deal on getting the ground game back on track this year, perhaps on the shoulders of 2nd year pro Rashard Mendenhall.

The Steelers lost starting cornerback Bryant McFadden to the Cardinals this offseason, leaving them with some questions about cornerback depth. Ike Taylor is solid on the left side, but at present they are relying on soon-to-be 35 year old Deshea Townsend on the right side. Townsend started 4 game last season and was serviceable, recording 2 INTs and 8 passes defensed. Much like the Titans, the Steelers will be crossing their fingers and hoping that their mid-30's CB can hold it together this season.

It's really quite amazing how much punishment Big Ben takes. In his 5 seasons (72 total games) in the NFL, he has been sacked a whopping 192 times. To put that into perspective, he is on pace to pull even with John Elway for the most sacks in a career (516) in his 194th game, two and a half seasons fewer than it took Elway to rack up that kind of abuse (234 games). Roethlisberger struggled (statistically) last season, registering his 2nd worst year as a starter, with a 17:15 TD/INT ratio and sub 60% completions. Interestingly enough, in the two seasons where Roethlisberger's attempts have far exceeded 400, (469 attempts in both 2006&2008), his stats have been the worst (QB Ratings of 75 and 80, respectively). On the other hand, he has never fallen short of a rating of 98 in the 3 season where the Steelers have kept his attempts down and leaned more on the run. The real question here relates to what has been said earlier. Can the Steelers give Big Ben more protection and a reliable run option this season in order to allow him to be more efficient in the passing game? WInning aside, getting sacked 40 times a season is a career path that is low in longevity.

KEYS FOR THE TITANS:

The trick for the Titans in Week 1 will be to keep their heads down and just play football. After the Terrible Towel Massacre of 2008, (a lot of good towels were lost out there), emotions from Pittsburgh players, and especially the Pittsburgh crowd are going to be turned up to 11 on the amplifier. I hear they are even unveiling a public monument in memory of those lost towels, and a scholarship fund for the children of those towels, left fatherless in the melee. All self-righteous overreactions aside, there is no reason at all that we shouldn't see a result very similar to last year's for the Titans if they just do what they do best.

If everyone is healthy come Week 1, Tennessee will put a better defensive front line on the field than they did last year against an o-line that bares startling resemblance to the Pittsburgh group from last year. The Titans have added more weapons on offense, while keeping the same offensive line that surrendered only a single sack to James Harrison in the Week 16 meeting. The bottom line last season was that the Titans matched up very favorably with the Steelers' strengths and weaknesses, and there is no reason to think that will change this season.

Steve McNair Found Shot to Death

hal41605 — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:42:59 -0000

Steve McNair Found Shot to Death

The title says it all. A couple other fanposts have already popped up, but I wanted to get something up on the Front Page. Preliminary details are that another woman was found dead as well in a condo on 2nd Ave. South in downtown Nashville. This post will be updated as details become available. I am watching the local news as well as searching the web. Feel free to use the comments section to share your thoughts on this tragedy or to point out any links you find or details you hear on tv or radio.

The thoughts and prayers of the entire MCM community go out to the family of Steve McNair, especially his wife Mechelle and his four sons Junior, Steven, Tyler, and Trenton.

UPDATE (4:13): Some rumors are beginning to swirl that this might have been a murder-suicide involving McNair's wife. Its needs to be said loud and clear: Right now that is pure speculation which contradicts what police are saying. Metro Police have clearly labeled this, at least right now, as a double homicide. They also have not been able to properly notify the female victim's next of kin and are therefore withholding her name for now.

UPDATE: (4:45) per MCM user MrNorhtNashville
McNair's agent said on ESPN that his wife was NOT involved and is in fact in Mississippi with the rest of the McNair family.

UPDATE: (6:05) News Channel 5 is now reporting on air that Steve McNair was indeed renting the apartment where the shooting occurred.

UPDATE: (10:15) Metro Police Spokesman Don Aaron just gave a second press conference. The Tennessean has all the latest news.

I will not speculate about what all this evidence points to, but it's pretty obvious that there are more than likely some hurtful details yet to come. I think it's important to point out that regardless of what was going on in his private life, McNair was a community giant, not just in Nashville, but also in his native Mississippi, his first NFL home, Houston, his latest NFL home Baltimore, and also post-Katrina New Orleans. The circumstances of his death, whatever eventually comes out, will never change who was to the thousands who benefited from his philanthropy or to the millions of people who learned about greatness, toughness, and class by watching him on Sundays. The world was a better place when Steve was still with us.