SB Nation User Blog: zackmann

Roos = NFL MVP

zackmann — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 14:17:12 -0000

I'll make this short and sweet.

Roos is the best Tackle in football. He is the most valuable player on the best team in football.

He has stonewalled every great pass rushing team from the Vikes to the Clots to the Texans to the Ravens to the Steelers. The Titans lead the league in fewest sacks allowed thanks to Roos. No way we are 13-2 if Collins hits his backside more often.

Plain and simple. Roos should be the MVP of the NFL this year.

Steelers Terrible Towel = American Flag???????

zackmann — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 02:38:02 -0000

I'm reading steeler blogs and message boards....and I'm amazed at the amount of uproar over White and others stomping on the yellow kitchen towel.

I'm watching ESPN and Tom Jackson and Trent Dilfer is flipping out about it.

I'm reading SI and Don Banks is beside himself that the Titans would do that.

I can understand some Steeler fans being pissed at that....understandable....

But I think the reaction to this is way overblown....it isn't like the yellow kitchen towel is the American flag or anything.....

The steeler fans were not even in their own stadium......do they not think waving that yellow kitchen towel wasn't disrespectful. I went to Reliant stadium last week and although I yelled and cheered for the titans, I can understand the texan fans being mad at me....

I just don't get why so called impartial pundits are thinking this was such a big deal.....

And for a really good laugh, you need to go to certain steeler message boards.....I litterally read people saying stomping on the towell was worse than pissing on the picture of the pope...

hahahahahahahahahahahaaha

it's just a freaking yellow kitchen or bar towel.....get over it....

Predicting the Future...The Start of One of the Biggest Collapses of a 12-1 Team Ever

zackmann — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:02:32 -0000

I went to the Titans-Texans game and I think I saw the start of one of the biggest late season collapses ever of a 12-1 team.

Losing to the Texans....Losing Haynesworth....

And I now think we lose to the Steelers, then lose to the Colts and limp our way into the 2nd round of the playoffs, where we lose to either the Colts, Steelers or Ravens.

It will be one of the biggest collapes ever....from 12-1 to losing 4 in a row...

I have no confidence in Collins...teams are stacking the box and our pathetic group of WR's can't beat single coverage. Against the Texans we were mostly throwing deep in order to get a flag thrown, not actually trying to make a completion.

The coaching staff is making bonehead decisions....plays are predictable and bland....run plays are taking too long to develop....pass plays might be the most low percentage pass plays in the league...

our defense is playing decent, but without AH and KVB, we are nothing...without AH we have no chance to stop the run....

Finnegan is playing his heart out, but his personal foul penalties are killing us.....

And teams can pick on Harper if they want....I thought the Texans were stupid for not continuing to throw at Harper....

We are all going to complain about going for it on 4th and 3 and not QB sneaking it on 4th and inches against the Texans...and with good measure....

those 2 calls are the start of what might be one of the biggest collapses by a 12-1 team ever....

if one good thing will come out of losing our next 3, it will be that maybe Schwartz doesn't get a head coaching job...

I'll Be In Reliant Stadium Sunday

zackmann — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:56:43 -0000

Hey guys....

just wanted to tell everyone i'll be there sunday in reliant stadium cheering on the titans.

i'm sitting in section 132, row U, just above the tunnel the titans will use.

i'm super excited.....looking forwarded to cheering on the titans and jawing with the texan fans...

i'll have my iphone with me and will try to post in the game thread....if someone that will be posting in the game thread gives me an email address, i'll email photos I take during the game for you to post in the game thread....

go titans.....screw the colts......and the texans too!!!

Kerry Collins has been no better than Vince Young

zackmann — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:49:41 -0000

56.6% Completion Percentage.

2 Passing TD's in 4 games.

Only 6.95 yards per attempt.

Thank god we got Vince Young out of there.

Every media outlet, local and national, repeat the same theme.

Kerry Collins is showing how much better he is than Vince Young right now.

And it isn't true.

If Vince Young had the same completion percentage as Kerry Collins right now, he'd be getting killed. In fact, last year Vince was over 62% and got killed for it. Collins is at 56% and is getting praised for it.

If, no when, Vince Young was over throwing WR's on deep passes last year, he got killed for it. This year, Kerry Collins is over throwing virtually every long pass he has thrown. And he is getting praised for it.

If the Titans had only 2 passing TD's in 4 games under Vince Young, he'd be getting killed for it. In fact, last year that was all we averaged and Vince got killed for it. This year, Collins is getting praised for only 2 TD's in 4 games.

Listen, we can't have an unstable, emotional QB. And if that was what Vince would be this year, he shouldn't be in there and I support that decision to keep him on the bench.

But let's not confuse the stats and the production. The defense is carrying this team. The running game is carrying this offense. The offense is bad in the 2nd half this year.

Praising Collins is ridiculous. The passing game has been just as bad as before. The only difference is that the INT's are down slightly. The completion percentage is horrible and is worse than Vince last year. How can Vince's completion percentage last year be such a red flag but a completion percentage lower than that be great?

Tension in the Air over Titans QB Position

zackmann — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:33:14 -0000

Is everyone ready for a constant soap opera regarding the Titans QB position?

The tension started last year as Vince had some unsightful moments at QB. The tension surrounding Vince was alive despite the Titans making the playoffs.

The tension was muddied with the fact that the WR is pathetic. Even the most adamant Vince haters admit the WR's are pathetic.

The tension surrounding Vince is also accelerated due to not looking like a typical QB. He isn't white. He is athletic. He isn't afraid to run and in the past has excelled at running. He reportedly did poorly on the Combine Intelligence test, which stoked the flames for thos saying he was stupid. Most NFL observers expected him to suck his rookie year and refused to acknowledge he played well. This is perfectly seen in Meril Hoge.

And now the opening game WIN has served to throw a gallon of gasoline on the Vince-Media-Fans-Titans-QB tensions.

Reports are that Vince is out 2-4 weeks with a torn MCL.

But what will be talked about even more will be the series of events that led to the injury.

After Finnegan made a great INT on a crucial 3rd down, Vince immediately threw an INT on a flare pass to the RB. The throw was too low. And the DE made a great play.

Coming off the field, it was apparent, Vince was beating himself up.

The cameras showed him on the bench with his head in his hands and Dinger next to him. After a quick 3 and out, Vince was late getting on the field and Collins was warming up.

Fisher says it was because of Vince's hammy being tight.

The media says it was because Vince quit.

I've heard this story from those at the game.

On the sideline, Dinger was mad at Vince and told him he "would be Collins in". Vince yelled back "go ahead" and then took off his helmet. Fisher then intervened and got Vince back on the field, which 4 plays later saw him hurt his knee.

Some of the quotes from the players were interesting. For instance, Bullock said something like "no one will quit on this side of the ball." Hall also said he doesn't know what is going on with Vince. Scaife said Vince would never quit.

Either way, the tension surrounding Vince just went up 100 fold.

Clearly, the local and national media WANT there to be tension around Vince. Just wait and see how much media attention this story will get.

The fans want there to be tension, as they booed Vince after the 2nd INT and will no doubt flood messageboards, blogs and sports talk radio with criticism of him. And it will clash with those that defend him, thus raising the tension.

The players probably don't want tension, but will be hard pressed not to stoke it when pressed with multiple questions a day from the media about it (Fisher was asked 5 times in a row about the sideline incident).

Vince does not do enough to curb the tension. He gets defensive when the media grills him. He sulks on the sidelines. Most of all, he isn't improving his play at a fast enough rate.

I have and will keep defending Vince. He's a product of the atmosphere that is created around him. 2 years of dealing with Chow (who tried to force a square peg through a round hole). 2 years of throwing to inadequate WR's that couldn't start for half of the D1 college football teams. 2 years of listening to a media that wants to see him fail and prove their opinions right.

However, I just can't see this thing having a good ending right now.

And if this Vince-related tension derails a season where we might have the #1 defense in the NFL at a time when the Chargers, Colts and Pats look beatable, me and every other fan is going to go crazy.

In the next few weeks, I'm guessing that the calls for Collins to be the full time starter will be muted by Collins playing terrible. Doesn't anyone remember why Vince played his rookie season anyway? It was b/c Collins was 0-4 and had the offense playing bad, really really really bad. This year will be no different with Collins.

But just b/c Collins plays bad doesn't mean the chorus of negative comments about Vince will cease. In fact they will likely go up even further this season even if Collins plays bad.

This year, a great defense and run game are going to be overshadowed by tension surrounding Vince. The media and fans alike will make sure of it.

Finnegan - soon to be best Titan/Oiler CB ever - Gets Contract Extension

zackmann — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:23:34 -0000

Today, the Titans were smart.

The extended Cortland Finnegan through 2011.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080815/SPORTS01/80815037/1027

This was a must do move, IMO. I'm glad we used our cap space on extending our current group of core players. Finnegan is clearly one of them.

He is going to become, IMO, the best CB ever to wear Ttian/Oiler jersey. Teams will not want to throw his way this year.

The deal is "worth roughly $17 million over the next four seasons, and it includes roughly $8.5 million in guaranteed money. He’ll receive a $6 million signing bonus, and a $500,000 base salary for 2008." (via Tennessean)

The 7th round pick was set to make ~445K this year.

Last year, Finnegan played so well, that he led the team in money given to players that play better than their conrtracts.

Great Job Titans!

Now just go find a CB to play next to him that isn't named Reynaldo Hill or has multiple concussions.

Oh ya, next up (IMO).....extending Fuller.

Discussing Areas of Strength/Weakness for Titans

zackmann — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:58:30 -0000

I have no idea how this Diary (fanposts, whatever they are called now) will come out.

It is essentially a larger discussion of something I said in the preseason game thread.....and it isn't all inclusive....give me examples in the comments of what I missed or what you think I'm wrong about....

Areas/Players We are Strong In

--Haynesworth/KVB combo...right now I see them as our anchor on defense and I don't anticipate a single offensive line in the NFL that can neutralize them....we should all pray every night they stay healthy all season....our season rides on their health...

--Finnegan at CB....Finnegan is on pace (IMO) to be the best CB in Titans (hell, maybe Oiler) history. He will not get thrown at very often this season.

--Griffin at S...Griff had an up and down rookie year, but I see him being a top defensive player this year..

--Bullock/Thornton....solid...nuff said...

--Running Game....even without the last preseason game, this was a known...LenDale is going to be consistent pounding the rock....and CJ just made it twice as good....

--OLine....solid, top to bottom....I was worried about the Guard position, but they seem to be fine....we couldn't ask for better line play, IMO....

--Fuller at Nickel Back....wow, he has turned into a solid nickel back...so good, that we need to lock him up long term right now while we have the cap space and no one can come in and offer him a starting CB role...

--Defensive Attitude....the number one thing that defines the Titans right now is a hard hitting, aggressive, mean as hell, defense.......the practice against the Rams was the perfect example of our defense....we get into fights....we hit hard...we are pissed off at the world....I was ready to kill Mr. Red Hat 2 years ago, but now he is looking golden.....

Major Injury Concerns

--Harper....can he stay on the field? I think this concussion business is bad news....More on what happens when he doesn't below.

--Hope.....is he going to be the Hope of old, or will he play it safer and be just average? I get the feeling he is one hit from being out all season....more on his backup in a bit.

--Haynesworth.....Gotta get those hammy's in shape, our season rides on them...

--LenDale.....he played all last season hurt, so we probably shouldn't be worried, but with his grind it out running style and out of shape body, there is a 0% chance he is healthy by Week 10.

--Mawea....he is just too old...

--Bironas/Hinrich....I just don't have a good feeling about them, but their backups we can sign are adequate, so whatever....

Areas From Last Year We Need to Improve, Which I Think Will Improve

--Explosiveness in the Running game....I love LenDale, but we lacked any explosion last year......CJ is here to save us from 25 straight 3-yard rushes.....thank goodness....what a draft pick....i'm in love....

--Play calling........last year Norm Chow almost single handedly killed our offense.....even if Dinger sucks, it will be better than Chow....

Areas From Last Year We Need to Improve, Which I Don't Think (or am Not Sure) We Will Improve

--Redzone offense......we have Crumpler, so it has to improve some, but I am just skeptical....I don't know what it is.....Is it Vince...is it LenDale....is it the play calling....is the fact that the field is shortened and our offense suffers for it....Redzone offense is the #1 priority right now, IMO....

--Kickoff return game.......I made no secrets about how bad we were last year at the return game....it absoluately killed our offense starting inside teh 20 all the time.....killed it....can Carr improve it? I don't know, but I hope he can....if not, he should get cut and we go find someone who can...maybe just use CJ....

--Backup CB and S....if Reynadlo "throw it may way if you want a 1st Down" HIll has to play and/or Calvin "I have no idea how to take the right angle" Lowry have to start, our secondary is complete toast......our defense only works when everyone is solid...one weak link kills us...whether that is when AH is hurt, or when the MLB can't stuff the run....or when one CB is bad.....our defense is significantly worse when just one position is weak....right now Hill and Lowry are the two weak links....

--Along that same thought, can our defense survive without AH? This is the million dollar question b/c he will not be playing all 16 games....we have to be able to find a way to stuff the run without him.....our season rides on it....

--WR's.....the two big things our WR's suck at is gaining separation one-on-one and also simply catching the ball......I have no confidence either aspect of their play will improve.....In Week 10, I guarantee we are still complaining about our WR's....

Vince Young

You might have noticed I did not mention Vince Young one time above.

That was on purpose.....First off, I am a Vince-apalogist...he can do no wrong in my eyes....hahahaha

Being more serious, here is my reason for not mentioning him....

As long as he is being asked (by either the fans, media, or coaching staff) to be a Montana/Brady/Manning type of pocket passer, he will fail in their eyes....

We drafted Vince to be a playmaker, unique, running, generational-QB. We drafted Vince to do stuff no other QB has done before or can currently do. We drafted Vince because he is hard to tackle in the open field. We drafted Vince because he puts pressure on the defense with his ability to get a 1st down with his legs at any time. We drafted Vince because he is a different animal when the bright lights and pressure are the brightest and he is backed into a corner.

The media doesn't like how he gets defensive when questioned about his shortcomings.

The fans don't like his passing game.

I think they are both crazy.

His defensiveness is what makes him put teams on his shoulders and mount comebacks that seem impossible.

His inconsistent passing game is why he isn't a pocket passer.

Until we get an offensive coordinator that lets Vince loose, he will be questioned by the media/fans.

Until we get an offensive coordinator that gets Vince on the edge (by design) as much as possible, he will not live up to his hype.

Until we get Vince WR's who can beat a CB one-on-one (we currently have none), then teaching Vince to identify man-to-man coverage is useless exercise.

I'm not worried about Vince. I'm worried about our fans going crazy when he doesn't throw for 75% and no INT's. I'm worried about the shelf life of each offensive coordinator who refuses to create an offense around Vince's unique talents instead of forcing Vince into their offensive system. I'm worried about not addressing the WR positions adequately and selling Vince's development of reading the coverage short.

Ok, I've written enough.....I've probably left off some stuff I wanted to say.....

Go Tigers Go

zackmann — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 03:52:12 -0000

Hey Everyone...

As many of you know, I live in Memphis. In fact, I am a graduate student at the University of Memphis.

How about them Tigers?

They looked good this weekend, didn't they? It is the best they've looked all year (the only regular season game nearly as good as the wins against Michigan State and Texas was the home win against Gonzaga in Feb)...

I'm not sure who you guys are cheering for, but unless you are an alumni from UNC, UCLA, or KU, I hope you are cheering for Memphis to bring the Championship Trophy home to Tennessee, which by the way proved to be THE BEST state for college basketball this year....more rambling and gloating in the extended copy....

For anyone that follows college basketball, you know that most pundits and talking heads didn't give Memphis much of a chance.

All season long, they were dogged for being in C-USA and not playing enough good teams. Or after it is noticed we played the hardest non-conference schedule, they said we didn't play enough good teams on the road.

ESPN had a poll asking which #1 seed was the weakest. The Tigers were overwhelmingly voted to be that team.

Some people picked Mississippi State to beat Memphis. They were suppose to be as athletic and physical. They weren't. And since they played in the SEC, they had that mysterious BCS advantage. Then after the game, they suddenly became just another scrub team. The nawsayers then said, well Miss State just were obviously overwhelmed and wait until the Tigers play against a good team, like Michigan State.

So then Michigan State was the next BCS school that was going to upset Memphis. Their coach was better. They had size. The play in the physical Big 10. Everyone from Dick Vitale to Mike Freeman said Michigan State would win. Freeman even wrote on CBS that the Tigers don't play real basketball and aren't coached very good, and simply throw out uncoached thugs and gangbangers on the court and then just "roll the ball on the court"....idiot...

Then the ball was tipped. After the first 20 minutes of basketball the Tigers were leading 50 to 20. 50 to 20, are you kidding me?!?!?! That was hands down the best half of basketball I've ever seen in college. wow....

After the game, it was clear, the analysts said, Michigan State just simply had no chance against the Tigers athletes. Michigan State was just another scrub team. Wait until we have to play a good team, they say. And even more, wait until we play Texas in Houston, then we would be exposed. My unofficial count showed a 4 to 1 advantage for Texas in who was being picked to win on ESPN/CBS/etc....

Then the ball was tipped. And the Tigers simply killed the Longhorns. The Tigers led from start to finish. The game was never in doubt. UT didn't look like they even belonged on the same court as Memphis. What happened to that home court advantage? What happened to the BCS advantage? What happened to being prepared because of playing superior competition (UT coach barnes said no team this year played the defense memphis played). The 18 point loss for Texas was the most for the season.

I expect to see a whole lot of talking heads apologizing for dis-respecting the Tigers this much during the season and tournament.

Michigan State and Texas looked like C-USA scrub teams playing against Memphis.

Are we still just a bunch of thugs and gangbangers that aren't coached?

Great time to live in Memphis. I'm going and picking up my Final 4 T-shirt tomorrow. Campus should be fun to walk around.

If you don't have a team left in the tourney, join me in cheering on the Tigers!!!!!!!!!

Poll

Will the Tigers Win the Championship?

Yes

8 votes

No

3 votes

11 votes | Poll has closed

My Initial Case for Bringing Back Pacman Jones

zackmann — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:18:50 -0000

Update [2008-1-8 9:3:46 by Jimmy]: This was originally posted by Zack in the diaries, but I figured I would put it here so everyone would see it and chime in. The season is over, so I am ok with us talking about this for a little bit. He is still a part of this organization. I will give my thoughts in the comments. (Make sure you click the read more link to see his whole argument)

First, I would like to start with what I feel was the best quote after our disappointing loss last night:

"When you go to the playoffs in a rebuilding year, that's actually a good thing.
--DannoE

I agree. This was a rebuilding year, we went to the playoffs against the odds. Then when nobody gave us a chance against the Chargers (not even within a 3 TD's of a chance), we played a heck of a game and had a shot to win it. But we didn't and now we have to move on to next year.

For the next 9 months or so, this site will be devoted to the offseason. And unfortunately, our offseason may again be dominated by #32. Will we or won't we bring him back?

Here I make my initial case for bringing him back.

Reason #1 - To Improve Our Return Game

By the end of the year, the lack of return game moved into my top reason why this team was under performing despite a strong defense. I can't remember the last time we returned a kick past the 25? Yes, just the 25. When was the last time we ran it to midfield? And our punt returns might have been even worse. Forgetting about those 5 fumbles Chris Davis had, we could hardly advance the ball a single yard at all. And the lack of a return threat, caused punters to choose to out punt the coverage and give rise to the possibility we would get backed up.

If there was one thing everyone should have learned this year, it is that the Titan offense can not sustain a long and successful drive when starting inside our own 10 yard line.

I just went back and watched a youtube clip of all of Pacman's good returns. He was insane. Almost impossible to tackle. Better than Hester, IMO. Give him a little crease, and he is gone.

The Titans are not going to magically turn into the Patriots and score 45 a game. Instead we will again be a "keep it close until the end" type of team. When that happens, the team must be able to get a late FG attempt. Enter Pacman. When a team just scores to tie it up or take the lead and there is less than 2 minutes to play, a long kickoff return and can mean everything...or like we saw 2 years ago, trying to kick away from Pacman can result in a penalty and give it to us at the 40, which means we only need 25 yards for a long field goal.

Reason #2 - To Improve Our Defense

There is no doubt that our defense, and the secondary in particular, did not miss a beat without Pacman. First and foremost, it allowed Finnegan a chance to shine at CB instead of Nickel (and also allowed Fuller a chance to shine at Nickel).

But this year, Harper showed he may have a problem with concussions. And when that happened, Reynaldo "throw it my way if you want a 1st down" Hill had to play. That is unacceptable. If we had Pacman, it bolsters our defense, whether he takes Harper or Finnegans place and gives us better depth.

I just want to remind people that last year Pacman only had 6 balls caught on him during man-to-man coverage. He is an elite level CB. And one that shouldn't suddenly suck when our pass rush is not there at the end of some games.

Reason #3 - To Give Us a Different Playmaking Option on Offense

Our offense has no play makers. None. I am totally in favor of having Pacman on offense, if nothing else. He is hard to tackle. He is fast. And he has good hands.

Play him at the slot. Let him run some. Let him catch short passes.

Having Pacman on the field will not let people like Bob Sanders to give all their attention to Vince. He is such a dangerous playmaker, he will immediately take pressure off of Vince.

Reason #4 - To Not Waste a Draft Pick

At this point if we don't let Pacman on the team, I doubt there is a trade market for him. So we would probably be forced to cut him. A team that is rebuilding can not afford to lose out on #6 overall picks, particularly if we don't get anything back in return when he is off the team.

-------------------------------------------------

Well, there it is. I have laid out some initial thoughts on why we should let Pacman back. I think with Pacman, we can be a legit Super Bowl team next year because one guy could and would improve all 3 areas of a football team. Of course, we can and will survive without him, but I think with a talent like his, we have to find a way to keep him in line and get him on the field.