31
Oct
2011
Happy Halloween from the Titans Cheerleaders! (PHOTO)
Yup. Happy Halloween everyone!
(Photo via guyism.com)
(Photo via guyism.com)
31
Aug
2011
CJ2K vents at Titans fans with ‘regular jobs’
No-fly zone: CJ2K appears serious about a lengthy holdout. (TitansGab.com)
Chris Johnson’s lengthy contract dispute with the Tennessee Titans took an ugly turn Wednesday when he lashed out at fans urging him to get back to work.
Tweeted Johnson:“Can these fake Titan fans STFU on my timeline I don’t have a regular job so don’t compare me to you and I can care less if uthink I’m greedy”
Earlier Wednesday, Johnson had thanked followers for their concern amid his quest for more money: “I like to thank everyone who have me in their prayers thru my situation, it’s much needed.”
The situation between CJ2K and the team appears to be growing uglier. Players often argue that football contracts mean nothing, seeing as a team can cut you at a moment’s notice. From that angle, Johnson is being no more fickle than the team he plays for, especially after accounting for 4,598 rushing yards and 38 total touchdowns in just three seasons.
Trust seems to be an issue here. The Titans said earlier this month they would get a contract done if Johnson reported to camp. He decided against it, leaving the Titans searching for someone to carry the ball until this mess gets figured out.
13
Mar
2011
TheDarkHorse’s 2011 Mock Draft – Picks 6-10
Colt McCoy needs a dance partner. A.J. Green will do. (Source: BCSknowhow.com)
For picks 1 through 5, go here.
Let’s continue with picks 6 through 10.
6. Cleveland Browns – A.J. Green, WR, Georgia: Cleveland’s in a terrible spot. They’re moving to the 4-3, but have nothing along the defensive line. They have a promising young quarterback in Colt McCoy — and they’re moving to the West Coast Offense — but he’s got almost nobody to throw to. They just cut NT Shaun Rogers along with a flock of grizzled defensive veterans — a fiscally sound move, but one that’s left Browns fans wondering who will take the field next season. Changing offensive and defensive philosophies during a lockout-hampered offseason in which coaches cannot communicate with players is tougher. The free-agency window possibly opening for mere weeks, if at all, is tougher. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh and Baltimore have stayed the course. This draft is critical for the Browns, forced to address needs all over the place. Pat Shurmur was brought in to groom McCoy and flip the switch on offense — and Green is the kind of sizzling wideout the team’s been missing since Braylon Edwards broke free in 2007 — and before that, since Webster Slaughter. Still, many could question the Browns passing up one of the blue-chip defensive linemen — but how do you meet two needs at once?
7. San Francisco 49ers – Da’Quan Bowers, DE, Clemson: This is a tough one for me. In a mock with trades, I see Jim Harbaugh and the 49ers pressing for a quarterback, or possibly even trading down into a spot where they can gather picks and select Florida’s Christian Ponder late in the first. Honestly, how many more coaches can call Alex Smith their starter? That experiment needs to cease. With Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert off the board, the 49ers select Bowers, a defensive end who comes with question marks around the health of his knee, but, if ruled healthy, could serve as defensive stronghold while Harbaugh seeks a quarterback elsewhere. Moroever, there are some promising young passers to be had later in the draft, such as Washngton’s Jake Locker and Nevada’s Colin Kaepernick – not to mention the polarizing Ryan Mallett out of Arkansas.
Picks 8-10 after the jump.
26
Dec
2010
Chiefs trounce Titans to clinch AFC West Title (VIDEO)
(Photo: KCStar.com)
The Kansas City Chiefs clinched their first division championship in seven years today with an impressive 34-14 win over the Tennessee Titans. The Bengals helped the Chiefs out by downing the Chargers, but KC did their part to secure the division title, opening up a 31-7 halftime lead and not looking back.
Matt Cassel led the way with 314 yards and 3TDs, while Dwayne Bowe had 153 yards receiving, including this 75-yard second quarter strike from Cassel:
The win completed the best turnaround in franchise history for Kansas City. In just his second season at the helm, Todd Haley’s club went from 4-12 last year to 10 wins (so far) in 2010. And those ten wins equal the total number of wins in the Chiefs’ previous three seasons combined … so it looks like Haley and GM Scott Pioli‘s plan to resurrect the Chiefs seems to be working.
1
Dec
2010
VIDEO: Andre Johnson mic’d up for Finnegan brawl
(AP Photo via USA Today)
The NFL Network’s Sound FX program comes through in the clutch once again, having mic’d up Texans’ WR Andre Johnson for Sunday’s now-infamous clash with the Titans. In the piece, we get to hear the build up to Johnson’s brawl with Cortland Finnegan from AJ’s perspective.
Among the more juicy bites, we hear Johnson telling the refs to watch Finnegan hitting under his facemask, which brought us this exchange:
Johnson: “Hey ref, No. 31, when he gets frustrated …”
Referee: “Oh believe me, I watch him every play, everywhere.”
Later, we hear Kevin Walter telling Johnson, “you got 31 following you”, which he clearly is aware of by that point. And perhaps most interestingly, what appears to be right before the play where Johnson erupted, Matt Schaub warns his team not to get baited into anything by the notoriously chippy Titans:
“Listen up, keep your poise now. They’re gonna try and get us to do some dumb s#!t. Let’s keep mashing ‘em and keep your poise.”
Moments later, Johnson unleashed three haymakers to Finnegan’s head.
WATCH THE ANDRE JOHNSON SOUND FX VIDEO AFTER THE JUMP
30
Nov
2010
NFL Week 13 Power Rankings (featuring the “Berserker Number”)
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Does anyone want to play the Bills right now? (Source: BuffaloNews.com)
Note: For the teams from 32-17, I’ve tagged them with my BERSERKER NUMBER (B#). Ranging from 1 to 100, it rates a team’s ability to cause havoc for teams attempting a playoff run. Young, developing squads just beginning to show power (but stuck with losing records) are helped, in my rankings, by a high B#.
For the teams from 16-1, I’ve added my DESTINY SCORE (DS). Again, 1 to 100. Here, I’m attempting to weed out teams resembling, for instance, the 1988 Chicago Bears. Teams with towering regular season records that (we all know) will not get to — back to — the Super Bowl. Teams, well, missing something special.
My (totally subjective, imperfect) Week 13 Power Rankings:
32 Carolina Panthers (1-10) (B#4)
31 Arizona Cardinals (3-8) (B#8)
30 Cincinnati Bengals (2-9) (B#14)
29 San Francisco 49ers (4-7) (B#22)
28 Denver Broncos (3-8) (B#33)
27 Detroit Lions (2-9) (B#28)
26 Buffalo Bills (2-9) (B#68)
25 Dallas Cowboys (3-8) (B#41)
24 Minnesota Vikings (4-7) (B#42)
23 Oakland Raiders (5-6) (B#52)
22 Washington Redskins (5-6) (B#43)
21 Seattle Seahawks (5-6) (B#54)
20 Cleveland Browns (4-7) (B#73)
29
Nov
2010
Andre Johnson avoids suspension for beating Finnegan; fans everywhere applaud
Andre Johnson dishes out some street justice to Cortland Finnegan (Photo: Karen Warren/Chronicle)
Let’s face it: Andre Johnson did the league a favor. When the all-pro WR beat Cortland Finnegan like he stole something during yesterdays Texans/Titans game, it somehow felt as though justice had been served.
Finnegan takes pride in being a dirty player. His entire game is getting inside his opponents’ heads until they finally snap and draw a penalty. The guy is a punk, plain and simple, who has openly boasted about wanting to be labeled the dirtiest player in the league. And so far this season, he’s done a fine job of building his reputation along those lines. But yesterday, Finnegan picked a fight with a much bigger dog, and he finally got what was coming to him. And as it happened, football fans around the world cheered.
Which is why it’s nice to hear that Johnson will not be suspended for his part in the brawl for it all, according to a report from Fox26. And the Houston Chronicle reports that both players have been fined $25k, but neither will face suspension for their actions. It actually seems like a particularly light slap on the wrist for both players from Roger Goodell, who up until now recently has handed out fines like Halloween candy. Richard Seymour was just fined the same amount last week for smacking down Ben Roethlisberger … and that was just one open-handed shot, while both were wearing helmets. So it seemed that a heavier punishment was in line for both players after their full-on brawl at the 40-yard line.
Johnson has been extremely contrite in apologizing for his actions yesterday, saying he simply lost his cool and would accept whatever punishment came his way. But Goodell apparently agreed with Mike Ditka, who went on the Mike and Mike radio show this morning and suggested that Johnson should be commended for his actions:
I wouldn’t suspend him. I would applaud him if I was the National Football League. Where does it say that if I snake bites you, you can’t step on the snake? And that’s exactly what happened to this kid.
That seems to be the general consensus.
WATCH THE FULL VIDEO OF THE BRAWL AFTER THE JUMP
28
Nov
2010
FIGHT! Andre Johnson-Cortland Finnegan throw punches, ejected (VIDEO)
A pedestrian tilt between the Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans devolved into ugliness on Sunday.
With the Texans leading 17-0 in the fourth quarter, Houston wide receiver Andre Johnson was escorted from the field after throwing punches at Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan, in what became an all-out brawl.
The two got at each other at the end of a play, with Finnegan throwing a jab at Johnson, only to have his helmet ripped off by the wideout.
With the two entangled, circling around on the field, Finnegan ripped off Johnson’s helmet, launching it skyward, while being whipped to the ground by the wideout. Johnson then unleased a series of punches at Finnegan before the two were separated.
Both players were hit with 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and ejected. Johnson was pulled away by team personnel while Finnegan jogged off to the Titans’ locker room.
Johnson had few words after the game, and called the fight “just a buildup of things over plays,” according to ESPN.
“I would like to apologize to the organization, our owner, my teammates,” Johnson said. “What happened out there wasn’t me. I just lost my cool and I wish I could take back what happened, but I can’t. I’m pretty sure I’ll be disciplined for it, I’ll have to deal with it from there.”
ESPN reported that Texans owner Bob McNair called the fight in Johnson’s favor.
“I awarded it to Andre on points,” McNair said, shrugging off the notion of a suspension for Johnson: “I don’t know why there would be. The DB was all over him and he’s the one who initiated it and he’d been doing it the play before and the whole game. He just went a little too far and Andre’s the one who was on camera when the action heated up. That’s not Andre.”
22
Nov
2010
Vince Young throws tantrum after loss to ‘Skins, out as Titans starter
(Photo: Getty Images via Zimbio)
Nobody has ever claimed that Vince Young is the brightest bulb in the box (his Wonderlic score took care of that forever). But there had been hope – at least in Tennessee – in recent years that he had matured to a point where he could handle the role of NFL Quarterback. Well yesterday, Young showed the world that he is still as immature as ever, throwing a temper tantrum after Tennesee’s OT loss to the Redskins. According to reports, Young has lost his starting job with the Titans, and may have permanently damaged his relationship with head coach Jeff Fisher.
The story goes something like this: Young hurt his right thumb in the 3rd quarter of the game, and was replaced by rookie QB Rusty Smith. Apparently Young thought he could return to the game and was seen taking snaps on the sideline during the 4th quarter. Afterwards, Young – who had been booed during the game by the home fans – threw his shoulder pads and jersey into the stands and returned to the locker room. And that, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean, is when things got good:
According to sources, Young was talking under his breath, uttering expletives, as Fisher prepared to address the team. When Fisher told him to keep quiet, Young finished dressing and started to leave. Fisher told Young to stop, saying not to “run out on your teammates.”
Young then told Fisher “I’m not running out on my teammates, I’m running out on you,’’ sources said. More words were exchanged and Young left.
3
Nov
2010
Titans Claim Randy Moss After 21 Other Teams Pass
(Photo via Yahoo!)
The Tennessee Titans claimed Randy Moss off of waivers on Wednesday, and were the only team to put in a claim for the unruly WR after the Vikings officially released him yesterday. Tennessee was 22nd in the waiver order, which means that 21 other teams saw the same thing the Patriots and Vikings saw from Moss this season: a self-centered brat who simply can’t put the goals of a team ahead of his own childish ego.
But Jeff Fisher apparently thinks Moss can help his ball club, who are 5-3, and lost Kenny Britt for an undetermined time to a hamstring injury last weekend. The Titans have a bye this week, but hope Moss will give Vince Young another weapon on offense for their run at the playoffs. And All-Pro RB Chris Johnson certainly believes Moss’ presence will help his chances on the ground:
“Why do we need Randy Moss?” Johnson said Wednesday, before the move was announced. “You can’t put eight in a box if you got Randy Moss out there on the outside. If you’ve got Randy Moss out there, you just can’t play him one-on-one. I feel like Randy would be a great addition to this team, be a great addition to our receiving group and really help us go deep in the playoffs.”
That, of course, is assuming that Moss decides to actually run his routes full speed and play until the whistle. When he does that, Randy is an undeniable talent … the problem is, he only seems to really make an effort when it’s beneficial for himself, personally. And if Moss isn’t feeling it, he half-asses it, and makes sure the rest of the team knows about it. So far this season, Randy clearly hasn’t been feeling it.
But Jeff Fisher runs a tight ship and has a strong personality, so he should be able to handle Moss’ ego. At least for a few weeks, I mean. Think about this: the Titans become Moss’s third team in less than half a season. It’s pretty clear he’s going for some kind of demented record here. How many teams do you think he can he tear through in 17 weeks?!? We’ll set the over/under at 5.
