Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Better Than Selling Software In The Midwest Edition

by August West on Nov 13, 2008 9:11 AM CST in Linkage Comment 33 comments

Big Albert Haynesworth dropped a piano on Titans critics for saying our schedule is soft, and the Tennessean back him up by noting that the record of the Titans' opponents is 34-47, while the record of the Giants' opponents is 32-49.

It's not slight to VY, but I have to agree with Terry McCormick that Collins is looking like the perfect match for what Mike Heimerdinger wants in a quarterback.

One of the dumber questions I've ever seen asked: Has The NFL Figured Out Chris Johnson? Let me answer that one for you: hells + no. The awesomeness of Crazy Legs is like a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

Not sure how this slipped through the cracks, but the USA Today had a must read on Jeff Fisher last week, and the coaching career that almost never was:

Fisher initially said no to a coaching career. After the Bears' 1985 Super Bowl championship season, he turned down a chance to be an assistant for Buddy Ryan, when the Bears' defensive coordinator got the head coaching job in Philadelphia...

What was Fisher going to do instead of remaining part of pro football? Enter the exciting world of selling software.

He had hooked on with a California company and was going to head its Midwest division, even though he admits he's computer illiterate, and that to some extent he faked his way through early sales presentations.

Jevon Kearse went to school with Oak Hill Elementary student Connor Tharpe to promote the NFL's Play 60 program. When the two got to the school, Connor's classmates were all wearing the Freak's jersey with a piece of tape separating the 9 and 0! With kids like that running around, I am no longer worried about the future of this state.

Earlier in the year we visited Cold Hard Football Facts' Bendability index. This handy metric measures team-wide defensive efficiency to see which teams force opponents to go the most yards for each point. We've lead all year, but now it's getting deliciously out of hand:

The Titans stand out from the pack for a couple of reasons. Not only are they tops in scoring defense, surrendering a meager 12.9 PPG, but they make their opponents work harder than any others in football for those meager scraps on the scoreboard.

The most impressive aspect of their game, though, is the massive best gap of 3.96 Yards Per Point Allowed between No. 1 Tennessee and the No. 2 Carolina. It's the same margin between No. 3 Carolina and No. 18 Washington.

Boom.

Craig Hentrich won this week's AFC Special Teams Player of the Week Award. Am I the only one who misses the fake punts and random passes Craigers was getting to break-out a few years ago? I never thought I'd appreciate a punter as much as I do this cat.

In news that almost made my head explode from shock, citing the struggling economy, the NFL is actually LOWERING PLAYOFF TICKET PRICES by 10%. That's pretty awesome for a league that could easily double it's prices and still sell-out playoff games. Also, the Titans started sending out invoices for playoff tickets to season ticket holders this week!

* Big Tip of the Hat to crucial commenter gramsey712 for passing along this pic from last night's CMAs.

There's a whole lot of internet out there, so if you have a link you'd like to submit for tomorrow's Morning Links, email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com! (Be sure to include your commenting handle so I can give you semi-anonymous credit.)

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Software Sales??

Whew, I think everybody has come out better from Jeff not making that decision.

by hartley on Nov 13, 2008 9:41 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I bet

Fisher would be a hell of a salesman. He always has the perfect spin on things.

by SuperHorn on Nov 13, 2008 10:12 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

He might be borderline computer illiterate (although I don't believe that AT ALL)...

…but if he’d made it his business, he’d have learned everything there was to know about it and then some.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Go Titans!

by DannoE on Nov 13, 2008 10:15 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Is that Kid Rock pic

From the CMA’s last night?

Wonder what he was doing “back stage at the CMAs?”

"I can't say for sure what I'm going to be doing at this time next year -- I suspect I'll be in Crawford, watching the Rangers on TV." - President Bush

by UrbanDad on Nov 13, 2008 9:54 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

It is

I was so happy when I saw that.

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.

by Jimmy on Nov 13, 2008 10:03 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yup,

and I’m guessing that whatever he was doing back there it was very classy.

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Nov 13, 2008 10:04 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The joke

I was going for (and failed miserably) was the line from the SNL parody song “D*** In A Box”

Backstage at the CMAs
d*** in a box

"I can't say for sure what I'm going to be doing at this time next year -- I suspect I'll be in Crawford, watching the Rangers on TV." - President Bush

by UrbanDad on Nov 13, 2008 11:49 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

nice!

I forgot about that line…

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Nov 13, 2008 12:02 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

How awesome is it that he's wearing the KICKER'S number?

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Go Titans!

by DannoE on Nov 13, 2008 10:24 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

First look at the pic,,,

I thought it was really CJ wielding the axe.

Go Titans!

by Pinoy Titan on Nov 13, 2008 12:31 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Re: Heimerdinger

You’re right about Kerry Collins fitting perfectly into his system.

I’d add, though, that Vince’s skill set doesn’t really fit any prototypical NFL system.
First of all, to the naysayers who suggest that “gimmicky” college offenses can’t work in the NFL, (“There’s too much speed.”) take a look at the single wing, or Wildcat, formation this year. The Dolphins started with it and now it feels like every team is jumping on the bandwagon. Similarly, there weren’t many people running the spread with a mobile quarterback until every coach in America watched the 2006 Rose Bowl (and Sugar Bowl with Pat White). Now look what’s happened. Vince isn’t built to run the Heimerdinger offense, but there is no reason to believe that ‘Dinger can’t tweak his offense to include more zone read and fit Vince’s skill set.

Side note: Where other “zone read” offenses my have suffered in their limited attempts in the NFL, can you think of two athletes that are tougher to defend than Chris Johnson and Vince Young? If it’s going to work with anyone, it would be these two…

by SuperHorn on Nov 13, 2008 10:09 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

There are NFL offenses that run spread.

The Patriots last year ran the spread almost all year. True, they ran it to throw, but still… it was definitely a version of the spread offense.

And again, I’ll take VY back when he can throw on time and on target. His supporters that point out what a great athlete he is are doing him a disservice. Demand the best, and maybe that’s what we’ll get.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Go Titans!

by DannoE on Nov 13, 2008 10:17 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Different Kind of Spread

The “Texas Tech” spread is very different than the “West Virginia” spread. Texas ’05 offense lies somewhere between the two.

And, I’d say that while I agree it is a mistake to consider Vince only an athlete. It is also unwise to ignore that particular skill set as that’s what makes him so dangerous. I’m not suggesting that Vince couldn’t survive in Heimerdinger’s current system; just that he could excel if it was designed to make defenses account for his legs.

by SuperHorn on Nov 13, 2008 10:23 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The guys is a pro.

He needs to be able to play in the team’s system. Period.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Go Titans!

by DannoE on Nov 13, 2008 10:25 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That's ignorant

Do you think Peyton Manning should be able to play in a “zone read” system?

Look, as you can read above, I’m not suggesting that he can’t run the current offense. I think he would do just fine…though not as well as Kerry. But it would be short sighted to not run an offense to fit his skill set.

Just because he is capable of “play[ing] in the team’s system” doesn’t mean that’s the appropriate thing to do. The ability to exploit defenses by creating mismatches is obviously important to an OC. To disregard the problems Vince’s legs present to opposing teams is a mistake. You’re leaving some of those mismatches on the table.

by SuperHorn on Nov 13, 2008 10:39 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The team shouldn't have to change the entire system

they should just have to tailor it to fit him. Those are 2 very different things. Again, Dinger did a great job of tailoring his offense to fit McNair. Vince’s skill set is very similar on paper so you can’t blame this on Dinger.

In fairness, we have no idea what Dinger was planning on doing with Vince and how different it looks now because it is Collins out there.

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.

by Jimmy on Nov 13, 2008 10:57 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Yup.

I mean, look, when Kerry Collins can run for four or five first downs in ’Dinger’s system, I gotta think there’s something in there for Vince.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Go Titans!

by DannoE on Nov 13, 2008 11:06 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

One thing we can agree on

whatever Dinger was planning on doing with VY, he’s definitely getting more time to get it right now…

Michael Roos doesn't eat pitas because NOTHING BREAKS THE POCKET ON HIS WATCH!!!

by August West on Nov 13, 2008 11:06 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I'm not blaming anyone...

Well, maybe Chow.

I agree. There is no way to evaluate Dinger’s performance or how the offense would have looked with Vince.

But, I disagree about the team not having to change an entire system. As Danno mentioned, look at the Patriots. They implemented a spread offense last year. And, it’s not like they were struggling this decade either. Belichek saw a strength and redesigned an offense. IF IT MAKES THE TEAM BETTER, IT SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED. Period.

Whether the system would make the team better, I don’t know. This is obviously all theoretical, but disregarding it only because that’s not how Dinger has done it in past doesn’t make any sense. This game is constantly evolving. I happen to think that the next evolution is the spread. We saw Bill Walsh go against conventional wisdom with his West Coast offense. Just because it isn’t widely used now doesn’t mean it can’t be effective.

by SuperHorn on Nov 13, 2008 11:17 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the offseason.

I’ve alwasy thought that one of the main reasons that Fisher let Chow go was because with ‘Dinger as a known quantity, he could get a better feel for where the real problems in the Offense were and are. For example, regardless of who the O-Coordinator is, we still have a collection of WRs who struggle to get seperation and drop critical passes. Now granted, ’Dinger seems to have succeeded in getting B. Jones to focus better—and that’s no small thing—but at the same time, we’ve all seen now that the group as a whole is still underachieving. And now we can place the blame where it needs to go rather than arguing that it’s the Coordinator’s scheme.

DannoE

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Go Titans!

by DannoE on Nov 13, 2008 11:28 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

As far as the schedule goes

I’d say the Titans schedule has been “soft” in comparison to a majority of the league, but not in comparison to the Giants. From the Football Outsiders, the Titans schedule ranks 23rd so far, and the Giants 30th. And by saying it is “soft” takes nothing away from 9-0. They can only play the schedule given to them.

The Titans schedule the rest of the way is ranked 24th, and the Giants 1st. We’ll get to see how good the Giants really are, starting this week.

FO Link (about 1/4 down the page)

by mgrex03 on Nov 13, 2008 11:33 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I'm just gonna say it

We’ve got the best damn punter in the league. Which is something all of us have known for awhile. Not only that but Craig is good people as well and a great team guy. I won’t even hold his former touchdown Jesus affiliation against him! heh

The PAIN TRAIN is comin baby!

by BigW on Nov 13, 2008 1:45 PM CST reply actions 0 recs