Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch to Miss Rest of Regular Season

by Jimmy on Dec 15, 2008 3:28 PM CST in News Comment 28 comments

Jeff Fisher just said in his Monday press conference that Kyle Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth will both miss the rest of the regular season but should be back for the playoffs. I feel good about the KVB prediction (who apparently injured the same groin but in a different way), but I am not sure how he can make that call on Fat Albert without having the MRI results yet. Hopefully he is right.

The Titans are now extremely thin on the defensive line. The Titans currently have just two healthy defensive tackles on the roster with the injury to Haynesworth and the suspension of Kevin Vickerson. Antonio Johnson sure would look good right about now. The Titans are going to have to either promote one of the defensive tackles from the practice squad, sign someone from the practice squad of another team or sign someone off the street.

This is obviously a huge blow, but if both guys can be back for the playoffs it isn't the end of the world. Winning in January is a lot more important than winning in December.

0 recs | Comment 28 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

so does fisher shut it down now?

i don’t see much point in risking more injury if our d-line is going to be crippled like this. the whole key to our defense is the line, and without AH, KVB, and vickerson, it’s toast. besides, harper and finnegan have been banged up and cj could use the rest, im sure.
i hate the idea of taking a 3 week break from serious football, but i would almost rather get healthy across the board at this point. and i don’t hold out much hope beating the steelers or colts with a swiss cheese d-line. maybe we won’t end up with homefield through out, but that only matters if we face pittsburgh in the afc championship game.

by hal41605 on Dec 15, 2008 3:51 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

There is no way he does that IMO

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

by Jimmy on Dec 15, 2008 3:53 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

there is no evidence

to suggest that the titans will be competitive without KVB and AH. especially against 2 of the best teams in the afc. why not focus on health? pittsburgh especially is one of those teams that you get beat up when you play them, win or lose.

by hal41605 on Dec 15, 2008 4:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

You don't focus on health

Because that is not the identity of this team. These guys think they can beat anyone, and you need to show confidence in a team to get your players in the right head space.

To suggest that we would not be competitive is wrong.

by BeansCarter on Dec 15, 2008 4:07 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

history shows we won't be competitive

jax cinci and den beat us a combined 97-39, and that was WITH kvb playing. plus, pittsburgh and indy are better than those teams were last year. the key to the d is the line, and the line is gone.

by hal41605 on Dec 15, 2008 4:20 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That was not this year

by theologic on Dec 15, 2008 4:21 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah, we probably had more depth at d-line in those games last year

than we will in the next 2.

i’m not trying to be overly negative, but our defense is defined by the defensive line. we all knew albert was irreplaceable, and now to not have KVB on top of that is unthinkable. they will probably have to promote a practice squad player or two just to fill out the depth chart. it is going to be really really ugly. people need to get ready for the fact that we are probably going to see some some thing we won’t enjoy over the next two weeks.

by hal41605 on Dec 15, 2008 4:34 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Healthy teams get knocked out of the playoff all the time...

Where I was raised 2 + 2 = 3rd and 6.

by August West on Dec 15, 2008 4:39 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It's not that you're being overly negative

It’s that you are fixated on the idea that without Haynesworth or KVB we have no D. It’s simply not true.

Ford, Hayes, Kearse, and Ball and Jones are playing well. Tony Brown is a solid player. Haynesworth is a force, but we can win without him. Last year we were a different team. I think the guys we have are easily as good as Odom or Laboy were last year.

We are still excellent at LB and DB.

The fact is, it’s the offensive side of the ball that is a question mark. Our D will be fine.

by BeansCarter on Dec 15, 2008 4:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

those guys are good

because haynesworth makes their jobs a lot easier. i think after the next two weeks you will see what i’m saying.

by hal41605 on Dec 15, 2008 4:47 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

It's a balancing act...

And, I think you are both right, in a sense.

It’s a blow with AH and KVB injured, but I still think this defense can hold most offenses to 20 points/game. I think the big question will be whether the offense can step up and get into the endzone…

by SuperHorn on Dec 16, 2008 9:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

if they keep pitt and indy

both below 30, i will consider it a good effort.

by hal41605 on Dec 16, 2008 9:21 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Absolutely agree

Fisher knows full well that complacency is a poison.

There is only one approach to this weekend. You focus the team on the Steelers, with whoever is healthy and you play them as hard as possible to win the game. Then you do it the following week with Indianapolis.

This team plays one game at a time. I don’t think it’s just lip service, it’s a real philosophy.

by BeansCarter on Dec 15, 2008 4:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

injuries are a poison too

by hal41605 on Dec 15, 2008 4:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Damn we could use us some Mookie right about now.

I wonder if the Colts will give him back if we ask nicely? ;)

by hartley on Dec 15, 2008 4:24 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

no joke

Where I was raised 2 + 2 = 3rd and 6.

by August West on Dec 15, 2008 4:36 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe we can resign Corey Simon and trade him back to the Colts!

As long as Justin McCareins is a Titan, I will hate Music City Miracles!

by gramsey712 on Dec 15, 2008 4:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Lol!

Tempting, but…..

by coltsfanawalt on Dec 15, 2008 8:42 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

That wasn't supposed to be funny coltsfanawalt!

As long as Justin McCareins is a Titan, I will hate Music City Miracles!

by gramsey712 on Dec 16, 2008 8:31 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

We're still paying for him this season.

Over 5.8 mil. And that stinks.

by coltsfanawalt on Dec 16, 2008 6:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Free Agency

These next 2 games are gonna be critical for us when we assess Fat Al’s value this offseason. If we can beat the Steelers and Colts without the big guy, is there any way that we offer him the monstrous contract that he’s going to be in the market for? I highly doubt it, So I guess, if we do lose these next 2 games the silver lining is that we’ll probably keep Al.

On a side note, I think some people are getting a little too carried away about the impact of yesterday. We just lost an away, divisional game, no shame there. Too much is being made about momentum and what not, but that doesn’t mean anything. The G-men got spanked by Minnesota in the last week of November last season and went 1-2 over the final 3 weeks, they turned out alright

by jeanl0uis on Dec 15, 2008 5:05 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

by theologic on Dec 15, 2008 5:37 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

the flip side of course

is that our d tanks big time and albert becomes even more expensive. pretty sure this is the more likely outcome. time will tell.

by hal41605 on Dec 15, 2008 5:44 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Next time I need cheering up.......

I will not be asking hal41605 for help….:)

This could be a huge chance for a guy like TB to show what he’s capable of. He’s been sadly underrated this year. He makes two or three plays in the backfield in almost every game, and Jaworski was the only pundit I’ve ever heard say something about him before. I realize that lining up next to Al doesn’t hurt your chances to make plays, but I still remember him blowing up plays without Al on the field. Don’t forget, Al usually only plays about 60% of the defensive plays a game.

And if the knee heals up ok, I also like the idea of having a rested Haynesworth ready to go for game one of the playoffs.

There is no doubt that his is a better defense with Al and KVB, but there are nine other guys besides them on each play that get paid too. It really is a shame that we loss yesterday, because that was an incredible defensive performance, minus the AJ yards.

The greatest accomplishment is not in never falling, but in rising again after you fall.
Vince Lombardi

by TmanInTn on Dec 15, 2008 6:21 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

i would love to be wrong.

i will be back in town for the holidays so i actually get to go to the steelers game. at this point im almost afraid of what i am going to see. i put a dent in my wall when al went down. if he really only takes 10-14 days, we lucked out big time, because the way his knee went looked nasty. i hope the titans can use these next two games to try and get a little more creative on offense and lean on lendale a little more to keep cj fresh. we need to keep everyone else healthy, so that if albert/kvb are ready to go in the playoffs, we can make a run in january.

by hal41605 on Dec 15, 2008 6:55 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs