Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Johnson And Tasker Are Terrible At Their Jobs Edition

by August West on Dec 16, 2008 8:51 AM CST in Linkage Comment 18 comments

Boom King and Big Albert Haynesworth will miss the rest of the regular season, but it's looking pretty good that they'll be ready to go for the playoffs in a month. Albert has an MCL sprain and Boom King will undergo a small surgery to repair his groin muscle.

This weekend's match-up, pitting the Titans against the Steelers, will pretty much decide who is the no.1 seed in the AFC... Anyone disagree that if Hanesworth and Boom King were healthy against this chumpy Steelers O-line we'd have more sacks than they'd have points at the end of the game?

After the disgustingly amateur performance of Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker last week, it'll be nice to have Phil Simms and Jim Nantz back in the Titans booth this week against the Steelers. MCM is reporting that Johson and Tasker were supposed to do the game but showed-up in Pittsburgh because they STILL DON'T REALIZE THE GAME IS IN NASHVILLE... plus maybe Nantz-Simms won't be creaming their trousers every time the opposition gets a first down, completes a pass or just walks upright.

Hartley nailed it in the comments yesterday, and Paul Kuharsky expands upon it here: we could really use some Mookie Johnson right now. The good news is that someone on the Titans staff told PK a month ago that Mookie's replacement, Stanford grad Amon Gordon, was just as good if not better.

Yesterday Jeff Fisher took much of the blame for the loss, but now he's pointing out what we've been talking about here: you won't win many games with 12 measly points and no offensive TDs.

Gil Brandt comes through with a good read about the Titans and Giants looking closer to the pack than ever before.

This week's Yahoo! Team Report contains this gem about the Titans passing game's failures in Houston:

• Fisher also defended QB Kerry Collins, who took the blame himself after completing just 15 of 33 passes for 181 yards and one interception. Collins overthrew and misfired on several passes, including the fourth down play to WR Justin McCareins. However, Fisher said the receivers were to blame on some plays for cutting off their routes.

"It was not just all the quarterback. I think it was a combination of things. We had many opportunities on the field to make plays," he said. "Everybody was taking turns offensively (messing up)."

The awesomely named Gary Glenn (Coffee is for closers only!) gives us this profile of LenDale 'Smash' White.

I know you good people are reading more great articles than I can track down each day, 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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gus johnson

should do the play by play of life. he could make anything sound like the most exciting event in the history of mankind.

by hal41605 on Dec 16, 2008 9:13 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

great voice indeed

but at this point I wouldn’t trust him to get my name right!

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

by August West on Dec 16, 2008 9:16 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

psssh

so picky.

by hal41605 on Dec 16, 2008 9:19 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah I know

I’m brutal on announcers because it just isn’t that hard to do, but that performance last weekend was horrendous. They must have said this weeks game was in Pittsburgh at least 5 times… I’ll just leave it at that lest I become a whiner.

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

by August West on Dec 16, 2008 9:29 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Anyone else see Tavaris Jackson this weekend?

Some serious similarities with our teams. Veteran quarterback comes in and wins some games but struggles down the stretch. A team that relies on the run game and defense. Two of their star defensive lineman could miss the playoffs.

If putting in their mobile quarterback worked, it has to work for us, right?

by SuperHorn on Dec 16, 2008 9:18 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

The problem with that theory

is the Cardinals defense isn’t walking through the door.

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

by Jimmy on Dec 16, 2008 9:27 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I was half joking

But, there are definitely some similarities. Watching Jackson made my mind wander…

by SuperHorn on Dec 16, 2008 9:36 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

The Texans defense isn't as good as that of the Cards.

I mean, come on. These guys were 31st in the NFL in rush defense, and their secondary has been gashed by everyone. Yes, their Offense is good, but the Titans held them to 13 pts. That’s not too bad. But the Titans Offense was beyond horrible on Sunday. It was at least as bad as at any single point last year, and this is with ’Dinger in at OC. So no excuses, please.

KC was God-awful, and I will not allow anyone to sugarcoat it any other way. His game Sunday was worse than ANYTHING VY has ever done as a Titan.

DannoE

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

by DannoE on Dec 16, 2008 10:55 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

gonna have to agree

we should have treated the texans d like the chiefs and lions, because honestly that is the level they are on if you look at them on paper. holding them to 13 points was nothing short of amazing, considering johnson went berserk. in the secondary. i can’t help but think that there is no way in hell vince loses to houston like that. nothing kerry collins showed on sunday was better than what i would expect from vince.

by hal41605 on Dec 16, 2008 11:44 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If Collins hits 50% of the open receivers

he missed, the Titans win. That was the reason I posted the thoughts on Vince yesterday.

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

by Jimmy on Dec 16, 2008 11:51 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Wrong, wrong, wrong

Wrong. Did I say wrong?

Houston is in no imaginable way as bad defensively as KC or Detroit. Nowhere even close to their level of badness.

Houston over defense in points / yards: 23 / 21.
Kansas City? 30 / 32.
Detroit? 32 / 31.

Please. Get a grip guys. It was a bad day offensively against a not bad divisional opponent at home who was stoked at their first opportunity to have a winning season ever, in history, for the franchise. If the a Titans unit was flat, we were going to be in trouble, and the offense was very flat. But please buy some perspective somewhere, you nervous nellies are killing me.

by numbertenox on Dec 16, 2008 12:03 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If they come out flat again

we’ll start seeing those nervous nellies turning into debbie downers.

/shows self out.

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

by August West on Dec 16, 2008 12:15 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

let's also hope

that the coaching staff doesn’t come out flat. or drunk. or whatever it was that resulted in that play calling last sunday. I have faith they’ll lay off the sauce before the steelers game.

/oscar optimist?

by numbertenox on Dec 17, 2008 12:25 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

31st against the run though

we should have pounded the rock to another 200+ yard rushing day. i should have been more specific. we should have attacked them with the same game plan, and had the same level of success running the ball.

by hal41605 on Dec 16, 2008 1:10 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Houston is 24th against the rush

Not 31st.

I don’t disagree that the offense played badly, or that we should have been able to have some run success against Houston. I have doubts about Titans offense being good enough and consistent enough to be a super-bowl winner too.

I see what you meant now, though – you were referring to game-plan rather than expectation of success. Huh, so did Kansas CIty and Detroit stack box against run, or did they play standard package defense? I can’t remember. I think KC did load up the box.

All I’m sayin’, is Houston ain’t that bad a team, and they have a lot to play for right now, and the Titans got caught sleeping. Chicago is going to be in trouble week 17.

I think the Titans will come out much better against Pittsburgh. I don’t think the team will be flat for this one.

by numbertenox on Dec 16, 2008 5:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

as of today, they are up to 30th DVOA against the run

i gotta be more specific.

kc definitely loaded up the box. that’s why when lendale popped through fro 80 yards, there was no one in the secondary. detroit? not sure they have a defensive formation to speak of.

by hal41605 on Dec 16, 2008 6:46 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

ah, football outsiders

yes? don’t look at their stats much, may try to learn their stuff more for next season. the main thing i remember about those guys is that they were lobbying at one point for NFL to release the end zone camera views for public consumption (so they can get stats on secondary / receiver play more accurately).

In any case, though, I think Houston is going to finish 9-7 for their first winning season and the teams between them and that mark are taking losses. And really I don’t think the Titans will come out snoozing with the Steelers. I think they’ll treat that like a playoff game and it’s going to be a great watch (as opposed to texans game, where I wanted to scream at the tv every time our offense was on the field). we shall see.

I under-estimated the Titans before the season. I figured they’d go about 11-5 and maybe win one playoff game if they got in. As far as regular season goes, they’ve exceeded my expectations, but I’m still not so sure about them winning a series of playoff games. That passing offense still isn’t where it needs to be, even after the dinger return. A question (if you read this far): who is our receivers coach, and how long has he been with the Titans?

by numbertenox on Dec 16, 2008 11:52 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

uh...yes, i disagree

the steelers’ “chumpy” o-line as you say will not ever be considered great but they have been competent in the last several weeks. better than you might think actually. now, i think the titans have a very good d but this steelers’ d is off the charts. with that in mind, i think it would be less likely that the titans would be able to move the ball against pitt than vice versa. you don’t run on the steelers. that’s as good as scripture this year. so, i just can’t see collins winning this game. having said that, i’ll say this: this is going to be a great game. too bad the titans aren’t at full strength because it would be even better.

by SE7ENS on Dec 17, 2008 1:02 PM CST reply actions 0 recs