Tennessee Titans Morning Links: This ManBearPig Is Super Cereal Edition

by August West on Dec 4, 2008 9:02 AM CST in Linkage Comment 11 comments

The Vince Young thumb injury has been revealed: a mysterious infection popped-up after the Lions game, but VY is expected to be available for Sunday's match-up against the Browns. This thumb 'infection' wouldn't sound any weirder if he'd gotten it from a ManBearPig bite...

Former Raven stalwart and convicted cocaine trafficker Jamal Lewis is coming to town on Sunday, and Big Albert is ready to eat him alive again: over the past 7 times Lewis has faced the Titans he's only averaged 2.2 YPC. That, my friends, is what getting dominated looks like.

As he approaches his first free agency year, Bo Scaife is putting up career numbers. This would be more shocking if it wasn't for the fact that he's been our best receiver for about 3 years now...

With Crazy Legs being only a few yards away from eclipsing the 1,000 yard mark, Titans running back coach Ernest Byner breaks-out probably the most accurate comparison for the rookie yet:

"Probably as close as anyone, I would have to say Tony Dorsett, as much as size, speed, ability to explode and run through small holes and stuff like that, I would have to say Tony D," said Johnson’s running backs coach Earnest Byner, raising the name of the Dallas Cowboys Hall of Famer, when asked who the rookie’s style most reminded him of.

I had no idea until I looked it up that Dorsett was only 5' 11", 192 lbs... he seemed so much bigger when I was a kid!

Titans touchdown leader LenDale White was on an LA radio station last week and took the opportunity to blow-up UCLA and Maurice Jones-Drew. Hat-tip to my boy Toddney for pointing out this slap-fight:

White on UCLA:

"UCLA [stinks]. It’s the worst school you could ever go to if you were a football player. ... You got to make your choice. If you want to get dominated by your crosstown rival, where they can come on your campus and take your girlfriends and stuff, then you make that decision."

John Elway has a pretty good list of MVP candidates (not one player named Peyton among them... so I guess the HOF QB can go 'sit in the corner and face the wall'), and he's got Big Albert definitely in the mix:

3. Albert Haynesworth, DT, Titans. "Nobody changes an offensive game plan like Haynesworth," Elway writes. "You have to assign two men to block him, and even then it’s not always enough. His combination of size and athletic ability is stunning."

The Titans are coming back down to Earth in the CHFF Bendability index, but we're still crushin' it comparatively.

I know you 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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elway's list is garbage

any list that has neither peterson nor peyton bears no resemblance to reality.

by hal41605 on Dec 4, 2008 10:39 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Are you serious about Peyton?

I don’t remember a lot of MVP candidates with 19-12 tuchdown/interception numbers, and an paltry 85.3 QB rating (which is below Matt Cassel, Matt Shaub and Jason Campbell, and only .2 better than Trent Edwards).

Peterson I may be inclined to agree with you on, but Turner has 4 more TDs, only 100 less yards and doesn’t have anywhere near the offensive line talent that the Vikings boast so it’s not an absurd argument…

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

by August West on Dec 4, 2008 10:54 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Manning doesn't have MVP numbers

But I’ll give the guy credit along with his entire team for gutting out some tough wins. After such a rocky start and a season riddled with injuries, their team is still in the mix of things. They won’t be a fun team to play in the playoffs for anyone.

by TheElusiveShadow on Dec 4, 2008 12:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

i look at it in terms of value, not raw numbers

the colts have had injuries all over the place and yet are still 8-4, largely because peyton has dragged them to tough wins with soft defense, bad o-line play and no running game to speak of. i also give him credit for battling through 2 offseason surgeries and not missing a game. also doing it with a shell of marvin harrison’s former self. not his prettiest season by any means but 8-4 with wins over NE, Pitt, balt, and minn is pretty amazing considering how flawed the colts team is as a whole.

by hal41605 on Dec 4, 2008 2:14 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

that'll get you first in a lot of hearts

but it is not measure for MVP. Hell, if we were measuring it off of heart and injuries McNair would have a handful of them…

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

by August West on Dec 4, 2008 2:23 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

No QB has ever won the MVP by putting up performances like Peyton's

Let’s review the season

Week 1 v. Bears – Rusty off surgery and has average performance against Bears. Game was not even close. No heroics from Peyton

Week 2 @ Minnesota – Close game, Indi D stops potential game-winning drive by Minnesota with 1:42 left, offense gets the ball at midfield, Peyton moves the ball 20 yards, and Viniateri kicks the game winner. But no heroics from Peyton. In fact, Indi might have won by more if Peyton had not thrown a pick on the first series that led to a Minnesota FG, then a pick in the 3rd in Indi territory that (luckily for the Colts) led to a a missed Minnesota FG.

Week 3 v. Jacksonville – A Peyton stinker. 2 INTs that contributed to the loss. The first one, in the 2nd Quarter, was returned for a TD, and the second one (3rd Quarter) occurred at the Jax 35-yard line and led to a Jax TD. You could easily argue that Peyton’s decision-making lost this game.

Week 4 – Bye

Week 5 @ HOU – The RosenCopter debacle. Rosenfarts is your hero here, not Peyton.

Week 6 v. BAL – Dominating performance against a very solid Ravens Defense. Kudos.

Week 7 @ GB – 46.6 QB rating, no TDs in a ugly blowout win by the Pack.

Week 9 @ TEN- Pedestrian performance (QB rating 73.5) against the Titans in a convincing Titans win.

Week 10 v. NE – Nice enough team performance against a decent Patriots squad. Viniateri kicks the game-winner; no heroics needed from Peyton.

Week 11 @ PIT – Peyton completes barely more than half of his passes to eke out a victory against a Steelers squad that sabotaged itself (just ask Roethlessberger, who put the loss on his own shoulders). Still, 3 TDs and no picks is worthy of a nod.

Week 12 v. HOU – The Rosencopter strikes again. Is it reasonable to call anyone a hero when you nearly lose to the Texans at home?

Week 13 @ SD – Great Peyton Manning finish in a great game.

Week 14 @ CLE – Peyton Manning throws 2 picks – Colts score no offensive TDs. QB rating – 46.8. Decent completion percentage as short dump routes were the order of the day. If it weren’t for a timely 4th Quarter Browns fumble, the Colts would have lost this game.

Let’s recap… 1 dominant performance against the Ravens. 1 solid performance against the Steelers. One poetic finish against the Chargers. Feel free to reread the list to recap the rest.

So there you have it. Give us a freaking break with this Manning MVP bullsh*t, he doesn’t remotely deserve it.

by BeansCarter on Dec 4, 2008 1:06 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

i don't think he will win

and i would definitely give AP the nod, but for the reasons i posted above, peyton is at least in the conversation. tons of injuries, no rushing attack, weak version of marvin, yet still 8-4, with wins over every top team in the afc besides us and the jets whom they havent played. somebody is winning those games for indy.

by hal41605 on Dec 4, 2008 2:28 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

the defense won the browns game and the texans lost a couple

i get what you are saying about peyton, but most of it is coming off of reputation. look at peytons season this year and he’s clearly off (with that said he’s still plenty good, as much as i hate to admit). couple good games and a couple game winning drives is not mvp material. if it were, matt ryan and matt cassel should be getting mvp talk too.

by rolypoly32 on Dec 4, 2008 3:00 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I just went over the facts, as I see them, game by game

And you’re absolutely right, somebody is winning those games for Indy. It’s just that it’s guys like Ben Rothlissberger, Sage Rosenfarts, and Adam Viniateri are as responsible for the record as Peyton is.

by BeansCarter on Dec 4, 2008 3:01 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

Vince Young

Any chance Vince Young isn’t back in Nashville next year? They are playing excellent without him, and they one last year in spite of him. Does the Titans break away without Vince in 2009, or do they give him another shot?

"Wherever you go, there you are" - Buckaroo Bonzai

by brik on Dec 4, 2008 4:53 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

no doubt he's back

We’d take like a $35 million cap hit to cut or trade him anyways (due to bonuses and guaranteed money he’s due)… reading between the lines of the front office rumblings, this year is pretty much being looked at as the ‘project’ time everyone assumed he needed before the draft anyways.

I think he’ll have to legitimately beat-out Collins and Simms to start though.

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

by August West on Dec 4, 2008 5:41 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs