TITANS GM MEETS WITH BULLUCK'S AGENT... Trumpeting of the angels heard in the distance
by August West on Feb 25, 2010 2:56 PM CST
in Tennessee Titans News
Email
PrintJim Wyatt is reporting that Titans GM Mike Reinfeldt and Keith Bulluck's agent, Gary Wichard, met at the NFL Combine, where Mikey let him know that the Titans are interested in keeping KB a Titan; just as the football gods intended him to be. Wichard's response was a little cold, but considering how silent the team has been you have to expect that:
"We are going to keep an open line of communication throughout the free agency process,’’ Wichard said. "We will figure this out when it is time to figure it out, the way most deals work. They are interested in keeping him and we’ll see the end result..."
"It doesn’t matter how many times we talk,’’ Wichard said. "I am going to keep an open line of communication with Mike and we will see what happens. And I will be very forthright and upfront with everything and until that time comes to make a deal, then one will be made.
"Keith Bulluck will be lining up in 2010 at the outside linebacker position for .. fill in the blank. I know that part is a done deal, but the rest of it is up to all the people involved"
Now, of course, this doesn't mean the deal gets done, but it's the first real movement in the right direction we've seen all year. At least now the franchise is talking seriously and openly about brining back it's defensive leader and longest-tenured player.
Little miracles, people. That's what life is all about.
33 comments
|
6 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
AMEN!
"I finished the game. In my mind, if I finished the game, I can play next week." - Steve McNair RIP
Charter Member of the Music City Miracles Hall Of Fame
woops. posted before I was done
So we tear the front office apart for weeks on end and when they reach out to Bulluck and his agent is “a little cold”, it’s okay because “considering how silent the team has been you have to expect that:”
WHAT?!?!?!?! You guys do realize it is as much, if not more, on Bulluck and his agent to make this happen? He’s 32 years old and chances are, due to the injury, will not be at full strength until halfway through 2010. If the deal is gonna get done, then Bulluck will need to ask for a reasonable price!
Bulluck is as much, if not more, to blame for any sort of “cooling” between the front office and the franchise. He spent WEEKS during the season talking about how he doesn’t think he’ll be a Titan again and has made it clear he is fine taking his walking papers and going elsewhere. If a deal doesn’t get done, I’m blaming Bulluck, not our Front Office.
T-Rac's Posse - T-Rac is one boss raccoon.
My personal Tribute to Air McNair
by T--Rac's Posse on Feb 25, 2010 3:18 PM CST up reply actions
Bullcuk's the one who has been saying all off-season he would like to be a Titan next year
and by all accounts they franchise hadn’t said peep to him or his agent.
I’ve always said that KB has to come back for the right price (hell, we even alluded to it in the letter that was sent to Fisher), but the Titans need to try and make this happen. Just a few days ago it didn’t seem like they had any interest.
Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.
plus, this is KB's last shot at a contract above the veteran minimum
I’d expect his agent to play a little hard ball after watching the likes of Amano and Nickey get extensions.
Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.
I doubt that.
His ONLY shot next year is a one-year deal at the Vet. Minimum. Anyone who pays more is a little crazy at this point. If you’re a GM, you want to see the knee work first and then pay for… at most 2-3 years.
DannoE
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
So what should he have done?
Called Reinfeldt and tell him he’ll sign for a happy meal? Bulluck has been wanting to talk all season. Nothing from our FO. How is that his fault?
Official MCM Hater!
Fire Jeff Fisher.
hell, he wanted to talk last off-season and got nothing.
Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.
I wouldn't read
much into this…
sure it’s the first good news we’ve heard related to big Keith…. but goodness, they only met, or in other words TALKED, at the NFL Combine…
You guys are like tween girls
The Titans put a price on Bulluck’s services. For a declining 10 year veteran, that price wasn’t and shouldn’t have been very high. Some teams, though, are much more forgiving of declining 10 year veterans than the Titans, especially if it’s somebody whose name they could trumpet as them Doing Something. Declining 10 year veterans coming off a very serious injury are harder to trumpet as Doing Something, so the delta between market value and football value goes down. Since the Titans are rare and only try to pay their own big name guys their football value, that puts them back among the potential bidders.
The Titans had shown no interest. Now they are.
That’s a cause for excitement in my book. If you can’t get pumped up about a guy like Bulluck, then who can you get pumped up about?
As for declining, KB was leading the team in tackles until he got hurt at the end of the year. He’s not what he once was, but he’s still our best LB, and we have enough holes to fill without creating new ones on principal.
If someone offers Bulluck crazy money, that’s one thing, but most folks here don’t want to see him walk over a nominal amount as we’ve seen happen to many other franchise greats.
Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.
I have yet to see any sign of Bulluck declining.
As a matter of fact, our defense went completely to shit when he got hurt.
So, yes, I get excited when our front office finally reaches out to our best defensive player and lets him know they are at least acting like they are interested in keeping him.
Of course, they said they were interested in keeping Haynesworth as well. And we saw how that worked out.
Official MCM Hater!
Fire Jeff Fisher.
The more I think about it, this may be the dumbest comment ever on MCM
For a declining 10 year veteran
Did you watch a Titan football game this season?
Official MCM Hater!
Fire Jeff Fisher.
I root for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back
Phooey to tackle stats. The 4-3 Will in the Titans scheme should lead the team in tackles, especially if the other main OLB is on the shelf half the year and the Mike comes off the field in nickel. I’m not saying I’m opposed to the Titans re-signing him, but don’t fool yourself into thinking this is 2005 and we’re keeping the best linebacker in football. There’s a price for his services and pre-injury for the Titans, it was much below what Bulluck probably expected and thought he should get and would have gotten. Why risk needlessly pissing him off that way, especially if he spends the last half the season talking about how he was going elsewhere?
If you don’t see him declining, I don’t know what to say aside from try re-watching, oh, the Steelers game and the first Texans game, when he was playing undisciplined zone defense and Pittsburgh and Houston were moving him around and exploiting the voids in the defense. Or, I dunno, watch him try to get an angle on a quicker RB-a play in the Miami game, I think, springs to mind, as does one in the Jacksonville game.
I can't help you dude.
If you couldn’t see the difference with and without Keith Bulluck, then you are too far gone.
Official MCM Hater!
Fire Jeff Fisher.
I'm fine with re-signing him
I have no objection to bringing him back for the right price, but only for the right price and understanding what you’re getting.
I can read a depth chart just like anybody else. Unless you trust Thornton to stay healthy (I don’t) and trust McRath as a starter (not much choice) and trust Allred and Keglar to play reasonably if needed (heck no), the Titans need another OLB who can play.
Keith may still be able to be that guy-pre-injury, it was only painful to watch him compared to what he was, but his actual play was serviceable. Add on the ACL, though? The list of over 30 LBs who’ve torn an ACL and played decently after that is pretty darn short, and mostly populated by immobile run-stuffing M/ILBs, not pursuit OLBs like Keith.
Sorry for the holier than thou crap.
I think we are on the same page. I just get a little worked up thinking about another cornerstone of my favorite football team walking away.
Official MCM Hater!
Fire Jeff Fisher.
"I have no objection to bringing him back for the right price, but only for the right price and understanding what you’re getting."
Agreed, but he’s Keith Bulluck. There’s a middle ground between the minimum and overpaying that I expect this franchise to reach into for him.
Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.
Alright, I have calmed down a little
But we have not argued in this thread at all about how much Bulluck should be paid or whether or not he is gonna accept the offer from the Titans. All I want is for the front office to seriously make an attempt to resign our best defensive player. We will not be better off with McRath or Keglar. Not by a long shot.
Now, we all know what will happen. Some other team will come in and make Bulluck an offer he can’t refuse, and that offer will probably be more than he is worth, or that the Titans want/can afford. And nobody can blame him (Haynesworth) when he takes it. But we at least need to make an offer. Don’t just let him walk like he is no good.
Cause the name on the back of that jersey makes the name on the front a better football team.
Official MCM Hater!
Fire Jeff Fisher.
You can make those out of position arguments about every player on this defense last year
which sounds a bit like the growing pains of a freshman D-Coordinator to me.
Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.
Agreed in part
Cecil was bad early on, and the Titans defensive struggles weren’t limited to Keith playing undisciplined. But, opponents were specifically attacking Keith’s coverage responsibilities and having success doing it (his execution, not the scheme). That was something Titans’ opponents simply had not had as part of their gameplan for the past 6 years.
NewsToMCM
This guy knows his football. My formerly serviceable knowledge of the Titans and football suddenly feels very much on the 10 year decline.
There is no other player on the roster that MCMers get more emotionally charged about than KB. And for good reason. He is a great player, and he may be a better leader. We would lose a lot with KB not on the field or in the locker room. And guess what, I think we’re about to find out. The idea of throwing out a token offer to KB just so he doesn’t feel unloved makes no sense to me. He knows how valuable he’s been to this franchise. He also knows this is a business. His comments for the last month show that he understands that there are teams that pay a lot of money for a guy like him at this stage of his career, and that the Titans are not one of those teams.
Our emotions, in the end, won’t make a damn bit of difference.
"And with the 15th pick, the Tennessee Titans select..."
please keep keith
he can have my acl if he needs it.
by captainbojangles on Feb 25, 2010 6:20 PM CST reply actions
I've stayed out of this for the most part, but it seems that the injury is lost in all these emotions.
Sure, everyone would love to sign the perennial Pro Bowler that we’ve all grown accustomed to watching. That ACL injury is significant, though. There is a chance he might not even play a full season next year. And, if he does, the chances of him being 100% are slim to none. ACL injuries take a long time to heal. The fact that his job depends on constant lateral movement doesn’t help either.
Re-sign him. Just make sure that everyone understands that he could be a glorified cheerleader for the next season at worst, or 80% of the Keith Bulluck you remember at best.
Which means worst case he's no worse than Donnie Nickey...
And best case he’s still the best LB we’ve got.
Uhhhhhh
He was’t “declining” until he “blew out his ACL” which means he won’t be the same player he was for more than a year, probably. When you combine that with the inevitable physical decline that occurs for athletes between the ages of 30-34, we might be looking at Bulluck getting fully healthy for the 11-12 season only to have his body betray him via aging.
To win, you want to pay the right price for the right talent. We may love Bulluck, but bringing him back for even the veteran minimum might not make sense if he’s not capable of contributing. SuperHorn is right. The Keith Bulluck we knew is gone. We can’t let our emotional attachment get in the way of creating a better football team.
For more on this point see Belichik, Bill, and his three Superbowl Rings.
Belichik, Bill owes his three Superbowl Rings to cheating.
Not letting good players walk away with no one better to replace them with.
Official MCM Hater!
Fire Jeff Fisher.
I agree with Paul's general statement, but the Patriot's example is a poor choice.
Especially because this is the team that played Junior Seau RECENTLY and had success with him.
I don’t know if I believe Bulluck can come back into form or not, but I doubt that there are gonna be many teams beating down his door.
DannoE
"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."
Of course, the Patriots never sign veterans on the downside of their career...
Really, the key is not overpaying.
Music City Miracles blogger and official Jon Bovi tour manager.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Music City Miracles
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Ahmad Bradshaw says Cowboys won’t win with Tony Romo at QB
- Cruz: Manningham’s Super catch wasn’t drawn up that way
- Whitney Houston performed the greatest national anthem in sports history (video)
- Justin Tuck visits New York City cop who survived gunshot wound to head
- The Giants won the ‘Brain Bowl,’ too
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
