Astute commenter thelogic snagged this article in the sidebar: The Hawk is learning how to fly, but needs to cut down on the simple mistakes.

 gramsey712 sends along this awesome read on the fire that drives Cortland Finnegan to infuriate anyone who lines up against him (which may be his best weapon):

While in high school, Finnegan would go play pickup basketball at the nearby naval station with Sue Simpson, one of his guardians. At one point, one of the fellow competitors told Simpson that they had enough of Finnegan.

"He said if Cortland didn’t calm down, they were going to wring his neck," Simpson said with a laugh. "Here’s this 17-year-old driving all these 30-year-olds crazy in a pickup game. I told him he couldn’t go back there for six months, and he was OK after that."

 Big props to Joykat for pointing us towards this Teresa M. Walker article about the Titans not being satisfied by being 5-0 or holding our competition to the fewest points allowed through 5 games in the league.

 If you want inane but ultimately interesting facts, there's no better place to turn than the Elias Sports bureau:

Kerry Collins threw an 11-yard TD pass to Alge Crumpler on the first play after the 2-minute warning to give the Titans a 13-10 victory at Baltimore. Collins threw game-winning TD passes in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter in consecutive games for the Giants in December 2001, but this was only his second game-winner inside the 2-minute warning since then.

 We may have brought in Alge Crumpler to replace him as the top dog, but Bo Scaife is the 2nd best receiving TE in the league, according to Football Outsiders.

 Perhaps the funniest blog title on the web: What Would Kerry Collins Do? Because Kerry Collins is the new Jesus.

 And finally, in a sign the Titans still aren't getting the respect they're due, I couldn't find a single person who picked us to win this weekend.

Boom King's streak of 53 straight starts may be in jeopardy because of the groin injury he suffered playing against the Ravens.  He won't practice this week, but expects to be ready to role against the atrocious offensive line of the Chiefs.  For a defensive lineman, that game is a money maker.

 Justin Gage is also confident he'll be ready to go for the Chiefs game, but was very dodgy abut what exactly his knee injury is.

 Gary Estwick notes that what the Titans may lack in premier talent, they make up for with depth.  It's hard to overstate how important this is as we look around the league and see a lot of guys who expected to make the Pro Bowl before the season instead focusing on claiming the most comfy spot on the bench.

 There are a variety of reasons why Alge Crumpler hasn't been lighting the world on fire so far this year (7 catches in 5 games), but the Titans are very pleased with what he's brought to the table so far:

Jeff Fisher has said that the coverages the Titans have been seeing simply dictate more throws outside. With an eighth defender in the box, the middle is more crowded and the better matchups are on the perimeter with receivers.

"A lot of what we're facing offensively is a three-deep contour on defense because of our ability to run, so the first read ends up going outside to the wide receivers," Fisher said. "Kerry is making quicker decisions and getting rid of it. But it will come. It comes. (Crumpler's) numbers will come. He's a very unselfish player, he's blocking very well, he's a big part of our offense."

Two scouts I spoke with recently both said they think Crumpler can still be an effective pass catcher like he was for so long in Atlanta.

Crumpler has been a consummate team guy, not complaining one bit, very happy to be part of a healthy, winning atmosphere after the circus he endured last year in Atlanta because of big stories involving Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino.

"At some point, the cracks are going to come," Crumpler said. "I have no doubts I'm going to get my chances."

 In news that should make centers and guards across the league weep, Fisher says Big Albert is just now getting into form after skipping the off-season conditioning program.

 Jeffri Chadiha rates the Titans as the season's no. 1 surprise.  I guess someone didn't follow the MCM preseason predictions did they?  Tisk, tisk.

 It's never too soon to take a peek at future Titans.  Lots of great  conference match-ups this weekend, so make sure you try to find a wide receiver not named Crabtree (he'll be drafted before we wake-up on Draft Day, believe me) for us to salivate over all off-season.

 Since Halloween is coming up soon: How to carve a perfect Jack-O-Latern.

There's a whole lot of internet out there, so if you have a great 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.)

This story just keeps getting weirder and weirder: Marvin Harrison is getting sued over the off-season shooting incident:

Marvin Harrison's life just got more complicated.

The NFL star, who was linked to a springtime North Philadelphia shooting that left one man wounded, is being sued by the alleged victim, Dwight Dixon.

Harrison was never charged in the April 29 shooting, which occurred after he and Dixon exchanged blows near an auto-repair shop that Harrison owns on Thompson Street near 25th, according to police sources.

The case is still considered an open investigation, said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Diviny.

Although Harrison, 36, admitted to members of Central Detectives that he had been in the fight, he insisted that he had nothing to do with the shooting, the sources said.

His handlers maintained his innocence during the ensuing media firestorm.

The case eventually stopped generating headlines, and Harrison returned to his lucrative day job as a wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts.

But over time, the investigation uncovered evidence that seemed to point in Harrison's direction:

* Harrison and Dixon squabbled for two weeks before the shooting after they exchanged words in Playmakers, a bar on 28th Street near Cambridge that Harrison owns.

* Ballistics tests proved shell casings found at the shooting scene had been fired from Harrison's gun, a Belgian-made FN5.7, law-enforcement sources said.

* Detectives found the firearm in Harrison's garage on Thompson Street.

* Witnesses and Dixon separately identified Harrison as the shooter, the sources said.

I'm not posting this to rub anything in at all, but from the day it broke in the off-season,  this has been one of the most unexpected stories I think I've ever seen.  That's a lot of not all that circumstantial evidence right there...  you wouldn't have to be Sam Waterston to make that case.

Don't look for the Titans to make a trade for a WR before the fast approaching deadline... why I didn't copy and paste this from the same reports during the preseason, I have no idea.

 The indefatigable gramesy712 passes along this great read, in which SI's Don Banks sizes up our chances of going undefeated.  Premature I know, but awesome none the less.  Here's the meat and potatoes:

If the Titans do get to 8-0 at the season's midpoint, their second half starts off with challenging games at Chicago in Week 10 and at Jacksonville in Week 11. Things get a bit easier for a while after that -- Jets at home, Lions on the road, Browns at home, Texans on the road -- but Tennessee will have to earn it in Weeks 16-17, drawing Pittsburgh at home and a road trip to Indy in its final two games.

 Cortland Finnegan may not get a ton more picks this season because teams are too scared of his beastly, early Ronnie Lott-like play to throw at him.  My proposal to deal with this?  Get Cort some fake dreads and Reynaldo Hill's jersey he'll get 90 INTs because teams love to pick on Hill.

 In 'Ohh so that's why!' news, LenDale's paltry three carries last Sunday was due to a shoulder injury.  It's tough to tell if the injury will be a lingering problem, but they need to start activating Chris Henry if it's going to limit LenDale's carries.

 Matt Snyder of AOL Fanhouse goes over the roughing the passer call that helped our 4th quarter comeback, and decides that all defenders should be allowed to keep going, even though whistles were being blown like crazy, and hit our QB in the head.

 Anybody have any idea why the Titans brought in at least 8 DBs to try-out yesterday?

 5 things we need to know going into the bye-week.  No.1 should be learn the difference between a hand signal that says 0-5 and one that says 5-0.

 The Titans still rank second in Football Outsiders' Defensive Value Over Average (DVOA) ratings, which apparently does not factor in being perfect as a criterion.  What I found interesting were the Defense vs. Types of Receivers rankings on the same page: we're the no.2 defense against teams' #1 and #2 guys, but ,middle of the pack against other receivers.  That says a lot about how great Finnegan and Harper have played so far this year.

 Man do BigW and I love a good Kissing Suzy Kolber piece on the Titans... I pray one day they do a piece on us that rivals the Sexy Rexy series (which still makes me cry I laugh so hard everytime I go back and read it).

There's a whole lot of internet out there, so if you have a great 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.)

The Titans resigned Chris Simms and cut back-up punter Josh Miller.  More on this in the next link...

 Mike Florio is rubbing himself because he may have caught the Titans in violation of an inane NFL rule involving the cutting and re-signing of Simms... man I detest this guy a little more everyday.  I'm not too worried because I'm guessing that as Co-Chairman of the Competition Committee, Fisher knows exactly how to job the system a little here, but this is the gist:

As expected, the Tennessee Titans have re-signed quarterback Chris Simms, only two days after cutting him.  In so doing, coach Jeff Fisher basically admitted to violating the rules against having verbal agreements with players.

“Chris totally understood the move, and we assured him we’d get him back under contract and we did,” coach Jeff Fisher said.

... the league insider was a bit more specific (but far less entertaining):  “I’m not sure the league office is going to look very favorably upon that transaction and quote.  It sure looks and sounds like a pre-existing agreement to manipulate the roster.”

 We're sitting at 5-0, with 3 of 4 of our next opponents toting losing records... So who's going to step-up and call Gary Estwick irrational and dumb for saying we may go a few more weeks undefeated? Because, I remember a certain blogger around here who may, or may not be, (but in fact is) named Jimmy getting hammered for such a prediction before the season started.

 Good to hear this: LenDale's near absence from the field Sunday was not by design and we can expect to see plenty more of the big-boy moving forward.  We need him to set-up opposing D-lines for Crazy Legs' gashes later on... I don't want the little man getting tired grinding-out 3 yard gains like he had to on Sunday.

 Thanks top P. Logan for pointing out that through week 4, no team was making opponents move the ball further between touchdowns than the Titans... it's not a be-all stat, but it does show who scrappy and stingy our awesome-o defense has been so far.

 Further proving our defensive awesomeness, footballoutsiders.com says we were the second best D in the league through week 4 (though it should be noted that we had played one more game than the Raven, who are ahead of us).

 How much did Big Albert mean against the Ravens?  Exactly 2.2 yards per rushing attempt... so yeah, that alone is worth Tommy Harris money any day in my book.

 David Climer clocks-in with an unusually good column about how great teams win ugly games as well.  I'd say, over the years,the difference between mediocre and excellent Titans teams is the ability to win games where we get statistically dominated.

 Pro Football Weekly looks at how the Titans' passing game has expanded with Kerry Collins under center.

 Obviously not wanting to risk losing a QB who could win them games this year, the Chiefs have already announced they'll send Brodie Croyle into the lions den that is the Titans pass rush.

There's a whole lot of internet out there, so if you have a great link you'd like to submit for tomorrow's Morning Links email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com!

There's only one 5-0 team in the NFL, and they call the banks of the Cumberland their home! 

 In this quality recap by Terry McCormick, Kerry Collins sounds like a man who does not want to give up his starting spot.

"Guys will see that regardless of the circumstances, I’m going to keep playing and that to me is how you build that trust and rapport with your teammates," said Collins, who had just 33 yards passing and was picked off twice in the first half. "I’m not going to say it’s always going to be great, because for three-and-a-half quarters, it wasn’t great. Slowly, I think we’re building an identity and building something here."

 Here's a nice highlight package from NFL.com.  Does anyone know why in the world was Dave Ball in that game so much?!

 Paul Kuharsky passes along some stats on the crazy difference between the first 3.5 quarters and the final 3 drives for Kerry Collins.  It wouldn't surprise me one bit to see a few more no. 5 jerseys around LP Field for that Monday Night game against the Colts...

 Sure, Cortland Finnegan lost it a little on Sunday, but it sure wasn't because Mason (5 catches for 38 yards) was doing anything impressive on him... leave it to Big Albert to put things in to perspective for us:

"D-Mase is like that little Chihuahua that's always barking," Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth said. "I guess you had two little Chihuahuas barking with Cortland and D-Mase. We know that's how D-Mase plays and that's how Cortland plays. It's going to be a battle. They just got a little mad at each other.''

 Despite getting away with murder (Ray Ray style) all day while the refs weren't looking, Terrell Suggs and Benedict Mason were whining in full force yesterday.  MCM could not yet confirm rumors that Mason and Suggs continued to complain later that evening while enjoying a gallon of Häagen-Dazs and an Lifetime original movie.

 In news that surprises nobody, Vince isn't on the sideline because of his knee (see quote below).  Too his credit, VY spoke to the media after the game and, though he sounds frustrated, he is keeping the focus no the team rather than his situation. 

Asked if he is 100 percent healed, Young said, "I’m getting there. I don’t know about 100 percent, but I’d be out there playing."

 Sporting News' Clifton Brown says our boys aren't pretty, but have the makings of a Super Bowl team... I wonder what gave it away?  Perhaps the 5-0 start?

 I'm no Peter King fan (these days) either, but he reprinted in his column this morning what he reported/theorized on Football Night in America:

Collins will be a free-agent after the year. Vince Young, the troubled one, has three years left on his contract. Next year, Young makes $2.16 million. In 2010 and 2011, Young will make a combined $24.5 million, if the Titans choose to keep him. They can cut him after 2009 and owe him nothing. Interesting dilemma. Collins has lost 20 pounds and is now a relatively lithe 229. He's sober. He's a little more athletic than he looked playing for the Giants near the beginning of the decade. Even though he'll be 36 at the end of the year, if he continues to play this efficiently, it'll be extremely hard for the Titans to let him go.

I figure the Titans will try to re-sign Collins, bring him to camp next year and let the best man win the job. 

There's a whole lot of internet out there, so if you have a great link you'd like to submit for tomorrow's Morning Links email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com!

Titans G.M. Mike Reinfeldt and Coach Jeff Fisher talked to Paul Kuharsky about trading for a wide receiver before the week 6 deadline... not much of a chance it sounds like.

 In Keith Bulluck's mind, the Titans are still underdogs. Yup; undefeated underdogs cruising near the top of everyone's Power Rankings.

 Peter Morelli, the NFL ref who upheld the dubious spot that gave us a first down on the goal line last Sunday against the Vikings, explains why he didn't overturn it on review.

 After Vince Young's first full practice yesterday, Jim Wyatt says the injured QB will probably be our no. 2 on Sunday.  Jeff Fisher, however, says they'll make that call on Sunday.

 Michaeltastic got it up yesterday, but something tells me Crazy Legs and Albert could be getting a lot of these this year... unless Finnegan steals to many votes from Big Albert.

 Can Anyone Block Albert Haynesworth?  Answer: It's possible, but Superman couldn't block him for very long.

 ESPN's Keith Kidd ranks Crazy Legs at the 4th best rookie so far.  How awesome is it that said ranking seems insultingly low?  Pretty awesome.

 Calling Finnegan the anti-Pacman is true in so many ways, especially in that Cortland is actually a good DB and not a glorified return man.  Also, there's the decent human being thing...

 Most unfortunate double entendre of the week comes from Dr. Z:

I don't think the Titans can put together the kind of quick-strike offense a team needs to contain the Baltimore defense once it gets aroused.

eww gross.

 Ranking the AFC South at 4th right now is probably legit considering the Colts (surprising most) and Texans (not so much) are off to very disappointing starts. Maybe Beans was right... 

 In a sign that's never good for an NFL player, Vince Young has dropped from an 88 to an 83 in the latest roster update for Madden 09.

 A view of the Titans from the outside... they're dead-on about our O-line being "almost impenetrable" over the first 4 games.  The big hogs have only allowed 2 sacks and are a big reason Crazy Legs is the toast of the league.

 The National Football Post, a very good upstart NFL coverage website, pegs the Titans defense and Crazy Legs for their All-First Quarter Team.

 In need of a good laugh?  Check out Kissing Suzy Kolber's brutal-yet-deserved torching of Mary Hoge.

There's a whole lot of internet out there, so if you have a great link you'd like to submit for tomorrow's Morning Links email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com!

Keith Bulluck misses Brian Billick in the way some folks miss the Soviet Union: both were an enemy that was easy to hate.  Only Bulluck, Kearse and Hentrich are left from the 2000 team that suffered that devastating loss to the Ravens in the playoffs, but that fire still burns for Keith:

Bulluck was asked if Fisher used the word hate.

"No, he didn't," Bulluck said. "He didn't say anything like that, someone else said something."

"Remember who?," Tom Weir of USA Today asked.

"It was me," he said to huge laughs, which he joined. "You had to be there to hear what I said."

Was the H-word in there, I asked?

"There was an F-word in there," he said.

That's awesome.

 As Big W noted in the sidebar, Vince Young returned to practice yesterday without a bulky knee brace or a prayer at starting for the next few weeks.

 Paul Kuharsky reports that VY is and will remain a captain for the Titans... I have to admit I'd be real interested to see if he kept that C were the players to vote again.  Also, Kerry isn't very interested in being a back-up next year:

"After sitting for two years and not being a starter, I know I can still do this at high level. It is going to have to be a starting job or I'm going to have to make a decision,'' Collins said. "I feel like I'm a starter. It is going to be hard for me to go back to being a backup.''

 Crazy Legs sits at 2nd in the AFC in rushing yards, and he now sits atop ProFootball Weekly's Rookie Meter with a big does of crow eating by their staff.

 Colts G.M. Bill Polian talks about the Titans, during which he makes a darn good point about how pitiful the preparation level is for guys on almost every Sunday morning pre-game show.

 Quentin Groves knows what's up: you want to be a star DE in this league, you watch how Boom King takes care of business.

 Bulluck talks to Gary Estwick about the often forgotten cultural significance of Ernie Davis, who went to Syracuse 30 plus years before him.  I don't know if I'll make it to the theater to see The Express, but it's a definite must-rent for any football fan.

 Big hat tip to Pinoy Titan for passing along this David Fleming gem of a column about our bone-crushing defense.  Fleming caught this great scene during the Vikings game:

I don't want to say the Titans' defense dominated so much that the game got boring or anything. But in the third quarter, when a guy in a red Jevon Kearse jersey passed out in the stands behind the Titans' bench, his buddies entertained the crowd by stacking five empty plastic beer cups on top of the poor dude's slumped-over melon.

There's a whole lot of internet out there, so if you have a great link you'd like to submit for tomorrow's Morning Links email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com!

Maybe it's a misunderstanding, or maybe it's a bid to one up fellow Volunteer Jamal Lewis, but Travis Henry got busted moving some heavy weight nose candy:

Former Denver Bronco running back Travis Henry has been arrested for trafficking multiple kilograms of cocaine, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration announced today.

Henry and another man, James Mack, were arrested Tuesday after "as a result of a multi-kilogram cocaine transaction" in Centennial, Jeffrey D. Sweetin, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA's Rocky Mountain Division, said in a statement.

The two men are being held pending the filing of federal drug charges in U.S. District Court later today in Denver.

The Tennessean breaks down 5 things the Titans must do to beat the Ravens and remain undefeated.  Oddly enough, score more points than the opponent by the end of the game is not one of them.

 Now here's a true Titan: Vincent Fuller spent many tough years behind enemy lines so that he could be drafted by us and give recon about how Baltimore goes about their business. You see, to defeat your enemy, you must first understand them... yeah... that's the ticket:

"It's Baltimore,'' Titans safety Vincent Fuller said. "I remember being a kid in Baltimore watching the Titans-Ravens games and seeing how much animosity seemed to be on the field. Coach Fisher has already reminded us of that, what it's going to be like.''

 What's your favorite/worst memory from the Titans-Ravens rivalry?  Terry McCormick has the highlights either jog your memory or pull the scab off that wound.

 The staff of the AFC South Blog Paul Kuharsky revamps a new weekly segment called "Unsung Hero and goat".  This week's unsung heroes are Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper, while the first goat is rookie TE Craig Stevens for not staying in bounds in the end zone on that simple catch.

 The Freak won't have to face the Fuzz until January 6th... guess the judge doesn't like our playoff chances.

 Mike Florio takes needless rumor mongering to a new low with assists from Albert Haynesworth, Mindy McCready and TMZ.

 The excellent Teresa M. Walker from the Associated Press gives the Titans daps for keeping a veteran back-up rather than a project QB, and throws in an angle the rest of the word has missed:

[on reacting after Kerry took over] And the rest of the Titans? Call it the Pacman effect. They became experts at focusing on football and ignoring soap opera while playing with cornerback Adam Jones before his trade to Dallas in April. So having help from SWAT officers and crisis negotiators to check on the quarterback's emotional well-being is nothing.

 An Indianapolis media outlet shows the Titans some love... nothing mind blowing here, just nice to see others 'kiss the ring'.