If you heard singing and what sounded like heel-clicking skipping about an hour ago it was probably just me reacting to the fact that CORTLAND FINNEGAN IS BACK AND HEALTHY! It even looks like he's going to get to play some in Thursday night's game against the Saints. It's always dicey returning from these soft-tissue injuries, but lets hope that neither Cort nor the team are rushing anything. We need that man 100% for every game we what to have even a chance of winning.
Chris Johnson told Yahoo! scribe Michael Silver that he's graduated from hungry to greedy... but not in a bad way. I'll let he and Silver explain this gem:
With Johnson essentially tabling his contract demands until next offseason, he’s now focused on a third area of greed: helping Tennessee achieve the type of success it realized in 2008 (when the Titans started 10-0 and earned the AFC’s top playoff seed before falling to Baltimore) and fulfill the promise it displayed in the final 10 games of ’09 (when Jeff Fisher’s team rebounded from an 0-6 start to win eight of its last 10).
"I let that go," Johnson says of his push for a new deal. "I really can’t pay much more attention to it right now. The only thing I can really do is just come in and try to win a Super Bowl for this team."
I heart Derrick Morgan so, so much already, and it sounds like Jim Washburn does too:
"There’s one rush, in particular, that we use and it’s just painfully difficult to teach guys to do it," Washburn said. "Kevin Carter taught it to me a long time ago, and the play (Morgan) missed a sack, he was – stab-chop – just a beautiful rush. I was just like, ‘Wow, that came easy. Just natural.
"I thought that’s a real good thing. Seriously."
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Washburn was also talking about Jason Jones yesterday, and apparently last year's should injury resulted in Jones watching a lot of tape and fully embracing the off-season conditioning program. Good lord, if Jones was able to play like he did when he was out of shape and half-understanding what he was doing, he could be in for an absolute monster year. Stay tuned for a pie chart that proves that the healthier Jason Jones is, the less healthy opposing quarterbacks remain. It's a science fact, just like the benefits of shake weights.
Continuing the defensive line focus, MJD at Shutdown Corner plays the underrated game, and Jacob Ford makes the list:
Tennessee Titans DE Jacob Ford – With the departure of Javon Kearse, Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch, the Titans' front four has become an anonymous – though effective – group. Ford has been the leader of the pack. The Titans drafted Derrick Morgan to be their sack specialist of the future, but Ford put up 5.5 sacks last year despite the fact that he played about half of the team's defensive snaps. In the short term, he's a guy to watch on Sundays and as an IDP threat in your fantasy leagues.
If you listened to last week's MCM Radio then you're probably fully aware why I'm getting all the blame for the fact that Michael Roos and Leroy Harris are a little dinged up. Neither guy is expected to miss any time in the regular season opener though.
See, told you it was that freakishly short week (Monday night to Saturday) that went a long way towards explaining why our guys looked so flat.
This much I know is true: despite being perhaps the greatest personnel man of the past two decades, Bill Polian can really sound like a jack-off when he starts complaining to the media.
The terribly-named Redksins Redskins might release gigantic WR Malcom Kelly as Mike Shanahan continues to put his stamp on that roster. Like most everyone else who puts on a Redksins uniform, Kelly has been a major disappointment since he was drafted in the second round out of Oklahoma in 2008, but a change in scenery may be just what the highly-talented 6'4", 226 pass catcher needs. I'd love to see the Titans make him an offer and see what he can bring to the team should he be cut loose.
Also, a little PR birdie told me that the Sports Illustrated NFL Preview issue hits the stands today, and Peter King predicts the Titans to finish 7-9, with CJ2K earning OPOY honors.
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