PFF delivers a primer on the free agency situation of each AFC South team as the March 4th date gets closer and closer. Teams can resign anyone on their roster until that date. Once the 4th hits there can't be any action in free agency until the new CBA is in place. I'm praying that no matter what happens, Thorchak follows PFF's advice on this one, rather than pay the RFA starter level money:
Au Revoir: The new starting left guard for the Titans was Leroy Harris, and it didn’t go all that well. There were only three guards that had a worse overall rating this year, and he was a part of the reason life was harder for Chris Johnson this year.
Despite a mediocre review on NFP, I'm salivating over the idea of Marcel Dareus falling to us in the draft. I don't think he's better than Nick Fairley, but I definitely think he's got the kind of skills to be nearly as good at the pro level, and if we go D-line I'd rather us go there than another DE. He also does a much better job keeping his composure than Fairley does. There were a few times Fairley got away with hits that would've been big trouble in the NFL. You do this to Peyton Manning or Drew Brees and Goodell would probably have a stroke.
Don Banks delivers the easiest-to-follow of all the in-depth breakdowns of the major issues in the CBA negotiations. On a related note, don't let anyone tell you that the decision to involve a mediator is huge. There's a big reason that mediation is the preferred way to handle most contentious civil and divorce negotiations. With a mediator involved the two sides will be in separate rooms, away from each other. The mediator will take one side's offer, review their positioning and requests, then go to the room with the opposing party where he can discuss the offer objectively. The opposing party will then give it's decision/offer to the mediator, who will do the same thing again going back to the original party. Doing it this way not only cuts out the personality clashes and ego tripping, but it gives teams a cool-headed third party their expert opinion. This is the first development in these negotiations that makes me believe they take the March 4th deadline as seriously as they should.
TitansIn$ider is reporting that Marcus Robertson, who has widly been seen as safe with Jerry Gray in is defensive coordinator (Robertson, the Titans' DB coach for the past 2 years, was one of Gray's major successes during Gray's run as DB coach here) could be in trouble. Thorchak is warming up the hammer as Gray evaluates his star pupil's performance over the past few years. University of Kentucky co-DC Steve Brown and Titans assistant DB coach Tim Hauck are potential candidates to replace Robertson if needed.
Also behind the TI paywall, The Titans and Babin are working on a deal that they hope to complete before the end of the league year. This would be a major move, as Ball and Ford are also both free agents who could get over-paid by another team. Babin is easily the best of that group, and hopefully his underwhelming resume before last year will keep the price reasonable despite his 12.5 sack explosion in 2010.
Long-time Titans blogger Will Leon is a fan of Thorchak's moves thus far.
Kenny Britt could be a break-out star in fantasy leagues next year (provided someone worth a damn is throwing him the ball), according to Michael Fabiano. If last year's results hold steady-ish (which never happens, but hey, it's the off-season), we're scheduled to play several atrocious secondaries next year.
According to Jim Irsay's Twitter feed the Colts have released Glass Joe Bob Sanders.
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