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.

This is the most anticipated non-divison game I can remember in a long time.  The Titans have the chance to start 4-0 for the first time since they became the Titans.  There has been a lot of trash talking between our site and the Daily Norseman, but I think any reasonable person can agree that this is going to be a tight, physical game.  These are two very talented, very similar teams.  Here is a look at who the "experts" at the four letter picked this week:

Shocked am I that Hoge picked against the Titans.

The Vikings are very good against the run.  We have talked about that all week, but you know as well as I do that Jeff Fisher doesn't care about that.  The Titans are still going to come out and hit the Vikings in the mouth.  We all agree that the Titans have a great offensive line.  They get a chance to prove tomorrow just how great they are.  

There is a good chance that Kerry Collins might have to win this game.  That would have really scared me this time last year, but I have faith now that he can do it.  Look for the Titans, especially if they have trouble running the ball, to throw a lot of screen passes to Chris Johnson and a lot of dump offs to Bo Scaife and Alge Crumpler.  Those plays are good extensions of the run game and should be open against the Vikes' defense.

The Titans will also take some shots down the field because the Vikings' defensive weakness is their secondary.  The key to the game will be the offensive line giving Collins time to take those shots.  The receivers have looked better the last couple of weeks, and Justin Gage should be good to go, so I look for some big plays in the passing game.

Defensively the game plan is simple on paper;  Stop Adrian Peterson.  No big deal, right?  Peterson is one of the best running backs in the league and stopping him is no easy chore.  There has been a lot of talk this week about the Titans run defense being overrated because "they haven't played anyone yet."  They will get their chance on Sunday to silence the critics.  I think they are up to the challenge.

The other popular banter from Vikes' fans this week has been that the Titans' secondary is overrated.  The Titans' secondary is not overrated, but it really doesn't matter on Sunday.  The combination of Gus Frerotte and his receivers does not strike fear in my heart.  The Titans' secondary may be getting more hype than they deserve, but there is no doubt they can handle Frerotte and the Purple Pass Catchers.

The Titans will be the better team on the field Sunday.  The key will be to play Fisher ball.  Take care of the ball, run the ball successfully, stop the run, and the Titans walk away from this game 4-0.

 Ladies and gentlemen, before we dive into the controversies, lets acknowledge your AFC South leading Tennessee Titans!

 Let the bashing of VY begin (more deserved than usual this time): David Climer.  Paul Kuharsky. Joe Biddle. Yahoo!. City Paper. Terry McCormick. AOL Fanhouse. Mike Florio (who breaks his own record for jumping the gun with this headline).

I'm not even going to complain, because there's not a lot one can say in defense.

 Here's the the NFL.com Wire Report speculating that the Titans think VY has a torn MCL.

  In lighter news, there will be no happy QBs in Finnegan's Wake! (High fives self for James Joyce/Lit. major joke.)  Also, here's a quick note for everyone who wants to give Kerry all the credit for Bo Scaife's big play:

"I've run that play since I was a little boy and it's never been that open," Scaife said.

MCM could not confirm that Collins was also blocking defenders down field on this play.

 No matter who is playing QB, all eyes should be on Crazy Legs, the first true playmaker on either side of the ball for the Titans since... well we'll that first playmaker tell you about it:

"He's got the supporting cast, it's not like he's got to come in and carry all the weight on his shoulders," Kearse said of Johnson, drafted with the 24th pick in the first round. "Just like when I came in my first year, I didn't feel like all the stress was on me to do everything, I was able to just be comfortable, just go out and make plays, be that missing piece. So far that's what it's looking like...

 Stephanie Stradley wrote an anti-VY piece for AOL Fanhouse?  Shocking.  Houston fans are more delighted than Joy Kat this morning I'm sure... 

If you have a link, tip or story for the Morning Links, shoot me an email at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com

That was pretty much what we expected.  The Titans defense was awesome only allowing the Jaguars to rush for 33 yards.   Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew carried 14 times for 31 yards.  The defense sacked David Garrard 7 times, and Cortland Finnegan picked him off twice.  The only TD they allowed came off of a Vince Young interception that gave the Jags the ball at the Titans 5 yard line.

The offense was pretty much what we expected as well.  Chris Johnson proved he is going to be a special player with 15 carries for 93 yards and 3 catches for 34 yards and a touchdown. 

Vince Young ended the day 12 of 22 for 110 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs.  He threw the ball better than 12 for 22, but the receivers were terrible once again.

Bo Scaife had a huge day with 6 catches for 105 yards including a 44 yard catch and run on a screen that set up LenDale White's TD run.

VY did leave the game wtih a knee injury that we will have to wait and see how bad it is.  Kerry Collins came off the bench and did what he was paid to do.  It is very valuable to have a guy like Collins on the roster for just that situation.  He is a quality BACKUP quarterback.

Enjoy the win.  We will have a whole lot more to come about this game in the coming days.

GO TITANS!!

 
KVB and The Freak taking a water break.

Jeff Fisher surveying the situation.

12 Gage

Vince Young to Bo Scaife

Photos courtesy Kevin Scroggs

The Tennessee Titans returned to the practice field for the first time today.  The most encouraging news of the day is that Chris Hope was a full participant.  There was a lot of talk about whether Hope's career was over after the neck injury he suffered last season in Cincinnati.  It now appears that he will be ready to go when training camp starts. 

“Chris is here six hours a day, five days a week. He’s really excited about being back and having that put behind him,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said.

The above linked article also mentions that Ryan Fowler (shoulder) and Bo Scaife (lacerated liver) were both participants as well.  Fisher said Fowler's surgically repaired shoulder wouldn't be ready if there was going to be contact today, but he was good to go though he drills of the OTA.  Roydell Williams will still need a couple of weeks to get back from the broken ankle he suffered in practice before the playoff game in San Diego. 

Albert Haynesworth is not participating in these workouts because he has yet to sign his one-year tender from the Titans.  That is no surprise.

 Click here for Paul Kuharsky's observations from today's practice.  There is some pretty encouraging stuff in there.