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.

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.)

First off, I need to apologize again to Alge for what I said about him in the game thread about looking like the high school kid that didn't belong on the football team.  He came up big when it mattered the most yesterday.  

Also, I love the fact that Kerry Collins faked Ray Lewis out of his jock on the game winning touchdown pass.

Continue reading this post »

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!

4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!  4-0!   We're 4-0!

 Congratulations are in order for Jeff Fisher, who is now tied with 49ers and Panthers coach George Seifert for career wins with 124.  The big difference between the two is that Fisher didn't inherit a 14 win team and sleep walk to the Super Bowl.

 Paul Kuharsky reports that Chris 'Crazy Legs' Johnson continues to impress to the point Titans officials are trying to reign in the love-fest... good luck with that.  PK also notes that Vince wasn't exactly attentive and involved on the sidelines for most of the game.

 Give some love to the Titans D for bottling up the best RB in the league... any team in the NFL would take holding Peterson to 18 rushes for 80 yards with glee.

 Gus Frerotte says Boom King's hit was dirty.  Somebody get him a biddy, please.

 We're also going to need a biddy for Mike Florio and some Vikings fans.

 The unstoppable Big Albert Haynesworth got 2 sacks Sunday to give him 5 sack in 4 games.  However, even he was hilariously not too impressed with his last one:

"He was kind of just running around not really knowing much," Haynesworth said. "It was just kind of a free sack that he gave me. I thanked him while I was on him, because that was just kind of a gift. That’s probably one of the longest sacks, and he just gave it to me, but, hey, I’ll take it."

 Was Vince Young holding us back?  It becomes harder and harder to say no each week.

 Looks like former Titans GM Floyd Reese actually wants the Lions job.  It'd be interesting to see them hire someone who has at least built a winner before.

 I'm a little late in relaying it to you guys, but my man Pinoy Titan sent along a great read on super-beastly CB  Cortland Finnegan from nfl.com.

The Tennessean comes through with a buzzkilling 5 things to remember... you put a Kerry Collins uniform on that last picture anytime soon and we'd be in deep trouble.

 The Titans are winning by an average of 14.3 points, which qualifies as running up the score in Fisher-ball.  I'm guessing purchases of Rolaids and Tums have plummeted in the Mid-South area so far this season.

 The Titans' Super Bowl odds, according to Vegas, have climbed from 45 to 1 all the way to 16 to 1, which is the same odds as New England has with Matt Cassel at the helm and the other team's signals in their back pocket.

 Roydell Williams officially filed an injury grievance.  The Titans may be in trouble since they spent all of camp complaining about Roydell being too gimpy to make it on the field.

 From bizzaro world, Fox News reports that Chattanooga native Usher is aTennessee Titans fan. When reached for comment, Bud Adams said he doesn't care as long as they get folks to their seats (you're encouraged to come up with a better punchline in the comments section!).

 The Titans jumped from 9th to 4th in the ESPN Power Rankings, because at least some writers remember the importance of defense in this league.

 Sport Illustrated's Dr. Z picks the Titans to win against the Vikings in a low scoring affair.

 Paul Kuharsky revisits the AFC South vs. NFC East argument a bit too early, but meh.

 Awesome youtube video of Cortland Finnegan highlights...

 ... and here's an even better one of  Finnegan singing Let's Get it On by Marvin Gay...

 ... and Boom King butchering Summer Lovin' from Grease (with who I'm assuming is the lovely Boom Queen)... 

 ... and an even better one of the Titans defense singing End of the Road by Boys to Men.

If you have anything you'd like to pass along for the next day's links, email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com

No Oilers or Titans team has ever started out 4-0.  In a related note, I think we may see history Sunday afternoon, especially is Peterson's hamstring doesn't heal.

 Reinforcing my last point, thanks to Gary Estwick:

... the Titans lead the NFL in red zone scoring, the Minnesota Vikings - their opponent Sunday at LP Field - ranks last in the league in that category (before Monday night's game).

 I called Merril Hoge a lot of cruel names here and on other sites yesterday.  This morning I still stand by every one of them, and only wish I'd have said more:

Hoge also said Fisher told him he was going to threaten to use the Texas offense if the Titans picked Young "because he has no chance to run an NFL offense.’’ But on Monday Hoge said he was the one who told Fisher he should run the Texas offense if the Titans picked him...

"Whatever he reported that I disclosed with him is incorrect,’’ Fisher said earlier Monday. "He implied, or stated, that Vince (also) takes a limo to work every day and lives three miles away from the facility. That is so far out of line. He doesn’t do that; we all know he doesn’t do that. So if you are going to start there, I think it discredits everything. He accused me of saying a lot of things that I never said.’’

Just let that sink in... just for one second.  If Mary Hoge isn't fired soon, then ESPN should be beyond ashamed of themselves (I'm sure the ombudsman will let them know that as well).

 Cortland Finnegan has as many picks in 3 games as a certain former Titans CB had in his 2 years of non-suspended service.  How awesome is that cheap 4 year extension the Titans locked him up to before the season looking now?!

 Paul Kuharsky notes that the Titans offensive line is made of big mean men who will probably lead to a few opposing defensive guys being fired or benched over the course of the season once their coach reviews the game tape.

 Keith Bulluck keeps it classy with his 3rd annual wine tasting/benefit at Gulch hot-spot Sambuca on Monday October 20th.  He's got an impressive list of players joining as well... I'd pay $80 to sip vino with the Boom King (Vanden Bosch), VY, the Freak and big Albert any day.

 Chris 'Crazy Legs' Johnson and LenDale are on their way to meeting White's goal of becoming the league's premier 1-2 punch.

 Pro Football Weekly ran a blind item in their blind item wrap-up section called 'Whispers' saying that Crazy Legs may start getting a majority of the carries soon.

I sure as hell hope Vince was watching this game closely from the coaches booth, because this was a microcosm of what it takes for a QB to last long enough to throw for 35,000 yards this league.  Congratulations to Kerry, who became only the 15th QB in NFL history to reach that mark!

 The Titans went Big Lebowski yesterday, drawing a line in the sand to stop the Texans' unchecked aggression on 4th down... "Across this line YOU DO NOT CROSS!"

 The Freak got a sack, Roos dominated 'Super' Mario, Andre Johnson must have been trying out for the Titans with all of those crucial drops and the Titans won convincingly.... just another Sunday in the AFC South.

 Bud Adams is still a huge VY fan... that's a definitely a good guy to have on your side.

 Mary Hoge is a small, petty shell of a man who should take a long look in the mirror before calling anyone else out (Story, audio).  I don't believe for one second that the things he says about the Titans front office and Jeff Fisher are true. This twerp has extended is meritless career by tearing down Vince, and it belies a staggering level of mental weakness and poor upbringing to behave like he has.  The only bigger losers are his bosses who haven't explained to him how unprofessional his vendetta is... damn this was hard to type without cursing.

 Who are these guys and what have they done with the Titans receivers?

 Kerry Collins has had to throw a grand total of 1 pass in the 4th quarter over the last two games combined.  That, my friends, is taking care of business.

 Fist Bumps: Cortland Finnegan is the best CB in the history of the Titans, and as good as anyone in the league right now... if he keeps this up expect Defensive Player of the Year talk to heat-up.

 Peter King slots the Titans at number 6 in his rankings, with the following comment:

6. Tennessee (3-0). Why do I have Tennessee 6 and Denver 7? Simple. The Broncos allowed 32 points Sunday. The Titans have allowed 29 this season.

 VY is trying to find ways to help bring some relief to his devastated hometown through his foundation.

 Mike Florio may be starting to realize that accurate, thoughtful analysis and rumor mongering are two very different things.  One of these he excels at, the other not so much.

Email me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com if you have any tips or want my expletive filled take on how much of a punk Mary Hoge is.

This is always an interesting game.  As I mentioned the other day, the Titans are 10-2 in this serie, but that hardly tesls the story.  Most of the games have come down to the wire.  Who can forget the 2006 game when Vince Young won the game with a 39 yard touchdown run in overtime, or the game in Houston last season when Rob Bironas kicked an NFL record 8 field goals?  The Titans come out on top most of the time, but it is never easy.

Another thing that makes me nervous is that all of the "experts" picked the Titans.

I don't expect this game to be any different from the ones in years past.  The Texans are coming off a crazy couple of weeks that included them being displaced because of Hurricane Ike and having their game against the Ravens cancelled.  It will be interesting to see how the Texans come out for this game.  The best thing the Titans can do is jump on them early to deflate any momentum they have.

The Texans have decided to build with defense.  They spent the #1 pick in the 2006 draft on DE Mario Williams, the #33 pick on LB Demeco Ryans, and the #10 pick in the 2007 draft on DT Amobi Okoye.  Last season they finished 24th in total defense and 22nd in scoring defense so it hasn't come together just yet, but they are young and improving.

Last season the Titans ran the ball well against the Texans gaining 155 yards and 153 yards in the two meetings respectively, and they didn't even have Chris Johnson.  I know this isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff here, but the Titans will try and establish the run in this game.  Last week the carries were split 50/50 between Crazy Legs and The Round Mound.  I would expect it to be the same in this game.  Use CJ early to losen up the defense, pound them in the middle of the game with TRM, and then watch CJ break a big run when they are worn down.

Kerry Collins only start of last season was in the Bironas game, and he went 25 of 42 for 280 yards.  I don't see Collins throwing the ball 42 times in this game, but he will continue to play efficient football like he did last week. 

Justin Gage is going to be a game time decision so Brandon Jones will probably start in his place, but we should get our first regular season look at Lavelle Hawkins.

The Titans defense will get after Matt Schaub just like they did last season when they knocked him out of both matchups.  They may want to re-think that game plan though because if they knock Schaub out of the game Sage Rosenfels, the Titan killer, will come in.  

The biggest challenge for the defense will be to contain Andre Johnson.  Johnson is simply one of the best receivers in the NFL, and just about the only weapon the Texans have on offense.  I cannot wait to see Cortland Finnegan matchup against Johnson a little bit.  We won't get to see much one-on-one because that is not the Titans style, but there will be a few battles.

I am also interested to see Steve Slaton.  He had a really good career at West Virginia, and carried the ball 13 times for 43 yards in the Texans opener.  He will probably end up as their feature back if he can stay healthy, which he had trouble doing in college.  The Texans also have Ahman Green, but I am sure he is hurt.

This game will probably come down to the wire, but I see the Titans being able to have a lot of success on the ground and coming out with a win.