Music City Miracles

Finnegan & Bulluck Get Fines from the NFL

2009-11-21T06:00:32Z

Finnegan & Bulluck Get Fines from the NFL

See I told you.

/Texan fan'd....and oh yeah....BOOM!!

Titans vs. Texans: Five Questions with Battle Red Blog

2009-11-21T02:19:59Z

Sorry for the delay getting this posted. Here are my 5 questions to Jake from Battle Red Blog and his answers:

Chris Johnson had a huge day in the first game. Why are the Texans better equipped to stop him this time than they were in week 2?

Having better safety play is a huge improvement. Free agent signee Bernard Pollard has played incredibly well since starting in week 4. Also, rookie corner back Glover Quin is physical and plays the run effectively. I don't think that the Texans will "shut down" Chris Johnson, but if they can keep him from singlehandedly beating us the way he did in week 2, I think it gives us a much better shot. The last part of shutting down Chris Johnson is jumping out to some sort of lead. If the offense can put up some points early, that will force Vince Young to beat us through the air rather than just pound the ball.

What in the world is going on with Steve Slaton? Any shot he returns to his 2008 form down the stretch?

I hope that Slaton return to 2008 form for the rest of the season. So far it has been a combination of sub-par run blocking and Slaton's mental state. He dances a lot more than he did in his rookie season instead of hitting the hole, and the fumble thing led to him being benched against the Bills. Hopefully the bye week allowed Kubiak and the rest of the coaching staff to work through the mental issues he's been having so far.

Honestly, where do you think Matt Schaub ranks among NFL quarterbacks? Is he good enough to be in the conversation with Peyton, Brady and Brees?

I think that Matt Schaub is a good NFL quarterback, but a great quarterback in Kubiak's system. He doesn't belong in the conversation with the Manning's and Brees's of the world, but he can put up numbers similar to them in this system. He reminds me of Rich Gannon with the Raiders earlier this decade, not necessarily the way they play but the way that a system can fit them perfectly to produce results.

With all of the offensive line problems that the Texans have had, does it frustrate you that they have never stepped up and drafted an offensive lineman in the first round?

We actually did draft Duane Brown at the end of the first round last year. He showed up to camp in 2008 a little out of shape which led to his part time responsibilities as well as his average play. This year though, Brown might be the most improved player on the offensive side of the ball. The Texans have allowed less sacks than all but 6 other teams in the league this year (15), and a great deal of that can be attributed to Brown.

Write the headline in Tuesday morning's Tennessean.

In week two I told August West that it was going to be something alluding to a close game. I know it's kind of a fence sitting answer, but this week it will be about the same.

A big thanks to Jake for doing this. As always head over there to see his questions to me with my answers. Also, be sure and listen to MCM Radio Sunday night at 9 central. We will have Jake on to preview the game.

Tennessee Titans vs. Houston Texans Friday Injury Report

2009-11-21T02:07:38Z

Name	Position	Injury	Practice Status	Game Status
TEN
Colin Allred	LB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Justin Gage	WR	Back	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Kevin Kaesviharn	S	Not Injury Related	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
David Thornton	LB	Hip	Limited Participate In Practice	--
Jason Jones	DT	Shoulder	Did Not Participation in Practice	--
HOU
Dominique Barber	S	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Brian Cushing	LB	Foot	Limited Participate In Practice	--
Jacoby Jones	WR	Calf	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Antwaun Molden	CB	Quadricep	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
James Casey	TE	Knee	Full Participation in Practice	--

Coach Fisher's Friday Practice Report

2009-11-20T22:36:45Z

More photos » by Mark Humphrey - AP

These answers are boring. Jeff should use some gestures to make this more interesting. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, fILE)

Browse more photos »

(on Ryan Moats and Steve Slaton)

They're both different backs. Chris (Brown) is a different back than the other two. We've got tape on all of them, we've seen them. I would anticipate Moats to play on first and second down and then Slaton will probably handle duties on third down.

(on why the Texans have struggled running the ball)

They're throwing it very well. They can still run it. They put some good numbers up against some tough defenses. Their run game is still always going to be a concern.

(on the Texans secondary)

I'm sure they got those things corrected. Their whole entire defense has improved, numbers reflect it. If you look at the run defense and what we talked about yesterday. The run defense is not just attributed to the front seven, it's attributed to the entire defense. They've improved. They're making a lot of plays.

(on not having as many communication breakdowns on defense in the recent weeks)

It's has a lot to do with the return of Cort, Rod (Hood) getting use to what we're doing and Vinny (Fuller) coming back.

(on Justin Gage)

He's improving each day. He's improving. If he's unable to get out tomorrow, then it will be unlikely that he will play.

(on Kenny Britt)

He did things right. He's quietly doing the job. He's not getting a lot of opportunities, but those will come. With the potential of Justin (Gage) not to play this week, he's got a chance to make a lot of plays.

(on how Kenny Britt has performed as a blocker)

He's been very efficient. He knows he's big, strong. He's a good position blocker, but he'll also deliver a blow. He understands his role as far as that's concerned.

NFLPA wants hack Concussion Czar removed

2009-11-20T16:32:05Z

NFLPA wants hack Concussion Czar removed

In all honesty, this jerk should probably have his medical license yanked for putting the league before sound medical research. The league's response to this situation has been nearly criminal, and Casson is the point man most responsible.

Tennessee Titans Comcast Red Zone Report

2009-11-20T16:22:03Z

This post is sponsored by Comcast and their NFL Red Zone channel, a new NFL Network channel. Want to see every touchdown from every NFL game as it happens as well as live look-ins to all of Sunday's games in key situations? Then you need Comcast's NFL RedZone.

The Titans offense is 19-22 (86%) with 14 touchdowns and 5 field goals.

The Titans defense has allowed the opposing team to go 29-32 (91%) in the red zone with 17 touchdowns and 12 field goals. The Bills were 1-1 with a TD last week.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: For The Truth Shall Set You Free Edition

2009-11-20T15:14:21Z

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Quit tryin' to high-five me and go get yer friggin' check book!

Browse more photos »

Chris Johnson ripped-off almost 200 yards on the ground against the Texans in week 2, and this time around he's looking to ditch the 'almost' in that statement. If he has another game like that on the Monday Night stage, you're going to see him become on of the most popular players in the league. I'd guess if he breaks 180 his jersey sales will hit top 5 by the Cardinals game.

Ok, so you remember how Texans owner Bob McNair called their week 2 victory 'The biggest win in franchise history'? (That's cute isn't it?) Well I'm starting to feel bad about that, because should our boys stomp them Monday Night it's almost like we would have made all their dreams come to life, then slayed them as quickly as they came... just like that line in Laid to Rest, by Lamb of God! Took the long way around for the set-up to this week's Friday Tasty Jam.

The Big Marine, Ahmard Hall, came up with a very fitting nickname for Vince Young as he heads back to his hometown looking to cement his resurgence:

Mayor of Houston

No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No. Somebody tell Fisher that we don't care about the past three years because we're in the now now. Everything that's happening now, is happening now. We can't go back to then. Why? Because we passed it. When? Just now! ( FYI: I have to bring that quote out twice a year. It's in my contract.)

Follow us through the jump as we try to forget the pain of that last link...

I 100% agree with T-Rac's Posse on this one: it's way too early to be thinking playoffs. I do wonder though, who in T-Rac's Posse is the party supplies guy? No need to be all obvious about it though, just a little wink would do...

At least some folks in Houston realize there's the distinct possibility they're about to prance into a buzzsaw on a very big stage...

Since Fisher isn't all the way out of the woods yet, here's a list of the hottest coaching commodities heading into the offseason. At least there's a nice mix of wily veterans and burgeoning talent should we be in the market.

Just a refresher to remind everyone why Monday's game is going to be physical no matter how it turns out.

How crazy is it that we're finally a relevant team in fantasy football circles?

For all the complaints people have about Bud, at least he's not Daniel Snyder. Read the second paragraph of this list for a crash course in how ruin a storied franchise.

I heart Taylor Mays. Please don't come with a bunch of comments about where he went to school because he could have played for the Appalachia School for the Blind and I'd still take him no.2 behind Eric Berry. Yeah I said it: the two best players in the draft, by a mile, are safeties.

This list from Houston Press writer John Royal is classic if you're up-to-date on your Houston sports journalists:

2. Speaking of which, I'm sure John McClain is working on a column right now reminding us all that Bud is just misunderstood and that all he ever wanted to do was to be liked.

8. If Texans win, Justice calls Gary Kubiak a genius for drafting Williams.

9. If Texans lose, Justice calls Charley Casserly an idiot for drafting Williams.

21. There will be a discussion of Vince Young's problems from last year. By everybody except Richard Justice.

and this gem:

25. Bob McNair will be called a class gentlemen. As will the entire team. But most fans would probably prefer a playoff team.

Every time you read a great Titans-related story on the web and don't share it with the MCM community through the fanposts, fanshots or by emailing me at mcmaugustwest@gmail.com Matt Schaub gains one health point. Is that what you want?!!!!?!?!

Dolphins @ Panthers Thursday Night Football Open Thread

2009-11-20T02:17:49Z

Dolphins @ Panthers Thursday Night Football Open Thread

Sorry it's a little late. Discuss the game if you have NFLN or you're watching it online. Go Panthers!

Watch and enjoy.

2009-11-20T02:15:35Z

Watch and enjoy.

Tennessee Titans @ Houston Texans Thursday Injury Report

2009-11-19T23:49:34Z

Name	Position	Injury	Practice Status	Game Status
TEN
Colin Allred	LB	Hamstring	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Justin Gage	WR	Back	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Kevin Kaesviharn	S	Not Injury Related	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
David Thornton	LB	Hip	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Jason Jones	DT	Shoulder	Limited Participation in Practice	--
HOU
Dominique Barber	S	Ankle	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Brian Cushing	LB	Foot	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Jacoby Jones	WR	Calf	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
Antwaun Molden	CB	Quadricep	Did Not Participate In Practice	--
James Casey	TE	Knee	Full Participation in Practice	--

Nick Harper is not on the report. /shudder

(on what kind of cars he'll get for his offensive line) I never promised cars or anything like...

2009-11-19T22:29:44Z

(on what kind of cars he'll get for his offensive line)
I never promised cars or anything like that. They said they wanted cars..I've got to think of something nice. I gave them 55 inch flatscreen TVs last year, so I'm not sure. I've got to do something better than TVs.

(on giving 110 inch TVs for going 2000 yards)
Naw, them expensive!

CJ/ECD/LBJ

Coach Fisher's Thursday Practice Report

2009-11-19T22:28:51Z

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Browse more photos »

(on the Texans run defense)

Well, the first three games they were giving up an average of 204 yards a game and the last six they've given up 60, and 60 would put them at the top of the league in the NFL right now. It's getting people healthy, a few minor adjustments, people in the right place and not giving up big plays.

(on Brian Cushing)

I thought he was playing really well in week three. He's improved since then. DeMeco (Ryans) is playing well. They're playing well upfront and the corners are supporting well. They're just not giving up big plays. They're scoring points. Teams don't have as many carries against them in the last six weeks, but they're playing well.

(on if there is dislike for the Texans)

I think we've established a rivalry now. We've gone there and lost, they beat us here at home. I think we've established a rivalry now.

(on why teams get better after bye weeks)

Some teams will improve, other teams for whatever reason will come back and have penalties and timing will be off and such. I haven't really gone and studied what they've done after bye weeks rather than just look at games after bye weeks to see if there's any unusual things that take place. We'll have to see. I'm sure they got a chance to heal up. They got an extra chance to game plan against us. We'll just have to see.

(on the Texans being an up and coming team)

They made a change on the defensive side and I think they've settled down. (Matt) Schaub has been healthy. They've got terrific players around him. Andre Johnson is as good if not the best in the league right now outside, even though they lost (Owen) Daniels, they still have other receivers that can make plays. They're well coached upfront, they've got a good running game, they've got three backs that can carry the football and they're not turning it over. That's a pretty simple equation there. They're a team that's drafted well. They built their defense up and that's been the difference.

(on if he sees the Texans as a playoff team)

I see them as our next opponent. I know this is perhaps one of the biggest games in their franchise's history. We'll see, I think over the next three or four weeks people will have a better idea.

(on Andre Johnson beating the defense deep down the field during the last game)

I give them credit for executing, but we didn't play well. We made some mistakes. We can't shut Andre out, you just don't do that. They're going to get him the football. What we can't do is give up the big plays deep down the field.

(on Vince Young playing at home in Houston)

I think it's always going to be an exciting time for him to go back and play at home. I think this week will be a little different. He'll be much more focused on football and the X's and O's rather than the emotions associated with going home.

(on if there is an advantage to having more experience at playing in big games)

They played the Monday night game last year. Each game along the way against different opponents becomes a big game for them. This game is about settling down and weathering the storm through the first couple of series, dealing with emotions and staying focused on football.

I remember last game, it was only the second game of the season, but I thought it was like for the...

2009-11-19T21:30:54Z

I remember last game, it was only the second game of the season, but I thought it was like for the AFC Championship. So that said, they have a huge stage Monday night, we both do. I know they have playoff aspirations and everything so we’re really looking forward to come down to Houston and destroying all playoff thoughts and aspirations they have.

BOOM!!

How Good is the Tennessee Titans Secondary Now?

2009-11-19T18:02:03Z

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Browse more photos »

We have spent a lot of time talking about how much better the Titans secondary is now than it was at the Boston Massacre. But my question is how much better are they? They looked good against Jacksonville, San Francisco, and Buffalo, but none of those teams have a passing attack that really strikes fear into anyone. Thus the real test comes Monday Night in Houston. The Texans have the 3rd ranked passing attack in the league, and feature one of the best receivers in the game in Andre Johnson. AJ can accurately be called a Titan Killer. In his last 2 games against the Titans he has 207 and 149 yards receiving respectively with 3 touchdowns.

The good news for this particular match-up is there is no way AJ will ever be lined up across from Nick Harper. Most of the big plays to Johnson have come with Harper "covering" him. I would love to see the Titans chance the philosophy a little bit and line Cortland Finnegan up across from Andre on every play, but even if they still refuse to do that at least he would be Rod Hood's assignment instead of Harper's.

This game is also arguably the biggest of Michael Griffin's career. August wrote a couple weeks ago about Griffin addressing his poor play (via Kuharsky). Griffin has played better, but stil got caught peeking in the backfield last weke against the Bills. Pretty much all of us here thought that after the season he put up last year Griffin was on track to become one of the best safeties in the league. He has regressed this year, and Monday night would be the perfect opportunity for him to re-assert himself in the upper echelon of safeties.

It seems that his biggest problem this year has been guessing run far to often and letting receivers get behind him. Gramsey offered me the perfect solution for this yesterday:

I wish MikeGriff would never ever, ever, ever, ever, evaevaevaeva, read run, eva

Sounds like a plan to me. Kuharsky made the point on the radio this morning that there is really no reason for him to worry about the run in the scheme the Titans play because most of the time he is 12-15 yards away from the ball when it is snapped and there are at least six other guys that have run responsibility before it gets to him.

I still have faith that Griffin is going to be a star in this league. No better time than Monday night on a national stage to prove that. His play will go a long way in determining if this secondary is ready to be the strength of the defensive unit as it was a year ago.

My Visit to the Yahoo Shutdown Corner Podcast

2009-11-19T15:28:12Z

My Visit to the Yahoo Shutdown Corner Podcast

My part starts at about the 8:30 mark.

Tennessee Titans Morning Links: Vince Young And Chris Johnson Will Take You Higher Edition

2009-11-19T14:53:18Z

More photos » by Wade Payne - AP

Vince Young is ready to show Houston what a winner looks like.

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The great part about having a talent like Chris Johnson on the roster is that when things are clicking, you could pretty much tell the defense what play is coming, and often enough they wouldn't be able to stop it:

As NFL analyst Rich Gannon visited San Francisco 49ers defensive coaches prior to their Nov. 8 game against the Titans, it didn't take him long to figure out their chief concern.

Protect the edges. Don't let Chris Johnson get to the outside.

"Then," Gannon said, "on the first play from scrimmage Johnson gets the ball and runs to the outside for (14) yards.''

Chris Johnson is at number 8 on PFW's MVP Meter... behind Adrian Peterson?

If Mario Williams wants back in the spotlight, then he better not try lining up against Michael Roos, because Roos has completely owned the former no. 1 draft pick his whole career. WHile Williams has had flashes of success against us, it's never come one on one against Roos.

Must read article of the day: The AP polled 160 players (almost 10% of the league) with various questions about concussions and related issues. The results are fascinating and a little scary.

Follow us through the jump for more great links about all kinds of goodness...

Can we win out to save the season? FOX analyst and star of a soon-to-be-canceled sitcom Michael Strahan isn't saying yes, but he won't say no either.

More on Bud's double barrel debacle from USA Today.

Bud is reuniting all of the surviving members of the original Houston Oilers team for Sunday and then the game Monday Night.

So Albert Hanyesworth is now friends with his stomping victim, Andre Gurode. Apparently they've gotten to hang out at the Pro Bowl a few years and really get along swell, which I'm sure just tickles Redskin fans pink. I think Washington and Philly may be the rare fanbases where stomping on a Cowboys player's bare face would actually bolster your resume.

The big news in college football yesterday was the rapid outing of Kansas head coach Mark Mangino as an allegedly sadistic, physically abusive and racist mound of fatty corpuscles. Titan reserve linebacker Mark Rivera played for Mangino, and plans on giving a formal interview to the administration within the next few days. Because of the nature of the allegations and investigation Rivera wouldn't talk to the media first, but some of his teammates are, and they pretty much make Mangino look like a tough-nosed head coach who at times just had no sense of common decency... and these days things like this will probably get you a rightfully forced resignation:

"One day, [Mangino] said in front of the entire team, 'Are you going to be a lawyer or do you want to become an alcoholic like your Dad?' " Brown said.

Ask Battle Red Blog

2009-11-19T05:03:51Z

Hello Titans fans, I'm Jake from Battle Red Blog. Jimmy was gracious enough to create a fanpost over at BRB allowing our readers to see the viewpoint of our opponent, so I thought I'd return the favor.

There is no love loss between these two teams, but if you can see past those feelings it's obvious that the Titans and the Texans are forming a compelling rivalry. The first game between these two teams earlier this season was a great contest, although it was hard to watch if you are a fan of either franchise.

This game shouldn't dissapoint either. On one hand, you have the resurgent Titans who have one three games in a row on the efforts of Vince Young and Chris Johnson. On the other hand, there is the Texans who have had an up and down season but feature a prominent passing attack and a young, improving defense.

So fire away Titans bloggers. Any questions you have I will be glad to answer and I'm sure I'll get help from my BRB brethren. Good luck this week, it should be a great game for Monday Night Football.

We are getting attention for all the wrong reasons. :/

2009-11-18T23:27:49Z

We are getting attention for all the wrong reasons. :/

Watch for Titans RB Chris Johnson tonight (8 CT) on Showtime's "Inside the NFL"

2009-11-18T23:10:36Z

Watch for Titans RB Chris Johnson tonight (8 CT) on Showtime's "Inside the NFL"

@tennesseetitans
Don't miss it!

Coach Fisher Wired for Sound Against the Bills

2009-11-18T21:44:11Z

Coach Fisher Wired for Sound Against the Bills

Good stuff right there.