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 OK Titans fans, I want to hear what you have to say about this.
John Glennon on Twitter recently reiterated the words of Head Coach Mike Munchak which went a little like this:
“We’re not looking for a guy that’s not capable of starting and winning games for us,” said Munchak. “We need someone that can come in here and win, and then have a nice competition between him and Jake Locker and Rusty (Smith).”
Basically, coach is looking for a veteran who can not only take over the reins for a bit, but also act as a mentor and a strong long-term building block for their crop of future QBs.
Make sense, right? But who should it be?
With a bevy of free agent QBs likely to be available after the CBA talks, the Titans are basically like a kid in a candy store.
But out of the numerous choices, there’s really only three I can think of that the Titans will even consider: Matt Hasselbeck, Marc Bulger and Donovan McNabb.
I’ll start with McNabb, who just doesn’t seem to fit the bill with me.
The Titans have some intriguing weapons a new quarterback could exploit in Nate Washington, Justin Gage and Kenny Britt (hopefully).
Not to mention their sleeper candidate Jared Cook.
At this point in his career, I can’t see McNabb being as effective at the helm as he once was.
Then there’s Marc Bulger who says he still has the fire to play.
Bulger is a guy who could possibly fit right into this offense and make an immediate impact, possibly elevating these younger receivers to greater heights, while properly guiding this team to greater success.
Bulger could even come in at a cheap price, but he is widely viewed more as a health liability rather than an inexpensive veteran add.
Which leads us to Matt Hasselbeck.
With Hasselbeck you get a proven leader capable of also becoming that coveted mentor in the coming years should he stick around.
But will Hasselbeck even be available?
Sure he’s available now, and with Kerry Collins gone, and a possible restructure of the rookie wage scale, the Titans could wind up kicking a few extra bucks out to sweeten the deal if an offer is made.
Hasselbeck wants to stay in Seattle, but even said himself “only if the money is right”.
Interesting, huh?
I think in the end, the Titans will most certainly throw something on the table and hope the Seahawks don’t counter with a deal out of their reach.
If that happens, there’s always Bulger.
But if you guys made the decisions, who would you go after, and who would you want? Perhaps there is someone not mentioned here you would like out throw out there?
Let me know your thoughts, Tennessee!
 The Nashville Predators managed to make history last night against the Anaheim Ducks. Their Game 6 win gave the franchise its first ever playoff series victory, after the team had fallen victim to numerous flameouts over the years.
But, what put this team over the top? Much of the credit lies in an offense that finally awakened from a year-long slumber, matching the high-octane Ducks blow-for blow. Still more credit lies with goalie Pekka Rinne, whose Vezina-caliber season was rewarded with being named to the shortlist of finalists for the award.
But, perhaps the Preds should look off the ice when trying to find who to thank for this historic series victory, to NHL WAG Carrie Underwood. The wife of deadline acquisition Mike Fisher, Underwood is easily one of the hottest WAGs in the league, thanks to her status as a country music icon and her ability to bring the classy smolder few others can hope to match.
Underwood’s status as a good luck charm would be a new one for her; when she was with Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, the team fell victim to a first-round upset courtesy of the Seattle Seahawks in 2007, and since then, she hasn’t really had the chance to shine as a good luck charm, a la Kim Kardashian.
But, there is definitely some good potential here; after all, as a country music mecca, few places are better suited to appreciating Underwood’s talent than Nashville. Good luck finding a WAG in any sport as well-suited to their current city than Underwood is to Nashville. Perhaps, the country music gods have smiled on the Preds, giving them the juice to win this series.
Or, perhaps the answer is less about the WAG, and more about Mike Fisher. After all, he’s always been a skilled offensive forward, a guy the Senators valued greatly before dealing him. Maybe his skills are just as much to the Preds’ benefit as any kind of good luck Underwood may possess. But, remember that Fisher had to green light the trade to Nashville, and something tells me his wife wasn’t too broken up about moving there.
Either way, Underwood and the Preds managed to make history last night, a feat for which they should be commended.
Fisher, Titans split could be good for both sides.
 While the NFL world was getting over the shock of Jeff Fisher’s firing Thursday evening, Fisher was out celebrating his daughter’s birthday in Nashville.
Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports spoke to a source close to Fisher that sounded more relieved than disappointed about how things ended.
“After all the dust settled,” the source told Silver, “it was clear that it wasn’t going to work the way anyone thought it would.”
The timing of this move came as a surprise, but there were growing signs that Fisher and Titans owner Bud Adams could no longer co-exist. Friction seemed to grow regarding the vacancies on Fisher’s coaching staff.
The divorce could be a smart move for both sides. There are many recent examples of coaches in lame duck seasons (Mike Holmgren in ’08, John Fox in ’10) that didn’t work out.
If Fisher and Adams were going to part ways in 2012, perhaps its best they just got it out of the way now.
PFT
The Tennessee Titans have been awarded the services of WR Randy Moss off waivers.
 Dallas made one mistake too many, by an offensive lineman, no less. It was enough for the Tennessee Titans to finally put away the Cowboys.
The Cowboys overcame defensive flubs that got them down by 14 early. They even bounced back from two tipped-pass interceptions thrown by Tony Romo.
But when Marc Colombo was penalized for a celebratory somersault in the end zone, and a breakdown on special teams followed, it was what Tennessee needed for a 34-27 victory Sunday. The Titans (3-2) won their 11th straight against an NFC team, the NFL’s longest active non-conference win streak.
Chris Johnson scored a pair of 1-yard touchdowns in the fourth quarter, handing the Cowboys a defeat they won’t soon forget.
Dallas (1-3) thought it revived its hopes of playing in the Super Bowl at home because of an impressive victory followed by a bye. This game showed what a mess this club is. Each unit can look at the other and say, “What happened?!”
There were three pass interference penalties on the game-opening drive, the third declined because Tennessee’s Nate Washington caught a 24-yard touchdown pass. A sack that would’ve forced the Titans to punt from midfield was erased by a penalty, leading to the touchdown that put Tennessee up 17-3.
Romo rallied the Cowboys to tie the game at 17 and 20. David Buehler missed a 44-yard field goal that would’ve put Dallas ahead and Romo had a tipped pass intercepted on the end zone to kill another scoring threat.
Then came another tipped-pass picked off at the 13 and returned to the 1, setting up Johnson’s first touchdown of the fourth quarter.
Romo tied it again at 27 on a touchdown throw to Jason Witten, but Colombo was penalized 15 yards for celebrating. Dallas had to kick from farther back and Tennessee’s Marc Mariani returned it to the 11. A penalty on the tackle moved the ball to the 5, setting up Johnson’s next touchdown.
Romo had the ball twice more, but turned it over on downs and threw another interception — no tips, just a horrible throw right to a linebacker.
Johnson ran 19 times for 131 yards. Vince Young was 12 of 25 for 173 yards and two touchdowns.
Romo was 31 of 46 for 406 yards, with three TDs and three interceptions. He was sacked six times after going down only once coming in. The Titans came in tied for the NFL sacks lead.
Miles Austin caught nine passes for 166 yards, including a spectacular 69-yarder for a touchdown.
Dallas had won at least three straight after a bye in each of coach Wade Phillips’ three seasons.
Get your tickets HERE.
Matt Field
Nashville.com Sports Editor
Chris Johnson runs Titans by sloppy Giants.
 Chris Johnson carried the ball 32 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns, and the Titans’ defense recorded three turnovers and a safety en route to a convincing 29-10 Tennessee victory over the New York Giants at New Meadowlands Stadium.
Vince Young completed 10-of-16 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown for the Titans (2-1), who bounced back from a 19-11 loss to the Steelers to pick up their 10th straight win against the NFC.
Kenny Britt hauled in two passes for 26 yards and a score for Tennessee, which got interceptions from Sen’Derrick Marks and Jason McCourty.
“My hats off to the coaches to never getting away from the running game when it’s not working in the beginning,” Johnson said. “At the end of the day for us to be a great team and go deep into the playoffs and possibly the Super Bowl, a lot of teams are going to try to play us like the previous team played us and put a lot of people in the box, so it’s going to take the players on the outside to step up and make plays. We’ve been getting better week after week and making plays out there. I think it’s just going to be tough for defenses to contain us.”
Eli Manning connected on 34-of-48 passes for 386 yards and two interceptions for the Giants (1-2), who lost 38-14 to the Colts last Sunday night.
Ahmad Bradshaw carried the ball 15 times for 88 yards and a score and Steve Smith hauled in nine passes for 103 yards. Kevin Boss, who missed last week’s game with a concussion, caught three passes for 88 yards.
“They are held accountable. They’ve been told that they do not have the freedom to hurt our football team, to take actions which hurt our team,” Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said. “Penalties lose games — they know that, they’ve been told that, they all know it – what the repercussions are of losing the turnover battle – they all understand that…against a team that had seven turnovers a week ago and had none today. It is frustrating, but it’s my fault, it’s my responsibility, put it on me.”
The story of the game was New York’s sloppy play. The Giants missed two field goals and had 86 penalty yards.
The fourth play of the game resulted in Manning being picked off. Manning threw a pass into the hands of Hakeem Nicks, but a big hit by Cortland Finnegan jarred the ball loose. The football bounced back to defensive tackle Marks near midfield.
Tennessee took advantage of the turnover with a 48-yard field goal from Rob Bironas with 9 1/2 minutes left.
A 54-yard pass from Manning to Boss had the Giants at the nine on their ensuing possession. Faced with a 3rd-and-goal from the two, Manning scrambled around before trying a flip pass into the end zone. The ball deflected into the hands of cornerback McCourty.
The Titans failed to capitalize this time around, and New York was set up at the 49 following a punt. The score remained 3-0 after Lawrence Tynes missed a 53-yard field goal wide left.
Tennessee marched the ball down the field with ease. On 3rd-and-goal from the one, Johnson rumbled into the end zone for a 10-0 Titans lead with 8:43 to go in the half.
The Giants responded with a 50-yarder from Tynes to make it 10-3 with 4:12 left.
After the Titans went three-and-out, New York took over at their 37 with 2:48 to go. The home team was set up at the 10 following Mario Manningham’s 20-yard catch along the left sideline. On the next play, Bradshaw found an opening on the right side and scampered into the end zone for a 10-10 game at the break.
The Giants started their first drive of the second half from the one-yard line following a great punt by the Titans. On the third play, Manning completed a 43-yard pass to Manningham down the left sideline. However, Bradshaw was called for a chop block in the end zone. The penalty took away the catch and resulted in a safety for a 12-10 Tennessee lead.
“He was our center’s guy and I jumped over from the MIKE because the center took my guy, and I went to chop block him,” Bradshaw said. “By the time I was in the air, I didn’t know whether he had his hands on him or not. They called the penalty.”
Marc Mariani returned the ensuing free kick to the 49. On the sixth play of the drive, Young found Britt in the middle of the end zone for a 13-yard score and 19-10 advantage with 7:43 remaining.
New York came right back with a nice march down the field. Bradshaw, though, fumbled the ball at the six-yard line. Alterraun Verner fell on the football for the Titans.
The Giants were driving again early in the fourth period. Faced with a 3rd- and-7 from the 21, Manning threw an incomplete pass. The field goal unit came on the field, but a delay of game penalty made it a 44-yard field goal. Tynes’ kick sailed wide right.
Tennessee essentially put the game away with a 12-play drive that took over 5 1/2 minutes off the clock. Bironas capped the march with a 22-yard field goal to make it a 22-10 contest with 7:50 to play.
It was only fitting that New York’s next possession would come to an end due to another miscue. Faced with a 2nd-and-10 from the Titans 31, Manning threw an incomplete pass. Right tackle Kareem McKenzie was whistled for his second personal foul of the contest after the play. The Giants went on to turn the ball over on downs.
Johnson capped his big day with an eight-yard TD run late in the fourth quarter.
Get your tickets HERE.
Matt Field
Nashville.com Sports Editor
 Chris Johnson picked up where he left off in Tennessee’s season-opener, rushing for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries while leading the Titans to a thorough 38-13 trouncing of the Oakland Raiders at LP Field.
Johnson, last year’s rushing champion with an eye-popping 2,006 yards, has gained at least 100 yards on the ground in 13 consecutive games dating back to last year, the second-longest stretch in NFL history behind Barry Sanders’ 14.
Vince Young shook off an early lost fumble and ended with 154 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-17 efficiency for Tennessee (1-0), which did not win its first game last season until Week 8 when Young came off the bench to guide the club to an 8-2 finish for a respectable .500 campaign.
Jason Campbell wasn’t an immediate difference-maker in his Raiders debut, completing 22-of-37 passes for 180 yards to go with a touchdown, interception and lost fumble. Darren McFadden amassed 150 total yards and caught a TD for Oakland (0-1), which is trying to improve on last year’s 5-11 mark.
Oakland recovered a Young fumble early on, and a pair of Titans penalties after the change of possession allowed Sebastian Janikowski to boot a 34-yard field goal at the 6:17 mark of the first quarter.
Young quickly atoned for his turnover less than two minutes later, hitting Nate Washington in stride for a 56-yard bomb for a 7-3 lead.
Tennessee appeared to score again near the three-minute mark by returning a Campbell fumble the other way for a TD, but replay overturned the call as it revealed Michael Griffin was down by contact at the Oakland 23.
The Titans converted the turnover into a 43-yard Rob Bironas field goal, and their defense continued to keep Oakland on its side of the field through the early stages of the second stanza.
Second-year running back Javon Ringer capped an eight-play, 61-yard Tennessee drive with 3:45 left in the half on his first career touchdown, a 15-yard draw up the middle.
On the next Titans play from scrimmage, Johnson took an inside handoff, shifted through the line and saw daylight en route to a 76-yard scamper while high-stepping over the goal line.
The score came with under two minutes left, and the Raiders were able to drive down the field and get a 30-yard Janikowski field goal for a 24-6 game at halftime.
On its first possession of the second half, Oakland moved the ball to the Tennessee 35. After gaining no yards over three plays, Janikowski was wide right on a 53-yard try at the seven-minute mark.
The Titans didn’t hesitate to extend their lead, converting a trio of third down tries before Johnson went over the left-side for a four-yard score and a commanding 31-7 cushion with under two minutes to play in the third.
Campbell then threw behind his intended receiver, and Chris Hope was there for the pick, returning it to the Oakland three. On the first play of the fourth quarter, Young hit Bo Scaife for a one-yard TD pass off a play-action fake.
McFadden’s seven-yard TD reception from Campbell came with just under 10 minutes left in the game.
Get your tickets HERE.
Matt Field
Nashville.com Sports Editor
Sources: Redskins, Titans discussing Haynesworth deal.
 The Washington Redskins and the Tennessee Titans are in discussions about a trade of disgruntled defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, people with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The people spoke to the AP Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential.
Washington signed Haynesworth to a US$100-million contract in 2009 as a free agent, and the tackle accepted a $21-million bonus in April. It’s been a non-stop battle of wills between Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and Haynesworth since then.
The Titans declined to comment, and the Redskins did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shanahan was hired in January, and Haynesworth did not participate in the team’s off-season program while lobbying for a trade because he didn’t want to play nose tackle in the new 3-4 defense. Shanahan gave Haynesworth a chance to leave, but the tackle stayed and accepted the bonus in his contract.
Haynesworth skipped a mandatory minicamp and was fined. In training camp, Shanahan required Haynesworth to pass a conditioning test before practising, which Haynesworth didn’t do until the 10th day of camp. The tackle seemed to be accepting his role in the 3-4 defense by the third pre-season game.
Then Shanahan made Haynesworth play almost the entire game Thursday in the pre-season finale against Arizona when the regular starters had the night off. Haynesworth played 49 of 55 snaps and was on the field in the final minutes.
His status for Sunday night’s opener against Dallas has been in question with Shanahan saying only that he will play the best players ready to play.
The Titans have missed Haynesworth’s presence in the middle of their line, slumping to 31 sacks without him helping collapse offensive lines. He managed only four sacks with the Redskins himself, a big dip from his 8 1/2 sacks in 2008 with Tennessee.
And the Titans know him well, having drafted Haynesworth in the first round in 2002. They used the franchise tag to keep Haynesworth in 2008 to help keep him focused, and the deal they eventually offered in 2009 was nowhere near what he got from Washington in the first hours of free agency.
The former University of Tennessee lineman has 28 career sacks and six forced fumbles in his first eight NFL seasons.
Get your tickets HERE.
Matt Field
Nashville.com Sports Editor
Jeff Fisher has been strolling the sidelines as head coach of the Tennessee Titans since, well since they were the Houston Oilers. It was 1994 when he took over full-time duties and to provide some context, Drew Bledsoe was breaking records for as quarterback of the New England Patriots, the Bills were still losing Super Bowls, and former Bills running back O.J. Simpson was taking a leisurely drive in his White Ford Bronco.
During his tenure, Fisher has established himself as one of the best coaches in the game and it would take a colossal failure for him to be removed from office at this point. Even a 59-0 beatdown in the snow against the Patriots last season, pushing the team to 0-6, wasn’t enough to ice the Titans’ coach. Fisher rallied his club and almost stole a spot in playoffs with a 9-7 record. With Vince Young giving the offence an added dimension, and Chris Johnson blazing a trail through the NFL record books, the Titans should be able to avoid the slow start and challenge for the post-season in 2010.
Get your tickets HERE.
Matt Field
Nashville.com Sports Editor
Young beats Leinart again as Titans top Cardinals
 National championship, regular season or simply an exhibition. The setting doesn’t seem to matter, not when Vince Young is playing Matt Leinart.
Young outduelled Leinart yet again, Chris Johnson ran for a touchdown and Tennessee beat the Arizona Cardinals 24-10 Monday night in the Titans’ pre-season home opener.
The Titans (1-1) never trailed as Johnson scored on his sixth carry, an eight-yard TD that capped an 85-yard drive. The All-Pro watched from the bench the rest of the night.
The top two quarterbacks taken in the 2006 draft didn’t play very much in the pre-season matchup. At least Leinart didn’t have to watch Young drive his team down the field late for the win like he did in the 2006 BCS national championship or on this very field last Nov. 29 with a 99-yard drive for a 20-17 win.
Young has no competition for his starting job these days, and he was 9 of 13 for 128 yards. The former Texas star left after four series with a 10-0 lead.
Leinart is trying to hold off Derek Anderson for the starting job in Arizona. Leinart, who starred for Southern California in college, was 4 of 6 for 28 yards but produced no points for a second straight pre-season game. The Cardinals (1-1) went three-and-out on each of his three series.
Young struggled a bit early but completed three of four passes for 67 yards to set up Johnson’s TD run.
On his fourth drive, Young fumbled the ball off his chest while scrambling only to see the ball bounce right back to him as he finished off an 8-yard gain for a first down. Three plays later, Nate Washington got his hands underneath a low throw initially ruled incomplete. Coach Jeff Fisher challenged and the replay showed he made the catch.
Young drove the Titans to first-and-goal before they stalled. He tried to scramble up the middle on third down and was sacked by Paris Lenon and Adrian Wilson. Still, Rob Bironas’ 29-yard field goal capped the clock-consuming drive.
Anderson replaced Leinart and gave the Cardinals a brief spark against the Titans’ first-team defence. He completed a 13-yarder to Steve Breaston for Arizona’s first first down of the game. He also found rookie Stephen Williams, starting in place of Larry Fitzgerald (sprained knee), on a 37-yard pass.
Working from the Tennessee 6, Anderson overthrew Breaston in the end zone and couldn’t connect with Williams before the Cardinals settled for a 19-yard field goal from Jay Feely in the second quarter.
The Titans certainly looked energized playing under the lights in the first game at LP Field since a May flood covered the field and parking lot with water. The Cardinals looked a bit tired from the trip east in an exhibition preceding a joint practice between the teams Wednesday at the Titans’ headquarters.
Samkon Gado, signed when rookie Stafon Johnson dislocated his right ankle in the Titans’ preseason-opening loss at Seattle, scored on a pair of 4-yard TD runs in the third quarter.
Max Hall was intercepted in his brief duty behind Anderson, but he did find Max Komar for a 22-yard TD midway through the fourth quarter.
Get your tickets HERE.
Matt Field
Nashville.com Sports Editor
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OK Titans fans, I want to hear what you have to say about this.
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