Bring Me the Head of Merrill Hoge

Part of me enjoys listening to conservative talk radio. Actually it's not much different than syndicated sports talk radio, in that the host makes a "strong" statement and yells at the callers who dare to say anything other than "you're brilliant."

Hoge hated Vince Young before it was trendy. Wait a second, it never was trendy. He hated Vince Young ten seconds after the Titans drafted him. Young was spotty at first, but the Titans started winning. Hoge, in a gutsy move, stuck to his guns and insisted that the Titans were winning despite him. He mentioned poor performances in the Eagles and Jaguars wins. He mentioned that in the final game-winning drive against the Bills that Young mainly handed the ball off to Travis Henry. I guess the three touchdowns he scored in the game don't count.

I'm not focusing on Hoge because I think that he's completely bonkers. It's obvious that Young's accuracy needs work. He completed 51.5 percent of his passes last year. His TD/Int ratio was 12/13. That's not going to cut it for an elite quarterback.

I just wish that Hoge would pass on his selective memory for other players. Did he ever say that the Colts won the Super Bowl in spite of Peyton Manning? Manning seet a record for interceptions in one playoff season, and I bet before he hangs 'em up he'll have the career playoff record for picks. I doubt that you'll see that on the ring.

When you look deeper, you see that Manning's TD/Int ratio his rookie year was worse than Young's. Manning beats Young in completion percentage and yards per attempt. Young, of course, has the running thing going for him.

Hoge said that the Titans needed a 4th and 10 play to even stay in the game against the Giants. Who made the play? I know Mathias Kiwanuka let go on the tackle. I guess that's Vince Young's fault.

A quarterback, despite touching the ball on every offensive play, can't win on his own. Travis Henry helped a lot. Jeff Fisher and Norm Chow put together brilliant gameplans to help an undermanned team pull off some astonishing victories. I think the quarterback wasn't the weak spot, though. The season finale against the Patriots proved that Young has a way to go. I just wish that one analyst could admit that he might be wrong.

I'm torn about the possibility of Ted Ginn in Columbia blue and the other blue. While the team needs Ginn's explosive return ability, I don't know if he can cut it as a receiver. He's not large. He's 5'11, 178 pounds. To compare, Derrick Mason is the same height, with 15 pounds of added muscle. Ginn could put on the weight. He will put on the weight. Guys like Derrick Mason aren't traditional starters for NFL teams. Most guys are in the 6'2, 225 range. I wouldn't mind seeing Jamaal Anderson or Adam Carriker, because with the loss of Pacman Jones the Titans are going to need a much better pass rush. They can get by with scrub receivers, as last year's winning streak proved.

Heck, maybe the Titans will trade down with the Chargers as part of a Michael Turner deal. I wouldn't mind that so much. They have to get stronger on the defensive line, and yes, a receiver or two wouldn't hurt. They have enough bodies. They don't have a difference-maker, but Derrick Masons don't grow on trees.