Last Stand

I will do a Titans/Colts game blog. I just finished watching Fracture (Anthony Hopkins has done better) and got TiVo to record the first 24 minutes.

VY's amazing 9/17 TD/Int ratio will be discussed for years.

Before the kickoff, I asked Chris Henry to just run straight. He made a cut and was tackled by the first guy (big shock). His name was Melvin.

LenDale White broke a tackle by "It's not delivery, it's Digorno" on the first play. Two 10+ runs in sucession got LenDale from 3.7 to 3.8 yards per carry.

VY makes the first third down on a short pass to Scaife.

When I saw that Bob Sanders got a 5 year, 37.5 million dollar deal, I thought that was kind of low. That dude is fierce and short.

I love it that the Colt DB does a little dance after giving up an eight-yard reception.

The Colts have defensive linemen from Idaho State and the University of Buffalo. I'm feeling OK so far.

Brackett crushes White on a draw. LenDale White is not the running back for a draw. I'm guessing that Chris Henry doesn't make the offensive lineup tonight.

Why is Vince Young so good on the first drive but so terrible after that? Oh yeah, his chin strap is freaking huge. This could be important later.

Chris Brown takes it in. He's a TD vulture of late.

Between drives I will discuss other issues. I won my first fantasy dyansty title last weekend. I thought I was toast when I benched Dallas Clark, but I managed to squeak out a 60-point win. I hope the Super Bowl doesn't follow suit.

Is Lucas Oil a better stadium name than LP Field?

Biren Ealy got his first NFL reception on that drive. I remember selecting him in a fantasy college draft when he was at the University of Arizona. He did not play there, transferring to Houston and somehow getting Vince Young's attention. He was the intended receiver on last weekend's interception.

I will cease doing a play by play. Will Manning try to throw 19 touchdowns in the first half to tie Brady?

Harrison and Gonzalez are out. Somehow I don't think that will be a problem.

Devin Aromashodu gets the start. I guess Craphonso Thorpe didn't seize the opportunity.

My dad is going to win the AUFL. In week one of our season, I scored the 11th most points and beat my dad, who scored the 12th. He stuck with Drew Brees, who put up an important garbage TD at the end of the Saints/Bears game.

Manning looks sharp. I'd rather not face Manning or Brady in the playoffs. I guess that means I want the Titans to win tonight and lose next week.

Michael Griffin freaking crushed Reggie Wayne. The ball is on the ground.

White should get about 50 carries tonight. Seriously.

Second and long is a big gulp for the Titans. Vince Young totally gave up on second down, and when he scrambled on third down he had too far to go. I liked the acceleration.

Haynesworth is injured. Gulp.

Nick Harper hits Brian Fletcher and he's hurt. We are running on fumes.

Since Peyton Manning might leave early, they are getting a full game's worth of rump-smooching in record time.

Hey, Titans: You might want to cover Reggie Wayne. I'm just sayin'. They are getting no pressure with the short timing passes. Wayne was one of my original selections in z17. He might be the only WR I have from the original draft four years ago.

Travis LaBoy shows his wicked quicks and knocks down a Manning pass.

Vinatieri makes it 7-3. Chris Henry is tackled as soon as he thinks about cutting.

Ben Hartsock is an excellent backup TE.

Wow, Young makes a third and six. I think the Titans failed on about a dozen third and sixes last week.

Young overthrows the ball by about ten yards on a fly pattern to Biren Ealy. Ealy actually stopped, but somehow he drew the interference call. You can't be a DB on the NFL and expect to do anything. Karma strikes when Chris Brown fumbles on the next play. Um, where is White?

At least Manning is out of the game. Jim Sorgi was a sixth-round pick, just like Tom Brady. Who will have the better career? Time will tell.

Sorgi looks a little like Eli Manning. Wayne is out, so I don't know who the Colts will throw the ball to now.

Chris Davis has a nice punt return, and naturally there's a hold on the Titans.

Bo Scaife stopped running and Young threw it to him on third and ten. Ugh. Jim Sorgi should be able to get them in field goal range. Why can't the Titans try to score more than seven points in a half?

Hmm. . . the Titans will get another chance. Starting from the 17, I don't have a lot of hope.

Justin Gage catches the immaculate reception off of Bo Scaife. Scaife was triple covered and no one was covering Gage. Gage catches the next pass and works his way out of bounds.

Young gets plowed by Bob Sanders when he could have thrown the ball away. It took the Titans ten seconds to call their last timeout of the half.

On third down Young threw a pretty impressive ball that almost hit Gage in the end zone 50 yards downfield.

We're going to halftime with a 7-3 lead. I'm so not comfortable.

I wasn't sure if it would stay up after the Super Bowl title, but apparently the "AFC Finalist" banner is still up. Even the Arizona Cardinals wouldn't have an NFC Finalist banner, assuming that they ever get that far.

LenDale White fumbled. Yeah. Now the Colts are on the verge of taking the lead. The Titans can't drive the entire field even on the backups. Of course the Colts only have backup defensive players.

Craphonso Thorpe scores a touchdown. That isn't a joke.

Chris Henry got jacked up. He can't even juke a defensive tackle.

Eric Moulds can't stay up on a screen pass. That was a first down if he could keep his feet. Tough third and two now. Young barely gets it after pushing Amano out of the way. Young is limping now. Serious gulp. He's on the turf.

Collins smartly throws a screen pass to Ahmad Hall, who gets a first down. Chris Henry enters the game, which makes it look like a real preseason contest. I guess since Brown and White have fumbled, it's Henry time. Welcome to third and oh crap. Collins hits Eric Moulds for a first down.

There was a delay of game penalty about five seconds after an offsides penalty. The refs are not on our side this half. Somehow it's 2nd and 7 after 1st and 20.

We're tied, and I am happy.

The Titans are saved by another illegal man downfield penalty. Young is leaving the field, so Collins will have to win the game. I'm not sure why LenDale White is out, but there you go.

Now they're showing Manning on the sidelines as much as if he were still in the game.

Luke Lawton makes a "clutch" first down. Michael Griffin drops a sure interception. Crap Thorpe beat Reynaldo "crap" Hill and Griffin at least knocked it away.

Sorgi gets all day and misses a couple of passes.

And the Titans start at the ten yard line. This could go OT.

Young goes back to the sideline. Collins has a bit of momentum.

Roydell barely gets a first down. Justin Gage gets another one. They've already flipped field position in the past two plays.

Vince Young is riding the bike. I guess he's not going to make it to ten passing TDs.

Scaife takes a screen into Colt territory. Titans are driving and running some clock.

Kerry Collins comes thisclose to throwing the pick. Bironas makes the huge field goal. That has to be familiar to Colt fans.

Rushing fumbled the kickoff and managed to get nearly to the 20. That was scary.

Odom slams Sorgi into the turf. Will it be LenDale time soon?

Luke Lawton does not save the Colts. I love how he stretched the ball out on a five-yard play. It was third and 16.

Chris Davis moves the ball into Colt territory. Somehow there isn't a penalty.

It was White time on first down. Collins threw a really short out to Scaife on second down. It's third down. Gage gets the first down. One more first down should almost clinch it. I do not like Henry in the game at this point.

The passes that Collins is hitting at this point are passes that Young could not make. The Titans might get to 300 passing yards today. It's a very un-Titan aggressive offensive plan lately.

If this score holds up, the Titans will have scored 13 points or fewer in seven games. They have won four of them. Henry got tripped up on third down. It's Bironas time with three minutes to go. I'd think about going for it.

It's 16-10 with three minutes to go. That's a pretty good amount of time.

Lots of fans dressed as empty seats at this point. Come on people, it's the end of the RCA Dome.

Aromashodu dropped the fourth down pass (dude he was open) and it's all but over.

We're going to San Diego, folks. It's not going to be an easy game for Norv's team. The Titans have to focus on stopping LT, which they did for 52 minutes last time.

Doing the Dynasty

It hasn't been the best fantasy football season for me, but I'm on the verge of a first. I only made the playoffs in one of three NFL-based leagues. I made the most of my opportunity. I'm in the title game this week. The Titans will face off against the Broncos. Peyton Manning faces Tom Brady. Can you see how I'm hoping for another blizzard?

Winning in fantasy football takes a bit of luck, and that maxim is even more true when it comes to the postseason. Late-season injuries can sink a squad, since most leagues don't have waivers during the playoffs. I have to hope for a few fortunate outcomes, like Mike Martz remembering that Kevin Jones is still on the roster or LenDale White not having a random injury in the second quarter. Also it would be a good idea if Manning played all four quarters. We get backup QB points in this league, but I neglected to obtain Jim Sorgi. Oops. I'm starting Owen Daniels over Dallas Clark, who has been a small part of the offense lately. I'm starting three DEs instead of DBs because my DBs are injured and ineffective. Jared Allen, Trent Cole, and Patrick Kearney are too hot for me to bench.

Here are the matchups:

QB: Manning versus Brady; hopefully Tony Dungy learned from two seasons ago and keeps Manning in the game.

RB: Marion Barber, Kevin Jones, LenDale White versus Jesse Chatman and Maurice Jones-Drew; I have the numbers here. Jesse Chatman? Seriously?

WR: Greg Jennings, Reggie Wayne, and Shaun McDonald versus Bernard Berrian, Patrick Crayton, Andre Johnson, and Roydell Williams; I like my star power here. Berrian and Crayton are feast/famine guys. Roydell Williams leads the Titans in receiving yards. Stop laughing.

TE: Owen Daniels versus Donald Lee; I'd call this a wash.

K: Jeff Reed versus Rob Bironas; Reed already has 11. Bironas might match that.

DE: Jared Allen, Patrick Kearney, Trent Cole versus Justin Tuck and DeWayne White; I've watched White score about three points a week for my other dynasty team.

LB: Derrick Brooks, Freddie Keiaho, and Patrick Willis versus Chad Greenway, Bart Scott, and Ernie Sims; I traded Scott for Keiaho as part of an offseason deal. If this is a draw, I'll be OK.

DB: Ken Hamlin, Troy Polamalu versus Ronde Barber, Roman Harper, and Sean Jones; bring the pain, although Polamalu gave me 8.5 this week.

The key to the week is avoiding guys who are playing in blizzards. Having Manning aka mister dome is a good start to that.

I'll be at the Titans' home season finale tomorrow. A late-afternoon start will bring back memories of the Titans/Steelers divisional playoff battle from four seasons ago. The Titans are all but out of the playoffs. I hope they can beat Pennington and the Jets.