Birthday Wishes

Another year gone, and what have I done?

A year ago, I thought about what could have been had the Patriots not put their boot on the Titans' throat in Week 17. This year, the Titans were two wins better. The defense went from a serious liability to a major strength. While Vince Young's yards per attempt, completion percentage, and passer rating went up, the year was considered a major sophomore slump. Unlike in 2006, the 2007 Titans tended to make defensive stands at the end of games as opposed to the offense performing miracle comebacks. The only real comeback was in the season finale, when Kerry Collins led the team to three consecutive field goal drives. Naturally, the only offensive player from the Titans to make the Pro Bowl was Rob Bironas.

This offseason, two things have to happen. Albert Haynesworth needs the long-term contract and some serious work on the hamstrings. The Titans have to decide what to do with Pacman Jones, before the league figures out whether to end his suspension. If Jones leaves the team desperately needs to draft or sign a playmaker to return kicks. Help at wide receiver would be huge as well. I think Chris Brown is gone. LenDale White and Chris Henry might be a pretty solid one-two punch at RB. I'm guessing that Antwan Odom will get an extension and Travis LaBoy, a situational rusher at best, will go. If Chris Hope's neck injury is career-ending, a new strong safety to line up next to Michael Griffin will be a priority. Too many Charger receivers were left uncovered in that Wild Card game.

The White Sox were the Shite Sox. They battled with the Royals for fourth place in the A.L. Central. A year after winning 90 games, they lost 90. Somehow the team is 6th in MLB payroll. This reflects offseason shopping, including Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel. Linebrink has never pitched in the AL and Dotel has been injury-prone. I guess something had to be done with the hideous bullpen from last year. Any time a team hits .246 and has a 4.77 ERA, 90 losses is kind of a high-water mark.

The Orlando Cabrera for Jon Garland trade was interesting. Garland's an average starting pitcher who doesn't strike anyone out. Javier Vazquez is the only starting pitcher who makes them swing and miss. The trade of Garland means that John Danks and Gavin Floyd are rotation-bound. The Nick Swisher trade eviscerated the minor league system, typically one of the worst systems in the majors. There really isn't a center fielder, and the team has too many outfielders along with the Joe Crede/Josh Fields logjam at third base. I don't expect much.

I won two fantasy titles this year. Technically I was in three baseball leagues and four football leagues. I think I'm out of the baseball dynasty business. It's fun but too hard to keep track. The AUBL, my long-running Yahoo baseball league, is just intensive enough with daily roster updates to keep my attention during the dark time, aka when football is on the bench. I followed up my first non-playoff campaign with a wire-to-wire first-place finish. I ended up winning the title on a Nick Swisher RBI in the last inning of the last game of the season. It's the second time that the AUBL has been won on a tiebreaker.

Despite trading away LaDainian Tomlison, I won my Zealots 17 league. The steady leadership of Peyton Manning helped a lot. Somehow I overcame trading for both Kevin Jones and Julius Jones in the first year of the league. Picking up Manning, LenDale White, and even Chester Taylor as a fill-in helped. I got rid of Adrian Wilson and picked up Oshiomogho Atogwe, who finished fifth in DB scoring. Patrick Willis and Dwayne Bowe were big helps as second-round rookie picks. Chris Henry and Robert Meachem, not so much. I don't have any of my first seven picks from the initial draft. It sure is about trading and rookie picks, and oh yeah, luck.

A couple of my initial draft doozies: Correll Buckhalter, Steve McNair, and Justin McCareins in the 6th round. Isaac Bruce has been a solid player, but my steal was Reggie Wayne in the 10th. I think he was in his third year.

Remaining players from initial draft: Isaac Bruce (8), Derrick Brooks (9), Reggie Wayne (10), Dallas Clark (12), Jake Delhomme (14), Ken Hamlin (17), Troy Polamalu (24), Lance Briggs (34), Jeff Reed (38), Dewayne White (45), Kawika Mitchell (49).

Maybe this is my year in Zealots 34 since I am 34. I lost two games by less than a point and finished 6-7. Picking up Tomy Romo was my big free agent move. I traded Larry Johnson for a package that included Willis McGahee, Jerious Norwood, and Chris Chambers. That worked out better than expected. LJ will rebound next year. I see that from my initial draft in 2005 I only have 11 players left, and some of them will be free agent casualties this year. With initial rookie draft picks like Eric Shelton and Andrew Walter, it's surprising that I made a title run last year. I'm in a bad place with my running backs. Marion Barber might be even better, but other than that I have Warrick Dunn/Jerious Norwood and Shaun Alexander. That and DL are my weak links.

So that's the year in real and fantasy sports. I'd call it a successful year. Now it's time for me to show my age and get in a nap before the evening's activities.

Remember the Colts?

I'll chat about yesterday's games as I watch the Colts and the Chargers. CBS went for the "so many stars" theme for the game.

Packers vs. Seahawks

The whole "Holmgren goes home" bit was over-played all week. In fact it was as if Brett Favre had already retired. I was impressed by the ability to bounce back by the Pack and especially Ryan Grant. He lost two early fumbles that gave the Seahawks a 14-0 lead. By halftime he had almost 100 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and the Packers led 28-17. Favre was typically awesome, including an awkward underhand toss to Donald Lee for a key first down.

Quick interruption. Looks like there was a mix-up and Shawn Merriman was left alone to sack Manning. Colts were able to convert the fourth down.

Both winning teams yesterday were ridiculously efficient on offense. The Packers scored six straight touchdowns. The Patriots didn't punt until there were 30 seconds left in the game. I wouldn't be suprirsed if that was the Super Bowl matchup.

Manning throws a touchdown. He's six for six.

Greg Gumbel's word for the day is "smoked."

I wonder how LaDanian Tomlinson will fare today. It's a good thing that I've turned the game on.

Seattle either needs a running back or some help at OL. I saw Walter Jones completely whiff on one block. I do watch the offensive line at least once a game, whether I need to or not. The Seahawks do have a ton of receivers. Deion Branch got hurt again. I'm so glad that I traded for him in a dynasty league.

I'm not sure how Donald Driver took 80 wide receiver screens and made into a Pro Bowl berth. Greg Jennings is the man there.

Patriots vs. Jaguars

Here's the bottom line: The Patriots finished +2 in turnover ratio and Tom Brady was nearly perfect as the Jags allowed them to complete short passes. If it weren't for Brady's accuracy and David Garrard's early fumble, the Jags have the ball with a chance to win the game in the final minutes. The downside to perfection is that every team is bringing their A game against the Patriots. Face it, no team the Pats beat in their previous three Super Bowl triumphs has played even a B game. The last team to beat the Pats is the Colts.

Philip Rivers threw an interception. He'll probably blame the receiver like last week. I thought the drive looked pretty solid against the underrated Colt defense. It looked like Hayden might have bobbled the ball but the call couldn't be overturned.

Speaking of challenges, why didn't Belichick challenge the initial Jag touchdown? Garrard looked down when he let the ball go. Belichick had the challenge flag out of his sock but didn't let it go. I thought he had that big pocket in the front of that sleevless sweatshirt.

Stephen Gostkowski missed his first postseason field goal last night. It says a lot about how far he's come in his second year when it was a shock that he missed that second-quarter attempt. The Jags weren't able to take advantage and the Patriots put them away.

I don't know why Phil Simms thought it was the "smart" thing to do for the Jags to kick the field goal when they were down 28-17. You don't trade field goals for touchdowns against the Pats. Garrard hit Dennis Northcutt perfectly the play before they had to kick the first field goal. On the next drive, Garrard hit Matt Jones with what looked like a catchable ball. It was interesting because the announcers said that the Jags lacked a guy with great speed. Didn't they draft Matt Jones because of his speed? Oh well.

Marvin Harrison gets his first catch in three months and he fumbles the ball. Manning still hasn't missed a throw. He's a competitive guy. Dan Dierdorf said that his "competitive juices are boiling over." Harrison usually eschews contact, so I'm surprised that he took the hit there.

Rivers is actually playing pretty well, other than the interception. He just hit Buster Davis on third and 8. Antonio Gates is playing today, which is impressive. The Colts must have watched Titan film from last week. They didn't cover Gates at all.

Vincent Jackson has had a nice playoffs so far. It's 7-7. Tomlinson fumbled but the Chargers held onto possession.

Manning almost threw one right to Shawn Merriman. He only completed his first 14 passes.

Addai totally butterfingered a short slant that would have extended the drive. That's two incompletes in a row. Vinatieri kicked it through and it's 10-7.

Tomlinson is out of the game. That's a yikes.

Nate Kaeding missed the field goal, and Bob Sanders, going for the Rodney Harrison Sportsmanship award, patted him on the back. I thought that was going to extend the drive for the Chargers, but it was a dead-ball foul. Lucky Colts.

Manning drives the Colts down the field. They run the clock down to 35 seconds before calling a timeout, then call two trying to get a first down on a run play. Manning overthrows Wayne and Antonio Cromartie returns the ball 89 yards (running at least 150 on the return) for a touchdown. The Chargers, of course, are called for holding on the return, so the touchdown does not stand. This was not a pretty half of football.

Michael Turner starts the second half at RB. I suppose Turner could earn himself some free-agent bucks with a good half.

Touchdown Chris Chambers. Chambers and Jackson could be a fierce duo. Seriously, I know that they have a ton of drops, but they have upped the concentration in the playoffs.

Have the Colts already given up on the run? Manning hits Wayne on consecutive plays.

The Colts could really lose this one. Manning hit Kenton Keith, who tipped the ball to Eric Weddle. Weddle was being blocked so essentially he caught the ball with one hand. Nice.

Addai is out of the game and Keith got hurt on the last carry. Clifton Dawson time? Oops, Addai is back. Good, he's my second playoff running back (I had Grant yesterday, woo hoo). Wayne scored a TD but the refs call him out. I need this TD since I have Manning and Wayne. Yeah, it's all about me. . .

Wayne gets the TD. I can't have my Pats fan buddy winning the playoff fantasy league with everything else that's going his way lately. Rivers gets a key third down completion.

Geez, Darren Sproles takes a screen and scoots past the defense. Will Gumbel say that he "smoked" the defense? The safeties disappeared. Rivers got hurt on that play. The Pats have to love the way this game is going. Whoever wins might have some injuries, and ability to play, issues.

Rivers left the field.

So, does every time Manning throw an incomplete pass, the ref automatically think "that has to be interference; the Field General wouldn't miss"?

Some guy in the stands yells "you are the worst crew I have ever seen." Wayne may have been hit early on a slant attempt on third down. The Colts have to punt. It's their first.

Volek is in at QB. One more TD and this game is over for the Colts. They show Rivers on the sideline next to Tomlinson. Tomlinson is ticked at whatever Rivers says. These guys do not go bowling together. Volek can't get the first down.

Anthony Gonzalez breaks free for a touchdown. The Colts lead again. Now the Chargers are on their heels.

It's Billy Volek and Michael Turner time. Volek makes a nice move to avoid a defender and hits Chris Chambers.

This is going to be awesome if Manning gets the ball with about six minutes to go, trailing by four. It's going to be hard to make fun of Norv Turner anymore. Michael Turner gets the first down inside the five. Turner bruises to the goal line and fumbles, but it looks like he was down. Billy freaking Volek runs the QB sneak.

I think Harrison is out, since Devon Aromashadu has two targets on the drive. It's third down. Manning misses Wayne on third down. It's fourth and five with three minutes to go. They have to go for it.

I love that I really have no dog in this hunt. The refs threw a "just in case" flag as Dallas Clark was about to catch the pass. It was a face mask as Clark released. The flag came out a couple of seconds after the penalty.

This is awesome. Third and goal. Addai missed the pass that might have been a score. The Colts again have to go for it. The ball was tipped. Otherwise that might have been a TD. Dang. Manning gets pressured. Chargers act like the won the Super Bowl. Clock is at 2:01 and Colts have three time outs left, so it's not totally over. Manning's throw was to Clark at the three, so he wasn't going to score.

The Chargers play it conservative. That's not bad because the Chargers' punter is really good so Manning will have to go 60-65 yards in 90 seconds with one time out. Good times.

Dierdorf: "this is a punting machine."

66-yard punt. Manning has to go 68 yards.

Titans OC called that first play, five yard pass in the middle of the field. Manning throws it away on second down. Reggie Wayne gets pasted by Marlon McCree on third down and can't hold onto the ball. Colts might call their last TO here.

I think the timeout came in due to Wayne's injury. At least they can get a good play call. On a drive like this, the initial first down is the hardest. Who's left to catch this pass? Clark? Addai can't make his usual ten-yard screen passes with the limited time. Marvin Harrison isn't on the field. He missed Clark and the Patriots have won the Super Bowl. I mean the Chargers are going to win. Man, that ball needed just a touch more air under it and Clark would have gained about 30.

Rivers is an ass. The Manning face is in effect. The injuries to Rivers and Tomlinson are giant. Maybe the Chargers can get some pressure on Brady. I hope so.

Titans/Chargers Game Blog

OK we're three hours from either the end of a pretty solid Titan campaign or another brick in the wall for Norv Turner's coaching demise. Yesterday's games were really good and the Bucs/Giants game was good for a solid fourth quarter nap. Has Eli Manning turned the corner? Time will tell.

Today's games are way too warm for playoff contests. A few players had to leave the Giants/Bucs game due to heat. That's odd for January.

Vince Young will start. I will wear my red Young practice jersey. I have a Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale ready to pour and a small bag of multi-grain pretzels. After consuming pizza two days in a row I'm looking at some hot-sauce chicken breasts for dinner around halftime. It's go time.

Young has one or two good scrambles in him. Let's see if he uses them wisely. Also, will LenDale start as well?

The weather isn't a big factor. Any bad weather favors the Titans.

In my next life, I want to be a kickoff specialist. Chris Henry avoids the big hit on the opening kickoff.

Titans pull a trick play, and execute it very poorly. The entire line goes left and blocks no one. That's not a good start. Chris Brown starts at RB and Gage drops a slant. Eric Moulds is starting. His expiration date was a few years ago.

Ahmad Hall gets a first down on a screen pass. How did the Chargers not see that?

White gets the first carry. Whew. Not going three and out: priceless.

Jeff Fisher is the only coach in the NFL who would say "punting will be good."

12 guys in the huddle on third and one. Young still runs around and gets a first down running. Get the first down and get out of bounds.

Young launches a nice pass with some air on it to Gage. White gets a short run and Chris Davis makes a catch.

It would be so huge for the Titans to start with a TD. Sadly, I went to nfl.com to see who number 85 for the Titans was. I'm behind on TiVo and it's a field goal for the Titans.

Young got crushed by Shaun Phillips, who looked to be offside. Incomplete pass. Both ends looked like they were offside. You get that call at home. I don't think they were playing for the first down.

TD or no TD, running 5:30 off the clock on the first drive was huge. Now the Titans need to put some pressure on the Chargers.

Jamie Petrowski is 85. I think the Titans signed him this week.

Norv Turner: "It's time for this team to win a playoff game." OK, that beats Fisher's quote.

It's a sack on the second play. Finnegan makes a corner blitz. His speed is ideal for that kind of play, especially when Tomlinson didn't even take him on.

Three and out is huge. Daniel Loper starting the game means that all the tackles the Titans drafted three years ago are starting on the O line. Young nearly escaped a sack but had to go down.

Young is down after throwing the ball away. He might be done. The crowd is extra loud, and I hope it's not because Young is hurt. Collins can field goal you to death. He may just have hit his head.

The lightening bolt design looks like a telestrator accident. Weird beard is bundled up today. Come on, it's not Foxboro.

Chargers aren't helping themselves so far. Dielman tries to hurt Haynesworth. Cheaters!

I love seeing the Chargers punter on the field. He's a good punter. The Titans do not have the advantage in the punting game. Hentrich probably has a lower handicap.

White can't get two good runs in a row. It's third and short again. Nice second effort by White. I think the Titans will be happy with getting two or three first downs and pinning the Chargers deep. From the last game, no lead is enough.

Troupe with a catch. My heart just stopped.

It's third and less than a yard. Has Amano learned the snap the ball to his foot play? That was a key screw-up in the earlier game. Ahmad Hall is a beast with another first down.

I like it how Chris Brown kept running and 99 for the Chargers just stopped playing. This is such a grind-it-out team. You either love it or are tormented constantly. I'm in the second boat.

On third and one White gets 14 yards. It's time to finish a drive. White, shockingly enough, only gets one on the next play. Chris Brown volleyballs a carry right to Shaun Phillips. Shawn Merriman caused that one. We just can't play a mistake-free game.

If Chris Brown gets on the field again after fumbling last week, there's going to be a riot.

Tomlinson goes out of bounds. Coward.

Rivers hits Antonio Gates for the first down. Bulluck can't cover him. That's going to get this offense started.

Chambers catches the deep ball. Gulp. Griffin makes the tackle. Where was Lowry?

Haynesworth is out. Starks comes in for him and luckily coverage was good downfield. Haynesworth comes back in for third and long. Vincent Jackson can't catch the sideline route. Chargers have to punt but they do flip field position.

This is where the Titans get really conservative. White has to lead the league in two-yard gains. White falls down on a screen pass. He could have at least advanced the ball a bit. It's third and 12. Time to bite on my fist for a minute.

Chris Davis catches a pretty solid out pass, then he doesn't. He got shoved out of bounds. The Titans need a Bobby Engram this offseason in a bad way. Chargers start at the 42. The lead's about to disappear.

Finnegan is the MVP so far. He had single coverage on Chambers and took away a potential touchdown.

Rivers is pissed, at himself hopefully. Vince one-hops the first-down throw. It's third and eight time. The Titans have to be the worst team in the league in taking advantage of turnovers. Two guys end up in the same spot. I think Davis knocked the ball away from Gage. The Chargers will get the ball at the 55.

Charger fans are dying for a good Tomlinson run. If I see that stupid animals singing Jeep Liberty commercial again, I'm going to break my beer bottle and shove it in my eye socket.

VandenBosch gets pressure on Rivers, who almost threw the ball to Thornton.

On third down Vincent Jackson is somehow totally uncovered. Lowry, of course, misses the tackle. Why is he starting?

Gates is hurt. It's third and long again for the Chargers. A sack could get them out of field goal range. Keith Bulluck taps him on the head, which is good sportsmanship and a personal "whew" since he won't have to cover Gates at least for the rest of the half. I expect that Tony Brown will get a fine for going head to head on that semi-unnecessary hit.

Griffin saved Finnegan on that out pattern. He tipped it away at the last second. Kaeding misses the field goal. This game is nuts.

All I want is one freaking first down. The Titans only have four wideouts active today, downfield throws are going to be rare. It's my least favorite down and distance, third and six.

Biren Ealy gets the first down and at least the Titans will run out the first-half clock. Scary stat: the first game was 3-0 Titans at the half.

Chris Brown gets a carry and seven new I hate Chris Brown threads start on the Titans Central message board. Troupe gets called for a hold. It's the first time that he's tried to make a block in his career.

Moulds gets the ball near first-down yardage. It's either a long field goal attempt or the clock's going to run out. Ealy gets another third-down catch. The Titans drafted three wideouts and this free agent rookie is getting key throws.

Troupe gets a first down and it's spike time. Ball is at the 30. Are they going to try to go downfield, or just get a few more yards? White runs it to the 27. It's not a gimme field goal.

I know the Chargers are going to wake up in the second half. Getting that half-ending field goal is still a big deal. Look what happened to the Steelers yesterday when Roethlisberger threw that half-ending pick. Bironas kicks it down the middle. He's going to get two million bucks next year.

My Pats friend (howdy Paul) complained when Brady was not the unanimous MVP. Remember when Mark Mosely won it? Imagine the blowback if that happened today. Bironas missed four field goals all year. He missed a pretty easy kick that would have defeated the Chargers last time. The Titans need one TD to win this game. They're going to need at least three (a giant order) to beat the Pats if they can hold on.

Will the halftime crew backtrack at all? I didn't listen to the pregame talk. Cowher blamed Chambers for the interception. The ball needed to be a bit deeper.

LenDale White has 55 more rushing yards than Tomlinson. The Chargers have 14 passes and seven runs. It's Titan football with 43 plays to 21 for the other team. Young's averaging less than five yards per attempt and that is fine. It's amazing that the Titans have five receivers with between 16 and 19 receiving yards. Gage has to get more involved. Seven different receivers with catches isn't bad.

This is the drive of the season. The Chargers generally play tough to start the second half. A block in the back won't help.

Isn't it amazing that all four teams yesterday choked? The Seahawks choked away a 13-0 lead in the fourth quarter. Then the Redskins were all but handed a 21-13 lead and they couldn't hold it. The Jags had a giant lead and blew it, then the Steelers inexplicably went for two from their own 12-yard-line. Then the Steelers couldn't hold it.

I agree with Simms. Tomlinson will break a run soon. I hope it's in the Pro Bowl.

That was a nice pocket that the line created. Rivers had time and hit Chambers on third down. Odom is hurt, which isn't good. This team is running on fumes. Not having injuries makes you a better team.

The Titans tried a corner blitz. Randy Starks was unblocked and crushed Rivers. Harper and Tulloch blitzed there. Chambers makes the catch on third down. Griffin goes for the hit and might be hurt. Going shoulder first against a bigger guy generally doesn't work.

Brady would tear this Titans D up. The only chance the Titans would have is to hit Brady a ton. Rivers hits Chambers for another big play. One drive can erase everything the Titans did in the first half.

Fuller and Lowry are the safeties. Dude.

It's another huge third down. The Titans hold, somehow. The lead survives.

Nice pass by Young to Hartsock for the first down. White leaves, Henry gets crushed, and Young throws a deep pass to Gage, who stopped. Now the Chargers have to go 80 yards to take the lead.

The Titans have missed maybe one tackle all day. That's pretty solid.

Tomlinson barely gets the first down, although I think he went out early. Tomlinson likes to go out of bounds.

Good line by Simms: "You want to waste a challenge on a couple of inches?"

Titans are drawn offside, and Haynesworth throws Rivers down. That's 15 free yards. You can't give them free yards.

Tomlinson is starting to get some yards. It's going to be tough for the Titans to get a touchdown, so if the Chargers can get six, the pressure will be on.

Vincent Jackson does it. The Chargers have pretty decent receivers, and they're all pros compared to what the Titans have left.

Can the Titans throw a counter-punch?

Perhaps Haynesworth's anger issues will save the Titans a few million dollars.

Young hit a perfect pass to Ben Troupe. Chris Davis gets another first down on an end-around. I like this more aggressive approach.

Ahmad Hall is my hero. He breaks a few tackles and falls down in the open field. The Titans are in the red zone with a quarter to play.

This team is playing hard, win or lose. The Chargers have scored on both drives, so even if the Titans can punch it in, it's going to be a 60-minute fight.

White gets crushed on first down. Young almost threw it to Clinton Hart. It was a five yard play at best. Titans should have kicked on third down. Ugh. They need more to advance.

Bironas missed it. Good night and good luck.

The rain isn't helping. Blitz fails and Gates easily slips the tackle for a first down.

The Titans can't cover anyone. Why must they torment me by playing well for a half then falling apart?

Would Tom Brady ever let his running back call the timeout as the play clock is about to expire? I think not.

Tomlinson catches the slant and is down short of the end zone. Fourth and goal from inside the one. Norv Turner challenges and wastes his last time out. The Titans need the Chargers to go for it and fail.

Tomlinson's momentum was stopped before he reached over the goal line. He was stopped then he reached over the goal line. Bulluck made a giant hit. There's no way that they overturn this. The official on the left side started running in before Tomlinson reached over the goal line. Dang this sucks. Shaun Phillips' stop of White on first and ten was huge. White had a hole and probably would have gotten close to a first down. The Titans haven't tried to put the ball in the end zone yet and the conservative play hasn't helped.

Another second-half choke for the Titans. If it weren't for the first choke, the second one wouldn't have happened.

Young was hit hard. Phillips was untouched. 94 was offside on the next play. OK, maybe he wasn’t. Young had no chance. You have to go for it, I think. Fisher pulls a Pinkel and punts. The way the offensive line played in that series, I guess you have to hope your worn-out defense can make a play.

Tomlinson's getting yards now. Nice downfield block by Chambers. Holding on to that block is a good way to say it.

There was a lot more excitement to last year's non-playoff squad. This could be the most boring 10-6 team ever.

I liked seeing the Oiler title teams in 1960 and 1961. That's pretty rough, winning two titles in a row followed by nothing for 36 seasons. The light blue Oiler helmets were underrated.

Two penalties in a row felt like an unnecessary kick in the crotch. Young throws one right to Drayton Florence. He's going to be in the spotlight next year. I bet Young isn't blaming his receiver for the interception. I'll take Young over Rivers, albeit barely.

CBS showed a montage of the Titans' WR "playmakers." It hurts to look at. I don't think that Scaife and Williams would have helped. No Brown might have helped.

Do the Chargers have a chance to beat the Colts? Manning threw six interceptions and it still took a Vinatieri missed field goal for the Chargers to prevail at home. LT better come through in a big way.

Haynesworth didn't have a good game. The whole team had a terrible second half.

Well, there's one weekend of wall-to-wall football left. I don't know if I'll enjoy it more with my team out of the race.

Jeff Fisher needs a haircut. Dude.

Titanic Effort

It's time to prove that I am a mature, forward-thinker and finally get over the fact that Chris Chambers didn't catch that fourth-down pass the first time the Titans met the Chargers. That wasn't the reason why they lost. They lost because Philip Rivers played like Ryan Leaf for 52 minutes of the game and played like Tom Brady for the final eight. The Titans slowed down Tomlinson for most of the game but faded in the final quarter. News flash: Tomlinson is freaking good, and any coach worth his salt (even Norv Turner) is going to lean on him if he wants to win.

Before we get too worked up about the injuries to Bo Scaife and Roydell Williams, look at the stats from the first game. Scaife had 14 receiving yards and Roydell led the team with 30. That's not what I call a big impact. Naturally the Titans ran the ball a ton, led by LenDale White's career-high 30 carries.

Kevin Mawae's return is huge. The Titans need leadership on the offensive line, especially when dealing with the two Sha(w or u)ns in pass protection. Long, sustained drives, especially those that end up in points, are critical.

Third downs are going to be big for Vince. In the Jets game, it seemed like it was always third and six, and the Titans always failed. Last week Kerry Collins hit a lot of third-down passes, including a tough pass to Roydell Williams that got the Titans out of a tough spot on the game-winning drive.

Does the defense have any magic left? In the Jets game, it took an Antwan Odom blocked field goal and a Keith Bulluck end-zone pick to help clinch the game. Michael Griffin stripped Reggie Wayne of the ball during the critical first drive of last week's game. It was pressure by Vandenbosch and Haynesworth that led to Rivers' first interception and a Titan touchdown.

Chris Henry will have to make some plays. I'm going to need some heavy drinking to get over that statement.

Here's a sign that the Titans' passing game isn't going to win the game. In 16 games, the Titans had more passing yards than their opponent six times. They had the leading receiver five times.

I'm pretty up to date on Titan injuries, so I decided to see how the Chargers were feeling. Lorenzo Neal is doubtful, and someone named Marques Harris is questionnable. Nate Kaeding is probable, so maybe he can miss another clutch kick.

When your starting QB and RB are questionnable and your second and third receivers are out, that's not good. It's going to take a major effort for the Titans to win. They need a first-drive touchdown followed by a big defensive stop. The Chargers know that they can come back, but they do have some rough recent playoff experience.

The last time the Titans lost a Wild Card game, they were the Oilers. The Bills rallied from a 35-3 halftime deficit to win. The team is 7-4 overall in Wild Card games. I doubt that many franchises have played more such games since the Wild Card round has been around for about 30 years and used to be one game.

Amazing facts about the game: The Chargers are undefeated in the playoffs when wearing their new jerseys. The Titans are undefeated in playoff games started by Vince Young. Think about it.

In 1999, the Titans had a first-time playoff QB most experts thought couldn't lead his team to the Super Bowl. Steve McNair won his first three playoff games that year. He would win only two more. I think Vince Young's playoff glory days are in the future. I don't know if I can re-live flashbacks to the Titans last playoff game if they win this week and have to travel to New England for a Saturday night showdown. They might not have enough players left to field a team at that point.

Tiger Time

It's time for a Missouri/Arkansas Cotton Bowl blog. This is going to be a tough game for the defenses. It's actually 12:30, and I'm watching the game in TiVo. I prefer to skip the commercials.

Arkansas is going to try a lot of screens and a ton of McFadden. They started with that little slip screen to Felix Jones who got a first down. A backwards pass to Peyton Hillis didn't work. Arkansas got the first down. McFadden is all legs. He seems to start at full speed. I'm not sure if has any meat on those bones.

Third and 2. Felix Jones gets it. Holding Arkansas to field goals would be a good idea. Missouri's putting nine in the box and the Razorbacks are throwing more than I thought they would.

Arkansas' running game is doing in the first quarter what Oklahoma did in the fourth.

Um, why isn't Bobby Petrino coaching this game? There has been no mention of him during the entire game. He took the job at least three weeks ago.

Pat Summerall and Brian Baldinger are the announcers. They obviously haven't worked together but it's a professional pairing.

Missouri stops McFadden on third down. The draw isn't going to work, especially when McFadden ran into his fullback. Field goal is no good. That's huge.

When Missouri runs the spread, they aren't kidding. They start with the one running play to Temple for nine. It seems like Missouri's shotgun is deeper than most. He's a good seven yards behind the line of scrimmage. Rucker gets the first catch. I wonder how high he'll go in the draft next year.

Quick sideline topic: Most experts, or trolls on the footballguys.com message board, think that the Chargers are going to roll the Titans. The Chargers are very similar to the Titans, other than having the best running back in the league. If Philip Rivers is solid, it's going to be a tough game.

Rucker's catch was overturned. On the following play Arkansas blitzed on the run. It's pretty easy to sneak guys through those splits. That's not good. It's third and long, and time for the first timeout. Daniel scrambles and completes the pass just short of the first down. If it's fourth and short, go for it. Late in last night's Chik fil A Bowl, Clemson refused to go for fourth and one in the fourth quarter. Yep, they lost. Missouri punts, because you give raises for guys who don't go for it.

Casey Dick (his real name) nearly threw one right to Missouri for a TD. It's time for the Wild Hog formation. Missouri gets called for roughing the passer on third down. McFadden fumbles but Arkansas recovers. Jones is short on third down and it's probably punt time.

One more thing about the Chargers/Titans game: Can I ask for more than two cameras at that game? There were more cameras at the Immaculate Reception game than there were at the Titans/Chargers game last month. I still think that Chris Chambers didn't make that fourth down catch.

So far the game is looking like Missouri/Kansas. Two strong offenses finding their rhythm. One upside to this game is it might help with recruiting. Getting those three-star Texas recruits is giant.

Chase is hitting some good passes so far. Touchdown Tony Temple. Good times.

It's funny how Temple directed players to block downfield and they did. When Vince Young directed his players to block for him Sunday night, it was whiff city.

Felix Jones has a nice kick return. If he comes back next year, he might have a Barry Sanders-esque senior season.

Marcus Monk is a giant. I wonder how he'll do in the draft. Arkansas punts from the 35 on fourth and short. That's a nice fake punt. Little reverse to the short fast dude. Arkansas called a timeout before the play. Excellent. A fake punt is rarely good the second time. Missouri stops them.

Temple had a hole five yards wide and gained about thirty yards. After one quarter it's 7-0. I'm not going to get too excited since Missouri blew a 14-point lead last year.

Temple got crushed on the first play of the second quarter. He kept going backward. Daniel had 15 seconds to throw but he couldn't find anyone.

McFadden literally is at top speed in one step. He's crazy fast.

I wonder if Peyton Hillis will be this year's Brian Leonard. He's more of an H-back since Jones and McFadden are super studs.

Arkansas will punt again. Maclin hasn't been part of the gameplan so far. Maclin trips on his own shoelaces. Penalty on the Tigers.

Temple is having a giant game. He was awesome in last year's bowl game. Daniel held the ball and got crushed. He isn't a speed demon. Daniel scrambles twenty yards back and throws a moon ball out of bounds. It's third and long. The passing game is not working well so far. He threw the ball out of bounds, but short of the line of scrimmage. There's no consistency to the offense so far.

Missouri gets the sack and Arkansas doesn't take advantage of field position. Missouri needs points.

Temple gets another giant hole and gets twenty yards. He has 100 already. Maclin shows his speed and gets seven on an end around. Temple is out for a play and gets another 35 yards. He's outgaining McFadden and Jones. Temple scores. He's killing the Hogs. He has 147 yards, and about 120 of them are before contact.

McFadden returns a kickoff into Tiger territory. Arkansas tries to pass and it does not go well. They miss another field goal.

Missouri does nothing and Arkansas is going to try the run-only two-minute offense. Oops, Marcus Monk catches one. There's a Titans two-minute play, the four-yard pass to the middle of the field.

Missouri sacks Dick with 20 seconds left and Pinkel, showing his sleepy nature, doesn't call a timeout that would have given Maclin a punt-return opportunity. Still, a 14-0 lead is pretty solid at the end of the first half.

It's a long halftime show that allows me to catch up on TiVo. I haven't seen Jeanie Zelasko since she was in the White Sox locker room after the 2005 World Series.

Arkansas tried an onside kick. Somehow there wasn't a good angle of the play. This high-up angle is not working. It's a little too far from the action.

I expect to see a lot of passing as Arkansas adjusts to stop the run. I write this and then Temple takes the ball almost all the way. Maclin gets a first down. Oops, he was short. Temple scores again. He has 185 rushing yards so far. I'm so winning my third-place game in the college league.

Dick hits a wide open guy who falls down after catching the ball. The Hogs having to pass makes me feel pretty relaxed.

Daniel throws a deep pass and Franklin caught it out of bounds. Temple gets "only" six yards. I don't know if he's going to catch Dicky Meagle for the all-time bowl record. It's fourth down and punt time.

Missouri had a similar lead against Kansas so I'm not comfortable yet. Arkansas is obviously one QB short of being an elite team.

Felix Jones made a nice run off a screen pass but the ball was stripped. Missouri takes over.

Missouri-Arkansas would be a good rivalry game for out of conference play, but it's not going to happen. Temple gets another 15 yards. He's over 200 yards and it's not midway through the third quarter. He takes the ball again and fumbles. Maybe they should bench him.

They just can't put the Hogs away. If Arkansas can keep the ball on the ground, they could bite into this lead. Dick air-mails it to William Moore and it's a touchdown. 28-0. Watch Kansas get crushed in the Orange Bowl.

It's 7:16 to go in the third quarter and they finally mention Bobby Petrino. I guess he couldn't install his offense in three weeks. Whatever, dude.

Arkansas keeps rolling close to their first score. It's third and goal. They have a lot of fast running backs. McFadden goes down. Pinkel would kick the field goal. McFadden scores and smartly doesn't celebrate.

Missouri gets the ball back. Daniel makes a nice completion on third down. Temple gets another big gain. Daniel gets sacked (first time all game). William Franklin catches another third down pass. How do you let someone get a third and 16? How about a blitz?

Daniel throws the ball right to the Arkansas guy and he fumbles it on the return. That was a bad throw.

Bobby Petrino is in the house. What a lame-o. Arkansas has a run-based team and Petrino is going to install the spread. It sounds a lot like the philosophy with the Falcons. He wanted to completely change the offense and quit before one year was up. There were some weird silences with Petrino there. I still don't get why he isn't coaching or at least on the sideline.

Jimmy Jackson is getting some carries later in the game. Daniel gets a nice QB draw for a first down.

Derrick Washington gets his first carry and it's a fumble. I don't think the Tigers are going to score again today.

Hillis fumbles and Missouri recovers. This is turning into a turnover-fest. Franklin drops an easy pass. Missouri punts and the Arkansas guy tries to catch a punt over his head at the five yard line. Fumble, first down Tigers.

Give Temple the freaking ball. Missouri does not and it's field goal time. Temple needs 26 yards to set the Cotton Bowl record. Missouri doesn't have too many bowl records, I wager.

I'm sorry that I gave up on Prison Break. Every other year they break out of prison, and on the other year they get back in.

Temple gets the record and his fourth TD. Has Arkansas given up?

It's time for some garbage points. Tony Temple may end up as a fifth round pick in next year's draft. Heck, Darren McFadden isn't even playing anymore.

On fourth down, Dick threw a ball to a wide open guy. Missouri gets the hit and it's over.

Wow, Daniel has 137 passing yards. That's almost shocking. I guess I need to look up Cotton Bowl champs gear online. This was the most impressive Tiger game of the year. Senior Marcus Woods gets the last carry.