Remaining Doubts on Kerry Collins' Arm Strength Should be Cleared

Calling the 2010 Titans season a Greek tragedy would imply that there were a lot of failed heroics. Calling it a Russian tragedy would imply there was a lot of suicide...although watching the last eight game stretch would leave you to believe there was some of that on the field. No folks, this is a hillbilly tragedy through and through, somewhere between "Sling Blade", Pickett's Charge, and the worst segments of "Dallas".

From today's Tennessean....

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Not much has gone right for the Titans lately, and things took an even more unusual turn Sunday when defensive end William Hayes was injured in a freak accident.

Hayes was standing on the sideline when a Kerry Collins pass sailed high off the field and hit him in the head. Hayes was unable to play the rest of the game because of a concussion, Coach Jeff Fisher said.

"That's kind of how the game went,'' Fisher said. "I've never had a player leave the game with a concussion after getting hit with the ball on the sideline. But we'll see how he is this week.''

Randy Moss Eager to Return to Titans Next Season as Right Tackle

It must be something in the water down here. The vibes are good, the pace is slow, and a lot of washed up rock stars, actors, and football players want to put themselves out to pasture in the verdant sprawl of Middle Tennessee. Maybe Randy Moss is the latest addition.
In case you haven't been following the Titans' mercurial (shitty/schizoid) season, there is a guy named Randy Moss that is very likely a Hall of Fame to be receiver, and through some weird Magic Bullet type chance alignment, he wound up being picked off waivers and coming to Nashville. In case you haven't paid attention to pro football in the past decade, he's pretty good at catching balls and scoring touchdowns. But far be it for me to judge offensive play calling. It's just that, since acquiring Moss, the Titans have seen fit to throw the ball his way less than a dozen times, even in the midst of a nauseating six game losing streak.
Two weeks ago, Moss was actually receiving praise from commentators on his BLOCKING ABILITY, something he has been notoriously averse to doing in the past. In fact, Moss used to be known for his pouty demeanor when passes weren't tossed his way enough. (He is also apparently not a fan of Minneapolis area catering, but that's another, um...plate.)
So this guy, probably the highest profile wide receiver to ever spend time on the Titans' roster, has been on the field the last month in a sporadic fashion, and when he has been, the ball very rarely finds itself being chucked in his direction. Yet somehow, someway, the supposedly difficult Moss is as chill and all smiles as ever. This week, he spent an unprecedented SIX minutes with Nashville media in the locker room (please people, this could possibly be his longest media moment of the season), joking and opining that he would LOVE to return to the Titans next year. Well maybe not "love", but at least "not mind", which honestly I am just going to take as a synonym for "love".
Like, i said, it must be something in the water down here.

With all deference to the incomparable Jim Wyatt, I reprint from his Titans blog two days ago....



Randy Moss has every reason to be frustrated by his lack of production and opportunities, but the Titans receiver insisted Wednesday that he’s not mad. In fact, he said he’s enjoying his time in Tennessee so much he’d like to come back next season.

"This organization has been good to me. My production has not been where I want it to be or where the organization wants it to be. But when it comes down to it, I think they are happy with where they are at with me and I am happy with where I’m at," Moss said.

"Next year, hopefully, if the opportunity presents itself for me to be here, I would love to. I like the city and I like the people. There’s a lot of history here and football is one of the many things they have going on around here in this city and I am a country boy in a country city. I love it. I can’t speak enough about the city and the fans."

Moss has five catches for 62 yards since the Titans claimed him on Nov. 3. He was not targeted in the past two games. He will be a free agent when the season ends.

"At 33 I am still running with the 20-year olds. It might take me a little longer to warm up," Moss said with a smile. "But other than that I still have fun with the guys. I still can compete and I still can get open. The bad thing about me being so old at 33 is I still have a lot of football left to be played. So we’ll see what the future holds."

Asked if he’d need a promise to get more passes thrown his way next season, Moss passed on the opportunity to make a case for himself. Instead he praised others, including receiver Kenny Britt.

"Man, this is a business. It is really not my call or for me to say, 'Throw me every ball or throw me balls.' Earlier in my career if I think you’d have asked me that question I would have probably been a little more biased and a little more as an individual. But I’ve always understood the concept of team," Moss said.

"I’ve always felt I could take over a game and things like that. Now I am a little older and there are younger guys coming into the league with a little bit more pizazz and determination. But I am still determined … to go out there and make it happen. Last week I told Kenny 'There is only one Moss' and when I leave this league there will never be another Moss come through this league. The last couple of years I want to finish out I want to give the league something to remember me by and hopefully if it is not here in Tennessee it would be somewhere else.

"But I wouldn’t mind staying here in Tennessee. I really wouldn’t."

New York State of Mind

I think this guy would have been good in the booth with Aikman and Buck yesterday after the Eagles' stunning 38-31 upset of the Giants.

Rocket Man

Vanderbilt University's newly found/rediscovered commitment to winning football games in the SEC had a streak of the interplanetary, when Chancellor Nick Zeppos opined that he was willing to give new head coach James Franklin "a rocket" if needed to track down recruits.
I am willing to root Franklin on, but since Vanderbilt has never won a conference title, even as a founding member of the SEC (1932), Zeppos might not just be wrapped up in histrionics when claiming that the Commodores may need to employ Werner Von Brauhn style transportation on recruiting trips.

Today, the ever cantankerous/wizened Joe Biddle has had his own take in the Tennessean...

As I watched part of Vanderbilt's annointing of its next football genius, I was impressed with Chancellor Nick Zeppos' fever during his part in announcing James Franklin.
I have been recovering from knee replacement surgery at home and thought what I heard from Chancellor Zeppos could have been caused by the pain medicine I have to take.
Correct me if I misintrepeted but did Zeppos offer to supply Franklin with a rocket ship to recruit players to Vanderbilt?
You talk about being all in? What a novel concept. I have heard on good authority that they have their eyes on a couple of five-star players in Pluto and that this next year's recruiting class in Mars is filled with Martians who can excel in the Vanderbilt classroom, as well as dominate SEC opponents on a football field.
The universe is uncharted territory and it seems Vanderbilt is going to take advantage of it.
Never mind getting an indoor practice facility. Forget upgrading the stadium that is easily mistaken for a upscale high school field.
They have rocket scientists at Vanderbilt. Now they have a rocket.
Zeppos was like a backwoods evangelist in his excitement. Pounding on the podium, cheerleading Franklin's promise to change the culture of Vanderbilt football.
He had me so pumped up, I forgot to take my pain pill at the prescribed time and did a wheelie on my walker.
I don't know if I can wait for Elon to open next season. No,
Elon is not a planet, just a football program that can get James Franklin off on the right foot.
I find it hard to believe that Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn passed up the Black and Golden opportunity.

Don Shula takes his talents (Rascal) to South Beach

A moment of Zen, all the way back from 1995. I'm not sure which is funnier, Stan Humphries's excessive celebration, or the constant cuts to Shula.

Even God wants Favre to reach 300 starts...

No Gulf Coast native is as familiar with the winter travails of the midwest as Number Four. And due to a partial collapse of the Metrodome, he gets an extra day to rest his throwing arm. The Vikings-Giants matchup has been rescheduled for tomorrow night in Detroit.

I'm no general manager, but I am pretty sure this isn't the face of the franchise

Wow it's been quite a while....I guess this blog has retreated into the extremes of hobbydom but that's not because there hasn't been plenty of news to report...

When I left the country, the Tennessee Titans were 5-3 and still in prime position to control their destiny in the AFC South. Then, in what seemed like a miracle at the time, Randy Moss was claimed by the Titans off waivers. Music City buzzed with excitement, and even the oft curmudgeonly David Climer waxed rhapsodic about a return to the Super Bowl.

Then multiple cleats started dropping from multiple feet. First, a disappointing loss to Miami. Then a home game embarrassment at the hands of the equally hapless Redskins. Not only a loss, but one in which Vince Young suffered a season ending injury to his thumb.

Then the real drama began. An upset Young cussed at Coach Fisher in the locker room, stormed out of the post game meeting, and pretty much crossed his Rubicon with the Fish Man for good.

So now we have a supposed franchise quarterback on injured reserve and a backup (Banjo man Collins) in nearly as bad shape. So as if it couldn't get more surreal, Titans fans were treated/subjected to watching rookie QB Rusty Smith take the snaps in the Titans' first match up with the Texans.

That brilliant strategy resulted in a 20-0 route, and the altercation between Andre Johnson and Cortland Finnegan was easily the most passionate part of the afternoon's proceedings.

One week later, the crusty Kerry Collins was back under center but suffered yet another embarrassing home loss to the Jaguars.

In the midst of all this, offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger was diagnosed with cancer, and it became clear that there was a dangerous leadership vacuum in the Titans locker room.

And it all led up to last night. Do or die at home against the arch foe Colts, with one last shot at a victory before playoff elimination was ensured.

Throughout the first half Peyton Manning and his crew marched up and down the field like a high school band, and by the time the score got to 21-0, I was tempted to turn the tv off. Yet the Titans, unlike in the last few weeks, didn't curl up and die. In fact, they fought about as hard as I have seen them fight this year. They even brought the score back to 27-21, just a touchdown away from the lead. And they were driving. And then they encountered a 4th and 1 near their own 34 yard line.

And then we remembered who was our coach.

We punted. To Peyton Manning. Who got the Colts down the field and sent the field goal squad on. And then the man who had crushed the Super Bowl dreams of multiple cities iced the Titans' season of feeble hope with a 46 yard field goal, leaving Tennessee down two scores with about two minutes left.

This team and this city has seen a lot of ups and downs with Jeff Fisher. Really, more downs.....or to be accurate, more 8-8 seasons of shrug. I have always been in the Fish Man's corner, but if it comes down to the quarterback or Fisher, I am tempted to go with the guy who tends to win more ball games.

And now the fans and pundits in Music City are starting to clamor towards the send-Fisher-packing parade.

Today, 104.5's Clay Travis, who also pens for nfl fanhouse.com, threw down a gauntlet which I am quite sure will be picked up in the coming weeks by the angry hordes on both sides of the Cumberland. With all deference to Mr. Travis, I would like to reprint his screed in full...


NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After nearly 17 full seasons as head coach of the Tennessee Titans, it's time for Jeff Fisher and the Titans to part ways. This doesn't have to be acrimonious and it doesn't have to drag on forever. But it needs to happen soon. How? Since Bud Adams still has Jeff Fisher under contract as his head coach through 2011, Adams needs to trade away his head coach for draft picks. Yep, pull a Jon Gruden. Fisher's a smart head coach, he has marketability in the NFL. Surely Adams and Fisher can agree upon a job and work out a deal that allows the Titans to be compensated for Fisher and part ways amicably with the longest-tenured head coach in the league.

Fisher may well win a Super Bowl somewhere else. I doubt it, because I think the game has passed him by, but he may. What he won't do is win one with the Titans. He's had 17 seasons to make that happen and where does the franchise stand? In the wake of Thursday night's sixth consecutive defeat, a 30-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Titans are 5-8 and nowhere near a Super Bowl-caliber team.

Meanwhile Fisher hasn't won a playoff game since 2003 and his best chances to win a title came at the beginning of the decade. He's 141-115, after 17 seasons of coaching and has a winning percentage of 55 percent. That's not good enough to justify him a coaching job for life, but it's good enough to make him a marketable commodity.


It's time for player and coach to split ways.

Let me be clear about this, I wouldn't fire Fisher, but I would trade him. And if he wouldn't agree to a trade? Well, I'd make him sit on the sideline for a season and find another coaching staff. Or, if you really wanted to be cruel, I'd make him return as Titans coach and have to play Vince Young as the starter at quarterback. You know, Vince Young, the player that Fisher got into a heated confrontation with after the Washington Redskins loss a few weeks ago. That fight and Young's subsequent departure would have energized the team if VY had been the locker room cancer that Jeff Fisher wants us to believe he is. Instead, it's done the opposite. Players on offense have openly sided with Vince Young in the dispute with his head coach, going 14 quarters without a touchdown before finally getting on the board just before the half Thursday night.

The Titans' best offensive player not named Chris Johnson, wide receiver Kenny Britt, actually wore a towel with "VY 10" written on it in the first half. That towel was a not so subtle sign that the Titans' best receiver was pining for the return of the player Jeff Fisher isolated from the team and banished to Texas. You think it's a coincidence that the Titans have played their worst football in years since Vince Young was told not to enter the Titans facility?

Of course it isn't. Jeff Fisher fancies himself a player's coach, but he's lost the feud with Vince Young. Indeed, if he's such a player's coach, Fisher would have taken note of the fact that he's lost this locker room. That the Titans are en route to nine consecutive losses to finish off the 2010 season. If Fisher had kept his mouth shut in the locker room, VY would be rehabbing and the team's subsequent collapse wouldn't be placed at his feet. Titan fans would wait another season to see if Young will finally become a franchise quarterback. But instead Fisher picked a fight and lost his team. Now it's time for him to go.

To be fair, there's no doubt that Fisher has been an incredible asset to the community or that he's beloved here. That's what makes this parting so difficult. When the Titans played in Nashville in 1998 this was a town that still couldn't quite believe pro sports had arrived. We were agog at the spectacle. The NFL, really, here? My dad, a native Nashvillian, cheered as loudly as he could when the Titans took the field in Nashville for the first time in a brand new stadium. That was in 1999. For years he would tell me, "I can't believe the NFL is here!" with a grin as wide as the Cumberland.

The city of Nashville fell hard for the Tennessee Titans, there's no doubt about it. And Jeff Fisher was a big part of that, he fit the community well, he wasn't ostentatious, didn't attract attention, he was as solid as the mustache he always wore, like a cop who came to your house when the burglar alarm went off. But in the decade and change since that arrival, the city of Nashville has changed. Instead of feeling fortunate that pro sports came to town, we feel like pro sports are the ones fortunate to have come to our town. This is a great place to live, a city that gives its celebrities space to breathe.

But it's time we expect our coaches to win rather than just be happy that they are here.

Nashville is the only pro sports town in America that has never fired a pro coach. Ever. Not in hockey where Barry Trotz is in his 12th year and not in football where Jeff Fisher in his 13th season in the city. This is not a coincidence. I don't believe there is any other city in America where Jeff Fisher would still be the coach. And somewhere along the way Jeff Fisher has lost touch with the spirit of the city of Nashville and taken advantage of the lenient standard. He truly believes he's a coach for life. I think Fisher's golden touch first deserted him when Fisher wore a Peyton Manning jersey last season amidst an 0-6 start and said he had done so because he wanted to feel like a winner.

The city of Nashville seethed.

That continued Thursday night when Fisher told a NFL Network crew he was thinking about throwing a challenge flag when the Titans scored a touchdown to break the scoring drought so the touchdown feeling would last longer. That's ironic because Jeff Fisher hasn't used his challenge flag very wisely this year. Much of anything very wisely, actually. Anyone notice Randy Moss these past five games? The player who was going to revolutionize the Titans offense? Didn't think so. That's because he has five catches in those five games. He was on the sideline with his gloves inserted in his facemask for the final few minutes of the game.

More than anything else Fisher's brand of football, pound the rock on the ground and win with great defense is antiquated in today's NFL. You can't win a championship like that anymore. The game has passed Fisher by. Especially when you don't have a running back who you can pound the ball with or a defense that can withstand that pounding. Fisher's unwillingness to change crystallized for Titans fans Thursday night when, trailing by six and facing a 4th and 1 with 4:07 remaining in the game, Fisher chose to punt to the greatest quarterback in the history or football. Peyton Manning's Colts took possession, drove the field, kicked a field goal and iced the game.

Game over. Another playoff-less season for the Titans.

That means Fisher has been to the postseason just twice in the last seven years. Right about now is where other NFL fans clamor, "Well, if the Titans don't want Jeff Fisher (insert team here) will be happy to have him." That's fine and dandy. Have your owner make an offer to Bud Adams. Because it's time for Jeff Fisher to go. Think of this as a break-up between a couple that bears each other no ill will. Sometimes relationships need to end. Not because someone has horribly wronged the other person, but just because you know there's nothing good left to come from staying together. Just as you don't hang on to a boyfriend or girlfriend because you think someone else might like them, neither should the Titans hang on to Fisher. Or vice-versa.

It's time for the old oil man Bud Adams to make a deal. He's got a head coach that many seem to think is a hot commodity under contract for one more year. It's high time Fisher hit the NFL auction block. He's got a great mustache and is fond of pumping his fist after big plays.

Opening bid is a single first rounder.

Do I hear any bidders? Going once, going twice ...

Afternoon Pressbox RIP

In a radio landscape scarred with wannabe Cowherds, Romes, and Patricks, 560 AM's "Afternoon Pressbox", hosted by Bill King and Joe Biddle, was a rare sonic beacon of hope when it came to the sports talk scene. With a cast of call in regulars that rivaled the Andy Griffith show, listening to the Pressbox every afternoon was comfort food for my ears and brain. Bill King, while a native of Middle Tennessee, is one of the nation's top college recruiting gurus, a one man encyclopedia of decades worth of NCAA lore and statistics. His morning show on Rivals radio is reason enough to subscribe to Sirius. Joe Biddle meanwhile has been a fixture of the Nashville sports media for decades, and his columns for the Tennessean are a mixture of wry Southern humor and invaluable perspective. The best thing about the Pressbox was its avoidance of all the usual cliches and tired mechanics that seem to drive most contemporary sports talk programs, ie tabloid style gossip, sophomoric humor, sound bite props, and most importantly, antagonism to callers. Bill and Joe offered calm and humorous commentary on current sports happenings, always more concerned with anecdotes and statistics than the latest garbage about Tiger, Favre, the Jets, Lebron, ad nauseam. And they weren't SEC apologists, another thing that's pretty rare in these parts. Bill and Joe could put Vols and Wildcats fans in their place, sometimes give Commodore fans a little comfort, and they always had time to indulge a starved Big 10 or Big 12 fan. Oh, and they also didn't feel the need to wave Predators or Titans flags like the other corporate cheerleaders that seem to hold sway on Middle Tennessee's airwaves.
As refreshing a set of ship captains as Bill and Joe were, they always had an admirable set of call in contributors to their radio land "McHale's Navy". Preeminently was the Knoxville regular "Cosby", who called in every day from a pay phone to vent about something Vols related, usually sounding like he was halfway through a case of light beer and with a diction that recalled Goober. Or maybe he was a one man incarnation of the Fun Girls from Mount Pilot. Truth be told, none of us as loyal listeners really knew the score.
On Friday, Bill announced on air that he and Joe had mutually decided to call it a day. Bill has his plate full with Rivals, and Joe wants to have a bit of time away from radio to focus solely on the world of print. I would like to think that the fans of the Pressbox constitute a kind of "silent majority" (i was always a silent part of that group, having never called in to the show) who long for sanity, etiquette, and informed commentary when it comes to the world of sports media. Let's hope someone can pick up the torch.

Mental Assasin

I vowed to never repost anything Jim Rome related when I started this blog back
in January, but this is just too good. It's pretty hard to leave Rome in the dust, usually because he hosts in a very home field advantage fashion a la Letterman or Fox News. Still, the Beard manages to do it.

Broncos, 49ers relegated to revamped NFL Europe

Let's hope Tim Tebow doesn't drink too much on the way over to Wembley...

Derek Dooley now teaching European history at UT

Wow. This guy is definitely out there enough to coach in the SEC. Move over Les, Nick, and Robbie.

Jay Cutler apparently unaware that guys on the other team wear different colored jerseys

From today's Washington Post...

Yeh, yeh, go ahead and beat up on Vanderbilt alums. It's a good week for it.


The DeAngelo Hall-Jay Cutler feud has a back story, dating to September of 2008, when the Broncos whipped the Raiders on Monday Night Football and Eddie Royal had an enormous debut. The then-rookie recorded nine receptions for 146 yards and two touchdowns, "most of it against Hall," according to reports. Here's a note from the Denver Post that week:

"With Broncos star receiver Brandon Marshall missing the opener to serve his one-game suspension, Mike Shanahan built his game plan around Royal beating Hall. Afterward, Hall said the Broncos outschemed the Raiders - a term that points a finger at the coaching staff. Cutler scoffed at that notion. "We played one-on-one football with them; we didn't outscheme them," Cutler said. "Eddie Royal beat DeAngelo Hall time after time after time. That's what happened.""

Other reports indicated that Cutler laughed while saying this. Then this week, after Hall tied the NFL record for interceptions against Cutler, the quarterback remained unimpressed, saying "if we had to play them tomorrow, I'd go at him every time, if we could."

During a late-morning appearance on SportsCenter, that clip was played for Hall, who laughed in turn.

"You know what man, Jay's a little bit, he don't really understand, I guess, the game, the game of football," Hall said on Monday. "And in the game of football, you're gonna see guys several times in their career. You know, he completed four passes against me when I was out in Oakland and he was in Denver on a Monday Night Football game, and I knew leading up to the game he was still feeling good about that. He made some smart, snide comments about that after that game, so I knew definitely he was gonna try to come out there and try me, and it didn't work for him."

Later, Hall was asked about the Bears' offensive personnel.

"They've got some great players, they've got some great players," he said. "They've definitely got some players out there, man....Jay's a good quarterback. He has that swagger and that confidence that you like out of your quarterback. If he's on your team, you love him to death, you'll ride or die with him. if he's not on your team, he's a guy that's gonna get into it with almost everybody on the field....They've got the weapons. They've got the weapons, man. But I guess our scheme and our guys just wanted it a little bit more that day."

SEC Showdowns, 10/23

The leaves are dropping around the Southeast, and thankfully so are the thermometers. This is the time of the year when college football gets really interesting, especially in 2010. Florida is a powerhouse no longer, Alabama has suffered a defeat, the SEC West looks wide open at the top and the SEC East looks wide open at the bottom. In the crazed dazed word of SEC football, this is the stuff we live for. Here are a few of my predictions.

LSU vs Auburn
Auburn quarterback Cam Newtown is a favorite for the Heisman, and LSU coach Les Miles is a favorite for the Funny Farm. On one hand, you have a team in Auburn that is being carried largely on the shoulders of Newton's spectacular play, and with last week's stunning victory over Arkansas (the highest scoring game in SEC history), this pack of Tigers proved they are the real deal. On the other hand, you have the boys from Baton Rouge, who despite lacking a true starting quarterback or any sort of consistent offensive strategy, are still undefeated. Les Miles has a baffling style of syntax but something he is doing is working. Granted, the LSU Tigers also possess arguably the SEC's best defense.
Either way, this will be a fun game to watch. It will be rowdy, loud, and no doubt provoke some guffaws from Vern Lundquist. I am picking Auburn in this game, but underestimating Les Miles is like underestimating a voodoo priest.

Alabama vs Tennessee
If the Vols pull this one out of the bag, it will be the biggest upset in college football all year. As much as I would love to see it go down, I just don't smell it. These teams are too mismatched, and it would take Tennessee's best day against Alabama's worst day. I think it will be a close game though. Remember that last year, Tennessee was a blocked field goal away from victory, and that was in Tuscaloosa.

Ole Miss vs Arkansas
Arkansas is not the powerhouse they appeared to be a few weeks ago. Ole Miss is not the bag of feathers they appeared to be in weeks one and two. This could be a very interesting match, but I have to pick Arkansas in this one.

Mississippi State vs UAB
UAB generally plays SEC teams with a good size chip on its shoulder. That said, Mississippi State is looking like the real deal, especially after last week's upset of Florida. I am taking State by at least two touchdowns.

Vanderbilt vs South Carolina
Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks will be sorely missing Marcus Lattimore this week, even against the Commodores. This is a homecoming game for Vanderbilt, and coming off an absolutely embarrassing rout at the hands of Georgia, I think they will be playing scrappy today. I have a feeling that Robbie Caldwell has been a little less Jerry Clower in the locker room this week and little more like Arthur Jensen. I am taking the Gamecocks, but I think the ever exasperating Commodores keep it close.

Georgia vs Kentucky
I know that it's basketball season all year long up in Lexington, but this year, the Wildcats actually have a shot at winning the SEC East. Granted, South Carolina would need to lose a couple of games down the stretch, but in last week's surprising victory over South Carolina, the Wildcats looked like a team that needs to be taken seriously, and Joker Phillips is getting it done as the skipper. I am picking Kentucky in this matchup, because I smell another unlikely victory for Kentucky. I think Georgia has buoyed itself with a little bit of false confidence in the last couple of weeks beating up on two different Tennessee squads.

Shooting Dirty Pool

There has been a lot of hoopla in recent days over Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison and his perceived dirty hits, specifically one on Josh Cribs in Saturday's Pittsburgh-Cleveland matchup. I have always felt that the Steelers get away with plenty of dirty plays, in part due to their high profitability as a franchise. Still, we could see a sea change in the future, and I think it's worth remembering this perhaps forgotten play from Super Bowl 43.

From the archives of Bleacher Report:



I know it's the biggest game of the year and on the biggest stage. I know that this is a Man's game and a physical game. But did Harrison have to take it to that level? And, why was the act ignored?

Did the refs not want to be the one to kick someone out the Super Bowl? Would it have been an unprecedented toss? I truly don't know if a player has been kicked out of the Super Bowl Game or not.

Harrison makes one of the most exciting plays in Super Bowl History. The longest interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl history. At that point the whole stadium, the whole world was impressed. He ran down that field in undeniable fashion.
All he had to hope for was that the penalty was not against Pittsburgh and that he could quickly get to the oxygen. He is the hero of the first half. He has the admiration from every Steeler past and present.
In the second half though the play is over and not in his vicinity: he pushes the Cardinal player to the ground, then holds the player down and punches him, pushes him again, shoves him to the ground again and then for final good measure he shoves him backwards.
Again, what were the Refs thinking? Half the distance to the goal line was not good enough. Even John Madden said, "he should be thrown out for that." The Cards got cheated gaining only a few inches for what was clearly bad sportsmanship, bad judgement by the player, and bad non-action by the refs
Now I personally think the Steelers overall play is very dirty and they did things all game and all season that were unreal. But, I am told that is the nature of the game. And, for most NFL games that I watch that holds true. I also know that hits come late and players play outside the lines.
I actually thought the Steelers v Ravens game was the most physical game I have ever watched. I can appreciate a physical game, a physical team, and a physical player. But this action went overboard. For this infraction, he should have been tossed. No questions asked and no hesitation.
Now they pose this to Jerome Bettis in postgame and he skirted around it. He never answered it. As I am sure all Steeler players would and Steeler fans. But he deserved to be escorted out. And if he had been tossed, how would that have changed the complexity of the game?
Would that have made a difference with the performance of the Cardinal O-line in the final quarter? I don't know...None of us will ever know.
But, I do wonder will Goodell have a look at this play? Will he and the League Office assess it and make some recommendation for some games suspension in 2009?
Harrison definitely deserves a hefty fine and game suspension. He should also be ashamed of himself and publicly apologize today for his action.

The "wisdom" of Les Miles

Les Miles is without question the most unpopular coach in college football whose team is 6 and 0. Yet somehow, his LSU Tigers manage to keep winning, week after week, albeit with an anemic passing offense and a huge question mark at the QB position.
Last night, the TIgers went down to the Swamp in Gainesville and pulled out another head-scratching yet very actual victory over the Gators. A week ago, it was Keystone Kops and Apocalypse Now, with a game of "who's in charge here?" as time expired against the Volunteers. Yet the Tigers were able to run one more play with no time on the clock, and in true Cajun Voodoo fashion, stunned Tennessee with a goal line touchdown. This week it was a fake field goal attempt that turned into a first down, and a touchdown drive with just seconds left on the clock.
Miles may not be a mad scientist, but his unhinged style of coaching does seem to be working, if nothing else in being able to unsettle the temperament of his opponents. This whole week I have been opining that Miles is almost like the Frank Booth of college football; I pretty much expect him to start cussing and huffing nitrous from the sideline every weekend. But I gotta hand it to him: he wins games.
So with Alabama's loss yesterday to South Carolina, it's two breeds of Tigers on top of the SEC West. Wow. Who would have thought that a few weeks ago?

Broncos Coach Josh McDaniels Apparently Unaware that Football is a Contact Sport

I gotta give props to local sportswriter/curmudgeon/Matlock doppelganger Joe Biddle. He often gives the Titans some tough love, but when they are unfairly backed into a corner, he takes up for them....

From today's Tennessean...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Titans fans saw a hard-hitting, aggressive defensive team when they urged on their men in blue.

Denver quarterback Kyle Orton and his coach, Josh McDaniels, saw a Titans defense filled with cheap-shot artists who played dirty pool when the opportunity presented itself.

When three Pittsburgh Steelers picked Titans quarterback Vince Young up off the ground and unceremoniously planted him in the turf head first, it didn't even merit a flag from an official standing there watching it.


Young could have broken his neck, but that was judged to be aggressive, hard-hitting football, even though the NFL fined Steelers linebacker James Harrison for his part in the play.

When Titans defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks stumbled through the middle of the Broncos line and initially hit Orton at thigh level before he slid down Orton's body with his arms wrapped around him, it was a 15-yard penalty. Roughing the passer.

Dirty football? No. Was there intent to injure Orton? No.

Hey, it's football. These are not 6-5, 300-pound young men playing patty-cake. It gets rough at times.

Titans Coach Jeff Fisher teaches his defensive players to swarm to the ball, to hit hard, wrap up and take the opponent to the ground. It's the way an undersized Fisher played at Southern Cal and with the Chicago Bears.

He doesn't apologize for it, and he shouldn't. Playing timidly will get you beat every time.

Now, do certain Titans players have a reputation for playing too rough? Current Detroit Lions defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch was one of those perceived to be a dirty player. So was recently retired center Kevin Mawae.

If Vanden Bosch was guilty of anything, it was playing until he heard the whistle. At times, Vanden Bosch's motor carried him past the whistle. Mawae played in the middle of the trenches, where you resort to hand-to-hand combat at times. During 16 NFL seasons, Mawae learned all the tricks of the trade.

Today's most visible villain is Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan. Undersized and a seventh-round draft pick, the Samford assassin has to prove himself every game. He is driven, determined and won't back down from a cornered rattlesnake.

Finnegan is feisty. He talks more trash than a sanitation worker during a double shift. He plays on that fine line, but he is not out to intentionally hurt another player.

I think the perception that the Titans are a dirty team is just that. Sure, when their defensive coordinator flips off an official during a game, it adds to that perception.

They are tied with the Lions, both teams incurring an NFL leading 37 penalties over the first four games. Officials have stepped off a league-high 344 yards against the Titans.

The Titans are averaging about 3.1 penalties more each game than last season.

Fisher discounts any suggestion his defense breaks the rules.

"I'd like to see them play harder, play more aggressive,'' Fisher said Monday.

Maybe Orton and McDaniels expected them to wear pink dresses, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Tennessee VS LSU: heartbreak worthy of a Yiddish folktale

Chuck Cecil apparently unaware that NFL games are now televised....

From ProFootballTalk.com...


NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil has been fined $40,000 by the NFL for an obscene gesture at game officials.

The league on Monday said Cecil violated a rule that prohibits use of abusive, threatening or insulting language or gestures to game officials.

Television cameras caught Cecil using his right hand to make the gesture when officials flagged his defense for a neutral zone infraction during the second quarter Sunday. The penalty gave Denver first-and-goal, and Kyle Orton threw a 2-yard touchdown pass on the next play for a 7-0 lead.


I am starting to wonder exactly what is so "dirty" about the Tennessee Titans. The team certainly has a reputation for hard, physical play, but when you are the Baltimore Ravens or the Pittsburgh Steelers, this seems to be something to laud. I guess when you are a small market team, you don't get the same amount of leeway.

Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels certainly felt comfortable when he took a soapbox stance against the Titans supposed "cheap" style of attack..


"I was proud of our team because we knew that was the kind of game it was going to be,'' McDaniels said Monday about the Broncos win via Mike Klis of the Denver Post. "You can put any tape you want to of Tennessee and there's going to be 10 penalties. You either coach it or you allow it to happen. That's how I look at that."

McDaniels lauded his team for not being drawn into fights and went a step further, saying the Titans played dirty.

"There's a way to play tough and physical without being excessive and playing dirty after the snap,'' McDaniels said. "There's a lot of teams in this league that play like that. Tough and physical but also within the rules."


A little rub-your-nose-in-it preachy from McDaniels, but then again, this is a team who drafted a certain Promise Keeper in its 2010 draft.

In other news, Titans rookie defensive end Derrick Morgan appears to be out for the remainder of the 2010 season with a torn ACL, but with the mad wizard Jim Washburn as defensive line coach, anything is possible, even when there are some big shoes to fill.

Boilermaker brew

Stopped and ate lunch yesterday at the wonderful, yet strangely named Triple XXX Family Diner in Lafayette, Indiana. Besides being a favorite chow spot for noted Boilermakers through the years including Bob Griese and Drew Brees, the diner brews its own brand of root beer.

Chew-Dat

Big ups to my man Carl Gunhouse for kindly forwarding these to me. Although I lived in the Gulf Coast region for a time, and all of my family is from South Mississippi, I was unaware of any specifically regional junk food when it came to NOLA. Judging by the ingredients on the Hubig's pie wrapper, this would be a tasty, albeit toxic snack. And yes, I too am wondering just how "heavenly" the Hash in question is...but I like the marketing.
On a sort-of side note...While Saints fans are insanely loyal, I'm talkin on a primordial/lupine level, I do wonder how little love Garrett Hartley is gettin this Monday in the Crescent City. I mean, last year was last year, but don't forget that this whipper snapper got the Saints to the Super Bowl to begin with, not to mention he kept them in the game through the whole first half of Big 44. I know kickers don't normally get a lot of love, but they are what keeps the "foot" in football. And sometimes, they win multiple Super Bowls.

What if he had body slammed Peyton??

From NFL.com....



The NFL fined Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison $5,000 for slamming Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young to the turf while sacking him during Sunday's game.

Harrison wasn't penalized on the play, but Titans coach Jeff Fisher questioned Monday why the former All-Pro linebacker wasn't called for unnecessary roughness.

"That should have been called," Fisher, also a member of the NFL competition committee, said Wednesday on NFL Network. "That is roughing the passer. That is textbook. You cannot lift and drive a quarterback into the ground. Now why that was not called? I cannot answer that. I don't know. But that should have been called."

Harrison was chosen as the AFC defensive player of the week after having two sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a tackle for a loss and 11 tackles as the Steelers won 19-11.

First of all, while I strongly disagree with Fish-man's decision to bench Vince Young in favor of an up and coming Music Row tunesmith , I do wonder about how a roughing the passer call could have turned this game around for the Titans. If James Harrison had upended one of America's golden boys: Brady, Manning, or apparently, Carson Palmer, I think the on the field call would have been very very different.

Life Ever Laughter Part 2

Please allow me to nullify much of my September 12th post...

Robbie Caldwell and the Bad News Bears (ie the Vanderbilt Commodores) were able to do something remarkable last Saturday. They went down to Oxford, where the speed limit is still limited to the number on the back of two generations' worth of Manning jerseys, and put a serious beat down on the Rebels.


Was Ole Miss that bad or was Vanderbilt that good? It's a glass half empty/half full dialectic that I won't spend much time on. Point is, the scrappy Vanderbilt defense made Jeremiah Masoli look foolish, and some strange combination of Ole Miss ineptitude and Vanderbilt muscle allowed an anemic offense from the Commodores to completely dismantle the Rebels at home. Larry Smith ain't Jay Cutler, but Warren Norman is a lot closer to Mark Ingram than anyone is willing to admit. And more importantly, Vanderbilt played with an enviable chip on its shoulder. When you are the best financially endowed school in the SEC and also the worst football program it engenders a bizarre identity crisis, but I loved how the Commodores responded on this given Saturday.

In today's Tennessean, David Climer opines about Robbie Caldwell's chances at retaining his head coaching position, and to be honest I don't see why the job isn't his to lose. Who else is going to come into a football program with an epic record of seasonal losses and maintain the same kind of self effacing humor as Caldwell? Please, give me a break. I love this guy and he makes the Commodores that much more fun to root for.




Say this much for Robbie Caldwell: He's trying to make this a tough call for Vanderbilt.

By winning at Ole Miss last Saturday, and looking good in the process, the Commodores presented Caldwell with his first victory as a head coach.

Are there more where that came from? If so, Caldwell will build a case that he should be more than just a one-season fill-in for the Commodores.

Let's face it: The odds are against Caldwell's keeping the job beyond this season. He was elevated to the spot only because the school had limited options when Bobby Johnson announced his retirement shortly before the start of training camp. After 30-plus years as a position coach, it's hard to make a case that Caldwell is the answer as head coach over the long haul.

But victories have a way of changing perception. Suppose the Commodores win another couple of SEC games. Considering the level of expectation entering the season, you could argue that Caldwell's team was overachieving.

I still expect Vanderbilt to be searching for a new head coach at the conclusion of the season. But with nine games left and a surge of confidence after the win at Ole Miss, who knows?

Mel Tillis has strong feelings about burgers....

He's sold me....

fuss-ball follies

I know that the Vanderbilt Commodores are the Bad News Bears of the SEC. And Robbie Caldwell is by far the most lovable coach in the league, most certainly Walter Matthau to Nick Saban's Ben Gazzara ( i realize i am the only person who has ever made that comparison). Still, at some point, these guys have to win a game. More importantly, they need to win against a conference opponent, something they haven't been able to do in two years.
Last night's at home loss to LSU was a route, not a game. While Vanderbilt's defense made a commendable effort in the first half, and did manage to silence LSU's supposedly muscular offense for a time, Vanderbilt QB Larry Smith showed he still lacks the basic confidence to lead a team down the field, even with one of the more outstanding running backs in the SEC, Warren Norman, in his backfield.
Vandy fans are used to losing. They are also used to not caring. A lot of them are used to practicing law or medicine. So needless to say, being the perennial underdogs of the toughest football league in the NCAA has given birth to a lot of apathy and even some outside sympathy. But at some point, Vanderbilt has to learn how to compete with the big boys, even if it means an unorthodox approach to offense (running the wild cat etc), especially in situations where the deck is woefully stacked against them.
Yes,a 27-3 loss is the kind of inter-conference score Vanderbilt fans are more than used to at this point. But if things don't turn around this coming weekend against Ole Miss, it's going to be mighty tough to keep Vandy fans caring about what happens on the field every Saturday this season.

Finally, a union that a bunch of wealthy Republicans like....

As the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints took the field last night, the players on both teams held up a finger in a show of solidarity with the Players' Association. It wasn't a middle finger for sure, but it was a clear sign to team owners and Roger Goodell that around the league, players are unfazed by threats of a lockout in 2011, and they want a new collective bargaining agreement before any football gets played next season.
Now, there was a time when guys like Johnny Unitas had to work second jobs during football season. And while I am certainly in favor of guys getting paid, especially when the bodily toll is as great as it is in professional football, I feel like the timing of this threatened strike couldn't be worse. And greed is at the root of all of it.
I would say no one in this country, Democrat, Republican, tea drinker or Tea Bagger, would have much time or sympathy for the plight of NFL team owners. They do nothing and reap all the rewards, most of the time at taxpayers' expense. But at the same time, I have very little crying time for the players, seeing as how in our decimated economy, every time someone like Manning or Brady wants a precedent shattering new contract, the price of beer and hot dogs goes up at the stadiums.
What we need is a Fans' Union. Maybe Fireman Ed can be the chairman. The Cleveland Browns' Dawg Pound can be our picket line.
And honestly, the thought of a lockout in 2011 doesn't scare me. Maybe Chris Berman can once again offer excited commentary on matchups between the Toronto Argonauts and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. And who can forget that it was a certain Spare Bear named Sean Payton (pictured above) who got his only shot at being under center in the NFL during the strike shortened 1987 season.

The Geography Of Fandom

Click on the above photo for a close up...

Well, kickoff for the 2010 season is just a few days away, and I thought I would celebrate by tracking down a fan census map for NFL teams, outdated though this one may be. (It seems to have a lot of Green Bay Packers fans in Mississippi, which would hint that it was pre "retirement" era Favre.)
Not surprisingly, the bedrock of Titans fans are located in Tennessee, northern Alabama, and southern Kentucky, which at the risk of getting too Toynbee, I would dub a "culture area". Interesting to see that there is a firm pocket of Saints fans in mid-Mississippi, particularly in the Jackson area, which has always looked to the Gulf Coast for its culture. North of Jackson, they look towards Memphis, and thus you have seafood in Jackson, bbq in Oxford. But I digress into culinary flotsam...

Another Year Till More Inconsequential Baseball

Hope you didn't draft him...

From NFL .com....


The Arizona Cardinals announced Saturday that they have released former first-round draft pick Matt Leinart, who lost the starting quarterback competition with Derek Anderson.

Anderson, an offseason free-agent acquisition, started two consecutive preseason games for the Cardinals, and Leinart was upset the former Cleveland Browns starter apparently had passed him on the depth chart.
Leinert met with Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt on Friday to discuss the situation, and Whisenhunt told his disgruntled quarterback that the team wasn't yet prepared to take any action regarding his future.

The team took action Saturday, choosing to start the 2010 season with Anderson at the helm.

Leinart, the 10th overall draft pick in 2006, was expected to claim the starting job following Kurt Warner's retirement, but he lacked chemistry with the offense during training camp and the preseason.

With the release of Leinart, the Cardinals are left with Max Hall and John Skelton -- two rookies -- as backups for Anderson.

NFL teams must trim their rosters to 53 players by 6 p.m. ET Saturday.

One to watch.....

If you are a fan of college football, you might remember this game.











It was Mountaineer Armanti Edwards that led his football team to one of the biggest upsets in the history of college athletics.

Well, come the 2010 draft, Edwards only has to move a few hours south to continue his football career. The Carolina Panthers drafted him in the third round this year, and while he probably won't see a lot of time at the quarterback position, he could be employed in a variety of scenarios, from special teams to the wildcat.

Regardless, Edwards is a heroic player, a two time back to back Walter Payton award winner, and a quarterback who led his team to four straight conference championships.

Oh, and I seem to remember a certain Cowboy who was also a Walter Payton winner....

As long as they keep the guitar score board....

Local columnist David Climer is never shy to rain on the parade, and it's one of the reasons I value his cold shower commentary. Too much sportswriting has devolved into either goggle eyed cheerleading or the cast-the-first-stone type of pathos you'd expect at a Tea Party rally.
So, as I said, it's good for guys like Climer and Joe Biddle to keep us grounded, and most Nashville sports fans, myself included, are acutely aware of the glass ceiling precariously above our noggins, whether it's the Titans barely sniffing .500, the Commodores looking at another season sleeping at the bottom of the SEC trough, or the Predators not making it out of the first round of the playoffs. (I would add that, all of the disasters of the last decade non withstanding, the members of Big Orange country, many of whom live in Middle Tennessee, seem able to convince themselves if no one else of their football supremacy. It's the kind of faux confidence you would expect from Fox News viewers or folks who drink light beer by the case. Oh wait...)
Anyway......Looks like there is a new pickle for us to ponder. The Brewers will soon be out of their contract with the Nashville Sounds, and the ailing Greer Stadium is widely considered an unacceptable home for a triple A affiliate. With no immediate plans to construct a newer baseball field, Climer alerts us in today's Tennessean to the very real possibility that Nashville could see its ball club downgraded to double A status, if not lost outright. Something worth thinking about as summer draws to a close.


When a new ownership group bought the Nashville Sounds in 2008, it spent $2.5 million on improvements to Greer Stadium.

It was lipstick on a pig. And everybody knew it — the owners, the players, the fans.

Greer Stadium opened in 1978. It is one of the oldest stadiums in Triple-A baseball. And even with the multi-million dollar improvements — which co-owner Frank Ward admitted was "a Band-Aid" — it is showing its age.

With Greer Stadium far past its prime and with no major movement on construction of a new facility in the downtown area, Nashville baseball is at yet another crossroads.

Get ready for change. The Milwaukee Brewers, whose Triple-A affiliate has called Nashville home since 2005, are expected to leave for greener pastures — and a nicer stadium — after this season. Beginning in early September, Major League Baseball has a
30-day window for its franchises to negotiate player-development contracts with affiliates. The likely landing spot for the Brewers' Triple-A team is Oklahoma City.

It is unclear which major-league team will step in to align itself with Nashville for its Triple-A team. There are 13 teams whose player development contracts with Triple-A affiliates expire after this season.

Branch Rickey, president of the Pacific Coast League of which the Sounds are a member, emphasized that Nashville is not in danger of losing its Triple-A status in the short term.

"There is not a single person in his right mind in the Pacific Coast League that thinks Nashville is less than a Triple-A market," he said. "Nashville is one of the most prestigious markets in all of minor league baseball.

"Nashville's not losing anything.

Nashville is going forward, whether it is retaining the Brewers' affiliate or not."

But Rickey acknowledges that aging Greer Stadium is a source of concern.

"Is the Pacific Coast League moving out of Nashville? No. That's the furthest thing from our minds," he said before adding:

"But we have a challenge."

Nobody wants to say it, but there is the distinct possibility that at some point Nashville could lose its Triple-A baseball identity if a new stadium is not constructed. And while slipping back to Double-A ball might not seem like a big deal to many residents, it would be a blow to Nashville's sports credibility.


Certainly, a city that serves as host to both NFL and NHL franchises does not pin its sports identity on whether its baseball team plays in Triple-A or Double-A. But since the Sounds moved up to Triple-A in 1985, backsliding to a lower classification would be a loss.

Another way of looking at it: The Sounds hit the field at Greer Stadium in 1978 as a Double-A franchise. If Greer Stadium remains home base, the Sounds might eventually revert to Double-A status.

Let's face it: Greer Stadium is no longer the premier baseball facility in town. Although its seating capacity is far less, Hawkins Field at Vanderbilt offers far more ambiance, as does Dugan Field at Lipscomb.

When the Sounds were an affiliate of the New York Yankees in 1980-84, the late George Steinbrenner occasionally visited town and once referred to Greer Stadium as "quaint" and "a throw-back." Since then, however, quaint has given way to cracked concrete in the concourses. The guitar-shaped scoreboard may be a throw-back, but it lacks many of the bells and whistles of newer models.

The solution, of course, is to build a state-of-the-art minor league park on the banks of the Cumberland River. A number of cities have found great success with downtown stadiums, both in terms of attendance and economic impact on nearby restaurants and nightspots.

Indeed, there has been talk of a downtown stadium for about 15 years.

Last November, the mayor's office confirmed that three sites were under consideration as locations for a new park. Sounds management hired a real estate attorney, a public relations firm and an architectural firm to formulate plans for a stadium.

Of course, the devil is in the detail. And the biggest detail is money. In these difficult economic times, a big-ticket item like a new baseball stadium is a tough sell.

But how many more layers of lipstick can you put on that pig?

Poutine

It's been a while since I dedicated a post to any variety of regional junk food, but poutine is one of my favorites. A sublime starch pile of french fries covered in cheese curds and gravy, it's a staple of French Canadian "fine" dining, and the kind of gut bomb that will sustain you through days of fur trapping. No real reason I felt the urge to honor this cardio-kryptonite on this particular evening, but I will dedicate it to the Washington Nationals (ne Montreal Expos) being beaten by my beloved Atlanta Braves.
Bong Apetit.

Yep, CJ was robbed....

Early this year, in the last game of the Titans' regular season, Chris Johnson broke through the Seattle Seahawks' defensive line for one of his "how far is he gonna go" sprints, picking up about seventy yards and inching closer to breaking the NFL's single season rushing yard record .
A controversial offensive holding call against fullback Ahmard Hall ruled the run null, and though Johnson still ended up with a 2000+ yard season thanks to this game, he came very very close to breaking the big record. Titans fans were, understandably, pissed.
Well, another season of football is about to begin, and wouldn't ya know it, the ref who made that call apologized to Hall last night, as the Titans took on the Seahawks in their first preseason match up. Maybe it cleared the air with Hall, but I for one am still pissed, and I am sure C.J. has an opinion about it. Here's the full scoop from today's Tennessean:

SEATTLE — Titans fullback Ahmard Hall walked out of Qwest Field back in January with mixed emotions.

While the running back he'd help pave the way for all season had eclipsed the 2,000-yard mark, a controversial holding call against Hall kept Chris Johnson from getting closer to the NFL's all-time rushing mark.

Hall returned to the scene on Saturday night with some closure, however. Hall said NFL official Ed Hochuli apologized to him and Johnson recently for making "a mistake."

"It is big of him," Hall said. "Some guys won't admit they're wrong regardless if they're dead wrong. So that is a big deal, with the record that could've been and him being a prestigious referee, to admit that he was wrong.


"I got over it, but I admit it hurt me for a while. You are getting replayed on ESPN as the guy who had the phantom holding call. But for Ed to apologize personally, that definitely added closure to the situation."

Johnson finished the game with 134 yards, which gave him 2,006 for the season.

Hochuli's holding call on Hall early in the fourth quarter wiped out a 62-yard touchdown run by Johnson. If not for the penalty, Johnson would have been within striking distance of Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105 yards with plenty of time left.

Hall said the Titans would have pulled out all stops to get the record if not for the penalty. As things turned out the Titans had to be satisfied with Johnson being the sixth player to reach 2,000.

According to Hall, however, the call ended up costing Hochuli as well.

"He told us that call made him miss out on a big playoff game," Hall said. "He got a low, low grade for that call. He regretted it and talked to myself and C.J., and then talked to the team. He admitted it was a bad call. People make mistakes, and it was big for him to own up to it."

Remembering Jefferson Street Joe

Joe Gilliam is one of the great could have beens in the history of American football. A brash and confident young quarterback drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of Nashville's Tennessee State University in 1972, Gilliam was a local hero, playing under the leadership of his father, who was defensive coordinator at TSU. While he was a two time All American during his years in college, once in the pros Gilliam experienced the wrong end of the race card. He could have been the franchise quarterback during the Steelers Seventies Super Bowl dynasty, but a star African American quarterback was not something Steelers fans were "ready" for back in the day, and with Terry Bradshaw at the helm, the rest is history. Still, here in Nashville, a lot of folks remember "Jefferson Street Joe", and his legacy is a poignant and painful reminder of our nation's struggle with race. I am reprinting his 2000 obituary from Jet, and also posting a clip from a 1973 Monday Night game where he started in lieu of an injured Bradshaw.




*******
Joe Gilliam Jr., one of the first Black quarterbacks to start an NFL game, died recently of an apparent heart attack while watching a football game between the Tennessee Titans and the Dallas Cowboys with friends in Nashville.

Gilliam's career was marked by a series of highs and lows, including a starting role for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1974, six years after Marlin Briscoe of the Denver Broncos became the NFL's first Black starting quarterback.

"He paved the way for myself and the rest of the guys who now have opportunities to play," Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart, the first Black man to play the position for the franchise since Gilliam in the mid-1970s, told the Chicago Sun-Times.
However, troubles with drugs, in part, led to his benching and eventually ended his NFL career.

His financial problems led him to pawn two Super Bowl rings and left him homeless for a while on the streets of Nashville.

He fought his addiction to cocaine and heroin several times with stays in drug-rehab centers. Earlier last month, when former Steelers reunited for the final game at Three Rivers Stadium, Gilliam said his life was so tough at one point that he lived in a cardboard box under a bridge for two years and, "To me, it was like the Ritz-Carlton."

Gilliam, who was called "Jefferson Street Joe" for a boulevard near Tennessee State, was an All-American in 1970 and '71. He was an 11th-round draft pick by the Steelers in 1972.

After playing sparingly for two years, Gilliam got his big chance in 1974 when most players, including Terry Bradshaw, went on strike.

Steelers owner Dan Rooney told the Chicago Sun-Times, "Joe told the rest of the players, `I have to cross the picket line. I'm just a second-year man and I have to make the team.'" Rooney continued, "That was the year we drafted [Lynn] Swann and [John] Stallworth. We played six preseason games, and Joe was the quarterback for them. We beat everybody by high scores - it was a terrific thing."

Gilliam kept the job when Bradshaw, the starter the previous season and the others came back and led the Steelers to a 4-1-1 record.

But many Steelers' fans were unhappy, and there was a racial tone to their anger.

When the Steelers were losing at home against Oakland, the fans began chanting, "We want Bradshaw." Gilliam went 8-for-31 with two interceptions and the Steelers lost 17-0. It was his only loss as a starter.

Gilliam began receiving hate mail and death threats. He said the franchise began receiving bomb threats on Three Rivers Stadium.

"I was shocked," Gilliam said. "I thought if you played well you got to play. I guess I didn't understand the significance of being a Black quarterback at the time."

For game No. 7, coach Chuck Noll gave the job back to Bradshaw. Gilliam said his problems with drugs began that year.

Gilliam played little during the 1975 season, then was cut. He didn't play in the NFL again.

Gilliam joined minor league football teams in Pittsburgh, New Orleans and Baltimore during the 1970s. In 1979, he was seriously injured during an attack outside a Baltimore liquor store and was in a coma for weeks.

He recovered and played football again, for the Washington Federals of the USFL in the 1982 season.

But Gilliam couldn't defeat his drug addiction. He stopped and started doing drugs over the years, even working as a counselor for a while, only to slip repeatedly.

He wound up living on the streets of Nashville. He sold his Super Bowl rings for cash, but kind-hearted football fans and friends helped get the rings back to his father, who said earlier this year that he was holding them for his son until he was ready to have them back.

This was Gilliam's third straight year of sobriety and he appeared to be taking charge of his life, with the help of his wife of four years, Barbara. He opened a youth football camp in Nashville, using the field of his alma mater, Tennessee State, where his father, Joe Gilliam Sr., spent 40 years coaching football (JET, July 3, 2000.

Among Gilliam's survivors are his parents, Joe W. Gilliam Sr. and Ruth Gilliam, his sister Kim Gilliam, his wife Barbara, daughters Joi, LaWanda and Dominque and stepsons Steven and Stanley Douglas.

Ya Ho Whaaaa? 15

I know Tim Tebow is pretty confident about the state of his soul, but not sure what he was thinking in regards to his pate-state. Hope this was on a dare, and I think I preferred the eye paint.

Major League Minor

Tonight is the night. Former Vanderbilt star pitcher Mike Minor, a native of Chapel Hill, Tennessee, will make his major league pitching debut tonight for the Atlanta Braves. With All Star David Price holding in down in Tampa and Minor looking to make waves in Georgia, things are looking good for Vandy alumni in the big leagues. At least in baseball. Jay Cutler is another story.

No Love for the Vets

First it was Kyle Vanden Bosch, whisked away in the night to Detroit by former Titans defensive coordinator and current Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. Then it was the cold brush off of Keith Bulluck, who has played for ten seasons with the Titans and was always a leader in the locker room. Nonetheless, Keith had the extreme class, even after his phone calls hadn't been returned and he signed a one year deal with the Giants, to take out a full page ad in yesterday's Tennessean thanking the Titans fans and the greater Nashville community for years of loyalty and support. Next day, the Titans give his jersey number to a (albeit highly promising) rookie.
In the middle of all this is the still to be decided fate of veteran center Kevin Mawae, maybe getting a little long in the tooth to tussle with boys fifteen years his junior but, like Bulluck, an undeniable leader. Mawae wants to come back something fierce and none other than Jeff Fisher has promised him a roster spot, even as a backup. But there has been little movement in the front office to facilitate such a deal, and training camp proceeds without many of the familiar faces that have helped lead this team through some dizzying and very recent ups and downs.
I know the NFL is all about money and tough love, but it does seem the Titans in particular have perfected the shallow pocket policy of letting the door hit some very loyal veterans on their way out. Let's just hope Mawae doesn't end up with the Ravens.

Life Ever Laughter

Vanderbilt is not known for a winning tradition in football. It is known for a lovable underdog role in the toughest conference in the country. I am going to miss Bobby Johnson something fierce, but I am already a big fan of Robbie Caldwell, who has willingly acknowledged the influence of none other than Jerry Clower when it comes to his public relations skills. I don't know if it's a comedian's humility that helps to wins games, but it does help to win the support of the press corps.

Dre Day

I am proud that Mr. Dawson is joining the ranks of the enshrined at Cooperstown. I am slightly alarmed that the Baseball Writer's Association picked Mark McGwire ahead of Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, and Dave Parker, but I guess that single season home run record, juiced or not, is still pretty impressive.

Substance Fueled

I won't be too fazed if they take a couple hundred of A-Rod's home runs away due to a suspicion of jammin' on the juice, but they can't ever take away Dock Ellis's no hitter, admittedly pitched during an acid trip. That's the difference between 1970 and 2010. That, and the facial hair of the mid seventies Oakland A's. But better let Dock tell the story:
"I can only remember bits and pieces of the game. I was psyched. I had a feeling of euphoria. I was zeroed in on the (catcher's) glove, but I didn't hit the glove too much. I remember hitting a couple of batters and the bases were loaded two or three times. The ball was small sometimes, the ball was large sometimes, sometimes I saw the catcher, sometimes I didn't. Sometimes I tried to stare the hitter down and throw while I was looking at him. I chewed my gum until it turned to powder. I started having a crazy idea in the fourth inning that Richard Nixon was the home plate umpire, and once I thought I was pitching a baseball to Jimi Hendrix, who to me was holding a guitar and swinging it over the plate. They say I had about three to four fielding chances. I remember diving out of the way of a ball I thought was a line drive. I jumped, but the ball wasn't hit hard and never reached me."

The Best of the Worst Part 1: Archie

Thirty years ago when Archie Manning was leading the NFL on the receiving end of sacks, with a New Orleans offensive line made seemingly of crepe paper, I am pretty sure a young future MVP was taking some mental notes. A lot of Indianapolis's payroll is wrapped up in Peyton and his offensive line, and the results speak for themselves. Archie was a God to people of my parents' generation (they were both enrolled at Ole Miss during Manning's heyday), and it's easy to see why. Peyton and Tom Brady are masters of the accurate pass and the smart play, and while their records are undeniable, so is their distaste for taking hits. Like I said, if I were Peyton, watching my dad get his can knocked off by Jack Youngblood, I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to take hits. But you watch the way Archie played and the only word that suffices is "heroic". He made plays when they weren't available elsewhere on the field. He moved with the ball, he wasn't afraid to leave the pocket, and he suffered some punishing sacks for all of it. In a way, there's a lot more of Archie in someone like Steve McNair than Peyton. And while two of Archie's sons have won Super Bowls, and one of them is destined for the Hall of Fame, it's their Pops that to me is the ultimate hero. Ten seasons at the helm of the New Orleans Saints was a Sisyphean undertaking for the noble gentleman of Drew, Mississippi, but he seemed to face the odds with relish.