carson palmer will miss this seeing this commercial someday

i had kinda given up on this blog but to be honest....this is just too good. i am still not sure how i feel about mixing chili and pasta, but the folks of southern ohio at least get to enjoy this commercial all the time..

Mike Hamilton wishing he could trade places with Tom Hamilton or Alexander Hamilton

Bruce Pearl might not be the athletics official that gets fired after all of the stink in Knoxville clears up. Mike Hamilton has overnight become one of the least popular individuals in the state of Tennessee (pictured above with one of Vol Nation's most hated figures, also a Hamilton hire), and while Bruce Pearl's chair is by no means cooler, I don't think Hamilton is comfortable with the temperature of his.

Brent Hubbs of Vol Quest opines..



The intent of the comments made by Tenenssee Athletic Director Mike Hamilton in a radio interview on Knoxville's WNML radio is anyone's guess. Was it a simple mistake? Was it calculated to try and test the waters or prepare fans for change? No one knows for sure, and we may never know.

Hamilton has privately indicated that it wasn't to create a firestorm. Wednesday night in Charlotte, Hamilton apologized to the basketball staff at a dinner that was previously planned with the coaching staff and administrators.

Whatever the reason for Hamilton's comments, they were ill-timed, ill-warranted and have created more than a firestorm.

They've created a mess.

In the interview when asked if Bruce Pearl would be back next year Hamilton, have saying with conviction for months that Pearl was his coach left the door open for possible change.

"We don't know the answer today," the AD said when asked if Pearl will return. "We've done a lot of soul searching about the direction of our program and we'll continue to do that and we'll decide after we're out of the NCAA Tournament what direction it is that we're going to go next."

"We're not going to finish our evaluation until after the season is over."

It's worth noting that Hamilton and every AD around the country evaluates their coaches at seasons end, but the comments seem like a 180 turn from previous comments that Hamilton has made including some as late as last Friday.

The simple timing is the biggest mess. Today, Bruce Pearl and his players will spend the mid-morning at their mandatory NCAA media session answering questions about whether or not Friday could be Pearl's last day as the Vols head man.
The timing has left everyone scratching their heads, even the likes of Dick Vitale, who tweeted Wednesday night how absurd Hamilton's comments were on the eve of the start of college basketball's finest hours, known as March Madness.

One of the obligations of an athletic director is to protect and assist student athletes. As players spend an hour tomorrow answering questions about a possible future without Pearl, Hamilton has failed to protect them thanks to his interview.

Hamilton's comments have also placed Tennessee as a national headline for the entire weekend. Win or lose, the Vols will remain a national story all weekend long. And not the kind of story anyone wants.
Finally, Hamilton's comments and the timing of them have sent plenty of waves throughout college basketball and you do have to wonder how it would affect potential candidates if a change were to take place. Hamilton's lack of a vote of confidence 48 hours before his team takes the floor will be something that's noted by coaches everywhere.

Why Hamilton said what he said two days before his basketball team looks to go 5-1 in opening-round NCAA Tournament games under Pearl is anyone's guess.

What we do know, based on reaction, is that the results of those comments have created a firestorm not just for Pearl and his players as they meet the media, but a firestorm of criticism for Hamilton as well.

Dressing Like Mr Rogers Buys You A Lot of Cache

To all those still unsure as to the degree of malfeasance committed by Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel...

It's worth it just to read the emails

I will say this...I will not defend the actions of Jim Calhoun, Bruce Pearl, Cam Newton's dad etc etc.

But this is a whollllle different league. And the lack of national coverage of the degree of this scandal is somewhat stunning, especially considering the 24 hour echo chamber that is ESPN.

Either way, Tressel's seat isn't cooling down anytime soon.

The Chris Palmer era begins

The scorched earth policy has satisfied all the critics and left no one happy. The Titans have released Vince Young, Chuck Cecil and Mike Heimerdinger have been fired, and the Fish is gone. Possibly to serve as president of Egypt....or maybe Italy.

With Chris Palmer as the new offensive coordinator I thought about a few other Palmers that Titans fans might be more excited about in the same position

Carson Palmer
Arnold Palmer
Carl Palmer
Earl Palmer
Robert Palmer (dead but still..)

The Wait

patience is a virtue...

Top Ten Titans Troubles

It's official. The Vince Young experiment is over in Middle Tennessee. I for one am relieved simply to have some of the drama out of the way, but also saddened that such a stellar football player couldn't ever put together consistency and maturity even while he was putting together the kind of improbable come from behind victories that made him such a legend in college.
I will miss Vince but I won't miss the tantrums and the narcissism.
This was one of the bleakest Titans seasons I can ever remember, to be honest even bleaker than the post-roster purge years of 04 and 05. Maybe the defeat is so much sharper of a pain because the season started out with such youthful swagger and grand hopes. This was to be a year where a relatively young team finally asserted itself with an unquestioned franchise quarterback in Vince. The gloves were going to come off the offense, the defense was finally going to reassert itself in Chuck Cecil's second year, bolstered by a number of offseason free agent acquisitions and a stellar rookie draft class. And a proud 5-2 start didn't hurt or tamper Titans fans' expectations. There were plenty of cracks in the Colts' armor, the Texans looked lost after week four, and the Jaguars were completely dismantled by the Titans on Monday Night Football.
So how did THAT team manage to lose 8 of its next nine games?

Here are my top ten red flag moments where we should have all known, even before the meltdown after the loss to the Redskins

1. Vince hooks em horns
What the fuck is the deal with Texas? I mean, I'm sorry. I love Austin as much as the next guy and a lot of my favorite people are from Texas, but dudes like Vince need to remember that they don't spend a lot of Lone Star time anymore. When VY got arrested for a fight in a Dallas strip club ( I know, I died a little just typing that phrase) back in the summer after someone insulted his alma mater, it was (kinda) easy to blow off a little. Hell, it was kinda funny. Or at least Mack Brown thought so. But now seeing it as just another rest stop on the Vince Young Meltdown Memorial Highway, I think a lot of us in Titans country should have seen this for what it really was: a major warning sign in regards to number 10's maturity, or glaring lack of it.

2. The firing of Ernest Byner
Although known to most casual sports fans as the key actor in the drama known as "The Fumble" , Byner had served as the Titans' running back coach the last two years, helping Chris Johnson break 2000 yards last year and also spearheading the good ole times of "Smash and Dash", back when Lendale was actually scoring touchdowns and not just tequila shots. Right before the season, Byner was let go by Fisher in favor of Kennedy Pola, who was then whisked away to USC. Byner came out smelling like cologne in the whole deal. He was hired away by the Jacksonville Jaguars where he got to coach a little guy you might have heard of named Maurice Jones Drew.


3. LeGarrette Blount
A lot of people raised eyebrows when the Titans signed Blount in the spring. But he performed well in the preseason, and there were a lot of folks who thought we had finally found a replacement for Lendale White. A much needed Smash to take some pressure and pounding off of Dash. Well, we had, but unfortunately Blount didn't clear waivers and Tampa Bay claimed him. Bully for them though, as Blount has emerged as one of the bigger success stories of the 2010 rookie class.
4.Vince gets benched against the Steelers
To be honest, this is when I had a gut feeling the Titans season was going to be a paper tiger. He fumbled the ball a few times but you don't bench a guy like Vince Young in the SECOND game of the season. Not when this guy is supposed to be your franchise quarterback. Not when guys like Cutler and Eli Manning throw multiple picks and get tossed around like bags of flour and no one questions their ability to manage the games. And not when you have a guy like Vince who specializes in fourth quarter comebacks. By the look Vince had on the sideline after he got benched in that game, I knew it wasn't going to be the kind of season a lot of us had hoped for. It was clear that Fisher wasn't in Vince's corner, right or wrong.

5. Derrick Morgan gets hurt
The rookie defensive end from Georgia Tech was our first round draft pick for 2010 and was supposed to be a key to our defensive line. He played well in his first few games but tore his ACL in a nauseating loss to Denver. As the season went on, injuries to the defensive line reemphasized just how much the Titans were sorely missing both depth and youth.

6.Chuck Cecil shoots the dirty bird
You have to appreciate the fire that Chuck Cecil brings to the defensive coordinator position, but a very expensive middle finger to officials that ended up being televised cost Chuck a few g's and a lot of grief. At the time it was (kinda) easy to write off to a fit of passion but as the season started unraveling a lot of chinks in the armor became very visible to even the most casual observer. It's pretty obvious that there are some major question marks with the Titans' linebackers and in the secondary, and it shouldn't be a lack of talent. What's more, the Titans became one of the most penalized teams in the league, especially on defense. To be sure, a lot of of penalties come from talent mismatch, but a lot also come from bad coaching. (Wade Phillips anyone?) Jeff Fisher is a defense minded coach and when Gregg Williams and Jim Schwartz were making the calls we had some of the best, toughest defensive squads in the League. No one was really doggin on Chuck too hard back when we were leading the NFL in sacks and were close to being tied for the most interceptions, but it all went south and the penalties were just as frequent. Now no one anywhere seems to think Cecil is the next coming of Dick Le Beau and while Fisher might feel pretty comfortable about the temperature of his office chair, I don't think Chuck can use the same boast.

7. Vince gets hurt against Jacksonville
I for one was hopeful but very skeptical that VY could make it through a 16 game season without getting seriously hurt, and in a primetime Monday Night matchup against the Jaguars, he went down early in the first half. The game was won handily with Kerry Collins coming in for relief but even more writing on the wall should have been apparent here. Whether or not Vince has/had the maturity and "tools" to lead this team, his physical durability has always been in question.

8. Vince misses a meeting before the Pittsburgh game
This little tidbit came out much after the fact thanks to a scoop by Jim Wyatt that seemed fairly minor at the time. Yet once again, in hindsight it is clear that Vince's work ethic should have been in serious doubt all season. When you have a franchise quarterback, you should expect him to not only be the first to arrive at practice but also the last to leave. No one should ever question Vince's talent and his uncanny ability to help a team eek out victories in some pretty tight squeezes. But in a year where all was on the line, it's pretty inexcusable to miss a prep meeting for a game against a storied rival, and one of the best and most inscrutable defenses in the League.

9. Kenny Britt gets hurt at San Diego
This really may have been the beginning of the end for the Titans. Kenny suffered a hamstring injury early in a tough but close loss to San Diego at the end of October. Just a week before, Britt had a career day against the Eagles, scoring three touchdowns and acting like the MVP of the game. With Britt out for the next several games, it was obvious that the Titans were going to be lacking their number one deep threat. What's more, VY suffered another serious injury in this game.

10. VY doesn't start against the Dolphins
In an eventful bye week, the Titans acquired Randy Moss off waivers and a few folks, David Climer amongst them, were already threatening to dance a Super Bowl Shuffle here in Music City. It was thought that with a bye week Vince would be able to heal up and be in prime shape for the matchup against the Dolphins. But even though Vince was listed that day as the number two QB, Kerry got the start against Miami. Let me pose this question. If your "franchise" QB is healthy enough to be active on game day, why is he not healthy enough to start? The answer is now apparent that Fisher didn't feel sold enough on Vince even at that point to put him out on the field in a key game. This was a game that Vince did eventually play in, after Kerry got hurt, and he played well, even in a close loss. I for one think that if Vince had started, the Titans would have won that day. Remember that Fisher would never have pulled McNair off the field unless it was on a stretcher. It's no wonder that VY felt he was always looking over his shoulder in regards to the head coach.

So there are few of my moments of shame/pain, once again not including anything that transpired after the Cassavetes style meltdown scene after the Redskins loss. Uncle Bud has seemingly for now hitched his wagon to Fisher's caravan, and it's bought Jeff a little time to right the ship for next year. For most Titans fans, next season can't come fast enough.

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.