First, I'm loving your visit! It helps me get out of the front-office mire I've been stuck in (a will he, or won't he, signing dilemma).
Note: You can't trust Titans D-lineman if you're not the Titans! (i.e. Travis LaBoy
). That's just one example among many... Jevon Kearse, Antwan Odom, Robaire Smith...
Nice catch! That's an interesting phenomenon I hadn't noticed before, but now that I think about it the same can be said for former-Patriot coaching staff.
It's a contract year for KVB, Keith Bulluck, Nick Harper (who will likely retire), and LenWhale White... we will be missing at least two of these players in 2010. Sad.
If LenWhale doesn't step up, Javon Ringer (our steal of a draft pick) will probably replace him. LenWhale has stepped up and admitted to being immature in the past. He has come in to camp 20 pounds lighter. I'm excited to see how this pans out.
Bullick's got to be at the top of the list of re-signees, the defense wouldn't be the same without him...
but judging on past cases like Eddie George and Steve McNair the Titan FO has no problem making the sentimentally unpopular call and cutting the names or letting them walk.
Around draft time a few years ago a lot of people rode the "Get LenDale to Glenndale" train. While catchy (I'm a sucker for rhyming) I think many of us are glad he wasn't here, as we just released a more capable plodder in Edge. I'm not sure that behind some of our offensive line's darker days White would have survived.
I won't tell you who I have picked for the 6th spot because you'll all fall out of your chair laughing hysterically... it's a bold, bold pick. I'll say that.
I'd like to hear it and I'm sure many others would as well. And we've made a pretty stunning collection of predictions that have failed spectacularly.
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Ravens don't make the playoffs because: their defense has been downgraded... it will still be top 10, but last season they had the #2 defense... it won't be as good with losses of Rex Ryan (defensive coordinator), Bart Scott, Chris McAlister, and Jim Leonhard. Plus, Ray Lewis isn't getting any younger. He can still make the hit, but he's become avoidable and sluggish. They made some additions and stole a guy, Chris Carr, from the Titans (as they always do) who I loved. Terrell Suggs is a thug and will probably be thrown in jail before the season starts! (joking)
Like the Pats joke I made earlier, the Ravens defense seems bullet-proof, even when losing coordinators, Marvin Lewis, Mike Nolan, and now Rex Ryan (You can thank us for a place to learning to ride without training wheels ya jerk! Sorry, the Ryan family is touchy discussion topic here.)
Bart Scott could prove to be the new Ed Hartwell (another hot ILB commodity that moved teams and did nothing). McAlister may be missed, but he'd not been elite for some time, and Leonhard was a backup, so while they'll miss him they didn't lose a starter.
And Suggs, ah Suggs. We
really like Suggs around these-here parts. He's from ASU, which makes him local favorite, and he was the consensus pick in the 03 draft for the Cardinals by everyone but the Cardinals, who famously traded for Calvin Pace and Bryant Johnson (I guess it really didn't turn out
that bad).
To be fair, you guys stole Chris Carr from the Raiders, who despite struggling in most aspects of professional football always have good return men and is slowly crawling up the depth chart to starter. He looks like a player on the rise and I agree, you'll miss him.
And you're right, at some point Ray Lewis' wheels will fall off, a person can't help but wonder if that will be the thing that does the defense in, or will the team have enough belief in themselves as a unit to work without him?
Flacco will have a much harder time without his defense at its absolute finest. I see a sophomore slump approaching. The addition of L.J. Smith will be their best move in the offseason. Todd Heap is getting way too old... so is Derrick Mason. One of their O-lineman, Willie Anderson, just retired. The only thing this offense has going for them age/talent-wise is Le'ron McClain, Joe Flacco, and 2009 1st rounder, Michael Oher. If you go back and look at Flacco's performances against winning teams they were either mediocre or dreadful. In the regular season, he threw 2 INTs against the Titans, 3 INTs against the Colts, 2 INTs against the Giants, and 2 INTs against the Steelers. Going into the playoffs, he received a lot of credit... which was fair... he was only a rookie!... but, it was too much credit. He played average against the Dolphins which was all he needed to do. He played average against the Titans because we failed to blitz him!!! That's all he had to do for his team. Then when he went to the Steelers, they blitzed the hell out of him... he threw 3 INTs. He can't beat great teams unless his opponent decides to blow the game i.e. Titans. Part of the reason I say all of this is obviously because I hate 'em, but I think I make a pretty good case for why they won't make it. They'll be an 8-8 or 9-7 team.
The old saying is that QB's get too much credit and blame.
But they've put together a dynamite and mostly young offensive line with C Birk, G Grubbs, G Chester/Yanda, and T's Gaither, Terry, and now Oher. That's quality in both backups and starters.
They've got a nice one-two punch in Rice and McClain (who even needs McGahee?)
These things afford Flacco some growing pains. But if the book on him shows that he wilts under pressure then absolutely they'll struggle and he'll be on the street faster than you can say Kyle Boller.
Although I hate the Patriots, it was insane that they didn't make the playoffs. I've been a strong advocator of changing some rules in the NFL... mainly to where a division winner isn't guaranteed a playoff berth. Obviously, this year was a good indicator with the Chargers at 8-8 and the Colts having to go into San Diego with a 12-4 record. That's just loony... If the Pats had made it over the Chargers, guess what! The Titans would be Super Bowl champions! Why?! This would have bumped up the seeds, we wouldn't have had to play the Ravens in the first round, I feel like we would have advanced (because CJ wouldn't have been injured by a dirty team), and we would have been more prepared in the AFC championship game against the Steelers, in Nashville of course. 31-14, 31-14.
The Cardinals could have missed the playoffs if they didn't play in the garbage NFC! The 4th seed was an absolute gift. You guys were the 6th best team in the NFC, so naturally you guys should have been the 6th seed.They legitimately made it as the 6th best team in the NFC, so I can't use them as an example... However, when the Titans made it to the playoffs in 2003 with a 12-4 record, we had to travel up to Baltimore... our most hated site in the world. We won the game, but it was tough as hell. I was at that game! Watching evil Ravens fans walk out cussing and screaming like immature thugs was priceless!
This year the Chargers and the Cardinals were two sides of the same coin, playoff teams with lowered expectations that a signficant portion of the country
hated to see in the playoffs. Most felt their record kept more deserving teams out and they'd be one and done.
Manning and the Colts historically struggle against other 3-4 defenses (at least that's the perception) and the Chargers proved no exception with an upset, but the Chargers also did give the Steelers a contest, shutting down a stunning Sproles and the San Diego rushing attack went a long way to winning the game (although Darren's total yardage was still monster).
Juggling seeds and postseason positioning doesn't need to happen.
If the NFL already didn't need more great examples like the recent Chargers and Cardinals, history has proved countless times that any team can win at any moment.
The bye week sure hasn't been much help to the higher seeds though. That used to be coveted, now it seems like a death knell.
I appreciate the discussion, it's been a long time since we've been able to step outside of the team's offseason nonsense and looking at the rest of the NFL has been a breath of fresh air!
Glad you're here, hope you stay a while!
