Starkiller

What can you all tell me about this guy? Obviously I've never heard of him since he's a backup, but clearly he's a quality special teams player. Thanks...

SD only gave him the high tender to control the bidding. Same as Atlanta did with Shaub. Turner will probably go for a 2nd round value (2nd round pick or swap of 1st rounders), give or take. Just look at what you guys got for Travis Henry and Willis McGahee, both of whom were more proven. Hell, Marshall Faulk was only traded for a high 2nd and a 5th...

Well, I think the Titans do want a veteran to backup LenDale. Brown is the best choice, but Dillon is a possibility. But I can't see bringing in Dillon if they want White to start. But they also have looked at Kevin Barlow and Maurice Hicks (49ers RFA), which doesn't fit at all if they are actually at looking at Turner or Dillon. And yes, negotiating with the Titans could also up Turner's asking price, so it can help both sides even if it's all for show. Now maybe I'm wrong and the Titans brass really love Turner and have given up on White, but that's just not my take.

I'm a Titans fan, and I think he's a punk, too. But I hope that the Las Vegas incident has finally knocked some sense into him... http://break.com/index/pacman_jones_on_trial.html

Here's the thing: even we Titans fans don't really know where LenDale stands. Rumors have it that he's fat and out of shape (260 lbs). But that's just rumor so far, and it's possible he's bulked up partly on purpose to be the next Bus for all I know. Plus, training camp is still far away. But the fact is the Titans are talking to Turner and Corey Dillon, not to mention trying to keep Chris Brown. My take on all this is that the organization is trying to motivate LenDale. His biggest question mark going into the draft was that he was lazy, but if he was motivated then he'd be an excellent RB. I don't think the Titans actually plan to trade for Turner. And I hope they don't intend to really go after Dillon, though I would like to bring back Brown because he's good (when healthy) and is a good complimentary back to LenDale's power. This is just my take on the Turner situation from a Titans' perspective. But I think you guys or the Packers will end up with him.

Would you guys be interested in trading for Travis Henry?

Bennett didn't catch a pass today. I'm not sure Vince even threw the ball his direction all day. Brandon Jones is the guy who burned the Bills as a receiver today. He's a fairly big receiver (6-1, 212) with good athletic ability. But I agree that you guys don't need a speed guy across from Evans and with Parrish in the slot. A Drew Bennett/Ed McCaffrey type would be perfect for your team.

And to Los Angeles?

Buffalo won the toss. That's why they got the ball to start the game. Think about it: have you ever seen an NFL team that won the coin toss to start the game but didn't choose to receive?

I'm not sure how they decide who takes what side in the 2nd half, I only know about who gets the ball. Maybe you just take the wind knowing the other team gets the ball to start. Or maybe it's just based entirely off the first half decision. Can't be sure... But I am positive about not being able to defer on the kickoff. You either choose to receive it or you kick off to start both halves.

I may be biased, being a Titans fan and all, but I'd say that Young is already at least as good an NFL QB as Vick is 6 years into his career. Young may be slightly less athletic than Vick (not a lot), but he's much taller (he can actually see over his OLine) and is a better natural passer (despite the half-Kosar throwing motion). Plus, teams didn't have to take long to try to adapt their defenses to Young's running ability because they just used the anti-Vick gameplan. Young is just harder to defend because he's more dangerous as a passer (though he still has a long way to go).

Well, it was a great game as I expected, but then I didn't think it would be nearly the offensive shootout that it ended up. Vince had a great game, as did Travis Henry. Losman and McGahee played pretty well, too. Both teams made some big mistakes that could have cost them the game, so even that was pretty balanced. As for the end, I think Bills fans would have to be nuts to have expected your kicker to try a 45 yard FG into that wind. When Bironas tried a shorter one in the same direction earlier it died and barely made it over the crossbar. The play ended up being a disaster (not sure what the actual play call was), but they had to go for it. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good next season...

This isn't college football. When you win the coin toss you ALWAYS elect to receive. You don't get to defer on the kickoff until the 2nd half like in college. The team that loses the coin toss gets to choose the sides in the 1st half and then the option whether to kick or receive in the 2nd half. So if you win the coin toss, you take the ball...

Both are good. Bironas has a strong leg and is pretty accurate. Hentrich is one of the league's best punters, but admittedly he has had some back issues in recent years that have hurt him. I wonder how his knuckleball will fly in 20 mph wind...

Whatever my stepson told you, it's a lie...

You should follow your own advice and not use misleading stats. Don't waste anyone's time trying to argue that 2 games is a significant sample size. I used 6 weeks, which is easily significant enough to show real stats. In terms of the opponents in that span, the Titans played the Jags (currently ranked #2 run O), Giants (#9), Eagles (#11), Colts (#17), Ravens (#23), and Texans (#24). That's a pretty respectable lust of opponents, and in fact each of them is ranked higher than Buffalo's run game for the year. As far as situational stats, I made sure to point out not just total yards but ypc, which at 3.9 ypc over 6 weeks would have the Titans run D ranked ahead of roughly 2 thirds of the league based on full season averages. And seeing as how the Titans weren't playing with big leads much in that span, you can forget the possibility that they forced teams to throw the ball. The Ravens were down by just 9 points at the half in that game. The Eagles ran the ball 30 times even though they were down big late (they threw a lot of passes, too). And the last 4 games the Titans never had a big lead other than the 4th quarter of the Jags game (and they ran the ball 40 times). I know that stats can lie. But believe me, in this case, the ones I presented tell the truth. The ones for the full season are the ones that lie, at least if you want to know how good they are right now.

What did I analyze incorrectly? What is misleading about how the Titans' run D has improved significantly over the last few weeks? Fact is, I'm right. They are a middle-of-the-pack run D rather than a bad one as the full-season stats make them appear.

Well, the Jags did have 40 carries last week. But there's no doubt the Titans can be burned. McGahee is a big threat to us.

No argument here. Henry is very up and down. If you look at the last 6 weeks, the Giants and Jags shut him down pretty much while he did well versus Baltimore, Philly, Indy, and Houston. No doubt he'll be pumped about playing against the Bills and your run D has struggled, so I doubt he'll get shut down entirely. We'll just have to see if he goes off or not.

They don't use the shotgun a ton, but it does get a decent chunk of the plays. He has been in shotgun about a third of the snaps, but they use it more often late in games in a 2-minute offense situation (like the whole 4th quarter against the Giants) than during the rest of the game. The Titans want to make him a better conventional QB, but clearly he is more dangerous in the shotgun so they do use it. And also, the Titans don't really use many designed run plays for Vince like they did at Texas. When he runs, it's usually because he didn't find an open receiver, was flushed from the pocket by a blitz, or it was a designed option where he sees the defense and decided whether to hand it off or keep it himself.

For what it's worth, the Titans run D has been much better recently than they were early on, so that skews the stats. For the season they have allowed 4.5 ypc, but just 3.9 over the last 6 weeks. Also 145 yards per game for the year vs 121 ypg in the last 6. Not great, but much better. I'd say the Titans' run D is about average in the league right now.

Yes, I thought about that, too. That was similar to Eddie George as a Cowboy. And I'll be back after the game one way or another.

That's OK, we won 13 others... Safe to say the Bills fans were up for that game. I heard a few horror stories from Titans fans who went to the game.

The new league CBA makes it prohibitively expensive to re-franchise a player. And maybe I'm wrong (I don't follow the Bills that closely), but didn't the Bills agree not to use the franchise tag on Clements next year when they franchised him last offseason?

Even I don't think Vince deserved to be a Pro Bowl alternate. I'd have put Brady and even McNair ahead of him as the 2 alternates. But yes, the Pro Bowl is a popularity contest. And despite the fact that he might deserve it, he gets a ton of hype. He's just a rookie and not ready to be a Pro Bowl QB yet, though.