TitansGiantsBears
08-15-2010, 03:53 PM
The ultimate good here is.... IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON AGAIN! More specifically, it's Tennessee Titans football season again! It's so great to type up the first Good, Bad, and Ugly of the season. So without further adieu, let's get down to business.
The Good
Despite being the first preseason game and a loss at that, I saw many things I liked last night.
We'll begin with the opening drive. Oh for the Titans offense to be that proficient at all times! Granted it was preseason and like us Seattle was short a few starters on defense, but most of the players the Seahawks had out there were either contributors or fighting for a spot, so you can't take anything away from the drive. My hat is off to 'Dinger for a beautiful piece of playcalling.
Vince was especially sharp on the drive. He had no incompletions, all his throws were crisp and tight, and he looked very comfortable in the pocket. He hit multiple receivers and I saw him hit his third option on one play. That is what we need to see out of him this year. He looked in control for a change.
CJ's punched the time clock for the right amount of plays. He showed burst and didn't appear to struggle like he did last preseason. I would like to have seen the line get a better push near the goal line though. It took three tries for CJ to get the needed yard, but that's picking nits.
It was good to see Washington holding onto the ball. Nate has good speed and can help this team IF he can overcome butterfingers at the wrong time. A year of experience in 'Dinger's system should help. He definitely looks more comfortable. Gage had a nice catch on the drive as well.
The O-line did a nice job protecting Vince and opening holes for whichever RB was behind them. Between CJ, Ringer, and Vince the starters averaged 5.0 yards a carry and that includes CJ's three plunges and a QB sneak by Vince on 3rd and short and picking up a fumble.
Speaking of Ringer, I thought he looked very good. He runs with determination. He did a great job of finding the hole on his 46 yard jaunt, but missed an opportunity earlier when he tried to bounce a broken play outside instead of turning up-field.
Rusty Smith impressed me. His numbers were somewhat pedestrian but he made several throws that were dropped. All in all, the kid looked sharp. His techinique was sound. He threw a nice, tight spiral and didn't seem overwhelmed at all. Good things all for a late-round rookie QB. If he and Simms both continue to play like last night, Simms will be gone.
Some of the best news of the night was that the defensive line got some pressure on Seattle's QBs. They still lack a disruptive force, especially in the middle, but they played in the backfield quite a bit. My only concern was that much of the pressure came from the outside. There isn't a great push up the middle. New arrival Jason Babin and Eric Bakhtiari registered sacks.
Another sore spot from last year looked much improved as well - the return game. So many of us (myself included) thought Fisher threw Mariani a bone because he played college ball with the coach's son. Not so, this kid can play and could prove to be a steal. He looked comfortable returning both kicks and punts. What impressed me is that he looked to DO something with the ball after he caught it. Last year it seemed a successful kick or punt return was one in which we actually caught the ball. Mariani showed veteran awareness by not fielding a punt inside the 5 and letting it roll into the endzone. His fair catch signal was just enough to freeze the coverage which allowed the ball to slip past the goal line. Several drives began around the 30 which is acceptable field position. It doesn't sound like much of a difference beginning at the 30 vs. the 20 but it's huge in a game where a single inch on a single play can mean the difference in scoring or not. It also allows 'Dinger to open up the play book a little more.
Speaking of returns, is there an unwritten rule that Fisher is going to get cute on special teams in the first preseason game? :) Last year it was a fake punt and long TD run by a rookie punter. This year Kern throws for a first down.
Tully was his usual self when he was in the game - playing sideline to sideline. I do think KB will be missed greatly though. The only time I heard Witherspoon metioned was when they announced the rosters. McRath made a few nice plays as well.
In my opinion the player that made the biggest impression was Alterraun Verner. I'm not sure exactly why there is a competition for the spot opposite Finnegan. The kid is miles ahead of McCourty and Mouton already. He plays much more fluidly and with better technique. I noticed last night that he always seems to be in the right position with his hips and shoulders. He's a playmaker. Beyond his cover ability though, he's an awesome tackler. He made a couple of open field tackles that reminded me of Nick Harper. Whatever Harper's shortcoming in coverage, he was money as a tackler and Verner did a great impression last night. IMO (not that it matters because the team will ultimately decide) he earned a shot with the starters next game. He deserves a good, long look in this open competition. Based on round one though, he's the guy.
I also want to give props to Pete Ittersagen. I don't know if the young man will make the team or not, but I will say this for him. He held his own and didn't get burned. He quietly made 4 tackles and had a good showing for himself.
Before I move on to the bad, I want to mention Seattle's fans and Coach Pete Carroll. It was great to see Carroll go out to the field when Stafon Johnson got hurt. I know he coached Stafon at USC but it was still a classy move on his part. The Seattle fans also showed class in cheering for Stafon as he was carted off.
The Bad
There's already a Good Vince/ Bad Vince thread on here but you have to wonder about him sometimes. As good as he was on the first drive he was just about as bad on the second. A botched exchange that resulted in a broken play (though I will give him props for recovering it and nearly making a play) and an INT deep in the opponent's territory is not how you want to follow up that beautiful drive. It was good to see him own the INT but I was concerned that he took part in the melee that followed it. Your starting QB has to be smarter than that. He could either get hurt or, since he's on the commish's radar now, cost his team with a suspension. I've never watched another player whose development reminded me so much of a yo-yo.
Speaking of turnovers, two INTs and two botched QB-Center exchanges are a little much even for the first preseason game. I'm not overly concerned about the exchanges unless there's trouble next game, but the Titans are 14-1 in games in which Vince started and didn't throw an INT (thanks WRKN). Protecting the football is imperative in a conservative offensive style like Fisherball.
I think Paul Williams finally played his way off the roster last night. He had two or three drops that were easily catchable. If this guy hasn't gotten it by now, it's time to move on. Nothing to see here. Kenny Britt played poorly overall as well, at least in the passing game. He had a couple of drops that should have been caught. I'm not sure what happened to the playmaker from a year ago, butI hope he turns it around soon. On the bright side, he showed great value in the run game with a couple of great blocks. One was mentioned by the WKRN crew, but another went unnoticed.
I mentioned Chris Simms earlier while praising Rusty Smith. There's no excuse for a guy with his experience to play so poorly in the preseason opener. He knows the Titans offense since this is his second go-round with them. Yes, he played with second-stringers but for the most part he made them look bad, not the other way around. Some people call Kerry Collins a statue in the pocket, but I'd rather have a statue that will take the sack five yards behind the line than a semi-statue like Simms who retreats an extra five or so yards, plants, makes a little circle, and then crumples beneath the pile. That little circle-plant fake may have worked way back in high school but not the NFL. His throws were off-target all night. He made poor decisions in the pocket. He locked onto receivers. When he did throw for a completion the ball was often in the wrong place, forcing the receiver to come back to it or stop, thus eliminating any possibility of yards after the catch. Most disturbing to me was his 24 total yards passing on 13 attempts. That's a whopping 1.8 yard per attempt. That says he's not seeing the field and settling for a check down. He played with a short field. I've gotten onto Vince in the past about this and he seems to be doing much better. Simms has a few years in the league on him. There is no excuse. Either Simms improves vastly or the 3rd string job should go to the much cheaper rookie Rusty Smith.
Why did the Titans waste the opening kickoff return and a punt return on Alvin Pearman? We and they already know he's not the answer at either spot. He sucked at both last year and doesn't appear to be any better this season.
And lastly in the bad is Ryan Mouton and Jason McCourty. McCourty wasn't bad per se, but he did nothing special. Mouton was simply awful. He still looks lost and is out of position on just about every play. I'm not even sure he's worthy of a roster spot or that he's even NFL talent. I never dreamed I would ever utter the following but by gosh, Mouton proved me wrong - "He just got burned by MIKE FREAKIN' WILLIAMS!!!!" Could there by a more damning epitaph to a corner's career? He also took several bad tackling angles. Yes, he lucked up and Whitehurst threw behind his receiver and right into Mouton's hands, but a fluke INT hardly makes up for a night being burned like a B-lister at a celebrity roast.
The Ugly
The first ugly of the year has to be Stafon Johnson's injury. The kid's story was inspiring and he worked so hard to get himself in position to play in the NFL. During his brief stint in the game he played well too - 3 carries for 23 yards including a 17 yard jaunt that made me wonder whether or not Ringer may have some competition for the backup role. In all likelihood, Stafon's season is over before it began. Hopefully the Titans will place him on injured reserve. It got me to thinking about Quinton Ganther. I wonder what was going through his mind watching a kid fighting for a roster spot go down like that in preseason? Here's wishing the young man a speedy, full recovery. Hopefully he'll return for another rodeo in Titan blue next year.
The Good
Despite being the first preseason game and a loss at that, I saw many things I liked last night.
We'll begin with the opening drive. Oh for the Titans offense to be that proficient at all times! Granted it was preseason and like us Seattle was short a few starters on defense, but most of the players the Seahawks had out there were either contributors or fighting for a spot, so you can't take anything away from the drive. My hat is off to 'Dinger for a beautiful piece of playcalling.
Vince was especially sharp on the drive. He had no incompletions, all his throws were crisp and tight, and he looked very comfortable in the pocket. He hit multiple receivers and I saw him hit his third option on one play. That is what we need to see out of him this year. He looked in control for a change.
CJ's punched the time clock for the right amount of plays. He showed burst and didn't appear to struggle like he did last preseason. I would like to have seen the line get a better push near the goal line though. It took three tries for CJ to get the needed yard, but that's picking nits.
It was good to see Washington holding onto the ball. Nate has good speed and can help this team IF he can overcome butterfingers at the wrong time. A year of experience in 'Dinger's system should help. He definitely looks more comfortable. Gage had a nice catch on the drive as well.
The O-line did a nice job protecting Vince and opening holes for whichever RB was behind them. Between CJ, Ringer, and Vince the starters averaged 5.0 yards a carry and that includes CJ's three plunges and a QB sneak by Vince on 3rd and short and picking up a fumble.
Speaking of Ringer, I thought he looked very good. He runs with determination. He did a great job of finding the hole on his 46 yard jaunt, but missed an opportunity earlier when he tried to bounce a broken play outside instead of turning up-field.
Rusty Smith impressed me. His numbers were somewhat pedestrian but he made several throws that were dropped. All in all, the kid looked sharp. His techinique was sound. He threw a nice, tight spiral and didn't seem overwhelmed at all. Good things all for a late-round rookie QB. If he and Simms both continue to play like last night, Simms will be gone.
Some of the best news of the night was that the defensive line got some pressure on Seattle's QBs. They still lack a disruptive force, especially in the middle, but they played in the backfield quite a bit. My only concern was that much of the pressure came from the outside. There isn't a great push up the middle. New arrival Jason Babin and Eric Bakhtiari registered sacks.
Another sore spot from last year looked much improved as well - the return game. So many of us (myself included) thought Fisher threw Mariani a bone because he played college ball with the coach's son. Not so, this kid can play and could prove to be a steal. He looked comfortable returning both kicks and punts. What impressed me is that he looked to DO something with the ball after he caught it. Last year it seemed a successful kick or punt return was one in which we actually caught the ball. Mariani showed veteran awareness by not fielding a punt inside the 5 and letting it roll into the endzone. His fair catch signal was just enough to freeze the coverage which allowed the ball to slip past the goal line. Several drives began around the 30 which is acceptable field position. It doesn't sound like much of a difference beginning at the 30 vs. the 20 but it's huge in a game where a single inch on a single play can mean the difference in scoring or not. It also allows 'Dinger to open up the play book a little more.
Speaking of returns, is there an unwritten rule that Fisher is going to get cute on special teams in the first preseason game? :) Last year it was a fake punt and long TD run by a rookie punter. This year Kern throws for a first down.
Tully was his usual self when he was in the game - playing sideline to sideline. I do think KB will be missed greatly though. The only time I heard Witherspoon metioned was when they announced the rosters. McRath made a few nice plays as well.
In my opinion the player that made the biggest impression was Alterraun Verner. I'm not sure exactly why there is a competition for the spot opposite Finnegan. The kid is miles ahead of McCourty and Mouton already. He plays much more fluidly and with better technique. I noticed last night that he always seems to be in the right position with his hips and shoulders. He's a playmaker. Beyond his cover ability though, he's an awesome tackler. He made a couple of open field tackles that reminded me of Nick Harper. Whatever Harper's shortcoming in coverage, he was money as a tackler and Verner did a great impression last night. IMO (not that it matters because the team will ultimately decide) he earned a shot with the starters next game. He deserves a good, long look in this open competition. Based on round one though, he's the guy.
I also want to give props to Pete Ittersagen. I don't know if the young man will make the team or not, but I will say this for him. He held his own and didn't get burned. He quietly made 4 tackles and had a good showing for himself.
Before I move on to the bad, I want to mention Seattle's fans and Coach Pete Carroll. It was great to see Carroll go out to the field when Stafon Johnson got hurt. I know he coached Stafon at USC but it was still a classy move on his part. The Seattle fans also showed class in cheering for Stafon as he was carted off.
The Bad
There's already a Good Vince/ Bad Vince thread on here but you have to wonder about him sometimes. As good as he was on the first drive he was just about as bad on the second. A botched exchange that resulted in a broken play (though I will give him props for recovering it and nearly making a play) and an INT deep in the opponent's territory is not how you want to follow up that beautiful drive. It was good to see him own the INT but I was concerned that he took part in the melee that followed it. Your starting QB has to be smarter than that. He could either get hurt or, since he's on the commish's radar now, cost his team with a suspension. I've never watched another player whose development reminded me so much of a yo-yo.
Speaking of turnovers, two INTs and two botched QB-Center exchanges are a little much even for the first preseason game. I'm not overly concerned about the exchanges unless there's trouble next game, but the Titans are 14-1 in games in which Vince started and didn't throw an INT (thanks WRKN). Protecting the football is imperative in a conservative offensive style like Fisherball.
I think Paul Williams finally played his way off the roster last night. He had two or three drops that were easily catchable. If this guy hasn't gotten it by now, it's time to move on. Nothing to see here. Kenny Britt played poorly overall as well, at least in the passing game. He had a couple of drops that should have been caught. I'm not sure what happened to the playmaker from a year ago, butI hope he turns it around soon. On the bright side, he showed great value in the run game with a couple of great blocks. One was mentioned by the WKRN crew, but another went unnoticed.
I mentioned Chris Simms earlier while praising Rusty Smith. There's no excuse for a guy with his experience to play so poorly in the preseason opener. He knows the Titans offense since this is his second go-round with them. Yes, he played with second-stringers but for the most part he made them look bad, not the other way around. Some people call Kerry Collins a statue in the pocket, but I'd rather have a statue that will take the sack five yards behind the line than a semi-statue like Simms who retreats an extra five or so yards, plants, makes a little circle, and then crumples beneath the pile. That little circle-plant fake may have worked way back in high school but not the NFL. His throws were off-target all night. He made poor decisions in the pocket. He locked onto receivers. When he did throw for a completion the ball was often in the wrong place, forcing the receiver to come back to it or stop, thus eliminating any possibility of yards after the catch. Most disturbing to me was his 24 total yards passing on 13 attempts. That's a whopping 1.8 yard per attempt. That says he's not seeing the field and settling for a check down. He played with a short field. I've gotten onto Vince in the past about this and he seems to be doing much better. Simms has a few years in the league on him. There is no excuse. Either Simms improves vastly or the 3rd string job should go to the much cheaper rookie Rusty Smith.
Why did the Titans waste the opening kickoff return and a punt return on Alvin Pearman? We and they already know he's not the answer at either spot. He sucked at both last year and doesn't appear to be any better this season.
And lastly in the bad is Ryan Mouton and Jason McCourty. McCourty wasn't bad per se, but he did nothing special. Mouton was simply awful. He still looks lost and is out of position on just about every play. I'm not even sure he's worthy of a roster spot or that he's even NFL talent. I never dreamed I would ever utter the following but by gosh, Mouton proved me wrong - "He just got burned by MIKE FREAKIN' WILLIAMS!!!!" Could there by a more damning epitaph to a corner's career? He also took several bad tackling angles. Yes, he lucked up and Whitehurst threw behind his receiver and right into Mouton's hands, but a fluke INT hardly makes up for a night being burned like a B-lister at a celebrity roast.
The Ugly
The first ugly of the year has to be Stafon Johnson's injury. The kid's story was inspiring and he worked so hard to get himself in position to play in the NFL. During his brief stint in the game he played well too - 3 carries for 23 yards including a 17 yard jaunt that made me wonder whether or not Ringer may have some competition for the backup role. In all likelihood, Stafon's season is over before it began. Hopefully the Titans will place him on injured reserve. It got me to thinking about Quinton Ganther. I wonder what was going through his mind watching a kid fighting for a roster spot go down like that in preseason? Here's wishing the young man a speedy, full recovery. Hopefully he'll return for another rodeo in Titan blue next year.