Tennessee Titans Blogs

With the Hall of Fame game being played this past weekend, the 2010-2011 NFL season is on the horizon. With teams in training camp and rosters being formed, I'll take you around the league in the coming weeks to preview each division. This week we start with the AFC South, a division dominated by the Indianapolis Colts. Will their run continue this year or will someone else take the division title? We'll go in order from worst to first from last year's season standings. Let's get it on!

Continue reading "Joe's 2010 NFL Season Preview: AFC South"

With a gaping hole at tight end, the Patriots decided not to wait until the draft to begin addressing the problem. They signed four-time Pro Bowler Alge Crumpler from Tennessee.

 

Unfortunately this is a signing that sounds better than it actually is. The 32-year-old Crumpler is three years from his last Pro Bowl season in 2006. Since then his receiving yards have steadily dropped year after year. Today Crumpler is a blocking TE with receiving skills well beyond the average blocking tight end.

Continue reading "A Block of Alge"

The 2009 Heisman Trophy will be awarded to the most outstanding NCAA college football player by the Downtown Athletic Club at an annual ceremony at the Nokia Theatre in New York City on December 12. 

Continue reading "Heisman Winners Who Couldn't Hack The NFL"

In a crazy week six in the NFL, we saw both New York teams fall, one squad completely give up, and three teams continue their undefeated ways. The Final Drive of week six starts right now! 

Continue reading "Joe's Final Drive: Week 6"

That was not nice. I was starting to feel sorry for the Titans. That kind of beating you only wish for your worst enemies (New York Jets) or someone you have a vendetta against (Denver Broncos for that OT loss).

Continue reading "Pick Six: Week Six"

I’m not buyin’ it. Tennessee is 0-5, but they are the best 0-5 team in the NFL. Usually that’s a tongue-in-cheek jab at a bad team, but I mean it this time. I wasn’t a true believer in Tennessee’s 13-3 record last year, but I’m positive they are not as bad as 0-5.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 6"

Its recently been brought to my attention that, over the past couple of weeks or so, my readership has doubled in volume, from 2 to 4. Thanks to these good natured and sympathetic followers, I’m left to wrestle with a serious question: Do I quit while on top (never had I anticipated the blog becoming this great a success), or do I continue to dribble out these “bi-weekly” blunderbusses, even though there is likely nowhere to go from here but down?

Continue reading "Late Night Rant"

Good morning fantasy friends!

Today is Saturday September 26, 2009 so you have a little more than 24 hours to get your fantasy act together or you may end up with that crucial week 3 L.  

Continue reading "Welcome to Fantasy Land!"

The Cardinals continued their dominance of the National League Central this week, going 5-1 on a road trip with a blown save on Sunday, meaning it could've been a 6-0 trip. Last night the Cards got a boost from John Smoltz who was rocky early, giving up three runs in the first two innings, but he stuck with it and shut out the Brewers over the next three innings before turning it over to the bullpen. The Brewers had their chances for a knock out blow, but they couldn't capitalize, just as the Cards couldn't do so with runners in scoring position. When a team goes 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position and can still grind out a win, that's the make of a championship caliber team. Even when they don't play that well, they win.

Continue reading "Cards Continue September Tear and ..."

I have a love/hate relationship with the Big 10 Network.  You see, I am from Wisconsin, land of cheese, cows, brats, burgers and Big 10 Sports.  The weather, the game atmosphere, the rivalries, the fans, and the ugly fights in the trenches appeal to me.  So, naturally the Big 10 previews, the classic games, and the live games are amazing to me.  Look, I hate Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Michigan, and Ohio State; I mean really hate.. yet, here I tun in and watch Iowa beat LSU on a hail mary, Michigan vs. Ohio State, Ohio State's improbable win over Miami.  Why?  I think they are clearly great games; I know the players, the tradition, and the result.  I laugh to myself watching Jeff George sling the rock, ol Jess Settles battling in the paint, and seeing Desmond Howard strike the pose.  Just classic.

Continue reading "Big 10 Network"

Former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Steve McNair was shot and killed Saturday night in his downtown Nashville condominium.

Nashville authorities have indicated that McNair, 36, may have been slain by his 20-year-old mistress, Sahel Kazemi, in a murder-suicide.

Continue reading "Steve McNair Was Not The Man We Thougt He Was"

Steve McNair's untimely death has struck the hearts of Tennessean's and football fans all over.

Toughness. It's a quality that is not only wanted, but is of the utmost importance in the National Football League. Not many players had more of it than Steve McNair. He played with terrible knees, worn out legs, and even a ruptured sternum. Titans fans became spoiled being able to have a quarterback with such a high tolerance for pain. He was the Superman of the Tennessee Titans franchise.

Continue reading "A Fallen Titan"

It has been a tough couple of weeks for me.  I used to watch Johnny Carson and I found out that Ed McMahon past away.  That was sad and yet happy.  It brought back memories of the tonight show and star search.  And, Mr. McMahon led a good, full life.  Then Farah Fawcet passed away in her valiant battle against cancer.  I remember my dad wearing an iron on of hat famous poster.  Then, the biggest loss, Michael Jackson.  I was looking forward to his new tour and albums and hoping that he could overcome the struggles of the past decade.  The King of Pop is gone....

Continue reading "Steve McNair"

Every Titan fan remembers how Torry Holt embarrassed our secondary in the big game back in '99 and now we have a chance to get the veteran receiver. We have the savvy Pro-Bowl quarterback who won't make mistakes and will make plays when we need it, solid receivers who do what they're asked of, one of the best running back tandems in the league, the best pair of tight ends we've had since Frank Wycheck and Erron Kinney and most importantly; the best offensive line in the game. I'm sure Torry is tired of having missed the playoffs for the past half decade with the sorry Rams and now he can be back with a winner. He'd compliment our style about as much as we'd compliment his unselfish, and hard working work ethic and we're just missing another big play threat to go along with Chris Johnson (who has shown he's not always going to be able to go). 

Continue reading "Torry Holt took Super Bowl 34 away ..."

                The Vince Young project with the Tennessee Titans has come to a crossroads, now the only thing to do is decide whether the Titans can still get something positive out of their former number 3 overall pick.

Continue reading "Is it time to consider Vince Young ..."

In a time where the economy is down in the dumps, and steroids seem to be in the main stream media, there is another story.  Albert Haynesworth wants to stay in Tennessee.  Why is this so big?  Because he also wants to be the highest paid defensive player in the league.  The real question is, is he worth it?  Haynesworth had 8.5 sacks, 51 tackles, and 3 forced fumbles.  The good news for Haynesworth is, there was only one other interior defensive lineman that had that many sacks.  The bad news is that he is also a Unrestricted Free Agent.

Continue reading "Do the Tennessee Titans really want ..."

The first year I ever watched a Super Bowl was after the 1996 season, when the Green Bay Packers (whom I, ironically, as a Vikings fan, was rooting for) beat the New England Patriots thanks in large part to a kickoff return by Desmond Howard for a touchdown to open the second half (if my memory serves me right).

Continue reading "My Favorite Super Bowl"

I've posted lists of this length and magnitude elsewhere in the past. Before I get to the rankings, I like to explain my general rationale and some of the specifics of the decision-making process. Here are some essential rules, so you can better understand my thinking:

Continue reading "The NFL's Top 100 Players"

I think when your sub-sub-sub concious is trying to tell you something, you should really heed to that advice. Last week I talked about long layoffs, and low and behold three of the home teams were upset. Is that going to happen regularly? I hope not, because all the money that was won from the first round of the playoffs would continiously get blown on the second round games. Before I get down into the games this up coming weekend, I want to try to break down the four games that were played. So, with random stories about my past put aside for now, let's get into it.

Continue reading "NFC/AFC Championship game picks"

Analysis of Saturday's Ravens-Titans game:

1. Joe Flacco: Flacco barely improved on his mediocre numbers from the Miami game: from 9 of 23 for 135 yards to 11 of 22 for 161 yards. However, he made two beautiful, absolutely clutch throws: the 48-yard TD bomb to Derrick Mason on 3rd-and-13, and the 23-yard completion to Todd Heap to convert a 3rd-and-2. The first throw tied the game at 7 all, answered Tennessee's TD drive, and gave us our first real sparks of life after consecutive 3-and-outs to open the game. The second throw kept alive the drive that culminated in Matt Stover's game-winning field goal with 57 seconds remaining.

Continue reading "Baltimore Ravens-Tennessee Titans ..."

By halftime of Saturday's Ravens-Titans game, the sense of Deja Vu was too strong to ignore. Was it 2009 or 2001?  Either way, the result was the same: a divisional round upset of a 13-3 Titans squad that completely dominated us on paper yet couldn't translate its offensive output into points. On Saturday, Tennessee passed for over 100 more yards, ran for over 60 more yards, racked up twice as many 1st downs, held the ball for nearly 10 more minutes ... and lost by 3 points. And that's not even the crazy game: In 2001, Tennessee held nearly identical advantages in passing and rushing yards, gained nearly four times as many 1st downs, held the ball for over 20 more minutes ... and lost by 14 points.

Continue reading "Baltimore Ravens-Tennessee Titans ..."

Continue reading "Ravens still flying High."

Well, I'm finally back at it. I was going at a pretty good clip before the holidays but had something come up everytime I've tried to write since. I hope you all had a great holiday season and are ready for an even better year in sports. Which brings us to the first championship of the year.  In many mines, Utah won it a couple of days ago when they rolled right over the Crimson Tide. There was a team in that game that appeared like it didn't belong, but it certainly wasn't the Utes.

Continue reading "NFL Divisional playoffs and the BCS Title"

Analyzing Sunday's Ravens-Dolphins game:

1. Joe Flacco: The rookie posted his lowest completion percentage of the season (9 completions in 23 attempts, or 39.1%). He threw for only 135 yards, and missed on at least 3 bombs to receivers open downfield (though he would have had a TD pass if Todd Heap had held onto a catchable ball in the end zone). Still, on a day when his counterpart in teal threw 4 interceptions and took some vicious hits, Flacco made smart decisions, converted several third downs on both TD drives, and ran a perfect QB keeper up the middle for the icing score. In short, nothing special—most likely nothing that will get it done against the Titans or Steelers—but he gave his team enough to walk away with the win. The first win ever for a rookie QB making his playoff debut on the road, by the way. Not even Ben Roethlisberger can say that.

Continue reading "Baltimore Ravens-Miami Dolphins post-game ..."

Continue reading "Baltimore Ravens Dominate for a second time."

So, evidently Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson is surprised he isn’t the Offensive Rookie of the Year. 

I don’t have the exact quote, but he said something like, “I found out yesterday that I am not the ROY.”

Continue reading "Chris Johnson and the Rookie of the Year"

From Week 12 to Week 15 the Houston Texans showed great poise and determination. They started a 4-game winning streak in Cleveland in a defensive battle. Not overly impressive, but a win is a win in the National Football League. The team then dominated a displaced looking Jacksonville Jaguars team at home in the first Monday Night game in franchise history.

Continue reading "Still Important"

Continue reading "Weekend top games and keys to battle"

 To show what the NFL is truly all about I have put this together to prove that besides Detroit, parity rules the NFL every week.

THESE ARE MY NFL RANKINGS.

1 Kansas City (beat Oakland)

Continue reading "The Second NFL Shankster Rankings [1-32]"

I would like to thank the Minnesota Vikings for putting the boots to the Arizona Cardinals, with their back-up quarterback, to the tune of 35-14. As if the Cards didn't have reason enough to win this Sunday. They're still jockeying for playoff positioning. Now they are hungry to bounce back from Sunday's butt-kicking.

Continue reading "Another Inspired Patriots Opponent"

The Rams and the Steelers both continued their 2008 season trends in Week 15. The Steelers turned defeat into victory while the Rams did just the opposite. I was glad for both outcomes. The Steelers clinched the AFC North by beating the Ravens 13-9 to make their fourth consecutive playoff appearance while the Rams lost the tiebreaker with Seattle by getting swept by them, better positioning themselves for the upcoming draft. The Cincinnati Bengals upset the Washington Redskins, giving the Bengals an overall record of 2-11-1, meanin that St. Louis is now tied for the second worst record in the league with the Kansas City Chiefs, trailing just the winless Detroit Lions for the top pick. The Rams now stand a very good chance to pick second in the draft for the second straight year. Jim Haslett may not be around to enjoy it though. Haslett's been the only one enjoying the Rams playbook lately.

Continue reading "NFL Week 15"

A 1-point win never seemed so mammoth.

Yesterday the Houston Texans defeated the Tennessee Titans 13-12 in front of a jam-packed crowd at Reliant Stadium. With the win the Texans evened their season record at 7-7 and recorded their first 4 game winning streak in franchise history. Playoff chances have been done for weeks, but the Texans are still playing tough and like a team with a lot on the line.

Continue reading "Not This Time"

After the loss to the Titans, it's difficult to imagine that we could beat the Eagles next Monday night in Philly.

Yes, we have played well enough on Monday nights this season to win, but if you watched the Titans hammer the Browns on Sunday...you were left with little confidence, pride, and heart. The score: Titans 28, Browns 9. Make all of the excuses that you want, but we didn't look like a professional team out there.

Continue reading "Cleveland Browns: The horror, the horror"

With the tearing down of the "Williams Wall" forefront in all Vikings fans' minds right now, I would like to go off on a little bit different of a tangent, comparing the AFC juggernaut of his year to a similar 1998 NFC dominating force...

Continue reading "Vikings-Titans: An Interesting Comparison"

The local airwaves today were full of speculation about the Ravens' chances on wresting the division title from the Steelers. Frankly, I don't see it happening. If we get in, it's going to be as a wild card --- in fact, there's an outside chance that a 12-4 record will be rewarded with the number 6 seed, while the Broncos win the AFC West at 8-8. But there's no point in bellyaching about that --- in 2003 the 12-4 Titans visited the 10-6 Ravens in the first round of the playoffs, and we all know how that one turned out.

Continue reading "Baltimore Ravens playoff chances"

For those of you too busy with cooking dinner or crying babies to follow Thanksgiving’s slate of NFL action, I’m here with a quick recap. (You didn’t miss much.)

Tennessee Titans 47, Detroit Lions 10

Continue reading "Joey A's Thanksgiving Day Recap"

Continue reading "Happy Thanksgiving"

It's not just the turkey, or the stuffing, or the certain 8,000 calories one will consume that makes Thanksgiving a nation pastime in American homes. The NFL has been involved with Thanksgiving since it's earliest of days and has had both classic and controversial moments in league history. This year, a different type of history could be in the making and it continues on Thanksgiving. The Detroit Lions could be on the verge of having a winless season, Arizona could win their first division title in over 30 years, and the McNabb era could be coming to an end after 10+ years in Philadelphia. Ah yes, so grab those sweet potatoes, pull up a chair, and continue to stuff your face as the Annual Thanksgiving NFL Classic continues.

Continue reading "Want a Side of Football with that?"

     As we do each week, we are providing fantasy football players with the best information in the most interesting format possible. So, enjoy your viewing of this video that is sure to bring you what you need and remind you of things that you want.

Continue reading "Videos of the Week-Fantasy Sportsgirl ..."

The first ever NFL Shankster Rankings. Comments welcome, where did I mess up?


1. NY Giants - Clearly prepared to defend their title the Giants are playing to win.

2. Carolina - Did anyone predict they would be here now?

Continue reading "The NFL Shankster Rankings [1-32]"

As the Titans--the only team in the NFL still undefeated--just kicked a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead--here are five reasons why it will be the 4-5 Jaguars who come away winners today:

Continue reading "Why the Jags Will Knock off the Undefeated Titans"

It’s been a weird year, especially for sports. The Boston Celtics finally picked themselves up from the bootstraps to win a championship. Neither the Red Sox nor the Yankees amounted to anything more than a bunch of overpaid whiners. They are even tearing down Yankee Stadium.

Continue reading "All Good Soldiers"

In the wake of Reggie Bush’s injury I started thinking about Alma Mater, the academic spirit of team and the transition from college superstar to the NFL. Its funny how no matter how great a college player is, you never know how that talent is going to translate to the NFL. Such is the case with LenDale White.

Continue reading "It's the White Time"

The Chicago Bears certainly played tough defensively against the Tennessee Titans. They held the AFC powerhouse to just 20 yards rushing for the entire game, and an impressive -5 yards rushing for the first half.  The Titans, however, found another way to win, and can thank Kerry Collins, their quarterback, for having a fine game. 

Continue reading "Bears Play Titans Tough But Fall 21-14"

After the first offensive and defensive possessions for the Bears on Sunday, fans naturally felt more relaxed at the prospect of facing the undefeated Tennessee Titans. The Bears forced a three-and-out on the Titans’ opening drive, then took the ball and went 75 yards to the end zone, taking the early 7-0 lead. It’s just too bad they had to play the rest of the game.  

Continue reading "Bears Latest to Fall to Superior Titans"

If Lovie Smith and his Bears want to be among the elite in the NFC, their match-up versus the unbeaten Tennessee Titans on Sunday is the perfect opportunity to show it. Jeff Fisher’s Titans have been the most consistent team in the NFL in 2008, winning each week with a combination of hard-nosed defense and an outstanding running game. They are what the Bears often claim to be, but this season Chicago holds down first place in their division because of its passing game, which is in jeopardy due to the loss of Kyle Orton.  

Continue reading "Joe’s Gameday Preview: Tennessee ..."

You know the expression, "it's not easy being green."  Well, a variation of that would apply to Bears' fans. "It's not easy being a Bears' fan."  The Bears avoided a humiliating loss when they rallied for two touchdowns and squeaked by in the 4th quarter to win 27-23.  Actually, Rex Grossman, who filled in for the injured Kyle Orton, did the squeaking, for a yard to score the winning TD with under 6:00 to play. 

Continue reading "Bears Lose Orton, Squeak By Detroit"

While I don’t want to take anything away from the Vikings, Houston lost the game more than Minnesota won it. Our Texans lost the turnover battle 3-1 in the game giving up 2 interceptions in the opponent’s redzone and fumbling while in Viking territory. Jacques Reeves recorded Houston’s lone turnover in the game picking off a Gus Frerotte pass and returning it for the score. While Reeves made arguable the biggest play in the game for the Texans, he was rarely able to hold his own against the Minnesota receiving corps giving up 2 of Frerotte’s 3 TD passes and was beat numerous other times.

Continue reading "What Does This Mean?"

Life ain't fair. As the Patriots lose player after player to injury, the Indianapolis Colts are getting healthy.

RBs Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan will miss their second game in a row while Indy's Joseph Addai likely returns.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 9"

The Chicago Bears will host the Detroit Lions on Sunday and the Bears need to win decisively with no doubt about the outcome.  The Bears can't afford to win the game like the Jets' Houdini act against the Chiefs last week.  If Chicago is for real this season, this game should not be a contest.  If Chicago handles the Lions, it will be 5-3 and contending for the Division lead.  Who is the other contender?  The Packers.  Nuff Said.

Continue reading "Bears Must Get Job Done At Home"

Anyone somewhat familiar with college football surely is well aware of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). The BCS ranks the top college programs based on a rankings, college polls, and computer selection methods. The top 2 BCS ranked teams at the end of the college season qualify for the right to play in the National Championship. Over the years it has had its fair share of hits (USC vs Texas a couple of years ago) to downright misses (see Miami vs Nebraska) but has always provided the sports world with controversy and something to talk about. Now imagine the BCS being used in the NFL? One can only dream of the madness it could create. The NFL will always have playoffs, the league would die without it, but here is a look at what the NFL BCS rankings could look like following week 8.

Continue reading "BCS: NFL Edition"

To My faithful blog readers, You all ready know I was 3-1. I had another great weekend. I had 6 games I was looking at and Jags where only one to let me down. I am also giving out my Monday Night Specail. I Like the Colts and the Over. Peyton Manning and Monday Night football, how can you go against him. I like a close game so thinking final 27-20. Colts open up the Titans D.

Continue reading "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner"

A big thanks to everyone who participated in the "Inbound Link Contest".  We have a winner!  A big congratulations go out to Marija.  Thank you for all your hard work on this.  While we had a lot of people participate, Marija was able to win with only 4 links!  So it wouldn't have taken a lot to win this contest!  We'll be having another contest soon so stay tuned.

Continue reading "Inbound link contest winner announced!"

#10 can’t do it by himself. Vince Young is a very talented football player that wins football games. The only problem that this winner of a National Championship has is that he can’t win the football games that he needs to win by himself. There aren’t a lot of playmakers in the Titan offense to help Vince Young get it done and until the Titans address this problem, they will only be good enough to lose in the playoffs. This is the NFL. As fun as it is to watch Vince Young run all over the field, its not enough to get the job done. I am disapointed that the Titans organization did not draft a wide receiver in the first round, a round in which no wide receivers where drafted. Even when wide outs started to go in the second round, the Titans still did not bite. They missed out on a lot of playmakers. They should be ashamed.

Continue reading "32 Teams in 32 Days, Team #11: The ..."

To try and motivate our bloggers to get inbound links we're going to have a contest to see which blogger can get the most inbound links to their blog. The contest begins now and ends July 31st, 2008. To be entered in to the contest all you have to do is go out and get as many websites to link to your blog as you can and at the end of the month send us an email listing all those links. All links must be active from August 1st through August 7th when we'll be judging the entries - a winner will be announced on August 7th. All entry emails must be received by Midnight on July 31st, 2008. You can email them to sportsfan@nbabasketballonline.com

Continue reading "Inbound link contest - Win $100!"

Okay, first of all. How awesome is the fact that the NFL football season might be extended to 17 games? I mean, for any avid football fan, he/she knows the importance of just…that….one…more game to get them and their team into the playoffs. I know that if the Indianapolis Colts had one more game to play, well, let’s just say it would have been a completely different outcome, than those darn New York Giants.. Pfft.

Continue reading "NFL Season Extension"

An overrated cornerback is taking shots at an overrated safety. A defensive end who thinks he's one of the best in the National Football League is walking out on practice. One of the league's biggest troublemakers is looking to elbow his way into the picture on both sides of the ball. An aging wide receiver is threatening to sue the team over the treatment of his chronically bad right knee. The quarterback is trying to break up with his superstar girlfriend, and her PR machine won't let it happen.

Continue reading "Cowboys rounding up drama at Valley Ranch"

http://wizbangsports.com/2008/04/ah_drugs_arrests_and_general_m.

Like a rite of spring, we're getting our annual off-season crop of NFL assclowns coming into bloom and doing their best to fritter away their careers.

Continue reading "Ah, Drugs, Arrests and General Misdeeds. ..."

     Battles between titans are always filled with their share of anticipation, but rarely do the opponents bring in so much shared history as in the Final Four slugfest-to-be that is Kansas vs. North Carolina.  Besides giving college sports fans one of the greatest championship games in history in 1957 when the Tarheels defteated Wilt Chamberlin and the Jayhawks 54-53 in triple overtime, the entwined history of these two powerhouses that follows should lead to one of the most anticipated Final Four matchups in history.

Continue reading "Roy's Boys vs. The Big Blue Phog: ..."

Doesn't Jerry Jones remember The White House?
Jones and I are fraternity brothers after all (Kappa Sigma is for life), but apparently he believes that winning Super Bowls requires the same deviant behavior that his Dallas Cowboys practiced during their 1990s dynasty.

Continue reading "Jones will gobble up Cowboys' good will"

On Sunday, the Cleveland Browns won their tenth game of the season against a San Francisco team in disarray. A season that started off so poorly in Week 1 resulted in expectations being surpassed for Browns’ fans.

Continue reading "Dream Season Over, Off-Season Begins ..."

Today the news broke that the Detroit Lions are looking to move Shaun Rogers via trade or release and, while I do not understand or agree with their decision, the Jets must try to acquire the seventh year defensive tackle.

Continue reading "Mr. Rogers' New Neighborhood?"

It's the best time of year and, for those who lose, the worst time of year. For fans lucky enough to have a bye this weekend it will be one of the most enjoyable, relaxing weekends of the football season. No pressure. Just sit back and watch to see who you'll be playing. My personal recommendation is make something in the crock pot (like Jambalaya). It will simmer all day and be ready just about the time the games are starting. Some random thoughts on the games and my Pats-biased picks..

Continue reading "The Yoffs Are Here!"

There you have it folks, it was a close one, but in the end all we can walk away with is improvement and a eagerness for next season. As a Browns fan one can only feel disappointed however. Cleveland did have the chance to go to the playoffs without question, but blew that with a loss to Cincinnati, but the disappointment comes in after watching the poor performance by the Colts.

Continue reading "Lake Erie Weeps"

When it comes to the playoff crunch, the end of the season, the stretch run, the last lap, all a team wants is to "control their own destiny."  Simply put, win and your in.  The Cleveland Browns marched into Cincinnati to take on the Bengals, or should I say 5-9 bungals.  Not only did they have a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win, they had a chance to put the pressure on the Pittsburgh Steelers for who claims the division crown.  On the opening kickoff the Bengals' kick returner Glenn Holt almost gift wrapped it for the Browns with a fumble in his own territory.  However, he was able to recover his own fumble, thus setting the tone of bad breaks for the Browns.  The Browns didn't play horrible on offense, their obvious strength of the team.  Jamal Lewis seemed to be running faster than ever, Derek Anderson was hitting his underneath receivers and the offense was moving the ball through a fierce wind.  The second bad break or bad bounce for the Browns was when Dave Zastudil couldn't handle the snap on a very makeable field goal that would have put the Browns up in the first quarter.  After Kenny Watson shredded the defense for runs of 7 and 9 yards back-to-back, Carson Palmer was picked off by Leigh Bodden and returned 22 yards.  The Browns found themselves with a fourth-and-one deep in Cincinnati's side of the field.  This time on a clean snap, Jamal Lewis was stuffed straight up the gut and gave the ball right back to the Bengals in a scoreless game.  Fast forward to only 1:13 left in the first half and the Browns found themselves only down 6-0 with the ball.  Well although that doesn't sound like a bad scenario it was.  Derek Anderson's next two passes were picked off and returned into the redzone which set up to touchdowns (one missed two-point conversion) and a 19-0 halftime score.  The second half was dominated by the Browns on both sides of the ball.  Behind two Braylon Edwards TD receptions (setting a new franchise record with 15) the Browns crept back to a 19-14 deficit.  However a last second chuck to the end zone from the Cincy 29 yard line to Kellen Winslow was incomplete and so was the Browns' playoff berth.  With one game left the Browns completely lost control of "their own destiny" when the Tennessee Titans knocked off the New York Jets.  The Browns now find themselves rooting for the Indianapolis Colts who will play host to the Titans this Sunday.  The problem for those rooting for the Browns: the Colts have absolutely nothing to play for.  Aside from contributing an extra digit in the W column, there is nothing else.  They already hold the number 2 seed in the AFC playoffs and speculation right now is that Peyton Manning should see no more than the first 15 minutes - if that during the game.  The Browns basically could forfeit (not that they ever would or should) because a win or a loss means nothing as well.  The Titans now control both "their" and the Browns' "destiny."  Win and

Continue reading "Indianapolis' Biggest Fan: The Cleveland Browns"