Green Bay / Tennessee
The first real contender the Titans faced turned into their first real tough match, one that sent them to overtime. Their two-running back system (Johnson and White) helped them move the ball, but the Packers were smothering.
But they kept pounding and pounding, chipping away (okay, too much cliché). They moved down the field, a few yards at a time, moving quietly into FG range.
This is why they haven’t lost a game yet: they don’t need to air the ball out to move around. They can run the ball, run it well, and grind down the defence, tiring out the front four and the linebackers. They can control the clock this way, and with a quarterback who knows how to call a game, they can win games they otherwise wouldn’t.
I’m as big a fan of Vince Young as the next guy, but this is what separates him from Kerry Collins. When he played for the Longhorns, he was their running game, for the most part. He didn’t have to worry about controlling the clock, or at least not as abstractly; Young’s sheer athleticism was enough that he could often scramble out of bounds and stop the clock if need be.
But that doesn’t work in the NFL. The lines are too big, too powerful. I’m sure it was overwhelming, especially now that defences are keyed into what he can do. He’s going to have to learn to call games if he wants to excel at his position, and there aren’t many people better to learn it from then Collins.
Cleveland / Baltimore
Last year, we saw one of the best games of the season between these two, one that featured a kick bounce out of the season. An instant classic, perhaps.
Sunday, we saw Derek Anderson lead the Browns back, moving them deep late in the game – and getting picked off, cementing the Baltimore win.
It’s a neat change from the usual rivalries, and one that’s especially fitting: the old Browns moved to Baltimore.
Anyway, this game most likely marked the end of the Derek Anderson era in Cleveland – one that had it’s highs (a playoff appearance last year, a couple thrilling shootouts) and some lows (an 18 of 32 and two interception night against Pittsburgh earlier this season).
Anderson, when he appeared last year, was a bit of a bright flash. After Charlie Frye flopped in the season opener, Anderson took over and made an immediate impression in a shootout against Cincinnati: over 300 yards in the air and five majors in a 51-45 win. From there the Browns tore it up, finishing 10-6, same as the division-winning Steelers.
But since then his stock has been dropping like a rock: the Browns lost their first three games and Anderson’s numbers are down across the board. It doesn’t help that the Browns are looking more and more like a team headed to the cellar – so why not give the rookie some time?
Other notes:
This week seemed to be the backup’s revenge week: Backups had big days in Pittsburgh and Chicago, while it looks like starters in San Francisco, Detroit and Cleveland may be gone. Have to wonder though – after a solid game against the Bears, is it fair to yank out Orlovsky for Culpepper? Remember, Culpepper hasn’t been effective since he blew out his knee… What’s happened to the Raiders? They’ve fallen so far, even from last year. Against a decent Falcons team they looked like a bunch of scrubs – only 77 yards! Indescribably awful.
Showing posts with label Tennessee Titans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tennessee Titans. Show all posts
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Take Care, Air McNair
For a talent that seemed so explosive, so promising and so revolutionary, it was sad to see it end like this. Not with a bang – or in this case, with a long toss or a mad dash – but simply petering out.
It was injuries that did in Steve McNair, the end result of over a decade of fast-paced, physical quarterbacking. Unlike his college career, McNair was never much more then a marginal quarterback. In his lone superbowl appearance, his Titans came just shy, a half-yard short.
He wasn’t the first quarterback who could scramble, nor was he the first with a powerful arm.
But, when he was at his best, he was able to meld the two together and become hard to stop. He was a gritty, physical player who led his teams and played through the injuries that plagued his career.
In his best season, 2003, he averaged about eight yards a pass and threw for 24 touchdowns and over 3,200 yards. And he rushed for another four touchdowns on top of that. The Titans went 12-4 that season, good enough for a Wild Card birth.
They lost in the second round of the playoffs on a frozen Gillette Stadium that season, in a 17-14 thriller against the Patriots. It was the last time McNair played that late in the postseason.
In an era that will be remembered more for success of players like Tom Brady, Payton Manning or Brett Farve, McNair could prove to be the more influential, both in his style of play and in that he was one of the few Black starting quarterbacks in this decade.
Since he joined the NFL in 1995, quarterbacks such as Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Vince Young have followed in his path, a mobile threat style of play. The Black quarterback has become much more visible – when he was drafted in 1995, only Warren Moon and Randall Cunningham were starting.
He was maybe one of the first quarterbacks you could legitimately call a duel threat. There were five seasons where he rushed for 400 or more yards and two where he rushed for eight touchdowns. His QB Rating was constantly above 100, and maxed out at 127 in 2003, the season he won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award.
However, it is his college numbers that really stand out.
While playing for Alcorn State in the early 1990s, McNair put up unbelievable numbers: in 1994, for instance, he passed for nearly 5,000 yards, for 44 touchdowns on top of his 936 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
In his final game, against Jackston State in November of 1994, McNair threw for five touchdowns and over 500 yards.
He was named to the first-team of the Division 1-AA All-America team that season, and was drafted third overall in 1994 by the Houston Oilers.
Is he a hall of famer? While he never won the big game, his numbers are pretty solid. He won an MVP trophy. He won 75 per cent of the games he started. He is one of only three QBs to have over 30,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards.
The other two? Steve Young and Fran Tarkenton. If they’re in hall, why shouldn’t McNair be?
It was injuries that did in Steve McNair, the end result of over a decade of fast-paced, physical quarterbacking. Unlike his college career, McNair was never much more then a marginal quarterback. In his lone superbowl appearance, his Titans came just shy, a half-yard short.
He wasn’t the first quarterback who could scramble, nor was he the first with a powerful arm.
But, when he was at his best, he was able to meld the two together and become hard to stop. He was a gritty, physical player who led his teams and played through the injuries that plagued his career.
In his best season, 2003, he averaged about eight yards a pass and threw for 24 touchdowns and over 3,200 yards. And he rushed for another four touchdowns on top of that. The Titans went 12-4 that season, good enough for a Wild Card birth.
They lost in the second round of the playoffs on a frozen Gillette Stadium that season, in a 17-14 thriller against the Patriots. It was the last time McNair played that late in the postseason.
In an era that will be remembered more for success of players like Tom Brady, Payton Manning or Brett Farve, McNair could prove to be the more influential, both in his style of play and in that he was one of the few Black starting quarterbacks in this decade.
Since he joined the NFL in 1995, quarterbacks such as Michael Vick, Donovan McNabb and Vince Young have followed in his path, a mobile threat style of play. The Black quarterback has become much more visible – when he was drafted in 1995, only Warren Moon and Randall Cunningham were starting.
He was maybe one of the first quarterbacks you could legitimately call a duel threat. There were five seasons where he rushed for 400 or more yards and two where he rushed for eight touchdowns. His QB Rating was constantly above 100, and maxed out at 127 in 2003, the season he won the NFL’s Most Valuable Player award.
However, it is his college numbers that really stand out.
While playing for Alcorn State in the early 1990s, McNair put up unbelievable numbers: in 1994, for instance, he passed for nearly 5,000 yards, for 44 touchdowns on top of his 936 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
In his final game, against Jackston State in November of 1994, McNair threw for five touchdowns and over 500 yards.
He was named to the first-team of the Division 1-AA All-America team that season, and was drafted third overall in 1994 by the Houston Oilers.
Is he a hall of famer? While he never won the big game, his numbers are pretty solid. He won an MVP trophy. He won 75 per cent of the games he started. He is one of only three QBs to have over 30,000 passing yards and 3,000 rushing yards.
The other two? Steve Young and Fran Tarkenton. If they’re in hall, why shouldn’t McNair be?
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