MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition

hagan714 · 09-25-2007, 08:48 AM

MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition

September 25, 2007 5:06 AM
The downside to reaching the NFC title game is that people might mistake you for a good team. The New Orleans Saints' magical 2006 season captured the nation's attention, but now serves as a point of reference for an 0-3 start.
This just in: The Saints are a really bad football team right now. Linebacker Scott Fujita may have said it best after Monday's 31-14 loss to the Titans.
"Steve Weatherford is playing great," Fujita said of the team's punter. "Other than that, we're not playing worth a damn."
Fujita, a wallflower during his stay in Dallas, has suddenly become one of the best quotes in the business. He punctuated his post-game news conference with a random but poignant expletive, leaving his audience wanting more.
In front of a national television audience, the Titans walked into a hostile environment and basically kicked the Saints around for four quarters. The scoreboard reflected a close game midway through the third quarter, but in reality, the Saints had no business being in the game.
Now, please join me for the anatomy of a beatdown:

I've known the Sean Payton for several years now, but nothing prepared me for what I saw late in the first quarter. With his team trailing 3-0, Payton inexplicably elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his 45-yard line. He whispered the play into the back of his laminated chart (love the colors), and then Saints fans watched in horror as quarterback Drew Brees threw a deep ball in the general vicinity of Marques Colston.

"I take responsibility for going for it on fourth down in the first half," said Payton, as if we may have been waiting to pin it on the trainer. "I am trying to create some momentum. It has been something we have lacked."
The play had the exact opposite effect, allowing the Titans a short field for a quick scoring drive, which was extended on a fourth-and-1 conversion by running back Chris Brown. Payton's move smacked of desperation, something we were led to believe hadn't inhabited the Saints locker room.

I almost felt guilty leading with that play since the real story of the game was the Titans defensive line owning the Saints. Before leaving the game with a dislocated finger in the fourth quarter, All-Pro left tackle Jammal Brown was outplayed badly by Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. Next to Vanden Bosch, defensive end Albert Haynesworth was busy destroying the Saints' affable left guard Jamar Nesbit. Peter King (name-drop alert) and I had several discussions about Haynesworth during Monday's game. He may be remembered mostly for last October's stomping incident, but he's actually becoming a dominant player.

If the Titans don't re-sign him, he'll become one of the most coveted free agents in football, and he should be a great fit with Tank Johnson in Dallas. But seriously, he basically took over last night's game.
"I didn't think I played that great," Haynesworth said moments after the game. "I want to hit the quarterback every time he goes back, and I missed him a couple of times."
If that's the case, the Saints should be thankful they caught Albert on a slow evening. The Titans held the Saints to 34 yards rushing on 16 attempts.
Honestly, right now I'm torn between thinking the Titans might actually be a playoff contender and thinking the Saints could be one of the worst teams in the NFC. The one thing we know is the Titans own the NFC South. They've won nine consecutive games against the division and 12 of the last 13. The Falcons and Bucs are both on the schedule this season.

I made a beeline for the Titans locker room after the game to talk to their defensive linemen, but mainly to say hello to the great Ryan Fowler, whose wife Stacy is a devoted Hashmarks reader. Before he leveraged himself into a lucrative contract with the Titans, Ryan used to patiently explain confusing defensive concepts to me in the Cowboys locker room.

Fowler and cornerback Cortland Finnegan both told me defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz pretty much knew exactly what the Saints were going to do on offense.
"He was pretty much right on everything," Finnegan said. "We just did what he said and it worked out."
I know he scored two touchdowns, but when am I allowed to point out how overrated Reggie Bush is? We're led to believe that the Saints sit around dreaming up plays for a guy who can't run the ball effectively. I'm already sick of hearing how great he is at the second-level. Doesn't he have to get there at some point.
According to Fowler, the Titans made sure he didn't bounce anything outside. His first instinct is to try to dance around, so the Titans waited for him to come to them. With Deuce McAllister, who is likely out for the season with a torn left ACL according to our Ed Werder, the Titans actually tried to force him outside. He's at his best when he's running downhill, so the Titans made sure to fire into all their gaps before he left the game in the second quarter.

The biggest play no one seems to be talking about: The Saints took a 14-10 lead midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff, rookie Michael Griffin had a 48-yard return. Young led the Texans on a 9-play, 57-yard drive capped by LenDale White's 1-yard touchdown run. The Texans didn't have a great day on the ground, but White and Brown both looked solid on that drive. White's bruising 8-yard run on third-and-4 was the highlight.

I realize this isn't a Werder-level scoop, but a Saints source informed Hashmarks that starting cornerback Jason David broke his forearm in Monday's game.

Thanks for getting up early with me. I'll check in sometime tomorrow afternoon.

fhotard · 09-25-2007, 09:12 AM

Maybe it's just me, but I LOVED the decision to go for it on that 4th down... Coach was trying to get something going in our players. They've mostly looked dead on the field so far, and the 4th down attempt was him telling the players, "You better start performing."

Now, having said that, I have to ask: "What the HELL were you thinking when you called a deep pass on that 4th down attempt?!?"
I would have liked to see a higher-percentage play called in that situation... maybe give it to Karney and let him follow Faine... or a pass underneath, or to the flats.

darstep · 09-25-2007, 11:03 AM

I liked the guts to go for it on 4th and 1...but didn't like the play call either. Things have got to get stirred up and that was one way to do it. You take the chance to keep things moving and then strap-it-up if you don't make it. We've played football from inside our 50 many times - it's not something new. It's time to let it all hang out. If he makes it he's a hero. But we didn't make - that makes him a zero in many eyes. Goes with the territory.

WhoDatQB · 09-25-2007, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by hagan714

MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition
September 25, 2007 5:06 AM
The downside to reaching the NFC title game is that people might mistake you for a good team. The New Orleans Saints' magical 2006 season captured the nation's attention, but now serves as a point of reference for an 0-3 start.
This just in: The Saints are a really bad football team right now. Linebacker Scott Fujita may have said it best after Monday's 31-14 loss to the Titans.
"Steve Weatherford is playing great," Fujita said of the team's punter. "Other than that, we're not playing worth a damn."
Fujita, a wallflower during his stay in Dallas, has suddenly become one of the best quotes in the business. He punctuated his post-game news conference with a random but poignant expletive, leaving his audience wanting more.
In front of a national television audience, the Titans walked into a hostile environment and basically kicked the Saints around for four quarters. The scoreboard reflected a close game midway through the third quarter, but in reality, the Saints had no business being in the game.
Now, please join me for the anatomy of a beatdown:
I've known the Sean Payton for several years now, but nothing prepared me for what I saw late in the first quarter. With his team trailing 3-0, Payton inexplicably elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his 45-yard line. He whispered the play into the back of his laminated chart (love the colors), and then Saints fans watched in horror as quarterback Drew Brees threw a deep ball in the general vicinity of Marques Colston.

"I take responsibility for going for it on fourth down in the first half," said Payton, as if we may have been waiting to pin it on the trainer. "I am trying to create some momentum. It has been something we have lacked."
The play had the exact opposite effect, allowing the Titans a short field for a quick scoring drive, which was extended on a fourth-and-1 conversion by running back Chris Brown. Payton's move smacked of desperation, something we were led to believe hadn't inhabited the Saints locker room.

I almost felt guilty leading with that play since the real story of the game was the Titans defensive line owning the Saints. Before leaving the game with a dislocated finger in the fourth quarter, All-Pro left tackle Jammal Brown was outplayed badly by Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. Next to Vanden Bosch, defensive end Albert Haynesworth was busy destroying the Saints' affable left guard Jamar Nesbit. Peter King (name-drop alert) and I had several discussions about Haynesworth during Monday's game. He may be remembered mostly for last October's stomping incident, but he's actually becoming a dominant player.

If the Titans don't re-sign him, he'll become one of the most coveted free agents in football, and he should be a great fit with Tank Johnson in Dallas. But seriously, he basically took over last night's game.
"I didn't think I played that great," Haynesworth said moments after the game. "I want to hit the quarterback every time he goes back, and I missed him a couple of times."
If that's the case, the Saints should be thankful they caught Albert on a slow evening. The Titans held the Saints to 34 yards rushing on 16 attempts.
Honestly, right now I'm torn between thinking the Titans might actually be a playoff contender and thinking the Saints could be one of the worst teams in the NFC. The one thing we know is the Titans own the NFC South. They've won nine consecutive games against the division and 12 of the last 13. The Falcons and Bucs are both on the schedule this season.

I made a beeline for the Titans locker room after the game to talk to their defensive linemen, but mainly to say hello to the great Ryan Fowler, whose wife Stacy is a devoted Hashmarks reader. Before he leveraged himself into a lucrative contract with the Titans, Ryan used to patiently explain confusing defensive concepts to me in the Cowboys locker room.

Fowler and cornerback Cortland Finnegan both told me defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz pretty much knew exactly what the Saints were going to do on offense.
"He was pretty much right on everything," Finnegan said. "We just did what he said and it worked out."
I know he scored two touchdowns, but when am I allowed to point out how overrated Reggie Bush is? We're led to believe that the Saints sit around dreaming up plays for a guy who can't run the ball effectively. I'm already sick of hearing how great he is at the second-level. Doesn't he have to get there at some point.
According to Fowler, the Titans made sure he didn't bounce anything outside. His first instinct is to try to dance around, so the Titans waited for him to come to them. With Deuce McAllister, who is likely out for the season with a torn left ACL according to our Ed Werder, the Titans actually tried to force him outside. He's at his best when he's running downhill, so the Titans made sure to fire into all their gaps before he left the game in the second quarter.

The biggest play no one seems to be talking about: The Saints took a 14-10 lead midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff, rookie Michael Griffin had a 48-yard return. Young led the Texans on a 9-play, 57-yard drive capped by LenDale White's 1-yard touchdown run. The Texans didn't have a great day on the ground, but White and Brown both looked solid on that drive. White's bruising 8-yard run on third-and-4 was the highlight.

I realize this isn't a Werder-level scoop, but a Saints source informed Hashmarks that starting cornerback Jason David broke his forearm in Monday's game.

Thanks for getting up early with me. I'll check in sometime tomorrow afternoon.

====================

Now do not get me wrong I do not like to wish injury on a player, but if David's arm is broken and he is out I bet the idiots start Jason Craft. Anyone care to place a bet or lay down odds on it?

hagan714 · 09-25-2007, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by WhoDatQB

====================

Now do not get me wrong I do not like to wish injury on a player, but if David's arm is broken and he is out I bet the idiots start Jason Craft. Anyone care to place a bet or lay down odds on it?

Now you are scaring me dude. Maybe Thomas and deactivate Young

mighty12 · 09-25-2007, 06:37 PM

Originally Posted by WhoDatQB

====================

Now do not get me wrong I do not like to wish injury on a player, but if David's arm is broken and he is out I bet the idiots start Jason Craft. Anyone care to place a bet or lay down odds on it?

I am not a fan of injuries on anyone, but does anyone else feel like we could put Usama Young in their and form a spark to catapult us into a contender?

09-25-2007, 08:48 AM	#1
hagan714 LB Mentallity Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 15,870 Blog Entries: 68	MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition September 25, 2007 5:06 AM The downside to reaching the NFC title game is that people might mistake you for a good team. The New Orleans Saints' magical 2006 season captured the nation's attention, but now serves as a point of reference for an 0-3 start. This just in: The Saints are a really bad football team right now. Linebacker Scott Fujita may have said it best after Monday's 31-14 loss to the Titans. "Steve Weatherford is playing great," Fujita said of the team's punter. "Other than that, we're not playing worth a damn." Fujita, a wallflower during his stay in Dallas, has suddenly become one of the best quotes in the business. He punctuated his post-game news conference with a random but poignant expletive, leaving his audience wanting more. In front of a national television audience, the Titans walked into a hostile environment and basically kicked the Saints around for four quarters. The scoreboard reflected a close game midway through the third quarter, but in reality, the Saints had no business being in the game. Now, please join me for the anatomy of a beatdown: I've known the Sean Payton for several years now, but nothing prepared me for what I saw late in the first quarter. With his team trailing 3-0, Payton inexplicably elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his 45-yard line. He whispered the play into the back of his laminated chart (love the colors), and then Saints fans watched in horror as quarterback Drew Brees threw a deep ball in the general vicinity of Marques Colston. "I take responsibility for going for it on fourth down in the first half," said Payton, as if we may have been waiting to pin it on the trainer. "I am trying to create some momentum. It has been something we have lacked." The play had the exact opposite effect, allowing the Titans a short field for a quick scoring drive, which was extended on a fourth-and-1 conversion by running back Chris Brown. Payton's move smacked of desperation, something we were led to believe hadn't inhabited the Saints locker room. I almost felt guilty leading with that play since the real story of the game was the Titans defensive line owning the Saints. Before leaving the game with a dislocated finger in the fourth quarter, All-Pro left tackle Jammal Brown was outplayed badly by Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. Next to Vanden Bosch, defensive end Albert Haynesworth was busy destroying the Saints' affable left guard Jamar Nesbit. Peter King (name-drop alert) and I had several discussions about Haynesworth during Monday's game. He may be remembered mostly for last October's stomping incident, but he's actually becoming a dominant player. If the Titans don't re-sign him, he'll become one of the most coveted free agents in football, and he should be a great fit with Tank Johnson in Dallas. But seriously, he basically took over last night's game. "I didn't think I played that great," Haynesworth said moments after the game. "I want to hit the quarterback every time he goes back, and I missed him a couple of times." If that's the case, the Saints should be thankful they caught Albert on a slow evening. The Titans held the Saints to 34 yards rushing on 16 attempts. Honestly, right now I'm torn between thinking the Titans might actually be a playoff contender and thinking the Saints could be one of the worst teams in the NFC. The one thing we know is the Titans own the NFC South. They've won nine consecutive games against the division and 12 of the last 13. The Falcons and Bucs are both on the schedule this season. I made a beeline for the Titans locker room after the game to talk to their defensive linemen, but mainly to say hello to the great Ryan Fowler, whose wife Stacy is a devoted Hashmarks reader. Before he leveraged himself into a lucrative contract with the Titans, Ryan used to patiently explain confusing defensive concepts to me in the Cowboys locker room. Fowler and cornerback Cortland Finnegan both told me defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz pretty much knew exactly what the Saints were going to do on offense. "He was pretty much right on everything," Finnegan said. "We just did what he said and it worked out." I know he scored two touchdowns, but when am I allowed to point out how overrated Reggie Bush is? We're led to believe that the Saints sit around dreaming up plays for a guy who can't run the ball effectively. I'm already sick of hearing how great he is at the second-level. Doesn't he have to get there at some point. According to Fowler, the Titans made sure he didn't bounce anything outside. His first instinct is to try to dance around, so the Titans waited for him to come to them. With Deuce McAllister, who is likely out for the season with a torn left ACL according to our Ed Werder, the Titans actually tried to force him outside. He's at his best when he's running downhill, so the Titans made sure to fire into all their gaps before he left the game in the second quarter. The biggest play no one seems to be talking about: The Saints took a 14-10 lead midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff, rookie Michael Griffin had a 48-yard return. Young led the Texans on a 9-play, 57-yard drive capped by LenDale White's 1-yard touchdown run. The Texans didn't have a great day on the ground, but White and Brown both looked solid on that drive. White's bruising 8-yard run on third-and-4 was the highlight. I realize this isn't a Werder-level scoop, but a Saints source informed Hashmarks that starting cornerback Jason David broke his forearm in Monday's game. Thanks for getting up early with me. I'll check in sometime tomorrow afternoon.
	"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins

09-25-2007, 09:12 AM	#2
fhotard 100th Post Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Pensacola, FL Posts: 263	Re: MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition Maybe it's just me, but I LOVED the decision to go for it on that 4th down... Coach was trying to get something going in our players. They've mostly looked dead on the field so far, and the 4th down attempt was him telling the players, "You better start performing." Now, having said that, I have to ask: "What the HELL were you thinking when you called a deep pass on that 4th down attempt?!?" I would have liked to see a higher-percentage play called in that situation... maybe give it to Karney and let him follow Faine... or a pass underneath, or to the flats.

09-25-2007, 11:03 AM	#3
darstep SaintSince67 Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: PortCity Posts: 2,044	Re: MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition I liked the guts to go for it on 4th and 1...but didn't like the play call either. Things have got to get stirred up and that was one way to do it. You take the chance to keep things moving and then strap-it-up if you don't make it. We've played football from inside our 50 many times - it's not something new. It's time to let it all hang out. If he makes it he's a hero. But we didn't make - that makes him a zero in many eyes. Goes with the territory.
	SaintSince67

09-25-2007, 04:25 PM	#4
WhoDatQB Boondock Saint Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: F***ing Atlanta Posts: 322	Re: MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition Originally Posted by hagan714 MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition September 25, 2007 5:06 AM The downside to reaching the NFC title game is that people might mistake you for a good team. The New Orleans Saints' magical 2006 season captured the nation's attention, but now serves as a point of reference for an 0-3 start. This just in: The Saints are a really bad football team right now. Linebacker Scott Fujita may have said it best after Monday's 31-14 loss to the Titans. "Steve Weatherford is playing great," Fujita said of the team's punter. "Other than that, we're not playing worth a damn." Fujita, a wallflower during his stay in Dallas, has suddenly become one of the best quotes in the business. He punctuated his post-game news conference with a random but poignant expletive, leaving his audience wanting more. In front of a national television audience, the Titans walked into a hostile environment and basically kicked the Saints around for four quarters. The scoreboard reflected a close game midway through the third quarter, but in reality, the Saints had no business being in the game. Now, please join me for the anatomy of a beatdown: I've known the Sean Payton for several years now, but nothing prepared me for what I saw late in the first quarter. With his team trailing 3-0, Payton inexplicably elected to go for it on fourth-and-1 from his 45-yard line. He whispered the play into the back of his laminated chart (love the colors), and then Saints fans watched in horror as quarterback Drew Brees threw a deep ball in the general vicinity of Marques Colston. "I take responsibility for going for it on fourth down in the first half," said Payton, as if we may have been waiting to pin it on the trainer. "I am trying to create some momentum. It has been something we have lacked." The play had the exact opposite effect, allowing the Titans a short field for a quick scoring drive, which was extended on a fourth-and-1 conversion by running back Chris Brown. Payton's move smacked of desperation, something we were led to believe hadn't inhabited the Saints locker room. I almost felt guilty leading with that play since the real story of the game was the Titans defensive line owning the Saints. Before leaving the game with a dislocated finger in the fourth quarter, All-Pro left tackle Jammal Brown was outplayed badly by Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch. Next to Vanden Bosch, defensive end Albert Haynesworth was busy destroying the Saints' affable left guard Jamar Nesbit. Peter King (name-drop alert) and I had several discussions about Haynesworth during Monday's game. He may be remembered mostly for last October's stomping incident, but he's actually becoming a dominant player. If the Titans don't re-sign him, he'll become one of the most coveted free agents in football, and he should be a great fit with Tank Johnson in Dallas. But seriously, he basically took over last night's game. "I didn't think I played that great," Haynesworth said moments after the game. "I want to hit the quarterback every time he goes back, and I missed him a couple of times." If that's the case, the Saints should be thankful they caught Albert on a slow evening. The Titans held the Saints to 34 yards rushing on 16 attempts. Honestly, right now I'm torn between thinking the Titans might actually be a playoff contender and thinking the Saints could be one of the worst teams in the NFC. The one thing we know is the Titans own the NFC South. They've won nine consecutive games against the division and 12 of the last 13. The Falcons and Bucs are both on the schedule this season. I made a beeline for the Titans locker room after the game to talk to their defensive linemen, but mainly to say hello to the great Ryan Fowler, whose wife Stacy is a devoted Hashmarks reader. Before he leveraged himself into a lucrative contract with the Titans, Ryan used to patiently explain confusing defensive concepts to me in the Cowboys locker room. Fowler and cornerback Cortland Finnegan both told me defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz pretty much knew exactly what the Saints were going to do on offense. "He was pretty much right on everything," Finnegan said. "We just did what he said and it worked out." I know he scored two touchdowns, but when am I allowed to point out how overrated Reggie Bush is? We're led to believe that the Saints sit around dreaming up plays for a guy who can't run the ball effectively. I'm already sick of hearing how great he is at the second-level. Doesn't he have to get there at some point. According to Fowler, the Titans made sure he didn't bounce anything outside. His first instinct is to try to dance around, so the Titans waited for him to come to them. With Deuce McAllister, who is likely out for the season with a torn left ACL according to our Ed Werder, the Titans actually tried to force him outside. He's at his best when he's running downhill, so the Titans made sure to fire into all their gaps before he left the game in the second quarter. The biggest play no one seems to be talking about: The Saints took a 14-10 lead midway through the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run. On the ensuing kickoff, rookie Michael Griffin had a 48-yard return. Young led the Texans on a 9-play, 57-yard drive capped by LenDale White's 1-yard touchdown run. The Texans didn't have a great day on the ground, but White and Brown both looked solid on that drive. White's bruising 8-yard run on third-and-4 was the highlight. I realize this isn't a Werder-level scoop, but a Saints source informed Hashmarks that starting cornerback Jason David broke his forearm in Monday's game. Thanks for getting up early with me. I'll check in sometime tomorrow afternoon. ==================== Now do not get me wrong I do not like to wish injury on a player, but if David's arm is broken and he is out I bet the idiots start Jason Craft. Anyone care to place a bet or lay down odds on it?

09-25-2007, 04:47 PM	#5
hagan714 LB Mentallity Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 15,870 Blog Entries: 68	Re: MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition Originally Posted by WhoDatQB ==================== Now do not get me wrong I do not like to wish injury on a player, but if David's arm is broken and he is out I bet the idiots start Jason Craft. Anyone care to place a bet or lay down odds on it? Now you are scaring me dude. Maybe Thomas and deactivate Young

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09-25-2007, 06:37 PM	#6
mighty12 500th Post Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 980 Blog Entries: 1	Re: MNF Confidential: Titans Beatdown Edition Originally Posted by WhoDatQB ==================== Now do not get me wrong I do not like to wish injury on a player, but if David's arm is broken and he is out I bet the idiots start Jason Craft. Anyone care to place a bet or lay down odds on it? I am not a fan of injuries on anyone, but does anyone else feel like we could put Usama Young in their and form a spark to catapult us into a contender?