The Titans really laid an egg last night against the Panthers.  Vince Young started the game at QB for the Titans and he completed 6 of 9 passes for 48 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 10 yards last night.  Kerry Collins looked better than Young last night.  He completed 6 of 10 passes for 112 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Rookie Rusty Smith finished up this game at QB for the Titans by completing 6 of 11 passes for 57 yards with 1 INT.  RBs Javon Ringer (7 car, 14 yards), LeGarrett Blount (2 car, 13 yards) and Chris Johnson (8 car, 10 yards) didn’t help out the Titans that much on the ground in this game.  WRs Marc Mariani (2 rec, 59 yards) and Kenny Britt (4 rec, 33 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Titans in this game.  TE Jared Cook only caught 1 pass in this game but it went for a 35-yard TD.  The Titans finished up with 45 yards rushing (2.3 ypc) and 172 yards passing last night.

Rookie CB Alterraun Verner led the way for the Titans’ on D in this game with 6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  Safety Chris Hope pitched in with 5 tackles and he defensed 1 pass in this game.  The Panthers finished up with 59 yards rushing (2.6 ypc) and 269 yards passing last night.  The Titans are 1-2 in the pre-season.

The Titans pushed the Cardinals around on both sides of the football last night.  Vince Young was very solid last night completing 9 of 13 passes for 128 yards.  Kerry Collins followed him and he was so-so as he completed 6 of 12 passes for 66 yards.  Chris Simms was awful as usual as he completed 2 of 5 passes for 17 yards.   Rookie Rusty Smith completed 3 of 5 passes for 16 yards last night.  LaGarrette Blount led the way on the ground for the Titans last season as he rushed for 42 yards on 9 carries (4.7 ypc).  Javon Ringer also looked solid last night with 7 carries for 27 yards (3.9 ypc).  Chris Johnson carried the ball 6 times for 22 yards (3.7 ypc) with a TD run.  Samkon Gado was impressive in his first game with the Titans as he carried the ball 7 times for 21 yards (3.0 ypc) and he scored 2 TDs.  WRs Nate Washington (3 rec, 44 yards) and rookie Damian Williams (4 rec, 40 yards) led the way for the Titans in the passing game last night.  The Titans finished up with 142 yards rushing (4.2 ypc) and 224 yards passing last night.

Linebacker Will Witherspoon led a good Titans’ effort on D with six tackles last night.  The Cardinals finished up with 65 yards rushing (3.4 ypc) and 230 yards passing last night.

The Titans have signed 27-year old RB Samkon Gado.  Gado played in 15 games (0 starts) for the Rams last season and he carried the ball 14 times for 26 yards (1.9 ypc).  He also caught 3 passes for 25 yards (8.3 avg) last year.  Gado has now played in 41 games (8 starts) in his five years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 268 times for 972 yards (3.6 ypc) with 11 TD runs.  He has also caught 43 passes for 292 yards (6.8 avg) with 1 TD grab in his NFL career.  This was a good depth signing for the Titans.

Things were looking good for Stafon Johnson early after he got into the game for the Titans in the pre-season opener.  He carried the ball 3 times for 23 yards (7.7 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 12 yards (6.0 avg).  But he then dislocated his right ankle and broke his right fibula on a play.  His old USC coach Pete Carroll was by his side at the cart for a while before he was driven to the paramedics.  He had surgery and is likely to miss the next 8-12 weeks.  This is a shame for Johnson who fought his way back from a serious throat injury last season when he was benching and the bar came down across his neck which almost killed him.  Hopefully he’ll get well soon and get back on the field at some point in 2010.

The Titans didn’t play well at all in this game as they scored 11 points in the 4th quarter with the scrubs in.  Vince Young completed 5 of 6 passes for 78 yards with 1 INT.  Chris Simms was awful as usual completing 7 of 13 passes for 24 yards and losing a fumble.  Rookie Rusty Smith finished up the game by completing 7 of 14 passes for 71 yards with 1 INT.  Javon Ringer led the way for the Titans on the ground with 60 yards on 7 carries (8.6 ypc).  Stafon Johnson was having a solid game (3 car, 23 yards) before dislocating his right ankle and breaking his right fibula possibly ending his rookie season before it even really started.  Chris Johnson (5 car, 7 yards, TD) and LaGarrett Blount (5 car, 4 yards, TD) both helped out on the ground.  FB Ahmard Hall was the leading receiver in this game for the Titans with 3 grabs for 48 yards (16.0 avg).  The Titans finished up with 97 yards rushing (4.2 ypc) and 163 yards passing in this game.

The defense didn’t really look that good either.  Linebacker Gerald McRath led the way for the Titans in this game with 6 tackles.  CBs Ryan Mouton (4 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 INT) and rookie Alterraun Verner (4 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 INT).  The Seahawks finished up with 88 yards rushing (3.1 ypc) and 233 passing yards on Saturday night.

21-year old WR Kenny Britt would likely be returning kickoffs for the Titans if the season started today.  He playe din 16 games for the Titans last season and he returned 24 kickoffs for 523 yards (21.8 avg).  The Titans would probably prefer to use Britt just on offense and that seems likely what the scenario will be in 2010.

Rookie 3rd round pick Damian Williams could be the primary kickoff returner in 2010 for the Titans.  The Titans have three WRs ahead of Williams on the depth chart but they still want to have a big role for him in 2010.  That means he will have a great chance to return kicks in 2010.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  C

The Titans have signed 32-year old DE/DT Raheem Brock.  Brock played in 16 games for the Colts last season and he had 32 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 3.5 sacks.  He has now played in 120 games in his 8 years in the NFL and he has 288 tackles, 16 passes defensed, 28.5 sacks and 11 forced fumbles.  The Titans plan to only use Brock at DE due to his lack of size to play inside.  I really like this signing for the Titans as Brock is a decent player.

There is a reason why the Titans can run at will.  Sure Vince Young and Chris Johnson are outstanding runners but they wouldn’t be nearly as good behind any other O-Line in the NFL.  LT Micheal Roos is one of the best blind side blockers in the NFL.  He protects his QB well and he wins most of his battles at the line of scrimmage.  LG Leroy Harris is also a really good athlete and he really gets off the line of scrimmage to hit moving targets.  He could also handle playing center or RT if the Titans needed him to.  Eugene Amano will be sliding over to center after playing guard the last couple of year.  Amano is a excellent run blocker as he loves to hit moving targets on the second level of the D.  RG Jake Scott is another mauler in the running game.  RT David Stewart is solid at everything.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS O-LINE in 2010:  A

52-year old head coach Jeff Fisher certainly has a slick look to him.  But he’s got far more substance than flash to his game with a headset on.  The Titans were 8-8 (50%) last season as they missed the playoffs.  But when Fisher changed QBs from Kerry Collins to Vince Young (at owner Bud Adams suggestion) the team took off.  Fisher has been the head coach of the Titans/Oilers for 16 years now and he is 136-110 (55.3%) during the regular season.  He is also 5-6 (45.5%) in the post season including a very tough loss in the Super Bowl in 1999 to the Rams.  Fisher seems to almost always get the best out of his players and I don’t see that changing much in 2010.

32-year old kicker Rob Bironas has a really big leg and that’s important for the Titans whose offense sometimes bogs down short of the goal line.  Bironas played in all 16 games for the Titans last season and he connected on 27 of 32 field goals (84.4%).  He also made all 37 of his extra points as he had 118 points last year.  Bironas has now played in 80 games in his NFL career and he has made 136 of 161 field goals (84.5%).  He has also connected on 167 of 169 extra points as he now has 575 career points. 

24-year old Ricky Schmitt comes to training camp to likely help limit Bironas’ work load.  Schmitt played in 1 game for the Niners as a rookie last season and he made 2 of 3 field goals.  He also made both of his extra points as he finished up with 8 points in his rookie year.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE TITANS KICKERS in 2010:  A