Tennessee Titans: Pro Bowl and QB Situation

Pro Bowl:
After a disappointing 2010-2011 season, a few Titan's players that had great seasons earned spots on the AFC roster for the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl. Defensive End Jason Babin (1st time Pro Bowler) and Kick/Punt Returner Marc Mariani (1st time Pro Bowler) both were selected, while Running Back Chris Johnson (3rd time Pro Bowler) and Safety Michael Griffin (2nd time Pro Bowler) were both selected as replacements due to injuries. Chris Johnson will replace Jaguar's Running Back Maurice Jones Drew and Michael Griffin will replace Raven's Safety Ed Reed.

Babin and Mariani were both excited about being selected to a Pro Bowl for the first time in their career's. Babin, a seven year NFL veteran, led the all AFC Defensive Ends in sacks with 12.5.

"I always said I wasn't going to go until I got invited," Babin said."It means a lot to me, like I kind of broke into the upper echelon of defensive ends."

Mariani, on the other hand, is one of 4 rookies on this year's Pro Bowl roster. He was selected in the 7th round of the draft out of Montana University, while the other 3 rookie Pro Bowl selections were selected in the 1st round. He won the heart of many Titan's fans this season as he set the franchise record for kickoff return yards in a season with 1,411 yards.

"Just dream big and don't let anybody tell you no." Mariani said. "I always just wanted to be the best that I could be. I'm so competitive I always wanted to do my best almost to the point of being perfect. I just wanted to be at the top. ... I definitely got a lot of work to do to have the success we've had this year. To be standing here is a crazy ride. ... But I would've never had it any other way."


The Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 30, 2011 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu Hawaii.


QB Situation:
The Titans are already looking forward to next season, and the quarterback situation is a big mystery at this point. Owner, Bud Adams, has already said that Vince Young will not return to the team next season. So the Titans now are searching for a starting quarterback, and have many options. The quarterbacks currently on the roster are long time NFL veteran, Kerry Collins and Rusty Smith, which is going into his second year in the league. They also have the 8th selection in the NFL Draft in April, which they could use on a quarterback if they choose. The other choice would be to trade for a quarterback or sign someone from the Free Agents.





There are several veteran quarterbacks that are either, A. unhappy with their current team, or B. good enough to be a starter, but are currently a back up. Carson Palmer has came out publicly and said that he wants to be traded from Cinncinatti or he will retire and then re-enter the league as a free agent. Kyle Orton is looking as if he has lost his starting job to Tim Tebow in Denver, and the same goes for Kevin Kolb in Philadelphia, as he has lost his starting job to Michael Vick.





My opinion on what the Titans will do:

I believe that the Titans will trade Vince Young to Minnesota for draft pick(s), due to the fact that the coach that helped develop Vince Young, Craig Johnson, is now the Quarterback back's coach for the Vikings. Then I see the Titans trading draft pick(s) for Kevin Kolb during the draft. The reason why I think that it will be Kevin Kolb is simple, Bud Adams is from Houston and has always favored guys from Texas. It doesn't hurt that Kevin Kolb is known as a country boy that loves to fish and hunt. The fans will love him and he will fit right in.

Good News:

There is good news for Titan's fans, ticket prices will not be raised next season according to Bud Adams. This is the second straight year that the Titans have not raised ticket prices.

"I realize things are still difficult out there for our season-ticket holders," Adams said. "There are a number pressures to increase our revenues, but this is not a time to raise prices for our fans."

In 2011-2012 the Titans will host the: Houston Texans. Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Cinncinatti Bengals, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Greg Manusky New Face of The Chargers Defense

Last year the San Diego Chargers were fortunate enough to have the Number 1 defense in the league, but I mean who cares? We may have had the Number 1 defense but they were so sporadic and would show up some days and disappear others. Let me just say that the "Number 1 Defense" tag is a bit of a over statement.

Every Charger fan remembers those games where they struggled to get it together at the right times. I mean Rams anyone? I remember our corner backs getting exposed by the rookie Sam Bradford. Cason got burnt by this unknown WR named Danerio Alexander. WHO?!? Who remembers when Philip Rivers drove us down the field to score and then hoped the defense would step up, and failed to stop the run? Our "Number 1 Defense" did what? Yea allow Steven Jackson to run all over them en route to winning the game and digging us into a whole.

How about the Raiders game? They did it twice to us. They not only exposed our rushing defense but also our corners. They ran and passed all over us. Our "Number 1 Defense" made Jason Campell and Carson Palmer look like Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.

Well, now that my rant is over, you can tell I feel no sympathy in losing Ron Rivera and am not happy with what we call the "Number 1 Defense." Statistics lie however that is the past. Welcome Greg Manusky. Former San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator. He looks like he can be the fix to our team. I always said that we need more loud and obnoxious coaches rather than soft and quiet coaches (Norv anyone?).

“My job is to get these guys excited about what they’re doing,” Manusky said. “Is there Red Bull involved? Yeah. Uptime? Yeah. Two of those and you’re wired." Am I happy to have this guy? Yes, will he bring a new demeanor to our defense? Yes. Can he improve our defense? Absolutely! I can not wait to see what this guy has to offer our defense when the year starts. I feel he is the answer to our problems on defense and soon we will see.