scrotch

I was in the same situation. I figured they might both have 50-60 yards, but I thought Hines would have a better shot at a TD. Luckily Hines got me that 100 yard bonus even with the fumble. But yeah it's nice to have a guy like Gage on the bench he could be valuable during bye weeks and may prove to be an ideal #3 WR.

So this will be my 5th year commishing my main money league. For most of the league (including me) this will be only our 5th year of playing FF period. At the end of last year we decided to change it up and switch to IDP instead of team defense. As I'll be setting the league up over the next couple of weeks I just had some questions about the scoring system and rosters. As far as the draft goes, we were planning on doing two separate drafts one for offense one for defense. The person with the first pick on offensive draft picks last on defensive draft etc etc. Nobody in our league has ever played in an IDP league so it'd be great if I could get some feedback on here. What is the "standard" scoring for IDP? I'm assuming tackles/sacks/INTs/fumble recoveries all count for points, but how should they be weighted? What roster size works best, and how many IDPs do most leagues start? Once again, just looking to avoid some problems later on down the line so I appreciate the help from all the vets on here.

Teams don't want to move into the top 5 anymore. The skyrocketing salaries for unproven players and the high bust rate makes a top 5 pick more trouble than it's worth.

I remember being so pissed when the Titans let him walk...one of the best decisions they've ever made.

Also saw an interesting story in the Nashville City paper regarding players who will be unrestricted free agents following the 2009 season http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/news.php?viewStory=66582 My question to you is who do you let go/extend? I would extend KVB. I think he's got an once in a lifetime motor, and with the down year he had last year he may be cheaper than waiting until free agency starts. Bulluck is a tough one. History tells me he will likely be gone. He's still led the team in tackles every season except one since he's been a starter. He is without a doubt the leader of the Titans defense which can't be ignored. One of my all time favorite Titans so I'd like to see him extended. I would wait on Tony Brown. I wanna see how he plays without Albert beside him. Also I wanna see how Javon Haye and Jason Jones do in the DL rotation. I like Lendale. I really do. I like his personality, he's hilarious. He's been my RB3 in fantasy the last two years, and so I've grown to like him. But this will be his last year as a Titan. I feel pretty confident that Amano, Mawae, Crumpler, Harper will all be gone. We've got young replacements for Mawae and Crumpler, and I think we'll draft a young replacement for Harper and Amano.

I saw where CB Eric Green visited the Titans today, and Justin Miller visited yesterday. I'd like them to sign Green, as he'd be great depth, and would fill in nicely if Harper gets injured/old. I'm not really sure who I'd rather have Justin Miller or Chris Carr on returns. Justin Miller seems to be more of a threat to score on returns, but Carr may be a little more consistent. So I say sign whoever is cheaper!

Yeah the Titans staff must have high expectations for Jason Jones. He looked good in limited action last year, but I'll have to see it for a full season. I also look to have Jacob Ford (DE) supplant Kearse atleast in obvious passing situations. Ford looked great as a pass rusher last season, and Kearse held up surprisingly well against the run. If there's one position I have complete faith in the Titans staff on its the Defensive line. I remember scratching my head and saying "who?" when they drafted Jason Jones, when they signed KVB with little fan fare, or when they picked up Tony Brown in the middle of the season. Jim Washburn has to be the best d-line coach in the league and he routinely makes the most out of free agent castoffs and mid round draft picks. But yeah Jacob Ford, William Hayes, and Jason Jones are going to be key for the Titans next year. And with the addition of Jovan Haye, I think we'll largely see a rotation, constantly shuffling players on the D-line based on the situation (except for KVB). But once again I hope they sign Chris Carr. He's very versatile (return man, special teams, defense) and his value won't be measured on the stat sheet, but he was very important to the Titans success last year.

Titans fan checking in... I like what they are doing this offseason. They are making moves (like letting Albert go) that will allow the team to stay competititve for many years. I've seen what happens when a team tries to retain every good player it has, and the end result was the cap purge where we ended up cutting many older over paid vets and eating tons of dead money for many years. To be consistently competitive you have to retain a good young core of players. In the past couple of years they've locked up two of the games best young tackles (Michael Roos and David Stewart), a top CB (Finnegan), an upper tier DE in KVB, drafted two great first rounders in Chris Johnson and Michael Griffin and have made the postseason two years in a row. Their QB situation appears to be settled for 2009 atleast. And even though I think they overpaid Collins he knows the system and won't make the stupid mistakes (weird to be saying that about KC) that Vince is prone to. They don't have a lot of depth behind Nick Harper (who is a surprising 34) so I hope we address that in the draft/free agency. It was nice to see them sign Nate Washington, but I still think they need to add another WR and dump the dead weight in Paul Williams and Chris Davis. I would actually like to see them re-sign Chris Carr though. He was a great return man last year, and even though he's no threat to break one he consistently got the Titans great field position. Not to mention he filled in nicely on defense when asked. I think the Titans have identified their core guys and are content to build around them. Not to say that Albert wasn't a core guy but every fan I've talked to thinks the Redskins overpaid for him, so I've got no complaints. If they would've let him go for a reasonable contract I would've been upset. Only time will tell though, but I'm looking forward to September. Also I wonder if the Titans/Steelers game will open up the season this year on Thursday? It's going to be in Pittsburgh and after last season's meeting its a game that everybody will want to see.

Yeah McCareins is gone. Thank god. I like Washington. Nice to see an undrafted guy from a small school succeed. It's hard to tell what his potential is since he was playing behind two great receivers in Pittsburgh but we'll see. But like someone said earlier, he instantly upgrades our WR just because of his speed. I think having a downfield threat will help Gage too. I think Gage will put it all together this year and approach 1000 yards. In the end our offense will live and die by Chris Johnson though.

Nice backtracking there...I'm sure that's what you meant in your original post.

Wow. Once again I would've loved for the Titans to keep him, but not at that price. I think the decision was easy this time. I would've been upset if he would've left with something like a 5 year 65 million contract, because I think the Titans should've paid that. Now I'm actually relieved they didn't get into the bidding war for him. But I'm a big Haynesworth fan and wish him the best in Washington, and I am relieved he atleast went to the NFC.

I think the Titans will still have a good defensive unit without Haynesworth. They won't be as dominant, but I think they'll still be a top 10 defense. Two years ago they collapsed when Haynesworth went out, but last year when they played Pittsburgh they didn't miss a beat without him. I don't think they'll collapse without him for two reasons: The offense is much much better than 2 years ago. The addition of Chris Johnson has turned the plodding style (3 and outs galore) into a ball control unit, which keeps the defense much fresher. Secondly, the defense around Haynesworth is much better now. Finnegan and Griffin are budding stars that really came into their own last season. For all the knocks on Kearse, he played relatively well against the run (big surprise for me), and actually held up throughout the season. Jason Jones (2nd round rookie) looks like he'll be able to do well if needed to replace Albert. Don't forget that Jim Washburn is the best D-Line coach in the league, and he routinely pumps out great players year after year. Just look at players like Kyle Vanden Bosch who has resurrected his career under Washburn, same thing with Tony Brown who they picked up in the middle of the season one year and he's been a starter since then. I'm all for keeping Albert, but if his price tag is $100 million, see ya later. I would offer him 13 mil a year (a modest increase over Jared Allen's salary) over 5 years with 25-28 mil guaranteed. If he doesn't want it then let him go.

Well I think the Titans will be wearing their throwback Oiler uni's at the Hall of Fame game plus two times during the regular season. That's almost as good, right?

I understand that they could've given up the play again. But then again they could've intercepted it. They could've batted it down, leading to a 4th down punt. You don't know what would've happened either, and that's the crappy part. The refs didn't allow us to see what should've happened. How is it not a game changer given the severity of the situation? Playoffs. 4th quarter. Tied game. The fact that a play that shouldn't have ever went down put the Ravens into game winning field goal range is most certainly a game changer. Were all the stupid and ridiculous fumbles by the Titans game changers? Most certainly. But just because the Titans fumbled in the redzone doesn't excuse the officials the criticism they deserve. The fact is their error came at the worst possible time, and saying it didn't affect the game is ridiculous.

No the refs did not give them a free 25 yards...I can't believe I have to explain this. The play should've been stopped before the snap and marched back 5 yards. I realize the Titans failed to defend it...geez. But the point is the play should've never been allowed to proceed. The non-call was a game changer though and I stand by that. Despite all that had gone wrong (fumbles, miss FGs, busted coverage) the Titans were still in very good position to win that game until that call resulted in a 30 yard swing for the Ravens. Add in the fact that it was during the 4th quarter of a tied game in the playoffs and it's even more inexcusable.

Say what you want, but the non call was a game changer. It put the Ravens into field goal range with that call. I know the Titans didn't protect the ball, they had a couple of busted coverages...but after all that they were in position to atleast take the game into overtime, and the refs took the game out of the players hands. It was a 30 yard swing: the 5 yards + the 25 yard pass. That is BIG in the playoffs with the game on the line. If it would've happened on the opening drive fine. But to allow it to happen in a tied game 4th quarter less than 3 minutes to go situation is unforgivable. And yes I know Tennessee fumbled the ball...that's a big reason why they lost. But bottom line they were still in very good position to win the game until that non-call, that essentially gave the Ravens 30 yards and a field goal to win it. You just hate to see that in the playoffs.

And I'd like to add that as a Titans fan I've watched all the luck go our way the entire season, the officiating was never horribly in favor of the other team that I can remember. The balls always bounced our way, that's why I felt this was our year. Well the luck run out yesterday. We had crucial officiating mistakes, plain bad luck (Hope and Finny colliding), Bironas narrowly missing a Field goal, etc etc. But I would rather the Titans lose like this than get blown out like the Panthers did. Atleast I know they could hang with any team in the league. I feel we are a young team heading in the right direction and I think we have just as good a shot as any to be there next season. Good luck to the fans who still have a team to root for. BTW did anyone see Ed Reed trying to bend Chris Johnson like a pretzel after the play was over? CJ had a guy laying on his legs, and Ed reed came in and was pushing his upperbody backwards into his legs...very classless from a guy I previously had respect for. But of course we got a personal foul on that play...

Well the problem with the delay of game was that it was a 30 yard swing, putting them in game winning field goal range. On that play Flacco threw a 25 yard pass to Heap, whereas they should've been pushed back 5 yards. But even as a Titans fan, that was not the Titans I've watched all season. Crumpler is supposed to be a veteran who would never make that play at that time. Collins INT didn't mean that much when you consider that the drive started in the end zone, it was just nice to flop field position. The busted coverage plays were very uncharacteristic as well. There's nothing you can do about our two defenders falling down I guess, but it's funny how people will attribute that to Flacco's cool composure. No he threw it into double coverage and the defenders ran into each other... Like I said if they call the delay of game and the defense stops them, perhaps we go to overtime. I feel the Titans would've won in overtime, because they were moving the ball on that defense all day, and barring 3 plays the Ravens were absolutely stuffed. But I can't really say with any conviction that the Titans should've won, I really wish I could. But then again I don't think the Ravens really deserved to win either, since they didn't play all that well. Really sloppy game by both teams, just Baltimore didn't turn the ball over. End of story.

Here's something I haven't seen mentioned anywhere. This will be the Ravens 17th straight week with a game, since Hurricane Ike forced them to change their bye week to week 2. Add in the fact that they are coming off of a short week (playing last Sunday) and that has to be somewhat of an advantage for Tennessee. ...but then again they are obviously in a rhythm, so I guess it could really go either way.

I thought the Colts defense absolutely played well. Due to the offensive performance in the 4th quarter they just got caught on the field way too long and were tired in overtime. They sacked Rivers several times and intercepted him once and caused a Darren Sproles fumble. If not for the defense the Chargers would've won handily. They held Philip Rivers (the best QB statistically in the league) very much in check. The bottom line is Peyton did NOTHING in the 4th quarter and left his defense out to dry keeping them on the field forever. When you put this in perspective this was one of the better Colts defensive performances of the season. Manning's stats look fine and dandy. But watching the game, he couldn't make the throws in the 4th quarter which is what ended up causing them the game. It may have already been said but in the last 4 possessions the Colts offense had 20 plays for 38 yards. That's not clutch, and that is a direct reflection of Manning's poor play. Was he alone responsible for the loss? Of course not. But he certainly did not have a good game, which I'm sure even he would tell you.

Titans defense: 44 sacks, 23 forced fumbles, 20 INT's, 14.6 Points per game Ravens defense: 34 sacks, 13 forced fumbles, 26 INT's, 15.2 points per game This is why I feel the Titans defense has been overlooked when talking about this matchup.

No, sorry Manning doesn't get a free pass on this one. His offense managed only 10 points and one busted play to a wide open receiver. It doesn't matter how many yards he threw for, he didn't make anything happen when it counted, which has been the issue with him in the playoffs his entire career. With that offensive talent, 3 1st round WRs, 1st round TE, 1st round RB, 1st round LT, he has plenty of good players around him. If you think Manning looked good then you haven't watched Manning during the regular season.

The Colts were only as good as Manning was this season. They really missed the 1400+ yards a guy like Edge would put up every season. When you can't run or stop the run particularly well you won't go very far in the post season. They need to get rid of Marvin bad. It's like playing a man down when he's out there. Think about this though. As far as salaries go they have a top 5 paid TE, 2 top 5 paid WRs, a top 5 QB, and a top 5 defensive end. If most of their cap room wasn't taken up by a handful of players then maybe we could see more balance. They should be labeled as one of the all time underachieving units in history. The defense magically turned around and carried them during the playoffs when they won the superbowl. Didn't Manning have something like 3 TDs/7 INTs during the playoffs that year? Plus how does he win the Superbowl MVP when the Colts ran for over 200 yards?

I love how everyone is overlooking the Titans defense, which was just as good as the Ravens and Steelers this season. In fact until that meaningless game where the Titans had all of their starters out by the mid 1st quarter the Titans were the #1 defense in points allowed, which is what it's all about in the end. The Ravens managed only 10 points on the Titans last time around, and the defense really didn't even play all that well. We all know what happened to the Steelers last time they played. Let's be honest here. Miami wasn't that great of a team. In a tougher division they would be 8-8 or 7-9. The AFC East was one of the worst divisions in football this year, even if the records don't show it. They padded their records by having the fortune to play the AFC West and NFC West divisions which were historically bad. It was obvious Miami was overmatched. But keep the Ravens hype coming please. I'm surprised Vegas doesn't have the Titans as underdogs considering the media treatment this game is getting right now. And the Titans special teams really isn't bad at all. They have arguably the best kicker in football in Bironas. Also Chris Carr is a top 5 return man statistically. The punting has been average, which hopefully will change because field position will be huge this week.

Ok first off the Texans were far from abysmal. They were competitive with virtually every team, and won 8 games. Don't know how you get abysmal from that, but it seems like you are just trying to make a point despite the facts. If you think 8-8 is abysmal then you really don't know football. Really. Yes Jim Sorgi played for the Colts. Midway through the 1st quarter there were no starters in from the Titans defense or offensive skill positions, but yeah they looked terrible and are doomed! The Jets were one of the hottest team in football at that point and still finished 9-7 which is above average. I mean you realize every team loses games right? I mean losing to the 8-8 Texans and 9-7 Jets really isn't all that bad. I could care less about the loss to the Colts, they beat them when it mattered in the regular season. But they had their most complete, dominating performance week 16 vs. the Steelers which is why the Titans are just as good now as they were in the first half.