Titans hope Bears game is not rehearsal

Preseason game number 3. The infamous "dress rehearsal" game. The only preseason game worth watching if you want to see what your team will look like week 1. This could be a scary thought for the Tennessee Titans, who will be without their best two players this weekend against the Bears. All world running back CJ2K is holding out with no sign of returning. Troubled budding star Kenny Britt is not only facing a possible suspension from the league, he is also nursing a hamstring injury that has virtually derailed his entire training camp. It is a very realistic possibility the Titans could be without both in Jacksonville, so get to know Jaime Harper and Damian Williams.

Rookie running back Jaime Harper will start for the second straight week, and has made the most of his opportunities. Against the Rams starting defense Harper racked up 83 yards and a touchdown in one half, giving him 2 in as many games. Harper has great vision and may leap frog second string running back Javon Ringer when he returns from injury. Second year wide receiver Damian Williams will start for the second straight week as well. Williams is also seeing an increase in reps with the starting unit. I'm rooting for Williams, I would like so see the Titans get younger and more explosive at wide receiver. We got rid of grandaddy Moss,and Justin Gage and Nate Washington are looking older and slower by the play. As frightening as this may sound, the starting offense we see Saturday will most likely be the one we see in Jacksonville. Harper, Williams, lets see what you got.

Tattoogate not a big deal

Tattoogate. Racism, social class, freedom of expression. Calm down people! Why is everyone coming down so hard on Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson? The only thing he did was ask his future franchise quarterback Cam Newton to stay away from tattoos and piercings. Let's not forget this is a business for Jerry Richardson, and Newton is an employee. Look around most places of employment, you can pretty much guess a person's stature at a company by the way they present themselves to you. People with a higher pay scale are generally held to a stricter standard when it comes to appearance. Cam Newton is not just the quarterback. He is the new face of the franchise.

As a business man, I want my product to appeal to the widest possible market. It's just plain business. Yes Cam Newton is black. Yes Jeremy Shockey is white and covered with tattoos. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. Every team in the league should hold their franchise qb to a higher standard than their back up tight end. I believe a clean cut tattoo free look would benefit Newton as well, we all know he's no stranger to a bad public image. As we all do on our jobs, we concede parts of ourselves in order to do what we have to do. I urge Cam Newton to do the same. And yes, I have a tattoo.

Collins signing a red flag for Colts

There's an old saying that implies there is a little bit of truth in every joke. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsey recently tweeted that he was in Brett Favre country looking to sign him. He later stated it was a joke, but he wasn't playin y'all. Indy just signed 38 year old retired veteran qb Kerry Collins to presumably start while Peyton Manning recovers from neck surgery. Why? Why would you bring in a beaten down qb that does not know your system with two weeks left until the regular season? You do that when you have serious doubts about your starter's long term availability.

Pro Bowl receiver Reggie Wayne has already vocalized his displeasure with the move stating "We don't even know him, we ain't vanilla man, we ain't no simple offense. "So for him (Collins) to come in here and be the starter, I don't see it. I think that's a step back." A step back, really?Current pre season starter Curtis Painter has been horrible, and has a career qb rating of 9.8. So what gives? Collins retired because he did not want to baby sit rookie qb Jake Locker in Tennessee. I can not see him untiring just to hold another clip board. Manning may be looking at missing much more than week 1. I applaud the Colts for being proactive because Collins is a serviceable backup, but if Manning misses any significant time the Colts are done.

Should Goodell suspend Britt? Can he?

Can Roger Goodell suspend players for transgressions made during the lockout? Tennessee's Kenny Britt and Tampa Bay's Aqib Talib certainly hope not. Both are scheduled to meet with Goodell this week to discuss the matter, and both can be considered repeat offenders. Talib was suspended for a game last year for an altercation with a cab driver. Britt has 12 career touchdowns and 7 (reported) arrests since being drafted in 2009. This case is different, these incidents occurred while they were not employed by the nfl. Their employers forbid them from being paid, coming to the facility, or look for other opportunities. Let's put this double standard into an every day life situation.

Let's say your girlfriend, boyfiend, mate, whatever publicly brakes up with you. They forbid you to call them or visit them, and they refuse to contact you or visit you for three months. As time goes on you begin to see other people until boom, one day you reconcile with your ex. Can they turn around and accuse you of cheating when you were "technically" broken up? Any sane person would say of course not! Message to Mr. Goodell, the nflpa is on record they are ready to appeal if suspensions are handed out and quite frankly you cant afford any more negative publicity. With so few incidents occurring this off season Goodell needs to leave it at a lecture and stern warning. In this case it was wrong thing, right time.

Fitzgerald deal could spell doom for Titans

The 25 day standoff between all pro running back Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans took another strange twist yesterday, and it had nothing to do with Johnson visiting Nashville over the weekend. All pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald just inked an eight year deal worth up to 120 million dollars, 50 million guaranteed. The deal will average just over 15 million a year, which makes Fitzgerald's per year salary fifth highest in the league. What does that spell for Titans fans? Trouble.

Johnson recently scoffed at the notion of becoming the highest paid running back in the league. Johnson insists that he is a play maker (which he is) and deserves to be paid like one of the elite players in the league. Last week we laughed when Johnson demanded 13 (guaranteed) million dollars over the first three years. But 13 mill from the Titans? Should someone remind Johnson this is the same team that literally locked Steve McNair out of the training room as they plotted to trade him to Baltimore. He was owed a salary similar to Johnson's request. Franchise leading rusher Eddie George was sent packing for pennies by comparison. And who could forget Randall Godfrey, the linebacker who gave the Titans back a million dollars in a restructured deal. This was mutually agreed upon to re-sign key players for the up coming season. Godfrey was to receive the money on the back end of the deal. Two weeks later they cut him and kept the money. History tells us the Titans can and will play hard ball. It's a foregone conclusion that Johnson will use Fitzgerald's contract as a bargaining tool. We as Titans fans desperately want Johnson on the field week one, but neither side is willing to budge. Thanks Larry Fitzgerald, Thanks for nothing.

Rookie qb class impressed

I know I know it's just the pre season, but did you get a chance to check out any of the rookie qb's in action last week? Very impressive I must say. This goes beyond x's and o's (although all five qb's combined for zero interceptions), they all seemed to pass the eyeball test. They looked like they belonged in an nfl huddle. Newton looked like a number one pick, firing accurate nfl caliber passes. Jake Locker lead two Titan scoring drives, and showed great poise while turning a busted play into a 45 yard td. Ryan Mallett was groomed to be an nfl qb from his freshman year at Michigan. With his talent and Belichick's guidance, the Patriots could be in good hands beyond Brady.

The class overall benefited from a wacky 2010 season, pairing Locker and Ponder with the best running backs in the business. Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson are in their prime and can carry a team. Look what Big Ben did with a running game. And it's not like DeAngelo Williams (Newton) and Maurice Jones-Drew (Gabbert) are slouches either. Every qb will be afforded the luxury of a productive running game. With the exception of Newton maybe, every qb will have a veteran ahead of them on the depth chart to start the season. That should also be beneficial to their development. If their week one pre season performance was a glimpse into the future, then this qb oriented league will be left in good hands.

New look Titans make good impression

You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and the new look Tennessee Titans made a good one in front of their hometown fans last night. Kudos to owner Bud Adams for parting ways with Jeff Fisher and Vince Young. Their drama was bigger than the entire franchise and I believe they loved every minute of it. It was draining to watch as a fan so I can imagine the kind of toll it took on the team. Matt Hasselbeck is old, but he is a winner and a leader. And say what you want, it was good to see a Titan qb stand in the pocket and go through his reads. Jake Locker had a near flawless debut, showing some athleticism and confidence while leading two touchdown drives.

The Titans vowed to beef up the defensive line and it's paying early returns. It was a couple of freshly added 300 pounders who stuffed Minnesota on third and one. Their pressure also lead to two turnovers. And tight end Jared Cook, who was stuck in Fisher's dog his first two years, showed what he can do when given the chance to compete. Cook made several nice catches, and was wide open on several other plays. It was an all around good performance and much needed positive viewing experience for the fans. I know it was just a pre season game but a bad first impression would have been hard to overcome. Especially for this franchise.

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