No Dyson. No Thigpen. No Pickens. Wychek gone for Half the game. 295 yards. Audibles on almost every play. McNair is for real! Whoever had the plan to sit him down for two years knew exactly what they were doing. McNair is in total control of his team. Titans are for real. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Some would say that sitting for two years merely meant that it took him two years longer to become the real deal. There is often no substitute for actually playing. ------------------ Houston Sports Board DFW Sports Board
As long as you have a quality offensive line, then I agree, you get better by playing. For the most part, the Oilers had a good offensive line while McNair sat. There was no reason to keep him on the bench. If Pastorini would have been on the bench for 2-3 years, he wouldn't have been so beat up by the time they assembled a team around him. ------------------
Bob McNair certainly does continue to grow as an NFL owner. He is much better than the previous "gentleman" who owned an NFL franchise here in Houston! ------------------ I am the b*stard son of LHutz. Huh? Right!
Doesn't look like he hangs out at the Shoney's breakfast buffet as much either! ------------------ I am the b*stard son of LHutz. Huh? Right! [This message has been edited by RocketMan Tex (edited October 03, 2000).]
Or buys his suits from Weiners. ------------------ "Only Hakeem Olajuwon is a better athlete." Dick Versace, when referring to Antonio McDyess before the draft.
PhiSlammaJamma: It is nice to see another Titan fan on the site. I agree with you that McNair seems to be gaining more and more confidence. It appears the Steelers game may have been just the shot in the arm this Titans team needed. It made the Titans realize that Steve can in fact throw the ball. The loss of Dyson will definately hurt this team. But injuries are part of the game. However, they are adding up for the Titans. If you watched the Giants game. The big thing I noticed was the play calling. It was great. I mean the first two games of the season the Titans were relaying to much on the run and the opposing defense knew it. In the Giants game the Titans mixed up the pass with the run. It was great. I mean that one drive in the second quarter they got the ball on the 2 yard line and had a 19 play, 9 minute drive to score a touchdown. It was a thing of beauty and is exactly what Titans football is all about. Have long sustained drives and keep the opposing offense off the field. In addition, they did this without their starting left tackle in Brad Hopkins. What has me concerned is that now Pickens has a strained hamsting. I am glad they are taking it easy with Thigpen. The guy is so injury prone it is not funny. We will need him though in the next few weeks (see below). Thigpen has to come back strong and pick up the slack. I am really surprised that they are not using Pickens as much. I guess he is still getting adjusted to the offense. The last thing we can afford is to lose another wide receiver. I have to give credit to Derrick Mason. He is playing big time catching numerous third down receptions and keeping several drives alive. I agree with Eddie George in the statement that he is the Titans MVP so far. Also the Freak is doing ok but not great. He appears to be struggling with his quad and also has not adjusted to being triple teamed. The Freak will have to adjust to his new found stardom because other teams are focusing on blocking him. The Titans defense has been the strength of the Team by far this season. It is the main reason they are 3-1 so far. They also need to start forcing more turnovers. One final point. The Titans play the Bengals this week. After that we head down a very tough stretch. We have Jacksonville at home on Monday night. Than comes Baltimore on the road and after that the Redskins on the road (again on Monday night). I hope the Titans are not looking ahead because they have to take care of business and spank the Bengals. Titans rule! ------------------ Titan's fanatic!!!! It was the first time the Titans sent an offense to the line of scrimmage with Eddie George in the backfield behind McNair to go with Wycheck at tight end and Carl Pickens, Kevin Dyson and Yancey Thigpen at wide receiver. So many choices, with a full season still ahead. "I think that might be scary for a defense," Dyson said. [This message has been edited by Dream34 (edited October 03, 2000).]
You are right. The playcalling was strong. In fact, it was the same type of playcalling that was used in the Titans-Jacksonville playoff game. In that game we came out throwing the ball. And even though we got behind against the Jags, it opened the door for the remainder of the game. Fisher knows when to open up the offense and when to keep it tight. He's a great offensive coach. He just doesn't get the respect for it. As for Pickens, I don't think with McNair at QB he will ever get the ball. I don't think that's bad. McNair is so sharp with his short field decisions it won't matter.Pickens is a deep threat and just isn't going to get that many chances. The hope is he likes winning as opposed to catches. And the the key for him will be loosening up the defense for that mid range passing game. Maybe even break off a pattern like he did to open up Mason for the T.D. this week. Unfortunately, I think he'll be a decoy most of the year. But we can dream that he will catch 100 passes! You never know. Bengals this week should be a win, but they played us tough last year in the opening game. With Akili Smith at QB I think Fisher will put a lot of pressure on him and cause some TO's. I think we will play conservative and let the defense do the talking this week. Titans 31 Bengals 13 ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Phislammajamma: With Steve as our starting QB. One thing is for sure. His favorite receiver will always be Frank Wycheck. The guy is clutch and I think the Titans will never fully utilize our receivers like other teams (as long as Fischer is our coach). Not that this is a bad thing because it is just part of the Titans gameplan. Also, our new rookie tight end, Erron Kenney looks like he is going to develop into a solid tight end for years to come. ------------------ Titan's fanatic!!!! It was the first time the Titans sent an offense to the line of scrimmage with Eddie George in the backfield behind McNair to go with Wycheck at tight end and Carl Pickens, Kevin Dyson and Yancey Thigpen at wide receiver. So many choices, with a full season still ahead. "I think that might be scary for a defense," Dyson said. [This message has been edited by Dream34 (edited October 04, 2000).]
When Kinney was drafted I almost died. Why not draft a deep threat WR, but damn, he looked good! He caught several passes that were well covered. Dropped only one pass. He was the whole offense for a while, and well, you know what happened in the Pittsburgh game. For now Wychek is the man. He's another Tight End I wondered why we got, but in the end, he has been awesome. ------------------ humble, but hungry.
Fellas, I'm glad that the Titans are doing well also. I had the privilege of playing against two of the three McMairs in college. Steve and Tim made a hell of a combo in college and Fred, the oldest one was as good a QB as Steve is. Anyway, I knew then that Steve would make it and I'm glad that Houston made the decision to have him sit and learn. If you look at the QB's that have been thrown into the fire, most of them have not been able to handle the position. The list is long starting with Andre Ware, David Klinger, Ryan Leaf, Rick Mirer and so on. The Oilers were smart in realizing that every QB that is drafted may not be ready to handle the rigors of the NFL blitz and maintain his confidence. McNair has grown leaps and bounds since becoming the starting QB and if you ask anyone who's the leader of that team, they'll all say Steve. Even Bruce said that he wished he came along about 10 years later so hecould have played with McNair his entire career. That's saying alot from someone who is considered the best O-lineman to ever play. McNair may not be among the top 10 QBs, but he sure is among the top 5 football players. He makes plays and has a desire to win. That's a leader in my book. I pray that someday he'll be recognized for just that, being one hell of a football player!!!!! I'm out!!! See ya at the Super Bowl!!!! ------------------
Bigdog: Excellent post. Great analysis of Steve McNair as a QB/leader of the Titans. Peace! ------------------ Titan's fanatic!!!! It was the first time the Titans sent an offense to the line of scrimmage with Eddie George in the backfield behind McNair to go with Wycheck at tight end and Carl Pickens, Kevin Dyson and Yancey Thigpen at wide receiver. So many choices, with a full season still ahead. "I think that might be scary for a defense," Dyson said.
