Michael Vick Set To Go

There probably isn’t a more polarizing player in the NFL right now than Michael Vick. The Eagles made the brave step of offering Vick a contract and a second chance. Obviously, this was not a popular move to everyone. Tomorrow night Vick makes his Eagles debut against the Jacksonville Jaguars and I am extremely interested to see just how positive or negative his return is received.

There are some, mainly animal rights supporters who will never, ever forgive Michael Vick. Also remember in some circles Michael Vick is still “The Man” and his punishment was viewed as extreme. I think I’m like most, I fall somewhere between both.

First let me say, I think what he did was awful. He knew it was wrong, knew it was illegal and then lied about it. Second, he paid his price. Michael Vick got caught and went to jail. Not country club jail, big boy jail. Not many of us can or want to imagine what a horrible place that is and he was there for almost 2 years. Do I feel sorry for him? No, he made his choice, but it’s time to move on.

If he flipped burgers for a living we would not say he couldn’t do that again. It’s the fact that he has the opportunity to earn millions again that has everyone in an uproar, but let’s see what he does with it this time. He should be given the opportunity to prove he’s a changed man, learned from his mistakes and is now a benefit to society.

America is watching and so is the NFL. Don’t worry if he slips up they’ll know and he’ll be gone. You don’t have to like Michael Vick, he’s given you plenty of reason not too, but realize he’s a man with a family to take care of and with a second chance to define who he is.

Titans Camp - A Welcome Return

No, not all of the news is bad regarding injuries and the Tennessee Titans this week. Yes, Nate Washington went down and no, that’s not good. This week though they’ve already seen Colin Allred, Vincent Fuller and Jacob Ford return to practice, not insignificant.

Today center Kevin Mawae finally made his training camp debut. He was a pro bowler just last year but has been out since rupturing a tendon in his elbow late last season. He’s been rehabbing on the side every day and has been pointing to the opener against Pittsburgh since having the surgery.

Will he be ready? Sure. Will he be better than LeRoy Harris? That remains to be seen. No, I’m not saying Harris is a “better player”, merely that he’s been working with the first team since they started OTA’s 4 months ago. It is added depth though and a welcome site. If Mawae plays Harris can swing to guard, a luxury for Mike Munchak.

Is the glass half full? That’s for you to decide, I’ll just say the water’s running…

Titans Camp - Injury Update

The injury bug just bit Monday afternoon at Titans Training Camp. Wide receiver Nate Washington went down with what is believed to be a hamstring injury. He walked off the field under his own power with trainers.
Washington was the Titans biggest free agent addition in the offseason agreeing to a 6-year contract after playing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His loss likely moves up first round pick Kenny Britt, but who’s number 3? The opportunity is there for Lavelle Hawkins, Paul Williams and company.

Woooaaahhh.. Wait A Minute

It seems like this happens every preseason with every team, an overreaction to the preseason. We overreact to what teams do and the individual performances we see. So, let me put this simply. The Titans will run the ball this season and run it well. No! Chris Johnson hasn’t lost it and won’t be “passed by” by Javon Ringer. Yes, Kerry Collins is still the quarterback to lead this team.

Three games in panic is setting in about the running game and with CJ going for 10 yards on 9 carries the last 2 weeks I get it. I also get the Titans perspective, it’s only preseason. CJ did absolutely nothing in Chicago last year, yet somehow still went for 1,200 yards. He’s still fast, faster than anyone else on the team.

Javon Ringer has easily been the most pleasant “surprise” of camp. He’s looked tremendous and clearly deserves to be on this team. A little early to declare him number one though! I’d love to see him gets some touches in the regular season and see what he can do, but remember every time he gets the ball that’s another time a guy with 4.2 speed isn’t touching it. I do think it spells trouble for LenDale White’s future with the team. He’s a free agent after the season and if he wants to get paid he will have to go elsewhere with Ringer showing he can fill the role.

Now for the quarterbacks! 2 weeks ago it was time to fall in love with Vince Young again, Friday reality set back in. 3 for 9, 33 yards, an INT and a qb rating of 5.6…. Bo Fleanor says the stats don’t always tell the story, I agree, but I was at the game and I think they were pretty accurate. He had Kenny Britt streaking wide open down the field and underthrew him by 5 to 10 yards, sure Britt could have made a great adjustment and caught the ball, but it should have been 6 points. It’s a position of consistency and the Titans know exactly what they’re going to get from Kerry Collins, while Vince Young remains a mystery.

It’s only preseason everybody! Relax! If they can’t get it done against Pittsburgh, we’ll talk again…

High School Football Scores: Week 0

Bearden 44, Walker Valley 0

Blackman 52, Tullahoma 0

Bledsoe County 20, Coalfield 14

Boyd Buchanan 62, Chattanooga Christian 7

CAK 29, Grace Christian 13

Cherokee 7, Johnson County 6

Claiborne County 34, Cosby 6

Clay County 26, Taft Youth Center 16

Clinton 27, Knoxville Halls 14

Columbia 21, Lawrence County 13

Daniel Boone 12, Seymour 3

David Lipscomb 39, Page 26

Davidson Academy 42, Cascade 9

Dyersburg 39, Dyer County 25

Elizabethton 33, Volunteer 6

Farragut 26, Kingsport Dobyns Bennett 8

Greeneville 28, Jefferson County 3

Greenwood, Ky. 43, Portland 0

Henry County 20, Liberty Magnet 18

Humboldt 34, Gibson County 20

Hunters Lane 18, Stratford 7

Jackson Central-Merry 21, Haywood County 20

Jackson Northside 36, Ripley 6

Knoxville Catholic 21, Rhea County 6

Knoxville Hardin Valley 7, Knoxville Carter 0

Knoxville Webb 37, Knoxville Central 16

Lake County 70, Fulton City, Ky. 19

Lebanon 21, Wilson Central 11

Loudon 33, Campbell County 0

Maplewood 35, Hillsboro 6

Marion County 38, Cumberland County 3

McCallie 38, Charlotte Providence Day, N.C. 12

Milan 24, Jackson Christian 14

Monterey 20, Wartburg Central 12

Moore County 46, Richland 13

Mt. Pleasant 22, Lewis County 15

MUS 38, Millington 0

Notre Dame 14, Grace Baptist 0

Ooltewah 36, Tyner Academy 0

Polk County 20, Bradley Central 13

Powell 31, South Doyle 0

Riverdale 31, Antioch 0

Science Hill 24, Soddy Daisy 21

Scott County 15, Sequoyah 0

Sevier County 31, William Blount 14

Shelbyville 10, Coffee County 0

Signal Mountain 42, Hixson 21

Silverdale Baptist Academy 37, Zion Christian Academy 27

Smith County 40, Cheatham County 0

Smyrna 21, Beech 0

South Greene 41, Unicoi County 0

Sunbright 38, North Greene 18

Tellico Plains 42, Sweetwater 0

Union City 45, Trigg Co., Ky. 6

Warren County 49, DeKalb County 42

Whites Creek 28, Goodpasture 0

Whitwell 28, Copper Basin 6

Williamsburg, Ky. 38, Jellico 16

York Institute 36, Stone Memorial 12

Next Up... Dallas.

Keith Bulluck put it best yesterday, “100,000.. Can they fill all of those seats?” Yep, the Dallas Cowboys new 1.5-billion dollar monstracity can accomodate 100,000 fans! It also sports a massive jumbotron that hangs in the middle of the stadium stretching from 20 to 20. It’s Jerry Jones baby and it promises to be unrivaled in the NFL.

I know there are a few college stadiums that accomodate 100,000, one of them is right here in our very own state, but games at Neyland Stadium are not “blacked out” if they don’t “sell out”. Thousands of the tickets in Dallas are S-R-O (Standing Room Only), so they may not have to sell 100,000 tickets to be on TV in the Big D.

The new stadium may be the best hope we have for a new contract between the players and the owners. It cost over 1-billion dollars! Jerry Jones obviously has bills to pay and I can’t imagine a lockout would be in his best interest. Who knows? Not me, but all I keep thinking is that everything really is big in Texas.

So, the Titans get to make history and play in the first game ever in the Boys new palace and I for one am excited to see it. It’s also great preperation for Tennessee and its rookies. Big game atmosphere isn’t easily simulated, but they’ll have it Friday night.

The Price of Camp... Injuries

It’s impossible, teams can’t practice for a month without somebody going down. Today that somebody for the Titans was rookie cornerback Ryan Mouton. The third round pick ouf of Hawaii hurt his left ankle during one on one drills and was obvious pain. He had to be carted off the field and helped inside the facility.

The timing of the injury is almost ridiculous, it was just Saturday night he took his first interception 29 yards to the endzone for a touchdown. As usual Jeff Fisher was extremely vague about the injury, but until they do the x-rays and run all of their tests there is no way to know just how bad it is. I hate to speculate about injuries, but from what I witnessed we won’t see him for a while.

On the positive side, Kenny Britt was back after missing a practice with a sore ankle and was spectacular this morning. He was strong off the line, made great cuts and caught the football. He was a handful for Nick Harper prompting the veteran to tab the rookie as his competition for now on in practice.

It was a spirited practice, they’re excited about Dallas, excited about the way they’re playing and ready to get the season started.

Titans Camp - Who Stays? Who Goes?

It’s a gift and a curse for Jeff Fisher and his Tennessee Titans, too much talent. I know, that sounds crazy and it is, but it has to be difficult to cut players that the coach knows can help his team and will ultimately now being playing against it.

That could be the case on the defensive line and at running back. We know Chris Johnson and LenDale White will both makes this team and play, they’ve both gone for 1,000 yards in their career, but we don’t know who stays after that. The Titans will definitely keep 3 RB’s, maybe, just maybe 4, but who?

Quinton Ganther has proved himself to be an asset to this team over and over again on special teams and as a ball carrier if the situation came up. Remember last year at this time Ganther was all the rage after he torched the Rams in the preseason.

Now the talk is Javon Ringer. He’s a 5th round pick out of Michigan State and he delivered the goods Saturday night with a sizzling touchdown run in third quarter. He led the Big 10 last year in carries and touchdowns, he’s got talent, he’s also a draft pick and the Titans don’t like to let those go, especially as high as round 5.

It’s year 3 for Chris Henry and he’s got the biggest bullseye on his back. His second round status guaranteed him a roster spot the last 2 years, but that time is over. He has shown flashes of improved vision in the preseason and understanding what’s in front of him, the coaches also say he was a “different” guy this summer.

Then there’s Rafael Little, the guy we’ve seen the least from. He simply has not been given very many opportunities in the preseason. He had 3rd round talent out of Kentucky but blew up his knee at the Senior Bowl and went undrafted. He’s a guy the organization liked enough to bring in as a free agent though and rehabilitate all last season. He’s eligible for one more year on the practice squad and they can probably sneak him in there again.

Here’s my feeling, Ganther stays. Whoever the third back is won’t get many carries making special teams the key. If they keep a fourth I’m thinking Ringer. He’s wowed the staff since they got him in a columbia blue jersey and he hasn’t hurt his cause yet.

There are still 3 preseason games to go, the time to make a push and stake a claim are running out.

Michael Vick Is Back!

I’ll be honest, I couldn’t believe it when I heard it, but Michael Vick is back. Tonight the Philadelphia Eagles signed the embattled quarterback to a 2-year contract. He can practice immediately and even play in the final two preseason games.

There’s a lot I can say about all of the different aspects of this signing and what it means, but I mostly just interested to see how it plays out. Is he a changed man? Will the fans forgive? Can he still play? We are a forgiving society, nothing would suprise me.

Rick Pitino... Wow!

I have to say I knew there had to be more to the Rick Pitino extortion case than we were hearing, but yesterday’s news was still a jaw dropper! Another sports icon and another public relations nightmare because of infidelity.

The story is Pitino and the woman who alledgingly was trying to extort him met and had sexual relations in a Louisville restaurant 6 years ago. Two weeks later she told him she was pregnant, he was the father and he gave her $3000 for medical coverage because she needed an abortion and didn’t have insurance. That’s all in a statement Pitino gave to police July 12th.

So, what does Louisville do now? Pitino’s people are all saying he didn’t break the law. Maybe not, but he certainly broke the “morals” clause in his contract and the school’s president indicated he didn’t find out the latest news until yesterday, indicating Pitino didn’t tell him the “whole” story.

There’s also a religous aspect to this. Both Pitino and Louisville President James Ramsey are Catcholics. Does that effect the outcome? He’s a great coach. He wins a lot of games. How badly have his actions hurt the university? What standard do they want to set? A lot to consider for President Ramsey who has an awfully difficult decision to make.

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