RSH's Titans Radio Portfolio

As part of an effort to compile my rapidly expanding portfolio of online writings, this post will contain links to all the pieces that I've written for Titans Radio during my fall internship. It will be updated each time a new piece is added to the site.

Munchak Begins Preparation For McCown
Morgan, Jones Expected to Play Sunday
Babineaux Prepared For First Titans Start
Washington Cautious With or Without Bailey
Munchak Using Broncos 2010 Comments
Munchak Hopes Avery Adds Deep Threat
Morgan Credits Rotation for Improved Defense
Munchak Pleased With Complete Win
Steelers Enter Week 5 Banged Up
Steelers Defensive Woes Draw Titans Focus
Munchak Monitoring Stevens, McRath Returns
Titans Fell Behind Early, Lost Game Plan
Munchak, Titans Welcome Bye Week Break
Munchak, Players Downplay Gameday Hype
McCourty: Houston Receivers Still Dangerous
Kubiak, Texans Focused on CJ
Texans Whip Titans 41-7 Behind Foster's Day
Collins' Season Over With Colts
Munchak Points Out Factors Leading to Losses
Ringer Workhorse Sunday in Titans Backfield
Titans Back to Winning Ways Over Colts
Williams, Wideouts Face Tough CIN Secondary
Munchak Says Bengals Worth the Hype
Bengals Top Titans With Big Second Half, 24-17
Munchak Shocked By Penn State Scandal
Banged-Up Titans Held Out of Practice
Newton Presents the Unpredictable for Titans
Titans Trounce Panthers 30-3
High-Powered Falcons Offense Next For Titans
Locker Throws 2 TD's in Comeback Loss
Titans Fall to 5-5 With 23-17 Loss in ATL
Munchak Stresses Run Game, Discipline Vs TB
Titans Overcome Turnovers, Beat Bucs 23-17
Titans Look For Back to Back Wins Again
Titans Offense Answers for Week 13 Win
Griffin Expects Basketball-Like Game From Graham
Locker's 4th Qtr Comeback Falls Just Short
Titans Nurse Wounds, Prep for Colts


A link to this post will also appear in the blog's sidebar. Thanks for reading.

4 Quarters Radio: September 30 4th Quarter

The fourth-quarter curriculum for September 30:
--Logan hijacks the Concert Calendar with an impromptu rendition of "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida." After Scott turns his mic back on, Logan gets his chance to weigh in on the Titans and how they've performed early on.
--The discussion turns to exactly how many teams Logan can claim to "like." Current estimate may be in low double digits.
--Logan gets to rant on a recruit who may have gotten Tennessee into more NCAA trouble, especially since it's his second school to have such issues.
--In the Epic Fails, Logan complains about a running back when he needs to go after the offensive coordinator. Scott calls out a mom who ruined her sons' football careers and another set of parents who didn't seem to care if they ever saw their kid again.

Featured music: "Turn Me On" by David Guetta and Nicki Minaj.

4 Quarters Radio: September 30 2nd Quarter

The second-quarter curriculum for September 30:
--Bobby shows up in time to weigh in on developments in fantasy football, including his team having another disappointing week. The two start off with a possible nominee for early Fantasy MVP.
--Traditionally dominant fantasy defenses get examined to see exactly why they're getting lit up.
--The Titans' early-season start gets a little scrutiny and some wonderment over why exactly everyone's surprised. Back on the fantasy tip, Scott and Bobby weigh whether it's time to give up on Chris Johnson.
--In Whodaman, Bobby coins a word that we don't hear nearly often enough. Scott honors guys who did something that doesn't happen nearly EVER.

Featured music: "Sweat" by Hard-Fi.

4 Quarters Radio: April 29 1st Quarter

Click to Play

The first-quarter curriculum for April 29:
--Early recording problems lead to a slightly abrupt start, but the fellas jump right into NFL Draft Round 1 discussion. Blaize talks up Jake Locker, the Titans' new quarterback, and everyone digs into the top picks by their respective teams.
--Other picks get checked out for genius, idiocy, or simple oddity. Nick Fairley, Julio Jones, Mark Ingram, and others get examined.

Featured music: "I Should Have Known" by the Foo Fighters. Stick around at the end for a brief snippet of the track, and help the show out by purchasing the full download if you like it.

4 Quarters Radio: April 22 2nd Quarter

Click to Play

The second-quarter curriculum for April 22:
--Before Logan goes off to chase extra credit points, he gets to share his thoughts on Scott and Blaize both agreeing on the Titans picking Nick Fairley.
--4Q Hockey Correspondent Jimi Russell checks in for the second straight week to talk Stanley Cup Playoffs.
--Scott ponders why the Preds-Ducks series is the only one with suspensions and why goaltenders are getting biblically pimp-smacked.
--Jimi also admits that he'd be perfectly okay with one of his Stanley Cup finalists being poleaxed in the first round.
--Mack laments the collapse of his Rangers, and Scott asks Jimi to forecast some "upsets."
--In Whodaman, Mack applauds disruptive fans, but only as long as Mark Cuban gets clocked in the process. Jimi shouts out to an entire city, with particular love to two magnificent bastards who play there. Scott goes to high school baseball and college softball for his honors.

Featured music: "Pit Stop (Take Me Home)" by Nathaniel Merriweather.

4 Quarters Radio: April 22 1st Quarter

Click to Play

The first-quarter curriculum for April 22:
--Scott and Mack are joined in the studio by TitansTouchdown.com co-editor Blaize Pennington, comparing his mock draft with Scott's.
--A few picks agree, but the discussion highlights several disagreements, as well. Topics include why the Vikings need a PR pick, where Da'Quan Bowers' stock will finally bottom out, and why the Dolphins are better off avoiding Mark Ingram.

Featured music: "Destroy Everything You Touch" by Ladytron. Stick around at the end for a brief snippet of the track, and help the show out by purchasing the full download if you like it.

4 Quarters Radio: January 28 1st Quarter

Click to Play

The first-quarter curriculum for January 28:
--After a brief discussion of the blazingly hot studio (including Logan's somewhat radical solution), Los Guys get down to discussion of the day's overriding story, the departure of Titans coach Jeff Fisher. Fisher's future moves, the even-less-certain future of Vince Young, and the rush to win one for Bud are all discussed.
--Scott revisits a painful weekend in analyzing the abuse of Jay Cutler. Tolerance for pain, TV director prejudice, and players calling the kettle black are relevant factors.

Excised music: "Royal Blue" by the Cold War Kids.

4 Quarters Radio: January 14 4th Quarter

Click to Play

The fourth-quarter curriculum for January 14:
--4QR gets a rare listener call-in, and the discussion veers toward the Seagulls' lack of qualifications for the playoffs.
--Los Guys discuss the State of Their Teams, including the proper result of the Fisher-Young showdown, whether Skeletor needs to spend to keep Nnamdi Asomugha, and the comparisons between Bob Sanders and Kenny McCormick.
--The Ultimate Fighter coaches have been named, and the idea of Brock Lesnar weekly on Spike seems like a sure recipe for fun and disaster.
--Scott explains why the Knicks need to simply walk away from Melo.
--In the Epic Fails, Bobby calls out a clumsy corner, Logan gasses a Nazi ref, and Scott marvels at how people will pay multiple hundreds of dollars expressly to stand outside a stadium.

Excised music: "Always Something" by Cage the Elephant.

How Right are the Titans in Dumping Vince Young?

Let's do a small piece of blind taste-testing...er, except we're tasting quarterbacks. Eeeeew.

Anyway, grossness out of the way, here's the comparison:

Quarterback A: 21-12 (.636 winning percentage) as a starter over three seasons, 55.3 percent completions, 30 TD, 27 interceptions, 161 yards per game.

Quarterback B: 30-17 (.638) as starter over five seasons, 57.9 percent, 42 TD, 42 picks, 150 yards per game.

Neither set of numbers is exploding off the page, but one of these players still had local fans defending him to the death, while one was considered among the worst QB's of all time based off a hideous rookie season.

Given the fact that his 30-17 record as a starter has been trotted out ad nauseam as fans and analysts struggle to find good things to say about him, it should be no surprise that Vince Young is Quarterback B. As for Quarterback A?

This guy. Kyle Orton, one of my ex-Purdue amigos, and quite obviously a veteran party hound. The numbers above are from his three seasons in Chicago, where he grew as a quarterback while one of the decade's best defenses toiled opposite him in practice.

At least he's never been caught on video beating some fool in a strip club, but that's a whole other story.

As an interesting coincidence, Orton spent the past two seasons churning out numbers after being traded to Denver for Jay Cutler, the guy who was selected eight spots behind Vince Young in the 2006 draft.

Nashville sports radio, as recently as October, still occasionally turned out mouth-breathers who would still claim that Young was the best of the three 2006 signal-callers (Matt Leinart, of course, being the third). Strangely, out of the three, only one is likely to have a starting job in 2011, and it ain't VY.

Cutler's not quite the franchise guy yet. Did he whine his way out of Denver? Yep. Is he arrogant? You bet.

One thing Jay's never been accused of, however, is being lazy. Leinart always seemed more interested in hot-tubbing, and Vince always seemed to think he could just show up and dominate. If I have to choose one of those traits in my franchise QB, I'm taking arrogance over laziness every time.

For all the (entirely justifiable) flak that Cutler caught for crying his way out of Denver, his towel is nowhere near as tear-stained as Vince Young's. Tossing shoulder pads into stands, freely admitting that you're walking out on your coach, disappearing after a game to the point that your coach and family are contacting authorities out of fear that you've harmed yourself? These are not the actions of a leader of men.

The win-loss record defense continues to chap me, as I am far from a card-carrying member of the Cult of the Quarterback. A quarterback's win-loss record is one of the most meaningless stats in all of sports.

Vince Young did not go 30-17. The Tennessee Titans went 30-17 in games that he started. Of course, in 2008, they went 13-2 in games that he didn't start. Yet, very little clamor has been heard for Kerry Collins to maintain a starting job.

The point of comparing Vince to Orton was that absolutely no one was giving Orton any credit for the games that the Bears won during his tenure. Vince always seemed to get a huge share of the credit for every victory, even the ones that were part of Chris Johnson blazing his way into the history books last year.

The sad part is that Vince Young appears to have learned absolutely nothing.

Comments from an interview with Jim Wyatt of the Tennesseean:

"People say that's immature, but that's just me." Good to know that one can admit to being immature. Isn't the first step admitting that you have a problem?

"Wherever I go I will be committed like I am committed to everything." Commitment was the biggest question that most people had about you, Vince. 

Whatever Bud Adams heard in the postseason meetings that he's been having with Titans executives, there must have been some serious bombshells, creating shockwaves strong enough to remove Bud's head from VY's backside. It used to seem that it would take the Jaws of Life to get Bud out of there. Safe to say that a lot of people questioned Vince's maturity, commitment, and a lot of other things.

Now to kick back and listen to the mouthbreathers complain that it should have been Jeff Fisher getting canned. Calm down, fellas, who's to say that he won't?

Oh, and over/under on how long it takes Jemele Hill to write a column about how VY got canned because he's black: four days.

4 Quarters Radio: December 2 4th Quarter

Click to Play

The fourth-quarter curriculum for December 2:
--Stevie Johnson's Hail Mary drop and his damning tweet get examined, and one of the hosts is actually somewhat refreshed.
--Derek Anderson's chuckling on the sideline draws a little discussion from Scott, Bobby, and special guest star Magic Johnson.
--Even the show's Colts fan in residence displays little surprise about Peyton's struggles against the San Diego Chargers.
--Scott and Bobby discuss some NFL teams' December prospects, calling the segment Rank or Tank.
--Bobby's UFC 123 results get announced, and he's so close to free wings that he can almost taste it.
--In the Epic Fails, Bobby makes fun of a guy named Rusty. He'll admit that he likes shooting fish in a barrel. Scott has to marvel at how bad a particular college hoop tournament's invitees played.

Excised music: "I Don't Feel" by Aeroplane.

4 Quarters Radio: November 4 1st Quarter

Click to Play

The first-quarter curriculum for November 4:
--Scott gives Logan the floor to comment on the Randy Moss waiver claim and how the Titans will look going forward. Logan immediately takes back every nasty thing he's ever said.
--For his part, the Professor's not exactly sold on Randy and what he'll do for the Titan offense. The immediate question of "Can Fisher control Randy?" is pondered.
--The MTSU football team's debacle against Arkansas State gets a once-over, and it's just as ugly a couple of days later. Scott does, however, express some great appreciation for ASU's beautiful Wildcat work.
--The guys move on to MTSU soccer, and once they figure out exactly where the team's playing, they give respect for an opening win in the Sun Belt Tournament.

Excised music: "National Ransom" by Elvis Costello.

4 Quarters Radio: September 23 3rd Quarter

Click to Play

The third-quarter curriculum for September 23:

--A belated Whodaman starts off the second half. Logan's selfish, giving love to his fantasy football stalwart, while Scott honors the triumph of upstanding players over field-crashing idiots.
--Scott's briefly solo, and takes the time to weigh in on the NFL teams changing quarterbacks after only two games. For the most part, they're the teams that one would expect to be flailing for answers.
--Scott sounds a death knell for Percy Harvin's NFL career, wondering how anyone can absorb that kind of physical abuse and work around migraines.
--Bobby arrives and immediately gets to weigh in on his teams, the Raiders and Eagles, with their new signal-callers.
--Bobby also pauses to ponder whether or not Jeff Fisher has a personal grudge against Vince Young. Scott, meanwhile, celebrates the first Kerry Collins sighting as the true beginning of fall.
--Scott spotlights which NFL team will be last to win...AND when it will happen. Write it down.

Excised music: "Take It Back" by The Qemists.

4 Quarters Radio: September 9 4th Quarter

Click to Play

The fourth-quarter curriculum for September 9:
--Bobby shows up, and the two compare their NFL playoff picks. They discuss how smart the Titans may be for trying to reacquire Albert Haynesworth and all the people trying to sue him. They're eagerly anticipating The T.Ocho Show, in all its car-crash glory, even comparing it to an actual car crash. In the Epic Fails, the fellas ponder what kind of women still want to nail Dennis Rodman. Excised music: "King of Anything" by Sara Bareilles.

4 Quarters Radio May 24: 2nd Half

Click to Play

In the second half of May 24's festivities, the 4QR guys start off with some NBA Draft projections, including the name with whom Scott compares Evan Turner and whether there's any chance someone not named John Wall goes No. 1. In the NFL, three Colts fans weigh in on whether Chris Johnson needs to get paid. The results may surprise you. A centerfield tantrum and some goofy cartoon characters highlight the Epic Fails. Excised music: "Pieces" by It's Alive and "Mary Jane's Last Breakdown" by Keller & the Keels.

Chris Johnson's Holdout: Everyone's Got a Point

Usually, when a future Hall of Famer talks, today's players listen. (As opposed to when current Hall of Famers talk, in which case they get pissed and raise hell.)

In this case, we know Chris Johnson was listening when Marshall Faulk blessed his current tactic of skipping OTA's to agitate for a new contract.

Faulk said, "Chris has outplayed his rookie deal. He has beyond exceeded the expectation where he was drafted...after you play and prove your worth you are then paid as to how you play. He has exceeded the money he is making, the Titans know it and everyone in the league knows it."

None of this is off the mark. When you rush for over 3200 yards in two seasons while only making about $385,000 (ever notice that only in sports and politics can we say "only $385,000"?) your team has just gotten the bargain of the century. The Titans appreciate that, I'm sure.

Johnson's problem is bad timing. The NFL's uncertain labor situation has made it difficult to commit large sums of cash in the long term, especially to a 195-pound player who plays the most collision-prone non-line position on the field.

The Titans have some serious grounds to be cautious. Look at some of the other two-hit wonders (the music industry's big in Nashville, don'tcha know) that grace the NFL record books.

James Wilder: 2800 yards in '84 and '85, then injury and oblivion thereafter.

Joe Morris: 2800 yards and 35 TD's in '85 and '86, then a 1000-yard curtain call in '88 before somehow disappearing for three years and resurfacing in Cleveland in '91.

Larry Johnson: 3500 yards and 37 TD's in '05 and '06, now hanging onto NFL employment by his toenails. This season, Larry's joining the NFL's answer to the Power Station (speaking of our two-hit wonders) in the retread-laden backfield in Washington. My money's on Larry to be Robert Palmer since, given Portis's tendency to rock funny costumes, he'd fit better as one of the Taylor brothers there on the right.

But, I digress. Above all, the Titans have to be absolutely terrified of CJ repeating the Terrell Davis Scenario: 2000-yard season followed by catastrophic injury.

To CJ's credit, his original request to be "the highest paid offensive player in the league" included the caveat "besides the quarterback." This was smart. If a guy two years into the league wanted to be paid more than Peyton Manning or even Tom Brady (whose salary last year was less than 60% of Manning's), he'd be laughed out of the room, no matter how good those two seasons were. To continue the metaphor, it'd be like the Knack wanting to make more money than the Beatles.

But highest-paid running back in the league? Why not?

Apparently, the "30% rule" is why not. With this uncapped year, renegotiated contracts can only raise the base salary by 30 percent, which would put him just over $700K next season. Not the kind of hike he's hoping for, but if he gets $50 million, over $40M of that would have to be guaranteed. That kind of scale is a dangerous precedent for any team to set, and one that could bankrupt franchises if it became standard practice. Just imagine the Colts guaranteeing 80 to 90 percent of Peyton's next contract, then watching him suffer a career-ending injury.

There has to be a middle ground somewhere. I would hope that there's no NFL rule prohibiting the Titans from inserting a bonus clause that will allow them to cut Chris a check for, say, $6 or 7 million the moment he shows up for the opening game. There needs to be a gesture of good faith that shows the Titans' appreciation for CJ's rare season, while still reminding Chris of the shaky economic realities that the league faces today. Once a new CBA is in place and everyone understands the salary rules beyond this year, by all means, paydaman.

As a Colts fan, I realize that it's in my best interest for the Titans to stonewall Johnson and piss him off to the point that he stages a lengthy holdout. However, as a football fan, I can't go that route. I enjoy watching Johnson play the game too much to allow him to vacate the stage that easily.

(And no, this has nothing to do with the multiple fantasy leagues he's helped me win over the past two seasons.

...

Okay, but only a little.)