I am by far one of the biggest titans fan on this board..ONe of the few who was dancing the....
when news broke that leftwich had been canned at jacksonville and replaced by Garrard, and called the titans to win an extra game this year due to that fact alone and it turns out that the extra game might very have been the very tough road game at jacksonville...
Why am i buttering my image up before i get into the guts of my response? Well because i am one of the few titans fans who was fed up with Jeff Fisher until he friggin changed his leopard spots in week one of the regular having hoodwinked us true football fans through out preseason)
Yes.. i was looking forward to seeing Fisher let go at the end of the year as the team had not extended his contract which is in its last year.
I know you are by now thinking that i am just a simple dope among the few who are too ready to call for coaches head at the drop of a hat..(not true considering i have had his back ever since the titans moved to nashville)
I have looked at his body of work and figured, that the last four years of his tenure were needlessly painful unproductive years because of fishers unwillingness to adjust his style of football to match his personnel.
Sure this win against the jaguars seems like it was Jeff fisher returning to ole school ball....THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE!!!!
/let me explain before you go grabbing for my throat.
That game was nothing at all like what jeff fisher has called all his life in
nashville. Jeff fisher normally has had that bland old boring single tail back look, run in between the tackles all friggin day long. Running backs were not allowed to cut back or bounce anything to the outside. You were expected to run the ball right up the middle all day, and make sure you hit the hole when it opens then run through and deliver a blow to the db you meet in the secondary.. This was the culture of football that had Eddie george carry the titans on his back until they broke him down like an old horse. Granted he had a long and productive career, he could have given us two or 3 more years and retired a titan had fisher simply adjusted his running scheme that called for the running back to be used like a battering ram all day long, wear out defenses and kick the winning field goal with
3 seconds left on the clock. This is the reason we have been going through running backs like water and they have been injured ala
Chris brown, the same guy we pretty much let go and resigned when no other team would take him. Every one always bitched about how he was always injured, but any running back of his size and stature, if forced to play the old style fisher football would be often injured. (and yes Eddie george was a different animal because he was uniquely well built and his body could with stand such heavy pounding.)
And worse for Chris brown particularly was his upright running style that meant that hits on his body were doubly more effective in battering his body and rendering him useless half way throught the season
.There are but a few backs in the league built to handle such pounding. Chris brown has always had such tremendous ability, all he needed was a change in the running scheme that was killing running backs in nashville.
And thank all that his holy as far as football goes, Fisher has at last changed his philosophy on the game. and installed a new zone blocking scheme that has allowed our running backs to flourish in the most pleasantly suprising way..
But make no mistake about it, this is not vintage jeff fisher!!!
Fisher was faced with the distinct possibility that he would be let go when his contract talks bogged, down and he did what he had to do to save his job. But dont make the mistake of saying he is going back to his old ways.
And dont assume he isnt genuinely concerned about being fired. Truth be told, he has one of the best jobs in the league, with some of the most patient "big market" fans..(yes i said big market because titans are one of the few teams to actually sell out all their home games like 5or 6 years in a row even with back to back losing seasons) He doesnt have to put up with the immense pressures half the coaches around the league deal with on a daily basis. Even the Pacman saga was nothing compared to say the drama TO faced in dallas last year with helicopters circling his home etc.)
All in all Fisher is a good coach but his lack of flexibility has cost the titans in the past. And may be the benching of Chris brown has turned out to be a blessing in disguise but lets not get carried away with the cheerleading.
Ps...I have more opinions on other issues regarding other facets of the team aside from the running game, like vince young's stalling development of his passing game, and defensive secondary woes but i cant type out such a long argument.
Also i am not sandbagging my own team, but they will get carved up for about 300 yards in the air by peyton manning next sunday.. (that does not mean they will consequently lose the game)