Titans place Bulluck and Thornton on IR

OLBs Keith Bulluck and David Thornton
photo by Andrew Strickert for Total Titans

Veteran linebackers Keith Bulluck and David Thornton will be placed on Injured Reserve, Titans coach Jeff Fisher announced today.

Bulluck’s MRI revealed a torn ACL and the Titans decided to go ahead with surgery for Thornton’s injured pectoral muscle.

It didn’t look good when Bulluck left the field Sunday afternoon. It looked worse when the defense, which had played rather well until then, started having problems. The problems weren’t entirely due to the loss of Bulluck. The d-line had some injury issues and Michael Griffin was still on the field, both of which were contributing factors, but the defense had a 24-6 lead when Bulluck left and couldn’t hold that 18-point lead.

Thoughts on the Titans-49ers injury report

Titans RT David Stewart - Photo by Andrew Strickert for Total Titans

The complete injury report for the Titans-49ers game is now available. The biggest concern is obviously RT David Stewart.

Javon Ringer, Back, Out

Jevon Kearse, Knee, Questionable

Mike Otto, Knee, Questionable

David Stewart, Hamstring, Questionable

David Thornton, Hip, Questionable

Vincent Fuller, Groin, Questionable

Nicholas Harper, Forearm, Questionable

If Stewart is unable to play, or has to be replaced, we might get to see rookie Troy Kropog fill in. (Mike Otto, the other backup tackle, has been missing practice with a knee problem and is also listed as Questionable on the injury report.)

Titans-Jaguars inactives, game thread

The list of inactives for today’s game is out and includes a couple names you’d like to see active:

DE Dave Ball, WR Dominique Edison, S Vincent Fuller, CB Cortland Finnegan, WR Lavelle Hawkins, DT Jason Jones, LB Stanford Keglar, OT Troy Kropog

CB Cary Williams, added to the roster yesterday when the Titans released Patrick Ramsey is active.  Rookie Jason McCourty is listed as the starter at CB in Finnegan’s stead, while Jovan Haye starts at DT aside Tony Brown in place of Jason Jones.  With McCourty listed as the starter, I’m assuming Ryan Mouton will be the nickel corner today.  One thing that wouldn’t surprise me much is if Michael Griffin lines up in the slot some, depending on how much confidence they have in newly-signed S Kevin Kaesviharn.

For the Jaguars, the following players are inactive:

OT Ebon Britton, S Sean Considine, CB William Middleton, OT Eugene Monroe, DT Greg Peterson, LB Adam Seward, WR Tiquan Underwood, CB Brian Witherspoon

Yes, that’s both of the Jaguars’ starting rookie tackles.  Former Eagles veteran Tra Thomas starts at LT in place of Monroe, while RG Maurice Williams kicks out to RT in place of Britton with Uchi Nwaneri, whom the Titans were able to exploit when he filled in Week 1 last year, playing at RG.

Please feel free to share your comments here during today’s game.

The Titans now have no depth at corner

On several occasions this summer, we discussed the lack of depth in the Titans’ secondary. The starters were fine, we felt, but that was before the Texans game. They did reaffirm our faith in them, mostly, on Sunday, despite the loss to the Jets.

 

Besides losing the game Sunday, the Titans also lost two key members of their secondary, Cortland Finnegan and Vincent Fuller, so now we’re facing what we feared. Rookies Jason McCourty and Ryan Mouton have replaced them.

 

It was not a pleasant feeling when the Titans had only one true corner, Nick Harper, on the field Sunday. Mouton was moved from nickel to right corner after both Finnegan and McCourty went down. The feeling was even more unpleasant when Chuck Cecil was forced to use Keith Bulluck as a nickelback.

 

The Titans only have four corners listed on the roster, including nickelback Ryan Mouton. Since Fuller will be out for a while, Mouton will take his spot for that time, leaving only Harper, Finnegan and McCourty.

A look back at the Titans’ 2008 inactives

One method of identifying players who are less important than others on the roster is by looking at the lists of players who were inactive on gamedays. Of course, players sometimes don’t play for other reasons, such as injuries.

 

When injuries are not the reason for players missing games, it gives us some insight into the thinking of the coaching staff.

 

Following is the number of games (both regular season and playoffs) players were listed as inactive last year. Following that are my observations.

 

Chris Henry – inactive for 16 games: The former second-round draft pick has been a bust and the Titans coaching staff has acknowledged as much by not suiting him up sixteen times. His only appearance came in the scrimmage against the Colts in the regular season finale.

Titans-Ravens Friday Injury Report + Links

Two things here-the normal pregame injury report, and also some news and notes on the game from various places.  First up, who’s not going to play and who might not play:

BALTIMORE RAVENS
Out: LB Antwan Barnes (chest)
Questionable: DT Justin Bannan (foot), TE Todd Heap (back), LB Jarret Johnson (calf), WR Derrick Mason (shoulder), S Ed Reed (knee), CB Samari Rolle (thigh), K Matt Stover (ankle), CB Fabian Washington (neck)

TENNESSEE TITANS
Out: DE Dave Ball (back), C Kevin Mawae (elbow)
Questionable: CB Tuff Harris (calf)
Probable: CB Nick Harper (groin), DT Albert Haynesworth (knee), LB David Thornton (hip), DE Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin), TE Bo Scaife (illness)

Interpreting those for you:  everybody who’s “Out” won’t be playing.  Everybody who isn’t “Out” who (a) would normally dress and (b) isn’t Yancey Thigpen is playing.  As most people guessed after his interview Tuesday, Mawae has officially been ruled out.  This isn’t the worst thing in the world, as Mawae isn’t the strongest center on the team, and struggled with Kris Jenkins’ strength.  What I’ll be watching for early is how KVB and Haynesworth look on the defensive line.  Obvious, I know, but sometimes storylines are obvious for a reason.

Game preview links:

Titans-Steelers Friday Injury Report

Here’s the scoop in the final injury report for tomorrow’s battle for home field supremacy in the AFC playoffs:

TENNESSEE TITANS
Out: DT Albert Haynesworth (knee), DE Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin), CB Cary Williams (quadricep)
Probable: CB Chris Carr (illness), LB David Thornton (hip), DE Jevon Kearse (groin)

Of the probable players, Carr and Thornton both missed Friday’s practice, while Kearse participated on a limited basis.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS
Out: T Marvel Smith (back)
Questionable: DE Brett Keisel (knee)
Probable: S Ryan Clark (foot), LB James Harrison (foot), S Troy Polamalu (foot), LB LaMarr Woodley (knee/SI cover jinx)

All players but Smith fully participated in Friday’s practice.

For more on the game, check out RealScouts’ breakdown of the Harrison v Roos matchup and game breakdown as well.  Greg Cosell, Executive Producer of ESPN’s NFL Matchup show, also wrote a column of interest, on Stiller QB Ben Roethlisberger and particularly his ability to make plays better (and sometimes only) outside the context of the offense.  Ted Sundquist also did a pretty good preview.

The Titans are getting thin on the defensive line

Now that Albert Haynesworth and Kyle Vanden Bosch will miss the rest of the regular season, the Titans are getting thin (pardon the pun) on the defensive line. When you factor in the four-game suspension Kevin Vickerson is serving, the depth is really thin at defensive tackle.

 

Tony Brown and Jason Jones are the only two DTs that are still available. Defensive end Dave Ball filled in some at DT in the Baltimore game, so he could possibly see some time in the DT rotation. The problem with that is it robs Peter to pay Paul, leaving Tennessee’s depth thin at the DE position.

Titans-Texans injury report

The final injury reports are out for Week 15, and here’s the scoops for the Titans and the Texans:

TENNESSEE TITANS
Out: Kyle Vanden Bosch (groin)
Questionable: RB Quinton Ganther (hamstring), DT Albert Haynesworth (knee), RB LenDale White (knee)
Probable: CB Cortland Finnegan (hamstring), CB Nick Harper (knee), LB David Thornton (hip)

HOUSTON TEXANS
Probable: S Will Demps (hamstring), S Nick Ferguson (knee), DE Jesse Nading (knee), G Chester Pitts (ankle)

KVB is definitely out.  Of the other players, White participated in Friday’s practice on a limited basis, while all other listed players participated fully.

In other news, Jeff Fisher will probably be making a trip to Chattanooga next Friday to watch his son Brandon’s Montana Grizzlies battle the Richmond Spiders for the Division I-AA (nka FCS) championship.

Titans make roster moves at CB

Last night, the Tennessee Titans made a couple of roster moves at CB. Veteran Tyrone Poole was signed and practice-squadder Tuff Harris was promoted to the team’s active roster.

Poole and Harris will replace injured Titan cornerbacks Eric King and Reynaldo Hill, who were both placed on injured reserve.