The Out Route

I've mentioned my hatred of Kerry Collins before because of his bad influence on Randy Moss last year in Oakland. But don't let my blind hatred fool you: he sucks. He was horrible in Oakland last year. If you look at his 77.3 passer rating, 20 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, you may think that wasn't a bad season. But if you saw him play, you'd note those 12 interceptions were often at the end of crucial drives and his poise in the pocket was never confident. (True story: Last year, at the beginning of an Oakland game, Kyle and I made a bet on how many pass attempts it would take before Collins threw an interception. He guessed 12. I guessed 5. It was 3. - Tom)

The Titans won't do well this year. Their number one running back, Chris Brown, isn't just an injury-prone runner, but he's not even happy in Tennessee. They're in a division with two exponentially better teams: Jacksonville and Indianapolis. Their receivers are OK, but neither Drew Bennett or David Givens has ever had to be the main man. They just don't have the pieces.

Do they really expect Kerry Collins to turn the team around? He will be competing against once-assumed starter Billy Volek. I don't understand why they would start Collins over Volek. Collins has lead the Gians to the Super Bowl, but he's had many bad years since then. Volek did well filling in for Steve McNair the pas few years.

Even though Volek hasn't been impressive enough in camp and preseason, Collins has been sitting on his couch eating Cheetos and watching repeats of Jerry Springer while the rest have been practicing -- at least that's what I assume all retired athletes do. I can't imagine Collins will learn the system in time to overtake Volek.

If the Titans are really looking to throw the season away, which starting Kerry Collins would do, they may as well throw Vince Young out there so he can grow in NFL play. Having him play third string won't help him on this team. Give him a shot.

Collins was quoted saying, "This is a team that I feel I can contribute to and make an impact in." Actually, I don't think that's true at all. I think the Titans were going to do poorly without you, Kerry. I think you would have made more of an impact on those many teams that had a hope that you could have crushed.

Nonetheless, you can compete for the chance to leave your mark on the Titans. At the same time, you'll probably be leaving your mark on the field at LP Stadium, after you've held the ball too long and a defensive lineman drills your ass in the ground -- just like you've done in Oakland and New York in the past.