The Titans finalized their divorce with Billy Volek Tuesday afternoon, trading him to San Diego for a sixth-round pick, possibly as high as fifth should Volek get some playing time as a Charger.
A month of soap opera seemed to be coming to an end--well, at least until Volek lobbed a few parting shots to the Tenneseean and then coach Jeff Fisher responded.
As with any divorced there are three sides--Volek's side, Fisher's side and somewhere in the middle, the truth of what actually happened. Alas, to those of us sitting on the outside, disecting every move and nuance of this on-going saga, we will never truely know what really happened.
Did Volek get a raw deal? Probably so.
Was he given the change to earn the starting job and failed to do it? Probably.
That's the the thing with these things--both sides are at fault, though neither wants to admit it.
Of course, Volek has an easier task ahead of him. He joins a team that is 2-0, playing superbly and seems to be on the right track to the playoffs.
Here in Music City, the rallying cry is "Wait until we play the Texans. We're fairly sure they suck worse that we do."
So, we could have two wins to end the year...two wins in what was to be a rebuilding. Yeah, it's pretty bleak and depressing to contemplate.
And I hate to say it, but unless thing drastically improve or we at least see some evidence they are, Fisher may be gone at year's end. The man is amazingly loyal to his players and coaches, possibly to the point that it will end his tenure here as the coach of the Titans. His loyalty to Norm Chow is good, but the question I have to ask is, is that system working? I feel that as a fan I've been patient with the system, seeing it last year and the start of this year. And I just feel like we're regressing instead of progressing.
Putting aside the bitterness of the San Diego game and how poorly we played there, I look at this team and I see no offensive spark, nothing to rally around or get excited about it. And the thing is--Music City could accept a Bad News Bears type of team for a year or two if we felt like there was some effort being given or that there was hope of improvement. I will say this--there has been more positive comment about Vandy's season this year than the Titans. Why you ask? Because despite losing all their games, you don't feel like Vandy is mailing it in or not trying. As much as I hate to compliment Vandy on anything, their games have shown a grit, resilency and determination from the team that, quite frankly, I didn't expect.
Maybe the Titans need to go over and study some of that pride and work ethic and team unity that Vandy has. I think they could learn a thing or two.
That said, unless Fisher rights the ship and soon, either he or Floyd Reese (or both) will be gone at season's end.
posted by Michael Hickerson at 9/21/2006 09:43:00 AM |
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