Dear Tennessee Titans "Fans"

Some Titans fans (the operative word being some) expected a drastic turnaround considering what Ben Roethlisberger accomplished in his first year as a starter. Most Titans fans forgot that Big Ben had a heck of a lot of support from the running game driven by the Bus and an emerging "fast" Willie Parker.

Playing for a hall of fame coach in Bill Cowher certainly helped. A stud defense led by Joey Porter and Troy Polamalu isn't a bad deal either. An above average receiving corp led by Plaxico Burress and Hines Ward can't hurt the case for a rookie QB leading his team to a 15-1 record. Today's NFL doesn't believe in bringing young Quarterbacks along slowly.

Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan have added there own flavor to the growing sense of false expectations of "fans" and GM's alike. This expectation is causing the likes of Tim Tebow, Terrelle Pryor and Pat White(Pat White did just that) to ponder staying in school all four years. Alex Smith and maybe even Vince Young may become the poster boys of why NFL execs should pass on mobile Quarterbacks.

The 10-6 season of 07 left us all with some valid questions about the inept offensive performance that cost us a playoff game in San Diego. It ultimately got Norm Chow fired and the lynch mob of VY haters started gathering. Maybe the meeting was called at draft day like it was when Philly drafted Donovan Mcnabb.

Don't remember? Let me refresh your memory about how the Eagles fans wanted Rickey Williams!! I can see why they would want a cross dressing,(Remember the sports illustrated cover with Ditka?) dope smoking and soft spoken superstar. That was definitely the right blueprint for getting Philly out of the cellar of the NFC East. Shows you how much we "sports fans" and analyst really know. Looks like Donovan had the last laugh. (Hopefully he laughs harder February 1st)

Vince finished the 07 season with nearly 2600 yards and 9 touchdown passes against 18 interceptions. In a phone call to 104.5 the zone, my assessment of Young's passing yards in comparison to Kerry's 2600 yards were dismissed as "ridiculous". Not so fast Mr. Mark Howard!!

Sure Kerry took better care of the football than Vince but that isn't the only reason why the Titans overachieved this season. Furthermore objective journalist like yourself normally defend every aspect of a players performance for better or for worse. Kerry's touchdown passes rank near the bottom for Quarterbacks that started at least 10 games. The emergence of key defensive players had a lot to do with us winning. Courtland Finnegan could start for any secondary in the league. Mike Griffin is back at his natural position.

The D-line led by Haynesworth and Vandenbosh kept our defense ranked in the top five all year.Guys like Dave Ball and Tony Brown filled in nicely for Vandenbosh and Haynesworth causing many to question whether or not the Titans would let Haynesworth walk come free agency. ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky said during the preseason that we should evaluate Vince's performance in six weeks to gauge his progress against the former offensive regime of Norm Chow.

Thanks to Vince that never happened. Apparently he refused to go back into the game which opened the door for Kerry to appear as some savior ascending down from heaven. A brilliant call from "dinger" opened up the field for Bo Scaife and helped to seal the victory. The guy completed two passes at the end of the game and all of sudden the second coming happened at LP field.(Vince got the same treatment after replacing Kerry in 06 after the 0-5 start)

WE all know the series of events. Coach Fisher did the right thing by protecting an obviously unstable young man. (it appears at the time) He named Kerry the starter indefinitely. Kerry did a great job executing the game plan from week to week. He looked better than the guy who had failed at New Orleans. (To his credit not many have done well there)

He was a calming influence in the media frenzy surrounding the questions around Vince Young but to demand that he start is pretty pompous thing. He's probably closer to an old man than he is a to a Kurt Warner clone. In case you didn't know, the real Kurt has just led his team to an improbable run to the NFC championship game. Jeff Fisher has every right to play both sides because he has to be prepared to move forward either way. That's his job. He's dead on with charging Vince to prove his worth and desire in the off season by staying put in Nashville.

If Young meets his coach's approval then bet on Jeff announcing during the start of training camp that a "competition" with all three guys will take place. Obviously some "fans" think Young is done.

Apparently those who swear by Vince being a bust will never admit that he was done in their eyes on the day he was drafted. Some of these same people will never admit that they thought that Cutler or Leinart would be the end to the dual threat or "Running Quarterback". Most think there's another Peyton Manning just waiting to be cloned here in Tennessee. If you want stellar regular season play and marginal playoff success then by my guest.

Most think that we can win in this league year in and year out with one real offensive threat. (Chris Johnson) Some even think after this playoff loss that we have a good receiving corp. Apparently blind optimism is alive and well here in music city. Some Nashvillians and even most in local media think that Kerry is a better option long term. Darren McFarland of the afternoon show on 104.5 the zone suggested that our Quarterback situation resembled the Arizona Cardinals.

Not hardly. Kurt Warner is far and away better than all three Quarterbacks on our roster. A hobbled Anquan Boldin is still better than any receiver we have on our team.

Titans "fans" embody the true meaning of the word fanatical. Fanatics are rarely analytical in their approach to love the teams that they root for. Most times we have irrational expectations causing us to scream for knee jerk decisions that ultimately turn franchises into the Oakland Raiders. Have you seen those guys lately? Jerry Jones and Al Davis are up for Craziest owner of the year award.

Even some of our local media have views that are more fanatical than analytical. I love our local media but sometimes they cross that fine line of fan and analyst. Spare me the fact that Peter King wrote an article that validates some of our biases. I respect his journalistic chops but he does not walk on water.

All of us can be proven wrong. Kerry Collins returning next season doesn't guarantee the Titans a Superbowl birth. They need to have an impeccable draft and sign some free agent talent on offense to compliment Chris Johnson. It is highly unlikely we will catch lightning in a bottle twice. Look for Vince to be the scapegoat if he ever starts again. It seems inevitable given the track record of how we treated some of our past titans. Jeff Fisher's system though steady hasn't produced a Superbowl win. It produces division championships and AFC championships but not necessarily the ultimate prize.

If we as Titans fans can live with that then so be it....