Mettenberger Ready to Step Up

As the team rallies around wunderkind Marcus Mariota, my people on the inside inform me that it is second year quarterback Zach Mettenberger that the team wants to lead The Titans offense for the decade to come. Zach has met with team brass about a pay raise and has set forth a few demands we believe the team is ready to meet. This includes making Mettenberger one of the 10 highest paid QBs in the league and that if his wishes are not met he wants to be traded to The Houston Texans.

Now we all know how much The Texans covet a young QB stud such as Mettenberger so we believe The Titans will act fast in removing Mariota from starter-status. Originally thought of as the only suitors for a monumental Mariota trade - The Eagles may just get sidestepped by The Texans for Mariota's services. Titans brass does not seem concerned with the idea of facing the rookie twice each season.

In other news, The Titans are pondering releasing troublesome wide receiver Justin Hunter, who was recently not charged in a scuffle that left one man with facial injuries. As Hunter exits the building The Titans are pondering current free-agent Wes Welker. A meeting between Welker and The Titans is pending.

That's it for now.
Staying on the inside - your pal Vinny Garducci

"Marcus Mariota - The New Vince Young?"

Hello Titans Fans! Your beat writer on "the inside" Vinny Garducci is back!
Working with another NFL team the past few seasons has given me some great insight - but I am glad to be back home in Nashville.

Let's get right to it folks - Marcus Mariota, the man, the myth, the legend! Not so fast! I am here to tell you our friendly surfer has been observed to have a few flaws and may well be on his way to achieving, gulp, "Vince Young Status"..

Having watched his natural talents on the field against my old beat The Tampa Bay Bucs from the field I too have been enamored with his rare skills, speed and what seems to be an already seasoned view of the field. But hold the horses. My contacts on the insides tell me there is a already a feud-a-brewing between Marcus and Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt. Word is that upon his first loss or "bad game" Coach Whiz is going to insert 2nd year QB Zack Mettenberger.

Cracks in the love affair between Mariota and Whiz started to appear during the period when Mariota remained unsigned. Reports that he wanted to continue surfing may actual not be unfounded and its become a point of contention between the rookie QB and his offensive linemen, especially 2nd year lineman Taylor Lewan and the locker room is indeed splitting. It is reported that "the best players" are siding with the young QB and the rest remain faithful to coach and Mettenberger. All I can say is "Holy Surfboards, Batman!"

Furthermore, calls to Mariota's former college coach and current Eagles HC Chip Kelly have been made and The Titans may be ready to deal! For our sake let's hope Marcus wins every game this season.

I am working on further details and should have some tidbits in the near. Hang in there Titans fans! Your faithful pal,
 Vinny Garducci

Jeff Fisher to Andy Reid "..if he stays healthy"

Hello Titans faithful! This is you old pal Vinny Garducci checking in from Nashville.

I had the honor of making it out to see The Titans put a real humdinger of a wrap on the 2011 pre-season last night, watching Mr. Locker impress and impress again. During the game I received texts from Allan stating that Vince Young had indeed gone down with another injury, after looking pretty good against The Jets scrubs.

It made me recall a conversation I had with Ex-Titans Head Coach Jeff Fisher where he passed along that he believed Vince may find success in Philly to Eagles coach Andy Reid. He punctuated his words with the comment "if he stays healthy". Though this could be said about any player in The NFL it is particularly relevant to Young, who has never been able to start an entire 16. Of course #9 isn't expected to start unless Mr. Vick goes down himself but the chronic injury bug that has now followed Young from Tennessee to Philly could spell a short run in the City of Brotherly Love.

For the sake of Vince Young fans everywhere lets hope those wheels heal quickly.

Forever yours,

Vin.

Who is Vinnie Garducci really?

As if you didn't know already..

Click here if you really want to know

Vince Young and the NFL Labor Showdown

Touring some of my favorite (annual) Georgetown haunts the past few days seemed a bit more dreary than usual this spring until running into a friend in the biz. My old pal, who shall remain nameless here (though he has a very "porn star" handle) had a tiny bit of Titans insight to pass along. Turns out, that unbeknownst to myself, our man #10 has indeed been keeping in touch (until this past week obviously) with the new staff and it has been discussed that should the showdown between the NFL and the players extend to the point where Tennessee cannot pull the trigger on a QB they covet they will indeed pay out the bonus and keep #10 on for the upcoming season.

This could be construed as a "tryout" of sorts for his own job. Interesting indeed.

I will certainly follow up on this story when I return to Nashville.

Stay Tuned!

Vin.

Biddle gets something right; Young for Kolb trade may happen

NOTE: This is a post written during my absence. Facts are still relevant in the face of the labor dispute.

I've only recently arrived in Tennessee but I was well aware of legendary Nashville media icon Joe Biddle long ago. Biddle has carved a national reputation for himself, as Deadspin recognized in this piece from five years ago.
http://deadspin.com/#!151788/why-you...cks-joe-biddle

Biddle's columns are largely ignored by everyone I know, save for those occasions when a good laugh is needed. "Hey, Vinny, check out the latest crap this fool wrote! You'll laugh your arse off." Reading a Biddle article requires the same sense of humor it takes to watch Sports Line with Hope Hines.

But give Joe some credit for getting something right for once. Biddle recently wrote that it would make sense for the Titans to trade Vince Young to the Eagles in exchange for Kevin Kolb.
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20...e-value-Titans

My inside sources have told me the Titans have actually been trying to negotiate that trade. While Mike Munchak still wants to keep VY, he hasn't yet been able to get Bud Adams to agree. In the meantime, GM Mike Reinfeldt has been working on getting a trade done as a contingency plan. If Adams won't agree to keep Young, Kolb would be the fallback option.

Of course, the thought that Kolb would be a good fit in Nashville was not an original idea on Biddle's part. Matter of fact, he's been a Joey-come-lately to the party, as usual. But if a Young for Kolb trade does happen, guess who's going to claim the credit and say, "I told you so."

Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and then.

Vin

HACKED! Sorry kids..

I apologize to my faithful few. It appears my blog was hacked and access was changed so I could not access things to delete unauthorized posts. I will have to use a bit more diligence in regard to security measures in the future.

I have deleted the sole offending post. It appears to have been not more than a prankster but it will not happen again.

That said, I have a few blog entries from my time off that I will post over the next few days. The labor dispute has slowed down my ability to have complete insider access and certain coverage but we will remain optimistic here in Titans Land!

Thanks to all!

Vin