Interview with Jimmy Morris: from Music City Miracles

  Transcribed 6/12 by Cecil Lammey, Exclusive to Footballguys.com

CECIL LAMMEY: It's time yet again, for another edition of The Audible, the Footballguys.com Podcast. I am your host Cecil Lammey, joined by my co-host, the great Marc Faletti. You know we talk football nonstop on this show; there is no offseason - only a non-playing season. Let's talk some Tennessee Titans football today, and to do that, we go to the VIP line. It's Jimmy Morris from MusicCityMiracles.com. Jimmy, what's up man?

JIMMY MORRIS: Not much, what's going on with y'all?

LAMMEY: Not much, just getting excited for this regular season of NFL. The OTAs, the minicamps are going on so we get little tidbits here and there and every single one we eat up and digest and analyze it. So let's talk about Tennessee today. And when we start with Tennessee, of course everyone who listens to this show knows I have mad, man-love for Mr. LenDale White. Of course he went to High School here in Colorado, at Chatfield High which is where my kids will go to High School, but anyway, let's not start off with the man-lovefest just yet. I want your take on LenDale White and what to truly expect - is this maybe a make or break year for White in your opinion and that Titans running game? Is Chris Johnson the next in line to take his job?

MORRIS: Well, I don't think Chris Johnson can take LenDale White's job, and the reason for that is Jeff Fisher loves that power running back. And I think that LenDale White proved a lot to them last year. It came out after the season that he had had a knee injury that he had suffered earlier in the year that he played through. So they have a lot of confidence in him going forward. And Jeff Fisher loves the guy who can carry the ball 30 times in a game. Just keep pounding and pounding and pounding and in the fourth quarter, the defense is worn down, and that's when he really picks up his yards. Chris Johnson on the other hand, I don't think he's ever going to be a guy that going to carry the ball 30 times in a game. So, they're really going to need both of them. So I think that it will work a lot better this year because you'll have a guy, in Chris Johnson, who can catch the ball out of the backfield, who can break off some big runs. Something that LenDale White's probably not really ever going to do. But I think you'll see him using both a lot.

MARC FALETTI: Now Jimmy, you know despite his ugly touchdowns to interceptions ratio and the body language, I felt like Vince Young showed some improvement last year, particularly in terms of accuracy. But I guess the offseason hasn't exactly been kind to him either. Do you think VY's head is in the right place to keep getting better? And what do you think Mike Heimerdinger is going to be able to do with him? Have any impact at all?

MORRIS: Yeah, I think he will. I think Vince Young's head is actually in a really good place right now. He went back to Texas in the offseason. He's working on his degree, and he took a lot of heat for that from people in Nashville - new offensive coordinator, he needs to be here, he needs to be learning. But, you could tell by watching Vince last year that he wasn't the same player that he was his rookie season. And there's a lot of speculation as to why that was. A lot of it is probably because he is a guy who is used to being very successful personally, and he didn't have as much success last year as far as, you know, touchdowns, interceptions, running the ball and all that stuff. I think there was a lot of frustration with Norm Chow's offense. I think that he was trying to get Vince Young to stay in the pocket and throw more than he wanted to. So I think the combination of Vince Young kind of getting away for a while, going back down to Austin where he is a god, you know, and they love him down there. He had some time just to get away from it. I think he'll come back now with Heimerdinger - Heimerdinger did a great job with Steve McNair when he was here before. So I think that Heimerdinger realizes that you have a different type of quarterback in Vince Young, and so instead of trying to make fit his offense, he's going to tailor an offense around the strengths of Vince Young, which it just doesn't appear that Norm Chow was willing to do that. So I think Vince is set up to have a great year.

LAMMEY: One of the things that Titans fans regularly complained about was the lack of weapons in the receiving game for VY to throw to. Let's talk about the tight end spot. They bring in Alge Crumpler who had some very good years for the Falcons, but it seemed like age and injuries caught up with him. Now he's with the Titans. There's word out of the OTAs that Crumpler and Young are hitting it off, they have that chemistry. How good can they be? And how important is it for the Titans to get VY more weapons around him?

MORRIS: I think the addition of Alge Crumpler is going to be huge for Vince Young, because, you know, most of the time when a young quarterback is breaking into the league, they tend to look a lot for that safety valve. And that's usually their tight end. And like you said - Alge Crumpler, he's put up some big numbers before. Now, he's had the knee injury and there's obviously a lot of teams who don't have much faith in his knee because there wasn't a whole lot of competition for him in free agency and the Titans got him for a pretty low price. So, we'll have to see about the knee, but if he's healthy I think that it's going to improve Vince Young a lot because he's going to have that guy that he knows is going to be sitting there open in the middle of the field and once he goes through his reads, if he can't find anything he knows he has that that he can check down to. I wish they would get him a receiver. I don't really understand the thinking behind not bringing someone in before the fourth round when the biggest knock on the Titans has been their receiving core all along. But Jeff Fisher is a run first guy, and I think that if the Titans could average five yards a carry I don't think he'd ever throw the ball. So, they're not as concerned obviously with getting him a receiver. They want to run the ball well, and they want to have a tight end that can pick up third and six. So that's what they've got now, and we'll just have to see how it goes.

FALETTI: Speaking of receivers, a couple of guys there have been some stories coming out about this offseason are Paul Williams, who couldn't get on the field last year, and Mike Williams, who couldn't stay on anybody's roster. I've heard a couple of things from various Nashville papers, and it just seems like maybe these guys are going to contribute in that receiving role. Do you see anything from either of those guys this year?

MORRIS: It's too early to tell. The good thing about Mike Williams is that he showed the commitment. He's lost a bunch of weight and he's come in, I think he's still maybe five or ten pounds above where they want him, but he's lost thirty pounds in the offseason. So, it seems that he is now decided he wants to play football; he's ready to go. So we'll have to see where he goes from there. Paul Williams, I just don't have a lot of faith in. I mean I haven't seen him, because he hasn't been on the field obviously. The fact that he couldn't get on the field at all last year just really isn't a good sign to me, but I guess time will tell. We'll have to see what he does in camp and preseason.

LAMMEY: Now if you go to MusicCityMiracles.com, Jimmy, the Titans' Madden 2009 ratings are up, and LenDale White's an 84 while Chris Johnson is a 77. Really this is a lot of fun to look at, but when you look at the wide receivers and you brought it up specifically, you've got the guys that are ranked there. Let's look at them now. Roydell Williams is a 79. Justin Gage is an 80. How do you see this shaking out amongst the top of the wide receiver pack - between Williams and Gage?

MORRIS: It's going to be an interesting battle to watch. Justin Gage showed a lot last year. He's not a burner, and he's not going to be catching 80-yard touchdown passes consistently. But he's a good receiver for Vince Young because he's big and he can go up and get the football. And what we've seen so far from Vince Young is, you know, his passes don't always come in the window they're supposed to. So it's very valuable to have a guy like Justin Gage who is a big target, who is going to go up and get the ball. Roydell Williams has a little of that speed, so they're really different receivers, but I think they're probably about the same. Neither one of them is going to be a number one, but I think they are both pretty solid number twos.

FALETTI: On the other side of the ball, I know you were kind of bummed he was only a 98, but Haynesworth did have a pretty dominant year last year, so I can appreciate why you'd want to see him at the 99 on Madden. But he was also playing in a contract year, and all he got out of it was, you know, a Franchise Tag. He's already said he'll play under it, but do you think he's going to have the same type of year in 2008 or will we see some backslide?

MORRIS: Another very interesting question. I think as long as he is playing under the Franchise Tag, there's no reason to think he won't have a similar year to last year because he's looking for that next big contract. And he's basically told the Titans, 'We get something done before camp or I don't talk to you until after the season is over.' Well, the Titans are notorious for not wanting to spend the big money, and I can understand why they are hesitant on Haynesworth. When he's in there, he's unbelievable, but he's had a lot of injury problems. Also, there's been some commitment question and stuff earlier on. So it'll be really interesting to see how it plays out. But if he comes in with the one year, the Franchise Tag, and they don't get a long term deal done, I think he's going to be out to prove something again, and I think he could have another great year.

LAMMEY: You're listening to The Audible, on the VIP line its Jimmy Morris, from MusicCityMiracles.com. Now Jimmy, my final question for you today has to do with a former running back for the Tennessee Titans. Of course, here in Denver, Travis Henry was released. He had limited success in his runs with the Titans and the Broncos. So in your opinion, will Travis Henry ever play in the National Football League again?

MORRIS: I have trouble thinking that somebody won't give him a shot. I mean, you see the talent that he's got. I mean his talent is obvious. But he's another guy who just, he doesn't seem to be that committed to playing football. I mean, that was Shanahan's thing when he let him go, he said 'He hasn't shown enough commitment to deserve a spot on the team. And he's got all the off the field stuff with the kids and the drug suspensions and that stuff. So there are a lot of strikes against him, but we've seen in the league, that if a guy can play, somebody will bring him in and give him a chance.

FALETTI: Well we've seen in the last couple of drafts, you know. The Titans thought Michael Griffin was a corner just because he could run in the 4.3s, but that didn't even last a year. You got Chris Henry who ran in the 4.3s, and that seemed to matter a lot more than the fact that he couldn't produce in college. And then this year they add Chris Johnson and the 4.2 speed. My final question is: is it safe to say that the Titans only care about one number when it comes to building their team?

MORRIS: I mean it seems that way. And - I mean, I was really surprised by the Griffin pick when it happened. Now, I'm really glad that was the pick. I think he's going to be a really good safety for this franchise for years. The Chris Henry pick I still just really don't understand. Like you said, he looks good in shorts and a T-shirt but the fact that he couldn't get on the field in college - he had something like 800 yards rushing in college. That's got to say something to you. Now, Chris Johnson on the other hand - he produced in college. Now, granted the competition he played against wasn't the best and all that stuff, but he produced when he got the chance. So, I think that he's a different case than Chris Henry, but yeah I think the Titans are just - they get kind of really, really excited when they see that low number in the speed and the NFL's a speed game, but when it comes down to it, they've obviously got to be able to play.

LAMMEY: Always thought too, as a LenDale White supporter, everyone knows I'm also a Chris Henry basher, so 3.3 yards a carry at the University of Arizona doesn't cut it. With Chris Johnson, Titan fans, all you have to look is at the Hawaii Bowl when he had over 400 all-purpose yards. The guy is simply amazing. If you want to keep up with the Tennessee Titans, of course, you check out MusicCityMiracles.com and read what Jimmy Morris has to say. Jimmy, thanks for joining the show man.

MORRIS: Yeah, thanks for having me. It was fun.