FanHouse JeffFisher

At this time last year Chris Johnson was a rookie who was keeping his head down and hoping to just get noticed for his speed on the field.

But with a 1,228-yard rushing season under his belt, Johnson is ready to make a name for himself, as he showed when he announced he has a new nickname -- "Every Coach's Dream."

The Tennessee Titans finally broke down and drafted wide receiver in the first round, and he's a dynamic talent. Kenny Britt, a Rutgers product, has the physical tools to be a star receiver in the NFL. There are some questions about his attitude, but it's hard to imagine the Titans not doing their due diligence on a kid after the fiasco they just went through with PacMan Jones (to be fair, it's apples vs. oranges: Britt doesn't have any legal issues, just is seen as arrogant by some). I have faith in Jeff Fisher and Kerry Collins to bring this kid along properly.

So, what does Britt's addition mean to the rest of the Tennessee offense from a fantasy perspective?

This morning the Titans and Kerry Collins were "far apart" on a new contract and the team was ramping up efforts to re-sign their other backup, Chris Simms.

This afternoon NFL Network's Adam Schefter reported that the two sides are now very much on the same page -- Collins has agreed to a two-year, $15 million contract with $8.5 million guaranteed. Not necessarily earth-shattering news, as head coach Jeff Fisher indicated several times this offseason that the team would like to have Collins back as its starter.

NFL free agency doesn't begin until Friday. That said, anyone who has followed the NFL knows that there will likely be some huge signings on the first day. Surely, you don't believe those contracts were negotiated in the few hours from the start of the signing period until the announcement of the signing, right?

I'm pretty sure that negotiating with a player under contract is generally considered "tampering." If I were Titans head coach Jeff Fisher or Tennessee general manager Mike Reinfeldt, I'd be looking very carefully at the news that broke Tuesday.

In anticipation of Cardinals-Steelers, FanHouse takes a look back at some forgotten storylines from past Super Bowls.

Everyone remembers Kevin Dyson stretching out with the football from the one yard-line in a desperate attempt to tie the game in Super Bowl XXXIV as time expired. The Rams won the game, Kurt Warner won the MVP, Dick Vermeil won his only Super Bowl championship, and Vermeil "retired" for Mike Martz to take over as coach.

What many people don't consider about that game is: Why did the Titans only have one timeout on that final drive?

There's no doubt that both Chris Johnson and DeAngelo Williams won a lot of money fantasy championships for owners this year. Johnson was a late round draft pick (although Snyds and I both loved him coming out of the draft) whereas DeAngelo was almost an afterthought with Jonathan Stewart coming into Charlotte (guilty on all fronts here of whiffing this one).

That being said ... who's the better bet for the long term in fantasy? Well, for starters, both appear to be locked into a tandem situation for a while; Stewart and LenDale White are both young and each do a superb job complimenting the two guys we're discussing here. Hence the hysterically overplayed 'Smash and Dash War'. (Again, guilty.)

Outside of "job security" (meaning touches and tandems), there are three other key components for a fantasy running back: big plays, environment and the feature factor. Yes, I am making these up; allow me to explain.

Terrell Owens is 35 years old and has a $3.1 million roster bonus coming his way in June. Those facts, coupled with the perception that he's not the easiest guy to work with, probably have everything to do with speculation that the Cowboys might release him in the coming months.

Last week, the Dallas Morning News' Jean-Jacques Taylor wrote that the organization faced some serious offseason questions, particularly of the "Do we have anybody on staff who can control T.O.?" variety. The obvious answer is: "Bill Parcells," but I'm pretty sure that ship has sailed (or has it?*)

That said, as MDS pointed out at the time, "We should be clear that Owens is in no way, shape or form similar to [the recently released] Pacman [Jones]. Owens is both a much better player on the field than Pacman and a much better person off the field than Pacman. These are not similar situations."

Kerry Collins got the Titans offseason going quickly by announcing on Monday that he wants to come back to the Titans next season, but he won't do it unless he's assured he won't be backing up Vince Young.

And since Jeff Fisher likes winning, he's inclined to give Collins his wish. Collins holds a few key cards -- he is a free agent and since he just led the Titans to the best record in the AFC, he's made a pretty strong case that the Titans need him, and there's no real reason to make him back up a quarterback who he's outplayed.

During the fourth quarter of Saturday's Ravens-Titans game, Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco dropped back to pass in his own end zone and nearly stepped on the end line:



It was very, very close to a safety, and stunningly, the CBS producers didn't bother to show a replay, while the CBS announcers didn't say a word about it. Only much later, after the game, were viewers able to see another replay angle (the second one shown above) that appears to show green grass between Flacco's foot and the end line.

Joe Flacco just did something no quarterback in the history of the NFL has ever done: win two playoff football games in his rookie year. That's what makes him the greatest rookie signal-caller ever (if you're willing to only count playoff games when deciding that).

Okay, not really. Dan Marino was better and I think it's pretty hard to forget David Carr's sensational first season with the Houston Texans. But Flacco is hellishy solid (if that can be a compliment), which you can tell by the YouTube of him hooking up with Derrick Mason after the jump.