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Titans want to talk to Heimerdinger about O-coordinator job
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

http://myespn.go.com/s/conversations/show/story/3199273


Wednesday, January 16, 2008

In a move aimed at solidifying the future of franchise quarterback Vince Young, the Tennessee Titans are looking to their past, and are pursuing former offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger to fill the vacancy created by the firing of Norm Chow earlier this week. Heimerdinger, 55, is currently the Denver Broncos' assistant head coach/quarterbacks. The Titans have formally sought permission to speak with Heimerdinger, who previously was the offensive coordinator for Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher ...

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Curreypowder
Curreypowder (3 minutes ago)
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Dinger was the OC with the Titans when we were at our most efficient offensively... He was at Tennessee for 5 years jhstick, so I don't think anyone thinks he's going to bring Denver's running style with him, we know exactly what we're getting. As far as Vince goes, he made some great throws and then some horrible decisions this year. It's easy to listen to ESPN and think that he did terrible for the entire season, however he increased his completion percentage by 11 points, to 62% in one season. He was hurt for the entire second half of the season, which took away his biggest current threat, his legs, but he still made some great throws, and was obviously making significantly better reads later in the season. If an OC can come in and minimize some of his stupid throws, I think Vince will come along nicely next year... Dinger may be just the man for the job. Oh, and Jebby, if you have receivers who can't get open and don't run the right routes, then you have receivers who make you throw ints... not everytime, but enough that it affects his stats.
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Jebby20
Jebby20 (6 minutes ago)
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woofy I agree with you but in college you don't play against NFL players every game especially when a team like UT has many on the offensive side to help him out. It isn't like he wows you with speed. He ran a 4.6 at the combine. And the "winner" excuse doesn't really account for much. He was 1-5 this season against teams with winning records, and like 4-10 in his two seasons. And don't compare him to Vick. Vick always threw more tds than ints. And Vick was a much bigger playmaker. Vicks 2nd season threw for almost 3000 yards 16 tds 8ints ran for about 800 yards and had 8tds. He went into lambeau the first playoff game and won. He altered defenses more by himself because of his running ability way more than Young does.
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dlane0087
dlane0087 (6 minutes ago)
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Irivol (Less than a minute ago)
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Ok this kind of scares me because I suggested this very thing YESTERDAY on the comments section for Chow being fired. Maybe Fisher reads blogs.....

Well in that case, tomorrow we'll probably be reading about Vince getting traded lol.
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Irivol
Irivol (8 minutes ago)
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Ok this kind of scares me because I suggested this very thing YESTERDAY on the comments section for Chow being fired. Maybe Fisher reads blogs.....
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dbender1966
dbender1966 (8 minutes ago)
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Shanahan has run his course. How else do you justify every one else taking the blame for the team's downfall? Was Jim Bates really the problem? Who made all the defensive player decisions over the last few years? If you think Slowik is the answer as D-Coord, then you are kidding yourself. Thanks for taking another Green Bay castoff (Walker). Bronco Nation has really helped make the Packers better!
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woofy021282
woofy021282 (11 minutes ago)
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The book is still out on VY. He may have just needed new tutelage or he may end up being like Vick and never be able to pass that well. We won't know till later. But someone made a great point the other day on a radio show... think back over all the Super Bowl QB's... how many were running QB's? Im not talking mobile like Steve Young or Elway, I'm talking Randal Cunningham, and Vick. The NFL is a different game than college. They better be able to pass the ball to succeeded. This firing was partially Chow's fault for not being able to turn VY into a thrower... but its also partially Young's fault and who ever drafted him's fault. He was never a great thrower. The stupid "he just wins games" excuse it sold. What that means is he always gets lucky and gets on teams chocked full of talent to help him out. In college he could run and juke all year, in the NFL he will get hurt a lot.. like he did this year. Missing a game or two here and there. These are the big boys, they hit harder and run faster. It will be interesting to see if Vince Young can change his entire playing style to fit the NFL. He has the arm strength ... mostly, but his whole playing philosophy will have to be altered.
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osu4fan
osu4fan (13 minutes ago)
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This is a great move, returning one of my favorite coordinators to the place he should have never left. Welcome back Mike.
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Jebby20
Jebby20 (20 minutes ago)
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What they need is a qb who can throw the ball to his own team. Come on now receivers don't make you throw ints. Bad decisions do and bad throws. They win despite VY.
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JTB_40
JTB_40 (26 minutes ago)
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This surprisingly by the Titans, would be a good move. Looking at the stats, if the Titans had only a small fraction of an offense they may have lost 1 game. The defense won all the games, VY as bad as he played down the stretch, was doing what he was told. I know he was hurt but Chow didn't use his abilities well. No passing attack at all. I hope they get Heimerdinger. Installing a passing game with VY and his running ability and Lendale, along with The Titans stellar defense.....omg, they will definitely be a contender next season
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GoPackers428
GoPackers428 (32 minutes ago)
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wrigley5151 why not go after berrian you need a downfield wr and there he is...im almost wondering if wrigley has anything to do with wrigley field and chicago and your a bears fan maybe cuz there is no other reason not to go after him he would start over the titans no good wrs.. and if you are a bears fan you will lose berrian anywayz he wont be comin back to team thats not gonna win next year and wont have a worthwhile qb so he might as well leave hte conference and go to the titans
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jhstick
jhstick (34 minutes ago)
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I don't think Chan Gailey would be willing to come to Denver to take the heat for Shanahan running the ball right up the freakin' middle three times in goal to go situations. If its going to work, Shanahan needs to let his O-Coordinator get creative and take control of play calling. Shanahan would be a great supplement to someone with some enthusiasm and fresh ideas.

And sorry Titans fans, Heimerdinger won't bring you the Denver style running attack you're wanting. That has always been about the o-line, and seems to have left Denver with Alex Gibbs. Its a dying memory in Denver that Shanahan can't let go of, which has resulted in a team that can't score inside the red zone and two straight years of missing the playoffs.
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wrigley5151
wrigley5151 (38 minutes ago)
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If Heimerdinger brings in the Denver style running attack, look out with Lendale back there.
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wrigley5151
wrigley5151 (39 minutes ago)
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i agree with Humbem, they need receivers to get the ball to and balance out that great running game. Luckily for them, there are lots of options at WR this season in FA and the Draft.
Just don't go after Berrian.
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ograham26
ograham26 (40 minutes ago)
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Good, Good!!!
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FusionGT14
FusionGT14 (42 minutes ago)
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I think this is a smart move by the Titans. Hiring someone like Heimerdinger, could benefit Young and the rest of the offense. Him and Fisher have a history together and a solid friendship. I think they can build chemistry off of that.
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AOA03
AOA03 (44 minutes ago)
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I Agree with you Chelfster. I think shanny needs to loose one of his tiltles. Like the GM title! He should be dealing with the X's and O's and not personel decisions. We need to upgrade our player scout team and hire a Proven GM to assist Mike in bringing in talent he needs. Bowlen However has given shanny the "Your job is safe as long as you want it" so pretty much shanny will never get fired.
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one800frank
one800frank (50 minutes ago)
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They need to hire Bill Musgrave!
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superfriar19
superfriar19 (54 minutes ago)
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they need a qb who can throw and take a hit. javon walker is a cancer.
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Chelfster
Chelfster (55 minutes ago)
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When are the Broncos going to look at Shanahan as the problem? Isn't he responsible for all of the coaches that get hired? I am a huge Broncos fan, but it is time to put the blame where it belongs and let the greatest coach in team history go. Let's celebrate what Shanahan did and send him off into the sunset.
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humbem
humbem (57 minutes ago)
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I'm not sure what this accomplishes. Does the O coordinator catch passes? They need a #1 WR, and until they get that they're just going to keep looking for an O coordinator that can make it work, because no one can take an average passer with average (at best) receivers and make the offense click. Instead of getting Heimerdinger from the Broncos, take a look at Javon Walker.

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January 16th, 2008 at 11:51 am

I remember hearing that Bill Bellichick prepares his team for cold weather games by practicing outside and keeping the balls in buckets of ice water. I wonder if Coghlin might attempt something similar this week to simulate the Green Bay environment?

Potentially. I mean I hope that being he is a more established pitching coach than Guidry that he would be more inclined to fix issues like that. I think the idea of hiding ones pitch, if you mean to prevent pitch tipping doesn't apply to Wang as much as the vast majority of the time batters know what's comming anyway regardless of any tip. It would be like encouraging Mo to hide the ball more so hitters don't know it is a cutter heading their way. Though if you meant in another way then please let me know.

What I would personally like to see in relation to Wang is getting the arm angle he has in good starts there all the time. In bad starts his arm drops causing the sinker to run laterally or dive excessively. This forces on-field adjustments and while he seraches for the right angle some pitches maybe left up and get hit. This is essentially what happend in the playoffs. I don't know what Eiland can do specifically to resolve this but if there is an issue with Wang that needs fixed then this is it.

For Example Josh Beckett change his mechanics , Thanks to New Pitching coach John Farrell




From watching last year playoffs against Indians, I think Wang's was tipping on his pitches . Indians hitters adjusted and sitting on his sinker.


Beckett had the same blister problems thefore John Farrell alter his mechanics. Wang's was suffering with a blister on his hand last year throughout the season . . I think major league hitters adjusted to Wang's sinker and knows what was coming from Wang's hand.

Again I don't think the Indians were sitting on his sinker as such because of tipping, they sat on it because it was all he was throwing and they new it was either going to be a ball or a meat pitch, because his arm angle was fucked. The slider and change weren't really an issue because there was no chance of either being a strike if he can't get his main pitch sorted out first. If Wang had his good sinker on either of those appearances (good sinker being 94, hard dive, but catches the bottom of the zone) then they can sit on it all they want, but it will either be a strike if they leave it or hammer it into the ground if they make contact.

I mean lets not give the Indians too much credit. Yes they beat the shit out of Wang, but it wasn't against vintage Wang as seen v the Mets, Red Sox near no-no game, Seattle near no-no, White Sox, Detroit. It's like giving the Yankees credit for beating up on Beckett in 06 - all he threw was a fastball, I'd hope they'd beat up on him.

Again as stated in an earlier post Wang lives and dies by the sinker. If it is on liklihood is he will win or give you a damm good chance to win, tipping or no tipping, adjustments or no adjustments. When it's off you see the type of starts we got in the playoffs and a few regular season games against the likes of Toronto and Texas

The Beckett graphic is interesting but in my opinion I attribute his success to increased curve and change use more than mechanical issues. Beckett's blisters weren't solved by altered mechanics. He has some skin disorder that he sorted out which caused the blisters. Also I think Wang's injury peratined more to a cracked finger nail rather than a blister.

Again I don't think the Indians were sitting on his sinker as such because of tipping, they sat on it because it was all he was throwing and they new it was either going to be a ball or a meat pitch, because his arm angle was fucked. The slider and change weren't really an issue because there was no chance of either being a strike if he can't get his main pitch sorted out first. If Wang had his good sinker on either of those appearances (good sinker being 94, hard dive, but catches the bottom of the zone) then they can sit on it all they want, but it will either be a strike if they leave it or hammer it into the ground if they make contact.

I mean lets not give the Indians too much credit. Yes they beat the shit out of Wang, but it wasn't against vintage Wang as seen v the Mets, Red Sox near no-no game, Seattle near no-no, White Sox, Detroit. It's like giving the Yankees credit for beating up on Beckett in 06 - all he threw was a fastball, I'd hope they'd beat up on him.

Again as stated in an earlier post Wang lives and dies by the sinker. If it is on liklihood is he will win or give you a damm good chance to win, tipping or no tipping, adjustments or no adjustments. When it's off you see the type of starts we got in the playoffs and a few regular season games against the likes of Toronto and Texas

The Beckett graphic is interesting but in my opinion I attribute his success to increased curve and change use more than mechanical issues. Beckett's blisters weren't solved by altered mechanics. He has some skin disorder that he sorted out which caused the blisters. Also I think Wang's injury peratined more to a cracked finger nail rather than a blister.

I think major league hitters adjusted to Wang's sinker and knows what was coming from Wang's hand.


If it was a universal adjustment then presumabley all teams would have had increased success. Didn't happen though. Wang essentially had the same quality of season he had in 06, with K's increasing and trends regarding average hits and earned runs decreasing. This shows that even if an adjustment has been made it only appears to work on days when he sucks stuff-wise, which essentially isn't much of an adjustment at all.