One of the most amusing times was when a friend of mine was looking through player positions in Madden, and read 'RE' as 'rear end'.
Haha. Good times. Let's take a squiz at the all time defensive ends, shall we?
#4 Travis LaBoy
2004-2007
Titans Career
105 combined tackles, 19.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 5 deflections, 1 interception (0 yards)
All-Time Career
164 combined tackles, 28.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles, 8 deflections, 1 interception (0 yards)
To some, this might seem a surprising inclusion for my favourites; drafted in the second round in 2004, LaBoy often underperformed or got dinged up during his short Titans tenure.
To others who know all too well that I'm the biggest homer since Dan Castellaneta, you need look no further than his alma mater and place of birth. He's a graduate of Hawaii, born and bred in the heartland itself, Honolulu. Hawaii is easily my favourite American state, a frequent holiday destination of my youth and a place I intend to retire to in my advanced years. Anything that's Hawaiian is pure gold, be it Colt Brennan or Timmy Chang, NFL success be damned.
I pondered for years in choosing a favourite college before Hawaii occurred to me, so back when LaBoy was in Titans blue he took a back seat in my mind to his counterpart, Antwan Odom, with whom he formed a good one-two punch at defensive end. These days, though I like to see Odom do well over in Cincinnati, I'm much more interested in the affairs of the UH grad as he bounces around the NFC. Hopefully he'll be able to stick on somewhere; he had a fairly good season for the 49ers last year, despite not getting a start.
#3 Jason Babin
2010-present
Titans Career
58 combined tackles, 12.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles
All-Time Career
230 combined tackles, 30.0 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 7 deflections
Pardon me for jumping on a bandwagon, but I like the deal behind Jason Babin. In the same vein as Kyle Vanden Bosch, crusty old Jim Washburn picked Babin up off the scrap heap, and in one season, presto, moulded him into a Pro Bowler. I'm not so fond of Babin's immediate concerns being voiced about Washburn's departure, considering it's the Titans that gave him the chance to begin with, but what can you do.
He's a pretty cool dude, and he's replied to my Tweets every now and then (a good way of buttering me up and climbing the list rapidly). If we only get one good year out of him, we'll always remember it as being a pretty sweet performance, at least.
Will he remain on this list for years to come? We'll see. After all, Derrick Morgan looked pretty good in his rookie year, and lord knows my homer heart won't let LaBoy drop off the charts entirely.
#2 Kyle Vanden Bosch
2005-2009
Titans Career
281 combined tackles, 38.5 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 4 deflections
All-Time Career
393 combined tackles, 46.5 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 6 deflections
During the last few years, my favourite defensive players were no doubt uniform with most Titans fans. #1: Keith Bulluck. #2: KVB. In his first year as a Titan, he exploded onto the scene in a way few expected, notching 12.5 sacks and forming a powerful duo on the d-line with Albert Haynesworth.
Other than another 12-sack performance in '07, KVB never saw the kind of success he had in year one, but his presence was clear to anyone. The dude just flat-out balled, constantly. He became known for his impressive motor, and seemed to always give 110% on any down. He allowed fat Al to dominate in the middle, and vice versa. It was a happy time, until Haynesworth gobbled up a contract as big as his belly, and KVB later sailed off to Detroit.
Me personally, I wouldn't ever want to be a Detroit Lion. A decade of futility in the most dangerous city in America? Why do you think Barry Sanders was so good at running away from people?
#1 Jevon Kearse
1999-2003, 2008-2009
Titans Career
119* combined tackles, 52.0 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, 5 deflections, 1 interception (0 yards)
All-Time Career
204* combined tackles, 74.0 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 18 deflections, 1 interception (0 yards)
Tackles since 2001
There are two stages of Jevon Kearse. The first is 'The Freak', the athletically gifted super talent who bullied offenses right from the get-go, collecting an NFL record 14.5 sacks for a rookie. Then there's the other Kearse, the oft-injured player who would disappear for spurts at a time and was a liability in the run game.
Essentially, these Kearses can be divided as the original '99 version, and the later model, whose play took a tailspin somewhere around 2006. For this reason, a great many, and I myself at one point, would probably have given serious consideration for KVB as #1 Titans defensive end. After all, KVB was less physically blessed, instead relying on tenacity to get to the QB. He had much more heart and soul than Kearse, or a great many other players to have come and gone.
But The Freak? The guy who averaged 12 sacks across his first three seasons? He was something else, man. KVB may have been one of the best defensive ends of the last nine years in Tennessee, but Kearse in his prime, in his short, intense span of glory, he looked like one of the best of all time.
Even though he was over the hill in '08, I was glad to have him back on board for that short period. It felt right, and I celebrated each sack he collected back in Titans blue. The way his career tailed off wasn't right, but finishing it off with the franchise where he once dominated, that did feel right.
There are many other defensive ends out there who have produced Kearse-like numbers for longer; why, look no further than division rival Dwight Freeney, a thorn in our side for nine seasons who has gathered 94 sacks.
...But you ask me, which end do I choose for the championship game? I'll take Kearse in his prime for damn sure, and watch him wreak havoc.
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