Tony's Titans: Tight Ends

Titan Tight End. It's fun to say, and I never realised until just now. Anyhow, my Titans from 2002 to today moves onward with my two tight ends of choice. Allow me to clarify before you grab the pitchforks: I didn't see enough Frank Wycheck to automatically qualify him here. So try not to judge any more than you would about the inauspicious inclusion of Roydell Williams.

#2 Alge Crumpler
2008-2009

Titans Career
51 receptions for 479 yards, 2 TDs, 9.4 Avg
3 returns for 20 yards, 15 long, 6.7 Avg

All-Time Career
373 receptions for 4,743 yards, 39 TDs, 12.7 Avg
12 returns for 79 yards, 15 long, 6.6 Avg

In the same vein of Randy Moss, Crumpler never lived up to his expectations in Tennessee. He was my favourite tight end during his tenure with the Falcons; Michael Vick's most dependable target, and the beneficiary of all of the attention to Atlanta's vaunted 'DVD' running game. In his final season with the Falcons, Crumpler was just one of many failures in a 4-12 campaign. He was injured, and in some people's minds, he was done.

To me, however, I saw an opportunity. I pointed to their final game against the Seahawks as evidence that Crump still had some gas left in the tank; 67 yards and 2 TDs on only 3 catches, he was freaky-deaky!

In the offseason, Crump looked to either head to Seattle or Tennessee, and when he decided to head down south, I was pumped. My choice for tight end was bound for the Titans!

Then, he arrived and he was, frankly, huge. That was one of the most prominent things you'd notice about Alge as a Titan. The dude was massive, and not necessarily in a good way. He looked real heavy, and he ran real heavy too.

In just one offseason, it seemed as though Alge had gone from a dual threat TE to strictly a blocker. To his credit however, he was pretty damn good as a blocker. Chris Johnson credits his 2,000+ yard season to his offensive line, of which he includes Crumpler.

So we had a sixth offensive lineman. Alright, that's cool. What wasn't cool however, was watching Crump coughing up the ball on the one-yard line in that fateful 2008 divisional loss. Unfortunately for me, that remains the most prominent memory of Alge's short tenure. And dammitall, it makes me mad.

#1 Erron Kinney
2000-2006

All-Time Career
178 receptions for 1,750 yards, 10 TDs, 9.8 Avg
8 returns for 113 yards, 25 long, 14.1 Avg

Pretty straightforward stuff; if you hadn't concluded that I was a homer for the top of the decade Titans, you'll know it now. Kinney was nothing spectacular; he wasn't going to snag a pass and scamper across the field for a long TD (his career long of 31 surprises me, and I assume most of those yards were gained through the air by McNair), but he was a safe, reliable target.

Plus, he's a cool dude. He was a volunteer fire fighter during his career, and now that he's retired, he's a captain with a fire department in South Carolina. It's not like he needs to do that. I guess he just likes helping people and saving lives. And what more can you ask for from your players? He's a model example of how you should conduct yourself (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, KENNY BRITT).