Just as confused as ever.

My girlfriend teaches middle school math. 7th grade. She has shown me some of the material she teaches, and I can admit: I would have no clue how to figure out most of it without assistance. And this stuff is for 7th graders! But I'm okay with that. I'm not necessarily supposed to understand math. I'm a journalism guy. A communications guy. Any level of math above pre-Algebra just does not appeal to me whatsoever. As I've said numerous times to my friends and family, if I come across a mathematical question that the calculator on my cell phone cannot figure out, then I simply do not need to know the answer. There are somethings I just don't get, and that's okay. Bill Gates doesn't need to know how to build a three-tier cheerleading pyramid. Ryan Seacrest doesn't need to know how to throw a knuckleball. But you would think that an NFL player would need to know how to act like a professional.

Enter LenDale White.

This season, White has been a walking (read: not running) disappointment for the Tennessee Titans. So much so that rumors are now swirling that White may be released to free up salary cap room. And it goes beyond White's lack of production on the field. It has quite a bit more to do with White's production off the field, namely at the dinner table. Take a look at the picture below. On the left is a picture of White from this past season with the Titans. On the right is a picture of White during his final season in college at the University of Southern California. Focus on the midsections.


See the difference? As with most collegians who aspire to play pro sports, athletes push themselves to prove their worth to prospective pro scouts. One adjective for such athletes could be... hungry. (I find that term fitting considering the context.) Once said athletes reach the professional ranks, oftentimes they lose their desire to work as hard as they did in college. It has been said many times about boxers: It takes so much more work to defend a title than to win one. When you're trying to reach the top, you work so much harder than you do once you reach the top. Athletes become complacent, thinking they don't have to work out anymore because of all they've already accomplished. One exception is Jerry Rice. Rice was the hardest worker in the NFL over the course of his entire career. What does that tell you? In LenDale White's case, as proven by the picture on the left, he looks anything but hungry.

Not that White's road to the NFL was showered with roses. White was considered to be a first-round pick when he first declared he was going to forgo his senior season at USC and enter the 2006 Draft. But incessant questions about his ability to control his weight lowered his stock to the point that he fell to the second round, where the Titans selected him with 45th pick.

This season White has shown a chronic desire to be a bad teammate. You may ask, Well what constitutes being a good teammate? Be humble. Share praise. Work hard. Never rip a teammate or coach. Show respect to your opponent. If you would rather see examples of good teammates, look at a guy like Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. Paul plays his heart out every night, and you can't be the guy leading the NBA in assists without being a good teammate. Or how about Hines Ward? This is a guy playing wide receiver in the NFL, the position known to produce the most selfish of players, and what is his favorite thing to do? Block. Good teammate. So who are some guys that could be considered bad teammates? Stephon Marbury. Terrell Owens. Manny Ramirez. Those three are interested in only one thing: themselves. And they play team sports. Funny how that works out, isn't it? Problem is, LenDale White falls into the bad teammate category. Here's why...

After the Titans lost their first game of the season on 23 November to the New York Jets, White stood in the locker room in front of a drove of reporters and said, "Coming into these games, you expect to get certain carries or certain things going on, or at least that's what they tell you. Then you get in these games and just randomly play three plays. I couldn't really tell you what happened [during the game], I have no idea. I wasn't paying attention so I didn't care." That's the kind of attitude White has held this season. And the previous quote came at a time when the Titans' record was 10-1, tied for best in the NFL. It should also be noted that White's most productive games this season came against some of the worst run defenses in the NFL. His highest single-game totals were against, in order: 149 yards vs. Kansas City (ranked 30th out of 32 teams in rushing yards allowed), 106 yards vs. Detroit (ranked 32nd out of 32), 99 yards vs. Cleveland (28th), 77 yards vs. Green Bay (26th), and 59 yards vs. Cincinnati (21st). Conversely, in four games this season against the three best defenses in the NFL-- two games against Baltimore (3rd) and one game each against Pittsburgh (2nd) and Minnesota (1st)-- White had a grand total of 110 rushing yards. So it seems that White only plays well against lesser competition. That sure comes in handy for a team vying for a shot at the Super Bowl!

And in the aforementioned game on 21 December against the Pittsburgh Steelers (a 31-14 home victory for the Titans), White grabbed a "Terrible Towel"-- long known as a symbol of the Steelers team and its fans-- and proceeded to throw it on the ground. That's bad enough, but he didn't stop there! He then decided it would be a good idea to take his overweight carcass and stomp on it. And did I mention he came up with this elaborate plan with television cameras fixed upon him? It shows the absolute and unyielding lack of class that is becoming more and more visible to anyone unfortunate enough to have to see him.

Understandably, the Steeler Nation lashed out at White. Fans, players, coaches, even city officials. Steeler cornerback Deshea Townsend said, "What [White] did that day was almost like taking a jersey and putting it on the ground after a win and stepping on it. You just don't do that. There is a proper way to play the game and a way that you act, and [the Titans] do not act like that. It's disrespectful." Linebacker Larry Foote chimed in as well, saying, "You see right now we got the last laugh. That's what they get for trying to humiliate us and rub it in, for not showing any class. We wanted to play them again, but they couldn't hold up their end of the bargain. That's what they get for stomping on the towel. We're stepping on them right now."

So upon hearing this, what do you think the eloquent and professional LenDale White had to say in response?

White said, "No way do I regret it. I would do it 100 times again. I'd do it tomorrow if we played them."

Some people just don't get it.

Beware the fall of the Titans.

I'm worried about the Titans. Seriously, people. The signs are right in front of our faces. Arguably, the two worst franchises in the NFL are the Cincinnati Bengals and the Detroit Lions. There are a few things that have to happen to your franchise before it falls apart and all the accomplishments from seasons past go down the drain. Here are three steps that signal a franchise is falling apart. All three of these steps have already been completed by the Lions and Bengals. Looks like the Titans are on their way next. Ready for this?

Step #1: Draft poorly. In the 2005 NFL Draft, the Titans held the 6th overall pick, needing a top cornerback to solidify their defense. To EVERYONE's surprise, the Titans selected West Virginia product Adam "Pacman" Jones, a diminutive player with a knack for returning punts and beating up women. Still waiting to be drafted was Antrel Rolle, a superb talent out of the "U" (that's Miami, FL, for the sports-illiterate). Rolle was selected 8th overall by the Arizona Cardinals, and has developed into one of the top cornerbacks in the League. Selected 9th overall was Carlos Rogers, another top cornerback prospect out of Auburn, who is now a star defensive player for the Washington Redskins. Then in the 2006 Draft, the Titans went in needing a QB. This has to be my favorite Titans' pick of all time. With the USC-groomed Matt Leinart sitting nearby and local hero Jay Cutler waiting patiently, the Titans went beyond all logic to take over-hyped Texas star Vince Young (Refer to my post from Sept.10 to see just how well that has gone). Leinart was selected 10th overall by the Cardinals and Cutler was selected 11th by the Denver Broncos. And one more question here: What the hell ever happened to the Titans 2007 first-round pick, Chris Henry? Oh yeah! He was such a bust that the Titans drafted another running back in the first round of the 2008 Draft. Also from the 2008 Draft, the Titans drafted LB Stanley Keglar out of Purdue, even though Keglar had three (3!) pending misdemeanors hanging around his neck (for disorderly conduct, rioting, and interfering with officials), which brings us to Step #2...

Step #2: Have a reasonable percentage of your roster get arrested. Adam "Pacman" Jones is the new NFL poster-child for players who have absolutely zero idea how to handle their own celebrity status. Defensive Tackle Albert Haynesworth was suspended 5 games in 2006 for stomping on the head of a helmet-less Dallas Cowboys player. Defensive End Jevon Kearse got a DUI in June. Wide Receiver Brandon Jones was arrested in June for unlawful possession of a firearm. And while this year Vince Young didn't get arrested, he did find himself in the middle of a controversy when he went on a hiatus many observers feared would end in suicide. Even assistant coach Chuck Cecil got into the fray this past March, pleading guilty to reckless driving.

Step #3: Have your coach lose control of the team. In the 2006 Draft, Coach Jeff Fisher (USC graduate) and Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow (USC graduate) got muscled around and were forced to deal with the selection of Texas Longhorn Vince Young, not USC's prototype Matt Leinart. The entire "Pacman Jones Saga" showed exactly how much control Fisher had over this team. Not only did he allow Jones to continue playing before the NFL commissioner stepped in and suspended him from the League, he was going to allow him back on the Titans' roster before a trade offer from the Cowboys came calling. Last week, the Titans suffered their first loss of the season. And I'm not going to knock Fisher for losing a game. I am, however, going to knock him for losing control of his locker room. After the 34-13 thumping by the New York Jets, running back LenDale White whined to reporters about his lack of involvement in the game. He went so far as to say he stopped paying attention to the game. He "didn't care." Then yesterday, when the Titans drummed the hapless Lions 47-10, White was a key figure in the Titans' offense. My sister said it best yesterday: the squeaky wheel gets oiled first. I hope I'm not the only one who sees the major problem with this. This sends a wonderful message (albeit wrong, in case you didn't pick up on my sarcasm) to the rest of the Titans players and kids who aspire to one day play pro football: complain like a child and you'll get exactly what you want! Congrats, Fisher, on that wonderful coaching decision.

So there we have it. There's the list. The list above has severely plagued the Lions and Bengals organizations over the past few years. And for a point of reference, the Bengals' problems really got started in 2005, when they finished with a record of 11-5, their best in more than a decade. The Titans are currently enjoying their best season in franchise history. Since the Bengals' 11-5 record in '05, their record has fallen to 8-8 in 2006, and 7-9 in 2007. And so far this year, the Bengals are dismal 1-9-1. And, by the way, the Lions are 0-12. Are the Titans headed in this direction??