Keyshawn not the answer for Titans

By Anthony Bialy  |   Monday, May 21, 2007  |  Comments( 6 )

Tennessee Titans
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The question is, how desperate are the Tennessee Titans to find a wide receiver? Keyshawn Johnson visited Nashville last week as he was welcomed by a team willing to consider any wideout with a pulse. That said, Johnson, despite his career stats, would cause more aggravation than it would be worth in Tennessee.

The Titans are hoping Brandon Jones breaks out, David Givens heals in time for the regular season's commencement, and that the trio of drafted receivers collectively impresses; and even if some of those dreams fail to convert to reality, Johnson still would be a risk because of his age and resume of discord.

Johnson's speed, or lack thereof, is an issue. He was never fast by receiver standards, and I'm going to be bold and announce that it's safe to assume that, as with most human beings, he's not going to get faster with age. Soon to be 35, Johnson, a relatively slow player, is only getting slower, and he will of course get even more so. He's always been a possession-style receiver, and that backhanded title will become more and more accurate when applied to him at this stage of his career.

His self-aggrandizing behavior belies the fact he is dependable but unspectacular, unable to stretch the field. Johnson had an impressive 70 catches last season as a Panther, but he only ended up gaining 815 yards, which means he didn't exactly outrun the secondary. It's not to criticize him for failing to more than get regular first downs; he is who he is as a player, but signing a certified deep threat for Vince Young to throw to would be much wiser for the Titans.

Also valuable to Tennessee would be any guy with fewer issues over antics. Why has a player of Johnson's caliber changed jerseys so many times? He works hard and has over 800 catches, yet he's looking for his fifth team for a reason: Astronomers might disagree with Keyshawn's personal assessment that he is the center of the universe.

Johnson's bizarre and wholly unnecessary feud with Wayne Chrebet, the remarkably shameful way that he became such a distraction in Tampa that they were willing to simultaneously pay and suspend him, and his overall tendency to draw more attention to himself than Paris Hilton exiting a car while wearing a short skirt have all overshadowed his career. He'll never live down that clownish book of his that sums up his style, nor should he be allowed to.

Reports are that he was better behaved in Carolina, assuming more of a leadership role, but it's a sad sign if a player is being praised basically for deciding to act like a grown-up. Signing Johnson on the assumption that he will continue to tend toward finally being an adult is like hiring a released felon as a cashier: You want to trust him and have enough faith that he's turned around, but at the same time you have to be fearful of old habits re-establishing themselves.

Rule No. 1 is that people never, ever change, and that should make any general manager wary of taking a chance on Keyshawn.

Original Tennessee Titans insight, courtesy of RealFootball365.com
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