Chicago isn't the only place WRs go to die

When Mushin Muhammad spouted off about; "Chicago is where receivers go to die," he has never the unbelievably poor production of the Titans' WRs. Since they have been in Nashville, the Titans have never had a WR who was a legitamte threat to go down the field, or even catch the ball consistently. They have signed guys like Carl Pickens, Yancey(or Nancy) Thigpen, David Givens, Kevin Dyson (remember him, the WR drafted AHEAD of Randy Moss), and that's just who was considered the #1 WR on the team. The guys they trotted out there as #2 WRs were better suited to work at UPS not the NFL. The leading receiver was usually the TE. This is not a problem if a WR leads the team in yards but too often it's been a TE who has led the team in receptions and yards. As much as I like guys like Jason Whitten, Jay Novacek, and Antonio Gates, your offense is not going to win a Super Bowl much less a playoff game with that kind of passing game.

The Titans have done two things to try to remedy this problem; hired Mike Heimerdinger and signed Alge Crumpler, Justin Gage and Justin McCairens. I can feel how scared defensive coordinators are around the league.

Here is what Gage had to say about Muhammad's comments, from the City Paper:

When informed of former Chicago Bears teammate Muhsin Muhammad’s line to Sports Illustrated that “Chicago is where receivers go to die,” Titans wideout Justin Gage simply laughed.Muhammad, now back with the Carolina Panthers, made those comments about the Bears after seeing his production slip during his three seasons in Chicago, culminating the decline with a 40-catch season for the Bears a year ago.When asked if Muhammad’s comments were correct, Gage simply smiled and politely said, “No comment.”It appears to be no coincidence, however, that Gage’s production has sharply increased since leaving the Windy City for Tennessee, where he caught 55 passes last year and earned himself a three-year contract extension.Gage had fallen completely out of favor by the end of his run with the Bears, catching only four passes in eight games for them in 2006. His best season was a 31-catch season in 2005.“Honestly, I feel like Chicago is more of a run solid team, run first, pass second or pass when you need to,” Gage said. “It’s hard for a receiver to develop any kind of chemistry or any kind of confidence up there.”Gage said receivers coach Darryl Drake does a good job with the group in Chicago, and unlike Muhammad, did not take a swipe at Bears quarterbacks Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton.“It’s no knock on the quarterbacks,” Gage said. “They had stuff going on, a quarterback controversy, Rex getting hurt several times. So it could have had a lot do to with that. But when it gets cold in December up there in the Windy City, it’s hard to throw the ball so many times a game, you just want to play it safe and run.”Still, he didn’t discredit what Muhammad said in the Bears’ lack of production at the position during the course of the past few years. Other than Bernard Berrian, who departed for free-agent riches with the Minnesota Vikings, the Bears have not had major production from their receivers of late.“I think when guys went to Chicago, they were talented, and they never got a chance to really step out the shell or really show what they had or things like that,” Gage said. “You look at Moose. He was playing great, and then he went to Chicago and all his stats slowed down. Like myself and Bobby Wade, we never really had the opportunities we wanted or needed or anything like that to get our confidence up. It was hard for us to make big plays and stuff, and we both ended up in different programs and now we’re excelling. I think it’s more of a place to fit and call home.”