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A long list of NFL mock drafts projected Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon to the St. Louis Rams one year ago.

It's looking like the Rams came out just fine without him.

Blackmon, charged with DUI last offseason when authorities said they measured his blood-alcohol content at .24 percent, faces a four-game NFL suspension to open the 2013 season, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

These are the sorts of troubles NFL teams can do without.

The Rams held the sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft. Jacksonville traded into the No. 5 spot to select Blackmon. The Rams then traded back, eventually taking defensive tackle Michael Brockers, who showed flashes of dominance after recovering from injury.

St. Louis wound up using a 2012 second-round choice for receiver Brian Quick and a fourth-rounder for Chris Givens. The team drafted receivers Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey over the weekend.

Blackmon caught 64 passes for 865 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. He led all drafted rookies in receiving yards and tied Kendall Wright for most receptions. Blackmon also suffered nine drops, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Givens caught 42 passes for 698 yards and three scores. Quick added 11 receptions for 156 yards and two scores.

A four-game suspension for Blackmon would prevent him from playing against Kansas City, Oakland, Seattle and Indianapolis to open the season. He would be eligible to return for the Jaguars' Week 5 game -- against the Rams in the Edward Jones Dome.

The accuracy of unofficial depth charts varies team to team. Non of them mean a ton in April.

But the Titans have one out as part of their pre-draft news release.

Five of the free-agent additions are listed as starters: Tight end Delanie Walker, left guard Andy Levitre, right guard Rob Turner, defensive tackle Sammie Lee Hill and safety Bernard Pollard.

Where the other additions are listed:

• Receiver Kevin Walter is third at wide receiver on the left side, behind Nate Washington and Kendall Wright. (The Titans list a base offense with one tight end and one tight end/fullback, so it doesn’t reveal much about how they rank slot receiver options.)
• Offensive lineman Chris Spencer is behind Turner at right guard, and behind Fernando Velasco and Eugene Amano at center.
• Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick is Jake Locker’s backup.
• Running back Shonn Greene is second to Chris Johnson.
• Defensive end Ropati Pitoitua is behind Kamerion Wimbley.
• Linebacker Moise Fokou is second to Colin McCarthy at middle linebacker.
• Strong safety George Wilson is second to Pollard.

The team’s first round draft pick could displace someone for sure, and the second-rounder could, too -- though unofficial depth charts typically honor veteran players and wait for kids to pay dues before they get their rank confirmed on paper.

Find the whole depth chart here.

The Tennessee Titans added their 11th and 12th free agent in their ongoing roster revamp, signing receiver Kevin Walter and interior offensive lineman Chris Spencer.

Walter is familiar to the Titans as he played the last seven years for the Houston Texans, often serving as the second wide receiver opposite Andre Johnson.

He had 65 catches and eight touchdowns for Houston in 2007, but his role had diminished with only 39 and 41 catches the last two seasons and five total touchdowns. He was a recent salary-cap casualty for a team that drafted a couple receivers last year and is expected to draft a more dynamic No. 2 receiver at the end of the month.

The Titans have struck out with several veteran receivers, including Danny Amendola, Wes Welker and Brandon Gibson. Indications are they’d like to trade the expensive Nate Washington, but I am not sure Walter will add enough to make Washington expendable.

Walter joins Kendall Wright, Kenny Britt, Washington, Damian Williams, Lavelle Hawkins and Michael Preston on the Titans receiving corps. The group has a new position coach in Shawn Jefferson.

Spencer is the third veteran, interior offensive lineman the Titans have added. He joins Andy Levitre, who will start at left guard, and Rob Turner.

While Fernando Velasco is expected to remain the starter at center, right guard will be wide open and Turner and Spencer could compete with a draft pick or slug it out between them.

Seattle picked Spencer in the first round in 2005 out of Ole Miss and he played the last two years in Chicago, where offensive line struggles were a big issue.

“Both Kevin and Chris are established veterans in this league who have a great deal of starting experience,” said Titans general manager Ruston Webster said in a statement. “They have made significant contributions on good teams during their careers. We feel like they can come in and provide increased competition at their respective positions for us.”

The addition of Spencer could mean the end of overpriced Eugene Amano, who was hurt in the preseason last year and missed the entire 2012 season.

Bill from Kalispell, Mont., asked during the NFC West chat why the St. Louis Rams wouldn't sign New York Giants restricted free agent Victor Cruz to an offer sheet.

"If you think the Rams will use one of their first-round picks on a WR, why not sign Victor Cruz, a young known quantity, to a deal and give up the pick -- or force the Giants in to a bad cap place by keeping him," Bill wrote. "Either way you are hurting one of your competitors for a wild-card slot."

Sando: Salary is the No. 1 reason. The Rams hold the 16th and 23rd picks in the draft. The cap charges associated with those picks will fall far short of the cap charges associated with a long-term deal for a veteran receiver.

Now, if the Rams saw Cruz as a Percy Harvin-type talent, the price could be worth considering. But if they see Cruz as merely a good receiver, they should proceed with caution when considering the costs.

The chart illustrates the point by comparing annual salary cap charges for Vincent Jackson, the receiver Tampa Bay signed in free agency last offseason, to the cap charges for Kendall Wright, the wide receiver Tennessee drafted with the 20th pick of the draft.

I'm not comparing Jackson to Wright as players. I'm not comparing either one of them to Cruz, either. The point is one of cost, and I make it under the assumption the Rams would be getting a very good receiver in the first round.

As noted in the chat, Wright's contract as the 20th pick is scheduled to count $8.2 million against the cap over four years. The contract Jackson signed counted nearly twice as much in 2012 alone. It is scheduled to consume $55 million in cap space over five seasons.

So, if the Rams could find their version of Cruz in the first round, they would come out far ahead. The question, of course, is whether the Rams could find that kind of value, and whether the cost associated with Cruz would be worthwhile.

I did not think receiver would be a spot the Titans delved into in free agency.

I was wrong on that.

They were players for Danny Amendola and were even part of the conversation about Wes Welker. (Regarding Welker, Titans GM Ruston Webster said on The Wake Up Zone in Nashville: "They contacted us and we looked into it ... but he had another destination.")

Clearly the Titans like the idea of finding a true slot guy, which would make Kendall Wright largely an outside receiver. If they add someone, they’d look to deal Nate Washington, who’s expensive.

I can understand them asking Washington to take a pay cut. He’s due base salaries of $4.2 million this year and $4.8 million in 2014.

But he’s a far more dependable guy than Kenny Britt, who’s entering a contract year. Dumping Washington would leave the Titans with Wright, Britt, the newcomer, Damian Williams, Lavelle Hawkins (overpriced at $1.9 million this year) and Michael Preston. And a year from now they’d likely be subtracting Britt from that group.

Word is Washington lost favor with the team after he gave half-hearted effort over the last month of the season. If they didn’t think he worked, they should have gotten in his face about it. They should tell him they can’t pay him what he’s scheduled to make. Perhaps they’ve done those things.

I’m not sure they should be looking to trade him. But there is a big theme with this team right now, that Mike Munchak will sink or swim in his third year as coach with his guys. And his guys don’t give half-hearted effort in the last month of the season no matter how bad things are.

The thinking on Amendola or Welker was that they are different than anyone the Titans have, and could be super-reliable on short, simple passes for Jake Locker.

Who else out there profiles like that? I don't know if anyone does. Julian Edelman?

Brandon Gibson of the Rams doesn't seem the same type of guy to me, and he’s the next guy the Titans are courting.

Scouts Inc. rates him as an excellent route-runner, however, so I can understand the appeal of that.

“He understands how to read coverages and does a good job of finding seams to settle in when looking at zone schemes,” Scouts Inc. says.

Is Gibson at a cheaper rate an upgrade over an expensive Washington? I’m not so sure.

Let’s not go so far to rate wide receiver as a non-need for the Tennessee Titans.

Kenny Britt is heading into the final year of his initial contract and hasn’t shown he can be counted on. Nate Washington is going to be 30 this season and has cap numbers of $5.1 million this season and $4.8 million in 2014. They just spent a first-round pick on Kendall Wright.

But the Titans are in a do-or-die mode for this fall, and they have plenty of other areas they have to deal with.

Here at the AFC South blog we’re not putting stock into Sport Illustrated’s Peter King's mention of the Titans as a dark horse contender for Mike Wallace, the explosive receiver from Pittsburgh who is about to be a free agent.

I don’t think they should pursue him. I don’t believe they will pursue him.

Costly, high-profile, free-agent receivers are risky business in the NFL.

We hit this theme often: There aren’t many who have fared better for their second team than their first. Plaxico Burress helped the Giants win a Super Bowl. Vincent Jackson did awfully well in his first year in Tampa Bay. The list isn’t big after that.

Tennessee is talking about finding shorter, easier throws for Jake Locker to make, and a deep-threat wideout like Wallace doesn't fit with that at all.

The Titans should be active in free agency. I'm confident Wallace isn’t on the list of people they are prioritizing.

Mel Kiper Jr. looked back on the 2012 NFL draft and his grades and offers a revised mark to every team in this Insider piece.

Let's look at what he said about the AFC South.

Texans

Summary: "Each of the first six players drafted by the Texans managed to contribute in at least some form in 2012, something you can't overlook for a team that went 12-4 and didn't need major personnel additions to get there. … We can't say there's a certain star anywhere in this draft, but the Texans added some immediate help and depth to what was already a pretty solid roster. If one of the wide receivers becomes something more, the draft will look better in the years to come."

Post-draft grade: B

New grade: B

My thoughts: They didn’t need immediate help at many spots, so first-year impression isn’t as significant as it is with the three other teams. There is lots of promise in the class, but we’ll have to wait on receiver DeVier Posey, who tore an Achilles in the playoff loss in New England.

Colts

Summary: "I don't know if [Andrew] Luck proved very good earlier than we expected -- he had the second-highest grade I've ever given a quarterback in 34 years -- but it was certainly true that he found some chemistry with all the rookie offensive additions. T.Y. Hilton, Coby Fleener, Dwayne Allen and even LaVon Brazill played significant roles in the passing game, and Vick Ballard proved he's a capable starter at running back. … [F]actor in all the rookie contributions and the historic leap in performance for a team that was 2-14 in 2011, and you have an incredibly successful weekend to look back on."

Post-draft grade: A-

New grade: A

My thoughts: A group that produced and is a big part of the foundation going forward. It gives Colts fans hope that Ryan Grigson will be able to repeat the winning formula. Can he do as well on defense as he did on offense?

Jaguars

Summary: "Regardless, until the QB situation becomes a positive in Jacksonville, the fact that Russell Wilson was taken by Seattle five picks later (than punter Bryan Anger) will be an ongoing punch line. That said, I can't revise history and say I was banging the desk calling for them to take Wilson. Jacksonville needed to upgrade its pass-catching situation first and then find some help in the pass rush. Justin Blackmon got off to a slow start, but the No. 5 overall pick finished the year leading all rookies in both catches (64) and receiving yards (865), and did that without any sparkling play at QB."

Post-draft grade: C

New grade: C+

My thoughts: No matter how good Anger is, new general manager David Caldwell has an extra hole to fill in a complete rebuild because Gene Smith made that pick. Caldwell would kill to need a punter as opposed to a right tackle, I guarantee it. They needed pass rush help badly and second-rounder Andre Branch provided nothing.

Titans

Summary: "…Zach Brown was a solid if unspectacular linebacker who ended up starting 12 games for the Titans. He figures to hold down the starting role heading into 2013. Mike Martin did a pretty good job as a rotational defensive tackle, and showed an ability to penetrate and aid the pass rush. This draft created some early roster help, but after a season looks light on upside. Better QB play might be the difference, as (Kendall) Wright still has a chance to be a major contributor at wide receiver as he develops."

Post-draft grade: C+

New grade: C

My thoughts: They got good contributions out of their top four guys, and they all look ready to take on more in their second seasons. I think this is a draft class that will make contributions for some time.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Thoughts on the Titans’ 14-10 victory over the Jets at LP Field:

What it means: The end of a three-game losing streak for Tennessee (5-9); coach Mike Munchak can use a solid finish to prevent owner Bud Adams from considering a change after the season. Chris Johnson sprinted to a 94-yard touchdown that gave the Titans a lead in the first half. After the Jets pulled ahead in the third quarter, Jake Locker engineered what was probably the best drive of his young career and ran in from 13 yards out for what stood up as the winning score. The result knocked the Jets out of the AFC playoff picture.

Bad times for bad punts: Brett Kern shanked a punt out of the Titans' end zone to give the Jets some great field position late in the third quarter. New York drove 35 yards to a Mark Sanchez-to-Jeff Cumberland 17-yard touchdown pass. Linebacker Tim Shaw was in range, but had his back turned to the ball. Then, with 47 seconds left in the game, Kern punted 19 yards out of his own end zone, giving the Jets the ball at Tennessee's 25. Sanchez couldn't scoop up a low shotgun snap on the next play, running back Bilal Powell kicked it and Tennessee linebacker Zach Brown recovered it.

Rocky ground: While Locker made enough plays to win and got a bit of a signature drive, he missed on a lot of throws. He was long on multiple deep throws where receivers didn’t have a chance. Early in the fourth quarter with Kendall Wright open deep, Locker was late and short, allowing two defenders to get back in the play and break it up. Wright wound up getting hurt as he landed awkwardly on top of Antonio Cromartie.

Another injury: The Titans were already playing four replacement offensive linemen. They lost center Kevin Matthews late in the first quarter to a sprained right ankle; Kyle DeVan, who has been on and off the roster numerous times this season, played the rest of the game.

An awful number: The Titans committed a season-high 14 penalties for 111 yards. None was bigger than a personal foul against linebacker Will Witherspoon that extended a Jets drive near the end of the fourth quarter. Witherspoon was bailed out by Michael Griffin's interception on the first play after the two-minute warning, Griffin's second pick of the game.

Four picks: Tennessee made sure Sanchez’s miserable season stayed miserable, as Jason McCourty and Griffin each intercepted him twice.

What’s next: The Titans travel to Green Bay for their last road game and their final game against the NFC North. They’ve lost to Minnesota and Chicago and beaten Detroit.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 14:

Nickel issues: When the Patriots see a nickel package on the field, Tom Brady hands off the ball. New England runs against defenses with five or more defensive backs a league-high 73.5 percent of the time, according to ESPN Stats & Information. The Texans have allowed 6.0 yards per rush when using such defenses this season, the worst rate in the NFL, but have allowed the second-fewest yards per rush (3.3) with four or fewer defensive backs on field. Brice McCain (foot) is out, so the fifth defensive back in this game will be safety Quintin Demps, inexperienced second-year corner Brandon Harris or corner Stanford Routt, who signed this week. Tight end Rob Gronkowski is out, so the Patriots are likely to go three-wide a lot. If the Texans don't play better nickel run defense and have a corner on the field that Tom Brady can really pick on, it could be a recipe for big problems.

Locker and Luck under pressure: Per ESPN Stats & Info, the Colts bring five or more pass-rushers 41 percent of the time, the third-most often in the league. That’s bad news for Jake Locker, who has struggled this season against the blitz. His .480 completion percentage against five or more pass-rushers is the worst in the NFL, a point and a half worse than Michael Vick. The Titans would be wise to put Locker on the move more often and earlier than they did last week against the Texans. In Dowell Loggains’ second game as the playcaller, I suspect we’ll see some major adjustments based on what worked and what didn’t for him last week. On the other side, Andrew Luck has been getting better under pressure. In his past six games, he’s completed 54.9 percent of his passes and averaged 7.8 yards per attempt when under duress or hit while throwing, including a league-best 91.7 QBR (since Week 8). Over his first six games, Luck completed 29.4 percent of his passes under such pressure and failed to throw a touchdown.

The Jets in Jacksonville: The Jets have never won in Jacksonville (0-3), and they’ve scored fewer than 10 points in an NFL-high four games. But the Jaguars haven’t held anyone under 17 points this season, and they are allowing an average of 28.5 a game. Defensive end Jason Babin will play in his second game for the Jaguars and looks to boost an anemic pass rush as it chases Mark Sanchez. There will be a Landry brother on field at safety at all times. LaRon Landry of the Jets and Dawan Landry of the Jaguars have combined to play in 170 games, but this will be first time they’ll be on same field in a regular-season game.

Monday night bigness: The combined 20-4 record of these teams is tied for the best on "Monday Night Football" when each team has played at least 12 games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. In 1987, the 10-2 49ers beat the 10-2 Bears. New England has won 12 straight December games, tied for the third-longest streak in NFL history. With a win, the Patriots would tie the 1968-72 Cowboys for the second-longest December win streak (the Chargers won 18 straight from 2006 to 2009). If the Texans lose, they will hear a lot about how they still aren’t a championship-caliber team. But even with a loss, 10,000 simulations by AccuScore say Houston still ends up winning the No. 1 seed 63% percent of the time while the Patriots win it in 36% of simulations.

Also: Thirty-seven teams have lost at least 14 regular-season games in a single season. A win Sunday for the Colts makes them the sixth to rebound to post a winning record the following season. … According to Stats & Info, Luck has had six potential interceptions dropped by defenders this season, most in the NFL. … Chris Johnson needs seven rushing yards to reach 1,000 for the fifth straight season. Johnson would be the eighth player in NFL history with 1,000 rushing yards in each of his first five seasons and would match the Titans' last longtime feature back, Eddie George. … The Jaguars have scored only eight offensive touchdowns at home this season, tied for the NFL low with Cleveland. ... Although Houston has the most passes disrupted (40) when sending five or more pass-rushers, it also has allowed the most touchdowns and 30-plus yard passes in such situations. It's a risk-reward deal. ... The Titans are 0-4 against the AFC South this season and 4-4 against the rest of the NFL. They are one of four teams this season winless in divisional games, along with the Chiefs, Seahawks and Lions. Only the Chiefs (minus-53) have a worse scoring margin in divisional games than the Titans’ minus-49. ... We’ll see two of the league‘s best rookie receivers in this game. Kendall Wright’s 54 receptions leads all rookies by a wide margin. The next two receivers on the list are Indy’s T.Y. Hilton and Jacksonville’s Justin Blackmon with 39.

Former Tennessee offensive coordinator Chris Palmer suggested he needed the one thing that's hardest to get in the NFL to make things work: Time.

Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean spoke this morning to Palmer, who was fired by Mike Munchak last night.

Said Palmer, citing a rookie quarterback and Kenny Britt’s injuries: “I just think there’s more issues than people want to admit to.”

He’s right -- there are a lot of issues. Jake Locker needs time and seasoning. Britt needs to be healthy.

But there is a gap between sufficient offensive progress and a high-quality offense, and Munchak didn’t see the gap closing fast enough.

There is blame to spread around, and Palmer indicated a share of it has to fall on those players who still have to work their way through things like inexperience.

“I feel we put the players in a position to make plays, and at that point it falls on the players. We had a chance to drive and win on Sunday, and then we throw an interception. Well, that is part of a young quarterback. You learn from that experience and hopefully next time he’ll take us down and put us in field goal position. And you have to live through that.

“...Mike (Munchak) had to do what he thought was best for the team. I have no regrets. We were 9-7 last year and all those kids had the most catches of their careers. Kendall (Wright) has a bunch of catches this year as a rookie, and Chris (Johnson) is back on track. It is just hard when (against the Jaguars) 8 of the 12 possessions start inside the 20 and you have a rookie quarterback and you think you are going to go down and score a bunch of points.”

Drives start where they start. Plenty of teams have driven the ball against the Jaguars, who were 1-9 when the Titans got to Jacksonville. Andrew Luck and Christian Ponder have led their teams to wins over Jacksonville.

In Palmer's first year when the Titans went 9-7, the team was coming off a lockout, which meant there was no offseason installation. Tennessee ran an offense that was similar to the one from the year before the new staff took over.

This year, Palmer installed his offense. Last year's offense was better than this year's version, which is one of the big indictments that cost Palmer his job.

Thoughts on the Titans' 37-3 win over the Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium:

What it means: The Titans are 4-6 heading into their bye. Their past two games show what they are capable of being, both bad and good. They lost at home by 31 to Chicago and they won on the road by 34 at Miami.

What I liked, offense: Chris Johnson was reminiscent of his best days, gaining 126 yards and scoring a touchdown. His performance ended a 22-game streak in which the Dolphins had not allowed an individual back to gain 100 yards. That dated back to Week 2 of 2011, when Houston’s Ben Tate ran for triple figures. After a five-game layoff with an injured left shoulder, Jake Locker made a great comeback, running with great effectiveness (four carries for 36 yards) that helped open things up for big pass plays to a number of different targets, including touchdowns to Kendall Wright and Jared Cook. Locker was just 9-of-21, but those nine completions produced 122 yards.

What I liked, defense: All three starting linebackers had interceptions. Akeem Ayers had his first career interception to set up a field goal. Not long after Colin McCarthy hobbled off the field hurt, he grabbed a pass batted into the air by Ayers and took it 49 yards for a touchdown. Later, Zach Brown picked off Ryan Tannehill and set up a field goal with a 47-yard return. The Titans also benefited from a Reggie Bush fumble.

Could have been even better: Locker’s timing with his targets was off on a couple of occasions. Early on, he underthrew Darius Reynaud, who was open deep down the right side, and a defender was able to break it up. Later, he found Kenny Britt with a rainbow for a 28-yard gain, but the ball was short and Britt had to slow down for it or he might have had more.

Major highlight: Johnson had an 80-yard scoring run this year, but his 17-yard TD in this game might have been his best of the season. He started moving right, and went all the way right of the numbers. But he found a wall and no room. Showing patience, he reversed course, found a lane, cut up and high-stepped into the end zone.

Got away with one: Running back Jamie Harper looked like he lost a third-quarter fumble, but officials ruled he was down by contact, rendering the play nonreviewable. Looking at replays, it appeared it was a fumble.

What’s next: The Titans finally get their week off. They return to action the Sunday after Thanksgiving on Nov. 25 with a trip to Jacksonville for their first game of the season against the AFC South rival Jaguars.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Titans coaches warned players all week about how Charles Tillman strips the ball, offering specifics of his techniques.

Then four Titans went out and got stripped by the Bears cornerback, including Kenny Britt on the game’s first play from scrimmage.

What does that say about the quality of players on Tennessee’s roster and their ability to absorb and execute a coaching message?

Not anything good.

Tennessee unraveled quickly and thoroughly en route to its 51-20 loss to the Bears Sunday at LP Field. It would have been hard to play a worse first quarter had the Titans game-planned for it. And some of their gaffes made it hard to see anything but an undisciplined, unprepared and ineffective cast of characters that isn’t the nucleus for a resurgence but a core lacking the sort of central DNA necessary to create a contender.

It also created more questions in my mind than I’ve ever had before about the job security of coach Mike Munchak and his staff.

“If a team underperforms, I’m the first guy you should look at for that, not anybody else, not assistant coaches, it starts with me,” Munchak said. “If we don’t finish the season the way it should, then what needs to happen will happen. ...

“We’ve got seven games to play. If we win all seven, all of a sudden this would be kind of a wasted argument.”

Yes, on the heels of this debacle, let’s dream of seven-game winning streaks.

But first, how about cleaning up things like illegal formation penalties on consecutive first-quarter plays, where a receiver covered up the tight end?

“We had those plays in our hands days ago and had a meeting about it [Saturday] night and had a meeting about it [Sunday] morning,” quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. “I don’t know what to say. That’s not good.”

Rookie receiver Kendall Wright said he thought he was responsible for at least one of the calls.

“It hurt the team a lot,” he said. “But what I did at practice all week, I thought I was on the ball. I screwed it up. It’s my fault all the way.”

He thought he was on the ball all week, but he was supposed to be off the ball and no one spotted it or corrected it until the officiating crew got a look on Sunday? Sorry, but that is some major evidence in a case against the people running things for this team right now.

“We just have to pay attention more and know the right things to do, know where to line up,” Chris Johnson said. “These coaches all week gave us the right formula and we had a good week of practice. It makes it even worse when you have a good week of practice and do everything right during the week, get to the game and mess up.”

The Titans were out of this game in a flash, trailing 28-2 at the end of an atrocious first quarter.

“We screwed up from the get-go,” guard Steve Hutchinson said.

The log for the first 15 minutes:

• Britt’s lost fumble after a 23-yard pass from Hasselbeck.
• What should have been a Titans interception of a Jay Cutler pass intended for Earl Bennett was dropped by cornerback Jason McCourty.
• The pair of illegal-formation penalties.
• A Brett Kern punt blocked by Sherrick McManis and returned for a 5-yard touchdown by Corey Wootton.
• An illegal block above the waist by Jamie Harper on a kickoff return.
• A false start by Al Afalava.
• An 8-yard touchdown run by Matt Forte on which his line helped him power at least four Titans -- Colin McCarthy, Michael Griffin, Afalava and Alterraun Verner -- into the end zone.
• An interception Hasselbeck thrown directly to Brian Urlacher, who returned it 46 yards for a touchdown.
• The first of two lost Johnson fumbles.
• The first of three Brandon Marshall touchdown catches.

“That first quarter is horrible,” Wright said. “We can’t spot anybody 28 points and expect to come back and win.”

Jordan Babineaux was the one Titans player I talked to who didn’t offer an immediate defense of the coaches and the plan.

“You got any questions, you’ve got to ask the defensive coordinator,” he said, referring to Jerry Gray.

I asked about the blocked punt, where he was lined up as the personal protector, but where he didn’t offer protection, running to the right and cutting out of the backfield entirely. He said I’d need to ask the special teams coach, Alan Lowry.

The Titans’ margin for error is obviously small against a good team. They didn’t have room for this brand of clunker.

“Sometimes what is said is that wasn’t us and we’ll just sweep it under the rug and get back to being us,” Hasselbeck said. “But those are good teams that built a cushion for themselves that are up front in their division and playoffs are probably on the way anyway. ... We can’t have a stinker. We can’t just lay an egg like that. So that’s what’s disappointing. It’s hard to say that just wasn’t us.”

“It’s a bad loss,” McCourty said. “When you go out and it’s as embarrassing as that is, it just sucks to be a part of it.”

Where do they go from here?

A year ago, they were 9-7, narrowly missing the playoffs. This year it looks like that record could earn a spot in the postseason field. There are a couple teams every year that weren’t looking good at the halfway point and finish big.

Munchak will sell the Titans that they can be that team.

What degree of belief will he get back? What degree of belief does he deserve back?

Down 31-5 at the half, he challenged his team to go out and do something special, something unexpected.

That didn’t happen.

After it was over, he preached about how everyone is in this together, how they’ve got to stick together, that they can’t split.

Munchak may be able to glue players together and the roster may be composed of guys who will stay unified. The sad truth is such solidarity may ultimately not mean a thing when it comes to altering the Titans’ fortunes.

The list of the league’s top third-down receivers includes one very surprising name.

There, ahead of Wes Welker, Michael Crabtree, Victor Cruz, Brandon Marshall and Reggie Wayne is Titans rookie Kendall Wright.

Wright’s got an NFL-best 19 receptions on third down, ahead of Welker (17) and those other four (16).

And of those 19 catches by Wright, 14 have created first downs, tied with Wayne for the most in the NFL.

I asked Matt Hasselbeck why he and Jake Locker have looked to Wright so much in big situations.

“Probably trust, I think,” Hasselbeck said. “Third down is where, as a quarterback, that’s when they bring all their exotic stuff, that’s where they game plan for you specifically and you in those situations go to somebody that you trust.

“I was actually not aware of Kendall getting so many balls. But in my past, usually third down you need it. It’s not a time to just give it anywhere, I mean you’ve got to have it.”

Wright has made some nice progress, but I feel like he’s still underachieving. His biggest attribute coming into the league was an ability to take a short pass and run a long way with it, and he’s not broken off that sort of play yet.

“It’s coming,” he said when I spoke with Wright on Wednesday. “I don’t know when. It could be this game. It could be next game. I honestly don’t know when it’s going to happen. I’m positive that it’s going to happen, that I can make a short pass into a big gain.”

Jared Cook apparently wants out.

The NFL’s trade deadline is tomorrow and the Titans tight end has asked to be traded, per Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

Wyatt points out that Cook’s played less than 50 percent of the team’s snaps in the last four games, a puzzling number considering how damaging he is when he gets the ball in his hands. He’s tied for second on the team with 28 catches, but his 13.3-yard average is a great number from a tight end.

His contract is up after this season, and in the NFL trades for guys with expiring contracts are rare.

Tennessee GM Ruston Webster is a regular on my Nashville radio show. Friday we asked him about talks for a Cook extension. He said he would rather not discuss it, but did characterize things as “positive.” A few weeks earlier Cook talked to us about his frustrations. He recently reflected on his numbers, here.

Had the Titans won Sunday and gotten to 4-4, perhaps things would be different today. At 3-5 there is far less hope of getting into the playoff mix. I don't get the sense that Cook and coordinator Chris Palmer, whose offense includes a good share of options routes and lets defenses dictate where players go rather than forcing the issue.

Cook’s not always been a reliable route runner. And the Titans’ run struggles have translated into blocking tight end Craig Stevens being on the field more.

Play them both and you’re a two-tight end team, and if you’re a two tight end team you put a dent into the three-wide receiver plans and personnel you have with Kenny Britt, Nate Washington and Kendall Wright.

So sure, it can be complicated. But the Titans haven’t sorted it out well.

And it’s produced at least a somewhat disgruntled player.

Thoughts on the Titans' 30-7 loss to the Minnesota Vikings at Mall of America Field:

What it means: The 1-4 Titans are a mess, and they were inferior in every way against a team they should be on pace with as they rebuild. They couldn’t move the ball against the Vikings and they couldn’t stop the Vikings from moving the ball, and the result of this blowout was never in doubt.

What’s hard to fathom: The Titans have now given up 34, 38, 41, 38 and 30 points in their games this season. Nothing they’ve done on defense has stopped the bleeding and the return of middle linebacker Colin McCarthy from a high ankle sprain had no bearing.

Bad hit: Safety Michael Griffin was penalized for a helmet-to-helmet hit of defenseless receiver Michael Jenkins at the end of the second quarter. Defensive coordinator Jerry Gray called for more toughness and ownership of the middle of the field last week, and suggested players shouldn't operate in fear of fines. But this was a foolish play by Griffin, who was in position to easily aim lower and make a big hit minus the penalty or the fine that is sure to follow.

A sampling of the badness: Matt Hasselbeck’s first-down scramble was challenged in the first quarter and re-spotted for a fourth down that prompted the Titans to punt. Hasselbeck absolutely telegraphed a second-quarter interception to Antoine Winfield. Defensive end Jared Allen was inexplicably unblocked on one of the Vikings’ sacks. Cornerback Alterraun Verner was a beat late to Percy Harvin on a wide receiver screen and saw it go for a significant gain. McCarthy failed to bring down tight end Rhett Ellison, slipping off the rookie to allow a big play.

Another awful injury: The Titans saw return man Marc Mariani suffer a grotesque leg injury in the preseason. They saw another one Sunday, as running back Javon Ringer was bent awkwardly on a tackle and carted off with a left leg injury.

One good thing: Rookie receiver Kendall Wright didn’t stretch the field at all, but he was far more sure than a week ago, when he had several drops, as he caught a game-high nine passes, though he took them only 66 yards.

What’s next: The Titans have a quick turnaround with the Steelers coming to Nashville on Thursday night.