Posted by Will Brinson

On Sunday, both Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger took some terrifying hits to the knee -- Roethlisberger's was more serious, but Brady's was reminiscent of the Bernard Pollard hit in 2008 that ended Brady's season.

The gentlemen responsible for those hits -- Antonio Garay and Raheem Brock, respectively -- were fined $15,000 each by the NFL on Thursday. Adam Schefter of ESPN first reported the fines.

"I'm glad I had a knee brace on," Brady said earlier this week on the Dennis and Callahan show on WEEI, via the Boston Herald. "That’s scary when you’ve been through those before. It got me in a good spot, and I’m glad the knee brace took the brunt of the force. Why I never wore a knee brace before, I have no idea. Why every quarterback doesn’t wear one on their left knee, I have no idea, to be able to withstand those."

Brady called the knee injury "The Carson Palmer Rule" -- he pointed out that he has his own rule, which involves tucking and should never be mentioned while touring around the city of Oakland -- as Palmer was knocked out for the year by the Steelers with a knee injury in the playoffs way back in 2005.

It was Pittsburgh's Roethlisberger, though, who appeared to suffer a similar fate Sunday. Ben was hit from behind by Brock and lay on the ground in pain, eventually returning to the game before limping to the locker room at halftime.

Apparently Roethlisberger is fine, and will require no knee brace this Sunday.

Derrick Morgan got nailed with a $7,500 fine for a late hit on Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco Sunday -- Morgan was flagged for unnecessary roughness at the time, after Flacco fumbled the ball, recovered it on the ground and was touched by a different Titans player just before Morgan hit Flacco.

The defensive end plans to appeal the fine and said that a Ravens offensive lineman even told him the penalty was a bit much. Don't expect anything similar for Brock or Garay, who put the season of two of the NFL's most-popular quarterbacks in jeopardy.

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Posted by Will Brinson

Titans GM Mike Reinfeldt's had some nice first-round draft picks in his time with Tennessee -- Chris Johnson, who you may have heard of, was a bit of a reach at the time, but has panned out pretty well for Nashville football. Michael Griffin's been superb, Kenny Britt is obviously talented (but troubled) and it's still early for Derrick Morgan.

But Reinfeldt's set to have, potentially, the biggest of his career coming on Thursday, April 28, when the Titans will select eighth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft. But he'll make that pick with plenty of security because, according to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean, the Titans gave him a "multiyear extension."

Wyatt points out that the extension was likely "in the works" during the 2010 season and that it's "believed to last through 2014," though the team wouldn't discuss the precise nature of the reported deal.

Tennessee clearly struggled in 2010, going 6-10, but it's hard not to respect Reinfeldt for keeping the Titans competitive over his tenure despite a nightmarish quarterback situation (Vince Young was drafted the year before he took over) and for navigating an even more awkward coaching change when the rift between Jeff Fisher and Bud Adams grew to an irreconcilable gap.

Adams clearly respects the work Reinfeldt's done, though, because he extended the time with which he'll be working in Tennessee -- how that time pans out may very well be determined by the first decision that Reinfeldt makes under his new deal.

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Posted by Andy Benoit

Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan is out for the year with a torn ACL, according to Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. The first-round pick from Georgia Tech was able to walk off under his own power after suffering a knee injury against the Broncos Sunday. Obviously, that encouraging sign was nothing but a cruel sprinkle of false hope.

Morgan, playing in a backup role, had five tackles and 1.5 sacks on the season. The Titans still have good outside depth along their active defensive line, with William Hayes and Jacob Ford backing up Jason Babin and Dave Ball. But it hurts not being able to groom the cornerstone of the front seven in 2010.

Morgan drew favorable comparisons to Jevon Kearse back in spring. Unfortunately, those comparisons have soured, yet they look more accurate than ever right now.

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