Welcome to Tennessee, Jake Locker.

"He had below a 60 percent completion rate!"

"Blaine Gabbert was still on the board!"

"What a reach!"

Yes, those are just some of the comments I heard when the Tennessee Titans shocked most of the NFL world by choosing Washington quarterback Jake Locker with the 8th overall pick. The disapproval rate of the selection was overwhelming and I felt like one of the few Titans fans who were okay with the pick. I admittedly was shocked at first and wanted Nick Fairley of Auburn, but I never flat-out hated the pick because I think Locker can become a very good NFL quarterback in the right situation.

Here in Tennessee, Locker is in the right situation. The front office is more than committed to pick up a veteran free agent quarterback to start, so Locker won't be forced into action right away. Bringing back Kerry Collins is also a possibility and as much flak he gets, he actually played above-average when healthy and given time in the pocket.

He has a quarterback guru to learn under. Chris Palmer has had a lot of success with young signal-callers; most recently with Eli Manning and Tony Romo. Palmer wanted Locker from the beginning and the two have even planned to spend time in July at Cape Cod. Why is Locker going to be at Cape Cod then? He's getting married and wants to spend his honeymoon with his wife and his offensive coordinator. That's dedication.

He has plenty of offensive weapons to help him. He has the best runningback in the league in Chris Johnson to hand the ball to and on the outside, there's one of the most explosive young receivers in Kenny Britt. Athletic freak Jared Cook excited many in his extended playing time at the end of 2010 and his offensive linemates are very solid, especially former All-Pro tackles Michael Roos and David Stewart. This isn't the group of no-bodies that Locker had with Washington, no, this is one of the brightest young offenses in the NFL. All they were missing was a quarterback.

The biggest knock on Locker is his accuracy, but if you watch tape, you'd see that a positive in his game is his accuracy out of the pocket. He's probably the best quarterback in this class at throwing on the run but the concerns are when he's in the pocket. But how many times was he actually comfortable in the pocket?

Most of his offensive teammates weren't Pac 10 level talent thanks to the recruiting practices of former coach Tyrone Willingham, so plenty of times the pocket collapsed extremely early and his receivers would drop catchable balls. I'm not denying that his accuracy needs work, but the situation he was in at Washington was a tough one to say the least.

His work ethic and leadership abilities already surpass the last Titans quarterback that wore #10. I already mentioned how he's planning to vacation with his offensive coordinator, but from a leadership standpoint, he stayed for his senior year to complete two goals: to get his degree and to lead Washington to their first bowl game since 2002. Despite his stock dropping with the emergence of other quarterbacks, he completed both goals, even leading the Huskies to a revenge win over Nebraska - a team that beat them earlier in the regular season.

Ever since Mike Reinfeldt took over for Floyd Reese as the team's General Manager, the Titans' first round selections have been great. Michael Griffin, although inconsistent at times, is one of the better safeties in the league. The aforementioned Johnson was a reach but he turned out okay. Britt, like I said, is one of the most explosive young receivers and despite a knee injury, last year's selection Derrick Morgan looks like the best defensive end in Tennessee since Jevon Kearse if/when he recovers fully. With all of those positive selections, it won't be much of a surprise if Locker turns out to be a winner as well.

There has been plenty of quarterbacks who have entered the league with accuracy concerns who turned out to be great, including one of the franchise's best in the late Steve McNair. I'm not saying he's the next McNair, but I feel we've gotten an excellent individual who has a great head on his shoulders and I'm very excited to have him as a Tennessee Titan.

Welcome to Tennessee, Jake Locker.

Titans draft thoughts.

Photo taken from NFLsoup.com.

Hey in case you didn't know, the NFL Draft is tomorrow! With the league currently (though not technically anymore) in a lockout, this year's draft has been one of the least anticipated in history. The event is a huge one for a Titans fan, as we'll find out (more than likely) who our next franchise quarterback will be within the first two rounds.

The 2010 draft was very kind to Tennessee as they found a starter in the middle rounds and a Pro Bowler in Round 7. Here's just a quick recap of how their selections fared in their rookie campaigns.

[1st round, 16th overall] Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech - 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks

Morgan was well on his way to proving his worth as the 16th overall selection. However, a torn ACL shut down his rookie season and left the Titans in a tough predictament by having to rotate players like Jacob Ford and William Hayes at defensive end. Morgan's rehab is reportedly going well and he should find himself back on the field by the start of the season.

[3rd round, 77th overall] Damian Williams, WR, USC - 16 catches, 219 yards

This is a pick I loved coming into the season and still do. Stats don't tell the story how impressive Williams was last year. He was buried on the bench for most of the season because of former coach (I love saying that) Jeff Fisher's love affair with Justin Gage, but when he did deservingly get into the game, he was a threat in the slot. Williams should have a big role in the Titans offense for years to come.

[3rd round, 97th overall] Rennie Curran, LB, Georgia - 8 tackles

Another pick I loved coming into the season, but I haven't seen anything yet to make me love it even more. His sample size came on the way of special teams in nine games, but he did good in that role. With the potential departure of Stephen Tulloch, look for Curran to get more playing time in 2011.

[4th round, 104th overall] Alterraun Verner, CB, UCLA - 101 tackles, 3 INT

An absolute steal. While teams like the Texans and the Jets were picking corners not named Joe Haden and Devin McCourty in the first round, the Titans quietly took this mathematics major in the fourth round. For part of the season, Verner was ranked as one of the top corners in the entire league by Pro Football Focus and although his play slipped slightly near the end of 2010, he still had an incredible year nonetheless. I'm thrilled to have this guy on the Titans and can't wait for him to develop even more in Jerry Gray's defensive scheme.

[5th round, 148th overall] Robert Johnson, S, Utah - N/A

The biggest news Johnson made all season was posing as Randy Moss during Moss's first practice in Tennessee. With an aging Chris Hope, Johnson should get some playing time at strong safety in 2011.

[6th round, 176th overall] Rusty Smith, QB, Florida Atlantic - 25.0 rtg., 200 yards, 4 INT

I had a love/hate relationship with this pick at first. I loved it because of Smith's first name, but hated it with Dan LeFevour still on the board. That being said, I still am okay with this selection. Ignoring the horrible showing against Houston, Smith showed an incredible work ethic to get better while flashing some sorts of skill in his two appearances. He never should have saw the field last season and although he'll possibly never be a consistent starting quarterback in his career, I can promise he'll be much better than what he showed against Houston.

[6th round, 207th overall] Myron Rolle, S, Florida State - N/A

Loved this pick too but maybe moreso for the story than the actual ability of Rolle. He was on the practice squad all season and might see some time at safety next year, but I'm not sure of that. One thing he needs to do however is knock some sense into Kenny Britt.

[7th round, 222nd overall] Marc Mariani, WR/KR, Montana - 60 KR, 1530 yards, 1 TD, 27 PR, 329 yards, 1 TD

I think Jeff Fisher and I were the only ones who liked this selection on draft day. I saw enough of Mariani on highlight videos to become a fan of his and hoped we would snag him late to shore up a shaky at best returning game. He did just that, being the only player last season to score on a kick and punt return, while making the Pro Bowl. He showed me a lot during the pre-season as a receiver too and I think will see time on offense next season.

[7th round, 241th overall] David Howard, DT, Brown - N/A

I thought he was still on the Titans practice squad but after a quick Google search, I found out he was waived and later picked up by the Oakland Raiders.

I'd check the 2010 NFL Draft as a success for the Titans, especially with their later selections of Verner and Mariani. This year's draft is more important however because with the departure of Vince Young and Jeff Fisher, new head coach Mike Munchak needs to find a franchise quarterback along with other players who will fit his new system.

There should be plenty of players to choose from with the eighth overall pick. Quarterbacks like Jake Locker and Andy Dalton will certainly be there but most teams have them graded as mid-first round selections at best. Cornerback Prince Amukamara of Nebraska should be there as well and maybe end North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn. But at #8, I want and believe the Titans will take Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley.

Fairley has the potential to be one of the more dominant defensive tackles in the league someday. He can disrupt the run, gets to the quarterback and plays with a mean streak (sometimes a little too mean however). There are questions about his work ethic a la Albert Haynesworth but with his former college defensive line coach Tracy Rocker assuming the same position here, plus with a no-nonsense head man in Munchak, I see the rewards being much greater than the risk.

The quarterback position is tough to predict in this year's draft. Mostly everyone assumes Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert will be gone by the top 10, which leaves Locker, Dalton, Christian Ponder, Colin Kaepernick and Ryan Mallett as the remaining "top" quarterbacks on the board.

There are two scenarios that I would prefer the Titans to be in come draft day. The first is trading back into the first round if someone like Locker, Dalton or Ponder are there. I would prefer not to trade with New England because of their trading history or give up a first in 2012, but I can see both happening. I am a fan of Locker, Dalton and Ponder, but don't want them with the 8th overall selection because they aren't worth it there.

The second scenario is staying pat and waiting till the second round to pick a quarterback. Quarterbacks selected in the second round don't have a good success rate, which scares me, but if a lot of these guys are still on the board through the first round, then I would want a quarterback at #40. The most likely selection here would be Kaepernick, who I also like a lot, but I only want him if I know we'll get a veteran quarterback in free agency to mentor him. Kaepernick is at least two years away from being ready for the NFL, but the potential is definitely there.

Mallett is not on my draft board until the third or fourth rounds. I hate the drug rumors surrounding him, the character issues, the pompous attitude he carries and his mobility. There's no questioning his arm but I just can't see someone who has all those red flags being the face of the franchise. If he somehow falls to the third or fourth round and the Titans are still without a quarterback, then I'm all for drafting him just because he's not as much of a risk nor is he looked upon as the future of the franchise. If he pans out, fine, but if not, then oh well.

Other guys I would love in the middle to later rounds are Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones, USC center Kris O'Dowd and Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel. All three would fit big needs in positions that we are very weak at.

Go Titans.

Side note: Huge game for the Penguins tonight with a Game 7 home match-up against the Tampa Bay Lightning. I hope Eric Tangradi and Deryk Engelland will find their way onto the ice tonight because Tangradi can help a more-than-pathetic power play while Engelland possibly can't be worse than Ben Lovejoy. Let's go Pens!

The king and his heirs.

Image taken from http://www.guardian.co.uk.

About 18 years ago, a young R&B artist who went by the name R. Kelly left his group Public Announcement to release his first solo album, 12 Play. It received mixed reviews at first (then later received mostly positive) but it's easily one of my favorite albums of all-time. He followed that up with a successful self-titled album released two years later and then a double-disc album named R. that found itself on top of the Billboard charts after its first week.

After his self-titled album, he was proclaimed the "King of R&B" by Ebony Man magazine and still to this day, when someone discusses the genre, R. Kelly's name is almost immediately brought up. Just last year, he released another critically-acclaimed album in Love Letter, which gave a different vibe from his previous albums.

10 albums into his career and with more to come, it's no wonder that upcoming R&B artists today aspire to be as successful as R. Kelly. There are three in particular that I want to touch on - three that might be the heir to R. Kelly's crown sometime in the future. Two of them have been in the game since the middle-to-late 2000s with three or more albums under their belts already, while the other artist has worked more behind the scenes for a while before finally releasing his debut album this year.

There's three qualities I look at in a R&B artist; beautiful vocals, great lyrics and a very consistent record. R. Kelly has demonstrated all three of these throughout his career with some of the best vocals I've ever heard, a knack for telling a story through a song and the ability to release consistently good albums after one another.

Trey Songz has four albums under his belt and is probably the most popular R&B artist today. His vocal range has consistently improved throughout his career and it's to the point where I would consider it one of the best voices in the genre. Songs like "Can't Be Friends", "Black Roses" and "On Top" shows that Trey can craft a song from a lyrical standpoint. The biggest flaw however with him is his consistency. His second album Trey Day was a flop and although his past two albums have been very good, there's always one track in there that throws the entire album off. I don't know if it's label politics or if it's Trey's doing, but "LOL :-)" and "Bottoms Up" should not be on a R&B album.

The-Dream is the self-proclaimed "Radio Killa" but he speaks the truth; his hand in writing songs like J. Holiday's "Bed" and Rihanna's "Umbrella" have put those two artists in constant radio waves over the years. His lyrical skill is geared towards putting out music for the radio (like his nickname states) but it's not completely mainstream. His consistency is unparalleled compared to other R&B artists today because he is one of the few that knows how to make a complete album. Every track transitions perfectly to the next song in his three albums, which is rare today. However, the biggest flaw that he has is his voice because it's extremely weak. The-Dream uses a lot of computer generated programs to make his voice more appeasing and it said he can't carry a stage to save his life because of that flaw.

If you follow the Def Jam record label, you might remember an up and coming artist that went by the name Lonny Breaux. Well today he's known as Frank Ocean and he's already one of the genre's fastest rising stars. As Breaux, he was passed over and kept in the dark from the public, but he had his hand in writing songs for established artists like John Legend and Brandy. After releasing what has gotten mostly positive reviews in Nostalgia, ULTRA, the 23-year-old member from OFWGKTA could be the darkhorse to take R. Kelly's crown someday. He has good vocals and a real knack for writing a song; it's just up to him if he can stay consistent with his releases from now on.

There are other artists I could have mentioned like Legend, but I feel like he's reached his potential and won't get any bigger than he already is. That's fine though because he's an incredible artist on his own right, but the three artists I listed still haven't reached the pinnacle of their success yet and it just takes one classic album to put their name in legitimate conversation. I would say that Trey Songz is the most likely choice to take the crown someday, with Frank Ocean and The-Dream slightly behind him.

House of Balloons review.

Taken from CompleteVII.

Co-signs help take you to most places in life. If you're looking for a job and have a co-sign from a higher power in the company, chances are that you'll be more of a candidate for the opening than John Doe. So after gaining some co-signs from famous artists like Drake, I decided to give The Weeknd's debut mixtape House of Balloons a listen, hoping to add some more new R&B to my iPod.

A quick glance at the mixtape's cover will confuse the listener at first, but as soon as they start listening to the songs, they'll realize how much the portrait makes sense. The picture of a passed out naked woman in a bathtub with balloons covering everything but an exposed breast likely shows the aftermath of a crazy party; one that she won't likely remember. In fact, in the mixtape's first song "High For This", the chorus advises the girl that she should be, well, high for this.

Despite listening to this mixtape for a solid week now, I still haven't uncovered most the mysteries behind The Weeknd. Is The Weeknd just a solo artist or an artist and a group of in-house producers? I want to lean towards the latter, especially since the one thing I do know is that the lead singer and maybe only singer is Abel Tesfaye, from Toronto, Canada. (Which, not surprisingly, is one of the reasons why Drake co-signed him/them.) Tesfaye doesn't necessarily have the best voice, but his ear for beats, the passion he puts behind each note and the way he pieces this mixtape together reminds me a lot of The-Dream - only a more explicit version.

The lyrics laced throughout the nine-track project are filled with drug references, swagger and sexual conquest that would make the younger R. Kelly raise his eyebrow in surprise. An example would be "The Morning", which is one of the tape's highlights. Right at the beginning of the verse, Tesfaye says that banging sounds coming from the walls of his room are reminiscent to an unborn baby kicking at its mother's stomach. Yeah, it might not necessarily be the smoothest line to use to woo a girl, but that's the beauty of this tape.

"Wicked Games" shows a slightly vulnerable side of The Weeknd. The first verse has him viciously attacking a past love, saying that he doesn't love her anymore behind a low, dark guitar riff. His pain can be felt through the lyrics of the bridge and chorus, telling a woman he just met to say she loves him, even if it's just a lie. The destruction his past girl has left on him killed his confidence and he hopes a one night stand can fix that.

House of Balloons is a very good debut release that deserves the co-signs it's been getting. With the production taking on samples from bands like Beach House and Siouxsie and the Banshee's, I don't see only R&B fans getting behind this mixtape, as it appeals to a lot of tastes. The only flaw I can pick out is that some of the songs drag out too long and get stale, but the mixtape's highlights are too awesome not to ignore.

1.) High For This | 4

2.) What You Need | 3 - 3.25

3.) House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls | 3.5 - 4

4.) The Morning | 4.5 - 5

5.) Wicked Games | 5

6.) The Party & The After Party | 3.5 - 4

7.) Coming Down | 4.25 - 5

8.) Loft Music | 4 - 4.25

9.) The Knowing | 3.5 - 4

Overall: 4.10/5