The Tennessee Titans, by and large, are a franchise that is historically known for a punishing rushing attack and stifling defense. There’s a pantheon of great running backs from Eddie George to Chris Johnson to DeMarco Murray that litter the organization’s history. But, there’s an undertow of guys who were above average, underrated in the grand scheme of the NFL, and largely forgotten due to time. Guys like Chris Brown, Travis Henry, etc.. But, my favorite among the group of guys is the former USC Trojan, LenDale White.
White played alongside Reggie Bush under Pete Carroll at USC. While Bush was stealing the highlights, White was a productive, physical, punishing runner. They made for quite the “thunder and lightning” duo. White had 26 total touchdowns in 2005, and three touchdowns in that infamous Rose Bowl against Texas. Kind of funny that he and Vince Young became the faces of the “new” Titans offense later that year.
But, going to into the 2006 NFL Draft, concerns of White’s attitude and work ethic lead to him slipping out of the first round. One scout even scoffed that White needed a bra. Yeesh. That paired with the fact that he shared a backfield with Bush, and it was really was quite unreasonable to think he’d be a first round pick.
Nonetheless, the Titans selected him in the 2nd round (45th overall) in 2006, the same year they selected Young in the first round. Nothing happened his rookie season except for him spitting in Donnie Nickey’s face during training camp or the preseason. I don’t recall (#Journalism). But in 2007, with Chris Brown injured, he went out and posted his first 100-yard game. He went on to hang over 1,000 yards on the season, and led the Titans in rushing yards.
Then came the addition of Chris Johnson in 2008, and White’s best career year. The two became known as “Smash and Dash,” for reasons similar to White and Bush earning the “thunder and lightning” moniker. White was just a punishing rusher who picked up the tough yards, where Johnson was the electric home-run hitter with speed for days.
In the biggest game of the regular season, the Titans stomped the Pittsburgh Steelers to earn the number one seed in the AFC. White was one of the individuals who stomped on the Terrible Towel, an act I still haven’t forgiven him for. It was all downhill from there.
He lost a ton of weight heading into the 2009 season, famously saying he cut out Patron and buffalo wings. But, he was never the same running back (the curse of the Terrible Towel, maybe?). The Titans traded him to the Seattle Seahawks in April of 2010. When news of a failed drug test surfaced, White was released by the Seahawks. He signed with the Denver Broncos, but couldn’t cut it there either, getting injured and missing the entire 2010 season. He was released in August of 2011. I guess he got into too good of shape….White never played a regular season down for either the Seahawks or Broncos.
His career stat line reads:
2006 – 61 carries, 244 yards, no touchdowns
2007 – 303 carries, 1110 yards, seven touchdowns
2008 – 200 carries, 773 yards, 15 touchdowns
2009 – 64 carries, 222 yards, two touchdownsCareer – 628 carries, 2,349 yards, 24 touchdowns
Tennessee Titans Throwback Thursday Archives
Drew Bennett
Keith Bulluck
Eddie George
Chris Henry
Brandon Jones
Steve McNair
Vince Young
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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