The Titans’ training camp practices have now concluded for this week. I imagine they’ll walk through some things Friday in preparation for Saturday night’s game. I’m excited to finally be going to another game after seven months.
It was a pretty uneventful three days of practices. A lot of guys are banged up with minor injuries and I’m guessing that’s one of the reasons why Jeff Fisher had the team in shells all week. As far as I know, they’ve only been in full pads twice so far and just once in a practice open to the public.
Besides the injuries at linebacker, which we’ve discussed in the last few days, the following guys have also missed time.
Jacob Ford has been out quite a while with a sore hammy and his fellow d-lineman, Jason Jones, has been in a walking boot after tweaking an ankle in the HOF game. I haven’t noticed a limp so the boot may be more of a precaution than anything. Vince Fuller has a groin injury. Craig Hentrich has been taking it easy but did punt a little today. WRs Chris Davis and Mark Jones have been out with bad hammies. Rookie safety Nick Schommer has also been sidelined with a bad hammy. Those Schifinos must be contagious.
And of course, Kevin Mawae remains on the PUP list. I’ve seen him out on the field a few times and jogging some too, but that’s about all. It would be a good sign to see him start participating a little before camp is over.
And now for some observations after the first two weeks of camp.
Kerry Collins has been throwing the ball pretty well. He’s been fairly accurate and his arm still looks strong. He’s getting some zip on the ball.
Vince Young hasn’t been throwing any better, which is disappointing. He has been running the ball on some options, buy I’m not making much of that. Fisher has done some of that before but I don’t expect he’ll use it much, if at all, this season. It might not be a bad idea, on occasion.
The acquisition of Nate Washington seems to be a good one. He keeps getting behind the secondary, catching balls that would be good for six points in games.
After Washington, Jared Cook is the guy who’s really impressed me on offense. This guy is a big mismatch – too fast for a LB, too big for a DB to cover.
After missing the first week and a half of camp, Kenny Britt began practicing and has looked good. He seems to be in the right place when he’s supposed to be there so I guess he isn’t having a lot of problems with his playbook. Britt’s quickly jumped ahead of some guys to claim the #3 WR spot. He spent a little time returning punts today too.
LenDale White looks a little quicker, which is to be expected after his weight loss. It’s really difficult to say how the running backs are doing when nobody’s hitting them. The preseason games are about the best way for me to determine that.
On the line, Eugene Amano is fine after offseason knee surgery. The news to me is rookie Troy Kropog, who’s moved ahead of Mike Otto, at least from what I see.
One of the things I like to do in camp every year is to watch the veterans who were injured last year or had offseason surgery, like Amano. On defense, that means the DEs. Kyle Vanden Bosch, Jevon Kearse and Dave Ball are all at full speed, which ought to be good for the pass rush this year.
As noted earlier, Ford has been an observer, with Jones keeping him company this week. I wrote last week that William Hayes was starting to look like a DT and now he’s been used some there.
Nothing new on the LB corps to add to what we’ve discussed in the last few days. And not much to say about the secondary either. DBs are also easier to evaluate in game situations.
Following, as promised, are some rookie pics I’ve taken.
Enjoy.
Kenny Britt Photo by Andrew Strickert for Total Titans
Sen’Derrick Marks Photo by Andrew Strickert for Total Titans
Jared Cook Photo by Andrew Strickert for Total Titans
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