We’ve been hearing for a while from Vince Young that he’s competing to be the Titans starting quarterback again. Drexel had some words of advice for Vince after his interview with a Baltimore TV station, in which he said “he’s competing,” among other things.
We’ve also heard that Ryan Fowler will be competing to become the starter at middle linebacker again. now that he’ll be healthy going into training camp this year.
Personally, I believe Fowler has a much better chance of starting this year than Vince does. Barring injuries to the incumbent starters, of course. And Fowler will have a hard time winning the job from Stephen Tulloch.
What other battles for starting roles might take place in camp this year?
In January, while looking at the Titans’ situation at guard, I speculated that Leroy Harris would give left guard Eugene Amano some strong competition. That speculation now seems to be a little premature. Someone, and if I recall correctly, it was Jonathan Hutton, said o-line coach Mike Munchak would leave his starting lineup intact.
“If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” seems to be Munchak’s outlook. There’s also the lingering question of center Kevin Mawae’s durability. The fifteen-year veteran, who once had a streak of ten consecutive years without missing a start, has been unable to complete a season for three of the last four years. Mawae has been recuperating from offseason surgery and it’s very likely that Harris will get most of the preseason work in his place. He’ll probably be needed to finish the season at center as well. Munch might as well leave Amano as his starting left guard.
There could also be competition at defensive tackle, not only for a roster spot, but also for the two starting jobs. Jovan Haye, Tony Brown and Jason Jones are the frontrunners but it doesn’t matter too much which two are designated as the starters. With the way d-line coach Jim Washburn rotates his players, I expect all three to get more or less the same amount of playing time.
A similar situation exists at tight end. Alge Crumpler and Bo Scaife should both be on the field for about the same number of snaps. Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger has used a lot of two-tight end sets in the past and I wouldn’t be upset if he used even more this year.
It wouldn’t surprise me a bit if the Titans opened the season with the same starters as last year, with the exception of right defensive tackle and one of the wide receiver spots, after the departures of Albert Haynesworth and Justin McCareins.
What do you think? Are there any starting jobs that you think will be up for grabs in training camp?
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