Training Camp Monday, July 30 - 3 pm

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by TitanJeff, Jul 30, 2012.

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  1. Garo

    Garo Starter

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    Hey guys,

    I made it out to practice last night (Monday) and thought I'd give my observations. Practice as a whole seemed far more polished and advanced than the one I saw last year. Lots going on so I wasn't able to focus on one thing too much:

    -We really felt the defense dominated the offense which is expected at this point in camp. Defense looks fast but I felt overall size is bigger than last year for some reason. They swarmed to the ball, was aggressive at the point of attack and seem to blanket the WR's.

    -Saying that, the offense did not look to be on the same level as the defense. Many reasons why this could be but it just felt like the defense was all over them.

    -QB's: I did not think either QB was great or horrible...both were somewhere in the middle. I gave the edge to Locker as he seemed to be pushing the ball down the field. I thought he looked very accurate. He almost threw a couple of picks but one was anticipating Cook to break sooner, etc. Babs dropped a sure-INT from him. H-beck didn't look bad and had several drops but did more check downs and short passes. I saw him fumble a snap and the offense had to re-huddle on one point due to confusion. He also took what would've been many sacks our defense. Again, very little separation between the two and the defense was giving the entire offense trouble but I gave the slight edge to Locker.

    -RB's: CJ looks to have a good pep in his step and appeared bigger than he has looked in the past. Clearly has been in the weight room this year. Defense bottled him up most of the day and he did not have much room but he always made the first guy miss. He had a couple of bad drops but also made some good catches out of the backfield. He turned it on during his long run but I thought he was "tagged" by Spoon before he turned the corner. Harper appeared to be even with Ringer imo.

    -FB's: I was big on Mooney but it looked like Quinn Johnson is the man. Mooney appears headed to the practice squad imo. Johnson is a brickhouse of a man. Hit of the day came during a drill with RB's vs LB's in pass routes. The LB would come up to the line and try to jam the RB's and the RB's would try to shake them and get into there routes. Patrick Bailey came up to jam Quinn and Quinn just lowered the boom on him and put him on his back then went out to his route.

    -TE's: Cook was lined up all over the place. Stevens is used a lot but mostly at the traditional TE spot. Graham had a good day and looked good. The rookie Thompson really looks the part...he's big and can run. He dropped a couple of passes but he is one to keep an eye on. Used a lot of 3-TE sets.

    WR: Tough day with the drops and no Britt/Wright. Looked like a good group thought not spectacular. Seems a bit small without Britt. Nate/Damian looked comfortable. Didn't see much of Hawk due to the ankle I guess. Preston looks the part but didn't do much. To be fair, most of the drills were away from me so I didn't get the best look. Too many drops though. I'm sure the OJ Murdock situation might have played into it some.

    -OL: Very hard to judge OL but I felt they did ok but defense won majority of the time. Saw some good, some bad from all of them. Amano got bull rushed once. Hutch handled Klug and appears to be a pro's pro. Harris struggled imo but again hard to tell.

    -DL: This was probably the most impressive group imo. There will be some tough decisions on cut down day. Wimbley may not be special but he adds something that had been missing. On back to back plays in half-line drills against the OL, I watched him beat Roos on a speed rush and then turn around and stack up Stewart against a run play. He's better all around than I thought. Morgan looks like Jason Jones in the #91 jersey. Shaun Smith looked better with the weight loss...played the run well. Casey is a massive man, looks bigger. Klug looks like he's gotten bigger/stronger. He beat Harris bad on one play. The next play, Harris did well against him but Klug ragdolled him down. Harris got up slow. Mike Martin looks short compared to everyone else but seems to hold his own. Had a lighting quick inside pass rush during drills against someone. The younger, less talked about guys is what stood out to me. Panel Egbol is a monster. Malcom Sheppard seem quick off the ball. Douzable had a good day and is impressive. I thought Lamar Divins had a good day as well. This group as a whole dominated for the most part imo. Only time I saw 7th rounder Solomon was on special teams where he kept messing up. Looked like his head was spinning.

    -LB: Had a field day playing behind the DL. McCarthy didn't make any splash plays but is clearly in the driver seat of the defense getting everyone lined up. Ayers looks more confident and in better shape than last year. He was more aggressive. Witherspoon looked really. Hard to imainge them cutting him and was always around the ball all day. Zack Brown didn't have any flash-plays but he looks the part and can cover sideline to sideline. Saw him come up and put a good hit on one of the FB's to help stuff the run. Played a lot in the Nickel packages. I will be shocked if McRrath makes the roster. He looks like the same McRath as usual, too hesitant and unsure and Brown already looks bigger, faster and more comfortable than him. Zac Diles looks more comfortable than McRath as well.

    -DB: Again, very impressive group. Much bigger group than in the past. It looked obvious to me that it's McCourty/Verner with Campbell as the #3. Mouton had a good day with two INt's...one of them was a gift from H-beck when the defense was taking over and swarming the offense. The other one was a very impressive play on a deep ball and Kirkendol even pushed off but Mouton was still able to recover and out jump him for the pick. Hawkins wasn't bad but Mouton looked better. Sensabaugh didn't do anything outstanding but looked like he belonged. Griffin seems like a different man now, settled in as the leader. Babs was quiet for the most part. Robert Johnson is huge but had a quiet day. Afalava out played Francisco imo. Little concerned about the depth here but they pretty much just cleaned up behind an impressive front 7. WR's were tightly covered all day by all of them. Gray put in a lot of overload blitzes and whatever he was doing with the coverage behind them had H-beck and the offense struggling. It wasn't until Gray started running basic Cover 2 and stopped blitzing did the offense get moving a bit.

    Sorry for the length but I hope that helps. I'd be glad to answer any questions. I'm sure I missed something.
     
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  2. Titaneers

    Titaneers Ultimate Player

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    this is what i like to see... each individual position reports! keep up the good work!
     
  3. 2ToneBlueBlood

    2ToneBlueBlood Pro Bowler

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    Yeah, I actually meant to comment on him. I made a point of watching just him on a few plays and honestly he got pushed around and since he was playign inside it was Amano that he was mainly going against (don't know if this is good news or bad news). Although in Martin's defense, they were usually running to his side behind Amano and Hutchinson and he got double teamed a lot just by the running scheme they were running. So it wasn't all Martin's fault he got pushed around. He was going against 2 guys a few times. He's also like a head shorter than all the other D-lineman. Not that that really matters, just an observation.
     
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  4. JCBRAVE

    JCBRAVE goTitans 2019 Survivor Champion

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    Great post Garo, thanks for sharing.
     
  5. corymiller

    corymiller New Era Connoisseur

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    Heard Quinn Johnson put Patrick Bailey on blast. Just lowered his head and ran through him.
     
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  6. Deuce Wayne

    Deuce Wayne NOW Y'ALL GET THE MESSICH?!

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    Wow... the Cook haters make me wonder what our fanbase is composed of.


    Any time Cook is on the field, he produces. Drop what Jeff Fisher taught you. It was wrong. As are you, currently.

    800 yds as a TE and you're waiting to "see something" Give me an effing break.
     
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  7. MrBean

    MrBean Master of Not Much

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    Sorry for the length :biglaugh:

    Man, trust me, we love it. All of us out of towners who could never make it to training camp want all the info and observations we can get, lengthier the better.

    Thanks for the post, really appreciate it.
     
  8. QGP

    QGP MIKE HONCHO

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    Legit. Too legit too quit
     
  9. TitansWrath

    TitansWrath Pro Bowler

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    I don't see any Cook hater... just doubters. He has the tools to be a DOMINANT TE in this league, and he's shown flashes of it... he's just never put it all together consistently over a whole season.

    I want to see him become a better red zone threat... more reliable... the guy we look to on third down. Just consistency mainly.

    Doubt it matters much as he probably walks after the season anyway.
     
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  10. Ewker

    Ewker Starter

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    I keep saying I am going one yr to watch but I never make it
     
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