Tennessee Titans First Rookie Drills

by theologic on May 1, 2009 8:05 PM CDT Comment 20 comments

I really hate this time of year. It's got to be the most frustrating crap ever invented. I waited all day to get a report from the first rookie sessions and when The Tennessean finally posts it... they manage to describe only one catch by Britt (that was out of bounds) and one catch by Cook (tho they make him sound like a stud).

Ugh... I could write a much better summary of events. Anyway here is the link:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090501/SPORTS01/90501087/1027

I wonder how much the Titans FO bribes them to be vague and unspecific.

UPDATE: Okay, Jim Wyatt decided he could do a better job. I have to agree. I get a better impression about the rookies from his article. Check it out:

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090501/SPORTS01/90501087/1027

He also waxes poetic about Cook here:

Wyatt loves Cook blog entry

PK Chimes in too. A lot of good info

AFC South blog

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I think Britt is going to be a stud

Cortland Finnegan is a beast

by Titansfan_559 on May 1, 2009 9:34 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Both He and Cook sound like they're going to give defenses fits.

by theologic on May 1, 2009 10:34 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

agreed...i really like britt, he will def help us out..but ive got this crazy feeling that

Cook might be the best player from this draft..down the road

"read dozens of books about heroes and crooks and i've learned much from both of their styles" - Jimmy Buffett

by titansfan615 on May 2, 2009 12:44 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Optimistic

The offense may be getting the accolades this year. I think it will be a lot harder for defenses to scheme with our receiving threats now.

by zero defects on May 2, 2009 6:25 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Definitely

…more balanced team. We don’t even have to have the lights out defense we had last year if our O is somewhat competent. The defense is getting old. We definitely need to address DE and particularly OLB next year.

by joshuaboone on May 2, 2009 8:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I feel good about the future

If defenses scheme to stop our new receiving threats then CJ will tear them up on the ground.

If they load up to stop the run then Britt, Cook, Washington, or Gage will hurt ’em down field.

Defense wise they are getting old, but Ford did well last year. 5 or 6 sacks. He’s going to get better. The only major problem would be if Bulluck, Thornton, KVB, and Kearse all broke down in the same year. I don’t see it. I think Kearse may play the oldest. However, Bulluck and Thornton don’t show any signs of slowing down. I think we’ve got another couple years before we’re in any real trouble.

by theologic on May 2, 2009 8:27 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i agree

Ford had 7 sacks last year and ball had 4.5. I look for hayes to improve as well. I wonder if they feel like J.Jones can kick out to DE as well if needed. I think he played both in college. We have so many D linemen now that are productive I think we are good here….

What is the deal with Keglar? will he develop into a starter?

by zero defects on May 2, 2009 11:07 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

No idea about Keglar

He didn’t see the field much last season, but he was a rookie. I think Bulluck sat for 3 years before he cracked the starting lineup. Hopefully Keglar can do the same. Also, people seem pretty high on McRath, apparently he’s got good speed.

Someone asked Paul Kuharsky about Jones playing DE and he didn’t seem to think it would happen. His reasoning:

“They could kick Jones out some if they like a matchup or feel like things stack up well that way. But long term, when they have issues at end and not at tackle, I doubt they’d move him full-time for how much they’ve talked of him being a tackle.”

But if you remember they did a lot of talking about Griffin being a CB too, and we all see how that turned out.

by theologic on May 2, 2009 11:33 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think McRath is our future starting weak side linebacker

This kid has better speed, and size than Thorton and really hits hard. Give him 2 or 3 years to get stronger and learn the defense and he’ll be good.

Cortland Finnegan is a beast

by Titansfan_559 on May 3, 2009 10:52 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thorton is the strong side backer, just fyi.

If I hit a hole-in-one on this grand slam the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.

by jasonkylebates on May 3, 2009 6:14 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

my bad you're right

Cortland Finnegan is a beast

by Titansfan_559 on May 3, 2009 6:54 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

i think we're getting ahead of ourselves!!

Our new receiving threats change the game, yes, but until these kids get through the pre-season we don’t know what we’ve got.

Nate Washington will likely provide immediate results and will be an upgrade over McCairens. Working from the slot position we are likely to see the Hawk get some action since he now has a year under his belt and showed flashes last year.

Britt will have a chance to win a starting job, but unless he plays like the second coming of Plaxico Burress in practice I would assume they will nurture him, feature him in some 4-receiver sets, and rotate him in in various other situations.

I suspect that Heimerdinger wants to see if he can use Jared Cook purely as a wideout. There may be a belief that the team essentially picked up two Kenny Britts in the same draft in the hopes that one of them quickly makes an impact.. If they both hit, even better.

I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect our rookies to be instant weapons this year. It rarely happens. The bigger picture here is what happens in 2010. With nearly 15 players’ contracts coming due, we’re going to lose some key players, mostly on defense. We have two more years with Collins, and FO may figure that if 2009 is not the year to win the Lombardi, laying the groundwork now (receiver-wise) gives us one more shot before the old guy retires.

by BeansCarter on May 3, 2009 3:12 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

What else do we have to do?

Anything we talk about in the offseason is us getting ahead of ourselves, but I strongly disagree. I think Cook will definitly play TE, but I do expect him to take awhile getting on the field. However, Britt will be on the field this year. From the Tennessean:

“You got to get them ready to go, especially when you’re talking about a first-round guy,” Graves said of Britt, who will compete for a starting position. “He’s got to come in and understand what’s going on so you can get him ready to play.”

I think, unless Hawk outplays him by a large margin, it’s Britt’s job to lose. Plus I think it’s easy to get excited about our new wide receivers when you remember all the dropped passes, the passes that were overthrown because of no “2nd Gear”, of the number of times they gave up on routes.

by theologic on May 3, 2009 4:23 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree theologic

The coaching staff has definitely indicated they want britt and cook on the field. FYI…I’m watching the Colts / Titans game on NFL network right now…..our wide recievers are non existant. Even gage is dropping passes.

Don’t get me wrong…I love Gage…but having some explosion..i.e. N. Washington for starters…then britt / cook….its gonna help…alot.

I am excited.

Yes…we are ahead of ourselves…and I love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by zero defects on May 4, 2009 1:16 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Were you watching the Monday Night game?

Gage struggled early in the year as he was getting over the knee injury. He was really solid down the stretch.

Titans Blogger at Music City Miracles even though gramsey hates it.

by Jimmy on May 4, 2009 6:06 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

nfl network

they are showing the top 4 games of last season every sunday rt now….last night was colts / titans then New orleans/ San diego…and whoever else.

tony brown was a beast in that game as well….

by zero defects on May 4, 2009 8:43 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes

Tony Brown was a beast in that game, as well as Jacob Ford… Justin Gage just struggled because he was injured the week before… and after watching more film on Albert as of late, he only pushes the pocket when he wants to, and I think now that he has his money, you won’t see much of that. Our D-Line will be awesome next year, book it…

by RhiNo6705 on May 4, 2009 1:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

"Britt sounds like a beast" or "Getting even farther ahead of myself"

Check out this late article from Gary Estwick about watching Britt in practice:
The Tennessean

Okay the part about VY is retarded. But check out this part about Britt:

“WATCHING No. 1 draft pick Kenny Britt run routes Friday afternoon at Baptist Sports Park was like watching Bruce Boxleitner ride a light cycle in the movie Tron (circa 1982). His receiver route were crisp, the way he forced cornerbacks to back up, giving him space to cut inside for a deep post. Or he worked his way back to the ball a with couple of steps, then made it upfield before the cornerback could do anything about it.”

That sounds like just what we need. It’s gonna be hard waiting for more news about this kid.

by theologic on May 4, 2009 8:14 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs