Since new Titans OC Chris Palmer doesn't have any new practice, scrimmage or drill film to review of Jake Locker, he's been pouring poring over Locker's college game tapes to try and better learn the skills and tendencies Locker will bring to the team once the lockout is over. Palmer went into pretty significant detail with Wyatt on what he's seeing while the two watched the tapes, and here are some of the better tidbits
"We have not been a big quick-game passing team here," Palmer says. "The (previous) coaching staff had a reason and it was a very sound reason why they didn’t do a lot of it. But if we are playing with a young quarterback, we know that they are going to blitz him. So the quick game has to be a part of us. Look, there he is getting rid of it in a hurry again … "
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Against Syracuse, Palmer likes how Locker responds when the Huskies fall behind 10-0 and manage only a field goal on their next two drives. There’s no panic. Locker goes through his progressions and on several plays he delivers the ball to his third read. Washington rallies to a 41-20 victory.
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On some plays, Locker’s footwork is sloppy as he gets anxious in the pocket. Palmer shows a play against BYU. Locker fails to show enough patience to let a screen develop. He rolls too wide, causing the play to break down.
Lavelle Hawkins and Tully are now back in Nashville, but the biggest surprise is buried at the bottom of this article:
Glennon covers what actions might be punishable after the NFL lockout is over, largely with Kenny Britt in mind. While it's easy to oversimplify the matter and say that NFL players are still beholden to the league's code of conduct, if you wanted to fight a suspension in court you'd have a pretty damned good case. I don't really see how, if push comes to shove, the NFL owners can have their cake and eat it too: they categorically aren't allowing NFL players to perform their duties or realize their contractual benefits as players, yet they still want to hold them to the responsibilities or being a player? Sounds like a case the NFL would be one player-sympathetic judge away from losing in opening arguments.Possible invitation: Safety Michael Griffin said quarterback Vince Young might be invited if there’s another minicamp.
"Even if he is not playing with the Titans, he could come out and get some work," he said.
WaPo's sports blogger Anthony Stalter says the pros outweigh the cons of paying Chris Johnson, and I agree. CJ has inarguably been the most under-paid player in the NFL over the past two years, so I have no problem with the Titans making up for that over the first few years of the deal. It's not something they have to do, but I'd argue it's something they should because it's fair and you need to take care of your biggest players where you can.
Jason Cole takes a look at some seasoned veterans who might actually benefit from the lockout. The idea is that those free agency veterans who usually struggle to get a training camp invite after getting cut will be more in demand because they're in a much better position to pick-up a new system over an abbreviated training camp. Think Bulluck, Keith.
Munch added one more staffer: Devin Bonik will be Munchak's administrative assistant.
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