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I went to the Titans training camp on Friday and there was a lot to see. While most of the first week of training camp is dedicated to shaking the rust off, some players looked like they were already in midseason form. On the other hand, some players looked like they will have a lot of work to do before the end of preseason.
The Good: Justin Hunter
For all the hype going into this year, it would have been easy to be disappointed in Hunter early in the preseason. However, not only was Hunter living up to the hype, he was exceeding it. Hunter showed why many thought he was the top receiver prospect prior to his final year.
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This was his best catch of the day, but it wasn't he wasn't only making the tough catches. Hunter showed improved concentration on short routes and is making defenders look bad with his athleticism. It could be a huge year for Hunter.
The Bad: Ropati Pitoitua
I am a big Pitoitua fan, but he did not have a good day on Friday. In OL/DL drills, he was put on skates on several occasions by the back up offensive linemen. Granted, these were drills where it was two linemen vs one defender, but his performance compared to the rest of the defensive line was hard to watch.
During team drills, Taylor Lewan ended up causing a pile of defensive lineman (Jurrell Casey and Piroitua specifically) after blowing Pitoitua off the ball.
While he didn't look good on Friday, Pitoitua is a great fit in this scheme and he will likely come back strong.
The Ugly: Tommie Campbell
As a big Campbell fan, it is hard to watch quarterbacks pick on #37. Campbell is the second most athletic player on the roster (behind Hunter) and with his combination of size and speed, I thought he would have a big year in sub packages with Ray Horton calling the plays. However, he gave up too much cushion and just had a rough day overall dealing with the Titans receivers.
Paul Kuharsky of ESPN said it best here.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Campbell already roasted twice by Hunter on deep balls. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Titans?src=hash">#Titans</a></p>— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulKuharskyNFL/statuses/495310595655491586">August 1, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>If I was quarterbacking <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Titans?src=hash">#Titans</a> in practice, I would immediately throw to WR covered by Campbell. Add Preston to list of guys beating him.</p>— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/PaulKuharskyNFL/statuses/495314423763181568">August 1, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Campbell is a great special teams player, give or take a lot of penalties. If he can keep his play clean on that side of the ball then he will have no trouble making the team. If not, it may be time to try out some of the promising new DBs.