Titans Day One!!

Day one of Titans training camp is now in the books! It was a perfect day weather wise Friday out at Baptist Sports Park…Titans Owner Bud Adams was even in attendance, he watched from a porch overlooking the entire practice fields.

Here are just some of my observations from the first day of camp…

The attitude was very businesslike…the team came out and was quiet and focused. There wasn’t a whole lot of goofing around, the Titans just went to work. I feel like they treated it as just any other practice, if you didn’t know any better you couldn’t tell it was the first day of training camp.

Lendale White looks like he has lost even more weight than during the offseason…even though they wore no pads, White looked explosve and…yes, skinny! His contract year is going to be a GREAT thing for this team this season. CJ looked like his usual “speedy” self. I thought Javon Ringer also looked good.

Jared Cook is a beast. He just towers over that practice field, and he made some great catches today during 7 on 7. I’m looking forward to seeing him in preseason action.

The defense looked good again today….picking up right where they left off during OTA’S. Ryan Mouton made some great plays, and almost had an interception off of Patrick Ramsey.
Chris Hope picked off Kerry Collins, and Vinny Fuller and Cortland Finnegan looked very good as well. Head Coach Jeff Fisher says he expected the defense to look strong, since the team is reintroducing the offense piece by piece. He said, the offense will start attacking soon…wait for it.

I was really impressed with the way Jevon Kearse looked…the “Freak” is not done yet!! He had knee surgery this offseason, and I was worried that he might have to miss some time during training camp. He flew around, got to the quarterback, and moved really well! I asked him about his knee after practice, and he said, “oh yeh, I had forgotten about it until you just asked me.” You gotta love the “Freak”.

First round draft pick Kenny Britt was missing….he’s still not signed, but Fisher told us that a deal is close….of course that’s what he said yesterday too, so who knows. The guys in the locker room reacted to Britt’s absence…for the most part they all want him to get into camp but understand that it is still a business. When Collins was asked about the effect of Britt’s hold out, he said of the team “we’re not phased by a whole lot.”
I think Britt needs to get into camp as soon as possible. He missed some time during OTA’s with that hamstring pull, and he needs the work with a new offense more than others. With a shortened and easier camp schedule (not as many two-a-days) Britt will suffer if he misses too much time.

Rob Bironas didn’t practice, Fisher said it was just a strain, and center Kevin Mawae sat out (remember he had surgery last season for an elbow injury) With Mawae entering into his 16th NFL season, I”m pretty sure he knows what he needs to do to get his body ready for the season. He said after practice that he knows what has to be done, that they’re just not pushing it, and that he’s not worried. I’m not either.

This is a veteran team that has worked hard to stay in shape and conditioned during the offseason, and it seems to show.

Day 2 tomorrow at 3:30…more to come!

Training Camp

It’s the eve of training camp for the Titans and once again this year we’ll try to give you a FULL daily update on the happenings at Baptist Sports Park. Who practiced well, who didn’t, whatever… Just keep in mind Mike Williams looked great at times last year and didn’t even make it to the first preseason game.

Today we got a chance to talk to the head coach and Jeff Fisher knows this has the chance to be a special, special year in Music City. It’s not often a coach goes into the season with a roster he KNOWS can win the Super Bowl. Fisher knows the opportunity is there and it’s time for the league’s longest tenured coach to finally hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

News today. Kenny Britt is still not signed but Fisher says they’re close and wouldn’t be surprised to see him signed and on the practice field tomorrow. Kevin Mawae is still recovering from tricep surgery though and they still are not putting a timeline on his return. That means LeRoy Harris starts camp as the starting center.

The fun starts tomorrow at 3:30! We’ll see you then!

Get It Done

On the eve of training camp for the Titans my mind is can’t let go of the teams contract situation. No, not first round pick Kenny Britt, but veteran defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch.

KVB is just one of a host of players entering the final year of his contract and I simply can’t imagine this team without him. No player did more to help turn this team around and lead them into this new era. Rookies come in and they see the example he sets and they know the level they’re expected to practice and perform at. Players like Cortland Finnegan, Dave Ball and Ryan Fowler have all publicly said they’ve tried to model their careers after him and give that same insane amount of effort each and every play.

The Titans have a great record of cutting bait when the time is right even when it’s not popular. He’s still fit, he’s still fast and he’s still a monster at defensive end. Get a deal done sooner rather than later and let the team know the Titans are ready to make an extended run at a championship.

Vick Reinstated By NFL

It’s official, Michael Vick has been conditionally reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

That means he can sign with a team immediately, began practicing, playin the final two preseason games, but would have to sit out the first six regular season games if he made the team.

Vick hasn’t played in the NFL for a while after spending 2 years in federal prison on charges related to dog fighting.

Should he or shouldn’t he? That seems to be the big question, but Goodell doesn’t have to answer it, money will. The NFL comes down to dollars, it’s a business and a multi-billion dollar one at that. If a team feels Michael Vick helps their bottom line they’ll sign him. If they feel the protests and dropped sponsorship dollars are too steep a price to pay they won’t. It’s that simple.

It’s capitalism at its finest and it will determine the future of Michael Vick, not Roger Goodell.

...........a true class act...

I have worked in tv 13 years now and I have interviewed a wide variety of people, from sports figures, to politicians, to movie stars, etc, you get the idea.  Every once in a while you will come across someone who is so rude, it makes you sick.  Every now and then, you will meet someone who is gracious and genuine.

Then you meet someone who is quite possibly the nicest person you will ever interview.  That happened to me on Friday, July 24th.  Had the chance to sit down with former Colts coach Tony Dungy, who was in Nashville speaking at a leadership conference.

He talked to Dawn Davenport and I for about 25 minutes, on and off camera and we touched on a wide range of topics…from Peyton Manning to Jeff Fisher to Michael Vick to Tim Tebow…..he just didn’t give you the typical soundbytes you come to expect from so many, but gave insightfu,l great answers.

At the end of the interview, he said, ‘Joe, Dawn, thank you for your time.’  He heard my name once and Dawn’s name once, but when he repeated it, I was floored.  And then the closer, he says, ‘Is that all you guys need, anything else?’  Wow…that has never happened after an interview.

You know that feeling when you look at someone and tell yourself that no matter what that person did, he would be successful?  That is how I viewed and still view Tony Dungy.   Get back to coaching one day sir, cause you are a shining example of what is right.

.....the circus that is...

So the SEC Media Days are underway in Birmingham and over 900 credentials were issued to the ‘media’ to attend.  And I say ‘media’ loosely.  Cause you see, there are a lot of hard working journalists, both print and electronic who are there and doing their jobs properly.

And then there was this one guy who asked Florida QB TIm Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winning QB who is a devout Christian, not how he plans on winning a 3rd national title, or not if his future includes being in the NFL…..nope, Tebow is asked by this one ‘media’ member if he is a virgin….yep, his one question, ‘Tim Tebow, are you a virgin?’  The question was posed by Clay Travis who hosts a radio show in Nashville on Tuesdays on WGFX, 104.5 The Zone. 

Not quite sure of Mr. Davis’ resume but some have said he is an attorney and has written two books on the SEC and football.  Note that other sportswriters, who have a column every day, did not ask the question because it just wasn’t proper.  What Tim Tebow does with his personal life is not news.

Sorry Clay Travis, I hope your credential gets yanked.

Does Vick deserve a second chance??

It’s the question that will be asked over and over in the coming weeks. The former Falcons quarterback has completed his 23-month prison sentence for operating a dog-fighting ring, and now his fate in the NFL lies in the hands of Commish Roger Goodell.

Here’s my opinion…and I preface it with this: it is strictly one opinion.

I say yes.

It makes me sick to my stomach to think of the horrible things that he did, but I don’t think there has EVER been another professional athlete who has paid a higher price for one very bad decision. Think about it like this…Donte Stallworth ended up with just 24 days in prison for killing a man while driving drunk…Vick served 23 months. Vick has admitted his guilt and paid a steep price for it.

Don’t we all deserve a second chance?

I don’t expect him to be reinstated tomorrow, next month, or even this season, but at some point Vick should have a chance to show what he has learned from this. This is his chance to stand-up, show repentence, and help to teach the youth in our society the difference between wrong and right. He can help to teach the kids how money, fame and success can all be taken away from you with bad decisions. There’s no way he comes out of this as the same person he was before…he has no choice but to learn and grow from it.

As a dog lover I certainly don’t condone what he did, but I do believe we all make mistakes, some bigger than others, and we, as human beings, need that chance to make them right.

......A very cool thing...

If you happened to catch Sunday’s telecast of the ESPYS, towards the end, they honored former Lipscomb coach Don Meyer with the Jimmy V award for courage. 

Meyer lost his leg in a car accident last year and soon after, found out he had cancer.  Yet, he was still able to coach in every single game with his team, at Northern State, where he has been the head basketball coach for the last 10 years.   He coached at Lipscomb before that and left an indelible mark on this city and the players he coached.

It was great to see Ben Rothlisberger, Kobe Bryant, Michael Phelps and more of sports elite, stand to give Meyer an ovation.  Meyer’s speech was so good, if you get a chance to see the show again, make sure you watch it, it comes on towards the end.

Tom Watson shows age is still "nuthin but a number"...

I love it!! With Tiger Woods missing the cut, this year’s 138th Open Championship is still must see TV. 59 year old Tom Watson is putting on a show, showing the young kids just how it’s done!

Watson maintains a one shot lead heading into the final round of play, and he is as calm as ever. In one of his post-round interviews, he said he wasn’t nervous at all stepping up to the first tee box Saturday, and that the nerves never showed up all day. That was obvious…even with some tough winds, and some less than favorable shots on Watson’s part, he still managed to make amazing par saving putts to keep that one stroke lead over two guys some people have never heard of.

How do you like this….Matthew Goggin who sits one shot back of Watson, was just one year old when Watson earned his first Open back in 1975…That’s the beauty of the sport of golf.

Regardless of age, Watson said he expects to win this thing. He was quoted today as saying “This old geezer might have a chance to win this tournament”.

I for one, am rooting big time for that “old geezer”.

Things I Hate

Yes, there are a lot of things I hate, pre-season polls are just the latest. The only thing they are good for is speculation and conversation. No one, not USC, not Notre Dame, not Texas, none of them have shown us anything in 2009. Will they be good? Of course they will, but let’s let them prove it first.

I also hate pre-season teams!!! Eric Berry is phenominal, but he doesn’t have a tackle, a pick or even pass defended on his resume yet. If he does well, the hardware will be there at the end.

You’ll have to excuse me, I’m calling Nielson to see if they’ll assign ratings before the show airs tonight.

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