NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A couple of notes, a couple of quotes and a couple of thoughts out of the Titans' organized training activities session Tuesday morning.
Two receivers made nice sideline plays, showing nice body control and feet. Nate Washington climbed the ladder and spun on the first, which was delivered by Vince Young to a spot where nothing bad could have happened but wasn’t exactly crisp. Justin Gage's play wasn’t quite as nice and came on a better thrown ball from Young.
Will Witherspoon had a short-range interception over the middle of Kerry Collins.
During a punting period, Ken Amato struggled to snap consistently and Brett Kern had to show off his athleticism to collect a few of them. (It couldn't have been a wild snap drill, could it?) Damian Williams was among the handful of players fielding the punts and looked comfortable, but there was no one coming at him in a drill that was about the punts not the returns.
First-rounder Derrick Morgan was dealing with some tightness left over from Monday and wasn’t a participant. Jeff Fisher said the team is being careful and indicated it’s not a big deal.
Fourth-round corner Alterraun Verner and undrafted running back LeGarrette Blount were the two missing rookies. As their classes at UCLA and Oregon are still ongoing, NFL rules prevent them from joining the team yet. They will surface in June.
Jeff Fisher’s not nearly as worried about the Titans’ leadership void as I am on a team that’s minus Kyle Vanden Bosch, Kevin Mawae, Keith Bulluck and Alge Crumpler: “A lot has been made of this, but I’m not concerned about the leadership on this football team. You can have leadership and you can have an awful locker room. This is a good locker room. …There are enough guys here that will step up.”
Always reluctant to go the hypothetical route, Fisher delved into Keith Bulluck a bit: “Hypothetically if Keith was fine for the start of training camp and able to play in the preseason games and is 100 percent and we were able to get him under contract, he’s a starter, yeah. But that’s the best-case scenario and it’s not going to be a realistic scenario just from the timing standpoint as you deal with the ACL.” I feel confident the Titans are moving forward with no intention of re-signing Bulluck, who’s unrestricted.
As for the other incumbent outside linebacker, David Thornton, who’s coming off shoulder and hip injuries: “He’s still a ways away right now,” Fisher said. “Right now he’s not able to practices, so no, he’s not [a starter]. …[His injury tendency] is a legitimate concern. Sometimes guys will have a couple years where they have issues and then can put it behind them and can play a number of more years. It’s not going to be because David didn’t work at it.”