Report By Jonathan Hutton
SOLID FIRST DAY
Mike Mularkey was very pleased with the way his team came to work for Day 1 of Training Camp. It wasn’t just coach-speak. Players said the same thing in the locker room.
Running back DeMarco Murray, who just began his sixth training camp, said Saturday was the best first practice he’s been part of. Others, like Dorial Green-Beckham, said the first practice set the perfect tone for what’s expected on a day-to-day basis.
There’s a long way to go for this team to be where they want to be, but it was hard to point to moments of sloppy play on Saturday. Mularkey had the officials back at practice today, but there weren’t many penalties thrown. That’s a start.
————–
#81 LOOKS LIKE #81
Andre Johnson is here and wasted no time jumping into the wide receiver rotation.
I expected to see the veteran enter the receiver mix at a slower pace, mainly because of the time it takes to learn a new offense. And it will take him some time. But his first practice looked much different than a player who signed on the same day players reported for camp. He was rotating in for the first drill, at times ahead of Green-Beckham and Justin Hunter.
He stepped in on Day #1 and showed he was brought in to help mold and motivate the younger players… but in more ways than just in the locker room. The first big impact he made with the Titans came on the field, not off.
“At this stage in my career, there wasn’t many opportunities for me,” Johnson said. “They gave me an opportunity and I jumped on it, and I’m just here to help out any way I can.”
Johnson arrived to the team facility around 9:00pm Friday, signed his contract and joined his teammates. He participated in a team walk-through Saturday morning before the first official team practice began at 2:40.
Johnson worked at Z receiver and made a handful of catches throughout the practice, including two grabs down the right sideline that resembled everything we’ve seen Andre Johnson do before (but in a different uniform). He made a catch early in the first team period where Marcus Mariota rolled to his right and connected with Johnson down the sideline in front of cornerback Antwon Blake. He brought in another ball over his left shoulder, catching it in stride before momentum took him out of bounds.
“I was just out there making plays, enjoying the moment,” Johnson said. “I’m just trying to get better as a player.”
He’s not a big talker and doesn’t let the outside chatter motivate him, but his first practice said a lot. His new teammates took notice.
Brice McCain has known Johnson for years. The two played together for five seasons in Houston, and the veteran defensive back said Johnson looked sharp throughout the first team practice.
“He looked very good today,” McCain said. “Well-polished. [He caught] some impressive balls. He looked like the Andre I’m used to seeing. I’m happy for him and I’m glad he’s on our team.”
Mularkey said the staff has only asked him to learn the Z position and will soon ask more of him working inside. Johnson said he’s already quizzing himself on all three wide out positions.
Check out Kuharsky’s Instagram video of Johnson’s first work as a member of the Titans —- https://www.instagram.com/p/BIf5_5xA5ap/
————–
ROTATION OPPOSITE MCCOURTY
McCain split the reps with Perrish Cox at outside cornerback, lining up opposite Jason McCourty. Each took first team reps, with McCain being the first player to work with the defense as practice began.
“We can’t slip one day because the next guy will pass us up, and I think that’s good for us,” McCain said.
————–
FIRST “WOW” MOMENT
Wide receiver Kendall Wright made the best catch of the day, reaching out and snagging a pass down the deep middle of the field with his left hand. It was a beautiful catch. Mariota had great touch on the pass, too.
————–
The re-vamped practice facility looks great. You can see photos from the @1045TheZone and @TitansRadio twitter and Instagram accounts.
While I prefer the “Trample the weak, hurdle the dead” slogan that is on the wall as players exit the locker room for the practice field, there are two main phrases we will hear and see a lot from Mularkey and others in the facility.
“Find A Way” and “WWW – Wake, Work, Win” are definitely two of Mularkey’s favorites, evident by the banners and signs both inside and outside the facility and on t-shirts given to coaches and players.
————–
DGB DROPS THE POUNDS
Dorial Green-Beckham gave himself a 10 out of 10 for his performance to begin camp. He at least deserved the high rating for his commitment to reporting to camp at 228 pounds.
The last time Green-Beckham weighed less than 230 pounds was his sophomore year in college, a year where he led the SEC in touchdowns. He said he felt quicker.
“I was competing… and I was in great condition,” Green Beckham said. “I was getting in and out of cuts a lot faster, getting off the ball a lot faster, and that’s important to me.”
Another benefit for DGB is his health. He’s not dealing with the same hamstring issues he faced at this time last year and he’s not having to think as much as did as a rookie trying to pick up a new offense.
Andre Johnson already told him to pick his brain and use him as a resource, something DGB said he’ll definitely take him up on.
“Me and him being big guys, we play a similar game,” Green-Beckham said. “Just going out there and watching him, seeing how he reacts, seeing how he plays, seeing how he gets off the ball and in-and-out of cuts, I’m just using that as an advantage for me.”
————–
MIDDAY 180 LIVE FROM TRAINING CAMP
Join me, Paul Kuharsky and Chad Withrow from Noon-3 next week for live broadcasts from Titans Training Camp. In past years the camp schedule has mostly been late afternoon start times, but Mularkey has several practices that will end around 11:00am. That will allow for four broadcasts next week for Midday 180. We’ll be live Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with players, coaches and practice observations.
Be sure to check out PK’s blog for more Titans notes and interviews here — http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ten/tennessee-titans
