Caravan comes to town
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Linebacker, however, isn’t among those needs.
One of the Titans’ talented, young linebackers came to McMinnville Tuesday night to sign autographs and pose for pictures during the team’s annual Titans Caravan. Rocky Boiman, a linebacker entering his second year from Notre Dame, was that player and fans were happy to greet him – even though some didn’t even know him.
Some fans, after having a jersey or football autographed, would look at the signature and ask Boiman, “What’s your name?”
But if Boiman’s play continues to improve, fans won’t have trouble remembering him for long. In his rookie season last year, Boiman set a Titans special teams record with 28 tackles.
“He’s going to be a tough guy to keep off the field,” said Titans media relations assistant Dwight Spradlin. “Last year when all the rookies came into camp, he was the player who grabbed the coaches’ attention right away.”
The problem for Boiman is he is currently stuck behind a talented group of linebackers that features two rising stars in Keith Bullock, a former first-round pick, and Peter Sirmon. Bullock led the Titans with 180 tackles and Sirmon was second with 130.
In the middle, the Titans re-signed Randall Godfrey even though he has a high salary cap figure. With those three figuring to be the starters, that leaves Boiman, Frank Chamberlin and Rocky Calmus as the back-ups.
“I’d like to make it on the field more, but if my role is special teams then that’s OK too,” said Boiman, who used the words “physical” and “intense” to describe his style of play. “I want to be a presence out there.”
As for the Titans’ schedule, it gets tough in a hurry. The season starts with a rematch of the AFC Championship, only this time in Tennessee, when the Oakland Raiders come to Nashville. Five of the next seven games are on the road and include teams like Pittsburgh, New England and Indianapolis.
“As a player, that’s the type of schedule you want,” said Boiman. “You want to play against the best.”