Secondary steps up in Titans’ final tune-up

By DUANE SHERRILL Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Titan linebacker Keith Bulluck snags a Samari Rolle tip of a Bret Favre pass Friday evening and takes it home for a touchdown. The Titans completed a 3-1 preseason with a 24-7 win over the Packers in Nashville. They open their season at Miami next Sunday.

Questions of a suspect secondary were answered somewhat Friday evening when the Titans ended their preseason campaign by rattling future hall-of-famer Bret Favre, picking him twice, once for a touchdown.

Speculation as to the abilities of the Titan secondary began circulating after 40-year-old Cowboy quarterback Vinny Testaverde passed for 240 yards against the Titan defense in the Cowboys’ three-point win over the Titans last week in Dallas. Questions as to the secondary were amplified by the offseason departure of pass rush specialist Jevon Kearse, who is now an Eagle.

However, the return of corners Samari Rolle and Andre Dyson injected new aggression in the secondary Friday evening as the Titans held Favre to 113 yards in a 10-of-20 passing outing for the veteran quarterback, most of the yards coming in a late second quarter 53-yard hook up with Robert Ferguson.

“The fact of the matter was he (Testaverde) wasn’t facing Samari and Andre last week,” said Titan head coach Jeff Fisher of the secondary’s improvement Friday evening. Both corners had been sidelined the past weeks with minor injuries, both returning and seeing significant playing time Friday evening.

Rolle was directly involved in two big plays, the first of which happened early when he deflected a Favre pass into the hands of linebacker Keith Bulluck who took the interception in for the opening touchdown. His second game altering play came minutes later when he cut off a slant route intended for Packer wideout Javon Walker, taking the interception deep into Packer territory.

Wideout Derrick Mason scored on the next play.

The effort came in a game which saw both teams play their offensive starters until halftime, with the Packers staying with receiving standouts Javon Walker, Robert Ferguson and Donald Driver throughout the opening half. Ferguson led the Packer contingent with two catches for 59 years, most coming on his long touchdown catch.

Driver and Walker also had two catches apiece, both held to under 15 yards receiving.