Healthy Sirmon, Bulluck provide strong linebacking corps
NASHVILLE — Salary cap slashing cost Tennessee five starters on defense this offseason. Luckily, the Titans still have linebackers Keith Bulluck and a healthy Peter Sirmon to avoid missing them too much.
Sirmon, who sat out the 2004 season after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament early in training camp, provided a glimpse of how well he’s recovered by leading the Titans with seven tackles Friday night in their 16-13 overtime exhibition loss to San Francisco.
Bulluck, on the cover of the team’s media guide, is the most senior member of the defense with his 79 games played and 52 starts.
“Pete and I, we have the experience, so dealing with a younger defense, we can calm them down in situations or give a lot of insight to how teams are trying to attack us and what’s going on at any given time,” Bulluck said Sunday. “I think that’s a big plus.”
The last time the Titans had both Sirmon and Bulluck on the field at their outside linebacker positions, they led the NFL in rushing defense and ranked 12th overall. They slumped to 27th overall last season with Sirmon among six defensive starters to miss at least one start to injury.
“We were just depleted as a unit,” Bulluck said.
Rebuilding will be much easier now that the Titans have reunited a pair of linebackers both drafted in 2000. Bulluck was the 30th pick overall in the first round, while Sirmon was the 128th pick in the fourth round.
The 6-foot-3, 235-pound Bulluck was one of only three defensive players to start each game in the injury-plagued 2004 season. He hasn’t missed a start since moving into the lineup in 2002 and was an All Pro in 2003 when he earned his lone Pro Bowl nod.
Linebackers coach Dave McGinnis, who turned down other offers to take this job last year, has high praise for his players. He mentions Hall of Famer Mike Singletary when talking about Sirmon helping his teammates and simply ranks Bulluck among the NFL’s top five linebackers.
“You’ve got a guy who can cover. A guy who can play the run. You got a guy that can rush, then you’ve got a guy so talented physically he can make some of the plays you can’t even put him in position to make, he’s got that kind of talent,” McGinnis said.
Bulluck has 607 total tackles in his career with 10 sacks, eight interceptions and four touchdowns. He had a career-high five sacks last season.
The 6-foot-2, 237-pound Sirmon was second in tackles to Bulluck in 2003 with a career-high 141. He helps quarterback the defense with little reminders to linemen in front and defensive backs behind.
“You can’t even overestimate how important that is,” McGinnis said.
Add in Brad Kassell in the middle who took over that starting job without a single practice in 2004, and the linebacking corps has the most experience on the defense.
Coach Jeff Fisher said the linebacking group has settled down.
“It’s really great to see them working together. I thought last week Pete had his best game … He’s much more comfortable. He’s knocked all the rust off. The three of them are working well together.”