How Titans use Henry, Brown remains to be seen
But that combination hasn’t been seen yet, with the Titans preferring to be cautious with the health of their running backs going into Thursday’s preseason finale against the Green Bay Packers.
Brown sat out the opener with tight hamstrings, and Henry carried four times for 12 yards before coming out with a sprained left toe. He hasn’t played since, and coach Jeff Fisher said Tuesday that the Titans prefer to take it easy on the veteran.
“Travis is an experienced back, he knows our offense. He is paying attention. The health is a big concern,” Fisher said. “He is running and starting to change directions. He is doing much better. It is unlikely that we’ll play him on Thursday night.”
The Titans, who went 5-11 in 2004 with an injury-ravaged roster, open the season Sept. 11 at Pittsburgh. Henry said he will be ready.
“I’ve been in there taking mental reps. I’ve been going through walkthroughs, so I’m right there,” Henry said.
His only worry right now? Not having been hit enough.
“I haven’t had a chance to do that. That’s the only thing I think I’ll be rusty at,” he said.
The Titans know both running backs can carry the ball.
Henry has started 48 of 53 games in his four-year career at Buffalo, averaging 4 yards per carry with 963 rushes for 3,849 yards. He also caught 103 passes for 691 yards and has scored a combined 67 touchdowns.
Brown is heading into his third NFL season and has been an explosive runner with his 4.46-second speed in the 40. He had runs of at least 12 yards each in each of his 11 games in 2004, including a long of 52 in the opener at Miami.
But he struggled first with a sprained ankle, then a painful turf toe that limited him to a half in several other games. He still finished with 220 carries for 1,067 yards and six touchdowns.
That prompted the Titans to trade a third-round draft pick to Buffalo in July for Henry, the all-time leading rusher at the University of Tennessee.
The duo were on the field together a few times during the first two weeks of training camp. But how the Titans choose to use the running backs really remains to be seen.
Who starts? How will carries be divvied up?
Brown isn’t worried.
“I’m confident we’re going to be all right once the season starts, getting in the flow of things, just start things off good and keep them running. We both know the offense. We know all the situations. We’re going to go out and whoever (the) coach wants in there is going to go in there and perform,” he said.
“We’ll be all right.”
Henry believes everything will be worked out once the season starts even though he said he’s not sure how the coaches will handle them.
“I’m assuming whoever gets in a good rhythm and moving the offense, moving chains. I’m guessing that’s how they’re going to do it,” Henry said.
That means stay tuned.