With Jones out, McNair needs Calico
Luckily the 6-foot-4 Calico has practiced for two straight days and is ready to play Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts (11-0) after missing three straight games with a strained right calf.
“Any time you lose a guy in the receiving corps, it puts a little damper on your chemistry,” quarterback Steve McNair said Thursday. “I think with Ty coming back, with him knowing this offense and his size and his being physical with their cornerbacks, I think we need him.
“It’s not a tradeoff. I wouldn’t say that. But I think it’s one guy stepping down and one guy stepping up, and we’ve just got to keep the ball rolling.”
The Titans (3-8) came into this rebuilding season very young at receiver with only two veterans on the roster. Jones, the third-round pick out of Oklahoma, rose to the top of the rookies and started eight games. He even led all NFL rookies in catches before spraining his right knee for the first time.
Jones’ season ended without any contact last weekend when he crumpled to the ground coming out of a break in his pass route. He finished with 23 catches for 299 yards and two touchdowns.
“You’re never prepared to lose somebody, especially a starter,” said Drew Bennett, who’s been back two games after missing three with a dislocated left thumb. “It is nice that Ty’s coming back. I feel terrible for Brandon. It’s a bad injury, and he was doing so well.”
The timing couldn’t be worse going into Indianapolis.
McNair is coming off his best game in more than two seasons, throwing for 343 yards and three touchdowns against the 49ers. Ten of his 23 completions went to his receivers in a season where three tight ends are among the Titans’ top five receivers.
At least Bennett is feeling better and has 37 catches for 514 yards with one touchdown. The Titans will fill in for Jones with fellow rookies Courtney Roby and Roydell Williams, who caught three passes for 95 yards and a touchdown last week.
But they need Calico.
The third-year veteran has only 14 catches for 111 yards and had lost his starting job to Jones before the injury. He is recuperating from his own torn left ACL in October 2004.
“Right now I feel healthier overall, especially my knee. Those three-four weeks gave my knee time to rest or whatever,” Calico said.
Coach Jeff Fisher said he expects Calico, their second-round pick in 2003, to play as much as needed.
“I don’t anticipate there being a limit at this point to the number of plays he can play. He is in as good of shape right now as he has been in a number of weeks,” Fisher said.
It’s a combination that doesn’t match up well on paper with the Colts’ crew of Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Brandon Stokely. Harrison has 58 catches himself compared to 59 for Wayne.
Still, McNair promises he isn’t envious of the talent Peyton Manning has.
“We’ve got some great young talent on this ball club,” McNair said. “In the years to come, I think it’ll probably be the same duo with Brandon and Roydell and all those guys coming along. The next couple years, we’ll be in the same situation.”