Absent Jones not helping improve Titans’ return game

Nobody in the NFL was worse than the Titans returning punts in 2004, and only two teams were better when it came to kickoff returns. They bungled their quest for a reliable returner, and veteran receiver Derrick Mason wound up fair catching punts to avoid turnovers.

Mason is gone because of a salary cap cut, and the guy the Titans drafted to fill this job, Adam “Pacman” Jones, missed his third special teams practice of training camp Tuesday morning as his contract holdout reached its 12th day.

Coach Jeff Fisher has had receiver Brandon Jones, cornerback Michael Waddell and quarterback Shane Boyd catching punts to make sure he has someone ready when the Titans open the exhibition season Friday night against Tampa Bay.

“Our plan is to use Pac, but he’s got some work ahead of him from the standpoint of assuring that I’m comfortable putting him back there and fielding the ball,” Fisher said.

Ball security is the most important quality for Fisher, who set punt return records while a player with the Chicago Bears in the 1980s. After watching Waddell muff a couple punts in 2004, Fisher sent out Mason who fair caught 12 of his 24 punts.

That is the biggest reason the Titans averaged a league-low 4.6-yards per punt return.

“It’s not necessarily the blocking,” special teams assistant coach Alan Lowry said. “It’s who’s got the ball in their hand most of the time. There are teams that block better than other teams and have different schemes. All in all for the most part, it’s the guy with the ball in his hand.”

The Titans drafted Jones with the sixth pick overall to be their guy.

At West Virginia, Jones returned 37 punts over two seasons for a 10.9-yard average including a 76-yard return for a touchdown against East Carolina in 2004, and he averaged 25 yards on kickoff returns with an 87-yard TD against Boston College in 2003.

Agent Michael Huyghue said Jones worked with a punter catching punts until training camps opened and has been catching balls off a JUGS machine ever since.

“Adam is one of the better return guys in the country, and he takes pride in it … not like a side job in addition to being a cornerback. … He wants to be great at that position,” Huyghue said.

Huyghue received paperwork from the Titans on Tuesday that details the language of the proposed contract for Jones, and he will be in Nashville on Thursday and Friday to meet with general manager Floyd Reese hoping to conclude a contract.

Five of the top eight NFL picks have not been signed yet.

In the meantime, Fisher has been giving his other returners tips and coaching them through drills. Brandon Jones never returned a punt at Oklahoma, but he was the backup returner and returned punts in high school.

Brandon Jones is ready.

“I look forward to doing it to see how well I do it. It’s a challenge for me. Pacman is supposed to be the returner. I respect that. Until then, I have to take on my responsibility,” he said.

Roby returned three kicks for touchdowns in high school, and he averaged 20.3 yards per return at Indiana. He understands the Titans’ need for a good returner.

“Hopefully given the chance, I can go out and help in that,” Roby said.