‘Pacman’ trying to work his way onto field
The sixth pick overall is alternating with Tony Beckham with the first-team defense in preparation for Sunday’s home opener with Baltimore, a big improvement over last week when coach Jeff Fisher let Beckham handle all the work and said Jones wasn’t ready yet.
“We are splitting reps with he and Tony just to try to get him more involved in the defense,” Fisher said. “He also had some roles on special teams early in practice.”
Jones said he feels ready to help the Titans on defense after spending three weeks with the team. He missed all but three days of training camp in a contract holdout. If he manages to play Sunday, that will put him in a game with the cornerback he was drafted to replace: Samari Rolle.
“Me and Samari are real good friends,” Jones said. “Samari used to call me when I was in college, so he’s probably going to say make sure I keep my pad level low and just have fun.”
Fisher said Thursday he isn’t too worried about Rolle and Derrick Mason now being with the Ravens because the Titans’ offense has changed. He also doesn’t worry about Mason knowing the terminology on defense.
“We don’t anticipate being able to hear anyway. That is one of the benefits of playing at home because it is so loud. A lot of the stuff is hand signals and it is just getting lined up and knowing what to do. It would be difficult for him to pick up on any of the communication,” Fisher said.
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GATOR-VOL TRASH TALKING:@ With Florida and Tennessee tying for second in sending the most players to the NFL, it’s no wonder that there’s bound to be some Gators and Vols clashing in locker rooms before Saturday night’s game. Put them in lockers facing each other, and it only gets worse.
Former Gator tight ends Ben Troupe and Erron Kinney are separated by only a few feet from ex-Vol fullback Troy Fleming in the Titans locker room. Troupe said Fleming is his friend, but he knows people make mistakes.
“I was never ever my head coach’s favorite player you know … He’s the coach’s pet,” Troupe said with Fleming watching from behind TV cameras. “In all seriousness, it’s going to be a fun game.”
Asked for a prediction, Fleming yelled out, “35-15 Vols,” and Troupe said, “Just switch the ending.”
A couple stalls down, Kinney offered up his own prediction of Florida scoring 50 points and winning.
“Man, you’re not going to score 50 points,” Fleming said.
“They’re mad because they got beat last year. They keep talking about they got Urban Meyer … Their offense is better but really they’re not because they’ve got no running game.”
Luckily, former Vol defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and ex-Gator left guard Zach Piller stayed away from the fray.
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HAIR GONE:@ Safety Tank Williams has gone back to the clean look after not cutting his hair during his rehabilitation from a torn left anterior cruciate ligament that ended his 2004 season last November. He shaved his head before last weekend’s game with Pittsburgh.
“No particular reason, just time for it to go,” Williams said.
“I wouldn’t have felt like I was breaking a promise if I didn’t cut it off. I felt it was time.”
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NO PERFORMANCE ENHANCING:@ Coach Jeff Fisher is taking part in a public service campaign trying to educate high school athletes and teenagers in Tennessee that they don’t need to use performance enhancing drugs or steroids to compete.
He has joined up with BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association in the campaign including posters and radio announcements. His main message is to stay healthy and know the consequences of using such drugs and steroids.
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BLOOD DRIVE:@ The Coliseum will be the site of an eight-hour blood drive on Saturday as the Titans try to provide some relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina. They are encouraging donors to also bring some nonperishable food for Second Harvest, and volunteers for the American Red Cross will be collecting cash and check donations before kickoff on Sunday.
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EXTRA POINTS:@ The Titans are 33-15 at home since 1999 when they moved into The Coliseum, a record that is tied for fourth-best in the NFL with Indianapolis. They trail St. Louis (39-9), New England (36-13) and Green Bay (35-13) in that span. … They trail only Denver for outscoring opponents in the first quarter since the start of the 1995 season — coach Jeff Fisher’s first full season — with a plus 232 point differential. Denver has a 441-point advantage.