Schulters anxious to show Titans what they missed
Schulters had an injury to his left foot last season, which limited him to three games, and the Tennessee Titans released him in June for salary cap reasons. He thinks it’s because they thought his career was over.
“Part of me thinks that, because obviously they could have signed me back if they wanted to. They could have signed me back, but I think they thought I was probably washed up and they wanted to go in a different direction,” Schulters said.
“I didn’t have surgery on my foot and see it in time to heal. They went in another direction. I just want to prove to those guys that Lance can still play, and he’s playing well still. He still has it in him.”
Schulters brought a fiery attitude to the Titans’ defense, an energy that his teammates could feed off.
Titans safety Tank Williams, who joined the team at the same time Schulters came in as a free agent in 2002, expects to hear lots of talking from Schulters before, during and after Saturday’s game between the two teams.
“We’ll probably talk to him on the phone a couple times before the game takes place. It was always fun playing with him with the energy he played with. To see that on the opposite side of the field will probably be just as exciting,” Williams said.
Lamont Thompson took over Schulters’ job, and Schulters landed in Miami with another Tennessee salary cap casualty, defensive end Kevin Carter. That doesn’t mean it’s been easy watching his ex-teammates struggle through another losing season.
“They don’t deserve it, but they’re rebuilding it and I think that those guys are just going through it right now because they know that they’re going through a rebuilding process. I’m pretty sure they understand what it is,” Schulters said.
And if the Titans happen to call for Schulters’ help in the future?
“I had a great time in Tennessee, so I’ll leave all options open,” Schulters said.
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PAYING DUES:@ Titans rookie Adam “Pacman” Jones apparently missed the memo on the importance of paying clubhouse dues. A sign placed outside the locker room Wednesday had his photo covered by the words “PacMan Jones Wanted! For skipping out on club dues!”
Players traditionally chip in money at season’s end, which is spread among the club’s lower profile employees. Several Titans weren’t happy that the first-round draft pick with $13.5 million in guaranteed money skipped out on his $500.
Maybe Jones was upset that he was an alternate for the AFC Pro Bowl roster at returner or by the comments from some of his teammates. But he started yelling in the team’s equipment area for a pair of socks while the locker room was filled with cameras and reporters.
A couple teammates helped defuse the situation, but Jones started yelling a couple minutes later that he only wanted a pair of socks.
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MISSING CARTER:@ Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth can’t wait to see Kevin Carter on Saturday.
“It’s going to be funny to see him in another jersey other than a Titans jersey,” Haynesworth said.
Haynesworth credits Carter with helping him on and off the field and said the veteran is someone he wants to copy as a fun-loving guy who was a great leader.
“He definitely helped me on the field as far as what to do, but mostly he helped me more off the field than he did on the field,” Haynesworth said.
But defensive line coach Jim Washburn may miss Carter more than anyone on the Titans, especially after what he did with five rookies on the line in 2004.
“He just helped them learn how to be a pro and get their first year under their belt, how to practice and be in the locker room, how to adapt to their first year of professional football. He just made it a real good experience. They leaned on him a lot,” Washburn said.
“They still talk about him a lot, still bring up their experiences with him. The still tell K.C. stories, which is fun.”
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WILLIAMS’ HONOR:@ Safety Tank Williams has been named by his teammates as the 2005 winner of the Ed Block Courage Award.
The award is presented to a player from each NFL team for his commitment to sportsmanship and courage.
Williams tore his left anterior cruciate ligament, lateral collateral ligament and posterior lateral corner on Nov. 14, 2004, which ended his season. But he returned to practice for the first day of training camp, less than nine months after his injury.
He has 68 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and four quarterback pressures. Previous winners include Steve McNair in 1999, Eddie George in 2002, Kevin Carter in 2003 and Keith Bulluck last season.