NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Things you need to know after two weeks of Tennessee Titans training camp.
1: Quinton Spain will start at left guard Saturday night. Good or bad, Monday would seem to be the time to move someone else into the spot to give him his time to audition for the starting role. I won’t be surprised, however, if Spain remains in place. Mike Mularkey said Spain has been more hot than cold, adding that the cold moments have included big mistakes. But I feel no real sense around the team that the Titans are especially impressed with any of the alternatives -- Jeremiah Poutasi, Brian Schwenke or Sebastian Tretola.
2: Running back Derrick Henry had a play in Thursday’s practice that illustrated why the team is so excited about him. He got through the line to the second level, where he encountered linebacker Nate Palmer, who appeared poised to deliver a big hit. Henry lowered a shoulder, and Palmer bounced off him like a swatted fly, flying backwards and landing on his backside.
3: I’ve gotten a lot of questions about the Titans keeping four tight ends. Last year they kept five on their initial roster, which really got people stirred up and was overkill. A two-tight end base offense will certainly have four. The first three are unquestioned: Delanie Walker, Craig Stevens, and Anthony Fasano. Phillip Supernaw is the fourth guy, and can be a good contributor. But he has to be more disciplined. Last season he had six penalties in his limited work, four on special teams. No one else had more than two on special teams. Only six players in the NFL had more special teams penalties.
4: On my radio show Wednesday, rookie receiver Tajae Sharpe said he thinks he dropped only one pass in training camp, a ball he had to really reach for that went off his fingertips. In that context, I was struck by Walker, who I saw drop three in the span of two days this week. Small window, small sampling. Walker is one of the team’s best players, and will continue to be a reliable target for Marcus Mariota. Don’t panic or anything.
5: Merely because of the size advantage he will have over a defensive back, receiver Dorial Green-Beckham should be a red-zone fade target. I often stand near the corner of the end zone during such drills, poised to snap pictures of such a play. It never happens. He was one-on-one split left on a recent play, and Mariota’s choice was a dart to Andrew Turzilli at the goal line to the other side. Maybe I am making too much of it, but the Titans just seem better and more comfortable with the throw Mariota chose there. If DGB isn’t a fade target there, his value isn’t what it could be. He seems best as using his size advantage on in-cutting routes underneath. Which is fine. But they have a lot of guys who can do that, and it doesn’t make him as dynamic as he could be, ideally, elsewhere on the field.
6: Jason McCourty says LeShaun Sims is really good with his eyes, and that Kalan Reed's speed shows all the time. The two drafted cornerbacks are in the mix of a batch of guys behind McCourty, Perrish Cox (back in the lead as the second cornerback) and Brice McCain. The games will help the Titans sort through Sims, Reed, Antwon Blake, B.W. Webb, Cody Riggs, Tyler Patmon and Blidi Wreh-Wison. My sense is that Sims has shown a bit more than Reed to this point, but that they are very close.
7: Don’t expect much DeMarco Murray or Andre Johnson in preseason games. Though Mularkey said Murray is stubborn and might not take no for an answer, Mularkey’s intention is to limit his snaps. Same for Johnson, who the coach says he knows enough about.
8: Steve Hutchinson, a likely Hall of Famer for his offensive line work with the Seahawks and Vikings, finished his career with a season as a Titan. He's working for the Titans in camp as a part of the pro scouting department. Taylor Lewan has picked his brain at times. After camp, Hutchinson will decide if he wants to be all in, and the Titans will decide if they want to add him full time.
9: Bishop Sankey worked some with the second team on Thursday. The first running back drafted in 2014 has a long climb to a safe roster spot on this team. He’s often been all the way at the bottom among the seven backs on the team. But Mularkey said Sankey is due to get some work higher in the rotation against San Diego. A lot of fans seem to think Sankey will be traded. I don’t know that he could bring much in return, though perhaps a needy team would swap a sixth-round pick for a seventh and Sankey, or something like that.
10: Mariota was working with five pass targets against no defense one day this week. He missed Green-Beckham on the right near the numbers, maybe 10 yards away. And the quarterback immediately took the blame for making a mistake, making it clear to everyone involved in that work that he was at fault. It's always good when a largely mistake-free quarterback who regularly gets the benefit of the doubt makes it clear that a mistake is on him when he makes one.
