NASHVILLE, Tenn. —Practice No. 9 of training camp is in the books for the Titans. Here's a look at five things that stood out from Monday's session.
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Mariota's Day:** Rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota and the offense played football on the fly on Monday – a good portion of practice was unscripted. On the day, Mariota completed 10-of-20 passes, and once again didn't throw an interception. He's now gone nine straight practices – and 160 throws – without a pick. Mariota threw a touchdown pass to tight end Phillip Supernaw in one team drill, and made a nice throw downfield to tight end Anthony Fasano later. Toward the end of practice, the offense worked in situations with little time on the clock. With just 18 seconds to work after the ball was placed near midfield, Mariota wasn't able to connect with receiver Hakeem Nicks, but he found Fasano open and the completion set up a Ryan Succop field goal. In another period with even less time on the clock, Mariota ran a quarterback draw, and that put the offense in position for another Succop field goal. Mariota started off a little slow in practice, completing just one of his first four attempts, but he was 4-of-8 in a two-minute period that also included a nice throw Kendall Wright.
Defense Making Noise: Defensive lineman Ropati Pitoitua showed up on at least two plays during Monday's session. He busted through the middle and put a big hit on running back David Cobb in one drill near the goal line, and later got his hands on a football at the line of scrimmage, batting a Mariota throw down. Several defensive linemen got physical on Monday. Al Woods, Karl Klug and DaQuan Jones were among those with big hits, but some others got in the mix, too. Safety Daimion Stafford and linebacker Avery Williamson got attention when they made noise with their shoulder pads. Things got a little feisty in several periods.
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It was United Way Day on Day 9 of Titans training camp at Saint Thomas Sports Park. (Photos: Susanna Nickell)
More Chances:** Rookie receiver Dorial Green-Beckham got more opportunities with the first-team offense on Monday. Green-Beckman, the team's second round pick, is being reward for his improvement, while also getting a taste playing with the front-liners for experience. Green-Beckham sure looks the part. He's had his rookie moments in camp, of course, with too many drops. But he's also shown flashes that encourage his coaches, and provide optimism he'll be able to make plays in the offense during the early portion of the season.
Injuries: Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson had his left ankle in a cast and he was on crutches in the locker room. Wreh-Wilson suffered a high ankle sprain in Saturday's practice, and is expected to be sidelined a few weeks. Cornerback Jason McCourty (groin), tight end Delanie Walker (shoulder) and tackle Taylor Lewan (shoulder) also missed practice, and receiver Clyde Gates went off early. Tackle Byron Stingily returned after missing time with concussion symptoms.
Off PUP: The Titans activated nose tackle Sammie Hill from the Physically Unable to Perform list on Monday, but right now he's just taking part in individual drills. Hill worked on a side field during the first part of training camp because of the knee injury he suffered during the offseason. He still has a ways to go to get back into football shape, but Monday was a start.
