NASHVILLE – Titans Coach Brian Callahan held a press conference on Sunday at Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park, one day after his team's 17-13 preseason win over the 49ers.
Next up: A pair of joint practices vs Seattle, and a preseason game against the Seahawks next Saturday at Nissan Stadium.
Here's a look at the hot topics from today's presser:
-Callahan said the team expects to get safety Jamal Adams back at practice this week, and safety Quandre Diggs back into a full workload after signing with the team last week. Callahan said offensive lineman Leroy Watson should be in a position to return to practice this week as well.
-Linebacker Luke Gifford will miss time after suffering a concussion on the opening kickoff against the 49ers. Gifford is in concussion protocol.
-The Titans are scheduled to practice against Seattle on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Callahan said because the starters are expected to get two days of physical work against the Seahawks, many of them might not play in preseason game No.2. "I'll officially give you some more play time information at the end of the week," Callahan said. "But the starting point (for the starters) will be to play a little bit less, if at all, depending on how the two practices go against Seattle since it will be such heavy load on those guys. The emphasis will be for the 1s to get a lot more reps (in the joint practices) and the 2s and 3s play a lot more in the game."
-Callahan said his expectation is defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, edge Harold Landry and cornerback L'Jarius Sneed might not play at all in the preseason. "I don't need to see a lot of Jeff and Harold, those guys have kind of proven it," Callahan said. "And L'Jarius won't play in the preseason, I don't see that being the case. Maybe we decide by the last week that Harold and Jeff go out for a couple of plays just to knock the pads around. But as if right now, I don't know that those guys will play."
-Callahan singled out veteran Daniel Brunskill and third-year player Andrew Rupcich when asked about the offensive linemen behind the first group on Saturday. "It was a good game for him," Callahan said of Rupcich, "a positive performance." Callahan said it was a "good start" for the first-team offensive line while also giving back-up Jaelyn Duncan a shout-out for doing some good things.
-Callahan said running back Hassan Haskins performed well on special teams, while Julius Chestnut had a better day carrying the football, and in the passing game. Callahan said those players are battling for a spot behind running backs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears will acknowledging keeping four backs on the 53-man roster would probably be a luxury.
-Callahan said it "felt good calling plays" for the first time on Saturday night, and he thought the process went smooth. "I feel a lot better now than I did 24 hours ago," Callahan said.
-Callahan said rookies T'Vondre Sweat and Jaylen Harrell both dealt with first-game nerves, and he expects them both to settle in and improve in the next game.
-Callahan said linebacker Chance Campbell had "a great outing" by playing "loose and fast and aggressive." Callahan said he thought Otis Reese IV also played well, and they made the most of their opportunities. Callahan said rookie James Williams has flashed as well during practices.
-The Titans went for it on fourth down twice in Saturday's game, once on a fourth-and-one at the San Francisco 2 in the first half, and the other time on a fourth-and-one at the SF 49 in the fourth quarter. Callahan said the team "will maintain our aggressiveness when our analytics tell us it's the right time to go." Callahan said decisions moving forward will depend on other variables, such as field position, time of game, the opponent's defense, etc. "We'll be aggressive on fourth down," Callahan said, "as long as it's in the parameters of how we have the game set up, and it varies from game-to-game. … We won't be afraid to go for it."
-Callahan noted the importance of Rob Riederer, Assistant Director, Football Strategy for the Titans, on game days and during the week. Calahan said Riederer will lead the team's "game management," and will help the team make decisions on clock management, replays, time outs, when to challenge, etc. "He's the one I hear most of the game (in my headset)," Callahan said of Riederer. "He's the one I hear all the time. And he is like the rules expert on top of it." Callahan said Scott Cohen, hired in analytics by the team, will also be involved in the process. "Scott and Rob on game days are working in tandem together with the management part of the game," Callahan said. "And that's everything from time outs, clock management, replay, any situational calls that I need to be aware of. They are always monitoring that part of the game while I am doing the offense and defense and special teams. Those guys have been fantastic. (They're) super, super smart and we're lucky to have them."
