NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans might have shortened up training camp if they had just limited their mistakes against the Dallas Cowboys.
Keith Bulluck let the news out Saturday afternoon with a tweet that Fisher would've ended camp if they had fewer than five penalties against Dallas. Unfortunately, the Titans were flagged seven times in the penalties accepted, so nothing gained out of the 30-10 loss to Dallas Friday night.
Asked about that, Fisher said the Titans would've earned a couple of evenings off.
"The over-under was five. We had seven, but there were four or five that were declined. They didn't have a chance and I knew it," Fisher said.
The coach wouldn't give up whether the challenge was given before kickoff or during the week leading up to the game and suggested checking Twitter for the answer. The Titans (2-1) wrap up training camp Wednesday with a schedule that has them practicing once a day Sunday through Wednesday, though a special team session is planned for Wednesday morning.
The Titans were flagged 14 times in the Hall of Fame game for 132 yards, a number that dropped to seven for 68 in a win over Tampa Bay. Tennessee was flagged seven times for 54 yards, a number that didn't include a holding call that helped erase a touchdown by Javon Ringer but didn't count because of an offsetting penalty on Dallas.
Fisher said the penalties did come down.
"We had some that were unnecessary, but we had some that I disagreed with. We had a couple of holds that I really didn't want to see called. We had a couple on special teams that were unnecessary," he said.
NICE FIND: The Titans didn't waste any time drafting All-American Javon Ringer in April when they found the Michigan State running back available. Ringer gave even more reasons why he should be the team's No. 3 running back with his performance against Dallas.
Ringer led the Titans with five carries for 33 yards with a long of 16 Friday night. He also returned two kicks for 74 yards with a long of 51 that set up Tennessee's first score.
"We drafted him because he has the ability," coach Jeff Fisher said. "We have a lot of backs on the roster that have ability. I'm pleased with his preseason thus far."
Ringer said his goal has been to produce every chance he gets.
"Inside, I still have some nerves but that's normally before any football game. Thus far, I've been able to go out there, handle myself well and act like I've been here before," Ringer said.
Ringer is fighting against Chris Henry, the second-round pick in 2007, veteran Quinton Ganther and undrafted free agent Rafael Little for a roster spot. That's why Ringer's plan is to never become complacent.
"Continue to keep working. Continue to progress. Continue to work hard in camp and practice. I still want to be more comfortable with the offense. I feel there's more opportunity to develop," Ringer said.
EYES OF TEXAS: Jeff Fisher let his Texas Longhorns go out for the opening coin toss against the Cowboys — Vince Young, fullback Ahmard Hall, safety Michael Griffin and tight end Bo Scaife. Hall said Fisher is good at setting a tone like that.
"He'll let you know he's thinking about that. That's a great feeling to have four guys you know, that you played with in college on the field with you. That's awesome. We hang out together all the time. We're Texas guys. We all go back to Austin all the time. We're from Austin. We hang out all the time and we're still together," Hall said.
Griffin called it a blessing for the former Longhorns to make it to the NFL and pointed out Roy Williams and Leonard Davis now play for Dallas.
"It was a great experience to go out there and call the coin toss. We have a lot of fans here. A lot of Texas fans here. And also a lot of Tennessee Titans fans here. It was a great experience to get to go out there as a captain, call the coin toss, you know, despite the loss. But it was a great experience," Griffin said.
