NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The pink shoes are in, and the pink gloves should arrive sometime Friday. Now if Titans running back Chris Johnson can just locate a pink mouthpiece, his outfit will be ready for Tennessee's game with Jacksonville.
Pink isn't the color most people think of in connection with football or the NFL. But the league is helping spread the word with four to five players on each team wearing the color National Breast Cancer Awareness month in October. Johnson, who doesn't have a personal connection to the disease, said it doesn't matter if pink isn't a manly football color.
"It's about breast cancer. You're supporting them," he said Thursday.
Johnson is the AFC's leading rusher with 351 yards and leads the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 457. The new shoes are mostly pink with some white thrown in, and Johnson said they fit nicely. Not that he will be wearing them until game day in Jacksonville to break them in.
"I don't want to get them dirty," he said.
Johnson also is busy rounding up tickets for friends and family from his hometown in Orlando, approximately a 90-minute drive south of Jacksonville. He is friends with Jaguars receiver Mike Sims-Walker, who also has a bunch of people coming to this game. That's good news for Jacksonville with the game being blacked out locally because it didn't sell out.
"Hopefully, they'll have more attendance at this game," Johnson said.
FOURTH-QUARTER SHUTOUT: The Titans can point to one area when trying to figure out why they are 0-3. Check out the fourth quarter.
The Titans have scored only a field goal in the fourth quarter and have been outscored 9-3 so far. Compare that to 2008 when they outscored opponents 123-64 while posting a 13-3 record. Asked about the struggles, Kerry Collins said it's a good question.
"I certainly take my responsibility throwing an interception last week and not making some plays in the previous two games. I think a lot of that falls on my shoulders," he said.
Collins lost a fumble on the final drive in the loss to Houston on Sept. 20 and was incomplete on his final 13 passing attempts in last week's loss at the New York Jets. He ranked fourth in the AFC for fourth-quarter passing in 2008 with a 90.9 passer rating.
The Titans have taken away two balls in the fourth quarter but didn't score any points off those. Chris Johnson said they need to be more consistent and keep working hard.
"Hopefully, this thing will turn around. We know we're a couple plays away from being 3-0," he said.
HENTRICH'S FUTURE: Punter Craig Hentrich likely was at least three weeks away from recovering from a strained left calf when the Titans ended his 16th NFL season by placing him on injured reserve Tuesday. Hentrich told reporters from The Tennessean and the Nashville City Paper it doesn't look good at this point for him playing again.
The punter is sticking with the team and helping his replacement Reggie Hodges and A.J. Trapasso, who was signed to the practice squad. Coach Jeff Fisher has said Hentrich will assist the special teams the rest of the season wherever possible. No talks have been had yet about the future, but Fisher said they would consider having him back if Hentrich wants to return.
"That's his decision. If he's effective, strong and is healthy and feels strong and is still hitting the ball, why wouldn't you entertain the thought of having him back," Fisher said Thursday.
Hentrich is a two-time Pro Bowler and has played in more games with this franchise than all but three players - Bruce Matthews, Elvin Bethea and Brad Hopkins. He also ranks seventh all-time for most punts with 1,150.
EXTRA POINTS: Keith Bulluck ranks 10th among current NFL players for most career tackles with 1,173. Among players drafted in 2000 or later, that ranks him second only to Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher (1,140). ... Titans safety Kevin Kaesviharn may be new to Tennessee, but he has 17 interceptions in his eight years of NFL experience. That ranks him second only to cornerback Nick Harper (20) for most career interceptions on this roster.
