TITANS IN PRESEASON HOME OPENERS: The Titans continued their success in home preseason openers. With their 24-10 victory over the Cardinals, they are now 9-3 in their initial preseason appearances at LP Field, which opened in 1999. Their overall preseason record at LP Field is now 16-7.
TITANS SCRATCHES: The Titans not in action against the Cardinals were wide receiver Justin Gage; cornerback Cortland Finnegan; linebackers David Thornton and Colin Allred; defensive tackle Tony Brown; and defensive ends Jacob Ford, Williams Hayes and Derrick Morgan.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION: All four Titans quarterbacks played Monday night. Vince Young directed four drives before yielding to Kerry Collins, who totaled four series in the second and third quarters. Chris Simms led two drives, and then rookie Rusty Smith was inserted for the final two drives.
VERNER WITH FIRST START: With Cortland Finnegan not starting against the Cardinals due to a groin injury, rookie cornerback Alterraun Verner received his first start of the preseason. Verner, a fourth-round draft choice out of UCLA, notched two tackles and one pass defensed in the game.
BIG CATCHES: In the first quarter, Vince Young lofted a 30-yard pass to third-year tight end Craig Stevens, who in two previous regular seasons has totaled one catch for nine yards. Later in the same drive, Young connected with wide receiver Nate Washington on a 28-yard pass. The two big plays helped set up Chris Johnson's eight-yard touchdown run.
TITANS WIN CHALLENGE: On the last play of the first quarter, a pass from Vince Young to Nate Washington was ruled incomplete. Head coach Jeff Fisher challenged the call, and the replay showed Washington's hands were between the ball and the turf. The call was reversed to a 10-yard completion for a first down.
DAMIAN WILLIAMS PRODUCTIVE IN FIRST OUTING: Rookie wide receiver Damian Williams missed the first preseason game in Seattle due to a hamstring injury. Monday night against the Cardinals, the third-round pick played for the first time. He led the team with four receptions for 40 yards, and he fielded two kickoffs for 53 yards and two punts for 12 yards.
YOUNG CAPS EVENING WITH LONG DRIVE: Vince Young quarterbacked four drives in the first half, and the Titans scored on the last two. To cap his evening, he led a 15-play, 84-yard march that resulted in a 29-yard field goal by Rob Bironas. Young's final numbers for the game included nine completions for 128 yards on 13 attempts (100.8 rating).
TRAHAN MAKES PLAY ON SPECIAL TEAMS: In the third quarter, rookie linebacker Patrick Trahan made a big play on special teams to put the Titans in scoring territory. The Cardinals faced a fourth-and-two at their own 28-yard line. Punter Ben Graham mishandled the snap, and before he could recover and punt the ball, Trahan wrapped him up for a 13-yard loss.
MARIANI'S LONG KICKOFF RETURN: In the fourth quarter, rookie Marc Mariani provided the Titans' longest play of the preseason through two games. He took a Jay Feely kickoff in the end zone and raced 60 yards to the Arizona 41.
GADO SCORES TWICE: The Titans relied on running back Samkon Gado for production in the third quarter, despite the fact that Gado was just signed by the Titans as a free agent six days prior Monday night's game. Gado carried seven times for 21 yards, including a pair of four-yard touchdown runs within a span of three minutes.
