NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It's that time of year again. Training camps throughout the NFL are coming to a close as the regular season draws near. For the Titans, Wednesday marked the end of training camp. Whether it was the very first training camp for the players or the 14th, most agreed it was a relief to have camp behind them.
Now the team can focus on its nationally-televised season opener at Pittsburgh on Thursday, Sept. 10.
"Overall, it was a good camp. It was a solid camp. We got a lot done during the training camp period, but we still have some work yet to do," head coach Jeff Fisher said. "I think from the work load, the intensity load and the speed and quickness at which we practiced, it was a good camp."
Rookie Sen'Derrick Marks enjoyed his first training camp in the NFL. After learning a lot during the offseason in organized team activities (OTAs), Marks entered training camp feeling good about his situation.
"It went pretty good, I enjoyed it. I know there are different types of camps with different ways coaches do things," said Marks. "I really learned a lot and learned about a lot of the guys. I learned how coaches like certain things and it was just a bonus from what I learned in OTAs."
The Titans had an extra preseason game this year, which broke up the first two weeks of training camp. It allowed the team to face another squad and see how they matched up after only one week of camp.
"I think the Hall of Fame game gave us a change of pace early on in camp and I think that was an opportunity for us to compete against another team," said linebacker David Thornton. "We were able to see where we were and just continue to improve as a group and continue to find our chemistry and continuity. "
Throughout the preseason, the Titans have struggled in different facets of their game just like every other team in the NFL trying to shake the rust off. It was important to get back to camp and work through the kinks to prepare for the regular season. One area the Titans improved from the first preseason game was penalties.
"I think we need to improve on both sides of the ball still and reduce penalties," said Thornton. "For the defensive side of the ball I know we want to get off the field on third downs more, continue to force more turnovers and fumbles. We need to play fast and be the type of hard hitting football that Coach Cecil wants us to be. "
August 26 marked the end of 27 days of camp which started on July 31. Many players stepped-up to try and secure roster positions and good things were displayed by the rookies. A typical day for a player started with a 6 a.m. wake up, breakfast at 7 a.m., weightlifting at 8 a.m., meetings at 10 a.m., lunch at 11:30 a.m., taping at 2 p.m., practice from 3:30-5:30 p.m., dinner at 5:45 p.m., meetings at 7:30 p.m., snack at 9 p.m., and lights out at 11:30 p.m. Repeat this with a few changes for 27 days and it's understandable why players are excited camp is complete. Even though it can be a rigorous schedule, the hard work is paying off.
"I think it was very successful, I think we got a lot of things accomplished," said Thornton. "All in all we need to improve in these final preseason games. I'm very excited about the 2009 season for the Titans."
