Updated: Sunday August 1, 2004 6:02PM 
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Postcards from Camp
TENNESSEE TITANS
Nashville, Tenn. | July 31
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Where's Don?
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In Nashville, where the Tennessee Titans stay home for training camp, working out at their roomy Baptist Sports Park complex, about a five-minute drive northwest of downtown. About the only thing new for camp this year is that the Titans installed the popular FieldTurf in their practice bubble, giving them a solid indoor option for those bad weather or sweltering high-humidity summer days.
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Banks' Shots
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Despite losing Eddie George, Steve McNair (9) and the Titans believe they can compete for a playoff berth.
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• The Titans are cautiously optimistic that third-year defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth has finally seen the light and is ready to turn all that potential into production. Haynesworth invited the scorn of both his head coach and some teammates this offseason when he showed up for a minicamp seriously out of shape, after choosing to do his conditioning in his college town of Knoxville, rather than with the Titans in Nashville.
Haynesworth changed his mind, however, and joined Tennessee's offseason workouts, shedding close to 40 pounds, according to Jeff Fisher. Haynesworth reported to camp this weekend at 323 pounds, which is actually four pounds below the range the Titans had wanted him to weigh.
"Once he joined the program, he kept his word and worked very hard," Fisher said. "And he has seen the results. I'd like to say he's turned the corner, but his play will determine that. And not just Week 1, but 16 weeks of play."
• After watching him run for a 5.3-yard average carry and two touchdowns on 18 attempts in the postseason, the Titans clearly would like second-year running back Chris Brown to be the guy who inherits most of Eddie George's touches. But Tennessee won't hesitate to mix in plenty of newly signed veteran Antowain Smith if Brown doesn't assert himself and lay claim to the No. 1 job.
"Hopefully we can split things, but I know it's Chris's job at this point," Smith said Sunday. "My role is to come here and help him out, give him a break when he gets tired. I'm here to give him a little advice and encourage him."
Pretty good attitude for a guy with a pair of Super Bowl rings on his hand.
• I like the way Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is approaching the task of replacing the pass rush talents of defensive end Jevon Kearse, who signed a $66 million free-agent deal with Philadelphia. Third-year pro Carlos Hall will start in Kearse's right end slot, while fourth-year man Juqua Thomas and a cast of rookies -- Travis LaBoy, Antwan Odom and the injured Bo Schobel -- are in the mix on the left side.
"It's like mutual funds," Schwartz said. "We've diversified our portfolio and lowered our risk. Jevon's a great player when he stays healthy. But now we've got out and bought some small-cap stocks, and maybe one of them will jump way up in value."
• Schwartz has me convinced that his moving longtime defensive end Kevin Carter inside to Robaire Smith's vacated tackle spot on a fulltime basis will be a success story. Carter was no longer quick enough to bring consistent pass rush from the edge, at least by the standards now being set in a league where the end position features athletic freaks like Kearse, Dwight Freeney and Jason Taylor.
But the Titans say Carter at 6-foot-5, 290 pounds is stout enough to bang with the big boys inside and still fast enough to wreak considerable havoc in the pass rush, given that he'll have a lot less ground to cover to the passer.
• Maybe Fisher and the Titans are living right. Tennessee's assignment in the regular-season opener got a bit less intimidating the other day. The Titans will travel to Miami to take on the Ricky Williams-less Dolphins on Sept. 12. No offense to Williams' expected replacement, Travis Minor, but being the first team to draw the in-disarray Dolphins is a certifiably huge break for the Titans.
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Fantasy Geek Note
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It currently requires a bit of a leap of faith to see big things in his future, but Tyrone Calico is well-positioned to assume the No. 3 big-play receiving role formerly held by Justin McCareins, who was traded to the Jets this offseason. Titans fans didn't like losing McCareins, who averaged 17.3 yards per catch and scored seven touchdowns in his breakthrough season last year.
But Calico in limited opportunities wasn't too bad either, averaging 16.5 yards on 18 receptions, with four touchdowns. The 2003 second-round pick needs to cure his case of the dropsies, but he has worked hard this offseason and the Titans coaching staff is hopeful of him even pushing Drew Bennett for the No. 2 receiver job.
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Room For Improvement
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With the Eddie George era over, the Titans need second-year man Chris Brown to reacquaint the offense with the home-run threat in the running game. Despite having about one sixth of the carries George did, Brown had Tennessee's rushing long gain last season, a 28-yard pickup. George's biggest run went for 27 yards, and he hasn't ripped off a run of longer than 35 yards since 1999.
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Factoid
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Can you say Marriott points? Since being hired on Jan. 31, new Titans linebackers coach Dave McGinnis -- the former Arizona head coach and one of the most well-respected teachers in the league -- has been living in a Marriott Spring Hill Suites that's around the corner from the team complex.
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Dear NFL Junkie
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One of the best stories in Titans camp is Jarrett Payton, who signed as an undrafted free-agent running back out of the University of Miami. The son of the late, great Walter Payton is a longshot to make Tennessee's roster, but a practice-squad assignment is well within reach. Four running backs all but have the team made: Brown, Smith, Robert Holcombe and fullback Troy Fleming, a sixth-round pick this year out of Tennessee.
Payton is in the mix for the No. 5 spot, if the Titans carry that many, and his challenge is to prove he can contribute significantly in a special teams role, which is something he doesn't have much experience with. Payton chose to sign with the Titans in part because head coach Jeff Fisher was once a Bears teammate of his father's. Fisher has a portrait of Walter Payton hanging in his office, but said Jarrett, perhaps sensitive to appearances of seeking preferential treatment, hasn't stepped foot inside yet.
"He does?" Payton said of Fisher's Payton portrait. "I didn't even know that. That's crazy."
Payton hung some artwork himself Sunday, taping an eight-photo collage of his father on the front of his locker, along with a football card of the man they called "Sweetness."
"I just decided to put it out here, because it's what moves me," Payton said of the photos. "I look at that and realize he [went to training camp] for 13 years. Some times during two-a-days you get up and you don't want to work. You get tired. But I look at that and say if he did it, I can do it."
Payton said he also has one of his dad's game jerseys with him at camp, from his final NFL season of 1987. After Sunday morning's practice, a Titans fan gave Payton a toy NASCAR race car that had been decorated in honor of his father, with No. 34 on the doors, a photo of Payton, and the paint job featuring the Bears colors and logo.
"It's pretty cool," Payton said. "I've never seen it before. Just something else to add to the collection."
Payton said not a day goes by that his father's legacy doesn't make some sort of impact on his life. "I talk about him every single day, every day of my life," Payton said. "So it's hard to forget. Everybody remembers him for doing great things and being a great person. That inspires me and shows me he had an effect on people's life."
Here's to another Payton who's ready to make a name for himself in the NFL. |
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Up Next
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Cincinnati Bengals, in Georgetown, Ky.
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