On Thursday, the Tennessee Titans were scheduled to wrap up mini-camp at Saint Thomas Sports Park. However, Head Coach Mike Vrabel gave the team the day off in favor of spending time working with the local police department on gun safety. This is the last time the whole team will be together until training camp begins on July 26th. Despite having no practice, Vrabel met with media members on Thursday afternoon. He discussed the trip to the local police station and the state of the team in this press conference.
Titans Training Day
Thursday was supposed to be another day of practice for Tennessee, but they took a field trip to the Metro Nashville Police Training Academy. They were given instruction on gun safety and other topics related to police work.
“I thought we put the ball down yesterday. I thought we got some stuff done,” Vrabel said. “The health of the team, I think, is good. The conditioning is good, and so I think there is a fine line between always practicing and grinding these guys and having an opportunity to get away from this building.”
This reward allowed the Titans to learn gun safety and also was a bonding experience for the team. Vrabel said that all players were present for the trip.
Offseason Impact
Vrabel’s decision to cancel practice looked to show that he was happy with the way the team performed through OTA’s and mini-camp. He echoed this sentiment, but also pumped the brakes on his confidence.
“We’ll find out a lot about this football team and where we’re at, at the end of July when the pads do come on,” Vrabel said. “There’s always gonna be players that will surprise you, there are gonna be guys that stand out when you put pads on and go.”
Many reports from mini-camp stated that the offense has struggled against the improved Titans defense. This is likely due to the injuries on the offensive side and the difficulty of implementing a new offensive plan. However, it is worth paying attention to which unit is winning when training camp comes around.
Health of the Team
Throughout the last week, reports surfaced that some wide receivers were battling injuries. This included the top two options on the roster, Corey Davis and Rishard Matthews. Right tackle Jack Conklin is also coming off of major knee surgery and did not participate in any of the offseason activities.
“With the exception of Jack [Conklin], I would hope that we come back as a healthy football team,” Vrabel said. “[General Manager Jon Robinson] and I will discuss all of the PUP and all of those different lists that go on, but I would imagine we would be pretty healthy coming back here.”
Titans fans can relax knowing that the team’s already weak wide receiving corps will not head into training camp injured. Davis is expected to make a large impact this year after he missed time last year due to a hamstring injury. A healthy Titans roster is all anyone could ask for right now and that is what should show up come training camp.
Offensive Implementation
Putting Matt LaFleur’s offense in place is one of the more prominent stories fans are looking at this offseason. Former offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie’s offense was underwhelming and many are looking for a spark from the young coach who engineered the Rams great attack last year. The playbook was put in throughout the offseason and seems to be almost ready for training camp. Vrabel had an update on Thursday.
“I think we got most of everything in,” Vrabel said. “I think that it needs work, like a lot of things, but I think that we were able to get most of the stuff in. Once we come back we’re gonna hit more of the situations, specific situations that come up.”
Marcus Mariota is expected to flourish in the new offense like Rams’ quarterback Jared Goff did last year. He said earlier in the week he will be heading home to Hawaii and to California for the next month. This will include some work with his receivers in order to be ready for the season in the new offense.
Other Topics
Vrabel gave a closing to the team-bonding activity the Titan Games. Offensive lineman John Theus won a shoot-off at the training academy to win the real life Fortnite game. The game was followed widely on the social media accounts of Will Compton and Taylor Lewan. He also mentioned that he has a countdown on his phone for the Titans’ opener at Miami. 87 days until Week 1. However, the next time the team will reconvene will be on July 26th for the first practice of training camp. Almost there Titans fans!
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