Training Camp Chronicle: Titans & Cardinals

By Sprung On Sports  |   Saturday, August 08, 2009  |  Comments( 1 )

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--Tennessee’s Task Tough Without Haynesworth--
The Tennessee Titans certainly had a magical season in 2008. They won their first 10 games of the regular season with the 7th ranked defense in the league; 9th against the pass and 6th against the run. Albert Haynesworth was a big part of the team’s success as a run stuffer, and it allowed the team to have more of a run-oriented, ball control attack under Jeff Fisher.

It allowed Kerry Collins to flourish as more of a game manager at QB for Tennessee, relying on the two-pronged attack of speedy rookie Chris Johnson, and battering ram LenDale White, who had 15 rushing TD’s in 2008. But without Haynesworth to stop the run, the team may have to rely more on Collins throwing the ball, and the entire team could get out of sync in 2009.

“I think the D will decline without Haynesworth,” said Scouts Inc analyst Matt Williamson to SprungOnSports.com, “which will put more pressure on the O, specifically the passing game-to step up. I don’t trust Collins to be able to do that.”

What worked for the Titans last year may not be there for them again in 2009, and their record could certainly suffer because of it.

--Warner Worries?--
Reports in Arizona say that Cardinals QB Kurt Warner will only be at 85% this season after offseason hip surgery. After leading his team to the Super Bowl, a healthy Warner is a must for a team that will feature young and inconsistent RB’s Tim Hightower and rookie Beanie Wells, and a WR in Anquan Boldin who is mired in trade rumors, no matter how much the Phoenix writers want to downplay it.
I doubt Arizona can afford not having Warner at full strength, but ESPN’s NFC West blogger Mike Sando downplayed the severity of Warner’s surgery.

“This surgery did not qualify as ‘major’ by NFL standards.” Sando told SprungOnSports.com. “The expectation is for Warner to be fine this season. He was the one who mentioned the pain he is experiencing post-surgery. Otherwise we probably would not know about it.”

So it seems like no big deal that Warner is experiencing at least some pain, but keep this in the back of your head as the season goes on. But an older QB coming off hip surgery seems like trouble to me.
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