First of all, I’m stoked that there’s actually some stakes when the Tennessee Titans take the field against the Baltimore Ravens later tonight. The Ravens are on an all-timer of a win streak in the preseason, and the Titans can be the ones to end it. Maybe this isn’t “first round of the playoffs” intense, but let me have this, damn it. It’s been awhile since we’ve had some actual Titans football to talk about, and since I hate the Ravens, I want to see them lose regardless of whether the game is meaningless or not.
Training camp has been buzzing with names left and right, and tonight, we’ll presumably see some of them in action. Allow me to run through some of the players I’ll be watching closely tonight in Baltimore.
Malik Willis – I mean, come on. If you say anyone else first, you’re lying. All of us writers and podcasters out there want to sound so smart with some in-depth knowledge of this Titans roster and the camp battles between the 6th and 7th offensive linemen, but the fact of the matter is that this guy was drafted to get a crack at the franchise quarterback spot in the future, so all eyes are going to be on him. Mixed reviews out of camp, whether that’s to be expected or not, have made his progression all the more fascinating.
Roger McCreary – He’s been the talk of the defense so far in training camp. Now, it’s time to see if he can put that work in in a game situation.
Dillon Radunz/Nicholas Petit-Frere – I’ll give Petit-Frere some credit here. I didn’t expect him to come on this quickly, but it sounds like he’s really pushing Radunz in a battle over the right tackle spot that is much more legitimate than I initially thought. I doubt either of these guys will play too many reps, but I’m eager to see what kind of insight we can gain by the reps they do play.
Racey McMath – I don’t know if you can have a “meteoric rise” in practices, but if you can, McMath has had one this summer. The Titans passing game currently lacks a deep threat guy who can really blow past defensive backs, so if he can continue this momentum and carve out a role getting meaningful snaps, he could be that guy. He has the physical traits and tools to get there, he just has to put ’em all together. He has the opportunity to do so considering it looks like the Titans only have four spots at wide receiver that are already veritable locks.
Chig Okonkwo – You can put Okonkwo in that class of guys who you want to see the camp plays translate to in-game action for.
Theo Jackson – I’m eager to see how they plan on using Jackson. I don’t think they’re necessarily going to be revealing any major secrets in the first preseason game, but I’d like to see how Jackson fares in the situations they do put him in. Everyone is automatically slotting him into the Dane Cruikshank role, but I think he could offer a little more versatility than Cruikshank did.
Caleb Farley – Even if it’s just a couple of reps, I just want to see the man playing healthy. He’s going to be counted on to step up in a major way this season. I want to see that “so far, so good” stuff with my own two eyes.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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