The Titans saw star running back Chris Johnson carry the ball just five times for seven yards, but he did score the first touchdown of the game with 9:09 left in the first quarter. From there, backups Ringer (seven carries for 60 yards), Stafon Johnson (three for 23), and LeGarrette Blount (five for four) took over to pace Tennessee’s rushing attack.
Unfortunately for the Titans, rookies Johnson and Blount both made the news for the wrong reasons this past week. Johnson was attempting a remarkable comeback from a crushed windpipe he suffered from a weightlifting accident during his senior year at USC and ended up dislocating his ankle in the loss to the Seahawks. He will miss the rest of the season.
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Meanwhile, Blount punched another player for the second time in as many years on Wednesday in a night practice after his helmet was ripped off, as he took a swing at defensive end Eric Bakhtiari. Tennessee head coach Jeff Fisher downplayed the punch, which followed a much higher-profile incident on national television last year when Blount went after a Boise State player after Oregon’s season-opening loss.
With the depth at running back being a question mark for the Titans, they will need to get better production from their quarterbacks. Tennessee starting QB Vince Young was 5-for-6 passing for 78 yards with one interception against the Seahawks while backups Rusty Smith and Chris Simms combined to go 14-for-27 for 95 yards with one interception and took two sacks for 26 yards. Seattle backup QB Charlie Whitehurst outgained all of them combined with 214 yards.
The Cardinals also have some concerns under center following their preseason opener despite earning a 19-16 victory over the Houston Texans. Arizona starting QB Matt Leinart completed 6-of-7 passes for 49 yards but was sacked twice for 17 yards. Backup Derek Anderson threw for 88 yards on 13-of-22 passing attempts but threw two interceptions while third-stringer John Skelton may have been the sharpest of the three. Skelton connected on 5-of-6 passes for 84 yards, including the game-winning touchdown with 1:53 left.
To make matters worse, top wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald suffered a sprained MCL in his knee for the Cardinals and will likely be out until the regular-season opener at St. Louis. That takes away the team’s most valuable offensive weapon for the rest of the preseason and puts more pressure on the quarterbacks to perform. A positive in training camp though has been the development of rookie linebacker Daryl Washington, who had 13 tackles, a pass deflection and fumble recovery against the Texans. Washington is hoping to start as the replacement for departed free agent Karlos Dansby, who signed with the Miami Dolphins in the offseason.
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