NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In Shane Bowen’s first year with the defensive coordinator title, he and Mike Vrabel emphasized a full conceptual understanding of the defense for players at every spot.

They wanted to build on a really bad defensive 2020 when the scope of defenders was apparently too narrow and they thought the unit's failure to fit together was part of the issue for an all-time bad third-down defense and a group that could not find even 20 sacks.

Pool photo/ George Walker, The Tennessean

The request was well-received and executed.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Bud Adams, the founder of the Houston Oilers who teamed up with Lamar Hunt to create the AFL, is one of 29 semifinalists in the coach/contributor category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Adams, who moved his team to Nashville in 1997 where they ultimately became the Tennessee Titans, died on Oct. 21, 2013.

He wasn't only a founder of the AFL, he helped it flourish and was instrumental in promoting the merger with the NFL which created the league as we know it today.

The team is now run by his daughter, Amy Adams Strunk.

Another member of the franchise is also among the 29 semifinalists. The cutdown is meant to get to 25, but allows for more due to ties.

C.O. Brocato, an innovator who scouted for the franchise for 45 years, invented the three-cone drill, which measures players’ speed, agility and change of direction.

Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, who played the first seven of his 14 years with the Houston Oilers is one of the 25 semifinalists for one of three senior candidate spots.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – At a time when nothing is going on, we should be hoping plenty is going on.

A year after soft tissue issues were a big problem for the Titans, players are at a time in the calendar that the team judges as crucial for the prevention of such injuries.

© George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

“I think you have to be able to train, you have to train in this heat,” Mike Vrabel said as minicamp broke on June 15. “You have to stay hydrated. You have to go out there and train the way that you're going to practice and practice the way that you're going to play. Conscious that the volume that they're going to be doing in the offseason in those next couple of weeks are there, the speed.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Happy Fourth of July Weekend.

I hope you've got a giant three days ahead.

I've got a dream where my puppy helps calm down my older dog in the face of fireworks, but I know it will not work out that way.

At some point reading your phone or iPad here's a dose of Titans' reading for you.

David Jackson There was an ESPN article ranking the rosters of all NFL teams that had the Titans roster ranked 20th. Do you think that’s accurate? If it is it would seem to imply Vrabel is a better coach than he gets credit for, and if it’s not accurate where do you think it should be ranked?

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The A.J. Brown trade has taken us back to a familiar place, one where we are left to wonder about the Titans’ ability to find and develop receivers.

The Titans drafted 30 receivers since 1999, with Brown really the lone home run. I detailed the long and ugly history here.

For years, wide-receiver struggles masked another position where the Titans often failed to find production, though not on the same level: pass rusher.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Titans may have their most talented group of cornerbacks in a while. They definitely have their youngest group of cornerbacks in while.

Their top four covermen are third-year, second-year, first-year and second-year players – that’s Kristian Fulton, Caleb Farley, Roger McCreary and Elijah Molden.

Kristian Fulton/ © Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

The team is not looking to experience as much as skill, though Fulton is the No. 1 guy and he gained a good deal of experience last season when he played very well.

While the defending Super Bowl champion Rams had one of the league’s best and highest-priced corners in Jalen Ramsey, we’ve seen inexpensive and inexperienced cornerbacks help win a title.

Fourteen months after initially facing a simple assault charge in Pittsburgh, Titans outside linebacker Rashad Weaver has a trial date.

At Weaver’s pretrial conference Friday morning before Judge Anthony M. Mariani, his jury trial was set for Tuesday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 am CT.

Simple assault is a second-degree misdemeanor. If he's found guilty the maximum sentence is not more than two years but the likely scenario is probation.

Pool photo/ George Walker, The Tennessean

That falls between the preseason opener at Baltimore on Aug. 11 and just before joint practice are likely to commence in Nashville against the Buccaneers ahead of their Aug. 20 matchup at Nissan Stadium. 

Postponements for such trials are common in Pittsburgh's magisterial court.

The charge stems from an April 18, 2021 incident outside the Foxtail bar in Pittsburgh during which the alleged victim, Demetria Navjelis, told police Weaver “grabbed her by the throat and pushed her to the ground, where she ultimately hit her head.” [Unlocked]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Awaiting camp there is reason for confidence at some spots and concern at others for the Titans.

I thought it would be a good time to run through a positional confidence index, from best to worst.

© George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA TODAY NETWORK

1) Outside linebacker – Bud Dupree (pictured) and Harold Landry are excellent pieces of the front four and while Denico Autry starts off inside in base he’s technically an OLB who works out of their position room. The depth after that isn’t great, with Rashad Weaver as a bit of a wild card. But the depth doesn’t matter so much when the top three cover so many snaps. If they stay healthy, they are elite as a trio and they will be on the field together in pass-rush situations.