By PAUL KUHARSKY
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Offseason focuses take on all shapes.
But the Titans are making an effort to help players stay narrow by having them concentrate on Just One Thing.
This came up when I asked Randy Jordan about the inside runs of Tyjae Spears, an area I feel holds him back and keeps him from being a complete back. Spears averages 3.7 yards a carry up the middle and 4.2 yards a carry everywhere else.
“We talked about patience and tempo in terms of running the ball inside,” Jordan said. “There is a different speed that you run at compared to when we try to run the ball off the edge. That’s one thing with all the guys in terms of just the one thing that we’ve given them: He’s just an example of one of those guys that we’ve given that.”
The sense I gathered from asking others about Just One Thing, also referred to as JOT, is that too often players get a list of things they need to improve on, and it can be somewhat overwhelming for them, and for a position coach tracking that for many guys.
So Robert Saleh is implementing something he’s done at previous stops, looking at a primary area – say, hand placement for Cody Barton as the linebacker looks to shed blocks.
Then as a player makes significant gains, he may move into another top area of concentration.
Some people on a day we talked to all the position coaches and five players were up front about their thing, others preferred to keep it private.
The league is filled with offseason sloganeering. We saw Mike Vrabel’s Disciplined, Dependable, Accountable, Tough followed by Brian Callahan’s Resilient and Relentless.
Saleh is All Gas, No Brakes and Fast and Violent.
Just One Thing is more in line with Vrabel’s offseason effort to make the Titans calloused or Callahan’s team building that involved group conversations about Four Hs -- History, Heroes, Heartbreak and Hope.
“Obviously, we all have areas to improve on," Carmen Bricillo said. “One of the things coach Saleh instituted here was Just One Thing. The first thing we did when we got hired, while we were evaluating the current roster, was identifying technique, fundamentally what would you improve on?”
A few guys didn't point to coaching JOTS but to things they are aiming to do better.
Cedric Gray said the biggest thing for him this offseason is putting complete games together. Daniel Bellinger said he wants to be dynamic after the catch.
Luke Stocker said that in finding things for his tight ends, he looked at where breakdowns consistently happened. When the group doesn’t execute the way it wants to, what are the reasons behind that?
He offered some details about the one thing Gunnar Helm is really focusing on.
“It’s going to be his pad level and his hands,” Stocker said. “Right now, because we can’t have full contact in the run game, it comes in the individual drills, the way we’re working under the chute, the way we’re attacking the sleds. If you don’t have leverage in those things, your pad level is too high.
“That sled is really heavy. So it's forcing him to get his pad level tight, get his hands down, so he can consistently be the player we know he can be.”
