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It's all part of a plan to make the Titans want to be around on their own.
"My personal feeling is if you have a commitment to the offseason program, there's no need to take advantage of the mandatory minicamp. I do not know why you would take a professional athlete in the middle of the offseason and make him practice twice a day. I think it's a setback," Fisher said.
"If you were to go ahead and have a mandatory minicamp, I think our attendance would drop off in the weeks to follow, and that's not the intention. What we want is a commitment to the program four to five days a week, and we're getting it."
The Titans had pretty thorough participation in 2008, and they wound up going an NFL-best 13-3. Fisher changed up his final OTA on Friday with an hourlong session he called an "unorganized" team activity, then turned his team loose until the Titans report back July 30 for the start of training camp.
That's not to say Fisher doesn't understand why other NFL coaches use the mandatory minicamps. Chris Johnson did some workouts on his own in Orlando early this offseason before joining the Titans in Nashville. Veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck chose to vary his work by spending about a month in California running up hills.
"Clubs are having mandatory minicamps around the league so they can see a player they haven't seen all offseason. That's not the case here," Fisher said.
CHECK OUT THE HAT: If you see a man driving around Nashville wearing a shiny black cowboy hat, it just might be linebacker Keith Bulluck. Especially as he says, if it's a black man.
Bulluck received the hat from country star Tim McGraw last week about a year and half after sitting behind the singer at a music awards show.
"It's not too often you get an opportunity to speak to a guy like that and meet him. I asked him, 'Where can I get a hat like that?' Tim has style about himself. I myself feel I have style too, so two stylish men I need to see where I could get a hat like that," Bulluck said.
The hat arrived in a Resistol box with a note reminding Bulluck to have a great season and apologizing for the delay. Bulluck said he's learning fast to take care of the crease in the top. The linebacker said the hat now is his official interview hat when he's talking with reporters.
And he does plan a thank-you for McGraw of his own.
"I'll come up with something good. I'm a good gift giver," Bulluck said.
KING OF THE ONE-LINERS: Linebacker Keith Bulluck is calling himself the king of the one-liners, and coach Jeff Fisher admits the veteran has come up with a few nice ones over the years.
"He had one (Wednesday) during the two-minute drive, when the offense dropped two of Vince's passes. He said, 'Why don't you just throw it to them underhand?' I mean, he comes up with things all the time. That's just Keith being Keith." Fisher said.
He also kidded Chris Johnson during one minicamp session for setting the goal of winning the NFL's MVP. Why? Well, how was Johnson going to win it when Bulluck plans on winning it?
"He's going to talk, and he makes it fun," Fisher said. "If he wasn't doing everything he's supposed to do and hadn't been in the position that he's in from production and games missed and things like that, it would be different. But you know he's always going to be there."
Bulluck has started 113 consecutive games for Tennessee, the most consecutive for any current player on the team. He has led the Titans in tackles six of the last seven seasons.
HAUL IN THAT FISH: Want to see someone haul in a 650-pound marlin? Well, coach Jeff Fisher's son caught the unexpected fish on a recent fishing trip, and the proud father caught it all on video camera. The video is expected to be posted on the Titans' Web site soon at www.titansonline.com.
QUOTABLE: Jeff Fisher when asked about Chris Johnson's Twitter account: "I thought Twitter was a cartoon character on Tweety Bird. I don't know what Twitter is."
