NASHVILLE – The Titans returned to the practice field on Thursday at Vanderbilt Health Football Clinic.
Here's a look at 10 observations from Day 2 of training camp:
-The defense stole the show in Thursday's practice, when I counted two interceptions, six pass breakups, and a number of stuffed runs and QB pressures. Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons made his presence known up front, but the guys on the back end were flying around, too. Marcus Harris, Joshua Williams, Cor'Dale Flott, Anthony Hill, and Erick Hallett were among those who broke up passes. Defensive lineman Jordan Elliott got a hand on a pass at the line of scrimmage. Safety Amani Hooker made a nice read to be in the backfield to blow up an end around, and Femi Oladejo and Earnest Brown were among a number of guys who stuff the run.
-Linebacker Cedric Gray had a day. Gray picked off quarterback Cam Ward on a pass that deflected off the hands of Wan'Dale Robinson on the sideline. Gray managed to corral the football and get both his feet inbounds. It looked to me like Gray also forced a fumble on a pass across the middle to Robinson, but officials ruled it an incomplete pass. Later in practice, Gray got trucked by tackle Dan Moore on a designed run by Ward, but he shook it off. It was a day Gray should be proud of.
-Linebacker James Williams had the other interception on the day, picking off quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. Williams was around the ball a lot during the offseason, and he's picked up where he left off.
-Quarterback Cam Ward was 11-of-20 in the day, with a pick. Ward was 3-of-5 in 7-on-7 and 8-of-15 in team periods. Ward and the offense didn't fare very well in a "Move the Ball" period inside the 35-yard line toward the end of practice, but there was a highlight reel play in this period that was among two of the biggest plays from the offense on Thursday. Ward and receiver Calvin Ridley, who returned to practice on Thursday, are still working on their chemistry. After a failed connection on a deep ball, the two chatted.
-Receiver Elic Ayomanor provided the highlight reel play when he went up and snatched a sidearm pass from Ward out of the air, over Flott. Randy Moss would've been proud. It might've been a touchdown, but officials ruled Ayomanor short of the end zone after defenders raced toward him. It was one of four catches on the day for Ayomanor, who has looked physical, and good, early in camp.
-Receiver Bryce Oliver provided the other big highlight for the offense in the passing game when he caught a deep ball from Trubisky. Oliver raced into the end zone and spun the football. One of Oliver's teammates called him Jerry Rice when he got back to the sideline.
-Trubisky, who didn't practice on Wednesday, went 10-of-20 on the day, with the pick. Will Levis went 9-of-13, including going 4-of-5 in the 7-on-7 period. Hendon Hooker didn't throw a pass in the 7-on-7 or team drills on Thursday after getting some decent work on Wednesday.
-The Titans had some success in the run game. Several of the backs caught my eye, including rookie Nick Singleton. Singleton busted through the hole on his first handoff on the day, and he generated some buzz with a great cut. But it was Julius Chestnut who busted off two long runs, including one that would've gone for a touchdown from 60-plus yards. Running back Tyjae Spears caught five passes and shook himself into open space with some nice moves on a screen himself.
-The Titans took JC Latham off of the team's Physically Unable to Perform list on Thursday, and Latham spent of lot of time working on a side field with the team's strength and conditioning staff. Latham slapped five with former NFL linemen Ramon Foster and Brad Hopkins, now with Titans Radio, when he passed them on the sideline. Head coach Robert Saleh said Latham could return to practice on Saturday.
-Behind the practice-best five catches from Spears, and the four from Ayomanor, tight end Jaren Kanak had three. Robinson, Oliver, Mason Kinsey, Xavier Restrepo and Kylen Granson had two each. After a practice-best three catches on Wednesday, Carnell Tate had just one catch on Thursday.
