Bye, bye BYE week!

That was an ugly loss in Pittsburgh, I’m glad we
got the break of the Bye week because that performance needed to be put
far away from what we need to do this week. I, like most all the
guys, used those few days to rest up, relax, heal nagging injuries and
just get away from the job for a little bit. Some guys go back to
their hometown or colleges and others stay here in Nashville for R&R, but we all enjoy the few days off from the
normal routine of practice and game day.

Now that things have picked back up after the five day break in the
season, all the guys are back in the building
getting work done and we have to get this win. For one, it’s Houston,
but also because we have half a game lead in our AFC South Division
and we can extend it with another win. Houston has a good team this
year, but I think we have a better one if we come out to play. The
Texans are coming to our house at LP Field and we need to let them
know right from the start that it is our house they are stepping into.
It will be a hard-nosed game and should be a good one!

The weather
is supposed to warm up some after this cold front that hit earlier
this week, so there are no excuses…pack your tailgate, put on your Titan
blues and get your mind ready to cheer us on at LP as loud as you
can. We feed off of your energy and need the support of our 12th man
when we are out on the grid-iron!

Over the bye week I got away from Nashville, but not away from
football. A few friends and I took a short road trip to Auburn, AL
for the weekend. It was my first time back to the Plains since the
2003 or 2004 Georgia game. I was welcomed back with pre-game field
passes and premium seats for the game. I have to admit, it’s only the
3rd or 4th game I have been to a a spectator and fan, so it was
different, but a good relaxing time and that is what I needed during
the time off. Auburn proceeded to beat the Florida Gators that night
and Toomers Corner was rolled before we could get there. I threw a
few rolls of toilet paper in the trees myself, helping blanket the
trees in white. The weekend brought back a lot of old memories and I’m
sure I’ll be back to visit again in the future and more often.

Until next time,

RB2

Week 4 – Cleveland and my 100th Game!

The weather wasn’t the best conditions, but I will take what we had considering game 4 came with a victory in Cleveland! It’s never much fun going up there because you just don’t know what mother nature is going to do. I’m glad we played there early in the season rather than late, because the elements only get worse as the cold weather moves in. I think it was about 50 degrees which was nice and cool, but the winds we swirling with gusts topping 20 mph. I was glad we had the early game as well because it poured down rain on our bus ride to the airport for our departure.

After a slow start in Jacksonville, we were able to cap off a three-game winning streak to come out ahead and win the first quarter of the season at 3-1. It’s our goal to win them all, but we really want to win each quarter. That would put us sitting pretty come playoff time with a 12-4 record at worst. Things are clicking in all phases of the game. The penalties are down, but I think we can do better there as well. After losing Kenny Britt last week, the receivers and tight ends did a great job overcoming his absence. Defense put points up on the board and the special teams core outplayed our opponents for the first time helping create positive field position for the offense and defensive units.

Not to harp on the negatives, but after a decent game, I know I for one can put up a better performance. For starters, I hope I don’t have another mis-hit kickoff this season that knuckles out of bounds for a penalty flag… Fortunately, Phil Dawson had the same. His hit earlier in the game so they sort of canceled each other out. I also go lucky on my field goal – while 3 points is 3 points, and they all look the same on paper, but I know I got away with one there. I’m still not sure what happened on that kick to create such a low trajectory but I hope to get the rest of my kicks up a bit higher and keep them all between the sticks as we go forward.

That game was a big one for me! It marked my 100th game played in the NFL. And all of them have been played for the same organization and for the same great fans of the Titans. Not only was it my 100th game, but fortunately it was my 100th consecutive start for the Titans. Congrats to Michael Roos as well! We came into this league and both started week 1 as rookies here at Tennessee. I guess it’s some kind of milestone, but I’ll celebrate that after the season is done. Right now we have to stay focused on the task at hand. And this week its is to beat the Steelers up in Pittsburgh this Sunday before we take some time off for the bye week.

I’ll catch back up with you all after we land Sunday night. It sure would be a better weekend off if we come back home with another game in the win column. Then we come back home for a 3 game stretch at LP Field. Get your Titans gear out and be ready to rock that stadium! We thrive on the energy and excitement that you bring every Sunday here at home!!!

-RB2

Kudos to my Alma Mater(s)!

This has been a heck of a year for all the schools I attended and played football for on my journey to the NFL. For starters, back in January I was in Arizona to watch the Auburn Tigers win the BCS National Championship game against the Oregon Ducks. That was a great game and a start to what has become awesome year! The Georgia Southern Eagles are back on top of the polls, ranked #1 in the country for 1AA Collegiate Football in the NCAA. I played my senior season in Statesboro, GA after coaching changes occurred at Auburn while I was playing. I was part of the Division 1AA National Champion team in 2000 and it’s good to see them winning like we used to back in the day.

My high school, Trinity out of Louisville, KY, is also on top of most the polls. They are ranked #1 in the country for High School Football programs and dominating the scoreboard each week! There aren’t many teams in Louisville that will even play them. This year they have played two teams from Nashville. After winning their season opener 45-7 at Brentwood academy, Montgomery Bell Academy went to Louisville week 2 losing 66-21. The Trinity Shamrocks have also traveled and played teams from Indiana and Ohio to fill their schedule with competitive teams this year.

Last Friday, I made a short road trip 2.5 hours north with a couple friends to our hometown of Louisville, KY to watch our High School, Trinity, play their biggest rivals, St. Xavier. This is a huge game every year. When I say huge, I mean bigger than many college games. For this one, the two teams play at the University of Louisville’s Papa John’s Stadium in front of a crowd just short of 40,000 fans. I think it might have topped the 40,000 mark if the teams had been more evenly matched, but with my High School ranking #1 in most of the polls, St. X didn’t pack the stands like they usually do. I wore Titans colors as I entered the stadium, representing both teams of the Louisville Catholic School System that night. When Trinity’s Athletic Director (my former head coach, Dennis Lampley) heard I was coming into town, he asked me to do the honorary coin toss to get things started. I was excited to be part of the game. It was an awesome feeling to be recognized in my hometown like that. Trinity won the coin toss after St. X called heads and the coin landed tails.

In the end, Trinity prevailed with a commanding win of 41-6 to remain undefeated this season. It was a good game, both teams played hard and showed great sportsmanship. I was also able to catch up with my family and some older buddies I don’t get to see too often. We got back on the road after the game ended because Saturday is a work day for me and meetings would be starting at 8am… No excuses, I was expected to be back in Nashville and focused back on our opponents!

I hope the Eagles and the Rocks keep rolling as they play the second half of their seasons. It would be pretty cool to have played for three teams that all ranked #1 in the country and all in the same year!

What would make that even better is if the Titans keep playing like we are, handle our business and do something strong this year. We a currently tied with the Texans as our division leaders, but there is a lot of football left in our 16 game season, plus the playoffs. We need to keep taking it one week at a time, one game, one opponent and worry about the rest when we get there. But it would be something to be playing for the trophy in February! The focus is on the Steelers this week as we go to Pittsburgh and play some hard nosed football!

-RB2

Week 3 – Victory at LP Field vs. Broncos

Well we did it again – executed the game plan and came out victorious! That’s the plan each week: do what it takes to win, and LP Field was rocking Sunday! The fans were loud and into the game, helping us by playing their role as the 12th man on the field. We feed off that energy, so keep it up and keep it loud!

Unfortunately, we lost our top receiver, Kenny Britt in the process, but I know the guys will do their best to step up and make plays to continue the success we have going. We head to Cleveland tomorrow for another tough one. They are doing well this season at 3-0 but our plan is to give them their first defeat and come home with the win. It could get ugly as the weather is saying it will be 45 degrees with possible rains and high winds. But, both teams will be playing in it and we need to stick to our game plan and execute.

Time sure does fly. I was just informed that this will be my 100th game as a Titan. It seems like I just got here! I look forward to playing the next 100 in Titans blue!

Here we go again!

Week 3 is already here and your Titans stand even at 1-1 at the start of 2011. After a disappointing opener at Jacksonville we were able to bounce back week 2 and kick things off right in our home at LP Field!

Game 1 was one we all wanted back! It was definitely not our best performance and the result was one nobody in a Titans uniform was satisfied with! We came out flat and were trying to play catch up in the second half. I hope we left that in Florida and it’s out of our system!

I did get a chance to kick a long one at halftime. While that one got away from me,  I’m looking forward to another opportunity to break that record! 66 yards is a long way away, but I welcome the chance when I think it can be made. My attempt fell short and just wide right, but I know I could have given that ball a better ride if I had another shot at it. With a kick that long, everything has to be perfect and I mis-hit the ball at contact by about an inch… Just missing leg-lock (it’s most powerful point of contact). Then again, we do play a game of inches and I will do my best to be more on target if I get a chance to go after that record again! Congratulations to Janikowski for his 63 yard field goal just one day later, we’ve all been chasing that distance for a few years now.

Last week was more like it! We came out to play on of our most hated rivals -  The Baltimore Ravens! They were coming off a huge win over the Steelers and we were playing our first game back home at LP Field in Nashville after the week 1 loss to the Jaguars. We were definitely named the underdogs for this one. I don’t think there were too many picking the Titans to come out in the end with a victory, but we knew what we had to do and we did it!

We came out fast, we came out strong, we came out with a purpose and ended the game with a convincing win. This is the attitude we need to carry through the season! This is the way I have seen us play and know we are capable of performing. It’s lights out football, a hard hitting defense, and a point scoring offense. The coaches put together a great game plan and each player executed their part of it. We showed confidence in each other and ourselves. I know we are capable of playing every Sunday with that same intensity and we just need to put out minds to it! It’s going to be a great season and I have a feeling it’s going to get better each week!

The Broncos are in town and we need to spend 3 to 4 hours at the office taking care of business before sending them back to Denver packing! They are a good team and we’ll have to execute the game plan as we prepared all week to pick up our second victory. So I hope you help us by playing your role in the stands as the “12th man” on the field in our house at LP Field… Stand up and make some noise when we need it! I’ve heard that stadium rock in the past and I know you have it in you… I look forward to seeing you there Sunday, Go Titans!!!!

-RB2

Week 1 (9.11.11)

It’s finally here! After a long awaited off-season full of uncertainty, Week 1 of the 2011 NFL season has slowly crept up on us and it’s time to get down to business! After the lockout, coaching changes, player changes, training camp and preseason we will be getting on our chartered Delta flight to Jacksonville, Florida this Saturday for game 1 against the Jaguars! I know you’ve all been waiting patiently (some not so patiently) and are ready to see things turned up a notch as well! We are ready to get down to business on the grid-iron, and plan to return to Nashville Sunday evening with our first victory of the season!

The past couple weeks have been inspiring. The Titans have shown new energy and excitement on the field. With so many changes, countless new faces and new playbooks, nobody really knew what to expect as we were coming out of the lockout. But I think many of those concerns were put to rest after watching the preseason games over the past four weeks. Truth be told, it was just the preseason where wins, losses and stats really don’t mean anything, but it was encouraging to know we lead the league in a few categories and came out 3-1 regardless.

On another note, General Manager Mike Reinfeldt was also able to put together an acceptable contract extension for our starting running back, Chris Johnson (A.K.A. CJ2K) who was absent up until this past Saturday’s practice. I have a feeling the speed of the game is going to get a little faster with him padded up in the backfield come Sunday! With that said, I’m sure our opponents were hoping the holdout would last a few weeks longer or even through the season… Sorry to disappoint those guys… Lol.

This past weekend was tough for many players. It’s the ‘Judgement Day’ of our business. After releasing 10 players the previous weekend, the team released another 27 to cut our roster from the 90 players we started training camp with, down to the final 53-man roster we’ll start the season with. It’s always difficult seeing so many teammates released, because some are friends. Some are guys who played with you in past seasons and they all have a dream to play in this league. I know the thoughts going through their heads, because I was cut by three different teams, three different years before securing the starting job with the Titans in 2005.

The positive part is that each preseason game you play in is a tryout for all 32 NFL teams, and just because a player gets released doesn’t mean their dream is over. Some of those guys will get picked up off the waiver wire by other teams, eight players will get signed to each team’s practice squad once they clear the waiver wire (24 hours). There’s also still a chance during the season to be brought in for additional tryouts or wait until the following offseason and get picked back up by a team as part of their new 90…and try again to make that team. For some guys, it’s an easier road to be drafted straight out of college and have a head start; for others (like myself), it’s a much longer stretch of road filled with obstacles and opportunity! I know I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but right here in Nashville, TN playing for the Titans. I would have loved to been doing it five years earlier though! Now I am just hoping to stick around here for many more seasons (as many as they want me) and continuing to do my job well by working hard, staying focused and keeping my fingers crossed that each kick continues to fly between the uprights!!!

I hope I got you all caught up, shared a little excitement, explained a little something you may not have already known. Now, it’s time to get off this computer and outside on the practice field. I have some kicks in need of knocking through the goal posts!

-RB2

Back to Work

Well, it has certainly been a different off-season for players and fans alike. Not much has been on sports television since the draft in April other than constant talks about the Lockout. Like most of you, me and the other players and coaches (probably even the owners as well) are glad to have a new CBA agreed upon!

While talks were underway, me and most of my teammates continued to practice. Here in Tennessee, many of the local schools rallied to help us out. I can’t thank Father Ryan High School enough for opening their facilities to us. Vanderbilt University and Montgomery Bell Academy also welcomed us to lift weights and train as if it were our facility!

Now that we are back to work, it’s all business as usual! Free agency came and went rather fast as there were only 72 hours to put the roster together. We lost some good players and friends, and signed others who should make us a better team – but only time will tell. If last week’s first Pre-season game was a sign, I’d say we looked pretty good! It’s been some time since our offense moved the ball like we did, and a few years since the defense shut most everything down on the other side of the ball! It was quite refreshing and unfortunately, one of the only missed opportunities during the game was my missed field goal. The positive there was that I hit the ball well. The negative was that I put it on the wrong line. It didn’t hook to the left, I brought my hips through the ball just a tad early and the flight of the ball was a bit outside. The benefit for me was it was a preseason game and we didn’t need the points to secure a victory over the Vikings! I’ll definitely have to clean that up over the next couple weeks.

Obviously the roster changes are something that we experience every year in this business, but for the first time in the Titans history we have a new head coach leading the way. I was not happy to see Coach Fisher step away from the team, but I was glad to see the ownership hire a new head coach from within the staff. I wish Fisher all the best in his future endeavors and know he will be successful where ever he lands…as long as it’s not a victory against the Titans if he gets back into coaching!

New Head Coach Mike Munchak has stepped up and moved forward in stride. I didn’t get a chance to meet all the new coaches he brought in until after the Lockout ended, but he has brought in a lot of new faces with needed experience to help turn this team around. Many of the coaches have ties with the Oilers/Titans organization & have played in this league at one time or another. In my opinion, I think they are going to do a great job! So far, it seems the new play books for the offense and defense are being taught and understood by the players. It’s new information for everyone on the field and our coaches are doing a great job breaking it down to make it easier to learn.

Some other changes have occurred in our facility. New rules and expectations to increase each players professionalism, responsibility and discipline have been introduced. These things are important because we have a job to do and it requires pride in order to compete at the top! Our locker room of guys needed some influence in that direction and I am glad to see that change come about and be enforced. One of Coach Munchak’s quotes that stands out is “Be a Pro. Know what to do and do it!”

Well, we just landed in St. Louis for our second preseason game. I’ll get back in touch after we get done with the Rams. Wish us luck! Let’s hope we look as good or better than we did last week!

-RB2

During the Off-Season

Hope everyone is doing well! It’s been a different off-season to say the least, but not just here in Tennessee. The owners’ lockout has thrown a wrench in the NFL in all 32 cities and has fans everywhere asking if we will be playing ball this season. Unfortunately, I do not have the answer to that. I can say that most of the guys around the league are training in preparation to be back on the field this season. I’m beginning to kick again with hopes that there is a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) in place sometime in the next few weeks or months. I personally don’t think anyone, owners included, wants to see a Sunday without football games in the fall. Let’s hope they will let us play this year!

Here in Tennessee, we have more changes of our own. 2010 was the end of the Fisher era. I enjoyed playing for him and don’t think you will find too many players that felt differently. Fisher was the first guy to give me a legitimate chance to play in the NFL, and he put his faith in me many times at the end of games. I hated to see him leave, but think Coach Munchak is going to do well as our head coach. I have faith in him and believe he will do well for our organization.

I’m thankful there are still familiar faces in the coaching staff and that my position coach didn’t change. Alan Lowry will still be in charge of the Special Teams Unit. He has done a great job over the years, and again, I’m thankful to still have him on the sidelines. I’m also excited to meet the guys I haven’t had the chance to meet yet under the circumstances. I look forward to the day our facility is reopened to the players, and we can get back to work preparing for the 2011 season.
Other recent changes include a major rule change. Kickoffs have been moved 5 yards closer to the 35 yard line. I have to admit, I didn’t see this rule change coming. I understand that this new rule change will make it a safer game since so many big hits happen during that play. However, weren’t kickoffs originally moved back to increase the exciting game changing plays? The good news is I won’t have to kick the ball as far for a touchback, and my cover unit will get down the field faster, forcing more tackles inside the 20 when the ball is returned! And most importantly, I think it may help my career last a little longer over the years to come.

Despite the coaching changes, the lock out, and a rule change, I’ve been spending my off-season like I usually do…resting, relaxing and catching up with friends and family. I’ve taken part in countless charity events, a few concerts, escaped Nashville a few times to get back home to Kentucky with the family, spent some time on the beach and now working out and training in preparation for another great season kicking footballs in the fall. I’ve included some pictures so you can see what I’ve been up to, as well as an invite to “Kicking It Up A Nosh” on June 15. I’m really excited about hosting this event with Arnold Myint of Bravo’s “Top Chef” to benefit The Rob Bironas Fund. Hope you can all make it out!

Again, I hope everyone is doing well, and I look forward to this lockout ending sooner than later so we can get back to playing the great game of football this fall! I know you are thinking the same thing!

Until next time,
- RB2