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It amounted to fast-break basketball on grass: a summer tournament seven-on-seven football game.

Stratford High School coach Eliot Allen watched it unfold from his usual spot in the back of an end zone, not interacting with the kids representing his school against Dez Bryant and Lufkin High.

Over two 20-minute halves with a running clock, at a furious pace at which he had to throw the ball within four seconds of the snap against coverages that had no concern for the run, Andrew Luck didn’t throw an incomplete pass.

“He’s accuracy was unbelievable,” Allen said. “That one game he didn’t have an incomplete pass. I’ve never see it before or since. He throws such a catchable ball.”

When the Indianapolis Colts inevitably make Luck the first pick in the draft on April 26, the Stanford quarterback will enter the league rated by many scouts and evaluators as the most pro-ready quarterback since John Elway.

While Luck’s refined his remarkable touch as the leader of the Cardinal, he honed it early on in Texas seven-on-seven summer ball. He participated even as a rising ninth-grader, and Allen says Luck easily played 75 such games before moving onto college, contests that were crucial to the early development of good habits and exquisite ball placement.

As coach of Cypress Falls High, David Raffield regularly saw Luck play during the summer, then coached against Stratford in regular season and playoff football during Luck’s junior and senior years.

“Watching Andrew grow and develop into a quarterback was nothing short of amazing,” said Raffield, who now coaches A&M Consolidated High School in College Station. “The seven-on-seven allowed him to really develop his game. When you are out there as a quarterback running the offense, it’s not plays being called by a coach. You’re the guy doing it. You’re becoming your own offensive coordinator. …

“His junior and senior year he had an amazing ability to place the football. The accuracy was phenomenal. He understood pass coverages. It gave him such advantages. I didn’t know he’s wind up being an NFL first-round draft pick, but I knew he was special.”

The summer before Luck’s senior year in 2007, his team finished second in Texas and played in a national tournament in Los Angeles. There, football staffs of high schools from California and Florida coached their players, Allen recalled.

It doesn’t work that way in Texas, where a state organization runs the leagues and tournaments. A high school’s coaches might help arrange leagues, tournaments and officials, but players work under the watch of others. Stratford uses former players from its team as summer ball coaches.

Texans coach Gary Kubiak was a St. Pius X High School (Houston) and Texas A&M quarterback well before seven-on-seven summers started. He joked if he had a chance to play that much, people would have discovered he wasn’t any good.

Klein Kubiak, a former Strake Jesuit High School receiver who graduated in 2009 and now plays at Rice, played in the same district and overlapped with Luck. So as Gary Kubiak followed his son, he saw Luck play in tournaments. He’s also seen just how much the competition and setting have done for Texas signal-callers.

“He was very impressive,” Gary Kubiak said. “I think there is a lot of growth going on in those leagues right now. On a Saturday afternoon, those kids might play six of those games.

“I just think you can’t get enough of those repetitions. It’s almost like having two spring balls. It’s almost gotten a little bit year-round, kind of like baseball.”

Such summer-league play takes place in a lot of states now. But Texas was a pioneer.

So it’s no coincidence that the three top quarterbacks in this draft -- Luck, Robert Griffin III and Ryan Tannehill -- are all from Texas.

“Think about these names,” said Tennessee Titans quarterback coach Dowell Loggains, who started at quarterback for Cooper High School in Abilene, Texas, in 1997 and 1998 in both summer seven-on-seven and regular fall football. “Ryan Mallett, Andy Dalton, Colt McCoy, Christian Ponder, Andrew Luck, Matthew Stafford, Kevin Kolb, Robert Griffin, Case Keenum.

“I mean it’s huge. That’s why all these Texas high school quarterbacks are coming out and doing really well. They are so much further along than the rest of the states, plus they get 15 dates for spring practice just like a college. They are getting so many more reps than the rest of the country.”

Other states may be taking note and trying to copy, Loggains said. But it’ll be tough for many to match or top Texas because of the facilities and money high school football has in the Lone Star State.

Added ESPN analyst Jon Gruden when asked about Texas’ production of quarterbacks: “Obviously if you go to Texas, you can probably find passing tournaments going on right now, and if they're not going on right now, they'll be going on later this afternoon and for sure tomorrow and the next day. They throw the ball and have organized passing camps more than any place I've ever been.”

Allen said seven-on-seven forces quarterbacks to figure out ways to beat man-to-man coverage with two-deep safeties and that doing so at an early stage of their football careers is invaluable. Against such a look from the secondary in an actual high school game, a quarterback would hand off most of the time.

“You don’t win those games playing defense,” Allen said. “It reveals a quarterback’s accuracy and I don’t think you can simulate stiff coverage in a better way. Andrew was very good at it. He can throw the deep ball. A lot of people give him a hard time about not being able to throw the deep ball. He was great at it. But his deal is, he just wants to get first downs.”

As a high-schooler, Loggains said he thought the summer opportunity was “awesome.”

And it made it a heck of a lot easier to get time and work with receivers, who might not show up for an informal session on a Tuesday night but wouldn’t miss a chance to play in a game with a score and a title on the line.

The proliferation of seven-on-seven play actually influenced the game at all levels.

Coaches found they had quarterbacks equipped to run spread offenses in high school and moved away from traditional run-heavy, defense-centric schemes. They then fed those quarterbacks to colleges, where the spread continued to spread.

And when those quarterbacks landed in the NFL, teams had no choice but to employ some spread concepts, willingly or unwillingly, to try to take advantage of their quarterbacks’ strengths.

“When we had Vince Young, we had to mix in a lot of that with [offensive coordinators] Norm Chow and Mike Heimerdinger,” Loggains said.

Rather than an NFL idea trickling down, a byproduct of a high school idea trickled up.

And one scout I spoke with said he sees no end to it.

“That’s the new craze, the seven-on-seven stuff,” he said. “Texas has been doing it longer and it’s the most organized state. How many good quarterbacks have come out of Texas the last 10 years? A ton. The more reps you get at anything, the better you’ll be at it.

“It’s why I stink so bad at golf.”

Reading the coverage…

Houston Texans

The Texans feel like they became more physical when Lawrence Vickers was inserted at fullback, says Jeffrey Martin of the Houston Chronicle.

A win in Baltimore could rival the 1979 Oilers upset of San Diego as the city’s biggest NFL playoff upset, says John McClain.

We could see a test of will between the Texans' offensive line and the Ravens' defensive front, says Edward Less of the Baltimore Sun.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts new GM will face some major decisions: The fate of Jim Caldwell and the staff, an evaluation of Peyton Manning’s health and future, the No. 1 pick in the draft and a rebuild of a roster. Mike Chappell’s run down from the Indianapolis Star.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tania Ganguli’s Tuesday night story from the Florida Times-Union on the swift hiring of Mike Mularkey.

Mike Mularkey is a roll of the dice like Blaine Gabbert was, says Gene Frenette of the Florida Times-Union. “Looking at Mularkey's overall body of work, there's no question that Gene Smith is banking on him developing (Blaine) Gabbert the way he brought along (Matt) Ryan. In fact, Smith, who begins his fourth year as the Jaguars' GM, is staking his future on Mularkey doing just that.”

Tennessee Titans

Tennessee hopes that Kenny Britt and Jared Cook will be healthy and productive at the same time, forming a threatening pass-catching duo, says Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

The Titans denied the Bears permission to talk with quarterback coach Dowell Loggains about coordinating the passing game in Chicago, says Wyatt. I wonder if they’ll get another request from Jeff Fisher once he’s in place as a head coach again.

Reading the coverage ...

Houston Texans

The Texans showed no signs of being the team that closed regular season with three consecutive losses to finish 10-6. Instead, they were the embodiment of the team that compiled a seven-game winning streak and won the AFC South with a 10-3 record, writes John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

Gary Kubiak effectively sent a message to the offensive line about pass protection and the line delivered, says McClain.

“As the best player on the NFL’s least-accomplished team, (Andre) Johnson saw almost all the disappointments, lived through almost all the anguish and dealt with almost all the misery of a decade of irrelevancy. It seemed fitting that he was a huge factor in the team’s historic victory,” says Jerome Solomon.

Indianapolis Colts

For all of Bill Polian’s quirks and deficiencies, he was and still is one of the greatest NFL team-builders of all time, says Bob Kravitz on the Indianapolis Star, who had a rough relationship with the executive. “As a talent evaluator, a franchise builder and sustainer, he was without equal. If there's a franchise out there looking for a general manager, they couldn't do much better than the guy the Colts just let go. The city owes him a debt of gratitude because he not only brought Indy a Super Bowl victory and another Super Bowl appearance, but he produced more than a decade of consistent excellence -- and generally did so with players who represented the team and the city quite well."

Jacksonville Jaguars

For the second consecutive year, Earnest Byner has coached the league’s rushing title winner and wound up out of a job, writes Tania Ganguli of the Florida Times-Union.

Jacksonville doesn’t need a big name as its new head coach. “Don't be dismayed if it's not a coach that makes you go, ‘Wow!’ When you look at the greatest sideline bosses in NFL history, most made their mark as a first-time head coach. How well known were Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Bill Walsh, Joe Gibbs , John Madden or Bill Parcells when they first ran the show?” Gene Frenette of the T-U’s column.

Tennessee Titans

Mike Munchak succeeded in changing the Titans’ culture, writes Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. “And while there was no storybook ending to Munchak’s first season — the Titans finished 9-7 but missed the playoffs -- another thing became apparent: The fingerprints left behind by (Jeff) Fisher have faded. It’s Munchak’s team now. His mantra has been accountability, discipline and camaraderie.”

The Bears have an interest in Titans quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains but are unlikely to get permission to talk with him, says Wyatt.

Titans quality control coach Charles London is moving on to coach running backs at Penn State, says Wyatt.

We know Jeff Fisher is in play for Miami and St. Louis. Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz told PFT he believes Fisher is in the mix in Indianapolis too.

Indications are Fisher will listen to everyone. But coaching code says you don’t talk about a job that’s not vacant, so I don’t think he’d go beyond backchannel communication while Jim Caldwell remains in place.

At any rate, Fisher is the hot veteran coaching candidate and until he’s coach somewhere, he still qualifies foremost as the Titans former head coach and falls under our purview. He said last week in an interview on Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone that a GM and a quarterback were the two biggest factors for him as he explores job opportunities.

So some thoughts on his eventual re-emergence in the coaching ranks.

Power: There can be a misperception he’d want general manager powers. He won’t. He wants to work with a GM he gets along with and can build consensus with. Fisher will want control of his 53-man roster. And he won’t want a situation where a GM is forcing free agents or draft picks on him that he and his staff don’t want. But wanting a voice is a lot different from wanting to be a de facto GM. He believes in the value of a traditional coach-GM split and has no desire to work the scouting end of things as a fulltime GM.

General manager friends: Fisher’s got strong relationships with Rich McKay of the Falcons and Bill Polian, just let go by the Colts, as he served with both on the NFL’s competition committee. McKay’s in an administrative capacity now, but could he want back into football? He wouldn’t come cheaply. Polian is probably too strong a personality. I have no feel for the relationship between Fisher and Chris Polian, who was also let go.

When the Titans replaced Floyd Reese in 2007 it was largely because Fisher and Reese’s relationship had frayed. Among the replacement candidates Fisher helped interview before the Titans hired Mike Reinfeldt were: Ruston Webster (now with Reinfeldt in Tennessee), Reggie McKenzie (Green Bay’s director of football administration), Ron Hill (NFL VP of football operations), Mike Ackerley (now a Texans scout) and Charles Bailey (former Jaguars pesonnel executive). The Titans wanted to talk to Randy Mueller, then with Miami, but didn’t get permission. He’s now with San Diego as “senior executive.”

Maybe Fisher hit it off with one of those guys and would like to work with them. At years of league meetings and functions, he’s likely formed friendships we don’t know about with other, future-GM types.

If Fisher lands in a situation where he comes in hand in hand with a GM or in advance of a GM, he’ll have a guy or two to put forward and be open to forming a new relationship if he hits it off with an existing GM or an owner’s candidate.

Assistants: His primary assistant coaches may be hard to predict.

His top defensive lieutenants from Tennessee are booked up. Gregg Williams is the coordinator in New Orleans and may be a head coaching candidate himself. If he was free, Fisher could pounce. Jim Schwartz is head coach in Detroit. (Brandon Fisher works on Schwartz’s staff.) Chuck Cecil may be radioactive as he was a central figure in things coming apart for Fisher with the Titans. He could return to the league as a defensive backs coach, but Fisher would have to answer for a lot if he wanted to make Cecil coordinator. He’d certainly take recommendations from Williams and Schwartz about up-and-comers from the defensive staffs with their teams. Detroit linebacker coach Matt Burke was a young assistant on Fisher’s staff who went with Schwartz for a promotion.

Fisher’s top offensive friend and long-time coordinator, Mike Heimerdinger, died recently after a battle with cancer. Fisher could look to his former running backs coach Sherman Smith, who’s now in the post with Seattle. But Smith’s lone stint as an offensive coordinator didn’t include play-calling duties under Jim Zorn in Washington. Titans quarterback coach Dowell Loggains is a bright young mind, but like Burke he may not be ready yet.

While Fisher spent time away from the game in a year off, he certainly has lists of coaches he would pursue and could get. But he’d be going with people he’s not worked with before at a lot of spots -- like on the offensive line, where his former position coach, Mike Munchak, and his best line player, Bruce Matthews, are not available.

Markets: He can be a star behind those shades. But don’t think he’ll take the bright lights of Miami over more low-key St. Louis or Indianapolis if he’s choosing.

Fisher enjoyed the ability to be anonymous at times in Nashville and the willingness of the population to allow him a large degree of privacy. He’s a Southern California guy who loves spending time at his Montana cabin.

He's not desperate for a beach, or television lights.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- No offense to Sarah Hasselbeck, but in many ways when her husband decided to join the Tennessee Titans, he signed on for a second marriage.

Matt Hasselbeck and Mike Munchak are an NFL couple.

A new starting quarterback and a new NFL head coach can make for a new vibe, a new message, a new offense and a new direction.

The two are still relative newlyweds because of the lockout, but the early days have brought plenty of bliss, to the pair as well as those rooting for it.

It’s just three games. But the small sampling of their work together suggests the Titans can contend for the AFC South title.

Munchak is effectively conveying simple messages to his team and Hasselbeck is buying into them and passing them on.

“I just feel that my job as quarterback is, I don’t really care what we do, I just need to know what the coaching staff wants to do and then I can be the flag bearer on that stuff,” Hasselbeck said. “Whatever the message is for the week, let me know, coach, and I’ll be spreading the message. Whatever you want emphasized, I’ll make sure that gets emphasized.”

Munchak and offensive coordinator Chris Palmer have done well with the clarity and scope of those messages, Hasselbeck said. They aren’t vague or general or generic. They are game specific, opponent specific or specific to something the team needs to do better. As a Hall of Fame player, Munchak wanted those straightforward messages, not convoluted riddles that needed figuring out.

The Munchak-Hasselbeck relationship so far appears to be the sort most coaches and quarterbacks would like to have. That he’s not calling plays helps, Munchak said, as he’s sort of a buffer in the heat of the moment.

He’s seen his share of volatile coach-quarterback dealings. Warren Moon and Jack Pardee weren’t necessarily at odds, but Munchak did say their relationship wasn’t the one he wants with Hasselbeck.

“I want to have with him what I had with my linemen as an offensive line coach,” Munchak said. “A guy I can trust the way I could trust so many guys -- Kevin Mawae, Bruce Matthews, Jason Mathews -- I had so many guys I had relationships with who could spread the message on how to do things. ...

“Matt’s been around 13 years. He doesn’t need all the fluff. He needs the facts and he wants to know, ‘What exactly can I do to help? Let’s get to the point of this thing.’”

Heading into the Week 3 game against Denver, the theme was winning first down.

“I think Munch is a pretty straightforward guy and he does a good job of being to the point,” Hasselbeck said. “There is not a whole lot of gray area. As a player, that makes it easy; you go out and you know what your coach is looking for. He keeps it pretty simple. ‘Hey, I want you to win first down.’ Gotcha.”

In his first experience as a head coach, Munchak teamed up with general manager Mike Reinfeldt to plan a quarterback strategy after the team decided it was done with Vince Young. The Titans drafted Jake Locker eighth overall, but set themselves up with Hasselbeck, too, a veteran they believed could excel with top-flight pass protection, something the Titans' offensive line has offered.

If Hasselbeck tops 300 passing yards Sunday in Cleveland, it will be the first time in his career he’s done so three games in a row.

He, Palmer and quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains talk of how there is no defense for the perfect throw.

Another way I’ve heard people talking about it is that Hasselbeck “throws people open.” I like that phrase. It’s something Titans quarterbacks haven’t done in recent years. It’s something he’ll have to do with players like Damian Williams and Lavelle Hawkins now that Kenny Britt is gone.

Hasselbeck’s consciously factored his experience with change while he was in Seattle into his approach in Tennessee, where the talk is already of a late-career renaissance.

“In the last three years, I think, I’ve had a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator and I handled all three years a little differently,” he said. “One year I handled it where I was real assertive and wanted to get my way. Another year I said, ‘Hey, I’m just going to sit back.’ I’m probably handling this one differently, learning from some of my past mistakes.

“I’m not trying to impart anything from my past. I’m not trying to ask for anything I’ve done. I’m just trying to learn what they’ve done here and what they want to do here. I’ve kind of tried to come in here like I have no experience and no football knowledge at all. Because I’ve done that, my focus has been 100 percent on trying to run the stuff.”

The stuff has worked well enough so far. The new coach and the new quarterback are in lockstep. Smart messages are being well received. For now, it amounts to fresh air in Nashville.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The search for ways to open things up for Chris Johnson is ongoing.

The Tennessee Titans are a team that is usually about the running back and the run blocking. They are a team that brought in Randy Moss a season ago, not so much because he might make big plays, but because he might move a safety out of the box. They are a team now coached by a Hall of Fame offensive lineman who’s spoken of being driven by the run.

They are a team that was something else entirely on Sunday.

In a surprising 26-13 win over the Baltimore Ravens Sunday at LP Field, the Titans were a precise, big-play passing team -- a description that qualifies as sweet music to fans who have long craved the dynamic in Music City.

As Johnson managed 2.2 yards a carry and got booed, Matt Hasselbeck showed great accuracy against one of the league’s toughest defenses. He said during the week there were plays to be made in the secondary. His line gave him the time to make them. He didn’t get sacked and he passed for 358 yards (30-for-42, 71 percent).

Seven times he hit on pass plays longer than 15 yards, with Kenny Britt as the centerpiece. Britt pulled in receptions of 37, 28 and 16 yards en route to a 135-yard game with a touchdown.

After a troubled offseason, Britt missed the bulk of training camp and the preseason with a hamstring issue. So he and Hasselbeck are still learning each other.

The receiver said the two were 75-80 percent in sync after the Baltimore game and projected it could jump to 95 percent this week. He said Hasselbeck told him during the course of the game, “Once I know what you’re doing all the time, we’ll be great at it.”

A week after he killed the Titans' chances at a late win with an awful interception, Hasselbeck’s accuracy keyed the team's first win of the season.

“I think they had really good coverage most of the day,” Hasselbeck said. “I played with a guy that always used to say there is no coverage for the perfect throw. It’s funny, but it’s true. When you’re playing a great defense, you’ve got to have great accuracy.

“And they weren’t easy catches. [Jared Cook's] catch was a diving catch, Kenny’s catch down the middle took a lot of courage, Nate Washington had some courageous catches, Lavelle Hawkins stepped up with some courageous catches. It was as much them as anything.”

So Hasselbeck wasn’t afraid of that tight coverage getting to his throws?

“Oh, I was afraid,” he said, laughing. “But what are you going to do? I had to throw it.”

On Britt's longest reception, he slowed and turned to face the pass as he caught it, then navigated the left sideline as he completed his spin. Cook also turned back to get a 33-yard catch, falling to the ground as he pulled it in. In each situation, if the Titans hadn't caught it, the ball would have fallen harmlessly incomplete.

“Matt was actually trying to put it in a perfect place where I could go get it,” Britt said, before talking specifically about turning to go get balls. “It’s by design. We’ve been working on that for at least two to three weeks now since I’ve been back from my hamstring injury.”

Britt was called to Roger Goodell’s office to discuss a trouble-filled offseason but avoided any suspension for transgressions during the lockout. The Titans want him to be a central figure in what they do -- one of three dynamic playmakers along with Johnson and Cook.

But it can be difficult to count on him because over the course of his first two seasons he often got dinged and could lose focus.

Now he’s got a new veteran quarterback, a new rookie quarterback (Jake Locker), a new head coach (Mike Munchak), a new offensive coordinator (Chris Palmer) and a new position coach (Dave Ragone).

All of them are relying on his continued emergence.

Britt’s wife and daughter are now in Nashville and he’s indicated he won’t be spending a lot of time in New Jersey, where most of his troubles arose. If healthy and consistent, with an accurate quarterback throwing to him, Britt may well jump to elite receiver status soon.

The Ravens praised Hasselbeck’s precision.

His 358 passing yards were the most the Titans have ever had in 20 matchups against the Ravens and the fourth most Baltimore has yielded over the past five seasons.

“Kenny’s covered and he makes a great throw,” Titans quarterback coach Dowell Loggains said. “Matt was deadly accurate today.”

Baltimore isn’t going to give up a lot of running yards. Other teams that are able to slow Johnson should pay for it if Hasselbeck can find Britt, Washington and Cook the way he did Sunday.

“We feel like we have enough weapons with No. 8 on offense that we can do some things that we haven’t been able to do in the past,” Loggains said. “This is what we should be able to do.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- After he spent a little time with Jake Locker, Titans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer pointed the quarterback to a simple training device.

A jump rope.

“We went out to work him out as you guys are well aware, and through the workout I thought he could work on his feet which I think will help him,” Palmer said. “We gave him the task to see how many successful rotations jumping rope he could have in 30 seconds.

"The first week he writes back, texts me back and says, ‘Hey, I got 80 and I got 85.’ I said, ‘Well your goal is when you get in here [in about three weeks] is to be up over 100.' And he was up over 100 and that just spoke volumes about what kind of guy he was and the type of responsibility that he takes.”

It’s a symbolic story on a couple levels, showing Locker’s willingness to take instruction, to buy into what a coach asks, to communicate about his progress while separate from the team. It also suggests to Palmer that footwork, which contributed to Locker’s accuracy issues, is improvable.

Locker said he’s maxed out at 113 rotations in 30 seconds of jumping rope in the only time he didn’t hit the rope on his feet. He hasn’t been able to match it, but he can consistently top 100.

And he’s taken it well beyond what Palmer asked.

“He told me to do it once a day, but I couldn’t keep telling him I was getting in the 80s so I had to bump it up a little bit until I started to improve,” he said, laughing.

Locker refused to accept the premise he has accuracy issues and said his completion percentages don’t tell the whole story. At the same time he didn't offer up some of the available excuses -- he had poor protection that meant he was always under fire and forced him to throw more balls away and he had receivers who dropped a lot of passes.

In working with former Jets quarterback Ken O’Brien as he prepared for the scouting combine, Locker said one thing they worked on was his stride length. He tends to overstride which can cause him problems.

Palmer and quarterback coach Dowell Loggains are likely to pick up on what O’Brien worked on and go well beyond it. And if they can get Locker throwing on target, they’ll have addressed the one big question mark that had plenty of people thinking Locker wouldn’t be drafted as high as eighth.

“I know when I went to New York in ’07 that [Eli] Manning was a 56-57 percent passer,” Palmer said. “And we think we have some drills that will be able to help [Locker]. With Dowell being here and the combination of the both of us working with him, you will see strides in his accuracy.

“I think some of that was from injury; the guy is a very courageous football player, and he had some injuries during the course of the year that I think affected that. I will say this to you, when we went and we worked him out the second day, his accuracy was really good.”

Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer is ready for a change of scenery.

The Titans are in need of a quarterback.

I’d tossed out Palmer’s name after Tennessee announced it was finished with Vince Young, but once Marvin Lewis got a new contract from the Bengals and said Palmer was his guy, I backed down. Now I’ll jump on the idea again even as Mike Brown of the Bengals says they won't move the quarterback.

Palmer is no sure thing. He’s not been the same quarterback since the knee injury he suffered in the 2005 playoffs. An elbow problem that surfaced in 2008 has also been an issue.

If he’s physically OK, I would put him at the head of my wish list for the Titans. Jeff Fisher and offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger have long coveted a traditional dropback passer who can scan the full field.

Heimerdinger’s health is a question going forward; he’s battling cancer. But if quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains returns or Fisher puts a coach in place who would assume Heimerdinger’s duties if needed, they’d be in line with a similar philosophy.

Those coaches would likely love to work with a healthy Palmer. His chances of rehabbing his career in Tennessee might be as good as anywhere.

If Tennessee’s offensive line gets back to form, it’s capable of providing time and protecting such a guy. If he’s handing off to Chris Johnson and throwing to the likes of Kenny Britt, Jared Cook, Nate Washington and Damian Williams, I believe the Titans would have a chance to be an effective offense and their bigger issue would be defensive repair.

I’m leaving Kevin Kolb off this list because I think he’ll simply be too expensive on the trade market, or maybe completely unavailable as the Eagles worry about Michael Vick making it through a full season.

Conventional wisdom says the Titans will both draft a quarterback and find a veteran.

Here’s my veteran wish list:

1. Palmer. Maybe I am leaning too much on my memories of him back when he was very good, but if the Titans had a chance to get him back to that form, I’d want to see it.
2. Kyle Orton, Denver. He can really throw it. He’s the sort of hard worker and stand-up guy the Titans covet.
3. Matt Flynn, Green Bay. The sample size is small, but the trade price might be more reasonable. There is always a Rob Johnson/Scott Mitchell issue, where you worry about getting a guy who flashed and it turned out to be just a flash.
4. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle. He's too prone to getting beat up, but he’d have better protection with a fixed Titans’ line and is another smart guy.
5. Chad Pennington, Miami (free agent). His health is a question and he does not have a big arm. But he’s a guy who might give the Titans enough while a rookie is developed.

Two other names that could surface: Marc Bulger (Baltimore) and Shaun Hill (Detroit).

All the Titans need now is a new CBA that would allow for trade offers and free-agent movement.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Good morning from LP Field, where it’s quite cold but early-morning flurries have ceased.

The biggest pregame development is the Titans’ backup situation: Chris Simms has been back in the league for only two weeks, but he will back up Kerry Collins who’s returning from his calf injury.

That doesn’t say a lot for the team’s impression of Rusty Smith out of his start last week. It could also be partly a function of the offensive coordinator situation. Quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains is expected to call plays for the first time ever. If offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who began cancer treatment this week, is here, word is he will serve in an assistant capacity.

Here are all the inactives:

Jaguars: WR Mike Sims-Walker, WR Tiquan Underwood, CB Terrence Wheatley, FB Brock Bolen, DE Larry Hart, DT Leger Douzable, OT Kevin Haslam, OT Adam Terry.

Titans: QB Rusty Smith, WR Kenny Britt, CB Ryan Mouton, S Robert Johnson, LB David Thornton, OL Troy Kropog, WR Lavelle Hawkins, DT Sen'Derrick Marks.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Jeff Fisher let his team sleep in Wednesday, then ran a shorter, less physical practice later in the day than usual.

That was part the coach’s gut feel for what his team needed and part necessity because he’s got some many defensive line injuries -- six of the team's nine linemen are on the injury report.

So there was not a full read on other injured guys.

But quarterback Kerry Collins (calf) ran seven-on-seven for the offense on a day when there was no team period.

And Kenny Britt, who’s been out since suffering a hamstring injury at San Diego on Halloween, said he ran 10 of 12 plays in that period, opening it up on one more than the team would have liked.

Both sounded hopeful.

But Collins is a more likely addition to the lineup a week after the team started rookie Rusty Smith in Houston and was shutout 20-0. Quarterback coach Dowell Loggains is likely to be calling plays with the ill Mike Heimerdinger absent or serving in an assistant capacity from the coaching booth. Having a veteran who can do a lot more than a rookie should make a huge difference for a first-rime play-caller.

The Titans were playing quite well before Britt got hurt and have not been playing well without him, acquiring Randy Moss in the meantime. Moss has had three different starting quarterbacks in his three games and has four catches for 49 yards.

Both Britt and Moss play the X spot, and odds are there will be some sort of time share once Britt returns and/or the team will move him around when using both at the same time.

“I’m not sure, I’ve been asking [receivers coach] Fred Graves if I need to learn another position and he said not yet,” Britt said. “I hope I’m still at the X position.”

Said Collins about the potential of having both: “I try not to involve myself too much in personnel matters. Historically, yes, they both play the same position. I’m sure we’d find a way to get both of them on the field.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Vince Young-Jeff Fisher showdown and its spillover has many observers thinking Bud Adams will ultimately have to choose one or the other.

But the math in the equation is off, and this is not a simple, one-against-one situation.

If the love-struck Adams chooses his favorite quarterback, he’s not only going to lose Fisher, he’s going to lose all, or most, of Fisher’s staff.

While Adams would be making a poor choice, even he’d have to admit that Young at his best isn’t going to do much to offset the loss of some excellent assistant coaches.

All but one Titans assistant coach is working with an expiring contract, according to a Titans source. Fisher’s contract runs through 2011.

In a typical scenario, Fisher would get an extension and then line up his assistants with deals of the same length.

“We are in the process of extending contracts for the entire staff," Fisher said after practice Friday. “I don’t comment on negotiations other than to say we’re in the process.”

But there has been no word on any talks about a new deal for Fisher, and now it’s a safe bet there will not be one before the Young issues are resolved. If they come to fruition, those staff extensions could be for only one season.

And the uncertain labor situation gives Adams the potential to hold off on anything new until after things are settled between the league and the players, in case he has to withstand a lockout.

Whenever it comes around, the staff issue is more significant now given the battle between Fisher and Young and Adams’ comments to The Tennessean saying he expects the two to find a way to co-exist next season.

I think we’re past the point where that’s a possibility and Adams is going to have to make a choice. Hopefully it’s a well-reasoned one.

Pick Young, and you probably sacrifice Mike Munchak.

Munchak is one of eight members of the Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans franchise in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s a steady teacher who recognizes talent and has consistently groomed quality guys. The Titans have regularly had good pass protection and solid run blocking in large part because of Munchak’s exhaustive work.

Pick Young, and you probably sacrifice Jim Washburn.

The Titans’ defense is tied for second in the NFL with 30 sacks. They’ve come from players Washburn has rebuilt such as Jason Babin, Dave Ball and Tony Brown or guys he encouraged the front office to draft, such as Jason Jones. A large number of franchises in the league would love to add a high-energy defensive line coach who can get production from such reclamation projects and draft picks.

Those two are key coaches on a staff that’s widely regarded around the league as one of the best. A staff Fisher has been able to shape and hold onto because of his stability and the loyalty he shows -- occasionally to a fault.

His staff also includes offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, who has been mentioned as a candidate for head-coaching jobs and once interviewed with San Francisco for its top post; defensive coordinator Chuck Cecil; veteran linebackers coach Dave McGinnis, who has been head coach of two teams; defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson, who had an excellent career as a safety for the franchise; special teams coach Alan Lowry, who scripted the Music City Miracle; strength and conditioning coach Steve Watterson; receivers coach Fred Graves; tight ends coach John Zernhelt; running backs coach Craig Johnson; and quarterback coach Dowell Loggains.

They are not all irreplaceable superstars, of course. And with expiring contracts, some of them could be moving on even if Fisher is firmly in place.

Washburn is a Nashville fixture who appreciates the second-chance Fisher gave him in 1999. But if he becomes a coaching free agent, perhaps a team with a bad defensive line would make him an offer too good to refuse.

Still, the chances he stays in Tennessee are far higher if Fisher is in the big office. I'd be willing to bet the same would be true for all the assistants.

If Adams chooses to stick with Young and Fisher negotiates out of his contract, or if another team strikes a deal to give the Titans picks to get Fisher out of his last year, I predict all the assistants would be totally turned off by Adams’ choice.

Some might have to stay if they could to ensure themselves of a job. But given any sort of choice, I believe they’d be unlikely to sign new deals with Tennessee to work under Fisher’ replacement.

More likely, these assistants would rejoin Fisher with a new team if he is able to move on for 2011. If not, they would find jobs elsewhere. The older guys might ponder retirement or take a year off with assurances from Fisher that they’d have a job with him once he re-enters the league.

The top in-house candidate to replace Fisher with the Titans would have to be Heimerdinger, and I believe his loyalty to Fisher would mean he wouldn’t even allow his representative to talk to Adams about the post.

Even Fisher’s harshest critics have to appreciate assistants like Munchak and Washburn and acknowledge they’d be difficult to replace. (You can make a case against Fisher, sure. But in a head-to-head against Young there is no way not to choose the coach.)

If Adams makes his move against Fisher, Fisher could have solidarity from his staff of 16.

If Young is the one shown the door, he’d be walking through it alone.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- A busy day at Titans practice was overshadowed by the terrible news Jeff Fisher had to deliver to his team and then to the media: Offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger has been diagnosed with cancer and will undergo chemotherapy.

Heimerdinger is a crusty football guy with Illinois roots who helped boost Steve McNair to an MVP level quarterback in 2003, during his first stint as the team’s offensive coordinator.

Fisher said his coordinator’s been ill for several weeks.

Here’s the text of what Fisher told us after practice:

“Mike is very sick. And Mike is going to be, potentially as early as today, undergoing chemotherapy for cancer treatment. I don’t know whether or not he’ll be back (Thursday) or whether he’ll be here inside the facility or whether or not he’ll be able to participate in coaching this game.”

“We are going to continue with the game plan. I will make sure this game will get called and the offense will be prepared. I just want everybody to keep Mike and his family in their prayers.”

“He’s been sick -- very sick -- for three weeks. We just got the news this morning.

“I don’t want to go into detail anymore than that. I think we owe it to Mike to allow him to enjoy some privacy with his family.”

“We’re going to do it by committee. Munch [offensive line coach Mike Munchak] is going to handle the run game; Dowell is going to handle the passing game and I’ll make sure the game is called appropriately.”

“One person will call the plays. In all likelihood it will be Dowell [Loggains, the quarterback coach], Dowell can handle it. He’s worked really closely with Mike directly in all installation phases. He’s worked directly with the quarterbacks. In all likelihood it will be him.”

“It’s life, you know. We have to deal with it and we have to move on. Not that we’re moving on from Mike. Mike’s on my heart; he’s been on my heart for weeks. What he’s done over the last couple weeks, considering how he’s felt, is absolutely remarkable. I mean, it’s remarkable. Then you add the events of the weekend to that and it doesn’t make sense. The Vince Young stuff is behind us. We’re going to move on, get ready to play a football game and our guys are going to play hard.”

“The players know. I informed them this morning, and they understand that they’re going to have to do a little bit extra. Everyone is going to have to do a little bit extra. Our focus is on winning the next game. That’s what we are 100 percent committed to do.”

I feel confident Fisher's feelings for Heimerdinger during a tough time have made the Young fiasco even more difficult to swallow and deal with.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Every Monday, Tuesday and Friday, Rusty Smith heads out to the Titans' practice field with quarterbacks coach Dowell Loggains and a young receiver or two.

They try to improve the footwork of the rookie quarterback, a sixth-round pick out of Florida Atlantic.

Then, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday he gets to employ some of the technique he’s trying to polish with a share of the work as the scout-team quarterback.

“He’s doing pretty good and he’s come out on his own and worked extra,” offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger said. “His feet are improved … I still like the way he throws, he still has the arm strength and he’s still doing the things we want him to do.”

No, this isn’t a push for the third-stringer to move ahead of Kerry Collins or Vince Young.

But after this year the Titans will be making big decisions at the position. Young will be heading into the final year of his deal and Collins’ contract will expire. The big, strong-armed Smith could be a big factor in the future. And a lot of people have asked me for a progress report, so here it is.

Heimerdinger says Smith gets a couple of good things out of scout-team work: A better sense of how fast the clock works and the ball needs to come out and how to slide in the pocket.

Smith said Collins takes the first set of scout team work and he generally gets the rest. Inside, the young signal-caller has also been learning how to properly watch and break down film, he said.

“I’m still learning the offense, you can always know the offense better,” Smith said.

As for his work with Loggains…

“In high school and college I relied a lot on my arm strength,” he said. “Now I am trying to use my legs more, which will take more pressure off my arm and gain more velocity.

“At the top of my drop I’m trying to keep a bigger base, not keep my feet closer together. And then when throwing the ball, using the bottom half of my body to produce velocity on the ball, that way my arm can work on making accurate throws. I think I am making progress every time I go out there.”

I’ve spent some time with Smith’s dad in Jacksonville, where the family owns a little restaurant right near EverBank Field. The Patriots showed a big interest in Smith before the draft, so the Titans had good company in courting him.

He’s the sort of guy I believe Heimerdinger would craft if he could draw up a guy to run the offense he’d most like to call.

Now the question is how well and how soon he can develop behind the scenes.

A lot of young quarterbacks are timid when given their first NFL chances. While the since-departed Chris Simms looked timid in preseason games, Smith was far bolder.

“Mentally I think he’s ready,” Heimerdinger said. “He comes in on Tuesdays and studies the game plan, he stands back there with Dowell as Dowell makes the calls, tells him where he would go. Mentally I could give him the game plan. Now whether he could see all that and do all that, that’s a different thing. But he’s really working at it hard.”

Damian Williams is the receiver most often working with Smith, with Marc Mariani joining in at times. Mariani tread lightly for fear of saying anything that could be read as a slight of Young or Collins, but he said Smith “can really zip it in there” and leaves him with sore hands.

Maybe somewhere in the Titans’ future, Smith-to-Williams and Smith-to-Mariani will be key connections.

“That wouldn’t be a bad story,” Mariani said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

ESPN.com NFL Power Ranking (pre-camp): 18

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Since 2002, Jeff Fisher’s Tennessee Titans have had a losing record in the first month five times. Last season, it wasn’t just a bad start, it was a miserable 0-6.

Fisher and his staff have often been masterful at guiding a team’s climb out of a hole, but starting off on more level ground is a necessity if the young 2010 Titans are to re-emerge as a playoff team.

“Camp’s different than it was last year, we have four preseason games rather than five, we had injuries to deal with,” Fisher said. “We’re going to work on a couple opponents [earlier], prepare for them a little differently.

“We need to get off to a good start this year.”

A lot of recognizable names are gone, and that’s fine if a youth movement is as stocked as they believe it is. But it’s the sort of roster that could need time to settle in, which could mean early struggles again.

THREE HOT ISSUES

Will there be sufficient leadership?

Even if Kyle Vanden Bosch, Keith Bulluck, Alge Crumpler and Kevin Mawae were all starting to tail off and even if the Titans feel they have an upgrade over each, that is still as big a loss of collective leadership in one offseason as I can recall. The people in place to lead now -- guys like safety Chris Hope and fullback Ahmard Hall -- have to maintain, or increase, their level of production to attain and maintain the credibility that batch had.

Linebacker Will Witherspoon was the biggest veteran addition, and he looks to be a top candidate to take on a leadership mantle. But as a newcomer he’s got to figure out how to fit himself smoothly into the mix.

“With me it’s more about deciphering how to approach individuals,” Witherspoon said. “…Those are the kind of things you have to figure out. You look at the stages of leadership and different types of leadership. I’m not the guy who’s a loudmouth, getting down a guy’s throat.

“But I will, if I feel like I need to, take a guy aside and say look, ‘Here’s what I see, here’s what going on and here’s how people feel about it. Here’s what I can tell you is going to change it or you’re just going to end up with a real problem.’”

Vince Young needs to play a solid 16 games.

He’s got the league’s most explosive back behind him, an excellent offensive line protecting him and the franchise’s best crop of wide receivers in some time. Things are set up for Young to succeed as the team’s starting quarterback.

The Titans need to know they can count on him to bounce back from play-to-play, series-to-series, day-to-day and week-to-week. They need improved accountability, accuracy and consistency. They need for him not to provide reasons for fans to debate whether Rusty Smith is actually the team’s quarterback of the future.

There are more questions on defense, and the Titans need to do some scoring to allow for the sort of mistakes some of the young defenders are bound to make, especially early on.

Can the pass rush and secondary improve?

The pass rush was insufficient and the secondary failed to hold up when it needed to last. Fisher said the back end needs to be better on play-action but that the regular rush against drop back passes should be improved with a deep crop of defensive linemen.

“If we can get back to where we were with the guys rushing up front in the rotation, they’ll be fine,” Fisher said. “The play-action pass, that’s got to get done by the secondary. You don’t get as quick pressure on the quarterback in the play-action pass. We gave up too many plays in the play-action passing game last year. That’s going to require better play from the linebackers and the secondary.

“On drop backs we should really be able to do some more things.”

They don’t have clear-cut guys as the primary rushers or for the No. 2 corner spot. But they have the next best thing in what appear to be a deep pool of young options.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Harris and Stevens: Offensive lineman Leroy Harris and tight end Craig Stevens might prove more effective than Mawae and Crumpler, the two guys they are replacing. Harris is actually at left guard, with Eugene Amano sliding inside to center. Stevens doesn’t have Crumpler’s girth but can fend off a would-be tackler and/or slip out into a route so long as concussion issues don’t surface again.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Morgan out: First-round pick Derrick Morgan has been sidelined for camp with a calf injury. The defensive end has missed so much installation and work it will be tough for him to contribute. The Titans have to hope some combination of William Hayes (once he’s healthy), Jacob Ford, Jason Babin, Dave Ball and Raheem Brock can effectively rush off the edge from the start.

OBSERVATION DECK

• [+] Enlarge
  Don McPeak/US PresswireLavelle Hawkins has been impressive during the preseason, but can the fourth-year receiver rise on the team's depth chart?
  Offensive line coach Mike Munchak consistently develops talent, but the Titans have virtually no experience behind their starting offensive line. Mike Otto could be sufficient as the backup swing tackle, but they could look for a veteran interior swing guy after cuts.
• Lavelle Hawkins has gotten great reviews and is more of a traditional slot receiver than Justin Gage. It’ll be great for the team if Hawkins provides an option inside, but I’ll wait until he’s deployed in a meaningful game before buying the hype.
• Babin is a new reclamation project for defensive line coach Jim Washburn. He’s suited for the team’s go-get-the-quarterback mentality and in practice, and in the first preseason game, appeared to be getting off the ball with excellent speed.
• Jared Cook is only now starting to flash and create the buzz he generated at this time a year ago. The second-year tight end is a physical specimen and an attractive target, but word is he’s not as reliable as he should be. One thing that can hurt his cause: Stevens, while nowhere near Cook as an explosive threat, has been catching the ball well.
• Dowell Loggains was promoted to quarterbacks coach when Fisher shuffled his staff a bit with the late departure of running back coach Kennedy Pola. Loggains has used some creative new methods to keep things fresh for his guys. It seems small but can make a big difference.
• Ryan Mouton is not on par with the more consistent Jason McCourty or the more instinctive rookie Alterraun Verner among the cornerbacks vying for the No. 2 spot. I expect McCourty to start opposite Cortland Finnegan with Verner backing up the effective, but oft-injured, Vincent Fuller at nickelback. Verner’s ability to find a pick almost every day is one of the big stories of camp.
• Sen’Derrick Marks is significantly stronger than he was as a rookie and could be an influential player for a defensive line that’s expected to be much more productive.
• The Titans saw young defensive coordinators Gregg Williams and Jim Schwartz reach new comfort levels in their second seasons. Chuck Cecil expects to follow a similar course. Cecil knows that if he doesn’t, he’ll face another season of uncomfortable questions.

Reading the coverage ...

Houston Texans

The running backs showed toughness against the Saints, says John McClain.

Darryl Sharpton continues to make his case to be in the lineup during Brian Cushing’s suspension, says McClain.

Owen Daniels hopes to be cleared next week, says Jordan Godwin.

Gary Kubiak told me yesterday that Wade Smith will start at left guard Saturday night in New Orleans and that Chris Myers is set as the starting center for the season. (You’d have that tiny nugget from a tweet Thursday if you followed @ESPN_AFCSouth.)

Indianapolis Colts

I linked to Colts stuff in my post reviewing their preseason game in Toronto.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Joe Cullen sweats his way through meetings in air conditioning, says Tania Ganguli.

Tyson Alualu is back at practice, says Ganguli.

Ganguli and Gene Frenette update us on the Jags with this video.

Tennessee Titans

LeGarrette Blount feels like his temper can make him a target, says Jim Wyatt.

Dowell Loggains is earning the respect of the quarterbacks, says Wyatt. I wrote about Loggains as well.

Vince Young and Matt Leinart are crossing paths again Monday night, says David Boclair.

Justin Gage’s thumb is keeping him sidelined, say Wyatt and John Glennon.

An updated stock report from Wyatt and Glennon.