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14	August 2018

award last month, St. Lou

Mike Vrabel played 14 years in the NFL and the first-year Tennessee Titans coach is more than willing to pick up a pad for drills to get his point across.

And if someone knocks off his sunglasses during the process Saquon Barkley Jersey , not a problem.

�Yes, that�s fun,� Vrabel said Thursday after the Titans� first day of training camp. �That�s when you know it was a good punch. I use that as a barometer when the sunglasses go flying off. But, they�re doing it the right way. They�re delivering a blow and trying to transfer power to stop a guy�s charge, in that case, the punt team and get out and cover.�

The Titans� season opener and Vrabel�s debut as a head coach in a regular-season game is just 45 days away on Sept. 9 in Miami. His preseason debut comes Aug. 9 in Green Bay, and Vrabel was starting to drive his wife and son crazy being at home waiting for the start of training camp.

�You wake up in the middle of the night thinking about should I call a time-out in this situation? Then I�m like, I�m really losing my mind. It�s just good to have the players back Jarvis Landry Jersey ,� Vrabel said.

Not only did Vrabel play in the NFL and win three Super Bowl rings, he�s been an assistant at Ohio State and with the Houston Texans. That means he got to watch some of football�s best make crucial decisions during games, including Bill Belichick, Urban Meyer and Bill O�Brien.

Now it�ll be Vrabel�s turn to decide, and he�s been doing his best to prepare for kickoff by doing what he did so much of as a player: watch tape to help figure out what he can and can�t challenge, figuring out how to use his timeouts, defending an opponent trying to run clock at the end of a game.

�We�ve got a library of 10 years,� Vrabel said. �You can go back and pretty much get whatever game we want and pull up a scenario and play it out.�

For now Denzel Ward Jersey Elite , Vrabel is trying to improve a Titans team that is coming off consecutive 9-7 seasons and the franchise�s first playoff victory since January 2004 � all of which wasn�t good enough to keep Mike Mularkey on the job . Music plays throughout practice to help simulate game-day noise, and his assistants spent parts of Thursday�s session working on fundamentals like tip drills.

The Titans saw their coach throw himself into camp with the same participation and intensity he displayed during offseason organized team activities.

�Oh man, that feels good all the time when you get to hit the coach a little bit,� three-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said. �It just shows you know the stuff that he was doing OTAs wasn�t a fluke. He�s continued to do it.�

Rookie linebacker Rashaan Evans joked that going up against a coach could be a way to work out some frustration. He said it was impressive to see Vrabel working in the trenches, and his new head coach already has given him a tip on how to play better.

�He�s always told me not to think so much but just to play ball,� Evans said. �He says you�re going to make mistakes. But you play fast and aggressive, everything else goes that�ll get corrected.�

NOTES: Two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Taylor Lewan reported for training camp Wednesday with his agents talking with the Titans about a contract extension past this season . Lewan did not take part in team drills, and he said that might be the Titans waiting until the new deal is done. Vrabel disagreed http://www.buffalobillsteamonline.com/tremaine-edmunds-jersey , noting Lewan already is under contract but missed the team�s mandatory minicamp in June . The coach said the left tackle will rejoin team drills when the Titans feel he�s ready.

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A look at what�s happening around the majors Sunday:

CHICAGO�S ACE

Jon Lester has put together some ace-worthy seasons during his 13-year major league career, including four All-Star appearances and a runner-up finish in the Cy Young voting two years ago. The Chicago Cubs left-hander is in the middle of what might prove to be his finest season so far, and he�ll look to become the National League�s first 12-game winner when he takes the mound against the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. Lester is 11-2 with a 2.25 ERA this season, and he�s won his last seven starts � including going 5-0 with a 1.13 ERA during June.

GRADE-A OAKLAND

The Oakland A�s downed Cleveland 6-3 in 11 innings on Saturday, winning for the ninth time in their last 11 games and for the 15th time in their last 19. Oakland sits at a season-high nine games over .500 and will try and stay unbeaten for a seventh straight series when it closes out its series with the Indians. Brett Anderson (0-2, 7.63) starts for the A�s, and Shane Bieber (4-0, 2.97) goes for Cleveland.

GOING GREINKE

Arizona starter Zack Greinke has turned around his season since posting a 5.04 ERA in April and is 9-5 with a 3.35 ERA overall Byron Jones Jersey Womens , including 112 strikeouts in 109 2/3 innings. The Diamondbacks right-hander will take the mound against the San Diego Padres, and he comes in having allowed only two runs in his last three starts combined � a span of 19 2/3 innings.

RICK�S REBOUND

Rick Porcello struggled mightily to follow up his 2016 Cy Young award-winning season a year ago, finishing a disappointing 11-17 with a 4.65 ERA. The Boston right-hander has returned to form this year with a 10-3 record and 3.57 ERA, and he�ll be on the mound when the Red Sox close out their season series with the Kansas City Royals.

OZUNA�S OUTAGE

Since winner the NL�s Player of the Week award last month, St. Louis outfielder Marcell Ozuna has been in a prolonged funk � going 15-for-71 (.211) and failing to hit a home run during that stretch. The Cardinals left fielder was the prized offseason acquisition in a trade from Miami, coming off a season in which he hit .312 with 37 home runs and 124 RBIs. This year, Ozuna is hitting .275 with 10 homers and 46 RBIs in 83 games.

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