Titans Prepare To See Keith Bulluck In Different Uniform For 1st Time

[Mr. P]

 

Titans coach Jeff Fisher was Giants linebacker Keith Bulluck’s only NFL coach before Bulluck came to New York during the offseason. Bulluck was sometimes critical of Fisher, and the two experienced much turbulence in Tennessee. When Bulluck was asked Tuesday night about their relationship, he called it a “player-coach relationship” and said he would not go out of his way to see Fisher on Sunday.

 

Here’s what Fisher said Monday about their relationship, and Bulluck going to New York: “Obviously, Keith and I got to be very close and we enjoyed some great times and endured some difficult times together. He had a great run here, and we just weren’t able to get him back. He worked out a deal with the Giants. I put the tape on, and I’m really happy for him. He’s playing well and there was no doubt in my mind that he would come off this injury because he has been healthy his whole career, and he is a quick healer.”

 

Fisher said the Titans might need to make minor adjustments with Bulluck on the field, but does anticipate anything significant.

 

“We’re just going to play, it’s football,” Fisher said. “He’s going to play, and he’ll happen to recognize everyone on the other side of the ball. He’ll probably approach it like training camp.”

 

* * * *

 

Fisher reiterated Tuesday that Vince Young is the Titans’ quarterback. Young was benched in last week’s loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Giants coach Tom Coughlin said the Giants are preparing for Young – not Kerry Collins – and the quarterback has changed since the teams last played four years ago.

 

“He is much more in control of the game,” Coughlin said. “He is much more poised. He is much more calm in the pocket. The ball comes out quicker.”

 

* * * *

 

Don’t expect the Titans to put much stock in last Sunday’s Giants’ 38-14 loss to the Colts. Running back Chris Johnson said the Giants only played six players in the boz, and he typically witnesses eight-player fronts. The Giants’ film against the Carolina Panthers is more telling for the Titans.

 

“When you play the Colts, you play completely different,” Fisher said. “You have to play out of character, and you need to adjust. Everybody has a different approach to the Colts, but there’s certainly nothing on that tape that we will see. ….If I was going to get a real sense of the Giants, I’d look at the Carolina game and not the Colts game.”

 

* * * *

 

The Titans have optimism about Bayonne native and Rutgers product Kenny Britt, a 2009 first-round pick. Britt caught 42 passes for 701 yards last season, but disappointed Fisher during the offseason.

 

“Like many players after his first year, they go home after the season is over and disappear, and he disappeared,” Fisher said. “I was a little disappointed in his participation in the offseason program. He got a lot of things finally put behind him, and has been just fine. He had a good camp, and he made some good plays the other day in the game. I think he is a very talented player, and he has a great future.”

 

* * * *

Johnson was a college teammate of Giants punter Matt Dodge at East Carolina. Dodge was inconsistent for the Giants throughout the preseason, and might have saved his job with a solid performance against the Colts.

 

Johnson, though, has fond memories of Dodge.

 

“He used to kick it out of the end zone,” Johnson said. “He was a great kicker and he could make a lot of plays. He was the type of guy who, if we were back deep, we still… He’s the type of guy who would give us great field position.”

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2010/09/titans_prepare_to_see_keith_bu.html

[Mr. P]

Giants Linebacker Keith Bulluck Readying Himself To Face Former Team

 

NEW YORK — Keith Bulluck walked a red carpet Tuesday night, smiling for cameras at a posh party at which he was honored in midtown Manhattan.

 

It was quintessential New York — although the Giants linebacker was quick to mention much of the charity work he did took place in Nashville, where he starred 10 years for the Tennessee Titans.

 

Bulluck’s two worlds will collide at New Meadowlands Stadium on Sunday when the Giants play host to the Titans. A two-time All-Pro, Bulluck was long the heart of the Titans defense, at one point starting 135 consecutive games and becoming a favorite among fans.

 

The Titans signed linebacker Will Witherspoon during the offseason and let Bulluck walk — just as they moved on from former iconic Titans such as Steve McNair and Eddie George.

 

“There’s no resentment,” Bulluck said before the New Yorkers for Children gala, at which Bulluck was honored for his work with youth in foster care.

 

“I saw that’s how they handled things in the past, that organization. I was able to prepare myself for it.

 

“But no matter how much you prepare, it’s always different when you go through it. It was tough. But at the same time, I’m happy where I am now.”

 

Bulluck initially downplayed the personal significance of Sunday’s game because he’s still seeking comfort in the Giants’ system. As much as it’s an opportunity to play his former franchise, it’s also his third game in Perry Fewell’s defense and he’s trying to determine how he fits.

 

Bulluck was originally signed as a middle linebacker before the team moved him to the outside, where they quickly anointed him a starter.

 

He said Sunday’s game could be advantageous for him because he’s familiar with the Titans personnel after practicing against almost every player on the roster.

 

He lauded Titans offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger and expects wrinkles that he hasn’t seen before.

 

Bulluck said he won’t go out of his way to talk to coach Jeff Fisher — or any player from the opposing sideline — before the game, but expects to embrace his former teammates after the game.

 

“A lot of those guys, I watched them go from little puppies to pit bulls,” Bulluck said. “We all definitely came up together. It’s whatever. However it works out, it works out.”

 

He expects Titans fans to root for their team, but he’d be surprised if they did not root for him on Sunday. Bulluck was long a fixture in the Nashville community, and received an ovation while on crutches during the final home game last season.

 

A foster child from 12 to 18, Bulluck started his organization to help foster children early during his career in Tennessee.

 

After McNair’s death, Bulluck funded scholarships in the slain quarterback’s memory. Once he signed with the Giants, Bulluck bought a full-page, color ad in The Tennessean thanking the fans.

 

“I have a big connection with that city,” Bulluck said. “The people of that town, the people of that city, really makes that team go. They have some of the greatest fans I’ve ever been around in the National Football League. So, I’ll always be a part of that community.”

 

Still, it’s the organization that let him go. As a Giant, he experienced an embarrassing 38-14 loss Sunday night to the Indianapolis Colts, a division rival during the last eight years of his career.

 

Winning this week would be that much sweeter because of the team on the other sideline.

 

“We’re definitely looking to rebound,” Bulluck said, “and there’s no other team I’d like to do it against than the Titans.”

 

http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2010/09/giants_linebacker_keith_bulluc.html

[NightFire]

I hope he is readying himself to watch Johnson running right by him.

[Storm]

I hope he is readying himself to watch Johnson running right by him.

 

That's IF Fewell decides to actually put him on the field...

[Treehugger]

The D will be:

 

Tuck - Joseph - Canty - Coefield - Bernard

Bulluck - Goff - Boley - Wilkinson - Sintim

Rolle

[Bigblue25]

That's IF Fewell decides to actually put him on the field...

damn you stole it, I was gonna say big deal there are zero lb's in our D scheme, 15 starters on defense like Coughlin says just none of them play LB. I got it Bulluck is gonna play QB, because he is not from the south! which is what totally destroys any credibility Eli has, is being from the south.

[boohyah]

I don't think the Titans saw Keith Bullock today.

[Mr. P]

i thought bulluck played pretty well against the run.

[NightFire]