NASHVILLE, Tenn. – We’ve got the who – Jonnu Smith and Ryan Tannehill – and the what – football workouts.
The when is pretty broad – a few times a week, pretty much since "right when this quarantine thing went into effect," Smith said.
The where is pretty broad – a private South Florida park.
The details of just how weren’t anything that Smith wanted to share during his Wednesday Zoom chat with Nashville media. They’ve got a couple of balls and he does pretty much anything he’d do in a game while working with his quarterback.
We know the why: To get in sync in a way where the two can have a very strong sense of each other when (if?) games arrive.[Unlocked.]
Like most teams, the Titans are spread out and getting most of their work done via Zoom meetings with the physical work coming more often in a solo manner. On top of whatever lifting and cardio they are getting in, Tannehill and Smith are getting in these bonus workouts.
Lamar Jackson and Marquise Brown of the Ravens have something similar going on, also in South Florida.
"I'm sure it will give us a great advantage," Smith said of his work with Tannehill. "Just learning my speed, learning his speed, feeling the football come out of his hands, just catching the football, just knowing the spin on that thing. I'm only learning him more and he's only learning me more so I'm sure it'll be a great advantage..."
"We meet up at a local park that we are able to get into -- not illegally -- without breaking any rules. We're getting all the work in that we can just pretty much everything that we do on Sundays, I'm just trying to perfect that. Ryan's making me better, I'm making him better. We're just building that chemistry. Anything you can imagine in terms of being a quarterback and a receiver/tight end. It's been great work, we've been able to bank some hours. I love working with him."
The meetings the Titans are holding now are voluntary as is whatever work the Titans are doing wherever they are doing it. So Mike Vrabel didn't have anything to offer when I asked if the team had any other players pairing off for work. He's not monitoring any such things. I imagine if two guys are nearby and linking up they'd have mentioned in during a video meeting, however.
“I’m glad that our players that are within the same area are trying to interact and engage with each other,” Mike Vrabel said. “When I watch these guys in the meetings, there’s good dialogue, there’s excellent dialogue. Jonnu (Smith) continues to improve. I’m sure Ryan (Tannehill) is enjoying building a relationship with Jonnu outside of the meetings. …
“Quarterbacks are the ones that tell them, ‘Hey, be here on this route.’ There’s arrows and there’s diagrams… all of the great quarterbacks and tight end and receiver combinations that I’ve seen or know, is the quarterback tells them where he wants them and that’s where he’s going to throw the football. Hopefully, they’re able to work on some of those things, and Ryan and Jonnu can stay in shape and motivated like the rest of our football team.”
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