Colin McCarthy’s film-room work drawing praise

The fact that rookie middle linebacker Colin McCarthy missed practice on Thursday is a concern for the Titans, given that he may be making his second career start on Sunday.

But Titans defensive coordinator Jerry Gray said McCarthy’s ability to learn in the film room – even when he was out injured for three weeks – give the coaching staff more confidence in him than in most rookies.

“The thing about Colin is he pays a lot of attention,” Gray said. “He had been injured for a while and you wouldn’t think that he was paying attention. But all of sudden when you put him on the board and quiz him … he has answers. And to me, that is a guy that’s really astute to what’s going on.

“You don’t have to practice. Do we want him to practice? Of course we do. But if you’re injured and you’re paying attention to what you’re doing, now you become a better football player.

“As a rookie if you can do that, you can go a long way in this league. Because not a lot of rookies have that ability to not practice and watch what’s going on, and then … make plays.”

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(tennessean.com)