The Sports Xchange

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota and the offense struggled through an ugly practice Monday with a pair of interceptions and several other passes that were errant in a strong breeze that eventually brought in a thunderstorm later in the day. Mariota and the offense were much sharper in Wednesday’s open organized team activity, but the quarterback remained unfazed by things, good or bad.

“Just drop it, whether it’s a good play or a bad play. I think in any situation in terms of football, you’ve just got to drop it. In that sense, you’ve really got to have short-term memory because you’ve got to move forward and focus on the next play and put your best foot forward,” Mariota said.

Head coach Ken Whisenhunt he seems to be enjoying breaking in his rookie quarterback and getting him ready to start from the get-go. Though he worked with Ben Roethlisberger some during Big Ben’s rookie season, Roethlisberger was not a starter from the outset, getting his chance after Tommy Maddox’s injury in Week 2 of the 2004 season.

But Whisenhunt does have a reference point for trying to meld his system to Mariota. He pointed out his rejuvenation of Philip Rivers in San Diego two years ago as being similar to finding what will work for Mariota.

“I think it’s been good, trying to blend a bunch of different things. It’s very similar to what we did when we went in the first year in San Diego,” Whisenhunt said. “We had a lot of things that we blended together to fit those things that they had done well, and we incorporated a lot of things we’d done and we kind of put those all together. It’s similar in a lot of things, because we’re trying to do some things that Marcus is comfortable with as well as getting him up to speed on some of those. So that’s fun. He’s a great kid to work with. Obviously, he’s a talented player, and he’s doing a nice job.”

–Desperate for veteran depth on the offensive line, the Titans reached out to a familiar face to try and solve the issue. The Titans signed Fernando Velasco, who had been with Tennessee from 2008-12 and was the team’s starting center in his final year before being released in 2013. Since that time, Velasco has bounced from Pittsburgh to Carolina before resurfacing with the Titans this week.

His addition comes as the Titans have two centers nursing hamstring issues — starter Brian Schwenke and rookie Andy Gallik. The situation had left guard Andy Levitre working at center and a couple of players rotating through at left guard, including Jamon Meredith and Byron Bell.

Velasco was released by the Titans when Mike Munchak was still head coach and with a new coaching staff coming in last season, it means that the system is no longer what it was during his first tenure in Tennessee. Still, he was happy to be back in familiar territory.

“(There were) at lot memories. This is where it all started for me,” said Velasco, who first made the Titans as a practice-squad player seven years ago. “I remember coming here in 2008 when I was a free agent from Georgia and just getting started in this league. It’s a blessing. This is my eighth year in the league, and I’m excited to be back.”

–Nose tackle Sammie Lee Hill, who has been out with a sprained ACL since May 26, won’t take part in minicamp next week. Both Hill and the Titans are optimistic that the veteran will be ready to roll when training camp opens in late July.