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Justin McCareins: Mirage or Oasis?

By Drexel Perry | July 7th, 2008

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One of the more riveting breakthroughs during the Titans’ May/June mini-camps has been the emergence of Justin McCareins. Roydell Williams’ lingering ankle injury has enabled McCareins to become the favorite for the starting wide receiver position opposite of another Justin (Gage).

Is the Justin McCareins story merely another example of a training camp mirage, or will he be a source of hydration for a thirsty Tennessee Titan passing offense desperate for an oasis?

It is often said that the grass is greener on the other side. Justin’s tenure as a New York Jet was financially greener as a result of the seven-year $27 million contract he signed after being traded from the Titans in 2004.

However, his time with the Jets was a frustrating experience, marked by dropped passes at inopportune times as well as an overall lack of production for a guy that was acquired for a second-round draft pick.

Since returning to the Titans, Justin has been a pleasant surprise during mini-camp. Reunited with new/old Titan offensive coordinator Mike Heimerdinger, McCareins is playing with the moxie of a veteran expecting to play a big role in the offense next season.

The battle for playing time at WR should be one of the more interesting aspects of training camp this season. Universally condemned for their decision to eschew the temptation of acquiring the services of an authentic #1 WR, the Titans will instead rely on younger players and reclamation projects such as McCareins to provide a boost to one of the league’s worst passing offenses in 2007.

As the case with a man possessing an insatiable thirst in the midst of his travels through the desert, the Titans are in dire need of a playmaker in their passing game. Hopefully, McCareins’ performance thus far is a sign of an oasis, rather than a mirage.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 9:05 am and is filed under Offseason, Players, Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “Justin McCareins: Mirage or Oasis?”

Seth Leonard says:

July 7th, 2008 at 11:02 am

We’ll see….
David H. says:

July 7th, 2008 at 11:55 am

Ditto
jrtitans says:

July 8th, 2008 at 3:50 am

Young throwing to the two Justins–can we call it Y2J?
thejetsblog.com » Daily Links: Goodbye to Shea says:

July 8th, 2008 at 7:06 am

[…] asks if McCareins is a mirage or an oasis … neither buddy, he’s […]
Drexel Perry says:

July 8th, 2008 at 7:32 am

Hopefully, we’ll see alot out of Y2J next year.

Thanks for the comments, guys.
David H. says:

July 9th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

I KNOW ITS REALLY OFF SUBJECT BUT I WANTED TO GET AT SOME JAGUAR FANS SO I POSTED A COMMENT UNDER THE ALIAS “TITANS4LIFE” AND ADDED THIS…

WHY DOSEN’T THE MEDIA BASH YOUR WIDE-OUTS? YOU GUYS DON’T EXACTLY HAVE ANY GEMS AT THAT POSITION. LOOK AT YOUR RECEIVER’S NUMBERS BELOW FROM LAST YEAR, BY CATCHES, YDS, AVG, LONGEST CATCH, AND TOUCHDOWN.

Ernest Wilford 45 518 11.5 35 3
Dennis Northcutt 44 601 13.7 55 4
Maurice Jones-Drew 40 407 10.2 43 0
Reggie Williams 38 629 16.6 80 10
Marcedes Lewis 37 391 10.6 25 2
Matt Jones 24 317 13.2 48 4
George Wrighster 17 123 7.2 36 1
Greg Jones 11 99 9.0 27 2
Greg Estandia 9 136 15.1 30 0
Fred Taylor 9 58 6.4 18 0
Richard Angulo 8 81 10.1 22 1
John Broussard 4 126 31.5 56 1
Isaac Smolko 1 5 5.0 5 0
LaBrandon Toefield 1 4 4.0 4 0

VS THE TENNESSEE TITANS

Justin Gage 55 750 13.6 73 2
Roydell Williams 55 719 13.1 48 4
Bo Scaife 46 421 9.2 26 1
Eric Moulds 32 342 10.7 46 0
Brandon Jones 21 248 11.8 35 2
LenDale White 20 114 5.7 15 0
Chris Brown 19 128 6.7 16 0
Ben Hartsock 12 138 11.5 27 0
Ahmard Hall 9 60 6.7 11 0
Chris Henry 6 53 8.8 18 0
Ben Troupe 5 47 9.4 13 0
Chris Davis 5 38 7.6 13 0
Biren Ealy 1 6 6.0 6 0

IT LOOKS PRETTY EVEN TO ME!?!
YOUR QUARTERBACK THREW MORE TD’S WHICH IS THE OBVIOUS, BUT IN TERMS OF PRODUCTION FROM THE ACTUAL RECEVIERS, YOUR GUYS HAVE JUST AS MUCH OF A HISTORY OF UNDERACHIEVING AS WE DO.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?
Drexel Perry says:

July 9th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

Speaking of underachieving, what about the Jags dishing out that big contract to perennial underachiever Jerry Porter?

Of all the things the Jags did in the offseason, thats the one move that I really have a problem with.

Good points, David H.