Ryan Fowler wants his starting job back. He admits it's his fault for losing it.
Sure, he spent the final weeks of the 2007 season and another three months of that offseason recovering from two shoulder surgeries. Six hours a day of a slower-than-expected rehabilitation was enough to cause him to lose some of his zest for training. A report linking him to a steroids probe (he was never suspended) bothered him as well.
Still, last week Fowler said there was "plenty of time" to recover from last year's minicamps and training camp, where Stephen Tulloch moved ahead of him on the depth chart at middle linebacker and stayed there for all of the season.
"More than anything, I got a little too complacent," said Fowler, a sixth-year pro who started all 14 games he appeared in during the 2007 season, his first with the Titans.
"I thought that I could sort of coast through the offseason. Not to say I didn't train, but I probably didn't train with the same kind of passion that I had in the past."
Now, however, the passion is back.
"That's the kind of effort we want from all our players," Coach Jeff Fisher said.
Tulloch will make Fowler's task difficult. He did, after all, take advantage of his chance to start, finishing second only to outside linebacker Keith Bulluck in tackles for the Titans last season.
Fowler has regained much of the mass he lost last offseason and said he feels like he's in the best shape of his career. He said he's moving better this spring than he did in 2007, when he compiled 73 tackles as a starter.
"He's getting stronger, getting faster, getting more mobile," Titans strength and conditioning coach Steve Watterson said.
Fowler finished last season with 27 tackles, but linebackers coach Dave McGinnis said he was impressed at how Fowler handled his demotion.
"He still maintained a completely professional attitude," McGinnis said. "Worked extremely hard, anything he could do to help — he was on special teams, on extra linebacker packages, was very deep into the meetings. That to me is the sign of a consummate professional."
But training camp performances go a long way toward determining the lineup, of course. Fowler said he understands that this time he must be ready if he is to change the minds of the coaches.
"This year I will be," he said. "I won't make the same mistake again."
From the Tennessean
