Since moving to Tennessee in 1997, the Titans' franchise has produced a host of stalwarts on defense -- Jevon Kearse, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth among them.
But none captivated fans or served as the unquestionable leader of the locker room like LB Keith Bulluck.
Bulluck officially retired Friday with 1,265 career tackles and 19 INTs in a Titans' uniform. Bulluck ends his career ranked third in franchise history in tackles (since 1974) and second among Titans/Oilers LBs in interceptions.
“I definitely would like to thank the Tennessee Titans as an organization,” Bulluck said Friday. “I’m a firm believer in maximizing your opportunity. The coaches I had here, they had an expectation level of me, and I had an expectation level of myself. They pushed me to maximize that expectation level.”
The 11-year veteran retired as a Titans' player after spending the 2010 season with the Giants. Bulluck did not play last season.
Bulluck had at least 100 tackles for eight straight seasons from 2002-2009, including at least 170 for three consecutive seasons beginning in 2002. Former Oilers LB Gregg Bingham (1979-84) held the previous franchise record with at least 100 tackles in five consecutive seasons.
The Pro Bowl LB's durability might be just as impressive. The Titans' first-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft appeared in 135 consecutive games from Nov. 12, 2001 to Dec. 20, 2009. Bulluck's 127 consecutive-game streak came to an end the following week, when he missed the final two games of the 2009 season with a knee injury. If the injury never occurred, Bulluck said Friday that he'd probably still be playing.
“It’s not easy to accomplish that -- playing eight years in this league without missing one football game for medical reasons,” coach Mike Munchak said. “The guy stayed on the field every snap. He wasn’t a guy that was a two-down linebacker, he was a guy that played every snap. Now I think that is something that gets overlooked.”
Bulluck earned the moniker “Mr. Monday Night,” for his three-interception performance against the Saints on Monday Night Football in Week 3 of the 2007 regular season. A Bulluck interception of Drew Brees with 7:34 left preserved a 10-point Titans' lead.
“You study film, you study film, you study film and expect to see certain looks,” Bulluck said. “I just happened to see those looks. Unfortunately for Drew he's now one of the top passers in the league, so I can say I picked off the top passer in the league three times.”
Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham coached Bulluck from 2001-2003 while he served as the Titans' linebackers coach. Cunningham now considers Bulluck to be among of a circle of special players he's surrounded himself with. The circle includes several Hall of Famers.
“As that first season progressed he would bring it up and ask, 'Gun, am I in the circle and I would answer with a pretty quick 'No!,'" Cunningham said.
In the following season, Bulluck missed out on the Pro Bowl despite finishing with 180 tackles -- the most by any member of the organization since 1986.
“It was one of the biggest mistakes I've seen in my 30-year career,” Cunningham added. “I had a chance to leave for coordinator jobs after that year and didn't do it. The reason was Keith Bulluck.”
“Following that year he asked again if he was in the circle, and my answer was a definite and loud 'yes!' That circle consists of Derrick Thomas, Leslie O'Neal (and) Howie Long to name a few.”
MRI taken on Amano's triceps, results unknown: C Eugene Amano had an MRI on his sore right triceps Friday morning, but the results were unknown when coach Mike Munchak addressed the media later in the afternoon.
Amano injured the triceps Thursday night when he was hit on the inner part of his arm by a defender's helmet.
“His triceps got kind of knocked in,” Munchak said. “He's sore, but we just don't know to what extent he's hurt.”
Offensive lineman Fernando Velasco opened training camp as the third-string center but took reps with the first team Friday. Backup C Kevin Matthews remained out with concussion-like symptoms. Velasco's experience at center is limited. He appeared at the position for one practice during OTAs.
“I know what to do,” Velasco said. “I always stayed fresh on all my center calls and snapped the ball every day with the quarterbacks. It's just a matter of being of getting comfortable playing it in live action.”
Another interception for Babineaux: S Jordan Babineaux had an interception for the second straight day when he hauled in a pass from Jake Locker that was tipped at the line by linebacker Will Witherspoon.
“It's always a good sign being around the ball,” Babineaux said. “You always look forward to that first interception knowing that they come in bunches.”
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Tennessee Titans, follow Matt Rybaltowski @CBSSportsNFLTEN
