ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Tennessee Titans cornerback Jason McCourty has sustained a concussion and his return his questionable after being shaken up making a tackle late in the first quarter against the Buffalo Bills.

McCourty was hurt when he and linebacker Akeem Ayers teamed up to tackle Bills tight end Lee Smith. McCourty lay on the field for several minutes before eventually getting up on his own and walking off to the Titans’ sideline with 3:18 left.

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At some point, Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan would love to know what it feels like to be healthy for an extended period of time, maybe even — gasp — for an entire season.

In the meantime, neither Morgan nor the Titans are willing to lower expectations for the 2010 first-round pick.

He’ll go into Sunday’s game at Buffalo with just two sacks in his 10 games, which are not the kind of numbers forecast for Morgan when the Titans made him the 16th overall selection last year.

“No doubt, (the pass rush) is why he was drafted here, and no doubt, we’d like to have more of that out of him,” defensive line coach Tracy Rocker said. “But the big goal here is winning, and I think he gives us a great chance to win here. He’s going to help us down the stretch.

“We all want everything right now, and a lot of times we don’t get things we want right now. But he’s working hard for us. So maybe we’ll just get out the voodoo dolls and try to get him well.”

Morgan, 22, might just be willing to consider radical forms of healing at this point.

He went on injured reserve just five games into his rookie season after tearing an ACL. He rehabbed throughout the lockout and training camp, but still didn’t feel right.

It turned out he needed follow-up arthroscopic surgery after a stitch came loose inside the knee. That procedure kept him out of the first game and left him at less than 100 percent the next week.

Morgan did feel good for a stretch of games — even totaling six of his team-leading 12 quarterback pressures during one two-week period — but then sprained an ankle Nov. 20 against Carolina.

That left the gimpy Morgan with the tough call of whether to play Sunday in a critical game against Tampa Bay.

“It’s a hard decision in those situations and you have to level with yourself: Am I going to make it worse or is it something I can push through,” Morgan said. “I didn’t practice until Friday, but I felt like it was something I could still push through.”

Unfortunately for Morgan, he didn’t make an impact on the stat sheet in the win over the Buccaneers, failing to post a tackle or quarterback pressure in a limited number of snaps.

“I was trying and doing what I can to make plays, but I probably shouldn’t have played last week,” Morgan said. “I was trying to push through it, but as the game went on, the ankle wasn’t doing so good.”

Morgan might have to play through some pain again this week, as he was limited in practice Wednesday. Assuming he’s healthy enough to play, however, the Titans will be looking for results.

“We have high expectations, so when we put anyone on the field, you don’t take health into consideration,” Coach Mike Munchak said. “You expect a high level of play from guys or otherwise we wouldn’t have them on the field.

“If we thought he was limited to where he couldn’t help us win, (we’d sit him). So we expect the most out of him. We expect him to make plays. That’s why he’s playing.”

Munchak does understand the Titans might not see the best of Morgan until next season, since at that point he will have had even more time to recover from the ACL as well as an entire offseason with the club in its conditioning program.

“I know it’s frustrating for him and he knows that, too,” Munchak said. “It’s not like he’s complaining about it, but I’m sure he’s not as healthy as he’d like to be. Usually they say that after an ACL injury, the third year, which would be next year for him, would be the year he’d feel most healthy.”

Until then, Morgan said he would do what he can to help a pass rush that has recorded just 21 sacks this season — the seventh-worst total in the NFL.

“I’m probably my own biggest critic. I’m doing what I can to make plays,” Morgan said. “But I have high expectations of myself. I’m doing everything I can to exceed those expectations.”

What do you guys think about this.

At some point, Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan would love to know what it feels like to be healthy for an extended period of time, maybe even — gasp — for an entire season.

In the meantime, neither Morgan nor the Titans are willing to lower expectations for the 2010 first-round pick.

He’ll go into Sunday’s game at Buffalo with just two sacks in his 10 games, which are not the kind of numbers forecast for Morgan when the Titans made him the 16th overall selection last year.

“No doubt, (the pass rush) is why he was drafted here, and no doubt, we’d like to have more of that out of him,” defensive line coach Tracy Rocker said. “But the big goal here is winning, and I think he gives us a great chance to win here. He’s going to help us down the stretch.

“We all want everything right now, and a lot of times we don’t get things we want right now. But he’s working hard for us. So maybe we’ll just get out the voodoo dolls and try to get him well.”

Morgan, 22, might just be willing to consider radical forms of healing at this point.

He went on injured reserve just five games into his rookie season after tearing an ACL. He rehabbed throughout the lockout and training camp, but still didn’t feel right.

It turned out he needed follow-up arthroscopic surgery after a stitch came loose inside the knee. That procedure kept him out of the first game and left him at less than 100 percent the next week.

Morgan did feel good for a stretch of games — even totaling six of his team-leading 12 quarterback pressures during one two-week period — but then sprained an ankle Nov. 20 against Carolina.

That left the gimpy Morgan with the tough call of whether to play Sunday in a critical game against Tampa Bay.

“It’s a hard decision in those situations and you have to level with yourself: Am I going to make it worse or is it something I can push through,” Morgan said. “I didn’t practice until Friday, but I felt like it was something I could still push through.”

Unfortunately for Morgan, he didn’t make an impact on the stat sheet in the win over the Buccaneers, failing to post a tackle or quarterback pressure in a limited number of snaps.

“I was trying and doing what I can to make plays, but I probably shouldn’t have played last week,” Morgan said. “I was trying to push through it, but as the game went on, the ankle wasn’t doing so good.”

Morgan might have to play through some pain again this week, as he was limited in practice Wednesday. Assuming he’s healthy enough to play, however, the Titans will be looking for results.

“We have high expectations, so when we put anyone on the field, you don’t take health into consideration,” Coach Mike Munchak said. “You expect a high level of play from guys or otherwise we wouldn’t have them on the field.

“If we thought he was limited to where he couldn’t help us win, (we’d sit him). So we expect the most out of him. We expect him to make plays. That’s why he’s playing.”

Munchak does understand the Titans might not see the best of Morgan until next season, since at that point he will have had even more time to recover from the ACL as well as an entire offseason with the club in its conditioning program.

“I know it’s frustrating for him and he knows that, too,” Munchak said. “It’s not like he’s complaining about it, but I’m sure he’s not as healthy as he’d like to be. Usually they say that after an ACL injury, the third year, which would be next year for him, would be the year he’d feel most healthy.”

Until then, Morgan said he would do what he can to help a pass rush that has recorded just 21 sacks this season — the seventh-worst total in the NFL.

“I’m probably my own biggest critic. I’m doing what I can to make plays,” Morgan said. “But I have high expectations of myself. I’m doing everything I can to exceed those expectations.”

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

By Rick Stroud, Times Staff Writer

In Print: Sunday, November 27, 2011

At 22 years old, they might not let you change lug nuts during the Daytona 500 on your first day with the pit crew. You might not get to anchor SportsCenter on Super Bowl Sunday.

But start every game at middle linebacker for the Bucs?

Now we’re talking.

At least that was the discussion coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik had about rookie Mason Foster in April.

Do they attempt to re-sign steady Barrett Ruud to a one-year contract and let him mentor the third-round pick from Washington? Or throw Foster to the Lions (and Vikings and Bears)?

“A lot of people are going to say, ‘Man, you’re only 22 years old. You’re a rookie. There’s no way you’re going to be able to make those checks and lead the defense,’ ” Foster said. “But at the same time, nothing is impossible. I have a lot of confidence in myself, and I love a challenge.”

Same discussion, different team.

The Titans, whom the Bucs face today, used a fourth-round pick on Miami middle linebacker Colin McCarthy, a former Clearwater Central Catholic star.

But instead of baptizing McCarthy by fire, the Titans signed Ruud to a one-year, $4 million contract.

“We needed some leadership on defense, and Barrett’s been a really good fit for us,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said of Ruud, who spent six seasons with the Bucs.

“He’s a smart player who runs well and can stay on the field every play. He’s a guy that has come in and really quarterbacked the defense well. We’ve had four rookies start at the same time on defense, and Ruud’s done a great job of keeping us together.”

Ruud, 28, fought through a shoulder injury in the preseason to start the first eight games for the Titans this season, recording 63 tackles, three passes defensed, one quarterback hurry and an interception that helped finish off the Colts on Oct. 30. A groin strain prevented him from playing two weeks ago against Carolina. He aggravated the injury last week against Atlanta and will sit out today’s game.

In his first start for Ruud, against Carolina, McCarthy recorded 12 tackles, including two for losses, and a quarterback pressure. After replacing Ruud against Atlanta, McCarthy forced a fumble and led the Titans with 10 tackles.

McCarthy, 23, credits Ruud for his development, particularly film study.

“Barrett’s been playing great,” McCarthy told Titansonline.com. “He’s great to learn from. I think that’s the biggest thing as far as being a younger guy. He’s a guy that’s been around the game. He knows how to study. He knows how to prepare.”

The Titans are tied for seventh in scoring defense at 19.5 points per game. The Bucs are 29th at 26.8.

“I feel like I have a welcome-to-the-NFL moment every week,” Foster said. “I’m facing so many different backs every week and so many different schemes. Against the Texans, you’re going to face zone schemes where offensive linemen are climbing up. You go against the Saints, and you’re playing against a quarterback like Drew Brees and you’re going man-to-man against (running back) Darren Sproles, a super fast guy.

“You learn from your mistakes. Go in there, mess it up and you’ll be better able to handle it next time.”

Foster has played better than Tampa Bay expected. He leads the team in tackles with 73 and has two sacks and a forced fumble despite trying to play two games with sprained ankles. In fact, the Bucs planned on using him only in their base defense. But an injury to Quincy Black early forced him into duty on passing downs, and he hasn’t come off the field except for injury.

“Pretty much, Mason’s playing quarterback for the defense,” Morris said. “He’s making every single call. He’s making every single check. And that’s tough to do.

“It’s hard for me to look at him sometimes and get mad at him when he does make a small mistake in games. You’ve got to go and learn through fire.”

Ruud, who led the Bucs in tackles for four straight seasons, never got enough credit for his football IQ, Morris said.

“He was far beyond,” Morris said. “You’re talking about having the ability to call one defense and have it turn into three different things by the time he was done. He didn’t get enough credit for that. You have to talk about his ability to run a defense, to be that leader.”

Two teams, two approaches.

But you get the feeling both are happy with the results.

[Last modified: Nov 26, 2011 06:57 PM]

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That’s all the news for today.

Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton, center, is sacked by Tennessee Titans’ Colin McCarthy, left, and Karl Klug, right, during the third quarter of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011.

Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton, center, is sacked by Tennessee Titans’ Colin McCarthy, left, and Karl Klug, right, during the third quarter of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011.

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Titans punt returner Marc Mariani (83) races up the field with a 79 yard punt return for a touchdown against the Panthers in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium Sunday, Nov. 13, 2011 in Charlotte , N.C. (GEORGE WALKER IV / THE TENNESSEAN)

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That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

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(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Unless the game goes into double overtime, throwing 60 times is never a good sign for an NFL team.

On a cold, wet, windy day, Colt McCoy chucked 61 passes and completed 40 against the Tennessee Titans. Both figures were Browns records. Yippee. Most were of the maddening, dink-and-dunk variety as the Titans built a big lead and cruised to a 31-13 win in Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Both teams were 2-1 under first-year head coaches and talked of being similar in style. That sure wasn’t the case on the field. The Titans left town looking like a surprise playoff contender.

“I told the team this was a team loss,” coach Pat Shurmur said.

The defense couldn’t apply pressure on quick-thinking quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and uncharacteristically gave up big plays.

Tight end Jared Cook beat linebacker Scott Fujita for a 15-yard catch, then turned it into an 80-yard touchdown when safety Usama Young couldn’t push him out of bounds.

Later, receiver Nate Washington exploited a pick play for 57 yards when cornerback Dimitri Patterson was blocked by receiver Damian Williams off the line of scrimmage. Cornerback Joe Haden ran down Washington at the 4 and sprained his knee on the tackle. Williams caught a fade behind Sheldon Brown for the TD on the next play.

The offense chipped in with its own big play allowed. With a chance to get within 11 points late in the third quarter, McCoy’s ill-fated throw over the middle on the run was intercepted at the Titans’ 3 and returned 97 yards for a touchdown by safety Jordan Babineaux.

“I saw Peyton [Hillis] and we were just on a different page,” said McCoy, who lay trapped on the ground as Babineaux ran the length of the field.

In his return from last week’s bout with strep throat, Hillis had 15 touches (10 runs for 46 yards, five catches for 23 yards) and Montario Hardesty had 12 (seven for 22 yards rushing, five catches for 49 yards). Hardesty’s four drops didn’t help his case for more playing time.

“I need to make those plays and get upfield. Those are the things that I’m going to do and focus on,” Hardesty said.

Sensing an inquisition about some obvious curiosities in this one, Shurmur said in his opening remarks, “You can talk about usage of players and plays, but the end of the day, we lost.”

Besides the burgeoning Hillis-Hardesty issue, Shurmur dialed up a few controversial play calls that didn’t work.

With Tennessee ahead, 14-6, in the second quarter, the Browns had third-and-1 at the Titans’ 41. Hillis and Hardesty shared the backfield in a close split set. Hillis got the quick handoff with no lead block and was stopped for no gain.

“He was the fullback. It was a dive play. We were trying to surprise them. There’s a lot of ways to run the ball on third-and-1,” Shurmur said.

Then on fourth-and-1, rookie Armond Smith was sent in to join Hillis. The backs were in split formation. McCoy pitched out left to Smith. Safety Michael Griffin shot in to stop him for no gain.

“I think there’s a place to be aggressive,” Shurmur said. “I was trying to give us a little bit of a bump there. He’s a fast guy, the fastest guy we’ve got, and we felt like if we got him to the perimeter it was a chance for a big play.”

Earlier in the first quarter, the Browns had third-and-6 from the Titans’ 24. Receiver Josh Cribbs, lined up wide right, came in motion toward McCoy, took a pitchout from the quarterback, reversed his field and rolled out to pass. Cribbs was sacked for a 7-yard loss. The Browns kicked a field goal and added another in the second quarter when McCoy lost a snap at the Titans’ 33 on second down and then threw an incompletion on third down.

“We kind of moved [the ball], but when you get from the 30 (yard line) to the 30, you can’t afford to kill yourself,” McCoy said.

The Browns possessed the ball over 19 minutes the first half and 36:53 overall. The second-half possession time was due to McCoy’s relentless short passing.

“When you’re down that much, they drop guys back [into coverage],” McCoy said. “It’s hard to get a ball downfield. You just hope your guys can make some plays.”

The longest play for the Browns was a 27-yard reception made by Hardesty — on another daring third-and-1 call in the first quarter.

Hillis said of his usage, “That is something for the coaches to decide. I have no control over that. It needs to be handled by the coaches.”

Hasselbeck was the best quarterback so far faced by the young Browns’ defense. He was so good in the first half (8 of 12, 194 yards, three TD, 149.3 rating) that he just needed to hand off to Chris Johnson in the second half. The slump-ridden Johnson finished with 101 yards rushing on 23 attempts.

Hasselbeck exploited Fujita on the play that Cook broke for a touchdown and D’Qwell Jackson on a 12-yard TD to tight end Craig Stevens.

“He knows when to get rid of the rock and when to dump it short,” said defensive end Jabaal Sheard.

“It’s almost like he throws it to blind spots,” said Fujita. “He got us today.”

The loss evened the Browns’ record to 2-2 as they reached their bye week. They will practice for three days and then get four days off (by labor agreement) before preparing for their next game in Oakland.

“I feel we took a step back,” said Jackson. “But we’re 2-2 and we have a lot of time to get ready for Oakland. We’ll be fine.”

On Twitter: @TonyGrossi

For more Cinesport video, go here.

Running low on time today, i’ll be back tomorrow hopefully with some more news.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. –

Matt Hasselbeck is showing he can still pitch the ball around the field. Along with Kenny Britt and Nate Washington, the Tennessee Titans now have more on offense than just Chris Johnson.

Hasselbeck threw for 358 yards and a touchdown, and the Tennessee Titans gave new coach Mike Munchak a big win in their home opener by beating the Baltimore Ravens 26-13 on Sunday.

With the Ravens focused on stopping Johnson, Hasselbeck attacked through the air. Britt caught nine passes for 135 yards and a TD, while Washington had seven more receptions for 99 yards. Rob Bironas also kicked four field goals as Tennessee (1-1) held the ball for more than 35 minutes and outgained Baltimore 432-229 in total offense.

The Titans also showed off their revamped defense.

They sacked Joe Flacco three times and hit him repeatedly while forcing three turnovers, including two interceptions. The Ravens (1-1), who looked so dominant in routing Pittsburgh 35-7 in their opener, forced only one turnover.

Baltimore had one last chance to get into the game in the fourth quarter, when Flacco drove the Ravens down to first-and-goal at the Titans 9. But Tennessee broke up two passes, the last by Cortland Finnegan, while the Ravens were called for delay of game. They had to settle for Billy Cundiff’s second field goal with 6:58 left to pull within 23-13.

Tennessee then ran out all but 31 seconds before Bironas kicked his fourth field goal to finish off the win.

Munchak was doused with a bucket of Gatorade on the sideline before the ensuing kickoff, and owner Bud Adams gave his new coach a game ball in the locker room as part of the celebration.

The Titans set the tone from the opening kickoff, deferring to let Baltimore take the ball on offense. Tennessee forced the Ravens to go three-and-out on their first two possessions, with Alterraun Verner picking off a Flacco pass to end the third. Playing field position helped the Titans push the Ravens to start two drives at their own 4 and held them to 25 yards in the first quarter.

After going into halftime tied at 10 apiece, the Titans took control in the third quarter, outscoring Baltimore 10-0 and outgaining the Ravens 147-43. Javon Ringer finished off the opening drive with a 10-yard TD run on fourth-and-1 with Johnson on the bench.

The Titans could have led by more if not for settling for two field goals by Bironas after turnovers, the last after Cortland Finnegan tipped a Flacco pass to Jason McCourty two plays into the fourth quarter. Bironas kicked his third field goal, a 39-yarder, after that interception for a 23-10 lead.

Not much else going on in the NFL world today.

It looks as if the Titans will have two talented defensive ends returning to the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Ravens.

Derrick Morgan and Jason Jones practiced Wednesday and are expected to play Sunday. They missed the season opener against the Jaguars because of knee injuries.

“We were banged up the first week a little bit and we had some guys playing out of position,” Morgan said. “But I think it will be a positive for our defense to get us both back and contributing.”

Defensive end William Hayes, who suffered a shoulder injury against the Jaguars, saw limited practice time Wednesday and said he is hopeful of playing against the Ravens.

Running back Javon Ringer (hip/back) practiced for the first time in more than a week and said he expects to play Sunday. He missed three preseason games and the season opener.

Safety Chris Hope (shoulder) and wide receiver Damian Williams (hamstring) didn’t practice Wednesday and Coach Mike Munchak said both players are questionable for Sunday.

Williams said he would try to practice Thursday.

Looking for Cook: After he finished last season with a flourish and had a strong training camp, tight end Jared Cook figured to be a significant factor in the offense this season.

That may eventually prove to be the case, but he was only a bit player in the loss to the Jaguars.

Cook was thrown to twice and caught one pass for 7 yards. He had another reception nullified because of a holding penalty on guard Leroy Harris.

The Titans got off to a slow start against the Jaguars and only ran 49 offensive plays.

“Their offense pretty much … took the majority of the clock,” Cook said. “It was just hard for us to get things going. When you come out as slow as we did and you don’t have many opportunities, that’s going to leave you in the negative.”

Cook is very much in the plans going forward, according to Munchak.

“We definitely feel like he’s still a weapon,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”

Incomplete grade: Munchak gave fullback Quinn Johnson a grade of incomplete for his debut with the Titans last Sunday.

With the offense struggling to move the ball against Jacksonville’s defense, the 6-foot-1, 263-pound Johnson rarely got on the field.

“He only got like five or six plays,” Munchak said. “What he did, he did well. But again, it’s hard to get too excited one way or the other. On the offensive side, it’s hard to judge a lot of things.”

Johnson, acquired in a trade with the Packers, is filling in for Ahmard Hall, who was suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Another new Titan expected to make a difference in the run game, tight end Daniel Graham, didn’t even get on the field against the Jaguars.

“There were certain guys we just didn’t get in certain packages because we had so much three-wide because we got behind,” Munchak said.

Practice squad: The Titans signed offensive lineman Troy Kropog to the practice squad.

They had released him from the 53-man roster on Friday.

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