|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Titans, Tulloch Hot at Halfway |
| By playerpress.com wire service | November 10, 2009 |
|
After a disastrous start, the Titans may finally have righted the ship.
Tennessee lost their first six games a year after going 13-3. Only a bye week seemed to be of any help, as the Titans have won two straight, beating Jacksonville and San Francisco.
Starting middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch leads the team with 68 tackles, one more than fellow linebacker Keith Bulluck, through eight games. Tulloch, in his second season as a starter, also has one sack and has recorded double digits in tackles in 5 of 8 games. He said a talk with coach Jeff Fisher went a long way toward righting the ship over the bye week.
“Coach Fisher said going into our bye week, get away from football and reflect on the first half of the season, then come back and forget about it,” Tulloch said. “A lot of guys took that to heart. I saw a new team, with more life, an extra spark. Now we want to keep building and not regress.”
Tulloch, a 4th-round draft pick out of North Carolina State by the Titans in 2006, took over from Ryan Fowler as the starting middle linebacker in the fifth game of the 2008 season and started every game through the end of the year and into the playoffs, where Tennessee was stunned by the Baltimore Ravens.
Tulloch finished 2008 with 84 tackles, second-most on the team after Bulluck, including 64 solos, and one sack while earning a reputation for big plays and crucial times. His one-on-one tackle of Dominic Rhodes on fourth-and-short led directly to the Titans’ victory over the Colts in Week 8 and the Titans got off to a 10-0 start before finishing 13-3 and winning the AFC South division title. “Tully” also had a big fumble recovery the following week in an overtime victory against Green Bay. |
|
|
|
|
| Tulloch, Titans Want More |
| By playerpress.com wire service | July 3, 2009 |
|
Last season was Stephen Tulloch’s first as a starter for the Titans.
Tulloch, a 4th-round draft pick out of North Carolina State by the Titans in 2006, took over from Ryan Fowler as the starting middle linebacker in the fifth game of the season and started every game through the end of the year and into the playoffs, where Tennessee was stunned by the Baltimore Ravens.
Tulloch finished with 84 tackles, second-most on the team after Keith Bulluck, including 64 solos, and one sack while earning a reputation for big plays and crucial times. His one-on-one tackle of Dominic Rhodes on fourth-and-short led directly to the Titans’ victory over the Colts in Week 8 and the Titans got off to a 10-0 start before finishing 13-3 and winning the AFC South division title. “Tully” also had a big fumble recovery the following week in an overtime victory against Green Bay.
Tulloch was not satisfied with his outstanding season last year, for himself or the Titans.
“This season I’m ready to take the next step,” Tulloch, entering the final year of his contract, said. “I want to become the dominant player that I know I can be. I would rate last season about a 7 from 1-10. There’s room for improvement. It was my first year as a starting linebacker on the team, a chance to get my feet under me, learn how to prepare from week to week.” |
|
|
|
| Tulloch, Titans Rising Fast |
| By playerpress.com wire service | November 6, 2008 |
|
At the start of the season, Stephen Tulloch was a part-time linebacker, working hard to carve a niche for himself in Tennessee.
Eight games into the season, Tulloch is a full-time starter who has become a symbol for the Titans’ defense—hard-working, underrated and, thus far, unbeatable.
Tulloch became a starter in Week 4, taking over at middle linebacker for Ryan Fowler on Sept. 28. Playing next to next to Keith Bulluck, Tulloch, a third-year player who was a fourth-round draft pick in 2006, has had big plays in the last two games as the Titans have improved to 8-0—making them the only remaining undefeated team in the NFL.
In the team’s seventh game against Indianapolis on Oct. 27, Tulloch made a one-on-one stop of Colts back Dominic Rhodes on fourth-and-one at the end of the third quarter, turning the ball over to the Titans at a key juncture in a tie game.
“The D-Line created pressure and I was able to sneak through and make the hit,” Tulloch said. “When I hit him, he jolted back and I knew I had him.”
The Titans took the ball and drove down the field for a field goal. They never looked back and went on to a 31-21 victory.
Tulloch made another big play last Sunday against Green Bay, recovering a fumble late in the game to stop a Packers drive in a game the Titans would go on to win in overtime, 19-16, to remain undefeated.
Tulloch also led the Titans in tackles with eight against the Packers. He Tulloch will start once again when Tennessee puts its undefeated record on the line Sunday on the road against the Chicago Bears. With Bulluck hampered by a ribcage injury, Tulloch might move to the outside while Fowler takes over in the middle. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|