Air McNair One for you Sling...

[Homeless]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Steve McNair stared down part of his past Friday.

On the first play pitting Tennessee's offense against the Miami defense, McNair found Derrick Mason for a long touchdown down the left sideline against Sam Madison, the Pro Bowl cornerback who has intercepted McNair four times in his career.

McNair didn't stop there. He completed three of his first four passes, and the Titans equally controlled the Dolphins' defense during the first of two days of work between the teams.

``We were a little, let me find the right word, rusty, tentative or something,'' Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor said. ``We weren't real good. That's being honest and being picky about it. Obviously, we set a high standard for ourselves, and we didn't live up to that this morning.''

By the end of the second practice, each team had won as many plays as they lost.

Miami and Ricky Williams ran easily against a Titans defense that was second in the league last season against the rush, while Tennessee took care of the Dolphins' passing offense, including an interception by Mike Echols to end the first-team's two-minute drill at the end of the day.

Both Titans coach Jeff Fisher and Miami coach Dave Wannstedt were happy at the end of the day.

``Every time you work against different philosophies, different schemes, there's challenges. Defensively, this morning against the run, we got gassed, which was good,'' Fisher said. ``We haven't seen the pulls, the traps, those kinds of things. Ricky's a great back.''

Wannstedt said his Dolphins got such quality work he could stay for a month even though they conclude Saturday with a scrimmage.

``This afternoon was a lot better than this morning. The guys came out this afternoon and picked up the pace a little bit. I think there was a little more hitting than this morning. It was crisper,'' Wannstedt said.

The Dolphins wanted to set the tempo early, especially on a defense that has added perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau, tackle Jeff Zgonina and safety Sammy Knight. Instead, the Titans came out firing early and often against a unit that was third against the pass last season.

``To play like that against a defense like Miami, it's just a momentum builder for your offense, even though it's practice,'' Mason said. ``The tempo's still pretty high.''

Safety Brock Marion delivered one of the hits of the day on Titans receiver Eddie Berlin after he caught a pass in the two-minute drill. Berlin came back on the next play to catch a touchdown pass at the back of the end zone.

McNair had his shin kicked late in the day, and Madison did intercept him once, when the ball bounced off receiver Drew Bennett. That was only one of two passes Titans quarterbacks didn't complete over a nine-pass stretch in that drill.

Wannstedt spent plenty of time watching his defense, and he liked what he saw, especially Knight, who split time with Arturo Freeman. He had warned his Dolphins he didn't expect them to know what the Titans would do on offense or defense.

Taylor would have sacked McNair once as the Dolphins covered up the Titans' receivers, and Miami cornerback Terrell Buckley just missed an interception of a ball intended for tight end Frank Wycheck.

The Dolphins got to test their offensive line against defensive end Jevon Kearse, who practiced only in the morning session. Williams said he enjoyed running against a different defense.

``With Zach and Junior on our defense, they know what we're running, so it's hard for us to get better. Here we get holes and different looks, and it's a little more fun,'' Williams said.

[Slingblade]

god...they did great with no stud receiver....i bet if he had moss, owens, or harrison....he would be the best Qb in the NFL

[yoda83]

i'm from stl and i would probably agree w/ you.

[Homeless]

Im hoping mason will see more receptions this yr, his other targets just dont cut it. (Im hoping mason because I ended up with him in the survivor league LOL)