Tennessee Titans: 5 Storylines Proving Minicamp Is Overrated

Fans miss football in the offseason and breathlessly await any update about their favorite team.

Unfortunately, this desire for information often leads to fans fixating on unimportant storylines and buying into the unwarranted hype of players' progress.

Here are five storylines from prior minicamps that show why Tennessee Titans fans should simmer down before getting too excited about players having good (or bad) minicamps.

Alge Crumpler: 2008

There was a school of thought at one time that Alge Crumpler could come into Tennessee and have a positive effect on a young Vince Young.

Vince Young's tenure as starting quarterback lasted exactly one game into the season.

Crumpler posted successive career lows in yards and touchdowns in two unremarkable seasons in Tennessee.

Eugene Amano: 2010

Maybe you could consider this one a cheat, but Amano moving to center was a big story in 2010. He said things like, ''I'm excited for it. I think I'm a great fit at center and Leroy's a great fit at guard. Our line won't miss a beat at all.''

The only problem with the breathless optimism was that Amano was awful in both 2010 and 2011, ranking as one of the worst centers in football.

Flash forward two years, and the big OTA story is how the Titans are looking to replace Amano.

So in this case, the move was justifiably a big story, but only because of how stupid it was.

LeGarrette Blount: 2010

The Titans signed LeGarrette Blount as an undrafted free agent, and immediately experts proclaimed he could make the team.

And he did. Sort of.

He survived the final roster cut down, but the Titans placed him on waivers in favor of newly available veteran linebackers. He signed with the Bucs having never played a down for the Titans.

Blount had an outstanding rookie season in Tampa, picking up 1,000 yards rushing.

Chris Johnson and Bo Scaife: 2010

Contract disputes that last into training camp are serious. Contract disputes that wipe out minicamps aren't worth worrying about.

Scaife and Johnson sat out minicamp in 2010, but suffered no ill-effects. Johnson reworked his deal with the team by mid-July, forever putting to bed his contract complaints. Or at least for a year.

Johnson had a wonderful 2010 season and made the Pro Bowl.

Scaife's numbers were slightly down in 2010, but he did post a career high in touchdowns despite a revolving door at quarterback for the Titans.

Javon Ringer: 2010

With Chris Johnson out, all eyes were on Javon Ringer, and all reports were that the Titans were thrilled with him.

Ringer was going to be a big part of the Titans plans in 2010, right up until he wasn't.

He finished the year with a gaudy 4.7 yards-per-carry average, but only got 51 carries on the season. All that promise wasn't fulfilled in 2011 either. He ran for just 185 yards on 59 carries.