With the Titans having drafted receivers Damian Williams and Marc Mariani last month, the pressure is clearly on Paul Williams and Lavelle Hawkins to improve their performances — pronto. "This is definitely a big season for me and Lavelle,'' Williams said. "We've been here. Nothing is really new for us. So there are no excuses for us not to go out and do big things.'' Said Hawkins: "You have to compete every year to be on the team. I never once came in and thought I had a spot. So that's nothing new.'' There were some signs during the second half of last season that things were coming together for Hawkins, who was inactive for the first six games. He hauled in a career-best four passes in a Nov. 29 win over Arizona and followed up with two catches against Indianapolis, accounting for six of his seven catches on the season. "A lot of things really slowed down for me as an individual,'' Hawkins said. "Toward the end of the season, I built a lot of trust, being on the field more and in all three spots.'' A glance at the depth chart shows the challenge that lies ahead for Williams. He's already listed behind draft pick Damian Williams, grouped in with free-agent signees Phillip Morris and Mico McSwain. "My thing is to learn — to know everything in and out,'' Williams said. "A lot of times guys coming in for their first, second and third years … the game is real fast for them. This offseason, I kind of took time and studied the game, went back to football school a little and slowed things down.'' Source: The Tennessean
