Second Quarter Titans Grades: Offense

It’s time for your second quarter grades as the Tennessee Titans are eight games into the 2014 NFL season. Unfortunately, the Titans as a whole have regressed from the 2013 season at every single position so the grades aren’t good. Having said that, let’s forge on with our second quarter grades starting first with the offense.

OFFENSE:

Quarterback: Grade C

Round and round and round it goes and where it stops nobody knows. The quarterback carousel for the Titans continues and this time it’s rookie Zach Mettenberger’s time to take a turn. The Titans have stated Mettenberger will start the rest of the season so this may be the end of the musical chairs at quarterback.

Then again, Jake Locker was their guy until he wasn’t. As professed only two days before they announced the switch to Mettenberger. In one start, Mettenberger wasn’t great but there were positives to take from his performance. Hey, at least he cut his hair and shaved though right? Maybe we can focus on his play on the field from now on.

Running back: Grade D

As noted in our first quarter grades, it’s difficult to blame the mediocrity in the run game entirely on the running backs alone. The playcalling has simply been dreadful at times. Shonn Greene was recently in the news and not for good things either.

Greene was parked in a handicap spot but resisted getting a ticket and left the scene. He was later arrested for a variety of charges including driving on a suspended license. Since the Titans care so much about character, he was inactive for Week 8. Oh wait, no he wasn’t he played against the Texans and got the first carry of the game.

Rookie Bishop Sankey has talent but the offensive line hasn’t been great and with limited opportunities he has yet to get into a rhythm. The Titans seem content to to play eenie, meenie, miney, moe with their running backs. It’s hard for a run game to gel and become solid that way.

Wide receiver: Grade D

In our first quarter grades we gave this group an F because they played soft in the first four games of the year. They get a slight upgrade because Nate Washington finally did show up and because maybe, just maybe, we are seeing signs of progress from second year player Justin Hunter. Kendall Wright is a good player but needs to focus more on running toward the end zone instead of the sidelines.

Tight end: Grade B+

This just in Delanie Walker is still good but teams are keying on him right now since he is the only receiver consistently making plays besides Kendall Wright. Walker remains the offensive MVP of the first two quarters. He is still the Titans leading receiver and one of the most reliable options in the passing game. Walker has been targeted a team high 59 times and has 35 receptions for 475 yards and a team leading four touchdowns.

Walker largely saves the group which has been otherwise rather lackluster. Craig Stevens is a good blocker but has been largely ignored in the passing game. He has also been some playing time due to injury. Taylor Thompson’s season has been marred by ineffectiveness and injury. The Titans are pulling guys off the streets to field a full tight end group.

Offensive line: Grade D

Once considered a strength of the Titans, the offensive line has been a resounding disappointment this year. The Titans lost left tackle Michael Roos to a season ending right knee injury and rookie Taylor Lewan has taken his place. The Titans offensive line of the future has struggled this year due to a combination of penalties and bad technique.

There is still time to turn things around but a group that was expected to be one of the best on the team has inexplicably been one of the worst. Second year center Brian Schwenke has really struggled and the Michael Oher experiment has largely been underwhelming. Perhaps we might see what Byron Stingily can do in the second half of the season. Left guard Andy Levitre is looking more and more like a free agent bust.

There you have it Titans fans do you agree or disagree? What are your second quarter grades for the offense through eight games? Post them in the comments.