New Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota has a chance to start immediately if the number two overall selection can beat out veteran Charlie Whitehurst and second year man Zach Mettenberger in training camp. The odds appear to be in his favor.
Mariota is an electrifying quarterback who played for three seasons at Oregon and put up prolific numbers. Oregon ran a spread offense but Mariota’s touchdown to interception ratio is off the chart and his passing numbers are exceptional. His rushing numbers do add to the allure but isolated to passing the production cannot be denied. The Titans must think so too since they thought highly enough of him to draft him with their first round pick.
Already Mariota might be the best quarterback option on the Titans roster. That’s not a knock on Whitehurst or Mettenberger who both did the best they could behind a leaky Titans offensive line last year. It’s just a reflection of how badly the team needs a spark, any spark, at the position.
The Titans went 2-14 last year but there were problems far beyond the quarterback position. They attempted to address some of those issues in free agency and the draft but this is a team assuredly still in “re-building” mode.
Mettenberger didn’t win a game as the Titans starter last season but he did show some promise. He injured his shoulder late in the season and missed the last three games. Whitehurst beat Jacksonville in a close game which is nothing to write home about. Jake Locker won the season opener but ended up on injured reserve with yet another injury.
Enter Mariota who can operate out of the shotgun (the Titans continued to run it a lot last season) and has the ability to create and extend plays with his legs, if Ken Whisenhunt will let him. Whisenhunt of course is the wildcard here and not just because he might prefer veterans. His style of offense caters more to the dropback and sling it quarterback than the elusive running/throwing dual threat guy.
This is the conundrum for the Titans. They need a spark but the guy who can give it to them might be the one who can improvise with his feet. On the flip side, Whisenhunt and company, more particularly General Manger Ruston Webster, need to win in order to keep their jobs. In a perfect world where job security was a luxury and time was an option they might have rolled with Mettenberger and built around him. It’s not a bad plan.
However, the NFL stands for “Not For Long” league and teams more often than not these days feel compelled to turn to the younger guy for that offensive jolt. Teams drafting that high rarely have a settled quarterback in place and with the shorter rookie contracts they must know what they have sooner rather than later. The viability of this plan of course remains questionable but the pressure is real nevertheless.
Mariota might not start immediately but you cannot discount the possibility. The Titans need to win and win desperately they haven’t done a lot of that lately. Gone are the days when Steve McNair could sit behind Chris Chandler and watch even if the veteran wasn’t enthusiastic about training his successor. Mariota is almost certain to see the field in 2015.
Did the Titans tacitly acknowledge this by going offense heavy in this year’s draft? They drafted an offensive guard/tackle, a center, two wide receivers, a full back and a running back. With a defense still very much in question they spent scant attention to it in the draft. Granted, they did add defensive talent in free agency but Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the next Titans success story. This team had a lot of holes entering the offseason.
Right now, its hard to tell if Mariota will be the day one starter or not. There is still training camp to maneuver and another period of free agency. It seems unlikely they will add any additional real competition for Mariota and his main opposition would seem to be Whitehurst. If so, it’s not that difficult to imagine him winning the job on pure talent alone.
Ken Whisenhunt said before the draft that Mariota would start right away but its difficult to tell whether that is pre-draft hype or not. More recently, Taylor Lewan said he and Zach Mettenberger would battle over the job in camp. I suppose we will see.
Mariota might not start immediately but it is surely not out of the question. Whether he is the day one starter or not, you can bet he will be under center sooner rather than later.
