Titans: Team Answers Questions

The Titans answered several of the questions that I mentioned Fans wanted to know Sunday against the St. Louis Rams.

The Tennessee Titans did not even remotely resemble the team that was dismantled in Atlanta a week back. The Titans looked much better as they took apart the hapless Rams of Jeff Fisher 27-14 at Nissan Stadium.

Tennessee started the scoring as new defensive corner Perrish Cox stepped in front of a Nick Foles pass and returned it for a touchdown early in the first quarter. It was the first time the Titans have stopped the opposing team on their first drive in preseason since Pterodactyl’s flew above stadiums.

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The real story of the night came from the offensive line. It was much improved. The line was shook up after last weeks pitiful performance. The highly paid Andy Levitre was benched. That was a great move as he has struggled to block air. Tackle Tackle Byron Bell was moved to left guard next to tackle Taylor Lewan. That made all of the difference.

Rookie Jeremiah Poutasi took over the right tackle position next to Chance Warmack. This looks like the line the the Titans may go with barring injury. I am sure the Titans coaching staff does not want to play Poutasi so early, but they just don’t have a choice at the moment. The youngster played extremely well.

Even more encouraging was the fact that they ran the ball at will on the Rams defensive front. The Rams have one of the best defensive line’s in the NFL. Running back Bishop Sankey had his best game as a Titan as the line created running lanes time and again.

So here are some quick thoughts on the items I laid out in my article prior to the game. These are the points I said fans wanted to see….

Marcus Mariota – The fans want to see Mariota come out and play with poise. They do not want to see a repeat of the first two drives that resulted in Mariota turnovers.

Mariota looked sharp. The Rookie Quarterback started immediately with problems as his headset did not work in his helmet. Mariota took it in stride and marched the team down the field. He ended up 5/8 for 59 yards in limited work.

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Ole Miss star Dexter McCluster dropped a gimme touchdown thrown from Mariota as well. It was a great decision and a great throw. Mariota did not turn the ball over, although one should have been intercepted. So, I think fans did get to see Mariota play with poise, and the fans are behind him.

The Defense – Last week the Falcons sliced through the Titans like a Ronco commercial knife going through a tomato. It was not a good start for the defense. Titans fans want to see this defense stop someone. Tonight they should be able to stop the Rams.

As stated, the defense finally made a stop on the first series. They looked good in stopping the Rams, but as I stated the Rams offense is not exactly the Patriots. The Titans held the Rams to just 21 yards in the first quarter. They got after Foles pretty good, and the Perrish Cox interception was a sign of good things to come.

The Offensive Line – One thing the Rams do have is a dominant defensive line. The offensive line of the Titans must have a good evening just to be able to keep Mariota upright. They can not afford the miscommunications and missed blocks of a week ago

The Offensive line gets an A if you can put a grade on a unit in a preseason game. The revamped line kept the exceptionally talented defensive line of the Rams at bay. Better than that, the Titans actually opened holes for back Bishop Sankey to average 7 yards per carry. It is the best the offensive line has looked in a long, long time.

The Running Backs – Lastly the Titans fans want to see a running game that resembles an NFL style running game. Second year pro Bishop Sankey has not looked good early on. He has trouble breaking tackles to get yards after contact.

Well, Sankey looked like a different back. Bishop hit the holes with abandon. The great thing for Sankey was that there were actual holes to run through. Sankey looked a lot more decisive, and it paid off. He finished with 45 yards on just 6 carries, and even had a 19 yard run. I don’t remember seeing Sankey having a run of over 10 yards for a while.

Running back David Cobb did not have such a great night. He had 26 yards on 8 carries. Many think he will supplant Sankey sooner than later. Sankey did not run like a guy that is ready to give up his starting status.

So overall it was a good performance. You can’t read a lot into preseason games, but this was a performance needed by the Titans. They can build on this. If nothing more it looks as if they have solidified the offensive line. We will see if they go with this same line in Kansas City this Friday. That will be the story of a short week for the Titans.

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