Can Titans Win In Cleveland?

By Randy Sharber | Sep 16, 2015

Can Titans go to 2-0 in Cleveland this Sunday?

Absolutely they can. But it won’t be as easy as everyone thinks. Titans fans are excited as they have been in a long time here in Nashville. Rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota took the NFL by storm on Sunday when he riddled the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 4 touchdown passes.

The onslaught was so fast that most of the Bucs fans had not even been able to get comfortable in their seats. One extremely uncomfortable seat was that of the Tampa Bay General Manager who oversaw the draft day pick of Jameis Winston, instead of Mariota.

Mariota threw a touchdown in his second completion to speedster Kendall Wright for 53 yards. Winston came right back and did one better. He threw a touchdown on his first completion. Unfortunately for the Florida State Heisman trophy winner it was to a Titan. Ouch.

Mariota was nearly perfect in the game. He was 13 of 16 on the day. He had more touchdowns than incompletions. 4 touchdowns, 3 incompletions. It was the best start in NFL history for a rookie quarterback.

Believe me, it will get tougher. Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt did a masterful job of allowing Mariota to do what Mariota did best at Oregon. He threw quick slants, and the threw them accurately. The Titans even showed a little read option look. To top it off, Whisenunt went uptempo on the Bucs a la Oregon.

Tampa Bay was not prepared. I’m not sure anyone would have been prepared for the Titans offense on Sunday. The Titans looked pretty bad in pre season to say the least. Whisenhunt and Mariota kept this offense in their back pockets.

More from Marcus Mariota

But now it is out there. I am not taking away anything from Mariota here at all. You can’t. But NFL teams will not allow him to throw the easy slants that he threw against Tampa Bay. At least I don’ think they will. I know the great ball fakes on the read option froze the Bucs linebackers just long enough to gain that small alley for the slant.

I doubt the Browns will fall for it. The Browns run a three- four as opposed to the four-three Tampa ran. That puts an extra athletic linebacker in the mix as well for Mariota. Now all thirteen completions did not come on quick slants, but a majority did.

Mariota will be forced to make more difficult throws on Sunday. The good thing for him and for Titans fans is….he can make all of those throws. He can throw the out. He can throw it deep. And he can definitely throw the slant.

He may have gotten the ball out of his hand quicker than any quarterback I have seen since Dan Marino. I mean it was lightning fast. He could have been Johnny Ringo’s “huckleberry” in Wyatt Earp I’m quite sure with that quickness. Doc Holiday could have sat on the sideline and lit another heater.

So can they go beat the Browns? Yes. Johnny Manziel will start for the Browns this Sunday I believe. There are reports saying that Josh McCown has shaken off the concussion he suffered in the Jets thrashing of Cleveland on Sunday. With the new protocol in the NFL, I would be surprised to see McCown.

Manziel got things going quickly when he came in relief of McCown. He started with a fifty yard touchdown strike, but faded down the stretch. Manziel had three turnovers from there out. Needless to say the Browns staff would prefer McCown.

The running game will be the X factor for the Titans. Bishop Sankey finally looked like an NFL running back on Sunday. Back up Terrance West was a Brown two weeks ago. West was traded to the Titans for a sack of footballs and some mouth pieces when he was deemed too immature and unprofessional by the Browns organization.

Not sure, but that could be a little incentive there for West, you think? The Titans offensive line did a great job last week. It will be fun to see how they handle the three-four. Especially newcomer right tackle Jeremiah Poutasi.

One of the things you learn as an NFL fan is that you can’t tell anything from week to week about your team unless you are elite. Fans can not take for granted that this Titan team will walk into Cleveland and walk out with an easy win. Last season, the Titans ripped the Chiefs at Arrowhead in the opener. They won only one other game the rest of the season.

Tennessee needs a win Sunday. It gets decidedly tougher after this Sunday. The Titans get the Colts, Bills, Dolphins and Falcons in the next four weeks. All of those teams will be favored. This is the game the Titans have to win in order to show some sort of progress over last years squad. I think they get it done in Cleveland this week.

More from Tenn Truth

Home/Marcus Mariota