“We decided that was the best way to go this week”.
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Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8).
Titans outside linebacker David Bass set up the game’s first score when he tipped a short pass by Ryan and intercepted it at the Falcons’ 19-yard line in the second quarter. “You know in this league any time you come away with a win, that’s the objective”, Ryan said. The Falcons are relying heavily on the duo of Ryan and Jones in passing but with the help of Freeman, they will have a chance to beat the Titans.
Mariota, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft, got off to a strong start to his rookie campaign. Two interceptions hurt. He completed 22 of 38 passes for 251 yards and one touchdown. He’s docked $17,363 for the low hit and $20,000 for a hit to the head.
Whisenhunt didn’t inherit a very good team, but it was 7-9 in Mike Munchak’s final year. So, there were a lot of things going on that I thought he handled well. “For us to have that opportunity was really great”. “The one down the field to Justin (Hunter) and he made another good throw on a crossing route”. Both teams are used to having fourth-quarter difficulties and are hoping to create enough of a lead early on to avoid any surprises late in the game.
Mariota was sacked five times on Sunday against the Dolphins. Mettenberger was sacked once.
The minor silver lining in all of this is that the Titans are going up against a Falcons pass rush that has managed just seven sacks through six games.
Vernon said after the game that he is not “a dirty player”.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt is 1-10 in Nashville, and Tennessee is at risk of wasting a four-game home stand wrapped around the bye, their longest stretch without hitting the road since 1967. They can’t keep playing like this and win football games, but I’m optimistic that a smart coaching staff and quality players on this roster can get the offense figured out and keep the defense trucking, and at 6-1 they still have a major leg up in a muddled NFC playoff picture. “We know it makes it hard for us when we are not in the plus, but we ended up being at even, but I love the way that the finish came up at the end”. In that situation, all we needed was to get 12 yards to get in field goal range to push the game to overtime. “It just won’t be this week”.
“I think our guys are still engaged”, Whisenhunt said. “We’ve just been shooting ourselves in the foot”.
Do you want to make Ohio.com your homepage? “But we’ve got to string together a good, clean football game to try to get the win”.
ACHING SECONDARY: Titans cornerback Perrish Cox also was declared out Friday with an injured hamstring, while safety Michael Griffin is dealing with a sore knee.
Hankerson is a solid No. 2 receiver, and Roddy White still has all the talent in the world to take over a game on any given Sunday.
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“We’ve gotten a few of these young guys reps during the week, so we’re prepared to go either direction”, he said.
