“And that puts the threat on defenses because if you’re not where you’re supposed to be, you’re going to get creased”.
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The Titans may have gotten the No. 2 pick and Marcus Mariota, but there was only one very bad team on the field on Sunday.
His absence means the Titans (3-9) will play three rookie receivers Dorial Green-Beckham, Tre McBride and Andrew Turzilli – against the Jets (7-5) along with veteran Harry Douglas.
“I understand what he’s saying, and to a point you buy it, but to a point you have to be consistent with your team and do the same things that you’ve been doing”, Bowles said. “He can throw it and beat you in the air, and he can beat you on the ground”. There pass defense has regressed some, however, and has allowed 280 yards per game over their last three to opposing passers.
The lesson of trying to take care of himself to avoid hits is something Mariota said he learned several years ago – albeit the hard way.
The Titans picked up just their third win of the season last Sunday, defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars, 42-39.
The Titans will try to establish some sort of read option running game with Mariota early on in an attempt to draw the defense in and open up the passing lanes deep down the field. The New York Jets are coming off a stunning victory over the new York Giants last Sunday that now has them holding a wild-card spot in the AFC playoff race.
In other words, the Titans are not particularly tall and they are especially not-tall in the secondary. “Those guys are big, huge run-blockers, and they understand”. We ran the ball, we threw the ball and they executed. After throwing for six touchdowns in his first two games, he ran off just three touchdowns against five interceptions in the next three games, and then bounced back with another four-touchdown performance. He attended on Wednesday, did light running and was limited Thursday.
Having Mariota around certainly helps, and the rookie is as healthy as he’s been since spraining the MCL in his left knee October 18.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for rookie quarterback Bryce Petty.
“It was a good throw today”, Mularkey said of Andrews’ pass. “It was a better throw than he threw during the week”.
“There was no communication to upstairs or the linebackers”, Mularkey said.
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He did not practice all week and was ruled out by the Titans on Friday. Among the Titans’ inactives was WR Kendall Wright, who suffered a rib injury last week.
