NASHVILLE – Everyone inside the Tennessee Titans organization seems to agree that rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota is the key to the franchise’s future. As Mike Keith, the “Voice of the Titans,” noted before Sunday night’s 27-14 preseason victory over St. Louis, “Marcus just gets it. He gets the job of being a franchise quarterback.”
And there were certainly moments when the 2014 Heisman Trophy winner fully looked the part against the Rams. Such as the first pass he threw, which covered 16 yards. Or his third toss, which went for 35. Or his fifth throw, which would have been a touchdown if Dexter McCluster hadn’t dropped it.
Of course, those three passes in the opening period pretty much covered Mariota’s night, since second-year Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt sent the second overall pick in this past spring’s draft to the sideline for good following one possession in the second quarter.
But that’s also where any serious discussion of the Titans’ quarterback job could get interesting if Whisenhunt would allow it, because as good as Mariota was in the first period, second-year QB Zach Mettenberger was better in the second.
It was Mettenberger who entered the game with 8:58 to play in the second quarter and immediately began acting if he was playing Georgia during his final season at LSU. He hit Hakeem Nicks for a 40-yard completion on his first pass. His second throw was a short but surgically precise touchdown toss to Chase Coffman.