The Atlanta Falcons are 0-2 for the exhibition season after Sunday’s 17-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Tennessee Titans are 1-1 after Saturday’s 34-27 win over Carolina. Former University of Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs is now 2-0 as the Steelers starter, though he isn’t likely to remain that much longer.
The question is this: In honor of the late Jerry Lewis and his timeless comic masterpiece “The Nutty Professor,” could any of these three – the Falcons, Titans or Dobbs – be better if they had some of the magic potion Lewis used on himself to go from awkward, goofy professor Julius Kelp to lounge lizard Buddy Love?
Let’s start with the Titans, who are coming off a somewhat surprising 9-7 season and want much more this time around.
After Saturday’s win over Carolina – which never would have been that close if the subs hadn’t gotten early work – offensive tackle Taylor Luwan, never guarded with his opinions, shared this one: “When you’re playing at the level we were playing at today, that’s what makes football so much fun. This showed we’re capable of continuing the trend we started last year.”
And they no doubt are. Against a typically tough Carolina defense, the Titans not only collected 22 first downs, they spread them out evenly between the pass and the run. Moreover, they accomplished this with starting quarterback Marcus Mariota playing but 17 snaps.