Can Jake Locker Win the Titans QB Battle?

I typically don't care for the national coverage of the Tennessee Titans. This is not a "they never give the Titans any respect thing" because I don't care about that. If the Titans win a Super Bowl, they will get all of the coverage in the world.

It does seem, however, that they don't spend as much time doing their homework on the Titans as they would other teams. For evidence of that, I submit Gregg Rosenthal's article from this morning saying that the Titans don't actually have a quarterback battle because the media members closest to the team all expect Matt Hasselbeck to win the job. I agree with the majority that Hasselbeck will be the starter week 1 against the Patriots, but that doesn't mean that Jake Locker can't win the job.

Mike Munchak and Chris Palmer have been saying since last season that this is an open competition. It would be really stupid for them to say that if it wasn't true. What happens then if Locker clearly outplays Hasselbeck in camp and the preseason? Does Rosenthal really think Munchak and Palmer are going to then look Locker in the face and tell him they are going with Hasselbeck? That would do more damage to his confidence than telling him from the start that it is Hasselbeck's job.

Hasselbeck is clearly the front runner to win the job at this point, but that does not mean that it isn't a competition. May the best QB win.