Jake Locker Looking Comfortable In New Offense

While it's obviously important to take everything you hear this time of year with a grain of well-considered salt, the early reports from the Titans camp paint a picture of Jake Locker getting comfortable with the new offense in a hurry. This is no small thing, considering this will be Locker's third playbook in as many seasons; getting up to speed quickly will be a big accomplishment and will likely play a huge role in how the team fares in 2014.

We've heard that Locker is, thus far, ahead of his recovery schedule for the lisfranc injury he suffered last season.

His new QB Coach John McNulty had a positive review of the signal caller thus far, and it sounds like the team shares that evaluation:

"There's a big difference in that Jake is the leader of the team. Jake's work ethic and his intangibles are unquestioned, and the team looks up to this guy and the team roots for this guy. They want him to be their leader and the guy that makes plays...there's still a belief with everybody that Jake is going to do the job here and they've kind of rallied around that."

- John McNulty, Titans QB Coach

The support is refreshing at a time when many have been discussing the possibility of rookie Zach Mettenberger seeing the field in 2014. As illuminated in recent data from PFF, Locker's sample size for analysis in 2013 may have been small, but he was anything but ineffective. The coaches and players have seen more than we have in and out of camps and workouts.

"He really worked hard mentally in the classroom and kept his spot as the leader of this team even through those injury periods because he was a vocal presence...When he took the field (during OTA's), it seemed like he'd been running this offense forever...He's very comfortable with what he's doing, and in his reads. His footwork has been good, he's been very decisive...His whole demeanor and the way he's run the team has been excellent."

- John McNulty, Titans QB Coach