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I was excited when the Titans signed Dexter McCluster this offseason. I kept saying that Ken Whisenhunt would use McCluster like he used Danny Woodhead in San Diego last year. McCluster could move around the formation and present match-up problems, I said. Those were the good old days.
Now, with a quarter of the season in the books, I have no idea why the Titans signed McCluster. Through 4 games, McCluster has 4 catches. 4! He has only been targeted 6 times on the season. He also has 16 carries (an average of 4 per game for those of you scoring at home) for 60 yards. In other words, he isn't doing anything that pretty much every running back on an NFL roster couldn't do.
Yesterday McCluster was in on just 9 of the Titans 48 offensive snaps. This is a guy that is supposed to be one of your biggest playmakers. How much can he do when he only plays 19% of your offensive snaps?
Foolishly, this preseason I thought the Titans might have so many weapons on offense that they were going to have trouble finding a way to get the football to all of them. That clearly is not the case. Justin Hunter has been invisible to a liability so far. The same can be said about Kendall Wright and Nate Washington.
McCluster should be insurance for when things aren't going well on the outside. Run a screen to him. Start him in the backfield, motion him out and just throw him the ball and see what he can do. Something, anything, to get the ball in his hands to get a return on the investment.
This team needs a spark, and it needs it now. You sign McCluster to be a spark. USE HIM!
