Between The Posts: Playing To His Strengths

A 2-14 team is never going to be the squad best-prepared to accommodate a young QB. The Titans struggled in multiple departments last season; including facets of the offense that directly affect quarterback play. The offensive line is still a question, but the team have taken steps to remedy the group, which is (for the most part) young and talented. The wide receiver group got a healthy infusion of talent, and the backfield will likely be completely retooled.

Enter Marcus Mariota, whom Titans fans and coaches are hoping was the missing piece. QB was the crux of the team's problems last year. Not the only one, but arguably chief among them. Reports following the first few weeks of OTA's suggest the team is going the extra mile to put him in the best situation to succeed. And that isn't by compromising the offensive system to a college-friendly variant either. While reports from OTA's are never going to be scathing, I think the team is being genuine when it reports his growth thus far. Onlookers have been impressed by what they have seen, and by all accounts from writers and analysts familiar with the Xs and Os of Mariota in Oregon's scheme, many of which have been detailed superbly on this site, Mariota's transition may not be too big of a project after all.

While we won't really know what the Titans have in him until week 1, I can't help but share in the optimism that the team have found the piece they have been missing for a decade.