Tennessee Titans News Links: "...his ascent is just beginning..."

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All off-season we heard the term "Exotic Smashmouth" when it came to the offense the Titans were implementing. We've seen the "Smashmouth," and we've even seen some of the "Exotic" so far this season. I mean. We've seen Taylor Lewan catch a touchdown pass (which was pretty awesome honestly), and just last week we say Murray throw a touchdown pass. Apparently there is a full bag of tricks when it comes to this offense, and they can pull one out when they are ready and willing to use one. Mularkey ran quite a bit of trick plays when he was the OC in Pittsburgh where they ran 140 of them in 2001, and about 100 in 2002. Dang. The personnel was different though, so we shouldn't expect to see a number like that here in Tennessee.

Quick Hit: Lewan fined $30K for playing patty cake with back judge Brad Freeman on Sunday.

Rishard Matthews has been turning it on lately. So much so that he has scored six touchdowns in the last five weeks. On Sunday he gave a salute when he scored. The gesture was made to honor Veterans, but more specifically: his brother. His brother was a Marine who passed away while serving his country in Iraq. Matthews says his brother, Christopher Ruiz, has been the key to all of his success, and that football has done a good job at distracting him from the untimely death of his beloved brother. Thank you for your service, Christopher Ruiz!

Quick Hit: An article from a local paper here (STL Dispatch): Mariota rising with Titans

Wyatt passes us some notes from yesterday's practice! WHOO!...whoo. Talked about it a little bit above, but some chatting about trick plays occurred yesterday. Robiskie said Mularkey has a playbook full of "gadgets" and different trick plays. Robiskie only hinted at there being 120 trick plays, but Mularkey says there are even more in his "arsenal." Murray is only 70 yards away from rushing for 1000 yards this season. He returned to practice yesterday, and said his toe feels better than it did last week. The Titans only have 5 drops this season on 210 catch-able passes (Wyatt references STATS LLC for these numbers). Mularkey said he gives credit to the receivers. He admits he's probably been harder on the WR core than any other group on the team, and the guys are responding. Keep. It. Up!

Quick Hit: Murray lays foundation for Mariota's success.

Bonus Link!: Examining the reemergence of the Tennessee Titans

That's all for today. Happy reading!