Titans stumble to bye trying to clean up mistakes

TERESA M. WALKER
AP Pro Football Writer

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Titans first-year coach Ken Whisenhunt needed less than eight games before talk of hosting a playoff game switched to a full-blown youth movement.

Blame the quarterback situation and injuries.

The Titans hoped Jake Locker, the eighth overall draft pick in 2011, finally would stay healthy and lead a playoff run in his last year under contract. Instead, they find themselves 2-6 at their bye week, having lost six of seven with four starters lost to season-ending injuries. Locker missed three of four games before being benched.

So rookie Zach Mettenberger, their sixth-round draft pick out of LSU, became their third starting quarterback last week in a 30-16 loss to Houston. He’s the fourth rookie to start this season for the Titans, who are giving regular playing time to 12 guys with fewer than three years of experience, adding to the growing pains of learning a new offense and defense.

“It’s an adjustment period,” Whisenhunt said. “That’s why some of the young players playing so much now is a great benefit for us because they’re getting that experience, and it’s going to help us going forward.”

That’s not what fans want to hear regarding a franchise that last reached the postseason in 2008 and has had only one winning record since.

Ownership has been working to persuade fans to use the tickets they must buy to keep their personal seat licenses. The sellout streak that started when the stadium opened in 1999 remains alive, yet the stands haven’t been full even once this season. Mettenberger’s first start drew the Titans’ second-lowest local TV rating since 2006.

Winning, at least at home, would help. The Titans have lost eight of their last 10 home games.

Whisenhunt is preaching patience for a team that had three games decided by a total of five points before the loss to Houston. His confidence in his offense and coaching approach stems from helping Arizona turn around a 3-5 start to an 8-8 finish in his first year there, and the Cardinals went to the Super Bowl in his second season.

“At some point it’s going to pay off, and we hope that it’s very soon,” Whisenhunt said.

How quickly depends on the progress of Mettenberger and his young teammates. Mettenberger threw for 299 yards last week, the most yards a rookie quarterback has had in his first start for this franchise since Jacky Lee in 1960. His development could keep the Titans from using their top draft pick on their third quarterback in a decade.

Top selection this spring Taylor Lewan has taken over at left tackle. Second-round pick Bishop Sankey leads the team in carries while looking for his breakout game as a running back. Second-year receiver Justin Hunter has been more promise than production. Rookie linebacker Avery Williamson led the defense in tackles last week.

The Titans are one of the NFL’s most penalized teams, leading to other woes. Tennessee is last in the league in third-down efficiency, and only two NFL teams score fewer points per game. When the Titans return from the bye, Whisenhunt will have officials at practice throwing flags, and the coach will pull players who can’t clean up their play.

“We know what we have to correct,” receiver Kendall Wright said. “We see it. It’s right there. I feel like we’re about to turn a corner. And after this bye week, it’ll be a good time to turn the corner and show people how the Titans should have been playing football.”

The schedule only gets tougher after the bye with a trip to Baltimore on Nov. 9 before a home game with Pittsburgh on Nov. 17. The Titans visit Philadelphia and Houston in consecutive weeks and close out the season with Indianapolis. Home games with the Giants and Jets plus a trip to Jacksonville in December could be their best chances for wins.

They remain focused on this season, optimistic they can win out, the kind of talk veteran receiver Nate Washington likes to hear. Washington points out he won a Super Bowl with Pittsburgh as a No. 6 seed, and he says the Titans just need to help the rookie quarterback.

“The organization did a right job of getting Zach and giving him an opportunity right now, and I think everybody in the locker room understands he can get the job done,” Washington said. “We’re just trying to be better with our end of the deal.”

___

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

___

Follow Teresa M. Walker on Twitter: http://twitter.com/teresamwalker

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up