Jake Locker Holds Inside Track To Winning Tennessee Titans Starting QB Gig
By Josh Sanchez
It is becoming more and more clear that second-year quarterback Jake Locker has the edge in winning the Tennessee Titans starting quarterback job. Titans head coach Mike Munchak talked to the media today and said that Locker just needed to keep doing what he’s doing if he wanted to become the Titans starter.
“I think Jake Locker just has to do what he has been doing out here,” Munchak said.
Locker outplayed Matt Hasselbeck in the Titans preseason opener and was rewarded with the start this week when Tennessee takes on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Locker has yet to start a NFL game and this will be his opportunity to show that he can lead the team’s first-string offense onto the field for the season opener.
“He needs to do what he did last week, but finish the drives as an offense,” Munchak said. “He finished and got the field goal on one of his drives. His one drive we didn’t get a touchdown, so it would be nice to see him, even though he isn’t going to get as much time as he’d like, out of 20 or 25 plays, get at least two drives where we do something positive with points. We’d like to see us go up by 10 points, move the ball, stay on the field and find a way to make plays. Those are the things you want to see.”
As for Locker’s lack of game experience, Munchak does not seem concerned.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Munchak said. “I think it’s just something he needs to do and it’s helpful in the process for any player to go out there and get a chance to play. When I was playing, I didn’t go out there and start any preseason game, but then I started in the first regular season game. Guys do it all the time.”
If Locker can put together another outing where he gets the better of Hasselbeck, he will likely be named the team’s regular season start and get the first regular season start of his career. As a comparison, Hasselbeck has 147 regular-season starts. Locker was drafted to be the team’s franchise quarterback and it looks like they are ready to give him the chance to show the Titans they made the right decision.