Tennessee Titans: Why Marcus Mariota will bounce back in 2018
By Hunter Noll
The Tennessee Titans were given an extremely disappointing season by quarterback Marcus Mariota in 2017. He’s poised to bounce back in 2018 though.
The Tennessee Titans had to be sure they had their franchise quarterback after the 2016 effort by Marcus Mariota. Doubts arose again after last season’s performance though. There’s reason to believe he’ll bounce back in 2018 though.
Why? In 2016 Mariota completed 61.2 percent of his passes for 3,426 yards. He threw 26 touchdowns compared to nine interceptions and ran for 349 yards on the ground.
Most of those numbers went down in 2017, when he threw 13 touchdowns compared to 15 interceptions. He threw for 3,232 yards and ran for another 312. The completion percentage saw a slight bump up to 62 though.
2017 also saw a worse supporting cast. Mariota will be getting Tajae Sharpe back in 2018 though. He joins Taywan Taylor and Corey Davis, who now have some experience under their belts. Of course, Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker will be major features in the offense as well.
At running back, Dion Lewis adds a new wrinkle to the offense. He’s a legitimate receiving threat and could lead to some easy yards for Mariota. Meanwhile, Derrick Henry is poised to blossom in 2018.
It’s easy to look at Mariota’s stats in 2017 and consider it a lost year. The quarterback didn’t have much help though. Most of his weapons were either completely inexperienced or injured. Asking a young quarterback to carry an offense like that is a tall task. Now he has that going for him.
Mariota has now been tasked with leading an offense with very little going for it. If he’s ever thrown in that situation again, he’ll have some experience under his belt and hopefully can rise above it.
He also has a new head coach in Mike Vrabel and offensive coordinator in Matt LaFleur. LaFleur spent 2017 as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams — the team that ranked first in scoring in the NFL. They also enjoyed a breakout season from their young quarterback, Jared Goff.
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Before the Rams, LaFleur was with the Atlanta Falcons in 2015 and 2016. The latter year saw Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan win the NFL MVP during easily the best season of his career.
So to review, Marcus Mariota has a healthier and more experienced supporting cast, a shiny new running back, and a new head coach. He also has a new offensive coordinator that’s helped two quarterbacks reach new heights in their NFL careers. It’s time to start betting on a Mariota turn around for the Tennessee Titans in 2018.