ATLANTA -- You might expect to see a rip job here on Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota after his first NFL game, which started with two turnovers, one returned for a touchdown and loads of questions.
That’s not what this is, though. This is praise for the second pick in the May draft, a quarterback the Titans hope to build their franchise around for the next decade.
I was not sold on Mariota coming out of Oregon, mainly because his limited time making NFL throws from the pocket, but he did some really good things after his two turnovers Friday night against the Atlanta Falcons. The biggest and most-important thing: He responded.
All that talk of his not throwing a camp interception might have been the biggest waste of time since Deflategate -- even as it t became a daily story in some spaces. That was all erased when his screen pass was picked off on his first possession wearing a Titans uniform.
“The interception watch is over,” Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said.
It was a play the Titans have run in practice, but not against the defense the Falcons ran. It caught Mariota off guard. He acted like a rookie in his first game.
So what?
It happens. Throwing a pick on a screen pass isn’t the same as locking on a receiver and forcing a pass into double coverage. That’s easily correctable and judging by the rave reviews from players and coaches, that’s exactly what will happen.
Every Titans coach I talked with said the same thing: That kid is a stud.
But two turnovers to open your career -- even in a preseason game against the Falcons at the Georgia Dome won 31-24 by the home team -- will bring out the skeptics. Bouncing back from them should help quiet them some -- for now.
“It didn’t rattle him too much,” Whisenhunt said. “He didn’t get frustrated.”
On his third possession, Mariota was 5-for-5 for 78 yards, showing off the ability to stand in the pocket and make throws. On a third-and-12 play from his own 18, he fired a rocket to Harry Douglas for 17 yards and a first down. He showed poise and patience on that throw, without the lean to take off and run.
“I just kind of shrugged it off,” Mariota said.
After that, his confidence seemed to rise as he sat in and made the right throws and the right decisions. That’s something the staff has raved about. His ability to run the offense, making the right reads, is far better than even some them expected.
The players, the coaches say, knew five minutes into his first on-field workouts that he was the guy.
The start Friday night, though, was excoriating to watch, and Titans fans had to wonder if this was Jake Locker all over again, despite his impressive camp so far. On the first possession, Mariota’s screen pass was picked off by linebacker Justin Durant and returned 21 yards to the Tennessee 9. That set up an Atlanta touchdown.
It got worse the next time out. On third-and-6, Jonathan Babineaux beat Chance Warmack and knocked the ball from Mariota’s hand as he was loading to throw. Paul Worrilow picked it up and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown.
On that play, Mariota opened to the left, but stayed on his primary receiver too long. He did come off him and had a receiver open in the middle -- which is where he was going with the ball -- when the ball was popped loose. The next time he won’t stay on the primary so long and that will be completion.
Whisenhunt praised Mariota for going through his reads on that play. That’s the learning part and the positive on a play that ended with a big negative. It takes time to learn how to go through progressions, especially from where Mariota was at Oregon, playing in the spread system.
Mariota got mad after that, showing it on the sideline. There is fire in that belly, even if he comes off as so docile at times.
“You lose games because of turnovers,” Mariota said. “I was upset with myself.”
Mariota finished 7-of-8 for 94 yards with the one interception and a passer rating of 76.0. The best stat for the future: There wasn’t one play where he took off to run. The only rushing number on the stat sheet was for the sack because they said the ball came out of his hand before it was hit. That’s not what happened, but, needless to say, he didn’t run. For a quarterback who flourished as a runner in college, that’s a big deal.
His third drive of his young career should give the Titans fans hope. Mariota stood in and made the throws. Now it came against Atlanta’s second unit, but that’s an aside.
Mariota showed what many have said about him: He doesn’t get fazed or caught up in the moment. The coaching staff raved to me about his ability to bounce back.
On paper, this first outing might look like a disaster. A deeper dive will show the there was a lot of good to come out of all that bad.
It’s only one game, but there were signs that make me think this kid could end up being a lot better in the pocket than I ever imagined.
