Colts Season Preview: Weeks 1-4
By Evan Reller
Aug 23, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) calls plays at the line during the first half against the St. Louis Rams at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Week 3
At Tennessee Titans
The Titans were bad in 2014. It wasn’t just the clear lack of a quarterback, but just about at every position on the roster. They had one of the worst defenses in the league to go along with a terrible offense, which is why they had the second pick in the draft.
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Marcus Mariota might indeed be the franchise QB they’ve searched for since Steve McNair, but he is still a rookie. He’s going to have a tough time adjusting to a more typical offense as opposed to the spread he ran at Oregon. That means taking snaps under center and making full reads of opposing defenses.
Mariota won’t have a lot of help either, as the offensive line is horrible and he won’t have a talented running back to take away any pressure. The Titans will have to be patient with this team, as Mariota has players he can learn with but they won’t be making much noise in 2015. He isn’t jumping into a situation like Russell Wilson where the defense can bail him out either.
Having Jurrell Casey paired up with Brian Orakpo (if he’s healthy) could make for a dangerous pass rush, and adding Da’Norris Searcy to the secondary will certainly help too. The defense might have gone from abysmal to just average, but it isn’t the kind of improvement that makes a team less reliant on the offense. It just means fewer blowouts.
The Colts pummeled the Titans 68-27 over two games, the second of which the starters rested for the majority of the afternoon. I don’t see that changing in 2015. The scores might be tighter, but the Colts will still come away with a win.
Next: Week 4