Post by Guvmintcheeze on Sept 14, 2015 11:37:53 GMT
Marcus Mariota turns Titans from acoustic to electric
TAMPA, Fla. -- The 2014 Tennessee Titans lacked electricity. They were very much an acoustic football team.
Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in a 42-14 blowout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Titans plugged into a wall socket named Marcus Mariota, and voltage ran through everything.
"Eight is special," said cornerback Coty Sensabaugh, a defensive hero in the game who referred to the quarterback by uniform number. "He showed the country what he can be. We have a lot to look forward to. But we have to get back to work."
As they get back to work, national media will descend on Nashville for Mariota's next talk with the press, on Wednesday. Mariota will be the most added player in fantasy leagues where he wasn't already on a roster.
It will be semi-tempting for some players in Nashville to feel like they've accomplished something.
That's why Ken Whisenhunt reminded the team right after the game that a year ago it won a road opener at Arrowhead Stadium and it didn't wind up meaning a whole lot.
Usually teams abide by a 24-hour rule, where they can enjoy a good result or lament a bad one before they put it out of mind and look ahead.
After time in the postgame locker room, I was not sure it was in effect. I didn't see the sort of smiles or laughs that are often paired with 28-point victories. What I saw was a pretty serious group of players and what I heard was a strong sense of context.
"We're not back," said the team's most fun player, left tackle Taylor Lewan. "Just shut it down right now, shut that BS down. It's one game. I think we played well. I think there are so many things we need to improve on. If you guys say we're back, I'm going to kick somebody in the knee, it's going to piss me off.
"We have so much more to prove, we have so much more to do. We're such a young team. If we go in this week and focus, and keep moving forward, then toward the end of the year you can say we're back."
Sunday night we examined how good Mariota was without even really trying to run.
One play where he actually did go downfield illustrated his methods.
He ran out ahead of running back Bishop Sankey when Sankey reversed course on a second-quarter 16-yard gain, and blocked cornerback Johnthan Banks.
"I was just playing football," Mariota said. "... I just kind of got in the way. I wouldn't call it a block."
Said coach Ken Whisenhunt: "Marcus is going to do those kind of things because that's the way he's wired and that's why guys love him."
Even Whisenhunt's talking wiring.
The Titans are officially plugged in.
TAMPA, Fla. -- The 2014 Tennessee Titans lacked electricity. They were very much an acoustic football team.
Sunday at Raymond James Stadium in a 42-14 blowout of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Titans plugged into a wall socket named Marcus Mariota, and voltage ran through everything.
"Eight is special," said cornerback Coty Sensabaugh, a defensive hero in the game who referred to the quarterback by uniform number. "He showed the country what he can be. We have a lot to look forward to. But we have to get back to work."
As they get back to work, national media will descend on Nashville for Mariota's next talk with the press, on Wednesday. Mariota will be the most added player in fantasy leagues where he wasn't already on a roster.
It will be semi-tempting for some players in Nashville to feel like they've accomplished something.
That's why Ken Whisenhunt reminded the team right after the game that a year ago it won a road opener at Arrowhead Stadium and it didn't wind up meaning a whole lot.
Usually teams abide by a 24-hour rule, where they can enjoy a good result or lament a bad one before they put it out of mind and look ahead.
After time in the postgame locker room, I was not sure it was in effect. I didn't see the sort of smiles or laughs that are often paired with 28-point victories. What I saw was a pretty serious group of players and what I heard was a strong sense of context.
"We're not back," said the team's most fun player, left tackle Taylor Lewan. "Just shut it down right now, shut that BS down. It's one game. I think we played well. I think there are so many things we need to improve on. If you guys say we're back, I'm going to kick somebody in the knee, it's going to piss me off.
"We have so much more to prove, we have so much more to do. We're such a young team. If we go in this week and focus, and keep moving forward, then toward the end of the year you can say we're back."
Sunday night we examined how good Mariota was without even really trying to run.
One play where he actually did go downfield illustrated his methods.
He ran out ahead of running back Bishop Sankey when Sankey reversed course on a second-quarter 16-yard gain, and blocked cornerback Johnthan Banks.
"I was just playing football," Mariota said. "... I just kind of got in the way. I wouldn't call it a block."
Said coach Ken Whisenhunt: "Marcus is going to do those kind of things because that's the way he's wired and that's why guys love him."
Even Whisenhunt's talking wiring.
The Titans are officially plugged in.