JasonHall Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Just as the Tennessee Titans began to show promise, their season came into question when starting quarterback Jake Locker suffered a hip injury in the 38-13 win over the New York Jets in Week 4. After being carted off the field and undergoing multiple examinations, he is expected to miss four to six weeks, according to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean. The Titans, who finished last season with a disappointing 6-10 record, look to add to their impressive 3-1 start without the services of their franchise quarterback. Enter Ryan Fitzpatrick. The nine-year veteran will take the reins in Nashville and provides plenty of starting experience for multiple teams. Prior to signing a two-year deal with the Titans as a veteran option behind Locker, the former Harvard quarterback was a three-year starter with the Buffalo Bills, after spending time as a backup for the St. Louis Rams and Cincinnati Bengals. Fitzpatrick enters the Titans' upcoming matchup against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs with a 59.4 completion percentage, 14,444 yards, 93 touchdowns, 81 interceptions and a 77.0 passer rating for his career. Although his numbers aren't stellar, he should offer a serviceable replacement in the absence of Locker. I'm not saying that he's going to put up Peyton Manning-esque numbers or lead the league in passing, but Fitzpatrick will bring veteran experience to a young, improving team. With a top-10 defense, a strong running game and a talented group of youthful receivers, the Titans should be able to continue their success with a capable game manager like Fitzpatrick. The biggest obstacle facing Fitzpatrick and the Titans is a tough schedule. Tennessee is scheduled to face Kansas City (4-0), the Seattle Seahawks (4-0) and San Francisco 49ers (2-2) before its Week 8 bye in the guaranteed four-week span without Locker. However, the Titans also have several favorable matchups including Week 9 at the St. Louis Rams, Weeks 10 and 16 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Week 12 against the Oakland Raiders and Week 15 against the Arizona Cardinals. Outside of Jacksonville, Tennessee's remaining AFC South matchups will be the true test as to whether it is a serious playoff contender. Already holding a 3-1 record, the Titans are in excellent shape to make a serious postseason push with either quarterback if they can manage to survive their difficult schedule.Click here to view the article Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WG53 Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Paragraphs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titansfan920 Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Good article! (Other than the Jim Wyatt of the USA Today part.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 He may be more than serviceable.  Also, to date, he's been the polar opposite of what the OP characterizes as a "game manager"  Fitzpatrick is a very streaky passer who has put up some big numbers and had some massive games with less talent than is around him right now. He's also proven to be mistake prone, and has turned it over alot, but we can't know how much of that is driven by playing on awful Bills teams where he was obliged to force things at times. Force it, he did.  I expect him to play well and it won't surprise me if he has some games where he puts up some big numbers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earlers Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Bills have just as much talent as Titans. Stevie Johnson is better than all Titans receivers. Spiller and Jackson better than CJ. We signed Levitre from them. Wishful thinking that Fitz may be better because we have supposed better talent. OILERMAN 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OILERMAN Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Bills have just as much talent as Titans. Stevie Johnson is better than all Titans receivers. Spiller and Jackson better than CJ. We signed Levitre from them. Wishful thinking that Fitz may be better because we have supposed better talent. Â Agreed, I keep hearing the Titans have better skill people. The Bills also had a great OL when Fitz started for them. Â What the Titans have is a very good defense so he won't have to try and win the games by throwing the ball 40+ times a game Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 My God you people think things through so simplistically. The Bills have been awful for years and that means playing from behind. It doesn't matter where their talent deficit is....as an example if your special teams are shit and garbage that makes things tougher for the QB. Everything is interconnected. In any case Oilerman touched, spastically so, on the bigger point which is he's not going to have to throw it 40 times every game to win like he did In Buffalo. This is because we're a more TALENTED football team.  That said the "draw up" that we're going to game manage the qb position and we'll win and hide him won't come to pass. At some point your QB and offense has to make plays in this league to win today.  If we win Fitzpatrick will have to do more than game manage things and he is capable of that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Looking at logs...Last year against us he was 27-35, 4TD's, 110 QBR. Â No wonder we signed him! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 He threw for over 300 yards in every one of his last 4 games vs. the Pats and he lost all but one.  In those 4 games he had 10 td's and 11 int's. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMJ Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Agreed, I keep hearing the Titans have better skill people. The Bills also had a great OL when Fitz started for them.  What the Titans have is a very good defense so he won't have to try and win the games by throwing the ball 40+ times a game  Backpedaling already? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschool Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 paragraph placement is terrible. WG53 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WG53 Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 paragraph placement is terrible. It was originally 1 large wall of text with no paragraphs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OILERMAN Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 Backpedaling already? Â LOL coming from you and about what? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 "game manager". Lol. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pragidealist Posted October 6, 2013 Report Share Posted October 6, 2013 LOL coming from you and about what? Cmj doesnt back paddle. He saves time and effort by just constantly walking backwards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.