Titans Look For 'Spark' From Quarterback Change

Ryan Tannehill will start in place of Marcus Mariota on Sunday

Mike Vrabel does not believe that Ryan Tannehill is unique among NFL quarterbacks.

“[He] has mobility. I think he’s shown that he can stay in the pocket and get the ball out,” the Tennessee Titans head coach said. “He has some toughness and a lot of the same qualities that every other quarterback has.”

Nonetheless, the hope is that Tannehill, a 31-year-old in his eighth season, can make a difference for a Titans offense that has faced increasing struggles in recent weeks, capped by a 16-0 loss Sunday at Denver. Vrabel confirmed Wednesday that Tannehill would replace Marcus Mariota as the team’s starting quarterback beginning with this Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Nissan Stadium.

The role is nothing new for Tannehill. In seven seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who drafted him eighth overall in 2012, he appeared in 88 games, all as a starter.

It is the team and the situation that are different.

Tennessee traded two draft picks (seventh round in 2019, fourth round in 2020) in March to acquire Tannehill (plus 2019 sixth-round pick) and immediately named him Mariota’s backup. That thinking was reinforced throughout offseason and training camp workouts, when Mariota got the overwhelming number of reps with the first team offense. Similarly, Mariota was the starter in each of the three preseason games he played.

Prior to Wednesday’s practice, Tannehill’s regular season practice time had been limited almost exclusively to work with the scout team offense.

“I haven’t gotten a ton of reps up to this point, so the ability to go through the walkthroughs, to go through practice reps and just be on the same page in everything we do – communicating with the offensive line, being on the same page with the receivers,” he said. ‘It’s huge. Trust is an impeccable part of this process, so really [I] just have to work through this week, take advantage of every opportunity, every practice rep, every chance I get to talk through something and be ready to go on Sunday.”

He takes over a unit that has struggled throughout the season to convert third downs and to protect the passer. The Titans moved the chains fewer than 30 percent of the time in four of their first six games (twice it was fewer than 20 percent) and they enter the week 29 in third-down efficiency at 29.5 percent. They also have allowed a league-high 29 sacks, 25 of Mariota and four more on Sunday after Tannehill was inserted late in the third quarter of the loss to the Broncos.

Recently, the offense has not scored much either. Three times in the last four outings Tennessee finished with seven points or fewer capped by the shutout loss to the Broncos. In each of those three, the Titans were scoreless at halftime.

For the season, they rank 27 in the league in total offense, 28 in points per game and 29 in yards per play.

“I think that we have to continue to prepare, and give (the players) a plan, and try to show them what we feel like are the keys to the game, what we’re trying to do and why we’re trying to do it,” Vrabel said. “… I think there’s a lot of things that go into it. I hope they play hard. I mean, that’s our job is whether they rally around (Tannehill), or play hard, or execute, or catch the ball, or block. We have to play better offensively, everybody understands that.

“… We’re trying to get a little spark.”

Tannehill said he spent his time on the sideline watching and listening. He paid attention to the way players and coaches interacted and was careful not to overstep his bounds with what he said or when he said it. He called it a valuable educational experience that has shaped his thinking as he returns to his more familiar role, which is also the one he prefers.

“I love competing,” Tannehill said. “I love being on the field. I love playing on Sundays. I love practicing, I love just being on the field with the guys. So, to go out and kind of get a starting role back at this point is real exciting for me and I definitely want to take advantage of it.”