STRESS TEST
Injuries, pressure and competition — it’s not easy being a quarterback in this division these days
It was a mere blip of a performance compared with some he’s had, but it was a critical test for Marcus Mariota.
The Tennessee Titans quarterback, playing in a game for the first time since suffering a fractured right fibula last Christmas Eve, knocked some of that rust off in his preseason debut against the New York Jets this summer. He started and played two series, completing two of three passes for 15 yards and running once for six more.
“It felt great. It was a blessing,” Mariota told reporters afterward. “A lot of hard work was put into it, and I’m very blessed for the opportunity. The recovery process was a long one, and to be able to be out there with the guys meant the world to me.”
For his coaches, it was a chance to exhale — especially after Mariota popped to his feet after a sack by Jets defensive end Leonard Williams that, the quarterback said, helped him “get some of the cobwebs out.”
Hopes are high for Mariota and the Titans this season, especially in a division with quarterback uncertainty elsewhere.
In Indianapolis, shoulder surgery sidelined Andrew Luck for training camp and could keep him from the opener at the Rams.
Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles is coming off a season in which he had 16 interceptions to go with 23 touchdown passes and finished with a lackluster passer rating of 78.8. He had five multi-interception games and typically was a far cry from the quarterback who had five games with a 100-plus rating in 2015. That’s why Chad Henne is in town.
And the picture remains unfocused in Houston, where unheralded veteran Tom Savage is looking to hold off first-round pick Deshaun Watson as long as he can. Savage was installed as the starter without a quarterback competition after the Texans traded Brock Osweiler to Cleveland, but now Watson is pushing to take the job.
Asked how he’ll know when Watson is ready to claim the position, coach Bill O’Brien said: “I think, over time, it develops. You see it in practice. There’s certain things you think about that maybe somebody who doesn’t coach wouldn’t see, but as a coach, you’ve been through it. This is something [where] maybe this guy’s not ready yet or, yes, he is ready.
“He just redirected a protection or checked a run or got us out of a bad play, put us into a better play. And then he did it in a game, and he was able to function in a game.
“Then, it’s his demeanor, his poise under pressure, his ability to come out here and go against a new defense. How did he handle that? It’s all of those things.”
Though Luck entered the NFL only in 2012, as the No. 1 overall pick, he’s already the dean of the AFC South in terms of quarterbacks. He has taken a beating over those five seasons, absorbing 156 sacks, the most of any player during that span. Last season he was sacked 41 times, tying the career high set in his rookie year.
This summer it was journeyman backup Scott Tolzien who stepped in for him.
Luck was playing hurt all last season, yet he put up some impressive numbers, throwing for 4,240 yards with 31 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
“There were times when you play through pain, there were times when it felt great,” Luck said at the start of training camp. “The reality is everybody plays through pain in the NFL. I’ve played through pain every year. This was a little different beast from the standpoint of, as you guys know, my practice schedule was different and altered and certainly that made things difficult from a preparation standpoint.
“There were a couple of times during the year where I would get hit in an awkward position or an awkward way, and it wouldn’t feel great. And it would be a taxing effort to get ready for the next week and the next week. And it didn’t feel like I could go through that [in 2017] and be productive.’’