Titans name Jake Locker starting QB

[cruzg24]

Despite a spotty performance in his first preseason start this year, Jake Locker was named the Titans’ starting quarterback for the 2012 season, according to several reports.

The Tennessean newspaper was the first to report on Monday morning that Locker had won the job over Matt Hasselbeck, 36, the team’s starter last season. Locker went 4-for-11 for 21 yards and an interception with no touchdowns in a 30-7 preseason win over Tampa Bay on Friday.

After practice on Sunday, head coach Mike Munchak was evasive on when he would announce a starter, saying that he could take as long as the week leading up to the team’s season opener with New England on Sept. 9. In fact, he said of the decision, “you want to let things play out as long as you can and make the best decision for the team,” according to quotes posted on the team’s website.

Munchak said a gut decision is “always part of” the decision-making process.

“I think when you are projecting players on what you think is going to happen from what you see, you have to have a feel for what you are doing and why you are doing it,” he said, “so that is something I will explain to you all and I will explain to them.”

Locker, 24, is 11-for-24 for 101 yards with an interception and no touchdowns in the preseason. He also had two rushes for 24 yards in Friday’s win. His ability to run the ball gives the Titans’ offense more options, especially with some uncertainty on the offensive line. Last year’s starting center Eugene Amano was lost for the season to a knee injury a few weeks ago.

Locker, at 6-foot-3, 234 pounds, was selected eighth overall by the Titans in 2011 out of Washington. As a rookie backing up Hasselbeck, he played in five games, going 34-of-66 with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

Last week Titans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer said he was looking for Locker’s continued growth as a player in the Bucs game. The Titans must have seen it.

“Be in a situation where he manages the situation,” Palmer said of what he wanted to see. “He hasn’t started a game in over a year, so now he’s going to be the starter and how is he going react to being a starter? Is he going to be under control and handling the situation or is he nervous? It’ll be interesting to see how all of that unfolds.”

Locker was prescient in saying how statistics don’t matter much to him.

“I’m not into stats,” he said last week. “There’s one stat that matters. So, you know, completion percentage and such doesn’t matter much to me. At the end of the day, you want to win games. Whether you’re completing quote-unquote what you need to be completing percentage-wise or you’re finding ways to win games, I don’t think there’s any difference between the two. So I don’t put a lot of weight into that and I never will.”

Hasselbeck, who has been supportive of Locker and mentored him, had a poor performance in the team’s preseason opener at Seattle and struggled at times with injuries last season. He is scheduled to earn $9 million this season.

Source: Fox Sports Tennessee

 

[Teagz]

TTN is happy.

 

[Elite]

Certainly didn't earn it

 

[RipCity32]

TTN is happy.

 

[TTN2810]

Locker earned it in practice. Heard scrimmage numbers, and Locker was throwing half the INT's Hasselbeck was. And also, you just get back BC, and you're baiting already lol. SMH.

 

[cruzg24]

Yea Locker definitely was performing better than Hasselbeck by far. Way too many INT's for Matt too early in camp.

 

[TTN2810]

That's why I was tired of Hasselbeck. If he's going to be throwing those INT's anyways, why not let Locker throw his INT's, but he'll be learning along the way. And while he's at it, he's going to make some big plays and make the offense more dynamic than Hasselbeck, who a dink and dunk QB.

 

[Elite]

Locker earned it in practice. Heard scrimmage numbers, and Locker was throwing half the INT's Hasselbeck was. And also, you just get back BC, and you're baiting already lol. SMH.

Me saying Locker didn't earn the starting job is baiting?


Jesus christ

 

[elcheato]

Having more talent constitutes as earning the job in my mind.

 

[TTN2810]

Me saying Locker didn't earn the starting job is baiting?


Jesus christ

Yeah, because how do you know he didn't earn it? Were you at the Titans camp? Do you religiously read Titans articles? Nope. You pull a weightless ill-informed comment out of your ass, simply to get a rise out of me, when in reality I just laugh at it.

 

[Elite]

Yeah, because how do you know he didn't earn it? Were you at the Titans camp? Do you religiously read Titans articles? Nope. You pull a weightless ill-informed comment out of your ass, simply to get a rise out of me, when in reality I just laugh at it.

I didn't say it to get a rise out of you

I expressed my opinion, doing so is apparently baiting now-a-days

Wasn't a believer of Locker before the draft, not a believer now, and he struggled when given the chance to start in the pre-season game

 

[TTN2810]

See that is fine. I respect that. But if you just go and make the statement, it looks like you just wanna piss people off. You have good reasoning to your opinions, but when you don't express why, it seems like you are just trashing players we like, just to trash them.

Now that I know you actually have an opinion on it, cool. I like debates.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

Certainly didn't earn it

i actually sort of agree with this.

Locker hasn't been too impressive this pre-season. I think he got the starting position because they feel he was a high draft pick and there's no stud QB in his way, so get him 10 games in and see what happens.

It sucks, though. Hasselbeck wasn't bad last year but had injuries very frequently and maybe that's a sign he's at the end of the road. Although it also didn't help that he was without Britt last year.