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Tennessee Titans Preseason: 10 Things We Learned About the Offense

By (Correspondent) on September 7, 2011

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ST.LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 20: Matt Hasselbeck #8 of the Tennessee Titans passes against the St. Louis Rams during a pre-season game at the Edward Jones Dome on August 20, 2011 in St.Louis, Missouri.  (Photo by Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images)
Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images

The Tennessee Titans have finished the preseason 3-1 with the only loss coming by one point to the St. Louis Rams.

The Titans entered the preseason with a lot of questions up in the air about their offense and a few are still unanswered.

Here are ten questions that the preseason has answered for fans about the offense

This Team Is More Disciplined Than Last Years

NASHVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 20:  Michael Roos #71 of the Tennessee Titans is pictured during the NFL game against the Houston Texans at LP Field on September 20, 2009 in Nashville, Tennessee.  (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

This preseason, the Titans rank eighth overall in offensive penalty yards and second overall in team penalty yards. Mike Munchak is making an effort to make sure the team is disciplined and will not kill itself with penalties.

Matt Hasselbeck Is the Starting Quarterback

ST. LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 20: Matt Hasselbeck #8 of the Tennessee Titans rolls out of the pocket against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on August 20, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri.  (Photo by Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images)
Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images

At the start of the preseason, many fans were calling for Jake Locker to start the season. Hasselbeck has shown over the preseason the reason why the Titans brought him in.

Over four games he had a 62 percent completion percentage, 301 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions to amount to a 83.5 passer rating. However, what was most impressive was his ability to lead the team down the field on the majority of his drives.

Jake Locker Is the Quarterback of the Future

NEW ORLEANS, LA - SEPTEMBER 01: Jake Locker #10 of the Tennessee Titans drops back to pass against the New Orleans Saints during their pre season game at Louisiana Superdome on September 1, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana (Photo by Sean Gardner/ Getty Imag
Sean Gardner/Getty Images

If Hasselbeck did good during the preseason, Locker did great. He exceeded all expectations of a rookie quarterback in the preseason.

If you put all of the rookie quarterback stats next to each other in the draft, Locker is the only one who looks like he could start potentially.

He still has some things to work on, so it is a good thing the Titans picked up Hasselbeck to run the offense while Locker continues to prepare for his time as the starting quarterback.

The Titans Have Depth at Runningback

ST. LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 20:  Jamie Harper #23 of the Tennessee Titans carries the ball for yardage against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on August 20, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri.  (Photo by Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images)
Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images

When the Chris Johnson holdout started, many fans were freaking out about the team's chances without Johnson. Then Javon Ringer and Jamie Harper came along. Harper had 4.4 yards-per-carry and three touchdowns in the preseason and Ringer had 5.7 yards-per-carry in the one game he played this preseason.

The depth assures Titans fans that if anything does happen to Johnson, the Titans have pretty good backups to take care of the workload.

Marc Mariani Will Not Be a Huge Threat on Offense

SAN DIEGO - OCTOBER 31:  Marc Mariani #83 of the Tennessee Titans carries the ball against the San Diego Chargers in the game at Qualcomm Stadium on October 31, 2010 in San Diego, California. The Chargers defeated the Titans 33-25.  (Photo by Jeff Gross/G
Jeff Gross/Getty Images

The Titans tried to work Mariani into the offense in the slot position, however it did not work out to the effect the Titans were looking for. Therefore, Mariani will most likely stick to returning duties for the Titans.

Jared Cook Is Poised to Have a Breakout Year

ST. LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 20:  Al Harris #31 of the St. Louis Rams tackles Jared Cook #89 of the Tennessee Titans at the Edward Jones Dome on August 20, 2011 in St. Louis, Missouri.  (Photo by Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images)
Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images

A lot of people predicted Cook to have his breakout year, and he showed them that he was capable of it. The Titans lined Cook up in the slot and at tight end and did whatever they could to get them the ball. Both Locker and Hasselbeck had no trouble making sure Cook had his opportunities.

Nate Washington Could Be the Titans Number One Receiver

NASHVILLE, TN - AUGUST 27:  Nate Washington #85 of the Tennessee Titans stretches for an overthrown pass as D.J. Moore #30 of the Chicago Bears defends during a preseason game at LP Field on August 27, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee.  (Photo by Grant Halver
Grant Halverson/Getty Images

While Kenny Britt is still the best receiver on the Titans team, with all of his injury concerns, Washington could be the go-to guy this year. The knock on Washington for years was his dropped passes, however, he showed fans this preseason that he can be a reliable receiver if the Titans need him to be.

The Offensive Line Could Be One of the Best in the League

ST.LOUIS, MO - AUGUST 20: Matt Hasselbeck #8 of the Tennessee Titans passes against the St. Louis Rams during a pre-season game at the Edward Jones Dome on August 20, 2011 in St.Louis, Missouri.  (Photo by Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images)
Ed Szczepanski/Getty Images

Hasselbeck is thankful for the offensive line that only allowed him to be sacked once during the entire preseason. They also were the offensive line that anyone could run behind. It did not matter if it was Ringer, Harper or Herb Donaldson that was running, they were able to open holes.

The Titans Will Still Be a Run First Team

INDIANAPOLIS - JANUARY 02:  Chris Johnson #28 of the Tennessee Titans runs for a touchdown during NFL game against the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium on January 2, 2011 in Indianapolis, Indiana.  (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

While offensive coordinator Chris Palmer used to be a quarterback coach, he has shown that he will still be implementing a run-first offense. The idea of the run-first offense is to not put your quarterback in third and longs. The team showed they could do that during the preseason and expect more of the same come Week 1.

Screens Are an Important Part of This Years Offense

NASHVILLE, TN - AUGUST 27:  Ahmard Hall #45 of the Tennessee Titans hurdles Tim Jennings #26 and Israel Idonije #71 of the Chicago Bears during a preseason game at LP Field on August 27, 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee.  (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Image
Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Last year, the Titans ran very few screens which allowed a defense to go all out towards the quarterback without worrying about the screen play.

This year, the Titans have shown a multitude of screens including a screen to Ahmad Hall and to Jared Cook. Regardless of who the screens go to, it is nice to see the Titans finally having the ability to take advantage of overaggressive defenses.

10 Things We Learned About the Titans Defense

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TitansTouchdown.com also did an article on the 10 Things We Learned About the Defense

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