Arizona Cardinals vs Tennessee Titans: Postgame Grades and Player Analysis

The Tennessee Titans held on to win their second game of the preseason over the Arizona Cardinals 32-27 on Thursday night. The win came during the all-important third preseason game, when teams tend to play their starters for a much longer stretch than the other games.

Now to take a look at the final postgame grades and evaluations for the Titans.

Quarterbacks

Jake Locker: B-

Jake Locker finished up the night with 11 completions on 20 attempts with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Locker showed an ability to go through reads and use the pump fake to help open up space for his receivers. He also exhibited the ability to scramble as a last resort, with 11 yards on two carries. However, Locker threw several passes behind or too high for his receivers and they bailed him out with some great catches. His accuracy remains a concern, but as long as Locker avoids the interceptions, the team will always be in games.  

Matt Hasselbeck: C- (only played in fourth quarter)

Hasselbeck didn't get a lot of opportunities to throw the ball. He finished the night 1-of-4 for 10 yards and failed to really factor into the outcome of the game.  

Runningbacks

Overall unit: C

The Titans running game was pretty much non-existent for most of the night. Minus Locker's 11 yards on two carries, the team finished with 62 yards on 21 carries. A far cry from the 216 yards rushing they racked up last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

Chris Johnson was largely ineffective with just 27 yards on 13 carries. He seemed to be a bit lethargic the longer he was in the game, but he did show burst when given the opportunity.

Jamie Harper and Darius Reynaud were only a bit better, with Harper scoring from 15 yards out late in the game.

Wide Receivers

Overall unit: B+

Kendall Wright and Nate Washington each took turns being the main cog in the offenses' passing attack. Wright struck early with a 10-yard touchdown on his first reception.

Wright made a spectacular grab on a high throw over a defender that he was able to turn into a 29-yard gain. Washington later completed the drive, pulling in a perfect pass from locker for a 28-yard touchdown.

Wright finished the game with four receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown, while Washington finished with three catches for 39 yards and a touchdown of his own.

Overall the receivers did a great job of getting open, but Locker failed to consistently deliver solid passes.

Tight Ends

Overall unit: B

Jared Cook pulled in Jake Locker's awful deep pass for 35 yards in the second quarter and was mostly invisible the rest of the game. The tight ends were not heavily featured in the game as the team ran a lot of three and four receiver sets. 

When Cook and Stevens were in, they did a solid job of helping to pass block, but with just 12 completions for the game, it's difficult to make your presence known.

Offensive Line

Overall unit: B+

The Titans offensive line did a great job of pass-blocking throughout the game, keeping the quarterbacks clean all game. However, they did allow the Cardinals to get penetration on running plays on several plays as well. It was very reminiscent of last season, bringing up the question of whether the interior of the O-line has actually been fixed.

Offense

Titans Offense - Q4: D+

The Titans offense produced two more three-play drives before scoring from 15 yards out after a turnover. The Titans offense was largely inconsistent throughout the game and relied heavily on turnovers to score points. 

Titans Offense - Q3: C

As I stated before, the Titans offense wasn't on the field for very long in the third quarter, but the offense has failed to produce long drives to give its defense a breather and help with the field position battle. The Offensive line has begun to allow a lot of penetration by the defense on running plays to keep Chris Johnson under wraps.

Titans Offense - Q2: B-

Chris Johnson has regressed to his 2011 form here in the second quarter, but the Titans offense has still been successful in moving the football. He is currently struggling to stay above two yards per carry. Jared Cook has been solid along with Nate Washington showing a great repoire with Locker. However, the offense has gone three-and-out five times now in the first half.

Titans Offense - Q1: B

The Titans offense has looked like a team capable of big things, but have been a bit limited by Locker's early struggles. Chris Johnson has maintained his positive development in running the ball and Kendall Wright has looked especially strong with three big catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Defensive Line

Overall unit: A-

The defensive line made their presence felt early and often, racking up four sacks and several quarterback hits throughout the game.

Kamerion Wimbley picked up a sack on the defense's first play of the game, and the line pressured John Skelton again on the next play, causing an errant throw that was intercepted.

Wimbley played the like a man possessed, as he could be seen constantly hounding the opposing quarterback throughout the game. He finished with two sacks on the day. 

Derrick Morgan was able to consistently apply pressure and, along with Jurrell Casey and Sen'Derrick Marks, provided a strong run-stuffing unit.

The reserves did not fair so well, however, as they struggled mightily to stop the run and were unable to apply the same amount of pressure as the starters. 

Overall, the play of the first unit defensive line was very promising. They now have back-to-back games of looking like a unit capable of picking up much more than the measly 28 sacks that the team accumulated in 2011.

Linebackers

Overall unit: A

Another guy who really stood out on defense is middle linebacker Colin McCarthy. McCarthy could be seen flying around the ball on almost every play. He led the team in tackles with seven and finished the day with two tackles for a loss, two interceptions and a touchdown.

Akeem Ayers did a great job in the game, while Will Witherspoon was mostly a non-factor for the second consecutive game. Zach Brown continues to gain ground in that positional battle.

The reserve linebackers struggled to stop the ground game, but delivered several major hits when given the opportunity.

Defensive Backs

Overall unit: B-

The secondary's grade takes a hit for falling into a more laid-back approach during the late stages of the game. The Cardinals were able to complete a lot of passes using the hurry-up offense.

Michael Griffin intercepted a pass on the second play of the game, and the unit was very strong for most of the first half until the Cardinals went into their two-minute drill offense.

Jason McCourty and Alterraun Verner proved they could handle a receiver the likes of Larry Fitzgerald.

Overall Defense

First quarter: A-

The Titans defense was all over Cardinals starter John Skelton, consistently getting pressure. Kamerion Wimbley picked up a sack on the first play and the pass rush forced an errant throw that was intercepted by Michael Griffin on the next. Jurrell Casey and Sen'Derrick Marks were strong up the middle as well.

Second quarter: B-

Kamerion Wimbley and Colin McCarthy were flying all over the field, consistently making plays. Wimbley picked up another sack, while McCarthy pulled in the Titans' second interception of the game. Jurrell Casey got a little banged up near the end of the quarter, while the defense allowed a late drive for a touchdown in the waning seconds of the half.

Third quarter: C-

With many of the defense's starters being pulled after Colin McCarthy's second interception of the game was returned for a touchdown, the Titans began to allow several big plays. The second unit defensive line struggled to handle the Cardinals running game, while the secondary has allowed a high volume of completions to the Cardinals high-tempo offense.

Fourth quarter: D+

The Titans allowed 14 points in the fourth quarter, although one of the touchdowns was due to a fumble on a kickoff return. The defense was able to continue pressuring the opposing quarterback and forced a fumble on a sack, but they were largely passive for the majority of the quarter.

Special Teams

Overall unit: A-

The Titans special teams proved to be invaluable in this one. The Titans punt and kickoff coverage was consistently reliable, allowing an average of less than three yards per punt return and 23 yards per kick return.

In the meantime, the Titans averaged returns of 8.7 yards per punt return and 33 yards per kick return. Those are elite kick return and coverage numbers and very strong punt numbers.

Coaching

Overall: B-

The coaching staff gave us all a glimpse of what to expect on offense with Jake Locker at the helm. The team clearly plans to spread things out with Locker, as he can handle more pressure with his running ability than Hasselbeck can at this stage in his career.

The coaching staff took a more vanilla approach as the game waned on, choosing not to expose to much of the playbook before the season starts.