Tennessee Titans: 10 Things to Take Away from the First Half of the Preseason

The Titans entered the 2011-12 NFL season without much expected from the team.

Enter Mike Munchak and Matt Hasselbeck, and through two preseason games, the Titans look like sleeper-contenders.

The Titans have shown they are ready and willing to move on with or without All-Pro running back Chris Johnson and any other distractions that might come their way.

Ahead are 10 things we can take away from the preseason so far.

The Key to the Offense Might Just Be the Fullback

Chris Johnson rushed for 1,228 yards in 2008, more than 2,000 yards in 2009 and and more than 1,300 in 2010.

Who other than Johnson was a staple in the offense over that span of time?  

Ahmard Hall.  

The fullback from Texas will be the key to what the Titans are able to do in the run game. Against the Rams, Hall shaped up the rookie Jamie Harper’s night on pace to 83 yards rushing, just above Stafon Johnson’s 68 yards on the night.

Regardless of which running back is on the back field,  Hall will continue to be a leader on the gridiron.

Harper Might Be the Biggest Surprise Coming out of Training Camp

Jamie Harper took full advantage of the opportunities the Tennessee Titans have given the fourth-round pick out of Clemson. 

The rookie running back had 11 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown, including a blistering 46-yard run against the Rams.

Harper has shown he has the speed around the edge but is also the pounding back the Titans have missed since Eddie George’s tenure in Tennessee. 

Harper got the starting nod Saturday night against the Rams due to Javon Ringer injuring his hip and Chris Johnson still refusing to show up at camp.

Protect and Block

Bringing back the entire offensive line from last season was a huge step in the right direction. 

In two preseason games, the line looks comfortable in pass blocking and run blocking. 

Jamie Harper is coming off a big game in which he rushed for 83 yards against the Rams, and the o-line has only allowed two sacks in both games combined. 

Regardless of the team having backups in or not, the Tennessee offensive line has dominated the defense in all facets of the game.

Titans Have to Get into the End Zone

Throughout the Jeff Fisher tenure in Tennessee, the offense had seemingly always struggled in the red zone. 

The Titans have not shown that they are able to score consistently in the red zone just yet in the Mike Munchak era.  

Against the Vikings, Tennessee’s only red zone score was Jamie Harper’s two-yard run. The Titans finished at 50 percent in the red zone on only two opportunities. 

Against the Rams, the Titans went one-for-three in the red zone, scoring their lone touchdown on a one-yard run by Harper. The offense had to settle for two Rob Bironas field goals on what turned out to be 33 percent in the red zone. 

If this Tennessee unit hopes to compete this season, it can’t squander what few red zone opportunities it gets. 

Rob-Omatic

Placekicker seemed be the most stable position on the Titans roster coming into the 2011-12 season. 

After Week 1 of the preseason, though, Rob Bironas’ accuracy was drawn into question as he missed what usually is a chip shot for him, a 38-yard field goal. 

Bironas responded with a 3-for-3 effort, including a long of 46 yards. The Tennessee staff should have no concerns on Bironas’ leg moving forward.

Marc Mariani: Mr. Fair Catch

Marc Mariani was one of the few bright spots during last season’s 6-10 effort. 

In his rookie season, Mariani returned one punt and one kickoff for touchdowns en route to almost 2,000 yards collectively, including a career-long 98-yard kickoff return. 

Mariani, like most kick returners this season, will struggle to return kicks from the back of the end zone this season due to the new kickoff rules.

The rules require that teams kick from the 35-yard line, instead of the 30, meaning more kickoffs landing in the back of the end zone. 

In two preseason games, Mariani has a total of two kickoff returns for 50 yards combined.

Tennessee's Defense Is Fiesty This Year

The 2010 Tennessee Titans defense was an overly aggressive unit in all the wrong areas. 

The Titans as a team were second in the league in penalty yards allowed (1039), fifth in total penalties (114) and tied for third in penalties for a first down (35). Although the entire team is taken into account, the majority of these penalties happened on the defensive side of the ball. 

In the past two preseason games, the Titans have shown much more self-control than they were able to over the past few seasons. Cortland Finnegan looks just as fiery as ever off the ball, the defensive line is attacking at all seams and the linebackers are flying all over the field.  

The more aggressive, yet controlled defense looks to be one of the better units with a mix of young players and wily veterans.

Cook Ready to Take over

Tennessee settled on letting Bo Scaife walk in free agency and determining which young tight end on its roster would emerge as the starter. 

Jared Cook is beginning to live up to the hype the 6’5”, 248-pound tight end from the University of South Carolina brought in the 2009 NFL Draft. Cook's size and speed garnered him instant attention from defenders. His rare combination makes him tough to defend as he is too big for corners, but too fast for linebackers.

Cook has garnered 435 yards and one touchdown over his two-year career and is zoning in on becoming a full-time starter for the first time in his career.  

Cook has five receptions for 75 yards in two preseason games, but is being praised for the progress he has made in the blocking game.

Your Starting Quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck

When Matt Hasselbeck signed with the Titans, there were mixed emotions on what he could bring to the table. 

Hasselbeck is entering his 13th season and is coming off a 12-touchdown, 17-interception season in which he started 14 games. 

The veteran out of Boston College came out firing in his first preseason with Tennessee, posting quarterback ratings of 104.9 and 100.9 in his first two games. Hasselbeck completed more than 75 percent of his passes in the first two games and looks to be on pace to become the regular season starter.  

The only issue of concern will be Hasselbeck’s durability.  

The 35-year-old pro has often been injured, only playing all 16 regular-season games in six of his 13 seasons in the league. Hasselbeck was knocked out of the Titans second preseason game Saturday night against the St. Louis Rams after being rocked by linebacker Brady Poppinga.

The quarterback got the wind knocked out of him and bit his tongue, but should be available when the Titans play the Bears next Saturday night, according to David Climer of the Tennessean.

The Future: Jake Locker

Jake Locker has done everything he is supposed to do as a first-round pick and future franchise quarterback. 

Locker was the first player to show up to camp, is working hard in camp and is developing a relationship with his mentor, Matt Hasselbeck. 

In his first preseason game, Locker showed why the Titans drafted him so early completing 7-of-10 passes for 89 yards and a score. The University of Washington alumni posted a 130.8 quarterback rating and was well on his way to competing for the Week 1 starting job. 

Fast-forward to Week 2 of the preseason and Locker had taken a step back going 8-of-18 for 82 yards and one interception. The 35 quarterback rating speaks for itself and tells the Nashville faithful Locker is still just a work in progress.

Conclusion

Overall the Tennessee Titans' offseason has been a dream for fans so far.

They have the future of the franchise in Jake Locker, a legitimate starter in Matt Hasselbeck, shored up the defense and re-signed key players to make this team a contender.

Thank you for reading and please leave any comments or concerns below.

Follow me on Twitter @RajPrashad.