On another hot day at Titans training camp, quarterback Marcus Mariota was inconsistent once again. During the first 7 on 7 period, Mariota’s first pass missed Derrick Henry high and wide. The following pass was an incompletion to Delanie Walker and this trend of incompletions did not stop on Mariota’s second 7 on 7 possession as he threw back to back incompletions once again. Mariota did improve during red zone 7 on 7 though throwing one incompletion and two TD’s.
Once the entire team came onto the field, the focus with Mariota became more centered around his timing which is the focal point of this offense from the quarterback perspective. The first team period was a red zone period where Mariota’s first pass was a dump off to a running back after none of his other options were open. His next two passes both came at the right time, but had very different outcomes. The first was an interception to Logan Ryan and the second was a touchdown to Darius Jennings. The next drill was 11 on 11 in the middle of the field and the results were eerily similar. The first pass was dumped off, the second was an on time completion, and the third was on time to the first option receiver, but Kevin Byard made an exceptional play to intercept the ball.
Mariota’s struggles disappeared during the last drill of the day which was the two minute drill. He was 6 for 7 on this drive and really had the timing down pat. After finding Delanie Walker on 3 straight passes, Mariota threw one incompletion before completing his last three to get the offense into field goal range which is exactly what they needed given the situation from the coaching staff.
Another quarterback, Blaine Gabbert, had a bit of a better day. He looked extremely sharp in the red zone work, and a play that stood out was a nice rollout throw off a play action to find Deontay Burnett in the back of the endzone. Gabbert also threw a touchdown on the very next play.
Devin Ross had a great day at wide receiver, making a number of excellent catches on the sideline. One catch in particular stood out, as the ball seemed to be sailing out of bounds, Ross’s hands appeared from nowhere and snatched it out of the air, dragging his feet and securing the ball to move the chains.
Akrum Wadley was another player with a highlight play, as he found a hole and was beyond the secondary before you could blink. Derrick Henry was a big fan of the run, and he met Wadley near the end zone to give him props for a great run. Henry himself had some solid runs today, including one where he was able to bounce it outside and race towards the pylon for a touchdown.
Defensively, linebackers Daren Bates and Jayon Brown both locked down their respective receivers during 7 on 7 drills. Gimel President also burst into the backfield against the second team offensive line and batted down a pass from backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert. Shariff Finch was able to get into the backfield on more than one occasion, and was able to record a sack.
