I mentioned in the preview post the fourth preseason game is typically a bit of a snoozer, but tonight’s preseason closer checked most of the boxes the Titans wanted to:
1. Marcus Mariota. Started and played the first series. He had his first NFL touchdown pass, finding a wide open Harry Douglas on a short crossing route. Uncovered as Minnesota double covered the other short crosser, Douglas picked up a block from Antonio Andrews and raced 59 yards for a score.
2. An early defensive stop. A good chunk of the starting defense started tonight, and unlike Week 1 or Week 3 or last preseason, they got a defensive stop. Blidi Wreh-Wilson, in his first action of the preseason, forced a fumble on a third down stop short of the sticks, giving the offense good field position.
3. No apparent major injuries. Nobody was carted off. Nobody was in crutches or a walking boot on the sidelines or in the locker room after the game (at least that I saw reported). Maybe some minor injuries, as depth running back David Fluellen went to the locker room late and did not finish the game, but, and this probably sounds cruel, that has no impact on the roster or regular season to come.
4. A win. The Titans won the first quarter, when the better players who played tonight, played, 14-0. The Titans won the game 24-17, stopping the Vikings offense late to preserve the victory.
5. A memorable play. No, not Mariota’s touchdown to Douglas, but after the final score, when a flubbed extra point attempt saw a scrambling Ryan Succop complete a pass to rookie defensive lineman Angelo Blackson. Sadly and inevitably, an ineligible man downfield wiped out the two-point conversion, so Succop had to kick it again from 5 yards farther away. But we still got to watch the awesomeness that was.
Of the other things I noted in my game preview, Dorial Green-Beckham had a couple grabs and Justin Hunter had one. Rico Richardson had a touchdown grab, not that I still give him a chance to make the team (maybe a practice squad spot again). Linebacker depth didn’t go quite as well; Deiontrez Mount flashed against the Vikings’ backup linemen (their starters sat the whole game), but I wasn’t a fan of Jonathan Massaquoi’s overall performance, which included what looked like getting beat by a back for a touchdown grab (he was far enough behind I wasn’t sure if it was man or zone). Defensive back depth is about where it was. Wreh-Wilson had a pass breakup as well as the forced fumble. Cody Riggs and Jemea Thomas both got a lot of work and, from what I saw on my iPad stream, looked about how I thought.
Now, the not so fun part of preseason: trimming the roster from 75 players to 53. If things go like they have in the past, we’ll start to get some names tomorrow and the Titans won’t confirm the final list until well after the official deadline of 4 P.M. Eastern on Saturday. I’ll have a post up on that process tomorrow. For now, though, I’ll just note Ken Whisenhunt said after the game “There’s a place for Andy [Levitre] on this team,” though I still expect that to be “left out” after the veteran guard did not play against Minnesota.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
