Titans QB Marcus Mariota out vs. Falcons; Zach Mettenberger will start

Backup Zach Mettenberger will be starting in place of Mariota, who sustained the injury in the first half of the Titans’ 38-10 loss to Miami last Sunday when Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon hit his knee. If the Falcons limit the Titans’ rush attack, the onus of offensive production will fall on Zach Mettenberger. The Titans didn’t run the ball well enough to give Mariota a chance to set up the play action as they only ran for 63 yards for the game.

The key word here is “contain”, because Jones is too physically talented not to get his fair share of yardage. The Falcons are still learning how to play Quinn’s brand of football, and getting the finer points down takes time. Compounding the problem, the Falcons’ passing attack hasn’t been the fearsome unit that hung 40-plus points on the Houston Texans defense, or even the one that was so instrumental in rallying the team from a four score deficit against the Cowboys. “He can really spin it. That’s probably the thing that jumps out the most”.

The Jets defense has been outstanding, but I wouldn’t be stunned if the Patriots blew them out.

On the Titans’ second possession, a Hasselbeck pass intended for Lavelle Hawkins was intercepted by Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson.

Whisenhunt, the former Georgia Tech star and Atlanta Falcon, said the Titans will not put Mariota, who’s the future of the franchise, in jeopardy by playing him if the knee is unstable. “The important thing is we go out there and try and get a team win, and that is really my job”.

Wide receivers Roddy White, Leonard Hankerson and Eric Weems and linebacker Justin Durant were upgraded to probable, moving the Falcons closer to full health for their game at Tennessee on Sunday.

Mariota has made good use of his tight ends. The Falcons were able to cause disruptions in the pass game through the first five games with pressure and turnovers.

Douglas’ absence removes a key weapon that the Titans could have used on underneath routes to keep Mettenberger from holding onto the ball too long. Kendall Wright is the Titans’ No. 1 receiver. The Titans need to see what kind of progress he’s making and look his way regularly. But after having gone through a number of games, looking at other defenses, you get a feel for what you’re looking at, the issues.

After 13 meetings in the regular season, the Titans-Falcons series has trended toward Tennessee after initial dominance by the Falcons.

It’s fair to say that the strategy has run its course, though. Tennessee is 1-1 SU when taking a lead into halftime. His preseason play left many analysts suggesting teams with shaky quarterback situations should call the Titans with trade offers. There’s no chemistry being built at running back right now.

The 23-year-old Freeman goes against a Titans team that just allowed Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller to run for 113 yards, a touchdown as he averaged 5.9 yards per carry. It makes no sense that he’s almost leading the team in rushing attempts. With the Falcons leading 23-3, Locker entered and threw a pair of touchdown passes to Nate Washington, the latter of which came with 3:06 on the clock in the fourth quarter.