Teams don’t get to be 4-9 by accident.
And the reasons the Titans got to be that way were evident, and self-inflicted yesterday.
While it wasn’t the reason they lost to the Colts, the most ridiculous play of the day was a Jake Locker quarterback sneak on first down, because the Titans still thought it was third-and-short.
“The way we do that is designed to happen quickly so the defense is caught off guard,” left tackle Michael Roos said, via David Climer of the Tennesseean. “We were already getting lined up and nobody looked up to see that it was a first down.
“It was a wasted down. That’s our season right there. We need to create as many breaks as we can and we could’ve used that first down for a better play, but that’s just the way it happened.”
Of course, there were other such bad calls, such as Locker’s pick-six from deep in his own territory, when he should have called a sneak.
“It was just one that I shouldn’t have thrown,” Locker said.
“That’s my fault. I should’ve just had him sneak it and not give him the option,” coach Mike Munchak said. “… In some crucial situations, it’s on us to maybe limit the decision making to help a young quarterback along.”
Young quarterback isn’t a valid excuse anymore. The rookie on the other side yesterday (Andrew Luck) has led his team to a seven-game improvement already, with a negligible difference in talent.