The NFL has always been a copy-cat league. With the success of the zone-read option this season in San Francisco, Seattle, Washington and elsewhere, coaching staffs from around the league are bound to spend the majority of their offense studying to see how to either add to their offensive playbook or try to figure out ways to stop it.
According to Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, Tennessee offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains plans on adding some zone-read elements to the Titans offense in order to take advantage of quarterback Jake Locker’s athletic abilities. Loggains plans on taking a look at the offenses of the Washington Redskins and Seattle Seahawks to see what, if anything, they want to add to their offensive repertoire.
“We’re going to do just like every team in the league and look at clubs like Seattle and Washington. We’re still very early in the process of building this offense, but we’re definitely gonna look at all that stuff, just like every team in the NFL is gonna do,” Loggains said.
Tennessee will have to be careful how much they are willing to put Locker at risk for injury by adding more quarterback running options to the playbook. Locker already was forced to have surgery on his non-throwing shoulder in January. As someone who watched Locker play a majority of his college games at Washington, Locker’s not the best at avoiding hits anyway. He will lower his head to try and pick up extra yards and take unnecessary blows more frequently than he should.
Trying to find the right balance in play-calling and Locker’s ability to stay healthy will be the biggest keys for the Titans being able to find consistent success if the zone-read becomes an increased focus of their playbook next season.