by Aaron Schmelzer | Aug 28, 2012 | Opinion, Sports
Jake Locker was named the Tennessee Titans’ starting quarterback over veteran Matt Hasselbeck on Monday, Aug. 20. It was no surprise to many fans, as the Titans drafted Locker with the 8th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Many thought that Locker might oust Hasselbeck for the starting job last season, but Hasselbeck kept the job. The veteran QB had a pretty good season in 2011, so Locker had to compete for this season’s head quarterback position – unlike most first round quarterbacks nowadays. The Titans have the 28th ranked schedule in the NFL, play four playoff teams from last season and face seven potential playoff teams. How Locker will play this year is a big topic of discussion leading up to the Titans’ opener against the New England Patriots on Sept. 9. As far as making progress is concerned, Jake Locker benefitted greatly from sitting behind Hasselbeck last season. In hindsight, sitting Locker during his rookie year was probably best for the future of the Titans organization because, thankfully for Locker, he wasn’t being thrown into a fire early on in his career. The skills Locker learned from Hasselbeck definitely showed in the quarterback’s second preseason start. During last Thursday night’s preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals, Locker completed 11 out of 20 passes for 134 yards and two touchdown passes – one to Kendall Wright and another to Nate Washington. Throughout the game, Locker showed great poise in the heat of pressure. ESPN NFL Analyst Trent Dilfer commented on Locker’s progress during the game. To paraphrase, “Jake Locker has shown a great ability in pure progression. He goes...
