Tennessee Titans: Making The Case For Philip Rivers
By Les Bailey
While I somewhat agree with my colleague here at Titan Sized, P.L. Colter in his article “Marcus Mariota over Philip Rivers In A Landslide“, I think he may be missing the boat on a couple of points in the future of the Tennessee Titans.
Just the possibility of Phillip Rivers coming to Nashville has put the Tennessee Titans on every major sports outlet.
The one thing the Titans and their fans need the most, is hope. Not hope for 2018, but hope for the upcoming season.
Marcus Mariota in the right coaching situation will take some lucky team to the playoffs and possibly deep into the playoffs after he develops into an NFL Quarterback.
The Tennessee Titans need an infusion of excitement in 2015, and I feel that drafting Marcus Mariota with the second pick in the 2015 NFL Draft will only produce another three years of mediocrity and boring Sunday afternoons at L.P. Field.
You got a good look at what Marcus Mariota can do in his spread offense when the Oregon Ducks were soundly beaten by the Ohio State Buckeyes in the college football National Championship game. It’s only going to get harder in the NFL, even against the weaker teams.
Urban Meyer has a rich history of coaching NFL ready players both at Florida and now at Ohio State, and he completely stymied Mariota in that game, and exposed the problems that he will face at the next level.
Philip Rivers on the other hand, will bring instant credibility to an NFL team that has become totally insignificant. Just the possibility of him coming to Music City has all the NFL outlets talking about the Tennessee Titans.
A month ago, as free agency was getting underway it was rare to watch NFL Live or NFL_AM and hear any news concerning the Titans. The only two outlets where you could find anything about the Titans were from The Tennessean reporter, Jim Wyatt, and ESPN Titans Reporter, Paul Kuharsky.
Just the possibility of Phillip Rivers coming to Nashville has put the Tennessee Titans on every major sports outlet. The possibility that the Titans would draft USC Defensive End, Leonard Williams was something they brushed by on every broadcast.
Head coach, Ken Whisenhunt has so many leaks in the boat that he does not have the time to groom a quarterback that is not ready to plug-and-play when the season starts.
Bringing in a seasoned veteran quarterback like Philip Rivers who is familiar with his system would give Whisenhunt at least three years to concentrate on the offense, and provide leadership in the developement of Zach Mettenberger, if he is the quarterback of the future.
The trade would also bring some much-needed excitement to fans on Sunday afternoon with a realistic chance to win in 2015. And more importantly, it would bring validity back to Nashville as part of the National Football League.
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