What Could’ve Been: Jake Locker and the Tennessee Titans

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The Tennessee Titans shocked the football community when they selected wide receiver Corey Davis with the fifth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. As a Titans fan, I can’t help but reminisce about the last time the Titans surprised us all. Back in 2011, the Titans passed on surefire solid NFL starters, Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder, to select Jake Locker, quarterback out of Washington. Never mind that Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick were both drafted after all of these guys – that’s irrelevant to the story here.

The point is the Titans valued Locker and saw him as the future face of the franchise. I can’t speak for everyone, but I bought it hook, line, and sinker. I owned a #10 Locker shirsey. I talked about how much I loved the pick – how Locker was a tough, hard-nosed kid who would unite the locker room. If he could improve his accuracy, he just may be the next Aaron Rodgers.

Fast forward to 2014, and I’m still hanging on to that idea, albeit by the skin of my teeth. At the time, I was covering the Titans for Pro Football Spot. I hadn’t realized that I much prefer the conversational, humorous style of writing, so I tried to be the best serious journalist I could be. I wrote a piece about Locker still having elite potential and sent it on to Paul Kuharsky, who grilled me to the tune of, “you lost me at ‘Jake Locker is a potential top-15 quarterback.’” In hindsight, he was right. Though I felt I qualified that statement pretty well, I was holding on to an idea that had already died.

That year, Ken Whisenhunt benched Locker…then he benched Charlie Whitehurst and ultimately rode out the season with Zach Mettenberger at the helm. Locker would retire the following offseason, saying he didn’t want to play football anymore.

Sure, you can’t pin that entire period of stagnation on Locker. But, it’s worth noting that his selection did coincide with some really inconsistent offense and lingering quarterback concerns. Okay, I’m trying to be nice, but shit – let’s just say it. Yeah, the drafting of Locker set the franchise back a few years.

Still, this isn’t to say Locker didn’t play well, and yes, this is the hill I’ve chosen to die on, but Locker did have top-10 NFL quarterback potential. Just look at some of his career wins…

His first win came at the expense of the Detroit Lions in a thrilling 44-41 overtime contest. Locker posted 373 passing yards and two touchdowns. Then, he got hurt. In 2013, the Titans and San Diego Chargers battled in a classic game that saw Locker hit Justin Hunter for the game-winning touchdown with just 15 seconds left on the clock. Locker was the first Titans quarterback to eradicate The Curse of the Chargers since the Houston Oilers era. Then, he got hurt again, came back later in the season, and got hurt yet again.

But, one game stands out. I always hark back to the 2013 game against New Orleans. I recommend reading the full game recap here, but in short, Locker came in to replace Matt Hasselbeck. The Titans were out-matched, but were able to hold their own against a superior opponent. Locker finished with 282 passing yards and a touchdown, rushing for a second touchdown in the process. Those Titans teams from 2011-2013 could be summed up in this lone game – capable of playing extremely well, but somehow always finding a way to lose.

Locker’s intangibles were on full display that day, as he drove the Titans offense down to the New Orleans 5-yard line. Unfortunately, he was sacked on third down as the clock ran out. To me, this game is the prime example of the elite potential Locker had.

In terms of where exactly things went wrong, the simplest answer is often the correct one. It was just a bad fit, plain and simple.

So, how could it have been handled differently? For starters, Locker should’ve sat for several seasons before captaining the offense. At the time, the trend of young quarterbacks sitting and learning was dying. Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan eradicated that idea in 2008. If your team drafted a quarterback in the first round, they were expected to contribute almost immediately.

That sort of rush hurt a guy like Locker, who struggled with accuracy issues. Eventually, he would never correct those issues. I’m not in the room – I don’t know that coaches didn’t take the time to work with him individually or if they just thought they’d try and tailor the offense to his backyard style of play. Whatever the reason, his accuracy never really improved. Maybe if he had the luxury of sitting for three years and laboring over improving that weakness, things could’ve turned out differently.

But, accuracy issues aside, the guy just couldn’t stay healthy – shoulders, feet, legs, everything seemed to fall apart on this kid. He never really got a chance to get into the rhythm of the season. As I mentioned before, he’d have a decent game, get hurt, miss several weeks, then stink up the joint.

The death nail was the hiring of Ken Whisenhunt. Locker was already on a short leash heading in to 2014, but the addition of Whisenhunt meant things were going to have to change for Locker in a hurry. Whiz’s offensive system was known for its rigidity and requiring a lethally accurate quarterback. Not to mention, the instability of the organization meant that a new regime wouldn’t be dedicated to Locker the same way the regime that drafted him would be. In the end, Locker was benched, the Titans moved on, and that’s the last we ever heard of the kid.

It sounds like I’m making excuses for Locker, and maybe I am. But, it’s not fair for us to look at Locker and just say ‘bust’ without examining the multitude of factors that led to his exit in Tennessee. If the circumstances were different, he may

Again, this is a hill I’ve chosen to die on.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. A strong advocate of GSD (get shit done) and #BeBetter, he’s down to talk Tennessee Titans and Alabama Crimson Tide football over a beer any day. Check him out covering the WWE for WrestlingNews.co. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley@WrestlingNewsCo

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