The Titans hopefully plan on using Marcus Mariota's wheels at some point this season, but after watching the rapid decline of certain mobile quarterbacks due to an accumulation of hits, they know they must be careful.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt attempted to address the issue this week.
"The league does a good job trying to protect quarterbacks, but any time a quarterback takes off with the ball there's a risk," Whisenhunt told the Tennessean. "Then again, anytime anyone has the ball there's a risk, so I don't think you can get too caught up in it. You just have to be smart. Obviously you don't want him having 30 carries a game because then you really increase that risk."
In college, Mariota had the protection of a system that gave him many comfortable options. He was also faster than almost anyone on the field. It's safe to say that Whisenhunt won't be recreating Chip Kelly's offense in Nashville, which presents a bit of a problem.
In order to prevent some of the battering that has negatively impacted signal-callers like Cam Newton and Robert Griffin III, Whisenhunt will need to protect Mariota like so many of the non-mobile quarterbacks he was used to working with in the past.
However, in order to get the most out of Mariota, he needs to turn him loose and hope for the best.
The solution? Play him like Russell Wilson.
"There will be (designed) opportunities, but there will also be a lot of opportunities, just like with Russell Wilson, when the play breaks down and he runs with the ball and extends the play," Whisenhunt said.
It's an interesting comparison, though one that makes a lot of sense so long as Whisenhunt has a similar amount of confidence in Wilson's arm. At the moment, Seattle's offense seems like the only one perfectly suited to handle the rigors of being a mobile passer.
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