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| Locker won the Tennessee job despite a dismal Friday night. (AP) |
On Friday Jake Locker had a shot to lock down the Titans quarterback job and more or less stunk it up against the Buccaneers. Mike Munchak later said the performance didn't hurt Locker's chances of winning the job to begin the season. I'll say -- the Titans have reportedly decided they're going with Locker anyway.
That's the Monday morning report from Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean, whose sources tell him that Locker's beat out Matt Hasselbeck to begin the regular season despite his struggles in the preseason.
As noted in Week 2's Stock Watch, Locker's didn't necessarily mean he couldn't win the job. He's younger, he's the future of the team, he has a stronger arm, his mobility helps create bigger running lanes for Chris Johnson (which only helps him return to 2K form) and generally possesses more upside.
Of course Locker's also got some downside too. During the preseason, he's gone 11-of-24 for 101 yards and a pick. That's just 45.8 percent of his passes and that's a little scary. That being said, this is the preseason, and we've seen plenty of players go from terrible preseasons to strong regular seasons with surprising transition.
The football that counts is the football that begins when the Titans host the Patriots on September 9.
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