USA Today

If Tennessee Titans fans were expecting a quarterback battle between Marcus Mariota and Zach Mettenberger this preseason, well, head coach Ken Whisenhunt ended that possibility pretty swiftly Thursday.

Per John Glennon of the Tennessean, when asked during a press conference about his pecking order at quarterback, Whisenhunt simply smiled and asked, "[You mean] after Marcus?"

While the coach said he is pleased with Mariota's progress to this point, he noted that the quarterback still has to get acclimated to the NFL level, per Glennon:

It's more about seeing what he can do in the live situations – with the pads on in the pocket. When you're out there in shorts and helmets, you don't really get a sense of a real pocket. He did a lot of nice things, moving in the pocket, stepping up (during OTAs). But now when you have bodies around you, it's a little different. This is where we get a chance to see that. But we feel really good about it.

Mariota's mobility brings this offense an element it hasn't had since the Steve McNair days. While former Titans starting QB Jake Locker was a threat with his legs, he wasn't as athletic as Mariota and never seemed as capable of leading an NFL offense as Mariota does.

At the same time, the selection of Mariota was a risk, albeit calculated, by the Titans given Mariota's college pedigree, as Andy Benoit of MMQB.com explained:

Drafting Marcus Mariota No. 2 overall represents a crapshoot by the Tennessee Titans. Sure, the former Oregon quarterback is a tremendous athlete with size and lauded intangibles. That’s important. But it’s also irrelevant if he can’t meet basic NFL quarterbacking requirements. Like dropping back and making multiple reads from the pocket. Mariota is an unknown in this realm. The system at Oregon almost never asked him to do this. And the system’s rapid tempo often left him facing static, simplified defenses—not the multifaceted disguises, blitzes and coverage rotations he’ll see in the pros.

Despite the learning curve, Whisenhunt's decision to name a starter this early makes sense on a number of fronts. For one, it ends any potential controversy at the position, which can quickly become a distraction for a team, especially as players find themselves fielding questions about one position. For another, it means Mariota won't need to share the first-team reps this preseason, giving him a better chance to build chemistry with the starters.

Video Play Button Videos you might like

It's Mariota's team now. Whisenhunt and Co. weren't interested in pretending otherwise.