Titans planning to turn Jake Locker loose?

Jim Wyatt, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

The 49ers unleashed another dual-threat quarterback on the NFL in 2012. With his nifty footwork on read-option runs and scrambles — and not to mention his strong right arm — Colin Kaepernick nearly produced a Super Bowl win.

Other quarterbacks — Cam Newton in Carolina, Robert Griffin III in Washington, Russell Wilson in Seattle — gave defensive coordinators migraines as well.

Titans quarterback Jake Locker's skill-set is similar to those players, so will he be turned loose this fall to join the movement? Coach Mike Munchak hinted that running could become a bigger part of the third-year pro's arsenal.

"Jake brings that dimension to the game, but you have to be smart about it. You want to take advantage of all the skills he does have, though it's hard to survive if you're running it all the time,'' Munchak said. "So it has to be a happy medium, and that's what we'll try and find."

Locker's running was limited last season to 291 yards after he suffered a shoulder injury in the season opener while making a tackle. He missed five games and had surgery after the season, but he is on track to be fully recovered for training camp.

Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said the Titans planned to study other teams with similar quarterbacks to explore some pistol or read-option plays that were successful.

Munchak was a Hall of Fame guard who blocked for a mobile quarterback in Warren Moon, and as an offensive line coach, Munchak directed blockers for run-savvy quarterbacks Steve McNair and Vince Young.

Even the best-laid plans with dual-threat quarterbacks have to be adjusted, however. Munchak pointed out that Griffin was unable to finish last season because of injury, and Michael Vick has taken a pounding over the years.

"We are going to have a lot more things for Jake. We worked on things for him after we drafted him … and you want defenses to worry about those types of things," Munchak said. "But maybe we wouldn't do it to the degree you have seen other teams do it, because I don't know if the quarterback can hold up doing that.

"We did things with Warren the first three or four years, and he just took too many hits doing those things. Warren would run the option and do things in our run-and-shoot days, and it got to the point where we had to put a stop to it for the most part. … It's hard to survive. It has to be a happy medium."

Moon, who rushed for 1,736 yards during his 17-year NFL career is now an analyst on Seahawks radio broadcasts. He has watched Wilson's rapid development firsthand. Wilson was an effective runner because he was good at picking his spots, Moon said. Seattle used the read-option look 12-15 times per game last season, Moon said, but Wilson often handed off to running back Marshawn Lynch on those plays.

"The quarterback has to be smart. Does he take punishment? Does he know how to get down, or get out of bounds after he takes off? That's key, too," Moon said. "When Jake keeps it, he has to get what he can get and get down. Don't try and be a hero and try and get an extra yard, especially if you have shoulder history. And the threat of it does help the passing game as well. It's definitely something that could make the Titans tough to defend against."

Munchak noted that in Kaepernick's record-setting playoff game — 181 yards in a win over the Packers — most of the gains resulted from scrambles against man coverage, with defenders looking the other way.

Locker had some of his best runs last year in similar situations, off plays that called for a pass. The Titans hope to take advantage of that threat this season — with a healthier Locker.

"You are going to get a percentage of runs that way, just like Kaepernick and some of these other athletic quarterbacks. That's something teams have to worry about with a guy like Jake," Munchak said. "I think you have to use a combination, because Jake has the ability to do those things, and he is smart. We can definitely do things like that with him."

Wyatt writes for The Tennessean, a Gannett property.

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