NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Titans coach Mike Mularkey gives very candid assessments of players.

In the case of the struggling Antwon Blake, Mularkey is not denying the cornerback has had a hard time in the team's last two preseason games.

But he's consistently provided a vote of confidence.

"Again, I would go back to Week 1 that I saw some things there," Mularkey said. "Blake is one of our corners. He's not the starting corner. He was in there for Perrish (Cox)."

Emphasizing that Blake ranks as the fourth corner doesn't change the fact that if one of the first three corners has to leave a game, Blake would slide up and play at least in the nickel package.

The Titans need a fourth cornerback who can put pressure on the top three, not a guy who's a drop-off from a less-than-stellar trio.

New general manager Jon Robinson couldn't fix every hole on a roster that has won five of its last 32 games. We'll find out Saturday if he'll give the coaches what they want when the roster is trimmed to 53.

Blake worked under Titans assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau in Pittsburgh, where he initially won the coordinator's affection.

In March, the Titans gave the fifth-year veteran a one-year deal with a $200,000 signing bonus and a $1.5 million base salary. It has the potential to earn him $750,000 more in incentives.

"I think Blake's a good football player," LeBeau said. "I think he'll play good football for us. I think he has definitely gotten a lot better in this training camp. And we need for these guys to come out and produce on the game day."

Against the Panthers and the Raiders, though, Blake surrendered big plays.

"Blake's biggest thing was missing that tackle," LeBeau said, referring to a play against Carolina's Ted Ginn Jr. that turned into a 61-yard touchdown pass. "He's been in pretty good position on most of his plays.

"In fact, all of our DBs have -- there hasn't been anybody running around wide open. They've just been catching the ball and we haven't and that's something we've got to cut out."

That's been a habit of Titans defensive backs for some time. They are often in reasonably good position, but it doesn't stop receivers from making plays.

LeBeau has only been with the team since 2015, and while he was the titular head of the defense, he allowed Ray Horton to call the plays as the coordinator.

"I don't know what the story has been," he said. "I know that we need to do better than we've done in the big-play category. And that's not only the DBs, that's the whole defense. It's a defensive proposition.

"We've got to get pressure on the quarterback, we've got to get the sacks when we've got the opportunity, we've got to get them into third down where they don't have the surprise element and can hit us deep. There are a lot of things that go into it.

"But do we have to do better there? Sure we do."