The Titans will have a new quarterback in Marcus Mariota this year and they’d like to put the second overall pick of the 2015 draft in position to have as much success as possible.
Some of that will be done by bringing him along at the right pace during training camp and some will be done by making sure that Mariota doesn’t get overwhelmed by opposing defenses in the regular season. The offensive line will play a big part in the latter as they’ll be responsible for both protecting Mariota and opening holes in the run game so that the team doesn’t have to put too much on the rookie’s shoulders.
According to left tackle Taylor Lewan, doing that will require a big change from last year’s unit.
“To be brutally honest, I think we were soft,” Lewan said, via ESPN.com. “And I think [offensive line coach] Bob Bostad would say the same thing. That’s one thing he’s definitely been preaching this offseason. We want to be tough, we want to road grade, we want to run that power like no one’s ever done it. ... As an offensive line, it starts with us. We have to be the foundation of this offense, the foundation of the team. And if we work together, play a little dirty, a little over the line a little bit, a little crazy, and work together, then I think we’ll be real successful.”
With the exception of rookie tackle Jeremiah Poutasi and former Panther Byron Bell, the Titans will be trying to pull off the transformation with players that were on the roster last season. Everyone may not be up to making the changes needed for better results this season, but it seems Lewan will have them go down fighting one way or another.
