Tennessee Titans

Titans to keep Mariota in shotgun much of the time

Published Jun. 4, 2015 12:44 a.m. ET

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The concern in the weeks prior to the NFL draft about whether Marcus Mariota would be able to run a pro-style offense under center may end up being something of a moot point. It turns out the Tennessee Titans rookie quarterback may not be taking nearly as many snaps under center as perhaps thought.

According to Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean, Titans quarterback Jim McNally stays the team would prefer to operate out of the shotgun "50 or 60" percent of the time in 2015. That figures to ease the transition for Mariota, who payed in a spread offense at Oregon and is learning to take snaps from under center during OTAs.

"I think you are in the 'gun a little more now anyway," McNulty said, according to Wyatt. "The under center gives you a little more threat of the run and play action, and to push the ball down the field type of thing. But the way things go with the pass rush, you are in the 'gun a big part of the time.

"Marcus has adjusted well to it all. He's a natural. Marcus is just one of those guys who kind of just picks the ball up and says, 'What do you want me to do?' "

The move to a heavy reliance on the shotgun formation isn't merely limited to Tennessee. As Wyatt notes, 22 of the NFL's 32 teams worked out of the shotgun 50 percent of the time or more in 2014.

"This league," Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt said, "is going toward a lot more shotgun snaps because of protection benefits."

Still, it won't be all shotgun, all the time. Whisenhunt said working from under center will help the Titans in a number of ways, especially with the improvement they want to see with their rushing attack.

"We want to be able to run the football better, we want to be able to incorporate the play-action game, and those are all things that will help you get some under-center snaps," Whisenhunt said. "(We're) transitioning Marcus to doing that. He has done a nice job of it so far."

(h/t The Tennessean)

Photo credit: Jim Brown/USA TODAY Sports