Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Munchak expects to name a starting quarterback by the team's third preseason game on Aug. 23.
Matt Hasselbeck and Jake Locker have alternated reps during the Titans' first practice Saturday, a pattern that is likely to continue until coaches come to a decision.
Munchak said he wants to name a starter by that date for the good of team chemistry and preparation for the regular season.
Brooks: Hasselbeck vs. Locker
The Titans face a difficult decision at quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck or Jake Locker? Bucky Brooks examines. **More ...**
"I think we have no choice but to. We can't wait past that," Munchak said. "I mean in any position, again just philosophy wise, you got to do what's best for your team and you got to make a decision."
In his mind, there is no such thing as overdoing the analysis of picking a starting quarterback.
"You're looking at everything. You can't overanalyze. It's not just the quarterback, there's everything," he said. "You're kind of taking it all in on the field. You can see things on the field obviously you cannot see on film. That's the type of stuff . the interactions, how they respond to each other, how they respond after maybe a couple of bad plays, how they take the coaching. Those are the things you see on the field -- the body language."
The choice won't be an easy one, given that Hasselbeck, who turns 37 in September, turned in his best season since 2007 after he signed with the Titans as a free agent following last year's lockout.
In his 13th NFL season, Hasselbeck completed 319 of 518 passes for 3,571 yards with 18 touchdowns to 14 interceptions.
Locker -- who appeared in five games as a rookie, completing 34 of 66 passes for 542 yards and four touchdowns -- had the misfortune of coming to camp as a rookie with no offseason thanks to last year's lockout.
"For us that were rookies last year, it's a lot different dynamic this year," Locker said. "We're able to get familiar not only with the playbook, but the coaching styles, what they want out of certain plays, what we're trying to achieve within our offense or our defense. Last year, there was a lot (of nerves), just because there were a lot of unknowns. You didn't know what to expect."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
