The pivotal season for quarterback Jake Locker is slated to begin in 10 Sundays.
Staying healthy will be the biggest key entering his fourth season, but Locker also must display the growth he showed last season before injuries ended his year.
The new coaching staff is not tied to the 26-year-old, but has been talking glowingly about the quarterback's progress this offseason.
"From day one, he's worked his butt off from rehabilitation of his foot to jumping in the playbook, to how he's gone about his preparation on the field," offensive coordinator Jason Michael told the team's official website. "It's been a frustrating go at times with his foot, but he's never shown it. He's a poised man. I'm excited about working with him. He does some good things that we've already seen."
Locker has yet to play more than 11 games in a season, with injuries wreaking havoc on his development. His accuracy was a problem in his first two seasons; however he showed some progress early last season that he was turning the corner as a playmaking quarterback.
The Titans went 4-2 in 2013 in games in which Locker played the majority of snaps. The team ended the season with a 7-9 record.
"Poised" is an interesting term for Michael to use in describing Locker, as we have yet to see him play enough to determine what type of quarterback he could be over the course of an entire season.
*The latest "Around The League Podcast" ranks the league's top tight ends and debates Andrew Luck vs. Cam Newton. *
