Already down to their third quarterback of the season, the Tennessee Titans see one hopeful difference to cling to in rookie Zach Mettenberger: His rocket arm.
"It's going to be a lot of adjustment because Zach has a really, really strong arm," wide receiver Kendall Wright said on Thursday, per John Glennon of The Tennessean. "All of his passes are coming at you like, 'Whoa!' You can hear them coming. ... So you better be ready."
Mettenberger, the team's sixth-round draft pick, represents a last-ditch effort for coach Ken Whisenhunt to squeeze some juice out of a passing game that ranks 27th in the NFL in completing passes of 20-plus yards. Inconsistent wideout play hasn't helped, but the combination of the oft-injured Jake Locker and the skittish Charlie Whitehurst have failed to achieve liftoff through the air.
The hope is that Mettenberger's deep-ball abilities will keep defenses honest and make more use of receivers Justin Hunter and Nate Washington, who together have just 29 catches and one touchdown during Tennessee's 2-5 start.
"I think that's going to be the biggest help with him, throwing the deep ball," tight end Delanie Walker said of Mettenberger. "I think that will be a focus for our offense this week because he's a big-armed guy."
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