Willis Working to be Better if Needed Again
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans once again head into the weekend with uncertainty surrounding the quarterback position.
Coach Mike Vrabel said Friday that starter Ryan Tannehill (ankle) was a limited practice participant in the day's practice and that he will likely be a game-time decision for Sunday night’s showdown against Kansas City.
“The more time you have to treat and recover and make decisions, the better,” Vrabel said.
Officially, Tannehill was listed as questionable on the week's final injury report.
The scenario is similar to last week when Tannehill was given the same designation ahead of the game at Houston. He was ruled out a day later, which ended his franchise-record streak of 49 consecutive starts.
In Tannehill’s absence last week, rookie Malik Willis completed six of 10 passes for 55 yards, threw one interception and was sacked three times. He posted an NFL quarterback rating of 35.4.
Willis was slow to throw on at least a couple of occasions – the interception and an overthrow of a wide open tight end Chig Okoknwo.
“I learned a lot from (watching tape of the game),” Willis said Friday. “More than anything, it’s learning how to handle it.
“I was probably feeling frustrated about the game. But at the end of the day, I had one pass that was six inches behind. That’s the one that got picked. I had one pass that was overthrown by six inches. That’s only two really negative plays. It’s just the feeling behind it. You learn from those things.”
Willis only got one opportunity to throw in the second half. It was incomplete. Instead, the Titans kept the ball on the ground and finished the game with 45 carries for 314 yards and two touchdowns.
“You got to hit the ones that’s open because you never know how the run game is doing, and we might not get that many opportunities,” Willis said. “It’s not like we threw the ball 30 times. You got one, you want to hit it.”
Titans quarterbacks coach Pat O’Hara praised Willis’ performance in practice following the contest. Because Tannehill was limited for two days and sat out one entire practice, Willis once again got a lot of work with the first-team offense.
“His work ethic has been good,” O’Hara said. “He’s doing everything we’re asking him to do. He’s spending extra time in the building preparing and preparing on his own as well. He’s got good role models around him with Logan (Woodside) and Ryan (Tannehill), honestly, that are good for him to learn from and watch as pros, too.
“So he continues to prepare. Like coach Vrabel says, `If you’re on the active roster or practice squad roster, be prepared to go in and play.’ Everyone does every week. That’s kind of the mode we have here.”
