The Sports Xchange

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans head out of the preseason and into the regular season still in flux.

They solved the quarterback position, which was a carousel last year, by drafting Marcus Mariota. Elsewhere, questions abound, even leading up to the start of the regular season.

The Titans went 2-2 in preseason games and were somewhat inconsistent. They can’t write all of that off to not game-planning, but if you’re looking at the 2-2 as a glass half full, the play of Mariota was pretty solid throughout.

Other than two turnovers early in the preseason opener against the Atlanta Falcons, Mariota looked good in his decision-making and throwing the football.

Case in point, his first and only touchdown of the preseason, which came in the finale, Mariota looked off his first read and found Harry Douglas on a shallow cross for a 59-yard catch and run.

“(Harry) was actually the second receiver coming into my vision. The first was coming out of the backfield and they ended up covering that really well and Harry kind of ran a shallow and was open,” Mariota said. “We kind of knew going in that they had some hard time following the shallow wraps and Harry just made a great play.”

It is a sign that Mariota could be maturing quicker than the Titans had expected when they drafted him, even though there will still be growing pains.

The question is what the Titans are doing around him. The shape of the roster, especially on offense, is still in transition as the Titans kept only four wide receivers and five tight ends initially, though they trimmed that number to four on Sunday when Chase Coffman was released.

Mariota will have a mix of veterans like Douglas and Kendall Wright as well as disappointing Justin Hunter and rookie Dorial Green-Beckham, who had to sit out the 2014 season at Oklahoma due to NCAA transfer rules.

Against the Bucs in the opener, the Titans probably will take a somewhat conservative approach, as the roster on offense almost dictates that, as the pass game would now seem to flow through tight end Delanie Walker and Wright, who is best on underneath and sideline-type routes, rather than being a deep threat.

Even the run game and offensive line, which was revamped in camp with Byron Bell moving from right tackle to left guard and Jeremiah Poutasi moving in at right tackle.

Running back is a question mark too, as the Titans traded for Terrance West and now try to fit him into a crowded backfield with Bishop Sankey, Antonio Andrews and Dexter McCluster.

Defensively, the Titans were a mixed bag in the preseason. Obviously, veteran defensive mind Dick LeBeau didn’t show all his cards, but at times it appeared as if the Titans had trouble winning one-on-ones at the point of attack either fighting off blocks or in pass coverage.

Now that the regular season is here, LeBeau should be able to mask some of that with scheming and game-planning, but there are still questions, especially in the back seven as to how quickly those units can jell in the second year of learning the 3-4.

NOTES: RB Terrance West was acquired from the Browns for a conditional draft pick. The Titans also placed rookie running back David Cobb on injured reserve with a designation to return in that process. … TE Chase Coffman was released after initially making the Titans’ 53-man roster. There was the chance he could be brought back to the team after he had a strong preseason. … LB David Bass was claimed off waivers from the Chicago Bears after final cuts. The Titans waived Jonathan Massaquoi to make room. … LB Steven Johnson was claimed off waivers from the Denver Broncos. To make room, the Titans waived linebacker Justin Staples.