Jury's still out on Mettenberger as Titans' QB

Zach Mettenberger believes he has done enough to prove to Titans higher-ups that he is the team's starting quarterback next season.

I don't.

Yes, Mettenberger has obvious skills. He has a strong arm. He is a true pocket passer, which this coaching staff prefers. His toughness is unquestioned.

But there are drawbacks and areas of concern. For the record, Mettenberger is 0-6 as the Titans starting quarterback. Sure, there are mitigating circumstances. The team around him is horrible. Aaron Rodgers might be 0-6 with this supporting cast.

For his part, Mettenberger said he is "confident in my abilities and what I have put on the field and what I have put on tape." He also says he has "shown ownership" since he was named starting quarterback in Week 8.

There's a difference between being confident and being delusional. Credit Mettenberger for being confident. Discredit other quarterbacks for being delusional.

Consider Jets starter Geno Smith. Earlier this week, Smith told reporters he has "shown flashes of being a Pro Bowl quarterback." Really?

And then there was one-time Titan Vince Young. In 2009 Young told Esquire: "I don't know when I'll start again. But I will be the next black quarterback to win a Super Bowl. And I will be in the Hall of Fame."

How did that work out for you, VY?

Back to Mettenberger: Six NFL starts isn't much of a sample size. I just can't see handing him the keys. It's fine to let him compete for the starting job, but declaring him the No. 1 quarterback based on this body of work would be foolish.

For one thing, Jake Locker lost the starting job because he couldn't stay healthy. Mettenberger has gotten knocked out of the Titans' past two games and likely is done for the season because of a shoulder injury.

When Ken Whisenhunt made the decision to start Mettenberger, he did so for two reasons. One, he thought the team needed stability at quarterback, which was something the oft-injured Locker didn't provide. Two, he wanted to see if Mettenberger was up to handling the No. 1 job in 2015.

Now the plan has fallen apart — like so many other things with this team. The quarterback position is as unstable as ever. Locker, whose contract expires at season's end, is the starter again.

Mettenberger appeared to be getting better with each start until Sunday. He regressed badly against the Giants. Granted, he was playing without his top two receivers and the offensive line included subs at both tackles and at center. It was a swinging gate. And there was no running threat to balance the offense.

Even so, Mettenberger was responsible for a lot of what went wrong. He held the ball too long. After moving nicely around and out of the pocket a week earlier against Houston, he was a statue against the Giants. He was sacked five times, including the one that reinjured his right shoulder.

Moving forward, the Titans have options. One of them is to dip into the free-agent market for a quarterback. Brian Hoyer is outbound from Cleveland. He played for Whisenhunt in Arizona. Of course a lot of quarterbacks played for Whisenhunt in Arizona. He went through four starters in 2012, the year he was fired.

And there's always the draft. After an ugly season, the Titans will be sitting pretty in the draft. Most of the other NFL bottom-feeders have addressed the position in the last couple of years so the Titans could get one of the top-rated quarterbacks, if they so choose.

But with so many needs at so many positions, do you go down that road?

That's a tough one. With the lousy state of the Titans, there are no easy ones.

David Climer's columns appear on Friday, Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. Reach him at 615-259-8020 and on Twitter @DavidClimer.