<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Mailbag: On poor starts for Justin Hunter, Andy Levitre

          Sep 27, 2014
          • Paul KuharskyESPN Staff Writer
            Close
            • Covered AFC South for five years for ESPN.com
            • Covered Oilers/Titans for The Tennessean
            • New Jersey native and Columbia graduate lives in Nashville with his wife and son
            Follow on Twitter

          NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Greetings and thank you for clicking into the Week 4 edition of the Titans mailbag at ESPN.com.

          As I always, I appreciate the interest and participation. Tweet a question at any time with "#PKmail" and I promise I'll look at it and consider including it.

          Onward...

          Paul Kuharsky: Justin Hunter's issues are mostly on Justin Hunter, in my opinion. We've seen him fail to corral catchable passes. We've seen a catchable deep ball slip through his fingers. We've seen him fail to go up and win just the kind of pass he's tailor-made to win. Jake Locker could have made better throws to him in some instances. But Hunter's been targeted a bunch (21 times, per ESPN Stats and Info) and has not maximized his chances by any means (just eight receptions).

          Paul Kuharsky: Well, I am sure Ken Whisenhunt would like very much to be in that situation. It might be hard, but I would fully expect he'd go back to Locker when he's ready. It's too soon to give up on the guy you made your starter pretty quickly after arriving in Nashville, and Whisenhunt has said one big change he'd make from his time as coach in Arizona is to be more patient with quarterbacks. And one good game from Charlie Whitehurst in a substitute situation, when he's been unseen for years in the regular season, doesn't ensure more.

          Paul Kuharsky: I am saying three practices where a quarterback is executing the game plan that is in place for a specific game makes him a better quarterback for that week. Missing those preparations hurts Locker a lot. He's been bad the last two games with full practice. It would be hard for him to be good in Indy with no practice.

          Paul Kuharsky: I think they can, too. I don't know if they will, though. And I think the Colts will score, so if the Titans don't keep pace, they could be forced to move away from the run. But Tennessee is averaging 5.0 yards per carry. They need to hand off a good deal and make the Colts prove they can stop it.

          Paul Kuharsky: I'll be very surprised if they make the move this week. But I do think Andy Levitre has to start playing better or he's in trouble. On the radio Friday, I asked GM Ruston Webster how much the big investment they made in Levitre as a free-agent signee last year preserves his status. He said everyone has to play well and contribute to wins and pointed out the Titans have invested a great deal into Taylor Lewan as well.

          Paul Kuharsky: I think the arrow is up on both center Brian Schwenke and right guard Chance Warmack. There is still progress to be made. But they are both getting better and still have a lot of upside.

          Paul Kuharsky: I think it would have to be defensive lineman Karl Klug. He's got a pass-rushing knack that comes largely out of his ability to use his hands effectively. That comes from a wrestling background, which he recently said started in kindergarten. I don't know how long he could hold off a bear, but I think it would be longer than anyone else in the locker room.

          Paul Kuharsky: It's simply too early to say.