NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Provided the day-to-day DeMarco Murray and his hamstring are fine, nothing is changing regarding how the Titans backfield works, coach Mike Mularkey said on Monday.
Derrick Henry took over as the lead back during the third quarter and had a very effective game, finishing with 14 carries for 92 yards and a touchdown.
He was the better back during the Titans 37-16 win in Jacksonville, by a great deal.
I asked Mularkey if he still considered the backs a starter-backup scenario if it’s more rotational/situational.
“I still do,” he said. “Yeah, I still see it that way. Yesterday both of them played in the first half, it was a grind trying to run the ball with both of them in there. When Derrick took over for DeMarco in the second half, we again, stayed patient with the run game and started to hit some holes.”
Murray told trainers early in the third quarter that something was up with a hamstring that cost him a large chunk of the preseason and the training camp.
“When he says he agrees with us, I thought it was a good decision to hold him out,” Mularkey said.
Mularkey pointed out that neither back was making a big statement in the first half, when they combined for 27 yards on nine carries.
Running back use, if the top two are healthy, will continue to be determined by how the Titans choose to attack teams. Mularkey said.\\
They'd love to finish games like they did Sunday, with No. 3 David Fluellen getting the ball.
It's still really early, but Henry in the second half against the Jaguars was the best running we've seen out of the Titans so far. If the trend continues, so will the questions about roles. And if Murray is sidelined and Henry excels, thinks will get complicated in a good way for Mularkey and offensive coordinator Terry Robiskie.
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