Two days after a report surfaced that Jake Locker has emerged as the favorite to win the Tennessee Titans' starting QB job, he's easily had his worst performance of the first week of training camp.
Locker went 1 for 10 in Thursday night's 11-on-11 drills, spraying several pass attempts high and wide of his targets. Matt Hasselbeck outplayed Locker for the second straight practice, going 9 for 9.
Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network reported early this week on “Inside Training Camp Live” that sources within the Titans' organization told him that the job is Locker's to lose. Locker has responded by completing just 35.4 percent of his passes over the past two days of practice.
Locker wasn't helped by several drops from his receivers Thursday night. WR Nate Washington dropped a sure touchdown in the end zone, one play after TE Jared Cook dropped a pass in the flat. Locker motioned to officials for a pass interference call on the incompletion.
The former University of Washington QB also threw high on an underneath route to WR Lavelle Hawkins and was intercepted by SS Jordan Babineaux on a pass to the left flat. Coach Mike Munchak didn't appear to be overly concerned about Locker's performance.
“A lot of it is not the quarterback's (fault),” Munchak said. “A lot of it is other things that happen out here with how guys are running routes. There's a lot of factors to take into it.”
Hasselbeck, meanwhile, had a flawless practice. The three-time Pro Bowl QB connected with Cook early in the drill on a deep corner route along the right sidelines. He followed it with a bullet pass to Washington on a curl route near the left sidelines. Hasselbeck even sprinted 15 yards downfield in a red zone drill to make a block for RB Javon Ringer.
11-on-11 Drills -- Hasselbeck: 9 of 9, 0 TDs, 0 INTs; Locker: 1 of 10, 0 TDs, 1 INTs
Day 5 Advantage: Hasselbeck
Training Camp Totals -- Hasselbeck: 55 of 74, 1 TDs, 3 INTs; Locker: 45 of 81, 0 TDs, 2 INTs
Training Camp Advantage: Hasselbeck
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