Titans Notebook: Players and coaches say Andrew Luck is unfazed by pressure

When watching film on Andrew Luck this week, Titans players and coaches have marveled at his ability to hold onto the ball to allow his receivers to get open. Unfazed by the pressure, Luck has made a lot of throws that you don't often see from rookie quarterbacks.

The Titans have been impressed with Andrew Luck's ability to bounce back from hard hits. Luck has been sacked 11 times in his last three games. (US Presswire)

It hasn’t taken long for Andrew Luck to make a seamless transition from the Pac-12 to the AFC South. A 32-yard fourth-quarter completion to T.Y. Hilton in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars might serve as a case in point.

Facing a cover-2 alignment with help over the top from S Dwight Lowery, Luck fit a pass into a tight window between CB William Middleton and Lowery on a bubble-and-go route down the left sidelines. The Indianapolis Colts’ rookie quarterback faked a bubble screen to Reggie Wayne and hit Hilton on the go-route.

“There’s a couple of them where he’s dropping them right in the honey hole,” CB Ryan Mouton said. “He’s throwing it right on the money, the safety was coming downhill.”

As Jerry Gray has looked to eliminate the deep ball this season, the Titans’ defensive coordinator has used the cover-2 often in attempts to force opposing quarterbacks to check down to the underneath receivers. In a 44-41 win against the Lions in Week 3, Titans’ safeties Michael Griffin and Jordan Babineaux played upwards of 25 yards off the line of scrimmage to contain Calvin Johnson on vertical routes downfield. The Titans could employ a similar strategy in Sunday’s AFC South divisional matchup.

One of Luck’s most impressive efforts of the season came against a Vikings’ defense that primarily remained in a cover-2 shell against the Colts. Luck finished 21 of 30 for 224 yards in the 23-20 win. The first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft recorded career-highs in completion percentage (64.5) and QB rating (107.5). Luck picked his spots wisely when choosing to attack the Vikings’ secondary. Of the five times Luck attempted deep passes, he only faced a cover-2 alignment once. It came on a 20-yard completion to Donnie Avery on a game-winning drive when he spun to his right to avoid a rush from Jared Allen and connected with Avery in between CB Chris Cook and S Harrison Smith. The Titans will look to create pressure against Luck, like several other 4-3 defenses have this season. The Bears, Vikings and Browns -- three 4-3 defenses -- have combined for eight sacks against the Colts. Luck’s willingness to take a hit has given his receivers extra time to get open.

“He’s taking hits because he’ll hold onto it to make a bigger play,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said. “You don’t see many rookies that will do that.”

Munchak was impressed with Luck’s performance against the Packers in Week 5 when he rallied the Colts from a 21-3 halftime deficit in the 30-27 win. Despite recording four sacks, the Packers still allowed 188 passing yards and two touchdowns from Luck after the half. When Green Bay hurried Luck, however, the rookie quarterback struggled. The Packers pressured Luck on 17 of his 55 attempts, according to Pro Football Focus. On the 17 passes Luck had a QB rating of 58.0, the website found.

Still, Titans DE Kamerion Wimbley indicated that Luck has an uncanny ability for a rookie to handle pressure.

“He doesn’t get fazed by being rushed, he’s not going to get panicked,” Wimbley said. “He’s making big-time throws. He’s making the throws I believe everybody thought he was capable of making coming out of Stanford.”

Titans look to eliminate missed tackles: For a defense that ranks last in the league in points allowed per game (34.0), broken tackles have been a continual source of frustration throughout the season. The Titans have had 44 broken tackles in their past four games, including nine in last week’s 35-34 win over the Bills, according to Pro Football Focus.

It didn’t take long for the broken tackles to add up. On Buffalo’s first offensive play, RB Fred Jackson broke a tackle from Wimbley on a 9-yard screen pass. Midway through the second quarter, Jackson made a quick cut to his right to force a missed tackle from S Jordan Babineaux on a 12-yard run. Jackson also turned a catch for negative yardage into a 7-yard gain by eluding LB Will Witherspoon late in the third quarter. Avoiding broken tackles has been a point of emphasis in practice.

While CB Jason McCourty said it’s nearly impossible to replicate game speed in practice, he lauded the scout team for helping prepare the secondary in the days leading up to a game.

“For us in the secondary (wide receiver) Mike Preston does a great job of giving us a scout team look going against receivers,” McCourty said. “You just have to have your guys go hard. We’re getting that -- when you go out on Sunday, it just has to translate.”

LT Roos still experiencing discomfort: Pro Bowl LT Michael Roos missed Wednesday’s practice, two days after undergoing a laparoscopic appendectomy at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. Munchak still hasn’t ruled Roos out of Sunday’s game even though he said the eight-year veteran won’t practice much this week. Roos is still experiencing abdominal discomfort and plans to take a cautious approach with his preparations for the Colts.

“I can’t do anything too much and push it, thinking that it feels good -- then make it worse,” Roos said.

Roos has started all 119 games of his career. He currently ranks second in the NFL in consecutive games played among tackles behind Jeff Backus (182 games) of the Lions.

“It’s a source of pride," Roos said. "I always want to make sure I’m there for my team."

For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis on the Tennessee Titans, follow Matt Rybaltowski @CBSTitans.