NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Each week, Titans running back David Cobb knocks a little more rust off.
But he's not there yet.
After seeing Cobb have his most productive day as a pro in Sunday's 42-39 win over the Jaguars, Titans interim coach Mike Mularkey noticed some room for improvement in Cobb, and running back Antonio Andrews.
"I thought he made some nice runs,'' Mularkey said of Cobb, who ran for 40 yards on 13 carries. "There were other (runs) I wish he stuck with. The ball should have hit and we should have had some more yards out there. I think that's for both of those guys. These are two young backs in the NFL that are seeing things with different lines, how things are being blocked differently.
"But I saw some things that were good to see, some flashes of what he's capable of doing. But I'd like to see both of these guys break some of these tackles so that when they're on the last line of defense, if you can get through that, we're going to have some big plays that are going to lead to more scores."
Andrews had 58 yards on 13 carries against the Jaguars, and he scored one a one-yard touchdown run at the end of the first half. As a team, the Titans racked up 210 yards on the ground against the Jaguars, but 112 of those yards came from quarterback Marcus Mariota.
On the season, Andrews has 466 yards on 123 carries (3.8-yard average), while Cobb has 45 yards on 20 carries (2.3-yard average). Cobb spent the first nine games of the season on the injured reserve/designated for return list.
A fifth round draft pick by the Titans, Cobb will get plenty of work down the stretch.
Finding running room on Sunday in New York won't be easy – the Jets are ranked No.1 in the NFL in rush defense, allowing just 83.5 rushing yards per game. The Jets allow just 3.7 yards per carry.
Mularkey expects Cobb to improve with more carries, and confidence.
"Some of it is vision, some of it's not understanding the speed and how quickly everything kind of comes together,'' Mularkey said of Cobb, who ran for 2,893 yards and 20 touchdowns in college at Minnesota. "You can't start cutting back when they're coming that way. Stick with what you saw first, believe in it and try to make a play."
