Craig Stevens

For a quarterback, 7-on-7 work is supposed to be easier than 11-on-11 drills. There is no pass rush. There is no crowd to see over or around. Receivers should win matchups and provide open targets.

But in the Tennessee Titans' Monday night practice it didn't work that way for Marcus Mariota during red zone work.

In a 7-on-7 drill, he hit Bishop Sankey and then missed on three throws in a row: He missed Hakeem Nicks in the end zone, threw out of bounds to a well-covered Kendall Wright in the back right corner of the end zone and threw a bad pass I think was aimed for Harry Douglas but might have been intended for Delanie Walker behind him.

But in the full team red zone period that followed, Mariota's fuse got re-lit.

A dump off to tight end Craig Stevens created a chance for him to bounce into the end zone. A slant to Douglas for a touchdown. A hard roll out to the right and a dart to Wright at the front corner of the end zone.