Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Cam Ward Calls First Tennessee Titans Training Camp Practice 'MID' After Up & Down Performance

Starting point is 00:00:00 Cam Ward called his first training camp practice with the Tennessee Titans mid. I'm going to tell you what happened and why he's 100% right on today's edition of Locked On Titans. Your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by Monarch Money.

Starting point is 00:00:42 Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL at MonarchMoney.com for 50% off your first year. We have our first Tennessee Titans training camp practice and I'm breaking down everything you need to know from some of the key players on the defensive side of the ball. Can't wait to talk about the linebacker battle and James Williams. Also we're going to talk about Brian Callahan's expectations for Cam Ward and also what he had to say about Will Leavis maybe not coming back to the team. But we'll start with Cam Ward's assessment of the day for the offense. And he said it was mid. Before we dive into everything, do want to thank you for making

Starting point is 00:01:22 Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there.

Starting point is 00:01:39 Tune in Monday through Friday. If you aren't an everydayer, now is the perfect time to be one. We're into training camp Preseason the regular season right around the corner you want to be the most entertained and most informed Tennessee Titans fan that you could possibly be make sure that you get subscribed stay subscribed It's your team every day here on the locked on Titans podcast But with that being said again cam Ward talked after practice and said That the practice and the offensive performance was mid. He said, quote, everything is always measured off a win

Starting point is 00:02:10 or loss practices, 80 plays a day. That's a whole game. We were mid today and practice offensively, but you know, it's the first day you get better every day. We just have to try and repeat and not stay the same but get better." End quote. I love the approach there from Cam Ward. Yes we're not gonna act like it was some wonderful day. It was an up-and-down day. It was just mid but it's the very first day of training camp. We're building something here. Perfectly fine mindset to have. But what did Cam Ward mean? It was a midday. Well quite frankly you look at all the reports coming out of training camp and the offense was up and down.

Starting point is 00:02:48 There were some miscommunications on certain throws a couple to Calvin Ridley that they just weren't on the same page. There were a couple batted balls at the line of scrimmage. Some untouched pressures come in. Roger McCreary was able to get into the backfield a couple of times on some blitzes where Cam had a pass batted away that he was trying to get rid the backfield a couple of times on some blitzes where cam had a pass batted away That he was trying to get rid of quick or there was an overthrow at one point in time because of the blitz pressure Things were just a little bit off for the offense There was a fumble on another reverse attempt that the offense was able to get back on even during wide receiver drills

Starting point is 00:03:20 There were reports that there were some drops during individual now There were no big time mistakes though. And that's the big thing that you want to point out here. KM Ward's assessment is accurate, but I want to remind people and maybe people who are older than me, I'm just young enough to know mid and how the kids, that is just mid tier, the middle of the road, a middle performance. Literally it's used as a negative. Oh, that's mid.

Starting point is 00:03:46 And your brain, the connotation thinks, oh, it was bad. It was terrible. It wasn't good. But that's just the internet culture of now. Everything is either really good or really bad. But at the end of the day, it was a mid performance. It was right in the middle, because Cam Ward wasn't all bad. Jim Wyatt from Tennessee Titans.com reported that Cam Ward was 12 for 17 on the day

Starting point is 00:04:07 and Cam started out 4 of 4 and 7 on 7. He hit a pass to Calvin Ridley on a comeback. He hit a pass to Chigga Conquo on a quick route. He hit an out route to Elec Iow Manor. He hit another pass to Calvin Ridley on a curl route. He had a really good play where he avoided pressure and dumped off a screen to Tajay Spears and Spears took it down the sideline for a big gain. Like there's a good, there's a lot of good stuff in there as well and that's why Cam is just correcting his assessment. It wasn't a great day, it wasn't a terrible day, it was mid. You know that's that's the only way to put it. So I like that Ken Ward has that mentality that he's never satisfied.

Starting point is 00:04:49 Like I am okay with Ken Ward being an obsessive worker and Ken Ward talked about it. I love what Ken Ward had to say. He was asked after practice about how he deals with the distractions, you know, all these different people saying stuff about him. He talked, you know, I learned a long time ago, they're gonna talk bad about you,

Starting point is 00:05:09 they're gonna talk good about you, all that. Ken Ward said, he talks to about five people. He wakes up, he eats, he goes to work, he plays football, he watches film, he studies all day, he goes home, he eats. He goes to bed Like he just said I sleep I eat and I play football like that's it He said I talked to five people a day my family and he talked about what his dog, Uno He named his dog a Rottweiler, Uno and it was so funny. He said yeah, he listens to me

Starting point is 00:05:44 Okay, we'll see about that. But, Ken Ward just seems like a psycho. He's just a competitive psychopath. That's what you learn from all of these different interviews and all of his responses to these things. Like, he really does not care whatsoever about the nonsense. He just, and I always go back to this.

Starting point is 00:06:06 And at the time when I said it, there were people who were like, oh, you're making too big of a deal out of it. Oh, it's this and that, blah, blah, blah. No, you know, that's not a bit, but in those videos before the draft with Shador Sanders and Kam Ward, when Shador's like, hey, you wanna get on my song,

Starting point is 00:06:25 Cam Ward said, I'm a football player. People hear Cam Ward's name, I want them to think about me playing football. Nah, man, I play football. I'm just football player. I play football. Cam is truly single-minded, obsessively competitive, psychotically driven to be the best football player

Starting point is 00:06:43 that he could possibly be. Period. He's shown it too many times. It's clear. And again, his favorite athlete of all time, Kobe Bryant. You got the picture of him with Kobe Bryant. You guys know, you've been listening to my show for any time. I am a Kobe Bryant acolyte.

Starting point is 00:07:01 That's my favorite athlete of all time, period. No questions about it. If I could flip the camera around, I have a whole wall in my studio dedicated to Kobe Bryant in front of me to keep me motivated, of course. You know what I mean? But this is, we talked about what the expectations for Cam Ward would be during training camp,

Starting point is 00:07:21 especially early on in training camp. We get a little bit further into camp, you know, we need to see some success, but early on in training camp. We get a little bit further into camp. You know, we need to see some success. But I've talked about it. Be a leader. Earn the respect of your teammates. Show that you're committed. Show that you know the playbook.

Starting point is 00:07:34 And all of the, all of the off-field things that Cam wore, all the boxes that he could check, he's checking them. He's checking them resoundingly. Doesn't mean that we can, you know, get his hall of fame jacket ready. No, of course not.

Starting point is 00:07:51 But as good as a rookie quarterback can start his career to this point, Cam ward is going there. And for him to even respond to a day where he went 12 to 17 and they made no big mistakes, no interceptions, no big problems popped up. The Titans worked on a ton of quick game, they got the ball out quick, just trying to get the timing down of everything. On a day like that for there to be no big mistakes and for Cam to go 12 of 17, which

Starting point is 00:08:16 is solid and for them to have good moments and for him to go up to the podium and say, hey, it was mid. It was all right. We need to get better. It was all right. We need to get better. It was day one. Again, doesn't mean he's going to be the franchise savior, but it's better than things going poorly. And they've gone poorly for rookies with the Tennessee Titans for quite some time.

Starting point is 00:08:37 So he is matching my expectations on day one. But what about his head coach's expectations? What did his head coach Brian Callahan have to say about what he is expecting out of Kam Ward during training camp? I'm gonna tell you that right now. Do wanna let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Yahoo Fantasy.

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Starting point is 00:10:38 We talked about Cam Ward's day. He called it mid. I would say he was right, but still pretty solid day overall for the veteran. But now I want to talk about what Brian Callahan had to say because he talked about his expectations for Cam Ward also we got an update on the Will Levis situation what's gonna happen going forward and from a roster logistical standpoint what are they gonna do with Will Levis we got that to talk about and we got a ton of updates on the defensive side of the ball and some updates on some other

Starting point is 00:11:06 players on offense that I want to get into as well. But first Let's talk about these expectations from Brian Callahan who talked about Cam Ward Before practice and he said quote his expectations for Cam Ward Quote for the quarterback position in general, it's growth every day, especially for a young player. There's a lot of things I thought he handled really, really well in the spring and carrying over those things you've learned and applying them in a little bit more intense setting. Now that we actually get a chance to play a little football, play against some different schemes

Starting point is 00:11:45 His development is going to be a daily process. There's going to be things that we've got to correct every day There's going to be things that he does really well every day that we're going to try and continue those things every single day I think is going to be an opportunity for development for him and I'm'm looking forward to it. And this goes back to what I've been talking about is gradual growth for Cam Ward. We can't expect him to be the best quarterback in the NFL right away, but also he should get incrementally better throughout the process.

Starting point is 00:12:17 And if he doesn't, if things are bad, then we would have to have some concerns going into the season. But I think Brian Callahan has the perfect mindset for what we want to see from Cam Ward. And that's just continue to get better. That's his expectations. And it makes a lot of sense that that's what he would be

Starting point is 00:12:34 judged off of. But I want to move away from the Cam Ward expectations. I thought that was a great comment from Brian Callahan and talk about the Will Levis situation. So as I said, when we got the news that Will Levis was going to be out for the season, I don't think it really affects the way that I see the Tennessee Titans season or how things are going to go. But now that Will Levis is going to be out for the year, there is the question of what's going to happen going forward? Is Will Levis

Starting point is 00:13:00 going to be with the team? What does it mean for his roster spot? Well, we now know that the Tennessee Titans are in fact placing him on injured reserve. So he's not going to take up a roster spot. He's off the roster. The Titans now will have an open roster spot. And then they're also going to put Lorenzo Carter on the reserve retired list. So they're going to have two open roster spots to add people. It looks like they are going to add another running back. They're going to add another interior defensive lineman as well. So they're filling those roster spots already, although I would have loved to see it be an edge rusher, like we talked about on yesterday's show.

Starting point is 00:13:34 But I thought the most interesting thing about the Will Levis situation is what Brian Callahan had to say about whether or not Will Levis was gonna come back to the team. He said, quote, as of right now, he'll be out in California for a while and when and where after that process, we'll see. He said he's going to go out there and get the surgery and he'll be there for rehab for a little bit post-op and then we'll kind of take it from there. Nothing is concrete.

Starting point is 00:14:12 Will Levis ain't coming back to this team. He's not coming back. He's gonna go out, he's gonna get surgery at the end of July. He's gonna stay in California and rehab. Why would he come back to this team? Now I thought credit to Cam Ward. Cam Ward was asked about Will Levis. He said, I'm not really worried about anything but Cam Ward.

Starting point is 00:14:33 I thought that was, but I think he realized how that was going to sound. And he said, I hope that he gets healthy. I think Will Levis is a good player. You know, I think he, you know, hopefully he's able to get healthy, get back on out on the field and he'll be able to play. Cam Ward handled it perfectly, but his first statement was how he really felt. But I thought it was interesting. Brian Callahan told the truth there. We don't really know. We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Like, let's all just be real for a moment. And I go back to what I said the moment that Cam Ward was drafted, the moment that we knew Cam Ward

Starting point is 00:15:05 was going to be drafted. Get Will Levis out of here. It's bad for the locker room. It's a new era. I don't want Will Levis around this team. It's Cam Ward's football team. All right? To me, it's like when you break up with your significant other, but you have a lease together, so you decide to still live together. That is a recipe for disaster, in my opinion. Both parties are bitter, and even if they're not, they wanna move on, their actions can make the other, like it's just a negative situation

Starting point is 00:15:38 that no one wants to be in. Everyone knows that Will Levis is unhappy with what's happened. That sort of stuff can just foster. It's just a black cloud. You need to get rid of it. So if I'm the Titans, I'm not asking Will Levis to come back.

Starting point is 00:15:55 And if I'm Will Levis, I don't wanna come back. I'm sitting out the whole season. I'm not coming in. I'm not a part of this team. I'm getting healthy so that we can part ways next off season when everybody's happy. Like, that's clearly the path forward here. So I thought it was interesting.

Starting point is 00:16:13 I thought when I first got the news and we talked about it, that, oh, you know, they'll probably say, Will Levis is coming back and then we'll see what happens. No, they're outright being like, oh, we don't really have a plan for that. We haven't really said. And for them to admit that it isn't, yeah, he's on the team.

Starting point is 00:16:28 As soon as he's done with surgery, he's gonna come back to the team. Yeah, he's gonna rehab here with us. For that to not be the immediate answer tells me that it's actually the other way. It's actually 100% the other way. Now, what I do wanna talk about is some of the other notes. It's actually 100% the other way. Now, what I do want to talk about is some of the other notes coming out of practice. Some notes on Jarvis Brownlee Jr. and Femi Oladejo

Starting point is 00:16:52 and James Williams. Some of the young wide receivers and young receiving targets that got some work in on the day. We got to talk about Elec Iow Manor. We got to talk about Femi Oladejo as well. So much to discuss on today's episode. Can't wait to continue diving into it with you guys. Today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Ever wish managing your money felt easier? With Monarch Money, it can. Whether you're growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver's seat. It's like having your own personal CFO giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than a budgeting app. It's a complete financial command center. You could track all your accounts, investments and spending all in one place. So in addition to managing

Starting point is 00:17:38 your money, you're also building wealth. It surprised me just how much money I was spending on online shopping once I got the Monarch app but now that I know I can move forward with that information. Also I've recently been getting into investing so having all my investments, my accounts, my spending, tracking it all in one place, very very efficient, very very easy. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use the code LOCKDONNFL at MonarchMoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's MonarchMoney.com, code LOCKDONNFL for half off your first year. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, breaking down everything you need to know from day one of Tennessee Titans training camp.

Starting point is 00:18:37 We talked about Cam Ward's performance and his analysis of that performance. We talked about some of the things Brian Callahan had to say about different topics on the quarterbacks. Now I want to go over some of the other notes on individual players from practice before we get into that. Do want to thank you again for making locked on Titans, your first listen each and every day. Make sure that you get subscribed.

Starting point is 00:18:57 Stay subscribed again. It's your team every day here on the locked on Titans podcast. But with that being said, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. had a very good day, multiple reports of multiple pass breakups from him. And there was a fun play where Cam Ward threw a deep pass up to Traylon Burks. Jarvis Brownlee Jr. was able to knock it away.

Starting point is 00:19:20 Both guys got up a little bit slowly, but it was actually because Jarvis Brownlee Jr. was puking It was very very hot out there at practice today and a lot of the players Obviously were feeling that but Jarvis Brownlee Jr. even admitted. Yeah, I just had to puke, you know I was good to go, but he had a very good practice was very very active again A lot of the reports pointing to Jarvis Brownlee Jr. getting a lot of hands-on passes and look with the uncertainty of to Jarvis Brownlee Jr. getting a lot of hands-on passes and look with the uncertainty of Ligeria Snead right now, they need a big jump from Jarvis Brownlee Jr. If he could turn into a number one

Starting point is 00:19:50 cornerback, imagine how big that would be for the Titans, not only for this year but going forward in the future. That would be absolutely critical. So good day from Jarvis Brownlee Jr. Also, James Williams, my favorite, my favorite to win the inside linebacker job next to Cody Barton. Out there with the first team. I saw a guy like James Williams throughout the process, throughout the all season we've heard good things about that. And then James Williams himself seems pretty happy, said that he's lost 20 pounds, he's down to 235, feels more agile, all of that, that is great news for James Williams. A guy who's already a monster at six foot four,

Starting point is 00:20:50 235 pounds now, gonna move better, better in past coverage. Very excited for James Williams, but we've talked so much about that linebacker battle, about who's gonna win that job next to Cody Barton and Otis Reese and Cedric Gray and James Williams and all that and it's it's taking shape. James Williams is gonna get the first crack at the opportunity and I think he's gonna hold on. I really do but also on defense, Femi Oladejo. I saw reports of him getting a ton of work in 7 on 7 dropping into

Starting point is 00:21:28 coverage. I saw Teron Davenport say that he's going to get a ton of reps in training camp. They need him to develop. They need him to develop fast. Now with Lorenzo Carter retired, there's going to be way more reps available that wouldn't have been available otherwise and like how Cam Ward is going to get all of the reps abandoned by Will Levis, Femi Oladejo should get all of the reps abandoned by Lorenzo Carter. Just give them all to him. I talked about Femi and how much development he needed and how it's so important that he doesn't miss time when we were talking about his contract situation. Well, all of that still applies.

Starting point is 00:22:04 He has to get a ton of work to start his development plan. And it sounds like that is the plan for Femiola Dejo. He got his hands on a pass. We talked about earlier where there was a blitz from Roger McCreary. Cam Ward tried to get rid of the ball quick. Femiola Dejo was able to knock the ball down. He's gonna get opportunity.

Starting point is 00:22:22 I wanna see him have production, get a big turbo boost, head start to his development with the ball down. He's going to get opportunity. I want to see him have production, get a big turbo boost head start to his development with the Tennessee Titans. That would be great for the team. Also, we moved to offense. Ellic Iow Manor continues to play well. According to Jim White, he had three catches on the day. David Martin Robinson had the most catches on the day with four. I'm telling you, I think he might take that spot from Josh Wiley. Gunnar Helm had three catches on the day as well, but had a big drop according to the report. But I just want to say, no

Starting point is 00:22:57 matter what you do, no matter where you go, you continue to see people talk about Ellick Iow Manor and how impressive he is and how he's standing out and like That's why i've said He is the number one receiver that I think could break through and be a true starter for the titans this year his skill set His talent level it all matches up He could have a big breakout here in year one and be a truly helpful player on those big jump balls That cam ward could just toss up in the red zone and down the field. He could be a critical fit for the Titans in the offense early on in that T Higgins role. Like right

Starting point is 00:23:33 away, he could step up and do that. But I also want to mention we didn't hear anything about Xavier Restrepo. Nothing about Xavier Restrepo. Any other reports I saw, any of the tweets, any of the conversation and any of the press conferences, anything like that. Nothing about Xavier Restrepo, any of the reports I saw, any of the tweets, any of the conversation, and any of the press conferences, anything like that, nothing about Xavier Restrepo. So I'd like to see the Titans have practice tomorrow. I'm going to be here to break it down to cap off our week. And then they have practice again on Saturday, which I'll probably go live on Saturday after that practice to discuss everything with you guys, or I might save it till Sunday.

Starting point is 00:24:04 It depends on how things go. But, wanna hear Restrepo? I'm excited. I think he's a lock, but gotta make an impact here as we're in training camp and things are ratcheting it up. So first practice, you're not gonna take

Starting point is 00:24:20 too big of an overreaction from any of it, but do wanna hear Restrepo's name tomorrow's practice or today depending on when you're listening this Thursday's practice. I want to hear more about Xavier Restrepo making an impact. It seemed like the Titans were really easing in. It seemed like a really quick short practice in my opinion based on some of the other practices I've seen in my, you know, six training camps that I've seen. So we'll see how Thursday's practices and Saturday in front of the fans Open practice at the stadium very curious to see how things play out, but we're back football is back I'll be back with you guys tomorrow to break down tomorrow's practice. So excited can't wait Make sure that you get subscribed stay subscribed. It's your team every day, but that's gonna do it for me today folks as always I am your host, Tyler Rowland,

Starting point is 00:25:05 and this was Locked on Titans.

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Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Cam Ward Calls First Tennessee Titans Training Camp Practice 'MID' After Up & Down Performance

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