Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - FRIDAY NIGHT SPECIAL - Titans Name Starter At Tackle & Injury Report!!

Episode Date: September 10, 2021

The Tennessee Titans named the starter at Right Tackle on Friday and Tyler is bringing you a special edition of the Locked On Titans podcast to discuss. Also, Tyler goes over the injury report for both teams and tells you just how significant each player is.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans Youtube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.ManscapedFellas, don’t gamble on shaving your balls with the wrong tools! Choose MANSCAPED™, Your Balls Will Thank You™! Get 20% off + free shipping with the code LOCKEDON at manscaped.com.RunYourPoolCheck ‘em out TODAY and get $10 off at RunYourPool.com and use promo code LockedOn at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, this is a special Friday presentation of the Locked on Titans podcast. A little bit of a dessert for you guys after five shows throughout the week. So I'm going into my third season as the host of the Locked on Titans podcast. And now that the Locked on Titans YouTube page is up and running, I want to create some extra content for the YouTube folks. And as you guys know, I record the show a day before, so I record on Thursday night

and it drops on Friday morning. And that creates a little bit of a gap between when the final show of the week comes out and then when the game is played. And sometimes there's going to be big news on Friday during the day. And I want to make sure that you guys are caught up to date. So going forward throughout the season, I'm going to do these special podcasts on YouTube only going forward on Friday nights to get you up to date with the day's news. And often, that is going to include injury talk. The final injury report of the week will come out.

It also could include some roster moves, some roster announcements, and that's exactly what we have today. The Tennessee Titans have named the starting right tackle. So I'm going to tell you who that is. And then also, we are going to go over the injury report released on Friday for both teams. And I have a lot of analysis to go along with each of these injuries, including an important defensive player for the Titans that will be missing this game.

So we're going to dive into all of that on a special Friday night edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. my boy Larry Legend for the nasty instrumental. But before we get into all the content I have for you guys on this special Friday night edition of the show, just want to let you know that it is sponsored by our friends over at betonline.ag, the number one spot to bet on all your pro and college football action this season.

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here on the Locked On Titans podcast. So if you're into the audio version, subscribe to the Locked On Titans podcast. So if you're into the audio version, subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. And for the YouTube crowd, make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel as well. Smash that notification bell

so you know when all the content goes live. And going forward after this week, this Friday night special will be exclusive to the YouTube channel. So make sure that if you're not taking advantage of the YouTube channel, you go ahead and get on it, guys. But let's dive into the Titans roster announcements, the injury report, and the biggest news of the day does come at the right tackle position and Mike Vrabel did announce on Friday that David Quessenberry would be the starting right tackle

for the Tennessee Titans this year. And again, I know, I hate to pat my own back. It's kind of a lie. I love patting my own back. But I said that David Quessenberry was going to be the starter for the Titans three weeks ago during the preseason.

When I saw some of the videos that the social media team for the Titans was putting out this week based on practice, it was obvious based on the rotation during the drills that Questenberry was slated to be the starter. And you may not be a big fan of Questenberry as a player. You may prefer Kendall Lamb. You may prefer Ty Sambrillo. You may prefer the rookie Dylan Radins, who when he was drafted, I thought would have the best chance

to be the starter, but it became obvious during training camp. Kendall Lamb had an upper body injury where he missed a bunch of time. Ty Sambrillo coming back from the lower body injury from last year, missed a bunch of time, barely played in the preseason or in training camp. And at some point in time, even if you're a little bit more talented than the guy next to you, if you've missed a bunch of time, you're not going to be as ready to go. And Questenberry in his defense did play very well, very well, seems like a bit of a stretch, but he played pretty well last year.

He played in 12 games for the Titans. He started six games at left tackle. So the Titans are comfortable having him in the lineup. Now, one thing I will say is, as I said on yesterday's game preview, if you missed that, go back and check out the 30-minute game preview I put out yesterday on YouTube on Thursday night or Friday morning for the podcast crowd. Either way, I talked about how Questenberry is going to be going up against J.J. Watt or Chandler Jones, so he's going to need a lot of help from tight end Jeff Swain, so look for

that to take place. But either way, I'm fine with Questenberry. I don't think that he's significantly worse than Sambrillo or Kendall Lamb. He's obviously better and more suited to start right now than the rookie Dylan Radins, so I don't think that's anything to bat an eye at. I don't think that's anything to be super worried about. Even Taylor LeJuan came to his buddy's defense, called him David Lee

multiple times, said he probably has more respect for David Questenberry than any other player in the locker room. If you guys don't know, Questenberry is a cancer survivor. He missed some time in his career early battling cancer and came back and was able to make a career for himself, and now he is a starter in the NFL. That's the type of story that transcends sports. You have to be in awe of something like that. So good to see Questenberry get that spot. But Taylor LeJuan also talked about how the guy's incredibly athletic.

He's incredibly powerful, and he is an athletic guy for a tackle, which really works in the Titans system where you need those athletic offensive tackles to either cross the face of the defender on the backside or get up to the second level after a combo block on the outside zone. So I'm okay with Questenberry at right tackle. So that's the biggest news of the day as we do know the Titans starting right tackle.

But of course, if you have been listening to the Locked on Titans podcast, you would have known that weeks ago. But that's not the only news. We do have to get into an updated injury report for the Titans. So we are going to dive into that in just a moment. Do want to take a quick break here.

I'll be back to discuss all of the injuries for you guys on this Friday night special of the Locked on Titans podcast. Titans fans, let's dive right back in to this Friday night special. We have to discuss the injury report that the Titans put out on Friday after practice. Before we do, gotta remind you guys about the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at BuiltBar.com.

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Let's dive into the Titans injury report. I have a lot of analysis to go along with the injuries. The biggest news of the day is that third string, well, I'll call him second string, but he's the third inside linebacker on the pecking order behind Rashawn Evans and Jayon Brown. David Long is going to miss this game with a hamstring injury, and there are a few reasons why I think that is concerning. Number one, like we've talked about on the show throughout the preseason, the Titans have been putting David Long in on third downs for Rashawn Evans because he's a much better

blitzer and he's also a much better guy in coverage. Now, I wouldn't say he's great in coverage like Jayon Brown is, but he's improved from Rashawn Evans. So not having him definitely upsets what the Titans want to do with their sub package. When you think about a team like the Cardinals, who runs four wide receivers more than any other team in the NFL, the Titans are probably going to be in sub package for a lot of the game. One thing I will say is the Titans do like to run a ton of dime.

And just for anybody trying to keep track, nickel is when you have five defensive backs out on the field and only two linebackers. Dime is when you have six defensive backs out on the field. Now, typically you would have two linebackers in that scenario as well, but the Titans like to change up how they put their personnel out there. Now, what I would expect now with Rashawn Evans being out,

I would expect more dime from the Titans, putting three safeties and three defensive backs out on the field. Now, this could mean an uptick in snaps for Matthias Farley for the Titans. It could mean an uptick in snaps for Elijah Molden as well. Hopefully it's not an uptick in snaps for a guy like Chris Jackson, who some people see as the third or fourth corner, not me. So we will see how the Titans decide to handle that. But either way, their sub packages and how they play against the pass

is going to be affected by not having David Long. So we'll have to see how that shakes out. Also, moving forward, do have to talk about the second biggest injury. And right now this player is questionable due to a right groin injury. He practiced all week, but all of a sudden on Friday was limited and then popped up on the injury report. And it was kicker Sam Ficken. Oh, Fick!

kicker Sam Ficken. Oh, Fick! Jokes aside, the Titans just cannot get good luck with kickers. A corresponding roster move that took place on Friday, the Titans added Michael Badgley, the money badger, as people like to call him. He used to be the kicker for the Los Angeles Chargers. He was cut from the team, but the Titans added him to the practice squad.

I would expect to see him elevated to the game if Thicken can't kick. And I would imagine a groin injury in your right leg, which is the leg that he kicks with, could potentially be a problem. But let's continue going through the injury report. A.J. Brown listed with a knee injury, but full participant on Thursday and Friday. No worries there. Another wide receiver, Josh Reynolds with the Achilles injury. It's listed as a foot injury, but Reynolds has talked about it being an Achilles injury. He was limited on Thursday and Friday, and he's currently questionable, but right now the word on the street is Reynolds will be able to go. Also, Chris Jackson, like I just mentioned earlier,

he is listed as questionable with a hamstring injury. He was limited Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Also, have to mention Tommy Hudson at tight end. He is limited on Thursday and did not practice on Friday with a toe injury. He's listed as questionable right now. I do not expect to see Tommy Hudson out there, but let me tell you why I don't think that's a very big deal. And it's this simple. I think that Michael Pruitt is going to be elevated to the active roster in week two. I've talked about this throughout the week, but Michael Pruitt is a vested veteran in the NFL. He has been in the league for more than four years.

That means that if he is on an active 53-man roster on week one, his salary is guaranteed for the rest of the season. If you put him on the 53-man roster in week two, then his salary is not guaranteed for the rest of the season. So it made all the sense in the world for the Titans to put Michael Pruitt on the practice squad for week one. They protected him on the practice squad so that another team couldn't grab him. They're going to elevate him up to the active roster for game day

if Tommy Hudson is out, which is what I'm expecting right now. And then next week, the Titans will probably wave Tommy Hudson, try to get him back on the practice squad, and then sign McCool Pruitt to the active roster for the rest of the year, getting through those salary cap loopholes. So I really don't think that this is a major blow to the Titans, like I thought with Sam Ficken and David Long. So that is the injury report for the Titans.

For the Cardinals, much more limited. Tight end Daryl Daniels was limited Wednesday and Thursday with a toe injury, but was a full participant on Friday, and he has been ruled in for the game. Two guys for the Cardinals who have been ruled out for the game, however, though. Linebacker Dennis Gardeck, he has a hand and a knee injury. And then wide receiver Antone Wesley, he has an illness, not COVID-related, but an illness. Both those guys are out, but let's be honest, those are not impact

players for the Cardinals. So I don't think it's going to affect anything too drastically. So that is all the news from Friday. Questenberry starting at right tackle. The injury report with David Long out. Sam Ficken questionable. Tommy Hudson questionable, but most likely out. I would expect to see Michael Pruitt elevated. Tommy Hudson questionable, but most likely out. I would expect to see Michael Pruitt elevated over Tommy Hudson. Michael Badgley, the money badger, added to the practice squad if Ficken can't go. And then David Long, we should expect to see some additional snaps from the safeties or maybe Elijah Moulton to deal with that loss as there is not an exact facsimile

for David Long on the Titans roster as Monte Rice and Rashawn Evans are both primarily run defense focused. And then Nick Duzudnar just doesn't need to play defense at all. He's a special teams guy. So that is all of the news you need to know from Friday here on this Friday night special of the Locked on Titans podcast.

Again, I am posting this on the podcast feed for the audio crowd, but going forward throughout the season, this Friday night special will be YouTube exclusive. So if you haven't subscribed to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel, make sure you do that. Subscribe, hit the notification bell so you know when I go live. But either way, I'm going to be back with you guys on Saturday as well for a little bit of a season prediction episode. It's probably going to be about 15 minutes like this one. It's going to be exclusive to YouTube. I am going to

talk about my statistical projections for the Titans this year, talk about some national NFL stuff as well, who I think will win the Super Bowl, my playoff teams, my MVP and award selections, all of that. So that'll be a little bit of a Saturday night special specific to week one. But either way, so excited for the game on Sunday. No matter what, if you can't catch the weekend content, I'm going to be back with you guys on Sunday night and Monday morning recapping everything that took place in the Titans' first game of the year. That's going to do it for me today, folks.

Have a great weekend, everybody. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.