Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Camp impressions with Jonathan Hutton

Episode Date: August 29, 2018

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked on Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you tonight? Doing alright. What's going on, man? Not too much. Doing well. We have Jonathan Hutton, who we'll bring up here in just a sec as well, to get his reaction through three weeks of the preseason. Before we do all that, I want to remind you that Terry and I write for MusicCityMiracles.com, covering the Titans for SB Nation. You can check us out there. You can also subscribe to the podcast, wherever you get your podcasts. Just search out Locked on Titans. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb.

And tonight we have Jonathan Hutton from the Midday 180 and Titans Radio with us. You can follow him on Twitter at Hutton1045. Hutton, how are you doing tonight? Guys, I am great. Great to be back on your show. How are you? Yeah, we're good, man. We really appreciate you coming on.

So I'll start off with the thing that's been the biggest issue ever since Saturday afternoon. The offense did not perform well in what most people consider to be the dress rehearsal, and so that's kind of got Titans Twitter especially in a little bit of a panic um just kind of talk about your takeaways from that game and you know how how big of a deal is it that the first team offense struggled like they did well i look i i think portions of it are are just some of the the game planning versus whatever pittsburgh did up front front, with some of the blitz packages that they brought and different things. I don't think the Titans spent a ton of time preparing for what Pittsburgh did with their front seven.

On the other hand, I also know they didn't prepare Marcus Mariota to miss Corey Davis on that first third down pass. And Marcus, for as bad as that throw was to Corey Davis, the interception was worse because Marcus missed a wide-open Corey Davis and he threw to a covered-up Taewon Taylor off his back foot and against his body. So I think portions of it Titans Twitter should should be concerned with i would expect more from from mariota in a game like that in the game number three um and as far as the offensive

line and different things going on with pass protection some of it i chalked up to more of what pittsburgh was doing because j Jimmy, I felt like the play action, Pittsburgh wasn't even paying attention to the play action on some of those blitzes. And part of me feels like it's preseason. They're working on certain schemes. They weren't going to respect the run, even if the Titans established the run in preseason game number three. So it's tough to know exactly how they approach the game from a defensive

standpoint. But from a Titans offensive standpoint, the two really bad plays came with Corey Davis on that third down and then the interception. I think we've got a pretty good idea of the Titans' top four receivers. But that fifth receiver kind of maybe changed hands with the Nick Williams injury there, Michael Campanaro on IR. If you would, give us your thoughts on how that situation is going to play out with cuts coming. Well, I'm really intrigued by it now because, look,

Darius Jennings has been very consistent. Tajay Sharp, I thought, was one of the top performers with the first-team offense on Saturday against Pittsburgh. Looking around their offense now, they're getting Rashard Matthews back, which is huge. Having him available, despite the lack of practice time, is going to be better than any option that they had. Nick Williams, while he's making plays, he's also not supposed to be in with the first team

offense. He's more of a special teams player. At least that's how he was going to make the roster when camp broke. So I think I'm with you. We know the top four, and then I'm intrigued to see what happens on the back end because there are multiple scenarios that could play out now because of different injuries, namely to Nick Williams with the hamstring, Campanaro on IR, and Darius Jennings. Devin Ross is another player that has flashed at times that can also provide a good special teams boost. I think he would be one to watch right now because of the injury to Williams. Going back to the Corey Davis throw where Marcus Short hopped him,

of course, after the game, Marcus said it was his fault. Corey Davis said it was his fault. The next tape variable said it was his fault. What do you think happened there? I mean, is that purely a miscommunication? Was it a bad throw? I mean, I think purely a miscommunication? Was it a bad throw? I mean, I think that's been, you know, like everybody freaked out. If they hit that play, the conversation is completely different this week.

Yeah. So what do you think went down right there? You know, if they hit that throw, not only is the conversation completely different, Mariota is probably, you know, LeFleur is praised. No one is questioning Corey Davis with the holding them out of practice time no one's questioning the timing routes and different things within this offense and mariota opens up the opening drive with yet another touchdown um so consider all those things and then consider what happened what happened was cory davis came off the line of

scrimmage and was uncovered and was supposed to run his route at a depth that mariota threw that football and instead whenever he came off the line and adjusted his route based on the coverage mariota still threw the football exactly where that timing route and pattern was supposed to be that that comes with timing and just camaraderie with the quarterback and wide receiver at some point Mariota needs to be expected to adjust to whatever route Corey Davis is running uncovered down the field and deliver him the football that's my initial reaction to the play but if cory is supposed to be in a certain spot and he wasn't there that's also on him and look i i've been i've been critical uh jimmy i know you've pointed this out on social media i've been critical of the missed time with cory davis

i've been on practice because i just don't understand why you give a second-year player who missed a lot of games his rookie season a veteran's day off for rest based on how much he's running and what the GPS is telling you whenever everybody else is out there with the first-team offense. And Davis is a very critical piece to the overall game plan and the overall story of what this Titans offense will be in 2018. And that play was a good example of something that has to get cleaned up. Vrabel had to answer the question about why they were not on the same page, and he blamed himself.

He said, ultimately, it's on me, but really it's on Mariota and Davis to be on the same page. And that only comes with practice time and being on the field in certain situations. Davis has made his fair share of great plays in practice. But, you know, missing on a pattern like that in a game will do. We're saying it's a first down, they move the chains. He catches that, he is gone. And a critical opening possession for the Titans offense

and how they want to play this year, those are layups within Matt LaFleur's offense that Mariota has to hit and that Corey Davis has to be ready for. Agree, and it's something that Dan Orlovsky has told us. He said that it was going to take time, and it might look ugly in the beginning. You guys have had him on on your show, and I'm sure he's told you the same thing.

So that's kind of matched up with what we've seen this preseason. So one guy that was brought in to make things easier on Mariota is Deion Lewis, and he seems to be doing that right off the bat. I don't think we've gotten your take on this, but Jimmy and I kind of believe that this is eventually going to become Deion Lewis' show. He can just do so much more than Derrick Henry can. Not that Derrick Henry is going to fall face to the earth or anything like that,

but just what he can bring in the passing game, what he can bring even in goal line situations, his quickness. So what do you think about the running back rotation now three games into the preseason? I like where they are right now. I like the fact that Henry ran this outside zone scheme at Alabama. I think that factors into how they'll use him. And I do believe them when they say it's going to be a game-by-game situation

and game plan on how they approach which guy does what. Because I can see a scenario where if the Titans are leading in the second half, it's going to be the Derrick Henry show. If they're playing from behind, you're going to see Deion Lewis on the field. But I also agree with you that Lewis is going to be used in so many different ways. I think there's a chance he could be the second leading receiver on this team. I've heard people argue that he could be the leading receiver if they use him enough in the screen game,

because the screen game is here and it's not going anywhere. And there were opportunities within the New England offense last year that Deion Lewis could have been on the field, but the third down back for New England offense last year that Deion Lewis could have been on the field but the third down back for New England is currently and was last year James White I think that it's the same type of of role for Deion Lewis on third down packages and I think he's going to be super involved in the passing game just as much as he is in the run the thing that impressed me the most in preparing for the new england game last year in foxborough was how physical deon lewis actually is despite his size they ran him a lot in between the tackles and he had the ability to fall forward without really bullying anyone over he's very shifty as you guys know and at the last possible second of a tackle attempt

he would shift his body in a way to where he's not getting pushed back despite losing out on the size advantage for the defense um that to me is critical in in all of this is is how he's able to run between the tackles because you have to respect that in the overall blocking scheme of this offensive line. And if they are able to set up the screen game the way they want to, he's going to be a major factor in all of this. Also, whenever he first came to New England, one of the first things that Bill Belichick pointed out to the media, and Belichick's not one to just stand up there and praise players,

was Lewis's ability to run wide receiver routes. And when you think of a running back out of the backfield, there's only so many options that a guy may have in your mind of how the running back's getting out of the backfield. But they would use Lewis in the slot. They would line him up on the inside on the three wide receiver trips pattern to the left. They would motion him quite a bit. He would be the motion guy to set up the man versus zone defense for the quarterback.

They will use him in that same way here that we saw in New England and factor in, I think, more of a screen game role that we saw from Todd Gurley in L.A. All right, coming up, we'll have more with Jonathan Hutton. Before we do that, I'm going to tell you about MyBookie. We talked about MyBookie. We talked about MyBookie. They sponsored the podcast last year. They're back this year as well. MyBookie.ag is the site.

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It's MyBookie.ag. They've got all kinds of options. Obviously, you can bet before games. You can bet in-game. Anything that you want to do, you can check out there. They also have a really good mobile site. So you don't have to download an app or anything like that. You can do it straight from your phone.

If you sign up with MyBookie now and use the promo code LOCKEDON, they're going to match your first deposit dollar for dollar. So again, go to MyBookie.ag, enter the promo code LOCKEDON to activate the offer. Again, visit MyBookie online today. That's M-Y-B-O-O-K-I-E. And don't forget the promo code LOCKEDON when creating your account to claim the bonus. You play, you win, you get paid. Okay, so Taewon Taylor is a very interesting guy.

We know the receiver rotation is going to be different now that Rashard Matthews is back. We're not going to get a true look at that until week one because probably most of these guys are not going to play in the fourth preseason game. The interesting thing to me about the usage of Taewon Taylor in the preseason is in the last couple of games, he hasn't had that many snaps on the field with Mariota. I think the only snap he had with Mariota in the game against the Buccaneers was the screen pass he took for a touchdown.

And in the last two weeks, Tajay sharp has played more with the first team offense than taewon taylor do you think that changes i mean is taewon you know there was talk about him being the x and all that stuff uh at the beginning of camp do you think that taewon taylor if they're in a three wide receiver set do you think taylor is the third guy on the field with cory davis and richard matth, obviously? I do right now, yes. I think they're running Taewon out there so much because they are really wanting to see him take that next step based on his rookie season from the mental standpoint.

They're throwing a lot of stuff at him, and I think he's handled it really well. While I think they've simplified his role his role overall has a lot more options within this offense um primarily the slot receiver last year jimmy i could see him more of an outside receiver um and and motion inside for certain slot roles if they want to use him as the screen guy you know keep in mind he he ran which is kind of crazy when you compare the two receivers Corey Davis ran more routes out of the slot in college than Taewon Taylor did at Western Kentucky Taewon only had like 17 percent of his routes from the slot at western a lot of the plays that he ran

came on the outside and really a lot of his best moments as a rookie were on outside routes and i asked him about that during camp and he was like yeah i mean you're right that that's where we had the most success in college and that's where i was comfortable and while I don't think he was overwhelmed physically from the slot role I do think there were there were steps taken in the opposite direction when it came to just keeping up with everything mentally last year I think it's sometimes he was swimming I mean you see that from time to time with rookie wide receivers and I think that's why you're seeing him play a good portion of game number two, why you saw him play the role he was in last week,

and why he's probably going to play some on Thursday against Minnesota. I do think, though, they've been pleased with his play. And I think he's been very consistent. It hasn't been nearly as up and down as what we saw last year in practice. And Vrabel, you know, has mentioned him on a couple different times of guys who he was asked tonight, for instance, on Titans Radio from a fan who called in and said, hey, who's a player or two that you didn't really know much about when you got here, that you turned on the film and then you saw them practice in person to today who who were two or three guys that have really stood out to you and he mentioned a rack po uh as one guy as as a leader that he really likes he mentioned delaney walker and then

the third guy that he mentioned was taewon taylor and it was for the opposite reason he he appreciates the work ethic that taewon taylor puts in day in and opposite reason he he appreciates the work ethic that taewon taylor puts in day in and day out and what they're asking him to do and not really all they're asking him to do is be coachable and then apply those techniques on the on the practice field and i think that he's doing that um the question is can he maintain that because he wasn't able to do that last year he flashed at times but he's gonna he going to be asked to do a lot more. And a lot of his role this year is a lot of unselfish play, because I think he's critical in how they're going to use Corey Davis in this offense, too. If they can get Taylor

going in the screen game, it's going to open up a lot of different things for 84. One of the big stories coming out of the Pittsburgh game was the injury to Harold Landry. Titans made a move today. They acquired Kamale Carrera from the Ravens, a guy that's played some inside and some outside. What can you tell us about, one, Landry's injury, and two, where do you think Correa is going to land in this Titans defense? Well, all we know about Landry's, he's in a boot, and it looked like an ankle. He was not in that boot today in the locker room, according to the media. Full disclosure, for those listening, I don't get to go to practice during the week

because I'm on the air on on the zone during practice time and unfortunately it's been that way for years with coaches wanting to get on the practice field right in the middle of the day you know fisher was actually the last coach that actually practiced in the evening where i could get out there and go to practice every day um so i don't i'm just basing solely off of what people tell me that they see in the locker room and and landry was not in the boot today, and he was earlier this week. I think that's a great sign because, to me, that would indicate it's not a high ankle sprain and it's not something that's going to linger.

I think they'll be careful with him. I'd be shocked if he does anything this week. But I also think that there's a good chance he could be available for that game in Miami, much like Rashawn Evans. Now, they bring in Correa, and Correa has played in about 25 games in Baltimore. He's only started four, which means he's a backup depth-type role player, and that's how the Titans hope he performs here in Nashville. That's how the Titans hope he performs here in Nashville.

What they didn't have after that game in Pittsburgh were options for depth purposes. When you really didn't know when you got on that flight back to Nashville from Pittsburgh, okay, Landry went down with an ankle, and the two guys he's playing behind, Morgan and Arakpo, didn't even make this trip because they're banged up. Now, this week, Arakpo's back on the practice field today, and he said he needs to get out there and be physical, pop the pads a little bit in practice to make sure he's ready to go for Miami. Morgan, I think it's more of a couple of weeks to a few weeks away from his return, if PK's report is accurate, which I believe it is.

And when it comes to Landry, I think it's a good indication that it's not a serious injury, the fact that he's already out of that walking boot and he's out walking around in front of the media for a staff that really doesn't want to talk about injuries. So I think it's good, and I think Correa is just a player that they felt like really fit their defensive scheme because of Dean Pease's familiarity with him, and they didn't want to compete on the open market for a player who would probably fit a lot of 3-4 defenses on the outside.

They like the fact that he can play inside or outside, but that was the problem with Baltimore. They tried to play him inside. He didn't fit all that well there, and the Ravens have a ton of depth at outside linebacker right now. So that's why they made the trade. All right, coming up, we'll finish up our conversation with Jonathan Hutton. So, obviously, roster cuts are looming.

I guess Saturday they've got to get to 53. Talk about some guys. We talked a little bit about running backs and tight ends before we came on. Do they keep four running backs, or do they keep four tight ends, or do they end up keeping four at both spots? How do you kind of see that playing out? Three weeks ago I would have told you four running backs absolutely because you go henry lewis flu ellen is on this roster and akram wadley i thought was doing just as much as flu ellen does flu ellen is a swiss army knife

for them and the different roles he can play and i think if you were in a dire situation, Flewellen could play the role of Henry or Lewis. I'm not saying up to those same standards. There's a reason why he's not a starter and is not asked to be one here. But I think he's versatile enough to do both roles and be active as your 46-man roster on game day for special teams. I think he's a solid player, and I think he's improved greatly

over the last couple of seasons. So Floyd Allen's on the roster. Dawkins has intrigued me, but I think Dawkins as a player, you can get on the practice squad fairly easily. And really, Wadley should be able to do the same thing if you wanted to, especially with him being a little banged up right now. He didn't make the trip to Pittsburgh, and he did not practice today on this Tuesday.

So as we record this, it's not a given that Wadley is on the roster because of the injury and the unknown with all of it. But right now, if I were filling out a roster, I would still have him on my 53 because I'm keeping four running backs based on this offense. The intrigue for me comes with the fourth tight end because they have given with Delaney Walker sitting out for precautionary purposes, by the way,

Delaney's going to be ready for Miami with Delaney, making sure that he's ready for Miami. John, who Smith has had a big opportunity to step up and, and not just be, I think a lot of people factor in receiving for the tight end position, and really that's where the league is headed. But they also are asking their tight ends to be that in-line blocker.

And if Delaney Walker and Johnnie Smith are on the field in a two-tight end set, the in-line blocker is determined. It's number 82. It's not Smith and Smith is to me had had plenty of opportunities to prove that he's he's taking a step forward in that in that side of the game in the run game or in pass pro and I think the last two weeks I just have not seen that from Johnnie Smith to this point and because of, I wonder if they are concerned about that situation going into the Dolphins game.

Maybe they're not. Maybe they look at their depth at tight end and they think, okay, what they have now with Luke Stocker is enough for the in-line blocking. But the problem with that, and Wycheck used to always point this out, if you've got a tight end lined up and there's no way the defense feels any threat of the guy in the passing game, then whenever he's on the field, you know exactly what he's going to do. He is there for pass pro. And to me, that's the same thing with Stocker.

If Stocker's on the field, he's either your fullback, he's your H-back, or he's your tight end. And he's a blocking tight end for's your h back or he's your tight end and he's a blocking tight end for pass protection or for the run game that's why johnny smith needs to really improve with the inline blocking and why i think there's at least a talk of firkshire making the roster i haven't paid close enough nearly close enough attention to firkshire when it comes to the run game and how he is in pass protection but the guy's consistent and he was one of the the go-to guys for Gabbert on on Saturday in Pittsburgh he's giving he's giving coaches a reason to mention his name in meetings as a guy who deserves consideration for the 53 and two weeks ago there's no way I would have brought

him up I would have said he's a practice squad player. And I think right now they're at least having to give him plenty of thought going into preseason game number four. So we know we'll have the initial 53 on Saturday, and then the cuts obviously all around the league will happen. Is there a spot or two on this roster where you think they feel like they need to upgrade, something they'll be targeting with all those guys that get cut? You know, when I look at, you know, you mentioned tight end. I wonder if they take a peek around there.

I still think linebacker could be a position that they look to upgrade. I think they're very pleased with where they are with offensive line depth. I think Corey Levin is one of the players that has really surprised them as maybe a most improved candidate from what they saw in film a year ago to where he is now. And he gives them options at center and guard, a guy that can play both spots. And then wide receiver. I think wide receiver is one of the positions that we all discussed.

I was back on with you guys, I believe, in March. We previewed the NFL draft, and we mentioned the receiver position and how much they would value that when it all came down to their six picks at the time. They end up with four, and they don't use one of those four picks on a receiver. And you're looking at the depth right now and you're thinking well they could have used maybe an extra pick right there for for depth and with nick williams getting banged up i think receiver is a spot that that they could add a player um maybe two but i think one of these

guys will end up on the practice squad that they feel like they can bring up in a pinch all right last thing you know we haven't seen rashaun evans since you know the very beginning of camp uh i guess indications are now that he'll probably be ready for week one how do you see that rotation playing out i mean i know they've been complimentary of him and the work that he's done you know getting in the playbook and all that kind of stuff, even not being on the practice field. How much do you see him being able to play in Miami? I think he can play.

I just don't know if it's a role that is of any significance. I think you want to get him out there and get him some reps. At the same time, if you know he's not going to be a major factor do you wait a week and make sure he's completely uh ready to go in the game plan and the overall role that he's going to be asked to do you know if you have compton and you you have jayon brown jayon brown's been very consistent i've been pleased with his play uh and i think right now i would start him next to wesley woodyard but do you trust those three along with you know a darren bates for instance or robert spillane who has who has really come on over the last two weeks uh to

play a role for you active on game day and you keep Evans as one of your, one of your inactives. I would like to see him play. I think he's good enough to step out there and do something for you. And I know he's expecting to do that, but without the practice time, it's still to be determined on how they go about it. I saw where Vrabel was working one-on-one with him. And Vrabel does it a lot with a lot of these guys,

but specifically today with Evans with the pads. And I think it's Vrabel who makes that call on exactly how much time he gets and what they trust him with. And if he is active, I think there's a small amount of packages they will use him for to make sure he gets acclimated to the overall game plan and the structure of how they're going to use him. And I think Brown has helped them not have to stress about that for Miami. I think they're pleased with what Jayon has done.

And Compton gives you at least a veteran presence that you trust next to Woodyard if you had to have him. But right now I think it would be Woodyard and Brown as your starters. All right, a lot. I've got a little more. You know, we all have these, like, how we felt about the team when camp started. And then obviously, you know, things go up and down as practice is happening, games and all that kind of stuff.

But just sitting here now versus right before camp started, do you feel better or worse about this team or kind of the same like where are you on that spectrum you know i i feel about the same you know there were a lot of unknowns i i feel worse about the overall depth of the defense only because there are some guys that are banged up that you you don't know about with the injury so i guess to answer your question i I feel a little bit worse, only because I don't really know how to feel about the injuries. Butler has missed time.

You know, you look around the secondary. You've got Ciprian on IR. I'm trying to go through. We mentioned Evans. Landry's now banged up. Morgan's not going to be there for week one. Arakpo's just getting back. We discussed this a bit when I saw you at camp, Jimmy.

I thought the defense was going to be, and it still, I think, will have to be, the part of the team that carries this team through the first month of the season. So the question is, how confident are you in the pieces that are in place and how healthy those pieces are? Again, we just don't know. And I think it's the unknown factor that leaves people uneasy. It's not necessarily that you think they're going to be bad. I just want to make sure that all those pieces are available

whenever they roll down to Miami in a few days. Yeah, it's funny. I mean, they haven't had, with the exception of Cyprian, obviously you lost Todd Smith, which was a depth piece as well. They don't have any major injury, guys that are going to be out all year. But there's just a lot of little things that have cropped up as we've gone along. And so it'll just be interesting to see what we know about the injury report heading into miami because i think like you said there's so many questions about what defensive guys are going to be available yeah and look i think this is a staff

clearly that number one does not want to talk about injuries uh not just with the media i don't think they talk about injuries in the building uh with just people that walk the halls. With that being said, I do think Vrabel errs on the side of extra caution if a guy gets a nick here or there. So, you know, when I see that Butler is out, it doesn't really concern me. When I see that Landry turns an ankle and he's in a boot. I raise an eyebrow to that much more. And then you see the trade and different things. So I think each individual injury carries its own weight. But when you add it all up, for what was a very healthy football team

over the last two years, the strength of the team early was going to have to be the defense. That's where the depth and everyone was was returning and ultimately it wasn't that vast it wasn't that big of a of a scheme change from what they had with the bow to what they were going with the dps compared to the offensive changes that mariota and company are going through so um if the secondary which is this should be the strength of the team and the front four or the front three with the extra man brought up to the line of scrimmage are healthy, they should be okay. I think they'll be fine with Miami.

The question is how many of these guys are true long-term injury pieces. And with that, we just don't know. And to be honest, we're not going to know unless, you know, Kaharski has his ear to the ground and, you know, gets some more of these reports out there. Yeah, so it's going to be interesting. It's exciting that we're finally to the point where there's going to be a real game and all that stuff. Like you said, it's just a little bit of uneasiness with all the injury concerns

that we have. All right, Jonathan, thanks so much for joining us again. You can follow him on Twitter at Hutton1045. Listen to him on the Midday 180 and on Titans Radio. We really appreciate you taking the time tonight. Anytime. You guys know that. And I really enjoy the site.

Enjoy your work. Keep up the good work. And we'll catch up during the season. Thanks. We really appreciate that. All right. So that was Jonathan Hutton again at Hutton1045. All right.

So we will have a couple more episodes this week heading into the final preseason game on Thursday, and then obviously we'll have you covered with roster cutdowns and all of that stuff. In the meantime, check out the site, musiccitymiracles.com. Find us there. Follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm.

Terry is at TLambertFB. So for Jonathan Hutton and Terry Lambert, this is Jimmy Morris saying thanks for listening, and we will talk to you again later this week.