Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Dodd MIA, will Lewan show up to camp?

Episode Date: July 23, 2018

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Rookies, quarterbacks, and people who ended the off-season program injured were scheduled to report yesterday. One name did not show up. We'll talk about that here in a little bit and talk about a few other injury designations that we got from yesterday. And the rest of the team will be back as required to report on Wednesday. Before we do all that, we remind you that Terry and I are right from UCMiracles.com. We'll cover the Titans Presbyterian Nation. Check us out there. A lot of stuff there going up with all this news. And obviously there will be a lot more things that come up now that training camp is opening.

So be sure and follow us there. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry is at tlambertfb. Podcast account at LockedOnTitans. You can also subscribe to the podcast. Wherever you get your podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, wherever that is, just look us up there.

You can subscribe to it so you get the newest episodes when they come out. Like we said last week, we'll be doing shows more often, maybe not necessarily this week, but as we get into next week when training camp really starts rolling, we'll be doing three, four shows a week. So check that out, and then, like I said, you get those as soon as they become available. Before we get into the news from yesterday, we will give you this word from our sponsor. Guys, remember the days when you were always ready to go in bed? Now you can increase your performance and get that extra confidence.

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and we thank them for sponsoring this podcast. All right, so like I said, you had quarterbacks, rookies, and guys that were injured that were scheduled to report yesterday. The biggest piece of news that came out of it was that Kevin Dodd was placed placed on reserve did not report um you know again we're in this new era of titans football where we're getting zero information on basically anything that happens other than you know the fact that he did not report so don't know what that means i don't

know if there's been communication with him and they knew he wasn't coming or whatever but he was supposed to show up yesterday and did not. Um, you know, again, we've talked about this a lot. I, I can't see any scenario where Kevin Dodd is on this roster when week one

starts. And now I'm finding it hard to see a scenario where Kevin Dodd is on this roster when training camps opens on Thursday. Yeah. So you go back to the voluntary stuff that he skipped, and the report came out that he was working out at home, he was fine, everything was good. Still, for a guy that's on the bubble,

a really bizarre decision not to show up for something voluntary with a new staff, a new defensive coordinator, new everything. So you get this yesterday, and that just kind of confirms our belief that maybe Dodd just doesn't care, maybe he wants to be somewhere else. Back in the summer when the voluntary stuff was up, maybe he had something going on, maybe he had a death in the family, but now you get this, and it just kind of matches up with everything else that you've heard. So really, really bizarre decision here.

Don't know where he's going to go from here. I mean, he was playing with the four stringers in preseason last year and couldn't make an impact on the field. So if he's cut from Tennessee, I know he's going to get another chance somewhere. But those opportunities are running thin. Yeah, and that's the thing. It just doesn't make any sense. I mean, obviously, he's trying to force his way out here, but I would assume that he wants to play somewhere else. Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he's ready to be done playing football. Who knows? He's already made, I think, $3 million

is due for another $1 million this year if he's on the team um so it doesn't make a whole lot of sense you know business wise and football wise for him not to show up like i said unless it's just hey i'm gonna force them to cut me because i want to go play four three defensive end somewhere i mean i think that's probably his best fit um but you know so maybe that's what he's trying to do but this is a dumb way to do it. The best way to do it would be come in here and play, and if you get cut before the season starts and you have a chance to go, catch on, and, you know, people here might have something good to say about you. At this point, nobody here has anything good to say about him.

Nobody has anything good to say about his work ethic. And so, I mean, I just think it hurts his chances trying to catch on somewhere else because, you know, again, people around the league are seeing these things. People around the league and so when he just says hey i'm not going to show up and maybe he's mad because they might move him to you know end in a three four i don't have any idea exactly what's going on here but it doesn't seem smart like i said close to a million dollars or a little bit over a million dollars i think he's scheduled to make in 2018 if he gets cut he's not making that anywhere else.

So it just makes sense on zero levels. I think that's really ultimately what I'm trying to get at here. Yeah, and we've talked about his weight at 280. We've also talked about the fact that the Titans really only have five defensive linemen that are set to make this team right now. So maybe they were planning on moving him to the interior. It would make sense considering his size. Maybe it's something he doesn't want to do. So we don't know.

That's the thing. We don't know a lot. I don't think we're going to get any information on Wednesday on this. But, you know, it's like Jimmy said on Twitter today. I don't know why we're spending so much time on a guy that's not going to make the team. I think that's a very true statement. I think it's just time to move on for both parties involved here. Yeah, and I think, you know, Bray will obviously,

if they haven't, you know, made a move with his roster spot before Wednesday, he'll get asked, he'll say, you know, he didn't report what he was supposed to, and like you said, he's not going to give any more than that. So, anyway, that's that. The thing is, you go back was 33 30 33rd overall pick as we're trying to say um you know and so you would expect some type of return from this guy the titans just haven't gotten it uh you know so far obviously the the biggest bust of the of the john robinson draft era um you know and again it was just a weird fit from the beginning. It was one of the few picks

that John Robinson has made, especially early picks, where it just didn't really ever make sense. No, and I think it proves to me that drafting a pass rusher on production alone is scary. Particularly at that

spot, I wanted to see the athletic ability. Dog kind of flopped in the combine, didn't show that. So you just wonder if the previous staff was on him, if maybe it was something Dick LeBeau wanted to do, if that's what John Robinson was looking for. So you just hope the organization has learned from that and has kind of changed their ways going forward. Yeah, absolutely. All right. So there were a few more designations of

note from yesterday. We'll talk about those and a little bit about Taylor LeJuan coming up in just a minute. Okay. So along with Dodd, you had Jacklin and philip supernall who were named to the pup list um so the fee in case you're unfamiliar with what that is physically unable to perform the training camp list versus the regular season list are much different if you get if you get put there in the regular season you can't come back for six weeks uh being there in training camp a player can come back at any point so as as soon as he gets healthy, he can go. No surprise on Jack Conklin. We talked about that, recovering from an ACL injury last, you know,

in the second round of the playoffs last year. I think the hope is still that he'll be ready for week one, but we don't know anything. Jim Wyatt talked to him, and he said, Conklin said he's rehabbing, things are going well, no setbacks. So, and basically just trying to, you know, come back at the right time and, you know, not rush it to risk any kind of re-injury. So, we'll keep an eye on that as we go.

Phillip Supernaw on that list, I didn't know Phillip Supernaw was hurt. And, again, another guy that not, you know, not really needed to spend a whole lot of time talking about. I don't think he's going to make the team. Maybe he does, but they're not going to carry as many tight ends as they have in the past. So I think you're looking at Delaney, Jonu, and Luke Stocker, who they obviously like.

So I think those are your three tight ends coming out. Michael Campanaro and Rashawn Evans were placed on the non-football illness list, which I didn't know was a thing until yesterday. When I saw NFfi on twitter i just assumed it meant non-football injury um i guess illness is a little bit less concerning than injury i don't know the guys are saying i don't know what exactly was going on there but again something they can they can be moved off of at any point so hopefully those guys will be ready to go at the beginning of camp and then defensive tackle mike ramsey is on the non-football

injury list but don't think he'll you know he's a guy that's going to make much of an impact on this roster anyway so any anything we you think we need to spend time any more time on there terry yeah on conklin as expected on the pup list i just worry a little bit and there's nothing you can do about it i just worry just worry about the chemistry up front, new blocking scheme, new offense. I just wonder if he's going to be the same guy coming off that injury with a little bit different responsibilities than he's had in the two years past. So that's a little worrisome to me. And then you couple that with the Taylor Lelor lawan situation which you're about to

talk about uh that's that's a little bit of an issue for me up front on the offensive line just as far as chemistry goes yeah and so like you said lawan that's the that's the thing here um you know he skipped the mandatory minicamp because not everybody's contract situation paul kuharski on twitter earlier today said that from what he understands there there's not been a contract situation. Paul Kuharski on Twitter earlier today said that from what he understands, there's not been a lot of talk between LeJuan's representation and the Titans, but that at some point when they talked about numbers, they were pretty far away from each other. He went a little bit more into it.

Basically, LeJuan has a fifth-year option that he's guaranteed money for 2018. He wants a long-term deal. It sounds like the Titans are probably wanting him to take a little bit of a discount to go ahead and redo his contract now. He gets more money now instead of having to wait until next year. And LeJuan saying, look, these other guys have gotten $17 million per. No reason for me to take a discount. So, I mean, I don't know.

We'll see how it plays out. That'll be the big news on Wednesday is whether or not LeJuan shows up. I still maintain that there's no there's no way he's not on the field uh when the Titans kick the season off in week one but like you said I think the concern here is okay if we go through training camp without Conklin without LaJuan then you're you're breaking in two I mean you got two tackles up there who are not going to be your long-term solution, your long-term players there. Not even long-term, just for this season.

Going along with the new blocking scheme, all those things. I mean, I think there's a little bit of a concern there from that end. I don't have any doubt in my mind that Taylor LeJuan is going to come in. He's going to play well. But, you know, especially back when the Titans were having so much trouble with the interior of the offensive line, you heard so much about how important offensive line continuity was and those guys working together and getting the snaps in

and all that kind of stuff. And if LaJuan's not here, if Conklin's not on the field, then you've got a lot of questions as far as that's concerned. And, again, new scheme, you know, number one thing we got here, right, is protecting Marcus Mariota. That just kind of throws a wrench into things and is a little bit scary heading into a season. Yeah, and I have no doubts that this thing is going to get done sooner or later. You know, it might not be now, but these things never seem to spill over into the regular season anymore.

So when Juan's going to get his, it's just a matter of when. And he probably deserves that $17 million a year like he's talking about. That's going to get done. It's just concerning. We saw the off the line struggle last year. Couldn't put a finger

on why. You just don't want to see that again. I'm a big believer how you win football games is winning up front. Zone blocking scheme, these guys hadn't done that. Maybe a little in minicamp, but you want them together in camp. You want them working with your quarterback. You want your quarterback protected in preseason.

If that spills over and you're talking about Dennis Kelly and maybe John Theus as your tackles, that's going to limit Marcus Mario's work. That's going to put him at risk for injury in the preseason. So going to have a trickle-down effect there for sure. So if I'm the Titans, I don't know why paying Taylor LeJuan right now is a bad thing. I don't understand that. I'm getting him a deal done, the face of your franchise, the heart and soul, maybe of even the city of Nashville right now. So

I'm working to get closer to what he wants, and I'm getting a deal done as soon as possible. Yeah, and especially with the in mind that he's going to get that money eventually anyway, whether it's now or whether it's next offseason or whatever, you're going to pay him. They're not going to let him walk. So yeah yeah and like you said another good point i mean how much how much are they gonna want mario on the field uh with you know to back up offensive tackles and again you know there he's only gonna play mario's gonna play a series or two in the first preseason game probably the same thing maybe three or four in the in the second preseason game and obviously you know they typically play into the second half of the of the third one but are you going to limit those snaps with the mindset of well crap you know

somebody coming off the edge getting killed it just takes one play you know so i mean i i think it is a concern on that level like you're saying and like we've been saying all along look you're going to pay him it's's gonna be in a thing that's gonna happen eventually anyway go ahead and get it done why not i mean there's different situations i mean you've got a few guys in the league they're going through this and i mean when you look at like julio jones in atlanta he's got multiple years left on his deal so i understand the the thing they're saying look we're not gonna do you a new deal right now. You already got a contract. You know, yada, yada, yada. With LeJuan, it's like he's got one year left on the deal.

You could move into the franchise tag thing after this, and maybe that's what they want to do. Maybe that's the thing they're going for here. But, again, it just doesn't make sense. You've got to redo Mariota in the next couple of years. You've got Kevin Byard. You've got some guys that you hope are going to be stars that you're going to have spend money for why not go ahead and push up the bulk of lawan's money into this year when you don't have as much of that stuff on the book so that's kind of what we're looking at

anything else on that yeah on the franchise tag deal i don't i don't know that's going to get to that you know you see the thing come up with levy on bell every single year uh but that's more based off of you know what running backs get paid, what the going rate is, and how much value they bring. And Bell wants to be paid as an offensive playmaker and not as a running back. That's not the case here. You know, tackles get paid.

So I don't think that's the route they're going to go. Again, I think it's a matter of time. And really, I'd be surprised if a long-term deal didn't get done really in camp yeah that's kind of what I've been saying all along is this is going to be done before the season starts but you know I also thought they'd get it done

before camp started so here we are but anyway all right so that'll do it for today like I said we'll have we'll at least have a show either Wednesday or Thursday after we get the very well-opening press conference,

talk about what we learned there, and then practices start Thursday. We'll have stuff that actually goes on on the field to talk about. Interested to see the offense and the new offense, what it is. We've had multiple people who are familiar with this offense say, look, if it doesn't look you know really pretty in the beginning don't worry it takes a little little time for everybody on the same page everybody get used to it but once you see it click it's going to take off so uh just kind of those things to keep in mind as we start to get reports from from guys

that are at practice watching all that stuff but we'll cover all that we'll have everything for you here so again subscribe to the podcast, log on Titans, uh, follow us on Twitter at T Lambert, FB at J Morris, MCM, uh, and then music miracles.com. We'll have a ton of stuff going up there,

open threads for training camp practices and all that stuff. So check all that out for Terry. This is Jimmy saying, thanks for listening. And we will talk to you again later this week.