Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Takeaways from Titans/Buccaneers

Episode Date: August 20, 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 all right. What's going on, man? Not too much. So we will recap the Titans preseason game against the Buccaneers. Before we do that, remind you that we write for MusicCityMiracles.com where we cover the Titans for SB Nation.

So you can check us out there. You can also follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. And then you can search out the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Just search Locked On Titans. You can find us there. Subscribes, you get the podcasts that we

do as soon as they come out. This week we've got a couple of interesting things planned. We're going to go recap the game tonight and then tomorrow we're going to talk to our boy Mike who has been out at pretty much all the practices. He missed a couple against the Bucs this past week, but had been there at

most of the ones before that. So just kind of get his overall impressions of camp and some of the guys we've been talking about and that kind of stuff. So we'll have him on tomorrow night. Looking forward to that. Tonight we're going to talk about the offense first, then we'll talk about the defense,

then we'll just kind of talk about some odds and ends in the third segment. First team offense had another good night. The first drive wasn't great. Mariota missed a couple passes, and, you know, Derrick Henry ran and was okay. Then the second drive they came out, and, man, they look like a different team. Deion Lewis making things happen, takes a little swing pass, makes a couple guys miss, turns the corner, gets a bunch of yards. And then, of course, you know, the big play, the screen to Taewon Taylor.

So, you know, obviously the Titans lost the game. But if you look at ones versus ones, the Titans won that part of it. And, you know, that's the most encouraging thing. That's what we're really looking at in these first couple of games. Yeah, and Marcus Mariota, you're not going to take a lot away from this. He had the big play on the screen. That's really him just making a 10-yard throw. There wasn't really anything to dive into here in regards to timing.

He was off target on a deep ball to Corey Davis. Not sure what happened there. Outside of that, offense didn't really have time to develop a rhythm or anything. Honestly, kind of a wash for Mariota, but as long as he doesn't get hurt, that's a successful day. I think you saw Deion Lewis kind of show why the Titans signed him. The quickness is there. The burst is there.

That little swing pass he took and got around the corner when the defender was in really good position, that was a big deal because the Titans haven't had that guy on the roster in years, maybe a decade. big deal because Titans haven't had that guy on the roster in years, maybe a decade. So the ability to do that, to just take a little short dump-off pass and gain a first down out of it, that's something that the offense was missing last year. It's something the Titans now have,

and I think they're going to use it quite a bit. Yeah, and, you know, that's one of the things. Going back to the Bill Barnwell article we talked about, it's been a few weeks ago now, and that's one of the things. Going back to the Bill Barnwell article we talked about, it's been a few weeks ago now, and making the point that the Titans are signing a running back for the Patriots, and the Patriots have let those guys walk, and that's been the best decision or whatever. Like, Deion Lewis is a different type of guy.

Again, their backfield is crowded up there, and he fit a specific need the Titans had. And honestly, he looks like a better running back than Derrick Henry. And, you know, Rep Ryan, when we talked to him last week, he was the first person that I really heard say that he thought that Deion Lewis would get more carries than Derrick Henry. And I don't know if that's the case or not. I do think Deion Lewis is a better running back.

But Deion Lewis has had durability issues, and so you're not going to just go out there and give him 20-plus carries a game. That's not smart. He's not going to hold up for the whole season if you do that. But like you said, he brings something different to this offense, something that they haven't had. I mean, DeMarco Murray two years ago was a better pass-catching back than I expected him to be.

But Deion Lewis is even on a different level than him, and I can't remember the last dynamic receiving backs the Titans had because even when Chris Johnson was at his best, he didn't really have a whole lot of interest in catching the ball out of the backfield. So this is just something different that we're going to see, and obviously it's going to be a lot of fun to watch. We got a little glimpse of that in this game like you said just make something out of nothing turns it into a big play the other thing i mean obviously you talked about the the screen pass

of taylon taylor and again differences of coaching staff right you see this coaching staff drawing up a wide receiver screen to the fastest guy on the field, to their best, or not their best receiver, their fastest receiver, the guy that's probably the best equipped to run that play. Last year they were throwing that play to Eric Decker and having Taewon Taylor block, which makes absolutely no sense. So anybody that doesn't buy into the whole scheme change and all that stuff, I don't think it's looked much further than that play

just to see the difference in these two coaching staffs. Yeah, you also had the screen to Derrick Henry, which I love. You know, I think we've talked about it before. Derrick Henry in space is the best Derrick Henry. When you can get him up to speed and kind of get him away from the trash at the line of scrimmage. That's when he's at his best. That's when he turns into an arm-run hitter.

So you saw that. You saw the receiver screen to Taylor. You saw another one to, I believe, Devin Ross in the second quarter who ended up fumbling. But that's going to be a bread-and-butter play for this offense. And, you know, like you were saying, getting it to the most dynamic player on the field, which might be Taewon Taylor, is a breath of fresh air considering how many plays the last staff drew up for Eric Williams, Harry Douglas, and Eric Decker. So at the end of the day, football isn't really that hard.

It's getting the ball to your best players in space, and the Titans did that last night. So that's exciting. That's exciting for Marcus Mariota. That's easy. That's easy stuff that gets you going, gets your offense popping, gets Mariota in a rhythm. So a 47-yard touchdown pass, you've got to love that,

and that's a no-brainer. You know, that's a really easy throw for a quarterback who might need to get his confidence back. Yeah, like you said, Derrick Henry, you know, one of the things that people say about Derrick Henry is, well, he didn't catch the ball in college, he hadn't caught the ball in his first couple years in the league. And, I mean, it's true, but if you watch, you know,

the way that Alabama played offense with Derrick Henry, they just lined up and handed him the ball. He ran through people, you know. And so that wasn't something they really needed him to do. It was something they asked him to do. So that doesn't mean it's not something that he can do. So, like you said, he made some big plays last year in the passing game. You know, took a couple of screen passes and, you know,

turned them into big plays. And the Titans were not good at screens last year. So, yeah, they're going to be a screen team this year, and that's going to be fun. And honestly, we haven't seen, you know, very much of them being good at, really, in the 20-plus years that they've been here. They've never been a team that they could do that successfully. And like you said, that is going to be a bread and butter, wide receiver screens, running back screens, all that kind of stuff.

And, you know, last year they were frustrating because they didn't work with the wrong people, all that kind of stuff. And, you know, last year they were frustrating because they didn't work with the wrong people, all that kind of stuff, like we talked about. This year it's going to be a thing. And like you said, I mean, those are easy. I mean, Marks and Mariota does nothing on that play without getting the guy the ball. But, I mean, all around the league you see quarterbacks that are doing that and their stats are that much better because of that. And Mariota't hadn't had the advantage of being able to do that the last

couple of years so um i don't know it's going to be interesting to watch all right coming up we'll talk about what we noticed from the first team defense so the first team defense really didn't play that many plays and when we were looking we were talking before we came on and it looks like most of the guys like logan ryan, those guys played 16 snaps, a couple series. They looked good, again, overall. We saw the Buccaneers started Fitzpatrick, obviously, with Jameis facing the suspension at the beginning of the season, getting him in rhythm with those guys.

So when Jameis came in, he played against the twos and obviously torched that group. But the played against fitzpatrick did a nice job um you know and the i think the most encouraging thing is probably continues to be the play of harold landry um because he was you know the the couple plays that he made i think were with james winston playing quarterback but the buccaneers still had their first-team offense on the field at that point because they were trying to get work with the first team with Jameis as well. And Langer didn't have a sack in this game, but he did force two holding calls, one of them that took a touchdown off the board.

So just watching him and seeing him be the guy that we thought he was going to be these first couple of preseason games. I mean, obviously it's not the regular season yet. There's still a lot for him to prove. But it gives you a good feeling about where he's going to be and what he's going to bring to this team. Yeah, the Titans have something really dynamic on the edges finally. So Harold Landry looks great.

He looks like the Titans' best pass rusher already. He's got more bursts than Morgan. He's got probably more bursts than Arakpo. He's got more ability to get around the corner. And I don't know how you keep that off the field. That's not a shot at Arakpo or Morgan. He's just better getting around the corner. So I don't know if he can hold up against the run yet,

but I'm fascinated to see how this rotation develops when Arakpo comes back. I just wonder if he's going to start these games sooner than we think. Yeah, that'll be something to watch. Yeah, I think we'll see a heavy rotation there, obviously. The other guy that really stood out was Jayon Brown. I mean, he was all over the field. And, you know, he was a little bit up and down last year. But, I mean, I thought, you know, I think PFF,

I think he graded out kind of poorly there. But I thought he played pretty well in his role. And, you know, when you looked at what he brought versus the other inside linebackers that the Titans had had, and a guy like Avery Williamson, who was obviously a very good, you know, run-defending inside linebacker, but was not good in coverage at all. Jaron was obviously an upgrade from him last year. But, you know, it seems to be his first two games. Obviously, he had the, you know, the bad play against the Packers

where he got, you where he missed the tackle and the guy got the touchdown. But other than that, he's been all over the field. He's been forcing plays. Had a pick in the first game. Almost forced an interception with a hit on the quarterback in this game. So they've got a lot of talent there. We haven't seen much of Rashawn Evans.

He practiced in the first couple of days of camp. Hadn't been in since then and may get to see him this week uh wesley woodyard didn't play in this game but you know you've got to feel pretty good about where the titans are where the linebacking core as a whole and just when you look at it from last year to this year it just it seems like they've gotten a lot better in that spot. Well, they've got options. Again, you talk about the rotation. We don't know where Evans is going to fit in. We assume he's going to be your first and second down guy at least. Woodyard isn't going anywhere.

But Jalen Brown is going to be a guy that's hard to keep off the field too just because of that athletic ability, that speed, that coverage ability. It just seems to be where the NFL is headed. You want to get as much speed as possible on the field. So you saw him, I think I saw him take a rep covering a guy out of the slot. He covered a tight end. You know, Cameron Brait beat him on a little out route there. But that might have been his only negative play. But in that second, I think it was the second quarter,

it just seemed like he had five or six plays where he was just all around the ball. He was either breaking up the pass or making a tackle or doing something. So super active. That's great to see. Vrabel talked about how multiple he wants to be. That's another one of those guys that's going to let him do a lot of different things within the front seven. Yeah, and like you said, they just have a lot of options now, and it seems like that

hasn't always been the case for this team, and especially for this defense, but you've got ways you can mix and match, and then, you know, looking forward to next year, if Woodyard's not back, then you've got hopefully Rashawn Evans, Jayon Brown can be your maybe every down guys. That's something to look forward to in the future. But hopefully you just have a good mix of guys. You throw Will Compton in there as well. Guys that have played – I mean, Compton's played well in the past.

We know what Woodyard brings to the table. brown seems to be getting better uh every every week and then you know the rashaun evans we still just don't know from him but he may have the ability to come along a little bit slower and that might be okay i mean that's not really what you want to hear about your first round pick but you know injury and training camp if these other guys are good enough to keep him off the field, then it's not the end of the world. Not ideal, obviously, but not the end of the world. Anything else stand out for you from the first team defense? Not really. We just didn't get to see a whole lot.

Malcolm Butler sat out. It seemed like they kept the front seven in longer than they did the secondary, which was weird. But, yeah, just still not a lot. Maybe that third game is when they're going to play maybe a quarter, maybe a half. Yeah, I think so. I think we'll obviously get more.

And it'll be a good test against the Steelers this coming week. You know, obviously Leon Bell's not there, but you've still got Antonio Brown, Ben Roethlisberger. So it'll be good to see the ones going up against those guys. All right, coming up at the end of the show, we'll talk a little bit about just some other notes, things we noticed, and then a couple of guys that have probably played themselves onto this roster. So if you're talking about guys that have played themselves on the roster sherry finch has obviously

got to be where you start um had a couple more pressures in this game and it didn't get a sack this time but forced a couple things uh you know and listen we've talked about for you know two three years now about the times needed needing help on the edge um you know we we've talked about that ragpone Morgan, obviously a good player still, but you need something behind them. And, you know, Harold Landry is obviously that guy, and like I said, so far has lived up to that billing.

But Sheree Finch has come in as an undrafted guy, has made some plays. I mean, I don't think there's any doubt if Camp, I mean, Camp's already broken, but if, you know, they had to make roster cutdowns today, the Finch would be on this team. And looking forward, again, maybe he's the guy in the rotation this year,

but maybe he's the guy they lean heavily on even next year when you've got Arakpo and Morgan in the last year of their contracts. I don't know if one or both or either will be back. But, again, you have some more options, and you can keep guys fresh. And Brian Arakpo, I heard him, I think it was on Midday 180, talking about, hey, man, ideally I only play 30 plays a game. He said, if I only had to play that much, I'm fresh.

We've got other guys that are out there making plays, and that's the best thing. That hasn't been an option for this team because, you know, Morgan Arakpo had been about all they've had. But they might be able to go four deep at that spot this year at the outside linebacker spots and keep a rotation going and keep those guys fresh. Yeah, you've gone from two to four deep real quick.

And to find athletic pass rushers as undrafted guys is just kind of unheard of. So, you know, those guys don't last long in the draft. But, I mean, Finch looks legit. He looks dynamic. He looks quick off the line. He's strong, can really win the edge. So it just seemed like every rep he took, he was making some sort of noise and beating the man in front of him.

So that's really, really exciting. And, you know, then you look at a guy like Aaron Wallace, you know, what do you do with him? Is he now kind of on the bubble? Do you keep five of those guys or do you keep four? But either way, the Titans have a really good future on the edge now, and I don't know that I would have said that even two weeks ago. So Finch has really been a revelation here,

really excited about that athleticism coming out of your number four outside linebacker spot. Yeah, and then another guy I think that has probably played himself onto the roster and maybe more of a matter of circumstance

than anything else is Nick Williams. You know, Michael Campanaro, we'll see. We haven't seen him in a couple weeks now, or at least a week at this point. Again, we have no idea what's going on with anybody that's injured. But, you know, they brought him in, I think, to fill a role. But I think Nick Williams could fill that role if Campanaro is not able to because of injury or, you know, whatever else it may be. You know, had the couple big catches last week,

threw a really nice block on Taewon Taylor's first touchdown on that wide receiver screen from Mariota. And again, listen, if Nick Williams is one of your top three options, then you're in a lot of trouble. But if he's a guy that can come in and play a role, do some of that stuff like the block that he threw, it's not the worst thing in the world to have that guy on the team. Again, he's not a guy that I really gave much consideration to.

Even when they signed him, I didn't think he would make it. But just as a matter of circumstance, more than anything else, he might have a spot on this team. Yeah, I kind of still think he's on the outside looking in. And, of course, like you said, it could all change if Campanaro can't come back healthy so if he's still down then his chances of making this roster go through the roof so uh still an interesting battle there with deontay burnett and and uh darius jennings and

guys like that uh just not a whole lot of excitement there for the in that battle for the fifth receiver spot uh it's an interesting debate but just just not a lot of excitement there in that battle for the fifth receiver spot. It's an interesting debate, but just not a lot of guys with a ton of upside that really excite you there. He could make this roster, but he kind of is what he is at this point. You saw him have a big play in Green Bay. Again, like you were saying, he had that big block. He also had a drop in that that game uh last night so interesting

spot there not real excited about it i still think it's campanaro's job to lose yeah and and you hope that ultimately they don't count any of those guys that would be ideal uh anybody else i think you mentioned cory levin was the guy that stood up yeah cory you watched? Yeah, Corey Levin looked good from the playing center spot. That's a guy that we talked about when the Titans were in free agency. We just thought that might be their third guard and maybe backup center. So you talk about cutting a guy like Ben Jones potentially after this year. Levin's starting to show some stuff. So you want some depth.

We think the Titans have a ton of depth. Well, maybe we didn't think it was coming out of Corey Levin, though. Xavier Suofilo and Kevin Pamphil are also there. I think Levin's outplayed both. So it looks like they're going to play Pamphil as the swing tackle. But I think he's solidified himself on this roster and potentially as a future piece down the road. Yeah, and again, it's valuable to be able to find those guys later in the draft.

If you can get a couple years out of them where they're still in those cheap contracts and they can be productive, that's obviously crucial to building a solid NFL roster from, you know, 1 to 53. A couple other things, watching the quarterbacks. Blaine Gabbert's an interesting dude to watch because he makes some plays and you're like, man, this guy's good. Like he can, you know, be evasive in the pocket and he's got a big arm. He can step up and make a throw.

And then every now and then he makes a throw and you're like, oh, my gosh, he's terrible. So, I mean, I think that's kind of been the story of his career. Luke Falk is just not an NFL quarterback. That pick is still just kind of confusing. There was the thought that maybe, hey, they keep him as a three this year, because they signed Gabbert to a two-year deal. Maybe Falk's your backup for the future. But I just don't see it.

No, and I said it the second he was drafted. I was like, eh, I don't know about that one. So I would have much rather seen a Richie James, you know, the receiver from MTSU is making noise with the 49ers. Easy to say that now, but, I mean, that's kind of what we were calling for on draft day. So not many frustrations with John Robinson, and if your highest one is a six-round pick, you know, you'll take that.

But, yeah, I don't think Falk has much of a shot here. Yeah. So anybody else that stood out? Johnnie Smith, I think he only caught one pass, but he looked really, really good in the open field there. We've talked about this before. He's kind of a receiver playing the tight end position. Going to be interesting to see how they use him, how he blocks,

if they use him in line or if they split him out wide. So we talk a lot about receiver depth. We can't forget about John New because he looked pretty good with the ball in his hands. Yeah, and, you know, that's the thing. Dwayne Walker got hurt in practice last week. Again, no idea the severity of the injury. But, you know, John is going to have a significant role in this offense, even if Delaney is healthy.

But, obviously, if Delaney is down for any period of time, John becomes that much more important. So, anyway, it was a good – I want to you don't want your team to lose obviously that's that's not ever fun but when you look at you know what was accomplished in the game and again ones versus ones you feel good about where the titans are after two weeks and hopefully we'll get to see a full half from both units this week coming up and again i guess a good team in pittsburgh i mean i think that'll be a good experience for these guys. So we'll have a lot more leading up to that game this week.

Like I said, we're going to talk to Mike tomorrow night and just get some of his thoughts, get ready for a lot of love for Ferkser, and he's a big Sheree Finch guy as well. But he'll have some really good stuff. Anyway, so between now and then, you can see miracles.com. Check out everything we've got going on there have some really good stuff. Anyway, so between now and then, you can see miracles.com. Check out everything we got going on there. Lots of good stuff. I know we had a breakdown of

Matt LaFleur's play calling from last night, which was good. So check that out. And then we'll have more stuff going up there throughout the week. Follow us on Twitter at jmorrismcm, at tlembertfb. And again, search out the podcast Locked on Titans, wherever you get your podcasts. So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening,

and we will talk to you again tomorrow.