Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Malik Willis Has His Best Day Of Camp, Offensive Struggles v Cardinals & Denico Autry Injury Update

Episode Date: August 24, 2022

The Tennessee Titans took on the Arizona Cardinals in joint practice on Wednesday and rookie QB Malik Willis had his best practice yet according to Titans' coach Mike Vrabel! Tyler breaks down Malik's good practice! Next, the Titans offense as a whole struggled, but we still got good news in the form of Derrick Henry participating in team drills for the first time this summer. Also, more updates on Nicholas Petit-Frere and Dillon Radunz. Finally, we got a small update on Denico Autry's injury that has kept him out the entirety of training camp.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DaveDownload the Dave app from the App store right now for an Extra Cash account and get up to 500 dollars instantly. For terms and conditions go to dave.com/legal. Instant transfer fees apply. Banking provided by Evolve. Member FDIC.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Athletic GreensTo make it easy, Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. All you have to do is visit athleticgreens.com/NFLNETWORK.BriteCoThe guys at BriteCo Jewelry Insurance made buying insurance for your engagement ring, your watch, or whatever so easy you can get covered in 2 minutes on your cell phone. You won't find a better deal on coverage that's so affordable. Go to https://brite.co/lockedon 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, the Titans took on the Arizona Cardinals in joint practices on Wednesday. I'm recapping everything that you need to know. First, despite a tough day for the offense overall, rookie quarterback Malik Willis had his best practice of the summer. Then, Derrick Henry, for the first time, took part in team activities 7-on-7

and 11-on-11 as he ramps up for the season. And then finally, we got some real news on what's going on with the Neko Autry. Breaking down everything you need to know from Tennessee Titans joint practice against the Arizona Cardinals on today's 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. Titans fans, we are breaking down everything you need to know from Titans joint practices against the Arizona Cardinals.

We're going to start with Malik Willis's best practice so far. Before we get into it, I do want to let you know that this episode is brought to you by Brightco Jewelry and Watch Insurance. Brightco brings you comprehensive, fast, and affordable jewelry insurance for as low as $5 per month. Check out your special offer for locked on listeners and get covered in under two minutes at bright.co forward slash locked on. That's bright.co forward slash locked on.

But of course, as I said, we are going to start with Malik Willis. Do want to thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen, subscribe. I'm available free all day, Monday through Friday, all platforms, all year round. Literally constant Titans content. So make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream, including the Locked on Titans YouTube channel.

Smash the sub button. Smash the notification button. Hit the thumbs up button if you're watching right now. Follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. Follow the show Facebook page. smash the sub button, smash the notification button, hit the thumbs up button if you're watching right now. Follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans, follow the show Facebook page at LockedOnTitansPod. But Malik Willis' best day as a Titan so far. So things started out pretty fun. I'm not going to lie to you. Malik Willis got going in some early seven on seven was four for four

in his first iteration of seven on seven. So that was pretty impressive to start four for four, four passes, four completions. And he hit a big one over the middle to Des Fitzpatrick. He then followed that up with his next seven on seven time period going seven for seven. seven on seven time period going seven for seven. That's right. Number seven went seven for seven during seven on seven. So if you could process all of that, there you go. But overall, just good stuff from Malik Willis.

And it's deeper than just the numbers, the four for four, seven for seven, all of that. It's deeper than that. The things that he's working on. It's not just about completing passes. It's about timing. It's about footwork. And Mike Vrabel talked about some of those things after practice. Mike Vrabel said Malik Willis' timing was improved today.

He liked his accuracy. Today was probably Willis' best day of practice. Ball came out quickly. He worked the pocket and he threw with accuracy to multiple parts of the field. Guys, I know that at the beginning and even the last game against Tampa, it wasn't always great. It wasn't always great. It wasn't always pretty. It wasn't always perfect.

But a lot of these national folks who break down tape, former quarterbacks like Chris Sims, Kurt Warner, have recently talked about Malik Willis. Kurt Warner did a 25-minute breakdown of Malik Willis' performances against Baltimore. And all of those guys are higher on Malik Willis' performance against Baltimore. And all of those guys are higher on Malik Willis than your average tape guy on Twitter, like me, for example. People like me who are just breaking down the tape and stuff like that. Guys who played in the NFL are high on what Malik Willis can do

because they see the traits. And they see that he's improving week to week. That's the most important thing. He is improving constantly. We've heard, and I've mentioned it a lot, that Malik Willis is a quick learner. The coaching staff for the Titans has said that. That's proven by how he makes progress

on the things that we are directly looking for. He made incredible progress from the Ravens game to the Bucs game, stepping up in the pocket, moving his feet, sliding forward, even in the game against the Buccaneers, which I talked about earlier in the week. His feet were sliding parallel to the line of scrimmage when he was moving up, like he was running up to his spots in the pocket. Later in the game, and especially on the touchdown pass, he's sliding his feet in a good stance forward.

So he's making in-game corrections, week-to-week corrections. There's no reason to believe that he won't be able to get to a solid NFL starting level quarterback place if this is how quickly he progresses with things. Now, I do have to mention that Malik did throw an interception to one of the Cardinals' cornerbacks. But like I said, it was a tough day for the Titans' offense in general. The offense did not do well on Wednesday. It was not a good offensive practice, which is disappointing based on my expectations going in.

But we're going to talk about that when we talk about the offense overall. We talk about Derrick Henry being involved in team drills, 7-on-7 and 11-on-11, for basically the first time that that's been reported throughout the entire training camp and all season period. So that's exciting news on offense, but not a great day on offense overall. So we'll discuss that. But I did want to tell you guys just about the progress. And it's one thing for me to say it. And you guys tell me, you know, I'm a Titans fan.

I just want Malik to be good. Those words came from Mike Vrabel saying it was Malik's best practice and he was incredibly improved and he was accurate to multiple levels on the field. That was Mike Vrabel saying those things. So there you go. was on the field. That was Mike Rabel saying those things. So, there you go. I think if Mike Rabel is willing to be optimistic and excited, well, by God, we have to as

well. But moving forward, we're going to talk more just about the overall performance and some things that stuck out to me from joint practices against, or joint practice, I guess, against the Arizona Cardinals. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys a little bit more about our title sponsor, Brightco. So, you guys, you've all seen some horror stories when it comes to proposing.

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Bright.co forward slash locked on it. You got to see some of these videos they have of proposal fails. Go to Brightco and check out these hilarious videos. Once again, that's bright.co forward slash locked on. Titans fans, let's continue today's recap of joint practices between the Arizona Cardinals and the Tennessee Titans. And before we get into it, I want to remind you guys again, I do appreciate you making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, guys, it's Fantasy Draft Week.

Make sure that you're getting top 10 positional lifts from the Locked On Fantasy Football Podcast and the Locked On Dynasty Podcast. They're going to have you ready to go for all your fantasy drafts. And speaking of fantasy, the Locked On Titans Fantasy Football League is full. And should I say the Locked on Titans Fantasy Football Leagues,

there was such an outpour and such a response that I got like 20 plus people hitting me up prior to 8 a.m. on Wednesday morning with their screenshots ready to be in the league. It was wild. So I only planned on having a 12-person league. Well, with all of the responses, I did two leagues.

I have two 12-person leagues, 11 people on each side because I'm in both of them. And that's the way we're doing it. So if you're listening right now or you're somebody who sent it in and I had to turn you away, guys, I'm sorry.

I couldn't get more people in. But people were so quick and so on it, man. Honestly, I'm honored. I'm humbled by the response from you guys, so thank you so much, but let's dive back into the content, okay? I know some of you guys get so mad at me when I do housekeeping things, but the show is free, and you have a skip button, idiot. Skip forward, whatever. Anyways, you didn't hear me say that. Derrick Henry got into team drills, which is the good news, but the bad news is the Titans offense was not good. One-on-ones, two-on-twos, two-minute drill, 52nd drill, the Titans didn't score. No

scores for the Titans on the day, which is disappointing to me because as I said on yesterday's show, Arizona does not have a good group of cornerbacks. They have one of the worst groups of cornerbacks in the league, but they do have Byron Murphy and they do have Buda Baker, and those guys are awesome, and they had good days in one-on-ones, in two-on-twos and stuff with the Titans. They had pass breakups. They just did very well. Okay. So you got to give credit where credit is due.

But, and I'll talk about this more when I do my preview of the preseason game at the end of the week. I'm a little worried about the Titans offense. I know we're all hype and we're all fans and we all think, oh, everything's good. But if we're honest with ourselves, if someone told you that the Titans disappointed this season and they said, what do you think the number one reason for that was? I think anyone who's logical would say the offense wasn't good enough. So when the worst group of cornerbacks in the NFL and not an awesome defense is shutting you down, I'm not going to overreact,

but it does have me a touch worried. A touch worried. But besides the overall poor performance from the offense, Derrick Henry getting in team drills, very important. 7-on-7 work, 11-on-11 work. Mike Grable said that he might do more of that tomorrow. It's time to ramp up Derrick Henry. And I don't want Derrick Henry to be in the preseason game.

I don't. I said that at the beginning of training camp. I do not want Derrick Henry to play preseason games. Pointless. He doesn't need that tread on his tires. But getting him 11-on-11 work against the Titans defense will be key. And you may be asking yourself, well, if Derrick Henry got 11-on-11 work today,

wouldn't that have been against the Cardinals? No. The Cardinals are weird. I don't know how else to put that or how else to say it. The Cardinals told the Titans no videos allowed of one-on-ones. What? Weird. Anyways. Also, with joint practices with Tampa Bay and even last year's joint practices, the Titans

offense went against the Cardinals defense a ton and that did happen throughout the day. There were 7-on-7 periods and 2-minute drills and stuff where it was the Titans offense against the Cardinals defense and vice versa. But there were periods during practice where the Titans were going 11-on-11 against their own defense. Why? What's the point of Arizona being there then? And then, you know,

there's no joint practice tomorrow between the Titans and Cardinals. The Cardinals are just weird, man. What is going on with that? So I'd love to get Mike Vrabel on truth serum and ask him what he thinks about the Cardinals and Cliff Kingsbury. I'd love to do that. That's all I'll say there.

But want to hit on some other things coming out of overall practice before we talk some injuries and talk about Danico Autry at the end of the show. Dylan Radins got work as the second team guard, that left guard. That wasn't a fluke. They're done with him at tackle. It's time to try him at guard. Also on that note, NPF still with the first team with him at tackle. It's time to try him at guard. Also, on that note, NPF still with the first team offense at right tackle.

Guys, I know that some people think I call it too early. I call the fight too early. But I didn't. NPF is the starting right tackle. It's not a competition anymore. It's over. It's over. It was over at practice

when Mike Rabel decided to work Radins as guard. Okay? It's over. NPF over. It was over at practice when Mike Vrabel decided to work Radins as guard. Okay? It's over. NPF is the starting right tackle. Okay? So let's move forward from there. Theo Jackson returned to practice this week. Rookie safety out of Tennessee. Safety, cornerback. He kind of did both the star position at Tennessee,

which is kind of a modified safety that plays slot. Well, Mike Vrabel put Theo Jackson in the nickel spot today. I think trying to make Theo Jackson a traditional safety within the Titans defense would be a mistake. When he really took off and had productive times at Tennessee, and the Volves fans who watch the show can second this, when Theo Jackson turned into a productive player for Tennessee, it was when they used him in that hybrid safety slot role,

the star position. He's not a guy who you want deep. He's not a guy who you want playing split safety and too high. He's a guy you want like Logan Ryan. Think about Logan Ryan. You want Logan Ryan coming forward. You want Logan Ryan playing forward towards the line of scrimmage. You want him at about 10 yards deep.

You want him utilizing his instincts and his playmaking to drive down on ball carriers and make hits. Drive on balls and make plays. He's also a guy whose physicality will allow him to help in the run game. And then you can use him as a third linebacker and nickel. And that gives you the ability to play against the run when teams go in 11. So using Theo Jackson more as a nickel than as what the Titans would use as a safety makes more sense to me.

So good to see that. And I got gotta say this. Why did Dylan Radins get looked at left guard? Because they decided that they had a good right tackle. I think some of the safeties that have been brought in Adrian Colbert, Tyree Gillespie, Lonnie Johnson

I think those guys have performed well enough where they gotta find something else for Theo to do. Because he's not going to be a better safety than those guys. Maybe in that nickel star role, he can provide value, but

that may be where we're at right now. With Theo Jackson and the injuries. Lastly here, Ryan Stonehouse. Bombing punts. He made Kyle Phillips drop three punts. All of the reports were he has booming punts down the field. And they have a funky spin to him that makes him hard to catch for the returners.

I'm going to say this quickly. I just want to do this real quick. Brett Kern is more precise. Brett Kern is going to be able to pin people inside the 20 more consistently than Stonehouse. That's not a question. But Stonehouse, by far, kicks the ball higher and further.

And here's what you have to think about, guys. Brett Kern may be the better punter this year. He may... I would almost say he will be, most certainly. But this may be a situation for the Titans. If they let Ryan Stonehouse cut, one, they're not keeping two punters on the 53. So Stonehouse or Kern, one of them has to be cut. And when that happens,

whoever is cut, Indy's starting punter tours Achilles and is out for the season. Somebody in the NFL is going to pick up Kern or Stonehouse. Okay? And you can't keep them both on the 53. The Titans may want to bite the bullet on 2022 and keep Stonehouse despite Kern being better because they know that the next three years after that

Stonehouse is the better guy it may be a take one step back now so that you can take multiple steps forward in the future if they let Stonehouse go he's going to go to another team and he's going to be a productive punter for the next three years on a cheap exclusive rights free agent deal and the Titans are going to probably have to cut bait with Brett Kern after the season and start all over at punter. If Stonehouse has enough potential, even though he may be a lesser

punter right now, if the potential is there and they see it, Stonehouse may get the nod anyways. And he got increased reps in joint practice on Wednesday. He held the ball for Randy Bullock again on his kicks and Bullock went 7 for 8.

Brett Kern is the better punter right now, but I still wouldn't be surprised if Stonehouse gets the 53-man roster spot. But we got to talk about the injuries and Danico Autry right now. What is going on with Autry? We got a little bit of insight from Paul Kaharski on Wednesday. I'll explain. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's recap of joint practices between the Titans and the Arizona Cardinals.

Talking about the injuries, I like to give you guys the injury updates at the end of the show so you know who practiced, who didn't practice, any updates that we can provide on guys who didn't practice, all that. So I'm going to dive into that. Before I do, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. It is Monday through Friday, free daily Tennessee Titans content

all year round on all platforms. So make sure that you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast. But moving forward here, we got to talk about Danico Autry, who has not practiced in weeks. In weeks. Okay? And we might have an idea of why.

Now, so Paul Kaharski tweeted out, I don't know, about an hour before I recorded this, quote from the tweet, Danico Autry has done less than any front-line member of the Titans through camp. Worked with a coach early today with heavily taped right wrist. So, the only appearance

that we've seen from Danico Autry besides this information right here earlier in training camp was that one day he was running in the sand pit with Derrick Henry. If he has a wrist injury and had wrist surgery or whatever, it would make sense that he would be able to do conditioning inside and that they wouldn't want him involved in anything out on the field.

He's a defensive lineman. He needs his hands for everything. in anything out on the field. He's a defensive lineman. He needs his hands for everything. So maybe we finally learn that Danico Autry has a wrist injury and hopefully we get an update on that prior to the season

because Danico Autry is incredibly important to the Titans. Not only can he rush from the interior in sub packages like next to Jeffrey Simmons on the interior but he plays edge for the Titans in 3-4 next to Jeffrey Simmons on the interior, but he plays edge for the Titans in three fours. He plays defensive end when they line up in a four man front.

Shout out no flags film has put out this information other than Aaron Donald. The player in the NFL with the most pressures on the inside and the outside is Danico Autry. pressures on the inside and the outside is Danico Autry. That versatility is key to the Titans front multiplicity. So I am worried that Danico Autry has basically been a non-participant in Titans training camp. And now we're learning what the injury may be. And it may be a wrist injury, which Danico Autry is so good with his hands in the pass rush. Swats, swims, counters, long arm.

All the different things that he does with his hands, I would imagine it would be incredibly difficult to be his best with that going on. So, some info and some concern. But with, you know, a few weeks left until the season starts, let's hope that since it's not a lower body injury or anything like that, let's hope that Danico Autry will be ready to go when the season comes around. If not, increased opportunities and importance for Rashad Weaver and Demarcus Walker. Those guys would have to step up in a big way.

But outside of Danico Autry, we had no Elijah Molden, no Nate Davis, no Jamarco Jones, and no Dylan Cole. Trenton Cannon did come back in just in time, man. He's going to lose his roster spot if he keeps letting Racey McMath return kicks. And if he keeps letting Julius Chestnut and Hassan Haskins

take all the reps at running back. The Titans have had some good performances by Gunners on punt coverage. Cannon's going to have to get back out there and do a lot in the next two weeks to save his roster spot. So that's good news. We'll say not a lot of Robert Woods, not a lot of Traylon Burks on the day.

Burks basically quit participating after the special teams period, even though he was involved in some one-on-one and individual stuff. I think the Titans are just being extra cautious with Traylon Burks because he's going to be an incredibly important player to them this year, so that makes sense.

You know what I mean? I'm not too worried about Burks right now. They're just being cautious with him, and that makes sense. But that is a full recap of everything that took place at Titans and Cardinals practice. There is no joint practices tomorrow because the Cardinals are scurred. Just jokes, but, you know, it seems weird just the way they handled the joint practice situation.

But, yeah, the Cardinals are out of the Titans' hair. They'll see them on Saturday night for the preseason game for the rest of the week. I'll be back with you guys tomorrow to break down everything that happened at practice. And we'll preview the Titans' final preseason game of the year against the Arizona Cardinals. So make sure you guys tune in for that. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this

was Locked on Titans.