Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Should Tennessee Titans Andre Dillard be BENCHED, More Tyjae Spears, Less Derrick Henry & Defensive Back Growth

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Tennessee Titans should not make any changes to their offensive line this season, and I'll explain why 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. Welcome to the Locked On Titans Podcast. I am your host, Tyler Roland, Titans fans. Today's What's Next Wednesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by PrizePix, the easiest, most exciting way

Starting point is 00:00:53 to play daily fantasy sports. Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL. Use the code all lowercase, locked on NFL, for a first deposit match up to $100. That's right. It's What's Next Wednesday. And I hear all of you YouTube complainers worried about getting the show early. It's What's Next Wednesday for me.

Starting point is 00:01:14 And we got a lot to talk about moving into week three. Should the Titans make changes on their offensive line after what we've seen through two weeks? The Titans should have more Tajay Spears and less Derek Henry going forward. And can the Titans defensive backs continue to grow? I'm going to dive into all that before I do. I want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans

Starting point is 00:01:34 podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team

Starting point is 00:01:50 every day. Shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. Tomorrow is crossover Thursday with the guys from Locked on Browns. Friday is going to be game plan Friday and I have a lot of great stuff cooked up for the Cleveland Browns and then of course I'll be live immediately after

Starting point is 00:02:06 the game on Sunday with an instant reaction and then be back later on Sunday night with a full 30 minute breakdown. So don't miss anything that I'm putting out. Yesterday was Tic Tac Tuesday. We went over the film. All my film stuff is out right now on alltitans.com Find the links at Tic Tac

Starting point is 00:02:22 Titans on Twitter. Follow me on TikTok, Locked on Titans, Instagram Locked on Titans, Facebook Locked on Titans.com. Find the links at Tic Tac Titans on Twitter. Follow me on TikTok, Locked on Titans, Instagram, Locked on Titans, Facebook, Locked on Titans. Follow me everywhere. Get the film content. Anyways, the conversation about the Titans offensive line has kind of bubbled up as maybe the most talked about thing going on right now. We've seen a couple of people struggle early on, but I am here to tell you the Tennessee Titans should not change their offensive line this season unless they have to, because there are signs of life, and I think they're going to continue to get better. But let's talk about each individual

Starting point is 00:02:57 person, because the reality here is Andre Dillard has struggled in pass protection early on. He was credited for three sacks allowed against the Chargers. Really struggled there. Had some struggles early on in the game against the New Orleans Saints. He's given up nine pressures on the year. It has been a struggle, no doubt about it. But Andre Dillard's been one of the best run-blocking left tackles in the NFL. He's got the ninth best run-block win rate of any offensive tackle in the league

Starting point is 00:03:29 at an 83%. He's got an 80.1 run block grade from pro football focus. Andre Dillard has been a factor in run blocking. And if you remember that toss sweep to Tajay Spears to start overtime, who was out running in front of Spears to clear the room? It was Andre Dillard. So, look, Dillard was always a guy that we were going toars to start overtime. Who was out running in front of Spears to clear the room? It was Andre Dillard. So, look, Dillard was always a guy that we were going to have to give time. There was a reason he wasn't a starter in Philadelphia,

Starting point is 00:03:52 but there was also a reason he was drafted in the first round. There is talent there. There is athleticism there. He just hasn't had enough reps due to injury and being on the bench in Philly to really develop to what he can be. And I'm not here to tell you that Dillard is going to make incredible strides and is going to improve throughout the year. He might not.

Starting point is 00:04:09 But the reality is the Titans signed him to basically a two-year deal. And they need to give him this year to try to figure it out. I don't see any better left tackle option on the team other than maybe Peter Skowronski. But again, you don't want to move Peter Skowronski from his left guard position, where he was literally a top 10 offensive lineman in the NFL in week one. So even when Skowronski comes back,

Starting point is 00:04:33 I am not messing up his development as a player, which is much more important long term for the Titans, to move him out to left tackle, where the Titans see him more as a guard anyway. And then now you're bouncing Dillard out of the lineup when you basically got him for two years and need to get a look. If Dillard doesn't work this year, then fine. Make adjustments. Find someone new next year. But I just don't, and Nicholas Petit-Ferrer, when he comes back, Nicholas Petit-Ferrer was at his worst in college

Starting point is 00:05:00 when he played on the left side. He is a right side player. You could put Dylan Radins out there at left tackle, but I think he's going to have some of the same issues as Andre Dillard, especially coming off the ACL. So I just don't see a vast improvement, and there is more upside for the Titans to just keep Dillard where he's at. The other player that we got to talk about is Aaron Brewer. Brewer's given up a sack in two weeks, five pressures,

Starting point is 00:05:23 and to me, you want to talk about somebody who needs replaced? It's Aaron Brewer. Brewer's given up a sack in two weeks, five pressures, and to me, you want to talk about somebody who needs replaced? It's Aaron Brewer. But again, I come back to Daniel Brunskill could maybe move to center, but Brunskill's worst season as an NFL pro was probably the year that he played center for the 49ers. You could bring in Corey Levin, who's the backup at center, but Corey Levin, in my opinion, is a replacement level player as well. He's not going to be a vast improvement over Aaron Brewer, and Aaron Brewer is a younger, more athletic player that offers you more upside circumstantially than Corey 11 does. So again, I just don't see, it's not like the Titans have a ton of depth and a ton of talent on the offensive

Starting point is 00:06:00 line. I just don't see how this group is going to be improved by putting NPF at left tackle or moving Skowronski around and putting Dillard at left guard or trying to put in Corey Levin at center. We're all a bit frustrated, but it's so early in the season we have to give this group a time to gel, especially because we're seeing some great stuff from the offensive line. Right now, Chris Hubbard is second in the NFL amongst offensive tackles in pass block win rate. The second best pass blocking offensive tackle in the NFL, Chris Hubbard. Daniel Brunskill, the 11th best interior offensive lineman in pass block win rate.

Starting point is 00:06:38 Those two guys together have given up zero sacks and only three pressures. You don't need to move either of them. Don't put in NPF when he gets off suspension. Don't move Brunskill to center. Let those guys keep winning. When you get Peter Skowronski back at left guard, now he can continue to help Aaron Brewer and help Andre Dillard. And in the meantime, look at it.

Starting point is 00:07:01 16th in the NFL in pass block win rate as a team. 14th in the NFL in pass block win rate as a team. 14th in the NFL in pass block grade from pro football focus as a unit. 9th best run block win rate in the NFL as a unit. 5th best run block grade on pro football focus as a unit. So this team is having its individual struggles in pass protection, but overall as a unit, this is what we asked for. Early in the season, I asked, could the Titans just be an average offensive line?

Starting point is 00:07:32 Just don't be a terrible offensive line. And the Titans would be able to win a lot more games than they won last year and have a lot better play on the offensive line than they did last year. And guess what? That's what they have right now. And in my opinion, it's only going to improve as guys get more comfortable. Look how Tannehill improved. He got a little bit more

Starting point is 00:07:51 comfortable, started seeing things a little bit better as the Titans offensive line gets more comfortable, as they all get more acclimated to each other in the offense and the situation. I think this group is going to grow and get better. Do I think it's a top 10 offensive line? No.

Starting point is 00:08:06 Do I think improvements are going to be needed in the offseason? Of course. But don't change what you got going on right now. Allow this group to grow. With that being said, we're going to talk about something else that needs to grow. A couple things that need to grow going forward. One, that's Tajay Spears' touches. And two, that's the development of the Titans defensive back.

Starting point is 00:08:27 So we're going to get into that. Before we do, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by eBay Motors. Our partners at eBay Motors have teamed up with Locked On Fantasy football host Vinny Iyer to bring you some of the best fantasy picks each week all season long. Whether you're prepping for a daily draft or scouting the waiver wire, every week we're going to provide you with players that are guaranteed to fit on your roster. So let's see who Vinny has picked out for us on this week's eBay's Guaranteed Fit Fantasy

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Starting point is 00:10:03 at ebay.com slash motors eBay guaranteed fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. Titans fans, let's continue this What's Next Wednesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And I already see the...

Starting point is 00:10:38 It's Tuesday. Does this guy know it's Tuesday? Blah, blah, blah, blah. Just be happy you get the podcast early, YouTube. All right? All right, get off my back, okay? That's a Titan down is what I got to say about that. But all jokes aside, all fun aside, we got to continue today's show.

Starting point is 00:10:56 We just talked about the offensive line. Now I want to talk about Tajay Spears and Derrick Henry, and I'm going to say something that may be a little bit controversial. And I understand if you disagree with that may be a little bit controversial. And I understand if you disagree with me, but I just think you're wrong. And I think the Titans know it as well. There needs to be more Tajay Spears and less Derrick Henry going forward as a general rule. Okay?

Starting point is 00:11:25 So I'm going to dive into why before I do. Thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first to listen each and every day. Shout out to my everydayers out there. Got crossover Thursday tomorrow. Got game plan Friday. Going to be recapping everything on Sunday night with you guys. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast.

Starting point is 00:11:42 Throw a thumbs up on the video and let me know. Should the Titans make offensive line changes? Should Tajay Spears get more carries now? Let me know how you guys feel down below. But I just want to throw some statistics out there to kind of set the foundation for what I'm about to say. Right now, Tajay Spears is tied for third among running backs in the NFL with at least 10 carries and yards per carry. 6.9 yards per carry, 11 carries, 76 yards.

Starting point is 00:12:10 Flip side of that, Derrick Henry is averaging 3.6 yards per carry. That's a huge difference. Tajay Spears is getting three more yards on average than Henry when he gets a carry. The reality here is Tajay Spears has more burst than Derrick Henry. Tajay Spears has more wiggle than Derrick Henry. Tajay Spears is more versatile,

Starting point is 00:12:39 which opens up the playbook and the formations more than Derrick Henry. Mike Vrabel talked about Tajay Spears at his press conference on Monday. Talked about his vision, his contact balance, his toughness. He says he's watching Tajay Spears and he thinks that he's tackled and then boom, boom, boom. Next thing you know, he's got five or six more yards. And Mike Vrabel even said, one day, we're going to block for Tajay Spears and he's going to get 30, 40, 50 yards.

Starting point is 00:13:08 Mike Vrabel knows. The Titans see it. That's why they drafted Tajay Spears in the third round. Look, I am not here to tell you that Derrick Henry is bad, or that Derrick Henry is not as good as Tajay, or anything like that. But here's the reality.

Starting point is 00:13:26 If the play is blocked well and there's an open hole, then yes, I would like Derrick Henry to have the ball. If the play is not blocked well, though, I would rather have the ball with Tajay Spears. Because who's going to make a man miss at the line of scrimmage and then get upfield? Who is going to cut back on a run play with a hard jump cut and totally change where the defense is thinking,

Starting point is 00:13:50 bust it to the outside and outrun everybody to the corner? It's not going to be Derrick Henry. That's just not his skill set. You get Derrick Henry going downhill, he makes one cut and he stays going downhill. And when he does that and he gets into the second level, it's hard for linebackers or especially defensive backs to tackle him. But the problem is with the way that people are playing Derrick Henry and the way that people are

Starting point is 00:14:16 playing the Titans right now, like in that second half against the Chargers, the Chargers were literally just run blitzing every time. Every single time. One of the benefits here is when Tajay Spears is in the backfield, there's not that just natural feeling that we got to attack the line of scrimmage because it's Derrick Henry and not let him get up to speed. You know what I mean? So, look, I'm not telling you that they need to phase out Derrick Henry entirely, but Tajay Spears needs to get the ball more

Starting point is 00:14:46 because he's a more explosive player and a more efficient player right now. Derrick Henry will have his place. And like Mike Vrabel said, they're going to continue to use Derrick Henry. But Spears can just do more. And there needs to be more Tajay Spears. And whether you guys want to admit it or not, at some point, Tajay Spears is going to be the lead running back for the Tennessee Titans.

Starting point is 00:15:11 Probably going to be next year. Maybe the Titans bring Henry back on a one-year deal. But from this moment forward, we are only going to see more and more and more of Tajay Spears and less of Derrick Henry. That's just the way that this is going to go. They didn't renew Derrick Henry's contract. They didn't extend him before the season

Starting point is 00:15:31 like a lot of people were pretending was going to happen. And they went out and drafted Tajay Spears in the third round and they're going to give him more carries. And Mike Vrabel is smitten with Tajay Spears. You can tell the way he talks about him. So this isn't meant to be hate on Derrick Henry. This is meant to be Tajay Spears as a player. And with what he's been doing when he gets the ball, they need to get him the ball more.

Starting point is 00:15:56 Derrick Henry had 25 carries against the Chargers. And look, I said on Game Plan Friday, this needs to be a classic Tennessee Titans game where you hammer Derrick Henry. And there will be those. But as a general rule, the Titans need to get Tajay Spears the ball more. And that means they probably need to give the ball a little bit less to Derrick Henry. But here's what I'm here to tell you. That is only going to help Derrick Henry stay more fresh for the end of the season,

Starting point is 00:16:26 into the playoffs maybe. So, if you're a Titans fan, this is a win-win. This is a great situation. You can keep Derrick Henry more fresh and the Titans have a stud running back that they can give the ball to more that has a totally different skill set

Starting point is 00:16:41 than Derrick Henry and makes the offense more versatile. So, I know it seems like a hot take, but just look a little closer and it's pretty obvious what the right thing to do here is. With that being said, we are going to talk about the defensive backs because looking at the film of the defense, there's a lot of good performances from the defensive backs even though it didn't look like it in the stat sheet. So, I'm going to talk about that plus what those defensive backs need to do this week

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Starting point is 00:19:01 Titans fans, let's cap off this What's Next Wednesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the offensive line and what they need to do going forward. I say make no changes. Let this group grow. Talked about the running backs, and I think they do need to see some changes. We need to see some more Tajay Spears, maybe a little bit less Derek Henry. But now I want to focus on the Titans defensive backs because that's a big weakness for the team.

Starting point is 00:19:20 But I think we saw some great performances on Sunday against the Chargers, and the Titans are going to do something totally different on Sunday against the Browns that I think will challenge the defensive backs even more. So before we get into that, thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed to the

Starting point is 00:19:44 Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. Again, let me know down below. What changes would you make to the offensive line? Would you give the ball more to Tajay Spears and less to Derrick Henry? Curious to hear your guys' thoughts. But talking about these defensive backs.

Starting point is 00:19:59 So last week, the Chargers attacked Trey Avery. They targeted him 15 times for 12 completions, over 100 yards, two touchdowns allowed. They went after Trey Avery. That simple. Now, I thought Avery battled. He knocked away a pass in the end zone on a critical third down

Starting point is 00:20:21 in the red zone. That was huge. I thought he made a couple of other plays, made some physical tackles as well when they threw his way. But either way, they targeted him. And that made everybody think, oh, well, the Titans' pass defense did bad. But look closer at the film. Sean Murphy Bunting. Sean Murphy Bunting was amazing.

Starting point is 00:20:49 I mean, incredible coverage on Mike Williams for most of the day. It's literally, now you could go look at Mike Williams' stat sheet and see like eight catches for 83 yards, but not all of that was on Sean Murphy Bunting. That's the thing. And Murphy Bunting sometimes came off of Mike Williams to make plays and help his teammates. And the Titans played a ton of zone as well. A ton of zone, which I think Sean Murphy Bunting sometimes came off of Mike Williams to make plays and help his teammates. And the Titans played a ton of zone as well. A ton of zone, which I think Sean Murphy Bunting

Starting point is 00:21:08 is maybe a little bit more comfortable in at times. So, Sean Murphy Bunting played great. And Roger McCreary also played great. I mean, he was fantastic in run defense, in pass coverage. Kevin Byard, Mike Brown, Elijah Molden. These guys had a really good game. It was just the Chargers were literally attacking Trey Avery and it made it seem worse than it really was.

Starting point is 00:21:33 But these defensive backs need to continue to grow because, again, this is the biggest weakness on the Titans defense is teams just taking advantage of the secondary. But looking forward to Cleveland, my expectation is that the Titans will play a ton of man coverage and blitz like crazy. So instead of playing a ton of zone like they played last week, cover two, cover three,

Starting point is 00:22:07 I think the Titans go heavy man coverage this week against the Browns. And I think that they bring pressure because Deshaun Watson is going to make mistakes. If you put pressure on him, he's going to take sacks, he's going to fumble, He's going to throw picks. And the reality is the Browns skill position players do not scare me. They don't. Amari Cooper's banged up. He's very good though. Don't get me wrong. Amari Cooper's very good.

Starting point is 00:22:40 Very, very good. Excellent route runner. One of the best in the league. But he's a little banged up with an ankle. And he's one guy. Put Sean Murphy bunting on Donovan Peoples-Jones. I'm okay with that. Let Roger McCreary play against Elijah Moore, who's vastly

Starting point is 00:22:58 overrated. I'm not worried about that. David Njoku, Aziz, and Molden, and Bayard, Hooker and Fulton, Mike Vrabel said

Starting point is 00:23:10 he's hopeful that they're back this week. And if they are, I'm sorry. I'm just simply not scared by the Browns passing game. I'm not. So,

Starting point is 00:23:24 I think it's going to be a totally different approach, and the Titans defensive backs are going to continue to have to play well, and hopefully they get Fulton and Hooker back so that the Browns don't just put Amari Cooper on Trey Avery and try to attack. If they do, the Titans are going to have to play zone to help out. But I think Fulton and Hooker will be back, and I think we'll see a ton of man coverage

Starting point is 00:23:45 and pressure from the Titans against the Browns. That's my expectation. So that's what I'm looking forward to. What's next? I'll be back with you guys tomorrow, though, because it is Crossover Thursday, and we're going to get some behind-the-scenes information from my guy Jeff at Locked on Browns.

Starting point is 00:24:04 Can't wait for that. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was LockedOnTitans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Should Tennessee Titans Andre Dillard be BENCHED, More Tyjae Spears, Less Derrick Henry & Defensive Back Growth

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