Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Should Tennessee Titans Fire Todd Downing, Defensive Optimism & Greatest Titan of All Time

Episode Date: September 16, 2022

The Tennessee Titans had a rough start to the season and most folks, rightfully so, are blaming offensive coordinator Todd Downing. So, should the Titans fire him? Tyler says no and the reasoning may surprise you! Next, Tyler continues answering YOUR mailbag questions including how worried we should be about the defense and who is the great Tennessee Titan of all time!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!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!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/lockedonPrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONTuroDitch boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.comAthletic 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. 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, it is another special Friday night live edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. And I got a few questions from you guys that I want to answer. Number one, would I fire Todd Downing if I was in control of the Titans? My answer might surprise you. What do I think the Titans will do with Malik Willis, and will he play this year? And what's really to blame for the defensive lapses in week one? Is it all season rust, or is it something else?

I'll answer all of your guys' questions on a Friday Night Live 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, it is a Friday night live edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. A little bonus episode for you guys. I promised a mailbag to all the folks on Twitter and a mailbag I will give you. Would I fire Todd Downing is where we are going to start.

But before we get into my answer there, I 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 or you just haven't subscribed yet, what are you doing? Make sure you subscribe. I am going to be putting out daily, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, all year long, and always for free here on the Locked on Titans podcast. That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe there.

Smash the notification bell and throw a thumbs up on the video if you want the Titans to beat the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football. You can follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. That's where I post all my film clips. I provide instant analysis and in-game reaction during the Titans games every single week. So check me out there. Check out the show Facebook page at LockedOnTitansPod.

Do want to update you guys just briefly here on some of the Tennessee Titans injury updates. Christian Fulton did not practice again on Friday. I got to tell you, with the Titans signing Chris Jackson to the 53-man roster and the way that Caleb Farley was talking in the locker room on Friday, I don't think Christian Fulton is going to play in this game. Dontrell Hilliard, another DNP in practice, getting a little worried about Hilliard as well.

It turns out Mike Grable wasn't lying, and Dontrell Hilliard was when he said he was available for the last drive of the game. He is, in fact, injured. A surprise here addition to the injury report on Friday, though, is starting guard Nate Davis. That's scary, to say the least, with what Buffalo's front looks like early this year.

Good news, though. Kyle Phillips was back at practice. He was in a non-contact jersey, but that does make sense with a shoulder injury. Ola Dainey, Dylan Radins, also wearing yellow jerseys out there. So good sign that they'll probably be available, but they're trying to keep the contact limited during the week to makes sense. And Lonnie Johnson, again, continues to practice.

He is wearing number 23 now. So Lonnie Johnson, I think, could be a very important player this week. Speaking of that, my game preview will be out on Sunday night on YouTube. It'll be waiting for you commuters on Monday morning, breaking down everything you need to know heading into Monday night football's matchup against the Buffalo Bills. But let's dive into these mailbag questions. I was hoping to do the mailbag on Thursday, but we got a bunch of news. Now, I do want to get into it.

The first question that I'm going to get into has to do with Todd Downing. Quite frankly, I got a ton of questions about Todd Downing and what the Titans should do there and how I feel about it. But the one question that I really want to focus on here came from my guy Trenton Yawn. And Trenton Yawn says, if you were in charge of the Titans, whether it be GM or head coach, would you fire Downing immediately after the Bills game

if he has another bad showing? Trent, let me say this, and I know it's going to surprise some of you guys, but I wouldn't fire Todd Downing at all. What I would do is I would demote him

from offensive coordinator. I would install Tim Kelly as the play caller. What you can't do is, guys, you're in the middle of a season here. It's early, middle, not even middle. You're at the beginning of the season. What you can't do

is just totally disrupt the Apple card immediately. You can't do that. So while I'm upset with Todd Downing, I don't think that you fire him. What you do is you give the play calling responsibilities and the offensive game plan install on a weekly basis to Tim Kelly. You keep Todd Downing around as an offensive assistant. Allow him to continue to be part of the game plan. Just don't give him any

decision making power. Todd Downing was the tight end coach for the Titans for multiple years and the Titans tight ends played pretty well. I don't think that Todd Downing is useless as a coach, but I certainly,

certainly don't believe that he should be the pure offensive coordinator where he is the one calling the plays, he is the one deciding personnel, all of that. So I wouldn't fire Todd Downing.

I would demote him, and I would promote Tim Kelly to the decision-making role in the offense. That's what I would do right now. Dooney Duputi said, is there any avenue you see Todd Downing pulling a comeback and redeeming himself this season? Well, listen, everyone can always evolve. There's no rule in life that says people can't get better. I just simply don't believe that that's real.

Todd Downing could improve, and what he's doing out there is correctable. The silly play calls, the conservative play calling on early downs, the use of personnel, all of those things are correctable with self-scouting. So yeah, Todd Downing could do that. Do I expect him to? No. Dooney Dupouti also said top three sandwiches all time. His are BLT, Monte Cristo, Thanksgiving leftover. For me, I'm going to go with a fried chicken sandwich.

I am going to go with a cheeseburger, and then I'm going to go with a fried chicken sandwich. I am going to go with a cheeseburger. And then I'm going to go with a BLT as well. I love the little fun questions that you guys throw in there. But moving forward, one last thing that I did want to touch on here, it comes from Lee Eatley. And he said, what are your thoughts on the Steelers signing David and Nanny? Did Titans fans overrate him because of preseason performance? Or did we lose one here?

Well, Lee, I think it's both. I think it's probably me. I'm leading that charge. Probably overrated David Nene a little bit based on his preseason performance. But I also think the Titans lost a good player that they could have developed. I've said it's hard to replace Harold Landry because of his athleticism and his versatility. They've had Ola Dainey trying to do Harold Landry things like playing stack linebacker

and being over the slot and all that. I think David Anini had some potential to play that role, and he's more of an athletic player than Ola Dainey, so I think the Titans' edge rushing group is missing athleticism severely, and I think Anini at minimum could have been a guy who they could have, I guess, developed in that role throughout the season, even if he wasn't ready right away, and it wasn't just that the Steelers stole Anini off the Titans practice squad. The Titans terminated his contract so that he could go somewhere else. Anini is nowhere near the player that Josh Reynolds is in the NFL, but I don't know. I so that he could go somewhere else. And then he is nowhere near the player that Josh Reynolds is in the NFL,

but I don't know. I just think it's always weird when the Titans are like, yeah, not only are you getting poached by somebody, not only are we letting you, we are purposefully getting in an agreement with you so that you can go elsewhere. It wasn't just the Titans cutting him, so I don't know. That stuff kind of makes me a little bit worried.

But either way, we're going to move forward. I got more of your questions to answer on this Friday Night Live edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Before we get into more of your questions, though, I do want to let you guys know about our friends over at BetOnline. BetOnline is your number one

source for all things pro and college football betting this fall. You can find all the latest developments on each league, the latest matchup info, the latest news. They're going to have everything you need to know about this year's early season schedule. BetOnline

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I see you. I see your questions. I appreciate it. But the reality is I'm giving this mailbag over to the Twitter crowd. I spend a lot of time answering questions from the YouTube folks. So just, you know, share the sandbox a little bit, guys. But either way, we're moving forward here. It is a mailbag, and you guys had some excellent questions.

Before I dive back in, just want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen. Every day, make sure you subscribe for Monday through Friday, usually Sunday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content for free. Question here that I'm going to answer from Dom O'Dell. He says, Phillips is an outstanding player for this team, but he desperately has to fill out his frame in the offseason. Every hit he takes looks absolutely bone-jarring, which makes me respect him a little more

and nervous at the same time. Well, Dom, I think it's prudent that you're saying that when the Titans have Kyle Phillips in a non-contact jersey with a shoulder injury that he got. Look, here's the reality. How much more frame does Kyle have to fill out? Now, he could get a little bit bigger, but he's always going to be a 5'11

slender built dude. There's only so much weight he can put on. So that's something that I agree with your concern, but I'm just not certain that there's much that can be done in that regard. A question here from Jordan Lowry says, do you think once Ryan Tannehill is done with the Titans and Malik takes over, do you think Todd Downing will still be the play caller? No, I do not. And if things go similarly in the offensive production realm as they did last year for the Titans,

I don't see Todd Downing being the play caller by next season. And honestly, we may not hear about it, but that role may change throughout the season. Awesome question here from Colin Wood. He says, how would you rank these players' chances to make the Pro Bowl in their careers? Farley, McCreary, Burks, Phillips. I'm going to rank Burks number one.

I'm going to rank McCreary number two. I'm going to rank Phillips number three. And I'm going to rank Farley number four. I think Burks has the highest upside of all those players. And he's a wide receiver, so he can make some big-time plays, and that'll help him get into the Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl with skill position players seems to be more flashy and more of a beauty pageant. McCreary, I think, is going to be a very good player, but it's harder to win as a cornerback because it's just a position that casual fans don't pay attention to as much. Kyle Phillips would be an incredibly productive player throughout

his career, but his style of player just doesn't make Pro Bowls. They're more effective in a real football sense than they are on a national scale. And then Caleb Farley, I just have the least amount of confidence in as a player. So I'm going to rank him fourth. Next question for Big Al, he says, are you concerned about Christian Fulton at all? He had a relatively poor end to last season. Wasn't great in the preseason. Seemed to have a rough first game. But it looks like Fulton is probably going to miss on Monday night.

Am I concerned? It just depends on what you expect from Fulton. Yeah, I thought he could have potential to be a borderline Pro Bowl cornerback. But I never thought that Christian Fulton would be like a number one lockdown type cornerback. He's never going to be a Jalen Ramsey. He's never going to be a guy like that. He's a good number one corner in a good system, like a Marcus Peters, per se.

You know what I mean? But I don't think that he's necessarily talented enough as a cornerback to be like a pure lockdown corner. He's always going to be his, like Richard Sherman was absolutely incredible. And we could only hope that Christian Fulton is as good as Richard Sherman. But the reality was Richard Sherman was excellent within the scheme because the scheme he was in fit a skill set. I don't think that you could just put Christian Fulton on any team in the NFL and he'd

be a number one lockdown corner. I think he's a really good cornerback within what the Titans ask him to do. And with that, because I don't have the expectation that he's some top five cornerback in the NFL. Yeah, he could go through slumps and he could play bad and there's some concern there. And hopefully that's not something that we have to worry about too much throughout the year. Peter Jones says, what can the Titans do to save the 2022 season? Again, this is an expectations question. If your expectation was that the Titans were going to win a Super Bowl this year, well, then I don't think there's anything that they can do to save that. But if your expectation was the Titans have a good regular season, they win the AFC South, they make the playoffs.

Well, I don't think there's anything to save per se. The defense just needs to not give up 160 rushing yards to Saquon Barkley and huge explosive plays in the second half. And the offense has to score more than 20 points. I think both of those are achievable. in the second half, and the offense has to score more than 20 points. I think both of those are achievable. So I guess to save it, they just have to play a little bit better,

but it depends on what you're trying to save, I guess. The Cool says, if I gave you truth serum, how do you really feel about the season? Ever since Downing Tanny meltdown in the playoffs, I logically knew that was it. This was our chance and best chance, and now it's time to do a soft rebuild. Do you honestly feel like we can make noise or rebuild time? Well, I agree with your term there, a soft rebuild in the terms of, do I think the Titans can make noise? Like, do I think they can win a game in the playoffs? No, I do not. I think they can make

the playoffs because they're in the worst division in the NFL. Well, maybe the NFC East, but who knows? Right now it's so early, but soft rebuild. I think the Titans already knew that they had to do that when they traded A.J. Brown, and that's why they went so young on the offense with the majority of their draft picks. Titan Life here says, the ultimate Titan question. If at the end of the season, the record was the same, would you rather win the games nobody thought we would and lose the games we're supposed to win

or win and lose the games as we are projected? Personally, for me, if the record is all the same, I'd rather beat teams that you're supposed to beat and lose to a couple of teams that you're supposed to lose to. That would make more sense to me. If the Titans go out and they beat every single team that they're an underdog to and then they go lose in the playoffs, in my opinion, it makes it feel worse like last year. If I knew

the Titans were going to be 12-5, would I rather be 12-5 where I beat all the good teams and then embarrass myself against bad teams? Or would I rather be a 12-5 where I beat all the teams I'm supposed to beat and then lost some games to some good teams? I'd rather be a team that beat all the teams I'm supposed to beat and then lost some games to some

good teams because I think long-term, that is a better team than a team that just happens to play really good against good teams but then pisses down their leg when they play a team that's worse than them. I think that's it. Long term wise, I'd rather be a team that takes care of business and then loses to some teams that are on their level

than be a team that always plays down to their competition. Because I think when the chips are on the table and when it matters the most, the team that took care of business against the teams they're supposed to and then lost a couple of games to some good teams will be a better team overall at the end of the day. But we're going to continue moving forward. These are some excellent questions. I really left the BetOnline symbol up and graphic up the entire time, so shout out to BetOnline for that extra publicity that they're getting there. But we're going to move

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Terms and conditions and exclusions do apply. Ditch that boring rental car and find your drive at Turo.com. Titans fans, we are going to continue this Friday Night Live edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, answering your guys' questions from a mailbag. You've had some great ones here, and they're going to continue right here. Before we dive into them,

just want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe for daily Monday through Friday, free Tennessee Titans content all year round. Get Off My Lawn says, do you think our defensive lapses were more indicative of just offseason rust, or

should we be worried? I think it's a little bit of both. I don't think it's the players necessarily, but the schematic things that I've talked about all week that I outlined in my USA Today article, all of those point to the Titans getting outcoached on defense and the way that they played

against the Giants offense and how the Giants took advantage of that. I think that can be adjusted. And then the other side of it is, yeah, a lot of the Titans defense didn't play enough in the preseason and they were a little bit rusty. I think that's more of a problem on offense than it is on defense, but I a lot of the Titans' defense didn't play enough in the preseason, and they were a little bit rusty. I think that's more of a problem on offense than it is on defense,

but I don't think the Titans are going to give up the explosive plays they gave up to the Giants all year long. Dale Big Sam said, what's your guess on how soon we'll see Josh Gordon in a game, or could it be this Golden Tate situation? You can't trust the Titans' coaching staff to put the best players out on the field or put the best players on the roster. They're going to have a guy like Cody Hollister on the team before they have a the best players out on the field or put the best players on the roster. They're going to have a guy like Cody

Hollister on the team before they have a guy like Josh Gordon on the team just because they care about what it looks like in the locker room and all the ethics and morals parts of it. It may be a Golden Tate situation, but I'm hoping that Josh Gordon gets in on Monday night. The Titans need somebody who can get

down the field and threaten a safety deep, man. They need it desperately. DoubleJ says, do you anticipate utilizing all the tight ends for more rushing plays or even alignment for that matter? Downing has five guys up there, and I feel he's been missing out. That's funny, Double J. Let's talk Downing on Friday called it a bad play call, so let's hope that we don't see too much more of that nonsense going forward.

Barney Vale says, can you use your crystal ball and tell us what you see the Titans O looking like under Vrabel post Derrick Henry? Do you see Vrabel moving to a more modern style of offense or a similar run heavy O with Haskins or a company of back? I think Vrabel likes this offensive system because it's a team based system. You can really help your weaknesses and strengthen your strengths with the system. I like the system too. Personally, if it's executed properly, like you see in Green Bay, like you see in Los Angeles, like you see in San Francisco,

like you see under Arthur Smith when he was in Tennessee, this system, when run properly, is the best offensive system in the NFL. I think the Titans will stick with it, and they'll do it with a committee of backs rather than just Haskins. I'm not sold on Haskins yet. He's a good pass pro guy, but not certain that he has the instincts to be a full-time running back. Cody Weed said, who do you think is the greatest Tennessee Titan of all time and why?

This means anyone who's suited up for Houston, Tennessee Oilers does not count. Yeah, I'm with you on that last part. Shouldn't count that anyway. The Titans said, screw you, Houston. We don't want your team. We don't want your city. We're freaking leaving. So any lingering memories of Houston to me would be like having a picture of your ex-wife

up in your new house with your new wife. Doesn't really make sense. Steve McNair is the greatest Titan of all time. He's the only Tennessee Titan to ever win an MVP. He led the team to a Super Bowl. And while that team was more of a great team than just an elite quarterback leading the way, Steve McNair was the heart and soul of the organization for a long time. He was the heart and soul of those teams. Steve McNair is the greatest Tennessee Titan of all time. And number two, just pure Tennessee Titan.

I'm going to say it's Kevin Byard. Owen George says, do you think Derrick Henry will pick up the pace in the next few weeks or at all this season? Yes. Yes, I do. I think as he gets more comfortable, as long as he stays healthy, Derrick Henry will be good again.

Cody Weath, as we all know, you are a Woodside stan. Good one. So this question might hurt, but when it's time for Malik Willis to take over the Titans, will the Titans get a backup that matches his skill like the Ravens did with RG3 or will they stick with Woodside? I'm hoping that they get more of a mobile quarterback. Really anybody but Woodside would be good.

Tua Marino says, question, is Vrabel's claim, question, Vrabel's claim, question, Vrabel claims the game plan is week to week, but he also says we are a running team. Why the heck don't we catch a team off guard and come out passing? Let Tanny rip it. What the hell, Todd?

Yeah, I agree. I think if the Titans used the pass to set up the run game a little more, they'd have more success with both the pass and the run. What do you think Vrabel and Downing believe they are gaining from doing things like running 10 personnel with Chig, Hoop, Swaim, NWI? What is their vision? So basically what Dom O'Dell is saying here is why do the Titans put a jumbo package on the field and then go spread?

I think they're trying to create matchups. The only problem is with the way Hoop is playing right now and with Jeff Swaim and with Chig being a rookie and with NWI being the level of talent that he is, you could get a matchup all you want, and they're not going to be able to take advantage. So I don't know why they're doing it. I get why they're doing that because they want to create a matchup,

but with the players that they have on the field, it doesn't really make sense. You're not going to get a good enough look even if you get the matchups. Joshua Yancey says, Do you think that David Long seemed to be guessing on Sunday? He seemed to be out of position a lot, but it may just be me. Yeah, he had a

Rashawn Evans syndrome on Sunday. He was guessing wrong. He was flying up, being way too overaggressive. He was hurt at times last year, so let's hope it's just a Russ thing as well. Alberto says, do you think Vrabel adjusts on Monday and uses more Hooper and Chig?

I can only hope. I can only hope. But he seems fully focused on blocking, and Swaim is the better blocker. So Jordan Cohen said, which game do you think will be the best Titans performance of the season, and will any be worse than the Giants? If so, which one?

I think there will be worse than the Giants? If so, which one? I think there will be worse than the Giants. And I think their best performance will come late in the season against the Chargers in Week 15. That's what I'll say. With the season on the line. Playoffs on the line. Do you think that we will ride out the season with Downing because Vrabel J-Rob don't see this roster as a championship contender?

I think if we're late in the year and the Titans just simply aren't good enough and we know it, they won't fire Downing at the time just to make sure that there's no drama. Some fun ones here. What Titans theme name should I call my fantasy football team that is

a roast of Todd Downing? Titan Downing with the ship. How about that? And then Russ says, are you watching House of the Dragon? If so, what are your thoughts? My wonderful girlfriend has never seen Game of Thrones, so we actually just finished season one of Game of Thrones.

We're going to go back through Game of Thrones, which is going to take probably all football season long, and then I'll get to House of Dragon, but I do want to watch it. I've heard it's pretty good. That's going to do it for this mailbag edition. This might be the quickest mailbag I've ever pulled off, so congratulations to me.

But that is going to do it. I'll be with you guys on Sunday night on YouTube, Monday morning for my commuters who listen to the podcast on their way to work, previewing the Monday night football matchup against the Buffalo Bills. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this

was Locked on Titans.