Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans are TERRIBLE, Will Levis Under Attack & Is Mike Vrabel the Guy?

Episode Date: November 12, 2023

The Tennessee Titans got embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday 20-6 and the entire team is just bad. That may not be the worst thing. Also, Will Levis was under constant pressure and it is hard to even be excited about watching him play. Finally, is Mike Vrabel the man to lead a young team? It is fair to think he is not.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.Jase MedicalGet $20 off these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tennessee Titans got absolutely embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and it doesn't look like it's getting better anytime soon. We're going to talk about that 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 Rowland, Titans fans.

Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. That was despicable. The Tennessee Titans lose 20-6. Will Levis was under attack the entire game. The Titans defensive line is an absolute failure. And honestly, at this point, I think it's fair to wonder whether Mike Vrabel

is the guy to get the Titans out of this rut. We're going to talk about all that before we get into it. Thank you guys 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. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast.

Shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday. If you aren't an everydayer. Make sure you become one. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now as well. The show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. And the more that you like the video, the better the chances

the Titans get a better offensive line next year. But again, my major takeaway from this game is that we all have to accept the reality. The Titans are terrible. The Titans are terrible. They're not a good football team.

They're 3-6. They make bad football teams look like good football teams. They are not a good football team. Going forward, I really only expect the Titans to win maybe one or two more games the entire season. We're looking at 4-13. We're looking at 5-12. 6-11 would be an absolute ceiling. Let me know, what do you guys think the Tennessee Titans record is going to be the rest of the way now that we're

3-6, okay? This team is terrible, and you have to keep that in mind. The offensive line is maybe the worst offensive line in the NFL. I'll give an honorable mention to the New York Giants and the Washington Commanders. Their offensive lines are horrible as well, all right? But this Titans offensive line is so bad that they cannot even operate on offense. They can't do anything. They can't run with any consistency.

I mean, even when they weren't blocking bad, they were getting penalties. I mean, the Titans get a nine-yard run on first down, and then Radins has two penalties back-to-back. See, here's the reality. They can play Dylan Radins at left tackle like we all want. They can play Corey Levin at guard. They can play your mother at any position on the offensive line. It's not going to matter. This team sucks.

This team sucks. It doesn't matter who they play at left tackle. It doesn't matter who they play at cornerback. It doesn't matter what's going on at wide receiver. This team sucks. They have no one on the team that can make them any better. No one is going to come in and save the day. No one's going to come in and improve this team. This team sucks. It's not a good football team.

I wish I had more intelligent, more in-depth analysis to provide to you guys. Oh, well, the Titans were trying to run gap schemes and they were setting a firm edge and leading it back inside. Oh, the Titans were running these plays. No, this is just a terrible football team. There is no in-depth analysis to get into here. They are outmatched by teams with better players and the coaching is not elevating. The coaching is not making it better. Here is something, well, I'll talk about this

at the end when we talk about Mike Vrabel. I'm going to get into my thoughts on Mike Vrabel. I truly am. But at the end of the day, this team is not even fun to watch. You can't even get excited about watching Will Levis play football because the operation around him is so poor that we just have no clue. I have no clue if Will Levis can make great plays all the time. I have no idea because nobody'svis can make great plays all the time. I have no idea

because nobody's open because the wide receiver group is terrible and the offensive line is so bad that you cannot operate on offense. You literally cannot do anything. And Tim Kelly is hurting the situation by getting more. When the Titans face adversity on offense, they get more conservative. The conservative approach is going to result in six points. The conservative approach is going to result in 16 points. The Titans have proven over and over that if you go conservative on offense, you're still going to suck. So why are you running second and nine run plays in the red zone when you're down double digits in the fourth quarter? Why are you not going for it on fourth and one and instead settling for a 51-yard field goal

with your 40-year-old kicker? Why are the Titans playing conservative when the conservative play style is shown to get you killed? So whether it's the roster itself, whether it's the coaching, this team sucks. This team is not good. The roster is terrible. The coaching will not elevate it. Alright? And we're talking about offensive line, wide receivers. We know the secondary is piss poor.

But the one part of this team, the one part of this team, if you asked any Titans fan before the season, if the Titans are terrible, what's the one position group you think will be good? The defensive line. This D-line cannot rush to save its life in one-on-one situations. One-on-one, they can't beat anybody. So the one part of this team

that actually was supposed to be good is not. Now, here's what I'm going to tell you to lift your spirits as we move forward through today's show. Alright? Because we're going to get up and we're going to get into tighten up and tighten down

or as I'm going to call it this week, tighten down, tighten down. Tighten down, tighten down. Alright? But here's one thing that I'm going to call it this week, tighten down, tighten down. Tighten down, tighten down. Alright? But here's one thing that I'm going to tell you right now. We're getting a top 10 pick and the Titans are getting a left tackle. That's all I got to say to you.

At this point, Marvin Harrison Jr., Joe Olaphashanu, they are on the table, folks. They are on the table. Alright? They're on the table. This team is going to get significantly better in the offseason.

And getting the best draft pick that they could possibly get to get that left tackle or get Marvin Harrison Jr. is exactly what they need to do. It sucks. This is going to be painful to watch the rest of the season. It's going to be boring. It's going to be terrible offense. We're not even going to get to properly enjoy Will Levis and his development and watching him because the team is just so, so bad

that you can't even really figure anything out. Although I do feel comfortable with Levis going forward. I'm just saying we won't even get to enjoy what he can do well. Because the team is too bad. So, at the end of the day, it's not fun to watch your team lose. But ladies and gentlemen, getting a top five pick, getting a top six pick, that is probably what's best for the Tennessee Titans' future. So, I mean, again,

I wish I had more in-depth analysis to tell you guys, but at the end of the day, it's pretty easy, and you can see it like I can see it. This team's not good, and this coaching staff's not making them any better anytime soon. But with that being said, let's get into Titan down, Titan down, because there's pretty much nobody

who deserves praise after a performance like this. Let me know down below, who is your biggest disappointment in this game? Who disappointed you the most? All right. We're going to get into tighten down, tighten down before we do. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. I love GameTime. It is the best place to get tickets,

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And I can't say that for a lot of other ticket apps. So, really appreciate GameTime, And I know you guys will too. Take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime. Go to GameTime. Download the GameTime app. Create an account. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL. That's LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase.

Terms apply. Again, create an account. Redeem the code LOCKEDONNFL. That's L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-N-F-L for $20 off. Download GameTime today. Last-minute tickets. Lowest price. Guaranteed. Titans fans, let's continue today's recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about my general takeaway, my immediate takeaway from this game

is just this team's not very good. And we can hope that they'll play better week to week, and then we can hope that we'll see them win. And honestly, we can hope we can even get a semblance of NFL offense. But we can't because the team is not good, and the coaches aren't making it better. And you know what? It hurts, and it's annoying,

but it might be what's best for the team to get that draft pick, and maybe even, if you're starting to feel like I'm feeling, maybe you can get Mike Vrabel out of here as well. But we're going to talk about Mike Vrabel at the end of the show, so I'll save my thoughts on that. But going to get into normally tighten up, tighten down, but at this point it's just tighten down. I just want to talk more about the defensive line. And really what I want to say is, and it sucks

because I'm a big fan of Jeffrey Simmons. Big fan of Jeffrey Simmons, great player. But he's just not taking the step as a pass rusher. He's not on Chris Jones' level. He's not on Aaron Donald's level. Even a guy like Dexter Lawrence. Even a guy like Quinn and Williams. At the end of the day, Jeffrey Simmons is not the pure one-on-one pass rusher

that the Titans need him to be to be worth the money. Jeffrey Simmons needed to take the next step this year and get double-digit sacks, and he didn't. And yeah, he needs help. Michael, great. Defend him. He needs help. No, he needs to win one-on-one in pass rush, okay?

I've seen the charts. His double team rate is not as high as it is for other top defensive tackles in the league, and yet other top defensive tackles in the league have more pass rush wins, all right? Jeffrey Simmons is not winning one-on-one in pass rush consistently enough. That has nothing to do with anyone else. He had an opportunity against two bad guards today, and he did not make the impact that he should have. He did not dominate the game the way that he should have,

and it's far too often week after week that I watch Jeffrey Simmons one-on-one and not get enough pressure. So there are plenty, there are plenty of other problems on this team. Do not get me wrong. But Jeffrey Simmons was paid a hundred million dollars and he hasn't been a hundred million dollar play. He hasn't. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just the truth. That's how this stuff happens. Simmons should have dominated today and I didn't see him at all. So, that's a part of the bigger problem here with the pass rush. And I'm giving a big tighten down to the pass rush, if you can't tell.

Because, again, I thought the offensive line would be pitiful. I thought the wide receivers were bad. I thought that the secondary would be shaky. But for the defensive line to disappoint week after week like this, I mean, at some point, we just have to have an honest conversation. I mean, Harold Landry's coming back off a torn ACL. I didn't expect 100% great Harold Landry this season, and honestly, the last few games, Harold Landry stepped up and got

some sacks. Hasn't been consistently good enough, but and then everybody was, Arden Key had 10 sacks a day in training camp. Where is Arden Key? And he literally gets touched by the hands of an offensive tackle. He does nothing. And Danico Autry is 33 years old. He's slowing down. He's not as effective as he was at the beginning of the year. The biggest disappointment for this team this year is the pass rush. This team has not been good enough in pass rush.

Even when other parts of the team are, like in the first half of the game, the defense was doing fine. The defense was doing fine. Like in the first half of the game, the defense was doing fine. The defense was doing fine. But the pass rush has not consistently got it done. So again, we could sit here and talk about the offensive line for days and days, but we got to stop acting like the offensive line is the only part of this team that's not playing well.

The offensive line is terrible, yes, but the defensive line hasn't done much either. And for the money that they're getting paid, with Autry and Landry and Simmons, I mean, on a big play, on that Mike Evans touchdown, on the last Mike Evans touchdown, on the big play, Titans pass rush against five blockers from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The top four guys. Baker Mayfield had all the time in the world. He went from the right-hand side of the field through his progressions

to the backside dig to Mike Evans for a touchdown. Where is the pass rush? So, I'm just saying, we can blame all the stuff that we thought would be bad, but even the stuff you thought would be good has been bad too. blame all the stuff that we thought would be bad, but even the stuff you thought would be good has been bad too. And, you know, at some point, who's getting better? Like, Traylon Burks, never gotten better at all.

Chica Conquo, didn't get any better. Nicholas Petit Ferrer, got worse. Aaron Brewer is about the same. I mean, on defense, who's gotten better? Monte Rice has gotten worse. I just, you know, at some point, it's about the personnel. It point, it's about the personnel. It is. It's about the personnel. You know, this roster is not good.

But the coaching is not making anyone better. They're not. Every single week, go back and watch the Steelers tape. I dare you. Go watch the All-22. The Steelers literally know what the Titans are running based on their alignments. And every single week, a team that doesn't do something well gets right against the Titans. The Bucs hadn't won in a month, and they looked great.

So, it's a tighten down for everybody. Tighten down specifically for the defensive line and the offensive line. Tighten down for Mike Vrabel for conservative, cowardly play calling. Tighten down for Monty Rice, who got absolutely cooked on the screen pass to Rashad White. That was his man. And he darted inside on the play-action fake, leaving White wide open. Get Monty Rice off the field.

I cannot believe that there are Titans people out there who cover this team, who campaign for Monty Rice to play. What are we doing? What have you seen? Show me, please. Doesn't make any sense. But at the end of the day, again,

roster's not good enough, but the coaching isn't good enough either. And we need to have a talk about the coaching right now. We're going to get into it in just a moment. Before we do, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. It's time, folks. We're halfway through the NFL season. The season's going quick. It's the perfect time to join FanDuel right now.

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and just my initial emotional takeaway from the game is the Titans are just trash. I mean, they're just not a good football team. So why do we expect them to play well? Why do I expect them to ever win? They're terrible. They're terrible. Maybe the Panthers game at home, they win,

but I don't know if they're going to have another win the rest of the season. They're not better than any of the teams they play the rest of the season other than the Panthers. So why would they win? Talked about how it's not just the offensive line. The defensive line has been terrible. They have been a disappointment and have not lived up to anything. So we talked about the O-line and the general roster.

We talked about the defensive line. But now it's time to talk about coaching. All right. And I'm going to say this, and I will continue to say it. Mike Vrabel is a good football coach. Good. Mid-range, good. He's not bad.

All right? You don't take the Titans teams that he took to the playoffs, make that AFC run in 2019, get the number one seed in 21. You don't do all that if you aren't at least a good coach. Bare minimum good coach. But, certain coaches are better for certain scenarios.

Okay? Is Mike Vrabel the right coach for a developing team? Is Mike Vrabel the right coach for a young quarterback? My answer is no. My answer is no. My answer is no. If you had a team that was pretty good, or you had a good team that, you know, kind of needed to take it to the next level, like the Titans in 2017, right? They had a good roster with a good offensive line, good weapons, because the Titans were bad the years before that. They got a bunch of high draft picks.

They got LaJuan. They got Corey Davis, Dory Jackson. They got Jack Conklin. You know, they got Marcus. So the Titans were bad and got a bunch of high picks. And then the roster was good and then Mike Vrabel took over a good roster

and got the most out of them but can Mike Vrabel take a bad roster and develop it into a good one my answer is no so while I think Mike Vrabel is a good coach, he is not the coach for where this team is at right now. He's too conservative. He's too old school. He has too much of a view in his head that you have to win games 12 to three.

You have to win three to nothing. He just wants to play too conservatively. have to win three to nothing. He just wants to play too conservatively. All right. And Corrin says, Mike Vrabel is a great coach. His staff is trash. If your staff is trash, you're not a great coach. That's not how this works. If you hire bad people, then you suck. That's how this works. If the owner of a business hires a bunch of terrible employees and it makes the business go under, he's not a good owner. Hiring your staff is a part of the job. And honestly, I'm going to say this though. I don't think that Tim Kelly is a bad offensive coordinator.

I think that Mike Rabel is a bad head coach for what this team is and he is instructing Tim Kelly to be extremely conservative. I want to run on this next second down. Oh, Will Levis threw a great pass to Chica Conqua that he dropped in the end zone

and now I'm scared. Let's run a second and ten run in the red zone down double digits. Who made the call to kick the field goal when it was a 51-yard field goal early? It wasn't Tim Kelly who made that call. And who let Jim Schwartz go? Jim Schwartz is leading the number one defense in the NFL.

Mike Vrabel said, I'm keeping with Shane Bowen instead of giving Jim Schwartz the defense. Why? Was he worried that Jim Schwartz would wrestle the head coach job away from him? Why did Mike Vrabel steal play call? If you don't know about this, you're not paying attention. Mike Vrabel stole the play calling duties away from Dean Pease in the AFC Championship game in 2019 in the second half. Stole it away. That's why Pease quit

the team after the season. Stole it away. That's why Pease quit the team after the season. He stole it away. Mike Vrabel is an egomaniac who influences the game from top to bottom. Alright? If the Titans are saying, we have $100 million in cap space, we're going to have a good draft pick,

Mike Vrabel may not be a good coach for a team that needs to develop. He may be a good coach for a good team, a good roster. So maybe with all the assets the Titans will have, they'll turn it back into a good roster. And it'll be right what Mike Vrabel needs again. But Mike Vrabel is not a good enough coach to develop a team. He is good enough to captain a good ship. He's a good captain that with a good ship can get it done.

But he's not the team for a developing roster. And again, I will tell you, my number one candidate is Ben Johnson from the Detroit Lions and head coaches coaches will want to come coach Will Levis they will want to take this young quarterback that has shown incredible skill

and they will want to build on that I don't think the Titans get rid of Mike Frabel this year I truly don't I don't and I've said that before I don't think he's truly rid of Mike Vrabel this year. I truly don't. I don't. And I've said that before. I don't think he's truly on the hot seat until next year. But at this point, it's fair if you're somebody who wants to move forward. Again, I think Mike Vrabel is a good coach,

but he is not the coach for a developing young team. He's not imaginative enough. He's not creative enough. He's not imaginative enough. He's not creative enough. He's simply not. He wants to play old school, conservative, 1980s football, run the ball, stop the run, will win, low scoring, and that's just not the way to get it done nowadays. That is not what this roster needs. They need something more creative. They need more out-of-the-box thinking. They need better. So, Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions, I would love to have him. I think that Ben Johnson would come and coach the Tennessee Titans. But, yeah, at this point, Kyle Phillips played well.

DeAndre Hopkins played well. Will Levis played his best. Anybody blaming Will Levis is just stupid. So don't protect your peace, people. Don't let idiots blame Will Levis for this. Just don't even, don't even. My dad always told me never argue with a fool. People might not know the difference.

So don't spend your week defending Will Levis against idiots who didn't watch the game. All right? Everything around him is a crater. Okay? So, with that being said, again, we'll leave on a positive note. It's probably better that this team loses every game the rest of the year so that they can get a better draft pick and get an offensive tackle. It's probably a good thing that Will Levis has shown what he's shown so far

so that we can have faith going forward. But I don't think that Mike Vrabel is the guy to lead them to the next version. He's just not a creative enough guy. And look around the NFL. A lot of the best teams, offensive coaches. The Titans aren't going to reinvent the wheel on this one. But with that being said, I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow to dive into the tape, dive into talking points.

Whatever is best, whatever pops up, we'll go with the right thing. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I'm your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titan. Outro. Chopping's good for me like it's Houston.