Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Back-Up QB Issue, Offensive Roster Math & Titans Remaining Key Dates

Episode Date: June 16, 2022

The Tennessee Titans wrapped up mandatory mini-camp on Wednesday and Tyler is bothered by the battle at one particular position! In a Rowland's Rant, Tyler explains why giving reps to Logan Woodside at this point is negligence. Next, the back up battle could cause the Titans to keep three QBs on the roster this year, that would have a domino effect on the rest of the roster! Finally, with the Titans departing until the end of July, now is a great time to look at what is coming next and what are the key dates leading up to the beginning of the 2022 NFL season!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!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” 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!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Blue NileMake your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKED ON SPORTS listeners get $50 off purchases of $500 or more using code 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, on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, I got a Rowland's rant for you guys on the backup quarterback situation. There's something about Malik Willis versus Logan Woodside that has really been bothering me lately. I'm going to tell you guys what that is. And not only that, but we're going to spin the conversation forward and talk about how the backup quarterback battle could

impact the rest of the offensive side of the ball. And then we will cap off today's show talking about all of the important remaining dates on the offseason calendar for the Titans as they lead up to week one, kicking off the 2022 regular season. So a ton to get into 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. Daily Tennessee Titans Podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team, every day.

Titans fans, it is a week-ending edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We are going to cap off this week of shows with a little bit of a Rollins rant, something that has been on my mind in regards to the backup quarterback battle between Logan Woodside and Malik Willis. Before we get into all of that, though, 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 to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You're going to find the Locked on Titans podcast everywhere and always free.

That includes the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Make sure you subscribe over there, smash that notification bell, and throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube right now. I greatly do appreciate the support. You can follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. You can follow the show on Facebook at LockedOnTitansPod. I am putting out Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content for free all year long.

Now, for the next few weeks here as we get into that break between minicamp and training camp, year long. Now for the next few weeks here, as we get into that break between mini camp and training camp, I am going to have a few weeks of three shows a week, be probably Monday, Wednesday, Friday, generally speaking, but that summertime and the Titans have that little bit of a break there. It's really the only dead part of the calendar for the NFL period. I'm really grateful for that, but I just wanted to let you guys know. Next week, we are going to be doing top fives. Every single segment is going to be a new top five

based on the Tennessee Titans season. We're going to talk top five X factors, top five breakout candidates, top five MVP candidates, all different things like that all week long. And then the week after that, we're going to be doing our divisional roundup. I'm going to have all three of the hosts

of the other AFC South shows on to talk about their team. We'll recap what the AFC South teams have done so far in this all season, talk about how they project and compare to the Tennessee Titans going into the new year. So I'm excited for that. So the content train does not slow down here on the Locked on Titans podcast, even if it is the slow period of the NFL calendar.

But with that in mind, at the end of the show, I'm going to go over all of the important dates remaining for the Tennessee Titans when training camp starts, the scrimmages with other teams in the preseason, the preseason games all the way up to week one. But that's at the end of the show. Right now, I got a Rollins rant for you guys on this backup quarterback battle. All right.

So I said once Malik Willis was drafted that my only real concern here is is that the Titans coaching staff, who likes to bring rookies along slowly, will exaggerate how slowly Malik Willis needs to be brought along. I knew immediately, yeah, Malik Willis should not start. That's not even a conversation, quite frankly. Malik Willis should not start. That's not even a conversation, quite frankly.

Malik Willis should sit on the bench all year, learn the system, get acclimated, all of that. But, with all that being said, I still hoped that Malik Willis' skill set and the explosiveness and the dynamic athlete that he is, that that could still be used in some way to help the Tennessee Titans this season. Have a package for Malik Willis out there to run read option, goal line, short yardage, red zone, take advantage of the talent that he has. Most scouts thought Malik Willis could come into the draft as a running back if he wanted to.

Most scouts thought Malik Willis could come into the draft as a running back if he wanted to. So, yeah, we want him to slowly develop and simmer on the pot, on the bench. But at the same time, you could still add in little wrinkles for him to use him in some way and get some value out of him in year one. But my concern was, all the way back to the draft, was that the Titans coaching staff would show, in my opinion, misplaced loyalty to Logan Woodside. And if Tannehill were to go down, or even for two quarters or for for two weeks, or whatever,

then it would be Woodside that came into play. And based on what we're hearing so far, that is still the case. And let me just say this. Why would Logan Woodside ever get opportunities over Malik Willis? The opportunities that we all agree that we want Malik Willis to get are in practice, are in the preseason. I mean, if Malik Willis took every single snap at quarterback

in the preseason, I would be happy with that. I would be happy with that. I would be okay with that. My point here is is that every rep that Logan Woodside gets that isn't Malik Willis, whether that be practice, whether that be preseason,

whether that be, God forbid, Tannehill gets hurt for two quarters, one quarter, a drive, two drives, two weeks, three weeks, whatever. Doesn't have to be some long injury. Even two drives, two weeks, three weeks, whatever. Doesn't have to be some long injury, even two drives. Why would you put Logan Woodside out there to get those reps rather than Malik Willis who, let's be honest here, two things we got to be honest with.

The Titans have no better chance to win a football game with Logan Woodside at quarterback than they do Malik Willis. Logan Woodside is not an NFL-level talent. They're not going to win if Logan Woodside has to play anyways. And two, Malik Willis, even if he's not ready to be a good quarterback yet, he could still have quarterback run plays, and he could still utilize his talents that he has, which are immense and far greater than Logan Woodside's natural talents.

And in my opinion, Malik Willis, maybe not, because let's talk about what the difference is here. What does Logan Woodside do better? Well, Logan Woodside is going to operate the offense better. The technicalities of the position. It's no secret. Logan Woodside's going to call plays more smoothly. He's going to get guys into position probably more consistently.

He's going to read the defense pre-snap, read the front, read the coverage, read the shell of the defensive backs. He's going to read all that better than Malik Willis. He's going to know when to call people in motion. He's going to know what audibles to check to, what plays to go to. You want to run right. You want to run left.

You want to switch to a pass play. You want to go play action. All of that stuff, the operational stuff, Logan Woodside is going to be better at. But even with that advantage, I still believe by far, no question in my mind, that Malik Willis' natural ability and his limited knowledge of all of those things still gives the Titans a better chance of scoring a touchdown on a drive-to-drive basis or even winning a full game. If the Titans,

if Ryan Tannehill was out two weeks, that's it, two weeks in the middle of the season, the Titans have a better chance of winning games going with a run-heavy quarterback read option, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts-style offensive attack, even Robert Griffin III in 2012 with Washington. They have a better chance going with that kind of wildcat college-style offense with Malik than they do going with their regular offense with Logan Woodside.

What are we talking about here? And not only that, not only does Logan Woodside not give the Titans a better chance to win even with those mental advantages that he has from being in the system for multiple years, not only do you not get the advantage of a better chance to win, but you also get the detriment of not giving those valuable reps and experience to the young guy that is the future of the team. The best chance the Titans have of winning a Super Bowl right now, the most realistic sense of hope that Titans fans have right now for a Super Bowl is that Malik Willis becomes a good enough quarterback in the next two

years that the Titans can save money with a quarterback on a rookie contract who's good enough and then improve the rest of the roster around them from what they have now. And then that team with the run game, the great defense, good special teams, solid complementary football and offense with a quarterback who runs the offense, takes advantage of his legs, and takes the easy throws, schemed up yards after catchability. That sort of team, what the Titans are right now, with a cheaper quarterback, a better overall roster, that is the hope for a Super Bowl.

So why would you ever waste any opportunities to get that future ready on Logan Woodside? I mean, I don't know what else there is to say, and I don't know how any logical Titans fan could reasonably say they want to give more reps to Logan Woodside, or he should get any. And this is going to impact the roster as well. And we're going to get into that in just a moment. Before we do, I want to tell you guys about BetOnline.net. BetOnline is your number one source for all your betting stats and

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As you guys can tell, I was a little fired up. All right. I looked up. Gone 11 minutes. It's quite a bit longer than I tried to go with my first segment. But man, I just, I can't understand. And I got people like pointing out, Logan Woodside knows all the operational stuff. I know that.

I know how important all that stuff is. I'm aware that getting in the right play, lining up the offense correctly, calling the play smoothly, being able to take snaps under center. I get the importance of all those things. What I am telling you is that I don't care that Logan Woodside knows how to do all those things

better than Malik Willis. Malik Willis' natural talent and the upside of his future with the team far outweighs any of those operational advantages Logan Woodside may have right now. I mean, there is no, in my opinion, there is no defense. And these are conversations that I've had on Twitter. And every time that I reference a conversation I have on Twitter, you guys go run and tell people,

oh, Tyler was on the Locked on Titans podcast, hating on you. I'm not, I'm referencing the conversation we had in public. Multiple people chimed in on the discussion quite frankly and I I don't blame anybody everybody's entitled to their opinion and whatever I mean you don't personally dislike anybody because they disagree with you on football but the point is I just don't see how any

Titans fan who really wants to win a Super Bowl could justify giving any reps at all to Logan Woodside and the roster. So what it looks like is that Logan Woodside's going to be the backup, and the Titans are going to have to roster three quarterbacks. They can't put Malik on the practice squad because you've got to cut him off the roster first, and he's absolutely going to get claimed on a waiver immediately by another team. That would be insanity. That's not even a question. So you're going to have to carry three quarterbacks.

And if you carry three quarterbacks, the Titans never carry three quarterbacks. They always carry two. So that leaves the ability to have a sixth wide receiver instead of five. A fourth tight end instead of three. A ninth offensive lineman instead of eight. And in the Titans situation, maybe even a fifth running back. So here's what we have to look at. If the Titans have to keep three quarterbacks because they want to keep Logan Woodside

because operation, the guy's literally never proven in any realm that he's an NFL player. Most rankings that you look at have him as one of the worst backup quarterbacks in the league, and that doesn't mean a lot, but when you're a guy who wasn't good in the AAF, why do I believe that you would be good in the NFL?

Why is there any do I believe that you would be good in the NFL? Why is there any reason to believe that? Anyways. So, and even if he is, let's say he's the 12th best backup quarterback in the league, we're talking about Malik Willis, the hope for the team.

So what are we doing? Anyways. If Titans keep three quarterbacks, they can't keep another guy on offense at one of those positions. Maybe it bleeds over to defense. But these are the kind of guys that you're keeping Logan Woodside instead of Corey Levin,

a valuable depth interior offensive lineman, Jalen McKenzie, a young prospect at offensive tackle who may be able to come in and compete for a depth spot who is ultra talented coming out of high school. You guys love all the wide receivers, right? Everybody's in the comments all the time talking about Des Fitzpatrick making a comeback Mason

Kinsey Reggie Roberson everybody loves him Josh Malone who's been a star of the offseason well say bye say bye to all those guys can't keep them because you're gonna keep trailing Robert Woods Kyle Phillips, Nick Westbrook-Akina, and then one of those guys.

So say bye to one of them. What about Trenton Cannon who is one of the better kick returners in the league and has been getting fluffed up by the coaches during minicamp. So, see ya. What about tight end? In my opinion, the Titans are going to be going much more heavy tight end this year on offense. So having four tight ends would make a lot of sense.

Briley Moore, Tommy Hudson, Sia, for Logan Woodside. For Logan Woodside. You want Josh Malone, Des Fitzpatrick, or Logan Woodside? You go on defense. I look at a guy like

let's say defensive back Chris Jackson I'd rather have Chris Jackson than Logan Woodside Greg Maben I'd rather have Greg Maben than Logan Woodside he'd have a better impact on the team so for me

Kevin Strong Haskell Garrett Jaden Peavy one of the defensive linemen I mean I don't know how else to explain it other than to say that there are other players who I think have much more potential to help this team in the future

or much more potential to help this team right now and the advantages that people claim that Logan Woodside would give the Titans in a game situation over Malik Willis, I don't think actually outweigh the natural talent advantage and the future benefit by giving Malik Willis that experience. I don't believe that Logan Woodside's advantages outweigh that, even if I acknowledge that those advantages are important.

So, not only does it impact the Titans' future, it also impacts the Titans' present, and it also impacts the roster in a major way. So, I guess at the end of the day, what I'm saying is, give Malik Willis the freaking reps especially when he needs them the most

in training camp in the preseason let him make his mistakes let him get his experience there because you don't want him to play in the games this year because you want Ryan Tannehill to be the starter the whole point the reason that everyone said this was such an ideal situation for Malik Willis

is so that he could get all of those reps as the backup guy but not have to worry about playing games and taking criticism because Ryan Tannehill is entrenched as the starter. That is the whole point. Do not let Logan freaking Woodside

slow down that process or disrupt it in any way. But we're going to move forward. I'm going to just update you guys on the rest of the calendar for the Tennessee Titans as we move forward to the beginning of the 2022 season, man. It's just absolutely crazy how time is flying. A month and a half training camp will be here.

Preseason games will be right around the corner. Just cannot wait for this football season. Before we get into it, though, I do want to tell you guys about rockauto.com. Rockauto.com is a family business that's been serving online parts customers for over 20 years. Their online catalog is really easy to use. It's really easy to navigate. Guys, we know cutting out the middleman and shopping online

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amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Rockauto.com. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I've been ranting for about 20 minutes on Malik Willis and Logan Woodside. I thought it was funny. I saw a comment one time. This guy is always on Logan Woodside's helmet.

And you know what? I do feel bad because it's not about Logan Woodside necessarily personally. Although I do know a couple of people who went to college with him at Toledo and said that he's not their favorite person. I'll put it that way. So actually, if I'm being honest with you, even on a little bit of a personal level, I'm not certain that I'm a fan of Logan Woodside. The people who have told me they weren't big fans of him

are people who are really close to me. So take that for what it's worth anyways. But beyond that, before I ever knew about any of that, I liked Trevor Simeon better. Trevor Simeon started games and almost beat the Titans last year in a game. And you're telling me Trevor Simeon's not better than Logan Woodside? Even Matt Barkley. I even lost $100 on a bet last year to Justin Milo

because I bet on Matt Barkley to make the roster. And I still theorize that because of the COVID situation, they kept Logan Woodside on the roster as the backup to run the scout team and things and kept the quarterback they actually preferred, Matt Barkley and Trevor Simeon, on the practice squad so he could be away from Ryan Tannehill. So if Ryan Tannehill got COVID, they wouldn't be considered a close contact. So I still theorize, my tinfoil hat, that the coaching staff and the organization like Matt Barkley and Trevor

Simeon more than Logan Woodside to actually play on a Sunday but can't prove it you know can't prove it so it is what it is but the season will be here soon the Titans open up on September 11th at 425 p.m. Eastern against the New York Giants. Can't wait. But in between, training camp is going to start on July the 26th. Do you believe that is a Tuesday? July 26th, training camp will start for the Titans. And as we have seen, the first day is weigh-ins and physicals and meeting room, all that stuff.

The next day, they'll actually get out on the practice field. We'll probably get an open-to-media session there. August 11th, a couple of weeks after training camp starts, the Titans will play at the Baltimore Ravens on a Thursday night for their first preseason game of the year. So that's August 11th, Thursday night. Then after that, they'll have to cut from 90 to 85. So we'll get five cuts there.

Then the Titans will have joint practices that next week with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Remember, the Titans had joint practices with the Buccaneers last year in Tampa Bay. They're going to come up to Tennessee because the preseason game is in Nashville. And then after that joint practice week, which joint practices are far more important than the preseason game itself, when we're talking about the first team, offense and defense,

then the Titans will play the Bucs on Saturday night in Nashville on August 20th for their second preseason game. And after that, they'll cut down to 80. Then they'll have joint practices. For that next week. With the Arizona Cardinals. Who remember. Smacked the Titans.

In week 138-13 last year. So after that. Joint practice for a week. The Titans will then play the Cardinals. In Nashville. On a Saturday night. August 27th. In their final preseason game of the year.

And after that. They'll cut down to 53. Then they have. A couple weeks off before 9-11 week 1 kick off to the season. I mean

so excited. Football's right around the corner. Ladies and gentlemen, we got a little 6 week period here until training camp starts, but boy once it does-week period here until training camp starts. But boy, once it does, the season is here. It is real. It is live. And I cannot wait.

Make sure that you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast for free daily Tennessee Titans content. 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.