Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Dillon Radunz FINALLY Plays LT, Titans Failure to Modernize & Vrabel Won't Tank

Episode Date: December 19, 2022

The Tennessee Titans have had pass protection issues all year mostly stemming from the left side of the line. While he isn't alone, Dennis Daley has been a focus point of fan's frustration. Sunday made fans more frustrated when 2021 2nd Round pick and presumed bust Dillon Radunz finally got a shot at left tackle and played well before injury. How did it take Vrabel this long to give Radunz a look? Next, the Titans have failed to adapt to a modern philosophy on the field. They have also been way behind the rest of the league in the analytics department. Is it possible the Titans are behind the NFL in injury management as well? It is fair to wonder. Finally, the Titans could have an all star roster, but if they are going to continue to be bitten by the injury bug it won't matter. No surprise the Titans path forward in 2022 will depend on whether some guys can get back.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!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!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.TuroForget boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.comAudibleHead over to Locked On NFL for a sneak peak of Block Forever or catch the full series available anywhere you get your podcast. Available everywhere now!NHTSADrive sober or get pulled over. Click HERE to learn more.  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, we finally got to see Dylan Radins play left tackle for the Titans. How did he do? I'll discuss. Then, the Titans injury issues could potentially be part of a concerning larger trend for the organization. I'll explain. And then finally, I'll tell you why talent and coaching doesn't really matter with the current state of the Titans roster. All of that and more on today's

edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, today's episode is brought to you by Ultimate Football GM. To download the game, just visit ultimate-gm.com or look it up in your app store. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON in all caps in the game store. Thanks for making Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every single day. Remember, I am putting out Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content on all platforms all year round again for free.

So make sure that you stay locked into the Locked On Titans podcast. Subscribe on whatever platform you do stream on YouTube. Make sure you hit the notification bell and throw a thumbs up on the video right now. I do appreciate the support. But let's dive into the performance from Dylan Radins. And look, guys, I'm going to be upfront and honest with you here. The Titans haven't won a game in 32 days. I got some rants, all right? I got some things to get

off my chest. I'm sure you guys feel the same. Number one, how in the world did Mike Vrabel not play Dylan Radins at left tackle earlier this season? Dylan Radins was out there, and yes, Radins got hurt during the game. He got hurt, wasn't able to play the entire time. But in the small stint that we saw him out there, it's hard to argue that he wasn't obviously an improvement over Dennis Daly. It's just obvious.

over Dennis Daly. It's just obvious. So Dylan Radins was out there for 15 snaps, 10 pass blocking snaps, 5 run blocking snaps. His pass blocking grade was an 83.2. Zero sacks. Zero pressures allowed.

I mean, now, fine. Let's look at Dylan Radins throughout the entire season. Throughout the entire season. As a pass blocker, he's allowed, what, zero sacks, five pressures, and 146 pass blocking snaps. Five pressures. 146 pass blocking snaps. Five pressures. 146 at two different positions. Now, let's look at Dennis Daly. 12 sacks allowed.

43 pressures. And 400 snaps. So he's got 250 more snaps than Radins but 12 more sacks. His pass blocking grade on the year is a 45.1 compared to Radins' 78.1. And look, other than Corey Levin, LaRaven Clark, and Taylor LeJuan, Radins has the highest pass blocking grade on the team.

How has this man not been able to be in the lineup when the Titans are getting smoke in pass protection every single week with the worst starting left tackle in the past decade in the NFL. The highest sack per snap tackle in the NFL that has started in the past 10 years.

Like, if Dennis Daly was a young prospect. A young guy. Who the Titans were hoping would turn into a player. Let's say he was a second round pick from 2021 and he was a young player and it was like, you know, maybe he's not the best tackle, but him playing is better for the long term. We're going to see what kind of player we got in Dennis Daly.

If that made sense, then I would get it. But it's the opposite. Dylan Radins is the young prospect. Dylan Radins is the guy who was the second round pick, who you're getting nothing out of while he sits on the bench, while the worst starting left tackle of the past decade is out there killing your offense on a week-to-week basis. How in the world did it take this long? And then, of course, as I mentioned on yesterday's show, because we're Titans fans, Radins plays well at left tackle,

and then immediately gets hurt, of course, because we can't have nice things. But, I can hear in the faint distance, I can hear the haters saying, oh, well, he's a terrible run blocker. That's why they don't have him in, because he's a terrible run blocker. Okay, you know what?

That's fair. Radins isn't a great run blocker right now. He doesn't have great balance. He doesn't have great drive. He doesn't have a great punch. I get that. I truly do. His run blocking rating this year is 39.7. It's the worst on the team. No doubt.

But you know who is a few spots up at a 52.1? Dennis Daly. The only other people between1? Dennis Daly. The only other people between Radins and Daly is LaRaven Clark, who's played nine run-blocking snaps all year, and Austin Hooper, who's a terrible blocker. And we know that. He's just a

better version of Anthony Ferkser right now, basically. We know that role. So you're telling me that the only difference between Dennis Daly and Dylan Radins, the only thing separating them is LaR Dylan Radins, the only thing that's separating them is the Raven Clark? What are we doing? Okay, Dylan Radins is miles better in pass protection than Dennis Daly. Dennis Daly is a little bit better than Dylan Radins in run blocking.

Then you add in the fact that Dylan Radins is again your second round pick guys I say all this to say this is going to be a common theme Mike Vrabel while being a good coach and we all agree he is a very good coach I think he's a top 10 coach he's not without a blind

spot he's not without weaknesses and the fact that he trotted out Dennis Daly all season we can be mad at Todd Downing He's not without a blind spot. He's not without weaknesses. And the fact that he trotted out Dennis Daly all season, we could be mad at Todd Downing, we could be mad at the roster, we could be mad at whatever we want, but Mike Vrabel decided to play Dennis Daly over Dylan Radins at left tackle all season long. And I don't know how to rationalize that

with who I think Mike Vrabel is as a coach it's beyond me and it just proves that while we may not be NFL head coaches and Mike Vrabel has forgotten more about football than I will ever know I admit that sometimes the fans are right and the coach is the one being a stubborn idiot. Sometimes that's the case. Sometimes when GMs or coaches make decisions and the fans are like,

whoa, this is an obvious bad decision. Sometimes there isn't some magical reason why the coach did it and the fans are all dumb. Sometimes the coach is dumb. And I don't have to be a professional chef to know when my steak is overcooked. I don't have to be a professional mechanic to know when my breaks are out. And I don't have to be an NFL head coach to know that you should be playing Dylan Radins over Dennis Daly.

With that being said, we gotta talk about the Titans injury issue and how it might be part of a more concerning larger trend for the organization that it does have me a bit worried. So we're going to get into that in just a moment. Before we do though, today's show is brought to you by the Ultimate Pro Football GM app. Guys, this thing is fantastic.

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I'm calling it a Talk It Out Tuesday because that's what we're doing. We just talked about the left tackle position and how it's truly malpractice from Mike Grable that he's been playing Dennis Daly over Dylan Radins the entire season. But now I want to talk about something that's more of a big picture organizational issue that has to do with the injuries. Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On

Titans podcast your first listen every day. Tomorrow, we're back to re-watch Wednesday. Going to be breaking down the tape with you guys. Then Thursday, crossover Thursday, we're going to be talking to our guys from Locked On Texans. Once again, totally different ballgame. And Friday will be the game plan preview where I break down exactly how the Titans need to beat the Texans this weekend.

But let's talk about this bigger issue. So the Titans have had historic injuries two years in a row. Two years running. And I am not someone, I'm too much of a, I don't want to, how do I put this? I'm a pragmatist. I'm very pragmatic in my analysis. I try to be realistic, be solution-based, quite frankly, is how I try to do things, not just on the show, but in my life. I try to be very logical about stuff, maybe to the point of, not maybe, definitely to the point of being a pessimist.

But if you've had injuries that are at a historic rate two years in a row, it's only fair at some point to question what the team is doing about that and why you've had historic injuries two years in a row. That's a pattern. That's a trend. And my brain will not allow me to ignore that and just push that away. No, don't worry about that.

I can't just push that away and ignore it. If there's a trend like that, a historically bad trend, action must be taken. Changes must be made because doing the exact same thing for a third year in a row is insanity. Now, as I've said, anytime this topic has been brought up at any point in time throughout the season on the show, I have always said I'm not a doctor. If a physical trainer or something like that was doing something wrong, it wasn't like blatantly obvious. I wouldn't know. Okay. So I don't come to you from a place of, I have knowledge and I have this expertise that I want to point out these mistakes. Like I would normally do when we talk about football, but I come to you just as a logical person.

And I say, if you have two seasons of back-to-back historic injuries, something about your process is probably wrong. Now, credit to Mike Vrabel. Mike Vrabel talked about this, and this was his response when he was asked if he's changed anything on the injury front what they've done below this is what Vrabel said I he deserves to have his say here quote we've changed a lot yeah we have training camp has been different we track all the injuries we track how

they occur some guys are repeat offenders put a bullet in that phrase repeat offenders some injuries occur in the game. Try to limit the ones that occur in practice, obviously, but we were very conscious of training camp schedule, practice schedule. I talked earlier about how we've done research to try to get guys to 90% each week and every week so that it's not just once a week on Sunday. Sometimes Wednesday or Thursday, the director of sports performance, Frank Carano, will walk around with his iPad, track

guys and say, hey, I need to get you to 90%. So they'll manufacture some sort of stride, so it's not just they hit 90% on Sundays, wait a week, and then all of a sudden hit 90%. So we're focusing on some of those things. Some guys are repeat offenders that have been showing up there more than once on some things

that are maybe similar or maybe the same injury. And look, the question is, are you surprised, given those changes, that you're in the same spot you were last year? Vrabel says, quote, it's where we're at right now. We'll continue to evaluate and try to get everybody as healthy as we can. So look, you give Vrabel credit there. He says they changed some things going into training camp, but changing your process, changing your procedure,

when we think about the medical staff and strength and conditioning, we think about the people in charge. I want to bring up another thing. Analytics. So, it's been shown multiple years in a row now. Seth Waldron from ESPN does a report every year on the size and capacity of different teams' analytics department. The Titans are always last.

If not last, they're second to last. Apparently, they hired one person over the offseason to look at some data. Historically, Kevin Clark and I from the Ringer discussed on Twitter, John Robinson said to him at the draft one or at the combine one time,

I am the analytics department. That's what John Robinson said about the Titans analytics department. I am the analytics department. That's what John Robinson said about the Titans analytics department. I am the analytics department. That's the type of cockiness and brashness and machismo that the Titans organization is operating with when it comes to these processes. So my question then becomes, if the Titans are way behind the rest of the NFL in analytics,

if the Titans are way behind and way less advanced than other NFL teams in the analytics department, when data has become such a big part of the football process, is it possible and one would say even logical that the Titans are lagging behind in other areas? And look, I don't just mean the strength and conditioning staff, the medical staff. I don't just mean the people.

What about the technology? What about the methods they're using? The Titans have been an archaic football franchise my entire life. They play old school football. They have never modernized their philosophy on the field. They never modernized their philosophy in the analytics department. Is it possible that they have never modernized themselves in the sports science field, in the scouting department, and that's why we get these first in the sports science field in the scouting department and that's why we get these first round busts? Why were the Titans so impacted

scouting wise by COVID? It's because their scouting process is antiquated. It's archaic. It's old fashioned. Are the Titans still operating as a 1990s team or an early 2000s team when the rest of the NFL is in the 2020s. They don't respect analytics. Is that the case with sports medicine? Sports science? Recovery training? So maybe it's not the people. Maybe it's not the physical trainer.

Maybe it's not the doctor. Maybe it's not the strength and conditioning coach. Maybe it's an organizational philosophy. Maybe it's not the strength and conditioning coach. Maybe it's an organizational philosophy that refuses to modernize to what current NFL standards are, not only on the field, but off it as well. It's possible that the injury issue is a symptom of a larger virus. The Titans have never modernized as a franchise on the field in the analytics department. It is not insane to think that maybe they have never modernized

often. If you're a Titans fan and you're sitting there wondering whether this team is advanced enough to truly compete for a Super Bowl in the 2020s, I understand your concern. I really do because I'm concerned about it as well. But with that being said, we got to talk about where the Titans go from here, what they should do with the rest of the season. It sucks that every single week after another loss, we have to have another conversation like this, but it's just where the Titans are at right now. Before we get into that,

do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy made simple. PrizePix has a projection for every player. Derrick Henry, 100 rushing yards. Pat Mahomes, 300 passing yards. Justin Jefferson, two touchdown catches. All you do is you pick two to five players. You look at their projection and you say whether that player is going to do more or less than what the projection is.

If you get all your players' guesses right, you can win up to 10 times your money on your entry. And right now, if you go to prizepix.com or you download the PrizePix app. You sign up using the promo code locked on. You're going to get a 100% instant deposit match up to a hundred dollars. If you're a first time user, once again, use the promo code locked on, on the prize picks app for a 100% instant deposit match up to $100. Titans fans, let's cap off today's Talk About It Tuesday or Talk It Out Tuesday, I think is what we were rolling with. We discussed a lot. Dylan Radin's opportunities at left tackle,

how he performed before he got hurt. Then we talked about the injury issues, the analytics issues, what it all means as a larger trend for the organization. Now just want to cap things off by talking about where the Titans are at right now, where they need to go. Before we get into it, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast

your first listen every day. As for your second listen, check out Locked On Sports today. Peter Bukowski brings you the biggest stories from around the sports world in 20 minutes. Get analysis and opinions before anyone else from local and national experts and insiders. Locked On Sports Today podcast available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. The coaching and the talent on the roster don't matter if the Titans are this injured.

Todd Downing. The offensive tackle position position the wide receiver position the cornerback position none of this crap matters if the Titans best players are just going to be hurt. We get mad we've gotten mad

the last two weeks at least when the Titans lose one game it was ugly one game it wasn't and we're all looking for hey do this better do that better when the Titans lose, one game it was ugly, one game it wasn't. And we're all looking for, hey, do this better, do that better, Todd Downing, Dennis Day, and I get it, we got to. But the reality here is,

if the Titans are going to be missing double-digit starters to injury, they're not going to win. They're not going to be good. So I said this earlier today on Twitter. When the Titans, look, we all got drunk one day in Green Bay. I have people say to me, oh, you said there was a Super Bowl contender after Green Bay. We all got drunk one night in Green Bay, all right? Give me a break.

Excuse me. But while the Titans were, while the getting was good and the Titans were on a huge win streak, people were saying I was too pessimistic because I was saying, I don't think this is a very good team. I don't think it's a great team. This team isn't top of the AFC up there with the Super Bowl contenders. This team isn't that. People were mad because I was being pessimistic and they were on a run. But people are mad at me now too because I'm just not as pessimistic about the team and what

its current state is. I think we know the truth now. This is not a great team. This is not a bad team either though. The Titans are a good team that is decimated with injuries. I mean decimated with injuries. I mean decimated.

Landry. Autry. Tart was a healthy scratch because he was having a baby. Three starters on the defensive line. Right there. David Long. Zach Cunningham. Two starters at linebacker.

Elijah Molden. Christian Fulton. Imani Hooker. I mean, right there I just named, what, 3-3-2-8 starters on defense? The backups backups are getting hurt. Dylan Cole got hurt. Jack Gibbons is in. Terrence Mitchell got hurt. Greg Mabin's in.

Andrew Adams went out for a little bit. That's just defense. No Nate Davis. No Taylor LeJuan. We forget LeJuan and Landry. No Nate Davis. No Dylan Radins even. No LeJuan.

No Traylon Burks. No Kyle Phillips. You could say Kyle Phillips is the starting slot receiver. Burks is definitely a starter on this team. And then two on the offensive line. That's four. So, I mean, we're talking about 12 starters gone. Guys, I know it sucks, but like, this team is not a bad team, but you could assemble a Hall of Fame roster.

If any other team in the NFL had these kind of injuries, they wouldn't look as good as they do right now. The Jags look great. They're catching up on the Titans. They are the least injured team in the NFL this year. They just had their left tackle, Terran A.C. Allen. He's out for the season, though, so...

Cam Robinson. But the Titans had that happen in Week 1. And no one's making excuses for them. I'm about to be injured and on the IRD. You heard this call. God. So I guess really all I want to say is, and it kind of goes back to the second segment.

The Titans can fix the roster. The Titans can fire Todd Downing. The Titans can do whatever you think. Whatever you think the Titans need to do to get better right now. The Titans can do that. They can do it successfully. But if they don't find a way to have less than historic injuries, next year, nothing's going to change.

Because you can't win in the NFL with backups, backups, backups. We watched the preseason and we're like, oh, this sucks. These guys suck. Those guys are the guys that are playing for the Titans. And yet, some of you guys get in here and tell me that they're a terrible team and they're bad. They're not.

But, what I want to say is this. This is what I want to wrap up with. What they should do next. If Mike Vrabel said in his press conference they're not resting players to try to play for it all against Jacksonville in the last week. But if he doesn't think Danico Autry's coming back, if he doesn't think Christian Fulton's coming back,

if he doesn't think that David Long is going to be the last guy activated off IR, if he doesn't think Burks is going to come back from the concussion, if Nate Davis is now out for the rest of the season, if all of these things are true, then

you got to shut it down. I don't want that to be the case. I don't think they should do that if they expect these guys to return. But if the guys I just mentioned are not expected to be back before the end of the season, Autry, Fulton, Long, Burks, Nate Davis, if these guys aren't going to be back for the next three weeks, then like Kevin Byard said,

for the next three weeks, then, like Kevin Byard said, I'm not interested in just getting a courtesy entry into the playoffs. I think the Titans can win one playoff game. Their opening round playoff game. I think they could win that game. Four versus five seed if they win the division. I think they could win their opening round game.

But they can't do it without those guys, without the Imani hooker. Like, if they don't get these guys back, then it doesn't matter anyway. So, if those guys aren't going to be back by the end of the season, if those guys wouldn't be available for the playoff game anyways, then, yeah, my mind totally changes. And only Vrabel knows that. Only the staff knows how long

those guys are expected to be out. But if most of those guys aren't coming back until the end of the year, then they have no shot to win that playoff game anyway, so why even make the playoffs at that point? So, I can't know the answer, but depending on the timeline

of the best players on the Titans, especially on defense, if those guys aren't coming back this year, then you have a duty to your organization to find a way to get the best draft pick possible. But I think, I think, that a lot of those guys will be back by the end of the year. The Titans will get healthy, healthier, I will say. Berks will be back, which end of the year. The Titans will get healthy. Healthier, I will say.

Berks will be back, which will make a big difference. The Titans will beat Jacksonville in Week 18, go to the playoffs, and win their first playoff game. I'm sticking to that for right now. Until I know that those guys will be out and not come back for the rest of the year, I'm sticking to that.

So, yes. There we are. Anyways. That'll do it for me today, folks. It is Christmas week. Obviously, I'm in the spirit. Hope you all are as well. That'll do it for me today. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland,

and this was Locked on Titans. you