Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Jeffery Simmons Get Respect, Amani Hooker Contract & Jon Robinson Hates Analytics

Episode Date: July 6, 2022

The Tennessee Titans took a chance on Jeffery Simmons in the 2019 draft and it has paid off big time! Simmons was ranked highly in a recent list of interior defensive linemen and it is exactly where he should have been placed! Tyler goes over the rankings and hits on the edge spot as well. Next, we got reports recently that the Titans are working on a contract extension with safety Amani Hooker! What kind of deal could he get and how valuable is Hooker to the Titans? Tyler explains his view. Finally, Titans GM Jon Robison went on a podcast and downplayed analytics in the scouting process. Not surprisingly, Twitter went insane. Tyler rants on the freak out and why it isn't justified.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. 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, we're going to look at an ESPN top 10 ranking for defensive linemen, and Jeffrey Simmons finally gets the respect that he deserves. I'll explain also the Titans and safety Ii Hooker working on a new contract. I'll tell you what value I think Amani Hooker will have on his new contract and if that will be with the Tennessee Titans. And then finally, does Titans general manager John

Robinson hate analytics? I'll explain all 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, on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, we got a lot to discuss. But we are going to start with Jeffrey Simmons getting that national respect that he deserves. Every single year, ESPN puts out a top 10 rank at each position.

They put out the edge rusher top 10, the interior defensive lineman top 10. We're going to talk about both of those. Before we do, 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 that 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 smash that notification bell. Make sure you subscribe. Make sure you throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching right now. It does a lot to support the channel, and I really do appreciate it.

But with that being said, these ESPN top 10 ranks at each position, I want to focus on the interior defensive line because as I've said, Jeffrey Simmons finally finally getting that respect that he deserves. In the top 10, Simmons was rated number 2. And this is what I've been saying all along, besides Aaron Donald, who is one of the top five best defensive players all time, maybe definitely the best of this generation and the best defensive player in the league right now

at the same position as Jeff. That's fine. He's number one. It's obvious. But Simmons has finally climbed to where he deserved to be after last season, that number two spot. And Jeremy Fowler from ESPN put out this article. It's on ESPN+. I encourage you guys to go check out the entire thing, the entire series. But here's what was said about Simmons in this ranking. Quote, in last year's ranking, a general manager said Simmons might be the closest thing to Donald

as far as NFL defensive tackles go. No one is close to Donald, to be sure, but as far as game records, Simmons exploded onto the scene in his third season. One quote from an NFL scouting director said, one of the best defenders in football, right behind Donald as far as tackles. He's the scary guy you don't want to see.

In 2021, back to what Fowler had to say, Simmons produced 8.5 sacks while recording the highest run-stop win rate on this list, 38%. Game wrecker, an AFC scout said, can play three technique or nose tackle, high motor, physical, unique blend of get-off quickness and power, impacts the game in both phases. Another guy who

you have to know where he is at all time. Back to Fowler, some evaluators argue he's not a pure A pass rusher, as some others listed here, but that's nitpicking his presence and power cause disruption. And I think that's just a perfect way to describe Jeffrey Simmons. Disruptive.

Yeah, they're right. They're right. He's not the pure pass rusher that maybe some other defensive linemen aren't. But the way he dominates in short yardage situations, the way he commands double teams for his teammates, he may not have the most beautiful pass rush skill set, but nobody cares about that when you're out on the field. It's about power and strength, brute force. And, I mean, the proof is in the pudding. As they say, Jeffrey Simmons, number two.

And I've been saying it all summer. I thought it was cool. I tweeted out all this information from the article and everything. And here's what I had to say. Star defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons getting the credit he deserves in the new ESPN ranks. Simmons is a dominant force. And with all due respect to Kevin Byard and Derrick Henry,

it's my opinion Jeff is the best player on the team. Been saying it all summer. Double-digit sacks in 2022? Maybe. He goes up to number one. It's pretty cool. Kevin Byard retweeted that. And KB, if you're listening,

I'm sorry that I called Jeff the best player on the team. Your retweet, I take it you may agree with me. But either way, just remember, you're my favorite Tennessee Titan of all time. So, although it was exciting for Kevin Byard to hit the retweet on one of my tweets, it still felt kind of bad inside. It was a bittersweet moment.

Shout out to you, KB. Of course. All love. But with that in mind, KB. Of course, all love. But with that in mind, Jeffrey Simmons getting the respect that he deserves, but with the edge rusher ranking, which was the first ranking that came out, first position,

top 10, no Harold Landry. Not only that, but Harold Landry didn't even get a vote. Now, okay, that's fine. I think that's fair. But, but to not even get a single vote?

I mean, I don't expect him in the top 10, but man, people aren't watching. But that makes sense. Titans fans didn't, some, some, didn't understand the value of Harold Landry and the versatility that he provides and how that literally is the fulcrum for which the Titans can have the front multiplicity that Mike Vrabel talked about when he was fired or hired.

Nobody puts two and two together on this, I guess, from the outside in. But whatever, Harold Landry. As I did during contract negotiations, as I will keep doing, he's one of the most underrated players in the NFL and definitely one of the most underrated Titans. But with that in mind, we're going to move forward here. Imani Hooker going into year four

will be a free agent at the end of the year. Reports are the Titans are starting to talk contract. I'll discuss what I think Imani Hooker may get in a contract. I got some other examples from this year that I want to go over as well and just talk about his importance to the team. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar.

Look, most of the protein bars that I've had, they're chalky, they're waxy, they're like a mess of crumbs, hard to choke down. You got to take a drink of water after each bite. Guys, I'm trying to tell you, you can get all the health benefits that you want from a protein bar, high protein, high fiber, low calorie, low sugar, But also, it could taste like a candy bar. Better than some candy bars that I've had. Honestly, the peanut butter brownie. The white chocolate cheesecake.

Shut the front door. So good. I mean, literally, it's great as a healthy meal substitute or a guilt-free snack. Either way, all the bars are covered in 100% chocolate. Again, the best of both worlds and the best protein bar in the galaxy. Make sure you guys go to Bilt.com right now. That's B-U-I-L-T, Bilt.com.

Use the promo code LOCKED15. You're going to get 15% off your order. Once again, that's promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at built.com. Titans fans, we are going to continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about some positional rankings done by ESPN and how Jeffrey Simmons has climbed all the way up to spot number two, where he deserves to be. But now, I want to talk about Amani Hooker and his contract negotiations

with the Tennessee Titans. We got reports from Terry McCormick of Titans Insider that the Titans have kind of started to dip their toe in the water when it comes to an Armani Hooker contract extension. Here is the quote from Terry McCormick. Quote, Some preliminary conversations about an extension for Hooker have taken place in recent weeks,

but if anything materializes soon, it would likely take place between the start of training camp and the opening of the regular season, end quote. Makes sense. I mean, it's a tough conversation to have. The Titans are going to have some guys coming up who are going to be free agents. Think on both sides of the ball, just one that pops up, Nate Davis and Imani Hooker, both from the 2019 class. It's going to be hard to be able to lock them

both down if Imani Hooker continues to play well, and as we're hoping, Nate Davis turns things back to his 2020 form rather than his 2021 form, and of course he talked about the couple of bouts with COVID that really slowed him down. Hopefully, he's able to rebound from those.

But the Titans may be in a tough spot. Not too many teams out there are paying two safeties, the type of money that the Titans are going to have to pay Kevin Byard and Imani Hooker to keep them together. You think about a team like the Seattle Seahawks, DJ Reed and Quandre Diggs. They're both being paid over $10 million a year, $11 million for Reed, $13 million for Diggs,

$33 total money for Reed, $39 total money for Diggs. You think about a team like Buffalo with Poyer and Micah Hyde, but both those guys are under $10 million because their deals happened a little bit ago. Kevin Byard's the seventh highest paid safety in the NFL at $14.1 million a year in annual value.

So if we think about Imani Hooker's contract, we could start there because although Imani Hooker was fifth in pro football focus ranks for safeties, great job. And if you look at people who played as many snaps as Imani Hooker did, he's third. So the Titans are looking at two top five safeties in ranking.

Hooker had four interceptions in 2020. Only had one in 2021, but the picks were spread out more throughout the rest of the defensive backfield. He was taking things away that led to picks for other people, especially in the back end. I like everybody talks about Kevin Byer being a free safety and money hooker being a strong safety because that's what they are on men.

But if you watch the Titans play defense, then you know that a money hooker spends more time in free safety, even just by a little bit, spends more time deep as the free safety than, than Byard does because you want Kevin Byard over the middle of the field, roaming, reading the quarterback's eyes, reading route concepts and being a playmaker. You have Amani Hooker back deep to cover everything up.

But whatever, that's a debate for a different day. Not really a debate because the numbers bear out that that's the truth. But it's not just the ability of Amani Hooker to play deep. The versatility that he brings to the Titans is key. We just, I mentioned Harold Landry before, but again, the Titans don't have safeties that are tight cast. Byron isn't just a box safety or a deep safety. Imani Hooker isn't just a deep safety or a box safety.

You think about the old cover three Legion of Boom secondaries from Seattle where they would have Cam Chancellor who's always in the box. And you have, of course, why can't I think of the tape? Oh, my God. This is going to kill me. Earl Thomas. They got Earl Thomas back deep. Wow, that was, I'm getting old, guys.

I'm getting old. Earl Thomas back deep. Titans don't play like that. Their safeties are interchangeable. They move all around. They rotate. They roll. They have to be able interchangeable. They move all around. They rotate. They roll. They have to be able to do similar things at all times.

So when you consider how well Hooker played, and you consider how key his versatility is to the defense, where does that bring him? Because you're not going to get paid more than Kevin Byard at $14 million a year. He's not better than Kevin Byard. So we talked about Reed at $11 million, Diggs at $13 million, Tyron Matthew just got about $9.4 million per year, Jesse Bates playing on the franchise tag at $12 million per year. Those are all

good areas to think about. So for me, looking at Matthew at $9.5 million, looking at Bates at $12 million, looking at DJ Reed at $11 million, I would say Imani Hooker needs to come in right in that range. $9.5 to $12 million. Some of them are right in there. Honestly, for me right now,

what I would do is I'd probably franchise tag Imani Hooker next year. That's probably what I would do. I would love to get a long-term extension done with him, but if he wants past that $12 million range, close to the Quandre Diggs 13, you just can't pay two safeties together nearly $30 million. It's just poor resource allocation. You can't.

And Imani Hooker did miss four games last year, five games last year. So, it's a tough spot for the Titans. This is one of those places where I thought maybe the Titans may have to let Imani Hooker go. And that's why it would be smart to bring back Dane Crookshank. But I guess with them letting Dane Crookshank go for a small amount and talks of preliminary discussions on a contract

going already, that gives me hope, I guess, optimism that the Titans will be able to keep KB around. Because the reality here is, with the draft that the Titans had this year, they are going young on offense. So as some of the more expensive pieces of the offense fade out, that allows you to put more money towards a cheaper defense. Okay? Now you can put more money on the defensive side of the ball, keep that group together because you know that

group is going to get it done. And then you evolve on offense and get a little bit cheaper by having Malik Willis as your starting quarterback. Maybe Chica Conquo as your starting tight end. Maybe Traylon Burks, your number one wide receiver. Nicholas Petit Ferrer is one of your starting tackles. You guys seeing what I mean here? You're getting some really key positions where you're going to be all on rookie deals, which allows you to use that money on defense and keep a guy like a Monty Hooker and probably

keep a guy like Nate Davis around. Personally, I kind of side towards giving a deal to Nate Davis if you can, just because I don't want to completely overhaul the offensive line. Who knows if Ben Jones wants to play after the year. Taylor LeJuan could be a cap casualty because of his price tag and low, low, literally no dead money if he's cut. But God, it would be scary going into next season, replacing everything on the offensive line that would be very scary so tough spot for the titans hopefully they're able to lock them

both down but we know that they're getting getting a head start on amani hooker's contract and from what we know and what we've seen from hook he deserves it but we're going to talk about the guy who's going to be working on that contract, John Robinson. John Robinson got a little bit of a buzz in the news in recent days for a comment he had about analytics. And I'm going to discuss why I think his comment, while not taken out of context,

is not nearly the lightning rod comment that people make it out to be. Before we get into that, I just want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform that you do stream. And also, want to give a shout out. July 4th episode happened

and because I recorded a little early, it just slipped my mind. Shout out to the GOAT. RIP Steve McNair. Shout out to you, Cody. Got a hold of me. Hey, why no mention of Steve McNair on 4th of July? That's my fault. Just slipped my mind since I recorded

on Saturday, couple days early. But either way, just wanted to make sure that we give a shout out to the legend, Steve McNair, who laid the foundation for this team and the only MVP for the Titans. Gotta give a big shout out, RIP, to Steve McNair.

But with that in mind, let's talk about John Robinson and his hatred for analytics. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're getting closer, guys. We are getting closer. And next week, I got a lot of content. Got a lot to talk about still. It's crazy how fast the weeks go here. But I'm going to do a gambling

episode where we talk overs and unders, win-loss totals, player props, betting lines on some of the games that they have out, Super Bowl odds, division odds, things like that. We're going to do a 2023 look ahead, basically just a quick peek at what next offseason could look like. Leading up into training camp, I'm going to do some talent tiers

where I kind of break down the roster into different tiers of how talented guys are. So I think the top tier will be Jeff Simmons, Kevin Byard, Derrick Henry next year after that. Then we'll go down and we'll break it down by top tier talent, above average, average, below average level for a starter, bench warmer, all that. Might get some help to do that as well.

That exercise could be fun to have certain debates. And that'll all be before we get into another position by position recap heading into training camp the week before. So a lot coming here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Make sure that you're locked in and locked on, I guess. What a great name. But moving forward here, John Robinson did a little interview the other day on a podcast called The GM Journey.

And he talked about analytics and he said, quote, 90% of the decisions we make is we put on the film and we watch a guy play football. You're hiring the guy to play football, not look at a bunch of numbers and all that. End quote. And of course, the analytics community and at Twitter name PFF, all of them, started freaking out, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, you know, because it goes against what they think is important in football. But let me say this.

One, analytics is basically just the study of data. Okay? That you're just looking at data. Okay? That you're just looking at data. So, John Robinson is not like ignoring historical data for 40 times

or ignoring historical data for bench press or the three cone or the broad jump. Of course, they're going to the combine and looking at all that stuff. What he is saying is

the film is more important. And isn't that what everyone says every draft season? Everybody's like, oh, don't get caught up on the 40 time. Watch this kid play football. That's what all the scouts always say at the end

anyways. Always. Yeah, you gotta pay attention to the combine numbers and you gotta compare that historically to other people with similar body types at similar positions at similar ages. All of that historical data matters, yes. And comparing it is important. But do I care what a guy's VORP was in college football? was in college football?

Do I care what Malik Willis' CPOE at Liberty is? No. No, I don't. And I don't think that that should rue the day anyways. Where I think, and let me just say this. Analytics and numbers, period. Just data. Just comparing historical data can be used in any realm, in any walk of life,

ever to make smarter decisions. But when you're talking about percentages and likelihoods and all that, all of that stuff to me matters much more with game decisions going forward on fourth down. Calling a run play here, when to take your timeouts. Should you let the opponent score maybe in this situation? Should you onside kick? Should you fake punt?

Should you go for it on fourth? All of that stuff, the data matters much more to me with in-game decision making. So if you want to criticize John Robinson and you want to grill John Robinson for not using analytics enough, then do it with something that matters more like in-game decision making. The Titans are one of the least analytical teams in the NFL. Heck, until like last offseason, least analytical teams in the NFL. Heck, until like last offseason, they didn't have an analytics person in the

entire organization. So I'm not here to say that John Robinson uses analytics effectively. I'm saying if you want to criticize John Robinson for not using analytics, talk about in-game decision making, not scouting and drafting. That's where I would want the Titans to focus way more on the film than the numbers. So, basically, people in that community

already have a bias towards the Titans because the Titans aren't one of the more analytically savvy teams. And that's an okay gripe, but this isn't where you exhaust that complaint. In-game decision-making in the NFL matters much more in terms of using analytics than scouting guys pre-draft. That's my opinion. So I'm not telling you that you're wrong to give J-Rob some crap for his analytical use, but scouting is not the place.

He's had some misses, but dear God, the guy's had so many hits, especially in the late round. He's not the GM you want to go after when you talk about messing up the draft. Okay? He's not. As we started the episode

talking about Jeffrey Simmons, an injured guy who we took a chance on. And we talk about a third-round safety who's a first-team All-Pro. Give me a break. Anyways. And we talked about David Long on Monday's show

who's a fifth-round or sixth-round linebacker. Get out of here. All you name dash PFF. And then one guy in the comments said something about no surprise that something about John Robinson, you know,

not getting the job done, basically. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Well, I got news for you guys. Six straight winning seasons, an AFC Championship game appearance, three straight years in the playoffs. I mean, if if that's bad,

then, oh, okay. Alright, yeah, we're gonna dump on John. Here's what I think. I think that people who didn't excel at actually playing the game have to find a way to make themselves important and critical to the game. Hey, I'm not critical

to the sport as a player because I don't have the ability to play it. So I have to find a way to make me important. So now it's, hey, if you don't take me serious, now you're a dummy football guy. That's what's happening here. And again, as I said, analytics, not just in football, in any walk of life in any business, can be utilized correctly and are not to be shunned and disregarded. But I feel like there's a pedestal thing going on here

with people who use analytics. When John Robinson says, hey, in the pre-draft process, we're not focusing on all these different numbers and things from when these guys were in college. What we're focused on is how they play on film because they're football players. And if that's the gospel, then that makes the numbers dudes who weren't good enough to play football less important. So you're minimizing their importance in the room.

And they don't want that to happen. minimizing their importance in the room. And they don't want that to happen. So basically, it's people trying to create an environment where they're more important. Hey, the numbers are more important than the film. So that means that you need me. That's what it is. I mean,

it's self-survival. Hey, I have to be important. If you don't use analytics, you're a dummy. So that means that as an analytics guy, I'm smart and important. So again, not to minimize the importance of analytics,

but talking about the people who literally lose their minds when a general manager says, yeah, for being a football player, we primarily focus on watching them play football. Oh, what a dummy. He doesn't care about the numbers. He doesn't care about me. He doesn't need me. I'm important.

What would you guys do without me and my numbers? So the numbers'm important. What would you guys do without me and my numbers? So the numbers are important. But the people trying to prop themselves up are the people who always freak out when something like this happens. Go ahead and freak out if you want. The Titans are going to be making

the playoffs next year and have been one of the top three most successful organizations in the NFL for six straight years for six over the six-year span despite being 2 and 14 and 3 and 13 the years prior to John Robinson showing up but yeah he's an idiot who doesn't get the numbers you tell him you tell him calculator friends but that's gonna do it for me today I tried to stay calm and then I got fired up. Look at that.

Started making voices and yelling, having convulsions out here. This is peak offseason, folks. It is peak offseason. But, Friday's show. Well, Thursday night, whatever. Going to talk about the free agent market again because a Tennessee Titans player is making me a little nervous in their availability for the upcoming season. And I think that a trip to the free agent pool may be a smart idea.

But we will talk about all of that on the next edition of Locked on Titans. That's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.