Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Kristian Fulton SHOULD NOT Be Benched, Tyjae Spears Needs More & Ran Carthon Not to Blame

Episode Date: October 9, 2023

The Tennessee Titans are considering benching their starting cornerback Kristian Fulton, but with no better options available they need to stick with him one more week. Next, while Derrick Henry has had a great career, Tyjae Spears has been the more explosive player and needs to see the ball more. Finally, Ran Carthon took over a difficult task trying to fix this Titans roster and some need to remember he is trying to dig out of a hole that is years in the making.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!Jase MedicalSave more than $360 by getting these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical plus an additional $20 off 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.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.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.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. 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 should not bench Christian Fulton yet, and I'll explain why 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. We got a lot to talk about on today's show. First, the Tennessee Titans should not bench Christian Fulton yet. Also, Tajay Spears needs to get more carries. And do not blame Rand Carthon for what's going on with the Titans right now. Before I get into all that, I do want to 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 that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network where it's your team every day. Shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in every single day of the week to the Locked on Titans podcast. Got a lot of great content coming your way. Tomorrow

we're going to dive into some more film stuff. Look forward to the Baltimore Ravens matchup Thursday, crossover Thursday with Kevin Allstriker from Locked on Ravens to get behind the scenes information there. And then Friday will be a game plan Friday. Sunday, I'll be live here on the Locked on Titans YouTube channel to break down what happened immediately after the Titans morning game against the Baltimore Ravens in London. But I want to dive into today's first topic, and we got to talk about Christian Fulton. And the big thing right now that everyone is discussing is

should the Titans bench Christian Fulton? And a lot of people are saying, obviously, yes, they need to bench Fulton right now. Mike Rabel's getting asked about it in his press conference. All of that. And I totally understand it. After the start to the season that Christian Fulton has had, and it has been rough,

I understand why people would be looking at potentially benching him. But I am here to say the Tennessee Titans should not do that just yet. And my simple reason for saying that is the Titans don't have anybody better that they can play than Christian Fulton. There is no solve to this problem. There is no better answer right now. Yes, Christian Fulton was bad against Indianapolis. Allowed four catches on five targets, 95 yards,

had two penalties as well that were back-breaking penalties for the Titans. On the year, he's allowed 14 catches on 18 targets for 272 yards and a touchdown. He's had four penalties. Quarterbacks have a 137.3 passer rating when they throw at Christian Fulton so far this year. So I get all the frustration, and I am not here to tell you that Christian Fulton is going to turn it around in some crazy way. What I am here to tell you is, again, there is no better option. There is nobody that the Titans can play outside cornerback

who is going to give them better coverage than Christian Fulton on the bench right now. What the Titans have, Kendall Vildor, who has yet to really get many snaps even on the field this year. They traded for him from the Bears. What, Anthony Kendall, the undrafted free agent rookie who's been very good on special teams, many snaps even on the field this year. They traded for him from the Bears. What? Anthony Kendall, the undrafted free agent rookie who's been very good on special teams, but

he's not going to play cornerback better than Christian Fulton. They could move Roger McCreary back to the outside, and then who do you put on the inside? Undrafted free agents Eric Garrow, Armani Marsh. What? You want to bring Elijah Molden from safety back down the slot cornerback? I got news for you bring Elijah Molden from safety back down the slot cornerback?

I got news for you. Elijah Molden cannot cover wide receivers in the slot. That's why he got moved to safety. So you can do that, but then Roger McCreary with his short arms and his small stature is going to be one-on-one against big perimeter receivers on the outside. And last year, we saw what happens in those situations. So, there is no option that's currently within the Tennessee Titans organization except, potentially, Trey Avery.

That is the only answer that you can give me as to somebody who could play potentially over Christian Fulton. But, but, let me remind you, who was everybody mad at after week two against the Chargers? It was Trey Avery, because he got targeted 15 times, gave up 12 catches, over 100 yards, gave up two touchdowns, had a penalty. I mean, Trey Avery got absolutely roasted in the one week

that Christian Fulton didn't play. So, I know that everyone is mad about Christian Fulton. Everyone is tired of seeing him getting beat. I am as well. But the reality of the situation with this roster and with this team is there is not a better option than Christian Fulton available. And you can get in the comments and you can tell me, and I've already seen it online,

the Titans should make a trade. The Titans should make a trade. Why would the Titans, this version of the Tennessee Titans, sitting at two and three through five weeks with losses to the Colts, with a loss to the Colts, okay,

and a 27-3 beat down to the Browns, why would this Tennessee Titans team sacrifice more future draft picks to trade for a cornerback? Look, I saw people talking about Titans should trade for Patrick Sertan. Yeah, the Titans should trade for every amazing cornerback. Why don't they trade for Sauce Gardner as well? I'm sure the Jets would do it, right? Teams are not giving up good young cornerbacks

it's too valuable of a position the Titans cannot just go out and trade for somebody who's going to be a significant upgrade I saw somebody reference Desmond King and the Titans traded for him what did that do? Desmond King wasn't good enough to move the needle he had some good performances

but it didn't change the trajectory of the team. There is no cornerback that the Titans can trade for that would change this team's outcome and replace Fulton in a way that would make a significant difference. That is the reality that has to be accepted. And you look at the trade assets. The Titans have a first, a second, a fourth, and three sevenths. The Titans don't have the draft capital necessary to go out

and make a trade for anybody that could make a difference. So it's frustrating to hear it, and it's annoying to watch it all play out. But the Titans do not have a better option than Christian Fulton right now. And that's why you play Christian Fulton against the Ravens. Look, if he makes mind-numbing mistakes, back-breaking decisions, has issues again, then yeah, you just got to try something different at some point.

But let's just not pretend that the Titans have an easy answer here. And the reality is Christian Fulton needs to step up and play better. That is the best option that the Titans have. There are no other options in October in the middle of the NFL season. Teams aren't giving away young, good cornerbacks that matter. They're just simply not. And if they did, the Titans don't really have the assets to go out and do it. So, for better or for worse, Christian Fulton needs to continue to play.

But with that being said, I'm on my hot takes today. I can't help it. We're going to talk about the running back position because I'm going to continue to beat the drum. Tajay Spears needs to play more than Derrick Henry. I'm going to get into that in just a moment. Before I do, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by GameTime.

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Last minute tickets. Lowest price. Guaranteed. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Kind of having a talk it out Tuesday. I know the YouTube crowd gets crazy. It's Monday. It's kind of having a talk it out Tuesday here. Usually we do the Tic Tac Tuesday, dive into the film and all that. A little peek behind the scenes. There's a technical issue and the film was not out in time to record the show. So we'll dive

into some film related stuff on Wednesday. I'll mix in some of my film anecdotes. We'll say with some of the conversations I want to have about the Ravens going forward I guess. And of course, at Tic Tac Titans on Twitter for Sports Illustrated at alltitans.com. I'll have a ton of film work out for the rest of the week on my normal channels like I always do. I'll be posting links to all my film work here in the community section of the Locked on Titans YouTube channel.

So don't feel like you're going to miss out on any film content this week. But just wanted to let you guys know what was going on. So kind of tried to pivot here. And some of these conversations that I'm seeing take place online that I want to talk about. We talked about Christian Fulton. Now we got to talk about Tajay Spears and Derrick Henry. I'm going to continue to beat the drum until, and I probably will never get my wish,

but until I stop seeing comments from people saying, we need to give the ball to Derrick Henry more. If Derrick Henry would have got, I got a comment from someone on Monday people saying, we need to give the ball to Derrick Henry more. If Derrick Henry would have got, I got a comment from someone on Monday morning saying, if we would have gave the ball to Derrick Henry 10 more times, we would have won the game. I get the same comment every week. When Derrick Henry gets 20 carries, we win.

You guys just have it totally backwards. The Titans get up early or get up period. They get up and then they run the ball. It's not the other way around. They don't run the ball and then all of a sudden magically they're ahead. They throw the ball to score, run the ball to win. It has been like this since 2019. I get it.

Derrick Henry is flashy and fun and you see the runs and blah, blah, blah. The Titans threw the ball to score and ran the ball to win. They would get up by throwing the ball. When the Titans had their best success on offense against the Colts, they were throwing the ball. The reason that Derrick Henry gets more carries in the wins is because the Titans are winning and they're running the ball to salt the clock away and keep possession and do all that. It's not like you could just give the ball to Derrick Henry 20 times in a game and you're going to win by default.

All right. So far this year, we're going to get into some numbers here. So far this year, Derrick Henry, 3.8 yards per attempt running the ball. 3.8. Tajay Spears, 5.8.

Tajay Spears is getting two more yards per carry than Derrick Henry. And he's gotten 27 carries to Derrick Henry's 86. Two more yards per carry. He's gotten 60 less carries. It just can't stay that way. Yards per touch. That includes the receiving. Tajay Spears has gotten a bunch of little dump offs and got hit and immediately the Titans scheme up screens and long pass plays for Derrick Henry. Even with that, Spears 5.3 yards per touch. Derrick Henry 5.4.

Derrick Henry takes contact. Gets through. Oh, well, hold on now. Tajay Spears is averaging 2.5 yards after contact. Derrick Henry 1.7. And before contact, it's, I mean, Spears is getting 3.3 yards before contact. Henry, 2.1. So, whether it's getting contacted or getting more yards before you get contacted, Spears has been better.

And you think, hey, Derrick Henry breaks all these tackles? Derrick Henry breaks a tackle once every 21 runs. He's had four broken tackles all year. Tajay Spears, in 60 less carries, has had half, two broken tackles. That's one every 13.5 carries. Spears has been the more explosive back. He's been the more versatile back.

He's just been the better running back. And there's this nostalgic heart pull to Derrick Henry, and I get it. I get it. But these old ways of thinking of, hey, if we just give Derrick Henry 20 carries, oh, the Titans need to run the ball. Mike Vrabel wanted to, on purpose,

go out and get better pass blockers on the offensive line. They prioritized the pass blocking this year. They wanted to get guys who were better pass blockers than they were run blockers. The downside of that is the Titans don't have as good of run blockers. So they can't just run Derrick Henry 20 times. Look at what they did on Sunday. Once they committed to throwing the football in the second half, they started moving the ball. Now the red zone offense is a different conversation, but the Titans have to be able to get to the red zone and just get first downs

and make explosive plays and throw the football. Everybody whines and complains that the Titans don't have an offense that's modern enough. They're playing old school, Jeff Fisher, 1990s football, blah, blah, blah. And the moment that the Titans start having someone have success outside that style, and Tajay Spears, everybody just pines for Derrick Henry again. Guys, the Titans are evolving as a team.

They are looking to be a more modern offense that throws the football more often. The Titans have run 63 gap runs this year and only 51 zone runs. They are changing what they do on offense right in front of our eyes. They're playing more out of shotgun. They're throwing the football more on early downs. They're running gap instead

of zone. Like, they are trying to evolve and do different things. And the running back that's going to be better at executing all those new things is Tajay Spears. And not only is Tajay Spears. And not only is Tajay Spears the better running back for what the Titans are trying to evolve into, he's the better running back just as things stand right now by every measure.

So, I get the love of Derrick Henry. When they get leads, the Titans absolutely just pound Derrick Henry, do all that. But when they're in close games, they're going to have to get the more explosive running back on the field more and get him more touches. Seven carries for Tajay Spears yesterday. You know? And here's the thing.

I hear the critique well Derrick Henry influences the defense with not every team in the NFL that runs play action has Derrick Henry Jared Goff is great off play action too did you watch the Lions Jared Goff is carving teams up off play action they have David Montgomery so They have David Montgomery. So, I'm just saying, we just got to accept the realities here of what the numbers are telling us,

what I'm seeing with my own eyes. They need to get Tajay Spears the ball more, and that means he's going to have to be on the field more. So, with that being said, though, going to move forward. Let me know how crazy you think I am, scale of 1 to 10. Anytime I have these conversations about Derrick Henry,

people just absolutely go nuts. They hate to hear it. And I get it. I get why you hate to hear it. I truly do. But we're into week 5. Past week 5. It's time to start having some true conversations here

of what we're seeing and what the story is. So, with that being said, I want to move forward a lot of people I'm seeing with some hate for Rand Carthon. And I get we're all frustrated about where the season's at, but to me, I mean, no way around it. That's just a little bit ridiculous. So, I'm going to dive into that in just a moment. Before I do want to let you guys

know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, America's number one sportsbook. Look, guys, right now is the best time to snap into the action this NFL season. New customers to FanDuel Sportsbook can get $200 in bonus bets. Guaranteed. When you place a $5 bet, that's $200 in bonus bets. Win or lose.

If you've been thinking about joining FanDuel, there's no better time. The app is super easy to use. You can bet on everything from spreads, player props, over-unders, and more. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked On and kick off the NFL season. Fandle, official partner of the NFL. Titans fans, let's continue and cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Like I said, it's kind of a talk it out Tuesday here instead of our normal tic-tac Tuesday

why we wait for the film to actually arrive. But we talked about Christian Fulton. It's not time to bench him yet. We talked about Tajay Spears and Derrick Henry and how the numbers continue to point towards Tajay Spears getting more touches. Now, I just want to kind of take a moment for a little Roland's rant here on a Tuesday, bringing back one of my favorite segments, Roland's rant,

to talk about Rand Carthon. And I saw some people hating on Carthon. I saw some people maybe starting to cast some doubt on their belief in Rand Carthon already through five weeks in his first season as GM ever. And I just think it's insane. All right. And I think that people who are upset about Rand Carthon right now or looking to blame Rand Carthon

just simply didn't have their expectations in the right place for what this team was trying to do this offseason and what happened. So I'm going to dive into that. Before I do, thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, 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. Also want to let you guys know the Titans did make some changes to the roster. They released Armani Marsh, who we just talked about a little bit ago, and Jaden Peavy from the practice squad. They brought in Tay Gowan, who's a defensive back,

and then Taylor Stallworth, who's a defensive tackle. So the Titans are looking to turn the bottom of the roster. Tay Gowan is a guy who'd probably play on the outside, which, again, with Christian Fulton trying to get another look at somebody. Titans interior defensive lineman, Kyle Pecco, Jaleel Johnson, particularly Naquan Jones, didn't really do all that well in run defense against the Colts. So bringing in Taylor Stallworth, maybe getting another low-end practice squad

defensive lineman to get a look at. Titans are just trying to churn, see what they can get. But back to my defense of Ran Carthon. What Ran Carthon walked into was a roster that we all agreed in the all season not only lacked top end talent but also lacked depth. not only lacked top-end talent, but also lacked depth. The Titans had some cap space, some wiggle room, certainly, but it was not robust,

nor were there a lot of great options on the market, if we're honest, especially at wide receiver and offensive tackle. What Rankarthon did was he took over a job where he needed to erase three years of terrible roster building from John Robinson. The drafts, the free agent signings. Three years of poor roster building Rancart Thon had to fix we had conversations during the offseason that there's no way that Rancart Thon could

totally fix this roster overnight he can't take the Titans from where they were to San Francisco 49ers in one offseason. It's not going to happen, especially with limited resources. So what did Rand Carthon do? He went out and he spent on some lotto ticket free agents. Andre Dillard, we're not going to pay you a lot of money. We're going to be able to cut you after one season if we need to with limited financial penalty. But if you work out, we could have a bargain left tackle, and that would be the only way that this team could make a serious run.

Because if we hit on this scratch-off lottery ticket. Same thing, Arden Key. Arden Key had been a backup during the best years of his career. The last two seasons, he was a rotational backup. But hey, he's got good numbers, good analytics, good measurables. We bring him in. We give him $7 million a year. Nothing too crazy.

This isn't high-end, edge-rusher money or anything. Give him $7 million a year. Maybe he turns into a starter and we hit on a scratch-off lottery ticket. We have a pure moves, toolsy pass rusher. Maybe we hit on Aziz Alshar.. We have a pure moves, tools-y pass rusher. Maybe we hit on Aziz Alshar. We'll give him $5 million for one year. Daniel Brunskill, right? Going $5 million for one year.

We're not making big financial commitments here because we're just kind of seeing what we can do with some lottery scratch-off tickets. But hey, if we hit on these, the team can maybe do it, make that run. It was always a lotto ticket, a scratch-off ticket on all these free agents. The Titans drafted a backup quarterback with their second pick, who's not even the backup, he's the third string.

So you don't have your second round pick helping for you. The offseason was always about threading the needle of, we need to look towards the future, but we're also going to take some low-risk, high-reward moves, and if they work out, if they all work out, then this team could really do something. The problem is they're not all working out. Dillard is not a starting left tackle in the NFL.

He's not good enough. Arden Key is good, but he's a rotational pass rusher. He's not an every-down starter. He's not good enough in run defense. He's not consistent enough in his pass rush. He's a rotation player. Daniel Brunskill has been a hit, in my opinion.

Aziz Alshair, I know he played poorly against the Colts, but that's been a hit, in my opinion. So it's not all been bad. But I just think it's crazy that people are already saying, you know, Rand Carthon ain't that guy, and Titans made a huge mistake with hiring him, and look at his offseason moves, and like, what are we talking about here? You know? From where this roster was, the only way that people could be saying that

is if they themselves had improper expectations coming into the year that this team would be one of the best teams in the NFL. I thought the Titans could be good. I thought the Titans could win their division. Yeah, if you get some injuries and some luck in the playoffs, who could happen? You know, anything could happen. But consistently, I said,

hey, I can see the Titans making the playoffs. Maybe one playoff win in the wildcard round. But that's the ceiling here. And that's if everything goes right. And now everything isn't going right. So, I'm just saying,

cool your jets. If you're somebody who wants to criticize Rand Carthon right now, this was never going to be an amazing roster overnight and never had depth. They always needed an incredibly strong year of health and they needed all these little lotto tickets that they scratched off to be winners. And that would take a lot. So the fact that that's not happening and honestly, some stuff has been better than we imagined. Hopkins isn't.

Julio, Randy Moss, Andre Johnson. Tajay Spears is really good. We've seen improvements from Roger McCreary. Peter Skowronski coming back from the surgery. He struggled a little bit against Indy, but he was great in week one. There are things to be happy about. But we, I don't know. If you're freaking out mad at

Rand Carthon right now, your expectations were in the wrong place all along. So, just keep that in mind as we move forward with this season. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow. We're going to talk about film, talk about the Ravens, what's going on

going forward. But, as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.