Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Malik Willis Can't Capitalize, Tyjae Spears Goes OFF & Okonkwo Drops

Starting point is 00:00:00 Tennessee Titans quarterback Malik Willis did not do enough to claim the backup quarterback role and Titans quarterback of the future on Saturday night against the Minnesota Vikings. We're going to talk about it 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.

Starting point is 00:00:58 Titans fans, the Tennessee Titans get their first win of the 2023 preseason, beating the Minnesota Vikings 24-16. It was a full game of Malik Willis. I do not believe that he capitalized properly on this game. I don't believe that Malik Willis cemented himself as the backup quarterback this year, and I do not think that he set himself ahead in the race for Titans quarterback of the future. Let me know how you feel about that down below in the comments.

Starting point is 00:01:23 Do you agree with me? Was Malik Willis a Titan up, or was Malik Willis a Titan down? You guys let me know in the comments. We're going to talk about that. Plus, we're going to talk about the great performance of Tajay Spears and all my Titan ups. We're also going to talk about some of the poor performances and all my Titan downs. Before we get into them, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day.

Starting point is 00:01:48 Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps, 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. Throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching right now.

Starting point is 00:02:06 The show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. So, I'm saying it out front, and I know about the comments that I'm going to get. I know about the wars that are going to be fought in the comment section in the chat right now. I don't care. I am going to speak my piece.

Starting point is 00:02:27 Malik Willis did not do enough in this game to separate himself and make it clear that he is the backup quarterback and that he should be the Titans quarterback of the future. He simply did not do it. Now look, the stat line does not look absolutely hideous. 10 for 17, 85 yards, one touchdown, one interception. I mean, that's five yards per pass.

Starting point is 00:02:54 I don't know what to say. That's a five-yard average. That's just not good enough. It's just not good enough. It's just not good enough. The interception was bad. I mean, that was just a bad read. He didn't even see the linebacker dropping. If you're going to make that throw,

Starting point is 00:03:16 you got to make it quicker in the window before the linebacker or wait and do it after the linebacker. He literally just threw it straight to the linebacker. It's just a bad decision. Just a bad decision. The one pass, he had a play action wide open to Nick Westbrook-Akene on a crosser. Wide open. Literally put it five yards in front of him on the ground in the dirt.

Starting point is 00:03:41 Those are just bad, unacceptable throws for a guy who's trying to take the next step. Now, there were some good throws in there as well, and there were drops. So, let's be honest about that. There were drops. Chigaconko dropped two passes. We're going to talk about him later. There was another drop in the game. I think it was a running back. I think it might have been Chestnut in the flat. There were drops. There was pressure on Malik Willis as well. All of that can be true. It doesn't have to be so black and white. It can be, hey, these good things happened for Malik Willis.

Starting point is 00:04:14 These bad things happened to Malik Willis by other people. But also, Malik Willis, what he was in control of, wasn't good enough. The bad interception, the ugly underthrow to NWI, the pass to Chigaconquo, Chig should have caught, but once again, it was a high pass that didn't need to be that high. So Malik just didn't do enough, and you want to talk about what he did on the ground. 11 carries, 91 yards, 8.3 yards per carry, 26-yard run down the sideline at one point that looked fantastic.

Starting point is 00:04:48 Look, Malik did it with his legs. It was impressive. We know he can do that. Where we need to see Malik Willis improve and grow is in the pocket, is with throwing the ball. And when he was asked to do those things, it just wasn't good. And again, it wasn't a terrible game by Malik at all.

Starting point is 00:05:13 It was not terrible at all. It was not terrible at all. There was a lot of good in there, but there was some bad in there. And the bad that pops up made it a game where Malik did not separate himself. I'm not saying that Malik Willis played poorly, but what I'm telling you is

Starting point is 00:05:30 he did not do enough to separate himself. This wasn't a game where we leave, we didn't leave this game going, oh, yep, Malik has really taken a step forward. Yep, oh, Malik can absolutely be the backup quarterback this year. Oh, Malik Willis is the Titans quarterback of the future. He's the starter in the future. What we saw last night,

Starting point is 00:05:51 what we saw last night was not, or what we saw tonight is what I mean, because a lot of people are going to watch this on Sunday, but Malik Willis did not set himself apart in this battle. He didn't play so well that it's like, oh yeah, he's definitely over Will Levis, his quarterback too. Oh yeah, he's definitely the Titans quarterback of the future. At the end of the day, it was just a mad performance.

Starting point is 00:06:20 And that's why you look at my thumbnail for this on YouTube and it says Malik was mad because it meh. Yeah, there was some good. Yeah, there was some stuff that wasn't his fault that went bad. But there was some bad that was his fault. And some moments where it's like, how did you make that throw Malik? so the stats don't look absolutely hideous, but it just wasn't a good enough performance. Malik did not capitalize on the opportunity, is the problem. It's not that Malik played bad. It's not that Malik played so poorly.

Starting point is 00:07:00 It's just that he didn't capitalize on the opportunity that he had with Will Levis out. He didn't capitalize, and I think that's the number one thing that stands out to me. People are going to look at what I'm talking about right now and say, oh, you say Malik played bad. Oh, you're saying Malik played good. And no matter what, you're going to hear it from both sides.

Starting point is 00:07:16 But at the end of the day, all that mattered was Malik had an opportunity to really set himself apart here and he did not take advantage of it. He did not do that. No one should be leaving tonight feeling more confident about Malik Willis going forward than you felt last weekend because he didn't do anything to improve from last weekend. He just ran more, which we know that he can do against backups

Starting point is 00:07:39 that he can't do against starters. So, yeah, it wasn't all terrible. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying he did not do enough to take advantage of the opportunity. It's just the reality. But with that being said, we're going to expand the conversation.

Starting point is 00:07:56 We're not talking about Malik Willis all night. There were a lot of other Tennessee Titans that played fantastic football, and we're going to talk about them. And I got to tell you, I know what you guys are going to say. You're going to hate me for it, but Will Levis is a Titan up tonight, and I'll explain why. Before I get into it though, I do want to let you guys know that tonight's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. These days, every new potential

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Starting point is 00:09:14 you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions do apply. Titans fans, let's continue our breakdown of the Tennessee Titans preseason win over the Minnesota Vikings. We just talked about Malik Willis.

Starting point is 00:09:51 I didn't think Malik Willis was able to capitalize on the opportunity he had in front of him. That's why he's a Titan down for me today. But before we get into a full list of Titan downs, I want to talk about the Titan ups. Let's talk about the Tennessee Titans who had a great game on Saturday night. Let me know your Titan ups and your Titan downs down below in the chat. But before we get into all of it,

Starting point is 00:10:12 do want to thank you guys for making the locked on Titans podcast. Your first listen each and every day. Remember Monday through Friday and a lot of times on Saturday and Sunday as well. Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast.

Starting point is 00:10:32 It's your team every day and always free. Do want to let you guys know that I'm going to be breaking down practice every night all week. The Titans have joint practices against the Patriots this week. I'm going to be doing a depth chart review tomorrow. I'm going to do like my updated 53-man roster projections now that we're two weeks into the preseason. You guys don't want to miss that content.

Starting point is 00:10:55 Again, make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. But the Titan Ups. Tajay Spears. And listen, a lot of people were hating on the Tajay Spears draft pick when he was taken in the third round. Why are we taking a running back? This guy has no ACL.

Starting point is 00:11:12 He's got a bum knee, blah, blah, blah. And who told you that this was an excellent pick? Your Uncle Tyler did, all right? Me. I was here letting you guys know that Tajay Spears was going to be huge for the Tennessee Titans. Okay? He can not only catch the ball out of the backfield, be that complimentary back to Derrick Henry, but he also obviously has the ability to actually take some carries from Derrick Henry,

Starting point is 00:11:37 which will keep Derrick Henry more fresh as the season rolls on, and we can get back to having D. Hember once again. Tajay Spears had seven carries, 57 yards. That's 8.1 yards per carry. Had a touchdown on a 33-yard run through the heart of the Minnesota Vikings defense. My God, was Tajay Spears impressive. He was shifting and shaking and moving around. Also, third and six. This is on the touchdown drive. Third and six.

Starting point is 00:12:09 The Titans hand the ball off to Tajay Spears, and he absolutely truck sticks. Absolutely truck sticks. Andrew Booth, the Clemson quarterback. Also, can we get a Titan down for Domo Lewis? I didn't like the Spears pick. You better go check my Instagram. You better go check the YouTube channel, buddy.

Starting point is 00:12:29 You're a misinformation in the chat. Once again, let them know, chat. These guys don't know what they're talking about here. I didn't like the Spears pick. Check the tape, baby. Check the tape. Like Chad Brinker said, it starts with the tape. It ends with the tape.

Starting point is 00:12:46 So, yeah, tighten down, the tape. So, yeah, tighten down, Domo. Thanks, Ben. Anyways, yeah, Tajay Spears is huge. That explosive run, the truck stick of Andrew Booth on third and six, man, it was absolutely incredible to watch. And I'm going to give a tighten up to the Titans first team offense as well.

Starting point is 00:13:02 Okay? First team offense, or the first team offensive line, they came out, they did get another touchdown on the second drive, let them down. So, shout out to the first team offense, especially Daniel Brunskill had a little issue in pass protection, but man, he is a mauler in the run game.

Starting point is 00:13:19 My Lord. Run right. Run right. But moving forward, Tierra Tart. Did you guys see, I see Can't Believe 74. Yeah, Tiar Tart was the, did you guys see Tiar Tart out there? Did everybody see Tiar Tart's practice rep where he literally did the hump move

Starting point is 00:13:38 that Reggie White made famous and he did it to Garrett Bradbury and threw him to the ground and then gave him the bow and arrow Wesley Matthews celebration? That was a nasty rep in practice. Okay? Sick rep in practice and Tart brought that to the game tonight. I think that Mike Vrabel, Tart, or Tierra Tart threw a punch on the very first play of Thursday's practice and got thrown out. I think Mike Vrabel made Tierra Tart play in the preseason game

Starting point is 00:14:03 as a punishment. Tart didn play in the preseason game as a punishment. Tartt didn't play last week because he's a starter and an important role player for the Titans. He shouldn't be playing. But Mike Vrabel said, no, Tartt, you're going to get out there and play because you're an idiot and got kicked out of practice on Thursday. It was a punishment, but my lord, yeah. Anthony Hall said Tartt was in the backfield more than the Vikings running

Starting point is 00:14:22 backs. That is a fact, Anthony Hall beautifully said. Absolutely is a fact, Anthony Hall. Beautifully said. Absolutely. I mean, Tartt looked like a man amongst boys out there. He looked like a totally different level of player. And good, he should. He should, right? Outside of Tartt, Caleb Murphy.

Starting point is 00:14:38 We have our new David and Nanny, folks. We have our new David and Nanny. Tighten up in the chat right now. I'm so hyped. We have our new David and Nini. Tighten up in the chat right now. I'm so hyped. We have our new David and Nini. I'm so hyped. Caleb Murphy, 40 sacks out of Ferris State. I thought that he would make the 53-man roster

Starting point is 00:14:53 when I did my predictions because the Titans' fourth-edge rusher on the depth chart is an open competition, and forgive me, but I do not believe in Sam Okwe and Nonu. There's just nothing there that fascinates me, that captivates me. Caleb Murphy has the potential to be a legitimate pass rush threat. The Tennessee Titans

Starting point is 00:15:13 need Caleb Murphy as their edge four because after Harold Landry, Arden Key, and Rashad Weaver, who the heck do they have? Nobody. Caleb Murphy should have that spot. Maybe he isn't the best special teams contributor, but the man can get to the quarterback. I am sick of the Titans prioritizing every single end of the depth chart role

Starting point is 00:15:34 for a special teams guy. Why don't you have a couple of projects that are potential guys who can actually help on defense? We can't have every edge four, five, and six be a special teams guy. How about one of them be a pure pass rusher so you can come in and have that guy rotate and maybe get to the quarterback. Caleb Murphy. Caleb Murphy needs to make this team and be edge four. Alright, end of story. Tighten up for Caleb Murphy. We are in the middle of our tighten ups. Let me know your tighten ups

Starting point is 00:16:03 in the chat right now. Who did you think stood out? All right. Yeah, I did. Daniel's right. I was never a big fan of Okwe and Nonu. He doesn't give you any special talent, any special traits. He's just a guy that they know, that knows the system,

Starting point is 00:16:18 so they keep him around. Whatever. Outside of those guys, Julius Chestnut, man. Julius Chestnut. A tight, Julius Chestnut, man. Julius Chestnut, a major tight nut for Chestnut. 13 carries, 98 yards, 7.5 yards per carry average, had the touchdown, had a 55-yard run, caught a touchdown pass from Malik Willis as well. Hasan Haskins is not a running back. Look at Hassan Haskins as a special teams player. It goes Derek Henry, it goes Tajay Spears, it goes Julius Chestnut. And Daniel saying bye-bye Haskins. No, guys, that's not how I feel. If the legal stuff is a problem, then yeah, Haskins will

Starting point is 00:16:58 be gone, no doubt. But Haskins is a special teams dynamo, okay? You guys got to stop looking at Hassan Haskins as a running back. That's like, think about Justin Bethel, the special teams ace for the New England Patriots. That would be like calling Justin Bethel a cornerback or a wide receiver. Like, Haskins is not a running back. He may play running back, but he is a special teams only guy and he's very good. He was second on the Titans

Starting point is 00:17:29 in special teams tackles last year. Haskins is a very good special teams player and I'm okay with him being running back four and being an absolute special teams demon, okay? You guys got to understand the value of special teams in the NFL. It's over, it's underrated by just most fans, okay? So, gotta give a shout out to

Starting point is 00:17:47 Julius Chestnut, but I still think Hassan Haskins should be around. Just to fly through some of my other tighten ups, Anthony Kendall, the defensive back, I thought he was very active on special teams, which again, is very important. I thought that Eric Gar, once again, I loved what Gar did in the game against the Bears. I thought he was very active on special teams, which again is very important. I thought that Eric Garner, once again,

Starting point is 00:18:06 I loved what Garner did in the game against the Bears. I thought he got a promotion in this game. I want to confirm on tape, but he had four tackles. He was on punt return for a moment as well. Love seeing that from Eric Garner, the defensive back. Mason Kinsey played backup quarterback, led the team in catches again. So shout out to Mason Kinsey,

Starting point is 00:18:26 although I don't think that gets him any closer to a roster spot, if I'm honest with you. The last tighten up that I want to mention, the last tighten up is for Will Levis. Will Levis is a tighten up. And I'm going to explain why he's a tighten up, plus get into my tighten downs here in just a moment. Alright, Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's recap of the Minnesota Vikings preseason game.

Starting point is 00:19:08 The Titans win 24-16, and thank God for Lil' Wood, Dale. I was on Twitter the entire second half, at TicTacTitans on Twitter, follow me there. I was on Twitter the entire second, Zach McLean's in here too, I love you guys. Thank you guys so much for this. Even when I forget, you guys let me know. I was on Twitter

Starting point is 00:19:28 the entire second half just having a Justin Murray party. Number 73. Number 73 on the Titans offensive line. Justin Murray was incredible in this game. All of those runs that you saw with

Starting point is 00:19:43 Julius Chestnut running to the right side, that was Justin Murray. Yeah, Lil' Wooddale, Zach, thank you guys. Literally, if you go back on my Twitter account, I think the last three tweets that I sent in the second half were all Justin Murray appreciation tweets. He was mauling people on the offensive line. He played guard, played some tackle as well, I believe.

Starting point is 00:20:04 Yeah, and Domo Lewis, I agree with you here. We're on the same page here, Domo. Murray was looking like a guy who I think could challenge Chris Hubbard for starting right tackle. Like, I think that's how well he's been playing against these second and third stringers. He does not look like a second or third stringer. So, shout out to Justin Murray.

Starting point is 00:20:23 You guys are right. I forgot about that. It's in my notes right under Caleb Murphy. Caleb Murphy to Justin Murray. You guys are right. I forgot about that. It's in my notes right under Caleb Murphy. Caleb Murphy and Justin Murray, they kind of look the same on my notes. I have terrible handwriting, guys. I'm not even going to show you because it's embarrassing. But tighten down for my handwriting. But we are going to get into the tighten downs,

Starting point is 00:20:38 but I wanted to hit one more tighten up. Well, I guess I'm going to tighten them. And it's Will Levis for two reasons. Number one, Will Levis warmed up before the game full pads. He had a sleeve around his left thigh. So it looks like his injury is a left thigh somewhere in there, whether it be top, bottom, you know, your quad, your hamstring, whatever. bottom, you know, your quad, your hamstring, whatever.

Starting point is 00:21:08 Obviously, Will Levis isn't hurt so bad that he can't even be on his feet. He was out there warming up for the game. So, Will Levis is going to be able to participate in practice this week. More than likely going to be able to play in the game next week. That's good news for him injury-wise on its own. That's a tighten up for Will Levis. But second, Malik Willis again didn't set himself apart in this game. We didn't come out of this game saying, oh yeah, Malik Willis is definitely the backup quarterback this year. He didn't take advantage of the opportunity. So a

Starting point is 00:21:43 major tighten up on the night for Will Levis because his injury isn't as bad as it could have been. He shouldn't miss time and Malik didn't capitalize. So a big tighten up and a big win on the night for Will Levis. That's the reality. Malik didn't separate and Levis isn't hurt that bad. Zach said, hurt through the grapevine, it's a hammy. Yeah, that would line up with a thigh sleeve like that on the left side. And Ario Carter says, come on, Tyler, Malik played solid. Listen, Ario, or Ario it could be, I agree, Malik played solid, but he didn't do enough to set himself apart.

Starting point is 00:22:29 So, I mean, that's just the reality here. He didn't take advantage of the opportunity that was there. He just looked, meh. There was good and still a lot of bad. So, anyways, moving into the other tight end downs, other than Malik Willis, because it's a tight end up for Levis, it downs, other than Malik Willis, because it's a tighten up for Levis. It's a tighten down for Willis

Starting point is 00:22:47 because Levis didn't lose ground to Malik, and Malik didn't gain ground over Will Levis. So, a tighten down for Malik Willis to start, but outside of that, what happened with Chigaconquo, guys? What was that? Um, I mean two drops

Starting point is 00:23:08 on passes that he should have caught he could have caught and ran I mean Chig redeemed himself later with a catch but I mean everyone is expecting Chig Akonkwo to take a step this year okay

Starting point is 00:23:23 and he didn't take a positive step tonight. And clearly Mike Vrabel put him out there because he wanted him to start getting some rhythm and two drops. It's tough. It's tough. So tighten down for Chica Conquo. Hope that he plays better next week. Tighten down for Kyle Phillips. This guy. Yes, Andrew, we're on the same page. Tighten down for Kyle Phillips. This guy, yes, Andrew, we're on the same page. Tighten down for Kyle Phillips.

Starting point is 00:23:48 Just literally cannot stay healthy. I don't understand. Caught one punt. Caught one punt and got hurt getting tackled. That's crazy to me, man. Just crazy to me. But anyways, moving past Kyle Phillips, Xavier Newman Johnson had some good moments in run blocking,

Starting point is 00:24:11 but man, it's just tough. It's just tough at times. And I really had hope for Xavier Newman Johnson, to be honest with you. And he's just not performing. I agree, tighten down for Jack Gibbons. I think that Chance Campbell has a chance to beat him and Monty Rice out at this point. So, Gibbons just, he may be long,

Starting point is 00:24:30 but there's a reason that every time they bring up Gibbons and Rice, they talk about Rice being faster. Because he's definitely faster than Dr. Gibby. But moving past that, my last tighten down. Yeah, a tighten up for Brewer. I gave a tighten up for the whole starting offensive line. My last tighten down. Yeah, a tighten up for Brewer. I gave a tighten up for the whole starting offensive line. My last tighten down is Trey Wolf.

Starting point is 00:24:53 Sad Wolf pack in the chat. We're a sad Wolf pack. Wolf made all of his kicks. He was one for one on field goals, two for two on extra points, or I might have that flipped, but they all looked bad. One doinked off the upright.

Starting point is 00:25:15 Another one barely slid in on the right-hand side. Shudak was one for one. All he got was one extra point. And while Wolf got more kicks, I actually think that Wolf getting more kicks is a bad thing. But, yeah, I agree with PistolGrip here. Either way, neither

Starting point is 00:25:36 of the Titans kickers are very impressive. And I think they may have to just go ahead and cut Trey Wolf and bring in a veteran and see who's better between him and Shudak. Whether it be the return of Ryan Suckup, whether it be Robbie Gold, whether it be the return of Randy Bullock, whether that be a younger guy like Zane Gonzalez.

Starting point is 00:25:55 Yeah, it's sad, man. Sad Wolfpack, for real. I'm a sad kid, no doubt about it. But yeah, tighten down for Trey Wolf. Well, that's it, guys. Went over my thoughts on Malik Willis. Again, I don't think that Malik Willis played poorly, but he just didn't play as well as he needed to play to take a step here in this quarterback competition. I don't think that he gained any ground on Will Levis tonight. So it's not that Malik played bad. I just can't give him a tighten up because he

Starting point is 00:26:25 didn't take advantage of the opportunity. Talked about the tighten ups. Mostly the run game with Tajay Spears and Julius Chestnut. I mean, the Titans ran for like 280 yards tonight. Really impressive. Talked tighten downs.

Starting point is 00:26:42 Chica Conco with the drops. All of that. Will Levis warmed up before the game, so he should be good to go going forward. Either way, the Titans got a win, so tighten up in the chat. Tighten up. It's good that the Titans got a win.

Starting point is 00:26:57 I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow night on Sunday night on the YouTube channel. It'll be in the podcast feed for my podcast folks on Monday morning. I'm going to do my updated 53-man roster prediction. Go position by position through the offense and defense to tell you who I think makes the team as things stand right now.

Starting point is 00:27:14 Again, make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed Monday through Friday. Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. That's going to do it for me tonight, though, folks. As always, wait a minute. What am I doing here? We ain it for me tonight, though, folks. As always. Wait a minute. What am I doing here?

Starting point is 00:27:29 We ain't leaving without the outro music, baby. Absolutely. Tennessee Titans win. Here we go. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans. tight

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Malik Willis Can't Capitalize, Tyjae Spears Goes OFF & Okonkwo Drops

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