Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Malik Willis Wins Round 1 v Will Levis, Tyjae Spears Impresses & Starters Sit

Episode Date: August 12, 2023

The Tennessee Titans lost their first preseason game to the Chicago Bears by a score of 23-17 and Malik Willis outplayed Will Levis by a slight margin. Both QBs had their ups and downs though. Also, time for #TitanUpTitanDown where we talk about the offensive line and rookie RB Tyjae Spears! Finally, Tyler goes over who did not play and what it next for the Titans.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!Underdog FantasyThis episode is sponsored by Underdog Fantasy! Sign up HERE with the promo code LOCKEDON to get your first deposit DOUBLED up to $100.Must be 18+ (19+ in Alabama and Nebraska, 21+ in Massachusetts and Arizona) and present in a state where Underdog Fantasy operates. Terms apply. Concerned with your play? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit www dot ncpgambling.org; In Arizona call 1-800-NEXT-STEP; in New York, Call 1-877-8-HOPENY; in Tennessee, call 1-800-889-9789eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot 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. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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

I thought Malik Willis outplayed Will Levis in round one of the Titans backup quarterback battle as the Tennessee Titans lose to the Chicago Bears to open the preseason. I'm going to break it all down 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 Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, the Tennessee Titans lose their opening preseason game 23-17 to the Chicago Bears. But we got a lot to talk about.

The backup quarterback battle between Malik Willis and Will Levis. I thought Tajay Spears played great. We're going to go over everyone who played good, everyone who played bad, and tighten up, tighten down. And we'll also talk about the players who didn't play in this game and the tough performance of the Titans offensive line. Before we 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 on all apps and always for free. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. And heck, you even get some bonus episodes on the weekend as well, like this one is breaking down everything you need to know with the Titans' preseason loss to the Chicago Bears. But before we dive in, do you want to ask you guys a favor? Go ahead and throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching right now.

Helps out the show, and the show is free after all. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. But I thought that Malik Willis outplayed Will Levis in this game. Now, I don't want to misrepresent what I'm saying here. I thought it was very, very close. And going down towards the end of the game, I had these quarterbacks basically scored evenly. But at the end of the game, looking at the total body of work here,

I am going to score this a first-round victory for Malik Willis, 10-9. For all my boxing fans out there, you guys get the reference. I thought it was really, really close at the end of the day. I'm not going to sit here and tell you guys that I thought Malik Willis was obviously much better than Will Levis. I thought both of them had their ups and downs, but I like the flashes and the explosiveness that we saw

from Malik Willis during this game, and that's why I give him a little bit of an edge here. So Willis ended up 16 for 25, 189 yards, had an interception, lost a fumble, fumbled twice, but lost one fumble. He did get 10 points on the board out of the 17 for the Titans, had 22 rushing yards to add into that as well. Look, Malik Willis still processes things a little bit slowly. Okay?

He needs to move a little bit quicker. And I thought a couple of those issues he had in the backfield, a couple of those sacks, could be the result of him holding the ball a little bit too long. He had two high throws as well. Yes, maybe Josh Wiley, the tight end, could have caught that first one, but he was wide open and the pass was definitely high. So there could have been a better throw on that,

even if Wiley may have been able to bring down the catch either way. Both sides of that, both parties have fault, but Willis definitely threw that ball high. He also missed Mason Kinsey in the back of the end zone. Could have won the game, could have taken the lead in the fourth quarter with a pass to Mason Kinsey, and he missed him. He overthrew him in the back of the end zone. He had a guy open underneath. He might have been able to dump it off to as well. So some high throws, some slow processing overall for Malik Willis, but there were flashes of great talent. He made a couple of excellent throws,

and you can tell definitely that Malik Willis has gotten a lot better from what we saw last year. He progresses faster than last year, even if you want to see it get faster. He still definitely is progressing faster than last year, going through the motions here, figuring out where he needs to get the ball, getting the ball out on time.

I thought he had some excellent throws. I mean, 16 for 25, that's a pretty solid number there for Malik Willis. I thought he did pretty good, and you can definitely tell that he's improved some of his pocket movement, getting out on the run, making plays. I thought he showed flashes of the excellent talent that has gotten people excited about Malik Willis. So was it perfect? No, it was far from perfect.

But I thought the way that I would explain this, Malik's good was better than Levis's good. But Malik's bad at times was worse than Levis' bad. So it's kind of a mixed bag there between the two, but my overall thought on Malik Willis is I thought he did outperform Will Levis even if just slightly, and I would say that Malik Willis did hold on to the quarterback two role here, and with all the pressure on him, they drafted a new QB. They traded up to get him. It's a new general manager's

quarterback selection. I think this was a win for Malik Willis overall. I think he definitely won this first round of the quarterback battle, even if, again, I don't think it was by a lot. Now, looking at Will Levis, 9 for 14, 85 yards. He threw an interception as well, like Malik Willis did. Could have had two interceptions on the day, too. He threw a pass early that could have been intercepted. He got sacked four times, just like Malik Willis, as well. But look, what I saw from Will Levis is kind of what I expected. He was steady.

He was getting the ball out. He was operating the offense. He was going through his progressions operation was good thought it was a clean game overall but again he's got his own warts and it was up and down

he led the Titans to 7 points of his own on a good drive with a really nice throw to Mason Kinsey for 21 yards but let's talk about the realities here. Not very good pocket presence. When Will Levis got drilled in the back on that play action and took the sack, yes. I believe it was Jalen Duncan got beat on the left side at left tackle, yes. But there was a good pocket on the interior and Will Levis could have stepped up and helped his offensive tackle out. So again, just like with the interception from Malik Willis to Josh Wiley, Malik Willis

threw the ball too high and he deserves blame for that. Wiley got two hands on it. Maybe he could have brought it down. So Jalen Duncan, yes, gave up the pressure, but also there was enough pocket and Mike Vrabel just talked about this the other day, that they want to run those edge rushers by on the top side of the pocket and have a strong interior so that the quarterback can step up. Will Levis had room to step up, and he didn't. And he got hit. He didn't have any awareness to the guy rushing behind him. So that pocket presence is something that wasn't great in college that he continues to need to work on. Also, I thought Levis is a bit too confident at times trying to hammer throws in

the first pass that was almost intercepted where he tried to throw it to Colton Dowell on the right sideline. A little too confident trying to fit that in on the sideline. Also, there was a pass late on that last drive where the Titans had another chance to score with 30 seconds left. And I thought Will Levis had Gavin Holmes open over the middle and he missed him. So again, an up and down day overall for both quarterbacks. But judging overall and giving my opinion, I thought Malik Willis was slightly better. And I did score this first round of the quarterback battle, 10 to 9 win for Malik Willis, which again, all the pressure on Willis.

I think that's a big win for him to not be clearly beat out on the day by Will Levis. Now, I will say this. Willis' first drive was behind the first string offensive line, and then the offensive line went out of the game. Will Levis never got an opportunity to play behind the first string offensive line, so we'll keep that in the back of our minds. I bet you Will Levis gets the start next week against Minnesota. But overall, so great that Tennessee Titans football back in our lives.

We're going to move into one of my key segments, one of my just absolute foundation segments, tighten up, tighten down to talk about the good and the bad. Before we get into it, you guys let me know down below in the comment section who you thought won the day between the quarterbacks. Also, let me know your tighten ups and your tighten downs. We're going to get into that in just a moment.

Before we do though, I want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high stakes wager for your small business. You want to be 100% certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the right people

for your team faster and for free. All you got to do, create a free job post on LinkedIn jobs. Then just add your job and the purple hashtag hiring frame to your LinkedIn profile. And they're going to spread the word that you're hiring. They give you simple tools like screening questions. It makes it really easy to identify the right candidates with the right skills. It's why small businesses write LinkedIn jobs number one in delivering quality hires versus leading competitors. LinkedIn jobs helps you find the qualified candidates 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, Tennessee Titans football is back, and we are back to continue breaking down the Titans 23-17 loss to the Chicago Bears to kick off the preseason. Overall, number one, my big takeaway here is thank the heavens that we have Tennessee Titans football back in our lives. It felt so good just to watch the Titans play some ball. If you feel like I do throw a Titan up down in the comment section,

do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content for free all year round. I even do bonus episodes on the weekends like this all the time. So make sure that you get subscribed and stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. I just said I thought Malik Willis did win the first round of the backup quarterback battle. I scored it 10-9 to Malik Willis.

I think Will Levis gets to start next week to see what he does behind the first team offensive line. But with that being said, we are going to move into tighten up, tighten down, where I look at all the good and the bad performances from the game. Let me know your tighten ups and tighten downs down below. Do want to say I'll be back with you guys tomorrow night on Sunday night to break down the game even further. We're also going to have joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings this week leading up to the second preseason game We're also going to have joint practices with the Minnesota Vikings this week leading up to the second preseason game. I'm going to be breaking down those every single

night here on the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Again, get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. But going to start with the Titan Ups here. And my very first Titan Up goes to Tajay Spears. I don't know about you guys,

but I loved the explosiveness that we saw from Tajay Spears. Spears had six carries for 32 yards. He had a nasty stiff arm on a Bears defender. I think it was a Bears safety, Eddie Jackson, who is a longtime veteran in the NFL. Tajay Spears put him down on the ground. Spears was the most explosive element of that opening drive. I know that Malik Willis completed the long pass to Chris Moore,

but it was Spears that stood out. He had one catch for four yards. He had one kickoff return for 22 yards. He was the starting kickoff returner. I think Spears was, I know it was a short drive. I mean, the Titans' first team offensive line was out there, and Tajay Spears was, I know it was a short drive. I mean, the Titans' first team offensive line was out there, and Tajay Spears was out there.

After the first drive, the Titans scored a touchdown. Both those people, the offensive line and Spears, off the field. And they deserve to be. Because my next Titan up is the starting offensive line. The offensive line was a big issue throughout the game, but not the starters. I have been saying it all week. My everydayers out there, shout out to my everydayers tuning in Monday through Friday.

Let me know who you guys are down below in the comments. Could not do it without my everydayers out there. But my everydayers know, I have been saying all week, I think the Titans starting offensive line needs to get some reps. I've been saying two series, maybe the first quarter. Mike Rabel ended up being on the more conservative side of that,

or Terrell Williams, the acting head coach for the game. They only played one drive, but I thought the Titans' first-team offensive line was impressive. Peter Skowronski looked really comfortable out there, and I'll dive into him a little bit later in the week, but Andre Dillard held up as well. I thought Chris Hubbard, No. 66, at right tackle, was a little

concerning at times, but I thought overall the right side of the offensive line and run blocking was great in that first team unit. Daniel Brunskill absolutely mauled some people off the line of scrimmage. If I recall, I mean that was a couple hours ago at this point, but really impressed by the first team offensive line for the Titans, but after

that it got ugly, but we'll get to Titan down in just a second. So outside of Tajay Spears and the starting offensive line, I am going to give a Titan up to Malik Willis and Will Levis both. I do think that Malik Willis played a touch better, but I think overall both of them had good moments. They had bad moments, but they had good moments as well. Malik Willis definitely improved.

Will Levis showed me some things that I expected. Strong arm, good operational stuff, got the offense into positions where they needed to be. Didn't really, you know, other than the late throw at the end when they're trying to score a touchdown down, I thought Levis was generally solid. You know what I mean? So a tight nut for both Malik Willis and Will Levis. They had their ups and downs, but I thought both of them did a pretty nice job behind the offensive line play that they got after the first string went out. But moving forward, I thought Julius Chestnut had a pretty good day. He gets a tighten up. Chestnut had seven carries for 46 yards. He also returned a kick as well. So shout out to Julius Chestnut,

who had the 26-yard run that was really, really nice as well. Made a guy miss at the line of scrimmage, cut it upfield, got caught from behind. I'm not as high on Chestnut as maybe some other people in the Titans' media sphere, but he deserves a tighten-up for his performance today. Some of the wide receivers. I've been tough on Racey McMath, but he had three catches for 53 yards. Mason Kinsey, four catches for 40 yards. I guess it's no surprise the third-year wide receivers are the guys who had the best day statistically.

They should, after all. They have the most experience. But also, Treshawn Harrison, two catches, 34 yards. Karius Jackson, two catches, 34 yards. I thought they had pretty nice days. On the defensive side of the ball, I thought Mike Brown, number 44, Mike Brown, had a very good day as a safety. Had a couple of tackles.

Eric Garra as well, four tackles, two tackles for loss. And Trey Avery. Trey Avery had the interception. I thought that was pretty solid. So there are more tighten-ups and more tighten-downs than I could fit into one segment here, but wanted to go through those. Caleb Shudak as well gets a tighten-up. could fit into one segment here, but wanted to go through those. Caleb Shudak as well gets a tighten up.

He made his one kick, one for one, 41-yard field goal, and then he made his extra point as well. So two for two total on the day for Caleb Shudak. The tighten downs. The tighten downs, folks. We're going to get into the tighten downs in just a moment. I'm also going to talk about who didn't play in this game. Before we get into that, though. I want to thank you guys again 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 you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. Locked on Titans, it's your team every day. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. Locked on Titans. It's your team every day. But we talked about Malik Willis. We talked about Will Levis to start.

I thought Willis won the day 10-9. We talked about the Titan Ups, Tajay Spears starting offensive line. I thought they really stood out at the beginning of the game. Now I want to get into some Titan downs, though. Some guys who maybe didn't play as well. We are going to start with the backup offensive line. And like acting head coach Terrell Williams said after the game,

not every sack is on the offensive line. I thought they were, like I said, I thought Will Levis could have stepped up in the pocket on one of the sacks that the offensive line got. I thought that Malik Willis held the ball too long a couple of times that ended up in sacks and forced fumbles as well. So I think that about three of the sacks off the top of my head without going back through the all 22,

I thought that three of the sacks were actually on the quarterbacks in this one, not the offensive line. But overall still, the backup offensive line in pass protection was not good enough. Xavier Newman-Johnson, Jalen Duncan, etc., etc. I mean, I thought there were other guys that didn't play well. The Murrays, I don't think, played great. So I think the backup offensive line is still a major issue. And here's my biggest issue with the offensive line.

When the offensive line is that bad in pass protection, it makes it hard to evaluate the quarterbacks. I also just want to take a pit stop. Someone in the comments just said, Peter didn't play. I didn't see him out there. Man, you guys talk so confidently when you don't know. You know?

Peter Skowronski played the first drive. I get saying you didn't see him out there so you don't know, but to speak so confidently when you really don't know. The first string starting offensive line played the first drive of the game. But anyways, back on point.

I digress. It just makes it hard. It makes it hard to properly evaluate Will Levis and Malik Willis when the offensive line is that bad. It just makes it tough. And that was my big takeaway throughout a lot of the game. Man, it's just hard to really see what these guys can do when they're running for their life every single play.

So, that's just something that the Titans are going to have to work with. And that's why I think it's so important for Will Levis, not only for Will Levis to get an opportunity to start next week so that he can play behind the first team offensive line, but for the first team offensive line to play more drives next week. Let him play too. Let Levis start and play with the first string offensive line. Then let Malik Willis come in

and play with the first team offensive line. And then let the offensive line sit out for the last three quarters. So I think it's that important because this backup O-line is so, so bad that we're not going to really get to see what these quarterbacks can do consistently unless we get to see them behind the first-team offensive line.

And the O-line needs to gel even more. So, to me, it goes perfectly. But either way, moving right along with the tight end downs, rookie tight end Josh Wiley. Tough. Okay, I'm going to go back and look at the All-22. Everyone, if you like Will Levis, then Malik Willis threw it too high.

If you like Malik Willis, then Josh Wiley should have caught it. The answer is always in the middle, everybody, between the two extremes. But the ball bounces off Wiley's hands. He fumbles. Just a tough, tough day for Josh Wiley. Wasn't great. Wasn't great.

But moving right along, Hassan Haskins. When I watched Tajay Spears run the ball and then immediately they put in Hassan Haskins. When I watched Tajay Spears run the ball and then immediately they put in Hassan Haskins, it's like, whoa. Does that man have combat boots on? Now, listen, it's hilarious because Hassan Haskins could probably run a 40-yard dash back and to and fro before I could finish one.

Like, don't get me mistaken there. You know what I mean? But compared to Tajay Spears, even Julius Chestnut, Haskins just has no burst. And on the broadcast, like, it was the, I watched the NFL Network broadcast, and it was the Chicago Bears local guys doing the show, and they kept saying that Haskins was the backup running back behind Henry,

and I'm sorry. I just don't think so. Tajay Spears is definitely the number two running back, and then if the Titans really needed to run the ball, I think that they would put in Julius Chestnut to run it before they put in Haskins. Haskins is a special teams only player, in my opinion. Just doesn't have burst. He runs hard, but he just doesn't have any burst. So, Haskins with a tight end down. Some of the defensive backs, backup defensive backs, Amani Marsh, he was the guy who got

pushed out of the play on the very first DJ Moore touchdown on the screen pass. He got eliminated. Just overran the play. Didn't have good balance. So, Amani Marsh, tight end down.. So, Imani Marsh tightened down. Anthony Kendall, I thought, struggled out there. Tightened down.

Alonzo Davis or LJ Davis. Can we decide if he's LJ or Alonzo? It's annoying. But Alonzo Davis got cooked for a 30-yard catch down the sideline towards the end of the game. So I thought some of the defensive backs that played as backups got tightened downs for me. Wasn't a great day for that backup offensive lineman

and backup defensive backs. Was not a great day, so it tightened down there. Chris Moore. I know he had the 30-yard catch to start the whole thing from Malik Willis, but he fumbled. He dropped a pass as well. I mean, that was weird. That was a strange performance.

And someone just said number 33 was all over the place. Yeah, on defense, that was Eric Garr, the defensive back. And I agree. I thought he did good, and he was in my tighten up section. Finally, the last few, Nicholas Petit-Ferrer played in the fourth quarter, had a false start, didn't look like a starter playing with third stringers.

So tighten down for NPF. And then finally, Trey Wolfe. Trey Wolfe kicked a 48-yarder. Missed. Wasn't very close. He was one for one on extra points, but him and Caleb Shudak are in a battle. And Shudak went one for one on a 41-yard field goal

and made his extra point. And Trey Wolf missed his. And when you only get one field goal a game, I think that matters. I think that matters. I think that matters. So, those are my tighten downs. I try not to hammer people too much here. It's just a preseason game.

It's the first preseason game. So, don't want to, you know, hate on anybody too much, but did have to point out some people who stood after me who didn't necessarily have the best game. So, that was tighten up. That was tighten down. Let me know down below who are your tighten ups, who are your tighten downs. Who did you think won the first round between Malik Willis and Will Levis? I scored it 10 to 9 for Malik Willis. I thought Willis was better in the game, even just by a little bit. Excited to see how the battle continues to play out in joint practices

this week. Also, in the next preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings. Again, I am going to be covering all of it all week long. So make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast Monday through Friday. Free Tennessee Titans content all year round. Now, the last thing that I want to talk about with you guys

is the players who didn't play in the game. Just a quick list. These are the guys who did not play in the game. Tannehill, Derrick Henry, Traylon Burks, DeAndre Hopkins, Chega Conqua. Alizé Mack. Finally, for the third try, I got the pronunciation of his name right. Alizé Mack. In, for the third try, I got the pronunciation of his name right.

Alizé Mack. Injured, didn't play. Rookie offensive tackle, John Ajuku. Injured, didn't play. Trevon Wesko, tight end, didn't play. So that's on offense. On defense, Jeffrey Simmons,

T. Air Tart, Danico Autry, Arden Key, Harold Landry, Aziz Alshire, A.J. Moore, that's an injury, Sean Murphy Bunting, Christian Fulton, Roger McCreary, Kevin Byard, Imani Hooker. Basically, the entire Titans starting defense didn't play in the game.

So, anyways, that's going to do it, though, for this bonus edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, breaking down everything you need to know out of the Titans 23-17 loss to the Chicago Bears to kick off the preseason. We talked about Will Levis and Malik Willis. We talked about Tajay Spears, the offensive line and my other Titan

ups. We talked about the backup offensive line, the backup defensive backs and my Titan downs who didn't play. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow night to continue breaking down everything you need to know from this matchup. And then as we move forward throughout the week,

again, we're going to look at joint practices. We're going to look at the preseason game coming up. Tennessee Titans football is back, baby. And that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titan.