Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans MAULED by Jacksonville Jaguars, Will Levis Joy & Mike Vrabel's Questionable Future

Starting point is 00:00:01 The Tennessee Titans give another embarrassing performance on the road that should have Mike Vrabel answering questions about his job security. We're going to dive into the Titans loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars 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.

Starting point is 00:00:51 I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. 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 apply. The Tennessee Titans lose another embarrassing game on the road. They have a few bright spots at the end to make it look not quite as bad as it really felt.

Starting point is 00:01:20 A 34-14 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. And at the end of the day, it was a pathetic performance from the top all the way down to the bottom, and that includes the coaching staff. And at some point in time, we have to continue to have these conversations about Mike Vrabel and his future because he's having those conversations after today's game with the media. We're going to talk all about that. Break down this game. Before we get into it, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast

Starting point is 00:01:47 your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. So make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Tomorrow, we're going to dive into the film,

Starting point is 00:02:03 see what happened with Will Levis in this game. Also going to talk about Mike Vrabel a little bit more because I got a lot to say this week about Mike Vrabel's job security and Mike Vrabel's situation with this team. But overall, my big picture takeaway is this is just a pathetic performance from one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:02:22 And every single week, you think that it can't get worse, but it does. And it's funny worst teams in the NFL. And every single week you think that it can't get worse, but it does. And it's funny because we had the conversation. How many more games will the Titans win? I said that the Titans would win three more games, four if they got lucky. I mean, if they get lucky, they'll win two more games at this point. Like I thought the Titans had a chance of maybe at home beating the Houston Texans with the Oilers uniforms on. I am not feeling good about that prediction at all right now. Houston is a far better team than the Titans,

Starting point is 00:02:52 and I don't care where the Titans are playing that game. It might be tough for the Titans to get a win there. So what, next week against Carolina? The home game against the Colts? You think the Titans are beating the Dolphins? Are the Titans beating the Seahawks? I mean, like this team really is one of the bottom five teams in the NFL, bar none. And today, it was insanity.

Starting point is 00:03:15 I mean, even the punter looked bad today. The all-pro punter, even the punter looked bad today. That's how terrible the Titans were. Turnover on offense, third down penalties, punt returner fumble in the ball. Just the Titans are blocking four guys, five guys with seven and eight man protections. The Titans are in max protect and they can't stop four or five guys., it's just a pathetic performance up and down the secondary and the offensive line. And look, I know that it sucks that we keep going back. Yeah, someone says Stonehouse is worn out. I bet. I bet. He's facing the freaking half-season wall right now because he's had to punt so much. now because he's had to punt so much.

Starting point is 00:04:06 So, for me, it's pretty obvious that this team is clearly one of the bottom five teams in the NFL and any conversations we have, even tongue-in-cheek, about the Titans not getting a top five pick, they seem to be melting away. I mean, again, whether it's the offensive line, whether it's the conservative play calling, whether it's the offensive line, whether it's the conservative play calling, whether it's the conservative decision making from the head coach,

Starting point is 00:04:30 whether it's the third down penalties, whether it's the turnovers, the fumbles, a muffed punt, a freaking shanked punt. I mean, again, nothing drives home the patheticness, I'm making up words now, of this performance. Like even Ryan Stonehouse being terrible. The center can't snap. What happened at the beginning of the game with Aaron Brewer? I mean, it's been so long

Starting point is 00:04:52 that we've seen these issues with the snap. It's like it's crazy to me. So again, whether it be the offensive line, whether it be the operation of the offense, whether it be the penalties on defense or offense, whether it be the special line, whether it be the operation of the offense, whether it be the penalties on defense or offense, whether it be the special teams blunders, whether it be the game plan coming into the game that the Titans continue to be on the wrong side of it.

Starting point is 00:05:13 Like, every single thing from top to bottom is terrible for this team. It's terrible. Now again, I'm going to turn this optimistic. We're going to do tighten up, tighten down here in just a moment where I go over the good and the bad performances in this game. And I'm going to focus on the optimistic stuff. Because this is not fun. But there is light at the end of this tunnel that we all keep talking about.

Starting point is 00:05:39 And there are some of us who thought this season could go down a path where they're really bad. There was always hope. Everyone was optimistic and hoped that this team would find a way to answer the questions that we all had and be better than we expected. Well, they aren't. And all the downside that we all acknowledge, like, hey, if things go wrong, though, it could look like this.

Starting point is 00:06:00 Well, that's where we are. So it's top to bottom. That's the whole point. This was a pathetic performance from the coaching staff all the way down through every player, every aspect of the team. That's just the reality.

Starting point is 00:06:15 And at some point, when the Titans not only lose, but they get absolutely throttled, you have to ask about the coaching. And I am going to be making a point about Mike Vrabel that I've been talking about for a few weeks now, just whispering about it, but I'm going to make a point here in today's show

Starting point is 00:06:36 about Mike Vrabel and his future that I think has to be heard. All right? It has to be heard, and I'm going to be driving it all week as we talk about Mike Vrabel, where he's at. Mike Vrabel was asked in the press conference about his job status.

Starting point is 00:06:50 He said he wasn't worried about it. He's worried about the players because the players hurt after they lose. Fair enough. I wouldn't expect him to say anything else. He can't focus on whether he's going to get fired or not publicly. He's got to focus on trying to win the games. But after a performance like that,

Starting point is 00:07:06 and also, let me say hilarious, they throw the ball to Jeffrey Simmons. He's gritty and in the end zone while they're down 20. All right. I mean, have fun, I guess. Got to have fun, I guess. Down 20 on the road at 3-7. Having fun.

Starting point is 00:07:26 Gritty and in the end zone. Cool, man. I mean, you got to have some fun out there, right? Like, they can't just be drab dreary all the time. There's a season to play. But I just always find stuff like that funny. I can't help it. I can't help it.

Starting point is 00:07:40 So, I know not everyone agrees with my humor on that. But with that being said, there were some bright spots here. All right. Mike Vrabel said after the game, he said, hey, you look at the tape. I bet it doesn't look as bad as it seems. All right. Well, hey, he might be right. There are some bright spots here that we can be happy about. And I'm going to touch on those here in just a second. Before I do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs.

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Starting point is 00:09:03 LockedOnNFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions do apply. Titans fans, we're going to get into Tighten Up, Tighten Down to talk about all the good and bad performances in this game. Before we get into it, 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 long, always for free. It's your team every day here on the Locked On Podcast Network.

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Starting point is 00:10:06 Be a part of history. Tomorrow, I'm going to dive into more on Mike Vrabel's job status, where the Titans need to go from here. I'm going to talk about what I think about Mike Vrabel and his position with this team at the end of the show. But now it's time for Tighten Up, Tighten Down. Let me know your tighten ups and your tighten downs down below in the comments. I'm going to start with some positivity. I'm going to start with some optimism here. I'm giving Will Levis a tighten up. The dude was under immense pressure all day long. Bad snaps all day long. Dealing with one of the slowest wide receiver groups in the NFL. He was still

Starting point is 00:10:41 able to complete 13 of his 17 passes when he was able to actually get the ball out of his hand for 158 yards and two touchdowns. When the Titans get, it was crazy. Even when the Titans did their play action passes and they have seven to eight guys blocking, there was still mad pressure on Will Levis and in his face. But when they gave him even a speck of time, even a speck of time, he launched two bombs and got the Titans down the field. Like when you gave him an opportunity to actually throw the ball, he was able to make big plays. Again, 13 completions for 158 yards. That's 9.3 yards. I mean, give me a break. Like he had a 143.8 quarterback rating.

Starting point is 00:11:26 This was not on Will Levis. There are so many people just rushing and reaching and trying to blame this on Will Levis. When they gave Will Levis even a speck of time, he was able to make stuff happen. Hopkins, Hopkins gets a tighten up as well. Will Levis and DeAndre Hopkins get a tighten up. Hopkins had four catches, 59 yards.

Starting point is 00:11:45 Of course, most of them came on that 43-yard strike. He had the touchdown, of course, like we said, able to haul it in. A great throw by Will Levis. Again, just giving him a speck of time. A speck of time. Chris Moore with a 49-yard catch. Again, getting Levis just a chance. Just a chance. Get the ball downfield. So again, this offense is so miserable and the offensive line is so poor and the amount of weapons that are consistent is just so few that for Levis to even make the plays that he made, it's kind of miraculous honestly, that he was able to even operate that way.

Starting point is 00:12:23 I don't know what else you want me to say. Again, there are going to be people that are out there that are rushing to blame Will Levis for certain things, but I don't know what you want the man to do in this circumstance. And I thought even putting up the stat line that he did and the throws that he made was impressive. So I'm going to give a tighten up to Levis. I'm going to give a tighten up to Chris Moore.

Starting point is 00:12:45 I mean, one catch, 49 yards, made the big play. One run, 38 yards. You gave the ball to Chris Moore twice, and he got 90 yards for you. I mean, those two big plays right there are half of the team's yards, it feels like. So Chris Moore gets a tighten up. Hopkins gets a tighten up. I'm going to give a tighten-up. Hopkins gets a tighten-up.

Starting point is 00:13:05 I'm going to give a tighten-up to Derrick Henry and Tajay Spears. Not a great day on the stat sheet for Henry or Spears, if we're honest. But I felt like any opportunity they had to make plays, they did. A couple Henry runs got called back as well because the offensive line, again, is terrible. I mean, like, there are things to be happy about here. There are things that are exciting. I mean, Chris Moore makes big things to be happy about here. There are things that are exciting. I mean, Chris Moore makes big plays when he gets the chance.

Starting point is 00:13:30 DeAndre Hopkins, still good. Will Levis making big throws when he's given the opportunity. Like, I'm going to find the positives with that. Also, we're all disappointed with the Titans' defense, but Jeffrey Simmons made a ton of plays today. I mean, Jeffrey Simmons literally saved the Titans four points. For one defensive player to save the team four points when Simmons made that big tackle on third down early in the game and held Jacksonville to three points. I mean,

Starting point is 00:14:04 excuse me, but like, Jeffrey Simmons was good. I thought Tierra Tart played pretty well in this game. It's not like the Jacks were able to run the ball at will, especially in the first half. I thought Monty Rice, I am a confessed Monty Rice hater, if we're honest. If I'm being honest with myself, I should be considered a Monty Rice hater. I thought Monty Rice hater, if we're honest. If I'm being honest with myself, I should be considered a Monty Rice hater. I thought Monty Rice played pretty well. So, those are the positivity for me.

Starting point is 00:14:32 That's what you're going to get. Will Levis, give him time. He's going to make big plays. DeAndre Hopkins, give the quarterback time. He's going to make big plays. Derrick Henry, Tajay Spears, when they had a chance, they tried to do something. Jeffrey Simmons made plays.

Starting point is 00:14:47 T.R. Tartt made plays. Monty Rice did some good things. So there's some positivity. But how about the Titan Downs? Let me know your Titan Downs in the comment section. Aaron Brewer, what are we doing? I don't care if he's the cheapest $2, best tasting $2 steak you have ever had in your life. The Titans cannot go into next season with Aaron Brewer with no competition at center.

Starting point is 00:15:12 They either need to draft someone in the first few rounds that can compete on the interior, or what I want them to do, sign a veteran interior player who can actually compete with Aaron Brewer. I don't care if Mike Vrabel loves him like a son. I don't care if Vrabel is good in run blocking sometimes. He is. He's just not good enough

Starting point is 00:15:32 to be a certified starter making $5 million a year on this team. I'm sorry he's not. I'm not saying that they have to go out of their way to guarantee that they get a starter over him but you gotta bring in some real competition. Period. Period. Period.

Starting point is 00:15:48 Dylan Radins with the penalties. Man. Man. Like, the self-inflicted wounds that Tim Kelly talked about. We just saw them over and over. Good play. First down. Penalty.

Starting point is 00:16:02 Five yards. Good run. First down. Penal penalty, bring it back. So obviously the entire offensive line, individually, the individual performances, I'll know more after I'm able to watch the film, but overall as a unit, it's just simply not good enough. You know what I mean?

Starting point is 00:16:19 But we say that every week. So why harp on the offensive line when we all know, I mean, a blind man could tell you that this Titans offensive line is terrible. So I don't need to spend a lot of time there. You guys know that. But Arden Key, invisible, not a starter. Danico Autry, two plays on a Jacksonville scoring drive where Trevor Lawrence got his first rushing touchdown of the day. On the big play where he threw the ball down the sideline, Christian Fulton came up and made a terrible decision there too.

Starting point is 00:16:49 But Danico Autry was the one who let Trevor Lawrence out of the backfield, losing contain. And then he lost contain on the touchdown run as well. Danico Autry is going to be 34 soon. Titans just need better edge rush play. I mean, Autry should be a guy playing like a third or half of the snaps, rushing from the interior on third downs. But the Titans need him to be an every down starter edge

Starting point is 00:17:12 because the team's not good enough, and he just can't do that. The defensive backfield, like the offensive line, what do you want me to say here? We all know the cornerbacks are bad, and I've said it over and over again. I said it when he was drafted. Roger McCreary is a slot cornerback. He can't play outside. The Titans don't want to play their other outside cornerbacks because they're bad. Christian Fulton was terrible in this game. He got benched for Trey Avery, and then since Sean Murphy Bunting is out,

Starting point is 00:17:42 who else would play outside? The Titans are like, okay, we got to put McCreary out there, and then we'll have Guerrero or Molden play in the slot. But it's just unattainable. Roger McCreary can't play on the outside in the NFL. He's a slot corner. That's it. Period. Two years now, we've learned it. So, now we go here. Ryan Stonehouse.

Starting point is 00:18:05 Stonehouse shanked a punt, hit another one way into the end zone that wasn't even close to stopping. He did have one that was stopped pretty low, and the Titans ruined that by kicking the ball, but when you're all pro punters even struggling, you know it was a pathetic performance up and down. Eric Gerrard, I've said this,

Starting point is 00:18:22 you guys tried to defend him just because he could catch the ball, but Eric Gerrard is not a good punt returner. He shouldn't be the punt returner in the NFL, and the Titans need a new punt returner desperately. All right? And then finally, Mike Vrabel. This team is unprepared.

Starting point is 00:18:37 This team is outcoached, outflanked every week. This roster is bad, but it is made worse by the coaching. There's no way around it. There's no way around it. At this point, with the penalties, the third down penalties on defense, the lackluster game plan, this team scored zero points in the first half. Alright? You don't just play that bad from a bad roster. You gotta have bad coaching to go along with it. Alright? So I'm gonna give my thoughts on Mike Vrabel, and again, I'm going to be saying this a lot this week because this is what this is what the truth is for the Titans right now with Mike Vrabel. And I'm going to get into

Starting point is 00:19:13 it in just a moment before I do. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by DoorDash. DoorDash always delivers. And I mean that literally and figuratively. Whether it be restaurant food, whether it be grocery store, whether it be retail items, you can count on DoorDash to get it to you, get it to you quick,

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Starting point is 00:20:23 Terms apply. Titans fans, let's cap off today's recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. The Tennessee Titans lose by 20, 34 to 14 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. I talked about how it was a complete and utter pathetic performance from top to bottom for the Titans. I mean, literally everybody from top to bottom was not good enough in this game. But at the end of the day,

Starting point is 00:21:07 it comes down to the coaching for me. Because this team is not well coached. I made a comment on Twitter during the game. What do they say about teams that have a lot of dumb penalties? What's just a general

Starting point is 00:21:23 saying or general thought process on teams that take bad penalties? Usually, what people say is, they're poorly coached. And at some point, the Titans' ineptitude here isn't just a roster problem. And I've said,

Starting point is 00:21:42 I think that Mike Vrabel is a good coach. Alright? I think that Mike Vrabel is a good coach. All right. I think that Mike Vrabel is a good coach, but hear me out on this. And I'm telling you guys, this, this is my narrative. You said the media is pushing the narratives. This is my narrative for the week. So let me spit this for you guys right now. DJ kicked that. Mike Vrabel is a good pilot, but he's not a good mechanic. Mike Vrabel is a good rapper, but he's not a good producer.

Starting point is 00:22:21 Mike Vrabel is a good astronaut, but he's not a rocket scientist. The point is, right now, the Titans don't just need somebody to rap the lyrics. The Titans need somebody to make the beat, rap the song, make the hook, and produce it. The Titans don't just need somebody to drive the Corvette that they built around the track. The Titans need somebody who can build the engine. The Titans don't just need an astronaut who can pilot the rocket to Mars.

Starting point is 00:22:51 They need somebody to build the rocket. So, again, I think that Mike Vrabel is a good coach. Alright? I think that with the right roster, if you have a good roster that needs to take the next step, Mike Vrabel can pilot that ship. Mike Vrabel can drive that car.

Starting point is 00:23:12 Mike Vrabel can steer that rocket. Mike Vrabel can rap that song. Oh, hey, look, we got a nasty beat. We got a girl singing a hook with a nice sample. All you got to do is step up and spit it. No, no, no, no, no, no. That's not what the Titans need, all right? So think about it.

Starting point is 00:23:33 Think about there are rappers who just rap. They go in, they rap. And then there are guys like a Travis Scott. There's guys like a Kid Cudi. There's guys like a Kanye West who literally build the song from the ground up from the beat to the lyrics

Starting point is 00:23:50 to the production to the sound like what the Titans need right now is not an artist. They need a musician. The Titans don't need a driver. They need a mechanic and I hope that people can understand what I'm saying is

Starting point is 00:24:06 Mike Vrabel can be a good coach and not be the right coach for the Titans. So again, I'm telling you, I'm saying this all week. This is what I am talking about all week. Okay? Gets me fired up. Because I think that you could say that Mike Vrabel isn't the right guy for where the Tennessee Titans are at right now. Without saying that I think that he's awful.

Starting point is 00:24:38 Because at the end of the day, guys, we can look at all this, but taking that 2019 team to the AFC Championship game, at all this, but taking that 2019 team to the AFC championship game, taking that team in 2021 to a first seed in the AFC 12-5 with how bad the O-line was that year and how bad the offense was that year, I'm sorry, there's enough evidence here where you can't say that Mike Vrabel is a bad football coach. There's enough evidence that we have seen. But that doesn't mean that he is the coach

Starting point is 00:25:07 for this team. Because again, the Titans don't just need a driver to drive their car right now. The Titans need a mechanic to build a brand new engine. The Titans don't just need a rapper to hop on the song. They need somebody who can build the beat, the hook, and master the track. The Titans don't just need an astronaut to land the ship. They need somebody who can build the beat, the hook, and master the track. The Titans don't just need an astronaut to land the ship. They need someone to build the rocket. And I do not think that Mike Vrabel is that guy. I simply don't.

Starting point is 00:25:35 Let me know, do you think that Mike Vrabel is the guy to build this team up? Because from what I've seen, Mike Vrabel is a good leader of developed players, from what I've seen, Mike Vrabel is a good leader of developed players, but Mike Vrabel is not the guy who is going to develop a young team into a successful team. He's simply not that guy. And that doesn't mean that he's a bad coach, even though a lot of people think that he is, which I don't. So let me know your thoughts down below about Mike Vrabel.

Starting point is 00:26:01 As I said, I'm going to be back tomorrow. I'm going to be breaking down the tape on what happened with Will Levis. I'm going to be talking more about Mike Vrabel. As I said, I'm going to be back tomorrow. I'm going to be breaking down the tape on what happened with Will Levis. I'm going to be talking more about Mike Vrabel, so make sure that you stay locked in. That is going to do it for me today, though, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titan.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans MAULED by Jacksonville Jaguars, Will Levis Joy & Mike Vrabel's Questionable Future

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