Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Mike Vrabel Calls Out Receivers, Jeffery Simmons Contact & Colts Miserable Day

Episode Date: November 8, 2022

The Tennessee Titans wide receivers had a terrible showing against Kansas City on Sunday Night Football. Mike Vrabel, Titans Head Coach, has made some stinging comments in the last 48 hours that show just how upset he is, but SOME help is on the way in rookie Treylon Burks. Next, Jeffery Simmons has become one of the best players in the NFL, which means he will need a monster pay day soon. We got some recent comments from Jeff that leave Titans fans a bit concerned. Finally, the Indianapolis Colts are a terrible day on Monday, but in their trouble, the Titans could find some answers.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!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.BlueNileMake your moment sparkle with Blue Nile. Go to BlueNile.com and use code lockedon to save fifty dollars on your purchase of five-hundred dollars or more.BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at Betterhelp.com/LockedOn and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, Mike Rabel has been taking some shots at the Titans wide receiver position. I'll tell you why he's justified, why it's having an impact on Malik Willis, and there is some help on the way. Then, we got to talk about Jeffrey Simmons. He made some interesting comments recently about his contract situation. I'll tell you why it's fair to have a little bit of concern.

And then finally, it was a disastrous day for the Indianapolis Colts on Monday. But I'll tell you why their trash can become the Titans treasure. So all of that and more on today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, Mike Grable has had it with the wide receiver position. And I have a lot of evidence that points directly to that.

But there is some hope on the way. The Titans are going to get exactly what they need at wide receiver. I'm going to dive into all of that before I do want to let you know that this podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. It's not a crisis line. It's not self-help. It's professional therapy done securely online, available to people worldwide, and they have a special offer for my listeners. Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash locked on. Thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen. Every day, if this is your first ever listening, you just haven't subscribed yet, make sure that you do.

It's Monday through Friday, free Tennessee Titans content on all platforms all year round. You're not going to beat that anywhere. So subscribe on whatever platform you do stream, including the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Smash the notification bell. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now if you guys are excited about the Titans taking on the Denver Broncos this weekend.

But diving into it, man, we got some interesting quotes from Mike Vrabel over the weekend about this wide receiver group. I mean, this quote came out during the game. During the game, this came out. Ed Werder from ESPN asked Mike Vrabel sustainability of Derrick Henry taking 26 plus carries every game. Vrabel's quote, quote, we've been able to use him and he's helped us win a lot of games since I've been here. I don't know what else we would do.

Throw it 50 times? I mean, who the bleep would we throw it to? Who the bleep would we throw it to? That is absolute disdain for what the Titans have at wide receiver. And I think we have to make sure that we have responsibilities divided properly here. Mike Vrabel is a coach. And Mike Vrabel will have say on personnel.

But John Robinson picks the personnel. So to me, at best, this is just an honest admission to the media. At worst, this is a clear shot at John Robinson, letting him know, who the heck would I throw it to? We don't have anybody to throw it to. I have to run the ball 30 times a game because we don't have anybody else. Mike Vrabel also said in his press conference on Monday, quote,

He even bluntly said, we need to catch some of those passes. He said Malik Willis threw some great deep balls. And he did. To NWI, to Chris Conley, and they dropped him. Help your rookie quarterback. So Mike Vrabel is expressing plainly

that he is just disgusted by the status of this wide receiver group. And I think that he is publicly saying this to put the blame on John Robinson. And maybe put the blame as too negative a way to use it. Put the pressure on John Robinson, letting him know. Now, it goes beyond just Mike Rabel being upset. Did you see the quote from Malik Willis? They asked Malik Willis, when you're scrambling in overtime trying to avoid sacks, what's going on through your head? Malik Willis, when you're scrambling in overtime trying to avoid sacks,

what's going on through your head? Malik said, I hope someone gets open soon. I can't keep doing this. Listen to those words and say them to yourself. I hope someone gets open soon. I can't keep doing this. I mean, Malik isn't even good enough to be a starting quarterback and he's already like, I can't do this. And shout out to

Sean Calderon who had a great tweet here from NextGenStats going over the receiver separation on average for the Titans last night. Average separation in the NFL is 2.92 yards. Cody Hollister, 0.57. Chris Conley, 0.88. Robert Woods, 0.92. Austin Hooper, 2 yards.

Chigakonkwo, 2 yards. So the Titans wide receivers are averaging less than a yard of separation when about 3 yards of separation is the average in the NFL. It's despicable. It is despicable. And that also goes to you guys blaming Malik Willis. Give me a break. Now, the last thing that I want to mention here though is,

because yes, these are all problems, but I want to leave you guys with some hope. What do the Titans need right now, guys? If you could go to the offseason right now, what do the Titans need? They need a first-round wide receiver, right? Well, one's on the way. Mike Grable expressed optimism that Traylon Burks would be able to open his 21-day practice window. Jim Wyatt, the Titans team in-house reporter, said that he is expecting Traylon Burks to be activated and play on Sunday in his mailbag over the weekend.

Traylon Burks is a first-round wide receiver, and you look at what Garrett Wilson is doing, you look at what Chris Alave has done. I know that Traylon Burks' beginning of the season wasn't, you know, awesome, but he was leading the league in separation yards through the first couple of weeks of the season. He was making plays. He was clearly the most explosive wide receiver the Titans have.

So, yes, would have been nice if the Titans would have made some trade, but I'm still against giving up a lot of draft capital for what I saw get traded. It's more of an off-season issue. The Titans ruined it in the offseason. They're going to need to fix it in the next offseason. But for the time being, for this team that's so close, this team that's so close, a number one first round rookie wide receiver is exactly what the team needs. So I understand we're all upset about the wide receiver position and I acknowledge that Traylon Burks alone is, and even with Kyle Phillips coming back eventually, that isn't enough to solve this problem completely. But man, Burks is going to help so, so much.

So keep your hopes up, guys. You get Ryan Tannehill back. You get Traylon Burks back in. I think the Titans can beat the Broncos. I think they can beat the Packers with that added addition. So let's hope that Traylon Burks can come back and be a first round wide receiver because if you ask the majority of Titans fans what the Titans should take in the draft right now, a lot of them would say wide receiver. I personally would probably still lean towards left tackle if available, but it doesn't change the fact that the Titans have a major need at wide receiver and they're basically getting a first round pick added back into the mix this week. So it's rough out there, but help is on the way. We're going to continue breaking down all of the news from over the weekend. Jeffrey Simmons contract situation,

it concerned me a little bit reading those comments. I'm going to go over what Jeff said, what Jeff tweeted, and what we really need to worry about, not just with Jeffrey Simmons, but with the Titans as a team in general when it comes to big contracts. Before we get into all of that though, I do want to let you guys know a little bit more about the sponsor of today's show, BetterHelp. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. It's not, you know, a self-help line. It's not, you know, cheap therapy that, you know, doesn't really take an interest in you. And I personally, I don't know, the best way that I can explain how much I love BetterHelp is to talk about my personal experience.

And what I like the most upfront is they ask you a ton of questions about yourself, basically trying to figure out what would be the best therapist for you. And I think the most important thing in therapy is the connection between the patient and the therapist and having trust there and having, being on the same wavelength, essentially. And the questionnaire that they ask you, really trying to figure out exactly what you need help with. I think it's the best approach that I've seen. And whether or not you've been in therapy personally, talking about the broader benefits

of therapy, you can learn coping skills, self-empowerment, learn how to deal with your trauma. If you've benefited from therapy, then you feel free to speak to that. And you can talk about that now and pay that forward

where you can help other people get on the right track to help be the best version of themselves. So get unstuck with BetterHelp. You can learn more and save 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash locked on. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash locked on. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We just talked about the grave situation that is the wide receiver room. Mike Rabel speaking to that publicly and Traylon Burks on the way.

So everybody just relax a little bit. This is what they need. Going forward, we need to talk about Jeffrey Simmons' contract situation, though. He had some interesting quotes over the weekend. I think there is some reason to be a little bit concerned. Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. Tomorrow is Rewatch Wednesday.

I'm going to be doing an all-22 film review with you guys on the offense and the defense and Malik Willis. So excited to dive into that. At the end of today's show, we're going to talk about the Indianapolis Colts and how I think there's a way that the Titans can benefit even more from this disaster for Indy more than just, you know, the obvious of a division rival is having a terrible year. But for Jeffrey Simmons, these are the quotes that came out over the weekend

in regards to Jeffrey Simmons' contract situation from Dan Pompey with The Athletic. Quote, it was, we want you to be here, but we don't know exactly when we'll be able to pay you. The Titans were like, we don't know if we're going to be able to offer you what you think you are worth. We want to pay you, but we don't know where it's going to come from. That's basically what it was. Not an offer. We don't know if we're going to be able to offer you what you think you are worth. We want to pay you, but we don't know where it's going to come from.

Guys, that's concerning. The Titans told Jeffrey Simmons that they don't think they're going to be able to offer him what he's worth and they don't know where they're going to get the money to pay him? What? The Titans can't let Jeffrey Simmons go, right? Right?

Right? So, let me break down this issue to you guys. When we talk about players, the conversation normally revolves around cap space. How much cap space? How do they fit in the cap? Here is the hidden secret in the NFL though. And this is the difference between certain teams and certain owners

than other teams and other owners. We worry about cap space. The cap space is the easy part. You can finagle contracts where they have big bonuses to lower the salary cap hit. Every year we see Harold Landry, Bud Dupree, Ryan Taylor. We've seen it with all these contracts where they have like a five million dollar cap hit in the first year because they get huge bonus money. Well, what we don't ever think about is actual cash money

when it comes to paying bonus money. So when you give an NFL player a contract, yeah, it may be $20 million a year on the cap, but you gave that player $80 million of guaranteed money at signing. You don't pay them over time every two weeks like a paycheck. The owner has to take $80 million and put it in an account. You guys are talking about, oh, we cut this guy. We cut that guy. You guys aren't hearing me. This isn't about cap space. It's not about having cap space to sign players. It's about, does Amy Adams Strunk, as the owner of the Titans, have $80 million to put into an account for A.J. Brown? Does Amy Adams-Strunk have $100 million

to put into an account on day one for Jeffrey Simmons? Tannehill costs $37 million this year. Guys, you still aren't getting it. That is about cap space. We're talking about Amy Adams Strunk having $100 million in cash to give to Jeffrey Simmons and put in an account when he signs his

contract. To me, I think it's fair right now to wonder the real reason the Titans didn't sign A.J. Brown. Was it because Amy Adams Strunk said, I don't have $80 million to put into an account for A.J. Brown when I got to give $100 million in an account to Jeffrey Simmons in a year?

John Robinson went to her and said, hey, we need to pay A.J. He's going to get about $70 to $80 million guaranteed. Hey, we're going to have to pay Jeffrey Simmons next summer. He's going to get about $100 million guaranteed. It has nothing to do with cap space. Some owners in the NFL do not have the cash money, the cash flow, the liquid assets to put that money in an account on day one. I think that it's possible that what we are seeing here is the ramifications of the Titans' new stadium. Amy Adams Strunk liquidated a ton of assets,

which basically means if you own a boat, you own a house, you own a car, you sell it to get cash money. She has liquidated a ton of her family assets to get the $800 million necessary that she has to put up for the Titans stadium? Do you think that with her liquidating assets and saying, hey, here's

$800 million of my money to build a stadium that maybe she might not want to give $100 million of cash to Jeffrey Simmons? She's not Stan Kroenke for the Rams. She's not Stan Kroenke for the Rams. She's not Jerry Jones for the Cowboys. See, when some of you guys come on here and you say, look at the Rams.

F those picks. Look at the Rams. Well, you know what you have to be able to do if you're going to build your team not on draft picks, but on veteran players? You have to have the, you can make the cap space work.

Cap guys get paid millions of dollars every you can make the cap space work. Cap guys get paid millions of dollars every year to make the cap space work. But what you can't finagle, what you can't play with like you can cap space is guaranteed dollars that have to be paid to players immediately when they sign their contract. Richer owners, billionaire owners,

over billionaire owners, like the more richer owners, billionaire owners, over-billionaire owners, like the more richer owners in the NFL, they can afford to have more veteran players on the team because they can pay that guaranteed money up front and heavy guaranteed bonuses so that they can finagle the contract numbers. So I'm just saying, I think that the Titans eventually do get

a deal done with Jeffrey Simmons, but you do have to wonder if Amy Adams spending $800 million, and I already got people in the comments who don't understand how to separate different billionaires. If you don't understand the difference between Jerry Jones and Stan Kroenke

and like Mike Brown for the Bengals, Amy Adams-Strunk for the Titans, the Spanos family for the Chargers. If you don't understand the levels of money within these clubs of billionaires, I get it. You're, oh, they're all billionaires. They all got money,

but you don't understand it. You simply don't. Amy Adam Strunk inherited her wealth. Stan Kroenke and some of these other people in the NFL have built huge empires. Like, I don't know how else to explain it to you guys if you don't understand the difference between billionaires. It's the same in every professional sport.

Yeah, you got to be a billionaire to own a team. You got to be rich to own a team. But there are different levels to the money within the NFL and the owners. It's not, yeah, Bruce said it. It's facts. It's not a take. I'm not, like, so anyways, I'm just saying that I think that there, if you're a Titans fan and you're concerned about the franchise's ability

to pay Jeffrey Simmons what he's worth, I think it's fair. It's also fair to wonder how much liquidating the assets to pay $800 for a new stadium has factored into whether or not they kept AJ and will factor in to whether or not they keep Jeffrey Simmons. But I will round things off with this. What else would Jeffrey Simmons say?

He said, listen, I love where I'm round things off with this. What else would Jeffrey Simmons say? He said, listen, I love where I'm at. I love this organization. And most of all, my teammates, I'm not worried about a contract. I'm focused on winning. Next story, please. And I don't expect Jeffrey Simmons to be focused on the contract. But it's okay if we are, right? Okay. Yeah, exactly that. So moving forward though, the Colts had a disastrous day on Monday. I think there's a way that the Titans can benefit from the disaster that was Indianapolis this week. Before we get into that though, do want to tell you guys about PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy made simple. Guys, they have a projection for each player. 300 yards for Pat Mahomes,

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go to prizepix.com. Use the PrizePix app and use that promo code LOCKEDON for a 100% instant deposit match. Titans fans, I'm just going to say it right now. The Titans need to hire Frank Reich, the fired Colts head coach. But before we get into that, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Free Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all platforms.

You can't beat it. Stay locked into the Locked On Titans podcast where it's your team every day. But moving forward here, the Colts fired Frank Reich on Monday. They hired Jeff Saturday. Jeff Saturday was a high school football coach. He went three-7. What in the world is this? At minimum, at minimum,

this is a complete panic move, a complete disaster move by a franchise that the Titans have just sent in a tailspin. At worst, at maximum, some folks are saying the Colts are racist because they didn't interview a minority candidate and they skipped over a bunch of qualified minority candidates to be their

interim head coach and hired a former player. I'm not saying that, but I saw some takes on the internet on Monday. All I know is this. Jeff Saturday couldn't pilot a high school football team to a winning record. He sure as heck ain't taking this Colts team to anything. And if anything, you may have just completely lost the locker room in Indianapolis because none of those guys respect the move that you just made to install Saturday all of a sudden when you got other coaches on the coaching staff who have been head coaches before and deserve the shot.

Chris Ballard's next. They're going to tear it down in Indy. Quite funny. But let me say this. The Titans need to hire Frank Reich as offensive coordinator. I know that Frank Reich may not be the best head coach in the

NFL. Jared, I know. I know that you don't have to follow the Rooney rule when you're hiring an interim head coach. I'm just telling you what people were saying on the internet today. The Colts were taking a lot of criticism. It was a disaster day for them. So, I'm just telling you what people were saying on the internet today. The Colts were taking a lot of criticism. It was a disaster day for them. So, I'm just bringing you the news, my guy.

Anyways. Frank Reich may not be a great head coach. I honestly think he's a good head coach. The Titans just owned him. But Frank Reich has a 40-33-1 record as a head coach. He's got a winning record in the NFL. He was the offensive coordinator for a Super Bowl

winning team. He's had success before he came to Indianapolis and Philly that allowed him to get those jobs. Frank Reich, not only is a pretty good offensive mind himself, but he's had to go up against the Titans and contested important games for multiple years.

He'd probably be pretty good to help the Titans scout themselves, right? Hey, Frank, when you were preparing to stop us, what were you saying? What were you trying to attack? Where do you think we're vulnerable? What do you think we could do to change that? And let's just get to the heart of the matter here. Anybody but Todd Downing. Anybody but Todd Downing.

Anybody. Yeah, and you know what? I'd love to see Tim Kelly get a shot, but let me just say this. Let me just, yeah. Frank Wright got scapegoated by the Colts because it's really Chris Ballard's problem. But let me say this. Let me just, yeah. Frank Wright got scapegoated by the Colts because it's really Chris Ballard's problem. But, let me say this. DS, I see you. That's funny.

Yeah. Tim Kelly. We all want to see him take the reins. But Tim Kelly's in those meetings every day. Tim Kelly's involved every day. And the Titans offense is still 32nd. So, I think at some point, while I would love to see Tim Kelly get a shot

to officially call the plays, I think at some point we also have to acknowledge maybe Tim Kelly isn't as big of a solution as we hope. You know, maybe. I don't know. Just asking questions. But what I do know is, I know that Frank Reich is a good offensive coordinator. I know that Frank Reich is a good offensive coordinator. I know that Frank Reich is a pretty good coach. So I think, and it's funny because Ted Wynn, a guy who covers the NFL, he's a film guru, does great work for the athletic. He even said it would be fun to see Frank Reich be the offensive coordinator or QB coach in Tennessee. And I agree. Let Frank Reich help with the development of Malik Willis.

Let Frank Reich call the plays. I mean, again, anybody but, anybody but Todd Downing. But Frank Reich was a good head coach. Frank Reich is a good coach. And I think he's proven that he can make a young quarterback better. Look what he did for Carson Wentz. He had Carson Wentz looking like the MVP in 2017 before he tore up his knee, and look at what's been since.

Now, maybe Frank Reich doesn't have the rah-rah motivational leader accountability, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah that Mike Vrabel has, but I have said all along, Mike Vrabel can be a top-tier head coach in the NFL, but he needs schematically driven coordinators. It's like John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh isn't a defensive guru. John Harbaugh isn't an offensive guru.

John Harbaugh is a CEO leader of men. And he always has very gifted coordinators. And that's the route that Mike Vrabel needs to go. Now, Shane Bowen looks to be one of those gifted coordinators, and that's the route that Mike Vrabel needs to go. Now, Shane Bowen looks to be one of those gifted coordinators. When he had Arthur Smith, a gifted coordinator, the Titans were humming. So he needs to find somebody who's a much more talented play caller and play designer than Todd Downing to match his style as a CEO and a leader of men. And Frank Reich would be exactly that. Frank Reich would be exactly that.

So, anyways. That's going to do it for me today, guys. We talked about the wide receiver position. We talked about Traylon Burks. We talked about Jeffrey Simmons' contract. We talked about the Colts going up in flames and how the Titans need to take advantage of that and hire Frank Reich as their offensive coordinator. Now, here's the one thing I will say.

Frank Reich probably wants a head coaching job, and I think there's a good chance he could get the job in Denver next year. So maybe it's not an opportunity there, but if he doesn't take a head coaching job, the Titans need to get Frank Reich as their offensive coordinator during the offseason. But again, that's going to do it for me today. Rewatch Wednesday tomorrow will be an all 22 review

what the Titans did on tape. So make sure you guys tune into that. Boy, it's been a crazy 48 hours. That's all I can say. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.