Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Mini-Camp Report: Simmons Holding In, Embarrassing Defensive Stat & Standouts

Episode Date: June 16, 2022

The Tennessee Titans had their last mini-camp practice open to the media on Wednesday and the focus of the day seemed to be on star defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons. With Simmons set to make a huge payday soon, the Titans are handling the situation correctly, even if it is a "hold in." Next, the Titans assistant defensive coaches spoke before practice and one of them called the Titans defense in 2021 "embarrassing." What did he mean and why is he right? Tyler explains. Finally, who was and wasn't at practice on Wednesday and who stood out!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” 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!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Blue NileMake your moment sparkle with jewelry from Bluenile.com, and LOCKED ON SPORTS listeners get $50 off purchases of $500 or more using code LOCKEDON. 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, on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, we are breaking down another day of Tennessee Titans mandatory minicamp first. Is Jeffrey Simmons secretly holding out, or better yet, holding in? Also, a Titans assistant coach calls the 2021 Titans defense embarrassing. I'll explain why and more standouts from practice on Wednesday. All of that and more on another mandatory minicamp recap 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, it is another mandatory minicamp recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm going to be breaking down all the biggest stories from Wednesday's practice. We're going to talk about Jeffrey Simmons, who may be staging a hold-in.

Currently, I'll explain what's going on there. A Tennessee Titans assistant defensive coach calls last year's defense embarrassing. I'll explain what he means and why the Titans do have to get better in that area, and we'll talk generally about standouts from Wednesday's practice as well. Before we get into that, I do want to let you guys know that today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by BlueNile.com. Make your moment sparkle with jewelry from BlueNile.com. Locked on Titans listeners get $50 off purchases of $500 or more.

This podcast exclusive includes engagement. Use code LOCKEDON at checkout at BlueNile.com. Thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. Free and available on all platforms, including the Locked On Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe there. Smash that notification bell and throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube right now.

But let's dive right in here. Is Jeffrey Simmons holding out or, I guess, to better put it, holding in because he is at the team facility? Well, I would say the answer is yes and no. because Simmons is in the building. He's not, you know, staying away. But he's not playing out on the field. Simmons is not participating in mandatory minicamps. He's not out there doing drills. He was in the building, in the facility on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, he did some slight work with a trainer off the side of the field with some resistance bands, but nothing too major. He's not obviously involved like his other teammates are. So, I would put it this way. The reason that Jeffrey Simmons is limited is related to his contract. Is it a rebellious move to not be involved? No. And what we're going to go over from Wednesday is going to prove that out.

So, Jeffrey Simmons is going to be getting a new contract soon, guys. He's one of the top three, top five interior defensive linemen in the NFL. Top two, in my opinion. And he's going to be looking to get paid $20 to $22 million per year. That's where his rate is going to be. So, there is no reason in mandatory minicamp six weeks before the Titans actually start training camp when the season really begins, there's no reason for Jeffrey Simmons to risk getting hurt right now for the team's sake or for his own sake. Because the reality is he's probably going to have himself a new contract from the Titans before training camp. Mike Vrabel said on Wednesday that what Jeffrey Simmons is doing right now is according to the plan. The plan that Jeffrey Simmons, Jeffrey Simmons' team, Mike Vrabel,

and the trainer put together. He is following the plan because Mike Vrabel knows. Mike Vrabel is a former player. He understands he's not going to force these guys to do things that him himself as a player wouldn't do. He knows that Jeffrey wants to get that contract in line before he goes out there and gives his all. But don't worry about Jeffrey Simmons worrying about the contract, not showing up to training camp, anything like that. Because Jeffrey Simmons himself on Wednesday said

he doesn't worry about the contract. He doesn't know or care about contract details. He has a team. He doesn't have an agent. He has a team of people that includes his uncle who manages the contract situation for him. He said he will be reporting to training camp and he will be out on the field.

Again, Mike Rabel said this was the plan. So the Titans organization is just doing right by Jeffrey Simmons, a guy who is going to reciprocate that and do right by the team when training camp comes and in contract negotiations. So the Titans are just looking out for what's best for Jeffrey Simmons because unlike someone who left the team recently, they believe that he's actually a Tennessee Titan.

So I'm not worried about Jeffrey Simmons. He's going to probably have a new deal before training camp. He said he's going to report. And let's talk about Jeffrey Simmons as a player, though. We got some news from Jeff that this year he is going to take down his playing weight in a drastic way, in my opinion, for an NFL football player. He played at around 310, 312, 315 last year. He said this year he wants to play about 295 to 300 max.

He wants to be lighter, have quicker footwork. And again, I said for Jeffrey Simmons to take that next step as the best interior defensive lineman in the NFL behind Aaron Donald, he's going to have to get double-digit sacks. And I had somebody in the comments when I said that in a couple videos ago say, you know, it's pretty hard for interior defensive linemen to get double-digit sacks. Yeah, you're right, which is why that's what Jeff has to do to take the next step to be the most dominant

at his position in the AFC. Yes, it is hard to do. That is the point. Yes, exactly that. So, Jeffrey Simmons wants to be lighter, quicker footwork, better on his joints. He talked about his stamina later in the season, his long-term health, and just as a human as well, all that very important to playing lighter. So that's a full recap of what's going

on with Big Jeff, who I think is probably the Tennessee Titans' best football player, period, along with, of course, Kevin Byard and the King, King Henry himself. But that's a debate for a different day. But Jeffrey Simmons, don't worry about the contract. He'll be there at training camp, probably with a new deal, and he's looking to play lighter this year. We are going to talk about a Titans assistant defensive coach who said last year's defense was embarrassing. I'll tell you why he said that and why he might be right.

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And find your forever peace. Use promo code LOCKEDON at BlueNile.com today. Titans fans, let's continue this mandatory mini-cap recap. Oh, it almost got me that time. Mandatory mini-cap recap edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We just talked about Big Jeff Simmons and everything going on with him right now. Not worried

whatsoever about his situation, the contract, his health, any of that. I think Jeff's good to go. The team's looking out for him. He's looking out for him and we should have a new deal and Jeffrey Simmons re-energized and ready to go. The team's looking out for him. He's looking out for him, and we should have a new deal, and Jeffrey Simmons re-energized and ready to go at a lighter weight in 2022. But we're going to move forward here. Like I said, I've been teasing it.

Just a pure, organic industry tease all show long about a Titans assistant coach saying the defense is embarrassing. And, hey, it's not clickbait. That's what he really said. That's what he really said. That's what he really said. So let's dive in here. So Titans defensive assistant coaches talked a little bit before practice on Wednesday. And they focused on one particular topic.

Kept coming up. Kept coming up. Before we get into it, thank you for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. Ryan Crow, Titans outside linebacker coach, said the Tennessee Titans defense was embarrassing in 2021 in regards to forcing turnovers. Defensive line coach Terrell Williams.

Said the Titans didn't force enough turnovers. And when they did force some fumbles. They didn't recover them enough. They didn't jump on them enough. They didn't create enough opportunities. They didn't capitalize on enough opportunities. So both Ryan Crowe the outside linebacker coach. And the D-line coach Terrell Williams, harped on that on Wednesday. And of course, they're working with the guys who

are pass rushing. So it makes sense that that'd be a big area of focus because when you look at the turnovers last year, the Titans were 14th in the NFL in takeaways. They had a negative three turnover margin as a team because the offense just gave the ball at a rapid pace. But 14th in takeaways, still not top 10 in the league, so definitely room for improvement. But you look at the turnovers, the Titans had 16 interceptions, which isn't all that bad, but only six fumble recoveries on defense. Only six

fumbles that were recovered that changed possession. The Titans forced 13 fumbles as a defense. Six of those. They recovered. And if you dive in even further, there was the Dylan Cole hit against the Saints that caused the forced fumble that was recovered and that counts in that number that was special teams not the defense

and then when the interception happened against the Colts in the second matchup in Indy and the Colts defender tore his ACL and fumbled the ball and the Titans recovered there that was counted in that. So, basically, if we look at

that even further, only four touchdowns or fumbles did the Titans actually recover on defense last year. That's not good enough. That's simply not. And especially when you talk about the defensive line, the defensive line is the one that's not good enough. That's simply not. And especially when you talk about the defensive line,

the defensive line is the one that's going to be forcing more fumbles as they get to the quarterback. So that is a huge point of emphasis for the Titans. And if you're somebody who thinks that this Titans defense, I see a lot of you guys in my comments all the time saying this Titans defense is going to be best in the league, top three in the league, top five in the league. So dominant that even if the Titans offense

is relatively the same this year as last year, they're going to be able to get to the Super Bowl because that defense is going to take that big of a step up. Well, let's talk about this. The way that the Titans build their football team. They don't have an elite quarterback, so they want a complimentary run game. Complimentary wide receivers and tight ends

who use yards after catch, who get yards after catch, after easy throws and schemed up opportunities. A quarterback just managing the team and doing his job. Well, if you're going to win a Super Bowl with an offense like that, you must have a turnover heavy defense. That is one of the components of these. How would I put this?

There are teams that are led by elite quarterbacks, and then there are teams, we've seen them throughout, like the 2018 Eagles is a good example. You look at the 49ers when they make their marches to the Super Bowl. Go back as far as to say like the Baltimore Ravens title team from early with Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Like I said, we've seen more recent examples as well. Not the Eli Manning New York Giants. I would say we're built this way.

So when you build a team like that, and it's really about the sum of the parts, and you're not led by just an elite quarterback you can count on at all times, you have to have a turnover-heavy defense. It always is a component. And the Titans simply weren't turnover-heavy enough last year. But you know who was?

Another team that, while their quarterback is very good, borderline elite, he wasn't statistically elite in the playoffs last year, and they went all the way to the Super Bowl. And I, of course, am talking about the Cincinnati Bengals. And Mike Vrabel, if you go back and look at the press conference after that game, said we didn't force enough turnovers. We got to force more turnovers.

And everyone was frustrated because it was obvious that the offense let them down with the turnovers. But it's clear that that idea is stuck in Vrabel's head. We have to have more turnovers as a defense, period. That's the reason we failed. Because we weren't forcing enough turnover. And we saw the Bengals' defense, that is good, get hot in the playoffs, force turnovers, and even though the offense wasn't lights out crazy,

they only scored 19 against the Titans. The Bengals' offense wasn't spectacular against the Titans. But the defense forced turnovers. So, when you're trying to go with that sum is greater than the whole of the parts, whatever that phrase is, I'm struggling with that right now. A key component of that is a turnover-happy defense. So 14th in takeaways last year,

that will not be good enough for what you guys think the Tennessee Titans defense should be, so it's good to hear that's such a focus early on. But we're going to continue talking about Titans' mandatory minicamp from Wednesday. I'm going to talk about attendance next. Talk about injury updates. Also going to talk about some standouts,

some standout plays and players from Wednesday's practice. Before we get into all that, though, I do want to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy from our friends over at Built Bar. You get the best of both worlds with Built Bar. You get all the health benefits of a protein bar. They're low calorie, low sugar, high protein, high fiber,

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recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast by going over more standouts from practice, talking about attendance as well. Before I get into that, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream, free and available everywhere, your team, every day. But I also have an important favor to ask you guys. We put together a survey so we can learn more about listeners like you

and make your favorite Locked On podcast even better. This is your opportunity. Tell us what you like and don't like about Locked On podcast. Go to lockedonpodcast.com slash survey right now to get started. It won't take very long, and everyone that completes the survey can qualify for a chance to win one of $10,000 Ticketmaster gift cards. To take our audience survey, go to lockedonpodcast.com slash survey. Thank you for all your help. But diving in here, we got to talk standouts.

And again, for another day, it's starting to become national news from a Titans camp standpoint. That's not going to lead SportsCenter or anything like that, From national news, from a Titans camp standpoint, that's not going to lead SportsCenter or anything like that, but some of the people who actually pay attention to the NFL from a national level are starting to notice all of the excitement around Chig Okonkwo, the rookie tight end out of Maryland. Chig had three touchdowns on Tuesday. He had another touchdown in seven-on-sevens on three touchdowns on Tuesday. He had another touchdown and seven on sevens on

Buster Screen on Wednesday. He continues to impress. Ben Arthur from Sports Illustrated also mentioned that based on what he's seen, he thinks that Austin Hooper and Chigaconquo together could create some really, really dynamic looks for the Titans on offense. Something that apparently he's been seeing as the Titans practice in camp. So that has to get you very, very excited for what Chigaconkwa is going to be able to do. And he is a difference. This is what we wanted, guys. Let's just take a step back.

This is what we wanted all along. Throughout the offseason, February, we wanted new tight ends. We just wanted new tight ends. In February, we wanted new tight ends. We just wanted new tight ends. And we sit here today with an Austin Hooper type, which is like a way better version of Jeff Swaim than what they tried to do with him last year. And we get a little baby John who,

oh, oh God, it feels so good. Oh man, I'm so happy. Blissful, you could say so. Not only did we get, personnel-wise, the type of guys we wanted and the setup we wanted. I wanted the Titans to go get a tight end in free agency. I wanted the Titans to get one of the good tight ends in the draft and add that to Jeff Swain for a threesome.

For a threesome of tight ends. Oh, no. Oh, God.esome of tight ends. Oh, no. Oh, God. For three tight ends that really make us happy. Now I'm completely off the rails. All my own volition. But moving forward, Chiggy Conquo continues to impress another touchdown on Wednesday. I think there's a real battle between these two guys, Reggie Roberson and Josh Malone.

Josh Malone continues to get talk. He is the new Marcus Johnson from last year, in my opinion. They both had touchdowns from Logan Woodside. Malik Willis, who on Tuesday, in fairness, reported he did struggle. He was off target on his accuracy. So that's fair. But rebounded on Wednesday. Had a touchdown to Kyle Phillips.

You love to see the Malik Willis to Kyle Phillips connection. That's going to be important for the future. So all that standouts there from practice. Roberson and Malone going at it for that outside deep threat guy. Now that is a battle that I'm keeping my eye on. As for attendance, no Traylon Burks still. Lay sigh. No Kevin Byard.

Okay, who cares? No Jeffrey Simmons, as we talked about, just worked with a trainer. Some resistance bands off the side of the field. No Monty Rice. No Cody Hollister. No Caleb Shudick, no Tommy Hudson, no Briley Moore, no A.J. Moore. Briley Moore and A.J. Moore both left practice early yesterday.

The Titans don't practice for about six weeks. Well, the rookies are going to stay around, but the Titans don't practice for about six weeks until training camp starts on the 26th of July. So these guys who got a little banged up at the end of OTAs and minicamp, no reason to go out there and risk them and play them and push them through. And no reason to put Bayard or Simmons out there. Whatever. No big deal there. And Traylon Burks, again, I don't think that he's earned it. So as I talked about yesterday.

But Aaron Brewer, who got a little banged up, recently did individual work but then went inside early same thing they're not going to push him too hard they just want him to get some work and get out of town Caleb Farley Robert Woods Christian Fulton Racey McMath still in yellow non-contact jerseys worth noting that Robert Woods did some individual drills without his knee brace but then came back out for team and had the knee brace back on. I think that's a smart move. You're doing individual, not expected to take contact from anybody.

Makes sense. But then in team, you never know what can happen. So again, I like that call right there. But that's basically everything you need to know about Titans mandatory minicamp on Wednesday. I do believe that's the last open mandatory minicamp practice, although there could be something on Thursday. Mike Varela will probably let guys go early,

and it won't be open to the media. So tomorrow, I'll come back, have some interesting storylines to go over with you guys. Going to talk about Malik Willis and Logan Woodside. I got some strong opinions on that from earlier in the week that maybe some of you guys are aware of. We are going to talk about some, some storylines that are just standing out.

The Austin Hooper, Ryan Tannehill connection. Very excited about that as well. So I can't wait to round out the week with you guys next week. I'm going to have three episodes doing top fives all week long. The week after that, going to do a division roundup all three days. So we'll get got a couple of weeks ahead after this week of three shows a week

as we are in really the only slow six-week period of the entire NFL schedule. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on tight.