Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans MUST BULLY Chicago Bears in Joint Practice & Carnell Tate BOUNCE BACK is Possible

Episode Date: August 26, 2026

The Tennessee Titans face their final preseason exam this weekend as they have joint practice and a preseason game with the Chicago Bears. Chicago comes in very banged up from an injury standpoint which means the Titans should have a mixture of backups in starting roles to bully on their way to getting back on the right track. This is the last chance for the Titans to sharpen up before the games count. Injuries mixed with areas of vulnerability, but a nice talent floor makes the Bears the perfect team for the job. One of those areas of vulnerability on the Bears is the defense. Secondary injuries and pass rush talent issues make them a unit Cam Ward and company can have success on, including Carnell Tate, who could have a massive bounce back. The Titans defensive line will be challenged the most as the Bears protection is solid. Caleb Williams also presents a difficult challenge to the defensive line. In the secondary, the Bears have enough weapons to challenge the backend and test their rules, likely to break some.    LOCKED ON TITANS EVERYDAY CLUB: https://lockedontitans.supercast.com/   Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans   TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop...   Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans   Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod   Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@LockedOnTitans   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Gusto Try Gusto today at gusto.com/LOCKEDONNFL, and get three months free when you run your first payroll. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COM to play Daily Dingers and make your free pick on who’s hitting a homer this MLB season.   KALSHI For a limited time,Download the Kalshi app and use code [LOCKEDON] to get $10 when you trade $10. Square Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at https://square.com/go/lockedonnfl! #squarepod Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. Odoo Great organizations win because operations matter. And that’s why you should get Odoo. Try for free today at https://Odoo.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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Tennessee Titans should absolutely bully the bend-up Chicago Bears in their final test before the regular season. I'll break it all down on today's edition of Locked-on Titans. You are Locked-on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland Titans fans. on today's show. We're going to get ready for joint practice against the Chicago Bears. Again, what might be the biggest final test for the Tennessee Titans

before the regular season. I'm going to tell you why the defensive line has the biggest challenge of the week. We're going to talk about why I think Carnell Tate can have a rebound performance, but we've got to start with my feelings about the team overall. And of course, Cam Ward at quarterback. I think the Tennessee Titans should bully the Chicago Bears this weekend. That's not because I think the Chicago Bears are such a lesser team than the Titans. They're so inferior to the Titans.

I don't think the Bears are a good football team in general, anything like that. I am high on the Bears. I think the Bears are going to be a pretty good team this year. But right now, right now they're banged up. And they had some weaknesses on paper that were already the case before they started getting a bunch of injuries. And now they have a bunch of injuries. and I think they're a very well-coached football team,

so it's not like they're going to come out and get absolutely rolled over or anything like that. But I do think the Titans should have an advantage considering the current state of the Chicago Bears and where they're at. So they have injuries all over the place. Again, they have injuries on the offensive line that may not be as bad as some other places.

They're really banged up in the secondary where their new free agent starting safety, Kobe Bryant is going to be out. Kyler Gordon has been. been out. Tyree Stevenson, their cornerback has been in and out of practice. They've had some injuries up front as well. Jervon Dexter, is he

going to be traded? Is he not going to be traded in and out of the lineup? Now they're worried about Darnell Wright and Luther Burden has also been banged up. There's just a lot going on with Chicago right now that I think gives the Titans a unique advantage, being at home, having the Bears not in their 100%

best spot. The Titans should be able to have a good week and they need to. This is their last test. This is the last challenge, the last tune-up, the last rehearsal that they have before week one. And they played well in the joint practice against Seattle last week. Then they came out and they lost all their momentum with a bad performance in the preseason game.

Well, they're going to come here with a chance to play very, very well against the bears. And let's say this. Again, I don't mean to insult the bears. I think the bears are a solid football team. I like the bears this year. But are the bears as quality of a team as the Seattle Seahawks? I don't think it's a hot take to say no, that they're not. Are the Chicago Bears as good of a team as the San Francisco 49ers?

I think they're probably pretty close. but I know that Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Brock Purdy, some of the guys they have on defense, like a Fred Warner, for example. I know that when the 49ers are healthy, they're a more talented team on paper than the Chicago Bears. Because again, we're talking about the injuries for the Bears, but the Bears also have some weaknesses on paper. You know, their offense is really, really good.

And we'll talk about that throughout the show. but the defense, last year, the Chicago Bears defense survived on turnovers. The defense was not incredible. They just got a lot of turnovers last year. I think they might have led the NFL and takeaways. Kevin Byard in the back end, taking the ball away a whole bunch. They had a lot of turnovers. And turnovers just simply are not repeatable typically year to year.

They're very volatile. And the pass rush already considered a man. massive weakness for the Bears. Montes Sweat, good player, but he's been up and down. Grady Jarrett, older. Again, Javon Dexter is a good player, but he's no Jeffrey Simmons or John Franklin Myers. Austin Booker was a guy that I liked coming out of college. But he's not a bona fide starting edge rusher in the NFL.

He's been in and out of the lineup as well. They have Dioa Dangbo in there who's just okay. You know what I mean? good young defensive lineman Jordan Vanderberg, who's been impressive this off season so far, but Marcus Davenport in and out as a free agent signing that they thought maybe could help them. They don't really have a lot that threatens

in the defensive line spot. We'll talk about what that means for the O line in particular. But again, that is a weakness. We talked about the secondary as well. And without Kobe Bryant, without Kyler Gordon. They just have a lot of guys in the lineup right now who I wouldn't consider starting level talent.

So there's just no excuse for a Titans defense that should perform well, a Titans offense going against a lackluster defense. This is just an opportunity where the Titans have to put their best foot forward in both circumstances. You have to. It's like a driving test.

Right? a driving test, you don't just do the neighborhood drive. You have to then do the maneuverability, do the parallel parking simulation. So you do the drive portion, the maneuverability portion. As a matter of fact, you've got to do the written exam with your driving test as well. So passing the test for the Titans, this last final test, will require more than just doing well in the joint practice. It will require having a good, solid,

season performance as well. And I guess ultimately what my point here is, is I think the Titans, because of where the Bears are at as a team right now, the Titans are set up perfectly to pass that test. That's what I'm expecting. And a big part of that, obviously, is Cam Ward. And what Cam Ward's going to do. And I talked about it, the issues in the secondary, the defensive line, the offensive line should have the opportunity to win the match.

the wide receiver should be able to create some space. And Cam Ward should be able to have some success. And it trickles down the line. A guy like Will Levis could have some success. And a guy like Tyson Bayjeant right now for the Bears, their backup quarterback has been a little bit banged up. Maybe Will Levis could be an option for the Bears. Now I'm really over my skis, I know,

but I'm just trying to, you know, manifest it, wishing into existence, you could say. But I just think Cam Ward is in a position to have a really good week, get really good work in, really build the confidence, really build the momentum. With the Jets two weeks away,

I think this is as good of a match-up as the Titans could have asked for because the Bears aren't bad and they're an NFC team that was good and made the playoffs and won a playoff game last year, which means it'll matter. It's a good opponent. But also, the Bears are a little banged up.

They're not as good as the Seahawks. They're not as good as the 49ers. gives the Titans a great opportunity to feel good about themselves, but also have a winnable and passable test in front of them. So bully the Chicago Bears Titans. That's what I want to see. But with that in mind, again, let's zoom in on the offensive side of the ball,

talk about the passing game because I think that Cardinal Tate can have a rebound performance against the Bears after being quiet over the last week. Do you want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by Indeed. When workplace chaos hits and you need the right hire, Indeed sponsor jobs helps you connect with candidates who match specific needs like skills, certifications, and location.

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Sponsored jobs. And so let's continue today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast again, getting you ready for the Titans weekend against the Chicago Bears joint practice on Thursday, preseason game on Saturday, and that'll do it for the preseason as the Tennessee Titans officially start prep for the New York. Jets. But with that being said, we talked about why the Titans are in a unique position to bully the Chicago Bears. Now I want to drill in and talk about individual positions, individual players.

And again, we look at Cam Ward. And Cam Ward has been up and down. There's no way around it. But he did improve against Seattle. He did look better in moments. Now, there were still bad moments. And I see everybody, you know, people tag me in this Kirk Ben Kirk or Kurt Warner or every Kurt you could ever think of and all these things. And it's so funny because they do everything in their power to not criticize quarterbacks because they're quarterbacks. And they're like, oh, it's not on the quarterback and this and that.

But I don't care who you are, what level you're at, what you say, the overthrow to Cornell Tate, the bad ball security, go back to 49ers week, the bad throw to Wondale Robinson on the bubble screen, the bad throw to Carnell Tate on the out route. Some of these plays are so simple to see what happened that I don't care if you're Oppenheimer.

Like, I don't have to be a nuclear physicist to say, a bomb just went off over there. You know what I mean? Like some stuff is simple. You don't have to be an expert to understand certain things. They're just obvious.

You know what I mean? It just, so sometimes people try to overcomplicate. Look, I see it. I watched the Kurt Warner thing. It was good. Kurt Warner does great. But like, I watched the Kurt Benkirk thing. And I'm like, yeah, he's showing all the plays that were decent for Cam Ward.

The problem is there's too many bad plays still. You know what I mean? So this is an opportunity in the final test for Cam Ward for him to go out there against a banged up secondary. without a very good pass rush, without great linebacker play over the middle, and have success. And again, build momentum.

It's the same stuff. It's the same exact stuff that I said last week. And in the joint practice, he did it against Seattle, but he just couldn't do it twice. He just couldn't prove it. It's like playing pig. There's another analogy for you.

You get the PIG, but you got to prove it. you've got to prove it. So let's see Cam Ward prove it. Is that too much to ask? And I think something that's going to help him prove it is Carnell Tate. I think Carnell Tate is due for a bounceback. And one of the big reasons is Jalen Johnson is a very good corner.

He's the number one corner for the Bears, very good player. But the Titans have been moving Cornell Tate around quite a bit. They've been moving him in the slot. They put them in motion, I think once. If I remember, outside to inside motion. They've been moving them around the formation and training camp and practice. Throw Elyke-O-Manner out there to battle with Jalen Johnson and move Cardinal Tate around. Get him matched up on some of these safeties.

Get them on Dylan Thineman, who's a rookie as well. Get them on an Elijah Hicks. Get them on a Cam Lewis, for example. I think there are Xavier Woods already banged up. but Xavier Woods is playing for this team and we know that he does not have elite speed. Carnal Tate and Cam Ward should be able to dice up

the middle of this Chicago Bears defense. Devin Bush, never been a great coverage player. T.J. Edwards getting older at this stage. Like, I want to see Cam Ward and Carnell Tate rekindle their connection. I want to see Carnell Tate be, I mean, we don't have to see outright dominant.

but he should be the Titans best receiver. It should be clear Carnell Tate is making an impact on practice. Carnel Tate gets a catch in the preseason game for once. Just get him one. Execute one time to get Carnell Tate, one catch. You catch it Carnell, good throw from Cam Ward, get this thing going.

I need to see some positive results from this pairing. We've seen none. And that doesn't mean that it can't, work in the regular season. It doesn't mean that it's all over and Cam's a bus. Tate was a bus. It's all like you guys do that. Criticism does not mean the end. Like just because I point out something that needs to get better doesn't mean that I think it can't get better. I think that's the big disconnect. I have finally found a perfect way to explain how I feel about reactions to my reactions.

criticizing something doesn't mean that I think it's impossible for them to improve on that criticism. Just because I point out a concern doesn't mean that I believe that that concern cannot improve. That is the mental disconnect for me between when I say Cam Ward didn't play well. You guys hear, oh, he's a bust. I hear Cam Ward didn't play well and he needs to play better. And there's a difference in those things. So when I say that Cornell Tate has been a ghost for the past week,

that does not mean I don't think he can ever get any better than it's over. Close the book. Movies finished. Click. I'm just pointing out he's been very quiet for the last week, which is factual. It's just a fact of what happened.

So let's correct that. Let's take it the other way. Let's start, I'm not asking to go out and dominate like Prime Julio and Calvin Johnson right now in this joint practice in the preseason game against the Bears. But can we start getting in the right direction? Let's not just be completely invisible out there. Can I ask for that? Is that fair?

I know mean old tie. I just want the team to play well and to believe that they're going to play well. I know. But like, I just want to see it start going in the other direction. Now, the offensive line group I want to see them run the ball. This Bears team, this Bears front should not be able to stop the Titans from running the football with all the, I don't want to say, issues

because that's maybe a bit too harsh, but the talent is just not to the level where I think the Titans shouldn't be able to run the ball with this offense. If the Titans' offensive line is going to be improved in a way that is significant, for how good this team is going to be. The Bears are a defensive front. They should be able to have success against.

The Titans' offensive line should be able to give Cam Ward time. They should be able to run the football. Again, like I mentioned earlier, like the offense should have a good day. You know, the Bears were terrible in run defense last year, if I remember correctly. Like, they were one of the worst run defenses is in the NFL.

And the personnel is not much better. So I expect the Titans to bully the defensive front of the Chicago Bears with their offensive line and run the football. Now, we do got to keep our eye on the running back position. Nick Singleton was back at practice on Tuesday. I wouldn't want to run Tony Pollard too much in these joint practices. He, you know, he's a veteran with a lot of tread on the tires. Tajay Spears at this point

has gotten a lot of work with the absences at running back over the past week and I don't know that you want to overwork Tajay Spears with his medical history as well Nick Singleton back but missed a week do they really want to run him super super heavy in these practices if they're a little bit worried about his return might get a heavy dose

of Julius Chestnut de Ernest Johnson will Callow Mullings potentially make a return all things that we got to watch for. Michael Carter, going to get a lot of carries in this practice as well, I would suspect. But top to bottom,

and then you look at the tight end spot, we know Gunner Helm and Daniel Bellinger. We know that they're the top two tight ends, but I haven't heard much from Bellinger. Helm has been okay. That toe tap really has me mad from the preseason. So let's see if either of those tight ends

kind of emerge again, the safeties, the linebackers, of the bears are not overly impressive to me. So will that give the tight ends an opportunity to maybe carve things up over the middle of the field? Something that I'm going to have my eye on. But with that being said, we go to the defensive side of the ball where the Titans' defensive line has the biggest challenge of the week.

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and the Titans' offensive line should absolutely dominate up front. But the challenge comes on the other side of the ball, where the Titans' defensive line will have to deal with the offensive line other Chicago Bears and Caleb Williams at quarterback and the weapons that they have is something that the secondary will have to contend with. Before we continue though, do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans.

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Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one. The seasons right around the corner. Stay locked in to the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world. Locked on Titans. But with that being said, again, the defensive line has the most difficult task of any group on the team.

Because the Bears have a couple of different things going for him. Number one, very good offensive line talent. Whether it be Joe Thuney or Jonah Jackson or Darnel Wright, who's been a little banged up, will he play? He came back to walkthroughs on Wednesday. but he has been out before that with an elbow arm injury of some kind. Darnell Wright, the excellent offensive tackle who just got paid this offseason, will he play?

That'll be a big factor in this conversation. But Braxton Jones, Ozzie Trapio, I don't know whether either of them, Braxton Jones has been in and out. Ozzie Trapio was super banged up, but it started getting back out on the field. I don't know if either of them will participate, but I think there's a good chance that the Bears,

good regular starting offensive line is out there on Thursday and that they won't play in the preseason game. I think the Bears are one of those teams who they're not really that worried about preseason action. So we'll probably get a lot of their backups again in the actual game on Saturday night. But in this joint practice, I think we're probably going to see the Chicago Bears ones get some real work in. And the D line dealing with that offensive line that has talent, great coaching. from Ben Johnson.

I mean, you know what you're going to get with Ben Johnson. And he makes it easier on the offensive line by having, you know, pass and run look very similar. The bootlegs that move the pocket, getting guys open quickly. Again, just his general sequencing of his play calling can confuse defenses. That's going to make it tough on the D-line,

especially a Titans D-line that wants to fly up the field and penetrate. Ben Johnson is going to use misdirection and counter and things to kind of mess with the Titans vision and make it hard on them and make them reconsider. And if you get them to think just a second and slow down the Titans' defensive line, that's how you beat a front like that.

It's just get them thinking a little bit so they're not firing off as quick and penetrating as fast to ruin what you're doing on offense. And then Caleb Williams, who love him or hate him. Caleb Williams is a creator. He's a playmaker. He does all the stuff that Cam Ward does.

Some would argue that he does it better. He plays off script, scrambles out of the pocket, extends plays, makes crazy throws with great arm talent across his body, down the field. The play is never over. And quite frankly,

that makes it tough on the defensive line, not only from a, hey, I got to get to the quarterback quickly situation, but also a stamina situation. You're going to be running a lot with Caleb Williams playing quarterback. You're going to be moving around again as he extends those plays

and you're trying to chase him down, like it just puts more strain on the defensive line to deal with a guy like Caleb Williams. So whether it be the talent of the O line, the play calling, the quarterback making things difficult, it is clear that the Titans defensive line has the most difficult challenge of anybody in practice this week. But the thing is, the Titans defensive line

is their most talented position group. It's supposed to be the group that the entire defense, and in my opinion, the entire team is built on if the Titans defensive line is going to be the type of line that we need it to be. be for the Titans to hit their max potential. They should have some successes against the Chicago Bears' offense.

The Bears are not such an elite unit that the Titans' defense should just get rolled over. Now, I will tell you, the Bears' offense is very, very good though. And if Luther Burden is out there with Romo Dunzee, who I like a lot,

their rookie third rounder, Zabian Thomas, has been having a good camp. They got a guy named Jada Walker, who's been pretty good for, who's an undrafted free agent from last year, I believe they have Khalif Raymond on the team. Remember our old friend Khalif Raymond, who is listed as their starting slot wide receiver right now,

but I don't know if that'll actually be the case when this season comes again. I mentioned their tight ends earlier. Colston Loveland is going to be a star. Cole Commet is a really solid tight end. And I know there were a lot of Titans fans out there that wanted Sam Roush out of Stanford. So they do have a lot of talent on that offense.

But the Titans' defense should be good enough to be competitive with that. And I think the Titans' offense, like I mentioned earlier, should dominate their match-up against the Bears' defense. And now we go to the secondary because, yeah, the defensive line's going to have a major test, but the secondary is second. Because, again, I mentioned the weapons. Romo Dunzei, Luther Berger, Colston Loveland, DeAndre Swift, Caleb Williams' playmaking.

that is, that's a lot of talent. That's a good group right there. And it's going to be a challenge for the secondary. And when we saw them blow coverages and, you know, are they ready and things like that? Ben Johnson is diabolical. And you know that Ben Johnson is going to test Robert Sala's rules. He is going to make sure that the Titans are mentally prepared.

And if they aren't, we're going to hear about a lot. lot of blown coverages. So I'm very curious to see how the secondary will hold up. Will a guy like Alante Taylor do well on O'Dunesek? How does the Titan slot

cornerbacks? Marcus Harris, big nickel Tony Adams. How do they do against Luther Burton? Maybe one-on-one with Colston Loveland as a big slot. How do those go? The linebackers.

Anthony Hill. Is he going to get more opportunities this week? There's a lot of over-the-middle stress being put on from a Ben Johnson offense. So I'm just curious to see how the defense holds up with this match-up and who actually plays for Chicago. But I'm going to be here tomorrow to break it all down with you guys no matter what happens.

So make sure that you get subscribe, stay subscribe, thumbs up on the video, tighten up down in the chat. I am your host Tyler Rowland and as always I tell you every single episode tighten up and oh I'm all I'm so messed up right now this is crazy as always I am your host

Tyler Rowland and this was locked on Titans thank you