Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Must BULLY THE JETS, Will Levis Can't Make Mistakes & Special Teams Swing Game

Episode Date: September 12, 2024

The Tennessee Titans look to bounce back after a miserable loss in Week 1 and see a New York Jets team that is very beatable. To do that, the Titans must find a way to keep Aaron Rodgers in check and a lot of that starts with stopping the run. On defense, the Jets didn't perform like most expected and it could be a trend, not a blip. Will Levis must prevent major mistakes that were made in Week 1 and the Titans defense must get pressure up the middle to force Rodgers to move his legs. Finally, special teams will be a major factor in this matchup and the Titans must avoid a game-losing play at all costs.Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitansTicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=ascFollow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosFor your next listen, check out the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast. Get daily insight to the best Fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashUse promo code LOCKEDFALL24 for 50% off up to $10 value, when you spend $15+ on your first order. Limited time offer. Terms apply. Promo is not valid for orders containing alcohol. HimsStart your free online visit today at Hims.com/lockedonnfl. PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code lockedonmlb to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON to get started.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)

The Tennessee Titans and the New York Jets both lost in week one. Which team can bounce back in week two? We'll break it 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, today's Crossover Thursday with John Butchko from Locked On Jets

is brought to you by PrizePix, the official sponsor of Crossover Thursday. Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL. Use the code locked on NFL, all lowercase, to win $50 instantly when you play $5. Again, it is Crossover Thursday here. Titans and Jets, thank you for making Locked on Titans and Locked on Jets your first listen each and every day. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed.

Throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube. All my Titans fans, throw a Titan up down in the chat. What do they say in Jets land? Jet up or go Jets or whatever. Throw that down in the chat on John's stream as well. But with that being said, John, we got a big game for both teams ahead of us. The Titans come off an absolute collapse disaster in Chicago for their home opener.

The Jets on the road back-to-back weeks and a short week at that after playing Monday night football all the way across the country. I mean, this is a very difficult travel stretch for the Jets as well. But either way, a big game overall. On the offensive side of the ball, John, obviously Aaron Rodgers, Brees Hall, Garrett Wilson, you got the star power there. What's kind of the big thing that everyone's talking about with the Jets offense? You know, it's interesting, Tyler, because ever since April, or really March of last year, it's all been about the anticipation for

Aaron Rodgers to come to New York because, you know, the trade happened. And then obviously last year, four places in the season, he goes down. So we have another year of anticipation and they play their, Rodgers plays his first full game with the Jets Monday night. And it was kind of an afterthought. I mean, he really wasn't that relevant to the outcome of the game. With the Jets, I think on the offensive side of the ball, it's about finding some sort of identity. Now, I think the bigger issue in their loss to San Francisco was the defense, but the offense did not play all that well. I think before the game got out of hands, they had one good drive. The first team offense scored 13 points. They scored 19 in the

game, but six of that came out of the touchdown. The backup offense scored in garbage time. game but uh six of that came out of the touchdown the backup offense scored in garbage time and I think the play calling was very suspect uh five out of six times on third and long in the first half the Jets ran the ball now I did a little research on this week one across the NFL second and long I'm sorry I said that I'm not sure if I said second third and long a second second long the Jets ran the ball five out of six times. Across the NFL week one, on second and long, teams ran the ball 30% of the time. They passed it 70% of the time. So five out of six, the Jets run the ball second and long. And they kept putting themselves in third and long.

And there was one drive where they hit a couple third and long plays, and they squared a touchdown on it. But look, if you have Aaron Rodgers, you're going to hit some plays on third and long. He's going to extend drives. But you can't keep putting yourself in those positions. The run blocking was not good. The receiver play outside of Garrett Wilson really did not produce. Rodgers really focused his targets on Garrett Wilson, Alan Lazard, and Brees Hall.

This is an offense that really doesn't have a lot. That week one did not tell us a lot about this Jets offense, and the Jets need to figure out some sort of formula that will work for them. Yeah, John, I was actually looking at certain things, and I watched the game and covered the game for Locked on NFL, and it was really peculiar because the Jets didn't run the ball well, but they also didn't give up a lot of pressure on Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers only got sacked one time.

He was only pressured six times. It's like, why did they struggle so much? I guess my question is, why did they struggle so much? I guess my question is why did they struggle so much when I know that they didn't run the ball well, but Rogers really wasn't under pressure. So what was kind of the disconnect between the passing offense and the lack of pressure? So here's the thing with the no pressure. Cause I was trying to figure that out myself and I did some research on this.

Rogers had, depending on which site you go through, whether you go with PFF or next-gen stats, Rodgers either had the second or third quickest release in the league in week one. He only attempted two passes that traveled further than 15 yards in the air. So a lot of really quick strikes. And that was one of the disconnects because I watched the game live and I didn't think the Jets had a great night up front protecting him.

And then you see the stats and you know they didn't allow a ton of pressures and i think like back on the film i felt like there were moments where like the pass protection did not hold up that well but it was just rogers such has such a quick release he avoids sacks well um you know but the problem was you know there really weren't many opportunities for chunk plays you know when you're when you're not pushing the ball down the field and you know garrett wilson can do a few things after the catch, but the Jets don't really have that many guys who are great after the catch guys. I think you have to try and push the ball down the field a little bit more.

So Jets offense really didn't give themselves much of a chance to have explosive plays in this game. And I think that that was, I think, number one, the play calling, as I mentioned. They were too conservative. The first down, they were running the ball a lot too. So lots of, lots of run, run series with the Jets. But I think part of a bigger issue when they just didn't give themselves a chance to make explosive plays. You know, the one, the one explosive play they did make was, it was the, you know, the classic Aaron Rodgers hard count to get the guy to jump offside. He hit Alan Lazard for a touchdown.

Rodgers, hard count to get the guy to jump offside. He hit Alan Lazard for a touchdown. And actually, if you watch it, it looks like Lazard broke his route because he saw a coverage bust and he put his hand up to kind of signal to Rodgers. But so that wasn't even really a design. I don't think that was really a design. You know, so there really weren't many opportunities by the Jets by design gave themselves a chance to hit a big play. Well, it makes you wonder with the Rodgers coming off his injury,

he probably doesn't want to move around. He doesn't want to scramble. He doesn't want to hold the ball too long. I think all that could have something to do with it, obviously, but moving to the defensive side of the ball, the Jets, everyone expects the Jets to be a great defense. All right. And you look last year, they were kind of middle of the pack when it comes to run defense. And then San Francisco ran the ball down their throat. So do you think that this is just, hey, they went against San Francisco, they were in the Super Bowl last year,

they have a good system, Kyle Shanahan, or do you think that this Jets defense may not be all it's hyped up to be? I came away from that game worried, and I always joke on Locked on Jets that after week one, it's overreaction week, you can't read too much into the results. Here's the thing, though.

This Jets defense, as you mentioned, this Jets defense has been good the last couple of years. There were a lot of changes on the defensive line. And I think there were a lot of questions about the defensive line. So I entered this game saying, like, okay, here's the best case scenario. Here's the worst case scenario. Every single concern that I had was magnified in that game. And there were a lot of, you know, a couple of guys who were very productive players on the defensive line

and went out the door in the off season. One was Bryce Huff, who, you know, he's not, he's actually not a very good run defender. He was, he's a pure pass rusher. He went to Philadelphia, signed as a free agent, and actually not off to a very hot start with Philadelphia. The second guy who left was John Franklin Myers. They traded him.

My favorite. I love John Franklin Myers. They traded him. My favorite. I love John Franklin Myers. I love JFM. And he is, I thought he was a key part of this defense. Very unique guy, you know, 290 pound guy, built like a defensive tackle, but play his defensive end in the four three or, you know, the four man defensive front, the Jets run. They're really a four to five, but that's important

because the Jets like speed in their back seven i mean they've they've brought in a number of safeties and converted them to linebacker they play they essentially play safety safeties at linebackers roberts all the value speed which means you have more undersized guys and when you when you have a third big guy on that defensive line that makes a big difference and not only that jfm can rush the passer as a four as a four three defensive end he can get to the quarterback at that weight so not only you have bulk who can a guy who can clog running lanes eat up blocks you know keep keep the second second level clean you know get to the quarterback um i did not understand why the jets traded him they claim

it was for salary cap reasons one of them was to fit uh fit hassan reddick in and that's you in, and we could do a whole show on Hassan Reddick, who's not there, probably not going to be there again this week. But I didn't see who the replacement was for J.F.M. Not only that, but at the defensive tackle position, Quinton Williams did not have a good game, but the guys next to him, Javon Kinlaw, Solomon Thomas, those guys got pushed around. That number two defensive tackle spot was a question heading into the season. I think there's – look, I think the linebackers are good.

C.J. Mosley, Quincy Williams are an excellent duo, arguably one of the top duos in the league. The corners are great. Sauce Gardner, D.J. Reid, Michael Carter II, I would argue the top trio in the league. This defensive line, though, if you get pushed around, you can't control the point of attack. Even if you're really talented on the second and third levels, you're going to have issues. And I have a lot of concerns about this Jets defense because

look, Kyle Shanahan attack, sure, but no Christian McCaffrey, 49ers line's not that great. And even the guy who is a great player, Trent Williams, you know, he kind of stepped in after, after a holdout for the entire training camp. That was a very troubling performance week one. Yeah, I think it's something to watch. And you hit the nail on the head with the type of defense they want to play. You got to be stout up front. And some of the losses definitely reared their head. But we're going to turn the page and look at the Titans side of this.

Obviously, there are some big questions. Can Will Levis get right or will he give the game away again? We're going to discuss that before we do. Will Levis get right or will he give the game away again? We're going to discuss that before we do. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by DoorDash. Look, I love DoorDash. I am not even going to lie to you guys.

Right before me and John got on here to record this episode, I just DoorDashed my favorite buffalo chicken wrap from my local restaurant. And it was absolutely fantastic every single time. So you could say that today's show is powered by DoorDash. Look, whatever you need, food, items, retail, grocery, it doesn't matter. They got it at DoorDash. Make sure that you use the promo code LOCKEDFALL24 for 50% off up to a $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your first order. Limited time offer. Terms do apply.

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with a healthcare provider who will determine if a prescription is appropriate. Restrictions apply. See website for full details and important safety information. Titans and Jets fans, we are back. It is crossover Thursday. We talked about the New York Jets. We talked about the run game, Aaron Rodgers, the defense up front.

Now we got to flip the page over to the Tennessee Titans and some of the concerns over there and some of the things that we're looking for in this game over there before I get into it. I do want to thank you again for making Locked on Titans and Locked on Jets your first listen each and every day. Shout out to our everydayers out there. And if you aren't an everydayer, well, you need to be one. I also want to remind you guys about Locked on NFL.

Make sure that you make Locked on NFL your second listen. We've made Locked on NFL two shows now. You've got the morning show with me, the madman, Tyler Rowland, and then the afternoon show with the barber himself, Tony Wiggins. Make sure you get all of your NFL news with Locked On NFL. But, John, I think it's pretty fair to say that the big storyline for the Titans offense in this game is Will Levis. So I've covered this extensively throughout the week.

I've broken down the tape over on the Tic Tac Titans film channel of what went wrong, what did go right as well. There's always more good on tape than it seems when you're watching the TV copy. But the reality is the Will Levis bad wasn't just bad, it was ugly. And he made just absolute mind-melting errors out there. It's so bad I have trouble talking about it. I'm not a guy who's ever speechless. But I have trouble putting my words together to try to explain just how bad the mistakes Will Levis made was. So, I think it's pretty obvious for the Titans that the number one question is

can Will Levis get right? Can he get back to good? And I think like I said in week one, the best way to help Will Levis get right? Can he get back to good? And I think, like I said in week one, the best way to help Will Levis is to do the things around him that need to be done. Look, the Jets just got the ball ran down their throat. The Titans have to run the ball. Their young offensive linemen are better at run blocking than they are at pass blocking.

And you don't want to let the Jets have a get-right game themselves in the pass rush because your young offensive line isn't performing. So the Titans have to find a way to replicate the success on the ground that the San Francisco 49ers had against the Jets. Make sure that you're not in third and long situations. Make sure that you run the ball and let Will Levis play action. The Titans only play action 13% last week. And of course, we want the Titans to mold into this new Brian Callahan offense

where it's quick short throws and timing routes and all this. But early in the season, while you're trying to just get things on track and get comfortable, you need to keep Will Levis as comfortable as possible. And he's most comfortable in play action situations with maybe an extra blocker in. So for me, it's pretty clear that the number one question for the Titans is, can Will Levis bounce back? And the way that you do that is by running the football and play action off of it and stay out of third and long.

And look, I mean, you know, you and I see this on film. I'm assuming the coaching staff of the Titans sees on film how the Jets performed against the run against San Francisco. So, you know, I think that, you know, until the Jets prove they can stop the run, teams are going to go right at them. You know, the Jets are going to need to step up. You know, it also fell under the radar. You know, we talked a little bit about Hasan Reddick. The Jets defensive line did not do a great job rushing the passer. It wasn't as big of a deal as the run stopping, but you know,

in this game, Michael Clemens had kind of a cosmetic sack late in the game. But outside of that, when the game was like actually competitive, they had one quarterback hit from their, from the defensive line. It came from Quinton Williams, no sacks. And you know, one of the things that worries me about this Jets defensive line, as I mentioned, there was this Jets defensive line, as I mentioned, the Jets defensive line has a reputation for being ferocious, for really getting after the quarterback. The problem is a lot of the guys who did that are no longer on this team. And I think one of the questions that will be answered in this game is,

how much will the Jets coaching staff adapt to this? And does the Jets coaching staff trust these guys on the defensive line because jets do have a very talented trio of corners and sauce gardner who's been a first team all pro uh both years in the league dj reed kind of an unsung guy but a guy who i think would be a number one corner a lot of teams and michael carter the second who just got a new contract to get the highest paid slot corner in the league you know it tells you a lot about his performance. So will the Jets blitz more? Will the Jets try and manufacture more of a pass rush? And I think the other aspect of this is,

are they going to try and maybe send extra guys at Will Levis? As you mentioned, there were some big mistakes in week one. Do you try and send a blitz maybe to try and force another mistake? You know, I think it'll be interesting to see how the Jets approach this from the defensive side of the ball.

Yeah, you're 100% right. And I forget which defender it is for the Jets. I'm trying to make sure that I get it right now. Jermaine Johnson, the young edge rusher, said that Will Levis is the kind of guy that he can panic a little bit early if you start getting to him and things aren't going his way. And while a lot of Jets fans seem to be in an uproar that he's given bulletin board material, I don't think that he's 100% wrong about that.

So I think if the Jets are smart, they will go out of their comfort zone a little bit and blitz a little bit more early in the game and try to get Will Levis a little bit rattled and maybe turn him into the mistake-prone player that he has shown that he can be through his first 10 games. On the defensive side for the Titans is can they do it again? So Caleb Williams is a rookie. Very good wide receiver group there in Chicago, but Caleb Williams is a rookie. Aaron Rodgers is not a rookie. Aaron Rodgers is not going to be caught off guard by the things the Titans are doing. Aaron Rodgers is not going to, you know, be seeing a certain coverage for the first time ever. So with Aaron Rodgers having way more experience

and being a guy who could kind of pick the Titans apart, there were guys open for the Bears, and Caleb Williams either missed them, didn't throw it, or didn't see it. Aaron Rodgers is going to see it. He's going to throw it. So can the Titans replicate the defensive performance that they had last week where they completely shut down Chicago? It's the first time

ever, John, in NFL history that a team was down by 17 points and had less than 150 total yards on offense and still won the game. That has never happened in NFL history before until Will Levis and the Titans pulled it off last week. You are not going to get that big of a lead on the Jets. You're not going to get that 17-point lead. So if you don't get that 17-point lead, are you going to be able to stay in the game? Are you going to be able to win? And that's going to be predicated on the defense not letting Aaron Rodgers create those explosive plays that were absent for the Jets last week. So I guess when we're looking at the vulnerabilities on the Jets' offense, I know we talked about it a little bit before, but what do you see maybe from the Titans' defense that could give the Jets problems? You know, the Jets' offense? I know we talked about it a little bit before, but what do you see maybe from the Titans' defense that could give the Jets problems?

You know, the Jets were also part of history. You mentioned the history that was made in the Titans-Bears game. The Jets were part of history. Monday Night Football, we had a score of Gami, 32-19, first ever game that ended 32-19 in NFL history. Okay. I think the question for the Jets is going to be up front. We talked a little bit in the first segment about the pass protection.

This is a different Aaron Rodgers. He's 40 years old. He's coming off an Achilles injury. The guy in Green Bay who was so great at extending play is the guy who was so great at evading pressure. He's not going to be there. Now, he's as smart as he's ever been. He can decipher defenses. He'll be able to pick things out at the line of scrimmage

and make changes at the line. The arm is still really close to, I mean, if it's not what it used to be, it's like 90% of what it used to be. He can get the ball where it needs to go, but he's not going to be able to extend plays to that. And that just puts greater emphasis on the offensive line for the Jets. So the question is, can they protect him? Because as I met you, we talked about this in the first segment,

that the Jets need to attempt more passes down the field. Now part of this is going to be a question of, will Mike Williams play? Because Mike Williams, they signed him in the offseason from the Chargers. Again, like five snaps in the opener. They barely used him. The Jets kept expectations low. Robert Salah said, we're going to bring him along. I don't think anybody realized it would be that slow.

And the Jets need Mike Williams because outside of him, if you take him out of this lineup, you're essentially putting out the same receiver group you had last year, which simply was not good enough. An excellent number one receiver in Garrett Wilson, who Rodgers has developed great chemistry with. But after that, it gets very thin. And Mike Williams, I think Garrett Wilson's a really good receiver.

I don't think he's much of a downfield threat, whereas Mike Williams can be a good back shoulder guy. He's a great contested catch guy. But that's not going to work unless the Jets can protect Rogers. So I think a lot of it's going to be determined by how the Jets hold up up front against the Titans pass rush. Yeah. And I'm going to go into this quite a bit tomorrow

when I do my game preview episode. The Titans need to blitz and blitz often because you want to move Rodgers off his spot. He doesn't want to move. He wants to get the ball out quick. And I think the Titans would be smart to basically double cover Garrett Wilson every time and make Rodgers go somewhere else and make him hold it that extra second.

We'll see what the game plan ends up being on Sunday, but let's talk about what has to go right for these teams for them to get a victory here as we cap off Crossover Thursday. Also, today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, you've heard us talk about FanDuel. It's America's number one sportsbook. But we have something a little different for you now. Now through September 22nd,

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Titans fans, Jets fans, welcome back in to the Crossover Thursday. We've talked about what to look for with the Jets on offense and defense. Talked about what to look for with the Titans on offense and defense. Now we'll kind of make some predictions about what needs to happen for this game to be a win for either side. The first win of the season for either one of these teams who both sit at 0-1. Before we get into it, I want to thank you again for making Locked on Titans, Locked on Jets

your first listen. For your second listen, check out Locked on NFL. You get all of your favorite team news here with us on Locked on Titans and Locked on Jets. Now get all of your national NFL news with Locked on NFL. You get local experts like me and John giving insights on your favorite teams, and then you get

opinions, analysis. You know I'm coming with opinions. John knows. I mean, you know, they're going to call me a madman for a reason. But with that being said, John is a gracious host. I'll exercise some Southern hospitality and let you go first. What do you think the Jets have to do to win this game against the Titans? Thank you, Tyler. I think that, number one, they need to be more aggressive with the play calling.

And this has been, look, this has been an ongoing issue. I have been complaining about Nathaniel Hackett practically since the day he was hired. And here's the thing. So here's the thing, Tyler,

a lot of people don't know that if locked on jets was around in 2001 through 2004, I would have complained nonstop about Nathaniel Hackett's father, Paul Hackett, because he was the offensive coordinator of the Jets at that point. And my complaints about him were that he was too conservative, that he ran an outdated offense. And 20 years later, we've got the son

who's doing the same things. I hope Nathaniel Hackett does not have a son who goes into coaching, because I'm going to be complaining about Nathaniel Hackett's son in 2044. If this, if this keeps happening, no more second and long runs,

try and open up the playbook, try and throw, throw it, throw the ball on first down. You have Aaron Rogers, dude, like stop being so conservative on offense. No more.

I mean, fine. You can run it at first and second down occasionally, but why don't we try and throw the ball down the field on first down? Number two, this is obvious. The Jets need to stop the run better. And you're like, I like to be, I like to think I'm a detailed guy when it comes to scheme. And like, sometimes things happen in a game. Sometimes I feel a team fails for like nuanced things that they're like, you get really deep into the X's and O's. That was not the case Monday night. The Jets just got their butts kicked up front. I mean, the Jets just got manhandled.

And there's no... Look, there's only so much you can do. Look, you can manufacture a pass rush. I told you about some of the Jets' pass rushing. You can blitz more, especially when you have good corners. You can't stop the run. There's no schematic fix. Yeah, you can drop the extra safety into the box. Jets tried to do that. They still got mauled.

It's just about guys going out there and winning at the point of attack. Guys can't get pushed around the way they did. Third is, I think you mentioned the issues Levis has had making mistakes. Four are some big mistakes. The Jets did not do

a good enough job. San Francisco's a great offense. Look, you got this defense you got the this defense supposed to be so supposed to be really like playmakers on it when your offense was struggling monday night you did not do a good enough job giving them a short field and look that's tough to do against san francisco but against a quarterback like levis and look i'm not i don't mean to disparage levis you know like i've been through enough through enough Jets young quarterbacks. I mean, I feel, I feel like, I feel like, you know, you've been talking about my life for the last 15 years, talking about the ups and downs of the

young quarterback, but we know young quarterbacks, but Levis is not alone. He's not the only young quarterback who can make a mistake. So Jets need to take advantage of that and be opportunistic and maybe give their offense a short field. Yeah, you're a hundred percent right. And I mean, just to be honest, a lot of quarterbacks struggled in week one. So Will Levis wasn't alone in that sense either, but that gives me no solace to go towards week two because he can't make those same mistakes again. You don't get the second week of, hey, it's week one, a lot of teams.

At some point, you have to be the quarterback that doesn't make those mistakes while a bunch of other quarterbacks are making mistakes. That's what's going to set you apart from the crowd. If you're making the same mistakes that all these other middling quarterbacks are making, then you're just the same as them and you're not going to bring your team any closer to a victory. So the Titans, they need to help Will Levis by play actioning more, limit the massive mistakes. And that's not just Will Levis. That's on special teams as well. They cannot lose this game on special teams. And then ultimately, they got to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers. They have to make him uncomfortable, make him move on that torn Achilles. Well,

fixed, repaired, torn Achilles, either way. But those are the three big things. Again, the Titans only play action 13%. Not only are you going to protect Will Levis by play actioning like that, but you're also going to create opportunities for explosive plays. The Titans didn't have enough explosive plays down the field. They didn't have enough, and that's got to be a part of the offense early on. So they got to play action more. They got to create some more explosive chances on offense. That's also going to protect Will Levis, and he'll have an extra blocker in on those play actions, kind of like what the Titans did last year early, and let him get his feet under him.

Let him get comfortable with it being early in the year. Again, special teams. The game really turned for the Titans last week when a punt got blocked. Not only that, but the Bears had like a 60-yard kickoff return. They had a 20-yard punt return. If the Titans significantly lose the special teams battle, they're probably going to lose again, not only because of the potential for the team to score on special teams

against the Titans, but also the field position battle, which I think this is going to be a low-scoring game. I don't think that both of these teams are going to come out and put up a lot of points. It's going to be a little bit of a struggle, and that increases the spotlight on special teams. And then finally, talk about shutting down Aaron Rodgers. Like you said, he wants to get the ball out of his hands quick.

He doesn't want to take hits. He's 40 years old, okay? I'm 33. I don't want to take hits. He's 40 years old. He does not want to take hits. He doesn't want to have to run in second reaction, off-schedule playmake like he used to in his healthier and younger days.

Blitz him up the middle. Send pressure up the middle, and force him to flee outside of the pocket and test that Achilles and see how well he can move. That's what I would be looking for for the Titans to do. And if they do that, I think they're going to be able to move to one and one, but it's going to be a tough, tough task.

But with that being said, that is going to do it for today's Crossover Thursday. I am Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans, here with Jon Butchko from Locked on Jets. Make sure to tune back into our episodes tomorrow as we get you ready with a final preview for Sunday's game. Thank you all so much for tuning in. I always tell you guys, this was Locked on Titans,

but this was Crossover Thursday.