Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Must LET CAM WARD STRUGGLE, Cam's Big Improvements & Run Game Reality Revealed

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

The Tennessee Titans have to let Cam Ward struggle. Too often Mike McCoy thinks he is protecting Ward and helping the football team, but it is actually the opposite. Being ultra-conservative hurts everyone, especially Cam, because he doesn't get to experience anything. Although the conversation around Cam Ward is very negative right now, the truth is he has shown some major strengths and has improved some areas of his game already. Those things should have fans excited about Ward moving forward even amidst some struggles. Finally, the Titans run game has made improvement over the last two weeks, rushing for over 300 yards total, but look closer and it is clear that a big reason for that success was something the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers have in common. Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclubSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Rocket MoneyTake control of your finances and cancel your unwanted subscriptions with Rocket Money.Go to https://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDONtoday.Aura FramesFor a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting https://AuraFrames.com to get $35 off Aura’s best-selling Carver Mat frames - named #1 by Wirecutter - by using promo code LOCKEDON at checkout. FanDuelIf you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit FanDuel.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. PrizePicksDownload the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload 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.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 are hurting Cam Ward's development with their conservative play calling, and I'm absolutely sick of it. That and more 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 podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast is brought to you by Fandall

if you want to be right in the middle of the action. Make sure that you visit fandle.com and place your NFL live bets all season long. On today's show, I'm going to tell you why the Tennessee Titans conservative approach on offense is hurting Cam Ward's development and they need to just let Cam Ward fail. Also, a lot of the discussion has been around what Cam Ward's weaknesses have. been. We need to talk about what Cam Ward strengths have been this year and how he has improved. Also, I'm going to give you just a splash of reality with the Tennessee Titans run game success over the last two weeks. Before we get into all of it, do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans, your first listen each and every day.

Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on. Titans podcast speaking of every day shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday couldn't do it without you guys if you aren't an everydayer you need to be one again three games left head coach searched right around the corner then free agency the draft so much to discuss if you want to stay up the day entertained and as informed as a Titans fan could be make sure you stay locked in with the Locked on Titans podcast but with that being

said again the Tennessee Titans must let Cam Ward fail because they're conservative approach on offense is simply setting him back and preventing him from growing and developing as much as he possibly can. And I thought it was on full display yesterday against the San Francisco 49ers where Mike McCoy on multiple occasions in the second half on third and long situations ran screams. We got the first one, it was third and eight. and this one's much more egregious. Third and eight in the second half you're down by 14 points and you run a quick screen to Chim DK at wide receiver

which doesn't pick up the necessary yards and then you have to punt. And then you follow that up on the next drive where you're still down double digits you're down multiple scores in the second half of a game. It's third and long I think third and 14 and you run a quick screen to Chigga Conquo.

Now look I'm not gonna get on here and tell you that the Titan should never run screens on third and long I mean some situations like against Cleveland they ran a quick screen to Tajay Spears off a chip they ran a screen to Chick-a-Conquo at one point in time it wasn't third down but they ran a quick screen to Chick-a-conquo at one point in time on the plus side of the 50 in the first half where they're able to convert for a first down but again multiple times this year and it's not just this game I'm giving you two specific examples from the second half of this game against San Francisco, but you guys who have been watching the games all year,

you know that you've seen it as well. How many times have the Tennessee Titans run a surrender screen on a third and long? And we say third and long, again, they ran a surrender screen on third and eight. That's not even third and astronomical. And again, my point overall here is this conservative play calling simply hurts Cam Ward. Mike McCoy thinks that he is protecting Cam Ward by not having him drop back on a third and long when he might get sacked

he thinks that he is protecting the Tennessee Titans team because hey we may have to punt on third down or on fourth down after this screen inevitably fails but we're not having a turnover and I am not saying that those points of views are 100% in the wrong, but again, it's like every other conservative decision that the Tennessee Titans have made on offense this year, what are you actually going to get out of that? Like, Mike McCoy coaches this team, like it's a good football team that just needs to

play solid and not mess up. This is a bad football team that is not going to win games unless they are ultra aggressive and ultra ultra over the top with their aggressiveness in certain situations. And Mike McCoy has done the opposite of that and again whereas Mike McCoy would tell you I'm trying to protect the team I'm trying to protect Cam Ward I don't want him to get sacked I don't want him to make mistakes and turnovers that hurt the football team and but I am here to tell you that that conservative nature

and trying to be a helicopter parent for Cam Ward is not what is best for Cam Ward and I will tell you this it's not even what's best for the football team And I know that Mike McCoy is trying to help the team as best as possible but by his philosophy helping the team in the short term you're actually just hurting Cam Ward and hurting the football team in the long term. I know that Cam Ward throwing an interception.

I know that Cam Ward taking a sack. I know that Cam Ward throwing a bad pass. I know that Cam Ward having an almost interception. know that all of these things will result in instant criticism. Hey, that's a bad throw. Cam threw a pick. Titans O line gets sacked. That's not gonna hurt the team but the reality is that a lot of these mistakes are necessary. Cam Ward needs to throw a frozen rope down the field with no touch to understand

hey, I'm not gonna be able to throw a frozen rope on all these deep balls. I'm gonna have to put some air under the ball. Cam Ward needs to feel Hey the pressure came I took a sack I should have thrown it there it would have been open

and bank that guys failure create success no one comes out and has success right away and is just successful for forever never have to adjust never have to learn from failures it's it's like a parent

you guys all know somebody and you know what the reality is what I'm about to explain some of this this was your experience now it can go the other way too and I know all about that but the reality is if you don't let your children fail if you helicopter parent them

you don't let them go out and get their bumps you don't you know it's like a baby you put your hand on the burner oh that's hot not doing that anymore you bump your head into the table ooh that's hard out Ouchy, not doing that anymore. I get that Mike McCoy wants to protect Cam Ward from

massive mistakes that hurt the football team. But the reality is like anybody growing up as a kid, like anybody being parented by their parent, like anybody in a professional circumstance, the reality is your failures help you learn. And I get most annoyed by the conservative nature of Mike McCoy's decision making, whether it's play calling,

whether it's decisions in game, fourth and threes, fourth and twos, where you don't let Cam Ward go for it. It's been an entire season, just like when we talk about Cam Ward's deep ball accuracy. It's not just one play in this game that I'm criticizing. It's a pattern of behavior for Mike McCoy, where consistently, whether it be shown off in the play calling

or shown off with the in-game decision-making, the Titans have been uber conservative this year, And at the end of the day, even if it elicits jeers and criticisms and even if you have half the Titans fan base saying Cam Ward's a bust, I would rather have Cam Ward actually have the ball in his hands on third and long when you're down in a second half and make a mistake that he can learn from rather than to take it out of him entirely,

we're going to throw a quick screen to Chigua on 3rd and 8. You know what I would rather see? I would rather see Cam Ward throw a bad pass against Cover 4 when he's looking at a double-in concept that he's trying to time up. You know how many of Cam Ward's best throws this year have been throws that he missed earlier in the season? And because he failed and because he saw his mistake and because he learned from that mistake,

he was able to come back and make that throw later. You know how many times I've seen that on the deep end breaking route against Cover 4 where Cam Ward has to jam it in front of the safeties or it's a dagger concept with a deep end on the outside and a vertical on the inside and Cam Ward has to understand the timing. It's not just, hey, when I see this coverage against this route concept, I go here, it's, hey, this is the timing of when that's going to be open. Hit my back foot, one beat, boom, now that throw is open.

There are so many little different gears involved in every single play that by taking the ball out of Cam Ward's hands and by being ultra-consumption, and throwing these little screens and not going for it on 4th down. And by doing all this stuff, Mike McCoy thinks that he is protecting the Titans and he is protecting Cam Ward, but it's actually the opposite. And I would argue the same thing with overly strict parents or blah, blah, blah, blah. At some point in time, you have to let people make their mistakes and you have to let people fail. Now, you don't throw that away and let your kids eat cotton candy for supper every single day.

You don't let your kid, you know, wear Batman costume to school every single day. You can't let Cam Ward just be absolutely reckless. Sometimes you do got to call screen passes, but there is a happy medium. There is a happy medium between overly conservative and overly aggressive. Now, I know that people who know me personally will be like, oh, easy for you to say, Tyler, you got to do whatever you want all the time. And yeah, I probably needed a little bit more parenting. at the end of the day a little bit more of hey don't do that you know what I mean

but I talk about this all the time I would rather have had the childhood that I had where the reins weren't very tight and I made a lot of mistakes and I made a lot of bad decisions and you know what my life probably could have been quote unquote better quicker if I had had a little bit more guidance but at the end of the day I have a lot of autonomy to make decisions I am not somebody who's scared to make decisions I know a lot of people my age, even in their 30s, who are just scared to make decisions and don't know how to lead through bad situations and lead their household and crumble when things don't go right because their parents overly parented them and never let, they were never allowed to make

their own decisions. So they never flex that muscle. You have to let, you can't think that you're protecting Cam Ward by taking the ball out of his hands in these critical situations. Even if it turns into a bad play, you must let Cam Ward fail and you must let struggle and at the end of the day, replace fail and struggle with this word. You must let Cam Ward learn. And by having him throw the ball out on quick screens on third and longs in the second half, or by kicking field goals when you're not going to have a chance to win the game with field goals, all you're doing is hurting Cam Ward going forward.

Now, a lot of the attention has been on Cam Ward's struggles and Cam Ward's weaknesses and what he hasn't done well. But the reality is within that conversation is a lot of things that Cam Ward's, has done very well and a lot of things that Cam Ward has improved on throughout the season and I want to put the spotlight on that stuff right now as well. Do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDool Sportsbook. NFL Sundays move fast. One big play and suddenly everything feels different. That's what makes live betting with Fandle so exciting.

You're not just watching the game, you're reacting to it in real, time. With Fandall, you could place bets as the action unfolds. Every drive, every momentum swing, every highlight moment. Live betting is best when the game starts to shift. A receiver gets hot, a defense tightens up, or the momentum flips after a turnover, Fandall lets you jump into the moment. They have live spreads and money lines that adjust instantly. Player props that update as guys heat up.

You can bet the next touchdown score, drive results, totals, and more. It keeps you locked in to every snap, every drive, every possibility. So, if you want to be right in the middle of the action this season, visit fandle.com to place your NFL live bets all season long. Once again, that's fandle.com. The game moves fast. And so can you. Titans fans. Let's continue today's edition of the Locked-on Titans podcast.

We talked about why the Tennessee Titans conservative approach on offense is only only going to hurt Cam Ward, not help Cam Ward. But now I want to talk about what Cam Ward has been doing well. Because within the conversation of, hey, this is a big struggle for Cam Ward, hey, this is a big weakness for Cam Ward, hey, this is a big area of improvement for Cam Ward. like has been the case the last couple of weeks I do want to take a moment to talk about what Cam Ward does well what Cam Ward has improved on throughout the season

and have some positivity around Cam Ward because I feel like I feel like that's lost sometimes when you criticize and I'm somebody who is obviously very sensitive to it because I am listen you know some of you guys say Tyler don't respond to the haters Tyler don't listen why do you even talk

but guys that's how I made it to where I'm at. And I don't ever want to be so big that I can't get in the comments and tell you, you're an idiot for not knowing what this or that is. Like, I enjoy interacting with you guys. Even the folks who yell at me and say, I'm stupid and don't like me and disagree. And like, I like the war. I'm a soldier in a garden.

I like the battle. I'm a wartime general, folks. And I feel like we have made this community together by interacting back and forth, not me just sitting up in the tree house and saying, oh, I don't have to respond to any of you guys. So I don't mind being in it. But with that, I am sensitive to the conversation and what the reaction is from the fan base.

And yesterday when we're looking at, hey, you know, the reality is Cam Ward has struggled a lot of people freak out. And I think the reason for that is because this season has been so bad that the only speck of hope that you guys have is, well, Cam Ward's good. and with a good quarterback, we will eventually be good again. So any time that you criticize Cam Ward and you say, Cam Ward's deep ball has been a problem.

He needs to be more accurate and that needs to improve going forward. Well, when people hear that, they think, wait a minute, my Messiah can't walk on water? Wait, you're saying that Cam Ward, blah, blah, does that mean I shouldn't have hope? Does that mean that we're going to be bad forever? Does that mean Cam Ward's a bust, blah? And, like, people use an individual criticism of Cam Ward to shatter their faith entirely.

And I think part of that is just the society that we live in right now. It's a microwave society. So whatever happened last is what the meme is. You know, oh, Cam Ward great throw. Cam Ward Hall of Fame. We're going to be fine. Everything's great. Cam Ward bad throw.

Cam Ward bust. Cam Ward's a bomb. But, blah, blah, it's all just internet reaction time. And that's not the way that it works. I would compare it to Solitaire. Sometimes when you play Solitaire, you've got to take a card that you've already racked up at the top. You've got to bring it back out onto the board

so that you can bring a card out of your deck so that you can shuffle the debt, get different cards, and then continue trying to solve the puzzle of the Solitaire. I love Solitaire, so obviously that's a thing for me. But it sometimes, the point is, and I said this a couple of weeks ago, that growth isn't linear. You don't always just go up, up, up, up, up, up and never stop. Sometimes you take little steps back.

And you have to acknowledge those. Like, if Cam Ward acts the way that some of you guys act, and if someone, if a coach came up to Cam Ward this all season, the Titans new coach and said, Cam, we need to work on your deep accuracy. And Cam Ward's response was, well, you need to get better offensive linemen and better wide receivers and I was a rookie quarterback

and the timing was off and hey I was under pressure there was a guy getting pressure on me and you know that's not my fault it's all those other things if Cam Ward thought like that we would be doomed

screwed the Titans would never get better and he would end up being a terrible player so I am so thankful that Cam Ward doesn't think like most of you and the excuse-making attitude that a lot of people have Cam Ward is going to think like me. Cam Ward is going to say, I got to be...

There are plays that Cam Ward didn't have the problem. That legitimately it was someone else's problem why the play didn't work. And Cam Ward is going to look at that and say, I need to do better. Whereas you guys would watch it and say Cam Ward was perfect and blame everybody else. But a true competitor and somebody who actually wants to get better

is always going to look at what they can do better, be a thumb pointer, not a finger pointer. So Cam Ward himself would not make the excuses that some of the fans make for him and again the reality of that is Titans fans don't have a lot to be happy about right now there isn't a lot of hope around this football team and the only speck of hope that there is is Cam Ward so anytime that you criticize Cam Ward fairly or not people are going to freak the freak out

because you're attacking the only speck of hope that they have in their Titan's soul It would be like telling the Pope that God isn't real. You know what I mean? Like, it would be like telling an elf that Santa isn't real. You know, it's just you are fundamentally shaking a Titans fan to their core if you threaten Cam Ward's future potential whatsoever. So any small criticism of Cam Ward, no matter how valid. He's 13 for 40.

throws 20 yards down the field going into this game. It is empirical, whether it's the film, whether it's the data, whether it's the college profile and the inaccuracies on the deep outside that I did breakdowns on before he got drafted. But pointing out that reality shakes certain Titans fans to their core when they're insecure about the future. And hey, I understand that Titans fans are insecure about the future. But again, the point here is

That within that criticism does not mean that all of the good stuff that Cam Ward has going for him is not real. Cam Ward has shown elite playmaking ability this year. Think about the touchdown pass to Jeffrey Simmons. Think about the throw to Chim D.K. late in the game that Chim D.K. dropped on the sideline. Think about all of these different plays that we have seen Cam Ward going all the way back to the Ellicayo Manor touchdown in week two against the Rams. This guy is an elite playmaker. And again, you can win from the pocket. You must win from the pocket in the NFL as a quarterback.

You must. You cannot succeed long term without the ability to win within the pocket. But the best quarterbacks, the best quarterbacks in the NFL, can win outside of the structure of the play, can win outside of the pocket. You must. If you're going to be a game-changing quarterback, you must have the ability to play-make outside of the pocket. Think about a guy like Jared Gaw or Kirk Cousins. Good quarterbacks in their prime.

Golf is still in his prime. Cousins not. But again, but when things really break down in Detroit, golf does not have the ability to make that play. A Super Bowl, the last, and Matthew Stafford is another guy who isn't like a playmaker like that but can win from the pocket. And I'm not saying it's impossible. But look at the elites of the elites.

Mahomes, Lamar, Alan You can put Burrow in that group even though he doesn't have Burroughs another example of the guy who doesn't win from the pocket or doesn't win outside the pocket But if you watch Joe Burrow play He's a very good playmaker inside the pocket

with his pocket movement. Very good at that. So it's like he doesn't have like the elite explosive playmaking ability that Alan and Lamar do but Joe Burrow absolutely creates outside of structure all the time. Titans fans have seen it directly.

Like, you can win, think about Jalen Hurts. You can win with a guy who maybe isn't super taking ability. So that matters. And he has shown already, is check the box already. Cam Ward is going to be a great playmaker at the NFL level. It's already there. That is a great thing.

The arm talent. Now, Cam Ward does not have a top five bazooka arm in the NFL. I'm sorry, that is a step too far. But he has great armed talent. Will Evans has a stronger arm than Cam Ward. Like Mahomes and Allen have stronger arms than Cam Ward. It's not bad, but Cam Ward doesn't have...

But he has velocity to throw to any part of the field. He has arm angles to get to any hole that he can see. He has elite arm talent. And his ability to throw, all taking hits the playmaking and the arm talent together those are incredible already we've seen it already

accuracy he was scattershot early in the year on some of the quick sit-down concept some of the quick screens he was scattershot with his accuracy and I brought this up his short accuracy and his precision has been so much more refined

and so much better over the last five to six weeks. And again, over the last five games, 62% completion percentage, seven throwing touchdowns, two total turnovers. Like, it hasn't been all back, okay? And operationally, just from a professional standpoint of being a professional quarterback, plays, making sure that, you know,

things are on time and all that. Like, Cam Ward has truly improved massively. in these areas. We're seeing the offense as a whole fundamentally get better. Talk about the sacks. We'll talk about the offensive line when we talk about the run game here in a second. But like, the sack numbers are better

and that's not just because the offensive line all of a sudden is playing better. It's Cam. So Cam is getting the ball out of his hands on time. He's more accurate in his short passes. We've seen the playmaking and the arm talent that made him a number one overall pick, the extreme high-level talent,

Like I said it last week, Cam Ward has already checked the boxes to get me excited for next year. But that doesn't mean that we ignore the clear weaknesses and we don't point out the deep accuracy or the ball security or getting even better with the timing and down the field, the intermediate timing rather than the short. Like it doesn't mean, I guess just some people have a hard time being able to say Cam Ward has some significant weaknesses that must be cleaned up for him to be the player that we want him to be but also Cam Ward has already showed this year

that lead me to believe that he absolutely can be this franchise's quarterback and franchise savior going forward both of those things can be true at once life is nuanced like that and some people's brains whether it be sports or other areas of the world just of these sorts of things.

It's like a billionaire who has donated millions of dollars to charity. Also as screwed as workers and also maybe a slum lord and his properties. You can be somebody who does good things and be a bad person. Anyway, anyway, I digress. We've gotten off the rails with combining football with regular life. But I think, you know, when we have these conversations about how things go, I think it's all intertwined. But the point is

that he needs to improve on but Cam Ward has also showed some significant strengths that should have you excited. Now with that being said, talking about a strength the run game has been a strength over the last couple of weeks

but I got to throw a little bit of cold water on the excitement. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. Ever feel like your money just disappears each month. It happens so fast. A few subscriptions.

Rocket money helps you get clarity track every dollar and stay in control of your finances because managing your money shouldn't feel like a second job. Rocket money does the head descriptions that you forgot you were paying for and helps you clean them up quickly. I like that you could see all your spending on one dashboard categorization of your spending so you know what you're spending on and how, listen, you've got to

understand your finances. So take control of your finances and cancel your unwanted subscriptions with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.com slash locked on today. That's rocketmoney.com slash locked on. Rocketmoney.com slash locked on. Titans fans, let's cap off. Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about why it's important to let Cam Ward experience failure and struggles and the Titans need to quit being so conservative. We talked about the conversation around Cam Ward and some of the stuff

that Cam Ward has been doing greater, has improved on throughout the season. Now I do want to be a little bit of a wet blanket. I'm gonna throw a little bit of cold water on the Tennessee Titans run game success that they've had over the last two weeks because I'm seeing that conversation kind of pick up and I don't think it's in the right spot from where some people are at. Now before we dive in, thanks again for making Locked on Titans, your first listen each and every day. And thank you for making the Locked on Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network. But the Tennessee Titans run game has improved. Okay, over the last couple of weeks, last two weeks, Cleveland and this, they've run for over three.

300 total yards. It has been a huge change from what we saw through most of the year where the Tennessee Titans averaged 80 rushing yards per game and have been the worst rushing team in the entire NFL throughout most of the season. Now, there are some people, and I'm seeing, you know, the question out there, oh, what's happened with the Titans run game? Oh, all of a sudden the Titans can run the ball very well. That's, you know, what a great change.

They're going to, gosh. Again, be a little bit of a wet blanket here. The Titans' run game is not good now. Okay? There were a couple of things that contributed, in my opinion. But the biggest thing of all is the schemes that the Tennessee Titans have gone against the last two weeks. The Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers.

And they have one thing, one thing in common. that I think has been the biggest reason why the Titans have been able to run the ball. Four-man fronts and wide four-man fronts at that. Both Jim Schwartz and Robert Salah, the defensive coordinators, the Titans have played the last two weeks, Cleveland and San Francisco, respectively, are some of the heaviest in the NFL and four-man fronts. There are four-three defenses in their base.

they like to have super wide alignments with their four guys that is what those teams like to do okay they are not teams that love to stack the line of scrimmage and let me tell you why I think that that has helped the tie and listen the Titans deserve their credit because they have done something schematically that I have been calling for

that has allowed them to take advantage of this okay so the defense is giving you something but it is still on the Titans to take advantage of that. So let me paint the picture for you, okay? Four down linemen, the Titans are using heavy personnel. So three tight ends, 13 personnel, okay? Two tight ends with one of them being an offensive lineman. So a jumbo set.

13 personnel, three tight ends with one of the tight ends being a sixth offensive lineman. Stuff like that. And what they're doing is they're not stacking guys They don't have one of them in the backfield As an Hback or lined up in a full back alignment And different stuff like that No, they are spreading the line of scrimmage

They want the five offensive linemen And they want those three additional guys Or they can condense in one of their wide receivers as well and get them close to the formation The Titans want to extend the line of scrimmage As much as they can and the reason for that is when you have four down linemen

on the line of scrimmage and then you have eight guys or seven guys on the line of scrimmage on offense now you have a distinct advantage it is a super numbers advantage

okay and what this is allowed the Tennessee Titans to do is it has allowed them to get a leverage advantage on the defensive line. So think, we talked about it last week with the Cleveland Browns, how the Titans were using Ali Udo as the outside tight-in. That made it so that Ali Udo could block down on Miles Garrett because Miles Garrett was inside of them. And then the Titans could pull

somebody outside of Ali Udo to deal with people on the perimeter because they have an easy down block and a down block is think about your chest right now. Okay, imagine if the ball was on the inside think you're playing tight end and the ball is on the inside to the right imagine the defensive end is on your right shoulder and the ball is going to the left so all you have to do is go to the right

and push a guy in front of you on the right to the right it is a down block you have a leverage advantage you should be able to execute that block because you're already in an advantage to win so the Titans are basically creating an early advantage by having, if there's four down linemen and seven guys or six guys on the line of scrimmage, they're going to have the ability to downblock with leverage and then get up to the second level

or get around that player and get to the perimeter. So what's happening is the Titans are executing four one-on-one blocks at the line of scrimmage and then easy access for the other three guys to get up to the second level And then you got a hat on a hat. Now, the answer would be, well, Tyler, why don't they crowd the line of scrimmage and bring more guys and bring a safety in and maybe put five on the line of scrimmage?

Because that's what teams do to the Titans is they put a bunch of people on the line of scrimmage and then the Titans can't execute their double teams because you double team a guy at the line of scrimmage and then you go up to the second level to the linebacker. Well, if that linebacker is screaming downhill or there are two guys over each of you, you can't double team and get to the second level.

Now you have two one-on-one blocks. And there aren't as many free guys to get up to the second level. So basically, what I am here to say is the Tennessee Titans offense deserves credit for taking advantage of what the defense was presenting them. But I am not going to pretend like the Titans all of a sudden have flipped the switch and are a great run team now

because the reality is the four-man fronts, the wide four-man fronts, they just played, which are unique to them in their scheme, are not going to be what the Tennessee Titans see this week against the Chiefs. It's not going to be what the Titans see against the Saints or against Jacksonville again. Because what has happened is in the past, teams will blitz their linebackers,

they'll shoot their safeties through gaps on early downs, and whereas a guard in a center can double team, and then one of them can climb up to the second level, Well, that's harder when the linebacker is screaming downhill at you rather than five yards off the offensive line waiting for you to come to them. So, teams don't play like that around the NFL every week.

So I know that the Titans ran the ball better in the last two weeks but you look at what has happened schematically with the fronts that the Titans have seen and they're just not going to see that for the rest of the year. They're just not going to see that consistently. But with that being said, that is going to do it for today's edition. Make sure that you get subscribe, stay subscribe.

Thumbs up on the video, tighten up down in the chat. That's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Ruland, and this was Locked on Tight.