Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Name Will Levis Starting QB, Where Levis Must Improve & Ryan Tannehill as Backup in 2024

Starting point is 00:00:00 Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Rabel named Will Levis the starting quarterback for the rest of the season. And it was absolutely the right decision. I'll talk about why on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans. Your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:42 Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, use the code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase, last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. A lot to discuss. Will Levis was named the starter by Mike Rabel for the rest of the season we're going to dive into that decision also what do I want to see

Starting point is 00:01:12 from Will Levis as he is the starter the rest of the year which game should he win what am I looking for to improve also Ryan Tannehill could he be brought back to be the backup next year I think he should. We'll talk about all that and more on today's show. Before we get into it, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free.

Starting point is 00:01:40 Make sure you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Shout out to my everydayers. Tomorrow, crossover Thursday, going to be talking to my guy James from Locked on Buccaneers. Friday will be game plan Friday where I break down how the Titans can win this game. And then I'll be live breaking down what happened on Sunday

Starting point is 00:02:01 immediately after the game is over. Again, make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now. Also, do you think it was the right decision to make Will Levis the full-time starter? Let me know down below in the comments. But, first and foremost, Mike Vrabel made the decision.

Starting point is 00:02:19 And I'm not going to sugarcoat anything. We talked earlier this week. If Mike Vrabel did not select Will Levis as the quarterback for the team the rest of the year, I think he should have been fired. That's how terrible and how utterly stupid that decision would have been. So more than anything, more than anything, I'm excited that Mike Vrabel made the right decision. I'm excited that the Titans do have a head football coach who gets it.

Starting point is 00:02:48 That is probably what's most important to me. But just want to go over what Vrabel had to say in the press conference on Tuesday. He said, quote, let me just kind of clear things up going forward. Will's going to be our quarterback. We're going with Will. We think that's the best opportunity for our football team right now. We'll see where he's at. I think Ryan will progress through here this week, and I think and hopeful to be a backup for us and prepare as the starter, but that's where we're at right now. I shared that with the team and had a conversation with

Starting point is 00:03:23 everybody involved, so that's what that will look like. Braybill also said there may be some shuffling on the offensive line, depending on health and availability. But at the end of the day, this was the right decision, not only for now, but also for the future,

Starting point is 00:03:38 not only for the future, but for now as well. Look, the future is obvious. Will Levis looks like he at least has the ability to be the quarterback of the future for the Titans. There is a chance that when the Titans get back to a playoff, or when the Titans win their next playoff game, I'll forbid the Titans get to their next Super Bowl, that it could be Will Levis as the quarterback. So it makes sense when you're 3-5, and this roster is probably not making

Starting point is 00:04:03 a deep playoff run. This roster is probably not winning you a playoff game. Probably not winning the AFC South. The only thing that matters this year is the development of Will Levis towards the future. When we started the season, the only question that we really wanted to answer this year was, who's going to be the quarterback next year? Now we have that answer, so now we can move down the path. What is next? Now it's about developing that young quarterback, improving that young quarterback throughout the rest of the year, and then when we get to the offseason, now it's about

Starting point is 00:04:36 building up the team around the quarterback because you have him in place. Alright? More importantly than anything, answering, do the Titans have a quarterback of the future? We have our answer. The Titans are going to build around Will Levis, and I think he has the ability to make that the right move. But now, it's about developing him for the future. And, we talked about some of the mistakes that Will Levis made

Starting point is 00:04:58 in the second segment of yesterday's Tic Tac Tuesday show. We need to see those improve. So, all about the future. Love that. But also, if we're honest, and I'll admit I was wrong about this. I didn't think that Will Levis would be better than Ryan Tannehill this year. I did not think that was going to happen. I'll admit my L on that one. But it looks like Will Levis is better than Ryan Tannehill right now. He is more of a boomer bust kind of guy, but the booms that Will Levis can give you,

Starting point is 00:05:30 the upside that Will Levis can give you, like we saw against the Atlanta Falcons, is far more important than the downside. Levis' downside is what? Sacks? Interceptions? We saw that from Ryan Tannehill already. So if the

Starting point is 00:05:46 downside is the same and the upside is way different, then Will Levis is the better player right now as well, especially with the state of the offensive line and the wide receiver group. You need a guy with more mobility, with more juice in his legs, with more pop like Will Levis has, which he should. He's a much younger player. So whether it be the future, whether it be right now, Will Levis was the right decision. And again, the big thing for me is I have been critical of Mike Vrabel, especially the last few weeks. I said earlier this week,

Starting point is 00:06:17 if Mike Vrabel put Ryan Tannehill back in as the starter, he should be fired. Well, my number one takeaway here is, I'm just happy that Mike Vrabel made the right decision. Faith renewed, faith intact, whatever you want to call it. Again, I didn't say the Titans should just fire Mike Vrabel, fire Mike Vrabel. I said if he did not put Will Levis in as the starter, he should be fired. So now that he's made

Starting point is 00:06:43 the right decision, I'm perfectly fine. Now, I'll say this. If the Patriots want to pay a first-round pick for Mike Vrabel in the offseason, I'm still willing to do that and go hire Ben Johnson from the Lions. But, again, as I've always said, Mike Vrabel is a good coach. My concern is how he would handle the team being in the state that it's in. And if he's willing to play Levis the rest of the season, then that means that Vrabel gets it.

Starting point is 00:07:08 He understands. He buys into the plan. He buys into the vision. And for me, that is big relief, big weight off the shoulders. Thank you, Mike Vrabel. Thank you. I was worried.

Starting point is 00:07:21 I was concerned. If you guys want to give me crap for not having faith in Vrabel to make the right decision, then go ahead and do it. I was worried. I was concerned. If you guys want to give me crap for not having faith in Vrabel to make the right decision, then go ahead and do it. I don't mind because we've seen other decisions where I feel like I've justified in having my doubts. But either way, all that really matters is the Titans may have their quarterback of the future in tow in Will Levis,

Starting point is 00:07:40 and Mike Vrabel is going to do the right thing and make sure that they develop him throughout the rest of the season. That is a major, major win for Tennessee Titans fans. And everybody watching right now should absolutely be excited about the future of the Titans with Mike Vrabel showing that he gets it and Will Levis getting the opportunity to grow even more. So we're going to continue talking about Will Levis as the starter. What needs to improve?

Starting point is 00:08:04 How many games should he win? What should we be looking for in his improvement throughout the rest of the year? I'm going to dive into that. Also, Ryan Tannehill is the backup next year? I think they should. And I'll explain why. So we got a lot to get into the rest of the show. Before we do,

Starting point is 00:08:21 I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. You guys have to download the GameTime app. It is the best place for tickets in general, but specifically last minute tickets. I mean, they have killer last minute deals. GameTime gives you deals on tickets all the way up until an hour after the event has already started. So they are the king of last-minute tickets. And for a spontaneous guy like myself, it's a perfect fit. But it's not just sports stuff. Of course, that's what you're thinking.

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Starting point is 00:10:01 lowest price, guaranteed. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic, a certified film junkie, and a staff writer for Sports Illustrated over at alltitans.com. I want to dive into what we need to see from Will Levis throughout the rest of the season. Now he's the starter. What are we looking for? How many games should he win? I'm going to dive into all that. Before I do, thank you for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen each and every day.

Starting point is 00:10:50 Make sure that you guys check out Locked On NFL Kickoff Live. It's every Friday, 2 p.m. Eastern, going live. Three great hosts. In-depth analysis from all the local Locked On hosts as well. I mean, it is the best place to get ready to go for the weekend of football action. They're talking bets. They're talking fantasy. They're talking matchups.

Starting point is 00:11:10 It's live on the Locked On Titans YouTube channel as well, so you guys don't even got to go anywhere. Just make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast. Let me know down below, what is one thing you want to see Will Levis improve on? What games do you think

Starting point is 00:11:26 the Titans should win? So we talked about it yesterday on Tic Tac Tuesday when I dove into the tape. I did a full segment on all the good we saw from Will Levis, all the beautiful, and then I did a full segment on all the bad we saw from Will Levis, so the crazy, as I call it, because there were some crazy in there. So we'll talk about some of those things, but I want to look, you know, even more big picture as well at what I want to see Will Levis improve on. Number one, continue to take the deep shots.

Starting point is 00:11:54 Also, do want to tell you guys my film breakdown, full 18-minute video with film clips, telestration, I'm drawing arrows, breaking down plays, all that. I'm going to have it linked down below in the comments or linked down below in the description of the video. It's at alltitans.com, my writing for Sports Illustrated.

Starting point is 00:12:14 18-minute film breakdown video on Will Levis to go with what we talked about yesterday. Make sure you guys check that out. But continue to take the deep shots. Continue to go downfield. I talked about wanting to see Will Levis be more situationally aware, but I don't want him to back off being aggressive down the field if it's there. I certainly don't.

Starting point is 00:12:32 Okay, it's just, you know, two-minute drill, late game, third and short. Situations like that where you'd like him to just take a profit and keep things going. But again, the reason that it was so important that Levis played the rest of the season is so he could calibrate. Oh, that's not open. Oh, that is open.

Starting point is 00:12:52 I can throw that. Oh, this situation, better not risk it. Oh, this situation, just take the sack. But it's all about calibration at this point. He's learning what he can do with his skills. What works, what used to work, what doesn't work anymore. All right. So having the ability to calibrate where he can find openings, when he should take his opportunities is what this rest of the season is all about. And you don't want him to

Starting point is 00:13:17 knock off the aggressiveness. Again, I'd rather have a guy who's too aggressive and I got to back him down a little bit than have a guy who's not aggressive enough and you got to push him. You know what I mean? I'll always take the more aggressive person. Maybe that's just a window into how I am in general. I'm sure you guys have figured that out by now. Much more of an A type. But to me, I don't want him to lose the aggressiveness,

Starting point is 00:13:40 but we just need to make improved decisions when using that aggressiveness. Pick your battles. you could say. That's an easy way to say it, right? You've got all the weapons in the world, but you still want to make sure that you pick your battles. So that's one thing. Also, I don't want Will Levis to be in danger, but I think they need to at least experiment with using his legs a little bit more.

Starting point is 00:14:02 We have yet to see a design quarterback run from Will Levis. And when Will Levis was at Penn State, some people were comparing him to Taysom Hill because of his physicality as a runner. Now, I don't want to get into Will Levis' head that he needs to make a bunch of plays as a runner because, again, the over-aggressiveness. All right?

Starting point is 00:14:20 So you got to be careful here. But at the end of the day, Ryan Tannehill's legs were a weapon that the Titans used. Short yardage, goal line stuff, we have yet to see Will Levis utilized in any of those ways. Alright? I think that he has capability as a runner. I think that he has the ability to not only run read option stuff like Tannehill, I think the Titans could do some Josh Allen, some Daniel Jones type run game with the quarterback, quarterback power, quarterback lead, quarterback sweep,

Starting point is 00:14:51 quarterback counter. You know, I think the Titans could do those things. The Titans like to line up in five wide. And a lot of you guys don't like when they do that, but I get why they do it. They're trying to easily identify where openings should be. They're trying to make it easy on their offensive line to know who's coming, who's blitzing, who they should have to deal with. They're trying to simplify things by going five wide. Well, you get these teams in five wide and they're all spread out. Let's run a quarterback draw. Let's have Peter Skowronski pull from the left side to the right side. Run a quarterback misdirection counterplay. I mean,

Starting point is 00:15:23 let's do these things. You have, especially when the Titans are struggling so bad in the red zone. It'd be a great opportunity to utilize that. So I want to see that outside of using his arm talent, outside of quarterback run game and wanting to see a little bit more of his

Starting point is 00:15:39 mobility. It's all about situations for me. Operating situations. Does Will Levis get the team in and out of the huddle does he get the play to the guys, does he get guys lined up correctly, is he calling the right audibles, is he calling the right adjustments you know, those are the sort of things that again, experience

Starting point is 00:15:56 there are going to be looks, there are going to be coverages that Will Levis sees in the next nine games that he has never seen before in his life, that is only going to help him. But I want to see how he handles those from an operational aspect. You get a look from the defense that you're not expecting. Can the play. Check to a different one.

Starting point is 00:16:15 Flip the run. He's got to be able to do the mental aspects of the quarterback game. And honestly, that's where I think he's furthest ahead. We talk about his cannon arm. I think his mental capacity is way far ahead of his physical talents. I mean, this guy was an academic All-American, an incredible student, all that. So, just saying, I want to continue to see his brain, as much as his body, improve and be successful.

Starting point is 00:16:43 And ultimately, I think the Titans should beat the Panthers. Playing the Panthers at home, the Titans have a better roster than the Panthers. I want to see Will Levis win that game. Alright? I do. The home game against the Texans, wearing the Oilers uniforms again, I want to see Will Levis go one-on-one, mano-a-mano with these other rookie quarterbacks and win at home with a better roster, in my opinion.

Starting point is 00:17:14 The Titans have a better roster than the Texans, in my opinion. The Titans have a better roster than the Panthers. They should win those games. And the game against the Colts at home. Anthony Richardson's out for the year. I think you put Will Levis in that game, maybe the Titans win it. But either way, Levis should be better by the time he plays these games. These games are at home, and I want to see Will Levis win. It would be better for the Titans to lose the rest of their games, get the best pick they

Starting point is 00:17:41 possibly can, go 3-14. But I want to see Will Levis win some games. And I think if Will Levis improves as a player, the Titans will win some games just because the roster is not good, but they're better than some of these other teams. And Levis should, again, continue to improve. So I do want to see some wins here just as a sign of continued growth. All right? But with that being said,

Starting point is 00:18:07 now that we know Will Levis is QB1, what about QB2? Looks like it's going to be Ryan Tannehill, but I don't think it should just be this year. I think Ryan Tannehill should be the backup quarterback next year as well. And I'm going to explain why before I do. I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by DoorDash.

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Starting point is 00:19:38 Subject to change. Terms apply. Again, don't forget. Use that code LOCKED23 for 50% off up to a $10 value on your first order when you download the DoorDash app and spend $15 or more. Subject to change, terms apply. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Will Levis was named the starter. We talked about the decision. We talked about what I want to see from Levis going forward.

Starting point is 00:20:25 Now I want to talk about bringing Ryan Tannehill back. I can't wait to get into it with you guys. You guys always have such great things to say. But before we do, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. I want to give a special shout out to anybody who wished me well while I was sick, feeling a lot better. Obviously, probably you could tell in those commercials, I'm running out of steam and need a water break.

Starting point is 00:20:45 But just appreciate anybody who sent well wishes or just was nice to me at all when I was sick, being sick. Most of my comments are calling me a moron, idiot, calling me names, stuff like that. So anybody who not only took the time to interact with the show but took time to wish me well, thanks a lot. Appreciate all you guys there. But with that being said, going to get into a topic where a bunch of you guys are gonna

Starting point is 00:21:07 call me a moron and an idiot again. But I think Ryan Tannehill should be back as the backup quarterback next year. Look, here's what it is. His contract is out. So it's not like the Titans are gonna have to pay him big time money. Nobody nobody is paying Ryan Tannehill anywhere close to what the Titans have paid him the last few years. $27 million salary this year, $36 million cap hit. That ain't happening ever again for Ryan Tannehill.

Starting point is 00:21:34 Those days are over, okay? And I would compare this very much to when Andy Dalton left the Bengals. Except for Dalton was a little bit younger when he left the Bengals than they went with Joe Burrow. So it's a little bit different there. I think Tannehill would get even less on his next couple of contracts than Dalton did. But for me, when you have an older veteran quarterback,

Starting point is 00:21:57 you want a young backup that you're developing. When you have a young starting quarterback, you want an older veteran who can be the backup. So that if the young starting quarterback gets hurt, you don't have a young developing guy that you got to worry about knowing the offense and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, this and that to come in. No, you want a veteran who can pilot the ship, who can not make mistakes, who can know what to do,

Starting point is 00:22:24 and hold down the fort until your young starter gets back. That is the formula. You either have young starter, old veteran backup, or you have old veteran starter, young developing backup. Those are the two options that make sense. Okay? So, if Tannehill is not going to get paid big-time money, if Tannehill is going to have to be a backup somewhere else, I mean, how many starting quarterback jobs are open

Starting point is 00:22:54 for Ryan Tannehill to take? I mean, right now you would say, what, he could compete with Sam Howell in Washington? But I'd rather stick with Sam Howell. What are you getting with Ryan Tannehill? What's that going to do for you? Are you going to go 7-10 again? I would rather play Sam Howell.

Starting point is 00:23:10 What, in Tampa Bay? Baker Mayfield is better than Ryan Tannehill right now. So, I mean, whatever. Maybe Las Vegas, I guess? He could go there. But, you know, the point is for me, no one's paying Tannehill big time money and nobody is promising Ryan Tannehill a starting job.

Starting point is 00:23:33 You can come compete. You can compete with a young guy. And if I'm Ryan Tannehill, and if the money is the same, and if I'm not being promised a starting gig anyways, why would I uproot my family from where I have set myself down? Why would I do that? If I'm Tannehill and I can get paid about the same,

Starting point is 00:23:57 five, six, seven million dollars as a high-level backup, if I can do that, the Titans are going to have a hundred million dollars of cap space. You're paying Will Levis a rookie contract. I don't care to pay Ryan Tannehill six, seven million dollars to be the backup. And if Will Levis does get hurt, Tannehill comes in for a couple of games. Maybe leads the Titans to a couple of wins. The money

Starting point is 00:24:16 isn't the problem. And again, why would Tannehill want to leave to go somewhere else if there's no significant improvement in money or opportunity? He's 35. He's going to be 36 next year. Tannehill's probably only got one or two years left in the NFL anyways. Unless he gets a significantly more lucrative deal from somebody

Starting point is 00:24:40 else, which I don't see why he would, then why not? Just come back, okay? Malik's time's over. You don't have a developing young quarterback as the starter and try to also develop a backup at the same time. That's dumb. That doesn't make any sense. So, for me, it's pretty simple. If Tannehill wants to come back and Tannehill doesn't get a lot of great opportunities elsewhere, I would love to have Ryan Tannehill wants to come back, and Tannehill doesn't get a lot of great opportunities elsewhere, I would love to have Ryan Tannehill back as the backup.

Starting point is 00:25:10 And the way that he handled himself professionally on the sidelines, dealing with Will Levis as the starter, you got to give a shout-out to Tannehill. The last thing that I want to say, I want to spend some time giving a shout-out to Tannehill. If this is the last time that we ever see Ryan Tannehill as the starting quarterback for the Titans, I just want to say this. He's the second best quarterback the Tennessee Titans

Starting point is 00:25:30 have ever had behind Steve McNair. His numbers are even better than Steve McNair, but again, a lot of that has to do with difference in the time period of football. But Tannehill, 91 touchdowns, 39 picks, 38 and 23, 15 games above.500, two division titles, two playoff wins. Now, he choked like a dog against the Bengals.

Starting point is 00:25:57 That'll never change. He's not an elite quarterback like Mahomes or Burrow, that'll never change. But Ryan Tannehill successfully piloted the Tennessee Titans to one of the most successful stretches of football they have ever had. And for that, you can acknowledge all the mistakes he made, you can acknowledge his limitations, but do that while also acknowledging that he was the pilot of the second best Tennessee Titans team we've ever seen. He deserves credit for that,

Starting point is 00:26:33 and he deserves to be remembered fondly for the things that he did do well, even if there were issues in there as well. So shout out to Ryan Tannehill. Hoping that your back is the backup next year. I think it would make a ton of sense for the Titans. Let me know how you guys feel about that down below. But tomorrow's crossover Thursday, folks. Can't wait to dive into this next game. Can't wait for the Tennessee Titans to play football again. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Name Will Levis Starting QB, Where Levis Must Improve & Ryan Tannehill as Backup in 2024

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