Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans NEED REVENGE on Seattle Seahawks, O-Line Proving Ground & Brian Callahan's Time to Shine

Starting point is 00:00:00 The Tennessee Titans host the Seattle Seahawks for joint practices this week, and it's time for the Titans to get revenge. I'll explain why on today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. 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 edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Starting point is 00:00:39 Make every moment more as the playoffs wind down, the sports stop sporting like we want them to. But this summer, FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily. That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. Joint practices with the Tennessee Titans and the Seattle Seahawks kick off on Wednesday.

Starting point is 00:01:02 And it is time for the Titans to get revenge. Not only for the loss that the Seahawks kickoff on Wednesday, and it is time for the Titans to get revenge. Not only for the loss that the Seahawks gave them last year, but also for some specific players who are former Seahawks. So we're going to talk about the defense, the offense, and I'll tell you why this is a chance for Brian Callahan to step up as well. Before we get into all of it, do want to thank you again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round,

Starting point is 00:01:31 always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday. And for all the bonus episodes that I've been bringing you guys as

Starting point is 00:01:46 well. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, what are you doing? You're not going to get this much free Tennessee Titans content anywhere else. You pair the Locked on Titans podcast with the Tic Tac Titans film breakdown YouTube channel. And I mean, you're going to be the smartest Tennessee Titans fan

Starting point is 00:02:02 you could possibly be. But with all that being said, let's talk about these joint practices. Because again, the Tennessee Titans need revenge. And like I said, it's not just for that loss last season. Remember, it was a painful loss. Now, at the time, I was more concerned about the Titans draft position. So I have to admit, I wasn't super brokenhearted. But the Titans were leading that game.

Starting point is 00:02:24 And then Seahawks come back at the end. Ryan Tannehill makes a big mistake on the very last drive of the game, letting the time run out. Trey Avery gets roasted a couple of times for touchdowns in the end zone. I mean, the Titans really collapsed in that one, so I'm sure there are a lot of players on the Titans team

Starting point is 00:02:40 that want to get that revenge, guys who did not care about the draft positioning and wanted to win that game, But it's not just the Titans getting their revenge for last season's result. There are two Tennessee Titans who should be returning to the practice field this week that probably really want to have a good performance. And that is Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs. Two guys who were both Seattle Seahawks for the last few years.

Starting point is 00:03:07 I'm sure they want to show out. And this is where the preview of these joint practices really begin because I am excited to see the work that the Tennessee Titans will get against the receiving core of the Seattle Seahawks and the passing game in general of the Seattle Seahawks. So on Seattle, you have one of the best wide receiver trios in the entire NFL up there with the Tennessee Titans trio. Quite frankly, you have DK Metcalf as your number one wide receiver. You have Tyler Lockett is a very good number two wide receiver

Starting point is 00:03:38 with speed. And then you have Jackson Smith and Jigba, the rookie who I know some Titans fans out there wish that the Titans would have picked JSN rather than Peter Skowronski last year. So when you have a really good wide receiver trio like that, that is going to test this Tennessee Titans remade secondary. We're all excited about this secondary. Obviously you add Snead, you add Cheeto, you add that to Roger in the secondary. You have Amani. The Titans finally add two new safeties with Jamal Adams and Quandre Diggs, who could both be starters for them on opening weekend. I want to see this defensive backfield get tested. All right? I want to see a real test.

Starting point is 00:04:16 I'm hoping that my expectation here is that the Titans play less starters in this game on Saturday against the Seahawks than they did last week against the 49ers because they're going to be going so hard in these joint practices. I want to see LeJarius Sneed out there. I want to see Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs back out there. I want to see what it'll look like, and I want to see Jarvis Brownlee Jr. get that other starting spot

Starting point is 00:04:41 instead of Cheeto since Cheeto is hurt. That's what I want. I want to see how this Tennessee Titans revamped secondary looks against this really good pass catcher group from the Seattle Seahawks. To me, this will be the only real test that we get for this defensive backfield before the regular season. And again, I do not expect the Titans starters to play much on Saturday in the game. So if that's not the case, and Steve didn't play a lot last week,

Starting point is 00:05:09 and Jamal Adams didn't play at all last week, and Quandre Diggs was just kind of getting his feet wet after he got signed, I want to see it this week in joint practices. Some coaches say that the joint practices are the best work that their players get before the season actually kicks off. The Titans will have that mindset going in. They need to have that mindset. And I want to see this defensive backfield for the Titans.

Starting point is 00:05:32 Control the air traffic, all right? I want to see it. Our expectations, we're going to get a glimpse of it this week in these joint practices. So I can't wait to break down practice with you guys the next two days. So excited for that. But I am watching for that.

Starting point is 00:05:45 To stay on the defensive side of the ball, this Seattle Seahawks offensive line is pretty decent. All right? It's a pretty decent group. I'm not going to act like it's one of the best groups in the league, but they definitely do have some talent. You have Charles Cross at left tackle, who's been a really good player. You have Lincoln Tomlinson at guard.

Starting point is 00:06:05 They just brought in Connor Williams, who is a really good center. I don't know if he's going to play yet. I don't know his injury status right now. He tore his ACL last year. Is he ready? Don't know for sure. They have Bradford at right guard, and they have a name that all Titans fans should know well,

Starting point is 00:06:18 and George Fant at right tackle. They typically would have Abraham Lucas, but Lucas is a little banged up right now. But either way, it's still a good offensive line. The Titans' pass rush looked bad against San Francisco's backup group. All right, now, they didn't have Harold Landry. They didn't have Jeffrey Simmons. So, of course, you take out the two best players from the pass rush.

Starting point is 00:06:40 The pass rush probably isn't going to look that great. But since these—and Brian Callahan already said, Harold Landry and Jeffrey Simmons are probably not going to play in the preseason at all, period. Like, they might get one series or two in the last game if they feel like they need it, but they're probably not going to play in the preseason at all. So again, the importance of joint practices.

Starting point is 00:07:04 I want to hear that this Tennessee Titans defensive line is working. This Seattle Seahawks offensive line. That's what I want to hear from these practices. We've been hearing about how the Titans D-line is done against the Titans offensive line. Well, now let's see if that travels, okay? We're not going to get to see Simmons and Landry in these preseason games, so they better perform well in these

Starting point is 00:07:25 joint practices opportunities. That's my expectation. So I want to see how the secondary does against a really good wide receiver group, and I want to see if this defensive line can continue to dominate against an offensive line that's good, but I wouldn't say is one of the better offensive

Starting point is 00:07:41 lines in the NFL. It's time to see what's really going to happen here when the Titans take on somebody other than themselves with their starters in practice. And of course, like I said, I'll be here to break it down all with you guys on tomorrow and Thursday, or the next two episodes of the week, because the Titans have practice on Wednesday and Thursday with Seattle.

Starting point is 00:08:01 So excited for that. But now let's flip over to the offense because the offense has a lot to prove as well. Before we do though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, I love sports.

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Starting point is 00:09:06 That's right. There's something for everyone every day all summer long. So head over to FanDuel.com and start making the most out of your summer. FanDuel, official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Doing a little bit of a preview of joint practices with the Seattle Seahawks. We talked about some revenge factor that the Titans will have. Talked about the defensive backfield, the defensive line. Now I want to flip over to offense. I'm going to talk about Brian Callahan at the end of today's show as well.

Starting point is 00:09:55 Before I get into it, though, do want to thank you again for making Locked On Titans your first listen each and every day. Now for your second listen, enjoy the Locked On Fantasy Football Podcast. Look, you're going to get daily insights, the best fantasy draft strategies, so you can win your league this season. Locked On Fantasy Football is part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team, every day.

Starting point is 00:10:18 But, looking at the offensive side of the ball, it's all about the offensive line. I mean, really, this season for the Titans, I think will come down to the offensive line. Like, does the offensive line overperform? Is the offensive line as bad as it was last year? That is the primary X factor in this Tennessee Titans season, whether the Titans are going to do good or do poorly.

Starting point is 00:10:42 Like, that's what it all comes down to. So I'm excited to see this offensive line get tested. I wouldn't say Seattle's defensive front is elite, but it's still pretty good. And you got a really good player in Leonard Williams who kind of anchors that defensive line. Funny, I always bring this up when I talk about Leonard Williams, but flashback to stupid Tyler back in the 2015 draft.

Starting point is 00:11:11 I wasn't stupid because of this, but I was just a stupid kid in my mid-20s in general. But I did not want Marcus Mariota. I did not want the Titans to draft him. I did not want to go quarterback. I wanted to ride it out with Zach want to go quarterback. I wanted to ride it out with Zach Mettenberger and I wanted to take Leonard Williams on the defensive line. That's who I wanted the Titans to take, not Marcus. I give Marcus credit. I'm, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:35 he got the Titans the first playoff win in a decade, but Leonard Williams is obviously a far better NFL player than Marcus Mariota is. So anyways, moving right along. Leonard Williams is good. So how will the Titans hold up against him? Not only that, but they got big John Hankins, Byron Murphy, their first round pick to Vondre Sweat's teammate. He made a big splash play in their preseason game this weekend. Good play there. They also have Jaron Reed on the interior.

Starting point is 00:12:03 And then you go to their outside linebackers, their pass rushers. Draymond Jones, good player. Uchenna Nwosu, great player. Like, I wanted the Titans to sign him in free agency if they let Harold Landry go. I wanted Harold Landry back, but my number one backup plan for Harold Landry was Uchenna Nuoso.

Starting point is 00:12:27 I think he's an excellently versatile player, really like Nuoso. They also have Boye Maffe, the guy out of Minnesota, who I liked a ton coming out of the draft a few years ago. And they got Daryl Taylor, as well as a pretty good pass rusher. So, they just have so much depth on the defensive line

Starting point is 00:12:47 that they're going to stay fresh, and it is going to be a tough, tough test for the Titans offensive line. We saw J.C. Latham struggle a little bit in the preseason game. That right side of the offensive line is still trying to solidify themselves. Bill Callahan talked on Tuesday and said that, you know, Nicholas Petit Ferrer missed all the offseason. Like he's trying to cram right now. He's trying to play catch up on all the technique things and all that. You know, when we were ranting and raving about all the Titans

Starting point is 00:13:14 offensive linemen hitting Olga and Bertha and those little side sleds that the Titans were shoulder shimmying against, NPF didn't get to do any of that. The last thing that was in NPF's head was Jason Hotaling last year from Mike Rabel's staff. I think now he's got Bill Callahan. Like, what a jump that is in tutelage on the offensive line. But can this offensive line take another step forward against a very good deep group on the defensive line for the Seattle Seahawks?

Starting point is 00:13:43 Like, I think that's a good group. It may not have, you know, Leonard Williams really isn't an elite player. At this time, I think he's a very good player. I wouldn't say he's, like, he's not as good as Jeffrey Simmons. He's not as good as Dexter Lawrence or Quinnen Williams, for example, or Chris Jones, you know, guys like that. He's not quite at that level, but I would say he's just one tier behind that. So a very good player, and with all that depth that they have,

Starting point is 00:14:07 ready to watch the offensive line get tested. And then, on the flip side of the offense, the wide receivers. So, Tariq Wolin. Reek, he changed his name just to Reek Wolin or whatever. Name changes are never good once you get to be a professional. It just very rarely ever works out for anybody when they do that. They have Devon Witherspoon. I am in love with Devon Witherspoon.

Starting point is 00:14:32 I love Devon Witherspoon. He's such, such a good player. Could play in the slot. Imagine if Jamal Adams could also be a lockdown corner. Like, that's kind of what you get with Devon Witherspoon. No wonder he went top five. Such a good player. I know he's banged up a little bit his rookie year, but,

Starting point is 00:14:50 man, he is a good player. So, we're happy about the Titans wide receiver group. We're excited about the Titans wide receiver group. Are they going to be able to perform? Are they going to be able to perform against this pretty good group of cornerbacks? That's what I'm curious to see. You know, because the offensive line is different.

Starting point is 00:15:08 The offensive line is untested, and I want to see how they do. Well, the wide receivers are supposed to be very good. Let's see if that holds up against a team with a couple of good cornerbacks. You know what I mean? And just overall, Mike McDonald's defense, Mike McDaniel, well, I mean, honestly, Mike McDaniel is kind of the Mike McDaniel of defense. Like, that's kind of how that works. Mike McDonald's defense is one of the best schematically in the entire NFL.

Starting point is 00:15:36 I think he ran the Baltimore Ravens defense last year, and they were incredible, okay? So I think overall for the offense, this is going to be a big test going against the Seahawks defense. And I think one of the big reasons that the Titans did this with Seattle is because Brian Callahan knows that it's going to be a big test. Brian Callahan knows that it's going to be a difficult task for the Titans offense to go up against this defense. Like Brian Callahan went against him. He knows. And we're going to talk, Brian Callahan went against him. He knows.

Starting point is 00:16:05 And we're going to talk about Brian Callahan in just a moment, but how does Will Levis perform? Does he get the ball out quick? Can the O-line give him time? Will these wide receivers be the star wide receivers that we expect them to be? That's what I'm looking for. And let me just say this.

Starting point is 00:16:21 Can Traylon Burks make plays? So, the training camp hype is there for Burks, but it hasn't been that hype. Like it's been more about he's in great shape. You know, he's running. We haven't seen Burks make a ton of big noteworthy plays. Can he show up in this practice? He showed up last year against Minnesota and then he got hurt at the end of things, but he did show up in this practice. He showed up last year against Minnesota, and then he got hurt at the end of things. But he did show up and was making plays against the Vikings last year. Can Traylon Burks have kind of a breakout week here against the Seahawks going up in their first joint practices with no DeAndre Hopkins?

Starting point is 00:16:55 You know, like, I'm really going to keep my eye on Burks in particular, but that wide receiver group, the offensive line, very excited to see how this plays out. So let me know what you're looking for on offense and defense. Now I want to talk about Brian Callahan because we're talking about the players, but it's a big week for Brian Callahan as well. Before I get into it, though,

Starting point is 00:17:22 I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? Maybe you never skip leg day. Maybe you always have a cheat meal each week. Maybe you never skip therapy day. Look, when your schedule is packed, you've got kids' activities, big work projects, and more, it's easy to let your priorities slip.

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Starting point is 00:18:06 So if you're thinking of starting therapy, you've got to give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. So never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash locked on and get 10% off your first month today. That's betterhelp.com slash locked on. Titans fans, let's cap off today's preview of joint practices with the Seattle Seahawks. We talked about the defense needing revenge. We talked about the offense and how they would be tested.

Starting point is 00:18:56 Now I want to talk about Brian Callahan specifically, okay? And before I do, do want to thank you again 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. I'm going to have bonus episodes this week as well. Friday, I'm going to have a special guest on Friday. We're going to preview the Titans preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Starting point is 00:19:18 I'm going to be going live immediately after the Seattle Seahawks game on Saturday night. You're not going to want to miss that. And then I'll be right back on Sunday to break it all down once again. So don't miss that. But now, go listen to Locked On Fantasy Football. You're going to get daily insights, fantasy draft strategies, so you can win your league this season.

Starting point is 00:19:41 Find Locked On Fantasy Football down below in the description. There's a link. You don't even got to search for it. It's part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. I know it's a lot of promo here, but I also want to remind you guys about the Tic Tac Titans film channel. I have my offensive line breakdown with some good insights into the offense in general.

Starting point is 00:19:58 I have my defensive pressure concept video out. I'm going to have an Andrew Rupsich video out on Wednesday at 8 a.m. so you guys can check that out. Really appreciate everybody's support here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Would appreciate your support over at the Tic Tac Titans film channel as

Starting point is 00:20:14 well at Tic Tac Titans on YouTube. But with all that being said, let's talk about Brian Callahan because Callahan said in his press conference after he was hired that he wanted to hire a defensive coordinator that made things tough on him when he's game planning. Okay?

Starting point is 00:20:31 And there is nobody who made things tougher on the Cincinnati Bengals the last few years than the Baltimore Ravens. And that includes Mike McDonald, their former defensive coordinator, who is now the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. So, again, I mentioned it before. I think that Brian Callahan purposefully made the Seahawks his joint practices because of the defensive prowess of Mike McDonald. He is a gifted schematic coach.

Starting point is 00:20:58 And the Titans are going to be presented with challenges. And they're going to have to have answers for him. So we talk about the offensive line against Seattle's D-line, the wide receivers against the corners, Will Levis making sure that he's doing his part. But this is a big week for Brian Callahan. I am not, when I say this, I don't mean to show pessimism.

Starting point is 00:21:22 I don't mean to give doubt. Okay? But the reality here is we still don't know if Brian Callahan is a good head football coach. We don't know that. Like, we hope things look good. He hired a good staff. Everything he says is exactly what you want to hear.

Starting point is 00:21:40 He presents himself properly. I think it was the right hire, of course. But we don't know. You know what I mean? Like, nobody has the future in their head. They, you know, you can't look into the crystal ball and see Brian Callahan holding up the Lombardi, although I've dreamt about it.

Starting point is 00:21:55 But the point is, when the Titans take on these defensive head coaches, for example, like a D'Amico Ryans. D'Amico Ryans, great defensive head coaches. For example, like a D'Amico Ryans. D'Amico Ryans, great defensive head coach, gifted defensive head coach, who the Titans are going to see two times a year. All right? So Brian Callahan has to be the top level offensive coach that we all thought that he was or is, okay? And I feel like this week in joint practices, pay attention to what you hear. All right?

Starting point is 00:22:29 Because if the Titans are getting smoked on offense by Seattle's defense, I'm not just going to look at that and say, oh, that's not good for the players. That's not good for the O-line. That's not good for Levis. That's not good for Brian Callahan either. Brian Callahan should be able to set his team up to win some of these reps and

Starting point is 00:22:49 win one of these practices. So, I'm very curious here, not only to see the players, but to see Brian Callahan. Because again, Mike McDonald, with the Baltimore Ravens, did give Cincinnati trouble. Okay? That was one of the toughest teams to game plan for.

Starting point is 00:23:08 And that is why Brian Callahan went and hired Denard Wilson. Because he was like, man, Baltimore's defense is tough. I want that guy calling my defense. You know, that's the whole point. So, in those situations where the reason that we were excited that the Titans hired an offensive coach is so that when they went up against some of these defenses, the Titans would still be able to have success.

Starting point is 00:23:34 So while I want the players, and I need the players to do their part here, it's on Brian Callahan as well. So Brian Callahan needs to cook this week, needs to get guys open, and we should be able to tell from the reports and everything we're seeing and hearing whether this is just on the players not executing or whether the Titans are not being put in a great situation either.

Starting point is 00:23:57 So I'm not saying that I have doubt for Brian Callahan. I'm just saying this is one of these moments in joint practices where I want to hear that the Titans offense is generating open looks because Brian Callahan is able to have the answers to the test that is the Seattle Seahawks defense. Seattle's a pretty solid team, and I like their coaching staff as well. So I'm very excited for these joint practices to see what takes place. And I'm going to be here to recap it all with you guys,

Starting point is 00:24:23 to go over all the latest news over the next two days of joint practice. Make sure that you don't miss it. Again, get subscribed. Stay subscribed. But that's going to do it for me today, folks. Throw a thumbs up on the video. Throw a Titan up in the chat. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland,

Starting point is 00:24:37 and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans NEED REVENGE on Seattle Seahawks, O-Line Proving Ground & Brian Callahan's Time to Shine

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