Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans NIGHTMARE OT Loss, Tim Kelly Disasterclass & Sit Will Levis for the Season

Episode Date: December 17, 2023

The Tennessee Titans got embarrassed by the Houston Texans despite all of the advantages they had in a 19-16 OT loss. It was a nightmare game for a Titans fan. Next, one of the main issues was the play calling of Tim Kelly. It leaves questions about the entire staff. Finally, the Miami game was a mirage and now the Titans are eliminated from playoff contention.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashGet 50% off up to $10 value when you spend $15 or more on your FIRST order, when you download the DoorDash app and enter code LOCKED23. Subject to change. Terms apply.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.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.FanDuelScore early this NFL season with FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR MONEYLINE BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your team wins! 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tennessee Titans 19-16 overtime loss to the Texans should be giving Titans fans nightmares on Sunday. I'll break it down 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. Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Roland, Titans fans. Today's recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs.

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. Post your job for free terms and conditions. Apply nightmare fuel in the Tennessee Titans overtime loss to the Houston Texans. Number one, just about every young player, every player that matters played poorly. There are some real reasons for the concern of the future for the Titans coming out of that loss against the Texans.

I'll go through the list. Then we got to talk about Tim Kelly, who is one of those concerns. What a terrible, terrible game from the Titans offensive coordinator. Also, we got to admit that win in Miami was an absolute mirage as the Titans are eliminated from playoff contention. But before we get into all that, 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. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. All right, guys. Number one, as I said, this is a nightmare loss. This is nightmare fuel for the Tennessee Titans.

Let's just go down the list. Number one, the Titans are in the Oilers throwbacks. Number two, the Titans are at home. Number three, it's Houston's JV team. And all credit to Houston. Like I said on Twitter, they deserve that win. Whether the Titans won in overtime or not, Houston deserved the win.

So they got it and they deserved it. Make no mistake about it. But again, at home, throwbacks, Houston's JV team, you get up a double-digit lead at halftime. Will Levis plays terrible and almost gets hurt. And it looks like it's going to be a high ankle or something that, you know, he was walking, he was moving.

It wasn't, you know, a torn ACL or a ruined knee or anything like that, but it looked like it could have been. So not only does Levis play poorly in the second half, but he almost gets hurt, seriously hurt, which at this point, this late in the season, is the only thing that is the true disaster that could happen to the Titans this year. So you have that.

Peter Skowronski played his worst game. Now, he was banged up, but that's the Titans' first-round pick, and he didn't look good in this game. So, well, Levis played poorly, almost got hurt. Skowronski didn't look good. And let's just call it what it is. DeAndre Hopkins wasn't great in this game and had a bad

drop even though it was underthrown by Levis but still a ball he should catch. Hopkins didn't stand out. And then Derrick Henry looked absolutely cooked. Alright? Absolutely cooked. He had 16 touches for 10 yards. Ooh. Ooh.

Man. I mean, like, again, this is nightmare fuel for Titans fans. Because not only did they lose the game, not only did they lose the game at home, in the Oilers throwbacks, against Houston's JV team. Not only that, but Levis played poorly and almost got hurt. Skowronski played poorly and was hurt. Derrick Henry looked cooked and ultimately

the Titans coaches got bullied. Somebody said to me, well, something to the nature of, I said this is Houston's JV team because of the injuries, and they said, well, in fairness, the Titans are a JV team. And I said, and that's why it's close. And the Texans ultimately won this game. Why? Coaching.

So we talked about it. At home, Oilers uniforms, JV team, Levis, Skowronski, Henry, but the coaching. Again, that's why this is nightmare fuel for the Titans. Not only did important players to the team play terrible, but this coaching staff, and we're going to talk more about Tim Kelly and Mike Vrabel as the show progresses. But again, you add all of those circumstances to... Mike Vrabel wins a game last week against Miami. And everybody's singing Mike Vrabel's praises. See, this is why Mike Vrabel is a good coach. This is

why Mike Vrabel should be the coach for the Titans going forward. And again, with the play calling that we saw from Tim Kelly today, how can you have faith in Mike Rabel even if he has better players? We're going to get into that in just a moment. But again, this is a nightmare loss for the Titans because everything that could go wrong went wrong here. Everything was set up for the Titans to win and they lost. All the players that were counting on to be important going forward

did not have good games. The coaching staff that people had hope in after last Monday could lead this team forward got absolutely bullied by a brand new coaching staff. The Titans are probably going to get swept by the Colts and the Texans. Two first-year head coaches. And Shane Steichen and the D'Amico Ryans. Doug Peterson already swept the Titans last year.

He'll have a chance to do it at the end of the season. The Titans might get swept in the division with two first-year head coaches. And we're talking about Mike Vrabel being a good coach. We're talking about Mike Vrabel being the coach to lead the team forward. Because of what? Because of Miami. And let's keep it 100 here. Let's keep it a buck. The Titans got outplayed other than the very first touchdown drive where Levis hit Traylon Burks and then Levis hit NWI on the all sides.

And then Elijah Molden had the pick six. Other than those two drives, other than the very first offensive drive for the Titans and then the very next defensive drive for the Titans, other than those two drives, the Titans got outplayed. The only good moments that the Titans really had were when the Texans gave it to them through mental errors and mistakes. A terrible pick six on a misread. Getting off sides and allowing the Titans to take a shot deep.

I mean, the Texans outplayed the Titans with their JV team. Again, all credit to the Texans. They deserve so much credit. D'Amico Ryans, what an incredible coaching job. Bobby Slowick with Case Keenum and that patchwork offensive line with all of the injuries that the Texans are dealing with right now on the road against the Titans. All credit in the world to the Texans and their coaching staff

who put on a master class here to keep the Texans in the playoff race. This was see, you got to look at this from the other side of this. Right now, the Texans fans are like, what an incredible job by our coaching staff. Bobby Slowick is a guy who might get a head coaching opportunity because he's so good at calling offensive

plays. D'Amico Ryan's a first year head coach with his JV team just went in and beat Mike Vrabel who's supposed to be what D'Amico Ryan's a first year head coach with his JV team just went in and beat Mike Vrabel who's supposed to be what D'Amico Ryan's is supposed to be. So you're seeing the Colts win a game and score what 30 plus points? You're seeing the Texans with their JV team come into your house and beat you while all of your young players play poorly and your coaching staff gets absolutely smoked

and you get eliminated from the playoffs on that day while you drop to 0-4 in the division. All of that stuff, I'm sorry guys, but all of that stuff together, this is a nightmare day for the Tennessee Titans. There's no way to class it up. There's no way to class it up. There's no way to paint it optimistically. It was terrible. All right.

And we need to talk about what I think the center of the real problem is here. And that is the coaching staff and Tim Kelly, who I have defended. I have defended Tim Kelly when he deserved it. But this was Todd Downing level play calling by the Titans. That's what it looked like. And I'm going to get into it in just a moment. Before I do, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Alright guys, when you're hiring for your small business, you want to have as many top tier candidates as possible to interview the titans need some top

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Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Tennessee Titans lose 19-16 in overtime. A disaster game. A nightmare game for the Titans. We just talked about it. Look, the Titans were at home in the Oilers uniforms against Houston's JV team.

Levis played bad and almost got majorly hurt. Henry looks cooked. Skowronski played poorly, and the coaching staff was terrible. And I want to dive into the coaching staff a little bit more right now. At the end of the show, we're going to talk about what this means going forward. I want to see Ryan Tannehill in the rest of the season. I'll explain why and talk about why that win in Miami was an absolute mirage. But again, we're diving into the coaching staff right now.

I want to thank you guys, though, 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. Get subscribed. I'm so close to 10,000 subscribers, y'all. So close. Get subscribed, man.

Show the boys some love. Free Tennessee Titans content. Throw a like on the video. I mean, come on now. Help me out here. But with that being said, what was Tim Kelly doing? What was Tim Kelly doing? I'm going to do it.

I don't care how boring this is or monotonous this is. Let's go through every first down the Titans had. Pass short to Henry. Three yards. Okay, great. Run up the Henry, three yards. Okay, great. Run up the middle, two yards. Run negative three yards. Great, we're off to a great start.

Run, no gain. Awesome, that's the first drive. Titans still score. First down, run for one yard. First down, they hit Traylon Burks for 20 yards. Awesome, a play-action pass, look at Awesome. A play-action pass. Look at that. A play-action pass on first down. But then, very next first down, negative 5 yards from Tajay Spears.

Negative 5-yard run. All right. Cool. Now, Derrick Henry, 5 yards. Next one, negative 3. Next one. Does it get any better? No. Negative 2. Next one, 2 yards. yards up then an interception great we're in the end of the second half that's awesome next one negative seven yards oh awesome

great run by derrick henry negative seven yards two yards two yards wow we're really cooking aren't we we are cooking three yards oh a five Oh, a five-yard pass. Look at that. It's a miracle. Pass the ball. Five yards. Then, a one-yard run. I mean, do I need to keep going here? Do I need to keep going? Two-yard run. No gain. What are we doing? What are we doing? I just don't understand. So, at one point in time, let me go back to this.

In the third quarter, in the third quarter of this game, the Titans had five first down plays. Five first down plays. Five runs. Negative three yards. I mean, Tim Kelly called first down run plays and tried to ram Derrick Henry into the line of scrimmage

over and over and over again. And look, here's what I'm going to tell you. The average casual consensus on Tim Kelly is too low. Tim Kelly is better than Todd Downing. Tim Kelly has not been the problem in a lot of weeks this year. Tim Kelly, in my opinion, has done the best job of any of the big four coaches. The head coach, the defensive coordinator, the special teams coordinator, referring to Craig Aukerman, and the OC. Out of the big four coaches on this team, Tim Kelly has done

the best job this year, in my opinion. But that doesn't mean it's good enough. And I'm sorry, but with the, like you cannot have, you cannot have performances as a play caller like Tim Kelly had today. You can't. So I can defend Tim Kelly and say he's been the best coach of the Big Four this year. He's had weeks. I don't care about any of that. If you perform the way that he performed today,

it's a lost cause. If Tim Kelly is capable of the play calling that we saw from him today, then he's not good enough, regardless of how good or bad he's been in any other week this season. If you're capable of this sort of performance, you are not good enough.

And here's the thing. Everybody wants to fire on Tim Kelly right now and reasonably so. Fire on Tim Kelly. Go ahead. Say everything you got to say. Say all you want. Go ahead. You're in your right to do so. And I want to just say this. Some people say, hey, they couldn't run the ball. They couldn't pass the ball. What do you want them to do? You can play action pass. There's this myth out there that if you aren't running the ball with success,

then you can't play action. Mike Vrabel is going to say it after the game. He probably has already said it. We weren't able to run the ball, so it was hard to get to the play action pass. That is fraudulent. You can play action pass whether you're running the ball or not. Of course, it'll be more effective if you're having major success in the run game, but it still has a major impact on the secondary and the second level of defenders, whether you're running the

ball or not. So the Titans are like, well, if we're not running the ball, then we can't play action. No, no, you can always play action whether you're running the ball or not. That's a myth! So, it's just crazy to me to see Bobby Slowick on one side of the field help Case Keenum in this, again, JV offense for the Texans, and then on the other side of the ball, see Tim Kelly run Derrick Henry into the line of scrimmage over and over and over again. And again, I have defended Tim Kelly this year. I think he's been the best of the big four coaches that the Titans have. But at the end of the day, that doesn't make it good

enough. And what we saw out there against the Texans, I'm sorry, but if you're capable of that kind of performance, then you are not good enough to be the offensive coordinator of the team. And here's what I want to say to cap this conversation. To roll this in. There is a saying in leadership. Alright? That either you stop it or you allow it. Either you stop it or you allow it. So you can all blame Tim Kelly. You can say everything you want about Tim Kelly.

But Tim Kelly has a boss. Who is allowing Tim Kelly to do this? You think Mike Vrabel doesn't hear the play calls? You think that Mike Vrabel won't intervene after watching Derrick Henry get run into the line of scrimmage over and over, and then all of a sudden you're in overtime, and you run a direct snap to Derrick Henry in Wildcat, where Will Levis is pretending like he's taking the snap but he's over the left guard and you get negative yards. You think that Mike Vrabel doesn't know that that's what's being called? Tim Kelly has a boss.

All right, Todd Downing called conservative plays and ran an offense like this. Now Tim Kelly is calling conservative plays and running an offense like this. Say all you want about Tim Kelly. Go ahead. But who do you think is really in control here? Who do you think is really in charge?

Who do you think is really allowing these conservative run plays to be called? Mike Vrabel doesn't just sit back and say, Oh, well, Tim Kelly's the OC. There's nothing I can do. We know how Mike Vrabel is about his football team. Mike Vrabel is intimately involved in every aspect of his football team. That is one of his strengths. So you can all blame Tim Kelly all you want, but that blame should actually go to Mike Vrabel because we've seen two offensive coordinators now and the Titans offense does the same conservative crap.

Tim Kelly deserves the blame, but the majority of the blame needs to go to Mike Vrabel. And that is why people say, oh, Mike Vrabel with better personnel, his offense would look different. Well, how can I believe that when he is in control of this? You're telling me that Mike Vrabel with better players is all of a sudden going to have a different approach to offense? It's two different coordinators for three straight seasons. This is a Mike Vrabel problem.

Blame Tim Kelly. Fire Tim Kelly. Whoever Mike Vrabel hires as offensive coordinator next is going to do this same stuff because it's not Tim Kelly or Todd Downing that is saying is going to do this same stuff because it's not Tim Kelly or Todd Downing that is saying they want to do this. It's Mike Vrabel. Wake up everyone. It's Mike Vrabel. Tim Kelly has a boss. Tim Kelly has a boss. We blame Todd Downing. We blame Tim Kelly. When are we going to wake up to the problem being Mike Vrabel who is allowing this? Because you're either stopping it or you're allowing it. And Mike Vrabel is allowing the offense to do this. When you have half of the offensive coordinator positions

in the NFL filled with Kyle Shanahan's and Bobby Slowick's and Ben Johnson's and Sean McVay's. I mean, when you have those sorts of offensive minds and Zach Taylor's and Andy Reid's, when you have these sorts of offensive minds as half of the NFL, how can you expect to be a great team with an offensive philosophy like this? And again, the offensive philosophy that we've seen from Todd Downing, that we've seen from Tim Kelly, does not come from them. It comes from their boss. Don't blame the

assistant manager. Blame the guy in charge. It is okay if you have doubts about Mike Vrabel leading this team going forward because how can you watch what we've seen on offense the last three years and not have doubts? Only an insane

man would not have doubts about Vrabel's ability to command a high level NFL offense. That's only fair. That's only fair. But with that being said, we got to talk about going forward. What does this mean for the Titans going forward? I got a lot to say about it. I'm sure you guys are shocked. But before I talk about it,

I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, as the weather gets colder, the NFL offers stay hot on FanDuel Sportsbook. Look, as the weather gets colder, the NFL offers stay hot on FanDuel. Right now, new customers can get $150 in bonus bets with any winning $5

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I like putting a bunch of stuff together in a single-game parlay for a big hit. Make sure that you guys visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and get in on the action this NFL season. Once again, that's FanDuel.com slash locked on FanD today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about why this was such a nightmare for the Titans, losing in this game and everything we saw. We also talked about what I think the root of the problem is here, and it's Mike Vrabel's conservative offensive approach,

regardless of who his offensive coordinator is. It's coaching malpractice. But now I want to talk about the reality that is setting in for most fans right now. Before I do, 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 long, always for free, all apps. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Got tomorrow, we're going to talk it out Tuesday. Look at things going forward for the Titans.

Talk about Will Levis' situation as well with the injury. Sure, we'll have updates there. Going to have crossover Thursday this week. Game plan Friday. So much coming up and then on into an incredibly important offseason. So make sure that you stick with me for Monday through Friday free Titans content all year round. But the game in Miami was a mirage.

It was the Miami mirage, not the Miami miracle. And I got to tell you guys, earlier this week, we saw two things. We saw, one, an incredible inability to read past the headline for a lot of fans and a lot of listeners. We also saw a mirage. Again, a mirage by the Titans down in Miami. So I said Titans make the playoffs.

Went over the playoff paths, but I said all along I do not think the Titans will make the playoffs. I do not think that they're winning out. I thought they had a good chance to win this game, but it was going to be close. My prediction was 2016. But again, we talked about playoff paths for the Titans. And I said all along, I do not think the Titans will make the playoffs.

And here we are. The Tennessee Titans are eliminated. All right? And I think going forward, this game, I think this game is a sobering loss. And this moment, while it looks bad, while it's a

nightmare, I think this moment when we look back may be a blessing in disguise. I think this may be a blessing in disguise. For multiple reasons. Number one, let's go over. Number one, Will Levis got hurt,

but it wasn't as bad as it should have been. Will's body got bent backwards. His knee got totally bent backwards. And it looks like he's probably just going to have a high ankle sprain. Now, while that high ankle sprain will probably knock him out for a couple of weeks,

at the end of the day, that's probably for the best. Put Tannehill back in, put Malik Willis back in. I would actually prefer to see Malik Willis. I just think it will be Ryan Tannehill. But Will is probably not going to be able to play the rest of the season.

Either way, don't put him out there on a high ankle sprain, injured the rest of the year. Do not do that. Shut Will Levis down. I know that it hasn't been all good, but we've seen enough from Will Levis where I'm excited about Will Levis and what he can do going forward with a better team around him. So you sit Will Levis down with a high ankle sprain and say,

rookie, we've seen enough. All right. You put Tannehill or Willis out there. Hopefully it's Willis and you lose out. You lose every game the rest of the way. That's why I want to see Willis in there, not Tannehill. Tannehill might be able to lead this team to some stupid win. Put Willis out there. All right? Maybe you pump up his trade value. I don't think so, but hey, whatever. You lose out, you go 5-12. If you only win five games, you're going to get one of those offensive tackles.

You're going to get one. So you sit Levis the rest of the year to protect him from the high ankle sprain. You play Malik Willis, or I think the Titans play Tannehill. You lose out, you go 5-12. And again, we look back at this as a blessing in disguise. One, Levis wasn't seriously hurt.

Two, it allowed the Titans to lose out and get their left tackle of the future. Three, we saw that the offensive struggles are a Mike Vrabel issue. I think there is a good chance that we look back at this game like, man, I guess it's a good thing the Texans JV team was able to beat the Titans that day. You sit Levis for the rest of the year. You lose out. Go get Joe Ault. Go get Ola Fashanu.

And we ride. And we ride from there. We've seen enough in Will Levis to be inspired and hopeful for the future. And again, it's a nightmare game what we saw today. But I think that the dawn could break and we could look back on it as a blessing in disguise. I think that's definitely a possibility. But again, the Titans have nine losses now.

They are eliminated from playoff contention. Didn't think that they were going to make the playoffs, but for anybody who still had hope or was optimistic, it is over now. They're probably going to get swept in their division, and hopefully they do. And they go to 5-12. And they go get Joe Holt. And they go get Joe Alt.

This was a terrible, terrible game, folks. But the Alt cult lives. With that being said, though, I know it was a tough one. But I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow, of course. As I always say, that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was a nightmare, but it was Locked on Titans.