Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans ONLY ANSWER is Nicholas Petit-Frere, Slow Offense & Will Levis is Marcus Mariota

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

The Tennessee Titans offensive line has been one of the worst in the NFL and the main culprit is right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere, but the reality is he is the only answer they have right now and the best option available. Next, the Titans offense is simply too slow at the moment and that isn't about the speed of the plays, but the plays themselves. Finally, the Will Levis discourse seems all too familiar and it is a reminder of Marcus Mariota, the Titans last failed franchise quarterback.Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitansTicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=ascFollow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.RobinhoodThe new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold. Sign up at robinhood.com/gold Terms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC.DoorDashUse promo code LOCKEDFALL24 for 50% off up to $10 value, when you spend $15+ on your first order. Limited time offer. Terms apply. Promo is not valid for orders containing alcohol.PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code lockedonmlb to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.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.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelPlace your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

The Tennessee Titans offensive line has been a disaster, but Nicholas Petit Ferrer is the only answer at right tackle. I'll explain why on today's edition of Locked on Titans. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans.

Today's 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. On today's episode, I want to talk solutions. Let's look at some of the Titans' biggest problems on offense and what can help fix them. We're going to start with the offensive line where, despite the terrible play early,

Nicholas Petit-Ferrer is the only answer at right tackle. Before I get into it, I do want to thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first to listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, 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 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. And every day, if you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one because tomorrow we have crossover Thursday with Kyle Krabs from Locked on Dolphins.

We're going to start looking ahead to this Monday night football matchup. Friday, I am going to do a mailbag and answer some of your guys' questions. You can send those to me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. And then, no game on Sunday, so Sunday's show into Monday morning will be my preview episode for this Monday night football matchup against the Miami Dolphins.

And I'll be live here on the Locked on Titans podcast to break down everything that happens after the Monday night football game. But with all that being said, let's go ahead and dive in here and look. I am going to address a lot of the conversation that I'm seeing around this offensive line because I'm seeing a lot of people make suggestions and look for changes. And, you know, what can the Titans do to fix this offensive line? And my honest answer for you is nothing.

Growth, experience, reps. That's the answer. Because let's break it down like this. You look at the right tackle position, and Nicholas Petit-Ferrer was benched on Sunday in lieu of Jalen Duncan. But the reality here is Jalen Duncan is a worse player than Nicholas Petit Ferrer. So the Titans do need to go back to NPF at right tackle. He is the best right tackle on the roster.

He's better than Jalen Duncan. He's better than John Ajuku. He's better than Leroy Watson on the practice squad. Like, the Titans don't have a long-term solution at right tackle on the roster right now, and it's not coming this season. I want to take everybody back in the time machine to during the all-season when I said repeatedly over and over and over for anyone that would listen that you cannot fix all of the Titans' roster problems overnight. Edge rusher, right tackle, linebacker, interior defensive line depth.

I didn't think that this would be something, but maybe even quarterback. You know what I mean? Like the Titans cannot solve every single issue that they have in one off season under Rankarthon's direction. We knew that going into the year, but what happens is,

as we get into the season and people want that short-term high, they want that instant gratification of having a win and going on Twitter and talking crap to your division rivals and going on Facebook and arguing with people in the messengers

and the forums and on Reddit. And you want to be able to talk trash to other people. That's just the culture that we are in as a society, not only sports, but plenty of things outside of sports. It's all about I need to be right on social media. And when the Titans lose these games,

you're like, oh my God, I'm wrong every week. Everyone's making fun of us. I'm getting hate on social media. I can't say anything back. The Titans need to win a game and whatever it takes to win the game, they got to do that. So a lot of people are offering just crazy solutions at the end of the day. If the Titans

don't have somebody who can replace Nicholas Petit Ferrer on the roster in Jalen Duncan or John Ajuku, well then they need to move Peter Skowronski to right tackle and put Daniel Brunskill at left guard or they need to move Dylan Radins out to right tackle or put Daniel Brunskill at left guard, or they need to move Dylan Radins out to right tackle and put Daniel Brunskill or Andrew Rupsitch at right guard, or they need to move J.C. Latham from right tackle, from left tackle to right tackle and put Peter Skowronski at left tackle. But I even saw somebody say they need to move

Lloyd Cushenberry to right guard. Stop. Stop it. You're a child on the floor at the grocery store throwing a tantrum right now because you can't get the candy bar. And the candy bar is the victory. I want the Titans to win as much as possible. But you guys have to see the forest through the trees here. Okay? You have to just absolutely take a moment and breathe. Alright? You can't move Peter Skoransky.

Here's how I would explain it. Daniel Brunskill at right guard is last year's Peter Skoransky to tackle. We're doing the same thing here. Everybody says, if you move Daniel Brunskill back to right guard, you can put Dylan Radins at right tackle. Dylan Radins is a terrible right tackle too, guys. It's not going to be the answer.

The answer is not here. We're not going to answer this problem this season. So what you can't do is you can't take Peter Skowronski and move him from guard to right tackle. He's not a tackle in the NFL. Do you think you know more than Bill Callahan? Do you? Yes or no.

Do you know more about offensive line play than Bill Callahan? Bill Callahan has said, I thought Skowronski was a guard coming out. Brian Callahan has said, I thought Skowronski was a guard coming out. He has said he's a guard right now. He is not an offensive tackle anymore. Let it go. Not only that, but you're not going to take JC Latham, where he's been one of the only bright spots for the Titans, and move him out of his position now. That's absurd. And then what? You're terrible at left tackle on the blind side. You're not going to take Lloyd Cushenberry,

who just got one of the biggest center deals in NFL history, and make him play a position he hasn't played since he was in what, high school? These are not valid solutions. And Daniel Brunskill is a center on this team. You can argue with Bill Callahan all you want, but Daniel Brunskill is too small to play guard in this offense. So I know that it's not what you want to hear, but you need to hear it.

You need to understand it. You need to sit with it and soak in it. The best answer for the Titans is to keep the group they have and to allow this group to improve. That is the answer. The answer is patience. And again, I know that is not what people want to hear but is a reality. What you don't do is you don't trade more draft picks to go get somebody else's

veteran trash. Now, if the Titans want to go maybe sign Chris Hubbard off San Francisco's practice squad and bring him back to Tennessee to play right tackle, sure. I guess you could do that. He had some good moments at the beginning of last year before he got hurt, but do you think he's going to want to leave San Francisco and come to the 0-3 Tennessee Titans? For what? Also, I know that people just want change, but Chris Hubbard

was good, not great last year. It wasn't like he was a major difference maker. They still gave up a billion sacks. So, I know that it sucks to hear it. I know that you want results. You want them now. You want

to tell all your rivals on social media that your team won and they suck and that's the way that you want results. You want them now. You want to tell all your rivals on social media that your team won and they suck and that's the way that it is now. I get it. But there is no answer to this solution this year. The only answer is to allow these young guys to get better and that sucks and they're probably going to lose games. But moving people out of their positions and trying to switch around the lineup, it's fruitless. And not only is it not going to make the offensive line better,

it's going to make some of the players that have potential worse, like Skowronski, Cushenberry, Latham. So, you've got to accept the reality that this isn't a problem that's going to be solved this year. There is no good answer to solve it. And the answer to the problem is in the NFL draft. And that ain't coming until next April. So I hate to be the bearer of bad news for you guys,

but that is the true answer. The answer is patience. And with that being said, patience takes time. But the Titans offense takes too much time. I'm going to explain why the offense being slow, not the players, the plays, is a big problem the Titans are facing right now. Before I do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook.

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but they're one and a half point favorites against the Miami Dolphins. And I probably said this last week, but if they don't win this week, oh boy. But either way, make sure that you get your $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet on FanDuel. That's FanDuel.com. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the offensive line and the reality of patience and why it's not fun, but it's what the answer is.

But I want to talk about another problem that the Titans offense is having right now after I've broken down the tape from the week three game against the Green Bay Packers, and it's the speed of the offense. And I don't mean the players. I mean the plays. Now, before we get into that, thanks again for making Locked On Titans your first listen each and every day. I do want to remind you guys I'm putting out a ton of great film content

over on the Tic Tac Titans YouTube channel. I broke down all eight sacks and why it's not all on the offensive line on Tuesday morning. I'm going to have a JC Latham film breakdown out on Wednesday morning going over him and pass protection. On Thursday, I'm going to look at DeAndre Hopkins and his best game of the season so far. Can't wait to dive into all that with you guys. Make sure that you're getting subscribed over there for free year-round film content.

So let's talk about the offense and the speed of the plays here. So one of the big things that I have noticed, specifically in the past two weeks of watching the tape on offense is the Titans offense is just too slow. It's slow developing. And I'll give you a couple of examples and explain how defenses are using the slowness

of the Titans offense to disrupt things. So we'll start by talking about the run game. So the Titans only ran the ball. I mean, if you take away Will Levis' scramble, Titans ran the ball 10 times in week three. I think the official stats show 11 rushes for 33 yards. I mean, that's terrible. And when you have a poor pass-blocking offensive line,

not running the ball and not being able to run the ball is only going to exasperate that. It's only going to speed that process up. It's only going to make things worse. So the problem with the Titans' ability to run the football is how long it takes the pullers to get across. The Titans have moved from a lot of zone runs, primarily

zone runs, to gap runs with pullers who pull across the formation to the other side. Well, here's the problem. What teams are doing and what Green Bay did and what the Jets did, because they have speed at the second level and they have good penetrating defensive linemen is they're flying upfield. They are absolutely

flying upfield. And the issue there is that if you have a puller coming across the formation, all right, and I'll give you a specific play here. So if you have the left guard and the left tackle down blocking on the defensive tackle, and then you have your backside guard, think Dylan Radins, coming across the formation to kick out the defensive end, that's great. But if the defensive tackle is getting up the field so quick

that the double team, J.C. Latham can't get to the defensive tackle to double team him on his hip because that defensive lineman is shooting up the field too quickly to even get double team. And then you have the defensive end crashing in really, really hard to the point where by the time that Dylan Radins gets to that defensive end, the defensive end is already way far into the backfield. So you have the defensive tackle crashing in vertically, and then you have Dylan Radins going against the defensive end with the defensive end penetrating quickly. There is no hole created. There is no seam created between

that block and this block because the hole has been shrunk by the speed of the defense. Not only that, but teams are blitzing their linebackers on early downs. One, because either they're going to be there to stop the run or two, it's a play action pass. And now you have the opportunity to get to Will Levis by blitzing. So when the linebackers come upfield really, really fast, it doesn't allow the double team to then climb to the second level. And also when the linebacker, like I saw a play where the linebacker blitzed up the field and Dylan Radins is pulling to kick out the defensive end,

but the linebacker blitzing through the gap is there before the defensive end, but the linebacker blitzing through the gap is there before the defensive end. So then Dylan Raidens is trying to kick out the blitzing linebacker, which there's not enough space for the running back to get through there, and then the defensive end is unblocked. And then Chigokonkwo is coming behind Dylan Raidens to also kick out and lead through the hole, and there is no hole to lead through and the defenders are already there. So some of these Titans gap run plays just are taking too long to develop and defenses are being overly aggressive

and coming downhill and they're destroying the space that the running back could run through before the play really even begins. So the Titans got away from the run game in this matchup against the Packers, but what I think they need to do going forward is go back to more zone runs

where you don't need a puller to come all the way across to the other side of the offensive line. Or go to some power runs, like some lead lead ISO. You know what I mean? Like the Titans have to find a way for their plays to develop quicker. And when you look at the past game, think of all the, you know, Tyler Boyd comes in motion behind the line of scrimmage and Will Levis fakes to the running back and then fakes a handoff behind him to the orbit motion. Like there are so many little fakes in the backfield that they take so long. And when teams are blitzing because they're not scared of the offensive line, by the time that Will Levis gets through some of these play-action fakes

in the backfield, the defense is already on him. So to me, this is something where Brian Callahan needs to adjust, and one of the big things about Brian Callahan that he was lauded for is his ability to see what didn't work at the beginning of the season and then adjust his offense going forward. Think about all the slow starts the Bengals have gotten off to under Joe Burrow and Zach Taylor and Brian Callahan. The reason that the Bengals were able to bounce back in those seasons is because they

would adjust the offense and figure out what's working, what's not working, and do more of what works. So I fully think that Brian Callahan is going to see that some of these gap runs and some of these heavy play-action fakes in the backfield are just taking too long to develop. It's not the speed of the players. It's the speed of the development of the plays that is too slow right now. So I know that the Titans are trying to disguise things. They're trying to confuse defenses. And if they can confuse defenses, they'll hesitate just for a split second,

and that split second hesitation helps the offensive line. You understand the philosophy here, but the reality is teams are not honoring any of that. They are not concerned about any of that. They are just flying downhill, and it is disrupting the timing of all the Titans run plays and some of these play action fancy motion plays as well. So speed up the plays, speed up the development, change the run style to

stuff that moves quicker. That's what the Titans have to do, especially next week against the Miami Dolphins. But you want to talk some Will Levis and why the Will Levis discourse right now feels eerily similar to the Titans' last failed franchise quarterback. Before we get into it, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. What's something that you'd love to learn? As an adult, do you make time to learn new things as often as you'd like? Or is that something that you lost love to learn. As an adult, do you make time to learn new things as often as you'd like, or is that something that you lost in childhood? Kids are always learning and growing, but as adults, sometimes we lose that curiosity. Therapy can help you reconnect with your sense of wonder because your back-to-school era can come at any age. I've worked with BetterHelp before. It was

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and you can switch therapists at any time for no additional charge rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash locked on to get 10% off your first month today. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about the offensive line and what the solution is there, even if people don't want to hear it.

We talked about an easy adjustment that Brian Callahan can make to the offensive play calling that should help this team going forward. But now I kind of want to get off the exit ramp here and just have a little conversation about the Will Levis discourse because it's starting to feel eerily similar to me, to my first season covering this team. And it reminds me of Marcus Mariota. Before I get into it, though,

I do want to thank you for making Locked on Titans your first listen each and every day. I told you to check out the Tic Tac Titans film channel, but now I also want to tell you to make your second listen, Locked on NFL. I am the lead host of Locked on NFL for the Locked on Podcast Network. I am talking about the biggest stories in the NFL Monday through Friday.

You get your Titans news here with me. Get your NFL news with me at Locked on NFL. Subscribe on YouTube or whatever podcast platform that you listen on. But I just, I can't help but feel an odd sense of deja vu here with the Will Levis situation. It just reminds me of the final two seasons and a half, one and a half seasons, 2018 and then into 2019. But really 2019 is what it kind of feels like for me.

Um, during that season and a lot of 2018, now Marcus's elbow was all messed up in 2018, but that was part of the conversation in my opinion. Um, so there are, I get it. I guess I just want to say I get it. We want the Titans to have a franchise quarterback. We, that's what we want. That's what the Titans need. That's what every fan basis is hoping and wishing and praying for. If you get the quarterback right, a lot of other things really fall into place. Pretty simply. It starts with quarterback. A lot of other things really fall into place pretty simply. It starts with quarterback. That's the reality here in football.

And so many people wanted Marcus to be the guy. And Marcus had flashes. Marcus had moments. His very first debut game where he threw four touchdowns. What's that sound like? Got the Titans to their first playoff win in a decade, despite the fact that he really wasn't very good in that game. And the main highlight from that game was him throwing a terrible pass that got deflected back to him.

Athletic play, but not a very good throw by Marcus there that turned out bad process, good result, you could say. And there's less people now, but there are still some people out there who will make this argument. But as Marcus was clearly coming to the end, as it was becoming very evident that Marcus was not the guy,

that he wasn't going to figure it out, that it wasn't going to come together for him. A lot of people did not want to accept it. A lot of people refuse to see it, refuse to believe it. Um, a lot of people were so desperate for Marcus to be the guy that they just refused to acknowledge what was kind of obvious.

And during that two and four start in 2019, a lot of people were blaming the wide receivers. A lot of people were blaming Arthur Smith. A lot of people were blaming the offensive line. So, you know, it was, hey, Marcus isn't playing great, but, you know, the O-line is bad. The play calling is bad. The receivers are bad.

Like, it's not all his fault. You know, and, you know, some of that is true. You know, not everything was on Marcus. But that doesn't mean that Marcus was good enough because Marcus was still not good enough, okay? And there is no Ryan Tannehill on this team. Some of you loons out there are saying Mason Rudolph is not Ryan Tannehill. Mason Rudolph was never a first-round pick.

Mason Rudolph is nowhere near as talented as Ryan Tannehill, okay? So this isn't like that, where there's a better option that they can go to. Mason Rudolph is a really solid backup quarterback, but he's not Ryan Tannehill. That's not what's coming for this team. And I don't think the Titans should give up on Levis right now. As I've said, they need to start him the rest of the year,

no matter what. Not like Marcus, who was in the fourth year of his rookie contract or fifth year and it was time to let go. It's not quite that, but to me it feels the same. If I criticize Will Levis and I say Will Levis did not play well. Will Levis hurt the team. Will Levis missed some wide open receivers. Will Levis put himself into some sacks. Will Levis is crushing his team with mistakes every single week. His decision making is so, so poor right now.

And when I say that, some people immediately get defensive and they want Will Levis to be the answer so bad that they go to, well, this O-line is terrible. All right, true. Brian Callahan hasn't done a good job. All right, true.

The wide receivers need to catch passes. Tyler Boyd, Calvin Ridley, the tight ends. Okay, true. All of that can be true and Levis can still not be the guy. We can say the O-line, the coaching needs to be better, but you can also admit that Will Levis needs to be better and that maybe he's just not going to change. We are hoping that a guy who has always made bad decisions at college, in the NFL,

he has always been a bad decision maker. We are hoping that all of the sudden that guy cannot make as bad of decisions. Honestly, and I go back to this probably too often, maybe I'm telling you too much about my life, but it's like when you have a family member who is lazy and doesn't want to work and bounces from job to job and blah, blah, blah,

or you have a relative that maybe has some bad habits. a relative that maybe has some bad habits. You hope that that person will eventually change for the better. But more often than not, a leopard doesn't change their spots. And asking Will Levis to become not even a good decision maker, but less of a bad decision maker. Maybe it happens, but some MFers are always trying to ice skate uphill.

And that's what it is trying to make Will Levis into a decent decision maker. It's ice skating uphill. It's going upstream without a paddle. It's walking to school in the snow with no shoes on uphill both ways. It can happen. All right, I don't know the future. Am I holding a crystal ball, kid? No.

It's a reference to a recent TV show. Let me know if you've seen it. But the point is that like with Marcus, Will Levis does some good things and we all hope and pray that he can become what we hope that he can become. But at some point,

we all have to be honest that that is less likely than him figuring it out, you know, or him figuring it out is less likely than him not figuring it out and him not changing who he's been and who he's always been back to Kentucky. So yes, he has the big arm.

Yes, he has the fiery personality. Yes, he makes some tight window throws and some big time throws. And, you know, he'll truck a DB for a first down. And, you know, he'll do things that inspire, and he'll do things that inspire you, and he'll do things that give you hope. But even though the O-line is bad, and even though the play calling could be better, and all of those things can be true,

but at some point, this feels just like Marcus, where you can't make excuses for the mistakes that he is making despite other things around him maybe not being as good. You can't just excuse what we've seen here. And people hoping that Will Levis gets over, you know, if he could just stop making these boneheaded decisions, he'd be a decent quarterback. Right, but he's always been this.

So, I just, you know, I guess my point is here, if you're somebody who is just feverishly defending Will Levis, just remember the Marcus situation and understand that the odds of an old dog learning new tricks just very low. But with that being said, that is going to do it for me today, folks. Tighten up in the chat. Thumbs up on the video.

Tighten up in the chat. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.