Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Starting Lineup Questions: Edge Rusher Spot, Linebacker and Outside Cornerback

Episode Date: March 30, 2023

The Tennessee Titans have more talent on defense than they do offense, but that doesn't mean they are without lineup questions on that side of the ball. Who will get the starting role at outside linebacker across from Harold Landry? Who will get the second inside linebacker spot? Also, the two safety spots may be filled, but the Titans are set to have a battle at cornerback! Finally, could the versatility of the defensive group create a starting lineup that most don't expect?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!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.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 Titans have a couple of starting spots open on the defense. I'll tell you who should fill them. We're going to discuss that and more 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 Rowland, Titans fans.

We are continuing our starting lineup breakdown, going position by position through the Tennessee Titans roster to determine what is the starting lineup on either side of the ball right now and what the Titans should do going forward at each of those spots. Yesterday's show, we talked about the offense. We did the offensive backfield. We did wide receiver and tight end. We did the offensive line.

Transitioning to defense today, we got to talk about who's starting opposite of Harold Landry, outside linebacker. We got to talk about who's starting opposite of Christian Fulton at cornerback. Spots that are both open for grabs before we get into it. do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content on all platforms, all year

long and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, where it's your team every day. We're going to dive right in here to the defense, and I wanted to start with what I thought was the most interesting group of them all, and that is the linebackers. So we're going to talk inside linebacker. We're going to talk edge rusher, outside linebacker.

I prefer to call it edge, but some people still like the traditional positions of defense. Either way, we got to talk about outside linebacker first because Harold Landry is coming back from the ACL tear. Hopefully, hopefully, I know that conventional wisdom is it usually takes a full calendar year before somebody is back from an ACL tear, even if they're able to come back and play prior to that. Hopefully with Landry having his ACL tear take place before the season even started

last year. Man, that sucked. I remember that news. I can still remember where I was when I looked at my phone and saw Adam Schefter break that news. Awful, awful. The worst thing that you want right before a season is about to kick off and right when the hype is at the highest for the fan base, the last thing you want is one of your most

important players to tear their ACL. So hopefully the Titans don't have to deal with that this year. And hopefully because of when it happened, Landry can come back and be at least close to 100% of himself. So Landry is solidified at one edge rusher spot. On the other side is where things get interesting because the Titans have Rashad Weaver, and up until free agency, that would have been my pick. Hey, it's going to be Landry on one side, Weaver on the other. But the Titans went out in free agency and signed Arden Keith. He definitely has the ability to be a starter in the NFL.

Now, his last two stints with San Francisco and then with Jacksonville, he was a rotational player. He wasn't the starting edge rusher. He was a guy who came off the bench for those teams and were a part of that pass rush rotation. Well, with that in mind, I am putting Rashad Weaver as the starter

for the Titans at edge across from Harold Landry. We talk about starter. We're talking about the very first play. All right. To me, the conversation about starter is watered down when you have a team like the Titans who does so much with their rotation. But in this instance, I think that Weaver should be starting opposite of Harold Landry, and I see him more as the early down edge rusher. The reality is Rashad Weaver is a bigger man than Arden Key.

Weaver is about 20 to 25 pounds heavier. And I think on early downs where you're going to see more run, it would be better to have a bigger, stronger body out there to set the edge against the run and push guys back into the middle, which is the Titans' whole defensive identity against the run, edge, wall, swarm. So for me, I like Arden Key better. I think Arden Key is a better player than Rashad Weaver.

But two factors. One, I just said that Weaver was a bigger person. So against the run game, I think it makes more sense to have Weaver out there. And I like Weaver more as a traditional defensive end. If the Titans come out in a 4-3 alignment, what they can do is they can slide Harold Landry back to off-ball linebacker. And then you can have Danico Autry and Rashad Weaver

as your hand in the dirt defensive ends with Tart at nose tackle and Simmons at three tech. So I love a couple, like if you have the starting inside linebackers in two spots, you can run a 3-4, you can run a 4-3, you can change your formation on defense based on what the offensive formation and personnel groupings are.

I think Weaver gives you more ability to do that. And Arden Key, like I mentioned, revived his career by being a rotation guy coming off the bench. So keep him in that role. Don't take him out of what has got his career back on track. Let Arden Key play a ton. Arden Key was probably going to play more snaps in a game than Weaver. But let Key come in in passing down situations.

Let Key come in on second and longs. And let him get after the quarterback and let him keep his stamina so that he can be that energizer bunny that he called himself in his press conference and that we've seen on tape Mike Vrabel, Rand Carcon both talked about juice energy with Arden Key let him be at 10 with that energy and juice all game long by not having him be a starter and being out there to have to deal with the run game and all that let him be what he's done so well the last two years and be a rotational pass rusher that can even play more snaps

than Rashad Weaver at the end of the day. So I like Weaver and Landry on the outsides with Arden Key rotating in consistently as that rotational pass rusher, that third guy. I think that's a great rotation for the Titans. And of course, Danico Autry could even kick out and play a little outside linebacker if the Titans are in a pinch.

At inside linebacker, you got Aziz Alshir, who's going to be a starter for the Titans. But that next starting spot is really where things get interesting. Right now, I think the leader in the clubhouse is Monty Rice. You'd have Monty Rice and Aziz next to each other

with Aziz Alshir being the top linebacker and Monty Rice moving in. At the end of the day, Luke Gifford, to me, you can be as excited as you want, but he's a special teams player. Jack Gibbons, maybe, maybe, but he was an undrafted free agent rookie last year. I'm not counting on him to overtake Monty Rice. And then you have Chance Campbell,

but Campbell didn't play a single snap last year because of injury. So hard to know what you're going to get from a sixth-round rookie. I think the Titans probably draft a linebacker late in the draft. Rand Carthon has had success with that in his career. So maybe that person comes in, competes. But barring a significant signing or a trade that we don't see coming right now, to me, it's Monty Rice and Aziz Alshier as the starting inside linebackers for the Titans.

But with that in mind, we are going to move forward to the secondary on defense. And I got an interesting take on what the Titans should do at cornerback and who their starters should be. Before we get into that, though, do want to let you know that today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by Bilt Bar. Bilt Bars are the best tasting protein bars in the galaxy. You get the best of both worlds with Built Bar. You get all of the health benefits that you need from your protein bar.

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They're completely amazing at built dot com. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're breaking down the starting lineup for the Titans on the defensive side of the ball. We just talked about outside linebacker and inside linebacker. Now I want to move to the secondary on defense. We're going to finish off the show with the interior defensive line for the Titans and special teams, which is an important phase of the game as well.

Yesterday, we went through every position on offense. If you missed that, make sure to go back and check that out. That was yesterday's Locked on Titans podcast. Do want to thank you guys again was yesterday's Locked on Titans podcast. Do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content

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All I ask for in return is the press of a button. But diving back in to our starting lineup breakdown here at cornerback. Very interesting conversation to be had at cornerback. So I thought it was something interesting that I heard the other day. Mike Vrabel talked about Sean Murphy bunting. the other day. Mike Vrabel talked about Sean Murphy bunting. And now I'm starting to kind of forget a little bit from all of the quotes and all of the comments, whether it was Rand Carthon or Mike Vrabel, but either way, one of those guys said

that they like Sean Murphy bunting as an outside cornerback. They talked about what he can do on the outside is the way that it was positioned. So just from that comment right there, it tells me that the Titans do view Sean Murphy bunting as an outside corner in their system. SMB has played inside.

He's played outside. So I could see how there could be a conversation there. But at six foot one with long arms, I think he makes the most sense on the outside for the Titans. So with that being said, to me, the starting cornerbacks, and I'm going to do a three-cornerback starting group, just like I did with wide receiver, three corners,

because the Titans played 60% to 70% of their defense in nickel anyways with five defensive backs on the field. To me, you have Christian Fulton on one side and then Sean Murphy Bunting on the other. Look, Roger McCreary had ups and downs as a rookie. He played all right. He played all right. But Roger McCreary is short and he's got short arms.

At the end of the day, that is going to be taken advantage of and it was taken advantage of over and over and over again last year. Think about all of the times. The number one issue with the Titans defense last year was getting beat in one-on-one contested catch situations down the sideline. It literally cost them multiple games and almost cost them even more. Alec Pierce, Matt Collins, Damian Brown, Mike Williams. I mean, on and on and on. The Titans consistently got beat

on the sidelines and one-on-one man coverage by bigger wide receivers because they didn't have big enough cornerbacks to be able to do anything about it. Sean Murphy bunting with his length and his size has the ability to help you there.

So he is going to start on the outside across from Christian Ford. Now I know what you're thinking. Wait, what about McCreary? He deserves it. He's going to get his due. To me, McCreary is best in the slot. He does give you some outside versatility, but it's just not where you want him full-time.

So, if you have Fulton and SMB on the outsides, what the Titans do, a little history lesson for you guys here, if you didn't already know this, but the Titans are heavy on rotations, as I hinted at earlier in the show. What the Titans like heavy on rotations, as I hinted at earlier in the show. What the Titans like to do is, they like to have an early down slot cornerback and then have a passing down slot cornerback. They look at those as two different things.

So it's the slot cornerback position, but depending on what the down and distance is, the Titans have two different views of what they want. Remember in 2021, the Titans had a buster screen and Elijah Molden at slot cornerback. And what they would do is they would have Elijah Molden on the slot and early down situations. And they bring buster screen in and take Molden out in passing situations. Because Elijah Molden simply isn't a good enough man coverage cornerback

to play the way the Titans want to play in passing situations. But Elijah Molden, because of his physicality, his intelligence, he's so good as almost a pseudo linebacker. Where the Titans are a nickel defense with two linebackers, four defensive linemen, and five defensive backs. But they'll take that slot cornerback and bring him in like he's an outside linebacker. You've got to have a cornerback who is physical and tough and smart enough to do that. And Elijah Molden is when he's healthy.

and smart enough to do that. And Elijah Molden is when he's healthy. So, what I see is Fulton and Murphy Bunting on the outsides, McCreary on early downs as the slot corner, and then when it's a passing down, second and long, third down, then you bring in Roger McCreary to be your passing down slot cornerback. That's what I see happening for the Titans at corner. That's what I would project for them right now

with the draft still ahead of us, of course. As for safety, not really a conversation to be had here, right? Kevin Byard, Amani Hooker, the only conversation that you can really have about safety is who the third safety is going to be because I talked about nickel package for the Titans, but another big formation that they like to use on defense is dime. Dime is when you have six defensive backs out on the field.

So you have four down linemen or four pass rushers, call it whatever you want, one linebacker, and then you'll have three cornerbacks and three safeties. The Titans love using that formation. Go all the way back to Dane Cruikshank as the tight end stopper. He was that third safety with Hooker and with Bayard. And even last year, the Titans, when they had a Hooker and Bayard, they would still bring on Lonnie Johnson, Josh Kalou, Andrew Adams. The Titans, rather than going with four cornerbacks and two safeties in

dime, they like to have three safeties and three cornerbacks. Gives them an element of physicality. Safeties often are more physically prepared to take on a tight end and man coverage. So it makes a ton of sense for the Titans to do that. The third safety spot for the Titans is a big area of concern for me. And whether they address that in the draft, whether they bring in some sort of veteran in summer free agency or later in the year, that'll be something to watch

because with how much the Titans like to play three safeties, they're going to need another one. Because right now they have like Mike Brown, Shaheem Carter on futures contracts. Those guys aren't NFL level players. So the Titans need probably two. I'm going to say two. The Titans need two additions at safety before the season gets here that can actually play. Because they use that

third safety a lot, and that fourth safety is always a major contributor on specialty. So, that's where the Titans are at with the secondary. We're going to move forward to the interior defensive line and to the special teams groupings. Before we get into that though, do want to let you know that today's

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the last show of the week here for us as well by talking about the interior defensive line, the special teams group for the Titans. We've talked about the linebackers. We've talked about the secondary. We've talked about the offense as well. As I reminded you guys earlier, if you missed the offensive breakdown,

that was yesterday's show. Go back and check that out. But with that being said, we do got to talk about the interior defensive line. But before we get into it, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day.

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And it's on YouTube as well. Part of the Locked On podcast Network, your team, every day. So the interior defensive line group for the Titans may be the one that I'm least concerned about as a position group on the entire roster. Pierre Tart at nose tackle, Jeffrey Simmons at defensive tackle, and Danico Autry at defensive end. Pretty solid group there.

Now, what I will say and what I could anticipate, if the Titans, Danico Autry is going to be 33 this year, dealt with some injury last year to his knee. If the Titans want to start to decrease the workload on Danico Autry, one way that they could easily do it is to put Rashad Weaver into the Danico Autry role,

have Arden Key start at outside linebacker. So Danico Autry wouldn't be in the starting lineup at all. Then Danico Autry could come in certain packages, obviously in rushing situations. He would be basically the rotation player that I talked about you could be with Arden Key. And with his age, with his experience,

with the wear and tear on the tires, the tread on the tires is more adequate way to put it. It could make a lot of sense for Autry to take a backseat, go into being a role player who, when the Titans want to use certain alignments against certain teams, he can be a starter. When the Titans obviously, like I said, get in pass rushing situations, he would come in, rush from the interior next to Jeffrey Simmons, take advantage of those one-on-one matchups that he's been able to win consistently

since joining the Titans. I could see a scenario where it's Tart at nose tackle, Simmons at defensive tackle, and then Weaver at defensive end with Landry and Key on the outsides to give the elder statesman, Danico Autry, the rotation and the rest that he needs to make it through an entire season and play his best while he's doing it. So that could work for me. I think that could make a ton of sense.

On special teams, you have Ryan Stonehouse. He's a stone. Fantastic. Best punter, second best punter, third best punter, top five punter, whatever you want to put him at. The Titans got an absolute stud in Ryan Stonehouse.

So good to go. Hopefully punter is good to go for a decade. Long snapper, Morgan Cox, re-signed. Good to go. If you've never heard of Morgan Cox, great. That's great for a long snapper. They should never be heard from. And that's how you know they're doing a great job.

And Morgan Cox is absolutely excellent. Okay? But outside of that, kicker? I mean, Mike Vrabel said the other day that Caleb Shudick is going to be there. They might bring in a young guy to compete with him. They could bring Randy Bullock back maybe to compete, which I would be fine with. But either way, that's an unsettled position. So right now

it's Caleb Shudick, Shudack, however you want to say it. I've heard it pronounced both ways. What I try to do is, I try to go back and look at guys' old games and see if I can hear how their name is pronounced if I don't know and I can't find it on Google and I've had somebody tell me in the comments that it's shoe Dak should dick should I everyone has told me different things so Caleb reach out let me know for certain all right but either way right now he's penciled in as the starting kicker what's more concerning to me, though, because that'll figure itself out.

What's more concerning to me, though, is the kick returners. Who's returning kickoffs right now? Rayce McMath? Hassan Haskins? I mean, the Titans need to find a more dynamic kickoff returner. I saw what Jamal Agnew did for the Jaguars last year, and to not have a guy like that, to not be in constant search of a guy like that,

it just sets your team back. The Titans maybe weren't bad on special teams last year, but they didn't create a lot of explosive plays. Look, punt returner, I'll give Kyle Phillips another try there. Kyle Phillips deserves another shot at punt returner. But Phillips isn't a kick returner. Like on kickoffs, I don't think that's where he's best suited. So they need a guy who can come in and really give them something there.

Right now, I'd say Racey McMath is the starter at kick returner with Kyle Phillips as the starter at punt returner. But that's definitely something to monitor going forward because the Titans don't really have somebody who I feel confident in that spot. But with that being said, that is going to do it for today's show. Full transparency, guys.

Right now, I got a cool drink in my hand in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean headed to the Caribbean, Caribbean, another pronunciation, snafu that I'm not 100% sure of. But I hope you guys enjoyed the week of shows. I am on vacation right now, but I wanted to make sure you never had to go without your Locked on Titans podcast. So there will be a little quirk in the scheduling starting next week.

I'll have your show out on Sunday night for YouTube, Monday morning for my commuters. There won't be a show on Monday evening for YouTube or on Tuesday morning for commuters. That'll come later in the day on Tuesday.

Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night. I'm going to be on a plane on Monday. I'm not going to be able to record like I normally do and have it out to you like I normally do. But I will be back on Tuesday, and I will have five episodes for you guys next week. So despite taking a five to six day vacation,

you will never go without your Locked on Titans podcast. So a little pat on the back for me getting the work done, baby. I'm a grinder out here. But anyway, that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this is Locked on Titans. you