Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans STOCK UP, STOCK DOWN: Will Levis Improvement, Latham Rookie Wall & Leroy Watson Cut

Episode Date: December 11, 2024

The Tennessee Titans are now four weeks away from the end of the season and we have seen a shift over the last month of games on certain players including Will Levis who has made some massive improvements. On the flip side, some players have taken a step back namely J.C. Latham who some think is hitting a rookie wall. Finally, the Titans made a few roster moves on Tuesday including waiving offensive tackle Leroy Watson and it is a peculiar move considering he is their best right tackle on the year.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!Omaha SteaksFrom legendary steaks to mouthwatering desserts and more, save 50% off site-wide for a limited time at OmahaSteaks.com. Plus, our listeners get an extra $30 off with Promo Code NFL.IceShakerCreated by and used by the Gronkowski brothers, IceShakers has sold over 1 million bottles. They have changed the game with workout bottles, and this is the gift you’ve been looking for… go to IceShaker.com and use the code LOCKEDONNFL at checkout to save 25% on your order.Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started.PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl 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.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload 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.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.Bilt RewardsStart earning points on rent you’re already paying by going to joinbilt.com/LOCKEDONNFL.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)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis is improving and J.C. Latham has hit the rookie wall. We're doing stock up, stock down 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 FanDuel. New customers can place a $5 bet and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you

win your first $5 bet. Visit FanDuel.com'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet. Visit FanDuel.com to get started. On today's show, we're doing a little stock up, stock down. I'm going to look at some of the players who have been improving in recent weeks, talk about some of the players who have not been doing so well in recent weeks, and we'll talk about why the Tennessee Titans cut their best right tackle on Tuesday. Before we dive into it though though, do want to 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. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. It's your team every day. And speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday.

Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one tomorrow. It's going to be crossover Thursday with the guys from Locked On Bengals. And I'm going to have a game plan episode for you going up at the end of the week. And I'll be live immediately after the game finishes on Sunday with the Bengals to break down all of the results, whatever they so happen to be. But with that being said, got to start with stock up. And I know that some people will call me crazy.

Some may even call me a madman. Check out Locked on NFL if you want to see that. But Will Levis is improving. And I know that there's been a lot of conversation about the miss to Chigaconkwa. And it's frustrating to me the discourse, as people like to say, around that miss to Chigaconkwa. There are some people out there defending it. Blaming the play call,

blaming people being in Will Levis's way. I don't care. Look, I am someone who criticizes Will Levis when he deserves the criticism. And then I highlight what Will Levis is doing well when he's doing good things. I say both all the time. That's what, in my opinion, I would want out of my podcast content. It's somebody who can criticize the team when they deserve it, but also look and find the good stuff that's there that some people want to ignore entirely.

And I think I've done both of those things with Will Levis this year. But people out there defending Will Levis for missing Chigaconkwo, wake up. It's insane to me that there can be people who watch that play and think, and hear Brian Callahan who described the play and said that it's just a quick check to Jeffrey Simmons. He's basically a decoy in that scenario. And then you work back to Chig Aconquo. Chig is the number two read and the realistic number one read of the play.

And Will Levis still didn't see him wide open. We all should be able to look ourselves in the mirror and say, that is a terrible play by Will Levis still didn't see him wide open. We all should be able to look ourselves in the mirror and say, that is a terrible play by Will Levis. But with that being said, the reality is still that Will Levis has improved mightily over the last month of the season. And a common phrase that people use, especially in pro sports, is that development isn't always linear. Okay. And there are going to be people who don't even know what linear means, who tells me that I'm an idiot for saying this.

But just because you start doing well, doesn't mean that you will constantly be on an upward trajectory. There are going to be peaks and valleys in development at all times in all walks of life. It's not like that moment that you see in movies where it clicks and now all of a sudden, happy Gilmore can putt. You know, like life doesn't always work like that. What happens is, is a guy gets better and then maybe he has a little setback and then he keeps going and then it's a couple bad games and then he turns it back up.

And overall, Will Levis has improved very much this year from the beginning of the season. I think over the last four weeks, he's been playing better football than he's ever played for the Titans, including some of his good games his rookie year. So I would just say, starting with stock up, Will Levis is still a stock up player for the Tennessee Titans. And someone else on the offense who deserves that title as well is Peter Skowronski.

There's a lot of people who want to take aim at Peter Skowronski and say he wasn't worth the pick and that he's not a good player. And a lot of people for some reason want to take aim at him. I don't know if it's, you know, people want the Titans to fail so that they could see somebody get fired. It's like they're rooting for it. But Peter Skowronski has been outright awesome for two months now. For two straight months, he's given up, I believe it's 12 pressures in one sack. In two months, Peter Skowronski has been absolutely fantastic, especially in his pass blocking.

He is starting to play like a guy who understands what his position is. There's obviously a transition from being a tackle to being a guard. Takes him a little bit of time, and that's why it was always insane to say, oh, move him out to tackle. You can always move him back. No. Let him play his spot. Let him get comfortable with being a guard. Let him learn the subtleties of playing the guard position. And I feel like he's finally there. Peter Skowronski has been playing absolutely incredible football for a month. For two months, really. And if you don't see that, you simply aren't looking hard enough or you don't want to see it.

But every single game that goes by, you see Peter Skowronski winning his matchup, keeping Will Levis safe, doing a good job in the run game. You could say you don't take a guard at 11. I think in that particular draft class that year, it's perfectly reasonable because it was not a good draft class,

especially at the top, but Peter Skowronski slowly becoming and finally showing the talent level and the type of player that we thought he could be when he was drafted. He looks like a Pro Bowl-level player the last two months. And if he gets even better next year and the Titans' offensive line generally improves with another year together, we could be looking at the All-Pro-level guard that we all hoped for.

And then finally, this is kind of a throw-in for the defensive side of the ball because the defense has not played great over the last few months. You could maybe put Jarvis Brownlee Jr. in here, but I feel like he's had two difficult games in a row. It didn't feel right. But I'll give credit to Otis Reese, who finally got the opportunity to play. He had seven total tackles. He had a tackle for loss.

He had a pass breakup. He had the interception before halftime. He had seven total tackles. He had a tackle for loss. He had a pass breakup. He had the interception before halftime. He had two quarterback hits. He made plays consistently throughout the game. He got some shout out from his coaches, from Brian Callahan specifically on Monday's press conference. Otis Reese is a player with immense talent, with great physical size, and he's a guy who we had been wanting to see all year. There's some injuries in there. There's some issues with special teams, of course, but Otis Reese, I thought, was flying all over the field, making an impact, and if Kenneth Murray Jr. is going to continue

to be out, Jerome Baker is going to continue to be out, which I'm perfectly fine with. I don't like either of those options at linebacker. I'd rather see the younger guys than Otis Reese is a guy that I definitely want to see more of. But with that being said, we do got to go stock down. And unfortunately, JC Latham looks like he may have hit a rookie wall. I don't think that's the real answer, but it definitely hasn't been his best few weeks of play. We'll talk about that right now. Before we do, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Built Rewards. If you're a renter, listen up. This is a total game changer.

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for the Tennessee Titans doing stock up, stock down. We talked about some of the players that I think have shown stock up, primarily Will Levis and Peter Skronsky, but I gave Otis Reese a little bit of love in there too. But now we got to look at some players who are maybe on their way down from what we saw early in the season. And we do have to start with offensive tackle, J.C. Latham. Now, before I do, thanks again for making the Locked on Titans podcast.

You are at first listen each and every day. At the end of the show, I'm going to talk about how the Titans just cut their best right tackle. What? Doesn't make any sense. And we got the return of a kicker that we all know very well. But looking at J.C. Latham, the first eight weeks, nine weeks of the season, gave up basically three sacks, you know, 15-so pressures, I believe it was. three sacks, you know, 15 so pressures, I believe it was.

But then over the last three or four weeks, he's given up three sacks, almost doubled his pressures. It's been a struggle for J.C. Latham, and I think it has culminated and it's on display even more brightly with the sack that he gave up right before halftime that got Will Levis hurt. And it's disappointing mostly because when you draft a J.C. Latham, I know he's a rookie and I have preached patience all year. He's only going to get better. He's a rookie offensive lineman. Offensive line is one of the toughest positions to immediately come out of the gate and be excellent.

Like, it takes some time to adjust to the speed and the power that you're going to see on NFL defensive lines compared to a week in and week out in college football. Even if you play in the SEC, it's different in the NFL. But it's still disappointing to think like, hey, we finally got a left tackle. We don't have to worry about the quarterback getting destroyed anymore and then to see the quarterback get destroyed and almost hurt.

And a lot of people want to blame the bad play for J.C. Latham in recent weeks on the rookie wall. He's hitting the rookie wall. It's a common phrase that people say. You get to this time in the season, the college season would typically be having a big break before you get to bowl season, all that. So I understand that that's probably a reality as well, as JC Latham is playing competitive football, difficult

football, the most difficult football of his life, longer into the calendar than ever before. So rookie wall, I'm not telling you that's not real. But what I also want to point out is that JC Latham has gone against some insane edge rushers in recent weeks. Like, the quality of edge rusher that he faced over the last few weeks is different than what he saw the first couple of months.

Daniil Hunter, Will Anderson. This past week, Josh Hines-Allen, one of the best in the NFL. Trevon Walker, that's one of the best edge groups in the entire NFL. The commanders don't really have a ton of high-level edge talent,

but they blitz, blitz, blitz, blitz all day long, which leaves you one-on-one all day long. So while I think it is fair to say that J.C. Latham has hit a rookie wall, I'm not going to dispute that. I also think the reality is he's just facing some of the most difficult pass rush situations that you're going to face in the NFL,

no matter what year you were drafted or what position you're in. You go up against Daniil Hunter and Will Anderson. You go up against Josh Hines-Allen and Trevon Walker. You go up against a blitz-heavy approach like the Commanders took in that game. It's going to be incredibly difficult for you as a rookie. It's going to. So, I just want to say this. Although JC Latham has had his struggles over the last month, he is a stock down as things stand

right now. I am not wavering in my confidence that he can be the franchise left tackle for the Titans. He has shown some great things this year. We've seen flashes of what he can do. He's had dominant stretches during the year, a month long of dominant play. I've seen enough from JC Latham this year to have full confidence that he can be the player that we think that he is. I'm not going to let some bad performances against some of the toughest matchups in the league and a late season kind of decrease taint my view of what. Latham has done this year. You have to have a little bit of foresight here. You have to have a little bit of patience, a little bit of perspective.

It's a rookie in his first year on a bad offensive line and an offense that's not performing, going up against some of the best edge rushers that you're going to see in the NFL. He struggled. He's going to be fine. It's okay. Everyone take a deep breath, even if he has not played his best football over the last month or so. And then another player

that I have to mention here, and it does hurt my soul to bring this player up, but we got to be honest here. Stock down for Tajay Spears. Tajay Spears has been, let's call it what it is.

You could say the injuries, he had concussion, he had, was a knee issue. He's had injuries, no doubt about it. But if you look at Tajay Spears this season, 185 rushing yards, one touchdown, on 50 carries, 3.7 yards per carry, 18 catches for 90 yards, zero touchdowns. I mean, it just

it has simply not been good enough from Tajay Spears. He was expected to be an explosive player. He was expected to be a weapon within the offense. And he's really been a ghost. He has had zero impact

on the season. That's the honest truth. Tajay Spears has had zero impact on this season. That's the honest truth. Tajay Spears has had zero impact on this season. And that is incredibly disappointing, especially for me, who I thought that we could see Tajay Spears as the lead running back on this team, putting up the most stats, making the most explosive plays. And he is an afterthought after Tony Pollard. And he hasn't even been helpful in any way to Tony Pollard. He hasn't spelled Tony Pollard.

He hasn't stayed healthy when he has played. He hasn't been explosive. He hasn't had great performances. I am to the point now where I think the Titans have to consider maybe drafting a running back just to have some backup late in the draft is when I would be looking. But this is a really good running back class. And the Titans may need to consider it.

Because if Tony Pollard has to do this next year, he's going to break down. Tony Pollard was never meant to be a bell cow running back. He's meant to be a lead back in a committee. So, stock down for Tajay Spears this year. Incredibly disappointing season in my opinion. And he really needs to pick it up and show what he's capable of at the end of the year. Incredibly disappointing season in my opinion and he really needs to pick it up and show what he's capable of at the end of the year. And then the final stock down that I want to talk about is Harold Landry. Now Harold Landry led the Titans with pressures against Jacksonville

with five pressures. So you may be wondering why would I bring up Harold Landry here? But the reality is he got a bunch of sacks at the beginning of the year. And when I broke it down in my film session on his sack totals at the beginning of the year, I showed how he's not winning with pass rush moves. He's winning with effort and finish. And at the end of the day, in the NFL, there's a difference between a guy that can win with his pass rush moves, a swipe, a rip, a swim, a spin move, an inside counter,

a Euro step. We see so many different moves from the top pass rushers in the NFL, and Harold Landry can't do any of that. They have worked with him. Multiple coaching staffs have worked with him to try to develop pass rush moves, and he's never had them. He has the speed rush to the outside

where he dips his shoulder low and gets around the offensive tackle, and that is all that he has. And as your fourth rusher, as your third rusher, that can work. That's fine as part of a grouping. Again, it reminds me of the conversations we had about Bud Dupree.

Bud Dupree was that kind of rusher coming out of Pittsburgh. And it never made sense for the Titans to pay him what they paid him because he's never a guy who's going to win with his pass rush moves. He is an effort rusher who cleans up plays after they break down because of his motor. But he's not a guy who can beat you with counters and hand moves, which is someone who can consistently get pass rush pressure. Harold Landry cannot consistently get pass rush pressure

because he doesn't create it on his own. He more is a cleanup sack guy who cleans up what Jeffrey Simmons creates. Same thing with Bud Dupree in Pittsburgh. You had TJ Watt and Cam Hayward and Stephon Tua at the time, and they would create the pressure, and then Bud Dupree would be in a position to clean it up. That's what Harold Landry is this year, and that's why his sack total this year is good, but we got to see through it. And it makes me sad to say it because I'm a big defender of Harold Landry. His versatility as a player,

but as he's getting older now, the speed and the bend isn't quite there and he doesn't have anything else to go with. So that is why we can't say, oh, Arden Keyes had an okay year. Oh, Harold Landry's had an okay year. Oh, Jeffrey Simmons was dominant for stretches. And then all collectively also be like the Titans pass rush isn't near good enough. Like why is the Titans pass rush not good enough? It's because Jeffrey Simmons hasn't been good enough. Tavondre Sweat has not been productive

enough as a pass rusher. Arden Key is inconsistent. Harold Landry is inconsistent. Nobody can just win consistently one-on-one. So, I got to go with a stock down for Harold Landry, despite him maybe having the best game of the pass rush against the Jags. But they sacked Mac Jones one time, and they could not get consistent pressure all day long. So, against the Jags, that should tell you all that you need to know. But with that being said, the Titans made some roster moves on Tuesday

and they don't really make a lot of sense in my opinion. We'll talk about that right now. Before we do, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is sponsored by Ice Shakers. Hey, Locked on Titans fans, if you're like me, your holiday shopping list is probably far from complete. Well, if that's the case, I've got the perfect gift for passionate sports fans in your life. Perhaps you've heard of Ice Shaker? Ice Shaker is now officially licensed with the NHL, the NFL, the NBA,

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We talked about stock up for the Titans. We talked stock down for the Titans. Now I want to talk about some roster moves that we saw the Titans make. Excuse me, on Tuesday. Honestly, it makes me want to cough. It makes me want to be sick. roster moves that we saw the Titans make, excuse me, on Tuesday. Honestly, it makes me want to cough. It makes me want to be sick. It doesn't make any sense at all. But before we get into it, thanks again for making the Locked on Titans podcast

your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. For your second listen, check out Locked on NFL. I also host the Locked on NFL show for Locked On. Would appreciate your support over there. It's on every platform that you use to listen to Locked On Titans. But the Titans made a couple roster moves. One of them is perplexing.

And they have decided to waive, release, cut, whatever you want to call it. Offensive tackle Leroy Watson. What? Why? Why is my question. So Leroy Watson started four games at right tackle for the Titans. He's missed the last four games with a back injury, but he was, no pun intended,

back at practice last week. There was some hope he might even be able to play. He doesn't play in the game, and then not only does he not play in the game, but the Titans cut him on Tuesday. Leroy Watson has been the best right tackle the Titans have had all year. Look, Leroy Watson's not good. I'm not saying that the Titans just cut prime Jack Conklin or anything like that. He's not a good player.

He's a practice squad level player, end of the roster level player. You know, man 50, 51, 52, 53, something like that. No doubt about that. So I'm not arguing that this is a Pro Bowl guy the Titans just let go. But in a season where your right tackle position has been a drain on your soul, you're going to cut the best right tackle you have on the team. And here's the thing.

If the Titans didn't want Leroy Watson back, if the Titans did not want Leroy Watson to be back on the roster, to be back with the team, then why didn't you cut him four weeks ago when he first got hurt? Why now? Why let him get healthy on your roster and then waive him? Riddle me that. It does not make any sense at all.

And look, I said long ago that the Titans don't have a lot of better options than NPF. And Leroy Watson is not much better. The last game we saw from Leroy Watson, he got back-to-back false starts on a drive. Like, again, we're not talking about a player who's excellent here. But at the end of the day, he has been the best right tackle on the team. So outright cutting him off the roster, get out of our franchise,

go to another team, it just, to me, it's perplexing, like rotating the right tackles during the game. Like what are we doing trying to rotate guys during the game? It's nonsense. And I guess I'm just shocked that at the end of the day what the Titans decided

is we're going with NPF and we don't even want Leroy Watson on the roster. I'm sure they expect to get Jalen Duncan back and Duncan is probably going to take that spot, but Jalen Duncan is terrible. So why? Why? I just don't understand.

I'm hoping that someone in the local media will ask Brian Callahan about that at Wednesday's press conference because it just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. And I've had some people say after the fall starts, he got real animated on the sideline and blah, blah, blah, this and that.

I mean, it just, either way, it seems like a disaster. And then finally, it's bad news, which of course, it, Tennessee Titans 2024 season. What is there else? But Nick Folk's hurt. Nick Folk is hurt.

How hurt? Don't know. Can't know yet. What's going on? I don't know. But, but, what I can tell you is, Braden Narveson, yes, the guy who was hitting game winners for the Titans in the preseason,

who got traded to the Green Bay Packers, kicked 12 of 17 on his field goals with the Packers and got cut, is now back. Braden Narveson has been signed to the Tennessee Titans practice squad, and with Nick Folk banged up, it is plausible that Narveson gets called up from the practice squad and is the Titans kicker this week. I don't mind.

I don't mind. Here's why. I've said it all year. Nick Folk is going to be 41 years old next season. How long can you keep kicking this can down the road with Nick Folk before you realize, hey, we're not a winning team. Having an excellent field goal kicker, awesome. I mean, there have been games where Nick Folk has certainly helped the Titans win,

but they have three wins. But if they had two, would it really matter? Would it actually help? Keeping a 41-year-old kicker is not the way to go. Whether the kicker is worse or not, you need to get a young guy in here and start to look for your future at kicker because it's not Nick Folk. So bringing Narveson back

and having him potentially in the lineup this week, even if he struggles, I'm willing to do that to see what they might have. Kicking is weird, man. You get the yips. You get confidence. It goes quick. Look at Justin Tucker.

Look at Justin Tucker. Look at Evan McPherson for the Bengals this year, who was incredible, and now all of a sudden, shaky warrior. So, to me, I'm fully excited to have the Titans look at a young kicker in non-stakes games that they win, they lose, whatever. So, I'm actually excited to have Narvison back, but definitely not great news to know that Nick Folk is banged up. But with that being said, that is going to do it for today's edition of the Locked on

Titans podcast. Throw a thumbs up on the video, throw a tight up down in the chat, get subscribed, stay subscribed. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.