Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Tony Pollard is MVP, Calvin Ridley makes MAJOR Impact & JC Latham a PERFECT Rookie

Episode Date: November 19, 2024

The Tennessee Titans sit at 2-8 on the season, but that doesn't mean that everyone has played poorly. Tony Pollard has been fantastic this season and is the MVP of the team so far. Players like Calvin Ridley and Jeffery Simmons have also been excellent this season even if what is around them has not been quite as good. Finally, there is no debate on who the best rookies on the team have been with JC Latham and T'Vondre Sweat showing to be worth their selections almost immediately.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!Pre-Alcohol by ZbioticsGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONNFL to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONNFL at checkout.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.Bilt RewardsEarn points now by paying rent right now by when you go to joinbilt.com/lockedonnflHillsdale 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.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 running back Tony Pollard is without a doubt the team's MVP at this point in the season. More midseason awards 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 PrizePix. Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL.

Use the code locked on NFL, all lowercase, to win $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. On today's show, we're doing some sort of mid-season awards. I'm going to tell you the Titans MVP, the Titans' most disappointing player, the offensive and defensive player of the year, and we'll talk about the rookies on both sides of the ball before we get into it. I 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. Make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed. It's your team every day. Speaking of every day, shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday if you aren't an everydayer. You need to be one because

you smell that? I'm smelling a potential Titans upset this weekend and crossover Thursday is tomorrow. My game plan preview is the next day. You're not going to want to miss those and I'll be live on Sunday after the game against the Houston Texans. But with that being said, we have to start with the Tennessee Titans' most valuable player. And quite honestly, there is no debate whatsoever about who that is. And it is Tony Pollard, running back, free agent signing. Tony Pollard has been a godsend for this team. I mean, with the struggles that the Titans have had in the past game

and their reliance on the run game, and then Tajay Spears being injured for quite a bit of the season, Tony Pollard has just been absolutely fantastic. He's been everything that we could have asked for and more. And it's funny, you know, a lot of Titans fans are crying over spilt milk with Derrick Henry choosing to go to the Baltimore Ravens when the reality is the best player on the team for the Titans this year has been the running back, Tony Pollard, who replaced Derrick Henry choosing to go to the Baltimore Ravens when the reality is the best player on the team for the Titans this year has been the running back Tony Pollard who replaced Derrick

Henry and quite frankly Tony Pollard has been better this year than Derrick Henry was last year for the Tennessee Titans so to me Tony Pollard again hands down unquestionable. He is the MVP of the team. 160 carries, 681 rushing yards. That's 4.3 yards per carry. He's got three touchdowns on the season. Add 30 catches for 168 yards. And think about the Tennessee Titans, two wins on the year. So, look, I get it.

I know that there are going to be people rolling their eyes at doing midseason awards when the Titans are 2-8. What's the reason of giving out awards? Well, at the end of the day, we need to take stock of where players are. We need to give some players who are playing well credit as well. And Tony Pollard is the number one player on that list. Again, look at their two wins this season. The Titans have won two games. And in the first win that the Titans had against the Miami Dolphins,

they barely threw the ball in the second half because they gave it to Tony Pollard so much. He had 108 yards and a touchdown in that game. Then you go to the Tennessee Titans' second win against the New England Patriots. 154 total yards for Tony Pollard. He carried them in that game. total yards for Tony Pollard.

He carried them in that game. So, to me, you could maybe look at other names if you wanted to, but I don't see any other player that is even close to taking MVP or even being in the discussion with Tony Pollard for the MVP of this football team. He has clearly been the most valuable player, and what a great free agent signing by Rand Carthon to bring him into this offense. I saw somebody say it on Twitter.

You can follow me there, at Tic Tac Titans. But Tony Pollard is like DeMarco Murray in 2016 and 17. Like that is the impact that he's had on this team where he just immediately becomes the hub of the offense. So shout out to Tony P. Glad to have him back in Tennessee. What a great signing by Rand Carthon. And when he signed, I was like,

I don't know, do we want to give Tony Pollard a big deal? But the reality is his salary cap hit is like 1% of the salary cap. Great structure on the contract and a fantastic player who the Titans are lucky to have. Now, we do have to look at the opposite of that. Who has been the most disappointing player in 2024 for the Titans? And for me, although he's had his two best games of the season and back-to-back weeks, it's Will Levis.

The reality is we expected more. although he's had his two best games of the season and back-to-back weeks, it's Will Levis. The reality is, is we expected more. And he may have had two of his best games of the season in the past two weeks, but we cannot forget that first month of the year where Will Levis truly killed this team's season. He killed the team's season. With the mistakes against Chicago, the mistake against the Jets,

the pick six against the Packers, Will Levis killed this season in the first month. He killed it. And then in the game four against Miami, he throws an interception right away and then makes a stupid decision to jump and dive out of bounds and hurts his shoulder, and then he can't even play for a month. So, you know, again, he may have had his best two games of the year the last two games but we cannot

forget what happened at the beginning of the season and Will Levis has been a tremendous disappointment overall this year from what the expectations were coming into it maybe expectations were too high you could make that argument that's perfectly fine but no matter what your expectations were Will Levis has not come close to meeting those expectations. In his seven games, one and six. Now, it's not like the Titans have won a bunch of games without him either. They only won one without him, so not going to hold the record against

him necessarily, but 65% completion percentage, 1,169 yards, eight touchdowns, eight interceptions. He's fumbled the ball four times as well. I mean, it's just not quite good enough. And I do just want to say one thing. I saw some reaction to my episode yesterday saying I'd rather roll with Levis in 2025. Some of you somehow make the leap to you

believe in Will Levis. You think that Will Levis is the future. No, I don't. I want to draft a quarterback in 2026. I don't think that Will Levis is the future. I don't think that Will Levis is the future. No, I don't. I want to draft a quarterback in 2026. I don't think that Will Levis is the future. I don't think that Will Levis is the face of the franchise, the quarterback that's going to lead the Titans. I'm talking about 2025. I would rather roll with Levis in 2025 over draft Sanders or Ward or pay Sam Darnold $40 million a year. Like, just because I want to roll with Levis in 2025 doesn't mean that I believe in Will Levis long term. And the fact that some of you guys don't have enough intelligence to decipher that, even though it was plain and simple,

you know, honestly, it just makes me worried about society. But I won't get into my nihilistic rants on today's show. I do want to give a nice runner-up to LeJarius Sneed for most disappointing player of 2024 so far. Sneed has been out for, it's going to be six weeks now, and the couple of weeks that he did play were not good. So, LeJarius Sneed certainly, whereas MVP is open and shut case,

most disappointing player between Levis and Sneed is quite the battle, but I'll go with Levis because obviously quarterback is so important. But positivity all the way out from here. Offensive and defensive player of the year so far and rookie of the year on both sides so far. Before we get into it, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you

by PrizePix. Look, PrizePix is the most fun and the easiest way to play daily fantasy sports. That's why they have over 10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings. PrizePix makes daily fantasy sports accessible to all because all you got to do is pick two to six players and say more or less for a chance to win up to 100 times your cash.

You can run your game all season long on PrizePix. So here's an example of how it works. Again, you pick two to six players and just say whether they're going to do more or less than the PrizePix projection. Jamar Chase, 79.5 receiving yards. Patrick Mahomes, 1.5 passing touchdowns. Travis Kelsey, 59.5 receiving yards.

Saquon Barkley, 79.5 rushing yards. More or less. Download the prize picks app today. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly. After you play your first $5 lineup again, download the prize picks app today. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly. After you play your first $5 lineup. Again, download the PrizePix app today. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. It's PrizePix. Run your game. Today's episode is also brought to you by Z-Biotics. Z-Biotics has a pre-alcohol probiotic

drink that is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic. It was invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking. Here's how it works. When you drink, alcohol gets converted into a toxic byproduct in your gut. It's this byproduct, not dehydration, that's to blame for your rough next day. The pre-alcohol drink produces an enzyme to break this byproduct down. Just remember to make Z Biotics your first drink of the night. Drink responsibly and you'll feel your best tomorrow. I've used the pre-alcohol drink from Z Biotics. It absolutely made sure I was ready to go on Sunday to cover all the football action.

Here's how you use it. Step one, drink the pre-alcohol. Step two, drink responsibly. Step three, drink the pre-alcohol. Step two, drink responsibly. Step three, enjoy your tomorrow. Go to zbiotics.com slash locked on NFL to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use locked on NFL

at checkout. Zbiotics is backed with a 100% money back guarantee. So if you're unsatisfied for any reason, they'll refund your money. No questions asked. Remember, head to zbiotics.com slash locked on NFL and use the code locked on NFL at checkout for 15% off. Titans fans, let's continue today's sort of mid-season awards. We talked about the most valuable player, the most disappointing player for the Titans.

Now I want to look at the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, specifically in the best player on both sides. Talk about the rookies as well. But we'll start with Offensive Player of the Year. And look, obviously, Tony Pollard is the answer. If he's the MVP of the team and he plays on offense, he is the Offensive Player of the Year. No doubt about it. But considering that we have already given Tony Pollard his flowers and his credit for what he's done for the year, no doubt about it. But, but, considering that we have already given Tony Pollard his flowers

and his credit for what he's done for the Titans, I wanted to go with a different player for Offensive Player of the Year, and for me, it's Calvin Ridley. You know, there are a lot of things about this season that have been disappointing, but Calvin Ridley is not one of them. Calvin Ridley has been fantastic. And not only has Calvin Ridley been fantastic just on the numbers that you see, he has been even better than expected. How many plays

has Calvin Ridley had taken off the board where he was wide open or he scored a touchdown and it was called back by a penalty or he was wide open and didn't get the football. How many times? I mean, I've talked about it every single week on here. I've showed it on tape as well. Calvin Ridley is dominating out there. And his numbers don't quite reflect just how good he's been. But if you watch the tape, you see how open he gets. You look at the separation data and see how often he's getting separation

and how much separation he's getting from defenders. Calvin Ridley is always open like 7-11, baby. He's been great for this team. And in a lot of key moments, Calvin Ridley has been the only positive that you could think of. I mean, Calvin Ridley literally kept the Titans in the game against the New York Jets. They went on to squander that, of course.

But nonetheless, Calvin Ridley has 36 catches, 541 yards, and four total touchdowns. It's been a good season for Calvin Ridley, and honestly, he should have about 700 receiving yards and five or six touchdowns. If things were, I don't want to say fair, because fair isn't reality in life, right?

That's not, life is not fair. But if things would have gone just a little bit better, that's what they would have looked like. And it's not Calvin Ridley's fault. It's simply not. And I want to address this as well, because I put out something about Calvin Ridley late last week, and I had somebody say, well, how can we ignore the drops?

Well, going into the season, Calvin Ridley had four, or going into this week, Calvin Ridley had four drops all year. That was like tied for 17th in the NFL. He's not even top 10 in drops. Not even close. And, like, his drop percentage is not very

high. You go look at, I continue to make this point, you go look at the last five seasons, and who leads the NFL in drops? Tyreek Hill. DK Metcalf. Debo Samuel. Like, are those players you want on your team or not

so I don't mean to excuse the drops but Calvin Ridley's drops is such an over exaggerated thing it has not been a problem this year it has not been a game killer it has not affected the Titans season and the positives that Calvin Ridley

has brought to the table far far outweigh and exceed any of the four drops that he's had on the year. Like, it's not even been a factor in reality. So, shout out to Calvin Ridley. I do want to say, NWI, I did give Nick Westbrook-Akene some consideration here. I mean, he doesn't have the gaudy stats and everything like that, but five touchdowns on the year. I mean, NWI definitely deserves some love.

And then J.C. Latham. Now, we'll talk about J.C. Latham here in a second, but having at least one offensive tackle who can hold down his assignment pretty much every game, it's invaluable, as Titans fans know very well. So to me, J.C. Latham deserved to at least have his name mentioned here and NWI, but Calvin Ridley has been the Titans' most explosive offensive player this year.

And with Tony Pollard already getting MVP, we'll spread love. It's the Brooklyn way and give some to Calvin Ridley. But on the defensive side of the ball, this was actually tougher than I thought. I looked at Jeffrey Simmons, of course, but Arden Key, to Calvin Ridley. But on the defensive side of the ball, this was actually tougher than I thought. I looked at Jeffrey Simmons, of course, but Arden Key, a guy who, I'm not super high on Arden Key. I wouldn't say I'm a Key head or anything like that,

but Arden Key deserves a lot of credit for this season. I mean, Arden Key has been a solid player for the Titans and better than I expected him to be. It hasn't been some major disaster with Arden Key. I mean, Landry and Key both have five sacks apiece. Now, I still think the Titans have a major need on the edge. They need another player added into that mix. They need a high-level elite edge rusher. Most of the best teams in the NFL do have that, but got to give some credit to Arden Key, but I did go with Jeffrey Simmons. Simmons has the best teams in the NFL do have that, but got to give some credit to Arden Key,

but I did go with Jeffrey Simmons. Simmons has the most pressures on the team with 29. He has three sacks on the season. He is the eighth highest graded interior defensive lineman in the NFL and overall grade per pro football focus. He is the sixth best pass rushing defensive lineman in the NFL per pro football focus. It was a slow start to the year for Jeffrey Simmons.

In my opinion, he wasn't fantastic early in the year. But over the last three weeks, I mean, he has been dominant. He has been incredible. And again, you wish that it would turn into wins. No doubt, but there are so many issues with this team. It's understandable why it's not turning into wins. Simmons was so good against the Detroit Lions defensive line. Like crazy.

He ate up the Los Angeles Chargers interior defensive line. He cooked the Patriots. And this week against the Vikings, have a good offense. Simmons was literally unblockable in the game. He was incredible. So, look, with interior defensive line play, in my opinion, it takes looking at the film to really see the impact. It's not going to be in the box score.

You can't just go to ESPN.com and look at the stats and say who's better than who. And that'll be demonstrated when we talk about the defensive rookie of the year as well. But Jeffrey Simmons has been fantastic over the last month of the season and been, again, a very slow start to the year for Jeff. But this second month of the year, he has been exactly what you pay for. So shout out to Big Jeff. He's my defensive player of the year for Jeff, but this second month of the year, he has been exactly what you pay for. So shout out to big Jeff. He's my defensive player of the year with runner up being Arden Key, of course, with

five sacks, 26 tackles, two forced fumbles and 26 pressures. Arden Key has been solid for the Titans this year, but let's talk about the rookies again. Positivity, optimism, the Titans, two top rookies from this year's draft pass. Absolutely cooking. Before we get into it, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Hillsdale College. History, economics, the great works of literature, the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. Did you study these things in school?

Probably not. Or even if you did, maybe it's time for a refresher. Time and technology have changed a lot of things, but they have not changed basic fundamental truths about our world and our place in it. Our sponsor, Hillsdale College, is offering more than 40 free, that's right, free online courses, including Constitution 101, the meaning and history of the Constitution,

Introduction to Free Market Economics, The Great American Story, A Land of Hope. All of Hillsdale's courses are self-paced, so you can start whenever, tune in wherever, plus you can go deeper with readings quizzes discussions or just enjoy the lectures go right now to hillsdale.edu slash locked on to enroll there's no cost and it's easy to get started that's hillsdale.edu slash locked on to register hillsdale.edu slash locked on Titans fans, let's cap off today's sort of midseason awards. We talked about MVP, most disappointing player.

Talked about offensive player, disappointing player, talked about offensive player, defensive player of the year so far. Now I want to talk about these rookies because you look at the offensive side and the defensive side, there is clearly a standout on both sides and it's exactly who we were hoping for. Before we get into it, thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year, always for free. Make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed for your second listen. Check out Locked on NFL.

I'm the lead host of Locked on NFL, so if you went over there and subscribed, whether it be on YouTube or whatever podcast app that you use, I would definitely appreciate the support with that. Also do want to let you guys know that I have a Will Levis film breakdown video that came out on the Tic Tac Titans YouTube channel on Tuesday afternoon, going

over his best throws of the week. Really cool to see the high-level talent that Will Levis has on display, even if I showed some of the bad stuff that I didn't like on my Twitter account, at Tic Tac Titans, on Monday night. You can go check that out too if you want the full picture. But Will Levis just has high-level arm talent, man.

And if his brain could ever catch up to his body, you know, he would be a good player. But, you know, at this point at 25 years old, I guess it's hard to expect that to happen. But nonetheless, let's talk about some young players who are balling out the offensive rookie of the year without a doubt, J.C. Latham. No question about it. He's been the second-best rookie offensive tackle so far this year

behind Joe Ault, who is already a Pro Bowl-level player in year one. But Latham's only allowed three sacks, 12 pressures. He's been mostly reliable. I would like to see him improve in the run game. Quite honestly, that could improve, which is surprising coming off his college tape where he was just an absolute bully in the run game. Hasn't been quite as good in the run game as I would have expected, but he's been better in pass blocking than I would have expected for his rookie season. So I'll take the trade off because the Titans certainly need the pass blocking help

more than they need the run blocking help right now. But as I mentioned earlier in the show, to have an offensive tackle, especially at left tackle, who is so good so early on, he's only going to get better next year and the year after. And like, think about JC Latham in year four. He is just going to be dominant, man. And that is exactly what the Tennessee Titans needed. You can build off of that.

You have that solidified for a decade, hopefully. You know what I mean? Like, what a promising start, especially considering the recent history of first round picks for the Titans. Burks, obviously a complete disappointment. Don't even need to talk about Caleb Farley and Isaiah Wilson. I think everybody understands the situation there. And then Peter Skowronski played well.

He had an incredible first game against the New Orleans Saints and then had an emergency appendectomy. I mean, like, just cursed first-round picks. So for J.C. Latham to come out of the gates right away and be a good player, absolutely critical for the Titans. And one of the best things of this entire season is the play of J.C. Latham, one of the big bright spots.

On the defense, and honestly, there was no one else I would even consider for Rookie of the Year on offense. I mean, Jaquan Jackson has barely played. Bryce Oliver, I guess. I mean, he's played in a couple of games, had like three catches. No, no, there's nobody even close. It's J.C. Latham by a long shot. Defensive Rookie of the year.

This is a little closer than we thought because Jarvis Brownlee Jr. has played pretty good football overall. But Tavondre Sweat, man, come on. Right now, Tavondre Sweat is the seventh highest rated interior defensive lineman in run defense in the entire NFL. The entire NFL. He is a dominant run defender. Dominant run defender.

He's had 10 pressures on the season, zero sacks. But again, you're talking about a rookie nose tackle. It's going to be kind of par for the course. I'll be honest with you. I would have hoped for a little bit more in pass rush from Tavondre Sweat. This was part of my concern with Tavondre Sweat before the year is that he wouldn't factor into the pass rush enough to be worthy of a second-round pick.

You think about a guy like Braden Fisk, who went around the same pick as the Titans, who is constantly penetrating and in the backfield. But Sweat has been in the backfield a little bit more here recently. Wish he would have been able to get some of those sacks when he got penetration against Sam Darnold. But if you watched my film breakdown on Tavondre Sweat, you would know that in college, he missed a lot of sacks.

He'd get into the backfield and miss the quarterback. So hopefully that improves. But overall, even without the high-level pass rush play, he's been so good in the run game. Getting double teams, he's been what the Titans expected. And hopefully he just continues to improve in that pass rush and can get even better to become more of a factor there. But a pretty good start to his career for Tavondre Sweat,

and obviously a lot better than I was expecting on draft night. So shout out to Tavondre Sweat. Again, Jarvis Brownlee Jr. had some penalties, you know, with his physical play, but I don't mind. I think Jarvis Brownlee Jr. overall has been fantastic for a rookie cornerback, but I'll give the edge to Devondre Sweat in this one. Let me know your guys' picks for these awards down below. That's going to do it for me today, folks. Thumbs up on the video. Tighten up down in the chat. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed. Crossover Thursday is tomorrow. But as always,

I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.