Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans UGLY IN ATLANTA, Cam Ward Improvements, Ayomanor Experience & Special Teams Concern

Episode Date: August 16, 2025

The Tennessee Titans won their second preseason game, but the score doesn't matter, the team was UGLY in Atlanta. It had feels of 2024 with the penalties, special teams blunders and explosives plays on defense. Despite that, Cam Ward continues to improve and had a more clean game against the Falcons then he did last week. Elic Ayomanor made the biggest play of the day, but also showed why he is still a rookie and shouldn't have lofty expectations. Finally, the Special teams unit is very concerning and Johnny Hekker is a guy everyone should be worrying about.Subscribe to the TicTacTitans Film Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@TicTacTitans TicTacTitans Merchandise: https://dixons-dream.square.site/shop/tictactitans-gear/C3AAPNWXSXA6SBYG3USV2I7R?page=1&limit=30&sort_by=category_order&sort_order=asc Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitans Follow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Subscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videos  Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at https://yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnfl.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.FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.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)

I thought Cam Ward played better against the Falcons, but the Tennessee Titans were ugly in Atlanta. I'll break it 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. Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland Titans fans. The Tennessee Titans won their preseason second game against the Atlanta Falcons 23 to 20, but I don't care about the score. I thought

the Titans as a team were ugly in Atlanta. Overall, though, I thought Cam Ward actually played a better game this week than he did last week against the Buccaneers. I'll dive into the performance even though the box score does not look good for Cam Ward. Also, we're going to talk about some individual performances that I have to get into. Elicio Manor, Gunner Helms, Cedric Gray out there. But I also do got to talk about my concerns on special teams, especially with Johnny Hecker, the Tennessee Titans punter. Before we dive into all of it, though, do want to thank you for making Locked-on Titans

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. here on the Locked-on Titans podcast. But overall, again, I thought Cam Ward was actually improved in this game. I know that it wasn't as flashy.

I know there weren't as many completions. I know that the box score doesn't look that good and we'll talk more about Cam Ward's individual performance as we kind of talk about everything that went wrong here because it's all intertwined. I thought Cam Ward was improved from last week. But overall, the Tennessee Titans is a football team, which, you know, I know we're all excited about Cam Ward,

but the team overall was ugly. Again, U-G-L-Y and A-T-L. That's how I feel about this game. Go through the offense in general. Three drives for the Tennessee Titans' first-team offense and yeah, they're missing Pollard and Ridley and they're missing Lloyd Cushingberry still and Tyler Locke. Sure, I get it.

The Titans had some people out. But that's basically the Titans' first-string offense with a lot of these rookie weapons that were hoping to step up and be a big part of what they do on Sundays. It's not like they're expected to be full-on backups and they got no points out of three drives Callahan said it was going to be two drives I thought that they should have played more I'm glad that he put Cam Ward back out there but he deviated from his plan and played Cam Ward more because the offense looks so poor on the first couple of drives and it didn't get any better on the third drive they went three and out again

so three drives three drives for the offense one first down that's not good we can't see here and say that that's a good performance from the Tennessee Titans first team offense against the backups of the Atlanta Falcons defense. The Falcons barely played any of their starters out there. But it's not just the off, I mean, look, let's stay on the offense, actually, because there's so much here. Pre-snap penalty, J.C. Latham with a false start, turns a manageable situation into a third and longer than 10.

Drops from the wide receivers. We talk about the offense. Again, I thought Cam Ward played better. how could Cam Ward play better than last week when his stat line looks like it does was because it's wide receivers. There was another miscommunication. There was a drop.

Cam Ward had one bad throw and it was the out route to Ellick-I-O-Manner I think the first play of the third drive. It was a little too far outside. It went out of bounds. It was a little too high, a little too outside. Ellick couldn't get to it. But other than that,

I mean, we saw wide receivers dropping passes. And Van Jefferson for a second week in a row, That dot that Cam Ward threw to Van Jefferson on 2nd and 13 on the second drive, I mean unbelievable. Or it was the first drive, yeah, it was the first drive. Unbelievable throw, ridiculous. And Van Jefferson, as we've seen him do in two preseason games,

there were people in the media trying to gas you up on Van Jefferson before the season. Again, I never bought it. I thought Iyo Manor would be able to overcome him eventually and pretty quickly as well. But again, it's not one thing. that you could attack one thing and say, oh, Tyler, I don't think you're right about one thing. But the offense had no points, one first down. We saw wide receiver drops. We saw pre-snap penalties. We saw another holding call this week after seeing a holding call last week. So just like 2024, that's what the offense looked like, drives stalling out

because of penalties and negative plays, even when Cam Ward's doing good things. Someone's letting them down because they're just, I mean, Van Jefferson is a starting wide receiver on this football team. You know what I mean? And there were penalties on defense. We talk about the defense. The first team defense, I know they're missing some guys out there too. They didn't play everybody out there.

Tavondre Sweat wasn't out there. Jeffrey Simmons wasn't out there, obviously. Their best players. Still no legurious need. But at this point, can we even act like that's going to change? I don't know. But although they didn't give up any points, the Titans defense gave up two first downs in a row

to the backups and some, third string guys for the Atlanta Falcons. I mean, their third string quarterback was in. It wasn't even Kirk Cousins. It wasn't Michael Pennix. Their third string quarterback was out there making some moves. And eventually, Cedric Gray makes a big time play and gets that sack to knock them back and end things.

But man, for a second there, I'm like, is the Atlanta Falcons third string quarterback marching down on the Titans' first string defense? Like, we can say, oh, it's just a preseason game. You're overreacting. too much out of it, but like, I'm watching the Titans' first-string defense out there, and their third stringer is making plays. So, the offense obviously did not have a good night by any stretch of the imagine.

You could say Cam had a good night, which I do say that, and we'll get there, but you can't say the offense had a good night. The defense, the first string defense, wasn't really that great. Now, you get into the back, Kendall Brooks had the interception, and Jamari Harris, and Cedric Grant, some good play. Like, there are good plays in there, but the first string defense, I wouldn't say it was a great performance. And then you get to special teams,

which will spend time on special teams more at the end of the show when I get into my Titan downs. We're going to do tighten ups right after this, the players that I thought played well. And there were a lot of good players that stood out, and I can't wait to talk about it. But the Titans as a football team. Again, we talk to offense, we talk defense now, special teams,

a missed extra point in perfect conditions, literally in Atlanta's dome, Like, that's one of the cleanest, best environments you could ever have for a kicker. And you miss an extra point? Next special teams coverage, three missed tackles, tons of special teams penalties all night on the Titans. And did you see James Prochet and Jaquan Jackson both have a shaky punt return? Like the one James Prochet like ran up to it,

I thought he was going to go pick it up off the bounce after like waving everybody off. He was very unconvincing. And Jaquan Jackson on his, he looks scared. for Deer Life, he slipped into it and then caught it and he's literally running to the sideline bear hugging it like it's a teddy bear. I understood I mean he's fighting for his life

to make this team he can't afford another muff but both of them were sketchy so again I thought Cam Ward and we'll spend time on Cam Ward right now because I thought Cam Ward actually had a better game this week a cleaner game this week than he did last week but again as I've said all week long

if you've listened to the show my everydayer out there, no. It's everything around Cam Ward. I'm not concerned about Cam Ward. I'm concerned for Cam Ward because everything around him doesn't seem great. And if you talk about Cam Ward's day and let's do that. Let's talk about Cam Ward's dead. So to me, Cam Ward 2 for 7, 42 yards. They had one first down as an offense. That is going to be blown up everywhere. People are going to be talking about it. It's going to be negativity around Cam Ward this week. But you look deeper at the plays and you actually look at the throws that he make. Again, I only had one bad throw from Cam Ward. And let me know what your grade for Cam Ward in this game is. If you're

watching on YouTube, throw it in the comments with a Titan up. If you're listening to the podcast, hit me up on Twitter at Tick-Tac Titans. Let me know your grade for Cam Ward or any social media. I'm everywhere you want. Follow me there. But he hits a beautiful strike to Ellick I.O. Manor as he's rolling out of the pocket and then throws that absolute dot, dot to Van Jefferson on the deep crossing route that Jefferson drops. All right, great. Then Callie, it's third and 13. Callie calls a surrender screen. Brian Callahan just throw a surrender screen. Cam's got to be careful. I thought that that ball was lateral. Everybody says I'm crazy. I do wear glasses. All right. So fair enough.

But I thought that ball was close to being behind. And D.K. ran after it like he was worried too. which, you know, didn't turn into anything dangerous. That's great. But, hey, that's a surrender screen from your head coach. I blame Brian Callahan, who is at the top of my list. Like, again, I've been putting the pressure on Brian Callahan every show that I can because I want everybody to realize what's really happening here. Brian Callahan is much more of a question mark than anything else on this team

in terms of importance. I believe in Cam Ward. Look at Cam Ward's going to be fine. But it's Brian Callahan. Is he the guy to take this team out of where they're at right now? that surrender screen, and then you come back, the throw to Elykoi Manor on the out route, not, that's the only throw where I'm like it wasn't good.

We get another screen that basically goes nowhere and does nothing. And then the last throw that Cam Ward made, I thought that that was a good decision. Elykeye O Manor had his arm pulled down. That was clearly past interference and would have been in a game. But otherwise, it was just a slot fade against man coverage. You give your 6-2 wide receiver Elykeye-o. man or an opportunity there. You know what I mean? You do that.

So I thought Cam Ward actually, the stats aren't going to look like that and you're going to hear people misinterpret the stats because they don't watch the film and they don't watch the game. But I thought Cam Ward actually had a great performance and he showed some incredible, incredible armability in this game. So I come out even more encouraged by Cam Ward because he played a cleaner game than he did last week with no turnover worthy plays and was really just let down by the people around him. I thought Callahan had a couple bad calls that just didn't make any sense. These screen passes that they're doing ruining the rhythm of the game for Cam Ward,

who is throwing downfield well. Wide receivers dropping passes. J.C. Latham gets a pre-snap penalty. Rookie back, Kelle Mullings, gets a holding call. You know, just the defense doesn't look inspiring to start. The special teams is making mistakes all over the place. It just looks like the 24 Tennessee Titans who went 3 and 14, but with a much better quarterback. And Ridley wasn't out there and Pollard wasn't out there.

And of course, Cam Ward's not going to look as good when he's throwing to the second string level guys and Van Jefferson, who he's a second string level guy anyway, if we're honest. He's not going to look as good when he doesn't have his best offensive weapons out there. That's a given. But if you take that into account and then you actually watch the throws and watch the game and see the circumstances, you would understand. understand that despite the box score not looking great for Cam Ward, he actually was improved from last week where it looks like he played a better game.

He played a more clean professional football game while also displaying the incredible flashes of talent that we want to see. He did that tonight. So you're going to hear the opposite all week on the talk shows and all the different national media yelling and raven screaming shows. That's what you're going to hear. But that's not the reality. And my film breakdown will be out soon on Tick-Tac Titans on the YouTube channel over there here in a couple of days, and it'll show that as well when you actually break down and look at it. But with that being said, tighten-ups.

Let's talk about the players that played well. Other than Cam Ward, let me know your tighten-ups. In the comments, hit me up on Twitter. A lot of good, a lot of good stuff in here as well. We're going to talk about all of them. Today's episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Most people can't name all their financial accounts or even what they're worth, whether it's 401K's properties or investments.

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The Titans had a little bit better showing on the second joint practice, but they got blasted in the first one and probably lost a little bit in the second one in terms of performance. So just ugly in Atlanta not only covers the game, it covers the entire week for the Titans. And the overall point for me is the team isn't ready, and I put that squarely on Brian Callahan, even if Cam Ward is much improved from what they saw last year.

But let's talk about some Titan ups. let's talk about some players that did impress in this game and I'm going to put Elyke I-O-Manner in there as the first guy that we're going to discuss and I feel like we got the entire ELEC I-O-Manner experience tonight like this is what it's going to be like for him early on and I think it is a sobering reminder to Titans fans that ELEC I-O-Manner, Chim D.K., even Xavier Restrepo

got some more opportunities in this game, they're still rookies. Now, I-O-Manner had the big play, the explosive play, the 35-yard play with Cam Ward. That's very, very exciting. And that's the type of stuff he can do during the regular season. And I'm like, why would we play Van Jefferson over this guy? I know that Iow Manor has his, you know, downsides

and things that he needs to improve on because he's a rookie, but he's already better and more explosive than Van Jefferson, and Van Jefferson's been in the NFL for five or six years. So what are we really doing out here? But Iow Manor had two catches for 47 yards. He did have four targets. Now, the one that Cam through, I think that was the bad throw that Cam had in this game. It was off target to the outside of the sideline.

Iommanner couldn't pull it in. That's not on him. But on that fade, I know he got interfered with. I know he got interfered with. And it would be called and whatever. But sometimes it might not get called. And I'm going to see big-bodied Ellic I-O-Manor fight through that contact and make a better attempt on the ball.

All right, I know I'm nitpicking grumpy old Uncle Ty, always nitpicking on the team. I get it, I get it, but I'm just saying, I'm just saying. And the reality is during the week of practice, during the joint practices, one of the complaints about I.O. Manor that was noted by multiple reporters, and I saw even Falcons people mentioning this, is that I.O. Manor needs to do a better job of going at the ball, of attacking the ball for his quarterback. That on the tip-up interception that Cam Ward had

on the, at the end of the last day, where AJ Terrell was able to knock it up in the air real high and Jesse Bates was able to intercept it on that I-O manner was running the slant and there's some conversation that maybe he could go back to the ball a little bit better maybe he could attack the football in the air a little bit better and honestly coming out of college

he was great and contested catch situations but you wanted to see him be much more consistent with that and utilize his physical tools even more and hey he's a rookie I'm not saying he can't I'm just saying we need to have patience and when I talk about my expectations for the team and my concern about everything around Cam Ward, yeah, I'm excited about the rookie wide receivers, but they're rookie wide receivers.

You know, and they're going to go through their ups and downs until they can improve and blossom into the players that they need to be. So it's about tempering expectations, not being a hater or being negative or anything. It's just being realistic with what we've seen so far. Yeah, coming into training camp, hype can be at 10. But as we see real football and we get real reports about practice and then we see these preseason games and we get our own eyes on the play, that's when you bring your hype back down to realistic levels

based on the information that you're actually able to collect. So that's how I feel about Elicio Manor very, very excited about what he can be and he should be starting over Van Jefferson already, like right away. But it doesn't mean that he's going to be A.J. Brown right out of the gate, folks. I know that's what we want, but that can't be the expectation here. Okay? Now, I also want to say Cedric Gray. Cedric, I thought he was really solid in this game. and for him to get the start in this game,

Cedric Gray started next to Cody Barton with the first team defense and then stayed in and got more snaps. But for Cedric Gray to get a huge sack on a blitz, man, he fired into the backfield like a bullet, blew up the running back and took down the quarterback with a little help from Carlos Watkins, number 96, on the defensive line.

But I thought Cedric Gray made plays out there. He had a couple of good plays towards the end of the game against Tampa Bay, got his opportunity this week to run with the first team and look like he took advantage of it out there he should have had an interception if not for a Titans defensive penalty that caused offsetting penalties where the offense had one too

there we go back to what I said in the first segment about the rest of the team you know what I mean but I thought overall he had a pretty good day I thought Cedric Gray was active out there and he led the team in tackles with seven they gave him a half a sack on that had a tackle for loss as well in there I thought it was a pretty good day for Cedric Gray,

especially getting the opportunity to finally pass up James Williams and maybe take that spot away from him at this point in camp to have this performance in a preseason game where they're being judged, good stuff from Cedric Gray, and then Nightmare on Helm Street, Gunner Kruger, Nightmare on Helm Street with an incredible, an incredible catch, an incredible touchdown catch for 25 yards.

Helm caught all four targets, had four catches for 48 yards, had that huge touchdown from Brandon Allen on an incredible... And listen, if you've been watching my film breakdowns on the Tick-Tac Titans YouTube channel, you would know that Gunner Helm is a freak in contested catch situations. And I have been saying that based on what I think Cam Ward is going to be as a player, as a gunslinger, Cam Ward may not be the most pinpoint accurate guy to ever live. He may be running out of the pocket and throwing cross-bodied. and low arm angles and it may be a little here instead of here

and it may be a little outside of your frame and the Titans are going to need big body targets who can win outside of their frame and have big catch radiuses and Gunner Helm was arguably the best tight end coming out of college this year in contested catch situations. I don't have the data right in front of me on contested catch success rate of college tight ends from last year. Sorry folks, I can't remember every piece of data

I see off the top of my head but I can tell you with some confidence that Gunner Helms probably close to the top and seeing him replicate that once again and seeing that in the joint practices the Titans have released the footage of Cam Ward hitting Gunner Helm on the scene last week like Gunner Helm is I keep saying it tight end one tight end one tied in one I've been saying it since he was drafted the versatility that he displays and then his skill set fitting so perfectly with Cam Ward style it makes sense that he's going to get the most snaps of any Titans tight end this year

and I'm going to continue saying that that's the way that it's going to work out. It may not start that way, but holler at me in week 18. Moving forward, on the offensive side, we got a Xavier Restrepo siding. Two catches, 18 yards, both his targets, he caught him. I thought he made a really, really good move on the one that he caught on the right sideline, where he did a little out route, caught it, made a move, little wiggle, got up field down the sideline. I'm telling you guys, I know, I know why the Titans coached,

are going to do what they're going to do. I know. Restrepo isn't going to be a very good returner. Didn't look like they're going to give him any real opportunities doing that, and they haven't so far. And then he's too little to be good on special teams coverage units. That's just not going to be something. You know, they're looking for the Colell Mullings, 6 foot 2, 220 pounds who run 4-4s.

That's what they want on their special teams coverage units. They don't want, you know, 5 foot 10, 4, 7, speed on coverage. And it just doesn't make sense. You know, he's just not going to do that. But Xavier Strepo is going to make plays in the game. He's going to make plays. He's a gamer. And if they let him go, someone is going to pick him up and he's going to make plays. No, I don't think he's going to be on Raw, St. Brown, and turn it to a certified starter. But he's going to be a good depth-wide receiver for some team. And I want it to be the Titans. All right. Don't make the mistake of overvaluing special teams to the point that you let a guy that

can really help your offense go out. Because I'm not convinced that Chim D.K. can be a really good slot this year. And I'm not convinced that Tyler Lockett is a really good player anymore either. So it would be a mistake to let Restrepo go because he can't tackle people on kickoffs. I'm telling you.

I just don't want to see it happen. Good game for him. I thought pro-shay, despite the shaky punt return, had some good plays out there as well. He continues to fight, and that's going to be the battle for Xavier Restrepo likely is Prochet, but Prochet had three catches

for 35 yards, did not play poorly, and although he had a shaky return, he's probably the most reliable returner that the Titans are going to have right now, so I've got to give him some tighten-ups. On the defensive side of the ball to cap things off here, Marcus Harris

had a nice PBU where he recovered on a deep pass where he got beat, bag passed by the Falcons quarterback on that one. But nonetheless, good job. I thought Marcus Harris had a couple of plays in the game. They need him to step up and be a decent player, ASAP. Kendall Brooks, I got to give Kendall Brooks some credit. Not only because he got that pick six, man, he baited that pick.

He knew exactly what they were running and baited that. And you could see him break on it, like a predator seeing a, you know, a hyena start to limp or something like that. Like, they're on it. And he was just right there, knew it right away, tracked it all along and had it. Kendall Brooks looks nasty out there in the 33 jersey with the bands and everything. looks good. I mean, let him be safety six, safety five, whatever. He looks awesome out there. Finally, Jermari Harris, the undrafted free agent outside corner from Iowa, got an interception

in the game, got to give him credit. And my notes, my notes, I do want to put in here. I have this in my notes. The backup offensive line really opened up some holes in the run game. Jackson Slater, Brendan Crenshaw Dixon, Jalen Duncan out there as part of that group. I thought they deserve their credit late in the game for moving bodies around as well but with that being said for every tighten up there's a tighten down

and there are some players that probably aren't as happy coming out of week two of the preseason today's episode is brought to you by Yahoo! Fantasy it's the best time of the year NFL kickoff is almost here and that means fantasy football season is back in full swing

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Recapping the Tennessee Titans 23 to 20 win over the Atlanta Falcons preseason week two. I don't care about the score. The Titans were ugly this week in Atlanta from the joint practices all the way to the game. Cam Ward was improved. Elykoi Manor, Cedric Greg, Gunner Helm had some good performances. But there were some bad performances in there and some Titan downs that we need to discuss. Before we dive into it, do want to thank you again for making Locked on Titans your first list. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free.

The season's right around the corner. Now's the perfect time to become an every day or get subscribe, stay subscribed. It's your team every day here on the Locked on Titans podcast. but tighten downs, we've got to start with James Williams. I mean, every beat reporter, all our conversations on here, watching the preseason games, looking at the lineups and joint practices and things like that,

it had been James Williams as the starting linebacker next to Cody Barton since mandatory mini-camp. But now, week two of the preseason, Cedric Gray makes his move. That is a tighten down for James Williams. He's had so much opportunity to lock down this spot.

I am a bit surprised. I didn't think that Cedric Gray played all that well in the preseason game last week. We don't know perfectly how he's playing in practice all the time. I'm a bit surprised that he's done enough to leap James Williams. But nonetheless, that means Williams likely had a bad week of practice. And that means that they probably didn't like what they saw from James Williams last week on the film against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

so no way around it. If you get your spot taken and we'll see what the Titans go to this week, maybe it was just a fairness thing. Hey, we're going to let Cedric Gray run with the ones this week. We're going to let him get the start in the preseason game. Now, Cedric Gray played pretty well in this game. Got to go back and watch the tape to know for sure,

but that's how I felt coming out of the TV copy. But if James Williams doesn't go back to the starting lineup this week, certainly a tighten down for him losing his spot. I also thought Chim D.K. was forgettable, whether it is in the offense, two targets, zero catches. Him and Cam Ward weren't on the same page on the target that he had over the middle that turned into not really a drop. It was just an incomplete pass, but they were definitely not on the same page.

In the returns that Chim D.K. got, I thought they were just okay. Average 21.5 yards per return. Got hit kind of hard on one of them. so I'm a little concerned about that but it was just an okay performance and he didn't really step up and make any plays with the opportunity that he got to start in the slot didn't really do much

that's part of the Titans' offensive problem and this is why everybody was real excited for Xavier Restrepo and Elycayo Manor because you knew that their skill sets right away could translate with DK he wasn't really asked to run a bunch of different routes at Florida he was kind of just a slot that ran deep crossers all the time

so the Titans could probably get value out of him doing that right away, but all the other stuff, all the quick end breaking routes and stuff like that, it's going to be a process. Again, like I talked about with Iomater, so I got to give a tighten down to Chim Dekay. I hate to do this. I really do. Every, you know, but other than the backside pursuit from Femioa Desio, he had a good backside pursuit and he had a good run stuff where he stopped in just another game where he didn't really stand out. I didn't let really notice him at all other than that backside pursuit. It's going to be a project. It's going to be a process with Femiola Dejo.

We knew that all along since he was drafted. But people are getting to the season. They're frustrated. The team isn't looking great. And they're like, uh, Femi was a mistake. Oh, uh, I mean, it's a project. He's got a ton of talent. You just got to, I mean, out there, I'm seeing him out there.

He's like getting into offensive linemen and kind of stumbling forward. Not only is he a project, but it's a totally new position for Femi. Like, I knew it was going to take some time for him. We got great reports coming out of camp that he was ahead of the curve. and doing this, I mean, Brian Callahan said he was ahead of the curve. Well, it looks like he may not be as ahead of the curve as they were trying to say. Okay, so that's just what I see in that. The backup defensive line, I thought there were holes for Atlanta's run offense as well.

People seem to be super excited about Cam Horsley, Isaiah Rakees, Timmy Horn, James Lynch, the backup interior defensive line. I don't understand why. I don't really see it. I know Horsley had a good pass rush snap last week. He did some good things in that realm, but I haven't been for. very impressed and I think that's a spot where the Titans will certainly look. Somebody

tagged me or I saw a tweet that said on the Tennessee Titans version of the broadcast. Mike Borgonzi Titans general manager said that when he was in Kansas City and they had the number one waiver claim, they claimed seven players after

roster cutdowns. So I'm just telling you folks we could, I'm going to do a roster prediction soon and we can have like certain little roster conversations where I think they might churn the roster, but running back, tight end. Offensive line is always a candidate.

Wide receiver, clearly. If Taji Spears is hurt, did I already say running back? I'm saying running back again. The interior defensive line. They're searching for linebackers. They just claim Brian Osamoa. They're obviously going to consider some veterans at cornerback because one of my other titan downs is Amani Oruwarié.

He got smoked on a 52-yarder. He has not been good, and he's 29 years old, a veteran player. He's not going to be around for very long. So the Titans would definitely look at cornerbacks as well, and we know Edge is in there. So the Titans, there are more positions on the Titans than not. I think quarterback, I know you guys think I'm crazy, but quarterback... And safety?

Are the only positions where I would say the Titans don't need to do massive churn and use a waiver? like they could claim seven or eight different guys. That's, again, that's how bad I think the roster is right now, is they could do that. And speaking of bad, our final titan downs, what is going on with special teams? Joey Sly misses an extra point.

Johnny Heckerous looked terrible. He's shanking in practice, bad punts all throughout practice. What was that second punt that he had? I mean, that was not good. The Titans let Ryan, in Stonehouse go because Bones Fossil, one of the best special

teams coaches in the entire NFL, maybe the best, because Bones Fossil wanted to bring in his own guys. I thought Hecker got better in the game. I mean, he had to punt six times, but some of them just scare me, and I expect more consistent. The reason that you have an

old guy like Johnny Hecker, who's 35, is because you get consistency and you know what you're going to get. It's the reason the Titans had Nick Folk at Kicker for multiple years, even though he's you know, 39, 40, 41 because they could count on what they were getting from them, no matter what. And there at the end, Folk was even hitting some 50 orders.

He hit a 51, he hit a 53, I think there at the end. So, you went from a punter that you thought you couldn't rely on and a kicker you thought you couldn't rely on anymore who actually looked like they might be more reliable than what you have right now early in the preseason. Now, Sly has been pretty good in Tranny Camp. He missed an extra point in perfect conditions, though. That is concerning.

But Hecker has been concerning for quite some time now. And that is, the Titans cannot afford for the special teams to be bad this year. They can't. And it goes back to the way I started the podcast. The Titans were ugly this week. And I'm just, again, throughout this week, the realization is set in for me. I hate to be pessimistic or whatever.

I just try to be realistic. that a lot of the parts of this team just do not look ready for week one and the most valuable parts of training camp the joint practices with other teams those are done now and this is where we're at. I just wish that we saw some more things that we could like

I'm trying to be optimistic and they're not giving me much to work with folks but with that being said I got to go hit the film room over the next 24 or 36 hours get ready for our conversations next week. Again, there's a reason this is the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world and has been for multiple years running now, all right?

You're going to be the most informed, entertained, and just constantly giving content to Titans fan that you can be with the Locked on Titans podcast and the Tick-Tac Titans film channel. So make sure that you get subscribed, stay subscribed, throw a tighten up down in the chat, throw a thumbs up on the video if you're watching on YouTube. With that being said, that's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.