Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Will Go OVER 7.5 Wins, Why They Go Under & New Stadium Update
Episode Date: April 5, 2023The Tennessee Titans over/under was set at 7.5 wins by FanDuel. The Titans have a great chance to smash that number and go over if a few things go correctly! Also, they could go under if the injuries ...continue to plague them and some offseason moves do not go as planned. Finally, the Titans new stadium process is approaching the finish line. Tyler goes through the timeline and gives the latest update.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.Ultimate Football GMTo download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
FanDuel has set the Titans over under at seven and a half wins.
I am here to tell you, they'll be going over.
We're going to discuss that and more on today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast.
Let's get it.
You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast.
Part of the Locked On Podcast, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast.
Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast.
I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. We're going to take a look at the Titans over, under at seven and a half wins.
I'm going to tell you why I think they will be going over.
We're also going to take a look at some reasons why the Titans might go under if that happens.
Going to take a look at some reasons why the Titans might go under if that happens,
and we'll round out the show with the latest details on the Titans' brand new stadium.
Before we get into all that, I want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day.
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All I ask for in return is the press of a button.
And let me know whether you think the Titans will go over or under
seven and a half wins this season.
So obviously, guys, it's not the end of the offseason.
There's still the NFL draft.
We could change things.
We still have the summer months of free agency.
Trades can happen.
But based on what we see from the Titans right now, I think they have a great chance to go over seven and a half wins.
The question basically is,
are the Titans going to win more games than they won last year?
And at the end of the day, the number one factor that
will make the difference, in my opinion, is injuries.
The Titans finished with 23 players on injured reserve.
They had over 30 players on injured reserve total throughout the season.
If the Titans don't have the insane injuries that they had last year,
they were 7-3.
Now, I know that that 7-3 record was inflated by the schedule
that the Titans played. The Titans did not play a lot of good teams while they put together that
7-3 record. That is a fact. But they were already at seven wins. It was the injuries more than
anything that led to the Titans losing streak to finish the year.
So for me, the big thing is, and it's funny because this will come up later, but it's injuries.
There is just no way that the Titans can lead the NFL in injuries three years in a row.
There's just no way, right?
Right?
I mean, of course, there's a hint of optimism in that,
but it's also just logic.
Like there has to be some regression to the mean from an injury standpoint.
One, the Titans are going out and getting different players this year.
They got rid of a lot of older veterans who contributed to those injury numbers.
So just the change in the roster has to help with
the injuries. And then again, just regression to the mean from an injury standpoint has to factor
in. So from an injury standpoint, if the Titans just have a smidgen, a tiny amount of better
health in 2023 than they had in 2022, they should be able to win more games than they won last year.
Not only that, but you obviously have to factor in
the changes to the roster, to the coaching staff,
the new coaching staff.
You got a brand new offensive coordinator.
You and me, I'm talking to you.
Yep, you and I sat here all year last year
and complained about Todd Downing
and what he was doing to the Titans offense.
Tim Kelly has to be better.
The offense has to be better off this year than it was last year with Todd Downing.
That has to be a given.
If it's not, then bigger problems are on the horizon.
But you have to think at least a little optimistically about the
offensive coaching. You add Charles
London, you have a new offensive line coach
and Jason Houtaling, you move some
people around. You have to hope that
better offensive coaching will lead to better
offensive production, which would really help
the Titans because I don't think the defense should
fall off very much.
Also, within the offense,
outside of coaching, you look at the players,
the Titans have to have a better
offensive line than what they had last year.
I mean, even if
Andre Dillard isn't good enough
to be a starting left tackle long term,
even if Daniel Brunskill isn't
good enough to be a long term answer on the
interior offensive line,
NPF is going to be in his second year,
which there should be improvement from year to year.
He's going to have a veteran player next to him
in Brunskill at guard that should help him as well.
Aaron Brewer, hopefully, if he continues to be a starter,
will be more properly slotted as a center instead of a guard.
The Titans add a good offensive lineman in the draft early
that should be able to be a starter.
I mean, the offensive line has to be better this year.
It has to, better this year.
It has to, right? It's not just me being blindly optimistic. You guys know I don't do that.
It's just logical. It has to happen. Another major factor here for me as well is an easier schedule.
The Titans finished second in the division last year after finishing first two years in a row. The Titans aren't going to get a
first place schedule this year. They're going to get a second place schedule. And while the Colts
and the Texans could get new quarterbacks, I don't think that's enough to instantly make them
significantly better. I think the Titans competition here is Jacksonville. And on the
flip side of that, Jacksonville had a last place schedule. They're
going to have a first place schedule this year. So considering the schedule change and quality
of opponents between what the Titans are going to see and what they're used to seeing and what
Jacksonville got to see and what they're used to seeing, I think all of that combined gives the
Titans a great chance to go over. And I really think the range in the over could be anywhere from 8 wins,
which would still hit the over, all the way to 11 wins.
I think the Titans, at their best, could win 11 games
based on all the things we just said.
There is also a key factor here.
Revenge.
You know how pissed off Mike Vrabel probably is
at that 7-game losing streak and missing the playoffs?
There is no way that the Titans coaching staff
and their best players are not as motivated as ever
to turn things back around, get back to their winning ways
and make the playoffs again.
So for me, I'm putting my money down right now.
I'm hitting the over for the Titans.
And I think a good draft class
and some moves that could be made in the future
could take that maybe one win higher to eight and a half.
So for me, I love the over at seven and a half.
I think the Titans win more games this year
than they did last year,
even with a lot of all season to come.
But we do have
to talk about the reality that is the Titans going under and what would contribute to that
happening. We're also going to talk about the most recent news on the Titans new stadium.
Before we get into all that, I want to let you know that today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. And that's exactly where you need to go.
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Seven and a half wins.
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Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We're talking about the Titans over under number from FanDuel Sportsbook.
It's seven and a half wins.
I just told you why I think the Titans will go over,
but I try to be fair.
I like to be a little optimistic.
More often than not, I'm a little pessimistic.
But like I said, I think the Titans will go over that seven and a half,
but we got to talk about some reasons
why they may go under.
Before we get into it,
I want to thank you guys again
for making the Locked on Titans podcast
your first listen every day,
Monday through Friday,
Tennessee Titans content all year long
on all platforms and always for free.
Make sure that you get subscribed and stay subscribed
to the Locked On Titans podcast,
part of the Locked On Podcast Network,
where it's your team every day.
So, the number one reason
why I thought the Titans would bounce back
and get over seven and a half wins in 2023
was injuries.
A little bit of optimism, but mostly just logic.
The Titans have to regress to the mean from an injury standpoint.
They can't lead the league in injuries three years running.
Well, on the flip side of that coin,
maybe they do.
Maybe, maybe it's not just bad luck that the Titans keep having injuries. Maybe, maybe it's not just bad luck
that the Titans keep having injuries.
Maybe there is a significant flaw
in the training staff,
in the medical staff,
in the strength and conditioning program,
in the equipment that the Titans are using
within all of those programs,
with the philosophies that the Titans are using within all of those programs with the philosophies
that the Titans are using
within all of those programs.
Now look,
I have people reach out to me a lot
and tell me they have inside info
or they did this, did that.
During last season,
I had three different people,
a relative of somebody,
and then two people
who personally interviewed with the Titans
who said that they're using certain pieces of equipment,
they're using certain processes that are outdated,
that other NFL organizations have moved past.
Whether that's true or not, I can't know.
Because I don't know about those processes.
I'm not a doctor, as I like to joke on this show.
I'm not.
But if those people are telling the truth,
and the Titans are just in an archaic place
when it comes to their strength and conditioning,
their recovery programs, their sports science,
if the Titans are living in the past
in those areas, then maybe the injuries are not just bad luck. Maybe it's not just the players,
like Mike Vrabel loves to blame the players for the injuries. It's all their fault. Christian
Fulton and David Long and players are only working 8-4 and it's all the players
fault why they're getting injured. Nobody else. Just the players.
Well, that's wrong.
And it's the Titans as an organization that is dropping
the ball on the injuries. Well then maybe it continues.
Maybe the Titans get just as injured
as they've gotten the last two years.
I mean, it would be very difficult
to go through another season like that.
But it's possible.
And something that I pointed out
before John Robinson was fired,
after John Robinson was fired,
and when Rancart Dawn was hired,
after John Robinson was fired,
and when Rancart Dawn was hired,
if the Titans were that far behind the rest of the NFL in the analytics department,
what other areas of football organization are they behind on?
Sports science? Sports medicine?
Training programs and regiments? Equipment?
See what I mean?
We can't know for certain those inner details.
Those aren't things that get reported on a ton or that, you know, we have sources on.
But it's only logical to ask the questions.
And that's what I'm here to do.
Ask the logical questions.
Ask the logical questions.
So, while injuries and regression to the mean could be the biggest reason why the Titans go over the 7.5 wins,
at the same time,
if there are reasons that we don't know for certain
that were causing the injuries that are more organizational,
who's to say the Titans have fixed them?
I'm,
Rancarton's brought in Chad Brinker,
who has his own intellectual property models on injuries and players in the
draft.
Hopefully that sort of acceleration,
hopefully that sort of growth from the Titans organization in those areas.
Hopefully, Rand Carthon is saying, hey, we got to start doing things differently in these other
areas too. And Rand Carthon can grow this team up a little bit and bring them to the future.
Hopefully, if that's happening with analytics, that's happening on the sports science side of
things as well. So I hope there, but if not, if the Titans lead the league in injuries again,
it's going to be hard with the talent
they have to go over seven wins.
Not only that,
but you do
got to look at the roster talent at some
point. Linebacker.
Not very high on the Titans linebacker
group. The offensive line.
Like I said, Brunskill and Dillard are
band-aids.
Yeah, if we get, you know,
let's say their best play is 10,
their worst play is 1.
If we get anywhere from 5 to 7, 5 to 8,
that should be improved offensive line play.
But if Dillard and Brunskill give us 3,
give us 2,
then the Titans offensive line is still in trouble. And even if they're slightly improved from last year,
it's not going to be enough to make a difference in the win column.
And then, of course, wide receiver.
I mean, the Titans wide receiver group,
there is no way without a blockbuster trade
that the Titans wide receiver group isn't the worst in the NFL.
There's just no way.
They can draft two rookies in the top three rounds.
It's not going to change that.
It's not.
So, when you're that bad in that area,
I'm thinking improved O-line,
more efficiency in the ground game,
get back to play action,
which helps the poor wide receiver group.
But, if that doesn't happen,
then it's all going to come together
because if the offensive line
isn't significantly better and the wide
receivers are worse, that's going to make
it tough. Also, we have to account for
what if the Titans trade away somebody
like Derrick Henry or Ryan Tannehill or
Jeffrey Simmons or Kevin Byard or, you
know, something like that happens, then
the Titans, like I said,
the Titans win total could go up
even if they make the right moves.
If they make the wrong moves
or just certain moves,
then it could even go down.
So, those are all
valid reasons why the Titans
could win five to seven
games and hit that under.
Now, I think they're going over personally, but to me,
I could see them getting as low as five wins. I could see them getting as high as 11 wins,
and that's a way bigger range than I projected going into last season. There's a lot more
volatility in the amount of outcomes that could happen for the Titans going into 2023. But with
that being said, we're going to move forward here. We're going to talk about the latest in the Titans
stadium development. I know a lot of you guys have been looking for me to give a little bit
of an update there. So we're going to cap off today's edition
of the Locked on Titans podcast.
Going to do a little timeline refresher on the Titans stadium
and update all you guys of where the process is right now.
Before we get into that, do want to thank you guys
again for making the Locked On Titans podcast
your first listen every day.
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Diving into the timeline here for the Titans Stadium.
So, back in February of 2022, we got the scoop.
We finally got news that, oh wow, the Titans may be looking at building a new stadium.
That was the first real whisper or story or anything public that I saw
about the Titans potentially getting a new stadium.
And it all came from the fact that the Titans wanted to renovate the stadium
because they have a deal with the city of Nashville until 2039
that Nashville would deliver a high quality football stadium.
And that is not what Nissan Stadium is right now.
It is not a high level, first class NFL stadium.
It's not.
So the city owed the Titans money to renovate.
Well, the Titans Stadium has a concrete frame.
Most stadiums have a steel frame.
That's outdated.
The Titans electric system, the Titans plumbing system
needed to be totally removed and reinstalled new.
Not only that, but the windows that the Titans use in the stadium
are so outdated that they aren't even manufactured anymore.
After thinking it would only cost $600 million to renovate the stadium,
when the Titans got the quote,
it was more like $1.2 billion to renovate the stadium.
billion to renovate the stadium. So obviously, would you pay $1.2 billion to
renovate the current stadium, which won't
have a Super Bowl, won't have a Final
Four, won't have some of the largest
concerts in the country, won't have
WrestleMania? Or would you rather pay $2
billion and get a brand new stadium
that can host all of those events
and also allows you to renovate the East Bank area
and where Nissan Stadium is right now
and turn that into more revenue generating property for the city?
It's pretty cut and dry.
You would rather pay the $2 billion,
get the new stadium,
bring in all that additional revenue,
renovate the East Bank area,
rather than pay a billion dollars
to renovate an outdated stadium.
So, all that made sense.
That was the scoop.
Then, in March, one month later,
we got a little bit of a timeline
on how long these things will take.
Burke Nahill, the president of the Titans organization,
said about 18 months of a design process, designing everything,
and then 30 to 31 months to actually build it.
So we got that idea.
Then the real fun happened in October of 2022
when the Titans released those drawings and those renderings of the stadium.
Looking at turf, which is a special kind
of new turf that they have in Houston and they have
in SoFi that the Titans are saying causes
actually less injuries.
All turf isn't the same.
There's AstroTurf. There's all kinds of different turf.
This isn't the type of turf where
you see the black pellets flying up when people walk. This turf is made out of cork and actually
has to be watered like grass. So that's the turf that we're going to see from the Titans. They're
actually installing that at Nissan now. It's in the practice facilities, but it's going to be what
they use in the new stadium as well. It is going to have a dome because they want to have
all weather opportunities. That's
whatever, but I get it.
There are going to be a ton of windows around the top though,
so it's going to let in natural sunlight and I think that's
very important to the way that the stadium looks.
So that was all cool stuff to hear.
Then in December of 2022
city council in Nashville
approved the financial terms.
They approved what the financial plan would look like.
They didn't approve it entirely to say hey we're doing it
but they approved hey this is what it would look like financially
if we did it.
Now where we sit right now is in the middle of the city council process
of truly stamping it and approving it and saying, let's do it.
So the way that Nashville's Metro City Council is doing it is
they have three different voting sessions.
Number one, March the 7th, the vote passed.
They had a second one just a couple of days ago
on the 4th of April.
It passed.
The final vote is on April the 18th, tentatively.
That's when it's supposed to happen.
And you may ask yourself,
why are they voting three times?
Why are they voting?
And they want to do these votes
to get a gauge of what kind of support they have.
But the city council members want more
time to look into the plan and do their research
so they can make the right decision. That makes sense. This is a big
decision for a city.
So, we are past two votes.
There is some opposition,
but it looks like, as things stand now,
that that April 18th final city council vote
will approve the Titan Stadium plans,
and they can get to it.
So right now, where we are at with the stadium,
we are awaiting the final vote from city council
to approve all
the plans and set this
thing into real motion.
So that's the timeline so far.
That's where we stand right
now. And as more information comes,
I'll make sure to divulge that to you guys,
explain what's going on, and give
you updates as I can. That's going
to do it for me today, folks.
As always, I am your
host, Tyler Rowland, and
this was Locked
on Titans.