Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Will Levis COLLAPSE Against Bears, Calvin Ridley Flashes & Special Teams Disaster

Episode Date: September 8, 2024

The Tennessee Titans utterly collapse against the Chicago Bears after going up 17-0 to lose 24-17. The worst part is Will Levis was at the center of the demise. On the bright side, skill players Tony Pollard & Calvin Ridley had good games. Finally, the special teams was far from it on Sunday and the Titans offensive line cratered late.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/videosFor your next listen, check out the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast. Get daily insight to the best Fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!DoorDashUse promo code LOCKEDFALL24 for 50% off up to $10 value, when you spend $15+ on your first order. Limited time offer. Terms apply. Promo is not valid for orders containing alcohol. HimsStart your free online visit today at Hims.com/lockedonnfl. PrizePicksGo to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code lockedonmlb 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.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.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.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.FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FANDUEL.COM/LOCKEDON 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)

The Tennessee Titans absolutely collapse in Chicago. And the worst part is Will Levis was at the center of it. That and more 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 Locked On Titans 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 $5. It was an absolute collapse for the Tennessee Titans in Chicago against the Bears. The Titans go up 17-0, lose 24-17. I'm going to talk about just the terrible day from Will Levis that led to this complete meltdown. Also, there was some good in this game in week one as the Titans, Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard had some flashes, and the special teams was as far from special as possible.

Before we get into all of 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 tuning in Monday through Friday. Couldn't do it without you guys. If you aren't an everydayer, you need to be one because tomorrow I'm going to do some

week one overreactions and talk about whether they're true or whether they're false. And I would imagine that the first week one overreaction that I'm going to respond to is, is Will Levis awful? Is Will Levis terrible? What just happened out there in front of our eyes? That is going to be the number one week one overreaction that you're going to see from everybody

is that Will Levis is absolutely terrible. And you know what? I'll respond to that overreaction tomorrow because today there's no time to talk about what can be or how this is just week one. There is no other way to slice it. That was a terrible game from Will Levis. An awful game from Will Levis.

Was the offensive line great? No, they absolutely weren't. But it was Will Levis' mind-numbing decisions that ultimately cost the Tennessee Titans, I mean, 19 for 32, 127 yards, didn't go over 100 yards until, felt like late into the third quarter. Had the touchdown, which the touchdown was pretty lucky. He was under pressure and just tossed it up to Chikokonkwo.

And Chikokonkwo made an incredible play on that ball. I mean, that was pretty lucky for Will Levis. So, I mean, even the touchdown throw was pretty lucky for Will Levis. So, I mean, even the touchdown throw was pretty lucky. He missed a couple of throws to Calvin Ridley that were open. Also throws the two interception and the pick six. Like, if we want to talk about the strip sack fumble where Will Levis got stripped from the ball, that was pressure from J.C. Latham's man, Daryl Taylor.

But I still think the clock in Will Levis' head has to move quicker than that. You don't have that much time in the pocket. You need to throw that ball on the run rather than trying to settle back down. So for me, that's a little bit of a timing issue as well. Not completely on Levis. He didn't give up the pressure. But all of the plays at the end of the game outside of the punt block were on Levis. What are we doing with that pick six? What are we doing with that pick six?

It's mind-numbing. It's hard to understand. The Titans, the punt block killed them. The punt block totally flipped the momentum, made it a one-score game. The punt block killed him. All right? That hurt. But Will Levis drove the stake into the Titans' heart over and over and over again after that punt block. I mean, that pick six. That pick six is... It's incomprehensible.

It's hard to fathom. You're falling down. Why would you flick it forward like that towards the sideline? The problem is that all of the bad things, all of the bad things that people say about Will Levis, all of the reasons that people don't believe in Will Levis, when all of the national media hates on Will Levis and doesn't believe in and doesn't think that he's the guy. You want to know why

that is? You want to know why they don't believe in Will Levis? Because of plays like that. Like how in the world could you make a play like that? It reminds me of last year where Deshaun Watson threw the ball backwards against the Titans. Like look, of course we have to give the caveats of it's only week one. Will Levis can play better. Who knows what Will Levis is going to look like

at the end of the season. Last year, Jordan Love was garbage for the beginning of the year, and then he went on a run at the end of the year, and now everybody feels differently. It's only week one. We can say that. It's only week one. We can add the caveat,

add the asterisks, all that. But when we're talking about this game, this game right here, week one, just one game by itself, Will Levis was horrendous. He was horrendous. So, it is

a long season, and I see all of the Cope statements already, and I get it. You're right. It is only one game. It's one game of the year. Will Levis can absolutely get better, but this game was terrible by him. And, I mean, the punt block is the punt block,

and there was pressure. Three sacks on Will Levis. There was pressure. But nobody but Will Levis, nobody but Will Levis made him throw that pick six. And that ultimately is the difference in the game. That is the difference in the game is the pick six. So you can slice it however you want. You can hold on to hope.

Again, saying that, I mean, it's so bad. It's so bad I can barely take it. Saying that Will Levis will get better and that this is week one and that, okay, that's true. That's true, but that doesn't change the fact that he was terrible in this game. And his meltdown ultimately is what cost the Titans. I mean, the punt block hurt him. It got the momentum rolling back to the Bears.

But it wasn't just the bad plays. It was the miss of good plays. Calvin Ridley on the post. Calvin Ridley wide open on the deep shot down the left-hand sideline. Not only did Will Levis make the bad plays, he didn't make enough of the good plays either. There were good plays available to Will Levis, and he didn't make the bad plays. He didn't make enough of the good plays either. There were good plays available to Will Levis, and he didn't make the plays.

So you can tell me it's just one week, and I'll agree with you. He can get better. This isn't the end of the season. Everything is going to change by the end of the year. But while saying that, you got to be honest that he tanked them in this game. After the defense played so well, the special teams was bad as well, but

at the end of the day, the biggest story coming out of this one is clearly Will Levis' inability to get it done. And it's just hard when you're a brand new team with brand new pieces and a brand new coach to have the lead like they did and watch it collapse. It's just a terrible, terrible start to the lead like they did and watch it collapse. It's just a

terrible, terrible start to the beginning of your season when everything is new. And when you get that in your head that you're a team that can't finish, you're a team that can't close, things like that stick with you, man. They really do. But not everything was bad. Not everything was bad. There was a lot of good out there for the Tennessee Titans as well. So we're going to do tighten up, tighten down, and I'll start with the positives. Before I do, though, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix.

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If you're thinking about starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient. Rediscover your curiosity with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash locked on today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Unfortunately, coming after an absolute collapse from the Tennessee Titans, we talked about Will Levis absolutely melting down. It was sad to see he was at the heart of the Titans collapse,

and that's never what you want. But now I want to talk about some positives, because there were some positives here. So we're going to start Tighten Up, Tighten Down with the Tighten Ups. Let me know your Tighten Ups and your Tighten Downs down below in the comments or hit me up on Twitter at TicTacTitans. And let me know before we dive into Tighten Up, Tighten Down, do want to let you guys know that the new Locked On NFL is here.

Locked On NFL is now two shows every day. First, me, Tyler Rowland, the madman, kicks off your morning with a double shot of NFL espresso and then stop by the barbershop in the afternoon and talk NFL with Tony Wiggins. You're going to get Locked On local experts. You're going to get unprecedented NFL insights. And I'll have some hot opinions for you for all of the NFL.

It's the new Locked On NFL. It's twice a day. Make sure that you catch it on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. But starting with the tighten-ups, Tony Pollard. Tony Pollard looked good in this game. It was my dark-twisted or my or my beautiful dark twisted fantasy player of the game was Tony Pollard. He had 16 carries, 82 rushing yards, had a rushing touchdown as well, had three catches for 12 yards. It was a good day for Tony Pollard. I thought he looked explosive when he

gave the Titans opportunities. He scored that early touchdown. It was very exciting. Good for Tony Pollard. I also thought that Calvin Ridley looked good in this game. He had three catches for 50 yards and he was open more than that. And Will Levis just didn't find him. He was open, wide open on the post route over the middle of the field. He was wide open running down the sideline on the left-hand side. I thought Calvin Ridley was absolutely fantastic in this game. He was exactly what the Titans wanted. So Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley is the new additions. We're great in this game. He was exactly what the Titans wanted. So Tony Pollard and Calvin Ridley is the new additions. We're great in this game.

You got to give credit to Chica Conquo as well. All that preseason hype going to Josh Wiley. Chica Conquo comes out there and catches the only touchdown pass of the day for the Titans. It was an incredible reaction to a tossed up lollipop throw as well. Will Levis really owes Chigaconqua for that. If he threw that ball 10 times over again, I think eight of those are interceptions. So great job by Chigaconqua there.

Also got to give some credit on the defensive side of the ball to Tavondre Sweat. I thought Tavondre Sweat was excellent in the first half. Now, he tailed off a little bit in the second half, but the Titans' entire defense did, and a lot of that had to do with the ineptitude of the offense. But you look at Tavondre Sweat's day, he made an impact. Now, he may not be all over the stat sheet.

He may not have a bunch of tackles or a sack or anything, but he made an impact out there. So you got to give a lot of credit to the rookie and to Vondre Sweat. Also, I thought the Titans secondary played pretty well in this game. I mean, Roger McCreary had a lot of good plays. I thought LeJarius Sneed, for the most part, did a great job. I mean, there were a couple of catches that LeJarius Sneed gave up. He gave up a catch to Keenan Allen for a first down,

gave up a couple of short catches to DJ Moore. But DJ Moore had five catches for 36 yards. Not that great of a day on eight targets. Keenan Allen, four catches for 29 yards. 11 targets. Roma Dunze, one catch, 11 yards, four targets. I mean, the Titans defense, especially in the back end in the secondary, really shut down the Bears offense.

Caleb Williams had 93 passing yards. He didn't even have 100 yards. They only had 84 yards on the ground on 22 carries, 3.8 yards. I mean, the Titans defense absolutely smothered the Chicago Bears in this. Absolutely smothered them. Like, you had a touchdown on the punt return or the punt block. You had a touchdown on the pick six. I mean, again, the Titans defense did their job in this game.

It wasn't a bad game for the defense. And really, that's the unfortunate part, is that this game felt way too much like the Mike Vrabel era. That's what this game felt like. This game felt like a Mike Vrabel game. The football that we experienced the last two or three years when it got bad, last two years, this is what that felt like.

The defense played really well early. The offense had a run game touchdown and then got lucky with a turnover from the Bears to give themselves a little bit of extra points. Things kind of broke the Titans' way in the first half. And then in the second half, the Titans completely melted down on special teams. The offense completely doomed the team.

This felt like a Mike Vrabel loss. When the Titans lost in the Mike Vrabel era, it felt like this. The offense giving them relatively nothing other than some lucky plays early in the game. The defense absolutely smothering the opponent, but the Titans making a bunch of self-inflicted errors that send them on their way to doom. I mean, that's what it felt like out there.

This felt like a good defensive performance, massive mistakes on special teams and on offense that ruined the game. That felt sad. You know what I mean? Feeling like that again, feeling like you're watching the same old, same old. That's what felt the worst. You know, that's what hurt the worst. Is it felt like the same old, same old. That's what felt the worst. You know? That's what hurt the worst. Is it felt like the same old, same old out there.

And to see everybody talk about the Caleb Williams rookie quarterbacks are 0-14-1 and 0-7-1. It's just so classic Tennessee Titans. Not even Mike Rabel Titans. Just the Tennessee Titans' entire existence. Such a classic Tennessee Titans move to be the one team in the last 22 years

that loses to a rookie quarterback in their debut. Just classic Titans, you know? Classic, classic Titans. It's unbelievable. But again, Tony Pollard, Calvin Ridley, the secondary, Snead, Roger McCreary, Amani Hooker played well. Tavondre Sweat played well. I thought Harold Landry and Jeffrey Simmons played well as well.

There was stuff to like out there for the Titans. There was stuff to like. But there was too much not to like. And we got to talk about that right now. That's tighten up. Now it's time for tighten down. Before we get into it, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by GameTime.

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Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. It was an ugly, ugly collapse for the Tennessee Titans. We talked about Will Levis having an absolute meltdown in Chicago. Talked about the Titan ups because there is some good stuff to like coming out of that game. But now we got to talk about the Titan downs. Obviously, we talked Will Levis, but there are some other players out there that unfortunately, unfortunately did not play well as well. Before we get into it, I do want to thank you again

for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen. Tomorrow, I'm going to be doing week one over reactions and whether they're real or rather they're fake. So I can't wait to dive into that. Also want to let you guys know, check out Locked On NFL. I am now the host of Locked On NFL every single morning. The bad man, Tyler Rowland. I'm going to have a ton of hot opinions on week one.

Can't wait to break down all of the rest of the NFL action. You get your Titans news here with me. Get your NFL news with me on Locked On NFL. But again, talking about the Titan downs in this game, obviously Will Levis is at the top of the list. Will Levis was terrible in this game, really collapsed on the Titans. But I talked about how bad Will Levis was at the beginning of the show. So I will move away from how bad Will Levis was because boy it was bad.

To some other players who did not fare very well. I didn't think it was a great game for Tajay Spears. Didn't really make an impact much in this game. Had four catches for 11 yards, but him not breaking that tackle on the drag route on third down, I was just so disappointed. It's literally third and two, third and three. You hit Tajay Spears on a drag route in space. He should never not get that first down. It was in the second half. I thought the Titans should even consider going for it because the momentum was slipping so quickly out of their hands, but the fact that Tajay Spears couldn't make Tremaine Edmonds miss there and get that first down, I was just disappointed in that. Spears had four carries for 21 yards, did have the 11-yard run.

So not terrible, but just didn't make an impact the way that I hope Spears would. And then Traylon Burks. I mean, Traylon Burks broke a tackle in the game and got negative yardage. He had one catch for two yards, two targets, and dropped the other one. He had a drop pass and then got a catch, broke a tackle, and lost yards on the initial catch, and then was out there pushing and shoving with the Bears cornerbacks. What are we doing, Traylon Burks?

Complete non-factor out there today. But I guess that shouldn't be a shock to anybody. The offensive line gave up. I mean, the first half, they were moving bodies. The first half, they were playing pretty well. It wasn't a disaster. There were a few shaky things. But in the second half, got to point out Peter Skowronski. My guy, man, you guys know I love Pete,

but he did not have a good game in this one. Had a holding penalty in the second half and then followed that up immediately by giving up a pressure. I thought J.C. Latham got whooped by Daryl Taylor far too many times. J.C. Latham moved some bodies in the run game. Again, there were some good run-blocking snaps for the Titans' offensive line. There were some good pass-blocking snaps for the Titans offensive line. There were some good pass blocking snaps for the Titans offensive line. But Latham got beat a couple of times pretty bad.

And on that strip sack, it was Daryl Taylor that got there. I already said Levis needs to get rid of the ball, man. You're taking too long already. But Latham also got beat on that one. So the Titans offensive line, special teams. We got to talk special teams. What a disaster the special teams unit was in this game. I mean, killing them out there. You look, the Bears had a 67-yard kickoff return.

The Bears had a 20-yard punt return. The Bears had three field goals, one of them a 50-yarder. The Titans did not get much on their returns. And then the punt block that gave the Bears a touchdown when it was 17-3. The Titans' special teams unit was a disaster in this game. Now, of course, it's the same caveat as everything else. It's week one, folks. It's only week one. The Titans could be in a perfectly fine spot that we all feel much better about in a

couple of weeks. But at the end of the day, man, at the end of the day, this was truly a disastrous loss in week one because they lost in the worst way possible. They get up big and then they collapse. And the main reason that they collapse is because the special teams makes a terrible mistake and Will Levis is awful. It's the same thing. Titans defense played pretty well. Special teams makes a big mistake.

Offense makes a big mistake, multiple big mistakes. It's just like, you know, it's just a nightmare that we can't get out of. It's crazy. It's just crazy. So, O-line, special teams, but yeah, bad,

bad, bad, bad game from Will Levis and that's what stings the most. That is what stings the most. But it's week one! The Titans rebound with a win against the Jets at home next week and we'll all be feeling incredibly different, but it's okay to admit that this one hurts, and it was not fun. So especially after watching the Bears offense basically do nothing

and still get the win. Just a crazy collapse for the Titans. But got a lot of film to break down this week. Tomorrow, doing week one overreactions, what's real, what's fake. The season has begun, and it didn't begin the way that we hoped, but we roll, we move. That's going to do it for me today, folks. Tighten up down in the chat, thumbs up on the video.

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