Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Will Levis MUST BE BETTER, T'Vondre Sweat Dominance & Titans Need Edge Rush Help

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

The Tennessee Titans leave their bye week with some hope still remaining of turning this season around, but if Will Levis doesn't improve, it will be too much of an uphill climb. The Titans have gotten some incredible play from T'Vondre Sweat who is currently the best player on the team. Finally, the Titans worked out some edge rushers this week including Shaq Lawson and they need to make the move we have been asking for since the offseason!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!Hillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started. ZbioticsGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONNFL to learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONNFL at checkout.PrizePicksDownload the app or click HERE 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.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.FanDuelPlace your first FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - guaranteed ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.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.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.RobinhoodThe new gold standard is here with Robinhood Gold. Sign up at robinhood.com/gold Terms apply, for product specific disclosures visit robinhood.com/gold. Investing involves risk. Rate may change. Gold membership is offered by Robinhood Gold, LLC.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)

If the Tennessee Titans are going to turn things around, Will Levis must play better. 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. On today's show, we're going to look at three players who must improve for the Tennessee Titans out of the bye week. We're going to look at three players who have surprised me through the first five weeks of the season, and the Titans worked out a veteran edge rusher. I'm going to tell you why they need to make that move before I 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. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. 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 on tomorrow's show, it's time for another crossover Thursday with my guys over at Locked on Colts. Friday I'll have a game plan episode for you guys to tell you what to look for in this game

against the Colts and then Sunday right after the game, I'll be live here on the Locked on Titans podcast to break it all down. But with that being said, thumbs up on the video, tighten up down in the chat if you're watching on YouTube. But let's talk about the three players who need to improve most, and obviously it starts with the quarterback, Will Levis. Now, I know the reaction from some will immediately be,

well, Mason Rudolph needs to play. We don't need to worry about Will Levis improving. They need to play Mason Rudolph. And I understand if that's how you feel, but that's Mason Rudolph needs to play. We don't need to worry about Will Levis improving. They need to play Mason Rudolph. And I understand if that's how you feel, but that's simply not going to happen. Whether you like it or not, this season is about figuring out what the Titans have in Will Levis. And I know a lot of people are saying, well, they already know what they have in Will Levis.

And quite honestly, I think I know what they have in Will Levis. But inside the building, they still don't feel that they have the answer on who Will Levis is. And Callahan has said it over and over again that they're going to figure out what they have with Will Levis. That's what they are going to do. So he is going to play. He is going to be the starting quarterback,

at least for a few more weeks. If the Titans go, you know, one and six over the next three weeks and they lose their three games, then, okay, you know, maybe the Titans make that change to try to eke out some wins. But at the end of the day, again, we knew coming into the season that Will Levis was the number one X factor. And at the end of the day, he's got to play better. And the reality is, for me, he can't play worse, right?

Right now, Will Levis is in bottom five in the NFL in EPA per play. There are graphs out there with expected points added and pro football focus grade, and he is dead last in the NFL and far and away the worst quarterback in the NFL. Will Levis is having one of the top, I shouldn't say top, one of the bottom 10 seasons so far in the last like 20 years and expected points added along with a guy like Deshaun Watson is on that list as well. So not only has Will Levis been bad, he's been historically bad over the last couple of decades to start this season. And he's got to play better than that. He just absolutely has to play better than that.

It's just regression to the mean at some point. There's no way that he could continue to play as poorly as he is right now. Like, it's just, you know, naturally he's going to play a little bit better, we think. But if the Titans want to turn this thing around, it's an absolute must. He absolutely has to. There is no question about it. Like, he's just been so, so bad. And now the shoulder, the throwing shoulder is a little banged up. Brian Callahan is saying, hey, if he can practice,

he's going to play. Like, this is a pain management thing. It's not something that they're worried is going to get significantly worse. It's not, you know, something that they think is going to knock him out for the season. So he needs to go out there and play and he needs to be better. And going up against this Indianapolis pass defense, the Indianapolis defense may be the worst in the entire NFL. Like it is God awful right there with like the Cincinnati Bengals. Okay. The Titans have the number one statistical defense in the NFL and the Colts have the last. If Will Levis can't get right and play well against this Colts defense, if the Titans can't score over 20 points against this Colts defense, man, it's just going to be another

terrible, terrible, terrible, terrible sign for Will Levis and his development going forward. But he's got to play better if the Titans are going to turn this around. And look, Will Levis is a young player who a lot of people are up and down on anyway in terms of their opinion, but my number two player that has to play better is Jeffrey Simmons. Jeffrey Simmons has not been the best

interior defensive lineman on this team this year. Now, I'm going to tell you who is here in our next conversation on today's show, but for the time being, Jeffrey Simmons has simply not been good enough. Now, he's been good, but again, I've said this before, and I used this a lot when we were talking about Mike Vrabel last year.

Good is not good enough when you're paying Jeffrey Simmons $100 million. If Jeffrey Simmons does not improve and play better, the Titans defense is not going to be able to stay on this pace. They don't have the edge rush help, which we're going to talk about the edge rush at the end of the show, but they don't have the edge rush ability for Jeffrey Simmons to not be an elite top three interior defensive lineman. And he has not been that so far. Now he's got an elbow injury. There's ligament torn in his elbow, but apparently it's

not something he needs surgery on. He's just going to play through it. That's great, but I'm not making excuses for Jeffrey Simmons. I'm not going to be like, oh, Simmons didn't play bad. Well, the elbow. If he's playing in these games, then he needs to play better, and I am a Jeffrey Simmons defender to my core. Jeffrey Simmons is my favorite player on the team and has been for quite some time since they got rid of Kevin Byer. Like, I am a big Jeffrey Simmons fan. I've defended him at will. This season has not been good enough.

And another guy who I've defended a ton, my third player that has to be better, is Peter Skowronski. I go back to another Brian Callahan quote. Brian Callahan said recently, we need our highly drafted players to be our best players. Peter Skowronski was taken in the top 11 picks in the first round of the NFL draft, and he has 14 pressures allowed this year. NPF only has 15. He's allowed two sacks this year. Now, NPF has allowed four, so there's a gap there.

But Peter Skowronski has not been good enough for this team. He just simply has not. And it hurts me to say it, but it's the truth. Even if it hurts me, I am going to tell you guys the truth. And Peter Skowronski has been attacked this year. Teams are attacking Peter Skowronski with their blitz concepts, with their slants on the defensive line. Teams are trying to get two or three guys going at Peter Skowronski because they know that he doesn't have the pop in his

hands or the anchor in his butt to sit down and hold. Now the rest of the offensive line has to play good as well and everybody needs to improve, but Peter Skowronski specifically has to be better if the Titans are going to turn this thing around. But with that being said, we got to talk about some players who have surprised me this year with how good that they have played, and that starts with Devondre Sweat, who has been the best player on the Tennessee Titans. Before we get into it, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is the best way to play daily fantasy sports. That's why they have over 10 million members and have given out billions of dollars in awarded winnings. PrizePix makes

daily fantasy sports accessible to all. Here's how it works. You pick two to six players. You look at the Price Picks projection and you say whether the player is going to do more or less. Will Levis, one and a half interceptions. Tony Pollard, 55 rushing yards. DeAndre Hopkins, three and a half catches. All you do is pick two to six players and say whether they're going to do more or less. It's that easy. And if you hit, you can win up to 100 times your money. Look, right now, you need to download the PrizePix app. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL.

You're going to get $50 instantly when you play your first $5 lineup. Again, download the PrizePix app. Use the code LOCKEDONNFL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. It's PrizePix. Run your game. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Talked about the players who must improve for the Titans to turn this thing around.

Now I want to talk about some of the players that have surprised me so far this year with how well they have actually played. Before we get into it, I do want to thank you again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. For your second listen, check out Locked on NFL. Look, I am the lead host of Locked on NFL. So not only would you be getting some good NFL content, you'd be supporting me in the process.

Locked on NFL is on whatever podcast app you're using. It's here on YouTube as well. Make sure that you get subscribed to the Locked on NFL podcast. Robert Sala just got fired by the New York Jets. I'm breaking that down on today's show. You won't want to miss my take on that. But with that being said, let's talk about some of these surprises.

And the number one surprise to me, and look, I know, I know, I know. I was wrong. I was wrong. I got it completely wrong. I was loud wrong. Whatever way you want to slice it, I was wrong about Tavondre Sweat. He has been incredible. All right?

He has been incredible. All right. He has been incredible. Now, what I'll say is I give my opinion on 180 draft picks every single draft season. I'm going to be wrong. I was wrong about Traylon Burks. No one cares about that, but I was loud wrong about Tavondre Sweat. And, you know, obviously I'm going to hear about that for probably all eternity, but that's okay because I got to tell you the honest truth. Devondre Sweat's been my favorite player to watch all year long. I mean, he's so exciting. He's so good, dominant in the run game, effective in the pass rush, and this is something that I pointed out in my film breakdown. So if you go to the Tic Tac Titans YouTube channel where I break down

all the film, I have the link to that film channel down in the description of this podcast. So you don't really got to look very far. Just go down in the description and click on the Tic Tac Titans YouTube link. It's going to take you right to the channel. I've been doing film breakdowns all season, all season,

and I can't stop doing film breakdowns on Tavondre Sweat. He's just so impressive, and he dominated against the Dolphins. I made this joke, I think, on yesterday's show, but like someone needs to call PETA with the way he dominated the Dolphins. I mean, it's not fair. It's not a great joke, but I love it, all right? Got to make yourself laugh in this life, but the reality here is Tavondre Sweat has been the best player on the Tennessee Titans all season. I mean, that's it. That's the facts.

He has been the best player on the team. I can't sit and look. Some of you are going to say, well, Tyler, you didn't like him. I liked him. I thought he would be good. You didn't think he would be this good this quickly. There's no way. I mean, nobody, nobody on draft night, even people who liked the pick of Tavondre Sweat, even people who loved the pick of Tavondre Sweat, didn't think he would be the best player on the team in by the bye week.

player on the team in by the bye week. Like that is, that's crazy. That I thought for sure that he would come in and be a starter. They needed him to be a starter. He's a second round pick. He had to play right away, but whoo, man. I mean, I know that in training camp, all the reports were that he was looking good and him and Jeffrey Simmons were doing well and all that, but I'm sorry, nobody could have forecasted him

being the best player on the team by the bye week. That is a surprise. That is crazy. Man, watching him play is so much fun. And again, it's not just the physical stuff. Obviously, 360, 370, that speed, that agility, that handwork. But the mental game. Multiple times this year, multiple times on film,

Devondre Sweat is getting other veteran players lined up properly. There are multiple times against the Dolphins where he is telling Sebastian Joseph Day where to line up and what gap to get in and telling him like, no, you need to get over a gap. Sweat is telling the vets where to line up. I mean, I thought it was funny. I didn't look at it as a bad thing or anything like that, but in the preseason, when they asked Tavondre Sweat,

you know, is it disappointing you won't be out there with Jeffrey Simmons? And he was like, I'm T Sweat. Like, he should be disappointed he's not out here with me. You know what I mean? Like, I thought that was hilarious. And I said at the time, it reminds me of Shaquille O'Neal. He's like a larger-than- life guy with a larger than life personality he understands how entertaining

he is and you know I will take the L I will be wrong but man he has been so so fun to watch my number two player has been a surprise is Tony Pollard so I like the signing of

Tony Pollard I didn't I wouldn't say that I loved the signing because I just didn't want the Titans to spend too much money at running back. And I'm a big Tajay Spears guy. I loved what Tajay Spears did last year. And I made a video saying Tajay Spears would be RB1. He isn't. Tony Pollard is. Tony Pollard is the better play right now. And Tony Pollard has been impressive. There's a graph that I've shared on Twitter that goes over basically yards after contact and yards before contact.

The Tennessee Titans running backs are number one in the NFL in yards after contact, but also they have been contacted immediately. Like they're really low in yards before contact, which means that they are being contacted right away. And look, the offensive line has been able to run the ball a little bit, but it hasn't been that great. Like, the run blocking has not been great by any stretch. And those statistics prove it. Those analytics prove it. Yards before contact, the Titans are dead last in the NFL.

Their running backs are being contacted sooner than any other running backs in the NFL. That is scary to see. But yet, you look at yards after contact, and they're way high up there. So, Tony Pollard is running through contact and making something out of nothing, literally, okay? And when we talked about Derrick Henry, and I know everybody's freaking out because Derrick Henry's leading the league in rushing, and he looks great because Derrick Henry's a great player. And I said last year, Derrick Henry is a very good player. He's going to go somewhere else with a better offensive line

and a better offense, and he's going to look good again. But he wasn't a good fit for the Titans because he was not a very good player at getting contacted at the line of scrimmage. Derrick Henry needs to ramp up. He needs an opening. And when he gets that opening, nobody, maybe nobody in NFL history is better than Derrick Henry with an opening. But the Titans weren't giving him any of those openings. So they needed a running back that could play with that contact in the backfield a little bit better,

that was a little bit more shifty. Think about what Tajay Spears did against the Dolphins on the Wildcat snap, where literally the guy is in the backfield five yards deep, and he jukes him out and then gets upfield for five yards and scores a touchdown. Like, Derrick Henry doesn't have that in his bag as much as he did earlier in his career. So the Titans needed a different kind of running back based on the issues that they have on the offensive line. So Tony Pollard has been incredibly impressive for me, So the Titans needed a different kind of running back based on the issues that they have on the offensive line. So Tony Pollard has been incredibly impressive for me,

and it's been a surprise just how good he's been. And finally, Harold Landry. So I am a big fan of Harold Landry. I'm a big Landry defender at the end of the day. But four sacks out of the gate, did not expect to see that. But while we're talking about an edge rusher, the Titans need help on the edge right now, and they worked out some guys who could to see that. But while we're talking about an edge rusher, the Titans need help on the edge right now, and they worked out some guys who could give them that. I'm going to tell you who they are

and why the Titans need to make a move right now. Before I do, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. Hey, Titans fans. Yes, Titans fans, I am talking to you. You can start the second quarter of the season with a big return on FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook.

So, when you get a hunch in the middle of a game, you can check out the latest stats, you can view live play-by-play, and so much more on the same exact page where you place your bets on FanDuel. It's truly an all-encompassing hub of NFL information. And right now, you'll get started with $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet.

That's $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. That's $200 in bonus bets guaranteed when you place your first $5 bet. I really like the over in the Titans game this week, 42.5. I think the game goes over that. If you like that too, make sure that you check out America's number one sportsbook at FanDuel.com. Today's episode is also 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. 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 the world and our place in it. Our sponsor, Hillsdale College, is offering more than 40 free, that's right,

40 free online courses, including Constitution 101, the meaning and history of the Constitution, The Great American Story, A Land of Hope. All 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

slash locked on to enroll. There's no cost and it's easy to get started. That's hillsdale.edu slash locked on to get registered. hillsdale.edu slash locked on to get registered. Hillsdale.edu slash locked on. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about three players who must improve for the Titans.

We talked about three players who have surprised me for the Titans. Now I got to talk about a workout that the Tennessee Titans held this week to potentially get some help on the edge. Before I do, thanks again 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 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.

Check out the Tavondre Sweat film breakdown video I have up on the Tic Tac Titans YouTube channel right now. I'm going to break down all of Harold Landry's four sacks on the channel on Wednesday morning as well, so check that out. But with that being said, the Titans had a workout. They brought in two edge rushers to take a look at. The first one was Shaq Lawson, the second Terrell Lewis. And I want to focus on Shaq Lawson. So Lawson had most of his NFL career with the Buffalo Bills. He's had 26 sacks over eight years.

Lewis is a younger guy who had six sacks in three years. But Shaq Lawson is a guy that I have been talking about for months. We mentioned him when we talked about Carl Lawson, Emmanuel Ogba, Yannick Ngakwe, even back to Bud Dupree. I've been saying since literally June, July, the Titans need another veteran edge rusher. They need it desperately.

Harold Landry, good player. Now, Landry isn't an elite edge rusher like a Miles Garrett, TJ Watt. Man, TJ Watt, 100 sacks. What a career, man. You know, Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa, that type of guy. I wouldn't even say he's on the level of like a Josh Allen Hines or Brian Burns, you know, players like that. But he's a really good edge rusher.

Not elite, but really good. Jeffrey Simmons, Devondre, sweat in the middle, awesome. But Arden Key is not a starting level edge. I've said this so many times. And Arden Key hasn't even been that bad this year. Like, Arden Key has been okay. I wouldn't even say he's been bad. He's been okay.

But it's still, he is a third rusher. Arden Key revived his career with San Francisco and then Jacksonville by being their third rusher, not a starter because he's not a starting level player. And then Jalen Harrell, a seventh

round rookie out of Michigan, is your third edge rusher. And Harrell has been good based on the expectations for a seventh-round rookie. But overall, he struggled out there. Caleb Murphy is not a guy who should be consistently on an NFL roster at this point in his career. He's not getting it done in the pass rush, and that's the only thing that he can do.

Allie Gay, whatever. You know, they just took a chance on somebody else's trash. I think Rashad Weaver would have been a better option than Allie Gay. Not saying either, we're very good. But at some point, the Titans have to look at the problem here. And they can't force turnovers on defense because they aren't getting pressure on the quarterback. The secondary is doing a good job.

But they can't get pressure on the quarterback. And when you don't get pressure on the quarterback, you don't force turnovers. Now, here's another reality that we have to talk about. Shaq Lawson isn't going to be a starter. It's too late for that. This is the same thing I said to you about right tackle last week. Everybody, oh, the Titans need to go make a move.

They need to bring in this guy. They need to get this guy off a practice squad. You're not going to solve starting right tackle or starting edge rusher in October unless you make like some kind of big trade. But the Titans shouldn't be doing that at 1-3. That doesn't make any sense to give up draft capital. So, I'm trying to tell you guys,

I think the Titans do need to bring in Shaq Lawson. But it's because he can play over Jalen Harrell on passing downs. He can play over Caleb Murphy on passing downs when the Titans start to rotate their defensive line in the middle of games. But you're not going to solve the Arden Key problem, and you're not going to solve the Nicholas Petit Ferrer problem in October. It reminds me of Billy Madison. October. Like, for real, you're just not, Reminds me of Billy Madison. October.

Like, for real, you're just not, you know? And at the end of the day, it's frustrating that Rancarthon didn't address these needs. But at the same time, we knew that everything couldn't be fixed this offseason. We knew that they wouldn't go from, you know, one of the worst rosters in the league to one of the best rosters in the league. That's not going to happen overnight.

So, I guess it's just a reality that we have to accept, but people need to be realistic here. I want the Titans to bring in Shaq Lawson. Let's go ahead and sign him and give him a chance just to rush the passer. But it's not going to be to start over Arden Key. That's not what Shaq Lawson is going to be brought in to do. So with that being said, though, that is going to do it for me today, folks. Check out the film breakdowns

over at the Tic Tac Titans YouTube channel. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow with Crossover Thursday with Locked On Colts. That's going to do it for me today, folks. Thumbs up on the video. Tighten up down in the chat. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked On

Titans.