Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Will Levis NEEDS HELP, Keep Caleb Willaims Contained & Game Predictions

Starting point is 00:00:00 I have changed my prediction. The Tennessee Titans will defeat the Chicago Bears. And you'll understand why on today's crossover Thursday 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. This is Locked On Bears, and I'm your host, Loren Cox, alongside Tyler Rowland from Locked On Titans, here bringing you this Crossover Thursday edition of the podcast. Thanks for making Locked On Bears or Locked On Titans your first listen today.

Starting point is 00:00:42 We're part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Our crossover Thursday is presented by PrizePix, the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports. Go to prizepix.com slash locked on NFL and use our promo code locked on NFL to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to get the $50 bonus at PrizePix. Run your game. On the show today, we're going to go through what each team needs to do to win the biggest storylines heading into this matchup.

Starting point is 00:01:15 We'll give some predictions as well and make sure that you are prepared for the start of the regular season with the Tennessee Titans visiting the Chicago Bears. And since you're coming into our home, Tyler, let's start with your Tennessee Titans visiting the Chicago Bears. And since you're coming into our home, Tyler, let's start with your Tennessee Titans. I know on Wednesday, we got the update from head coach Brian Callahan that DeAndre Hopkins is back at practice. Is health the biggest storyline for that side of the ball, or what are you looking for from that crew? Well, first and foremost, Lauren, I have to say,

Starting point is 00:01:41 Chicago is my favorite American city I've ever visited, ever. So while I love the city of Chicago, I'm certainly hoping that they're sad on Sunday. But the biggest storyline for the Titans, it's week one. So really, it's the biggest storyline of the entire season. It's how is Will Levis going to look? Will Levis is really the only thing that matters this season. I don't think the Titans are a title contender this year. So the real win this year for the Titans would be coming out of the season, knowing that Will

Starting point is 00:02:08 Levis is the guy that you want to keep building around. And that'll a microcosm of that will be week one. The Titans need Will Levis to perform on the road in a hostile environment with a fan base. It's going to be super fired up. So for me, it's, it's pretty clear that the big storyline for the Titans on the offensive side of the ball has to be, is Will Levis ready to go? But I will give, you know, a secondary one and say that the offensive line is something to look at. Well, like how much more do you need to see from Will Levis? I mean, I realized he only started nine games last season, but it feels like, you know,

Starting point is 00:02:40 it took nine games of Jordan Love being great for Green Bay to say, all right, here's $50 million. I was not the exact same situation at all, but how much more do you need to see from Will Leveson? What do you need to see from him to put that over the top? Consistency, right? Down-to-down consistency, week-to-week consistency, game-to-game consistency,

Starting point is 00:02:58 because last year he would have these flashes where you see the Miami comeback, his debut against Atlanta. He made some good throws against Pittsburgh. But in those same games, especially like Pittsburgh at the end of the game, he's not reading the defense correctly. Some of the balls are a little bit inaccurate. So it's like we see the flashes of talent from Will Levis. But can he do that consistently?

Starting point is 00:03:20 And the things that the Titans have done in the off season are to help him find that, you know, you bring in Brian Callahan, who was more of a quarterback whisperer, a quarterback guru, the offensive guy compared to Mike Vrabel's defensive guy mentality. And then of course you make improvements on the offensive line and that'll be a big thing. He needs consistency around him as well. So the big story is obviously Will Levis, but the secondary story of that is the consistency around Will Levis because some of the faults that Will Levis has, the turnover worthy throws, the recklessness, I think they were a product of trying to do a little too much because the O-line is so bad, the receivers aren't getting open.

Starting point is 00:03:58 The Titans had one of the worst groups of wide receivers in the NFL last year, generally speaking, but mostly in terms of separation. Like these guys aren't getting open. There's pressure on them immediately because the offensive line is a bottom three unit. So Will Levis needs to be more consistent and hold up his end of the bargain, but he also needs the people around him to do that as well. And I think the coaching staff, the offensive line, the wide receiver group, they should all be improved. So it's all about now, hey, we've improved those things around you. Are you going to improve with them?

Starting point is 00:04:29 That's the biggest story for the Titans overall as a team, but obviously on offense as well. Yeah. I think there's some similarities there for, for the bears and we'll get into the bears here in a little bit, but like, you know, young quarterback who has a history of maybe trying to do too much. Caleb Williams at USC. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:04:44 What do you do? You surround them with a bunch of maybe trying to do too much. Caleb Williams at USC. What do you do? You surround them with a bunch of talented receivers, Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd. It's kind of their big three there. But the question is, can your offensive line take a big enough step forward? Bears are dealing with a lot of the same questions. And then you need your defense on the other side to just not make his job so difficult and not make him have to do so much. So where do you sort of look at this Tennessee Titans defense?

Starting point is 00:05:05 What's your level of confidence in that group transitioning away from a defensive head coach in, in, in Vrabel, but still having a lot of the same talent there. Well, at the end of the day, Mike Vrabel is a better head coach in my opinion, but Denard Wilson, the Titans new defensive coordinator is a better defensive mind. Schematically speaking,

Starting point is 00:05:20 I tried to tell people throughout Vrabel's career, he is not a scheme guy. Like he is someone like John Harbaugh who needs good scheme coordinators around him because he's just a leader of men. So getting away from that, the defense, it's funny you say that the defense needs to help out Chicago's offense a little bit, but for the Titans, it's the exact opposite. Like the defense actually kind of did do their job most weeks last year, and the offense was the one not doing the job. So for the Titans on defense, I would say just keep up that level. But overall, they need to force more turnovers. I mean, the Titans did not get enough takeaways last year.

Starting point is 00:05:55 They were one of the worst teams in the NFL in getting interceptions. When you pay and trade assets to bring in LeJarius Snead, you add Jamal Adams, You add Quandre Diggs. You add Chido Ouzier. Like, these guys have to be able to force turnovers and give the ball back to the offense, and that's going to help the offense as they're brand new and trying to get their feet.

Starting point is 00:06:16 So, for the Titans, to me, on defense, they're going to get pressure on the quarterback with their blitzes and all that. They're trying to create havoc. But can they turn that havoc into turnovers? That's going to be the absolute key for the Titans. I think even more of a key early in the year as the offense is trying to get its feet wet with a new coach and a new system and new players all around the offense.

Starting point is 00:06:40 So I think the defense has to find a way to force turnovers. And for me, that's the big story is can they change that? Because Denard Wilson came from Baltimore where they forced a ton of turnovers last year. That was the name of their game. A lot about defense in the NFL now is not, you know, lockdown 85 bears defense. It's, hey, Ben, don't break. Be good in the red zone for some turnovers. That's how you play defense in the NFL now. So can the Titans do that? I guess we are going to see. Is there a feeling like maybe it'll take a few weeks for the new pieces there?

Starting point is 00:07:14 I mean, new defensive coordinator. You mentioned a few different new pieces in the secondary. LeJarius Sneed, Quandre Diggs, Jamal Adams. They got a rookie on the defensive line as well. They traded for a linebacker. Like, is this going to – I mean, is there a feeling like maybe some patience initially that it won't be, you know, full speed ahead week one, the way that, you know, a team that might've had some, some more, um, consistency though, like the bears, for example, returning

Starting point is 00:07:36 a lot of the same starters, a lot of the same scheme they're expecting defense is going to be great from the start. Will the Titans need a little bit of time to get there? I think so. And I think that goes for both sides of the ball, honestly, because of all the newness on both sides. I think the Titans probably will get off to a little bit of a slow start that might hinder their ability to like make the playoffs. Like I think the Titans are going to be a much better team the back half of the season than they are at the beginning of the season. So I absolutely do think that there's

Starting point is 00:08:02 merit to that. But of course, you know, Chicago's offense can suffer some of those same things. So maybe that gives the Titans defense an even playing field. I will also say, as you know, is what usually in football, the defense is a little ahead of the offenses. Defensive football is just a little more consistent no matter where you're at. It's this coverage. And I know that there are complexities that change from team to team and terminology and different rules for how they play certain things.

Starting point is 00:08:26 But generally speaking, it's easier to find cohesion on defense quicker than it is on offense. So I think that could help the Titans get off to a better start, even if it's not their best version, which we should see later in the year. Yeah, we're definitely not expecting the best version of the Chicago Bears offense to start week one with a rookie quarterback as well. We'll turn our attention to that side of the matchup and what we can expect from Caleb Williams in his debut, the Bears defense feeling very confident. They keep calling themselves, maybe we want to be a top five defense this year. So we'll look at some of the big storylines for Chicago's side of the ball

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Starting point is 00:10:27 It's guaranteed price picks run your game. Continuing our crossover Thursday locked on Titans locked on bears podcast, Lauren Cox and Tyler Roland with you today. And we really appreciate you making this crossover Thursday, your first listen of the day. If you're looking for your second listen, you can't get enough Tyler Rowland. You can check out the new Locked on NFL.

Starting point is 00:10:54 And actually, if you want both of more of both of us, we've co-host the Tuesday edition of the Mad Men, Rowland on Locked on NFL. I know it's now a couple of days ago now, but you can hear Tyler and Tony Wiggins twice, once each, every single day, five days a week on Locked On NFL with local experts, including myself,

Starting point is 00:11:13 from around the Locked On Podcast Network, breaking down the biggest stories in the league across the spectrum here. Find it on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. That's Locked On NFL. But Tyler, let's turn our attention to the Chicago bears here where, I mean, the biggest story is the obvious one, right? I mean, it's, it's Caleb.

Starting point is 00:11:32 What is he going to be able to do in his rookie debut? Like we talked about with, with Will Levis, right? Okay. Give him receivers, give him some upgrades on the offensive line, but that's still, I think where the biggest question is, how consistent can that group be? But it's feeling like this is a team where there's not going to be a lot of excuses left around the quarterback position like there still were for justin fields and mitch trubisky before them like that's what has bears fans and like caleb's going to be different because it's such a better

Starting point is 00:11:57 situation that he's coming into that we'll know right away or maybe not maybe not week one but like we'll know quickly whether or not the goods are not, because you're not going to be able to sit there and go, well, he might be good, but the receivers are bad. Or he might be good, but the offensive line is terrible. It's like, in theory, it should all be good around him, which will tell us just how good he is. New offensive coordinator as well. Well, with that in mind, if you're saying, you know, he's got better around him, better than maybe the other two quarterbacks before had,

Starting point is 00:12:26 what are your expectations in week one for Caleb Williams? Like not, you know, it doesn't have to be stats. Obviously I hate when people go straight to the stats in terms of what they need to see, but like, what do you want to see from Caleb Williams to feel good about his week one debut? Yeah. To me, i'm not i'm trying not to put a lot of stock in

Starting point is 00:12:48 even much of what we've seen week one because i feel like if like vantez he tightens they're gonna be super aggressive hey rookie quarterback like they already want to blitz anyway so i think the bears are i think they're gonna i think they're gonna go extra heavy on like blitz throw a bunch of stuff at him throw the dogs at him over and over again. And so the offense bears will have to respond with to that is not going to be the offense that, you know, that they ideally would run against any other opponent or that, that we're going to see them run over the course of the season.

Starting point is 00:13:19 So I think it's going to be a lot of, you know, getting rid of the ball quickly and, you know, screen passes and just like quick operation to give him answers to the blitz. And that's not going to be representative of like what this offense is generally supposed to look like. So I just need Caleb Williams to take care of the football and, and get the ball into the hands of playmakers. But like, he doesn't have to be the hero who makes the blitzer miss in the pocket, you know, roll out to the left and flick something

Starting point is 00:13:45 downfield and make some hero play, like throw the three-step drop slant route and take the five-yard completion on first down and just move to live to fight another day and lean on your defense to come out and try and hold down the Titans offense. Like he doesn't need to have 300 yards and three touchdowns, right? Like just, just game man for week one. And that's fine. Well, does it concern you at all though? That like, that's not in his nature. He wants to get out of the pocket.

Starting point is 00:14:12 He wants to hold the ball. He wants to, you know, get to the sideline and flick a ball downfield. Does it concern you at all? That may be in this first game, not that he can't get better at that and learn from that, but in this first game, he's just going to kind of rest on his laurels and like what's got him through. And it ultimately could put him in a tougher situation. I kind of like that. The Titans are going to push them in this exact way. Like, I love that, that, like that this, the first start is like the first test this way. Cause I could imagine if he came out against a conservative defense that was just going to sit back,

Starting point is 00:14:44 rush for, and drop back in zone, he might feel inclined to say, all right, like I've got all this time. Let me, let me make a play here. Let me do too much. But like the defense is literally going to force him to be like, listen, Caleb, you have to get rid of the ball or else you're going to get licked, you know, every single time you're dropping back. So like, it's already going to like kind of put the horse blinders on a little bit to say, all right, like blitz is coming, blitz is coming, blitz is coming. I just, I just have to be this style of quarterback that I'm not used to. So then maybe he can kind of find a happy medium somewhere in the middle when they play defenses that aren't going to be so aggressive. Yeah. That, I mean, that makes a lot of sense.

Starting point is 00:15:17 I mean, it's week one, so you would rather him learn his lessons, I guess, even if things don't go well, you would rather him learn those lessons right now than otherwise. Lauren, I do want to shift over to the defensive side of the ball for the Bears because I do have some questions. There are a lot of people who have talked about a good pass rush for the Bears, good edge rush. Obviously, Montez Sweat, very, very good player. But Demarcus Walker is a new player. Austin Booker, who I like, the rookie edge out of very, very good player. But Demarcus Walker is a new player.

Starting point is 00:15:45 Austin Booker, who I like, the rookie edge out of Kansas, very good. You add Daryl Taylor. I would say that they look like they're going to have a good unit, but outside of Montez Sweat, there's no real star power there. So when you hear people talk about the Bears having a good pass rush, what's kind of your confidence level in that statement being true? Yeah, it feels like a lot of hype around that group right now that doesn't have a lot of substance just yet.

Starting point is 00:16:13 And there's reason to be optimistic that, okay, there's a lot of potential there and that as the younger players keep developing and getting better, that they could be good or might be good someday, but that doesn't mean they're going to be great right now and and pass rush is definitely i think i think of as the biggest weakness on this defense for sure like the back seven corner safeties and linebackers really solid really good about that group returning six of those seven guys and the other one was tennessee titans legend kevin byard who i think bears fans are pretty confident in him returning to form and not looking so much like the guy in Philadelphia that was in in a lot of

Starting point is 00:16:48 tough spots there but like it's it's sweat it's DeMarcus Walker and they're you know they're going to rotate Walker in sometimes on the interior and bring in the rookie Booker off the edge and have some nice flashes from him but like they're counting on second year defensive tackle Jervon Dexter their second round pick last year they're counting on him to be their top interior pass rusher. And he had like one and a half sacks last season, I think. Like not big-time production at all because he was a super raw prospect that they needed to rebuild and redo his mechanics from the ground up. But I hear Bears fans talking about like, oh, yeah,

Starting point is 00:17:20 he's going to get eight or ten sacks this season. And I'm like, let's slow down on those expectations for him. Like defensive tackles, especially take a while to really hit their peak in the NFL. So like if he got five this year, I think that's a good year for him, but five is not necessarily enough from your interior pass rush. So when that, everyone's have to blitz more or will they have to rotate different guys around how they manufacture a pass rush is the most interesting story on this bears defense especially to start the year that's funny that you say that because the titans like we were talking like the titans are gonna have to blitz a ton

Starting point is 00:17:53 because i don't think their edge rush group is super good they have jeffrey simmons on the interior but it's funny that both these teams might ultimately have to manufacture that pressure because they can't just get it with their front four. And that may put them in compromised situations on the backend. You would talk about the backend. I really liked the cornerback group, especially Jalen Johnson and Kyler Gordon. Kyler Gordon is like one of those players that every NFL fan should know, but not all of them do.

Starting point is 00:18:19 Is your confidence just super high in that group? Like, like you were saying, because it looks like a pretty good group. Kevin Byard, maybe not the player he was in Tennessee, but still not a terrible player as well. Is your confidence just super high in that group like you were saying because it looks like a pretty good group. Kevin Byard may be not the player he was in Tennessee, but still not a terrible player as well. Yeah, and that's going to be the strength of this defense for sure.

Starting point is 00:18:36 Guys, you can really rely on across the board. The one spot I'm most curious on is Tyreek Stevenson, the other starter on the outside from Jalen Johnson. He was a rookie last season, made a bunch of great interceptions and pass breakups, like was among the leaders of the NFL and interceptions of pass breakups. But also one of the most targeted cornerbacks in football gave up the most yards among cornerbacks football and completion percentage. Like he was boom or bust gave up, gave up some big plays, but also made some huge plays on the ball.

Starting point is 00:19:02 So like looking for that consistency to not have as much of the lesser stuff, but be able to still kind of add the big time playmaking on that end. But when you have a good enough secondary around him, you can get by with a player like that. It's just a matter of can the pass rush get to the quarterback fast enough that they're not covering for five seconds every play, or can they cover long enough that the pass rush can actually get home because they can try and cover for four or five seconds on a play like that relationship and that dynamic

Starting point is 00:19:28 is going to be so critical but this pass rush can't be like worse than it was last season and the and the secondary held up fine so i think there's a certain level of confidence that yeah even if the pass rush struggles this group can still do a lot of good things yeah that makes a lot of sense well Well, let's move our crossover forward here and look at what each team is going to need to do to win this game. And we'll also go through some predictions on what we're expecting out of this Bears-Titans matchup. Stick with us for this Crossover Thursday podcast,

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Starting point is 00:21:41 picks the easiest and most exciting way to play daily fantasy sports go to pricepicks.com slash lockdown nfl and use our promo code locked on nfl to win 50 instantly when you play five dollars prize picks run your game tyler when you look at the three most important things the tennessee titans have to do to win this game. What stands out for you? Well, number one, you have to contain Caleb Williams. You can't let him get outside the pocket. You have to be disciplined in your rush, which is a tough task for Arden Key, who I'm not very high on as a starter for the Titans,

Starting point is 00:22:16 who's their edge rusher. He's an undisciplined player, will get upfield and allow the quarterback open lanes to run. If you let Caleb Williams play make on the outside and get space outside to kind of see the field clearly and not be in the pocket, not have to worry about interior pressure, you're going to be in trouble. He's going to make plays.

Starting point is 00:22:33 He's going to do what he's been doing his whole life. So the Titans have to contain Caleb Williams. Also, they have to run the ball. I think you've got to make it easier on Will Levis in a tough environment with a lot of new pieces and ultimately win the turnover battle. If the Titans lose the turnover battle on the road. They won't win the game. So those are the big three things that I'm looking at. Yeah. I think that's a really quick and easy way to,

Starting point is 00:22:54 to have a winning formula, right? Like don't, you know, win the turnover margin, run the ball, take care of the quarterback and keep the other one contained. I think the bears are going to be looking to do something similar. Like I think and foremost it's about protecting caleb williams from that blitz in particular like make sure you have a plan it's not just do you have enough blockers to pick up their blitzes but sometimes they're going to have more guys than you have blockers so does every single play have a hot route built into it did you have the right checks at the line of scrimmage for caleb williams can you mix in the right combinations of quick throws screen passes maybe draw play to get the pass rushers coming up field like it'll be a nice test of the new bears offensive coordinator shane waldron from

Starting point is 00:23:34 the seattle seahawks like how well can he adapt his game plan based on what they're expecting from an opponent albeit a new opponent where we don't have tape on how this titans defense is exactly going to run so you take the tape of the ravens defense but then the players on the titans and the tape of what those players do well and kind of be a little different you know what i mean like uh denard wilson has mentioned his influences like todd bowles and greg williams these blitz heavy guys and you add that in a little bit of what mike mcdonald was doing last year with the sim pressures and three safety looks and stuff like that. I think the Titans will incorporate all of that, so it is hard to know.

Starting point is 00:24:09 One thing I'll also say is the Titans' best rush is from the interior. It's Jeffrey Simmons. They're going to have linebackers blitzing up the middle. If you allow Caleb Williams to get out of the pocket, that interior rush no longer matters. He's out. He's out of the henhouse. It doesn't matter.

Starting point is 00:24:25 So if the Titans want to be able to capitalize on their best asset on defense, their interior rush, well, they're going to have to make sure that their outside rush is disciplined and doesn't just leave open the back door so Caleb Williams could get out. It's easy. It's that. Flipping it over, we're both talking about it. You got to run the ball. Will Levis cannot be put. I think the Titans have to lean on play action. The sound. I think Chicago is going to be fired up for this game. Like, it is going to be loud, and the Titans have, he can't just look at Calvin Ridley and be like,

Starting point is 00:24:56 oh, we've seen this coverage pre-snap before. We know what we need to do here. We know what the check is. You know, like, that stuff is still going to have to be figured out throughout the season, and it's going to be hard to do verbal communication to do here. We know what the check is. That stuff is still going to have to be figured out throughout the season, and it's going to be hard to do verbal communication to do that stuff. Brian Callahan was already talking about the fact that the Titans have been working on their nonverbal communication. They're going to need that in a big way. So running the ball, I think, is going to keep them out of situations where that's absolutely critical and limit the amount

Starting point is 00:25:23 of verbal communication that they're going to need while they play in a hostile environment that's the one thing about this bears defensive line that stands out too is like we talk about not having a lot of faith in their pass rush the run defense on the other side is something where yeah they don't have the big name talent of guys you might think of as pass rushers but they that group up front is stout and is has been affected especially yeah is is one of the more underrated nose tackles in football but even i mentioned jervon dexter the second year man out of florida like very raw as a pass rusher but he's six five three twelve and moves really well like he is he is he's he's the three technique but he's built like some teams nose tackles like they are

Starting point is 00:26:02 stout in there and they do a good job of keeping the linebackers free to then be able to attack downhill. And I expect the Titans will have some trouble running the ball against this bears offense. Then all right, we'll let us, you know, like you said, they want to see consistency from him in Tennessee.

Starting point is 00:26:15 It's showtime. If you run the ball twice and you have third and eight, all right, go time. Maybe the pass rush isn't going to be all up in your face, but third and eight is not easy to complete on any down and distance. So that's where I think it's going to be a good test for the Titans as well, who the bears are going to stress them in, in the ways that they also need to be tested, much like how Caleb's going to be tested in some of the ways he needs as well.

Starting point is 00:26:36 And turnover battle is pretty self-explanatory. I mean, you, you know, you're on the road, honestly, it doesn't matter what the team you need to try to win the turnover battle. Turnovers are such a big part of football. So I don't think that that needs some kind of deep dive. What's the keys for the Bears side of things? Yeah, I think it's about giving Caleb Williams options under center. I think it's about making Will Levis one-dimensional and making the Titans offense one-dimensional.

Starting point is 00:27:02 But then the other thing I want to throw out there is the special teams aspect of this. the bears need better from their special teams and made it a point this offseason to try and get more out of that unit they drafted the punter tori taylor in the fourth round and it's about really winning the the field position battle here because i think because it's week one because it's new offenses and new players like i think there's going to be some constipation here and there, where it's just like for both teams, where the offense is still trying to figure out exactly what they're going to look like.

Starting point is 00:27:31 And the Titans blitz will stifle some of what the Bears want to do. And maybe the Titans offensive line versus the Bears pass rush, we'll see. But maybe there's some times when they're not on the same page offensively. And so there's some punting back and forth. And certainly the kick return in the field position battle is going to be a big deal the bears have not had the kind of consistency from their return men that they liked bayless jones is going to do kickoffs deandre carter is going to do punts they're hoping that you know not that somebody's going to return a touchdown in this

Starting point is 00:27:56 game but like can you avoid muffing those kicks and just not not absolutely screwing it up and at least being able to like play the battle where if we're exchanging three and outs, is your punter and your return man helping your team at least advance the ball farther down the field so that your young quarterback doesn't have to go as far against a tough defense as the other team's young quarterback? Yeah, that makes a ton of sense, and the Titans have done a lot to try to overhaul their special teams

Starting point is 00:28:24 from a returner standpoint, and the Titans have done a lot to try to overhaul their special teams from a returner standpoint, and then obviously coaching staff and getting Ryan Stonehouse back, who's been considered one of the best punters in the league since his rookie year. That'll help as well. The field position battle will be huge. Lauren, I guess it's time. Predictions?

Starting point is 00:28:39 I got to tell you, Lauren, I came into the episode thinking a certain way. But after our conversation, I got to tell you, I changed my mind here. I had the Titans losing on the road in week one. But after our talks and the way you've described the team and some of the things that you're looking for, my mind started saying, you know, rookie quarterbacks in their debut typically do struggle. And there are some advantages here that the Titans could have. So I'm actually going to

Starting point is 00:29:10 take the Titans to win this game. I'm going to say 20 to 17. I don't blame you. I think this is a game that has a lot of volatility, and we see in week one every year, either direction, the results don't always match up with the rest of the season goes, where the Chiefs will lose in week one, do a bad team, and then obviously win the Super Bowl. I'm not going to end up putting too much stock either way. If the Bears win, it's not going to be me saying, all right, see, the proof of concept, they're going to be great all season.

Starting point is 00:29:41 If the Bears lose, oh, no, they're screwed. It's like, all right, there's a lot of time for things to still figure it out i do think it's going to end up being a lower scoring game i was thinking a score similar to you the bears are four and a half point favorites on fan dual sportsbook right now i think that's a pretty good line you know like i would think that that puts the odds around like a 21 17 type of finish i'm going to go a little bit lower there i'll say say like, I'll say, I'll say 17, 13 bears that it ends up staying close this whole time. But, but both offenses do a little bit more punting than we want to see. And it does become a little bit of an uglier offensive game there, but ultimately the bears find the end zone one more time than Tennessee

Starting point is 00:30:19 does. And maybe it's, I'll say it's a turnover from the spares defense that gives them really good field position. And then they get the X, you you know the go-ahead sort of score comes off of a big turnover from somebody that might not even necessarily be like Will Levis makes a bad throw but it's a batted pass to the line of scrimmage that gets tipped up and picked off because when the Spares pass rush hasn't been getting home there have been a lot of batted passes at training camp practices and preseason as well I think they're going to put one up there up for grabs, and it's up to another player on the defense to take advantage of it, and that can be the difference in this game.

Starting point is 00:30:50 Well, Lauren, I got to tell you, if the Titans only score 13 points and lose to a rookie quarterback in week one, Nashville may burn down. So that is, for a game with that much constipation, it sure sounds crappy. It's week one. It's going to be a little bit crappy for everybody trying to get out of the gate, but what wasn't crappy was this fun crossover Thursday podcast. Tyler,

Starting point is 00:31:12 thank you so much for being a part of it with us. Best of luck this week. And we will hear you each day, five days a week on the locked on NFL podcast. So if you're making locked on bears and locking Titans, your first listen every day, go check out Tyler on locked on NFL for your second listen. You can also hear Tony Wiggins hosting the second daily episode of Locked on NFL here on the Locked on Podcast Network.

Starting point is 00:31:37 We'll both be back with our Friday podcast for you, getting you ready for this matchup and making sure that you have everything you need to know for this game on Sunday. But for Tyler Rowland and Lockdown Titans, I'm Lauren Cox from Lockdown Bears. We'll talk to you again tomorrow.

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