Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans, Will Levis Pass Preseason Test, T'Vondre Sweat BIG IMPACT & Roster Spots Wrong

Episode Date: August 25, 2024

The Tennessee Titans won their final preseason game of the year 30-27 and it was a great night for the offensive units. Most notably from Will Levis and company who didn't see the Saints starting defense, but passed their final test with flying colors. On defense, T'Vondre Sweat made a big impact early on even without most of his starting teammates flanking him. Finally, there are some player who were fantastic or not so great in this final game and it is making Tyler reconsider some of his roster predictions.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!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.5-Hour EnergyGo to 5hourenergy.com and use promo code LOCKEDONFB to receive 20% off your order. This offer is only valid until September 30th on one order and cannot be used with other promotions. The code is not good on subscription orders. Go to 5hourenergy.com today!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 go undefeated in the preseason after a win over the Saints. But more importantly, Will Levis and the offense look fantastic. I'll break down the Titans' final preseason win on today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. 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 the Locked On Titans podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Now through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5

and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on to get started. The Tennessee Titans go undefeated in the preseason, and they scored 30 points in a 30-27 win over the New Orleans Saints. Yes, the Saints played their backups most of the time, but the Titans passed a very important preseason test. We're going to talk about the offense, the defense, also some roster spots that I think I got wrong

in my predictions. Before we get into all of that, 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, roster cut day is Tuesday. Guys, but we got to talk about this game. All right. The offense was just absolutely flawless early on. Just absolutely flawless. I mean, the way that Brian Callahan was calling this offense,

cutting up the Saints defense. And look, let's just address the elephant in the room right out of the gate before we get into the actual performances. Yes, the Saints played their backups. The Saints did not play their starters for the most part. There were some starters on the offensive line out there, okay, but the Saints didn't play their starters. But what's more important is the Titans look the way that they should have looked. Yes, they're playing against the Saints backups. Well, you know what they should look like against the Saints backups?

Exactly what we saw tonight. That is what it's supposed to look like when your first string offense goes against a backup defense. So, people could come on and tell you when you get excited about the performance, and say, oh, the Saints played their backups. Yes, but that's how it should look

when you have starters going against backups. So I just want to say that first and foremost. Will Levis. 7 for 8. 118 yards. An 18.8 passer rating. Excuse me. Will Levis, among quarterbacks with at least 10 throws,

had the highest yards per attempt of any quarterback in the preseason. He looked composed. He looked calm in the pocket. His feet were looked calm in the pocket. His feet were so calm in the pocket. All right. Connected with Calvin Ridley on a big explosive play. Ridley had two catches for 39 yards. Huge seeing that connection in real time.

Tyler Boyd as well on a deep out route one catch for 22 yards. The Titans offense flew up and down the field until Brian Callahan called that reverse to Jaquan Jackson. They got him in second and 15. I think that it was. I also want to point out that Tony Pollard looked good. I mean, seven touches, 44 yards, six yards per touch. More than six yards per touch, really.

Had the touchdown as well. Tony Pollard has looked excellent. Okay? And it wasn't just the first string offense. Mason Rudolph looked awesome. 11 for 15, 114 yards, a 94.9 rating. Did you see Mason Rudolph moving through the pocket? I mean, Mason Rudolph has just been money throughout the preseason,

money throughout training camp, good on third downs especially. Mason Rudolph was great. Good on third downs especially. Mason Rudolph was great. Connected with David Martin Robinson multiple times. David Martin Robinson had four catches for 45 yards. He had the most catches and most yards of anybody in the preseason for the Titans. That guy's got to make the team.

Period. And then you go to the third string. Malik Willis was cooking. Malik had three completions on four attempts. So didn't really throw the ball a ton. But two of his throws were touchdowns. What a beautiful ball by Malik Willis to Bryce Oliver on the deep pass. What a beautiful ball.

Dropped it right in the bucket and then fired it home on the slant to win the game and score the Titans 30 points. I mean, you got to love to see that. You got every single quarterback in every version of the offense was able to put up points and score. And the Titans scored 30 points. It's just the preseason, folks, but I don't care.

It feels good. It feels good to see, looking at the scoreboard, and see a three in front of the Titans score. Okay? So, Bryce Oliver and the Malik Willis connection, unbelievable. I mean, they are third string dynamos, okay? Oliver had three catches, 62 yards, two touchdowns. That connection looks great. So every version of the offense looked awesome,

which brings me back to my final point. Brian Callahan was in his bag tonight. Did you see what Brian Callahan did early in that game? We got two plays of jumbo package where they had John Ajuku and Daniel Brunskill in his extra lineman. Jumbo package. All right. We got a nasty tight end screen to Nick Vanette. We got a nasty running back screen to Tony Pollard. We got a fake toss into a play action boot from Will Levis. We got jet motion with Calvin Ridley, multiple plays of Ridley going in motion,

in jet motion behind the line of scrimmage. We got crossing routes going wide open, wide open crossing routes. I mean, we got a little bit of everything from Brian Callahan today. And I think he did it on purpose. Callahan wanted to put some of this stuff on tape so that the Bears have to think about it.

And the Bears have to game plan for it. The Bears are going to have to worry about that screen game. And they're going to be going into the game telling their pass rush, watch out for the screens. Watch out for the screens. And what does that do? It slows the pass rush down watch out for the screens. Watch out for the screens. And what does that do? It slows the pass rush down just a little bit. So look, Will Levis played great.

Mason Rudolph played great. Malik Willis played great. And to me, all of that together is more of a compliment to Brian Callahan. Because whether it be preseason or not, seeing the Titans offense score 30 points in a game and every single quarterback and first string, second string, third string all put up points and have success and move the ball down the field and look good. That, that is Brian Callahan.

So, very encouraged about the first team offense. But I'm just, my big thought here is Brian Callahan is absolutely cooking. And he is ready for the regular season. But we need to give some credit to the defense, the special teams, and also the offensive line. So, we got to talk about everything outside the offense and the quarterback play. Also, I got to tell you guys, there are some roster predictions that I made that I don't feel so good about right now. So I'm going to go through those

at the end of the show as well. So much to discuss before we get into it. as well. So much to discuss before we get into it. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by eBay Motors. Passion. Drive. Patience. The formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak performance. Superchargers, roof racks, exhaust kits, LED headlights, and more. Whether you're into speed, power, or style,

eBay Motors has you covered. With over 122 million parts, for your number one ride or die, you'll always find exactly what you're looking for. And with eBay Guaranteed Fit, your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors, you're burning rubber, not cash.

With all the parts you need at the prices you want, it's easy to make your car the MVP. Keep your ride or die alive at ebaymotors.com. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply. eBay guaranteed fit only available to U.S. customers. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast,

breaking down the Tennessee Titans win over the New Orleans Saints, 30-27, the final preseason game of the year. Brian Callahan goes undefeated in his first preseason as Tennessee Titans head coach. We talked about the offense and the performance of all three quarterbacks and why that's such a great reflection on Brian Callahan himself. But now I want to talk about some other aspects of the game, including the Titans defense. They had a much better showing in this game than they did in the first game of the preseason.

Before we get into all of that, though, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. For your second listen, check out Locked on Fantasy Football. It's that time of the year, folks. You want to get the best daily insights, the best fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Check out Locked on Fantasy Football, part of the Locked on Podcast. Network your team every day. So we talked about the quarterbacks and my overall feelings about Brian Callahan and just what he was drawing up on offense.

It was a beautiful sight to see. But we got to talk about the defense and specifically to Von Dre Sweat. So the Titans' first team defense only played maybe 10 to 12 plays. I got to double check the snap counts. I'm just going off the top of my head. It seemed like a drive, maybe a drive and a half. Maybe two drives total. But Tavondre Sweat.

Much better game than week one against San Francisco. Much better game. On the very first drive, two different, I would say, he didn't get, I think he may have got a tackle on the first one. But more importantly, two run disruptions is what I will call it. Think about that as a sack,

or that as a statistic. Two run disruptions for Tavondre Sweat pushing his assignment back into the backfield and busting up a run. So I'll call it two disruptions for Sweat. And then of course, where Tavondre Sweat can really be special, the next step for Sweat,

if he wants to be special, is in the pass rush. And he had a nice move on an interior offensive lineman, got pressure up the middle on Saints quarterback, I think it was Jake Hainer at the time. Hainer rolls out to get away from Sweat, throws a bad pass on third down, incomplete, forces a punt. It's literally Tavondre Sweat winning in the pass rush that forced that incompletion and forced that punt. So, whereas I thought he had a forgettable

week one. People say, oh, he got double teamed this month. I didn't think it was a great performance in week one, quite honestly. But the way that Sweat performed in this game, he made some impact plays. That's why I would say he made three impact plays. The two run disruptions,

and then the pressure to force the incompletion. So that is what you want to see in that first game in the preseason. All of the hype that we had heard about to Vondre sweat and training camp had not did not translate to the game. We didn't see him really make any impact plays in that game, but we did here. So that is exactly what you want. Again, it's against backups. It doesn't mean that Sweat's going to be a Hall of Famer, but he passed the test. That's what I said about the first string offense.

Yes, the Saints backups played, but the Titans passed the test. They looked how they should have looked against the backups. And Tavondre Sweat looked how we expected him to look from training camp reports. So again, doesn't mean anything for the regular season. But they passed the test of what it should look like. It wasn't just Tavondre Sweat too. I thought Kenneth Murray was good in this game.

Again, no highlight plays for Kenneth Murray. He had two tackles, but I thought he was solid in pass coverage. He was right there on his assignment when he needed to be. I thought he got into the backfield and disrupted just a little bit. He didn't play a ton, so it's just a little, but I did notice Kenneth Murray quite a bit. Also worth noting once again, no Jeffrey Simmons,

no Harold Landry, no Quandre Diggs. He may have played. I didn't see him out there. No Jamal Adams, no LeJarius Sneed, no Chido Owuze. So without all of those guys, I've said on Friday's preview show,

even with those guys, I've said on Friday's preview show, even with those guys out, I still want to see this Titans defense hold up their end of the bargain. I still want to see them play well. And they did. They held the Saints to zero points in the first quarter. So, that's doing the job. And without, you know, six of your starting players, or maybe not Jamal Adams' starter or whatever,

but six of your top 12 players on defense, the Titans still handled business. That's what you want to see. So moving away from the defense, I wanted to take a moment. I wanted to really focus on the quarterbacks and Brian Callahan. Let's just talk about the offensive line. The Titans' offensive line was great.

Oh, thanks, Max. You guys see that? Surf on that wave, man. All jokes aside, the Titans' offensive line held it down. I know Peter Skowronski got one holding call, but man, J.C. Latham was in total control. I thought the right side of the offensive line,

Dylan Radins and Nicholas Petit-Ferrer held up very well. Will Levis had time. I don't recall a major pressure on the Titans while Will Levis was in the game. Now, the second string offensive line and the third string offensive line, they had their own struggles at moments. But the first string offensive line,

they were playing ball, man. I think the Titans are going to be able to run the football this year. Like, I really do. Got to give a shout out to my guy, Adam. He said it on Twitter, and I agree with him. I think the Titans rushing offense will be better this year even without Derrick Henry because the offensive line is better

and I think the scheme will be more diverse and more intelligent at the end of the day. So, got to give credit to the offensive line. And finally, we hit defense. We hit O-line.

Ryan Stonehouse, the stone man, Stoney, back in action, booming punts. He kicked a 53-yard punt. Had two punts. Averaged 43.5 yards. One of them was a short one.

And the big thing that Stonehouse was working on last year is not just his distance. We know that Stonehouse can boom a punt. It's his accuracy. And on those short ones. And the Titans intentionally, it wasn't Malik Willis' fault. The Titans

intentionally took a delay of game so that they could back it up five yards and then punt so that Ryan Stonehouse could get a punt. So that wasn't on Malik Willis. I saw some people say, you know, operation issues. No, they took the delay game on purpose

to give themselves five yards of cushion. And Stonehouse pinned him right on the nine-yard line. So, two punts, one inside the 20, the one that he didn't need to directional punt, he blasted at 53 yards. Stonehouse is back. All right. And hey, Braden Narveson was really good again.

Again, guys, Narveson's not making the team. They've already announced it. I think that Callahan should be more open-minded. I hope they get him back on the practice squad. But I think putting him out there for that 58-yarder, they want Narveson to make somebody else's roster. They like the kid and they want the kid to get a chance, but they know it's not

going to be with them. So that's my last overall point on special teams. So we've talked offense, we've talked quarterbacks, we've talked defense, offensive line, special teams. Now I just want to talk about some of the roster predictions

that I made for my 53-man roster that I think I might have got wrong. I think I might have got them wrong. So, we'll talk about those now. Before we do, do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook. You've heard me talk a lot about FanDuel because, I mean, it's America's number one sportsbook. Well, I have something a little different for you.

Now, through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Then, with a YouTube TV base plan, you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out-of-market game. All you need is a Google account and a current form of payment, and you can cancel at any time. Again, all you got to do is bet $5, and you're going to get a three-week free trial. And if you want to bet that $5 on, say, Titans plus four and a half week one,

I'm just saying, I'm just saying, make sure that you visit fanduel.com slash locked on to download America's number one sportsbook. Titans fans, let's cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Breaking down the Tennessee Titans' third preseason game of the year. It's a win. They go undefeated. They score 30 points.

It's just preseason, but it was still a lot of fun to watch. Talked about the offense, the quarterbacks, Brian Callahan, the O-line, the defense, the special teams. Now I want to move away from, well, it's not really fair to say we're moving away from the game because a lot of my analysis is going to be, you know, from the game. But I think that there are some roster spots I got wrong on my 53-man roster prediction. And I just want to talk about them and what I saw tonight. Before I do, I do want to thank you again for making Locked on Titans your first listen.

Remember, cut down day is on Tuesday. I'm going to be talking about roster decisions tomorrow. I'm going to be breaking down the roster cut news. We should actually get some cuts tomorrow, I would imagine. As for your second listen though, make sure you check out Locked On Fantasy Football. Again, you get the best daily insights,

the best fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. It's part of the Locked On Podcast. Network your team every day. All right. So we'll start with Malik Willis. Malik looked good tonight. Now, I'm going to say this because I already have a plethora of people tagging me saying, Oh, what about Malik now?

Well, he did exactly what he did last week. He cut up the third string. And he was clearly the third string quarterback. Look, Malik Willis looked good out there. I'm not going to say that he didn't. But Mason Rudolph is better.

And Mason Rudolph played really well too. And the people out there who think Malik Willis is better than Will Levis, well, not only do you not know football, but I'm actually worried about like your cognitive state, if that's really what you think. So anyways, other than all that, Malik played well. And I think that based on the way that he played tonight or today, Malik played well.

And I think that based on the way that he played tonight, or today, there is a, I feel like before this game, I thought that there was like a 33% chance that Malik Willis would make the roster. In my mind, I didn't think that he would. But there's a chance. There's always a chance of anything happening. You never know.

But now I would say it's truly 50-50. Like, I wouldn't be shocked if he made the roster. And if you asked me last week, I might have told you that I would be shocked if he made the roster. So, Malik Willis, I would say that this game may have been the most quarterback-y performance by Will Levis or by Malik Willis

that we've seen. He was getting rid of the ball, threw it down the field, orchestrated drives. They had a great plan for him using his legs as well and a couple design runs. So, I'm not willing to

change my prediction, but I'm acknowledging that there's a better chance that Malik Willis makes this roster now than there was before this performance. I think he helped himself is my overall point, is he helped himself big. And I think that he'll definitely get an opportunity with another team, maybe

not as a backup, but somebody else would pick him up if the Titans let him go. That's for sure. Now, there are other quarterbacks out there I think could be QB3 for the Titans, and I wouldn't really lose a lot of sleep about losing Malik, but, you know, just saying. I think he helped himself. Also, on the other side,

I was pretty convinced that Hassan Haskins was going to make the roster. And a lot of people were like, oh, Hassan Haskins didn't get carries until after everybody. Well, yeah, because I've been telling you guys all season, Hassan Haskins is not a running back. He's a special teams player. He's a special teams only player.

He can pass protect a little bit. Even maybe catch the ball out of the backfield. But he doesn't have any juice when he runs. He doesn't have any wiggle. You're never going to give him the ball. That is why I said I think that Chestnut and Haskins make the roster. And then Jabari Small would be a good fit for the Titans practice squad. Because Chestnut is better than Jabari Small.

And the Titans don't need four running backs that run the ball. That's too many. So you keep Chestnut as your RB3 who can actually be a backup running back, and then you keep Hassan Haskins as your RB4, and he is like a special teams demon. But I'm not as convinced now as I was last week that Haskins will make it. I think the Titans could look in other areas and they could look to keep safeties like Mike Brown, Matthew Jackson, a player like that. They could look to keep those guys. They're obviously going to keep

a ton of linebackers. So the Titans could look and be like, you know what? Why would we keep a fourth? If they want to keep Malik, then they could look at either David Martin Robinson or Hassan Haskins. And I would go with David Martin Robinson there. Which leads me to, I think there is no doubt about it. I had David Martin Robinson on my 53-man roster. So I'm not saying I'm wrong here, so it doesn't necessarily fit.

But I just wanted to... David Martin Robinson is making this team. He has to. He's been too good. Been too good. Okay? So, anyways. So, I think Malik has a better chance to make the 53. I think Haskins has a worse chance to make the 53. I think DMR is certified. Give him a locker. He's in on the 53.

Here's another one that I think I might have gotten wrong. I've been pretty convinced that Jerron Christian would be the primary backup offensive tackle for this team. I am not convinced. I think it's going to be Jalen Duncan. And I am a certified Jalen Duncan non-believer, but he does have a ton of physical talent, and if Bill Callahan has seen enough from Jalen Duncan

to say, hey, we want to keep developing this guy. He's got some talent. I would not be shocked by that. So, whereas I thought Jerron Christian would make the team and be the number one backup tackle, I actually think it's Jalen Duncan now. So, think I might be wrong on that one. Also, one of the big,

you guys know when we get into the real games, I do tighten up, tighten down for the good and the bad performances. If we were do tighten up, tighten down for the good and the bad performances. If we were doing tighten up, tighten down, Rashad Weaver would get a tighten down. Rashad Weaver was so bad in this game. Like, he was getting pancaked a couple of times, was out of position on a rush. He's always been so undisciplined in his rush.

Geesh. I think, like, I didn't have Caleb Murphy making the 53. I had Landry, Key, Harrell, Weaver, and Ray. I'm not right about that. Shane Ray is not making the team. And Caleb Murphy might make the team over Rashad Weaver. But if I had the opportunity, I would change my prediction on that for no Shane Ray and Caleb Murphy instead.

I think it's pretty clear. But more importantly than Murphy or Shane Ray is that Rashad Weaver in year four did not look good. Did not look good. So those are some things. Malik making it. Haskins not look good. Did not look good. So, those are some things. Malik making it. Haskins not making it. Duncan over Christian.

Murphy over Weaver. No Shane Ray. Those are some things that I think I might have gotten wrong. But, we'll probably get some roster cuts on Monday. We'll definitely get roster cuts on Tuesday. And I'll be here to break it all down. Tomorrow I'm going to look at some guys who have been cut by other teams

that could make sense for the Titans as well. So going to look at some of those things on tomorrow's show. But make sure that if you aren't an everydayer you become one. Alright, it's the number one Tennessee Titans podcast in the world for a reason you don't want to miss out. Tighten up in the chat. Thumbs up on the video.

That is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.