Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Titans Most Clutch Players, Sounds of the Titans w/ Adoree' Jackson & Kenny Vaccaro
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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland.
Titans fans, today's Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by Bilt Bar.
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So, Titans fans, last week we did our draft class review series. We went year by year and
covered all of John Robinson's first four draft classes. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to analyze
the 2020 draft class quite yet, only a month and a half out from when they were actually selected.
So we went through John Robinson's first four draft classes and I had an idea to go over his free agent classes as well.
And I also want to give a shout out to Mike Inklon on Twitter who sent me a private message
here and asked if we were going to get into the free agent classes.
And yes, Mike, we will do that.
So this week we are going to do a John Robinson free agency class review series, but I am
going to start that on tomorrow's
show.
So that'll be Tuesday's show that we kick off John Robinson's first free agent class.
And of course, we will do an overview of the class itself, provide grades, talk about some
other options that were on the market at the time, and just review his decisions inside
of free agency.
So excited to get into that later on this week.
But for today's Monday podcast, I wanted to give you guys an update from some audio we
heard from the Titans over the weekend.
We got to hear from some members of the secondary.
Remember, we finished out last week hearing from some members of the offensive line, Taylor
LeJuan and Roger Saffold.
Well, we also heard over the weekend from Kenny Vaccaro and Adoree Jackson.
And with the addition of Anthony Midgett as the new defensive backs coach,
the addition of some key players in the secondary like Jonathan Joseph and Christian Fulton,
and also the loss of someone like Logan Ryan, the play calling being up in the air.
There's just a lot of interesting topics coming out of the secondary.
So we will get the highlights from their press conferences and their conference calls, I guess, to call them more accurately.
We will start off our show, though, by taking a look at some article analysis here.
We got an article from Pro Football Focus over the weekend talking about the most clutch
Performers in the NFL and three Titans ended up on that list
So I'm gonna go over that article with you guys talk about some of the most clutch Titans that we have on the team per
the analytics of
Core so excited to get into that with you before we jump into our free agency class breakdown
throughout the rest of the week.
So a good week of content coming up for you guys.
Make sure that you are subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast on Apple podcast or following
on Spotify, whatever platform you stream your podcast, make sure that you are locked in
to the Locked on Titans podcast as I continue pumping out content for you guys daily throughout the offseason.
Also, make sure you follow me on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans.
We do do our Friday mailbag every single week, so send your questions there.
But with that being said, we have some interesting audio from the Titans secondary, and we also
got to talk about the Titans' most clutch performers from 2019.
Let's get it!
Over the weekend, analytics-based football website Pro Football Focus
released their first ever all-clutch team for the 2019 season.
In an article written by Ben Lindsey, he goes over which players in the NFL were the most
clutch in high-pressure situations.
As defined by Pro Football Focus, high-pressure clutch situations are fourth quarter and overtime
snaps when the game is within one score, so eight points.
Ben Lindsey went over a first-team and a second-team all-clutch, and three Titans appeared on the
list.
The Titan that made first-team all-clutch was edge rusher Harold Landry, and although
Harold Landry had a decline in statistical production at the end of the year, a lot of
that was due to the fact that he didn't have a competent edge rusher on the
other side after the injuries to Cameron Wake, and then teams were able to completely lock
in and focus on Harold Landry.
It is no surprise that Kamalei Correa and somebody like Derek Roberson had good statistical
outputs at the back half of the season once all of that focus finally was turned to Landry after he had nine sacks
at the beginning in the first part of the season.
Ben Lindsey had this to say about Landry's performance
when putting him on first team all clutch.
Quote, Landry also put up grades of 75 or higher against the run and the pass.
A pro football focus favorite coming out of
Boston College, Landry hasn't quite lived up to our expectations in his first two years in the NFL,
but his 87.9 grade in high pressure situations last season could bode well for a corner being
turned in 2020. I think it's fair to say that Harold Landry has met expectations. The thing that I think is most important is what I mentioned earlier.
He did not have a competent partner on the other side to rush,
and that did not allow him to get any kind of single coverage.
Teams were able to focus their entire pass protection plan on taking care of Harold Landry,
and the other edge rushers who rushed opposite of Harold Landry
were able to benefit. Unfortunately, those players just aren't quite talented enough
to really make as big of an impact as the Titans are needing. And we saw them address the edge rush
in the offseason this year, of course, to try to help Harold Landry out. And as for the other two
Tennessee Titans who made the second team all clutchclutch, we have quarterback Ryan Tannehill
and tight end Jonu Smith. Now, after watching all of the games from the 2019 season, it makes sense
that Ryan Tannehill would be on this list in some capacity. When it mattered most, Tannehill was
able to make plays, and that's why hearing people from the media or random fans around the NFL
saying that Derrick Henry carried
the Titans is just completely inaccurate.
Ryan Tannehill made plays when it mattered most for the Titans and was able to lead them
to victory in the most clutch situations.
Also, Jonu Smith, once given the opportunity to be the full-time tight end one, was able
to make major plays for the Titans in the back half of the season, and that should spur
him on to having a fantastic breakout year in 2020.
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We are going to come back and get into the sounds of the Titans,
hear from the Titans members of the secondary,
and Adoree Jackson and Kenny Vaccaro.
We capped last week's shows by hearing from two key members from the Titans offensive line and our sounds of the Titans with Taylor LeJuan and Roger Saffold.
And we will kick off this week's shows by hearing from two key members of the Titans secondary,
cornerback Adory Jackson and then Kenny Vaccaro.
Of course, audio is courtesy of TennesseeTitans.com, but the secondary may be the most interesting
position group on the Titans headed into the 2020 season with the change in position coach,
the change in defensive play calling, the new faces, the key members that have left.
So very, very interesting group indeed.
And it's interesting to hear from these members.
So I want to jump into Adoree Jackson's sound here.
And he starts off the conversation by talking about the differences
of playing inside versus playing outside
because the rumors are, and logically it makes sense as well,
that Adoree Jackson will transfer to the slot
and probably play most of his snaps in there.
But here's what he has to say about that potential.
Pretty much whatever Coach Braves and Midge and everybody think should be handled.
Going into that aspect of if I'm going to be playing more inside the net,
the difference is it's more about being more aware of your surroundings
for what the safeties may have, the linebackers and everything,
because you all play on one accord.
You all are together.
So that's the big difference.
You know, when you're playing corner,
you pretty much don't have to worry about yourself in those aspects.
And playing the nickel is a lot of different assignments,
alignments, and techniques that come into play.
So, you know, being able to go on these virtual meetings and listen in and see the picture
and the virtual classroom and things that we do to help get a better understanding
and knowledge of the role and position just in case if I'm needed.
Obviously, there has been a lot of change in the defensive back room.
You saw Logan Ryan and LaShawn Sims out.
They have introduced Jonathan Joseph, Christian Fulton,
and Chris Jackson as well.
Adoree talks about meeting his new teammates.
For the jumps, J. Joe, I like him a lot.
I remember watching him and seeing him play when he was down in Houston.
I always liked his game, respect his game.
As soon as we signed him, I asked Coach Mitch for his number
just to reach out.
And, you know, I was excited to learn and play with him and be able to develop, you know,
under what he knows and his knowledge because he's played in a similar defense and done great things and been successful.
And Chris, you know, guys, smart, smart player.
I've known him when he was at LSU, chopped it up with him before.
So I'm excited to see, you to see what he will do and how
he will help us because he's a great
player, great talent. And then Chris Jackson,
another guy who's, you know,
I just realized he had a track background, so
that's one of the guys I'm excited
to work with and see how
he plays. And just everybody's going to be able to help
us as a team, collectively, to
be able to get the goal that we want to do
is go to the Super Bowl.
In one of the most important offseason moves for the Titans,
Adoree Jackson's fifth-year option was picked up.
He gives his thoughts.
It's truly a blessing to be able to get that fifth-year option picked up.
Kind of like we're insurance, you know, to believe and you have faith,
what you can bring, what you add to this team. So, you know, I was thankful when I got the call from Rob
and being able to talk to him.
And so that was my first feeling.
You know, I was just excited and smiling and happy.
You know, I love being a part of the Titans and being able to play.
And not just a great receiver, but great people and great players.
So, and then with the responsibility factor,
it's just keeping me all the way up to work every day,
improving and getting better.
It doesn't stop. It doesn't change. Nothing does.
You just got to keep grinding, keep working,
and doing what you're supposed to do out there.
Adoree played really well in 2019 when he was healthy.
What is his assessment of his play in 2019,
and how does he take the next step?
I just kept playing ball.
I understand that things may not have been going the way that I wanted it to,
but never doubting myself or giving up.
You know, staying in faith, having faith in myself and my game
and praying is a big thing.
It's going to be ups and downs.
You know, you don't want the downs to outweigh the ups or the ups to outweigh the downs.
You got to stay level-headed, and that's what I try to remain doing.
I knew that, you know, things will go pan out.
So I didn't beat myself up too much about everything or anything.
You know, I have a great family and friends, you know,
to be on my corner in my area, you know, to keep me positive and uplifted. And that's the great thing, you know, about, you know, I had a great family and friends, you know, to be on my corner in my area, you know, to keep me positive, to help lift it, and that's the great thing, you know, about, you know,
playing ball.
You know, you don't have to say much.
People already know, and so they're just going to try to encourage you
as much as you can.
And, you know, down the stretch, it started to – everything just came into play.
I didn't do anything different, didn't change up anything,
and that's just how it went about.
Just remain the same, understanding that you don't want to, you know,
put too much – you can put pressure on yourself,
good or bad, but I'm not trying to exceed
anyone's expectation but yourself.
I'm not trying to worry about what others may think of you
and how others may perceive and judge you,
but I'm going out there and putting on a lot
for your brothers, the coaches, and yourself.
At the end of the day, just trying to be the best player
you can be
and get better every day.
And that's pretty much what I'm working on and trying to do,
just improving and understanding that everything may not be perfect.
That's what you have to realize.
Playing this game might not be perfect.
You just got to go out there and get the job done.
And then we get another question for Adoree that has to do with playing in the slot.
And I thought this was very interesting.
Of course, referencing Mike Grable's comments earlier in the offseason
talking about the slot position on offense being more of a vertical position
than a horizontal position.
Adoree Jackson talks about that.
I mean, you've seen a lot of changes where, you know,
it depends on what team you're playing.
You know, you go against Atlanta, you might see Julio on the slot,
or Sanu, or different receivers.
You go against Kansas City, you see Tyreek, he may be outside,
or he may be inside.
So it just all has to do with, you know, what the coaches are looking for
and what they use their guys for.
So there's always going to be changes in the game,
whether you might see a smaller guy, faster guy outside,
and a big guy inside, you know, what they might like matching up with.
So, yeah, the game's always changing, always evolving.
You know, coaches are seeing what other coaches are doing well
and utilizing their players and trying to do the same to help their team out.
One thing that has been well-documented about Adoree Jackson
is his track background.
When he was drafted by the Titans, he was mostly considered
a raw cornerback prospect but had elite athletic traits that could help him turn into one of the better corners in the NFL.
Now that the Titans have drafted another track athlete in Chris Jackson, Adoree talks about that.
It just tells me he's explosive from that standpoint.
I understand that he has the speed, he has some technicals.
Play football and run track is two different things.
So if you're able to be able to adjust from just being straight line speed
and have some agility and mobility, I know he did the hurdles,
so I know he has a little, you know, he's coordinated
and can go out there and compete and have fun.
It's not easy to run track.
So for him to do that and then play football,
understand the type of competitor and warrior he is.
As I mentioned earlier in the show,
I think the secondary group is the most interesting position to watch
this Titans offseason as they get back out onto the field.
Of course, we see players have gone in and out,
but also cannot forget the change in position coach.
Anthony Midgett has taken over as the defensive back coach for the Titans,
and then also who will be calling plays on defense is still up in the air.
So Adory talks about meeting Anthony Midgett,
his first interactions with him as the new defensive backs coach,
and then also gives his quick thoughts on what could happen with the play calling
and if that even matters to him.
On Mitch, great guy.
Once he – as soon as he got with the team, called my phone, we text back and forth.
Just a good person in that standpoint, being able to talk to him
and a great coach, being able to teach and help us with the simpler terms
and simpler things just to make sure we're all on the same page.
So, I mean, his downtime has been actually pretty great, you know,
to have because it's more learning, more understanding that you get
and knowledge for the game.
You know, each coach is different.
You know, I appreciate that Coach Carey and now we have Coach Meeves.
So, I'm just excited to see, you know, the things that he brings
and to be able to help my game and the team as well.
And with the play calling, I don't know what's going to go about
and how is that going to be.
But I'm just – I'm looking forward to it.
I'm excited.
You know, at the end of the day, you know, they say whatever call is played,
call.
You just got to go out there and play it to the best of your ability.
You know, we pray that these calling plays,
we understand what he's looking for and what the defense needs
and whoever else is calling is going to be the same way.
I think right now who the defensive play caller will end up being in the season is the most burning question.
That's a real common trope in sports writing, burning questions.
The number one burning question for the Titans is definitely who is going to call defensive plays.
But that is the last of the highlights from Adoree Jackson.
We are going to come back and hear from Kenny Vaccaro.
Safety Kenny Vaccaro has been one of the best pickups of the John Robinson era. It was almost
by accident. Remember Jonathan Ciprian got hurt in the preseason,
in the off season,
and Kenny Vaccaro was signed to take his place.
And since then,
Vaccaro has fit perfectly into the Titans scheme,
but also into the Titans locker room.
And he opens up talking about just all of the changes in the secondary.
I guess I want to start by saying first and foremost,
you know,
it's obviously a huge loss losing a player like Logan Ryan,
a guy that's that smart, you know, how much he did on the field, you know,
just as much off the field. It's obviously, you know,
it hurts to lose him for me because he's a friend, you know,
he's a good friend of mine, but at the same time, you know,
business is business. This is how the league works.
We're fortunate enough to get Christian you know drafted this year and I'm excited about it obviously it's early in the
process you know we're just in virtual meetings so you can't really tell you know but right now
he's doing a great job he's attentive you know he's smart he's doing everything that's asked of him.
In a similar question as the one posed to Adoree Jackson,
Vaccaro gives his thoughts on his 2019 season and how he can make improvements going into 2020.
I thought it was a good season. It had been great.
We made it through bowl. It was good.
We've been watching film these past couple of weeks in our DV meetings and
there's just a lot of things. There's a lot of things we can do better, man.
I think we can, you know,
we have so much more potential that we need to unlock and, you know,
and I think we can get there through, you know, through hard work, you know,
hopefully this, this whole COVID-19 thing ends and we can all get back together
and things can get normal.
But at the same time, it was a good run.
It wasn't a great run.
Obviously, we didn't make the Super Bowl.
We didn't win.
That's the ultimate goal.
That's our goal as a team, and that's that.
Vaccaro also discussed the challenges of working in new guys
into the secondary in the current climate.
It does make it challenging because you don't get those OTA spring football reps,
as you would say, the live reps, the trial and error reps,
the reps that you learn from.
But at the same time, we've had some really, really great meetings,
really detailed meetings.
You can still see everybody, obviously, on the cameras.
It's obviously not the same because you're not getting the physical reps but mentally i think the mental side of it has been even better than
if we were in the classroom um and i don't know why that's just my personal preference maybe because
i'm sitting at you know at my own house in my game room and i get to relax and kind of just you know
talk football but um i think we'll be fine i think we have a great group of you know leaders in the
group um the standard you know is very high and I think everybody wants to make sure they uphold
that standard. Vaccaro was also asked about who could potentially fill the slot role for the
Titans in the upcoming season and I thought his answer was incredibly insightful I actually started thinking
to myself I may you know going over press conferences throughout the regular season
the pre-season all these different conference calls I kind of want to start like a running
total of which reporter asked the best questions or maybe not asked the best question but which
reporter is able to get the most interesting answer on whatever topic
from a player and although he's a divisive figure in Nashville this is a good question
from Paul Kaharski and it got a pretty good answer out of Vaccaro in regards to
how the slot position is working and what he thinks about that role I think the evolution
is sometimes guys are putting their number one receiver in the slot. You know,
do you want to move a guy that plays outside all the time inside the slot to,
you know,
and then you're kind of limited to those main coverages and you may not be
able to run those blitzes and those zone pressures that you usually can run
with a traditional nickel.
If you have a guy that can kind of do both play outside and inside,
then you're not as limited in what you can do. I don't, you know, I get what Braybill's saying.
I think a lot of times teams are looking at matchups
and they're, you know, they're putting their, you know,
their number one guy in the slot for a big percentage of the game.
You know, somebody like Mike Thomas will go to the slot sometimes.
Devontae Adams, you'll see him in the slot.
You see a number of guys try to take advantage of that matchup.
So I definitely can see what Vrabel's talking about there.
Of course, he's referencing what Vrabel is talking about there,
that verticality of the slot position on offense
as opposed to the horizontal nature that we typically think of
when we talk about slot receivers.
So I just thought that was an incredibly insightful answer,
talking about how
everything works together when you're in the slot and you know that's football porn right there to
my ears at least so really enjoyed hearing that from Vaccaro and then also Vaccaro was asked about
calling plays and new defensive back coach Anthony Midgett as well. I mean honestly I don't know
who's going to call the plays I know Rave is going to put us in positions to, you know,
play fast and aggressive.
I really don't.
I haven't asked.
I haven't, you know.
It's sad to see Dean go, one of my favorite coaches, you know,
bar none of all time.
But at the same time, I know Brave is going to,
whoever is going to be calling plays is going to put us in positions to make plays, and that's all I'm worried about.
And, you know, Midge has done a great job.
I mean, obviously we haven't met in person, you know,
cause we're just doing zoom meetings, but, um, from my experience so far,
um, it's been great. You know, he's been, you know,
he's been in the league a while. Um, you know,
obviously coach Coombs came more from college and it's a little different
cause you're trying to fill out players and trying to understand the league
with Midge. He's already been around, you know, NFL players's already been around NFL players and been around NFL secondaries
where you kind of understand how it works.
He already has a good understanding of that.
So it's been smooth.
It's been easy.
I've enjoyed the meetings with him.
He's made them fun, entertaining.
It's been great, honestly.
And then finally,
Vaccaro talks about Jonathan Joseph.
There was a story last week about Jonathan Joseph learning something from Kenny Vaccaro
in one of these meetings, despite him being an aged veteran who's had tons of experience
in the NFL.
So Vaccaro just talks about the process of learning, teaching teammates, and how everybody
kind of has to learn from each other.
We all learn from each other.
No matter how many years you've played in the league, all learn from each other. That's, you know,
no matter how many years you've played in the league,
you never get to a point where you think, you know,
at all you haven't learned something, you know,
JJ has been in the league so long that he's, he knows all the corner stuff.
He's probably learning, you know, he's probably, he probably learned, you know,
a safety technique from me, or, you know, he's starting to learn, you know,
what the linebackers are doing or what the D line is doing. He's when,
anytime you have that, that much experience in the league, you gotta,
you gotta, you know, you got a master's degree.
He's trying to get his doctorate, his PhD. So he's, he's, he's far past,
you know, the studying coverages and the simple things in football.
So he's been very attentive, obviously, you know, great,
great guy to learn from. He's had a lot of success in this league.
I've watched him for years.
One of my favorite corners is he's been in the league I love the
way he plays I'm excited to have him so the way that he talks about Jonathan Joseph trying to
learn about the defensive ends the defensive line the linebackers safety techniques things like that
I think it's pretty obvious that Jonathan Joseph is going to be a coach eventually, and I wouldn't be surprised if,
you know, depending on how long Mike Vrabel was the coach of the Tennessee Titans, hoping that's
quite some time, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Jonathan Joseph at some point added to the
Titans coaching staff. So remember, if there's anybody out there telling you, oh, the Titans
signed Jonathan Joseph, he's going to get, okay, Joseph is a coach. He's an extended coach.
That's it.
He's not going to be expected to play major snaps for the Titans.
He's a coach on the field.
And with this crazy off season, he can help the young guys get up to speed quicker because
of his experience.
So that's something to keep in mind anytime you're talking about Jonathan Joseph and how
his signing is framed.
But that is the end of sounds of the Titans.
I do have to clean up a few things and speak on a few things be before we get
out of here.
I do want to give a shout out to my guy,
Philip Motley.
I missed his question on Friday,
his mailbag question.
So I wanted to answer that here.
Shout out Philip Motley.
He also,
um,
you know,
took advantage of the offer for built Bar using promo code LOCKEDON
to get $10 off his first order and stuff like that. I really, really appreciate it. The show
is free. I don't ask for a lot from you guys, mailbag questions, maybe a simple review here
and there, but for him to go out and do that, I really appreciate it. So he has two different
questions here. I'll start with the football-related question for you guys.
Do you think players this year that have to play in empty stadiums due to current pandemic,
that home games or away games will make a difference anymore since there are no fans
cheering louder for an advantage?
Well, I can tell you one thing from the Titans' perspective, if we're honest with ourselves.
One, it's going to hurt the Titans less on the road just the
tangible crowd noise I mean that is a big factor in certain places think the Titans are going to
play into Denver they have a really good crowd and a really solid fan base and if there are no fans
in the stands in Denver in week one that only can help the Titans offense now on the flip side of
course when the Titans are at home they're not going to get much of that home field advantage either. But one of the big pain points in the
Titans fan base, and one thing that people kind of argue about, and even Vrabel has talked about
and been disappointed in, is the Titans fan base sometimes doesn't necessarily show up to big games.
You know, you think of some of the bigger games throughout the last few years when the Steelers came, the Patriots came, the Eagles came.
Those fan bases kind of took over the stadium, and it seemed like there was a lot of resale going on.
I'm not going to be on here judging how people use their tickets.
If people need the money, I'm not going to be someone here saying,
you have to go to the game that you paid for and can't resell your ticket but I'm just saying if we're honest with ourselves the Titans didn't have the greatest home field
advantage anyway the last few seasons and some of the teams that the Titans play this year have good
home field advantages so if there are no fans in the stands this upcoming season if we're honest
quite frankly we have to say that that's going to help the Titans quite a bit more than hurting the Titans. And then his second question, and I do appreciate
Phillip. He's always asking me non-football questions and I talk football with you guys
all day, but it is cool to get some non-football questions here and there. And he says,
you have said many times that Drake is your favorite rapper, but that you like many genres
of music. So do you like R&B? And if so, who is your favorite rapper, but that you like many genres of music. So do you
like R&B? And if so, who is your favorite artist, old school and new school? Okay. So I love R&B.
Facts. Really, really enjoy R&B. One thing to say is one of the reasons I like Drake so much
is because you get the raw lyricism and the energy of rap music while getting the soulful,
emotional filled R&B style music
that he makes as well.
So it's kind of a total package of what I look for.
But I like old artists such as Keith Sweat was one of my favorites.
Obviously, R. Kelly is a little bit divisive, but if we separate the art from the artist,
I do like a lot of his music.
Usher is a big one for me growing up.
90s baby, growing up in the
early 2000s and things like that. I love Usher. I do enjoy The Weeknd. I enjoy Bruno Mars as well.
I'm sure I'm missing some people who I definitely enjoy. Chris Brown is solid. Once again, you got
to separate the art from the artist there to enjoy his music. But yeah, I would say that that is some of my favorites.
Old school, definitely Keith Sweat. My sister is about 35 years old, and a lot of my music
taste goes back to that. Some female artists, I loved Aaliyah. I really enjoyed TLC. My sister
was such a big TLC fan growing up. So that really shaped, I guess, my music taste. I love
soulful R&B and I love rap music as well. So the total package, in my opinion, is Drake for that.
But yeah, those are some of the R&B artists and groups that I've enjoyed quite a bit. Before we
do get out of here for this Monday show though, I would be neglectful if I didn't at
least say something about what's going on in our country and has taken place over the weekend. If
you guys follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans, I said late last night I'm having a hard time
talking about football right now. It was tough for me to get up, I guess, to do the show and to get
motivated to talk about these football-related things with everything that's so much more
serious going on. I just have to be honest with you guys at every moment in time, as I've always
done. I just stay honest with you guys as best I can I'm in a tough position here
obviously anytime you're in the media
you want to give your thoughts, give your perspective
you guys didn't come here for my political takes
you came to escape and hear about something else
for just 30 minutes out of your day
so I know that in the back of my head
and it creates conflict
because I know that this is an escape from you guys
and I'm a sports
fan who, you know, after looking at the news all day, arguing with different people on social media
about the way things are and everything, it is an escape that you need. I think it's really a
dangerous time even more because we don't have sports or entertainment or any stress release or
any pressure release, any kind of outlet
whatsoever right now to kind of mellow anybody out or take off the edge or anything like that.
And that's why in my head, I'm like, hey, I need to give you guys a show that's about sports.
Let this be an escape. But if I had a platform and said absolutely nothing, I would be embarrassed with myself at the end of the day
as well. So what I want to say, how vocal I want to be and all of that is one thing. But I think
what's important now is to put out a message that is right for everyone. My intent is not to offend
anybody whatsoever. I know that that's really, really easy to do nowadays. No matter what
people will say that you're picking a side, they'll feel like you're not on their side,
which could affect how you guys listen to my show. If you want to, it's just a touchy and
sensitive thing. But what I came down to when I sat here in front of my computer and in front of my microphone trying to think of what to say, and I'm sorry, it does make me emotional looking at everything and the way things are.
We just have to change.
We have to change.
Something has to change.
Things have to change. about the riots, the police, the looting, just everything, regardless of how you feel about that,
I think all of us, every single person in our country right now, should be able to sit down
and agree that something has to change, and we can't just continue in this pattern that we're in right now.
We can't.
And I have very strong takes on this.
I don't add listeners to my personal Facebook just because I have to have some sort of outlet
where I can say things that I don't think I should say to a national audience, quite
frankly.
I'm not comfortable enough with that yet being so early in my career here doing this. I hope you guys can understand that.
But I think every single person listening to this right now and every single person across
the country can admit we cannot continue with the way things are. We can't just let this go
and then just go back to normal. It's just, that's not good for our country. I mean,
we all have to live here. We have to make this better. I guess that's what I want my message to
be is I'm not going to sit here and argue about the method or sit here and preach about what I
think is the right way to create that change. But I think if we all start by uniting under the fact that we have to change
things, things have to change in this country, how big of a change, how little of a change,
all that, like I said, that's where people get into disagreements, and I'm not going
to wade into that.
I don't have the time.
That's not what you came for, but I will say, and I think everyone listening, every person across this country,
I think we can all unite in the sense that things have to change. Things have to be different.
And the people out there that are hurting right now, just know that I'm with you. And I'm sorry
that things are this way. I'm a history buff outside of sports. I love history, world history,
something I was raised on. My father is a huge history buff. And for me, as a person who knows
history and paid attention so much in history class, I'm terrified by the things that I see
on my screen, by the things that I see on social media. And while there's good everywhere
and there's bad everywhere, that's a fact. There's good and there's bad in all walks of life.
Things have to change. They have to change now. And until we have change,
this country isn't necessarily the country that we all want it to be.
So I'm going to get off my soapbox here.
Like I said, if this upsets you, if I've offended you by these really vague comments,
then I'm sorry.
I don't want to offend anybody.
But quite frankly, if you're okay with the way things are right now and you don't
want to see any change and you think that we should just go back to living like normal
after this calms down, um, I'm sorry.
I just can't agree with that.
I can't, we have to change things.
Um, you know, feel free to DM me if you want my specific thoughts.
I'll be more than happy to, to politely and respectfully discuss anything with anybody.
But I guess that's what I come down to.
The one underlying message I think that every single person listening to this and every
single person across the country should be able to say, yes, that is the case.
We need to change some things and we need to change them as soon as possible.
So I will leave you guys with that.
The rest of the week, we're going to do our draft class reviews.
It's going to be draft class reviews.
Sorry, I'm a little flustered.
Our free agency reviews.
So really excited to get into that, talk some more football,
and hopefully we have some more positive football news here in the near future
about getting guys back on the field and everything like that.
So I will be with you to report that every step of the way.
Mostly, I just hope everyone be safe.
Love anybody you can.
Love everyone possible, even if it's hard.
But also, make sure you stand up for what you believe in at the same time.
So, tough times.
Very tough times.
I'm 29, and I can't remember a year like this in the history of my
life. It's like every bad thing that's ever happened in America is happening in 2020. So
I just hope everyone stays safe. I love all you guys. I appreciate all the support. It means so
much to me all the time. And I just hope everyone is safe. Mostly that's what I want hope everyone is safe, mostly. That's what I want, is everyone to go home to their families at the end of the day,
and then us to band together to make the change that we need so desperately.
I appreciate you guys for listening to the show.
Once again, if you aren't subscribed, please subscribe so you get those free agency breakdowns
coming later in the week.
Follow me on Twitter, at TicTacTitan.
Send in those mailbag questions.
Start getting them in now.
I appreciate it.
But that is going to do it for me.
Now that you're done with this episode of the Locked on Titans podcast,
you should go check out the Locked on NFL podcast.
The national show is great.
It's never a bad time to take in national news.
I also want to let you guys know that per the network,
I technically can be doing three episodes a week this week, but I'm
not going to do that. Like I said, I think the escape from everything going on is more important
than ever now. And I'm going to be pumping out at least four episodes this week, most likely five,
just to keep things normal for you guys. I apologize that this show came out late. It's
about 2.15 PM Eastern time that I'm wrapping this up. It's about 2.15 p.m. Eastern time
that I'm wrapping this up.
But like I said,
I just struggled throughout the weekend
finding the motivation to get on here
and talk football.
So I appreciate you guys who were patient
and get the show.
I should have the rest of the shows of the week
out normally in the morning,
as you guys expect.
So thank you so much.
Everyone be safe.
I really do care about all of you.
And as always, I am your host
Tyler Rowland and this
was Locked on Titans.