Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITANS SQUAD SHOW: Cam Ward EXCITES, Van Jefferson REDEMPTION in preseason finale

Episode Date: August 23, 2025

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward gave the fans a lot to cheer about in his Nissan Stadium debut. We discuss Ward's performance and dive into Van Jefferson's breakout game of the preseason. Plus, we give our takeaways from the preseason finale against the Minnesota Vikings.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Yahoo FantasyPresented by YahooFantasy #YahooPartner. Play Now at yahoofantasy.com/lockedonnflRugiet150,000 men have made the switch →https://Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONNFLUse code LOCKEDONNFL to get 15% off your order!BetterhelpThis episode is sponsored by Betterhelp. Your well-being is worth it. Visit BetterHelp.com/lockedonnfl today to get 10% off your first month. 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.FanDuelRight now, new customers can get $150 in BONUS BETS when your first $5 BET WINS! Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNFL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnfl for 50% off your first year.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)

I'm Julian Minnansohn. The preseason is finally over. Time for some real football. We'll talk about it here next on the Titan Squad Show. I'm Brad Hopkins. They should write a song called Two Weeks to Denver. I can't wait. I know you can't either. We'll talk about it. Titan up. It's the Titans squad. Sponsored by game time. Everything Tennessee Titans every week. Covering all the big hits and game-changing plays from the heart of Music City. The way only the Locked-on Podcast Network can. Squad up. The Titan Squad Show starts now. And welcome to the Titans Squad Show.

The morning after edition of their preseason finale, Titans get the win over the Minnesota Vikings, 23 to 13 in that final preseason game, the only preseason game they played at Nissan Stadium. As you heard off the top, I'm Julian Minnansohn. That's two-time pro bowler Brad Hopkins and Brad preseason is over. Almost time for that real thing. football's coming our way soon.

Yeah, we heard Cam mention that the fact that now that the preseason is in the bag, a full regular season game is on the horizon. And I'm excited to see it. I'm excited to see this next version of Cam Ward that has a game plan that has studied his opponent. I mean, he's already alluded to what a good contest this is going to be against a really style defense in the Mile High City. So I'm just like you, man. I'm ready to see this next evolution of Cam Ward into.

to what's going to be, you know, the face of their franchise, ultimately. And we're going to dive into that and kind of reflect on the preseason as a whole, what we saw on the finale here coming up. This episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NFL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. Good deal. All right, Bhop, I got to say, man, I really like this Cam Ward guy.

You know, I think he's made of the right stuff. I think he's checked more boxes than he hasn't this offseason. Of course, we've talked about like the leadership stuff, right? The 5 a.m. workouts, the, you know, the trash talking with the vets, but then also earning their respect. And then, you know, the results on the field last night, they come up empty on that first drive, but that second drive, you know, they went the length of the field on that one. Is we going to go look at the, was it the final numbers on that drive? Was it a 90-yard drive, eight plus minutes?

Man, it was balanced. He found different receivers. They used the running backs. I mean, what did you make of Cam's performance specifically last night? Last night, he goes three or four, 36 yards, but then leads him to a touchdown. You know, Julian, I like how he overcame some of the things that, you know, obviously weren't going right for him in that first drive. You know, you throw an incompletion, you know, maybe you experienced a little bit of pressure, you know. We saw him escape the pocket.

But for the most part, he just stayed consistent, you know. And I think that one thing that Cali reminded us of was two 15 plus play drives, 15-yard plays in that drive, explosive plays, right? You want to have those. Those are the ones that make the difference. I mean, sure you can dink and dunk and nickel and dime everybody, but at the end of the day, you've got to have explosive plays, like the one that Brandon Allen and Van Jefferson connected on. So while we're talking about, Cam, I understand that. But you should see more of that potential, right? because, you know, that speed on the outside there is one of the reasons why I've made it attractive to bring Bann in here, even though he's on his third team.

He has that capability. He has that track speed, in essence, you know? But for Cam, the thing I noticed most about him was what? No turnovers. Yes. You know what I mean? No turnovers. No fumbles.

No giving it to the defense. So, you know, he's really being cognizant of what his role is, which is to not be a liability on this offense. it's matriculating the ball down the football field in a form that sounds like he's patient, that he's under control, and that he understands exactly where he's going with the ball and what the defense is giving them. Because that's one thing that young quarterbacks tend to forget is that, hey, look, man, you've got to take what the defense gives you. And he's been doing that through the three preseason games that we've seen.

Yeah, not trying to do too much. We've talked about it, I think, on the last show. You mentioned no catastrophic really plays there. Nothing that's going to shoot themselves in the foot like we saw quite a bit last season. I mean, even in that first drive where they came up empty, where he's kind of flushed out of the pocket and then he found a way to get out of bounds, he didn't make a bad situation worse. You don't let, you know, a broken down play turn into a bigger mistake and then you're in a worse situation. Are you kind of surprised that he is that poised and that, I guess,

relaxed and doesn't seem to be moving a million miles a minute out there so soon? No, because you do tend to see it. You tend to see it on those rookie quarterbacks, Julian, that make those strides and excel in Year 1. Do we say that about Jalen Hertz? No. J. and Daniels? No. C.J. Shroud?

No. Patrick Mahomes? No. What's the common thread there? These are great quarterbacks. These are quarterbacks that have a mindset, maybe of confidence, and maybe it's something that they've always had, right? But they're unflappable.

You know what I'm saying? So I think Cam Ward is of that type. You know, I know I'm talking about a bunch of players that have had success. CJ Strz has won the division. You know, Dalyland Hertz has been to the Super Bowl a couple of times. Patrick McHanan, I don't even need to mention Patrick. Jaden Daniels seems like he's on the precipice of being able to do those things consistently, right? Having the Washington commanders be relevant.

And it does seem like that kind of poised, that kind of confidence, that kind of patient, if you will, is one thing. that the cam war definitely possesses so yeah i i wouldn't expect him to to when he was scrambling outside the pocket scanning down field for a player and it ultimately just takes you know takes it out of bounds and not create a play because he's patient up to say look you know what i know that quarterbacks are usually a part of big plays explosive plays but i don't have to make one every single time i'm on the football field and i'm going to go back to will i'm not picking on will right but i'm going to say i think he felt it was his job to make

something happened every single time. Well, you know what? Sometimes nothing's going to happen. And that's a good thing. Yeah. You know what I mean? Because you didn't give the ball up. But I can also understand, like, the sense of urgency that he thought to get that ball out of his hands and to get it into somebody's hands that can make a play. And we saw that be an issue more times than not where it was a mistake to do that. Well, we don't see that here. You know, not yet anyway. Now, we don't have 60 minutes of Cam Ward in a game. You have a, you know, a, you know, a, a pass rush that's geared to befuddle him that's designed to

get those turnovers to trick him into seeing certain things that he may not be seeing seeing ghosts or whatever and you know so it's going to be different once Denver and boy he starts out Julian with a bear of an opportunity. What a test huh? Man, muscles are nothing

to play with man and they're at home you know so we're going to see a probably well obviously the newest version of Cam Ward but we'll see what Cam Ward's made of, the medal he's made of and what happens to that game. Whatever happens in that game, Julian, we're going to exaggerate it.

Whether it was, you know, him beating the Broncos at home, oh my God, we're going to the Super Bowl. Or it's, you know, he got crushed by Denver at home. We're going to be like, this guy sucks. You know, I knew he should have tipped your door, you know, that kind of thing. So, you know, this is what's going to happen.

You mentioned a good point, Bhop, about being okay with doing the boring stuff. And it felt like last year, again, I hate the comparison, the Will, the Cam, comparing the ex-girlfriend to the new girlfriend kind of thing. But, you know, it seemed like Will was never okay with just doing the boring stuff, not making a bad situation worse. And it seems like Cam, Cam is okay with that if it doesn't make a bad situation worse. Ward's preseason numbers 10 of 19, 145 yards, doesn't have a touchdown

but led two touchdown drives in this preseason. And also, like you mentioned, Bhop, no interceptions. As far as between now and that first game, is there anything else you really need to see in these practices? Or is it more of just how he handles the actual game prep? Well, yes and no. There's nothing I need to see because if I can see it, then the Broncos can see it. And at this point, you're trying to put together the type of game plan that you know can get you that first win. and I'm going to say that it's not everything to come out of this winning the first game, but it means a whole heck of a lot.

I think people understanding the circumstances, you're going into Sean Payton's house. He's got a second year quarterback that did really good for himself last year. They've got a compliment of good receivers. And that defense, man, it's going to be hard to stay on the football field. So we understand the challenge. But what I want to see from Cam is just continual growth. you know, the mindset that he is the leader of this team and can lead them to the promised land in essence.

You know what I mean? And that's not a lofty goal, I think, for this team. You can set those kind of goals. I hope they all wrote it down because if you write it down, you're more likely to accomplish it, right? Write down that we want to win the division because winning the division gets you in the playoffs.

You don't have to be the best team in the AFC. You just have to be the best in the division or at least hanging around there to be part of the conversation. I don't think the AFC South is going to feature two teams in the playoffs, like some of these divisions that we've seen. But there definitely is an opportunity. You know, because Houston Texans, even though it might go through Houston, I mean, I don't see them beating the bills, the Ravens, the Chiefs, you know, the Chargers.

So they're in there, but they're like, you know, kind of down on the peg a little bit, which means that, you know, hey, they can think they're beatable. You know what I mean? Especially our track record against Houston. And what that's meant. So this could be a very unique year for us to take a step forward in making a name for ourselves in the AFC South. And it starts with number one.

Exactly. And it's a division where, you know, Bhop, there is a good chance that Cam Ward, if all goes well, ends up being the second best QB in that division by the season end. I mean, this is kind of a proven year for Trevor Lawrence, is it not? And I know, you know, Stroud, Stroud, it's kind of like, can you get back to C.J. strapped from what we saw when he first kind of came into the league and then the cults are obviously in in their uh the debate of the anthony richardson daniel jones hole situation so there's a good chance i mean this division is not at least right now it's

probably the texans if if you made a prediction today but i don't think they have the firm grasp on the division like maybe a lot of people said i think i think you could still maybe maybe in another year or two become the powerhouse if you grow and develop up your players the right way yeah i think c j strout has set the bar julian yeah you know what i mean just with his um his accomplishments so fast you know i mean coming in as a rookie second year wasn't as good but still you know it was the one of the division for going to say um i don't understand why Trevor lawrence isn't getting more pressure because he was the first pick of the draft too yeah and a guy that was i mean came out of clemson i'm not to say that my

I mean, you know, what's up with these ACC quarterbacks coming to the South? Wow, what's up with that? But anyway, the first I make is the fact that Jacksonville has struggled and they're on, well, this is their second coach since he's been there, right? Well, no, no, no, was he there? He was there with your boy from Ohio State. Urban, Urban Meyer. Wasn't he there with Urban?

Urban Meyer, yes. It was Meyer, Peterson, and then now Cohen. Yep, so he's on his third head coach. So something is not jiving, you know? And you'd think that there'd be more pressure on Trevor Lawrence, you know, especially when he came in with such clout, you know. But it's just not the case. But I do think that when you look around,

I think that this team definitely is, you know, we've had our successes against the Jags, you know. And I'm not going to say that Leon Cohen is not putting together a type of team type of culture that has the same kind of mindset that they can win the division. But, hey, you know, this is going to be a great opportunity. I don't expect to have that happen in the first year, but I do expect them at some point in time

to be a legitimate contender for this division, for sure. This year, to me, whoever, between those three teams, whoever kind of goes three and one, you know, I think is, that's a step forward. Because the Titans went 0 and 4 against those two teams. The Colts, I'm talking about the Colts and the Jags last year.

You just can't have that happen. Just can't have that happen one bit. Keep your comments coming, guys. We have a lot of comments already in the church. chat. We'll answer as many questions as you have. This is one that caught my eye here, Courtney Tyree Jones. I'm noticing we're actually getting the ball beyond the first down marker this preseason. We had a lot of passes being thrown below the marker last year. Van had that you mentioned it Bhop, Van had that 17-yard grab from Cam, and then they had the I-O-Manter one for

13. And then the big one to Van from Brandon Allen for 65 for the touchdown. What are you seeing from, I guess, Callahan's office and offense in the way he's utilizing his his uh the personnel that he has protection yeah plain simple quarterback's got time to do their job and Courtney the reason why you're noticing place beyond the first down marker is because the routes can be run that far before the quarterback has to find them as a receiver right he has time to let these routes develop he has time to let his guys go down field whether it's a crossing route or go route you know maybe a sluggo something like that either way he's getting they're getting time in the pocket

they're doing a really good job up front. I'm not going to get ahead of myself and say they've arrived and that this is going to be one of the best offensive lines in the league, but they definitely have improved that position. They're giving the running backs holes to run through, which also helps. I think your ability to run the football sets a tone because if you're manageable down the distances, then you can keep converting first down by using the playbook more expansively because there's not a lot dialed up for third and 15, just not. but when you can stay relatively close to those down distances where you can do a lot in the

playbook and hey that's what it's all about and it starts with the offensive line you know they from not sure we have seen cam have to escape the pocket a couple of times but this is the national football league guys you got four seconds tops and if their receivers haven't gotten open then you're either going to eat it or you're going to run it or you're going to throw it away you know i mean so those are the three options and uh we've seen seen this obviously this preseason the cam is done a great job of protecting the football and you know for the most part the other quarterbacks too i think that um of course tim boyle was the only one that threw picks in the preseason he's no longer here but uh we can definitely see that they've

taken care of the football and part of that is that not being under duress being harassed and kind of goaded into making the mistakes so i think you're starting to see them getting past the first down marker because they have time to do it and we're going to talk to bhop about the offensive line and the running game here in the next segment when the titan squad show returns keep it here and keep your comments coming too because we love that stuff all right this episode is brought to you by better health these days it feels like there's advice for everything cold plunges gratitude journals screen detoxes uh but how do you know what actually works for you with so much information online about mental health and wellness it can be overwhelming to

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That's a lot. Take it out or talk it out, I should say, with Better Help. Our listeners get 10% off their first month, BetterHelp.com slash locked on. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P.com slash locked on. All right, B-Hop, we're back. I wanted to talk about the offensive line with you because it should be in your contract that we talk about at every single show. That is your expertise.

You know, I'd be doing a disservice not to talk about the O line with you. Um, no cushion barrier. Obviously he's coming back, which is a good sign. We didn't see him in the preseason, but he's, he's working his way, ramping his way back up. Didn't see Kevin Zitler either. Um, the vet 14 years. What else do you need to see from that guy? That guy's added a ton of experience of this O line.

But we've seen flashes of what this offensive line can be. It's obviously a priority when you had drafted a young quarterback. And they've done that over these last few seasons by giving Dan Moore, the left tackle, the 80 plus million dollar deal. offseason, bringing in Zitler, having Cushing Barry back, and then using some high draft picks with Skoronsky and J.C. Latham over the last few years. It has, you know, we have seen signs of some good stuff. As far as the offensive line, can they be what I think could be the strength in one of the better position groups of this team, this season? 100%. The investment that

you just laid out there, if you think about it, it's put together to produce some pretty good results. Dan Moore is an experienced left tackle and not the most experienced. I think five years isn't like he's figured everything out. I'm sure there's a lot that he can continue to get better at. And that's why they have Bill Callahan, right? Yeah. To coach him up. Peter Skoransky has been a noticeable improvement every year, you know, since 2023 when he came into the league. Last year, he was working with J.C. Latham. They were trying to create the kind of cohesion that's necessary to be effective. Now they move J.C. over the right,

so he's got to do the same thing, but with another veteran in Kevin Zitler. And the thing is, Kevin has that winning mentality because that's where he comes from. But he also has experienced the suck, if you will, in Detroit, right? Because they were part of some bad years when Dan Camel first got there, but they saw it through.

You know, they made some coaching change, or some quarterback changes. I've done some really good things. So we know that he comes in here with a pedigree of knowing how to win. And I think that, you know, Lloyd Cushenberry, up until the injury last year, was making strides to be the leader up front. He's the guy with his hand on the ball the first. First player to have his hand on the ball, and he answered to the quarterback.

So his job is to basically get the play started, set the wheels in motion. And so I think that now once you see the regular season right on the horizon, all the pieces in play that they've acquired, offseason are going to be there together now. We're going to see Lloyd on the field with Kevin. We haven't seen that yet this preseason. But good thing enough, that they're both veterans that over the course of time, they'll be better.

And I keep going back to that word cohesive. Cohesion means that they understand each other almost inaudibly. They can just look at certain situations that they've seen together, that they've studied together, and recognize how they're going to attack that situation. And they've seen a lot of blitzes and stunts and really good players and, you know, the things that that you need to experience to be an effective, consistent, efficient offensive line. So they got great coaching. I think they got good personnel. And I think at the end of the day, with Callahan's play calling, that will protect them as far as like, hey, let's not do a bunch of stuff that puts us at a disadvantage.

You know what I mean? So I think ultimately they've done the right things in getting the right players. and now they're coaching them up, they're developing them into what they need to be, you know, to be to bolster this offense because that was definitely needed over the past couple seasons. You know what I really like? That there are, it seems that they're on the same page, even though all of them haven't played together in the preseason yet. But they're coming from like different mentalities of where each guy is at in their career.

Zytler's like the old head of the group, the experience guy, so you have that box checked. You have the two young guys in Skoronsky and J.C. Latham who are looking for that next step, that ascension into whatever, you know, year two for J.C. What is this? Year three for Peter, year four for Peter. And then you have Cushenberry, who's healthy coming back from an injury. And then you have Dan Moore, kind of in that prove it year, right? You know, you gave him the 80 plus million dollar contract.

And I think a lot of the talk was, is this guy worth $82 million a year? Yeah, well, yeah. I mean, you know, you think about. a position of need. And I know a lot of the fans were talking about a wholly overpay, but there is such thing in the NFL

as we talked about a bad team tax where you're 3 and 14 a position of need and sometimes that's just the cost of doing business in the NFL, but you're paying the $82 million

to protect Camboards backside, and that's priceless to me. Yeah, and you know, the thing is if you ask people in Steelers camp, they thought the Dan Moore might have been the liability up front for them. And a lot of times, Julian will see a team that understands the value of offensive line play,

they're not going to let those guys get out of the building. They're just not. You know what I mean? I'm not talking about myself specifically in that vein, but I've never experienced free agency. You know, if you think about me and Michael Roos and Taylor LeWan, we basically were the left tackles for this franchise for 30 years if you think about it almost well more than that because obviously started in Houston but there wasn't a lot of change it wasn't a lot of turnover Bruce Matthews played for this team for 19 seasons if they got good offensive line and they tend to keep them and if you're wondering why Pittsburgh made damn more available I hope we don't see I hope we don't see why damn more was available you know what I mean at the end of the day you just got to find that unit that really makes sense that you're a good fit in right and i think at this point at this space of of your

career you know you've gone through high school you've gone through college now you're in the pros you can get better but you're not going to be like night and day better because if you could of what took you so long to do it you know so wow this game may improved here being in this unit hopefully it will you know we just don't want him to be we don't want anyone to view damn more it's expendable because he just really wasn't worth that contract that the Titans signed him to. Well, you know the good thing at least with more there, at least the hope a few years is Peter's had a different guy on that left side for his first few years and each of his first few years. And now you talk about the cohesion piece of this, the idea that Dan is going to be there.

The hope is that Dan is going to be there for years to come. And that left side is set. And then they can have the B-Hop situation where we don't even have to touch that left side anymore. Yeah. Well, let me say this. When this team was at its best and it had its successes, there was a pro bowler up front. Somewhere, somewhere there was a pro bowler up front. You know what I mean? So which one of them is it? Is it going to be Dan? Is it going to be Peter? Is it Lloyd? Kevin, J.C. Which one of these guys is ultimately going to be viewed by his peers as someone that's probably one of the best of your position and when we can say that you can you'll start to see the results on the field because no one's going to pick a dude just because

he's got a good smile they're going to look at they're going to look at him because he's been laying dudes out because he's been playing lights out because he's been doing all the things that bring about attention to an offensive alignment that will warrant him that kind of conversation right so i think ultimately when they decide to throw a pro bowler out on the football field or somebody acknowledges the fact that this unit is pretty consistent they're doing some really good things, then that's when you start to see that translate into the wins and losses. I wanted to kind of get to the next step

of this, and we mentioned it. You mentioned the O line in the first segment, but then the run game two and how that goes hand in hand. One of the best things, I guess, you don't want Tadj Spears out, but we saw what some of the other guys can do. I think we kind of knew a little bit of what Julius can do being on this team already. You got more reps for Kellel. And then honestly, even the back end guys, Mims and Jefferson,

and whether they make the team or not or whether they're auditioning for somebody else. I mean, it seems like the running backs had a pretty good camp, and that was one of the shining stars of the offense throughout training camp so far, Bihab. What did you make of the running backs performance specifically maybe last night, but then as a whole over the course of this preseason? Yeah, I think that by ranking, you know, as far as like starter, backup, you know, RB1, RB2, RB3, whatever else.

RB1 and RB2 already said. Even though Taisier Spears is injured or, you know, obviously trying to get himself healthy for week one, which he's got a couple of weeks to do, we know he's going to be Tony Pollard's backup. And we know that, you know, just by listening to Brian Calhann, that they're probably going to inject him more into the offensive play calling than they did last year, taking some of the workload off of Tony Pollard as they should. Tony's a really good back.

And I think he's, you know, been somebody that we've leaned on as our best offensive player. Taji Spiris has been someone that has been versatile, you know, not only in the run game, but the past game. The unfortunate part is Khalil Mullings. I saw him last night. It looked like he popped his Achilles or something. Did you see that? Yeah. It's, you know, I don't know what happened with that injury and hopefully it's nothing sustainable, you know, but, you know, has Khalil Mollings done enough if he's injured and maybe can't go for, you know, in practice a couple of weeks?

Did he do enough to make the roster? Julius Chestnut. Dude's hurling folks. You know what I mean? I don't know he had that in him. Right. Like a big body. I hear hurling people.

But you know what I mean? So, you know, when you look at just, you know, the competitiveness of that position between Julius. And, of course, even Jordan Mims got some run too last night. You know, it was all right. But I'm just saying, you know, I thought that Khalil Mollings has had done a really good job of stating his case to why he should make this team. You know what I mean? But Julius Chestnut has done some of the same things. Now, Khalil Mullings, the one thing I saw in value with him, Julian, was that he was on special teams.

He made a tackle on kickoff. You know what I mean? So he's out there doing the things, you know, separate from the offense, which we know is obviously his predominant position. Are we going to see Julius Chestnut on teams? You know, we're going to see him covering kicks. Are we going to see him, you know, blocking in the return game? What are we going to see from that? So Khalil might have got him a roster spot just because he does play on special teams.

converted linebacker too convert and a converted linebacker think about that though you know i'm glad you brought that up that means that he has the understanding of both sides of the football you know he understands gap responsibility he understands maybe even how to read the defense and how they're flowing because he was on that side of the football and as a former linebacker you're obviously not adverse to contact to the physicality

to that scrum that pop you know i mean because you're You're bringing it from distance as a linebacker, and you understand how both positions work. So that's an advantage for him. You think Tony Pollard is just seething at the mouth, ready to have those wide open gaps to run through with this offensive line when he comes, when it's all like a full one unit during the regular season? You would only hope that the offensive line with better players in it can have the same kind of success that they had in the preseason, right? And that was exciting to watch, man. We saw explosive plays in the run game. And Tony is probably like running his hands together.

He's like Birdman in the window. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. Whatever that would have to do that boy. Anyway, but then if you think about it, this can be a more balanced offense, too, because while we're not looking at this receiving core is like the best, they are a really good unit.

You know what I mean? And I love what happened with Van Jefferson. Oh, redemption. Redemption. One minute, he's the goat, you know, he dropped the ball, you know, we just cut him, you know what? To this guy having a game, right? He had a game, not just the touchdown run or pass, but even the intermediate stuff that he was catching. Yeah, that 17-yard reception from camp.

Yeah. So he showed you, you know, hey, look, chill out on me. You know what I mean? I'm home. I'm home. I'm with my people's, you know what I mean? And that's probably one of the reason why he had such a cool, good game because he's back in the bill where it all started for him.

Ravenwood product, making good, scoring touchdowns in Nissan Stadium. It doesn't get any better than that. Come on. We're going to talk about Van Jefferson here on the other side and the receiving core as a whole. What do we need to see from them, if anything, before the regular season gets underway here when the Titan Squad Show returns. Keep it here. all right this episode is presented by yahoo fantasy it's the best time of year NFL kickoff is almost here and that means fantasy football season is back in full swing and this year yahoo fantasy is turning things up with a fantasy football experience like never before this year me and the titans squad show are playing on yahoo fantasy and you should too whether you're a first timer or a veteran making your million league i have a work league i have leagues with my buddies and we all use yahoo fantasy we've been using it for years and the updates they're rolling out this month are wild of course in the

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All right, B. Hop, you kind of teased it at the end of that first segment. Van Jefferson, the revenge game. You know, he was crucified after dropping that beautiful pass from Cam Ward against Atlanta, but he makes good on that and does it in front of the home fans to boot. Van Jefferson three catches 102 yards, and then, of course, the 65. yard catch and run from brandon allen there leading the titans to a victory is there a better feeling than when that happens when you know stuff's being talked about you on social media from the fans and then you kind of make good and all make up and hey we're we're okay now well it wasn't a problem

for cam right and actually it wasn't a problem for van yeah it was the fan's expectation of what they wanted to see they didn't want anybody messing up cam ward's potential of being great right so if you drop a ball that we saw from the backside seemed catchable hey man you screwing up our quarterback man get him out of there you know that's that just shows you the level the level of love that they're already starting to have for for cam ward and they don't want anybody screwing it up in other words let's flip it to position um James Brandon James what's his name hold a second looking up his name real quick he's the one of the interior oh he was a center last night they gave up a sack um almost got it Brendan James we got him from the Chargers yeah he got beat

like a drum now imagine him in that lineup and getting Cam Ward sacked a couple times there would be a witch hunt they would like dude are you serious right now you were to get his butt off the field and that's the way they thought about about them when you dropped that ball right then when you show exactly what your potential is and listen to what brian callan said brian said the band's having what a great camp yeah and that was indicative of that last night with the three for three you know what i mean doing doing his thing so ultimately he wasn't listening to the white noise he wasn't listening to our fodder about who he was as a player and how expendable he is and just went out there and did his job you know and he did his job well last night so the thing is

hopefully that's an indicator of what's to come because we know that van jefferson will not be leading this team in receiving because they do have a calvin ward because they are the calvin ward they do have a calvin ridley they're basically the same person they're hand in hand it might be calvin ward we just we just discovered something calvin ward but anyway riddley locket these are experienced guys with success and we would have imagined that you know especially tyler in that slot position he's going to be a favorite for cam right because we know cam likes to get that ball out of his hands we like it like to have it you know jump out of his hands into the receiver so they can do something with it you know the timing will be there Tyler Calvin we show he's shown big play potential in his three for 350 yards in game two I think it was and van shows some explosive play potential there so that's just the starters we haven't even mentioned maybe the role that that chica concoe and gunner helm are going to hold yeah offense right you know and then throwing near the running backs taji coming out of the backfield, Tony Pollard running between the tackles.

There might even be a Julius chest under Khalil Molling siding, a sighting in there at some point in time. So they've got a lot of dudes that can help, Cam can help get things going. So bringing this back to Van, Van can be a nice compliment to a really good receiving core that may be keying in on slowing down Calvin Ridley and then allowing him to make explosive plays because he is getting that single coverage, right? maybe they're rolling the safety over the top to make sure number zero doesn't get an opportunity

and it leaves number 11 wide open out there in a one-on-one, you know what I mean? And maybe that's something that they plan for. Hey, Calvin, they're going to double you over here because they're running that cover four. They're playing off the line a little bit because they know that we're going to run out explosive play here and I'm Keying you.

Oh, but it's to Van Jefferson. Ha-ha, sucker. You know what I'm saying? So that's what can happen. Amar al-Haris says when the Rams won the Super Bowl, he had over 800 yards receiving. So Van definitely has potential, and he showed up last night. He can hit the home run hitter.

Now, your son, Bryson, was teammates with Van. Has he ever talked about Van Jefferson, the professionalism or the kind of player he can be at all? He can't stand him. He said he punched Van into the fight. Now, I'm just kidding. But think about this, they played against each other in school, too. You know what I mean?

Yeah, yeah. In high school, you know? So really good kid. You know, I've always liked him. And obviously, he's got a pedigrate. Pops played. you know what i mean so i think ultimately we don't we don't just sit around and talk about van jefferson's game it just you know van had shown potential and sometimes opportunity kind of

slows that down you know he was on an offense with um with um not only cooper cup but who's the other kid that's puka pukua yeah you know so and of course he goes to pittsburgh or what was it was in pittsburgh yeah yeah i mean they needed some help But either way, you know, he's now got an opportunity here to really make a name for herself. You know what I mean? To be home and be happy. That does play a factor in it when you're comfortable around the place that you grew up and your football roots kind of started and how much that certainly helps get out.

You don't have to get acclimated to a new area and the people and the culture, which does have an impact on the daily life, which does that have an impact maybe on your preparation and things like that. when you were dreaming about being a pro, your hip was on the pillow not that far from the stadium you're playing in. Think about that. If you're lucky enough to play for the team, first of all,

even growing up in a city that has an NFL team, and then you ultimately end up playing for that team, and you're making plays, and you're doing all the things because you know everybody. And guess what? Like Bryson playing in L.A., he didn't have the entire Nashville nation going to L.A. to watch him play, you know what I mean?

But they do here. I mean, think about it. Cam gets to play in front of his high school buddies, you know. I'm sure that there's not that many old Miss fans. I mean, I'm sure that there's some old Miss fans that, you know, live here in Nashville. They got to watch him play when he was, you know, going down into whatever the thing. What's that, the Grove, right? So, you know, there's a lot of familiarity with who Van is as a player before he got to be.

professional. And I think that his comfortability, his familiarity, his understanding of the city itself and how things work here, just make him an easy fit. My question is, Cam made a bold statement recently after

one of the practices that the joint practices in Atlanta, I believe it was, where he said he feels like they have a top five receiving corps. I personally wouldn't go that far. I know a lot of fans that, you know, coming into this training, camp, there are a lot of questions beyond Calvin Ridley, what could Van and Tyler Lockett give

you? What will the rookies, Chim, D.K. and Alec Io Manor look like. And while Bihop, I do not think they're top five receiving corps. To you, have they answered questions from what you've seen, any questions you have from what you've seen this offseason from the receiving core? And what's the weapons around can. You have, you have better clarity on that position group at least? To a degree. In the preseason, you're just asking them to go out there and compete. you know what I mean it's not a real concerted effort because you're not trying to put a bunch on tape that people can start studying about you but let's just see how it looks with the real concerted effort to put together a game plan that takes advantages of the deficiencies on the other side of the football and I think we'll see that I think that you know when you look at Brian Callahan I know that he might not be the most veteran play caller but he has understands and has worked with some very talented players to put them in the right position So I think that you'll see that to be consistent. And then with them trying to attack what they need to, from the opponent's standpoint,

now we'll really start to see exactly what these guys can do. Now, what quarterback wouldn't say that his receiving group is what's that? You know what I mean? Yeah, I don't know. Man, I sure wish I had some better dudes. Yeah, we're going to have the 22nd best receiving core in the league. Yeah, no, no one's going to say it. And what do you think, where do you think you're receiving core ranks?

Oh, they're probably about 17, 18. I mean, I think you'd have do stand in your locker before you got there. Yeah. Like, well, what are you talking about right now? You know, seriously? But I do like the fact that he can confidently say that. Because if you didn't think about it, if you didn't believe that to be true, just don't mention it.

You know what I mean? Yeah. Nobody walked up to you to ask you, hey, where do you think that this receiving core ranks? Because at the end of the day, that might go back to the person that asked that question. What about you asking that question? You think that they're a top five unit? you know versus him coming up there and saying hey look we're going to be a really good offense and it starts with the guys i'm throwing the ball too i think that they're a top

five offense you know receiving court and if you say that you believe that because no one asked you to say that right you put yourself in that position to be to be judged or to be critiqued in what your your assessment of your offensive unit is but there might be some truth to that because calvin really is a dog Tyler locket is a dog you know we'll see van jefferson might have found his home, you know, in three teams. Eleanor, I mean, the guys made some plays, you know, I mean, we're looking at dudes that are really stepping up. Shoot, Bryce Oliver made some plays, you know, with the lead in the second half, with the other group, you know what I mean? So they got dudes that can in rotation

make some plays. And if Cam has time, that's another thing. One thing that affects the receiver's ability to catch the ball is where he catches it, right, where's thrown to him. and any quarterback with time in a national football league can knock a dime off of a, you know, the goalpost anywhere. You know what I mean? Because that's how good they actually are to make it to this level. But the difference is the big body is up front, giving the quarterback the ability to time to do that,

to have an accurate ball come out of his hands, right? To have time, you know, to think about ball placement because he has his receiver open and is making a connection versus him running around automatically under direct. and then throwing some ball at somebody's feet or over their head or, you know, whatever. So it's a combination of things. Combination of things for sure. You know, we keep the comments coming, guys.

We had somebody say, not top five, but it seems serviceable. I would compare them to the commander's wide receiver room last year. I guess. Good, good comparison. Yeah, you know, you have your sure bet number one guy in McLauran and Titans have their sure bet number one guy in Calvin Ridley. Young quarterback, maybe that was the missing piece. Hamas said this offseason, I believe I'm the missing piece to put this team in this

offense over the edge. So I actually kind of like that, a right school, we're there with the comments to keep those comments. What do you think about that, Biham? I love your pronunciation of the names, too. It's like, you know these people with something. That's pretty true. No, that's actually really good.

I mean, that's a great comparison. You got that's Gary Terry that you got throws of money at because the guy has been their most productive receiver since he's been drafted to the commanders, right? and he's seen a number of quarterbacks. There's consistency there. Calvin said a name for himself before you even got to Jacksonville. This dude was making plays as a falcon. You know what I mean?

So he's got that pedigree. And we know Tyler Lockett has been a part of a winning combination when he was up there with DK and they're up there making plays and doing things. So that's a unit that should be respected to say the least. In other words, I don't think there's going to be a secondary that's like, oh, you got this one in the bag. You know what I mean? We got nothing to worry about with these Titans.

You know what I mean? Because at any point in time, somebody can turn something into a house call and make, you know, make good. Real quick, Behobe, you know what I really liked this preseason is that each game, it seems like they featured a different guy. You know, like that first game, it was, it was Calvin Ridley, obviously. He had that drive with Cam where he connected on the three passes. The second game, I know Cam didn't, it wasn't all Cam Ward because he was only two for seven. But you had that I-o-Manner catch. And then, of course, Gunner Helm was featured in the offense quite a bit because he's a receiver now, too.

You know, it may not say receiver on the position group, but he's going to be catching passes. And then yesterday it was Van Jefferson. And so I think that shows, you know, featuring different guys could be a potential of what they could do this season. Well, it doesn't allow defenses to key in on one particular guy, right? He's like, hey, one week is Calvin making plays. next week it's chig or gunner making plays then it's then it's tyler making plays and if you can distribute the football to a number of different receivers then it's easier to you know it's harder for a defensive coordinator to say hey look this is his favorite target this is the guy he goes to

all the time when the play breaks down or even in play calling this guy has been the most productive in other words we don't want to see a huge range of productivity differences in these receivers I don't want to see Calvin Ridley getting 90% of the catches. You know what I mean? I'd like to see him get maybe, you know, 40%. You know, then you have between the other guys. They each get maybe, you know, 10, 15, 20%. That way you're spreading the football around and not giving any true indicators.

Unless Cam and Calvin are having the kind of year where nobody can stop them. You know what I mean? It doesn't matter. I mean, you can try and take Kelsey out of the game, but Patrick's going to find him some point in time, right? That kind of combination. And, you know, there probably are somebody that can be a pacifier for a quarterback like him to just be the guy that he can trust and go to when, when things get hairy, you know. But for the most part, I like to see an even distribution or at least the ability to move the football around and not just key in on one

guy. Absolutely. Okay, we're going to take a quick break and then have one quick final segment before we go for today on the titan squad show returns with myself and b hop on the other side see you then okay so be hop um one of the more intriguing position battles has been that inside linebacker position yeah um with with cedric gray james williams if you ask me at the start of camp i'd probably lean a little bit towards james williams but cedric gray has really come on of late. I think that running back that he leveled out last week is still trying to figure out where he is. And then, you know, and he's made a lot of plays coming on really strong and they really like what he's provided. Last night, Cedric Gray, you know, I think he had, what is it, a couple

tackles last night, something like five tackles last night, right? But then, you know, James Lynch gets in on the quarterback and provides pressure, ball gets up in the air, James Williams comes down with the interception. And Cedric Ray, after the game, talked about the healthy competition between those guys, and they're both going to get opportunities. But where do you stand on it now as we're getting closer and closer to game prep and where these position groups have to get solidified? I understand there is a competition between James and Cedric, but Cedric is leading this team

in tackles, I mean, solo tackles for a reason. Sure, sure. The dude is playing sideline to sideline. He's in the backfield. He's coming on the ball. blitz he is everywhere you know i mean i so and i'm not saying that james isn't making plays i mean hell he came up with um oh we got we got to mention james lynch too in there somewhere yeah yeah the newly acquired guy because that guy was in the backfield he was tipping balls

at the line of scrimmage he's doing that interception yeah yes exactly so let's mention him at some point give him his flowers um but cedric i mean yeah leave this dude kind of giving me shades of of Mr. Monday night, you know what I mean, of Keith, you know what I mean, just coming and bringing it. I think that, you know, he's done a tremendous job this preseason of, you know, stepping out of, I'm not going to see a shadow, because we'll see what Cody Barton is. He just got here, but Cody was making plays too.

Yeah. So if you say that there is, if you say the offensive line was probably an improved position this year, you've got to look at the lineback and core and say, hey, look, man, these dudes can definitely elevate the game of the defense as well because tackling was an issue last year. Staying true to form and gap responsibilities and reading your cues was an issue. A lot of guys getting displaced, you know what I mean, and causing cavities that, you know, otherwise were hard to overcome. You got two massive dudes in Devondry sweat and Jeffrey Simmons in front of you. There should be nobody getting to you. And I can't

imagine when Cedric and Cody and all those guys are on the field. with the big with the with the ones you know what I mean with Sebastian and sweat and Simmons and Keith this is going to be a very formidable defense you know so I can't wait to see how they compete in the conference yeah and you know Jeff Simmons got some action in the game he told Callahan hey I want to play and I think that that says a lot about yeah yeah absolutely somebody Johnny Bucks actually has a comment here James Lynch is a unit it i know you wanted to mention james lynch you bro six four two ninety five bhop that guy's a a load he's

a fridge out there but the thing is and i i know that he's playing against his former teammates which might have given some extra motivation you know yeah or just the fact that he understands how to beat them because he probably went against them in practice every single day you know but he looked good he looked disruptive right he looked if you're going to try and block him one-on-one he's going to win a few of those and get into the back field you know mean so I'm from different places too you know what I mean so I'm not going to sit here and be like I'm like a huge James Lynch fan because this is the first sample size I really got to see of him but this cat you know first off he's he's no slouch you know six years experience so he's been

around and I think this could be a tremendous addition for Tennessee far as depth is concerned I like him absolutely one last thing I wanted to get ask you and get and get to in the show, Bhop, is cut day is on Tuesday. Titans got to cut the roster down from 90 to 53. So that's a huge cut. It's just one

big cut. This, you know, this time in the end of it. Yeah. So, being a player in a locker room when they had a cut day, right, or when we were approaching cut day, from a player's perspective, how stressful is that locker room? Can you feel the tension?

Is it talked about? Is it just kind of not unsaid but understood? What's kind of the feeling in a locker room right now as these guys have no more opportunities before that happens? I'm going to try and sympathize. I understand the question. It's just never been my position. Sure.

I was a 13 pick of the draft. I wasn't going to be, I wouldn't worry about making cut day. That's why I asked about the feeling, you know. I started as a. rookie for 13 seasons so that wasn't my mentality like oh boy I'm worried about getting cut today now having said that I understand how hard these kids work to get a roster spot I understand the dreams that they had you know you look at a guy that's a sixth round pick or a no round pick they're not guaranteed to make the team right so you see them hoping and just wishing and

working hard and doing all the things and when it doesn't work for them it's sad i remember i had a running back his name was spencer george we had and uh really good player i mean just dedicated he just love football and i remember him walking into the locker room with tears in his eyes and he sat down in my locker and it's like they got me be and i felt every bit of his pain because i knew how hard he worked to make this team and when they released him it it crushed him now the silver lining is that there are 31 other teams out there and depending on how well you performed in the preseason it won't be hard for you to find another job matter of fact somebody was in the chat talking about this kid from Seattle um let me go back to him his running back that he felt that we should get

And why would he become available? He become available because the Seahawks cut him. Or he's on their practice squad, which means that anybody can put them to their active roster. You know what I mean? George Alani from Seattle. Yeah. Or Damien Martinez as well. Yeah.

But the point I'm trying to make is, you know, just because it might not work out for you here, it can work out for you someplace else. Sure. Then it is hard. It is hard to obviously put so much effort and blood, sweat, and tears into something. not having it happen for you, but that's how competitive the NFL is. We asked that Julius Chestnut this week, like, what's it like? And he's like, it's stressful. And I asked him after last night, I said, I asked him in the locker room, hey, do you feel like you showed enough?

I think he has. I think Julius Chestnut's going to make this team. But have you showed enough? Do you feel like you showed enough? And he's like, well, there's no more opportunities left. I hope so, whether it's for, and he was candid, whether it's for here or that. somebody else likes what i've done it's a real interesting thing uh in a in a locker room when it's a vulnerable position to be in with the players who their whole lives be hop are

mr so-and-so of football in their that specific day and they've been told their whole lives hey you are the greatest thing and then there's a moment of getting humbled a little bit or realization that hey yeah the call the cards might not fall where they may yeah 100% It's just, you know, 2% of the people make the league. You know what I mean? It's just, and it's a fraternity for a reason because there are millions of kids that dream about being professional football players. And, you know, you see the league has only, what, 2,000 people.

So players. So it just shows you how competitive it is. But there are also other opportunities. So if Julius Chestnut doesn't make this roster, I think he's done a good enough job in his preseason for Jacksonville to pick him up, Indianapolis will pick him up, somebody maybe close that wants to understand a little bit more of the inner workings of our play calling. Yeah, that could be also interesting.

But I just, you know, I like the fact that this kid has done enough on tape. You know, Khalil Mullings has done enough on tape to afford them an opportunity. If not here, someplace else. I think that's a good place to end there. Thank you guys so much for bringing the comments. I think the post game comments are some of the best and the most we've gotten of this show that we started about a month ago. So we thank you guys for tuning in every single.

single week here to the Titan Squad Show. BeHop loves reading all the comments from you guys. I do. I love getting the players' perspective. So thank you guys for doing that. Remember, you can get the Titan Squad show wherever you get your podcast on audio and then here on video live on YouTube as well. But for now, I'm Julian Minnesone.

That's Brandon. Brad Hopkins. Brad Hopkins. I should, yeah, I'm going to go do some laps and pushups now after that one. Thank you. Stop and give me 20. all right guys we'll we'll talk to you guys soon thanks for joining us