Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITANS SQUAD SHOW: Cam Ward IMPROVE in three CRITICAL areas

Episode Date: July 31, 2026

Training camp is officially underway and all eyes are on second-year quarterback Cam Ward! Head coach Robert Saleh pinpointed three make-or-break areas for Ward’s development: third down efficiency, red zone execution, and the two-minute drill. Plus, we turn our attention to the trenches. Right tackle JC Latham is off the PUP list and back on the field, but does his injury history pose a major threat to Tennessee’s offensive line stability this season? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COM to play Daily Dingers and make your free pick on who’s hitting a homer this MLB season. Square Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at https://square.com/go/lockedonnfl! #squarepod Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast. 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) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Well, the first week of training camp is a lot like the first week of school, and Robert Sala laid out the lesson plan for Cam Ward to be successful. We'll talk about it next. And speaking to Cam Ward, could one of his most reliable weapons this year be actually the man? I'll explain what I'm talking about. Big Jeff and Cam Ward chirping? Say it and so. Titan up.

It's the Titans squad. 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 Titan Squad Show. I'm your host, Julian Minnesone, joined by Kayla Anderson, Brad Hopkins. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandul.

Join all the action at Fanduel.com to play daily dingers and make your free pick on who's hitting a homer this season. And at the time of this recording, the Titans did not have open practice today. It was changed to a walkthrough. But we did see the first two days of practice and they will wrap up their first week tomorrow. And of course, all eyes are on Cam Ward. Robert Sala laid out three critical areas where Cam Ward needs to be successful. Red Zone, third down, and two-minute drill. Here is what Robert Sala and Cam Ward had to say about that.

And then Kayla and Brad, I want to hear your reactions on what you thought of what they had to say and just the practices in general when it comes to when it comes to third down and everyone knows you're about to throw or two minute you got to have it or in the red zone where it gets where everything's sped up and the windows get a lot tighter that's where the quarterback shines and and so that's part of the thing that a lot of the things that he's learning those are downs that quarterbacks get paid the most to be successful at a high rate on those downs and then that's where you know has to click for you you know if it doesn't click on

first down you got to make sure click on second to third down. So, you know, just got to have an awareness of situation football. Kayla, is that where Cam's going to make his money ultimately? I think it's where he probably needs to. I think that Cam's a smart player. I think we all know that. I think he's a player that's going to work as much as he can to get it right. If you saw quarterback, you knew how much film this young man dissects, how serious he takes the game. and so when it comes to can he do those things, I absolutely think he can. And I think he can be successful at it.

It's going to be just a matter of the reps, right? And the live reps. And then once the actual game begins for the season, it's also going to be getting in the groove in those games. But I think the best case scenario could have happened to him this year, guys, because I don't want to say last year's a throwaway because I just think that seems very, very harsh. but I do want to say I think he's going to take a lot more away from being under Brian Dayball this year and just what comes with this type of offense and the particular people they chose for this type of offense to help out Cam Ward.

So I think it is where he can make his money. And I do believe he's going to work at it until he gets it right. Bhop. You know, it's obvious that Brian Dayball has had his eyes on Cam. Ward well before these two were paired together to run this offense because for whatever reason, I see a competent Cam Ward that is less indecisive about where to go with the football. The indecision is what creates negative plays. It's what makes quarterbacks hold onto the ball longer, take sacks unwarrantedly, and basically just don't have a real familiarity of

where to go with the football. I'm not taking shots in previous regime, but it seems like there's been more of a collaborative effort to make Cam understand exactly what the play design is, and therefore he seems more comfortable and competent in delivering an accurate ball, right? I haven't seen him hold on to the ball. I've seen him like look at the first read, if the defense takes away, it's gone to the second and he knows it's going to be open. And it's that kind of confidence that you see from maybe going into his second year, as opposed to being his first year, that I think give me the impression that he has

way more of a command on this offense at this point than he did with the offense that Brian Callahan was trying to install and trying to make him efficient at. As a matter of fact, when you look at that quarterback series that was on Netflix, and you saw some of the clips of Brian and Cam interacting, at one instance, he was saying, you know, I'm going to let you get comfortable, then I'm going to give you more. And it's like he was telling him, I am comfortable. Let's go with more. Yeah.

Maybe a lack of confidence from Brian Callahan to say, you are ready for me to start putting more on your plate. That's not the case here with Brian Dayball and Cam Ward. And that's probably why I see him being less hesitant and more decisive. when it comes to where he's actually going to deliver the football. Yeah, it feels like he was largely on time for the most part this week. Obviously, quick decision making is a lot better because last year, how many sacks did he take? We counted on more than two hands like, hey, get rid of the ball cam.

Sometimes, you know, a dead play is better than a negative play on that front. I wanted to talk about the three areas that Robert Solomon mentioned, you know, third down, two-minute drill, and red zone. I think he's got that clutch gene in them. We saw that against Arizona when the game got tight at the end and one of the three wins they had last season. Third down, they were second to last in the NFL last year. And then when it came to the red zone opportunities, surprisingly they were 13th at about 57%. The final three games of the year, they spiked up to over 70%.

But of course, the problem is this team wasn't in the red zone enough. Right. You know what I mean? It was sustaining drives too old. ultimately get in the red zone. Like you can get in the red zone three times. You're two for three that's 66 percent, but you only got there three times. So when it comes to those potential, you know, not just big money downs on third down, but red zone opportunities. What is it going to take Kayla for this team to continue to sustain drives and ultimately get those opportunities?

Well, you're right. And it's like continuing to move the chains, right? And I honestly think this team's had an issue with third down conversion for a minute. I thought we were talking about. this for a minute now. And, you know, I don't know where to, it's like you could put the blame on so many people in that situation. But I think what we know at this point, and again, I'm so excited for the season to start to see how this dayball offense really starts to play out in front of our eyes, because I really don't think there's going to be those little excuses, whether it be Brian Callahan and his play calls or the not the, not the correct personnel out there, or, you know, just Cam Ward being inaccurate.

There were so many things you could blame it on last year, and then we could even go the year before on why they were having issues with moving the chains and keeping this offense moving. And then, you know, again, we saw the defense come out and saved the day a lot of these times, and they just got dog tired. So I think there's not going to be as many excuses this year,

and I hope there's not any at all, because I want to be able to see them, like you said, be able to convert on third down. I think they have the pieces to do that. I mean, you're even looking at a Wondell Robinson, right, where I think he's going to be a key piece to this offense. He's really going to be a piece that Cam Ward can look to in situations where he just has to make a play sometimes. And so I think it's going to overall improve what that third down offense looks like. And that is how you keep the chains moving and get into that red zone essentially.

You know, third down is an extremely important play, right? We understand that. but third down is directly affected by first and second down. Correct. What you do in those first two plays, it kind of sets up how easily third down is converted. When you look at third and 10, I mean, that's a 50-50 ball right there.

You know what I mean? You're either going to move the chains and make a completion or you're going to be heading to the sideline, you know, waiting for the tablet to see exactly what that next draft is one going to look like. When you're affected in first down with positive yards, when you're effective and second down with positive yards, what's third and two?

come up man that's that's like shooting duck in the barrel or you shoot ducks in the barrel but anyway you see what I'm saying but the point is how effective they can be on those first two downs determines how effective can will be on third down and I think that that is where they're actually trying to focus with the decision making with the smart accuracy the things that we know can and listen if protection is an issue there's ways that you can cover that right it's by two and three step drop it's by working the intermediate step those routes lower that they need to turn around and make themselves available a lot sooner so that ball comes out and they can at least have a chance then to do something with it once they get it.

It'd be a luxury to have the deep ball. It would be a luxury to have the goals, the posts, those big explosive plays that the 20-plus-yard situations would require. You know, that's great. You know what I mean? Yeah. But you've got any dogs up front that allow cam that kind of time to allow receivers to take advantage of coverage.

And that may or may not be a luxury this year, does. And, Brad, that takes so much pressure. off like everyone, essentially, but especially the quarterback in a situation where if you're setting yourself up for more success with that first, second down, and you're giving minimal yardage you've got to get to convert the third down, you're right. Your quarterback especially is not feeling as much pressure of like, I got to make this play to gain 20 yards or I got to make this gain of 15 yards. You know, it is that three, four, five yards that then it makes it a lot easier in terms of what you can use to punch the ball and get that third down.

That's what I think is going to make. Oh, go ahead. Bhop. Just real quick. There's one thing I talked about the intermediate routes where I get the ball again quick. Another thing that helps with those first and second downs and the effectiveness is being able to run the damn football. Yes, exactly. I was just going to say, yeah, Tony Paula, Tajay Spears, we saw the back into last season. It's no coincidence that, you know, the, the red zone was a lot better last year. They sustained more drugs to get in the red zone to back into last season because the run game was so potent through those final stretch of that home stretch of the season there. And it's also going to make Wondell Robinson as kind of a safety valve, a quick safety valve

in the office, that much more important to. Caleb, before we go to break, you mentioned you tease the receiver at the top who could be Cam Ward's top target this year. Who is that and why? Okay. So I don't think he'll be his top target, but I do think he will. will be a really reliable and good target that could continue to grow into a maybe number two, even. And I'm talking about maybe you caught my drift here. I said one of the men or the man, Eo Manor. He had a good day yesterday. Yeah, he did. And I think what I always loved about Iow Manor is when you saw him at Stanford, obviously he's got the body type, right? He's the longer wide receiver, but he's got, you know, he's well built.

But what I have really loved and I thought this would come along about Iyo Manor, the man is smart. He has got a lot going on up here. So yeah, he has the physical traits, but I believe that in especially like a day ball offense and being able to understand this offense and whatever he did last year, I know, you know, maybe you thought he needed to do more. I thought he started to do some things really well in terms of his role.

but he's taken that, I think, into this season. And with Calvin Ridley, I know he came back yesterday a little bit, but with Calvin Ridley missing some days, he's really taken his opportunities and he's made the most of it. And I think he's going to continue to build on it, guys. I like Elek. I feel like there's some big things to come from him. And I think Cam really likes Elek too.

Yeah, well, there was the play yesterday where Cam kind of threw it behind Elek and he jumped up and caught in very physical combat catches. Yeah, that's what we saw him. We saw that on the tape against Travis Hunter while he was in college. And there was another play. I think it was in the seven on seven yesterday where it was a broken play, Cam scrambles out to the sideline and then kind of dumps it to IOM manner. And he tiptoes on the sideline to keep the drive alive.

And again, goes back to sustaining drives. Baha. Yeah, those are the plays that don't get you very in the depth chart. Yeah. Right. When you go out there and you show, you know, some of the same things we saw him do as a rookie, but more consistently when given the opportunity, because that's going to be the key.

We know we're going to see a hell of a lot of Wondell. If Calvin's healthy, he's going to be on the field, and that number 14, good God, bro. I'm trying to temperament about those two more than take. But it's obvious when they're on the field doing some things. This dude, 14 plays like he's been in the league for 14 years. I'm just going to say that really good. He's got the confidence with not only the concepts

that Brian Dayball is implementing, but also that connection with Dan. I think they're getting, tired of adapting each other up, basically. Magnet hands, that's for sure. Well, on the other side of the break, none of this stuff matters unless the team can protect Cammore to have the opportunity to throw the receivers. We'll talk about that offensive line. And are we concerned about J.C. Latham's injury history, even though he's off the Pupplest.

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He was dealing with during OTAs. He is off the Pup list. Now, he wasn't participating fully in practice. He was limited. The plan is to have a gradual. ramp up for him to start the integration period this weekend. But he was doing some work on the sideline. But Robert Sala was very complimentary of JC. Here is what he had to say about him and his overall body type two coming in. He stayed here the entire summer. He's worked relentlessly

to get back in to get that thing back to strength, the strength he's needed. He's at a really, really good weight to allow him to have foot speed. Like the man doesn't have a weight problem. Like he holds it really well. He's got a lot of lean muscle mass. He looks really, really good. He just, but he understands that he doesn't need to be as big. The bigger you are, the less foot speed. And he's attacked the heck out of it.

And I'm really excited for the season that he's going to have. Well, he's, Salas said he doesn't need to look as big, but he looks humongous Bihab in the best way, right? Like, he looks like an absolute ginormous, like, alien of a human being out there. Ben Jones and Ramon Foster and I were standing on the sideline. And J.C. came running by and he tapped me up. He said, what's up, OG? I mean, John Doff.

I looked over at Ben and Ben was like this. I mean, what? The dude looks like a Marvel action figure. You know what I mean? As far as like just the way he's cut, he might be, he's under 20% body fat for someone that's well in his drink, which says a lot about a guy. It would be an absolute travesty.

if this didn't work out. One, because I sense the level of frustration that he had. I went over to him when he was in the weight room, just getting ready for working with the strength staff and the training staff while everybody else is getting warmed up on the field. And he said, I'm just trying to get this thing right. And I was like, bro, don't even worry about it. You know what I mean?

So I know that he understands the level of expectation. I know that he understands just how pivotal this year actually is for him. and no one wants to start out the season on the PEP. And so like Robert Sala said, he has been working diligently to get himself as healthy as he possibly can. And I think part of it is then really holding the reins back to make sure he just doesn't tweak it again. Because this isn't something that you want to continue to be dealing with

for 18 weeks. You just don't want that. So it's better for them to manage his minutes, let him get comfortable until he can feel he can join the team. So like I said, when he went running by me and Ben and Ramon, he was on his way to, you know, basically watch practice from that lens

versus him being on field to by himself with the training staff, just trying to work his way back into some sort of, you know, consistency. So I know he's ready to get going. And I do hope the best for him, but I see also just his commitment to wanting to be a part and fill that role that we so appropriately need here to us. Yeah, I've never ever doubted. J.C. Latham's commitment to wanting to be the best, wanting to put in the work. I mean,

he came from Alabama. He was coached under Nick Saban. He knows what it takes to be the best. He has been dealt, unfortunately, some unfortunate circumstances. And I know when he came in as a rookie, he had a presence about him and he was excited and he was hopeful. And remember, guys, he was a first round pick. There's a lot of expectations that come with first round picks no matter what your position is. And, you know, that is a position that we know this team is needed for a while. And they've needed a couple really, really good pillars there on that line for a while. And he is one of those guys that is to be depended on.

So, you know, when he came in and he was having the hip issues and he's had these issues, I really do think it's kind of in a way, like, hindered him a little bit in terms of like, it's probably hard to get up from something like that and feel like, you know, you're going to be healthy again. And so in a way, I feel bad because he's gone through a lot with his body, but he's had those expectations and he knows he has to be at a certain level. You don't have to tell him that. He's a very smart person. He's a very smart person.

So I think I'm with Bhop too. First of all, I loved what Salah said about he's been there in the off season. He has been working. That is so good to hear. But you don't need to rush him back because the last thing that I want to see is, and players sometimes, you know this Bhop, you got to hold them back from themselves sometimes because a lot of these guys just want to get out there and prove themselves. Sometimes you got to rein them back like you said.

And I think they're doing the right thing and the smart thing with letting that pack completely heal and then working him in and hopefully he can stay healthy and we can see him improve. And I think that year three, like Brad's always said, it's such a crucial one. He knows that. He doesn't have to have someone telling that. He just needs to be healthy. Yeah. No, I was just going to say, Bhop, do you see the game from a different perspective,

like when you have to be sidelined like that and almost kind of tortured by watching it from a 360 view? When you're a top 10 pick, man, the weight of the world is on you. Yeah. And that's what I shared with. I mean, he knew a little bit of my history. We've already had conversations before, but being tasked as a rookie to start. I mean, he was six picks in front of me. You know, I was 13.

He was seven. And so I told him. I said, I understand exactly what you're going through, the pressure that exists for a young guy trying to transition from being the dominant figure that you were in college and then having a position change. Now, albeit it's just on the other side of the line, but there's still schematics that you have to change up in your head and get used to that. Now, I think that he is more equipped to be a role tackling. He's just got that marler body type, you know what I'm saying? He just has to develop the confidence.

Yes. I remember when he was a rookie, Kalen, you remember this too when you were in town here. He was getting into it with Big Jeff. Yes. He was getting into it barking back and and forth because that's what we need. You cannot have Jeffrey Simmons calling you quarterback the P word and running his mouth going back and forth and nobody to stand up and defend him because at the end of the day I know we're on the same team but if you're going to be barking at my quarterback I need to be right in your face telling you exactly what you're not going to do and that's what JC was equipped to do at first now he's learning some more you know to make an adjustments not necessarily healthy as he possibly can be but I share with

him like for me I was blessed enough to inherit an offensive line with two Hall of Famers on okay and these cats poured more into me me than I ever could have learned, you know, on my own. And unfortunately, he doesn't have that luxury. So, you know, I told him, lean on me more. You know, I mean, we're, some of the stuff that, you know, you're trying to digest. But in the end, his willingness to listen, that said a lot to me. You know what I mean? So I'm a huge J.C. Latham fan because I see the potential. I see that he could be the next pillar, aside from Peter Skeronsky, that this line needs to give Cam Ward the best opportunity he can to be this dude that we all know that he can be yeah no absolutely especially

where the center and right guard positions are still in flux still trying to be solidified the last thing you want is that entire right side to be a carousel you know because that means trouble for the titans that's for sure um on the other side of the break b hop you got a hop take for us a little bit yeah we have that and uh kela and i will react that's next all right there are more live events than ever we're seeing right now, games, concerts, comedy shows, festivals. The hard part usually isn't deciding what you want to attend. It's actually getting the tickets between long wait times, confusing checkout processes and surprise fees. Buying tickets can sometimes feel harder than it should. That's why so many fans are turning to game time. The app is built to make buying tickets simple

with up-front pricing seat views before you buy an exclusive saving opportunities that help you get to the events you want without the hassle. Biggest pet peeve is when you think you found a great deal, get all the way to check out, and suddenly the final price looks completely dead. different game time takes the guesswork out so take the guesswork out of buying tickets to every type of event with game time download the game time at create account use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N for $20 off download the game time app today all right B-Hop floor is yours for the hop take this week well guys I kind of alluded to it a little bit um in our last segment there and it was really just about

something that Robert Sala said on Monday. He said, confidence is determined by the loudness of your voice. He said in the camp, we hope to be loudest-ish. That's what he said, right? And I noticed the back and forth between Cam and Jeff just as they were competing against each other in practice. You know, Cam is going to be that guy.

He plays with emotion. He brings the energy. And nobody does that more than Jeffrey Simmons. But the last thing you want to be to have is your quarterback jawing with your defensive line. Okay? Because that's not who he has to fight to get to the quarterback. He has to fight the big boys up front. And right now, guys, unfortunately, I see a very quiet offensive line. So until we start to see some guys really step up into the fold, willing to be, like I mentioned JC in the very beginning of his tenure here

as a Tennessee Titan, this could be a long year. And I guess my hop take is if we have a quiet offensive line is going to be a long year. If we've got an offensive line that feels confident to be able to push back, not only against our own selves internally, but any challenge that comes up in front of them in the 18-game schedule, 17-game schedule we have coming up, we need those guys to be almost the loudest dudes in the room. You know what I mean? And that's not always the case.

You don't have to be big barkers. I mean, Bruce wasn't a chirper. Mike wasn't a chirper. Now, I ran my mouth quite off. I'm just like one of those guys that if you say something to me, if you say something to my guys, I'm going to give you a few expletives that make you think, you know, otherwise what you're saying.

So we just need to get to that point because that right there will tell me that this team is competent up front where they need to be, to be the pillars of this team. We know defensively they've got the dogs to win a chip. We do, especially with the adjustments that we've made this year. I think we've got the quarterback. They definitely invested in the receivers. We've got a thousand yard back.

So what's missing? monsters of the midway, dudes that are just up front willing to slap you in the mouth for talking about their mom. And that's exactly what we need. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. And again, I say this all the time,

and I use it now even, you know, where I'm at and we're going to see the Titans with a 49ers here and joint practices soon. And I'll say this. I mean, that's where you're going to start getting the, not just your own team chirping out. You're getting another defensive line

that's going to be up there and they're going to be in your face and they're going to be giving you crap and you're right brad at some point and i know it doesn't happen overnight and i know you know jc's got to earn that confidence back because i do believe he can be that guy too or one of them um but you you've got to have that you've got to have someone i mean we've had guys in the past that i've covered and ben jones and taylor lewan and like you talk about these guys and they truly you don't need a ton of them but you need one or two and i'm i'm with you brad and i don't know if you can identify anybody right now who you could even see at some point throughout camp, they find their voice or they find that bully mentality where maybe that wears off a little

bit. But right now, it's hard for me to identify anybody. Yeah, it felt like JC, we expected him to be that guy, right? Because he was the ferocious big guy out of Alabama. And it's kind of taken a step back while he still is kind of learning to be a pro. Last year, I think unwillingly, Peter did a lot of that stuff. Yep. And he's mostly like, I put your head down and work kind of guy. But there was a game, I think it was against Jacksonville,

where it was embarrassing. And Peter stepped up in the locker room, and we were there in the locker room when he was talking about it, Kayla. Like, he pointed to the film and said, hey, guys, this isn't good enough. And that's a little bit uncharacteristic for Peter. I think he's grasping that now, but they are still missing that,

that vocal edge kind of guy that embodies the identity of that nastiness that you wanted an O-Ly. Yeah. 100%. I mean, think about it. If you're getting your ass kick, you're quiet as a church mouse. You know what I'm saying? Because people can just point to what you're doing to say maybe you're part of the problem. But if you're doing your work, if you're being held accountable and making good on your job description,

then it's okay if you look the guy next to you and say, bro, stop making my job harder. You see what I'm saying? Because at the end of the day, the film don't lie. You know? It's not like a I like you thing or I don't like you thing. It's like we're all in this together. And if you're not doing your job, it makes everybody's job harder. You know what I mean?

So I think when they feel, you know, I need Dan. You might not be able to say, hey, look, guys, this is what we need to do. Shut up, D. Line. You see what I'm saying? This is what we need to do. Peter, you might not be that my guy. You might be more cerebral, but it's okay. You know what I mean?

J.C. definitely was that guy. I think he'll work himself back into that form. once he feels comfortable to be the dude. But like I said, and it's like what Robert said Monday, your confidence is determined by the loudness of your voice. Because you know, when you hear some big mouth coming to a room, he's brooding with confidence, you know what I'm saying, versus the guy that slunk in there.

He's standing in the corner. Oh, here, man. That's not a confident dude. Now, I would say, that can't work in reverse. There probably are a few serial killers that just don't say much even, and just kind of stand in a little bit more than a little bit of a good guy. I'm going to pick my sheep quietly, you know what I mean, versus just like,

who's the guy, you know what I mean? Who am I going to attack first? Ah, you know what I mean? Yeah, certainly. Certainly indeed. But that's one of the big questions for the Titans going into 2026, and hopefully somebody will emerge in training camp and step up in that leadership vocal kind of role.

Well, on the other side of the break, we're going to take questions and comments from the live chat. We'll do our best. Oh, there's red in the bill. building. Red has made it appears. It wouldn't be a Titan squad show without Kayla's dog. That's for sure. And on the other side of the break, we'll see if the Titans have that dog in them to get it done here in 2026. That's next. All right. One person asks, this is Will Comer. He's a regular of the show. What's the biggest issue for the Titans? Is it O-line, D-Bs and safety? What do you all think? Also, penalties, not just on third down. Well, I'm going to say, well, it's to be determined because we don't know much about this offense.

I remember Robert said this also. He said, guys appear and disappear when the pads come on. And that's true. I mean, you can't really see what this team is going to be until you put the shoulder pads on until you're in those moments that you know this is where you need to show up. I got to wait for one-on-ones, offense versus defensive line. I want to wait for nine on seven. That's the run game.

That's the physical violence up front. It's run fits. It's actually past pro with the ability to get your hands on people and do some things. Until we see exactly what they're able to do, then we're going to know. I think if that's an issue, now, in other words, Brian and everybody else, Luke, those guys could have been thinking about what they want to do offensively, but it'll be determined what they can do once we see what the big boys. can do. Now, safety, we might have a bit of a depth issue.

You know, the secondary is not the deepest. Now, I'll let Kayla talk to that. But I will say that the big boys up front are more of an issue than anything else. Because the safeties and the corners can be protected by the monsters in the front seven. You see what I'm saying? If you've got Jermaine Johnson, John Franklin Meyer, Jeffrey Simmons and all the dudes, you know, Keldrick, just collapsing pockets, giving quarterbacks a little time to throw, go with the ball, you know what I mean, shortening their windows of opportunity, then that does protect the back hit, right? Yeah.

But if you've got problems up front, you're not running the ball effectively, your quarterback's not completing the downs he needs to complete to keep chains moving. It's just an issue overall. Yeah, I think in terms of the secondary, and that's, you know, a question that we're just going to have to see how some of the depth plays out and some of these new pieces that have been signed, right? I mean, they've got to show us what they look like in this Robert Solis scheme defense. But what is good about it is I don't think you're like relying as much in this scheme on the back end to kind of set the tone. It's more like this is predicated on the front and how

this defensive front really affects everything. And then it can allow the back end to do what it wants to do. But especially, you know, I look at the middle of, of the defense too, and that's been such a specialty of Robert Salas. And we're already seeing it out there with like a Cedric Gray. Like, I think he can really, really get to the next level under Robert Salo, who has been known for elevating some of these linebackers under his system. So, yeah, the secondary is going to be interesting to see how it plays out. I'm not as worried, like, from the jump. If that front can be ferocious and it trickles down. I think the secondary is going to be okay if they can stay healthy.

Now, if we're getting into issues with injuries and we got to get into the depth, that's where I have the questions. And that's the things that we're just going to have to see play out, right? Yeah. No. All right. I'm going to bounce out. But you guys have a great weekend.

And I'm so excited to be watching training camp. I'm from afar this time, but it's still fun to watch. But Kayla, you will be there front and center when the Titans. have the joint practice there at Santa Clara, that's for sure. Yeah, I'm excited. I don't know. Are you going to be down there, Bhop? Come on now, of course.

Yes, I'm so excited. So excited. So we get to see everybody down there. It's going to be like a reunion. So, yeah, getting pumped to do that. But we'll have another one of these before we get down there. Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Thank you, Kayla. Bye, guys. Bye. We will finish out a couple questions here, Bhop. When it comes to the secondary, I wanted to pick your brain about something, because Alante Taylor tweeted this week that he and Cordell Flot, by the end of the season, would be the best cornerback duo in the NFL. Is that realistic?

I saw a plot making plays in practice that made a reality. Yeah, he was. Yeah. Now, this was against, you know, true and Will. It wasn't against Cam, but I definitely saw them in position. I saw them breaking out the ball. I see in them, you know, reading the eyes of receivers. I've seen them as veterans would do, do some of the things that really think that they're

more stable up front than, or in the secondary than we've been in a while. You know what I mean? I'm still going to hold out, see if a Moni Hooker can step up. He definitely just had a better year than he did last year. I think last year as a pro was his worst year, you know, and that's just saying that he can recover and, you know, the sky's the limit. Let's go that right, right? But at the end of the day, I think these two veterans fly out, and, of course, Taylor,

are brought in for a reason because the staff has. confidence in them. Obviously, we know Brian knows Cordell flat better than anybody else that's on the staff because they spent some time up in New York. And actually, you know, Alante, man, I mean, he probably thinks more highly of himself than most people in the league do. But that's not an arrogance thing. It's just his confidence and ability that he can, that he has and he possesses. So I like their additions. And if anything, they'll push, you know, some of the other guys. I even like Tony Adams, you know, I'll LL. Yeah. And he's been, there you go. He's been in the system before as well.

He knows Robert's solid system in and out. Exactly. So I like that. I like the, there's a little bit of depth there, but at the end of the day, I mean, I understand when we have legurious need

and he doesn't finish the season or whatever else, injuries can happen in the secondary, but typically, you know, come on. These guys should be healthy. Yeah, and that's the thing, right?

You have two bad years of legurious need, and obviously that did not pan out. You get a little PTSD. from that kind of situation on top of the fact that the end of last year that room was depleted it's the reason why we got to see marcus harris so much and maybe a big reason why the staff has a lot of faith in marcus harris right now too um you've invested over a hundred million dollars over the next couple of years between alante taylor and cordel flot the hope is that those are like the pillars that cornerback one and cornerback two for years to come because they are facing be hop i was looking at

the schedule like three of the top maybe four or five receiver duos in the league the Titans are facing them this season. Jamar Chase T. Higgins, C.D. Lamb and George Pickens, and there is a couple others as well. And so, like, that's going to be a true test. If you go back to the end of the season and they are indeed the best quarterback due on the league, we could safely say, hey, Taylor and Flot earned it. I also like Flot Swat as a nickname for his past deflection. So there you go.

Here is somebody had a comment about the O line when it came to the overall bowl. vocal leadership. Hasmond Diaz says you need a Taylor-Lawand type of guy. Sure. Agree, disagree. But I know what he's saying. I know what he's saying. You need a vocal kind of identifier for the O line.

You know what I mean? Like somebody that's somebody that you are saying, oh, he is the vocal leader of this team and we know who it is. Yeah. I mean, put it this way. You want somebody that defensive line. in fear. You want somebody that when it seems like it's open space, you got your head on a swivel because you just not know, you don't know where you're going to get popped.

You know what I mean? A guy that plays whistle to whistle. You know who has that tenacity, that nastiness is Carmona. Fernando Carmona. I was just going to say, Bhop, during the individual drills, I think Bracillo complimented him the most. Yeah, exactly, because, I mean, he's a dude that you, He plays with a chip.

You know what I'm saying? He plays with nastiness. Nobody wants a nice offensive alignment. You know, so I think that that's probably what he's referencing to. Yeah. You know, Taylor, sure, he can get into a sparring match verbally, you know, but he is also a dude that can handle this business. You know what I'm saying?

But we need somebody like a, like John Runyon, John scared people. Oh, yeah. Looking at a picture of him right now. Man, you know what John was going to do, you know what I mean? So that, you know, that unsubborn. certainty. What did you make of, and I don't know if you saw the comments after practice yesterday, but Jermaine Johnson basically said that the offensive line isn't going to know what hit him when

the D line finally is able to go full go. Do you, as an offensive lineman, how do you take that? As an offensive lineman, I will be upset. I would be actually doing all I can to make sure that that doesn't happen. But I think that there's a lot of truth into what he was saying. I've watched both of these groups warm up individually, and there is a level of violence that they are practicing regularly on the defensive front that we're going to need, but it's going to put some lumps on the subfront. And just talking with some other guys that, you know,

I'm standing next to him in practice, we don't have a lot of depth, man. I think we've got two chapels, you know, and one of it's unhealthy right now. And that's going to be an issue. At the end of the day, we're going to have to scheme things. We're going to have to be smart with running the football.

We're going to take advantage of avoiding negative plays like sacks and tackles for loss and that kind of stuff because there's not going to be a whole bunch of time. Now, I hope to God, I'm wrong. You know what I'm saying? I hope that all of a sudden when the pads come on, dude starts showing up. Let's give Briscilla a little bit of time to get these guys ready. You know, maybe he sees what he's working with. as far as the deficiencies, and you can tweak and fix some things.

But at the end of the day, man, it's pad level, it's hand placement, its head placement, it's firing off the football, it's getting dudes on the ground, it's doing it over and over and over again to make the D-line say, you know what, maybe I misspoke, you know? But I think Jermaine's saying this because of the way he already feels and they only have the pads off. Right, right. And, you know, Bhop, I think it goes back to like in any line of work, right, The number one thing an employer wants and an employee is to not have to worry about them, right?

Like, hey, I can leave them to do their job and I trust them. I don't have to hold their hand. There's only one guy on that offensive line that I feel that way about right now, at least. And that's Peter Skoronsky. Yeah. Well, for me, I used to hate, I didn't want you to help me with anybody. And to answer Patty's question, I prefer run blocking because run blocking is when I get to fire off and initiate the contact.

Pass blocking, it's passive. I'm moving backwards. You know what I mean? Guys are running into me, you know, trying to continue and accelerate my backwards momentum, right? Now, I did like pass blocking to a degree where if I shut you down

and you didn't get near the quarterback, it made you feel bad. You know what I mean? But at the end of the day, it's the hardest part about being an offensive lineman is protecting the quarterback. If I'm running, if I'm running the football, man, I'm getting to the next level. I'm team up linebackers.

Let me catch a safety slipping. You know what I'm saying? Let me do that. You know, I'm double teaming dudes. I'm just trying to, I'm mauling you in essence. That's what running the football is like. So I definitely preferred running the football because it allowed me to play the brand of football that I thought we were most comfortable. Especially when I had a 6-3, 240-pound back in the backfield.

And Edward George, you know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah, give him a little bit of space. That dude's going. Well, and that was a big thing Dan Moore said yesterday, is that their number one job is to keep Cam Ward upright. That is their job. And especially in a crucial year two for Cam,

where we want to properly evaluate him too. And the best way to evaluate him is that the hope is not he's not running for his life every single play. MBJ9S asks of BHA. Who is the toughest defender you won against in the NFL? Oh, my God. I played against the Bruce Smith, Reggie White's, Charles Haley, Derek Thomas's, Dwight Freeney's. Oh, Franey. Hugh Douglas's.

They all brought something different. You know what I mean? And so you have to be well-rounded to be able to block the gambit of guys. They either had speed, they had power, they had speed and power, Kevin Carter's, you know, the Javon curses. Those are guys that, Javon and Kevin and I went against. each other regularly in practice every day. Javon never got a sack on me either, not once. Really?

Not even in practice. Not even in practice. And certainly that we went to the Eagles. That was the, come on now. But that's just the way we did things. You know, when you had that kind of competition, when you're, you know, for me as a rookie going up against Derek Thomas in a playoff game, that's called being baptized by fire.

And playing against Bruce Smith, who arguably at the time was the best defensive end to play the game. game and I'm playing him in Buffalo. Come on man. You got to get right early. And so the level of competition that I faced in my tenure, man, there's a lot of dudes wearing gold jackets that I put hands on and they put hands on me. I can't say that there was any one person that you know, that was tough because obviously like the guys I just mentioned, they all brought something different to the table. Well, Titans fans could probably sleep better at night knowing that they have one of those guys right now that other offensive lines fear in Jeffrey Simmons, who it's

pretty unfathomable, Behop, that he looks in even better shape and bigger and stronger than he did last year when he had a career year with 11 sacks. Like that's, like that, that, that dude should not, is a physical freak of nature, should not, no human being should look like that. You know what I mean? Yeah. And you know, the thing is, though, it's not only his physique, it's his mentality. Yeah. The offense in the first couple of plays on Tuesday, they had two false starts. Yeah. All of a sudden, this voice just resonated and said,

Offense, get your damn heads in the practice. It was him, taking the tone to say, look, you're not getting us any better jumping off sides and being scary. You know what I'm saying? So, and it was him and Cam they were going back and forth. Now, Cam started it, you know, because I think he threw a nice ball underneath.

to maybe a Wondell or something, giving them the first down because it was like fourth and seven or whatever. Yeah. He was feeling good about herself. He was just chirk, churp, churp. And then the offensive line couldn't stop Jeff on a double team, so he gets the back field. And he's like, come home, beep, beep, you know what I mean?

Just them going back and forth, you know what I mean? So that's why I say you want a dude to just step up and protect your guy. I mean, sure, it's one thing they have fourbacks that are verbal and don't mind the competition and whatnot. but Jeff shouldn't be yelling at my quarterback. He should be yelling at the guy that keeps putting him on the ground on a regular basis or at least making it harder for him to get the back to it.

And just that hasn't happened yet. Yeah, yeah. I'm not a football player, but I would not want to step in between Jeff Simmons. That is for sure. But, yes, we will keep monitoring training camp as it goes on throughout this off season as the Titans gear up for the 2026 season. That first preseason game will be here before you know it.

But for now, I'm Julian and. And so that's Brad Hopkins. We'll see you guys next week.