Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Two Tennessee Titans Named All-Pros, All-Pro Titans Snubs & Likely Titans Playoff Opponent

Episode Date: January 16, 2022

The Tennessee Titans had two players named to the All-Pro Teams. Kevin Byard made the first team and Jeffery Simmons made the second team. Tyler discusses why they deserved it and how the votes shook out. Next, the Titans had some players perform very well this year who did not make the All-Pro teams, Tyler discusses who should have been in the conversation and why they ultimately didn't make the list. Finally, Tyler explains why Saturday's Super Wild Card Weekend results basically know their playoff opponent now.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it is a Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We don't have a game to break down because your Tennessee Titans are the number one seed in the AFC and had a bye, but that doesn't mean that we don't have a lot to discuss. Number one, the all-pro teams were announced, first team and second team.

I'll tell you if any Tennessee Titans made the team, who they were and what they have done this year. Then we'll continue the All-Pro discussion. Some Tennessee Titans didn't make the teams but got some votes. And then two Tennessee Titans didn't get a vote at all. And I'll talk about who those players were and why I think that maybe they should have been recognized. Finally, we'll cap off the show talking about what happened in Super Wild Card weekend on

Saturday night and what it means for the Tennessee Titans. All of that on a Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Titans fans, it is a Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Excited to dive into the All-Pro list, which Tennessee Titans made it, which didn't, how many votes they got.

Also talk about the wildcard games on Saturday night. Before we get into that, though, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. Check out the Locked on Titans YouTube channel for the podcast on video. Subscribe. Also, smash that notification bell on YouTube

so you'll get alerted whenever new content drops. Make sure you hit a thumbs up button if you're watching on YouTube right now. Follow me on social media at TicTacTitans on Twitter, at Locked on TitansitansPod on Facebook. Remember, I am the only Titans content creator that is going to be putting out Monday through Friday daily Tennessee Titans content, not only during the regular season, not only during the postseason, but all year long. Now with that being said, let's dive into today's show.

Going to dive into these All-Pro lists. Number one, which Tennessee Titans made the all pro list for the NFL? There were two, Kevin Byard at safety on the first team and Jeffrey Simmons as an interior defensive lineman on the second team. So love seeing those Tennessee Titans players get recognition. I would say that Byard and Jeffrey Simmons are certainly the two best defensive players that the Titans have, and everything that happens around those two players is caused by what they're able to do. As I mentioned, Kevin Byard makes that first team.

He was the number one vote-getter out of all safeties. Every single All-Pro voter, there's 50 of them, so they place 50, I guess it's out of 50, how many votes a player got. Kevin Byard got 41. So out of the 50 people who give a vote, 41 of them said Kevin Byard is the top safety in the NFL. And I think that's absolutely the case.

You look at the year that he put together, 88 tackles, had a tackle for loss, had a sack, five interceptions. Turnovers are so big. And speaking of turnovers, he had two forced fumbles. He had a fumble recovery, and he had two touchdowns on the year. He's turning over the ball. He's putting points on the board for his team.

And here's the thing. Kevin Byard did not have a great year in 2020, but he was being asked to do things that aren't really his strengths as a player. And this season, he's gotten back into that role because the things around him have been good enough to allow him to do those jobs. Last year, the Titans had to put Kevin Byard in a lot of man coverage because they didn't have people who were good enough in man coverage to allow Kevin Byard to do what he's doing

this year. And that's playing zone over the middle of the field, whether it be a robber in-man coverage, whether it be the deep guy in-man coverage, playing in the middle of the field in different zones, letting him read the quarterback and make plays, rather than playing one-on-one man coverage on tight ends every single game. So Kevin Byard got back in a role that's suitable for him,

and he looked like the safety that the Titans made the highest paid safety in the NFL just a few seasons ago. And, of course, got to eat my crow here. I didn't say the Titans should cut Kevin Byard, but did toss out the idea that it would save the Titans quite a bit of money if they considered it during the all season as they were trying to, you know, remake this defense. Obviously, wasn't something that

I was saying they should do. Glad they didn't do, and Kevin Byard rewarded them with some stellar all-pro play. Really was the best safety in the NFL this season, and that leads us to Jeffrey Simmons. Jeffrey Simmons made second team all-pro, and it may make you wonder who was ahead of him. Well, of course, in my opinion, the best interior defensive lineman, and by far, is Aaron Donald, and he got all 50 votes possible for a first-team slot. Now, the second first-team interior defensive lineman was Cam Hayward, but Hayward had a great year in his own right. So it's hard to say that he shouldn't have got it or Simmons should be over him, but I definitely do think it was pretty close. And the votes show that it was pretty close.

Hayward only got 19 out of 50 votes for a first team spot. Jeffrey Simmons got 10 votes. So Simmons was, you know, less than 10 votes away from getting that first team All-Pro slot. Now you have to know that even though the All-Pro team is a much better example of who the best players in the NFL are versus the Pro Bowl. The Pro Bowl is mostly fans. All of that. The All-Pro team means a lot more to the players and should be given a lot more weight when determining who the best players in the league are.

But Jeffrey Simmons still is tainted a bit by being a Tennessee Titan, by the narrative. It's a Pittsburgh Steeler guy. I think all of that takes some time to overcome. Like Jarrell Casey. Jarrell Casey should have gotten more love earlier in his career, but it took some time for the national media to finally give a Tennessee Titan credit for what he does. And then once that happened, Jarrell Casey made five in a row. And I think Jeffrey Simmons next year, if he again has a great year like he, I'm predicting he will have, he'll get that first team slot next season and for the next few seasons as well. On the second team, it's not a bad thing for Jeffrey Simmons.

Like I said, it's a steady climb for him. But with the way he's played, he's only going to continue to get more acknowledgement, get more respect, and his reputation grows. So I think you've got to be happy with Jeffrey Simmons on second team and Kevin Byard on first team. But there were two other Tennessee Titans who got votes but didn't make either the first or second team. And then there were two Tennessee Titans who I thought had pretty good years

that didn't get any votes at all. We'll talk about who those players are next before we do. I want to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bar in the galaxy. It's a new year, so that means New Year's resolutions. And if yours is about getting fit or eating healthier, you've got to incorporate Bilt Bars into your plan. Bilt Bars are a protein bar, but they taste more like a candy bar. They're not like a traditional protein bar where it's chalky or waxy or tough to choke down.

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Titans fans, we are going to continue this Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We are going to talk about the Titans who got votes for the All-Pro but didn't make the team. And Tennessee Titans who didn't get a vote at all. So before we dive into that, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. I do want to mention a little programming note here for you guys. Had intended to do a mailbag on today's show, but there was some news that I needed to get into as well.

We are going to do a Twitter Tuesday that will include mailbag questions. Probably do three segments of mailbag questions if, in fact, we don't get any Breaking Titans news on Monday that we're going to get into. So make sure you send in your mailbag questions. Put them as a five-star review on Apple iTunes. Send me on Twitter at TicTacTitans, and I'll make sure I get your question read

and get a shout-out to you on Tuesday's show. But with that said, we just talked about Simmons and Bayard making the All-Pro team, Bayard making first team, Simmons making second team. Let's talk about Titans who got a vote or didn't make the team. Number one, the Titans that got a vote. Roger Saffold did get one vote for first team All-Pro. Now, that wasn't good enough to be over Zach Martin from Dallas

and Joel Batonio from Cleveland who got the first team spots. That's not enough to be over Quentin Nelson from Indy or Wyatt Teller from Cleveland to get the second team spots. But at least Roger Saffold got a vote. And I like at least one Tennessee Titans offensive lineman getting a vote here. I know that they really struggled in pass protection throughout the year, but this Titans offensive line consistently puts the team in a position to be top five in rushing every single year.

I believe the Titans were sixth in rushing this year. So you can't be a bad offensive line and be at the top of the league in rushing yards every single year. So that just doesn't work. The Titans are the number one seed in the AFC. You can't say that the offensive line is bad, but I understand that no Tennessee Titans offensive lineman actually made either team. And quite frankly, they shouldn't have a ton of in and out of the lineup, health issues. And with the pass protection included, I just don't think now was the time to reward the Tennessee Titans offensive line

for their performance. But Saffold got one vote, so that's some acknowledgement from one of the voters that the Tennessee Titans offensive line is doing a good job in the run game. The other Titan that got votes but didn't make the team was long snapper Morgan Cox. Luke Rhodes from Indianapolis got first team.

Josh Harris from Atlanta got second team. Morgan Cox got four votes, though. Shout out to Morgan. He was the Pro Bowl long snapper last season, so he's a guy with a good reputation. Came over from Baltimore. He's been good for the Titans. Haven't had any issues with snaps all year long.

I mean, none. Randy Bullock missed some kicks. He's not an all-pro kicker. He's just run-of-the-mill kicker, and that's fine, but that's better than the garbage that the Titans have dealt with the past few seasons before that. But overall, there haven't been any issues in the kicking game due to snapping, whether it be punting or field goals, what have you. So Morgan Cox, definitely worth his value and worth the contract that the Titans gave him. Haven't had any issues there. And knock on wood, knocking on the desk right now, that none of those pop up going forward.

Now, let's talk about some Tennessee Titans that didn't get a vote at all. And I'm not saying that they should have made the list, and I'll explain that. But not even a vote, especially for the first Titan that we're going to talk about. Harold Landry. Harold Landry had 74 tackles. He had 12 sacks. 12 sacks. 14 tackles for loss. Couldn't even get a vote. Man, it's tough out there. But the reality is, yeah, guys, it's tough out there.

Edge rusher. I mean, TJ W reality is yeah, guys, it's tough out there at edge rusher. I mean TJ Watt tied the sack record and Miles Garrett was insane and they got first team. Who's going to say Harold Landry deserves a spot over either of those guys? You got to be honest with yourself. They don't. He doesn't. Then

Robert Quinn had 18, 19 sacks for Chicago and Max Crosby was right there as well. All those guys had more sacks than Harold Landry. And when you're talking about the edge rusher position, it's kind of the hallmark stat. There's no way around it. Now, Harold Landry has been phenomenal this year for the Titans.

And it doesn't take away from anything that he was able to accomplish this year. But I'm just saying, unless you got your two-tone glasses on, it's hard to say that Harold Landry should have got a spot over any of those four guys, TJ Watt, Myles Garrett, Robert Quinn, and Max Crosby. You just can't. You just can't do that, especially when you consider Harold Landry doesn't just beat guys one-on-one all the time.

That's not how he's gotten most of his sats. He's got a good speed rush on the outside, and he can beat a defensive lineman to the corner, which is what we saw in his last sack of the season. But for the most part, it's the inner workings of the Titans defensive line that gets him in a position to get sacks, loop stunts, twist, him coming from the outside and getting through the A gap, twist in with Jeffrey Simmons, things like that. So a lot of his sacks are, it's not like I'm trying to diminish Harold Landry, but it's just a team effort that leads to his sacks. The four guys I mentioned, Watt, Garrett, Quinn, and Crosby,

they're lining up one-on-one against an offensive tackle and beating him over and over and over again with different pass rush moves. It's just, there are a different tier of pass rusher than Harold Landry, but I'm glad that Harold Landry is getting recognition this year, even if it's not in the form of all pro votes. But I thought it was interesting to say that he didn't even at least get a vote, not even a single vote, but you look at the names ahead of him, it's at least understandable. And then Danico Autry as well, 31 tackles, nine sacks, 10 tackles for loss. Danico Autry's had a fantastic season, but he's been truly a role player for the Titans, and they use him sparingly. They don't overuse him. It's not like Landry and

Simmons, Bayard, who are out there every snap. They're bringing Autry in and off the field because they want to keep him fresh and do his job for the Titans, and obviously, the Titans got the number one seed. So although some of these guys I'm mentioning didn't make either list, they still were phenomenal for the Titans, and it doesn't take away from what they were able to do for the defense this year. So those are the four names that I wanted to talk about. Outside of that, let's be honest, guys. The only other person on the Titans that deserved any recognition

or any votes at all was Derrick Henry, and because he missed half the season, it just wasn't something that people were going to do. And that's understandable. But Henry still was phenomenal. And it's too bad that he got hurt because I do believe that he would have broken the rushing record and been first-team All-Pro again.

And if he would have done that with the Titans getting the No. 1 seed, he would have won MVP. But that is water under the bridge now. Not much we can do about that. But speaking of Derrick Henry, the next time we see him should be in the divisional round playoff game. And who might the Titans play in that game? We got our answer, in my opinion, on Saturday.

So I'll break down what happened on the first day of Super Wild Card weekend and go into a little bit of a Rollins rant about a tweet I had about the Cincinnati Bengals and their potential matchup with the Tennessee Titans. Before we get into that, I do want to tell you guys about BetOnline.ag. BetOnline would like to wish you a new happy betting year as they continue to march towards the playoffs and beyond. BetOnline remains the number one spot for all the best sports wagering action in 2022. It's a new year.

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BetOnline is the fastest and easiest way to wager on all your favorite sports. BetOnline, where the game starts. Titans fans, let's cap off this Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. As for your second listen, check out the Locked on Bets podcast hosted by your boy Q and handicapping expert Lee Sterling. You're going to take the advice that you get from Locked On Bets. You're going to go to betonline.ag,

and that is the best way to wager on all your favorite sports. With that being said, I want to remind you guys, tomorrow on Tuesday, we are going to have a mailbag segment. Send in your mailbag questions to me on Twitter, at TicTacTitans, or as a five-star review in Apple iTunes. Let's talk about what happened on Saturday. There were two wildcard games played, both of them AFC games, so it gave us a good idea of what's going to happen with the Tennessee Titans when they do take the field in the

playoffs next weekend. As expected, the Cincinnati Bengals beat the Las Vegas Raiders 26-19. Vegas did have a chance to tie the game and take it to overtime as they were on about the 10 or 11-yard line on fourth down at the end of the game. But Derek Carr threw an interception trying to force the ball in. I mean, it's on fourth down. I get it. The spike on first down really may be what was questionable.

Downs were the issue for the Raiders at that time. Not necessarily time because there was 29 seconds left and they're only throwing passing plays. So wasting a down on the spike, very interesting. But either way, the Bengals prevail. Their first playoff victory in 31 years. It was insane in Cincinnati. The coach

was out at the bar passing out balls and they're really treating it like a Super Bowl win, quite frankly. Good for the Bengals, but they could have a date with the Titans next weekend. Then the Bills absolutely slaughtered the Patriots. I thought the Patriots had a chance to win that game. I really like the Patriots plus four with the points, but no, Buffalo left no doubt. And I mean, some people are saying it is the greatest offensive performance

in the history of the NFL. Buffalo scored a touchdown on all seven of their possessions. They never had a field goal. They never had a punt. They never had a turnover. It was just incredible. Josh Allen was insane in that game, truly going Superman in the cold weather for the Buffalo Bills.

As I said all year, wasn't very hype on Mac Jones. I know that they beat the Titans. So when your team loses to another team, it's hard to, you know, give them any criticism or anything like that. But either way, I wasn't impressed with Mac Jones in that win over the Titans. I wasn't impressed with Mac Jones throughout the year. And Mac Jones was not impressive in that game. The Patriots completely got dismantled. They weren't the caliber of team that the Buffalo Bills were. And yeah, so no Patriots, which means that unless the Pittsburgh Steelers win on Sunday night football against the Kansas City Chiefs, which behind the curtain backstage, I'm recording this before that game, because

listen, if I got to get old takes exposed for it, then fine. The Steelers are not beating the Chiefs, guys. Give me a break. I don't need to wait for that game to do the show. Come on. Even Big Ben said that they weren't going to win the game. They're just going to go out there and have fun. I know he's being tongue-in-cheek, but come on. Come on now. We know. Which means that the Tennessee Titans are going to play the Cincinnati Bengals. And that leads me to a little Roland's rant to end the show. Not going to take a long time on it

but I'm just going to say. So I sent out a tweet on Saturday night during the Bengals game. And I said the Titans are going to have their hands full with the Cincinnati Bengals game. And I said, the Titans are going to have their hands full with the Cincinnati Bengals. And people lost it. I mean, I guess saying that the Titans

are going to have a tough game against the Bengals in the playoffs, against a team that's playing very well, means that I said the Titans are going to lose by 100. I mean, that's how people were acting. It was unbelievable. I mean, do you really think the Titans are going to blow out the Bengals by 20 or something? Like, yeah, it's going to be a

close game. It's going to be a tough game. Why is that controversial? I swear, sometimes I could tweet, the sky is blue, and I would have people in my quotes and in my comments telling me I'm an idiot and the sky is green. It's unbelievable. The Bengals are going to be a tough matchup for the Titans. It's going to be a tough game. Like the Bengals' run D was not bad all year. It's not like they're a walkover on run defense. They obviously have a very good offense.

The Bengals beat the Titans by double digits when they played last year, and the Bengals were a worse team. Now, the Titans are better this year on defense, no doubt, but the Titans were still the 25th ranked passing defense this year. So it's not like the Titans have been a locked down 85 Bears defense all year long. Now, the Titans defensive line can take advantage of the Bengals offensive line, and the Bengals did struggle last night with some twists and some stunts from Las Vegas. There are areas of opportunity for the Titans to win the game. And right now I'm leaning that the Titans will win the game.

But to say that they're going to have their hands full with the Bengals and it's going to be a tough game in the playoffs in the divisional round. How is that controversial in any way? How is that negative? What are we doing here? What are we doing? The Titans are going to have a tough game against a good team in the division round of the playoffs? I mean, I literally had like 150

replies to the tweet and most of them were trashing me. Now, I don't really care so much about that. It's just, are we not going to be logical here? Like, I feel like I'm in the twilight zone a little bit saying that the Titans are going to have their hands full with the Bengals is me hating on the Titans. What do you want me to say? Titans by a hundred. I mean, anybody who's listened to the show since I took over at the beginning of the 2019 season, I'm not going to be a homer and just sit here and say Titans win every game.

I'm not going to say the Titans are going to blow everybody out every week and Tannehill's the best quarterback of all time and A.J. Brown's the best wide receiver. I'm just not going to do that stuff. I'm going to call it how it is and be honest. I'm going to pick the Titans to lose some games when they have bad matchups. And I'm going to be wrong and the Titans are going to find a way to win in those games too. Do you pick every football game right every week, go to Vegas and be a millionaire then bud.

Like, I don't know. I'm a little bit perplexed is all. And I just, I know the podcast crowd is a little more logical than the social media crowd. So that's why I guess I just come here and, you know, just let you guys know how I'm feeling about certain things. And I just want to say that saying that the Titans are going to have their hands full with the Bengals, a really good team in the division round of the playoffs, is not a hot take in any sense of the imagination. So everyone relax. That's really all it comes down to.

But that's going to do it for me today, folks. Again, tomorrow is a Twitter Tuesday. I'm going to be taking mailbag questions. Send them in. Hopefully, we get some updates on some health for Tennessee Titans players like Buster Screen, Elijah Molden, and, of course, Derrick Henry. And I'm going to be here to break it all down with you guys. So, everybody, I hope you had an enjoyable weekend.

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