Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Weekend News Drop - Vrabel On Offseason, Henry On Contract & Super Bowl Lesson

Episode Date: February 3, 2020

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. I hope you guys enjoyed the Super Bowl. The Kansas City Chiefs did come out victorious, 31-20 over the San Francisco 49ers. I know that there are some lingering emotions there, but I thought it was a pretty entertaining football game overall. We will talk a little bit more about that at the end of the show, but first, there is a ton of Titans news to talk about.

We got our first quotes from head coach Mike Vrabel about the offseason so far, some of the coaching decisions, the staff changes, and then some comments about the upcoming roster decisions that will have to be made. So we are going to break down all of that first and talk about what the head coach had to say about everything that's taken place so far in this short, but very, very interesting Titans offseason. show over the Super Bowl media week there towards the back half and had some interesting comments as well about his contract situation and what he's looking for going forward. So we are going to talk about that in the middle of the show before we end on that Super Bowl recap that I mentioned at the beginning.

So a lot to get into. Let's get it. Let's dive into these quotes from head coach Mike Vrabel coming out of a conversation with titansonline.com. These are the first real quotes or answers or comments or anything that we've gotten from this organization through the tumultuous first couple of weeks of the offseason filled with coaching changes and looming roster decisions that are going to have a great impact on the direction of this franchise going forward. So first things first, Rabel just kind of commented on all the praise that the Titans

have been getting in the national media. Once the season is over, everyone kind of sits back and looks at everything that's been accomplished. And although it was disappointing for the Titans to lose where they did, it's clear from a national perspective that this team is getting a lot of respect, including head coach Mike Vrabel. He's being discussed as one of the better coaches in the league, but we know how Vrabel is. So it's not surprising that he didn't really appreciate accepting the praise. His quote was, a great year is winning a championship. We lost in the AFC championship, and I told the team, this isn't a funeral. We are going to celebrate our success. We have beaten a

lot of good teams in two years, but there is no consolation. We want to win a championship, end quote. So no surprise there from Mike Vrabel that it's all bittersweet the success that comes if you don't win a championship. Vrabel then commented on hiring defensive back coach Anthony Midgett away from the Houston Texans to join his staff in Tennessee replacing Kerry Coombs who left to Ohio State. He had to say about Midgett's hiring, quote, I would say he has a vast knowledge of the system and the secondary guys are going to be in good hands going into their third year in the system Midgett has coached it for four or five years in Houston so they did coach together for quite some time he seems to be very very comfortable

with Midgett going forward in this system as the defensive back coach which is an incredibly important role to fill especially after you have a guy like Kerry Coombs in there with the energy and the passion that he showed. So clearly that resonated with the group. Hopefully Midget's able to do the same thing. In regards to the confusing and perplexing move of losing inside linebacker coach Tyrone McKenzie, Vrabel had very few quotes, but did throw this in here, quote, still working through some things. I'm leaning towards a veteran coach. And that's pretty interesting there. The inside linebacker group is filled with young guys. And when you have a guy like Wesley Woodyard as a veteran, who's probably going to leave the team in free agency, it's really

important to have a vet who's been through a lot, who can help these young players and Jayon Brown and David Long and Rashawn Evans. You need a veteran coach to help lead those guys when they're all so young into their career and on their rookie contracts right now. So that's going to be something interesting to monitor going forward as well. Then the most important question of all and the most important and in flux situation, and that's the defensive coordinator position for the Tennessee Titans coaching staff the rumor is on the streets that Mike Vrabel will just be the defensive coordinator but these quotes make you wonder whether he's made up his mind about what direction

to go yet so let's dive into those quote I'm going to try and do what's best for the team I would say to bring in a guy who hasn't been in our system and done what we have done in Houston or here isn't what I want to do so whoever whoever calls the defense, we are going to pretty much do what we have done. We are going to continue to add and enhance things, but to me that is not a big deal. I want guys that are loyal, that are good teachers, and good developers. Everything is going to be just fine on defense. We waited and were patient last year with Arthur and the fit was right. on defense we waited and were patient last year with Arthur and the fit was right so from hearing that quote that makes you think that Rabel could still hire a defensive coordinator he says so whoever calls the defense that also could lean towards him just giving that responsibility to

somebody on the staff but clearly he's not seeing it as as big of a deal as the fan base and some of the analysts around the team and I think it is kind of a big deal who the defensive coordinator is and how much is on Mike Vrabel's plate so going to be interesting to see how that goes that quote right there it could go either way whether he decides to hire a defensive coordinator or just give the play calling responsibility to someone on the staff already I don't think from that quote that he's got his mind made up yet. So we will continue to monitor that situation. And then finally, he made a comment on all of the roster moves ahead and all of the decisions that have to be made on extensions and free agents talking about him and John Robinson meeting all the time to discuss these things.

Quote, we've had some time to reflect and I've been trying to move toward next season, trying to hire a staff and make sure we have the right guys in place and John and I continue to talk daily about our roster and what it will look like we are now working towards next season so end quote there obviously Vrabel's not going to give away too much in an interview here and talk about what they want to do but obviously it's good but obviously it's a good takeaway to see him talk about him and John's relationship in that way. You want your head coach and your general manager tied at the hip. You want them in sync and in lockstep with the way they're thinking about the roster, so you have to love those comments and the way that he talks about their collaborative process. Speaking of the collaborative process, John Robinson and Mike Vrabel will have a huge decision when they decide what to do with Derrick Henry,

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fit.com slash L-O-N-F-L echelonfit.com slash L-O-n-f-l echelonfit.com slash l-o-n-f-l this derrick henry contract situation is already starting to get a little bit shaky here. Derrick Henry went on the Dan Patrick Show. He's done throughout the season and had some comments about his contract situation. So I'm going to play that segment for you. It's about a minute and a half from the Dan Patrick Show where Henry talks about his future. He talks about Tennessee in general, but also has a very interesting comment about the

floor about the minimum contract that he is to expect and who exactly he is getting some advice from now into his free agency so it's kind of concerning a little curious we are going to talk about everything after but I want to make sure that we're on the same page. And I play this audio for you guys so you hear exactly what Derrick Henry had to say. Once again, this is from the Dan Patrick Show. You're a free agent, sir, correct? Yes, sir. How are you approaching this? You're fired up, you're excited, you want to stay.

What do you got for me? I definitely want to stay. It's my first time being a free agent. And it's just taking one day at a time and then, you know, see what happens. Because, I mean, eventually, I mean, something's going to happen, so there ain't no reason to rush in it. You know, just let it play out. Get my agent, talk to the team, and then see how it goes from there.

So I'm new to this. Okay. Is Zeke Numbers the floor? Is that the floor? Zeke Numbers is the floor. I mean, that's it, right? I mean mean he's the guy so uh do you have a place in combo that you can go to as well to pull the zeke

actually was uh actually was at a pro bowl and got we we went out to eat and we're talking and catching up so ah yeah this past pro bowl yes what'd you what'd you talk about at dinner talk about football talk about life you know catching up on all those great things. Strategy, a little strategy. Well, again, he had a contract. You are a free agent. I mean, so you can pretty much dictate in a way what you would like to have happen. And so you will test the market,

or is there a way that Tennessee could prevent that from happening? That's what you're saying. I mean, I hope they prevent it from happening. I mean, I'd love to stay in Tennessee and then see what happens, though. I mean, it's all, I mean, got to talk to my agent, work things out with them, and, you know. Okay, and you led the league in carries and yards, and so you have pretty much put your resume on the table for the Tennessee Titans I hope so I did I hope so so in classic journalism fashion let's not bury the lead here the obvious thing to point out is his comment about the floor of his contract the minimum that

he would be expecting based on his production so far. And coming off of a 1,500-yard, 16-touchdown season where he was the focal point of not only the offense, but the team and the spiritual leader and the heartbeat of the team, I definitely understand him thinking so. But let's talk about what Zeke numbers actually are, what the Zeke contract is he's saying that's the floor of what he could get paid well I mean Zeke Elliott got six years 90 million dollars

with 50 million of that guaranteed I mean that's 1515 million a season with at least three of those seasons dedicated. Now, Zeke was in a contract and got an extension on his contract, so things would be a little different with Henry here. I wouldn't expect him to get six years. That wouldn't work. He would be looking at four or five years for the contract that he got but I mean that is just so much for a running back and when you start looking at some other high-end running back contracts you look at the Zeke contract you take a look and you look at Todd Gurley's contract David Johnson Devonta Freeman these are guys who fell off almost immediately after their contract and not that they're bad players or anything like that but they're just not having the impact that they

had before they got their money. The reality is running backs break down and Derrick Henry has gotten so many carries over the last few years and quite frankly if Zeke money is the floor well he doesn't produce nearly as much in the passing game looking at the receiving numbers just right now where they're at in their careers Zeke has 189 catches to Derrick Henry's 57 Zeke has 1600 receiving yards to Derrick Henry's 578 Zeke has eight receiving touchdowns to Derek Henry's three and most of Derek Henry's catches here they're not on your typical running back routes angles out of the backfield flat routes wheel routes things like that he's not doing that he's catching easy flats he's catching screen passes primarily is what they try to do with Derek Henry so we have

to have an honest discussion here and say that Derrick Henry is not a typical pass catching running back. He's not as versatile as someone who can catch the ball out of the backfield consistently. He is a power running back that you line up and you hand off the ball. And he showed the maximum amount of value that that type of running back can have this year but to expect that to increase or to inspect expect that to you know happen again and repeat itself over and over for the next four years at minimum I just don't think that that's logical and that's smart to think of the Titans if they want to keep Derrick Henry healthy and productive they're going to have to draft

another running back to take some of the workload away or they're going to have to draft another running back to take some of the workload away, or they're going to have to go out in free agency again like they did with Deion Lewis and pay a running back more than they should. If you're paying Derrick Henry $15 million a year at the baseline, and you go out and you have to pay a running back like Deion Lewis $4-5 million, well now you're devoting $20 million of your cap to the running back position and you just cannot do that in today's modern NFL so quite frankly I don't think Derrick Henry deserves Zeke numbers because he's not as versatile of an option out of the backfield in the passing game and I just it's it's worrisome that Derrick Henry has in his mind that the Zeke Elliott's deal is the minimum that he would start with, and that's where the conversation begins.

I just don't think that that can be the case, which leads us to a conversation about what the Titans' options are here. They could give Derrick Henry that kind of contract, or while probably ruffling his feathers, they could tag him. And giving him the franchise tag at this moment in time, there are other reports over the weekend that I don't feel as solid about so I didn't want to give a whole segment to him because I don't know how I feel if I trust the sources that I'm seeing yet but it looks like Ryan Tannehill is probably going to be back wants to be back the word coming out of

Titans organization is there no way they're going to let him go so they're probably going to ink Tannehill to a multi-year deal they probably need to go ahead and franchise tag Derrick Henry which is becoming all too common with running backs but you just can't pay a running back that kind of money long term and and have the ability to build a team around them you just can't so it's going to be very interesting to see how John Robinson and Mike Rabel feel about that but those comments from my perspective are pretty concerning about what his expectations are salary wise you can't possibly pay a running back 15 million dollars in today's NFL you just can't do it so gonna be very very curious what to see in the franchise tag is gonna be to $13 million on a one-year deal.

Seems like that's going to be the best route at this moment in time. So something that we're obviously going to keep monitoring as we go along in the offseason. It's going to be very, very interesting to see what the Titans decide to do. But if they don't bring back Derrick Henry in any capacity, then things are going to really get crazy. So look forward to seeing what their decision is. and we are going to be here to break it all down. Next, we are going to talk about the Super Bowl a little bit more. I'm going to talk about my big takeaways from watching the game and what the Titans can

learn from the Super Bowl and see what we can take away and try to improve this team so that the Titans can get to the Super Bowl and win it. It's kind of funny that the Titans lost to the Super Bowl champion or beat the Super Bowl champions again this regular season, just like last regular season with the New England Patriots. So clearly this team is knocking on the door. They proved it this year and they need to get over the hump. So is there anything we can take away from this Super Bowl to help the Titans do that?

We'll talk about that next. This is why the playoffs for the NFL are just the most bittersweet thing of all time. Because it's the best football you're going to get all year. You get the best teams, you get the most compelling games, all the storylines are coming to a head and everything like that. But at the same time, football's over. And this is a really sad day despite being a really good game to watch. It was an entertaining Super Bowl. You got almost a tale of two halves. You had the defense for the 49ers

stepping up early and limiting everything that the Chiefs wanted to do on offense. And then late in the game, Patrick Mahomes took over and decided to make plays, whether he was running the ball, throwing the ball, whatever he wanted to do, he found a way to do it. So really impressive there. I mean, Pat Mahomes, that's all it really comes down to. He was able to make the plays. Damian Williams had a great game for the Chiefs as well, had three touchdowns, but clearly at the end of the game, you need a stud like Pat Mahomes to go out and make plays for you. Jimmy Garoppolo wasn't able to do that for the 49ers, and once again, Kyle Shanahan kind of clams up there in the fourth quarter and allows a comeback. The Chiefs scored

21 points in the fourth quarter to win that ball game unanswered. I mean, just incredible. Happy to see Andy Reid get a Super Bowl, like I mentioned on Friday. You want his contributions to football to be recognized and celebrated and respected, and the best way to do that is to win at least one Super Bowl. One Super Bowl in the NFL makes you a legend because it's so difficult to win in the NFL over and over and over again. So fantastic game. Like I said, Taylor, two halves, two good teams. And I think, and this is something I mentioned on Friday, I think there's solace in the fact

that the Titans lost to the eventual Super Bowl champs. I mean, you can go back and, you know, it's bittersweet, as I've mentioned throughout the episode, a lot of things bittersweet about this time because the Titans weren't in the game. But hey, the Titans lost to the champions. What are you going to do? You know, we lost to the best team in the NFL, probably the best player in the NFL. And speaking of Patrick Mahomes, you know, it's a Titans podcast.

I don't try to get too crazy on other teams and other teams' players, but how can you not be incredibly impressed? What a trajectory that he is on to be possibly the greatest player of all time, winning an MVP and setting all the type of performance that he had in his first season as a starter, his second season as a starter, dealing with the injuries that he had to deal with. Everybody's on Lamar Jackson now. Everybody's talking about Jimmy G and bringing the 49ers back.

And Pat Mahomes just gets healthy, goes back out there, completely lights up the league the second half of the season after the Titans game, which really set him off. Lights it up in the playoffs, down double digits in every game, brings his team back, whether it's running, passing, whatever he has to do. So what an absolute stud Pat Mahomes is. And one other thing that I mentioned on Friday that we can take away from this is he got one.

What happened to Aaron Rodgers went and got one. Brett Favre went and got one. Drew Brees went and got one. Well, it's very, very difficult to get another one. So hopefully the odds are in the Titans' favor now that Pat Mahomes has a Super Bowl. Hopefully that will open the door and maybe the Titans can go in there and get one away from him during his career and the next few years with this core that they have on the roster. Some things that we can take away from the 49ers.

What they were doing early to beat the Chiefs, they were getting pressure with four people. Nick Bosa, DeForest Bunkner, Eric Armstead, Dee Ford. I mean, they were getting pressure on Mahomes. They were making him incredibly uncomfortable. A lot of the turnovers that the Chiefs had, the two interceptions especially, that's Pat Mahomes making bad throws because he's feeling the pressure, and you can see it. You can tell. So, they weren't able to keep it up throughout the game the Chiefs adjusted beautifully in the second half to get the pressure off Mahomes but also Mahomes just made some plays he just stepped up with the rush in his face there was a play where he was able to run and pick up a first down and there were two guys on him at the line of scrimmage two 49ers defenders and he just bounced off of them and kept

running so Pat Mahomes just made plays even with pressure on him in the second half. That's what really made the difference in the game. So that is the formula to beating this Chiefs team. You just got to get pressure with four people so you can devote all seven people in the back end into coverage. You can mix up things a lot more without exposing yourself on a bunch of blitzes. So that's what the biggest takeaway for me is from the 49ers side of things. And that's my biggest takeaway from the entire game. If you want to beat the Chiefs, you got to get pressure with four. You got to stack your defensive line with disruptors and people who can get pressure

every single snap over and over again. And that's where the Titans lack the most. So let that be the biggest lesson that we take out of this Super Bowl and out of this year is that the Titans need to improve the pass rush. It's something that we're going to talk about throughout the entire all season. It's clearly got to be a focus for this team. I already have a bunch of you hit me up on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans talking about who the Titans should go after for edge rushers, free agent options, draft options. It's a pretty deep class in the draft for edge rushers as well. So that's where the Titans

got to show up this team. That's the biggest lesson coming out of the Super Bowl. We already knew that, but it was just accentuated by watching Nick Bosa and that stud 49ers defensive line get pressure on Mahomes for at least half of the game before the superstar just quite frankly took over and did what he needed to do and what we all knew that he could do so very entertaining season what a great season of NFL football the 100th season of NFL football obviously I haven't been around for all of them but it's it's been fantastic to be a football fan that's the number one takeaway is I love this game love this sport I'm sure you guys do as well and that's why we're all here and I cannot wait to get the Titans back out on the field next season. But a lot of offseason stuff to cover in between.

Like I mentioned to you guys, every show I'm going to be here breaking it down Monday through Friday. All the news and notes out of Nashville. We're going to get to some film breakdowns throughout the offseason, talk free agency, talk draft, a lot lined up in the pipeline. We have our Ultimate Division crossover coming next week. So a lot of stuff rearing and ready to go for you guys. Make sure you are subscribed to the show on whatever platform you do stream your podcast

and make sure you're following me on Twitter at TicTacTitans, as I mentioned. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.