Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - When Will Titans Training Camp Start? Isaiah Mack in Year Two & Jamal Adams Trade Rumors

Episode Date: June 29, 2020

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by Built Bar, the best tasting protein bars ever. But we have a lot to get into in today's show. So the owners had a meeting at the end of last week. We got a bunch of information that is pertinent to the Titans coming out of those discussions. So I will go over all of the highlights from the owners meeting from the end

of last week for you guys and give you all of, like I said, the pertinent information for the Titans. And then we are going to jump into a little article done by our guy Jim Wyatt at TennesseeTitans.com. He spoke to what I think is one of the undersold Tennessee Titans of the offseason, and that is Isaiah Mack, defensive lineman who, in my opinion, will be asked to have a much more important role this upcoming season. So I will talk about the article from Jim Wyatt where he spoke with Isaiah Mack and kind of give you my highlights of that article and a little bit of analysis splashed in there as well. As I mentioned, I think Isaiah Mack

will have a much more important and increased role coming up in 2020. And then I will finish out the show for you guys with a little bit of a Rollins rant. So no surprise to any of you listening if you're online and involved in the Titans communities whatsoever. Every time there is a big name free agent or a big name on the trade market, every Titans fan wants to sign that guy or trade for that guy. So right now the hot name is Jamal Adams, the safety from the New York Jets.

So I will give you guys my two cents to wrap up the show as to how I feel about the Titans prospects of trading for Jamal Adams. Should they do it? Should they not do it? Why? I'll give you all of that to wrap up our show. do it, why, I'll give you all of that to wrap up our show. Of course, make sure that

you follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitan so you can be updated on any information I post there. My film breakdowns, content schedules, anything like that. Send your mailbag questions for Friday's show to me there as well. And also, make sure you

are subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast on Apple Podcast, following on Spotify or whatever platform you do stream your podcast as I have a ton of great content coming up throughout the summer as we get closer and closer to training camp, including the return of the Ultimate Division crossover. So we will have another week where all of the AFC South hosts get together for a week's worth of shows before training camp kicks off. So make sure you are subscribed so that you do not miss that.

But with the housekeeping out of the way, we got to wrap up the owners meetings. We got to talk a little bit about Isaiah Mack and I got to rant a little bit about Jamal Adams as a trade target for the Titans. Let's get it. We got a bunch of different updates on a bunch of different topics coming from the NFL owners meeting last week that were reported on. So let's go over some of the big takeaways, some of the big quotes that have come out from that meeting. And the first one has to do with all NFL teams, but of course,

has to do with the Tennessee Titans. If it's all NFL teams, it's going to include the Titans, of course. But it came directly from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and he said on a conference call that the season still plans to start and training camp still plans to start on time he said quote get ready for games at our stadiums and to engage our fans both in stadiums and through our media partners end quote so it sounds like not only does the NFL plan on having fans in the stands but uh it seemed not only does it sound like the NFL is ready to have games and has no plans on limiting the season restricting the season decreasing the amount of games of the season but it sounds like from that quote right here to engage our fans both in stadiums and through

our media partners, it sounds like the NFL is still planning to have fans in the stands in some capacity. I'll talk more a little bit further down the segment about some changes we're going to see in stadium. But I mean, right then and there, it sounds like the commissioner is planning on having fans in the stands come fall time. Next, we have the NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility. Her name is Anna Isaacson,

and she talks about some of the social change initiatives that the players want to see that the NFL is committed to as well. And quite frankly, it should be something that everyone is committed to. And Anna Isaacson had this to say, quote, our goal is for everyone associated with the NFL to register to vote and vote and inspire others. We have all shared a right and obligation to go vote, end quote. So it seems like the NFL is making it a major focus going forward to push people to vote. And obviously in our country, in our democracy, voting is the most important thing that citizens can do. It's the most power that citizens can hold. It is the lifeblood of our

entire system. So the NFL obviously is making a big push with the election coming up to influencing people to at least register to vote in hopes they use that power. Next, we have a coronavirus and a procedure update from the NFL's chief Dr. Alan Sills. And he says, quote, we're setting up a very ambitious testing program. He also said, quote, testing alone will not be sufficient to keep everyone healthy. It's vitally important to keep social distances and use masks when possible, end quote. So obviously the NFL is going to do a little bit more than just test people. They have to promote and at some point in time require a healthy environment to try to limit passing the coronavirus or limit the amount of players and team personnel that will be taking in regards to social issues. And he did say that all teams will receive, quote, anti-racism training in the next month.

The NFL's other executive vice president, Jeff Pash, also said, along with what Commissioner Goodell had to say, that they have advised teams that training camps are expected to open, quote, on a normal schedule. So for the NFL, and for most teams around the NFL, I mean, and the Titans specifically, that means that training camps will be slated to open on July 28th as scheduled. Of course, you have different players with different ailments who are allowed to still go to the training facility. You also have rookies and certain players who will be allowed to come in a little bit before that training camp date, but at this moment in time, we haven't seen those plans be altered whatsoever by the NFL. And finally, as I mentioned,

Roger Goodell is still stating that they plan on having fans in stadium, but one thing that they are changing about the in-stadium experience is they don't plan to have fans in the first six to ten rows, and in lieu of, obviously, the first six to ten rows in a stadium, regardless of the sport, are going to be some of the seats that have the highest ticket prices, therefore bringing in the most revenue for the team. To replace the ticket revenue lost from not having fans that close to the players, the NFL is going to now have advertising and sponsorship logos, things like that, on top of the seat coverings in those areas.

And since those are the lowest level seats seats they will be most visible to the television audience so it does make good business sense for the NFL to replace those seats with advertisements can help them make back some of the revenue they're losing by not having fans there and also have something something engaging on television in those spots where we would just see empty seats which isn't very flattering to the eye, aesthetically speaking. So those are the big updates coming from the NFL owners conference call from last week. Wanted to get you guys up to date with that.

Before we jump into our second segment, I do want to remind you guys that the Locked On Podcast Network stands against racism and social injustice. That's why we, the hosts of the Locked On Podcast Network, are making personal donations to local and national organizations that are fighting for change. In the month of June, Locked On is matching the total of all host donations up to an additional $10,000. You can help us. You can help the host of the Locked On Podcast Network actually make change, not just talk about it and be about it by making your own donation at lockedonpodcast.com slash blacklivesmatter.

Now, right now is about the time in the episode where I tell you guys about Built Bar. But I have good news. Built Bar is sold out right now. Their inventory is sold out. You guys absolutely crushed it with their 50% off, 100% profits to charity campaign that they were running on their website. So I will update you guys when inventory is restocked on BuiltBar.comcom but I just wanted to give you guys a big shout out all of the listeners for actually helping out not only our podcast network but all of the charitable organizations that built bar is going to be helping out as well so thank you guys very much let's talk about second year defensive lineman Isaiah Mack the return of the Mack is upon us so

last year Isaiah Mack made the Titans as an undrafted free, he was able to play in 13 games. He's a little bit of an undersized interior defensive lineman and only 6'1", 299 pounds, but he was able to produce 11 tackles, 8 quarterback pressures, and 1.5 sacks despite not playing in the last 6 games of the season for the Titans just due to being inactive, which leads us to the next question. Isaiah Mack will be coming back to the Titans for his second season. Will he be able to increase his role and increase his impact with the departure of an Austin Johnson and a Jarrell Casey?

Obviously, right now, the Titans have two very good defensive linemen in Jeffrey Simmons and Daquan Jones. Titans have two very good defensive linemen in Jeffrey Simmons and Daquan Jones. But, but, we don't really have a third defensive lineman that I would consider a guaranteed starter for the Titans in their base package. Now, I have been one to be on this podcast multiple times to tell you guys who cares about base, who cares about base who cares about base most of the league is played in sub package but the reality is some of the greatest plays that the titans made last year came in goal line came in base with multiple defensive linemen on the field so while

in sub package and in general you really need two very good interior defensive linemen you need depth along the roster completely so Isaiah Mack is one of those guys along with a Jack Crawford a Laurel Murchison who has the ability to to make a huge leap here in this second year be part of that defensive line rotation and actually have a very big impact. So will Isaiah Mack be able to improve and take care of that and actually be that guy? I certainly hope so. I enjoy watching Isaiah Mack play. And according to this article from Jim Wyatt, Mack not only is a solid player out on the field, but has a pretty good story as well.

So let's get into a little article analysis. Once again, this is from Jim Wyatt, Tennessee Titans.com. But Mac talked about his motivation and how he was raised. And the number one thing that he points to is his mother. So Isaiah Mack's mother, Sequoia Mack, was actually going to school to be a nurse while she was raising their family. And Mack had this to say about his mother quote I wouldn't be where I am today without her I can promise you that she is an outstanding woman just being able to take care of me and my brother and my cousins and on top of that go to school

watching her I got to see what hard work really is she is an example of not just hard work but of determination it's why I can never give up I just try and keep up with her and I understand End quote. Absolutely love hearing that from Isaiah Mack. Oftentimes you've heard the saying before that behind every great man is a great woman. And I have failed to see a lot of times where that isn't true. A lot of players in the NFL come from a single parent home and had their mother really bear all of the weight and all the stress for their family. Obviously it's not to diminish dads or you know single fathers out there but it's just something that you hear a lot especially in the NFL and pro athletics of the story of the single

mother doing everything she can to move her family along. And obviously Mack has that background and has that example to draw from. And it makes you appreciate Isaiah Mack even more and want to see him do well so that he can kind of pay that back to his mom and show his mother that everything that she did, you know, obviously had a great impact on him. And for him to do that, he needs to have a productive season in year two with the Titans. And a lot of what he's going to be able to do going forward is him drawing off the experiences that he's had in the past. And he talks directly about that in this article as well and says, quote, the experience last

season, it was awesome. To go on the run we went on, it was great. We got to see how good we could be. As for myself, I think the whole year was a learning experience, end quote. And he talked about specifically learning from the defensive linemen that I mentioned before, Jeffrey Simmons, Daquan Jones, Jarrell Casey even, and Mac had this to say, quote, I learned a lot of things. I learned from Jarrell about pass rush, and I learned from Daquan and Jeffrey about the run. I got put with a bunch of good guys I could learn from. I'm glad I was put in a spot to learn from some good guys, end quote. Obviously, Isaiah Mack was an undrafted free agent last season.

That means that he didn't put quite enough on tape to be drafted in the seven rounds, but had just enough on tape to be given an opportunity. And oftentimes, that means that there's something within his game that he really needs to improve on. And with Mack, it appears to be with his undersized body that we talked about earlier, working on his play strength. But also, when you see these undersized guys like a Jarrell Casey, like a Larell Murchison, who will be coming in for the Titans, their technique is really what is going to push them across the finish line. And the proverbial finish line here is a successful NFL career, I guess.

But oftentimes, when you're undersized like that, you have to be an absolute technician to make sure that you're able to win battles against guys who are just quite frankly bigger and stronger than you are and that's something that Isaiah Mack talked about and he came out of Chattanooga so a small school it's not like he was working with big-time coaches or big-time players and but he has the opportunity now with a year's worth of NFL coaching behind him to really make a leap into an every down or maybe not every down but at least a reliable rotation NFL player and Mack had this to say quote the NFL it's a different level and it's important to win your one-on-ones when you

have a chance they don't come along that often so you have to be able to win your one-on-ones and understand the playbook in depth to give yourself a chance. And Coach Vrabel and defensive line coach T, Terrell Williams, they talk all the time about hustle, effort, and finish. Nothing is more scary for an offense than 11 guys around the ball. I just want to keep getting better and keep improving. I feel like for everybody, no one is guaranteed anything. I know that's the way I look at things.

It is all about improving, trying to be the best player you can be. I know I'm going to work and I'm going to do everything I can to get better so I can help the team. End quote. And you love that mindset from Isaiah Mack, obviously not being a star player or a highly drafted guy or a starter. A lot of those guys who come up as an undrafted free agent or not a highly touted player, they win with hustle, effort, and finish. It's the little things in sports often that will

make guys successful. It's not always about pure talent. It's just about the little things that you can't necessarily measure all the time. The hustle, the effort, the finish, like he mentioned. I'm glad that the Titans coaches are really preaching those things. And it seems like hearing from all of the different Titans players continuously when they speak with the media, it just seems like that is the message that is constantly being preached. And once again, I always come back to this from the top down, Amy Adams Strunk, John Robinson, Mike Rabel, the players, just the exact kind of mindset that

you want to see from your football team or from any team that you support or have anything to do with. If it's a group project at work, you would help people put in hustle, effort, and make sure that they finish the job. So absolutely enjoyed that article about Isaiah Mack. I encourage you guys to check out that article by Jim Wyatt yourself as well. I also encourage you guys to check out rockauto.com. So I've been talking to you guys for a few weeks about rockauto.com and I can't sell you on it enough. It makes all the sense in the world. Why

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just giving you my two cents, a piece of my mind when it comes to a big talking point within the Titans fan base over the past week. So just to update you guys, New York Jets, awesome safety. I mean, the guy's a fantastic player, one of the top five safeties in the NFL. Maybe the best, the argument could be made. Jamal Adams requested a trade. So here's the situation. Jamal Adams is entering his final year of his rookie contract, so his fourth season in the NFL. And like we saw with Christian McCaffrey earlier

this year, he wants an extension now. He doesn't want to play out his fourth year, play on his fifth year option, like we saw with Adoree Jackson. His fifth year option was picked up, so he's getting ready to play his fourth season, but his fifth year option was picked up. Clearly, the Jets would pick up Jamal Adams' fifth year option, but he wants a contract extension now. He doesn't want to wait. He wants to be the highest paid safety in the NFL, maybe the highest paid defensive player in the NFL. And he has taken a lot of disrespect in his mind from the Jets when they even picked up the phone to talk to Jerry Jones about possibly trading him last season. So there's a lot of bad blood between Adams and the Jets franchise right now. And we've

heard a ton of rumors about Adam Gase as a coach and how he doesn't get along with players in that locker room anyway. So no surprise here, Jamal Adams has requested a trade. And that brings us to the next point. Should the Titans think about it? Should the Titans make a call? Should the Titans receive a call? And what would that package look like? So, first things first, a lot of people, a lot of people say that the Titans should consider Corey Davis as a trade candidate. I've even talked about that. Should the Titans trade Corey Davis, the odds that he's on the team after this season are

very, very low after the Titans declined his fifth year option. But regardless of what you think about trading Corey Davis, basically I brought that up because most people are putting the trade package together of a first round pick and Corey Davis for Jamal Adams. The Jets need help at wide receiver. It would be a first round pick pick which they wouldn't accept any less after DeForest Buckner got traded for a first round pick to the Colts from the 49ers this offseason so that makes sense the trade right there on its own makes sense and if you just look

at it a first round pick hopefully the Titans are at the back end of the first round again next year Corey Davis might not be on the team at face value. I guess that trade package in itself makes sense. But consider this. Kenny Vaccaro is nowhere near as expensive, and he has great rapport and chemistry with all his teammates. And while Jamal Adams is a far superior player, and I'm not going to be someone sit here and say, what would the Titans do with three safeties? But the NFL is going to heavy safety looks all the time. The Titans played three safeties with Amani Hooker, Kenny Vaccaro, and Kevin Byard all the time last year.

And with having a young cornerback like Fulton, it may make more sense to put more safeties out on the field than more corners. So I don't even think it's nuts to have a talented third safety. It's not insane to have Jamal Adams on the Titans, even with Vaccaro and Bayard on the team. But here's what I will say in comparison. We have to compare what we could get out of Adams in that trade with what we could have otherwise. So would you rather have Jamal Adams, who would need a big contract, about $17 million a year, or would you rather have Jadavion Clowney, Corey Davis, and a first round pick? I mean, that's the question that we're asking ourselves here. Because the money

that we would spend on Clowney, that that we would spend on Clowney that John Robinson would spend on Clowney would have to be used to give Adams a big contract which could jeopardize the contract that Corey Davis or that Derrick Henry gets or that Jayon Brown gets or that Johnnie Smith gets so when you think about that one Jamal Adams is a great, but he's already causing problems in the locker room for the Jets. He clearly thinks that his stuff doesn't smell by the way he talks about himself. He said, would the Patriots explore trading options for Tom Brady? He thinks of himself like he's untradeable, like he's one of the top five best players in the entire NFL.

He wants more money than Aaron Donald. players in the entire NFL. He wants more money than Aaron Donald. So I think with his, not that, I think that if you get Jamal Adams in a new situation, I'm not saying he would be a locker room issue, but clearly he's got a big ego. Clearly he wants big time money. Clearly he's at a position that isn't really paid as a premium and the Titans already paid a premium player at that position. So when you consider what his impact to the locker room could be, his impact to the salary cap situation could be, his impact on the field, and you consider that the Titans could have Jadavion Clowney this year, keep their first round pick, and still have Corey Davis in the fold for the entire season

to help with a wide receiver core that isn't necessarily spectacular on paper. I think in my opinion, it's pretty obvious that the Titans should not trade for Jamal Adams. Now, if the qualifiers that I've put in place, not Corey Davis, not a first round pick, not a big time extension. If any of that stuff changes, then of course the calculation changes. But right now, and what we understand, the Titans absolutely should not trade for Jamal Adams. I would much rather have door two of Clowney,

the first round pick, and Corey Davis. Even if you take away Clowney from that option, a veteran backup cornerback, a veteran wide receiver, our first round pick, and Corey Davis, I'd still rather go that route anyways because Jamal Adams is gonna command such a high salary such a big contract that right now with the way the Titans roster is set up I just don't see it as feasible but that is gonna do it for our show today that will conclude my Rollins rant we went over the highlights from the NFL owners meeting. We went over an article from Jim Wyatt talking about the undersold defensive lineman Isaiah Mack. And we also, I had a little bit of a rant on Jamal Adams as a trade prospect for the

Titans. So a really fun episode. I enjoyed breaking everything down with you guys as I always do. But now that you are done with this episode of the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure that you tell your smart device to check out the Locked on NFL podcast. The national show is still rocking. There's a lot of national news going on right now. So make sure you check that out now that you are done with this episode of the Locked on

Titans. But I'm going to be back with you guys later this week. As always, I am your host Tyler Rowland and this was Locked on Titans