August 8, 2024 • 42 mins
Ahead of Saturday's preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers, Owen and Stoney catch up on the signing of Quandre Diggs, Saahdiq Charles' retirement, the release of the first depth chart, and offensive chemistry developing in the passing game.
The Unofficial Titans Podcast is powered by Memo's Mexican Kitchen out in Mount Juliet - check 'em out today: https://www.memosmexicankitchen.com/
The Unofficial Titans Podcast is powered by Memo's Mexican Kitchen out in Mount Juliet - check 'em out today: https://www.memosmexicankitchen.com/
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Thank you from Sobros HQ in Nashville, Tennessee to wherever
you're cheering on your Tennessee Titans. The Sobros Network presents
the Unofficial Titans Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome back for another episode of the Unofficial Titans Podcast
right here on Sobros Network powered by Memos Mexican Kitchen
out in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, the best Mexican food in
the Nashville area. For my money, I am your host
for the show, Big Natural, Stony Keeley, the EIC at
(00:49):
sobrosnetwork dot com, Titans film Analyst, NFL Draft Analyst.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
At Stacking the Inbox as well.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Mine's right ass is tight as we bring in my
co host for the Unofficial Titans Podcast, he is Cinderellaman
one take Oh, coming to us from the dad Zone,
outspoken Owen Reid.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Owen.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
We actually have a football game to discuss on this
week's show.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
How you feeling, man? What are the vibes like?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Hey everybody, Hey, Stony, the the long streak of no
football of an intense definitely summer is almost over and
we have football on the horizon. I'm happy. How are you, buddy, man?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
I'm doing great. The weather.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
It's like I think they said on three HL yesterday,
it's gonna be eighty five degrees at kickoff, which compared
to what we've been feeling here in the Nashville area,
is going to feel like air conditioning outside. So I've
got a couple of leaves that are starting to turn
and fall in the backyard, and and sure, maybe that's
(01:57):
just because it's so hot and it's literally killing the vegetation,
but I look at it as a sign like, oh man,
it's starting. It's starting. Mother Nature's clock is starting to
wind down just a little bit. But it does feel
like football season is going to be here before you
know it. I don't know about you, man, but I'm
(02:20):
I'm relieved that we actually have news to talk about.
We've got a depth chart to talk about, We've got
a game to preview, and it's not just not that
there's anything wrong with off season content, but it's not
just off season stuff where people are just arguing about
Devandre sweat for the millionth time. Like there's actual stuff
(02:42):
to talk about. So I'm doing well, man, And I
told you like before we started recording, I'm having a
good little Thursday right now. I've already got film Friday
done that's going to be up on Stackingtheinbox dot Com
tomorrow morning. I looked at the leagerious Sneed film kind
of how I expect him to impact this Titans defense.
What the the makeup of this Titans defense under Denard
(03:04):
Wilson should look like? What I think it'll look like.
And you know, I'm just I'm getting ship done today
and and ultimately that's all you can ask for. What
do you do you have any plans for the game?
Are you Are you gonna take it in all four
quarters like a like a sicko just because football is back?
(03:24):
Or do you have do you have other weekend plans?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
I mean, buddy, when they say football's back, I'm there.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Like I watched the.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Hall of Fame game up until the weather and you know,
at that point the game had already fallen apart, like
it was getting ugly. Coverage was nonsense on both sides. Uh.
But yeah, I mean, I'm gonna try to watch as
long as I possibly can. I'm still interested in like
learning about these the new rules, you know, the new kickoff,
(03:58):
hip drop tackles, stuff like that. So it's interesting to
watch those and see how you know we're setting up
the season, But yeah, I kind of I'm interested in
seeing how this depth looks for the Titans, so you know,
I'm around for these third string guys, guys that aren't
gonna make it. You know, I'm just happy football's here.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
I'm with you, man, what do you what do you
make of this mosh pit gimmick? Because I know Sean
posted something about it in our Sobro slack group, and
I haven't heard a whole lot about it. But there's
gonna be like a I didn't read the press release,
but I know you said you were going to kick
Sean in the head in the mosh pit. So maybe
I'm hoping you can provide a little update there on
what that's going to be. What that's going to be like,
(04:40):
I do believe.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
My full quote was that I was gonna scissor kick
Sean in the back of the head, but no, I
was kind of reading over it. It seems like it's
going to be like an exclusive offer that the Titan
You have to reach out to the Titans to be
accepted for. You have to send in a video on
why you belong in the mosh pit. Uh and they're
(05:03):
gonna be seeded near where they had the live band performing. Uh,
they're gonna be offered exclusive tickets and exclusive season tickets
at that. So I don't know. I don't think it's
gonna be something that like, uh, you know, I think
(05:25):
the common fan can get into, which kind of sucks.
It seems like it's gonna be an inner circle kind
of thing, if I'm being honest just reading on it.
But I like the idea. I kind of like, uh,
just the thought that instead of just having all these
exclusive boxes and all that for kind of the higher up,
(05:48):
the rich that can afford these kind of situations, they're
they're trying to find a dedicated fan base to make
the environment more exciting. So I think it's a good idea.
Will I ever be in it? Probably not?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
But have you have you ever been in a in
a legitim mosh pit before? I don't know if what
kind of concerts you were going to back in the day,
but you ever end up in one.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
I'm not a big moster honestly, because like, if somebody
hits me, I'm pissed off. Like, yeah, I don't really
see the full appeal of you know, like we're slamming
into each other, but it's fun. So like I've been
on the wrong end of a mash pit before it,
I just I didn't like it. It's not for me, no,
thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Listen. I'm six ' two.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
At the time I was going to shows, I was
probably two twenty. This is probably like sixty pounds ago.
I like, I felt like I was tailor made for
a mosh pit, but I didn't want anything to do
with it. If if people started, I'd going to hardcore
and metal shows back in the day, Rocket Town Exit
in all that stuff. Like if if y'all started moshing
(06:56):
or doing your like hardcore dancing, swinging your fists and
your fe around, I'm ducking and I'm getting the hell
out of Dodge because I'm a big ass target. And
that's the thing that like, I don't think people realize
about the moshpit. If you're a big guy, you get
in there, like it's it's harder to kind of navigate
and maneuver around all the other people that are mashing,
(07:19):
so you end up just like slamming into everybody, and
it's not it's not fun, man. I don't want to
get kicked in the face. I don't want to get
kicked in the nuts. I I see a mosh pit
and I'm I'm heading the opposite direction. There was one
time I went to UH River Stages and Story of
the Year was playing, and Uh we all got right
(07:39):
up front because we didn't think there's gonna be a
mosh pit during Story of the Year. You know it's
emo shit. So I'm like, oh, we're gonna be safe.
Let's this is gonna be cool. One song end and
I see the people circling behind me. I actually dipped out.
I just left all my friends there. I'm like, I'm
getting I'm getting the fuck out of Dodge on this.
I'm not gonna be a part of this. I ran
(08:02):
from from the stage and actually walked up the pedestrian
bridge and watched the rest of the Story of the
Year set from the top of the pedestrian bridge. That's
how That's how much I avoided mosh pits.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
I have no problems with a mash pitge if that's
your thing, do your saying, but Tony, I think we're
just standing in the back sipping beer kind of concert goers.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Bingo.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
You said it, brother, you said it, all right, Well,
we do have some Titans football to talk about this week,
though I could sit and relive the glory days of
all the hardcore shows I went to back.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
In the day.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
But before we do, I do want to talk a
little bit about Memo's Mexican Kitchen, the sponsor for today's show.
Like I said in my opinion, it's the best Mexican
food in the Nashville area. It's worth a short drive
out to Mount Juliet. They're just a mile north of
the I forty exit at Mount Juliet, and I got
some Beery and nachos in my few future.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
I believe you.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Go there, you get your good margarita. Like I've said before,
I think I'm the only person that gets the Gin
and Tonic at the Mexican restaurant, But I'm getting the
Gen and Tonic there, and they have a good seasonal
Gen and Tonic for every season. Get a nice drink,
get started with some grilled jalapenos, some chips and salsa,
some caeso, and then get those Beera nachos. I've talked
(09:23):
about the Beria, the Bowl of Beria, the Enchilada Suezas,
talked about the State Casidia, the good quality steak they
use in their food there. But I haven't talked about
the Beera nachos. The best case of Beeria I've ever
had in my life. They do it in nacho form.
Throw some pento beans on there, some onions, the nachos,
a little bit of the the caso over it, the
(09:49):
crisp of the chips, the good texture it adds. Man,
it's a great dish. It's a good, hearty dish. I've
yet to have a disappointing dish at Memo's Mexican Kitchen.
We were there for the Hot Read podcast a few
weeks ago, stopped in a couple weeks after that, and
Katie told us that a few people had been in
(10:10):
saying that they watched the show and heard about the
place and wanted to come try it. I'm grateful for
you guys going out there and giving Memo a shot,
because I want I want all of Nashville to know
about this place, all right, So y'all keep going, keep
telling them Stony sent you, Keep telling them Sobro's Network
sent you. And Uh, We're gonna pack that place out
because because it deserves the recognition that we give it here,
(10:34):
and it deserves more so. And I think the Nashville
Scenes Best of Nashville voting is out as well, and
you can vote for Memos in the best Restaurant in
Wilson County category.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
So go do it.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Memos Mexican Kitchen dot com if you want to check
out their menu again. They're just a mile north of
I forty off the Mount Juliet exit. All right, Owen,
let's talk Titans. They signed Quandary Diggs. Diggs is a
guy that I love adding to this safety rotation. I
said it on Football and other f words on this
(11:06):
week's show, but I think the weakness in the defense
as they had put it together so far, damn it,
hang on just a second, buck, he's got his fucking
claw stuck in the curtain. Okay, no, never mind, The
situation has remedied to itself, all right. I said it
on Football and other f words this week that I
(11:26):
think the seam routes and the stuff kind of up
the spine of the defense was a susceptibility for how
Denard Wilson's unit had been constructed so far. Damn it,
Stop putting your fucking claws.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
In the curtains.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Get down, down, and I think it was because the
Titans just didn't have a lot of turn and run defenders,
like guys that offensive coordinators look at and say, that's
an advantageous matchup for us. Let's get Travis Kelcey on
Jack Gibbons, or you know, let's get a speedy slot
(12:01):
receiver on Jamal Adams.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Elijah Molden.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
As much as I love the guy, I love his tape,
I don't think he's necessarily a turn and run guy.
I think Kandre Diggs can still be a turn and
run guy playing safety, hovering over the middle of the defense,
capping the middle of the field. I think he can
help strengthen that potential weakness in this defense. He's still
got plenty of juice left in the tank. He had
(12:24):
some good tape in twenty twenty three. When I was
studying Jamal Adams for Film Friday a few weeks ago,
I kept coming back to Diggs and just thinking, man,
can the Titans just go ahead and sign this guy already?
And I do wonder it does concern me a little
bit because I'm a big Elijah Molden guy. It does
kind of worry me a little bit, Like, how does
(12:46):
this staff view him. Are they not high on Elijah Molden?
Is that why they've added two safeties in the last month?
But I think to me it speaks more to Denard
Wilson's scheme and his plans with multiple defensive backs. The
buzzwords this week have been three safety sets. I think
we probably will see more three safety sets. And I
(13:08):
think you're gonna see Adams, Digs and Hooker on the
field at the same time. I think you're probably gonna
see Hooker, Digs and Molden on the field at the
same time. And hell, the way Brian Callahan's pumping up
Matthew Jackson lately and I'm seeing that he's getting interceptions
in camp, they might keep five safeties and roll with
Matthew Jackson in the mix as well. So the more
(13:29):
I think about it, the more I think that this
probably is indicative of the type of system that Denard
Wilson wants to run, the number of defensive backs that
he wants to deploy and utilize, and less to do
with a skepticism or pessimism about Elijah Molden. Where do
you sit on the Digs signing Owen and what do
(13:51):
you think it says? About how this defense is going
to operate.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Yeah, I like to dig signing. It's always good to
have that kind of safe the numbers for safety. No
pun intended if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure they
said that Diggs has been a consistent sixteen game player
seventeen game now, yeah, for the past like four seasons.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, and he's been to a few Pro Bowls in
that time period too.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Yeah. I mean, this is all good stuff. This is
stuff you want, so, I mean, I think it's great.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
How do you feel about Elijah Molden?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I mean, do you feel like they needed an upgrade
or is it just the principle of get bodies there
because you're going to use a lot and there might
be injuries.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
I mean, I think there's always room for improvement on it.
Moulden was there to fill the spot, you know, kind of.
I don't want to put it like that, but you
know that he is kind of that was the best
we had at the time to work with, and I
think that bringing in Digs is an improvement upon it.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Fair enough, fair enough. So another bombshell happened within like
days of each other. Sadiq Charles, who was in line
to be the starter at right guard, and I've seen
some people suggest that, oh, the reps were split between
Charles and Raiden's. To my knowledge, that only happened because
(15:23):
Charles started missing a few practices for personal reasons. Every
bit of information that I have at my disposal from
people who were there, from people that have reported on this,
is that Charles has been the guy at right guard
for pretty much the entirety of the spring and summer.
So this was your starter at right guard that has
(15:44):
decided to walk away from football altogether. And Brian Callahan,
his teammates, didn't have a whole lot to say about
the matter, but the theme was pretty universally. You'd have
to ask him why. But our thoughts and prayers are
with the guy. We're thinking of him. It sounds to
(16:05):
me like he had something going on in his life
that commanded his attention, and I've talked to a couple
of people in the media that kind of feel the
same way. So whatever it is, obviously, of course we
are thinking about Sadiq Charles and hoping the best for him,
But it does open up a door at the right
(16:26):
guard position that presumably Dylan Raidens would be next in
line to Phil Now, Mike Herndon brought up an excellent
point on football and other f words yesterday that I
hadn't really considered. It was reported that the first person
I saw it was our guy Easton Freeze at Broadway
Sports in the Hot Reed podcast.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Say that.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Raidens was splitting first team reps with Andrew Rupsis at
right guard, and Mike kind of spun that as I
don't know what that says about Raidens, that they were
just immediately like here, Andrew Rupsich, you're getting half the
reps too. It's going to be a competition.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
That sort of.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Deployment wouldn't necessarily indicate a confidence in Dylan Raden's I
think Raidens is a great athlete. I think he's capable
at guard. I think he's played, he's put better tape
out there at tackle. But the thing that I sort
of differentiated between he and Charles was the element of
(17:29):
power that Charles had to his game, power in his hands,
sturdy stance, a hard hitter when reaching the whole, that
sort of thing, an element of power that Raidens didn't
necessarily have. You hope that maybe adding on all this weight,
bulking up, adding muscle, this offseason translates to an increase
(17:50):
in that power that seems to be missing from his tape,
that tenacity, that dog, if you will. But I don't know, man,
it doesn't sound to me like this. This coaching staff
is completely sold on Raiden's being the guy. What is
your faith level like in Dylan Raiden's coming into this
(18:11):
year changing coaching regime, regime now he's under Bill Callahan.
Can he finally put it all together and win this
right guard job and really take command of it?
Speaker 3 (18:22):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
How are you feeling levels of optimism with that happening?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, I kind of feel like it's it's hard to
go back on tape with Dylan Raiden's Uh yeah, you know,
he ended up playing four different places on the line
last year, left tackle, left guard, right tackle, right guard. Uh,
you know, so he was never kind of in a
position to get comfortable, uh anywhere. Uh. He did play
(18:49):
through a lot of injury, but that being said, he
also gave up five stacks. So uh, I don't know.
Maybe I feel like consistency, consistency can it helped but
to help that situation. So maybe Raidens could you know,
kind of settle into right guard and that's the spot
(19:09):
for him. But I think you mentioned it. It's kind
of that that issue with strength. You know, Raden's ended
up on his butt a lot last year. You know,
if you're gonna be in that right guard position, we're not,
So we're not as focused about, you know, the agility
as much as it is just can you not get
(19:30):
bull rushed and knocked down? And I think that's where
sadiek Charles had the advantage. I think that was why
he was gonna be the clear cut number one guy.
So Ken Raiden's do it, I'm not sure, but I
feel like, you know, he deserves a shot, he deserves
a chance. I think that the tape last year was
kind of inconclusive.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I'm with you, man. I don't think I could have
said it any better myself. I you know, I think
there's while there's reason for optimism, and you hope that
kind of streamlining his role and allowing him to fix
to fixate on one specific spot helps him. I don't
think the tape really tells us that he's he's a
(20:13):
lock to be successful in this role. I thought Brent
Doherty asked him about it. He played the clip on
three HL yesterday how kind of just focusing in on
right guard has helped him, and he kind of acknowledged that, Yeah,
it has helped to just kind of get into one
spot with one role, and you just you hope that
(20:33):
translates because it's a position that man, the offensive line
needed a lot of overhaul this offseason, and it's it's
kind of thin on depth at this point with Sadiq
Charles down at that right guard spot. So you hope
for the best. It's going to be something that's interesting
to watch throughout the course of the preseason. The depth
(20:57):
chart was released this week, the first unofficial depth chart.
I thought there was some interesting stuff on there, some
of the rookies that were way behind on the depth chart.
As I said, it was kind of it kind of
made me wonder, like, are they trying to motivate Cedric
Gray to like show him here's where you're at in
(21:17):
our mind on paper, in physical form, with something he
can set his two eyes on and say, this is
what you've got to do to leap frog Garrett Wallow
and Chance Campbell, who were ahead of him on the
linebacking depth chart. I thought that was pretty interesting. I
thought it was pretty interesting that they split Josh Wiley
and Chig A Konkwo as tight end one on the
(21:40):
depth chart. I also think that they're probably playing two
different roles within the offense. Brian Callahan clarified in a
media availability this week that Josh Wiley is the why
tight end. Chig is more of the f player that
we've heard about in recent weeks, So I think that
has more to do with it than their where they're
(22:00):
at competition wise competing for that top spot. I think,
most of all, the one thing that made me raise
my eyebrows more than anything else on this depth chart
Owen was seeing Mason Kinzie. Mason Kinzie, who the King
of August simply will not die, simply will not be denied,
is currently on top of the depth chart as the
(22:23):
team's top punt returner. What are your thoughts on Mason Kinzie.
It feels like we go through this every summer with
the guy. I think he's a great guy to have
during the preseason. He's a reliable safety net kind of
guy that you can use to really evaluate where your
backup quarterbacks are at, where your other wide receivers are at.
(22:45):
I think he's a great guy to have in camp,
but he hasn't really cracked the top fifty three in
a meaningful way and meaningful regular season games just yet.
It sounds like maybe winning this team's punt returning job
could be his ticket to the main roster and finally
getting a crack in in game action. What do you
think about Mason Kinsey's chances in this punt return battle, Owen, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
I don't know how much it is just faith in
Mason Kinsey as much as it is if we put
you know, Kyle Fillens back up there again, we're gonna
get sacrificed by the media. Yeah, I don't know. I mean,
like you said, he keeps on showing back up, so
(23:29):
going into the year, I guess that's the best you
can put out there, But I don't know if that's
gonna last.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Supposedly, So camp just ended for the morning.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I'm not all caught up to news on all the
press conferences, the media availabilities, the quotes and all that.
But one thing that I did see was Kyle Phillips
talking to the media and kind of saying that this
coaching staff gave him a fresh start when it came
to the punt return ability. I think he probably offers
a little more in the receiving corps, especially as long
(23:59):
as DeAndre Hopkins is out, you probably need another guy
to step up. But it sounds like the coaching staff
may be willing to give him a clean slate when
it comes to punt return duties.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
But I.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Don't know.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
I mean, some of the drops that he had when
he was returning punts kind of felt like, I don't
know how you teach that, Like it just kind of
seems one of those those mental things that he has
to overcome.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
But if if Phillips is.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
A guy that wins a roster spot because he's a
plus as a punt returner and he can can contribute
on offense as a wide receiver, are you are you
okay with that? Are you okay with him being that
guy as long as DeAndre Hopkins is out?
Speaker 4 (24:45):
I mean, what other choices you really have at this time?
I don't feel great about it if that's what you're asking,
But I mean I don't, I don't really I don't
know what else you can do.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
Well.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
This is the perfect segue because the guy I want
to talk about is fourth on the depth chart, behind Kenzie,
behind Kiarris Jackson. Behind Kyle Phillips is Jawan Jackson, the
rookie pick that was looking pretty good early on in
the spring during OTA's and mini camp.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
But now this.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Depth chart comes out and where we thought he could
make the most impact was as a return man. As
he developed into a wide receiver, he's buried on down
the depth chart, and the Jaquan Jackson hype train has
kind of slowed down a little bit as training camp
has started. I've heard from people that said he's getting
(25:38):
kind of manhandled out there. Looks like he has a
long way to go, And now we're at a point
where some analysts that cover this team are thinking it
might be a struggle for him to make this final roster.
It might be a practice squad guy. Does this surprise
you at all that the guy that they kind of
drafted to be Taylor May for this kind of punt
(26:01):
return slash slot receiver role isn't really panning out so far?
Or do you think this is a situation where this
team's gonna be patient with the guy and just let
him work his way up the depth chart.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Yeah, it is kind of funny how the narrative has
changed because you know, around draft time, you know, everybody
was high on him, and it seems like it's all
kind of falling apart. So yeah, I mean, I don't
know if i'd say surprise, but you know, maybe we
just got this one wrong.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
That's kind of I mean, listen, I was on the
air when the pick happened. Malik Washington out of Virginia
was still available. That's who I wanted the Titans to pick.
And now that sounds like he's kind of off to
a great start with the Miami Dolphins. So I'm always
gonna kind of hang that over over the head of
(26:58):
the Titans if Jakwan Jackson doesn't pan out. I was
pleasantly surprised to get the early reports that he was
doing well, and I thought, man, you know what, this
cap might just prove me wrong. But now it sounds
like we're trending in a different direction and I don't
know that he's even a factor at all for this
(27:18):
team right now. And that's where you start to think
about it, like in that sense, like you said, like, ah,
I mean, maybe maybe they just got this wrong. And
I tend to think that because he was a draft pick,
he will get a pretty long leash, but I think
he's a guy that kind of needs to get some
of that momentum back because this is a crowded wide
receiver room. Not necessarily saying it's an overly talented wide
(27:42):
receiver room, but I just think it's one of the
deeper position groups on the team. There's a lot of
guys that are vying for competition. Kierris Jackson is a
guy that I was pretty high on coming out of
Georgia as an undrafted free agent. Injuries kind of hampered
his growth, but it sounds like he might be getting
an opportunity here. And then a guy that we haven't
really talked about a lot is Bryce Oliver, an undrafted
(28:03):
free agent rookie that seems to be making plays. I mean,
his name's popping up from from every every camp practice
so far.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
So I don't know.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
I don't think this is a situation where Jakwan Jackson
necessarily has the luxury of time to develop. So I
think this punt return battle will be an interesting position
battle to watch. Was there anything else about the depth
chart that stood out to you, Owen that you want
to talk about?
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Uh, you know, I'm kind of looking over it right now,
and nothing super stand out to me. It is interested
interesting and you already mentioned this, but just that the
tight end dar stacked at one with a conquo and
why Wiley Now, I'm just curious. How are the different
roles for those two?
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Yeah, man, I my guess would be Wiley's going to
be the more traditional inline blocking tight end up the seam,
across the middle, full back kind of stuff, and I
think Chig is going to be more motion slot receiver
(29:15):
kind of outside the offensive line. From a formation standpoint,
I think it's going to be more dynamic, open field stuff,
Let's get the ball in Chig's hands and see if
he can make a guy miss kind of stuff. Whereas Wiley,
I think we'll be closer to the traditional tight end
that's going to throw a block and then sneak open
(29:36):
up the seam and defenders don't see him coming. So
that would be my best guess right now, but obviously
remains to be seen. There's been one area of concern
talking about the offense, because what I'm hearing out of
camp is like Will Levis looks okay, they're missing on
a lot of deep ball deep balls, specifically the chemistry
(30:00):
between will Will Levis and Calvin Ridley, the overall timing
the deep chemistry. I I was curious and I passed
this along to our buddies at the press conferences. Said,
somebody asked Brian Callahan about what the trajectory that this
(30:23):
offense is on from a timing perspective. Is this offense
where he wants it to be from a chemistry standpoint
or are we a little off schedule here? It made
it a similar question made it to the press conference,
and I'm going to read Paul Kaharski's tweet from Brian
(30:44):
Callahan said, we missed too many of them early on
talking about deep shots, miss too many of them early on.
It's not been great to start with the install finish.
We pulled up a lot of clips of go balls
and spent twenty to twenty five minutes reviewing them with
the players in yesterday's practice.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
This is afterwards.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Levis did hit Ridley on a on a deep bomb
that we still haven't gotten the video for from the
Titans social media team, So you guys got to get
on that. But I am starting to grow a little
bit concerned that maybe this offense is going to take
more time to gel and develop that chemistry than we
originally thought. I think the first month of the season
(31:30):
or so. This is going to be a team that
runs the ball effectively and plays good defense, which is
going to frustrate the hell out of Titans fans who
have seen that for the last twenty five years. But
I think that's kind of where this offense is at
right now, a little bit concerned that Levis isn't hitting
those explosive throws and isn't isn't finding that that chemistry
(31:52):
with Calvin Ridley right now? Do you think there's reason
for concern or do you think this is just the
natural development of an offense kind of trying to find
its footing before the season starts.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
Yeah, I mean I don't think it's, you know, time
for major panic. I don't think it's time to sound
the alarm by any means. But it certainly not something
you like to see. It could be way worse. You know,
University of Colorado is putting out fake videos that they're
editing to make, you know, practice throws look like long
bomb touchdown. Yeah, so we're not that bad, but yeah,
(32:30):
I mean it's a new receiver, it's a second year quarterback.
You're gonna expect, you know, some some growing pains along
the way, and like we've said the whole time, this
is the time to figure it out, so you know,
we're not I don't think it's time to panic until
it's game day and it's not happening.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
I'll tell you one thing. I am encouraged by the
fact that Brian Callahan. I respect the fact and appreciate
the fact that he's willing to go into a press
conference and be kind of open about this and just
say it's not been great to start acknowledging that it's
something they need to work on, but then showing examples
telling you how they're working on this stuff, that they're
(33:10):
aware of it, they're trying to beat it. And then
they go out on the practice field that day and
from several accounts it sounds like they were a little
bit better in that department, And from what I've read
from this morning's camp so far, they're continuing to hit
on that and grow on it, and I think that's
the encouraging aspect of it. I just feel like maybe
(33:31):
we're going to be butting up against the start of
the season and still wondering what this.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Really looks like.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
And I don't think it's a bad thing, because, like
I've said before, I do think this team's going to
run more twelve personnel with Chig and Wiley on the
field at the same time Pollard and Spears, two good
running backs, a revamped offensive line. I'm telling people, like
the writings on the wall, I think this is going
to be a pretty good rushing team, and I think
they'll be able to lean on that with their aggressive
(33:58):
defense as the deep bombs kind of come together. So
I think it's okay, I'm with you, it's not time
to panic. But there is this little thought in the
back of my head that's just kind of like, uh,
maybe we should pay attention to this, But like I said,
we do have a football game to talk about. San
Francisco forty nine Ers Tennessee Titans. Oh, and I think
(34:20):
this is an awesome matchup to watch because the forty
nine Ers have some quality backups. They're not playing any
of their starters on Saturday night, but their backups are
still pretty damn good. And I think it's going to
be a really good barometer of where this team is
at heading into the season. Some guys that I am
excited to watch. I'm going to start with Andrew Rupsich,
(34:43):
who the coaching staff has basically said you're in a
competition with Dylan Raidin's right now. I think he's going
to be a guy that's going to get a lot
of run on Saturday with the the backups in and
I'm really interested to see how he's looking. I think
(35:05):
Jalen Harrell is another guy to watch. He's been showing
up in camp this week. I'm going to read a
quote our buddy J. T. Runky of the Hot Reed
podcast in Broadway Sports quoting Brian Callahan with high praise
on rookie Jalen Harrold quote, He's done everything right, shown
real ability to rush. Put him on a list of
(35:26):
guys I'm really excited to watch play. I think he's
going to play a lot on Saturday, and with the
pending suspension of arden Key looming, this is a team
that needs some help in the pass rush. It would
be fucking awesome if Jalen Harrol could develop into a
contributing role. I'm also excited to see how they deploy
(35:49):
the linebackers Cedric Gray and James Williams. I want to
see Cedric Gray with my own two eyes. I liked
him a lot coming out of the draft, but he
has been virtually a good throughout training camp so far.
I haven't heard many good things about him outside of
a to Z Sam Falan shouting him out for the
weekend practice. I want to see why they've got him
(36:10):
so deep on the depth chart. Conversely, I think James
Williams is going to be fun to watch. Reports are
that he's thumping people out at camp. I want to
see him do it in game action. He might kill
a guy I don't know. He is a deadly weapon
in the open field. And then, yeah, you know what
I kind of want to see. I kind of want
to see Kyle Phillips a little bit, see what kind
(36:31):
of work he can do. Any any names that you
would like to add as guys to watch on Saturday
who you're most excited to see.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
I do kind of have a question, and it kind
of ties into that, But I know they're stetting him
up to be you know, they want him to be
the best backup spinner he could be. But do you
think there's any chance that they get brun School to
get any reps at right Guard?
Speaker 3 (36:59):
I think it would be.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
I think it would be a last case, last case
scenario situation. And the reason why I say that is
because they had the opportunity to pull him and play
him at right guard this week and the competition was
between Raidn's and Rupsig. So I think Brunskill's a dog.
(37:21):
I think he's scrappy. Mike Herndon called him more of
a get in the way blocker, and I think that's accurate.
I think there's an element of power that's missing from
his game. When you're talking about running more gap concepts
where you've got to get you've got to get guys
down the field and moving people, I think there's an
(37:41):
element of that that's missing from Brunskill's game. He's a
little bit lighter than you'd like your right guard to
be played admirably in Tim Kelly's zone system last year,
where it is more reliant upon athleticism and movement than
pure strength. So I think he's kind of a square
peg in a round hole when you're talking about guard
tackle play under Bill Callahan and what we think the
(38:03):
Titans are going to run on offense, but I think
it's not as big of a factor at center where
you can kind of get away with the smaller guy.
I kind of think that's where they're leaning. That's what
they've told us all off season, that he's the backup
center behind Lloyd Cushionberry. I think it would take Raidn's
(38:24):
or Rubsich being an outright disaster for them to say, Okay,
you know what, we've We've got a slide brun Skill
over here. At least, that's my best guess as to
where where their head's at. But you raise an interesting point.
They might tell us a little bit depending on how
they deploy him in Saturday night's game. Anybody, anybody else
or anything you wanted to add to your your opinion
(38:46):
of Brunskill there.
Speaker 4 (38:50):
Uh Now, I'm just I'm curious because I don't know
if it's something that you can really address with a
you know, an addition to the team. At this point,
he just kind of speak Yeah. It just kind of
seems like if they're gonna do anything, it'll be for
that outside linebacker, I think. But it just kind of
seems like they're gonna work with the pieces they have,
(39:10):
So I was curious if maybe that'll come into play
at all.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
I had I had Caleb Farley on my list of
guys to watch too, but it sounds like he injured
a hammy that had been bugging him a little bit
this week. Sounds like he injured it this morning, and
they announced that he will be out for a couple
of weeks, which sucks because I was starting to buy
into the Caleb Farley comeback tour. From what we've heard
(39:34):
from him out at camp, sounds like streamlining the defense
a little bit has helped him out and he's playing
a lot better ball. So I hate to hear that
with him. But any other guys you want to mention
that you'll be keeping an eye on on Saturday night
or are we good to get on out of here today?
Speaker 4 (39:54):
No, I mean I think I'm really wanting to keep
an eye on that outside linebacker, like we said, just
because of the potential suspension. Nothing's happened yet from the NFL.
We'll see how that goes. I think they're still an
appeals process with that as well. There is, yeah, but
just just with the potential of it being out there,
(40:14):
that would be interesting to study. And I'm excited to
see trailing Burks. You know, they said the guys worked
his ass off all off season. I want to see
what it looks like. I want to see what this
new trailing Burks is.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
Oh, you know what, I am going to add a
name I forgot. I want to mention the backup left guard,
Cole Spencer, undrafted guy out of Texas Tech, good athlete,
got some good tape. I think he's going to get
some serious run because I don't think Peter Skronsky's going
to play more than a series one drive if that.
And then I think they're gonna plug Cole Spencer in
(40:47):
at left guard, and I want to see I want
to see the young buck go because I think he's
an intriguing prospect. But that's that's enough talk about undrafted
guard prospects. We we are going to get out of
here for the day. Thank you guys for tuning in
to the Unofficial Titans Podcast again, brought to you by
Memo's Mexican Kitchen, in my opinion, the best Mexican food
(41:09):
in the Nashville area. Worth the drive out to Mount
Juliet just a mile north of I forty off the
Mount Juliet exit. Owen final final message of hope about
football football being back any any parting thoughts before we
let him.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
Go today, I mean good, bad or indifferent. It could
be worse. It could be baseball season. I mean we're here, guys,
make the best of it. The Olympics are almost over,
Thank god, we're almost for football.
Speaker 3 (41:40):
That'll do it for us.
Speaker 2 (41:42):
He is one takeo Cinderella Man, outspoken, Owen Reed, I
am big natural Stony Keeley. Rate review and subscribe to
the Unofficial Titans Podcast. Wherever you take in your podcast.
We're out there in those internet streets, baby, we ain't
too hard to find. Thank you guys for listening. All
of my work is up at Sobersnetwork dot com. Film
(42:02):
Friday Lagerious need tomorrow morning at stackingthe Inbox dot com.
Let us know how we're doing, okay. We always want
to be better for you guys, and that's how we
do it. He's Owen, I'm Stony. And until next time
when we'll have an actual game to break down, this
has been the Official Titans podcast. You stay classy, Titans fans,
Thank you from Sobros HQ in Nashville, Tennessee to wherever
you're cheering on your Tennessee Titans. The Sobros Network presents
the Unofficial Titans Podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome back for another episode of the Unofficial Titans Podcast
right here on Sobros Network powered by Memos Mexican Kitchen
out in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, the best Mexican food in
the Nashville area. For my money, I am your host
for the show, Big Natural, Stony Keeley, the EIC at
(00:49):
sobrosnetwork dot com, Titans film Analyst, NFL Draft Analyst.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
At Stacking the Inbox as well.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Mine's right ass is tight as we bring in my
co host for the Unofficial Titans Podcast, he is Cinderellaman
one take Oh, coming to us from the dad Zone,
outspoken Owen Reid.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Owen.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
We actually have a football game to discuss on this
week's show.
Speaker 3 (01:15):
How you feeling, man? What are the vibes like?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
Hey everybody, Hey, Stony, the the long streak of no
football of an intense definitely summer is almost over and
we have football on the horizon. I'm happy. How are you, buddy, man?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
I'm doing great. The weather.
Speaker 2 (01:36):
It's like I think they said on three HL yesterday,
it's gonna be eighty five degrees at kickoff, which compared
to what we've been feeling here in the Nashville area,
is going to feel like air conditioning outside. So I've
got a couple of leaves that are starting to turn
and fall in the backyard, and and sure, maybe that's
(01:57):
just because it's so hot and it's literally killing the vegetation,
but I look at it as a sign like, oh man,
it's starting. It's starting. Mother Nature's clock is starting to
wind down just a little bit. But it does feel
like football season is going to be here before you
know it. I don't know about you, man, but I'm
(02:20):
I'm relieved that we actually have news to talk about.
We've got a depth chart to talk about, We've got
a game to preview, and it's not just not that
there's anything wrong with off season content, but it's not
just off season stuff where people are just arguing about
Devandre sweat for the millionth time. Like there's actual stuff
(02:42):
to talk about. So I'm doing well, man, And I
told you like before we started recording, I'm having a
good little Thursday right now. I've already got film Friday
done that's going to be up on Stackingtheinbox dot Com
tomorrow morning. I looked at the leagerious Sneed film kind
of how I expect him to impact this Titans defense.
What the the makeup of this Titans defense under Denard
(03:04):
Wilson should look like? What I think it'll look like.
And you know, I'm just I'm getting ship done today
and and ultimately that's all you can ask for. What
do you do you have any plans for the game?
Are you Are you gonna take it in all four
quarters like a like a sicko just because football is back?
(03:24):
Or do you have do you have other weekend plans?
Speaker 4 (03:29):
I mean, buddy, when they say football's back, I'm there.
Speaker 3 (03:32):
Like I watched the.
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Hall of Fame game up until the weather and you know,
at that point the game had already fallen apart, like
it was getting ugly. Coverage was nonsense on both sides. Uh.
But yeah, I mean, I'm gonna try to watch as
long as I possibly can. I'm still interested in like
learning about these the new rules, you know, the new kickoff,
(03:58):
hip drop tackles, stuff like that. So it's interesting to
watch those and see how you know we're setting up
the season, But yeah, I kind of I'm interested in
seeing how this depth looks for the Titans, so you know,
I'm around for these third string guys, guys that aren't
gonna make it. You know, I'm just happy football's here.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
I'm with you, man, what do you what do you
make of this mosh pit gimmick? Because I know Sean
posted something about it in our Sobro slack group, and
I haven't heard a whole lot about it. But there's
gonna be like a I didn't read the press release,
but I know you said you were going to kick
Sean in the head in the mosh pit. So maybe
I'm hoping you can provide a little update there on
what that's going to be. What that's going to be like,
(04:40):
I do believe.
Speaker 4 (04:41):
My full quote was that I was gonna scissor kick
Sean in the back of the head, but no, I
was kind of reading over it. It seems like it's
going to be like an exclusive offer that the Titan
You have to reach out to the Titans to be
accepted for. You have to send in a video on
why you belong in the mosh pit. Uh and they're
(05:03):
gonna be seeded near where they had the live band performing. Uh,
they're gonna be offered exclusive tickets and exclusive season tickets
at that. So I don't know. I don't think it's
gonna be something that like, uh, you know, I think
(05:25):
the common fan can get into, which kind of sucks.
It seems like it's gonna be an inner circle kind
of thing, if I'm being honest just reading on it.
But I like the idea. I kind of like, uh,
just the thought that instead of just having all these
exclusive boxes and all that for kind of the higher up,
(05:48):
the rich that can afford these kind of situations, they're
they're trying to find a dedicated fan base to make
the environment more exciting. So I think it's a good idea.
Will I ever be in it? Probably not?
Speaker 2 (05:59):
But have you have you ever been in a in
a legitim mosh pit before? I don't know if what
kind of concerts you were going to back in the day,
but you ever end up in one.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
I'm not a big moster honestly, because like, if somebody
hits me, I'm pissed off. Like, yeah, I don't really
see the full appeal of you know, like we're slamming
into each other, but it's fun. So like I've been
on the wrong end of a mash pit before it,
I just I didn't like it. It's not for me, no,
thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:29):
Listen. I'm six ' two.
Speaker 2 (06:32):
At the time I was going to shows, I was
probably two twenty. This is probably like sixty pounds ago.
I like, I felt like I was tailor made for
a mosh pit, but I didn't want anything to do
with it. If if people started, I'd going to hardcore
and metal shows back in the day, Rocket Town Exit
in all that stuff. Like if if y'all started moshing
(06:56):
or doing your like hardcore dancing, swinging your fists and
your fe around, I'm ducking and I'm getting the hell
out of Dodge because I'm a big ass target. And
that's the thing that like, I don't think people realize
about the moshpit. If you're a big guy, you get
in there, like it's it's harder to kind of navigate
and maneuver around all the other people that are mashing,
(07:19):
so you end up just like slamming into everybody, and
it's not it's not fun, man. I don't want to
get kicked in the face. I don't want to get
kicked in the nuts. I I see a mosh pit
and I'm I'm heading the opposite direction. There was one
time I went to UH River Stages and Story of
the Year was playing, and Uh we all got right
(07:39):
up front because we didn't think there's gonna be a
mosh pit during Story of the Year. You know it's
emo shit. So I'm like, oh, we're gonna be safe.
Let's this is gonna be cool. One song end and
I see the people circling behind me. I actually dipped out.
I just left all my friends there. I'm like, I'm
getting I'm getting the fuck out of Dodge on this.
I'm not gonna be a part of this. I ran
(08:02):
from from the stage and actually walked up the pedestrian
bridge and watched the rest of the Story of the
Year set from the top of the pedestrian bridge. That's
how That's how much I avoided mosh pits.
Speaker 4 (08:17):
I have no problems with a mash pitge if that's
your thing, do your saying, but Tony, I think we're
just standing in the back sipping beer kind of concert goers.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Bingo.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
You said it, brother, you said it, all right, Well,
we do have some Titans football to talk about this week,
though I could sit and relive the glory days of
all the hardcore shows I went to back.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
In the day.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
But before we do, I do want to talk a
little bit about Memo's Mexican Kitchen, the sponsor for today's show.
Like I said in my opinion, it's the best Mexican
food in the Nashville area. It's worth a short drive
out to Mount Juliet. They're just a mile north of
the I forty exit at Mount Juliet, and I got
some Beery and nachos in my few future.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
I believe you.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Go there, you get your good margarita. Like I've said before,
I think I'm the only person that gets the Gin
and Tonic at the Mexican restaurant, But I'm getting the
Gen and Tonic there, and they have a good seasonal
Gen and Tonic for every season. Get a nice drink,
get started with some grilled jalapenos, some chips and salsa,
some caeso, and then get those Beera nachos. I've talked
(09:23):
about the Beria, the Bowl of Beria, the Enchilada Suezas,
talked about the State Casidia, the good quality steak they
use in their food there. But I haven't talked about
the Beera nachos. The best case of Beeria I've ever
had in my life. They do it in nacho form.
Throw some pento beans on there, some onions, the nachos,
a little bit of the the caso over it, the
(09:49):
crisp of the chips, the good texture it adds. Man,
it's a great dish. It's a good, hearty dish. I've
yet to have a disappointing dish at Memo's Mexican Kitchen.
We were there for the Hot Read podcast a few
weeks ago, stopped in a couple weeks after that, and
Katie told us that a few people had been in
(10:10):
saying that they watched the show and heard about the
place and wanted to come try it. I'm grateful for
you guys going out there and giving Memo a shot,
because I want I want all of Nashville to know
about this place, all right, So y'all keep going, keep
telling them Stony sent you, Keep telling them Sobro's Network
sent you. And Uh, We're gonna pack that place out
because because it deserves the recognition that we give it here,
(10:34):
and it deserves more so. And I think the Nashville
Scenes Best of Nashville voting is out as well, and
you can vote for Memos in the best Restaurant in
Wilson County category.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
So go do it.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Memos Mexican Kitchen dot com if you want to check
out their menu again. They're just a mile north of
I forty off the Mount Juliet exit. All right, Owen,
let's talk Titans. They signed Quandary Diggs. Diggs is a
guy that I love adding to this safety rotation. I
said it on Football and other f words on this
(11:06):
week's show, but I think the weakness in the defense
as they had put it together so far, damn it,
hang on just a second, buck, he's got his fucking
claw stuck in the curtain. Okay, no, never mind, The
situation has remedied to itself, all right. I said it
on Football and other f words this week that I
(11:26):
think the seam routes and the stuff kind of up
the spine of the defense was a susceptibility for how
Denard Wilson's unit had been constructed so far. Damn it,
Stop putting your fucking claws.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
In the curtains.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Get down, down, and I think it was because the
Titans just didn't have a lot of turn and run defenders,
like guys that offensive coordinators look at and say, that's
an advantageous matchup for us. Let's get Travis Kelcey on
Jack Gibbons, or you know, let's get a speedy slot
(12:01):
receiver on Jamal Adams.
Speaker 3 (12:03):
Elijah Molden.
Speaker 2 (12:04):
As much as I love the guy, I love his tape,
I don't think he's necessarily a turn and run guy.
I think Kandre Diggs can still be a turn and
run guy playing safety, hovering over the middle of the defense,
capping the middle of the field. I think he can
help strengthen that potential weakness in this defense. He's still
got plenty of juice left in the tank. He had
(12:24):
some good tape in twenty twenty three. When I was
studying Jamal Adams for Film Friday a few weeks ago,
I kept coming back to Diggs and just thinking, man,
can the Titans just go ahead and sign this guy already?
And I do wonder it does concern me a little
bit because I'm a big Elijah Molden guy. It does
kind of worry me a little bit, Like, how does
(12:46):
this staff view him. Are they not high on Elijah Molden?
Is that why they've added two safeties in the last month?
But I think to me it speaks more to Denard
Wilson's scheme and his plans with multiple defensive backs. The
buzzwords this week have been three safety sets. I think
we probably will see more three safety sets. And I
(13:08):
think you're gonna see Adams, Digs and Hooker on the
field at the same time. I think you're probably gonna
see Hooker, Digs and Molden on the field at the
same time. And hell, the way Brian Callahan's pumping up
Matthew Jackson lately and I'm seeing that he's getting interceptions
in camp, they might keep five safeties and roll with
Matthew Jackson in the mix as well. So the more
(13:29):
I think about it, the more I think that this
probably is indicative of the type of system that Denard
Wilson wants to run, the number of defensive backs that
he wants to deploy and utilize, and less to do
with a skepticism or pessimism about Elijah Molden. Where do
you sit on the Digs signing Owen and what do
(13:51):
you think it says? About how this defense is going
to operate.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
Yeah, I like to dig signing. It's always good to
have that kind of safe the numbers for safety. No
pun intended if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure they
said that Diggs has been a consistent sixteen game player
seventeen game now, yeah, for the past like four seasons.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Yeah, and he's been to a few Pro Bowls in
that time period too.
Speaker 4 (14:21):
Yeah. I mean, this is all good stuff. This is
stuff you want, so, I mean, I think it's great.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
How do you feel about Elijah Molden?
Speaker 2 (14:29):
I mean, do you feel like they needed an upgrade
or is it just the principle of get bodies there
because you're going to use a lot and there might
be injuries.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
I mean, I think there's always room for improvement on it.
Moulden was there to fill the spot, you know, kind of.
I don't want to put it like that, but you
know that he is kind of that was the best
we had at the time to work with, and I
think that bringing in Digs is an improvement upon it.
Speaker 2 (14:59):
Fair enough, fair enough. So another bombshell happened within like
days of each other. Sadiq Charles, who was in line
to be the starter at right guard, and I've seen
some people suggest that, oh, the reps were split between
Charles and Raiden's. To my knowledge, that only happened because
(15:23):
Charles started missing a few practices for personal reasons. Every
bit of information that I have at my disposal from
people who were there, from people that have reported on this,
is that Charles has been the guy at right guard
for pretty much the entirety of the spring and summer.
So this was your starter at right guard that has
(15:44):
decided to walk away from football altogether. And Brian Callahan,
his teammates, didn't have a whole lot to say about
the matter, but the theme was pretty universally. You'd have
to ask him why. But our thoughts and prayers are
with the guy. We're thinking of him. It sounds to
(16:05):
me like he had something going on in his life
that commanded his attention, and I've talked to a couple
of people in the media that kind of feel the
same way. So whatever it is, obviously, of course we
are thinking about Sadiq Charles and hoping the best for him,
But it does open up a door at the right
(16:26):
guard position that presumably Dylan Raidens would be next in
line to Phil Now, Mike Herndon brought up an excellent
point on football and other f words yesterday that I
hadn't really considered. It was reported that the first person
I saw it was our guy Easton Freeze at Broadway
Sports in the Hot Reed podcast.
Speaker 3 (16:47):
Say that.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
Raidens was splitting first team reps with Andrew Rupsis at
right guard, and Mike kind of spun that as I
don't know what that says about Raidens, that they were
just immediately like here, Andrew Rupsich, you're getting half the
reps too. It's going to be a competition.
Speaker 3 (17:07):
That sort of.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Deployment wouldn't necessarily indicate a confidence in Dylan Raden's I
think Raidens is a great athlete. I think he's capable
at guard. I think he's played, he's put better tape
out there at tackle. But the thing that I sort
of differentiated between he and Charles was the element of
(17:29):
power that Charles had to his game, power in his hands,
sturdy stance, a hard hitter when reaching the whole, that
sort of thing, an element of power that Raidens didn't
necessarily have. You hope that maybe adding on all this weight,
bulking up, adding muscle, this offseason translates to an increase
(17:50):
in that power that seems to be missing from his tape,
that tenacity, that dog, if you will. But I don't know, man,
it doesn't sound to me like this. This coaching staff
is completely sold on Raiden's being the guy. What is
your faith level like in Dylan Raiden's coming into this
(18:11):
year changing coaching regime, regime now he's under Bill Callahan.
Can he finally put it all together and win this
right guard job and really take command of it?
Speaker 3 (18:22):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (18:23):
How are you feeling levels of optimism with that happening?
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, I kind of feel like it's it's hard to
go back on tape with Dylan Raiden's Uh yeah, you know,
he ended up playing four different places on the line
last year, left tackle, left guard, right tackle, right guard. Uh,
you know, so he was never kind of in a
position to get comfortable, uh anywhere. Uh. He did play
(18:49):
through a lot of injury, but that being said, he
also gave up five stacks. So uh, I don't know.
Maybe I feel like consistency, consistency can it helped but
to help that situation. So maybe Raidens could you know,
kind of settle into right guard and that's the spot
(19:09):
for him. But I think you mentioned it. It's kind
of that that issue with strength. You know, Raden's ended
up on his butt a lot last year. You know,
if you're gonna be in that right guard position, we're not,
So we're not as focused about, you know, the agility
as much as it is just can you not get
(19:30):
bull rushed and knocked down? And I think that's where
sadiek Charles had the advantage. I think that was why
he was gonna be the clear cut number one guy.
So Ken Raiden's do it, I'm not sure, but I
feel like, you know, he deserves a shot, he deserves
a chance. I think that the tape last year was
kind of inconclusive.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
I'm with you, man. I don't think I could have
said it any better myself. I you know, I think
there's while there's reason for optimism, and you hope that
kind of streamlining his role and allowing him to fix
to fixate on one specific spot helps him. I don't
think the tape really tells us that he's he's a
(20:13):
lock to be successful in this role. I thought Brent
Doherty asked him about it. He played the clip on
three HL yesterday how kind of just focusing in on
right guard has helped him, and he kind of acknowledged that, Yeah,
it has helped to just kind of get into one
spot with one role, and you just you hope that
(20:33):
translates because it's a position that man, the offensive line
needed a lot of overhaul this offseason, and it's it's
kind of thin on depth at this point with Sadiq
Charles down at that right guard spot. So you hope
for the best. It's going to be something that's interesting
to watch throughout the course of the preseason. The depth
(20:57):
chart was released this week, the first unofficial depth chart.
I thought there was some interesting stuff on there, some
of the rookies that were way behind on the depth chart.
As I said, it was kind of it kind of
made me wonder, like, are they trying to motivate Cedric
Gray to like show him here's where you're at in
(21:17):
our mind on paper, in physical form, with something he
can set his two eyes on and say, this is
what you've got to do to leap frog Garrett Wallow
and Chance Campbell, who were ahead of him on the
linebacking depth chart. I thought that was pretty interesting. I
thought it was pretty interesting that they split Josh Wiley
and Chig A Konkwo as tight end one on the
(21:40):
depth chart. I also think that they're probably playing two
different roles within the offense. Brian Callahan clarified in a
media availability this week that Josh Wiley is the why
tight end. Chig is more of the f player that
we've heard about in recent weeks, So I think that
has more to do with it than their where they're
(22:00):
at competition wise competing for that top spot. I think,
most of all, the one thing that made me raise
my eyebrows more than anything else on this depth chart
Owen was seeing Mason Kinzie. Mason Kinzie, who the King
of August simply will not die, simply will not be denied,
is currently on top of the depth chart as the
(22:23):
team's top punt returner. What are your thoughts on Mason Kinzie.
It feels like we go through this every summer with
the guy. I think he's a great guy to have
during the preseason. He's a reliable safety net kind of
guy that you can use to really evaluate where your
backup quarterbacks are at, where your other wide receivers are at.
(22:45):
I think he's a great guy to have in camp,
but he hasn't really cracked the top fifty three in
a meaningful way and meaningful regular season games just yet.
It sounds like maybe winning this team's punt returning job
could be his ticket to the main roster and finally
getting a crack in in game action. What do you
think about Mason Kinsey's chances in this punt return battle, Owen, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:09):
I don't know how much it is just faith in
Mason Kinsey as much as it is if we put
you know, Kyle Fillens back up there again, we're gonna
get sacrificed by the media. Yeah, I don't know. I mean,
like you said, he keeps on showing back up, so
(23:29):
going into the year, I guess that's the best you
can put out there, But I don't know if that's
gonna last.
Speaker 3 (23:35):
Supposedly, So camp just ended for the morning.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
I'm not all caught up to news on all the
press conferences, the media availabilities, the quotes and all that.
But one thing that I did see was Kyle Phillips
talking to the media and kind of saying that this
coaching staff gave him a fresh start when it came
to the punt return ability. I think he probably offers
a little more in the receiving corps, especially as long
(23:59):
as DeAndre Hopkins is out, you probably need another guy
to step up. But it sounds like the coaching staff
may be willing to give him a clean slate when
it comes to punt return duties.
Speaker 4 (24:11):
But I.
Speaker 3 (24:13):
Don't know.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
I mean, some of the drops that he had when
he was returning punts kind of felt like, I don't
know how you teach that, Like it just kind of
seems one of those those mental things that he has
to overcome.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
But if if Phillips is.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
A guy that wins a roster spot because he's a
plus as a punt returner and he can can contribute
on offense as a wide receiver, are you are you
okay with that? Are you okay with him being that
guy as long as DeAndre Hopkins is out?
Speaker 4 (24:45):
I mean, what other choices you really have at this time?
I don't feel great about it if that's what you're asking,
But I mean I don't, I don't really I don't
know what else you can do.
Speaker 3 (24:56):
Well.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
This is the perfect segue because the guy I want
to talk about is fourth on the depth chart, behind Kenzie,
behind Kiarris Jackson. Behind Kyle Phillips is Jawan Jackson, the
rookie pick that was looking pretty good early on in
the spring during OTA's and mini camp.
Speaker 3 (25:16):
But now this.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
Depth chart comes out and where we thought he could
make the most impact was as a return man. As
he developed into a wide receiver, he's buried on down
the depth chart, and the Jaquan Jackson hype train has
kind of slowed down a little bit as training camp
has started. I've heard from people that said he's getting
(25:38):
kind of manhandled out there. Looks like he has a
long way to go, And now we're at a point
where some analysts that cover this team are thinking it
might be a struggle for him to make this final roster.
It might be a practice squad guy. Does this surprise
you at all that the guy that they kind of
drafted to be Taylor May for this kind of punt
(26:01):
return slash slot receiver role isn't really panning out so far?
Or do you think this is a situation where this
team's gonna be patient with the guy and just let
him work his way up the depth chart.
Speaker 4 (26:18):
Yeah, it is kind of funny how the narrative has
changed because you know, around draft time, you know, everybody
was high on him, and it seems like it's all
kind of falling apart. So yeah, I mean, I don't
know if i'd say surprise, but you know, maybe we
just got this one wrong.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
That's kind of I mean, listen, I was on the
air when the pick happened. Malik Washington out of Virginia
was still available. That's who I wanted the Titans to pick.
And now that sounds like he's kind of off to
a great start with the Miami Dolphins. So I'm always
gonna kind of hang that over over the head of
(26:58):
the Titans if Jakwan Jackson doesn't pan out. I was
pleasantly surprised to get the early reports that he was
doing well, and I thought, man, you know what, this
cap might just prove me wrong. But now it sounds
like we're trending in a different direction and I don't
know that he's even a factor at all for this
(27:18):
team right now. And that's where you start to think
about it, like in that sense, like you said, like, ah,
I mean, maybe maybe they just got this wrong. And
I tend to think that because he was a draft pick,
he will get a pretty long leash, but I think
he's a guy that kind of needs to get some
of that momentum back because this is a crowded wide
receiver room. Not necessarily saying it's an overly talented wide
(27:42):
receiver room, but I just think it's one of the
deeper position groups on the team. There's a lot of
guys that are vying for competition. Kierris Jackson is a
guy that I was pretty high on coming out of
Georgia as an undrafted free agent. Injuries kind of hampered
his growth, but it sounds like he might be getting
an opportunity here. And then a guy that we haven't
really talked about a lot is Bryce Oliver, an undrafted
(28:03):
free agent rookie that seems to be making plays. I mean,
his name's popping up from from every every camp practice
so far.
Speaker 3 (28:11):
So I don't know.
Speaker 2 (28:13):
I don't think this is a situation where Jakwan Jackson
necessarily has the luxury of time to develop. So I
think this punt return battle will be an interesting position
battle to watch. Was there anything else about the depth
chart that stood out to you, Owen that you want
to talk about?
Speaker 4 (28:32):
Uh, you know, I'm kind of looking over it right now,
and nothing super stand out to me. It is interested
interesting and you already mentioned this, but just that the
tight end dar stacked at one with a conquo and
why Wiley Now, I'm just curious. How are the different
roles for those two?
Speaker 2 (28:55):
Yeah, man, I my guess would be Wiley's going to
be the more traditional inline blocking tight end up the seam,
across the middle, full back kind of stuff, and I
think Chig is going to be more motion slot receiver
(29:15):
kind of outside the offensive line. From a formation standpoint,
I think it's going to be more dynamic, open field stuff,
Let's get the ball in Chig's hands and see if
he can make a guy miss kind of stuff. Whereas Wiley,
I think we'll be closer to the traditional tight end
that's going to throw a block and then sneak open
(29:36):
up the seam and defenders don't see him coming. So
that would be my best guess right now, but obviously
remains to be seen. There's been one area of concern
talking about the offense, because what I'm hearing out of
camp is like Will Levis looks okay, they're missing on
a lot of deep ball deep balls, specifically the chemistry
(30:00):
between will Will Levis and Calvin Ridley, the overall timing
the deep chemistry. I I was curious and I passed
this along to our buddies at the press conferences. Said,
somebody asked Brian Callahan about what the trajectory that this
(30:23):
offense is on from a timing perspective. Is this offense
where he wants it to be from a chemistry standpoint
or are we a little off schedule here? It made
it a similar question made it to the press conference,
and I'm going to read Paul Kaharski's tweet from Brian
(30:44):
Callahan said, we missed too many of them early on
talking about deep shots, miss too many of them early on.
It's not been great to start with the install finish.
We pulled up a lot of clips of go balls
and spent twenty to twenty five minutes reviewing them with
the players in yesterday's practice.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
This is afterwards.
Speaker 2 (31:08):
Levis did hit Ridley on a on a deep bomb
that we still haven't gotten the video for from the
Titans social media team, So you guys got to get
on that. But I am starting to grow a little
bit concerned that maybe this offense is going to take
more time to gel and develop that chemistry than we
originally thought. I think the first month of the season
(31:30):
or so. This is going to be a team that
runs the ball effectively and plays good defense, which is
going to frustrate the hell out of Titans fans who
have seen that for the last twenty five years. But
I think that's kind of where this offense is at
right now, a little bit concerned that Levis isn't hitting
those explosive throws and isn't isn't finding that that chemistry
(31:52):
with Calvin Ridley right now? Do you think there's reason
for concern or do you think this is just the
natural development of an offense kind of trying to find
its footing before the season starts.
Speaker 4 (32:05):
Yeah, I mean I don't think it's, you know, time
for major panic. I don't think it's time to sound
the alarm by any means. But it certainly not something
you like to see. It could be way worse. You know,
University of Colorado is putting out fake videos that they're
editing to make, you know, practice throws look like long
bomb touchdown. Yeah, so we're not that bad, but yeah,
(32:30):
I mean it's a new receiver, it's a second year quarterback.
You're gonna expect, you know, some some growing pains along
the way, and like we've said the whole time, this
is the time to figure it out, so you know,
we're not I don't think it's time to panic until
it's game day and it's not happening.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
I'll tell you one thing. I am encouraged by the
fact that Brian Callahan. I respect the fact and appreciate
the fact that he's willing to go into a press
conference and be kind of open about this and just
say it's not been great to start acknowledging that it's
something they need to work on, but then showing examples
telling you how they're working on this stuff, that they're
(33:10):
aware of it, they're trying to beat it. And then
they go out on the practice field that day and
from several accounts it sounds like they were a little
bit better in that department, And from what I've read
from this morning's camp so far, they're continuing to hit
on that and grow on it, and I think that's
the encouraging aspect of it. I just feel like maybe
(33:31):
we're going to be butting up against the start of
the season and still wondering what this.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
Really looks like.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
And I don't think it's a bad thing, because, like
I've said before, I do think this team's going to
run more twelve personnel with Chig and Wiley on the
field at the same time Pollard and Spears, two good
running backs, a revamped offensive line. I'm telling people, like
the writings on the wall, I think this is going
to be a pretty good rushing team, and I think
they'll be able to lean on that with their aggressive
(33:58):
defense as the deep bombs kind of come together. So
I think it's okay, I'm with you, it's not time
to panic. But there is this little thought in the
back of my head that's just kind of like, uh,
maybe we should pay attention to this, But like I said,
we do have a football game to talk about. San
Francisco forty nine Ers Tennessee Titans. Oh, and I think
(34:20):
this is an awesome matchup to watch because the forty
nine Ers have some quality backups. They're not playing any
of their starters on Saturday night, but their backups are
still pretty damn good. And I think it's going to
be a really good barometer of where this team is
at heading into the season. Some guys that I am
excited to watch. I'm going to start with Andrew Rupsich,
(34:43):
who the coaching staff has basically said you're in a
competition with Dylan Raidin's right now. I think he's going
to be a guy that's going to get a lot
of run on Saturday with the the backups in and
I'm really interested to see how he's looking. I think
(35:05):
Jalen Harrell is another guy to watch. He's been showing
up in camp this week. I'm going to read a
quote our buddy J. T. Runky of the Hot Reed
podcast in Broadway Sports quoting Brian Callahan with high praise
on rookie Jalen Harrold quote, He's done everything right, shown
real ability to rush. Put him on a list of
(35:26):
guys I'm really excited to watch play. I think he's
going to play a lot on Saturday, and with the
pending suspension of arden Key looming, this is a team
that needs some help in the pass rush. It would
be fucking awesome if Jalen Harrol could develop into a
contributing role. I'm also excited to see how they deploy
(35:49):
the linebackers Cedric Gray and James Williams. I want to
see Cedric Gray with my own two eyes. I liked
him a lot coming out of the draft, but he
has been virtually a good throughout training camp so far.
I haven't heard many good things about him outside of
a to Z Sam Falan shouting him out for the
weekend practice. I want to see why they've got him
(36:10):
so deep on the depth chart. Conversely, I think James
Williams is going to be fun to watch. Reports are
that he's thumping people out at camp. I want to
see him do it in game action. He might kill
a guy I don't know. He is a deadly weapon
in the open field. And then, yeah, you know what
I kind of want to see. I kind of want
to see Kyle Phillips a little bit, see what kind
(36:31):
of work he can do. Any any names that you
would like to add as guys to watch on Saturday
who you're most excited to see.
Speaker 4 (36:42):
I do kind of have a question, and it kind
of ties into that, But I know they're stetting him
up to be you know, they want him to be
the best backup spinner he could be. But do you
think there's any chance that they get brun School to
get any reps at right Guard?
Speaker 3 (36:59):
I think it would be.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
I think it would be a last case, last case
scenario situation. And the reason why I say that is
because they had the opportunity to pull him and play
him at right guard this week and the competition was
between Raidn's and Rupsig. So I think Brunskill's a dog.
(37:21):
I think he's scrappy. Mike Herndon called him more of
a get in the way blocker, and I think that's accurate.
I think there's an element of power that's missing from
his game. When you're talking about running more gap concepts
where you've got to get you've got to get guys
down the field and moving people, I think there's an
(37:41):
element of that that's missing from Brunskill's game. He's a
little bit lighter than you'd like your right guard to
be played admirably in Tim Kelly's zone system last year,
where it is more reliant upon athleticism and movement than
pure strength. So I think he's kind of a square
peg in a round hole when you're talking about guard
tackle play under Bill Callahan and what we think the
(38:03):
Titans are going to run on offense, but I think
it's not as big of a factor at center where
you can kind of get away with the smaller guy.
I kind of think that's where they're leaning. That's what
they've told us all off season, that he's the backup
center behind Lloyd Cushionberry. I think it would take Raidn's
(38:24):
or Rubsich being an outright disaster for them to say, Okay,
you know what, we've We've got a slide brun Skill
over here. At least, that's my best guess as to
where where their head's at. But you raise an interesting point.
They might tell us a little bit depending on how
they deploy him in Saturday night's game. Anybody, anybody else
or anything you wanted to add to your your opinion
(38:46):
of Brunskill there.
Speaker 4 (38:50):
Uh Now, I'm just I'm curious because I don't know
if it's something that you can really address with a
you know, an addition to the team. At this point,
he just kind of speak Yeah. It just kind of
seems like if they're gonna do anything, it'll be for
that outside linebacker, I think. But it just kind of
seems like they're gonna work with the pieces they have,
(39:10):
So I was curious if maybe that'll come into play
at all.
Speaker 2 (39:14):
I had I had Caleb Farley on my list of
guys to watch too, but it sounds like he injured
a hammy that had been bugging him a little bit
this week. Sounds like he injured it this morning, and
they announced that he will be out for a couple
of weeks, which sucks because I was starting to buy
into the Caleb Farley comeback tour. From what we've heard
(39:34):
from him out at camp, sounds like streamlining the defense
a little bit has helped him out and he's playing
a lot better ball. So I hate to hear that
with him. But any other guys you want to mention
that you'll be keeping an eye on on Saturday night
or are we good to get on out of here today?
Speaker 4 (39:54):
No, I mean I think I'm really wanting to keep
an eye on that outside linebacker, like we said, just
because of the potential suspension. Nothing's happened yet from the NFL.
We'll see how that goes. I think they're still an
appeals process with that as well. There is, yeah, but
just just with the potential of it being out there,
(40:14):
that would be interesting to study. And I'm excited to
see trailing Burks. You know, they said the guys worked
his ass off all off season. I want to see
what it looks like. I want to see what this
new trailing Burks is.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
Oh, you know what, I am going to add a
name I forgot. I want to mention the backup left guard,
Cole Spencer, undrafted guy out of Texas Tech, good athlete,
got some good tape. I think he's going to get
some serious run because I don't think Peter Skronsky's going
to play more than a series one drive if that.
And then I think they're gonna plug Cole Spencer in
(40:47):
at left guard, and I want to see I want
to see the young buck go because I think he's
an intriguing prospect. But that's that's enough talk about undrafted
guard prospects. We we are going to get out of
here for the day. Thank you guys for tuning in
to the Unofficial Titans Podcast again, brought to you by
Memo's Mexican Kitchen, in my opinion, the best Mexican food
(41:09):
in the Nashville area. Worth the drive out to Mount
Juliet just a mile north of I forty off the
Mount Juliet exit. Owen final final message of hope about
football football being back any any parting thoughts before we
let him.
Speaker 4 (41:25):
Go today, I mean good, bad or indifferent. It could
be worse. It could be baseball season. I mean we're here, guys,
make the best of it. The Olympics are almost over,
Thank god, we're almost for football.
Speaker 3 (41:40):
That'll do it for us.
Speaker 2 (41:42):
He is one takeo Cinderella Man, outspoken, Owen Reed, I
am big natural Stony Keeley. Rate review and subscribe to
the Unofficial Titans Podcast. Wherever you take in your podcast.
We're out there in those internet streets, baby, we ain't
too hard to find. Thank you guys for listening. All
of my work is up at Sobersnetwork dot com. Film
(42:02):
Friday Lagerious need tomorrow morning at stackingthe Inbox dot com.
Let us know how we're doing, okay. We always want
to be better for you guys, and that's how we
do it. He's Owen, I'm Stony. And until next time
when we'll have an actual game to break down, this
has been the Official Titans podcast. You stay classy, Titans fans,
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