Locked on Titans with Rhett Bryan of Titans Radio Last night we were joined on Locked on Titans by the very talented Rhett Bryan of Titans Radio. He talked about the 2 days of joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and what it is like to watch practice with Dave McGinnis. You can listen to the show here. One note http://www.thetitanslockerroom.com/authentic-adoree_-jackson-jersey , we did have a little bit of an audio issue with Rhett at the beginning, but it got much better as the show progressed. You can follow Rhett on Twitter here.As always, we would love for you to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow the show page on Twitter here.It is going to be interesting to see how much info we get about the team between now and week 1 with yesterday being the last day of open practices. Mike Vrabel has kept everything very close to vest even when people could see what was happening. I can’t imagine what it will be like for the next couple of weeks when he doesn’t have to tell anybody anything. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Wesley Woodyard laughs when asked if the 32-year-old linebacker has found a fountain of youth.Coming off a career-high 172 tackles, Woodyard once again is leading the Tennessee Titans in tackles despite missing two starts and nearly three full games with an injured shoulder.He sets the tone for the NFL's second-best scoring defense, a unit that has taken a big leap in several statistical categories this season under first-year head coach Mike Vrabel and coordinator Dean Pees. Woodyard, now in his 11th NFL season, says the secret to his success as a former undrafted free agent out of Kentucky is much simpler."I'm surrounded by a bunch of great guys that I love to go to work with every week," Woodyard said. "They make my job easier, showing up to work man I enjoy being here. And most importantly, I've had the chances to learn and take the bits and pieces from a lot of people that I came across in this game of football and now just going out there doing what I do. I love the game, so go and play and have fun and be free."An undrafted free agent in 2008, Woodyard signed with Denver and wound up voted a team captain in each of his six seasons with the Broncos. He signed with Tennessee after the Broncos lost the 2014 Super Bowl to Seattle and has been a captain each season with the Titans.The 6-foot, 233-pound linebacker credits his longevity and success to a combination of keeping the driven mentality of being undrafted mixed with an ever-changing cast of head coaches and defensive systems."I had three new head coaches and a new D coordinator every year the first five years," Woodyard said. "I use it as a blessing man. I got a chance to learn five new systems, got a chance to put football out there for new coaches, and this league man, the turnover ratio is so huge. Every year it's a different system, different schemes and I've been blessed to be in a lot of different schemes: 4-3s, 3-4s Harold Landry Jersey White , new coaches, old coaches. So I've seen a lot."With the Titans, Woodyard has had three different head coaches and the chance to play for a pair of defensive coordinator legends in Dick LeBeau and now Dean Pees. His current coordinator coached Ray Lewis and Ed Reed in Baltimore and said what Woodyard has in common with those players is being a pro knowing how to take care of their bodies. They also study hard."And if they have a shortcoming in any area, they know how to overcome that shortcoming," Pees said. "We all get older and we all get slower, … but the guys that know how to handle that, they all play smarter as they get older, and don't rely as much on their talent as their instincts. And Wesley is definitely in that same caliber."Woodyard, also switched to a vegan diet last year , is surrounded by youth at inside linebacker with Jayon Brown in his second season, 2018 first-round draft pick Rashaan Evans and six-year veteran Daren Bates. Woodyard is leading the way with 72 tackles, and he's tied for second on the Titans with 3½ sacks. He also has five tackles for loss as the Titans (5-5) prepare to visit Houston (7-3) on Monday night.The linebacker jokes he heard being in your 30s is the new prime."The biggest thing for me man is getting better every year, to challenge myself to get better at something every year and continue to get better. Me coming in the league undrafted, you have that chip on your shoulder where you got to prove yourself every year no matter if you're a first-round pick or a late-round pick, you got to go every year, and that's just been my mentality."Notes: The Titans went through a walk-through practice Thursday, taking advantage of an extra day before their game in Houston. QB Marcus Mariota was limited with an injured neck, and Vrabel says they will test Mariota's arm Friday because they didn't throw much Thursday. WR Taywan Taylor (left foot) and C Ben Jones (shoulder) also were limited. RB David Fluellen (knee) did not practice.

The National Football League today announced that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 2. This is the second consecutive NFC Offensive Player of the Week Award for Fitzpatrick. Against the Philadelphia Eagles M.J. Stewart Jersey , Fitzpatrick completed 27-of-33 passes (81.8 pct.) for 402 yards (12.18 yards per attempt), with four touchdowns and one interception, compiling a passer rating of 144.4. Fitzpatrick, who threw four touchdowns in Week 1 against New Orleans, is just the third player in NFL history to throw at least four touchdowns in each of his team’s first two games of the season, joining Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (2018) and New England’s Drew Bledsoe (1997). He also joins New England’s Tom Brady (2011) and Carolina’s Cam Newton (2011) as the only players in NFL history to record at least 400 passing yards in each the first two games of the season. He is the first NFL quarterback to throw for at least 400 yards in consecutive games since Philip Rivers in 2013.Fitzpatrick is the third player since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger to record consecutive games with 400 yards passing and four touchdowns, joining Miami’s Dan Marino (12/2/84 vs. L.A. Raiders-12/9/84 at Indianapolis) Tennessee’s Billy Volek (12/13/04 vs. Kansas City-12/19/04 at Oakland). He is the first player since the merger to do so in the first two games of the season. He is the only player in NFL history to throw for at least 400 yards and four touchdowns in each of the first two games of the season. Fitzpatrick’s 151.5 passer rating is the highest mark through two games since the 1970 NFL/AFL merger (minimum 40 pass attempts). Fitzpatrick is the first player in the NFL to post consecutive games with a passer rating of 140 or higher since 2015 (Seattle’s Russell Wilson, 11/29/15 vs. PIT-12/6/15 at MIN). He is the first player in Buccaneers history to do so. Fitzpatrick threw two 75-yard touchdowns against Philadelphia. He is the first player in franchise history to record multiple touchdown passes of 75 yards or more in the same game and the first player to do so since Week 1 of 2017 (Alex Smith, at New England, 9/7/17). He has four touchdown passes of 50+ yards through the first two games of the season, tying N.Y. Jets QB Joe Namath (1972) for the most 50+ yard touchdown passes through the first two games of the season in NFL history. Fitzpatrick joins Josh Freeman (Weeks 5 & 9 http://www.buccaneerslockerroom.com/authentic-jordan-whitehead-jersey , 2010) and Brad Johnson (Weeks 9 & 14, 2002) as the only players in team history to earn NFC Offensive Player of the Week multiple times in the same season. He is the first ever player in franchise history to win NFC Player of the Week in consecutive weeks. This is Fitzpatrick’s seventh career Offensive Player of the Week award, having earned the honor twice this season as well as with the St. Louis Rams (Week 12, 2005), the Houston Texans (Week 13, 2014) and the New York Jets (Weeks 14 & 16, 2015; Week 2, 2016).This report comes courtesy of the Buccaneers Communications Department. Of the looming changes in Tampa, cornerback Brent Grimes undoubtedly will be one of them.The 35-year-old defender opened up while appearing on his wife’s podcast, explaining what went wrong for him with the Bucs this year.“We get to the Steelers and then they start asking me to follow people,鈥?Grimes said via JoeBucsFan.com Womens Cameron Brate Jersey , regarding the Week Three Monday night game. And he regarded that as a slap in the face, because he believes that cornerbacks who follow the No. 1 receiver “earn $13 to $15 million.” (Grimes made $7 million for 2018.)Grimes blames his performance for the full year on that one moment.鈥淭hat just f–ked up my whole vibe for the whole year to be completely honest,鈥?Grimes said.Ordinarily, honesty is preferred. But in this case, Grimes would have been better off keeping his candor to himself, if he hopes to extend his career by another season. Once a guy becomes part of a team, he should do what he’s asked to do by his coaches, and he should welcome any unexpected chances to compete as an opportunity, not a hassle.

Your San Francisco 49ers links for Tuesday Mitch Wishnowsky San Francisco 49ers Jersey , April 2nd 2019"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections 49ers Salary CapLevi’s Stadium Events49ers Transactions49ers Injury News49ers Press Conferences & Conference CallsGolden Nuggets: Colin Kaepernick playing football againNew,28commentsYour San Francisco 49ers links for Tuesday, April 2nd 2019PDTShareTweetShareShareGolden Nuggets: Colin Kaepernick playing football againI made it almost a month without mentioning Colin Kaepernick. Over the weekend the former San Francisco quarterback played a little flag football during “Huncho Day.” Quavo of Migos hosted the event in Atlanta. Kaepernick can be seen throwing a touchdown to New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. He also connected with Quavo on a two-point conversion.Kyle Shanahan doesn’t rule out 49ers trading No. 2 pick in NFL draftThe head coach was on Adam Schefter’s podcast Monday speaking about the San Francisco 49ers offseason and the draft coming up. It’s a good listen. Skip ahead to the 19-20 minute mark.49ers should prioritize extending Deforest BucknerI cannot imagine letting a guy that talented sniff free agency.Making the case for Nick Bosa at number twoHim being really good is a solid place to start.Kyle Shanahan suggests Marquise Goodwin won’t necessarily be a starter next yearIs that really a surprise, though?49ers trade the farm for Julio JonesAn April Fools’ joke.NFL decision-makers say George Kittle is good, but not the best TE.We will be talking about this later today Fred Warner Jersey , I’m sure. Like usual, NFL decision-makers are off on this.49ers want their DL to be dominantSubscribing to the George Seifert saying, “you can never have too many defensive lineman.”Ravens-Steelers close out the day with Sunday Night Football We’re back for the fourth week of Sunday Night Football to close out the day. The Pittsburgh Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens, with kickoff set for 5:20 p.m. PT on NBC. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth are calling the game from the booth, and Michele Tafoya is handling sideline duties.We get an intense rivalry matchup in Week 4 Solomon Thomas Jersey , with both teams looking to hang close with the division-leading Cincinnati Bengals. The Ravens are 2-1 while the Steelers are 1-1-1. Pittsburgh is a field goal favorite, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. The Steelers managed their first win over the Bucs last week, but as we saw today, the Bucs just aren’t anywhere near as good as those first two weeks suggested. Baltimore is playing solid football, and I think we see them win this one outright.Ravens vs. Steelers Ahkello Witherspoon Jersey , SNFTime: 5:20 p.m. PTLocation: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, PAChannel: NBCLive Stream: NBCSports.comOdds: Steelers -3

Mirage or Oasis? Projecting the rest of the Seattle Seahawks’ 2018 season Sunday afternoon saw the Seattle Seahawks crawling out of the NFC West basement by (finally) winning a game Doug Baldwin Jersey , toppling the Dallas Cowboys 24-13 at CenturyLink Field. On the face of it, an 11-point win at home, with a 100-yard rusher and a +3 turnover differential might make you think that the team has officially turned the corner. I’m here to pour a tiny bit of cold water on that notion.Even Pete Carroll couldn’t help himself post-game when he talked about playing the game they wanted to, particularly with running the ball and controlling field position via the punting game. The thing is, though...The running game was bad, it was inefficient, wasteful at times and ill-advised.Using data from Warren Sharp’s Sharp Box Score, we see that the Seahawks ran a whopping17 times on 1st down alone for a grand total of 39 yards, which comes out to 2.3YPC and 41% Success Rate. Both of those metrics, YPC and Success Rate were below league averages of 4.2 YPC and 44% respectively in 2017. While running on 1st down is generally inefficient, the Seahawks were more inefficient than usual and yet committed to doing so on a horrifying 68% of their first downs. It’s one thing to commit to a philosophy, it’s another to stick to a philosophy that regularly puts you behind the sticks when you know you’re either bad at it or doing it far too often.The Seahawks are again being far too conservative on 4th down. Right after intercepting Dak Prescott (and having a huge return wiped off the board), the Seahawks had a three-play drive for six yards ending with a drop by Brandon Marshall. The ball was on the Dallas 45-yard line, the Dallas defense hadn’t exactly looked great to that point, and the Seahawks defense has looked shaky for the previous two weeks. Rather than go for it on 4th down, the Seahawks punted 38 yards (dragging Michael Dickson’s average punt yardage down). Assuming even a league-average chance of making the 1st down, the Seahawks stood to benefit more by going for it than had they punted. Work done ages ago by Brian Burke and Kevin Quealy shows how NFL coaches continued to leave points on the field by being too conservative on 4th down.The pass rush finally showed upThe defense got pressure on Sunday in ways they didn’t over the previous two weeks, with 10 QB hits of Dak Prescott, 5 of which were sacks Ed Dickson Jersey , and a pair of interceptions courtesy of Earl Thomas (Tongue in cheek: “Pay the man!”). The reason for cautious optimism here is three-fold. First, the Dallas receivers are legitimately bad, generating little separation at the line of scrimmage or late in routes. Secondly, the offense has been described as remedial in some circles, even garnering stinging criticism from former Cowboy WR Dez Bryant and is the butt of a great many jokes on Twitter. Most importantly however is the situation on their offensive line. Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick is out indefinitely with Guillain-Barr茅 syndrome, rookie second-rounder Connor Williams has been struggling mightily at guard, and La’el Collins is doing his best Germain Ifedi impression at right tackle. With those things in mind it’s hard to get too excited by the performance. We’ll have to wait until the Los Angeles Rams home game in two weeks before we can draw any solid conclusions about their effectiveness, or lack thereof.After reading this, you might be thinking that I’m completely down on the Seahawks, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. I like Chris Carson as a player even if I think the Seahawks are using him poorly (give him the ball in the air).I happen to think that Russell Wilson, when he’s on his game, is a great player and he showed some of that on Sunday with a number of decisive throws into really tight coverage, including the TD to Tyler Lockett.Mostly though it comes down to schedule. The Arizona Cardinals are bad, the San Francisco 49ers just lost their franchise QB Jimmy Garoppolo for the season and the Oakland Raiders are a dumpster fire, courtesy of Jon Gruden. That makes for five very winnable games this season, even if everything else is a complete toss-up.There are definite bright spots looking forward but it’s still impossible to say if they’re a mirage or the real deal. I said last week that the Seattle Seahawks’ run-heavy approach to offense in 2018 was discussed to death. That doesn’t mean that we’re done discussing it, though! The Seahawks undoubtedly had one..."I said last week that the Seattle Seahawks’ run-heavy approach to offense in 2018 was discussed to death. That doesn’t mean that we’re done discussing it, though! The Seahawks undoubtedly had one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL this season, through a combination of an improved offensive line Womens David Moore Jersey , a healthy Chris Carson, and the removal of Eddie Lacy lumbering and stumbling his way for what felt like zero yards per carry. This was a pleasant flip from 2017 and much of 2016, which was seemingly Pete Carroll’s top goal for 2018....But if you thought the Seahawks did a ton of “run-run-pass” last season, or at least a lot of early down rushing, you would be correct. And the splits for 1st-3rd quarters are pretty ridiculous.FiveThirtyEight also did a table last month showing that the Seahawks used “run-run-pass” more than any other team in the NFL.Unsurprisingly, this led to the Seahawks placing themselves in “3rd and manageable.” Their third-down success rate ranked 27th in the NFL. It should be noted that they ranked 8th in getting first-downs on early downs, so the offense was at its most effective when avoiding third-down. What is most telling is that the RRP nature of the Seahawks offense had a negative impact on the passing game, specifically Russell Wilson’s sack rate. On early downs, Wilson’s sack rate was roughly 7.5% (24 sacks incurred on 318 regular season dropbacks). Once it gets to third-down? He took 26 sacks on just 153 dropbacks, a rate of 17%.It’s almost as if the run-heavy approach leads to obvious passing downs. And somehow David Moore led the team in third-down targets in the regular season at 25, raking in just 11 catches for 9 first-downs. I wonder why this team struggled on third-down so much. Hmm...Don’t get me wrong, it is awesome that Seattle has a formidable rushing attack, an efficient passing game, and a top-10 offense. But there’s always room for improvement, and the goal for the Seahawks next season shouldn’t be “run less often.” It should be “run smarter.” Three of the four most successful three-play sequences for the Seahawks involved an early down pass, while the other was three consecutive runs. Brian Schottenheimer and Pete Carroll need to make adjustments to let the passing game succeed earlier, and don’t repeatedly put Russell Wilson in situations where his efficiency drops and his sacks go up.