Tag: Demarcus Walker

Titans safety Kevin Byard talks reunion with A.J. Brown; Returning home to face the Eagles

Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard talks about his reunion with A.J. Brown; Returning home to Philadelphia to face the Eagles

Kevin Byard is returning home on Sunday and it’ll be an emotional business trip filled with venom and hurt feelings.

Tennessee and Philadelphia is set for a physical matchup in Week 13 and it’ll center around wide receiver A.J. Brown and his draft night trade.

Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and Browns have been friends since their youth football days, while the team’s star safety, Byard, is just looking to have a fun afternoon.

“It’s going to be awesome. Obviously, A.J. is my guy. He’s having success in Philadelphia,” Byard said via Mainstreet Nashville. “I know he’s going to be amped up during the game, and I’m going back to my hometown. It’s going to be more about that for me. I’m going to have some family in the stands as well. It’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be a great environment. Their fans are pretty crazy.”

Here’s more from Byard on the matchup and returning home.

Titan’ CB Kristian Fulton looking forward to matchup with Eagles’ WR A.J. Brown

Titan cornerback Kristian Fulton says he’s looking forward to his Week 13 matchup with Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown

For the first time since being traded during the 2022 NFL draft, Eagles wide receiver AJ Brown faces the team that initially drafted him.

The Titans are headed to Philadelphia to battle Brown and the Eagles, with Tennessee’s top cornerback fully embracing the challenge.

Kristian Fulton and Brown’s rivalry goes back to the SEC as the cornerback played at LSU, while the wide receiver attended Ole Miss. As teammates with the Titans, Fulton and Brown had their share of battles during practice, and the talented cornerback is looking forward to the real thing in Week 13.

Fulton is the Titans’ top cover guy and will be a player to watch as he’s been dealing with a hamstring injury.

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Eagles-Titans injury report: DeVonta Smith among 13 players listed as limited participants

DeVonta Smith and James Bradberry were among 13 Eagles who were limited participants in preparation for the Titans

The Eagles released their Thursday injury report in advance of the Sunday matchup against the Titans, and two key figures in the passing game are dealing with groin injuries.

DeVonta Smith and Zach Pascal were again limited participants in an estimated walkthrough, along with 11 other players who were resting.

Star safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson will be out with a lacerated kidney, but Philadelphia has yet to put him on the injured reserve list.

What the Eagles are saying ahead of Week 13 matchup vs. Titans

With Philadelphia and Tennessee set for a Sunday matchup, here are some pre-game quotes and what the Eagles are saying ahead of Week 13 against the Titans

The Eagles (10-1) and Titans (7-4) are set for a physical, Sunday afternoon matchup that’ll involve two division leaders, hurt feelings, and explosive offenses.

Philadelphia counters with Jalen Hurts, Miles Sanders, DeVonta Smith, and A.J. Brown, who’ll be at the center of some trash talk and disdain after a blockbuster draft night trade.

Tennessee with counter the Birds at the quarterback position with Ryan Tannehill, the NFL’s top rusher in Derrick Henry, and the wide receiver drafted to replace A.J. Brown, Treylon Burks.

With so many plots and storylines here’s what the Eagles are saying ahead of Week 13.

Eagles-Titans injury report: DeVonta Smith, Zach Pascal listed as limited participants

DeVonta Smith and Zach Pascal were among three Eagles who were limited participants during a Wednesday walkthrough in preparation for the Titans

The Eagles released their Wednesday injury report in advance of the Sunday matchup against the Titans, and two key figures in the passing game are dealing with groin injuries.

DeVonta Smith and Zach Pascal were limited participants in an estimated walkthrough, while Patrick Johnson was limited with an ankle injury.

Star safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson will be out with a lacerated kidney, but Philadelphia has yet to put him on the injured reserve list.

Titans’ winners and losers from Week 10 victory over Broncos

The winners and losers from the Titans’ Week 10 win over the Broncos.

The Tennessee Titans won their sixth game of the 2022 campaign in Week 10 after a 17-10 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Like always, the Titans won an ugly game, mostly on the strength of their defense, which was still sensational despite missing more than half of its starters.

But unlike other wins, it was the passing attack that made the plays the team needed in order to make the defense’s outstanding effort hold up. And, believe it or not, a Titans wide receiver was one of the heroes of the game.

On defense, the short-handed Titans saw several players step up, especially in the front-seven where the team showed no signs of slowing down even though its best pass-rushers were out.

As we do each and every week, let’s see which Titans players qualified as winners, losers, and somewhere in between from the win over Denver.

Titans’ defense elite at getting pressure without blitzing

A big reason for the Titans’ success on defense is their ability to get pressure without blitzing.

The Tennessee Titans’ defense has been phenomenal ever since they started to turn their season around back in Week 3.

From that moment on, the Titans have only allowed an average of 16 points per game, while consistently producing like an all-around elite defense.

The strength of the entire unit has undoubtedly been Tennessee’s tenacious defensive front that includes Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, Rashad Weaver, Bud Dupree, Teair Tart, Demarcus Walker, and Mario Edwards Jr.

The team has already accounted for 23 sacks in total through eight games. Autry (7.0), Simmons (5.5), Dupree (3.0), Weaver (4.0), Walker (2.0), and Edwards Jr. (1.0) have accounted for 22.5 of those sacks.

Arguably the group’s most impressive ability is its knack for getting after the quarterback without having to blitz.

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According to Next Gen Stats, The Titans’ defense has blitzed less frequently than any other team in the NFL this season (15 percent) but has also recorded a league-high pressure rate of 31.7 percent when not bringing a blitz.

The Titans’ seven defenders listed above have combined for a whopping 122 pressures through eight games, per Sports Info Solutions.

This group has the potential to put up some elite numbers all across the board by year’s end as long as it can stay healthy. Unfortunately, that’s a much bigger “if” than anyone would prefer.

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Behind Enemy Lines: Week 1 Q&A with Titans Wire

With a Week 1 matchup between the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans on tap, we go behind enemy lines for a chat with Titans Wire.

The New York Giants (0-0) and Tennessee Titans (0-0) will square off on Sunday afternoon in a Week 1 matchup at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Giants opened the week as 5.5-point road underdogs and that’s where the spread remains as of this writing.

With this matchup on tap, Giants Wire took the opportunity to hold a Q&A with Titans Wire managing editor Mike Moraitis.

Titans training camp preview: D-Line among Tennessee’s biggest strengths

The defensive line will be among the Titans’ biggest strengths in 2022.

The Tennessee Titans’ defense improved greatly in 2021 from where it was in 2020, and the defensive line played a big part in that resurgence.

Both Jeffery Simmons and Denico Autry had career years and combined for 17.5 of Tennessee’s 43 sacks, a total that ranked tied for ninth in the league. The pass-rush was just one part of the story upfront, though, as the Titans sported the No. 2 run defense in the NFL, also.

Tennessee once again managed to find a diamond in the rough in undrafted free agent signing Naquan Jones, who is the second good defensive lineman general manager Jon Robinson has found following a draft since 2020, with starting nose tackle Teair Tart being the other.

With all four of those players returning in 2022, there isn’t much room for the rest of the defensive linemen on the team to secure a spot on the 53-man roster.

Let’s take a look at the players who are roster locks, on the bubble, and then we’ll talk about the competitions set to take place and share our prediction for how things will shake out on the 53-man roster.

DeMarcus Walker talks joining Titans, helping them ‘take another step’

DeMarcus Walker hopes to help the Titans get over the hump in 2022.

The Tennessee Titans made an addition to their defense last month by signing veteran defensive lineman, DeMarcus Walker, who will now compete for a spot on the team’s 53-man roster this offseason.

Walker admitted that the wait to sign with a team was a bit longer than he would have preferred, but says a conversation with general manager Jon Robinson is what sealed the deal for him coming to Nashville.

“It was definitely a conversation, and J. Rob reached out to me himself and we had a talk on the phone,” Walker said, via Jim Wyatt of Titans Online. “Through prayer and through faith, it landed me here.”

Despite being labeled as a defensive lineman, Walker brings versatility with him to Tennessee, as he’s also capable of playing off the edge. For a player who figures to be on the roster bubble, that’s a huge help for his cause.

Walker went on to praise head coach Mike Vrabel and the Titans’ culture, and he’s ready to do whatever is asked of him in order to try and help the Titans get over the hump.

“Coach, he makes sure everyone knows everybody’s name, you get to know the guy beside you, the person giving you water,” he said. “It is just being a professional, and having that, you see why they’re having success around here. Keep chopping every day to the ultimate goal.

“Whatever I can do to help, and to make the team win. They took a big step [last year], and my goal is to help them take another step… I just have to be myself, bringing my chemistry and charisma to the team and embracing the team and play where coach Vrabel wants me to play.”

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