Tag: Kenny Vaccaro

Titans’ Kenny Vaccaro on play-calling, losing Logan Ryan, Johnathan Joseph

Kenny Vaccaro was sad to see Logan Ryan go, but “business is business.”

If you were hoping for some insight into one of the biggest questions the Tennessee Titans have right now, safety Kenny Vaccaro can’t help you.

After the Titans decided not to name a defensive coordinator for the upcoming season, we still don’t know who will be calling plays. It could be head coach Mike Vrabel, or perhaps one or multiple coaches on his staff.

It appears that Vaccaro is as in the dark as we are based on his comments from a Zoom call with the media on Friday afternoon, according to Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.

“I honestly don’t know who is going to call the plays,” Vaccaro said. “I just know Vrabes is going to put us in a position to play fast and aggressive. Whoever is going to call plays is going to put us in a position to make plays, and that is all I am worried about.”

Like his teammate Adoree’ Jackson, Vaccaro was definitely sad to see Logan Ryan go this offseason, but he chalks it up to being part of the business.

“It hurts losing (Logan) because he is a friend,” Vaccaro said. “But at the same time, business is business. This is how the league works. We were fortunate to get Kristian drafted this year and I am excited about it. Right now, he is doing a great job, he is attentive, he is smart, and he is doing everything that is asked of him.”

While the Titans did lose an experienced player in Ryan, Vaccaro believes the addition of veteran Johnathan Joseph will certainly help.

“Any time you have that much experience in the league, you have a Master’s Degree – he is trying to get his Doctorate, his PhD,” Vaccaro explained. “He’s a great guy to learn from, and he’s had a lot of success in this league. I’ve watched him for years and he is one of my favorite corners since he’s been in the league. I love the way he plays and I am excited to have him.”

Vaccaro, whose Zoom call came right after Jackson’s, praised his teammate and talked about his progress as a player, per David Boclair of Sports Illustrated.

“Everybody has a different next step, you know?” Vaccaro said. “Some people will go from starter to Pro Bowler, or some guys go from backup to starter, or practice squad to being active. That’s up to him. He has his own plan for himself, he knows what he wants to do. I know Adoree’.

“I know he’s motivated. He loves football, he cares. I love playing with him, I love playing next to him. He’s a really smart player.”

Vaccaro, who the Titans originally signed in 2018, will be entering his third season in Nashville in 2020, and still has two years left on the four-year, $26 million deal after this season.

So far, that deal has paid dividends for the Titans. Vaccaro has emerged as an impact player on the defense and makes up one half of what is a supremely talented yet underrated safety duo with Kevin Byard.

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What would an NFL defense look like comprised of only Texas Longhorns?

A look at an NFL defense comprised of Texas Longhorns. Earl Thomas and Jordan Hicks were bonafide locks but who are the rest?

Some of the best defenders in the NFL hail from the University of Texas. Earl Thomas being one of the bigger names as he was recently named safety of the decade by Pro Football Focus. The lineage of defenders doesn’t begin with Thomas, but it goes all the way back to players such as Tommy Nobis, Tom Landry and more recently Casey Hampton. The series of professional teams comprised of Longhorns continues. Recently we published our list for the offense.

The focus will shift to the defensive side of the ball. After all there is that old adage of defense wins championships. Not necessarily the case in all championship teams but without one your team stands no chance of winning. Top defenders such as Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton and Roy Miller won’t make the list as they have retired from their professional careers but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty to choose from.

Let’s start with the defensive ends of our all Texas Longhorns team.

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Watch: Tennessee Titans’ Kenny Vaccaro has gender reveal mishap

Vaccaro’s gender reveal did not go as planned.

Tennessee Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro will be welcoming his third child into the world and decided to share the news of the baby’s gender with a gender reveal video posted on social media on Mother’s Day.

The only problem was Vaccaro didn’t exactly set his son up for success with the powder and confetti cannon he used, as it was turned the wrong way.

Check it out:

For everyone that doesn’t already know, we will be having another baby boy. We already knew that so we decided to do this just for fun. Of course I turned it the wrong way,” Vaccaro said.

Whoops!

Well, congratulations to the Vaccaro family on the incoming baby boy and we hope his son is doing OK after that shocking mishap.

The Titans safety is entering his third season with the team in 2020 and it’ll be his second campaign since signing a four-year, $26 million extension in 2019 that has been worth every penny.

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Texas Longhorns first round picks since 1999

Take a journey back to every Texas Longhorn to be drafted in the first round since 1999.

The 2020 NFL Draft is just hours away from officially kicking off. There are a few ways that you can tune into the festivities on Thursday Night. Despite the fact that the Texas Longhorns don’t have a first round caliber player according to almost every major draft analysts board, we take a journey back to every first round selection since 1999. The Longhorns could have a first round pick next year if Samuel Cosmi decides to declare or another name jumps to the front.

1999

Ricky Williams: 5th overall to the New Orleans Saints

Brian Bahr /Allsport

In 1999 the New Orleans Saints and head coach Mike Ditka gave up their entire draft just to secure the rights for Ricky Williams. Williams went on to play for the Saints until 2001 when he had a career year for the Miami Dolphins in 2002. He earned his only Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors that season with 1,853 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Williams played for one other team before hanging up the cleats, the Baltimore Ravens in 2011. He finished his 11-year career with 10,009 yards rushing and 66 touchdowns. Adding another eight receiving. His career was never the same after retiring in 2004 and returning to the NFL in 2005.

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Who are the highest-paid Longhorns in the NFL?

A list of the ten highest-paid former Longhorns in terms of guaranteed money.

There’s dozens of former Texas players currently active in the NFL, but it’s been a quiet offseason other than Colt McCoy, Adrian Phillips, and Hassan Ridegway agreeing to new deals. Continue reading “Who are the highest-paid Longhorns in the NFL?”

Tennessee Titans’ Kenny Vaccaro voices opposition to proposed CBA

Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro is not a fan of the new CBA.

The proposed Collective Bargaining Agreement that has already been ratified by NFL owners is now in the hands of the players, with the deadline to vote on the new deal coming on March 12 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

One player who is a “no” vote on the new CBA is Tennessee Titans safety, Kenny Vaccaro, who took to Twitter to share his decision.

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Vaccaro also finds it laughable that there’s a notion players will vote “yes” on the new deal because it takes away suspensions for positive drug tests with marijuana and other substances of abuse.

Vaccaro also retweeted other players who voiced their opposition to the new CBA, such as the Los Angeles Rams’ Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald, the Houston Texans’ Kenny Stills and the Denver Broncos’ Chris Harris.

For the new CBA to pass it takes a simple majority of players to vote “yes.”

As Stills laid out in his video above, there is a belief that younger players and those with less lucrative contracts will be more inclined to vote “yes” out of fear for a work stoppage hitting their pocket hard.

And, of course, those players make up most of the players in the NFL, so there’s a realistic possibility that this CBA passes even though some of the biggest names in the league are strongly opposed to it.

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Titans players react to Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 2 fight

Multiple Tennessee Titans players reacted to the fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder on Saturday night.

The fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder on Saturday night was a hot topic, and some Tennessee Titans players shared their reaction to the result.

Fury ended up stopping Wilder after the seventh round in dominating fashion and is now the new WBC heavyweight champion of the world.

Wide receiver A.J. Brown wasn’t too thrilled with the overall fight, and he thinks he could probably fight better than Fury and Wilder.

Like everyone else, Safety Kenny Vaccaro thought the fight was a landslide for Fury.

Fullback Khari Blasingame noted how badly Wilder was getting hit by Fury.

Former Titans linebacker Will Compton, now with the Las Vegas Raiders, praised Fury’s work ethic.

 

Former Titans wide receiver Nate Washington.

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Former Longhorn Kenny Vaccaro Called His Shot

Former Texas Longhorns safety Kenny Vaccaro claims he called his shot when picking off Lamar Jackson.

Former Texas Longhorns’ and New Orleans Saints’ safety called his shot against the likely NFL Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson in their win over the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Playoff game. According to the Tennessee Titans twitter account, Vaccaro called his pick against the Ravens that helped seal the deal to head to the AFC Title game in Kansas City.

This the first season that Vaccaro has been able to participate in the NFL postseason and he is taking every advantage of the opportunity in hopes of getting his first Super Bowl Championship.

“Kenny played safety the way I envision safety being played. He threw his body around and got in there”-Mike Vrabel on Vacarro to Turron Davenport of ESPN.

On Sunday, the Titans head to Kansas City in hopes of playing spoiler as the underdogs on the road for the third straight week. The 2019 Tennessee Titans look to become just the third sixth seed to win the Super Bowl. In 2010, the Green Bay Packers won it after winning three straight road playoff games to make the Super Bowl. In 2005, the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first since 1990 to pull off the championship run.

On Sunday, two former Longhorns are looking to get to the Super Bowl. Alex Okafor won’t be playing in the game and Vaccaro will be looking to make his mark against the Chiefs.

Three former Longhorns still in quest for Lombardi Trophy

After the divisional round of the NFL playoffs, only three Longhorns remain in the quest to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.

As the NFL playoffs have progressed, we’ve been keeping a close eye on former Texas players in their quest for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens currently employ the highest number of former Longhorns, but both teams unfortunately lost in the divisional round of playoffs.

There are now only three former Longhorns, each of which were drafted in the 2013 NFL Draft, that remain in the hunt for the Lombardi Trophy. Two of these players have been placed on injured reserve throughout the 2019 season, but the impact they’ve made to their respective programs shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Kenny Vaccaro, S, Tennessee Titans

Vaccaro has played in every game of the 2019 regular season, finishing with 84 combined tackles and one interception. The safety for the Titans has also excelled in the playoffs thus far, including an exciting interception in the divisional round to help clinch the upset over the No. 1 seed Ravens.

Although the former first-round pick has qualified for the postseason twice in 2013 and 2017 with the New Orleans Saints, Vaccaro landed on injured reserve late in the regular season both times. Vaccaro was selected No. 15 overall by the Saints in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Alex Okafor, OLB, Kansas City Chiefs

Okafor played in ten games throughout the 2019 season before a torn pectoral muscle landed him on injured reserve in Week 15. The former Longhorn spent time with the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints before signing with the Chiefs in March. Okafor looked impressive in the minimal games played, finishing with 22 combined tackles and five sacks.

The former Longhorns most impressive appearance with Kansas City came in Week 7 against the Denver Broncos, where he sacked Joe Flacco twice in the 30-6 win. Okafor was a fourth-round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Marquise Goodwin, WR, San Francisco 49’ers

Goodwin appeared in nine games with the 49’ers this season. The speedy receiver finished his seventh season in the league with 12 receptions for 186 yards and one touchdown before being placed on injured reserve in December for chronic knee and foot injuries.

Although this will likely be Goodwin’s last season with San Francisco, he still showed positive flashes for the franchise in previous seasons. Goodwin played in all 16 contests in 2017, catching 56 passes for 962 yards. The Buffalo Bills selected Goodwin in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Vaccaro will be the only former Texas player competing on the field next weekend with the AFC Championship on the line. Which of these three teams have the best shot of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy?

Titans-Ravens: looking into defensive snap counts

Here’s a complete look at the team’s defensive snap counts.

Not many expected the Tennessee Titans to come into M&T Bank Stadium and leave with a 28-12 victory over the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens — but that’s exactly what happened on Saturday night.

The Titans recorded strong performances on both sides of the ball, and now have just one contest standing between them and the Super Bowl.

On the win, free safety Kevin Byard, cornerback Logan Ryan and safety Kenny Vaccaro were in for all 97 defensive snaps, with linebacker Harold Landry seeing action on all but two snaps.

Safety Amani Hooker (81%), linebacker Daren Bates (81%), cornerback Joshua Kalu (76%) and strong safety Dane Cruikshank (76%) were highly active on special teams.

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Here’s a complete look at the team’s defensive snap counts.

The Titans will face the Kansas City Chiefs next in Arrowhead Stadium at 2:05 p.m. CST on Sunday for a spot in the Super Bowl.

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