Tag: Logan Woodside

What Titans said after preseason Week 3 loss to Bears

The Titans react to their preseason finale loss to the Bears.

The Tennessee Titans closed out their preseason on Saturday night against the Chicago Bears at Nissan Stadium but fell just short of a perfect exhibition record after falling to their opponent, 27-24.

The Titans deployed the vast majority of their starters on defense in the first two drives, but only a few key starters on offense saw the field for what was the final tune-up ahead of the 2021 campaign.

This game was more about getting a look at some of the younger players, who were either vying for a role or a roster spot ahead of final cuts on Tuesday, Aug. 31.

While some players helped their cause, like quarterback Logan Woodside and running backs Mekhi Sargent and Brian Hill, others like quarterback Matt Barkley and wide receiver Dez Fitzpatrick hurt theirs.

After the game, several players and coaches took to the podium to share their reaction to the final preseason contest. Here’s what they had to say:

Titans’ preseason Week 3 Player of the Game: QB Logan Woodside

Logan Woodside did enough to secure the Titans’ backup QB job in the preseason finale.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Logan Woodside has been one of the more intriguing players to watch this preseason and he may have just won the backup quarterback job in the preseason finale on Saturday night.

Prior to tonight, the former Toledo Rocket quarterback had completed 17-of-23 passes for 148 yards and two touchdowns in as many games and was involved in a neck-and-neck race with Matt Barkley for the backup job.

However, you can make a strong argument that today sealed the deal for Woodside.

The 26-year-old completed 12-of-17 passes for 100 yards, while also adding one carry for 12 yards on an evening when he needed to make a statement.

One of his passes was a beautiful scoring strike on a back-shoulder throw to wide receiver, Cameron Batson.

Unfortunately for Woodside, he also threw a pick-six, but reserve tackle Christian DiLauro was largely to blame, as he allowed pressure that got to Woodside right as he threw the football.

Woodside’s performance stands out even more with Barkley posting his worst outing since joining the team. The veteran finished 7-of-15 for 126 yards, with one interception that was the definition of an awful decision.

The evaluation of this QB2 competition will go beyond what happened on Saturday evening, but you’d have to imagine that Woodside significantly helped his case in preseason Week 3.

The Toledo product finished his impressive preseason by completing 29-of-40 passes for 248 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. It’s also noteworthy that Woodside still managed to thrive despite poor protection overall.

Roster cutdown day is on Tuesday. It will be interesting to see if Woodside has done enough to secure the job. In our minds, he has.

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Titans’ biggest winners and losers from Preseason Week 1 win over Falcons

Aside from a late injury, Titans kickers had a great preseason opener, as did Rashad Weaver.

The Tennessee Titans beat the Atlanta Falcons in their 2021 preseason debut on Friday night at Mercedes Benz Stadium, 23-3. Naturally, the result produced both winners and losers.

This was a reunion game for many on the Atlanta sideline, most notably for Falcons head coach Arthur Smith, who was formerly the Titans’ offensive coordinator.

But that reunion was soured quickly, as Smith’s former team gave his new team a reality check from the start. Tennessee was the more disciplined squad in all three phases, which helped it walk away with a 20-point victory.

It wasn’t perfect, and it wasn’t always clean, but this was a great start for a Titans team that desperately needs to see improvement from its defense and is looking to physically impose its will on opponents overall this season.

Let’s take a closer look at who the biggest winners and losers were of the preseason-opening victory over the Falcons on Friday night.

What Mike Vrabel, Titans said after Preseason Week 1 victory

A look at what the Titans are saying after their Preseason Week 1 win over the Falcons.

The Tennessee Titans notched an impressive Preseason Week 1 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night, 23-3, with the team’s defense stealing the show.

It was a great night for the defense overall, which didn’t allow the Falcons to cross the 50-yard line in the first half. Outside linebacker Rashad Weaver stood out above the rest, earning our Player of the Game honors.

On offense, things weren’t as great. The Titans saw solid performances from their quarterbacks, Logan Woodside and Matt Barkley, and a few receivers shined, but the pass protection from the team’s projected reserves was bad.

Tennessee’s kickers had a good night, which will ease fears for now. Tucker McCann nailed all three of his attempts, but one of them (47 yards) was called back following a late hit on him that knocked him out of the game early.

The ones that counted for McCann were from 26 and 42 yards. Sam Ficken was also perfect on the evening, making both of his extra point attempts and his lone field goal try from 44 yards.

After the events of Friday night, the Titans had a lot to talk about. Here’s what head coach Mike Vrabel and select players said about the contest.

Watch: Logan Woodside hits Cameron Batson for Titans’ first preseason TD

Woodside made a great back-shoulder throw to find Batson for the touchdown.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Logan Woodside hit wide receiver Cameron Batson for the team’s first touchdown of the preseason against the Atlanta Falcons on Friday night.

The score occurred in the second quarter after the Titans were setup at the 15-yard line following a David Long interception.

Woodside proceeded to fire a great back-shoulder throw to Batson in the front corner of the end zone, which he promptly hauled in for the score, giving the Titans a 10-0 lead.

Tennessee scored its first points of the contest after wide receiver Chester Rogers took a punt return 57 yards, setting up a Tucker McCann 26-yard field goal.

Woodside has been solid overall thus far. He did throw behind his receiver on two plays, but both were catchable balls, and one was hauled in. After throwing the touchdown, Woodside was 4-of-5 for 41 yards.

Woodside is currently competing for the Titans’ backup quarterback job with Matt Barkley, while Batson is vying for one of the final spots on the depth chart at wide receiver.

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10 Titans who need to impress the most in Preseason Week 1

Darrynton Evans’ pass protection will be something to watch in the Titans’ preseason opener.

The Tennessee Titans will open their 2021 preseason on Friday night against the Atlanta Falcons, which is a huge game for those players on the roster bubble, and those vying for backup or starting roles.

With at least the majority of the Titans’ starters not suiting up, players who are currently on the roster bubble will have a chance to shine and prove they should stick beyond the first round of cuts coming on Aug. 17.

Furthermore, there will also be some players suiting up on Friday night who are trying to land starting or backup roles that must impress during the preseason, and that includes Tennessee’s 2021 draft class.

We’ve picked a total of 10 players we feel must impress the most in preseason Week 1. Here’s a look at who they are and why.

Note: Not all of the 10 players listed here are confirmed to be playing on Friday night, it is just our best guess.

Titans’ Mike Vrabel gives details on who will, won’t play in preseason opener

Titans’ Mike Vrabel on Caleb Farley: “He’s not ready to play” in preseason opener.

The Tennessee Titans will open their preseason on Friday night in Atlanta against the Falcons, but as expected the team will not be deploying some of its key players in the contest.

While head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t reveal everyone who will or won’t play, or who will or won’t travel with the team, he did note that everyone who travels will be expected to be ready.

Vrabel specifically mentioned running back Darrynton Evans as the team’s starter for the contest, while also noting that quarterback Ryan Tannehill isn’t likely to play, and 2021 first-round pick and cornerback, Caleb Farley, won’t play because “he’s not ready to play.”

With Evans starting at running back, chances are there will be no Derrick Henry for the exhibition contest versus Atlanta. With Tannehill out, Logan Woodside should at least get the vast majority of reps under center.

It remains to be seen how much quarterback Matt Barkley, who was signed earlier this week, will play. After all, he hasn’t had much time to learn the playbook.

Outside of Farley, the Titans’ 2021 draft picks are expected to play, and Vrabel admitted he’s excited to see them in action.

Vrabel didn’t confirm as much, but we’d be surprised to see either Julio Jones or A.J. Brown see the field. Chances are more starters will see action in Week 2 of the preseason instead.

Tennessee and Atlanta are scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. CDT on Friday.

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Tennessee Titans 2021 training camp preview: Quarterbacks

While the Titans’ starting QB spot is locked-in, the backup situation is a different story.

The Tennessee Titans have two very different situations when it comes to their starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill, and their backup options, Logan Woodside and DeShone Kizer.

After helping to revive the Titans in 2019 and posting an impressive year once again in 2020, Tannehill is locked-in as the team’s starter going into 2021, although he might be in a better position than he was in years past.

More on that later…

Meanwhile, the Titans have a pair of shaky options to back Tannehill up, with Kizer and Woodside set to compete for the No. 2 spot on the quarterback depth chart in training camp.

Why is Tannehill poised to have his best season yet in the two-tone blue? What are the concerns with both Kizer and Woodside that make them shaky options? And, which of those two players will emerge as the backup?

We answer those questions and more as we break down Tennessee’s quarterbacks room ahead of training camp, which begins on July 27.

Titans’ QB depth gets a thumbs down from ESPN

The Titans should look to add to their backup QB competition ahead of training camp.

The Tennessee Titans will have a competition for their backup quarterback job behind Ryan Tannehill between 2020 backup, Logan Woodside, and DeShone Kizer, who spent last season on Tennessee’s practice squad.

The problem for the Titans is that neither inspires confidence should Tannehill miss any amount of time due to injury.

Woodside has never thrown a regular-season pass, while Kizer, who offers a superior skill set to that of Woodside’s, was 0-15 as a starter for the Cleveland Browns in 2017 and posted a Pro Football Focus grade of 52.5 that season.

As a result of the shakiness of the Titans’ situation behind Tannehill, ESPN’s Bill Barnwell placed the team’s backup quarterback situation on a list of the most vulnerable spots in the NFL based on depth going into 2021.

Let’s start with the most obvious point of concern for a contending team. Tannehill’s work with the Titans has exceeded any and every expectation since the former Dolphins quarterback came over from Miami on a salary dump in 2019. Tannehill has been both wildly efficient and readily available. He missed 21 games over his final three seasons in Miami with knee and nerve issues, but he hasn’t missed a game since taking over as Tennessee’s starter.

Outside of a brief moment in which he stumbled while celebrating a touchdown, the Titans haven’t had to even think about turning things over to another quarterback. If that changes, Tennessee would be in serious trouble. Its backups at the moment are, at best, question marks. Woodside was the 249th pick in the 2018 draft and has just three career pass attempts, while Kizer has posted a 58.9 passer rating across stints with the Browns and Packers.

If we were to rank the most troublesome spots on Tennessee’s roster, backup quarterback would be on the list for sure, but kicker is by far the biggest concern right now.

Regardless, as Barnwell points out, Tannehill has been able to stay healthy during his time in Nashville, but his last three seasons with the Miami Dolphins were marred by injury, so there is a concern there.

The good news for the Titans is that there is at least a bit of hope they can weather the storm if Tannehill misses any time, as their run-first offense featuring Derrick Henry can be quarterback-friendly and help hide the deficiencies of any signal-caller under center.

It would make sense for the Titans to add to this competition before training camp with a veteran arm, though. There is simply too much riding on this coming campaign for Tennessee not to hedge its bet in finding the best quarterback possible to serve as an insurance policy.

If nothing changes, we fully expect Kizer to take the job. The former second-round pick impressed during OTAs and minicamp, and we expect that to continue when training camp begins on July 27.

Titans’ DeShone Kizer off to good start in bid to be backup QB

On paper, Kizer brings more to the table than Woodside.

While there wasn’t a ton to glean from the Tennessee Titans’ May 27 session of OTAs, one thing that did jump out at us was the attention quarterback DeShone Kizer drew from beat writers on the ground.

The former second-round pick was added to the Titans’ practice squad last November but never saw action in a game. He was retained by the team this offseason after being inked to a reserve/futures contract in January.

Kizer is one of three quarterbacks Tennessee currently has on the roster, and he’s the only form of competition for 2020 backup, Logan Woodside. So far, Kizer is making a good impression in his bid to be No. 2 on the depth chart.

ESPN’s Turron Davenport and AtoZ Sports Nashville’s Buck Reising both pointed out how good Kizer looked on Thursday, with Reising even going as far as to say he’s already better than Woodside.

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While the Titans have talked up Woodside on several occasions in the past, his lack of experience and an uninspiring skill set should have the Titans considering other options for the role.

Kizer, in particular, has a better arm, more athleticism, and perhaps most importantly, more NFL experience. He’s played in 18 games (15 starts) during his career, throwing 518 total passes in regular-season action.

Meanwhile, Woodside has just 21 snaps over six career games and has never thrown a pass in a regular-season contest. The best thing he has going for him is his experience in Tennessee’s system.

Of course, this competition still has to play out in training camp and the Titans could add more players to it in the weeks and months ahead, but for now Kizer looks set to at least give Woodside a run for his money.

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