Titans Reaction: Malik Willis starts, the Kicker Hero and Rookies Shine in preseason win vs Seahawks

All right, A to Z Sports, Sam Phelan with Buck Rising here after another Titans preseason victory

The Titans victorious in walk-off fashion tonight, Buck, with a game-winning field goal off the foot of Brayden Narvison by a final score of 16-15

Had to double check. Yeah, had to double check. There was some weird scores in there with some field goals

You know, we had a little bit of Malik Willis action, had a little bit of Mason Rudolph action

Buck and I are going to give our thoughts on both quarterbacks. Who else stood out for the Titans tonight in preseason game number two

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So, Buck, Titans victorious, walk-off fashion today, 16 to 15. Braden Narvison, the hero, kind of the unexpected hero

And cool story, 59-yard field goal to put him ahead, then comes through later in the game with the game winner

and kind of doesn't change things in Tennessee. Nick Folk, still the kicker here

That's not going to change at all, but good for Braden Narvison to put something on tape, potentially win himself a job somewhere else

Practice squad opportunity here. We'll see. This is what preseason's kind of all about

So two notes on that. Brian Callahan was asked if there was any difference in the kicking competition

after Braden Arvidsons night because it was very impressive. There's not that many kickers that can just come out here

and drill it from 59 yards the way that he did. And Brian Callahan was kind of straight up about it and said no

It doesn't, you know, not really anticipating any changes in the kicking pecking order at this point

which I appreciate that transparency that keeps things, you know, status quo

It makes sure that both guys kind of know where they stand with the coaching staff

if they didn't already. And then the second thing is that Colt Anderson, the special teams coordinator

is the person that talked Brian Callahan into it because Brian Callahan was going to punt

at that particular moment. Apparently, Colt Anderson got his attention on the sidelines

said, no, no, no, no, let the kid try it. Kid tried it, kid made it. Yeah, look, Braden Narvison kind of knows where he stands

but Nick Folk is pushing 40 and going to turn 40 sometime during this season

So maybe there's an opportunity here for the Titans to keep a future kicking option on the practice squad

while they got an aging veteran on the active roster and if not you know who knows what kind of kicking issues are around the league but yes Nick Folk is your kicker Don get any funny ideas out there That not changing But for now good for Braden Arvison

Buck, who else stood out for you in tonight's game? I guess a lot of people probably curious about how you feel about the quarterback situation

We saw a little bit of Malik Willis, saw a little bit of Mason Rudolph. I'm not sure either one was overwhelmingly good, but Brian Callahan said they both played good enough

Well, Brian Callahan, they played good enough to win, right? Like that's the cliche as old as time

Tonight it was good enough to win. Whether it was good or not is a different subject matter

and I do think that one was significantly better than the other in terms of the situational football that they were presented with

because the way that it was supposed to break down was they were going to get quarters based on how the coaching staff decided

that they were going to divvy this thing up. And with Malik Willis, he was scheduled to get the start

because he had earned the opportunity, according to the coaching staff, which to me meant that he'd earned the opportunity to be further evaluated

to actually make this roster in an extended look, the way that they did with Kyrus Jackson

And Jaquan Jackson in the return game last week continued to do again this week

in a different kind of situation, under the lights, in front of fans, real defense, different defense facing you

And I thought Malik Willis played better in the second half than he did in the first. For sure

The interception was less than ideal, but, you know, a high ball there gets tipped up

and ends up in the hands of a defender, less than ideal. And it could have been the game losing interception

Then Mason Rudolph comes back in, sets them up in field goal position

allows Brayden Narvison to make it from 46, or helps set Brayden Narvison up for a spot to make it from 46

and ultimately clinches the game winner. He had the only touchdown drive of the game for the Titans on that side of things

And so, you know, there's nothing about Malik Willis tonight or in camp

that makes me feel any different about the backup quarterback conversation. But I do think it's never been more viable to have three quarterbacks on your roster

And I think there's a very good chance that Malik Willis could and should probably be on this initial 53-man roster because it's not a final 53

It's an initial 53. Yeah, the initial 53 decision for Malik Willis to me is less about Malik Willis

versus Mason Rudolph and more about Malik Willis versus name another offensive player

that the Titans could potentially keep. I mean, it might be a fourth tight end versus a third quarterback

a fourth running back versus a third quarterback. Those are the decisions the Titans are going to have to make

Buck, I think that is potentially the reason why tonight was not a great night

for Malik Willis because I certainly was looking for Malik to do something

that made everybody in the stadium say, yep, there's a reason why the Titans need to keep him around

I don't know if he did that something at any point. I just don't think, you know, respectfully to all of you lovely people

who are watching out there listening, I don't think it really matters. You know, what the people in the stands think

If the coaching staff sees incremental improvement, this is what I mean from the optics standpoint

like you looking to see something with our eyes from our vantage point in the press box and I sure many people who were in the stands or watching on TV were looking for the same thing Ultimately it more minute than that right

You're talking about footworks. You're talking about mechanics. You're talking about, all right, the coaching staff and the quarterback

knows the plays, knows the reads, and how they're supposed to go through these progressions

and did Malik Willis do that to their satisfaction? That's not something that we'll necessarily have access to

For me specifically, it was about the pressure, how he handled it. Did he throw it away

Did he live to see another down? Did he take unnecessary sacks? Thought that that was consistent pressure

He was out there a lot with the third-string offensive line. He did get some reps with the twos, specifically in the second half

But for me, I think it's just a little more complicated because I do think you have to understand what they're being asked to do

on a different kind of level to truly grasp whether or not

he's making sufficient progress in the minds of the coaching staff. Sure. Other players of note, I think Jaquan Jackson did a lot for himself

Once again. Jalen Harrell, too. Rookie's showing out. Two sacks for Jalen Harrell

Chance Campbell had another very good day, led the team in tackles. Jaquan Jackson, you know, his biggest receiving impact we've seen from him thus far

with five catches over 40 yards. I think all of those guys starting to really cement their places on this 53-man roster

Close to 60 yards, I want to say, for Jaquan Jackson. I mean, Jaquan Jackson is somebody who's gotten better and better and better

and we saw it during joint practices. Now it's translating again over into a game

I think he very clearly has the inside track to be that wide receiver six in that room

and probably the return man that the Titans use a lot. Do you disagree with that

I mean, Kiaris Jackson may be a loser of today simply because he goes out with a knee injury

and then Jaquan goes on to have a very big game while Kiaris watches from the locker room

Kiaris did not return, not expected to be a serious knee injury, Brian Callahan told us

in the postgame press conference, and, you know, Kyle Phillips is getting shafted by his hamstrings here

because he's dealing with soft tissue injury. They feel that potentially he could return to practice

and maybe make an appearance in the final preseason game when we travel down to New Orleans to see how that all plays out

But for Jaquan Jackson, there is no question that they value his element

in special teams. They value his element as a receiver. And knowing all three roles, not just primarily the slot

That's something that he's taking pride in diversifying himself, essentially not just being looked at as a slot receiver

even though his size and skill set may lend itself better to playing inside. Buck, one last guy I want to get your take on

because I thought Brian Callahan's comments about David Martin Robinson were very interesting tonight

Brian Callahan said straight up he's making a push for this 53-man roster

Was very impressed with how fluid he was as a catcher and as a runner

and we knew David Martin Robinson had athleticism to him, But he's impressed a lot of Titans coaches with his blocking ability as well and how consistent he's been in that regard

We saw Mason Rudolph go to 88 a couple of times on that final drive to set up that game field goal David Martin Robinson potentially now a guy who the Titans could consider keeping in that fourth tight end spot Yeah I mean Brian Callahan not been shy at any point and really since those

initial comments heading into the offseason program about being light at the tight end position

he's been really excited about the tight end position. I take him at his word at that and

David Martin Robinson an undrafted free agent. I know we haven't talked nearly as much about Steve Silianos who has not made quite that impact or Nick Vanette who is a veteran option on this roster

and probably would be viewed as the primary blocking tight end, depending on Josh Wiley, who suffered not a concussion protocol-worthy head injury

in practice on Thursday, but did get pulled out of practice because he bounced his head off the turf

They were just being precautionary with it. So a lot of literally moving parts in the tight end room

where the two guys who I think a lot of Titans fans thought were competing for a starting job

are basically going to be playing two totally different positions and how the guys slot in after them as those two backups to two tight ends

who do two different things is going to be an interesting discussion where you talk about the off-ball linebackers and the quarterbacks

and the tight ends and wide receivers six and seven. Do you think it's four tight ends? It's complicated

I would be surprised if this is actually the Bengals' offense. There's not a huge prioritization

Three receivers pretty consistently. You might not need that fourth tight end. I just don't know how they get everybody

Again, if what this offense is going to be is the Bengals' offense

and why wouldn't it be? You've got Tyler Boyd in the slot. You've got Calvin Ridley, who is scheduled to play the Jamar Chase role in all of this

So I'm going to assume that that same role, which is not �

I just wouldn't necessarily describe tight end as a priority in the Bengals' offense

the last couple years. They've had some guys who have made a difference going back to �

oh, I'm blanking on 87's name that went to the Jets. No, not Hurst, but Hayden Hurst did have a career

C.J. Uzoma. Uzoma, who is somebody who did get a good contract from the New York Jets afterwards

He had a good season with the Bengals the other day when he went to the Super Bowl. And Hayden Hurst did have a career year before, I think, taking a contract with the Carolina Panthers

But all that being said, I just don't think – like, I'm not putting so much stock in the tight end position in general

because I know how the Bengals' offense operated. Yeah. All right, that's all we got for you guys tonight from Nissan Stadium

Are you sure? Do you want to look to make sure that we're here? You weren't sure based on the read when you said over there at Nissan Stadium

Well, I see Titans logos in the back. Okay, I just want to double check. Turf below my feet. We are at Nissan Stadium

Touched grass. Yeah, well, not doing it. This is artificial turf, Buck

Not real grass. We've got a press conference tomorrow afternoon. Brian Callahan with the media at noon central

Except for it'll be today when you're hearing this. That is true. Particular live stream broadcast. So, yeah, a couple hours from now if you're watching this right after it gets dropped

Go ahead and check out Brian Callahan's press conference with the media. Those have been very thorough so far

So any other questions you've got on the Titans, hopefully get an answer there

Buck, you'll have A to Z Sports primetime as well coming up on now tonight

when these people are watching this. So, yeah, quick learner, this guy. All right, guys, that's all we got

Talk to you next time. We'll see you later. See you