First Impressions – Good and Bad – From Victory Over Buccaneers
NASHVILLE – Coaches and players always say they can’t accurately assess individual performances in a game until they have reviewed the film.
In other words, first impressions are not always the lasting ones.
We’ll leave the film study to them. Here is an immediate assessment of some Tennessee Titans players who made a good impression and some who made a bad impression in Saturday’s 13-3 preseason victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Good Impression: Kyle Philips, punt returner. The fifth-round pick out of UCLA pretty much locked up the job as a punt returner with an average of 25.7 yards on three tries – all in the first quarter. He made a questionable decision when he brought out his first return from one yard deep in the end zone, but he made it work when he went 27 yards to the 26. His final return covered 35 yards and set up the offense at the Tampa Bay 44. On offense, he was targeted fur times, more than all but one of his teammates, which suggests he got open often, but finished with just one reception for 11 yards.
Bad impression: Dillon Radunz, right tackle. The 2021 second-round pick started the game on the sideline while rookie Nicholas Petit-Frere played the first two series at right tackle. When Radunz entered the game, he did not exactly distinguish himself. In particular, he gave up pressure too often in the passing game. Early in camp, Radunz got virtually every rep with the first team, but recently he and Petit-Frere have rotated with increasing frequency. At Baltimore, Radunz was first in at right tackle. Not so this time. That suggests he had every opportunity to win the job but failed to do so, and now his grip on it might be slipping.
Good impression: Ryan Stonehouse, punter. The undrafted rookie out of Colorado State was the holder on Randy Bullock’s two field goal tries and one PAT in the first half (all three kicks were good). It was a clear indication that coaches are considering whether to keep him over veteran Brett Kern, who has done that job for years. Then in the third quarter, Stonehouse boomed his first punt of the night 68 yards for a touchback (it reached the end zone on the fly). For good measure, when he dropped a snap on a fourth-quarter punt, Stonehouse calmly picked up the ball and converted a fourth-and-5 with nine-yard gain (he actually ran 24 yards from the spot of the recovery).
Bad impression: Logan Woodside, QB. If there is one player among the 85 currently on the roster who needs the film to tell a different story than the stats, it is Woodside. He threw an interception on a deep ball to Treylon Burks in the fourth quarter. Woodside was hit as he threw, which was a definite factor in the outcome, but through two preseason games he now has three interceptions with no touchdown passes and a passer rating of 35.2. Malik Willis, who started for the second straight week, hardly was perfect (he completed just seven of 17 passes), but he once again dazzled with his athleticism and ability to make plays with his feet. Plus, Willis did throw a touchdown pass.
Good impression: Rashad Weaver, OLB. Coach Mike Vrabel likes to talk about the relentless effort with which Weaver, a fourth-round pick in 2021, plays. Weaver was impossible not to notice in this one. He had a tackle, a sack, two quarterback hits, a tackle for loss, a pass defensed and a fumble recovery. One of his hits on quarterback Kyle Trask forced an underthrow that resulted in linebacker Joe Jones’ interception late in the first half. That takeaway led to Tennessee’s only touchdown.
Bad impression: Treylon Burks, wide receiver. Anyone who wants to see signs that this year’s first-round draft pick will be a suitable replacement for A.J. Brown is still waiting. Burks finally made his first reception of the preseason – he gained all of four yards – but was targeted three times without a catch. He did little to help Woodside on the interception once he realized the throw was short. Plus, he was one of two Titans flagged for holding in the fourth quarter, which negated a 26-yard run by Julius Chestnut (it would have been the longest gain of the night for the offense).
Good impression: Lonnie Johnson, Jr. Just days after he was claimed off waivers from Kansas City, he got in the game in the first half, made two tackles and forced a fumble on the second play after the Titans had taken a 3-0 lead. The turnover (Weaver recovered it) led to another field goal and a 6-0 lead. Johnson’s first practice with the Titans was Wednesday’s joint session with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he had an interception the first time he took the field in that one. Clearly, this is a guy who knows how to make a first impression.
Bad impression: Mason Kinsey, WR. For the first time since he entered the NFL, Kinsey failed to make a catch in a preseason game. He was targeted just once in this contest and came up empty. Contrast that with 2021 when the Division III product (Berry College) led or tied for the team lead in all three contests in 2021 and finished the preseason with 14 receptions, at least twice as many as any other Titans player. In this year’s preseason opener against Baltimore, he had two catches for 30 yards. Increasingly, it seems the appeal of his underdog story is fading while others with more prominent athletic backgrounds push him aside.
Good impression: David Anenih, OLB. For the second week in row, he had a sack/forced fumble. This one came with 1:55 to play in the contest and forced Tampa Bay into a fourth-and-9, which turned out to be its final offensive play. It could have been a better night for the undrafted rookie out of Houston. After two sacks in the preseason opener, he got to play in the first half against the Buccaneers but was not nearly as much of a factor against the better competition (one tackle before halftime). Plus, he was called for a facemask penalty that gave the Buccaneers 15 yards on their only scoring drive. Still, he finished with three tackles, and the ability to knock the ball loose consistently should earn him another early look next week against Arizona.
