The defensive mastermind breaks down why the All-Pro tackle is a "freaking animal," revealing the staggering snap counts and elite conditioning fueling Tennessee's relentless front four.
Tennessee Titans fans have been excited to see the partnership between a defensive head coach like Robert Saleh and defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons this year.
Simmons has 10 total tackles, one TFL and one sack through two games so far. He and the Titans' pass rush finally got home and got after Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts in Week 2.
John Franklin-Myers and Jacob Martin recorded a sack as well. Still, the Titans couldn't capitalize on all their opportunities and lost 24-20.
It's been interesting to see how Saleh has handled the defensive line. Given how many players the Titans kept on the defensive line for the 53-man roster, it became clear that Saleh would use a lot of rotations.
Yet, Simmons has been able to stay on the field for longer than expected. It was reported that Simmons played 87% of the defensive snaps in the Eagles game.
Saleh was asked if that was planned at Wednesday's press conference.
The head coach noted that Simmons is a one-of-a-kind player. He was thoroughly impressed and stated that he had never seen anything like it.
At the end of the day, Saleh doesn't want to have Simmons out there for that many plays, but he was amazed at the shape the defensive tackle is in.
"No, Jeff's just in pretty good shape," Saleh said. "I've never seen anything like it. You know, ideally, we calm it down for the long run, but he's a freaking animal. I've like never seen anything like it."
The crazy thing about Simmons is that he played through an injury last year. Simmons shared in an offseason interview that he underwent a procedure to address an issue with his elbow. He wasn't even able to fully extend his elbow, yet he had the best season of his Titans career.
Simmons finished last year with 67 total tackles, 11 sacks and 17 TFLs. He made the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his NFL career and was a first-time First-Team All-Pro.
It's great that Simmons can play all these snaps, but the Titans would enjoy a win more than anything.
The Titans face the New York Giants in Week 3 after a 0-2 start to the year. The Giants come into the game at 1-1 after a 28-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.
The Giants are dealing with major injuries to players like Jaxson Dart (knee), Brian Burns (ankle), Andrew Thomas (groin) and Malik Nabers (shoulder).
Still, this is the NFL, and nothing should be taken for granted. At the same time, the Titans have a real chance to earn their first win in Week 3 against an injured Giants team.
Kickoff is at noon CT on CBS.
