After his impressive debut with the Tennessee Titans in Week 1, rookie defensive lineman T'Vondre Sweat received some national attention, and particularly from NFL Network analyst Brian Baldinger.
Sweat got the "Baldy's Breakdowns" treatment after the loss to the Chicago Bears, and during it the NFL Network analyst suggested Sweat be called "T-Pain" after showing out in Week 1.
"It's not T'Vondre anymore," Baldinger said in his breakdown. "It's T-Pain.' He just brings the pain is what he does."
Upon learning of that suggested nickname, Sweat revealed he prefers to be called by something else after practice on Wednesday, and it's a nickname he's had for years now.
"My nickname is Meatloaf," Sweat said, per Jim Wyatt of TennesseeTitans.com. "My godmom (gave it to me). If you say, 'Meatloaf' I am going to answer.
"(It started) when I was playing basketball when I was young, out of nowhere she was like: 'Get 'em Meatloaf.' And since then, that's been my nickname."
Noted.
While "Meatloaf" didn't record a stat in the box score in Week 1, he did record a pair of pressures in the pass-rush, leading to an 81.8 pass-rush grade, per Pro Football Focus, which was the the 15th-best mark in the entire NFL.
He also turned in a respectable run defense grade of 64.2, and Sweat's overall PFF grade of 77.7 was the third-best mark among all rookies in the league in Week 1.
"It was really pretty impressive," head coach Brian Callahan said of Sweat, according to Wyatt. "I think Sweat has been on a consistent arrow up – he's been rising since he's gotten here. In every week that went by in training camp he got more comfortable, he got better, his weight went down, he is getting more in shape, he is learning how to play. And that was really, really good to see. I mean, he was a force."
Sweat's impressive debut should breed a ton of confidence for his long-term outlook. He'll look to build on it in Week 2 against the New York Jets.
