Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - 2K Tuesday!! Derrick Henry for MVP & #TicTacFourPack Film Breakdown

Episode Date: January 5, 2021

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Starting point is 00:00:00 You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, normally we would be getting ready to dive into a Tic Tac Tuesday, but considering recent events, I felt it was only right to rename today's episode a 2K Tuesday in honor of number 22, King Henry himself, going over 2,000 rushing yards on the season in the middle of a Tennessee Titans division championship run. So today is inspired by Derrick Henry himself and that is why we are going to
Starting point is 00:00:46 start off today's show going over what has become the biggest talking point within the Tennessee Titans fan base and a talking point that is gaining steam nationally as well. And that is the question. Is Derrick Henry the NFL's MVP? Should Derrick Henry win Most Valuable Player? I'm going to dive into how legitimate his claim is to the award and who he may be battling it out with for those votes and why the biggest reason why Derrick Henry may not get enough votes may be some friendly fire. So we're going to dive into that first.
Starting point is 00:01:24 But then there was another big Tennessee Titans news story that came out on Monday afternoon. And it may not be as fun to discuss as should Derrick Henry win MVP. So we will dive into those two big topics to start off this 2K Tuesday. But then I could not change up a Tuesday staple and we are going to dive into the film step into the film room for this week 17 regular season finale edition of the tic-tac-four-pack I'm going to be breaking down the four most impactful plays from Sunday's win over the Texans from an X's and O's perspective. Remember, my visual breakdown that I post, my visual film breakdown, will go up on my Twitter account at TicTacTitans on Tuesday evening.
Starting point is 00:02:17 So make sure that you check that out after you listen to this audio breakdown on your morning, your lunch, or afternoon commute. But a big 2K Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans ahead. Let's get it. You have seen the debates on social media. You are seeing the discussions take place in the national media. But there is one question that we are going to discuss to start today's show. And that is, is Derrick Henry the NFL's most valuable player?
Starting point is 00:03:08 Derrick Henry, the NFL's most valuable player. So before I dive into where I see Derrick Henry shaking out in this race, let's talk about the candidates, the fighters that will be in this battle and look at the tale of the tape. So number one, of course, the inspiration for 2K Tuesday, and that is number 22, Derrick Henry. Of course, he is the eighth running back in NFL history to go for over 2,000 yards. He is the first running back to lead the NFL in rushing and back-to-back seasons since LaDainian Tomlinson in the mid-early 2000s. Shout out to LT, one of my favorite players growing up to watch but Derrick Henry ended up on the season with 378 carries for 2,027 yards and 17 touchdowns just a phenomenal season and of course
Starting point is 00:03:57 finishing out the year with 250 yards he went over 200 yards three times on the year. So a brilliant season from Derrick Henry. Obviously the foundation of the Tennessee Titans offense and the play action threat that the Titans do so well with does start with the fear of Derrick Henry, the king in the backfield. So Derrick Henry definitely has a legitimate claim to be in this conversation at the minimum. But obviously all of the other candidates that he will be battling with are quarterbacks. This has become a quarterback award. We haven't seen a different position win MVP since Adrian Peterson. And of course in that season, Adrian Peterson rushed for 2,000 yards.
Starting point is 00:04:46 You add in the fact, though, that Adrian Peterson was coming off of an ACL tear. That sort of narrative does give a running back a boost to be able to defeat the quarterbacks who dominate this award year after year. Those quarterbacks, there are four of them that I think would end up in a top five situation with Derrick Henry. And the first, I will go with the favorite, and that is Aaron Rodgers, who may very well be the most talented quarterback we have ever seen. And that's opinion based, of course.
Starting point is 00:05:19 But there's a lot of people who share that opinion. But Rodgers led his team, the Green Bay Packers, to a number one seed in the NFC, 13-3 on the year, a 70% completion percentage, 4,299 yards, 51 total touchdowns, 48 passing touchdowns on the year, only five interceptions. Rodgers was absolutely magnificent, on the year, only five interceptions. Rodgers was absolutely magnificent, and a lot of, I guess, dirt was thrown on the Packers front office early in the year for not getting Aaron Rodgers enough weapons, and a lot of people, like the Titans, thought there would be some major regression from the Packers and what we saw from them last year.
Starting point is 00:06:00 Aaron Rodgers threw a middle finger to all of that talk, and right now he is the current favorite for the MVP award, and for good reason. He had a fantastic season on the best team in the NFC. And then, of course, Patrick Mahomes, who will probably be in this conversation every year he plays in the NFL. He was 14-1 on the year, didn't play in the final game 66 completion percentage 4,740 yards 40 total touchdowns on the year 38 passing touchdowns six interceptions and Mahomes obviously is probably the second best quarterback in the NFL right now to Rodgers maybe the first best over Rodgers and when we talk about the most talented quarterbacks we've ever seen those two might be at the top of the list with a guy like Dan Marino John Elway some others of course but with Mahomes at the top of the list with a guy like Dan Marino, John Elway, some others, of course.
Starting point is 00:06:46 But with Mahomes, he has one of the best supporting casts in the NFL. There is a narrative kind of hangover that you're going to see because they just won a Super Bowl. He won an MVP already. He didn't have as good of a season as he did in his MVP season. So that would probably knock Mahomes from a narrative standpoint, but he'll be there. Josh Allen, who deserves some piece of this conversation.
Starting point is 00:07:10 His team was 13-3, 69% completion, 4,500 passing yards, 45 total touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. And then, of course, Ryan Tannehill, 11-5 on the year, 65% completion percentage, 3,800 passing yards, 40 total touchdowns, 7 interceptions. He's going to take away votes from Derrick Henry because they're on the same team. They're going to cannibalize each other a little bit. That's a reality.
Starting point is 00:07:34 And it's like Anthony Davis and LeBron James in the NBA. I made this comparison on Crossover Thursday last week. They're just going to eat each other's votes because they're symbiotic to each other. And that's why the conversation about who's more important to the Titans, who deserves the MVP votes is silly. Because both of those dudes wouldn't be doing what they're doing right now unless they had each other. And maybe that makes them less valuable than an Allen, a Rodgers, a Mahomes who kind of
Starting point is 00:08:00 lift everybody up with their individual talent. But they also have some good supporting help as well. Derrick Henry's just more dominant than anybody on their supporting cast. So I understand that, but the reality is because of that cannibalization of Henry and Ryan Tannehill taking away from each other, and the reality is, in my opinion, Aaron Rodgers deserves the award over Der Derek Henry or Ryan Tannehill so from a standpoint of the votes the practicality of the votes they're going to eat
Starting point is 00:08:33 each other Tannehill and Henry they're not going to be able to get enough votes on their own either of them because of each other they're both going to be in probably the top eight at max with like a Russell Wilson could be in there you could see a defensive player like a T.J. Watt Alvin Kamara also maybe be maybe involved but with the practicality of the votes not going to be able to be there and then the reality that Aaron Rodgers deserves the award this year just doesn't look like in my mind or in reality that Derrick Henry will win that award but a fantastic season nonetheless. The second story that I want to talk about here, it's real quick. There's not a lot of information
Starting point is 00:09:10 to discuss, but Adam Schefter did report from ESPN that Titans offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has received interest from all six teams that currently have a head coaching vacancy. Now, Arthur Smith can't interview with those teams at least until after this weekend. If the Titans lose, they're going to wait until after the playoff run. So because of that, sometimes teams like to get a head start and they just want to hire somebody, get the process going, and they won't wait for some of those guys that go deeper into the playoffs. We see that with Eric Biennemi from the Chiefs who gets an opportunity to actually interview early because the Chiefs have a bye this year. So that's good for him.
Starting point is 00:09:47 But we may see that impact Arthur Smith. But all six teams have an interest is definitely not a good sign if you're someone who wants to keep Arthur Smith around for the long term. He's not going to be here much longer. If it's next year, it'll be next year at the maximum. But enjoy this playoff run. Hopefully the Titans can make it a long one. But that is going to do it for our hot topics on this 2K Tuesday.
Starting point is 00:10:11 It is time, though, to step into the film room for this week's Tic Tac 4-Pack. Going to be breaking down the four most impactful plays from Sunday's win over the Texans. From an X's and O's perspective, make sure that you follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans so you can check out the visual breakdown that I will be posting on Tuesday evening to go along with this audio breakdown. But before we get into that, I want to talk to you guys about BetOnline.ag. The biggest football games of the year are here. We have the NFL playoffs, the national championship in college football, and the NBA season just tipped off. There's only one place that has you covered and one place that we trust,
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Starting point is 00:11:37 Let's continue this 2K Tuesday by stepping into the film room for this week's Tic Tac 4-Pack, breaking down the four most impactful plays from the win over the Texans. From an X's and O's perspective, make sure you follow me on Twitter, at Tic Tac Titans, to check out the visual breakdown I'll be posting
Starting point is 00:11:53 to go along with this audio breakdown on Tuesday night. Also, make sure that you subscribe to the Locked On Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream so you don't miss any of the Monday through Friday content that I will be putting out all year long. But I told you earlier in the show where you could place your wagers and place your bets. Well, now I'm going to tell you where you can get the best advice for how to play those wagers, and that is the Locked On Bets podcast.
Starting point is 00:12:23 Make sure you check out the newest podcast from the Locked On Podcast Network, Locked On Bets. Get all your gambling advice and analysis there. But let's dive into this week's Tic Tac 4-Pack, and play number one, as I said, this episode is inspired by the King himself. So of course, play number one is Derrick Henry's first touchdown run of the day, the 52-yard touchdown run. Now I know that the Titans ended up scoring a million points, but at this time, it was the end of the first quarter and the score was 3-3. So the Titans
Starting point is 00:13:00 certainly hadn't taken off from an offensive standpoint yet, and surprisingly, the Titans' defense had done a pretty good job up to this point. But the Titans, as mentioned, they were struggling on offense, hadn't found their rhythm early. The Texans had done a good job, in my opinion, of stacking the box, but not only stacking the box, but doing it in a smart way with three second-level defenders, five-man front with five guys on the line of scrimmage at minimum, very similar to what the Packers were trying to do.
Starting point is 00:13:28 The Titans were kind of finding their way through the first few drives. They were going to try, you know, two tight ends, putting both on one side, keeping them split, one on either side to keep it fresh, using a fullback, just trying to find a way to get a numbers advantage in the run game against the Texans defense who although Derrick Henry eats them alive they still have a decent idea of the philosophy you should use to stop him if they don't necessarily have the personnel to do so but here was Derrick Henry really getting loose for the first time on the day and as I mentioned it was the 52 yard touchdown run but kind of want to set things up for you guys from a formation standpoint what the Titans were doing here
Starting point is 00:14:10 the Titans were in a single back formation so that's Derrick Henry in the backfield by himself the Titans were in 12 personnel one running back two tight ends and they had a balanced formation to start things out one wide receiver on the right side, one on the left, one tight end on either side as well. But what the Titans do here is they totally shift the formation around. So what the Texans were doing, they were playing their base defense all day long. That's, you know, four linebackers, three defensive linemen, a traditional 3-4. And even if the Titans put three wide receivers on the field with Cam Batson the Texans were saying we don't care we gotta stop Derrick Henry we're not putting
Starting point is 00:14:49 an extra defensive back on so what they were doing is they were using one of their safeties to play slot and just leaving one safety in the back no matter what so they could stay in their base defense so the Titans were like okay it doesn't help us to go with a slot wide receiver and Cam Batson. We're not getting anything. So we're just going to go with the tight ends and just try to create a numbers advantage. And the way we're going to create that numbers advantage is through personnel and formation variation. So here, like I said, two tight ends, two wide receivers, balanced formation to start. What the Titans do here is they take the tight end from the left-hand side, Michael Pruitt, and they motion him over to the right-hand side. So now you have both tight ends and Corey Davis on the right side. So the Texans kind of shift their second level defenders that
Starting point is 00:15:36 way. Well then what the Titans do is as they're moving the chessboard around, they take Corey Davis who's the wide receiver on the right side, and they move him back to the left side over with A.J. Brown. So now both tight ends are on the same side on the right, and both the wide receivers are on the same side on the left. What happens here is, instead of taking the cornerback that's on Corey Davis's side and having him travel with Corey Davis to the other side, the Texans shift their second level defenders, which are two linebackers in the safety that's in the box, and they shift them towards the wide receivers. So now what the Titans have done, instead of having two linebackers and a cornerback on the right side of the center,
Starting point is 00:16:20 now they only have one linebacker and one cornerback on the second level on the right side of the defender because the safety that's in the box on the wide receiver side has now gone out to cover Corey Davis in the slot. That eliminates one player that's in the box. So now you only got seven in the box. Good job, Arthur Smith. And it takes the inside linebacker that was originally head up on Ben Jones to the right side, and now he's on the left-hand side of Ben Jones. So now on the right-hand side of Ben Jones, you have one less linebacker, you have one less player in the box in general, and instead of having a tight end and a wide receiver blocking on that side, now you have two tight ends blocking on that side. Just
Starting point is 00:17:00 absolutely beautiful formation manipulation from Arthur Smith and after that guys just get to work I mean that's what won this play is Arthur Smith setting everything up no wonder six teams want him to interview for their head coaching position but let's talk about the blocks that take place next so this is an inside zone play is what the Titans are trying to do they're trying to go to the inside but as we've seen with Derrick Henry all year when teams really flood to the inside when they see inside zone that leaves the perimeter wide open Derrick Henry cuts it out to the perimeter and usually gets a one-on-one matchup or something like that and the timing of that him letting the offensive line wash those guys into the inside, allowing him to
Starting point is 00:17:46 bounce out to the perimeter, that is created by a rocker step in the backfield. Basically, instead of going forward immediately when the ball is snapped, Derrick Henry's first step is backwards, almost like playing center field or playing outfield in baseball. They always say your first step has to be backwards so the ball doesn't go over your head. It's not the same reason, but it's a similar step. So you get the mechanics in your head without seeing it because you're hearing this before the visual breakdown comes out. So that rocker step allows Derrick Henry to survey the landscape. It's basically he hangs the rope and lets the defense hang themselves.
Starting point is 00:18:22 He just puts the noose up and lets them dive through it because if you're over-aggressive to the inside, he's going to bust it outside. If you stay with your integrity and try to hold your gap, well, then it's going to be open on the inside because of the numbers advantage I discussed at the beginning of this play. So, basically, we see Dennis Kelly, we see Nate Davis, we see Jeff Swaim, one-on-one matchups, wash their guy away.
Starting point is 00:18:46 Michael Pruitt, who's on the outside, he doesn't move his defender to the left, to the right, inside, outside, but he just stays in front of him and allows Derrick Henry to use him as kind of a screen and roll in basketball. So he just waits, waits, waits, waits for the defender to make that move on Pruitt. Pruitt's just staying in front of him, guarding him, guarding him. And then the defender makes the move to the outside. Well, then Derrick Henry cuts inside, goes through the hole created by Dennis Kelly, Jeff Swaim, Nate Davis, and then on the outside, Michael Pruitt.
Starting point is 00:19:20 And then he has a one-on-one up the middle of the field with that cornerback that was left. It's Lonnie Johnson. He dives in. It's a terrible tackle attempt. He barely touches Derek Henry, and then Derek Henry gets up to the middle of the field. Now we have the deep safety, and then the safety that moved out with Corey Davis into the slot on the left-hand side that created the box advantage. Well, they're flowing over into the middle of the left-hand side that created the box advantage. Well, they're flowing over into the middle of the field so fast to try to take on Derrick Henry thinking he's going to the right-hand side that it leaves another cutback lane open for Derrick Henry to cut back to the left side of the field, the left hash mark, and basically from there, he goes straight up the field.
Starting point is 00:20:03 His speed gives him the advantage. He beats all of the defenders to the end zone, cuts back to the left to give himself even more room. And it's a touchdown for the Titans, 10-3. And although there was a lot of scoring, that was a huge moment in this game. Play number two, we are going to jump forward quite a bit in the game from the first play of the second quarter to six minutes left in the third quarter. The Titans have the ball at midfield. They're up 24-15 trying to extend the lead on the Texans at this time. And once again, the Titans create a numbers advantage with a similar
Starting point is 00:20:36 formation that we just talked about. So in this one, the Titans have Corey Davis and A.J. Brown to the left-hand side. Once again, that's the look that they had before the snap in the very last play. But this time, they have one tight end to the right-hand side, and then they have a fullback in the backfield. So this is how the Titans are showing the same personnel, but a different formation, and that's critical here. But the Titans don't motion anywhere. They catch the Texans here, and there's a numbers advantage But the Titans don't motion anywhere. They catch the Texans here,
Starting point is 00:21:05 and there's a numbers advantage to the right-hand side. Once again, going to that right-hand side where you have Nate Davis and Dennis Kelly, who at this time are a better duo than Questenberry and Saffold, but only because of Questenberry's deficiency. Saffold is fantastic. So the Titans have a numbers advantage over here.
Starting point is 00:21:26 They had been destroying the Texans with the run, so they changed their philosophy. Instead of having a five-man front like they had at the beginning of the game in the first half, they've now gone to a four-man front with all three of their linebackers up on the second level. So they're trying to kind of change things up a little bit and keep a safety deep as well. They're not doing that eight man in
Starting point is 00:21:45 the box thing again. So the Titans got them out of that and they created this opportunity. It's an I formation outside zone to the right hand side. We have a fantastic job by Ben Jones and Nate Davis on a combo block on the defensive tackle. Then Nate Davis does a great job of working up to the second level to cut off the backside linebacker. On the front side of things, we have Dennis Kelly and Michael Pruitt doing a great job on a combo block on the defensive end. And then Dennis Kelly gets up the field after Michael Pruitt
Starting point is 00:22:19 knocks out that defensive end with help from Dennis Kelly. Then Dennis Kelly gets up to the second level and picks up the play side linebacker. So a great job there on outside zone, perfectly executed. There is an extra man coming into the box, a defensive back, but that's why you have the fullback against a four-man front. He takes away that defender who comes into the box late. So Jeff Swaim is able to hit that defender coming into the box.
Starting point is 00:22:44 And then Derrick Henry does a great job. Michael Pruitt's defensive end gets off the block as Henry's going through the hole, gets contact on Henry's legs. He runs right through it like he's not even there. Then the second level linebacker, now we're like 10, 15 yards downfield. The second level play side linebacker that Dennis Kelly got up to, he's got off that block and is running backwards. Derrick Henry uses a minor stiff arm, gets right through that arm tackle,
Starting point is 00:23:10 and then there's a defensive back who's coming up from the deep safety position who wants to challenge Derrick Henry, and he gets a stiff arm as well down to the ground. Derrick Henry goes down the sideline. He's eventually knocked out of bounds at the five-yard line, but it does set up Ryan Tannehill's first rushing touchdown of the day, and it puts the Titans up 31-15. And we know directly after this touchdown, Houston, we have a meltdown.
Starting point is 00:23:35 The Titans totally melted down for a few minutes, let Houston come back and score 20 unanswered points to take the lead, 35-31. So scoring this touchdown at this moment was absolutely critical for the Titans because we know what comes next. But that's going to do it for Part 1 of this week's Tic Tac 4-Pack. We are going to dive into Part 2 after this. Before we do that, though, I do want to talk to you guys about rockauto.com. That is right, our guys at rockauto.com. That is right. Our guys at rockauto.com, a family business,
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Starting point is 00:24:45 vehicle and when you go to rockauto.com make sure that you write locked on right in the how did you hear about us box underneath where you put your shipping information so they know that i sent you amazing selection reliably low prices all the parts your car will ever need. RockAuto.com Let's cap off this 2K Tuesday and finish off this season finale Tic Tac 4-Pack with play number 3 and play number four. And as I said, this episode of the Locked On Titans podcast was inspired by Derrick Henry going over 2,000 rushing yards on the season.
Starting point is 00:25:36 And we started off talking about the MVP race. Well, you're going to be able to hear some MVP discussion as well as some national NFL discussion on the Peacock and Williamson show, two of the big heavy hitters on the Locked On Podcast Network. Make sure that you check out their podcast on whatever platform you do stream. But let's dive right into play three of the Tic Tac Four Pack. Remember, you can follow me on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans and check out the visual breakdown that I will be posting to go along with this one and one thing about that Derrick Henry run that we just talked about it came after a big time Corey Davis drop so a big
Starting point is 00:26:19 moment and I only mention that because this moment here, play number three, is Corey Davis' redemption. So the Tennessee Titans are faced with a critical third down in the red zone. They are losing right now. It is 35-31, and it's third and eight. Ryan Tannehill is in shotgun. He's got three wide receivers in the game, Cam Batson, A.J. Brown, Corey Davis, Jonu Smith in the game at tight end,
Starting point is 00:26:53 Jeremy McNichols in the game at running back. So the Titans start out with Cam Batson and Jonu Smith on the right-hand side and then they have A.J. Brown in the slot and Corey Davis outside on the left-hand side. Then they motion Cam Batson from the right-hand side over to the left-hand side to create a trips formation on the left. And the reason they did this is because the Houston Texans had been playing a ton of man coverage on the Titans.
Starting point is 00:27:18 And when you can put three wide receivers on one side of the field, it often gives you an advantage to create a pick play or just get a good opportunity with a rub route, something like that. So that's what the Titans are kind of looking to do here is just get an advantage on releases against man coverage. And one of the reasons that the Texans could use man coverage in this way is because they had started to get some significant pressure on Ryan Tannehill with Roger Saffold out of this game. So we're going to see that here as well. It's all going to play out in front of us.
Starting point is 00:27:50 But once again, a critical third and eight with the Tennessee Titans losing by four to the Houston Texans with the division title on the line with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. So Corey Davis has had three drops to this point, one of the worst games of his point. One of the worst games of his career. One of his worst games of the season, but in one of the biggest moments, he steps up. So now that you know what the formation looks like, let's dive into the play. So again, the Texans are in man formation. Let's focus on the trips of the wide receivers on the left-hand side.
Starting point is 00:28:20 So Cam Batson is going to run a deep crossing route, but he doesn't get any separation on his route originally. A.J. Brown, this is where Corey Davis and A.J. Brown are trying to help each other. Corey Davis comes in on a drag route over the middle of the field, going back into the middle of the field underneath. A.J. Brown fires out from the slot and is looking to cut to the outside of the field. So the hope is there that maybe A.J. Brown fires out from the slot and is looking to cut to the outside of the field. So the hope is there that maybe A.J. Brown will rub off on Corey Davis' guy, giving Corey Davis a wide-open opportunity over the middle of the field. Maybe even A.J. Brown's guy is a little worried about Corey Davis breaking over the middle.
Starting point is 00:28:58 It creates hesitation, and A.J. Brown gets enough space to the outside to catch the ball. Well, Ryan Tannehill is looking for A.J. Brown on enough space to the outside to catch the ball. Well, Ryan Tannehill is looking for A.J. Brown on this play, but he's not open. It's good man coverage by the Texans. And right after that, he's got to go to his second read. But unfortunately for Ryan Tannehill, J.J. Watt had whooped Nate Davis on the play and was right in Tannehill's lap. So he had no choice but to get rid of the ball. And now I go back to Corey Davis on that drag route who was completely covered. He had a cornerback on the front side of him where he was running to. It was great defense by the Texans, but a better throw by Ryan Tannehill. Ryan Tannehill sees this. He's got to throw it. So what he does is he throws it behind
Starting point is 00:29:41 where Corey Davis should go. If you think about throwing the ball in front of your receiver, leading your receiver, letting them get their hands in front of them and running forward, he did the opposite of that. He threw it behind Corey Davis and it caused Corey Davis to stop mid-route. He basically stopped his drag route and kind of had to shift his momentum to the opposite direction and caught it. But what that did was why it was so brilliant by Ryan Tannehill is the defender was on the front of Corey Davis expecting him to continue to travel across the field but because Ryan Tannehill's throw forced Corey Davis to stop all of his momentum and go the other way slightly it allowed Corey Davis to use the momentum of the defender to create separation because the defender was still going towards the middle of the field.
Starting point is 00:30:25 So now the defender is going the opposite way. This allowed Corey Davis that, although he caught the ball short of the sticks on third and eight, to get up the field for an additional six yards and get the first down. So redemption for Corey Davis on one of the biggest plays of the game, a critical third down in the red zone for the Titans down in the fourth quarter. Of course, as we know, that turned into another Ryan Tannehill rushing touchdown. The Titans went up 38-35, but as had become typical throughout the day, the Titans defense
Starting point is 00:30:55 let them down and, well, only let them down slightly. They did give up points, but only gave up the field goal, which allowed the tie, which allowed play number four to take place. Ryan Tannehill, 18 seconds left in shotgun on the 25-yard line. The Titans are tied 38-38. They have three timeouts, though. If they can get down the field and get in field goal position, they can give themselves a chance at a field goal for the division title.
Starting point is 00:31:22 And as Mike Vrabel said in his press conference, he told Ryan Tannehill, just try to throw it up to AJ. And that's exactly what happened. But schematically, the Texans allowed this to happen and the Titans ran a perfect route to take advantage of the coverage. The Texans used cover four, which means the cornerbacks on the outside and the two safeties in the middle each have a quarter of the field from where they're standing at the snap all the way to the end zone. You have a quarter of the field.
Starting point is 00:31:50 And one big susceptibility of cover four is the post. And I've actually documented how the Titans have gotten burned by the post in cover four with Malcolm Butler playing outside leverage and having to come in and save the day on the inside when Kevin Byard or Kenny Vaccaro dart up too quick. Well, that happened to the Texans here. So the Titans have Corey Davis and A.J. Brown to the right-hand side. Corey Davis is going to run a deep in route about 15 yards down the field, and A.J. Brown's going to run the post right behind him. The Texans are in cover four. So imagine, as Corey Davis cuts off his route at about 15 yards and starts to go inside, the safety on the right-hand side of the field that has the right middle starts to dive in towards Corey Davis. Well, think about it.
Starting point is 00:32:38 The outside cornerback has A.J. Brown on that post. A.J. Brown's accelerating up the field at that cornerback on a vertical stem. Well, that cornerback has his back to the sideline because he knows that he has that quarter of the field right there. Well, what happens when A.J. Brown goes from that quarter of the field and then cuts in on his post and goes into the middle quarter on the right side, but the middle quarter safety in the quarters has darted up on Corey Davis's in route well that means the middle of the field is wide open and that's exactly what happened Tannehill tossed it up A.J. Brown ran that deep
Starting point is 00:33:14 post got behind the cover for safety because he was influenced by Corey Davis's in deep in route and it allowed A.J. Brown to make a physical catch downfield one-on-one 52 yards to the 23 yard line setting up one Derrick Henry run for four yards and then and then cue the Titanic music Sam Sloman for the game winner so the four biggest impacts on this game were Derrick Henry's first touchdown run of 52 yards to put the Titans up 10-3. Then his long touchdown run to allow the Titans to score and go up 31-15. Then the Corey Davis third down catch that allowed the Titans to score their last touchdown of the day. And then of course the A.J. Brown bomb.
Starting point is 00:34:01 The Hail Mary in Houston that allowed the Titans to get the Sam Sloman kick and win the division that is going to do it for today's 2K Tuesday make sure that you go to my Twitter account at Tic Tac Titans and follow me there and check out the visual breakdown so you can see exactly what I described today make sure that you subscribe
Starting point is 00:34:20 to the Locked On Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream also remember tomorrow is re-watch Wednesday. Going to be going through my re-watch notes from this game. Also, going through some re-watch notes from the last two matchups against the Baltimore Ravens to begin our preparation for that big wild card game this weekend. But that's going to do it for me today, folks.
Starting point is 00:34:43 As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

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