Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Can Tennessee Titans Derrick Henry Continue Success v Houston, Texans Improved Play & Predictions

Episode Date: December 22, 2022

The Tennessee Titans have their second game of the season against the Houston Texans on Saturday and rookie QB Malik Willis is in line to start. How will the Titans use Willis in his second go round against the Texans. The Texans have been playing good football as of late. Can they keep it up and get a win against the Titans? Also, can the Texans slow down Jeffery Simmons this time? Finally, Tyler & Coty make their game picks.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.TuroForget boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.comAudibleHead over to Locked On NFL for a sneak peak of Block Forever or catch the full series available anywhere you get your podcast. Available everywhere now!NHTSADrive high, get a DUI. Click HERE to learn more.Ultimate Football GM To download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it's Crossover Thursday. Cody Davis from Locked On Texans joins the show to break down this matchup. Will Derrick Henry go for over 200 rushing yards again? How will Malik Willis look? Can the Texans slow down Jeffrey Simmons this time? We're going to discuss that and give our game and score predictions for this matchup.

So all that and much more on a crossover Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. It is another crossover Thursday between Locked on Titans and Locked on Texans. We got Cody Davis from Locked on Texans here joining the show. Excellent conversations always had. Of course, I'm Tyler Rowland of Locked on Titans.

But diving right in here, Cody, we got to talk about the biggest storylines in this game. Uh, we got to talk about the biggest storylines in this game. And before we do, do want to let you guys know that today's crossover Thursday is presented by our friends at prize picks. Prize picks is so much fun and it's easy to play. No competing with other players. It's just you verse the projections available, pick two to five players.

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That's prizepicks.com. Promo code LOCKEDON. And Cody, I'm not going to lie. I'm going to grab the mic here. I am going to go first. The big storyline for the Titans is Malik Willis is probably going to play again. Obviously the real biggest storyline is the Titans are on a four game losing streak. Look like they're about to give the division away to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They're playing the

Texans who they beat with Malik Willis last time. So it would be good for the Titans fan base if they could get off the schneid here and find a way to win against Houston because a fifth straight loss, even without Ryan Tannehill, to the Texans to add on to that, with the Jags having a great opportunity to win on Thursday night, tonight's game. Titans fans are feeling a little worried.

Now, they may have literally four backups on the offensive line. The defense is absolutely decimated. So I think Titans fans are just completely reeling right now. And Malik is coming in. And I think that this has the opportunity to really turn things quickly for the Titans, like emotionally for the fan base, I guess. Coming off a four-game losing streak, firing general manager, being at the lowest of the low, all of that,

if Malik Willis looks good, looks better than the last time he played Houston, which we're going to get a direct comparison here, except Houston's playing much better football right now than then. If Malik Willis can go in and get a victory for the Titans to break the losing streak and he looks better than he looked the last times he got a chance to start, I think that would put a big smile on Titans fans' faces going into Christmas morning. That is the present that Titans fans want to unwrap on Christmas Eve. A good performance from Malik Willis to end the Titans' month-long losing streak.

So that's really the biggest storyline right now for the Titans. The news kind of coming out today that Tannehill might not play. Like I said, the Texans are playing, although the wins aren't there. The last few weeks, the Texans have been playing some fantastic football against some of the better teams in the NFL. Cody, I'm excited to hear what's going on in Houston right now. Well, that's the biggest thing. As of right now, the Texans basically

have two storylines going into this game. One, as you just alluded to, the last three games has been by far the best performance the Houston Texans have played. Look, they're entering this game with a 1-12-1 record. Tyler, to be honest with you, after the loss that they sustained against Tennessee, there was a little bit of, let's say, a two to three week stretch where it got to the point where so many people, including myself and of course my co-host John, we was questioning whether or not the Texans were just out there to collect the check because the effort wasn't there the play calling wasn't there and they just looked god awful it got so bad more so in the loss against the Washington Commanders to the point where they was just unwatchable but over these last three games they have surprisingly played

really well now I know when you take a look at the scorebox, you see the loss against the Cleveland Browns, 27, 14, the loss against the Dallas Cowboys, 27, 23. And of course, an overtime loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, 30 to 24. The effort in everything that we wanted to see, the competitiveness is there. Now, the biggest issue is, can they close games? The Houston Texans have been in every single one of their last three games, more so the game against the Dallas Cowboys and the loss that they just sustained against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. They have been in every single one of these games up until the last minute. And I understand that on Sunday, Davis Mills fumbled in overtime,

basically right at the damn goal line, which was a given that Kansas City was going to score on that. And then of course, the game against the Dallas Cowboys, they had an opportunity to punch their ticket to their second victory, but they was unable to score on the goal line in Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys just marched down the field and scored on the Houston Texans in the final seconds. Everyone wants to know whether or not they can close games. However, Tyler, I'm not looking at it like that. Take a look at the last three games that I just mentioned. Yeah. The Browns, the Cowboys, and the Chiefs. I talked about this on yesterday's show, and I'm going to repeat it here again. I'm wondering if this effort that we saw over the last three games was just due to the fact that every single one of these games had a meaning behind it.

I mean, you take a look at the Cleveland Browns. Of course, it's the return of Deshaun Watson. Yes, Deshaun did not play with a lot of guys on this team. However, he was in the building last year. They had players that came out and actually said that, hey, we actually tried to get Deshaun Watson to play at least some football last season, but he didn't want to, which was a slap in the face to the players. So that was an emotional attachment there. Look, Houston, Dallas, we don't like each other here in the city of Houston,

which means every four years we always want to come other here in the city of Houston, which means every four years, we always want to come out victorious in the Battle of Texas. And they came close. Look, Lovie Smith, he's from Texas. So he actually knows the big rivalry between Houston, the big rivalry between Dallas. And there's an emotional attachment there. And of course, the biggest one, Kansas City. Tyler, you remember the last time the houston texans were good they were up 24 nothing on kansas city and even lovey smith

came out and said that this game against kansas city means something because that was the start of this downward spiral that the texans have been on over the last couple of seasons and i get it i understand it there's a lot of things that happened between that playoff game and where the Houston Texans are right now, but that was the pinpoint that started the Houston Texans on this rebuild. Now, I understand against Tennessee, you know, there's the whole, that's actually Houston's real organization, but at the end of the day,

I'm not too sure if there's that emotional attachment there to give the coaching staff and the players that extra push that they need. Right. Yeah. And that makes sense. Basically, you know, guys get up for important football games. And listen, this is a division match. So obviously it's important in that sense. But I could see what you mean where all of those games had higher emotional stakes. You play the Titans all the time. Titans coming in, all four straight losses. Titans playing their backup quarterback again. Now, there may be some get back energy from the Texans wanting to, hey, you're not coming in here and winning against us again with your backup quarterback, but I see what you mean where there may be an emotional letdown after three games with some huge stakes. So that will be interesting to watch how Houston comes out

to play. But with that being said, we're going to move forward into the matchup portion of today's crossover Thursday. Before we do, do want to let you guys know that today's show is brought to you by Audible. Audible has a line of brand new podcasts that we are sure you're going to love. That's why we want you guys to check out The League, available right now as a bonus episode on Locked on NFL. It's narrated by Super Bowl champion and legendary smack talker Richard Sherman.

He also has Taylor Rooks with him, who's absolutely fantastic. The League is an eight-part docuseries about the most bizarre, inspirational, and unlikely stories connected to America's favorite sport, pro football. Head over to the Locked On NFL podcast feed for a bonus episode of The League or catch the full series wherever you get your podcasts available now. Audible, get in the game. All right, let's continue this crossover Thursday.

We got Locked on Titans, Locked on Texans. I am Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans. He is Cody Davis, host of Locked on Texans. Make sure you guys subscribe on whatever platform you do stream free Monday through Friday content all year round on your favorite team. You're not going to find that anywhere else. Make sure that you tune in to our shows on Friday favorite team. You're not going to find that anywhere else. Make sure that you tune in to our shows on Friday as well for game previews.

We'll be recapping the game over the weekend as well. So while you're enjoying your Christmas holiday, make sure you do it with Locked on Titans and Locked on Texans. But getting into the matchups here, Cody, like it has been for the last three years, I'm going to give you the floor, and everyone knows my side, Derrick Henry, the king. Now, the Titans may have an incredibly beat-up offensive line,

incredibly beat-up. Ben Jones has a concussion. Nate Davis had to leave the game and has a knee injury. Nicholas Petit-Ferrer and Dennis Daly have been struggling at tackle. So you're looking at maybe Corey Levin. You're looking at Jordan Roos. I mean, it's pretty ugly on the Titans offensive line, but it's still the Titans,

and they're still going to give the ball to Derrick Henry. Cody, what is the matchup you're looking at to stop Derrick Henry finally after like four or five games in a row of over 200 rushing yards it's been actually four games in a row four in a row and Tyler there's no other matchup we are looking at I understand your concerns about Malik Willis I understand Tennessee they're on the losing street. People have concerns. Even if Ryan Tannehill do play on Saturday. I mean,

Tannehill, I think this is probably his final curtain call. He's done a... He has been, you know... He might be back. He might be back. He's been so poor at best this season, at least in my opinion. But does it really matter who's on the center

it all comes down to whether or not the texans can stop derrick henry by the way you mentioned malik willis in the game where the tennessee titans came out victorious malik willis only passed the ball 10 times and only had 55 passing yards right derrick henry had 219 yards on 32 carries now i do want to say the texans over these last couple of games more so the last three they have done fairly decent at stopping the run um i believe the last running back that rushed for over 100 yards on the Texans was Saquon Barkley in the loss against the New York Giants. Lovie Smith said it. They have made some changes to their run defense, but this is the ultimate test right here. There's no way in hell that this organization can allow Derek Henry to rush for over, not just 100, but 200 yards.

200, yeah. For the fifth consecutive game. Yeah. And I do believe if they contain Derrick Henry, they might have a small chance at coming out victorious in this game. But, Tyler, you can attest to this more than I can. I believe that the weather is going to play a huge factor in this game as well. It's going to be cold.

And I don't see the Tennessee Titans relying on their passing attack, you know, because you still have arguably the best running back in your backfield. Yeah. No, you're right. And the weather is going to play in. The Titans have played in colder games. The Texans, I don't know. You know, a little further south in the Dome.

I don't know. But the Titans have played in colder games. But either way, this is going to be like one of the coldest games ever in the stadium. So that is something to think about. And I do think the Titans will run the ball a ton. And on the flip side of things, we talk, you know, I mentioned the Titans' struggles on the offensive line,

but it's all about stopping Derrick Henry. On the other side, last game, Jeffrey Simmons ate the Texans' offensive line alive, especially rookie Kenyon Green. Now, I know there's been some injury issues there. What's the, I know Laramie Tunsell mispracticed. What's the status and the health of the Texans' offensive line as they try to stop Jeffrey Simmons, Bud Dupree,

and maybe Danico Autry back? I'm not so certain. But Demarcus Walker had two sacks last week against the Chargers, so the Titans still can get it done. What's the Texansans offensive line look like? How do they match up? Well, Keon Green, he's still battling. I believe it's an ankle injury as of right now. So his status as of right now is still questionable for Saturday's game because it's a short week. They really don't know. And if Keon Green is unable to go, you will probably see

an offensive lineup like we saw Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs where they moved Titus Howard down to left guard. Even though I don't like it, the Houston Texans still held their own. They still held their own against the Kansas City Chiefs defensive line. Now, when you go back and you take a look at how well the Texans have played, the offensive line has done very good over these last three games. But at the same time, you also got to keep in mind that Tennessee has one of the best interior defensive lines in the game.

And I do believe all of the improvements that we have been seeing from the Houston Texans, like, as I just mentioned, their ability to at least contain a run. This is also going to be the ultimate test, because even if you have Titus Howard and Laramie Tunsil, he was dealing with some type of a minor non-COVID illness. So he should be ready to go come Saturday. However, once again, in order for us to get a true evaluation of the improvements that the Houston Texans have made, this is going to be the ultimate test. Yeah, it's a good measuring stick game for the Texans defense. See how far they've really come.

Those are great matchups. Texans deep run defense, improved run defense against Derrick Henry. The Texans offensive line against Jeffrey Simmons. I mean, I hate the how do the Texans deal with the— but the reality is the Titans have a better roster. They have superstar players on the team. And while the Texans have been playing improved football, the focus is going to be can the Texans slow down the star players of the Titans

to keep them in the game? And I think that some of the other advantages, like I said, the Titans beat up offensive line, the Titans secondary and linebackers, just entire defense being an injury shambles. I think the Texans do have a chance to kind of keep things close here. And with that in mind, we are going to get into the prediction portion of today's show,

tell you how we think this game is going to finish. Before we get into it, do want to tell you guys that today's show is sponsored by BetOnline. BetOnline is your number one source for sports betting info, stats, news, and analysis. You can get all the latest odds, all the latest trends for every professional or amateur league out there. They have pro football, college bowl season, basketball. They even had the World Cup when it was available. I mean, they got everything you need at BetOnline.net.

So head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more. BetOnline, where the game starts. Also, do want to have a little bit of a serious conversation with you guys. Look, it's the holiday season, and the reality is some people will drive under the influence. And did you know that driving high is considered driving under the influence? That's right. Driving under the influence of marijuana is against the law in every state,

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We talked biggest storyline. We talked the biggest matchup on both sides of the ball. Now we're going to get into our prediction section of the show. It's not just necessarily about what the score is going to be, who's going to win, but how do about what the score is going to be, who's going to win, but how do we think the game is going to play out? Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys for making Locked on Texans and Locked on Titans your first listen every day.

As for your second listen, check out Locked on Sports Today podcast. It's all the biggest stories in sports. In about 20 minutes every day, you get big game recaps, inside analysis from local experts, all hosted by the fantastic Peter Bukowski. Check out Locked On Sports today on whatever platform you do stream. But Cody, I'm going to let you go first. The Texans have been playing better football.

The Titans are a mash unit with their backups backups in at a lot of spots. Malik Willis probably going to be playing. This seems like a prime spot for an improved Texans team to put all that improvement into the win column. Do you think

the Texans can find a way to win this game? Do you think they will? They're going to keep it interesting and for the first time since I don't know when I do believe that they're going to hold Derek and Henry under 200 yards I'm not going to say under 100 I think that might be pushing it but I still got Tennesseeennessee coming out victorious because you know the one thing that when you take a look at these last three games yes the houston texans have played better but a lot of these games have come down to the fact that the browns the cowboys the chiefs they just have better talent and not only better talent. They have star players in some cases, not just star players, but superstar players in terms of Patrick Mahomes.

And I think we're going to see a repeat performance. I think the Houston Texans are going to give the Tennessee Titans a scare. But I do believe it's probably going to come down to Derek Henry scoring on a game winning drive. So I got the Tennessee Titans coming away victorious 28-24. 28-24. I think that it's going to be a close game for a lot of the game is my expectation. I think that with the weather factoring in,

I think one big place that the Texans could take advantage and find a way to put points up on the board is just to throw the ball. I mean, you know, the Titans are dealing with their seventh, eighth cornerbacks out there. I am as tapped into the Titans as you could possibly be, Cody. You know this. And they're playing guys out there where I'm Googling, who is John Reed?

You know, people are asking me in the comments, Basham? Who is Basham with Terrell Basham on the team now? They got an undrafted free agent, you know, young linebacker, and Jack Gibbons out there playing. I mean, it's rough. But I think the equalizer is that weather. And I think with it being so cold, it's going to be hard to throw the football 40 times

like you should against the Titans with Damian Pierce out. So I just think what the Texans could do, if this was in Houston, I would be picking the Texans to win. I would. But with it being in Tennessee and the weather drastically changing,

how I think the teams will be able to operate, I think the run game will be even more important than it is normally. I do think the Texans hold Derrick Henry under 200 yards. I think he goes for probably about $1.50, which may not make Texans fans feel better, but maybe it will because it's not 200. It is definitely going to make us feel better. Right.

I truly do think I don't think the Titans did this in the previous games where Malik Willis started I don't think that they wanted to do anything too crazy but I think they have to here not only because Malik isn't quite ready for a full game plan but also because of the weather they have to design run for Malik Willis

they didn't do a lot of that we've only seen a couple of read options But also because of the weather, they have to design run for Malik Willis. They didn't do a lot of that. We've only seen a couple of read options. Malik doesn't do them very well, quite honestly. Unfortunately, he fumbles the ball a lot on those read option plays. But that's something that he did in college. And whether it be, I don't want to just see read option. I want design QB sweep.

I want QB counter. I want QB power. Some of the stuff that the Eagles do with Hurts and that the Saints do with Taysom Hill and the Ravens do with Lamar Jackson. Let's see true designed quarterback runs, not just read option and read option with a train blocker in front of them and stuff like that. I think the Titans come out and have actual quarterback run plays

designed to not only get Malik going and help the offense, but I think that'll loosen things up for Derrick Henry on some shotgun runs and things like that as well. So I'm hoping, and Titans fans would tell you, this is probably a dumb hope that I have, but I'm hoping the Titans offensive coordinator, Todd Downing does the smart thing and doesn't try to make Malik Willis be Ryan Tannehill. You don't want a watered down Ryan Tannehill. Let Malik Willis be Malik Willis. That is what I am hoping to see.

And whether I'm naive or just ignorant, I'm going to hope for that. Oh, that Todd Downing just has a moment of clarity. With that being said, though, I think that Malik does get around 50 to 70 yards on the ground to go along with Derrick Henry, and I think those two together find a way to get the Titans in scoring positions. I think the Titans win this game 14-9.

I think the Texans find a way to get some field goals. They do move the ball because the Titans' defense is just not what it is, but I think when it matters, the Titans' defense will stiffen up and find a way to force some field goals, and they'll ultimately get a couple of touchdowns. I don't know that the Titans will be looking to kick the ball very much in this game, So I'm going Titans 14-9 over the Texans in an ugly slugfest that's pretty close. And both teams could win at any moment at the drop of a hat, but I'll take the Titans 14-9. Cody, excellent work.

Every time I get to talk to you, we always have a good time chopping it up, talking about these teams. We'll be talking in the offseason again as well. Since we don't get to talk to you until after the draft, after creation, all this stuff. Just real quick, what are you hoping that the

Texans do this offseason? Do you want them to take a quarterback with that first pick now that they have one and what quarterback would you want it to be? You gotta take a quarterback, and you got to take the best quarterback in my opinion, and that's Bryce Young. Bryce Young.

You know, I understand. Culture guy too, man. Yeah, surprisingly, culture guy. You know, Houston Texans love that C word. But, you know, I understand the only knock against Bryce Young is his size, and that is a little bit concerning, but I do believe his IQ and his skill set is something that you cannot pass, and you take a look at, like, the only knock against Bryce Young is,

like I mentioned, his stature. When he gets in the league and you put him around the right people and he gets an opportunity to get the right diet plan and get the right plan going on where he could bulk up, I truly do believe that Bryce Young has the capability to one day be a top 10 quarterback in this league. And look, the Texans, they messed it up one time. They cannot afford to pass up on an opportunity to get a guy in Bryce Johnson. Some people are calling him a generational quarterback. I'm not going to go that far, but all of the traits that you want to see in a quarterback is there.

Yeah. No, I'm with you. I think that would be the smart move. And listen, you could say the Texans messed up because of the way Deshaun Watson went, but before Deshaun Watson became like a serial weird massage guy, whatever you want to call him, before he became that, Watson was like a top five talented quarterback who took okay Texans rosters to the playoffs all the time so I think the Texans actually got it right with Deshaun Watson and he's just a freaking weirdo and it ruined all of it you

know what I mean and then the Texans were dumb too everyone's to blame but you know just saying if not for Deshaun being like a super weirdo they got it absolutely right so you have to have hope you have to have hope that they get it right again. I think that would be the right move for the Texans to get Bryce Young and take the chance there. But either way, Cody, thank you so much. We'll talk to you in the offseason. See where these teams are at.

They could be going in different directions. Could be a crazy offseason for both of us. But thanks so much for joining this cross over Thursday. Locked on Texans, locked on Titans fans. Make sure you tune in, not only for our game previews on Friday, but for our instant reactions over the weekend. Enjoy the holiday, everybody. Have a Merry Christmas.