Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Can Tennessee Titans Josh Dobbs Win the AFC South, Henry v Jags Defense & Game Predictions

Episode Date: January 5, 2023

The Tennessee Titans take on the Jacksonville Jaguars for ALL THE MARBLES on Saturday night. Can a Josh Dobbs-led Titans find a way to win? Can the Jacksonville Jaguars slay the dragon and take the next step? Tony Wiggins of Locked On Jaguars joins to break it all down. Also, can Derrick Henry continue to hold down his hometown team and will the Titans pass rush be able to affect Trevor Lawrence. Finally, Tony & Tyler give their game and score predictions!!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; LOCKEDONUltimate Football GMTo 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

It's crossover time. It's the one y'all been waiting for. Titans, Jaguars, for all the marbles. We'll talk about it with Tyler Rowland from Tic Tac Titans, Locked on Titans, Injustice. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Football fans, as Tony said, it is time.

The AFC South is on the line. So excited to break down this matchup on Crossover Thursday. Do want to let you guys know that today's Crossover Thursday is presented by our friends over at PrizePix. PrizePix is so much fun, man. It's easy to play. No competing with other players. It's just you against the PrizePix projections. Here's how it works.

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We love prize easy. We love PrizePix. We know you will too. First time users can get a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with the promo code LOCKEDON. That's prizepix.com or the PrizePix app promo code LOCKEDON. Thank you guys for making Locked On Titans and Locked On Jaguars your first listen every day. And boy, it has been quite the season. The season started with a little friendly trash talk between me and Tony. And I know all you Jaguars fans are waiting to let me know. And I don't blame you. They've been playing great football.

First thing I want to say, Tony, before we get into the big storylines for each team is I said I thought Jacksonville would go 7-10. I thought the Jags would be better than the general consensus. So just take that into account, Jags fans. I thought the Titans would be better, but I didn't think Jacksonville would be bad either. Okay, so let's all just get that out there first. But number one, I'm going to kick it off with the storyline for the Titans,

and it's can Josh Dobbs, Astro Dobbs, win the biggest game of his entire life? Shut up, me, all the other non-Vols fans in the Titans fan base. Can Josh Dobbs, with actual starters around him this week, not against Dallas where Mike Vrabel punted on the game. Can Josh Dobbs successfully pilot this Tennessee Titans group to a win? For me, I think it's going to be pretty difficult to do that with how hot Jacksonville is. Jacksonville just has a better team, man. This would be a true upset. Jacksonville has so much talent.

They now have Lawrence playing well. All they really needed to make it all click was real NFL coaching, right? And a pretty decent NFL coach at that and Doug Peterson. So the big storyline from the Titans perspective easily is, can Josh Dobbs do this thing? Can he actually get it done? Me personally, Tony, I'm going to be honest with you.

The dude's been in the NFL for like six or seven years. He's been a backup at all times. This year he was on practice squads a lot of the season. So I think some of the people being super excited about Dobbs is a little misplaced. But as we did see against the Cowboys, if you give them a decent setup, you call the correct play against the coverage you get, a guy gets open. He has a little bit of time. He can do it. And if you do play action bootlegs and you do things to get him out on the move and get him out of being a sitting duck in the pocket,

I think that there's a chance that he can make some plays and at least keep it closed. So can Josh Dobbs get this thing done? I have my doubts. I know a lot of Titans fans are optimistic, but that's obviously the big storyline. What about Jacksonville? Let me tell you what the big storyline is. The big storyline is I'm recovering from being under the weather, right? So I told Tyler Rowland, I told Tyler Rowland, I said, Tyler,

when we come back, just start talking, right? Did I not tell you that, right? Yeah, 100%. That's what I do best. He's laughing because I've been smiling this whole time if you're watching on YouTube, right? So I told Tyler Rowland, just start talking, right? Yeah, 100%. He's laughing because I've been smiling this whole time if you're watching on YouTube, right? So I told Tyler Olin to just start talking, right? Tyler Olin talked for four minutes and 20 seconds, and I didn't say one word.

And the reason why I didn't say one word is because I've been waiting to say these three words the entire time because I knew if I gave him a chance with that microphone, what he was going to do is he's going to run and start talking about Josh Dobbs and talk about all of this other stuff. Yep. i've been waiting to say this to you all year you ready yep you damn right and you know what no you damn right you was damn right that's the reality i was damn right that's right you damn right but but look man seriously it's for all the marbles.

It's for everything. The storyline for me is the team that's the best team has to be the best team. And in football, sometimes that does not happen. Right. And there is a great equalizer in this, and there's two. It's Mike Rabel, who can dial up stuff, and it's Derrick Henry. And those things go together defensively and with the running game. They could ugly this thing up to a point where it doesn't matter

who's playing quarterback. They could actually play a little bit of the version of the 2017 Jaguars that didn't have a great quarterback, but had a guy quarterback who was a gamer and had a coach who, on the sideline, does not give a damn. Right. And a running back who's from this area who everybody knows who has a history of killing this team. Right. All it would take is a little bit of a blend of that and the Jaguars to make some mistakes with ball handling. Once, if it gets that way,

now it gets ugly. And then with a young team, some doubt starts to creep in, right? Right. So that's why I say the key for the Jaguars is you have to be who you are. You know who you are. You're the team with the best quarterback. You're the team with a coach who has won a Super Bowl, with a quarterback who wasn't as good as the one they have now,

and you're a team that's won a whole bunch of games in a row, playing a team that's lost a whole bunch of games in a row. Yes. You have to just be the best be the best representative of yourself when it counts the most and i think if they do that i think the jags will make it a night to remember and we'll give the titans some something to remember and now it's the time the jaguars actually knock them off the top of the hill in the afc south because i think what this will start for jacksonville they win this i think this starts a nice little run.

This starts a run. Yeah. This starts a run through this division the way the Chiefs are running through theirs. And the way, I don't know, I can say the way New England, but pretty close the way the Colts ran through this division a long time ago with Peyton Manning. Yes. That's what this was starting. I think they just have, that's the key.

The key for them. My key is for them just be the best representation of yourself, and you'll come out on top. Yeah, I think this means, and obviously you know, but I think this means a lot to Jacksonville, not just trying to be like, oh, yeah, the Titans. But the Titans have been the boogeyman for the Jags, even when the Mark Brunel Jags that year, who beat the Jags all three times.

It was the Titans. It's like even when the Jags have a better team, somehow the Titans find a way to win. So I think, like you said, not only a big run into the playoffs, but if Jacksonville can get the Titans off their back and really be like, no, even though we're better, you're not doing this. It's ours now. I think it'll set off a domino effect that goes not only into the playoffs, but into the next five years where the Jags can have that dominant run like the Colts had with Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck. You know what I mean? The Jags have the roster talent, the coaching, and the quarterback, which is the most important

part to do that here. So I think this game right here means more than just this season and this playoffs. It's for the next five years for Jacksonville to finally kind of get over that Tennessee Titans hump. All right. We've talked about keys to victory. We want to talk about key matchups in segment number two here on Locked on Jaguars and Locked on Titans crossover.

We'll do that in just a second. But first, I have to let you know that today's show is sponsored by BetOnline.net. BetOnline is your number one source for sports betting info, stats, news, and analysis. Get the latest odds and trends for every professional and amateur league out there. From pro football, the bowl season isn't quite over yet. They got one game to go. Basketball is in full swing, headed for the all-star break. They've got it all at BetOnline.net.

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I'm Tony Wiggins, along with my man, Tyler Rowland, my brother from Another Mother. Let me clear this up. Everybody thinks that me and Tyler and me and Hicks and those guys from the coast, I kind of do hate the Texans, but I'm just joking. Those are my boys, too, John and Cody. Those are my brothers from Another Mother. But we are all real good friends.

And the fans get to the point where I told you too a long time ago, I said, don't start with those Jaguar fans because I'm going to tell you, I ain't going to be able to get them off of you. They're going to want to duke it out with you now. So everybody gets – we have fun with this. We have fun with the preseason. There would be no fun look back at Tyler Rowland not going on his one-minute diatribe about the Jaguars.

Are you serious? The Jaguars? The Jaguars. That's what makes this fun, and that's what makes this. I did not throw him a softball. I didn't throw him a 35-mile-per-hour fastball. He did it on his own, and I just did what us Duvalas do. I sat back in the cut, and I said, you damn right.

So here we are. We got to talk about some key matchups. I'll go first. Key matchups with us. Anytime you play the Titans, the key matchup, it starts with Derrick Henry. The Jaguars have to bottle Derrick Henry up. And I mean early. You hold him to seven yards on five

carries and then he'll pop one for 30. You cannot allow him to do that. You have to make sure that you gang tackle, make sure that Shaquille Quarterman did a really good job earlier. He hit Derrick Henry and made him fumble. And I think he gave him a solid hit that you don't usually see. And it kind of reminded me of when Ray Lewis hit Eddie George back in the day. Oh, you're killing me today.

No, it did. It reminded me of that. And I mentioned that to Doug Peterson. He smiled a little bit. I was wondering if that was the catalyst for the rest of the team is when, you know, you go up and punch the bully in the mouth. You know what I'm saying? Right.

And I think they have to do it again, Tyler. I think they have to let Derrick Henry know you're not going to beat us, and they have to tell Joshua Dobbs, okay, you're a rocket scientist, but now let me see how that translates to this football field. And I really do believe that the best chance the Jaguars have to win is to bottle up Derrick Henry early and often and make sure that other people understand that you have to – somebody else is going to have to beat them.

Yeah, no, you're a hundred percent right. And this kind of goes back to my, I found a better phrase for it now after we've been talking for a minute, that always happens to me when I do these shows, I'm like, Oh, I should have said that. But the Jags need to slay the dragon here, you know? And Derrick Henry has been that. So it's like, it reminds me of the movie 300 where Leonidas, a leader of the 300 at the very end cuts the face of the,

of the gods Xerxes or whatever. When Derek Henry fumbled like that, it was like, Oh, he bleeds. He does bleed. He is human. Oh, you know what I mean? And I think the Jags can use that to like rally themselves and say, no, this guy's not putting $200. This guy isn't. But look back, man. Henry had about a hundred yards in that first quarter last time. Like the Jacks forced four turnovers. But if you go back and watch the game, the Titans moved the ball relentlessly against Jacksonville. They just had four turnovers. Now the big difference is Josh Dobbs, not Ryan Tannehill. But again, if Derrick Henry is doing that and Derrick Henry rushes for a hundred

yards in the first quarter that Josh Dobbs just got to say, here you go, big guy. Good luck. So you're 100% right. But for me, the big matchup other than that is the Titans defensive line. We talk about the equalizer on offense being Derrick Henry. You mentioned Mike Vrabel, but the manifestation of Mike Vrabel's impact is that defensive line. If the Titans with Jeffrey Simmons and Danico Autry can get out there and cause turnovers and pressure bus pipes, so if they can consistently get pressure on Trevor Lawrence and force him into mistakes or strip sacks in the pocket,

the Titans are going to, in my opinion, I think the Titans need three turnovers to win this game, maybe even a defensive touchdown on one of those because the offense needs short fields to have easy scoring opportunities. Dobbs isn't going to lead 75, 80-yard drives down the field the whole way to score a bunch of touchdowns. It's just not going to happen. So not only do you take away opportunities from Jacksonville with turnovers,

but you give easier opportunities to your offense, and those turnovers start with the defensive line. Now, I do want to mention, it looks like Christian Fulton may be back in this game, the Titans' number one corner, and Amani Hooker, the Titans' number two safety behind Kevin Byer. They may be back for this game. So not only can the Titans get pressure, but they have playmakers in the back end who can take advantage

of maybe some inaccurate throws. I'm not saying the Titans are going to force those turnovers, but that's the only way that they're going to be able to make this game close. So the big matchup for me is looking at Danico Autry, Jeffrey Simmons, the Titans defensive line, and taking advantage of – I know there's been some injuries with Jacksonville on the offensive line. A guy like Brandon Scherf was a DNP, I believe, yesterday at practice. And what, left tackle Cam Robinson, isn't he on IR for the rest of the season now?

So the Jags have some holes in the offensive line that could set up for the Titans to take advantage of that with their talent up front. So I feel like there are little areas here where the Titans certainly can win. So I think you're 100% right. Stopping Derrick Henry for Jacksonville and the Titans' defensive line, finding ways to get pressure on Lawrence. Those are the two biggest, most important matchups in the entire game. We're going to talk some more keys to victory and give a score prediction,

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a 13-bar box with our hit flavors, brownie, batter, and churro. You can thank me later. And we thank you now for joining us on Locked on Jaguars and Locked on Titans, making us your first listen. You can make your second listen to Locked on Sports podcast, Locked on Sports Today with Peter Bukowski. 30 minutes, man. That's what you get. You're going to want more, but it's only 30 minutes with the biggest stories

from around the world of sports with the use of local experts like us. And I'm sure he's going to have one of us on there after this. I just got done recording with Pete for the show. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. See, I'm jealous because you recorded with him, but I guarantee you he's going to want the winner of that game,

and I'm going to be the one recording with him Sunday night. So make sure you like and subscribe wherever you get your podcast, the Locked On Sports Today show that is absolutely wonderful and it's wherever you get your podcast. It's also free on all platforms. All right. Early this year, my

key to victory for the Jaguars is the same every week. Get off to a fast start. Let your defense play pass rush and coverage and chase the quarterback. But make sure you don't get behind. That was absolutely blown out of the water. Every time they got behind, they came back and won the game over the last couple of months.

So my little formula for them winning turned out to be generic. Nothing to do about nothing. Right. They they went against the grain and started winning the game. They were behind 17-0 to the Raiders. They were down 27-10 to the Cowboys. They were down against the Ravens. They came back and won every single one of those games.

So the key for the Jaguars right now is to just never quit. Don't quit. Just no matter what happens in the first and second quarter, just keep doing what you've been doing all year and understand that the game is not over. And I think if they do that, they'll be fine. Yeah, no, I agree with you 100%. I think especially with the Titans having Josh Dobbs at quarterback,

it's not like the Titans are going to hammer down if they even get – you know, let's say the Titans come out and go up 10-0. That's not an insurmountable lead in any way with the way that the Titans are playing football right now. We can't gloss over, and this is why I was kind of upset that Mike Vrabel punted on that game against Dallas. Losing football games doesn't help you win football games. Like, the Titans have lost six games in a row.

It's tied for the second longest losing streak in franchise history. None of that will inspire confidence in your players to go out and beat a Jacksonville team who I've said has been playing playoff football for two months now. Their hair is on fire. They're ready to go. So prediction-wise, it was a great segue you did from going into talking about Peter to into the prediction segment because I agree, Tony. I think ultimately talking about Peter to into the prediction segment, because I agree, Tony, I think ultimately you are going to get the spot on Sunday night with Peter because the Jags are a better team. They're playing better football and the Titans are starting Josh Dobbs.

And you know, I just don't know what else to say. I think that all the stuff that we've talked about, Derek Henry being out there, the pass rush for the Titans, I think the game's going to be closer than Jaguars fans want, but it's not going to be easy for the Jags to slay the Dragon. You know what I mean? They're going to make Jacksonville work for it. I think this game finishes 27-20.

Jacksonville wins. I think late in the fourth quarter, the Titans are going to have the ball with an opportunity to go down and score. And there's going to be a turnover that seals it for Jacksonville and the celebration begins. So I think 27-20.

I think the Titans, despite all the injuries and despite Josh Dobbs and all that and being on the road, I think the Titans will represent themselves properly. A Mike Vrabel football team is going to go out there and fight. I do believe that. But again, playing better football for two months, the better team anyways. I think Jacksonville not only will win this game, I think Jacksonville deserves it. And quite frankly, as a fan of football, do I want to see Josh Dobbs against Justin Herbert? No. Everybody who really loves football at their core,

I always say this on my show, I loved football before I ever knew about the Tennessee Titans. And to this day, my allegiance will always be to football at the core of me. And I want to see Trevor Lawrence against Justin Herbert in the first round of the playoffs. I think if Jacksonville wins this game, they beat the Chargers as well and get to dance with the big boys,

Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Pat Mahomes. And I think not only do I think that will happen, I do think Jacksonville deserves it. I know Titans fans are probably mad right now. They want me to always, no matter what, protect the Titans. But at this point, the Titans haven't played the kind of football

that deserves those type of things. And if I'm honest with you, I think the Titans need a top-ten pick more than they need an AFC South Division title right now so they can fix that offensive line for whoever plays quarterback next year. So 27-20, Jaguars advance. That's what my prediction is. You damn right. I agree with you.

27-20. I'm not going to change a thing. We're going to start this the way we started the season with me saying, you damn right i agree with you 27 20 i'm not gonna change a thing we're gonna start this the way we started the season with me saying you damn right you know but this time and you were damn right i am in agreement with you it's gonna be a fun game uh i will be out of town actually normally i go to stuff like this but i had a pre-planned trip with my wife and actually i had my surgery early so i could if i didn't have my surgery i wouldn't have been able to go because it'd been too much pain and then the other't have my surgery, I wouldn't have been able to go because it had been too much pain.

And then the other thing is I just, I wouldn't have been able to travel, you know, if I had it when I'm supposed to. So I'll be in DC, but I will have my computer. I'm going to do a postcast of the game. I might even call you to tell you to come on here with me, man. Just, just to talk about it. I want to say this more than like you talked about earlier in the show, man, at the end of the day, we, you know, we don't play like I'm not going to be out

there and playing and more important than anything to me with football is that you're feeling better. You're getting better. Since I started with the network, you have been nothing but kind and courteous and helpful to me at every turn. You're an example of what I want to be knowledgeable in tune, know the history, have things to draw on. So just more than anything, I know Jags and Titans fans are like, no, be aggressive, be hateful, fight each other like they do on Twitter, but nothing but love and respect for you, man. And I just hope you feel better and,

and maybe the Jags can help you feel a little better too. Well, I'm doing a lot better, man. And I just hope you feel better and, and maybe the Jags can help you feel a little better too. Well, I'm doing a lot better, man. More. And I appreciate that more than, you know, because it shows what people, it shows people who we are as humans. This is for Jaguar fans more than anything. You said something earlier that it's not going to be easy to slay the dragon. That would be true. If the dragon were on his knees, the situation for Jacksonville for a young team is difficult enough by

itself. But I got a feeling that after years and years of grief, Jaguar fans are going to have something to cheer about because they've made the playoffs in the past. They've done that. They haven't made it this way where they knew that once they cracked that door open, that it was going to be a sustained effort for a number of years.

This is different than 2017. Every year they wake up, Trevor Lawrence is going to be their quarterback and Doug Peters is going to be their coach, and they're going to get better and better and better. So it'll be the beginning of what I think is something. This is like starting a family. This ain't like keeping somebody's kid overnight, right? This is like you starting a family.

This is like you getting a picket fence, you getting a minivan, you know what I'm saying? You're getting a minivan. You know what I'm saying? You're getting a little doll. We're buying a Sam's Club membership and buying billboards. That's right. You're going to Bible study on Wednesday and church on Sunday. That's what this is. This is an investment for a lifetime,

and I think no fan base needs this more than the one that I cover. So thanks to you for joining me here today. Thanks to all of you for tuning in on Locked on Titans and Locked on Jaguars. Y'all got a chance to see us hug and kiss each other for the last two minutes. But come Sunday or come Saturday night, like that man said on Harlem Night, somebody getting knocked the out. And hopefully for Jaguar fans, it won't be us. Until then, man, y'all take care of each other.

This dude, I say, always take care of each other. For Tyler Rowland, for Tony Wiggins, thanks for joining us, and we'll see you. We'll see you. We'll see you. We'll see you.