Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Can Tennessee Titans OL Stop the New Orleans Saints, DeAndre Hopkins v Marshon Lattimore & Game Predictions!
Episode Date: September 6, 2023The Tennessee Titans will face a tough challenge to open the season against the New Orleans Saints, especially upfront. Can the Titans offensive line prevent the Saints' pass rush from blowing up the ...game? Also, DeAndre Hopkins first game as a Titans features a very difficult matchup at cornerback in Marshon Lattimore. Finally, the Titans defense must create turnovers and Tyler and Ross 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!Harry'sGet your best shave ever this summer with Harry’s razors and skin care products. Get a $13 Starter Set for just $3 at harrys.com/NFL.  PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. NutrafolTake the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com/men and enter the promo code LOCKEDONMLB. birddogsGo to birddogs.com/LOCKEDONNFL or enter promo code LOCKEDONNFL for a water bottle with any order. You won’t want to take your birddogs off we promise you. eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit. eBay Motors dot com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Can the Tennessee Titans offensive line deal with the defensive line of the New Orleans Saints?
We're going to talk about that and 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.
What is going on and welcome in to a very fun Crossover Thursday edition of Locked On Titans and Locked On Saints,
both a part of Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.
Don't forget, you can always subscribe and follow for free on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast for daily Titans and Saints content.
And of course, you can catch us all across all those social media platforms as well.
We got Tyler Rowland here at Tic Tac Titans, the one, the only, the daily host of the Locked
on Titans podcast.
Myself, Ross Jackson at Ross Jackson, NOLA and OLA here to cover the New Orleans Saints
every single Monday through Friday.
And on today's episode, we're going to be previewing the New Orleans Saints hosting
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We're going to be breaking this thing down.
Tyler, we're going to take a look at the deciding factors in this game,
the matchups that can win or lose this game.
But of course, we're going to start off with the biggest stories here.
So Tyler, why don't you kick us off today?
The Tennessee Titans, what's the biggest story up in Nashville?
You know, honestly, Ross, there's been a lot of change in Tennessee from a Saints perspective somebody who maybe doesn't
follow the Titans on a consistent basis the Titans got a new general manager the Titans
totally remodeled the offensive side of the coaching staff and the coaching staff in general
the Titans had over 40 percent turnover on their roster this year so they they flipped nearly half of the roster, a lot of changes.
But I think the biggest thing that everyone's looking for
as we head into week one is what the Titans offensive line can be.
The Titans offensive line has four new starters,
and the fifth starter, who's the only returning starter,
is changing positions.
And that's interior offensive lineman Aaron Brewer,
who was a left guard last year, was a bit too small to play guard.
He's going to move to center now, which is more of a fit.
He's one of the smaller starting offensive linemen in the game.
So it makes sense to have him at center, utilize his quickness,
help him kind of minimize that size disadvantage a little bit more.
But you have left guard, rookie, first-round pick Peter Skowronski,
who Ryan Tannehill called Steady Eddie in his press conference on Wednesday.
And that's what the Titans, that's what you expect
when you pick a guard number 11 in the NFL draft.
He better be steady from day one, and that's what they've got.
But all the other positions kind of up and down right now.
Andre Dillard specifically at left tackle,
former first-round pick for the Eagles,
couldn't really crack their starting lineup with all the depth they have there.
Is that because they have so much depth, or is that because Dillard really isn't a starter
in the NFL? The Titans are going to be the ones who find out and that's going to start with a
tough matchup on Sunday against the Saints on the right side. Chris Hubbard hasn't been a consistent
starter since 2019. He's kind of a patchwork guy as the Titans starting right tackle Nicholas
Petit Ferrer is suspended for six games to start the season.
Daniel Brunskill, another guy like Dillard.
Right, right, exactly.
They know about that.
But Daniel Brunskill at right guard,
he's another guy who has starting experience
with the San Francisco 49ers in recent years,
but kind of in and out of the lineup
as a guy who they didn't really want to be a starter,
but could be a starter.
Can he be a consistent guy for the Titans?
There's a lot of question marks up front.
And if they can't block, they can't open holes for Derrick Henry.
They can't give Tannehill time to get the ball to DeAndre Hopkins.
So kind of everything hinges on that offensive line up front.
And that's the biggest question for the Titans heading into this game.
What's kind of the big question?
I know there's a lot of changes, but a lot of things stayed the same in New Orleans as well. So what's
kind of the big storyline coming in for you guys over there? Yeah, I think before I jump straight
to that, I love that you point out the run game and the impact on the run game for the offensive
line. Because I think many times when there's a lot of change over on offensive lines, we tend to
harp on the passing game. But with this team's, I don't want to say its identity is the run
because it has to be very good at being like Derrick Henry level
in the backfield, but Derrick Henry level at wide receiver too, right?
And so being able to do both is huge for this team.
And so I think that a part of what you're bringing up there
is the offensive line having its, I don't want to say woes,
but big time changeover.
Saints have a ton of changeover on their defensive line line as well they're bringing back only one starter in
terms of cam jordan right right so there's gonna be a whole lot of that that matchup that i'm very
excited to watch but the the biggest story for new orleans is going to come down to the quarterback
position and i'm not just talking about jake hander being suspended for the first six games
for ped violation what i'm really looking at here is Derek Carr, right? I mean, they just brought him into the building.
They had five different, six different quarterbacks
or five different quarterbacks play the position for them
since Drew Brees left.
And Derek Carr is supposed to be the guy that gets it right.
Will he get it right?
That's going to be the biggest thing for New Orleans.
Well, that's funny that you say that
because the conversation with the Titans all week has been,
how do we prepare for this team
with some of the changes and I think it's a combination of you know like I said the coaching
staff hasn't changed a ton there's some hold over there they probably will want to do similar things
that they've done in the past because those are the same coaches but at the same time you kind of
have to look at what Derek Carr did well with the Raiders because you know that Carr is going to
want to bring over some of the concepts and some of the schemed up things that he was comfortable with there. So I think that is,
while that may be a big question for the Saints, obviously, a big question for the Titans is what
is this going to look like with Derek Carr? So while they're looking at it from a different
perspective, I think if you ask the Titans fan what their biggest question with the Saints
is coming in, it would be what will Derek Carr look like in this offense and that's the question on your side as well yeah big time I mean that's going to be the whole
whole thing right you go out you spend all this money on a brand new shiny quarterback you bring
them in you want them to fix the organization fix the franchise fix the offense really is what it
is the organization the franchise are solid uh but you know in terms of fixing the offense and what was a like anemic and at times
myopic offense last year in 2022 can they be a more creative offense in 2023 can they be an
offense that runs more efficiently pre-snap and you're gonna have to do that against one of the
NFL's best defenses going into this year with the Tennessee Titans it's not gonna be easy this was
a number one rushing defense last year this is a highly ranked passing defense last year they add more talent they've already they still have
Jeffrey Simmons which like yeah forget everything else you know about the Tennessee Titans right
like if you're matching up with that defense you're matching up with Jeffrey Simmons but then
they add Sean Murphy Bunting and more talent over in that defensive side like this is not going to
be a pushover game for the New Orleans Saints. And this is a game that the, a lot of saints fans would probably be worried about last year, but with the hope of what
Derek Carr can bring you as a guy that can kind of manipulate a little bit more based on what he's
seeing pre-snap, you can call two plays in the huddle and he can switch to the play that he
think is going to be best run against that defense. It feels a little bit more like familiar
offensive football here in new Orleans all of a sudden. Yeah, it's funny.
I mean,
we,
we talk about the quarterbacks and everything,
but the offenses,
the Titans get a new offensive coordinator,
new playbook,
everything like that.
It's going to come down to two teams with really good defenses,
which offense can make the least amount of stakes.
I feel like that might be the game.
So it's funny that we both have similar concerns,
but similar hopes as well. When you look at what the team can be going forward.
100%. 100%.
And speaking of some of those hopes,
there is no bigger hope that I have for this game
than simply being able to watch Marshawn Lattimore
and DeAndre Hopkins go up against one another.
That is going to be so much fun.
And so next we're going to take a look at the matchups
that can decide this
game, starting off, of course, with that
big matchup here
in the Big Easy. So we got that coming up for you
as we continue on with today's episode,
this crossover edition of Locked
on Titans and Locked on Saints, part of Locked on
Podcast Network, your team every day.
And today's episode of locked on States.
Nope. Sorry.
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All right, everybody.
Continuing on with this crossover edition here of Locked on Titans,
Locked on Saints.
We appreciate all of you every dayers making this your first listen of the day every day.
Tyler, we've got a whole bunch going on here at the network, man.
I know.
It's absolutely fantastic.
There's so much talent.
There's so much going on.
So excited for these crossover episodes just to make sure that all of our audiences and all of
our listeners know about all the great talent that is spread around the network. It's great.
And not only that, but we're going to utilize all of that great talent in this year's ultimate NFL
season preview.
Look, it's here.
It's a seven-episode extravaganza.
Like I said, you're going to get opinions, analysis, and plenty of debate, especially between me and the Jaguars.
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It's a can't-m miss series before the season kicks off.
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But Ross, I know we want to jump into some of these big time matchups.
And while one side of the big matchup we're going to talk about first is a guy who's been
with the Saints for quite some time.
The Titans side is a brand new Tennessee Titan. That is DeAndre Hopkins going up against the
talented cornerback in New Orleans, Marshawn Lattimore. I'm so excited to see this matchup,
Ross, because DeAndre Hopkins not only needs to be good for the Titans, he needs to break the curse.
We've seen Andre Johnson, Randy Moss Randy Moss Julio Jones Titans fans have traumatic
pass from these veteran free agent wide receivers who get brought over maybe Julio wasn't a free
agent but you guys get the general idea the Titans had a veteran receiver with a big name
and it doesn't work out the Titans need DeAndre Hopkins to work out or the season's just not going
to go the way that they're hoping it can go.
And having him test himself and seeing what version of DeAndre Hopkins the Titans are going to get in a matchup against Marshawn Lattimore's best is the best of the best.
Like he can give you the best cornerback play in the NFL when he's on.
We've seen him in those matchups with Mike Evans.
And Hopkins is a similar player who maybe doesn't have explosive athleticism, but a great body control, great hand-eye coordination,
understands all the craft and the nuance to the position.
So I'm very excited to see if DeAndre Hopkins can get open
because from a schematic standpoint,
and I want to ask you something before we move on from the matchup for sure.
From a schematic standpoint, what teams like to do is they like to press the Titans,
play tight man coverage, and bring pressure
because in previous years,
especially once A.J. Brown was traded,
the Titans simply didn't have anyone
that could consistently beat man coverage.
And if they did,
safety's going over top of them.
And now, good luck finding somebody else.
And the Titans didn't have a two or a three.
So if Hopkins can consistently win against man coverage,
then you don't have to worry as much about that schematic disadvantage
and what teams do to the Titans so much.
DeAndre Hopkins can kind of be a big fix for your biggest weakness.
My question really for you is,
what do you think the Saints will do coverage-wise?
I'm not going to pretend like I'm in their film all the time.
Are they going to lean towards playing more zone?
Or do you think that they're going to lean this year playing more man
and the Titans will see what they've seen most over the last few years?
Yeah, look, I think the Saints are going to try to throw a big wrinkle
at the Tennessee Titans.
They're going to press.
They're going to play tight man coverage and they're going to try to rush.
No, I think that's exactly what they're going to play tight man coverage and they're going to try to rush. No, I think that's exactly what they're going to do. I mean, that is the,
that is the bread and butter of what the new Orleans saints defense is.
That's their brand, right. It's to try to be physical. So no,
I think you'll see exactly what you expect the,
what you've seen other teams try to do against this team and for better or
for worse.
Yeah. And, and with that being said,
we're going to talk about deciding factors and things like that,
but we're talking about prize picks.
Tajay Spears, if the Saints are going to play tight man coverage,
the Titans look for the running back out of the backfield
in the passing game matched up on linebackers,
and Tajay Spears, go to prize picks.
Whatever his receiving yards, more or less, is take more.
I think Tajay Spears is a Louisiana kid, played at Tulane.
A lot of Saints fans may know him.
I would expect him to have a good game if that is the schematic.
Because that's why I like to ask, because some teams,
that is their bread and butter, and what they do works against the Titans.
But some teams, think about like a Vic Fangio defense,
wants to play quarters and half, stuff like that. are they going to change to do what beats the Titans the
best that's always a fun thing to watch for so now that you have confirmed that for me it's going to
be strength on weakness and DeAndre Hopkins is importance and being open even when he's covered
is even more important based on what you just told me so that matchup really will decide a ton in
this game.
Yeah.
Yeah, and the other thing schematically to pay attention to
is that Marshall Lattimore is not going to shadow DeAndre Hopkins.
So if they ever move DeAndre Hopkins into the slot,
which I know a lot of teams have done with him in the past,
it means that he's going to be getting his matchups with Alante Taylor,
who guarded him nine times when he was with the Arizona Cardinals last year
because Marshall Lattimore wasn't in that game,
and fared pretty well against him but this will be alante taylor's first real experience in the slot even when it comes to collegiate games and so that'll be a big
mismatch potential piece to watch is if they move deandre hopkins in the slot he's gonna
match up with a first-time slot corner but a hyper confident hyper athletic hyper physical slot corner there so it might be an experience but he's going to have all
the confidence in the world that he's going to be able to get it done for sure that's interesting
and i actually want to ask you a question on the other side of it we talk about this matchup titans
wide receiver i'm interested how the tight because the titans don't really do matchups they don't
shadow they they like to play their guys on the side of the field, but Christian Fulton, cornerback from LSU, is much more of a speedier guy. He's
got more quickness. He would be a better fit to go against Chris Alave, whereas Sean Murphy Bunting,
who is a familiar guy from the division, he's more of a physical cornerback, long arms, ball
disruption, played the line of scrimmage. He could be a better fit for Michael Thomas. So I guess my question for you is how are the Saints deploying these guys in practice?
Who's playing in the slot? How do you think they'll be? They'll be used.
The answer is yes. The answer is yes. The New Orleans Saints will move these guys all around,
all over their offense. Chris Olave, Michael Thomas, Rashid Shahid being the big three.
Rashid Shahid is going to be a little bit more the get-out-in-space guy,
look for him to kind of be utilized,
and sort of similar to what we saw them do with him last year
as somebody that can take the top off,
but that they like to get the ball in his hands in space and stuff like that.
I assume they'll continue to find ways to do that.
But they'll do that with him from the slot outside.
Same thing with Chris Olave.
They love his inside-outside potential.
Same thing with Michael Thomas.
They like using him as a big slot type of receiver.
So if a guy is going to be a little bit smaller in the slot.
Roger McCreary, 5'11", tiny arms.
Roger McCreary is the tightest slot.
That could be a matchup.
That's going to be huge because the Saints will definitely be deploying guys
like Michael Thomas, Keith Kirkwood, who's also a bigger bodied guy,
and their tight ends like Juwan Johnson from the slot as well.
So those will be big time matchups to watch over on that side for sure.
Oh, I just got so excited.
Like even more excited.
Like I'm excited football's back, but now like we're talking like X's and O's.
You know what I mean?
Like we're here.
100% on the Thursday edition of Locked On NFL,
me and the host of Locked On Cardinals, Alex Clancy,
dive into the Thursday night game, the slate,
and it just, you know, halfway through,
you just get that realization of football is back.
Football is back.
And you hope, you hope that your team hired the right coaches
and hired the right new players.
And I can think of a place that maybe they should have gone
to make sure that they hired the right people.
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Welcome back in, folks.
We are going to cap off this first crossover Thursday of the year presented by PrizePix.
So excited.
Yeah, and we're starting it off with the best,
the infamous Ross Jackson from Locked on Saints.
I am your host, Tyler Rowland from Locked on Titans.
More than anything, thank you guys for making us the first listen each and every day.
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It's your team every day.
Speaking of every day, Ross, this is a good time to remind people.
We're going to have live reactions on the Locked on Saints
and Locked on Titans YouTube channels.
Honestly, for me, I like to check out both.
The team that we play, the team that I like, all that.
So check out both shows.
We're going to be breaking down the game at the beginning of the week.
And tomorrow, Friday.
We both do Game Plan Fridays.
We both do this.
Game Plan Friday. We're going game plan Fridays. We both do this.
Game plan Friday.
We're going to tell you from both different sides how our teams need to beat your team.
So it might be fun to check that out from both sides. So make sure you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans and Locked on Saints podcast.
But with that being said, we're going to dive into some deciding factors in this game.
And Ross, you put me on the spot to go first a few times.
I'm going to flip it at you. You tell us what will be the deciding factor in this game and Ross you put me on the spot to go first a few times I'm gonna flip it at
you you tell us what will be the deciding factor in this game before we get into our final predictions
so it's all gonna come down to for me it goes back to the trenches the New Orleans Saints need
to control the ball which means that they're gonna have to be able to run which is gonna be tough
against this Tennessee Titans defense but if nothing else're going to have to be able to run which is going to be tough against his tennessee titans defense but if nothing else they're going to have to be able
to extend drives which was a big issue for them in 2022 something that they hope that they're
hoping that the additions of guys like derrick carr like um you know bringing back you know
keeping michael thomas in the building getting jimmy graham right adding foster moreau that
adding in these pass catchers can also help
them do and of course the addition of running back jamal williams the saints will not have
alvin camara in this game it seems very unlikely that they'll have kendre miller the rookie running
back that they drafted in the third round out of tcu who they picked over tajay spears who went i
believe it was 10 picks later yep something you mentioned you mentioned, uh, some saints fans might know who Tajay Spears is.
They all know who Tajay Spears is because they will never forget the fact that the saints
and maybe never forgive the fact we'll see how this Sunday's game goes.
Right.
Took Kendra Miller over Tajay Spears.
And so there's a chance that the saints are looking to supplement their run game with
their fullback, Adam Prentice, with some guys that they're bringing up off the practice squad, like Jordan Mims, a converted wide receiver to running back
and Kirk Merritt. And then of course, Taysom Hill, right? Taysom Hill, probably from the
quarterback spot, especially now with the, the, the Jake Hainer suspension and all that,
there's a chance that, you know, they can own, they might only be able to use Taysom Hill as
a quarterback or whatever that three quarterback rule is going to end up being.
So for me, it's all about the ball control for the New Orleans Saints
and keeping the ball out of the hands of Ryan Tannehill, Derek Henry,
Tajay Spears, and those pass catchers over there.
That's going to be the biggest thing for them.
If they can control the ball and, like you mentioned earlier,
not make mistakes, that's what they're going to need
in order to be able to win.
On the defensive side, they have to take advantage of the few mistakes
that a guy like Ryan Tannehill would make.
But there's not a lot of those on his ledger usually,
except that they can get him started.
Then like most quarterbacks, they tend to keep coming.
But it's hard to get him started.
That's going to be a big thing.
What about you from the Titans side?
Yeah, Tannehill is going to try to be smart.
And it's funny that you mentioned the turnovers,
because to me, that's a huge thing here. And I think it starts with, I'm going to,
you know, it's the turnovers, but really where that deciding factor is, is the Titans pass rush.
So the best thing about the Titans over the last few years, everybody sees the King Henry,
everybody saw AJ Brown and all that. The Titans defensive front, Jeffrey Simmons,
the first name that has to be mentioned.
Jeffrey Simmons, him and Cam Jordan are the best players on the football field in this game. No
doubt about it in my mind. And whichever guy impacts the other offense the most, I think is
going to win his team the game because Derek Carr, like Ryan Tannehill, despite everything you see
around the NFL, two non-mobile quarterbacks.
I mean, they're not, you know, combat boots and quicksand,
but they're not guys who are going to be running around
and making big plays like a Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts,
something like that.
So, like you said, if you get these guys
and you start putting pressure on them,
they're going to start, hey, I got to get the ball out quicker.
They're going to start making quicker decisions,
maybe make some mistakes.
So, we have Jeffrey Simmons in the Titans pass rush with Harold Landry,
Arden Key, Danico Autry, who's one of the most underrated players in the NFL,
if these guys can start to get real consistent pressure on Carr,
I think Derek Carr makes mistakes and he makes turnovers,
similar to what you just said for Ryan Tannehill.
So for me, the deciding factor in this game more than anything
is can the Titans pass rush, dominate the game,
and then cause turnovers because the Saints have a great defense. I don't think the Titans are
going to be going 75 yards up and down and putting points up. They're going to need short fields.
They're going to need advantageous situations. And I think the only way that they can get that
is if the Titans get one or two turnovers in this game. So I think whichever team does win
the turnover battle will help their offense the most and put the defense in a tough spot. So I think the deciding factor will be the turnovers,
but that to me is all about the Titans pass rush, starting with Jeffrey Simmons.
I love that you mentioned the short fields part because the turnovers feed right into that,
right? Those turnovers are going to help to create those short fields where all of a sudden
you're starting in good field position. And instead of you having to drive, let's say 50 yards to get in the field goal range you got to drive 20 yards to get in the
field goal on these defenses that might be the difference yeah that's huge big time and and both
of these teams have had some you know uh special teams specialist turnover and things like that
this season yeah that's probably like maybe the biggest yeah like if we were going to do x factors
like that's probably the biggest X factor going to kickers.
Like,
yeah,
for sure.
And then the punters too,
about getting,
you know,
again,
it's the field position,
flipping the field,
all those other things like that could make all the difference here.
Uh,
going into this one,
we sound like old school ball coaches.
I know.
It's a lot of people in the trenches,
special teams.
It's like,
uh,
Jim Trestle,
what Ohio state coach said,
most important playing football is the punt, the punt. Yeah. Yep. Yes. I know. We sound like Jim Trestle, what Ohio State coach said, most important play in football is the punt.
The punt.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yes.
We sound like a bunch of week one.
I absolutely love it.
All right.
But let's wrap this up with our look at the score predictions.
Technically, I'm covering the home team.
So I would like to concede to you going first.
But I think we're kind of
in agreement with where I think that this, that this game ends up going just different scores.
Yeah. Yeah. I'll go ahead and kick us off. I don't mind. Some people are scared to give
predictions. Not me, Ross. I'm ready. Let's see what happens. I think this game's 23, 20 Titans.
I think, again, these are very similar teams in different conferences
with offenses that will struggle at times throughout the year
and defenses that will be carrying too much weight
throughout the year at times as well.
I think in this game, I trust the Titans' defensive backs more
than I trust the Saints' defensive backs to create those turnovers
when the pass rush gets opportunities and the pass rush gets there.
So I think with Christian Fulton, Sean Murphy bunting,
especially Kevin Byard and Imani Hooker at safety in the back end.
Kevin Byard is the best interception specialist in the NFL for my money.
And I do believe he's led the NFL in interceptions
since he came into the league or is at least top three since 2020,
the top coverage grade per pro football focus
out of any defensive back in the NFL is Kevin Byard, over 90.
I think the Titans' pass rush gets pressure,
just like the Saints' pass rush gets pressure,
but the Titans' defensive backs create those turnovers,
give the Titans a couple of better situations,
easy kicks for these poor kickers.
I think 2320, the Titans, I could see,
maybe I'm off by three points and it's 2017 because it should be a little
lower, but I'll go 2320 Titans.
Yeah, I'm going low scoring as well.
And I think that, you know, Locked on Saints listeners know,
I've been picking the Saints to drop this game since it was on the schedule,
since it was on the schedule, just because like, you you're gonna have the growing pains of a new quarterback of effectively
a pretty big time changed offense i think the defense is going to be good i think all those
things are going to be fine i think the saints can answer some questions some important questions
even with a loss in this one and so i'm taking the titans to win this one 17 14 so i'm taking the Titans to win this one, 17-14. So I'm in the same place as you.
And I think that it could be a last second field goal
that ends up deciding this.
If we're going to say it's going to be decided by special teams,
let's say it's going to be decided by special teams, man.
Like I'm right there with you in terms of three-point difference.
Absolutely, absolutely.
Well, with that being said,
that is going to do it for our first crossover Thursday of the year.
I am Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans with Ross Jackson,
host of Locked on Saints.
Again, guys, thank you for making us your first listen each and every day.
And make sure you're back with us on Friday as we go into our game plan.
How can these teams win this game?
And then make sure you're back on Sunday night for our instant reactions
live on our YouTube channels, Locked on Saints YouTube,
Locked on Titans YouTube.
Thank you all so much.
Start your weekend early and be safe out there.