Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Can Tennessee Titans Stop Justin Herbert, Mike Williams Danger Zone & Game Predictions

Episode Date: December 15, 2022

The Tennessee Titans and the Los Angeles Chargers face off on Sunday and both teams are in different places. The Titans are in the playoffs as we sit, but the fan baseless feels hopeless while the Chargers are filled with hope, but on the outside looking in. Next, Mike Williams against the Titans corners could be a problem, but Jeffery Simmons against the Chargers offensive line could also be a big mismatch. Finally, who will win this game? Tyler & Dan gives their 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 sober or get pulled over. Click HERE to learn more.  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 and we got the host of Locked on Chargers on the show to break down this game first. Can the Titans slow down Justin Herbert and his weapons? Then we're going to talk about the matchups in this game. How does the Titans defensive line find a way to impact Justin Herbert? And then finally, we will give our game and score prediction. So all of 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. It's time for another Crossover Thursday, football fans.

This is one of the best games of the week. We have the Tennessee Titans traveling across the country to play the Los Angeles Chargers. And we are here to break down everything you need to know heading into the matchup. I am Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans, here with my guy Daniel Wade from Locked on Chargers. We're going to be talking about the storylines for both these teams, which are kind of going in opposite directions right now. Then we're going to talk about the big matchups, then finish off with our predictions. But before we dive into the storylines, do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by our friends over at PrizePix, the official sponsor of Crossover Thursday.

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We love PrizePix. We know you will too. First-time users can actually receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That's one word, LOCKEDON at prizepix.com. Promo code LOCKEDON. Thanks for making LOCKEDON chargers and and Locked On Titans your first listen every day. Make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. But diving in, Daniel, the Chargers coming off a big win,

which as we talked about before we started recording, nobody was picking the Chargers to win that game, but they had a good performance. They looked like one of the better teams talent-wise in the NFL. What's the vibe around the Chargers right now? What would you say the big talking point around the team is heading into this matchup against the Titans? I mean, I think it's hope, right? I mean, I think that's what you're looking for for Chargers fans at this point of the season. I think the biggest thing is hope because of a couple things. I mean, I think seeing them beat

a good team, it was the first good team they had beaten all season. I mean, truthfully, it was the Browns and the Texans and the Raiders, you know, and all these middling teams. They've finally got kind of their marquee win of the season, and it was the way they did it. You know, Brandon Staley coming up with a masterclass performance of how he schemed up against the Tua offense with, you know, Mike McDaniels, who had shredded everybody pretty much the entire season. Now, the last two weeks, they've been slowed down a lot.

So seeing their defensive guru head coach, right, who gets flamed all the time because of how bad his defense is, come up with a game plan where it's like you can see it. And the other part of it was Derwin James and Joey Bosa weren't out there, right? So like you actually see him doing less, doing more with less, with the less talented guys on the field. And I think right now it's just, can you find that consistency? Can you do it again? Can you stack these, you know, performances back to back and keep yourself in the playoff

race? Because the only sure way the Chargers make it is to win all their games. They win all their games, they're in. They get to 11, you're in. Can they do it consistently? I mean, they haven't shown that they can all year. Yeah, that's a fair question. And for a reminder for Titans fans, the Chargers are seven and six as well. But considering the

competition in their division, they're not winning their division. That's not an option like it is for the Titans who play in the lowly AFC South. But from the Titans perspective, and of course, Daniel Wade locked on Chargers, Tyler Rowland locked on Titans. From the Titans perspective, and of course, Daniel Wade locked on Chargers, Tyler Rowland locked on Titans. From the Titans perspective of things, I think the storyline is the opposite. Right now, Chargers fans are feeling a lot of hope. Titans fans are kind of on the, should we just tank the season, put in Malik, sit Jeffrey Simmons, let him heal. I mean, there are some fans that are at that point with this three-game losing streak. Yeah, you lose to the Bengals,

who I think is the best football team in the NFL right now. You lose to the Eagles, who I think is the second-best team in the NFL right now. Those are understandable for Titans fans. I think they can kind of live with that, even if that Eagles loss was bad. But coming out and losing the way they lost to the Jags with the defense completely depleted from a health perspective, the offense choking the ball away and giving it up four times to Jacksonville.

It was almost like, man, this team was facing its darkest moment and this is how they respond. So a lot of Titans fans hope meter, you know, the hopium is gone. There's none left for Titans fans right now. And I don't feel that way personally. I think if the Titans can get some guys back on defense, Zach Cunningham, the linebacker, Danico Autry, both may return this week to help out that front six, front seven. I think if the Titans get some reinforcements and just play a little bit cleaner football and offense, they're still a good team, if not a great team. So I think

right now the Titans fans just want to see what they're going to be going for, because if they lose this game, you got a game against the Texans, then the Cowboys, and then the Jags. Again, things get pretty scary for the Titans in regard to their handle on the division, even if they lose this game. So I think while a win against the Texans would not do much for the fans self-esteem to say going across the country and beating a Chargers team that just looked really good on Sunday night football with an elite quarterback with the type of team and roster that's given the Titans problems with good you know edge rushers if they get Bosa back and you know some obvious good weapons at wide

receiver I think if the Titans can beat a team that has some strengths and their weaknesses, it will remind fans that this team is capable of maybe winning one playoff game in the right matchup. And I think that that's all the hope the Titans fans can hope for this year. So I think it'll be interesting to watch because both these – one team has hope, but it's kind of on the outside looking in. One team is in, but it's kind of lost all hope. So I think that's really the gambit for this one.

Yeah, and I mean, the Titans aren't going to get a much better matchup for what they do well than this one. I mean, the Texans are, you know, one of the only teams that are about par with the Chargers as far as run defense goes, going up against Derrick Henry, obviously. But, yeah, this is probably one of the best matchups they're going to get, at least in that aspect of it. And I think, you know, talking about price picks picks whatever the more than is on the Derrick Henry rushing

yards I mean I think you hammer that for sure this week but I think the nice thing for the Titans is in that division you're staying afloat until hopefully you can get some guys back and then maybe those guys can make an impact in the playoffs I mean it's still not a team when their defense is right you know defense gets healthier right that you want an impact in the playoffs. I mean, it's still not a team when their defense is right, you know, and defense gets healthier. Right. That you want to play in the playoffs against Eric Henry when he's breaking, you know, 19 tackles a game in late December and early January. Like that's not a, you know, they gave the Chiefs fits before, right?

Like they've been able to beat really good teams. And it kind of scares me that the Titans are on a three game winning streak because I think who you lose to is important. Right. And having those two teams that you talked about before being two of the best teams in the league, like those are games we would have expected them to lose probably. Anyways, last week, I mean, both of our teams got boat raced by the Jaguars at once at one point this season. Right, right.

I think as far as this matchup goes, though, and the biggest storyline, I think, for this, though, for the Chargers is, okay, Brayton Staley, that's nice. You did it against Tua. though for the Chargers is okay Brandon Staley that's nice you did it against Tua can you come up with a game plan to somehow stop Derrick Henry considering this is obviously what you have to do right like there's no right crazy brilliant strategy it's like if you're not able to slow that dude down it's going to be a long day for you so for Brandon Staley I think that is the biggest storyline for him and this one yeah finding that consistency is important. You can do that. You can stack another good defensive performance

if you can take the worst rush defense in the league on a per carry basis and somehow find a way to slow down Derrick Henry in this. Yeah, I think obviously for the Chargers, because if you let Derrick Henry get going, that opens up everything for the Titans, and that's 100% what you don't want to do. You don't want to let it play into their hands. So they're going to need a fantastic defensive game plan.

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We just kind of talked about the big storylines for each team, where both teams are at right now heading into this game. But we want to dive in a little bit deeper, zoom in on some individual matchups and individual battles that will decide this game. Before we get into it, I want to thank you guys again for making Locked on Titans and Locked on Chargers your first listen every day. Remember, it's free Monday through Friday content on your team all year round.

Make sure you don't miss out on an episode. Subscribe to both podcasts or whichever podcast you prefer. Both is what I'm pushing. I'm pushing both for both fans. Let's get those numbers up, blah, blah, blah. But either way, at minimum, make sure you subscribe to Locked on Chargers or Locked on Titans.

And I always like to go back and listen to the podcast after the game just to get an idea of what their take on the game was, what they saw. So if fans are interested in things like that, it would be a good idea as well. But moving into the matchups, I'm going to kick it off here because I have a question for you, Dan.

What is the status of two of the top defenders on the Chargers, Joey Bosa and Derwin James? Yeah, I mean, that's a huge question for the Chargers. They have not activated Joey Bosa's window to return. That's where it is. Making me think, I mean, we heard some reports last week, Ian Rappaport was saying he's window to return. That's where it is making me think. I mean, we heard some reports last week. Ian Rappaport was saying he's going to be back at practice this week.

We haven't seen it yet. I mean, so that hasn't happened. And I just think that if it's in any question, you go conservative and you push it another week and you try to ease him back. When it's something that's been, you know, two and a half to three months at this point. Like, that's not something you're rushing back. They're in the long game with someone they've given such a huge contract to, obviously. Derwin James, he's a guy where I feel like, hey,

if he can come in and get some sort of practice, even as late as Friday and it's feeling good by then, he's a guy that's going to play. I mean, especially because he's kind of been in the mix of everything. He finished the game when he actually sustained the injury or, you know, started a game, left the game for a little bit, came back and was able to finish the game then missed last week. So I thought there was a chance he could play last week.

He did not practice in Wednesday's practice. So that is something that you have to monitor. And that's why, you know, last week was so impressive. That's not something they can consistently do without Derwin James. I mean, that was me and David, my co-host talked about locked on chargers. Like it was nice to see them do that one week. can consistently do without Derwin James. I mean, that was me and David, my co-host, talked about locked on Chargers. It was nice to see them do that one week. The only way you can sustain it is if you get impact players like Joey Bosa back, if you can get Derwin James back.

So it's in there at this point. Sebastian Joseph Day, their defensive tackle, was able to return to practice today. He's been one of their better run stuffers, if you can say the worst rush defense has any good run stuffers, obviously. But the two big guys, I mean, I would say more likely on Derwin than it is for Bosa, for sure. Well, that's great news for Titans fans, to be quite honest. Just, I mean, you want, you know, Bosa to be healthy. I don't want him to, you know, I'd like him to be healthy as soon as possible.

Just from a, you know, a human standpoint. I'd like Derrick Henry not to play. Yeah, I mean, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You see what you mean. These teams are desperate for wins. And I think that's the number one matchup, I mean, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You see what you mean? These teams are desperate for wins. And I think that's the number one matchup that I'm looking for.

Even if Joey Bosa plays, then it's a five alarm fire at that point. Before the Titans, they have the worst starting left tackle in the last 10 years in the NFL based on sacks allowed per game. And it's Dennis Daly. And he's been a sieve the last few weeks it's it's been

atrocious quite honestly and it's anybody anybody can get right and get going against Dennis Daly and Titans rookie offensive tackle their right tackle Nicholas Petit Frere from Ohio State he's been solid but at the end of the day he's a rookie so if he has to deal with Khalil Mack and even Kyle Vannoy had that nasty spin move on Teron Armstead, who's one of the best offensive tackles in the league last week. I mean, these edge rushers, even without Bosa, with Kyle Vannoy and Khalil Mack, have the ability to dominate the game

and dominate the tackles for the Titans in pass rush. And if Bosa comes back, if he's a late activation Saturday or whatever, that's going to spell a lot of trouble for me. So can the Titans develop a plan to give Tannehill enough time? I mean, one of the big turnovers for the Titans last week that led to a Jaguars touchdown early was Ryan Tannehill, Dennis Daly gives up pressure after getting help from a chip from a tight end, gets beat still, and Tannehill gets drilled in the back and drops the ball.

So if the Titans allow that to happen, they're not going to be able to win. So that's the first matchup for me personally, is those edge rushers against the Titans tackles. That's the number one thing I'm watching for. Cause even if Derek Henry has a good day, if that's, you know,

something that wrecks the game, the Titans are going to be able to come back from it. So that's my first matchup I'm looking at. Yeah. And I mean, I had daily versus Mac for sure for sure i mean i think if you're the chargers you're getting him over there as often as you can right like you're trying to find ways to get that matchup and single him out and get him in one-on-ones because the other person outside of wheel mac even after a good game by kyle van noy last week has just been non-existent since joey bosa's injury. I mean, they do not have a clear backup there that's been able to put together

any sort of consistent pressure of any means, really. I mean, Morgan Fox is the next best guy. I mean, truthfully, Derwin James is their second best head rusher, probably, right on the roster right now. So, I mean, it'd be nice to get him back. But I definitely had that. For me, this one's kind of up in the air because I'm looking at the Chargers corners, Asante Samuel jr and michael davis both those guys had maybe their best performances of

the year last week and won in the same game right michael davis got burnt for a 50-yard touchdown where he tripped maybe maybe the best game of his career even given that like so like i mean it's just one of those things where in this game in particular, I think one thing Brandon Staley hopefully took away from last week is, OK, hey, I can trust these guys to a certain extent that maybe I didn't think I could because they just went up against Jalen Waddle and Tyree Kill. philosophy this week, you're going to have to trust those dudes out there with whoever's going to be playing wide receiver for the Tennessee Titans, which is also up in there. No Robert Woods, obviously no Traylon Burks at practice at this point. Can those guys repeat that performance again, going up against a really, really banged up Titans receiving core? Yeah, you're not lying there. And even if the Titans receiving core wasn't banged up, it's not that great to begin with, if we're being honest.

But, yeah, I think that's a great point. And can the Titans – I love these Fangio. If I'm correct, Brandon Staley is kind of a Fangio descendant in the way that he plays defense. So they primarily like zone and will try to stop the run with six in the box rather than bringing in seven if they can. Two high safeties and all that. Yep. Kind of similar to how the Eagles wanted to play.

I just don't think, you know, the Chargers have as good a personnel with their current state. No, they ran 85% nickel last week. I don't think they can do that again this week. I don't think that's on the table at all. The Titans will not allow that with their heavy tight end personnel and two tight ends and 12 and 13 and 22 and stuff like that. So, yeah, that's going to be not really a matchup, but what Staley decides to do from a philosophical standpoint,

whether he sticks with his own tendencies or he does things that have been more effective against the Titans, stacking the box, playing tight man coverage, whether he goes with what beats the Titans or goes with what he believes in, that'll be interesting to watch. But with that in mind, that brings me, I want to talk about what you just talked about,

but the other side of the ball. And it's the Titans cornerbacks against the wide receivers of the Chargers. Yeah, the Chargers have a great group there with Keenan Allen back now, Mike Williams back now. You got the pure route runner crafty guy in Keenan Allen over the middle of the field, Mike Williams down the sideline making plays. Joshua Palmer obviously is a dude who gives you a good element. And DeAndre Carter is kind of a do-it-all type guy who can be used in a bunch of different ways.

The Titans have been attacked down the sideline this year, whether it be Alec Pierce in week four, whether it be Mack Hollins in week three, Diami Brown in week five, T. Higgins, Christian Watson, A.J. Brown. Do I need to continue? The Titans have given just absolutely fantastic

performances to a number of big physical wide receivers who win on the sideline because the Titans like to play. We talk about what Staley likes to do. The Titans are a cover one man defense when the chips are on the table. That's what they want to do. And when you have your pass rush healthy, you're going to get to the quarterback so quick that you're not going to leave your corners on that bad of an island. But with the Titans pass rush slipping due to Danico Autry's injury, and of course,

Harold Landry has been out the whole season. The cornerbacks haven't had as much help from the pass rush. They've been asked to do more. And with Christian Fulton, the Titans' top cornerback out, they're playing guys like Roger McCreary, a rookie, who's the best corner on the team right now and still had a very rough year. And you got even Trey Avery, the Titans' backup outside cornerback, is limited with a concussion.

So the Titans have had a ton of injuries in the secondary, and they didn't have a lot of depth there to begin with. Caleb Farley, a first-round pick in 2021, is basically a bust and is out for the year with a back injury. So if those wide receivers just win in one-on-one, the Titans can win the down and lose the play because of individual plays and contested combat catch situations on the sideline so the wide receivers versus the cornerbacks if they

just dominate there doesn't matter what the titans do up front so that's a big worry as well yeah 100 i mean and also just justin herbert versus this secondary if you can't get pressure on him and even when you get pressure one of the things about Herbert specifically is he's so hard to get even if you get there I mean for a lot of the season it was hey gets pressured more than anyone else in the league but he's gotten sacked the least amount of anyone in the league he had to play last week where he goes to cock back a long ball and just totally feels the pressure from behind that I don't know how anyone could have seen coming ends up checking it down for like a 15 yard game but yeah him kind of gaining confidence in this trio of wide receivers Joshua Palmer finding his way after being a really you know second and even first option for a lot of this season and now that

fitting in and finding its place when you have the two big dogs back but you're talking about contested catches there's nobody better right in the entire NFL in my mind than Mike Williams that's what the dude does he had another one last week that was insane a toe tap drag in the back of the end zone last week that was gross i mean getting him back has been huge but they've also given up a ton of pressure in like 24 sacks in the last six games so like the chargers still have their own issues and i mean i think the biggest mismatch potentially is jeffrey simmons versus the interior offensive line of these Chargers team. Not named Corey Linsley.

Corey Linsley is an all pro. Right. You can only do so much. Matt Filer has struggled. Zion Johnson is a rookie and has had really tough games against guys like Christian Wilkins. Right. Chris Jones. Would you get it?

That's going to happen to a rookie, obviously. Right. Right. It doesn't get that much easier if he can be healthy this week. I know he's been limited, but if that dude plays in the middle, that's going to be a gross mismatch against the two guards for the Chargers for sure. Yeah, and if Danico Autry comes back and plays, he's so good at rushing on the interior.

So that will be a matchup to watch the interior of the line against the Titans' interior defensive line for certain. But with that in mind, that is the matchup portion of today's show. We're going to get into our game predictions. Before we get into that, I do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by BetOnline. BetOnline.net is your number one source for sports betting info, stats, news, and analysis. You can get all the latest odds and trends on every professional and amateur league out there, from pro football to college bowl season to basketball to the World Cup.

They've got it all at betonline.net. They're always the fastest and easiest way to get your betting info. Head to the website today or use your mobile device to learn more. Bet online where the game starts. Also, do want to shift into a little bit of a serious conversation here. Guys, it's the holiday season. We all know that we've been hanging out with our friends, putting a few drinks back. A few becomes a few too many. And as the evening comes to an end, people start to head out. You think about calling for a ride and

sometimes you can say, nah, you know, I live nearby. I can make it home. No big deal. What are the odds that you're going to get pulled over anyway? And even so, what's the worst that can happen? Your insurance goes up. You lose your license. You lose your job. You total your car. Kill someone. Listen, everybody knows the risks of driving drunk. The results are tragic and often deadly. And however, that still doesn't stop everyone from getting behind the wheel when they're under the influence. And that's why police officers are out there right now looking for impaired drivers on the roads to save lives. So if you're thinking you're okay to drive after a few drinks this holiday season,

think again. Play it safe. Plan ahead. Get a ride. It only takes one mistake to change your life or someone else's forever. Drive sober or get pulled over. All right, let's cap off this crossover Thursday. I am Tyler Rowland, Locked on Titans here with Daniel Wade from Locked on Chargers. Make sure you make Locked on

Titans and Locked on Chargers your first listen every day. As for your second listen, check out the Locked on Sports Today podcast. All the biggest games, the biggest news, the biggest stories. You're going to get instant reactions, game recaps, and the take of the day.

The Locked on Sports Today podcast is, and the take of the day, the Locked On Sports Today podcast. It's available on the Odyssey app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast. Daniel, I'm going to put you on the spot out of the gate here. Who do you think wins this game? It's tough, right? I mean, it's always on these crossover Thursdays doing it before we really know the extent of the injuries.

I mean, that's a very long injury list for the Titans. It's not many times I see teams that have a longer injury list than the Chargers do. So that was a little bit surprising today, but like, I mean, when the, you know, players like Derwin James, right. And guys of that nature are kind of hanging in the balance. It's hard to say, but I think we have a good idea, at least of, you know, 90% of the people that are going to be in this game. but I think we have a good idea at least of you know 90 percent of the people that are going to be in this game and I think for the Chargers it's easy to say see a variety of outcomes right and I think you know game flow is going to be huge in this one right and I think them getting out to a lead or just getting a lead a substantial lead in this game

obviously plays hugely in their favor I think I saw that Derrick Henry had three carries in the second half last week against the Jaguars. Yeah, the Titans got down big, so they just kind of went away from it. 14 carries for 119 yards in the first half. Three carries for two yards in the second half for Derrick Henry. You think it's important if the Chargers get a lead in this one? One of the big things they did, too, was the Jaguars came out of halftime.

They went and scored a touchdown on their opening drive, right? That was made it a 13 point game at that point yep titans couldn't go back to derrick henry right so like at that point if the charge can do that i feel really good about it if they will be able to do that's another story entirely i like the way the offense is playing they've had some really good opening drives recently offensively it's really tough though because this is the chargers kryptonite derrick henry is the last player they want to see coming into this, right? It was the same thing with Nick Chubb at a certain point, right? And players who are at least of that same ilk. I think the Chargers offense with Justin Herbert having the confidence

that he has is going to be a little bit too much if things don't totally fall apart for them. And I think they're just going to be able to, with a banged up Tennessee Titans secondary, I think're just going to be able to, with a banged up Tennessee Titans secondary, I think they're going to be able to do enough offensively to kind of overcome some of the flaws in their defense. So my prediction for this game is Chargers 33, Titans 24. All right. All right. I can't, I can't listen.

I think that you're in a good spot here. And I actually agree with all of that analysis. And like I said at the beginning, the strengths of the Chargers line up with the Titans' weaknesses, and the Titans' strengths line up a little bit with the Chargers' weaknesses. So basically what it comes down to is who has the best chance where they're weak to stiffen up. And I think that the Chargers' run defense,

when you know that it's Derrick Henry and you know that that's the goal, even bad run defenses, like Denver's run defense was 21st. Philly's run defense hasn't been awesome this year. They found a way to really limit Derrick Henry because that's the only thing that you're worried about, quite frankly.

And you're never going to take away Justin Herbert on the other side of that, right? There's no part of the game where you can't use Justin Herbert I get what you're saying exactly so I feel like in the battle of weaknesses the Chargers weakness will be less punitive than the Titans weakness I say all that to say this though the Titans win games like this when it doesn't seem like they can win when they gotta've got to go across the country, when they've lost three in a row, when the GM got fired, when the fan base believes that they're trash and should tank.

Every time that something like this happens, the Titans find a way to answer the bell and to get it right. That's what everybody praises Mike Rabel for. He has this team ready to go, and things don't snowball on them even with all the injuries I think the Nico Autry plays in this game and although Traylon Burks didn't practice on Wednesday I think there's a chance he gets out of concussion protocol and is limited the rest of the week if those two things happen uh even if Burks doesn't end up playing I don't know what it is

this is just weird because I'm I'm considered a pessimistic analyst when it comes to the Titans from a lot of the fan base. I just think the Titans kind of look themselves in the mirror and find a way to get the win, even with all the things we've discussed. I don't think it'll be any kind of confident win. I think it's going to be incredibly close. I think the Titans win this game 24 to 23. Yeah. Drag them down into the mud. And that's how the Titans win this game. I think, I mean, that's one of the things from afar I've always admired about Mike Vrabel is there's always going to be a certain level of physicality, right? And physicality is not the Chargers strong point. And when finesse teams get smacked in the mouth with physicality, it kind of, you know, throws everything off.

So, and I think it could go one of two ways. Like, I mean, that's why I was saying a variety of outcomes is like, that seems realistic to me. I mean, Derek Henry, I mean, I think the crazy thing is going to your point is like Derek Henry could rush for 160 yards in this game and the Titans could still lose, right? Yes. I mean, Justin Herbert could, you know, throw for 300 yards and two touchdowns and the chargers could still lose.

That's just neither one of these teams are, I think, complete enough to feel great about this. I mean, a nine-point victory is the biggest. We're going on the spot here, but that's the biggest margin of victory I've seen by the Chargers. I think that what the Chargers have to hope is that Brandon Staley last week when you were talking about the game plan and stuff like that, seeing it come to fruition,

like I did, I think is a huge thing in the locker room, especially for young defenders who are getting, I can believe in it now, you know, when you see it go down the way it did against dolphins and you're literally kind of embarrassing at certain points, you know,

a guy who's torched the league and two receivers that are talked about is two of the top 10 receivers in the league. Right. I think that can do something for you going down the stretch and i think there's a little bit of that in my analysis here i mean the chargers still gave up you know 4.8 yards per carry last week and 100 yards whatever just to running backs though it was 4.0 yards per carry which is like by their standards is incredibly good so we've seen some improvement derrick henry's a different animal if he gets going if you you can give the Titans a lead

and you just let that dude kind of grind you out in the second half, I think the Chargers lose this game. If their offense can keep it up, they can get ahead and you make the Titans have to play catch-up mode. It might end up like the Jaguars game, right? And it just might end up like the Chargers game against the Jaguars. There are a variety of outcomes.

I could see this game going either way, but I think that's a great point you put up. If the Titans can drag the Chargers into the mud, make it a fist fight, make it a fight in a bar parking lot, you're playing right into their strengths. Even coming across country, they're a team that can do that, led by that dude. We wouldn't know anything about fighting in bar

parking lots, would we, Dan? No way. Not a chance. Anyway, well, that's what we're going to see on Sunday, a fight in a bar parking lot. That's a great way to put it, Dana. That's a great place to leave us off. We're both going to be back with you guys tomorrow

to kind of give you a full game preview of what we expect to see, dive in even deeper into this matchup. Thank you guys for tuning in to Crossover Thursday. Enjoy the weekend of football and stay safe out there.