Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans v Bills: Bills Defensive Depth & Titans Pass Protections Issues

Episode Date: October 13, 2021

It is CROSSOVER THURSDAY!! Joe Marino from Locked On Bills joins the show to begin preparation for a Monday Night Football matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans! Before the guys get into that conversation, Tyler updates you on some major returns to Titans practice for Julio Jones and Amani Hooker. Then the crossover begins as Tyler asks Joe question about the Bills. How real is the defense? Can the Bills sustain the run game? Finally, Tyler takes questions from Joe about the issues with pass protection and can Derrick Henry keep this up.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. 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 is a crossover Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, and we're doing the format a little differently this week. I am going to bring Joe Marino from Locked on Bills on the show for our second and third segments. This is, I promise, the best preview conversation with a Titans and a Bills mind that you are going to find in the galaxy before this game. So informative, so incredibly deep diving

into everything that's going on. You're going to hear about the Bills rushing offense, the Bills defensive line. I'm going to talk about the Titans' passing offense. I mean, it is just a phenomenal conversation. So excited to get you guys into that. Before we get into that crossover Thursday conversation with me and Joe from Locked On Bills, we are going to talk about what happened at Titans practice on Wednesday.

We saw a player that was designated to return from IR that could be very important for the Titans. We also saw the return of an all-time Hall of Fame wide receiver. You guys may know his name. Julio! So we are going to break down everything you need to know from Titans practice on Wednesday and have a crossover Thursday

conversation with Joe Marino from Locked On Bills on this 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. Okay, folks, it is a crossover Thursday, but we are going to dive into some Tennessee Titans practice notes from Wednesday. And the biggest news of the day is the return of two Tennessee Titans to practice.

Number one, Julio Jones. Julio Jones was out there running individual drills. Hopefully, he'll be able to go. You've got to think that Mike Vrabel decided to rest Julio Jones. I know he's actually injured, but hey, if we rest him for the Jets and the Jags, then we'll have full go Julio for the Bills and the Chiefs where they need him the most to compete with those offenses. Hopefully that is the case, was the case,

and Julio Jones is out there at practice on Wednesday. That is great news. Would love to see the Titans offense together and healthy for once. It would be awesome. On the other side of the ball, though, the Titans designated to return from IR safety Amani Hooker. And I've been talking about the anticipated return of Hooker for quite some time because now that Dane Cruikshank

has found a role in the defense, I would love to be able to put Hooker back at that free safety, deep safety role, allow Cruikshank to play more in the box towards the line of scrimmage, playing man coverage on tight ends. I think that would slot everybody in the Titans' defense just absolutely perfectly. Also, the Titans did make the signing of inside linebacker Avery Williamson official, so I'd like to see that, and he should be ready to go to get some snaps in this first game with the Titans.

He's a veteran. He should know what to do and be able to get out there and help. Gotta be better than Rashawn Evans. Also, the Titans added two players to the practice squad. One was linebacker Dylan Cole, but the second player was defensive lineman Kyle Pecco. And if you guys remember, Pecco was with the Titans during training camp, during the preseason. In my opinion, outside of the top four Titans interior defensive linemen, Jeffrey Simmons, Danico Autry, Tyer Tart, Larell Murchison, I thought that Kyle Pecco was the most impressive of the rest. And the problem with Pecco wasn't that he didn't make the team and blah, blah, blah. He got hurt and he was placed on IR.

And I know what you're saying right now, and someone said it to me on Twitter as well. I thought you said if someone goes on injured reserve during the preseason, they're out for the year. And that is true. But what happened with the Titans was they found an injury settlement for Pecco where they actually paid him out some money, and they were able to cut him completely and release him off the injured reserve. Well, Pecco's now healthy.

That is scratched from existence, and they're able to sign him back. So he's on the practice squad, but I have a feeling Kyle Pecco will find his way to playing on Sundays for the Titans very, very soon. Also, I do want to mention some other things about practice. Nick Westbrook-Akina was out there, and Bud Dupree was out there as well. It would be nice for the Titans to have their entire defensive line, especially with all the injuries at outside linebackers. So some heavy returns for the Titans.

Julio Jones, Amani Hooker, Bud Dupree, and then, sorry, Nick Westbrook-Akina, but you're there also, but not out there during practice. Caleb Farley, come on, man. Titans rookie, can't stay healthy. Derrick Henry, rest day. Christian Fulton, who rookie, can't stay healthy. Derek Henry, rest day. Christian Fulton, who did get banged up, but hopefully just a rest day. Joe Jones, the outside linebacker. Morgan Cox, the long snapper. Dear God, please don't be hurt. Last year, a long snapper nearly took out the entire Titans special teams unit. Monty Rice got banged up. Roger Saffold,

I'd be surprised if Saffold played in this game. Taylor LeJuan, but that's mostly a rest day. Tyre Tartt, probably a rest day, but we did see a big wave of Naquan Jones and other guys on the defensive line, so maybe that injury to Tartt is a little more serious than expected, but it's the first practice

of the week. The Titans love to give their guys a rest day in that first practice, So something to monitor going through throughout the rest of the practice week. And the Titans don't play until Monday. So that extra day gives those guys a chance to get healthy. So that is the practice news for the Tennessee Titans. The return of Julio, the return of Amani Hooker, the return of Bud Dupree, some signings on the practice squad. Avery Williamson was out there as well for the first day of his practice with the Titans. Love to see all of that.

We are going to dive into this awesome crossover Thursday conversation with Joe Marino. Literally one of the best crossover Thursday conversations that we've ever had here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Before we get into that, I want to thank ever had here on the Locked on Titans podcast. Before we get into that, I want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. And if you're new here

and this is your first listen ever of the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure that you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You can find it on any podcast platform. You can find the show on YouTube at Locked on Titan. Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Smash that notification bell so you know when all of my content goes live.

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It is another Crossover Thursday conversation, folks. We have made it all the way to week six. It's kind of crazy to say that, but the football season is chugging along. There's a big matchup on Monday Night Football this week between the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills. These teams have been playoff teams the last few years, and while the Titans are struggling, the Bills are definitely playing some of the best football in the NFL. So it'll be exciting to break down this matchup for you guys. And while his face may not be up on the screen for the YouTube crowd, we do have the lovely voice of Joe Marino from Locked on Bills. I am Tyler Rowland from Locked on Titans. So let's get this crossover Thursday conversation going. Joe, happy to have you on,

happy to have this conversation. My first question for you is quickly and impromptu, I didn't send this one over beforehand, how much motivation do you think that the Bills will have to avenge their 42-16 loss from last year? Yeah, I think that's going to be a big piece of it, Tyler. And Sean McDermott's already referenced it. When he was asked about the turnover from moving out of the Kansas City game, obviously a delay there that pushed the second half

like an hour and 15 minutes later than expected. The next day they're asking him about how much sleep he got the night before, and he said he just got off the plane and went to the office, and he mentioned specifically that this is a team that beat us last year. It was a pretty convincing win, if I'm not mistaken, like 42 to 17. And it was a funky game with how many times it was like rescheduled and Tennessee had a bunch of COVID issues. And it was, it was a really strange game, but I think the Titans did a really good job of embracing that moment because let's face it,

I'm sure you can go back in time and remember that the nfl like everybody was mad at tennessee last year right like it was i do remember it so credit to mike vrabel and company for rallying the troops and using that uh as motivation in my mind to go out and rally and beat buffalo uh only lost three games last year one of them to tennessee and that and that um was it two it Tuesday afternoon or something like that? Yeah, it was a Tuesday game. Yeah, very strange. Yeah, it was a weird one.

And I think a lot of that probably contributed to the performance that the Bills had, so hard to fault them for that. But I figured that the Bills would have that marked on the calendar. They want some revenge, and it only makes sense that they would. But we'll dive into more game-specific conversation here. My first question for you is about the Bills' offense. And everybody wants to talk about Josh Allen, and I do just want to reference for the Buffalo fans,

Josh Allen was my QB1 in his draft class. So I've been on him all along, and I like watching him play. Saw him at the Combine and was just a mage. But Josh Allen is not my first question. My first question is about the running game for the Buffalo Bills. So last year, 20th in the NFL, 107 yards per game on the ground. This year, vaulted all the way up to the top five, fifth in the NFL, 140 rushing yards per game.

Is that a product of game script and being up so much, or do you think this Buffalo Bills running attack is improved? I think it's probably a little bit of both. You can't deny that the game script definitely plays into it because they've had such convincing leads late in the game, and they're running the football. And we know that the Bills in neutral game situations are one of the most pass-aggressive teams in the NFL.

So game script I do think has a lot to do with the volume component of the statistic. But this was a big talking point for the Bills this offseason. Everybody was so excited about Josh Allen in the passing game and figured the defense would play better. But did they have the rushing attack, right, when you're talking playoff football? You've got to be able to run the football. And so that was a big narrative this offseason and so many people were curious what brandon being the bills general manager was going to do about it was he going to draft the running

back in the first round or you know what was the plan well they really didn't make any personnel changes it's it's the same two running backs zach zach moss and devin singletary right um but here's what i think is contributing to the Bills running the football significantly better this year. Number one is you do have the emergence of Zach Moss, who was a rookie last year. And he had a tough rookie season starting with turf toe right away. And so we all know the dynamics of last year, not a very normal offseason.

And so you're talking about a rookie running back that you want to be a feature part of your offense and he gets turf toe, you week one and so that really put him behind and then the offensive line has stabilized last year the bills were really good at tackle with deon dawkins and daryl williams but the middle three players there were so many injuries and they kept on switching around the combinations and i think that contributed poorly to the billsills rushing attack. And then they also had this shift where in 2019, they were a gap blocking scheme. In 2020, they became more of a zone blocking scheme. And I'll be honest with you, hindsight's 2020, but it was probably not the right offseason to implement that type of a shift. And then you look at this group this year, and it's a lot more of a balanced attack in terms of zone and gap runs. So when you factor in the emergence of Zach Moss, a healthy and stabilized offensive line, the scheme normalizing and being what they want it to be, and the emphasis that is there that the Bills want to be a two-dimensional offense, there's more of a priority to run the football. So I think all of that's working together to see the Bills run the football

a lot more effectively than they did last year. Well, it's going to make the offense even that much more dangerous. And one place where the offense isn't as dangerous as we have seen, at least compared to last year, talked about a positive note, but I do want to talk about a strange note here. The Bills right now are struggling as a red zone offense. They're 24th in the NFL, scoring touchdowns on 58.3% of the red zone opportunities. Why are they struggling there early on, or is that just a misleading stat and they're actually not struggling? No, I think it's not misleading at all. They haven't been a great red zone offense to this point. Um, you know,

I think part of that stems from not needing to really force anything. You've, you've had good leads. You've been able to have big plays. And so, you know, you're, you're trying to finish drives with kicks, right? You don't want to have turnovers or anything like that. So I think like we've talked about game script a couple of times here, I do think that plays into it. But, I mean, the Bills have all the ingredients to be a really outstanding red zone offense, starting with Josh Allen, his dual threat ability, his size, his ability to run. That creates a lot of problems in the red zone. You have wide receivers that excel at creating separation,

and you have the emergence of Dawson Knox at tight end. And so all of that would suggest that the conversions in the red zone are coming. I mean, the bills are eighth in total offense first in scoring, right? That's the objective to score points. You know, they're, they're certainly doing that is better than anyone in the NFL right now. So the thing that I've been saying on locked on bills about the bills offense is that there's plenty of meat left on the bone. And so when you're looking for reasons why this team can continue to play at a high level and evolve and maybe even play better, it's because I don't think their offense has hit their stride.

And I do think this red zone statistic that you brought up here does give some evidence in just an area where, Hey, they could score a lot more points than they are only 24th in the NFL right now, converting red zone opportunities to touchdowns. Yeah.ills fans get excited it could get even better but from the Titans perspective that's an area where they gotta hope that that can keep them in the game if they can force the Bills into field goals and not let them get out to that early lead but on the defensive side of the ball the Bills defense has been the best defense in the NFL probably, at least definitely, in points per game. They're only allowing 12.8 points per game right now.

That's incredible. But they have played some less than stellar offenses. Pittsburgh, Washington, Houston, Miami. Again, the question, how real is the defense? Is this a product of playing poor offenses early on, or do you think that the Bills defense just is this is this a product of playing poor offenses early on or do you think that the bill's defense just is this good well i'm not sure the level of play that they've had is sustainable right i think if they were to continue this pace we're talking about a historically great

defense right like the ravens and buccaneers type thing i'm never willing to predict that to happen tyler i don't think anybody that's's objective and knows football and understands that you never count on being the exception, you know, that's going to get you in trouble. But I do think that this team having a stellar defense, a top tier NFL defense is really real. You know, you mentioned the schedule and there's a lot you can say about it. I do think you put a lot of emphasis on the Kansas City game, right? The game they just played where they held Kansas City to 20 points and they were averaging 33.5 for the season prior to that game. You held them two touchdowns under their average.

Talk about red zone defense. The Bills are really good in that area. They held Kansas City to 205 in the red zone, and the Chiefs were 80% scoring touchdowns in the red zone entering that game. They held the Chiefs to 5 of 13 on third and fourth downs, and they were 64% on the year entering the game. I mean, Patrick Mahomes, 54 passing attempts, 272 yards. I mean, that is not good production throwing the football.

The big plays weren't there for Kansas City. He had one completion over 20 yards, and it was to me Cole Hardmanman on 26 yard completion that I would, I would suggest was not a catch, but it was reversed. And they did that without Matt Milano, who probably was their defensive MVP for the first four games of the season. Another number that I got to bring up is they held the chiefs to only two touchdowns and 11 drives entering that game. They had 17 touchdowns and 33 drives which is above 50 so you could talk

about that soft offensive schedule early in the season but the fact that they carried it into kansas city on the road really does speak to where i think this defense is and then if i could just slide one more thing in here the bills defense has been good in, they were number two in the NFL. In 2019, they were number three. In 2020, last year, they were number 14, and I think that was really more to do with injuries at linebacker and injuries at corner. I mean, going back to the Tennessee game last year, they didn't have Trey White.

Levi Wallace was banged up at times. Josh Norman was banged up at times. And the defensive line rotation wasn't close to what it is this year. And so, you know, they're number one in scoring in scoring like you mentioned 12.8 points per game number one in yards 252 yards per game and the last thing that I'll say about the schedule is that other teams played the teams that the Bills beat and the margins and the success they weren't the same yeah no you're 100 right and the last thing that you hit on there at the end of your answer is the very last question that I want to ask you,

and it's not as much of a question, more just want you to tell the people listening, especially the Titans fans, about this Bills defensive line because I think that's really an improved unit and one of the most devastatingly deep units in the NFL. The Bills have the third-best run defense in the league. The Bills have the third best run defense in the league. They're getting to the quarterback. And I think a lot of it has to do with the defensive line. They're like eight deep on the D line. So just talk a little bit about that defensive line. And then I'll get us into putting me on the hot seat and answering some questions.

Yeah, Tyler, they're actually rostering 11 defensive linemen and they play, they dress nine of them every single week and they play them in waves you know that's something that the bills really believe in is a rotation up front and so you know if you got your veterans and jerry hughes and mario addison who have been you know very consistent players in the nfl but what they've done is they've brought in this young talent that allows those players to only have to be fresh on the money downs right so you have gregory rousseau the first round pick who's really been good the afc incredible defensive player of the week this past year um aj epinesa second round pick from last year out of iowa he brings a a really interesting skill set he's long-armed and heavy hands but he dropped like

30 pounds i don't you guys remember from iowa it's like 280 pounds he's down to like 250 now and he's got a lot of speed. In fact, I think based on the ESPN next-gen statistics, he has the fastest get-off in the NFL in terms of snap to crossing the line of scrimmage, which is something I did not expect to be a true statement about A.J. Epinesa. Boogie Basham's working in. He's a second-round pick that they had this past year. And they drafted Rousse russo and bash them back to back to really give this defensive line a boost but also to allow hughes and addison to play less right and keep them them fresher now that they're into their 30s and then you can't forget fa obata who they signed from the carolina panthers a ton of length and untapped potential there to go with ed oliver and star with tulalay and justin zimmer so a lot of names, and I'm not going to sit here and tell you everything about every one

of them, but they play them all. They always have fresh bodies. And getting after the quarterback was paramount in the eyes of Brandon Bean in assembling this roster to not stall out in the AFC championship game this time around, should they get back there? Yeah, you're going to have to have waves of waves of bodies to ultimately probably try to take down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, which they've proven they have the ability to do.

So we are going to move forward. I'm going to answer some questions from Joe about the Titans. Before we do, just want to remind you guys about betonline.ag, the number one spot for all your pro and college football betting action this fall. They have a brand new updated site with a new interface, even more odds, props, and contests than ever before. Make sure that you head to their website. You can use your laptop or your mobile device.

Sign up, use the promo code LOCKEDON, and you'll get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit, literally giving you free money at betonline.ag when you use that promo code LOCKEDON. Once again, that's promo code LOCKEDON at betonline.ag. Bet online where the game starts. Joe Marino of Locked On Bills joined by Tyler Rowland of Locked On Titans. And I'm interested in getting your perspective on this team, Tyler.

It's a tough team to gauge. You know, I did a lot of work on them yesterday for Locked On Bills previewing the Titans and between the injuries and some new coaching and all that, it's just, it's a tough team to gauge. So I'm really interested in your thoughts here. Let's start with Ryan Tannehill, who has not played to the level he showed in 2019 or 2020 but I mean given the change in offensive coordinator injuries at receiver new pieces around him you know it's understandable to me so with it difficult to make any firm claims about this passing game based on

what we've saw through five games. What do you think Tennessee wants to be offensively, particularly in the passing game? You know, should everyone be healthy and how you expect them to attack the bills through the air on Sunday or Monday night? Excuse me. Right. Monday night. I think they want to create space for their yards after catch weapons. I think a guy like A.J. Brown, they want to do what they've been doing the last few years, get him the ball over the middle of the field, get him the ball on the sidelines with a one-on-one matchup against the defensive back after he's caught the ball and allow him to use all of his skill set to get down the field and make explosive plays. I think they've shown in

the Seattle game, especially in the first half, they were able to hit Julio Jones on a few deep explosive pass plays past 20 yards. So I think the idea is they want to replace what Corey Davis did last year with a guy like Julio Jones, and that should take the passing game to a new level. But I think ultimately they want to do similar things that they've done the previous two years, but it's been difficult for the things that you said. The Titans lead the NFL in sacks allowed right now with 20. Last year, the Titans only had 24 sacks the entire season. So through five games, they've almost eclipsed their sack total from last year. That makes it impossible for a guy like Ryan Tannehill, who doesn't have very good pocket awareness, isn't very...

People look at his mobility, and he is mobile, but he is not a scrambler. He definitely struggles finding space in the pocket. So Ryan Tannehill is only going to have the success that you want him to have if you keep him clean, and the Titans have not been able to do that. He's missed a few reads. He's getting happy feet in the pocket. But I think overall he's done the best that he can. We talked about the offensive line, but it's also the weapons, as you mentioned. The Titans have basically had an XFL wide receiver core for a few weeks

with A.J. Brown and Julio Jones being out. A.J. Brown played last week against Jacksonville, but was on a limited snap count, so only saw him throughout the game and in certain spots. I think if the Titans can get Julio Jones back, can get A.J. Brown back, and can protect Ryan Tannehill a little bit more, we will see a passing game for Ryan Tannehill similar to what we saw in 2019, in 2020. Personally, as for the offensive coordinator, I think Todd Downing allows the Titans to have a more diverse passing game. He definitely focuses on matchups, getting a tight end one-on-one on one side of the field, getting A.J. Brown one-on-one on one side

of the field. He adds in more RPO elements to the passing game, and I think he's a more creative passing route designer, his route concepts. I think they're more creative than what Arthur Smith does, but they're not going to be as effective if you don't protect Ryan Tannehill. So I think ultimately when you're giving up four sacks every single game, your passing offense is not going to be able to have any semblance of success. So that's the big issue. But I think the Titans passing game ultimately wants to be what it's been before and hoping that replacing Corey Davis with a Julio Jones will make them more explosive. But we haven't really gotten to see all of those parts together through five games. Yeah. I mean, that's, I guess what's probably been most disappointing for Titans fans is not really getting to see that trio of Julio Jones, A.J. Brown,

Derrick Henry working together with a good quarterback in Ryan Tannehill behind what we thought would be a better offensive line. So maybe we can go there. You mentioned the sacks, right? 10.4% of his dropbacks, 20 sacks in five games, only 24 times last season. I'm guessing Taylor Luan's still not quite healthy with that knee injury or still working back at least. Probably the biggest disappointment, though, Nate Davis at right guard.

So I think there's room for this group to get better, right? These are better players than they've been. They've shown they can be better players. So maybe break down this offensive line a little bit and what you think is necessary for it to start coming together and give this offense really a chance to do what it wants to do. Sure. And I think that's the most disappointing thing about the Titans season so far. Everybody, it's a narrative that the Titans defense stinks. I don't think that, I think the defense is improved. I think that the Titans defense has improved for what the Titans' coaching staff and the organization wanted.

What people didn't expect was the offensive line to crater in the way that it is, especially when you consider that the Titans have four starters back from their offensive line the last two years. They only replaced David Questenberry, and through the first five weeks of the season, despite a terrible game against John Franklin Myers in the Jets, Questenberry has been their best and most consistent offensive lineman. So if you told me coming into the season that the Titans would have all five

of their starters for the majority of the time and that Questenberry would be the strongest link, I would say the Titans' offensive line is mauling people, but it's just not what's happened. Taylor LeJuan has struggled coming back from ACL. Obviously we've seen that usually that second year back from ACL is when guys really get back to themselves, but Taylor LeJuan had his best

game of the season against Josh Allen for a lot of the time against Jacksonville last week, so you've got to have hope that he's getting things back together. Nate Davis, who got some all-pro votes last year at right guard, he has just fallen off a cliff. He has the most pressures allowed for the Titans' offensive line by an individual player.

And from my perspective, and it's hard to know when you're not in the building and you're looking, he just looks a little heavy on his feet this year. He did have a bout with COVID early or during the preseason where him and the starting center, Ben Jones, were both out for 10 full days. They missed preseason reps. They missed preseason reps. They missed training camp reps. The Titans' full starting offense never took a rep together in practice or in preseason during that time.

So I think that has caused them to have some problems because the things that they're struggling with in pass protection are stunts and games and twists where it requires a lot of communication, a lot of practice early in the week. It's not just a one-on-one rush situation where you got to, you know, bow your neck and hold firm. You got to pass off these games and these stunts, and they're not doing a good job of passing those things off. And they're not doing a good job of sliding the correct way, which goes to the offensive coordinator, the quarterback, and the center when you're talking about sliding

protection one way or the other, how you're going to pass off blitzes and take those things on. So the communication aspect and the speed at which they deal with these blitzes and these twists and these stunts up front, that needs to improve. But in my opinion, that's something that can improve throughout the season. These guys aren't just bad players who need to be replaced. They're solid players who are struggling with the fundamentals, struggling with the preparation before in the communication. So hopefully as the season goes and they get more time together, that can improve. But that's the big struggle right now with the

offensive line, specifically in pass protection. I got to ask a question about Derrick Henry, right? That's Tennessee Titans, Derrick Henry. That's kind of the thing, right? And he's having a great year. 142 rushing attempts already through five games. Nobody else in the Titans has more than eight. I mean, this is the Derek Henry show when it comes to the Titans outstanding rushing attack. So just your overall thoughts first on Henry and that amount of carries in a 17 game season, but also I know the bills didn't beat Tennessee last year, but I wouldn't say that Derrick Henry was a big reason

why they won that football game. It was the lowest rushing output that he had of the season, 19 carries, 57 yards. They played him in 2019, held him to 78 yards on 20 carries and 11 rushes, 56 yards in 2018. So for all the success that Derrick Henry has had in the NFL, many people think he's the best running back in the game. Nobody wants to play this guy. I feel like the Bills have been

able to manage him fairly well. So I guess the two parts are there. What can be different this time around for Derrick Henry to have more success against an improved Bills defense? And two, can Derrick Henry really sustain this level of this volume of carries throughout the course of a season? It's funny, Joe, our conversations coming full circle on a multitude of ways. So number one, I think that we've talked a lot, especially during the bill segment about game script. I think last year against the bills, the Titans got some turnovers early. They were able to get an early lead in that game. And that's an opportunity to rest Derrick Henry. So I think some of the lack of success in the run game last year,

obviously the Bills are a good defense, but the Titans didn't really need to run the ball down their throat with Derrick Henry. They could spell him, use some other guys, do some other things because they got out to an early lead. But the other part I want to bring up here is you talked about anybody whose objective would not say, oh, this is the exception to a constant rule. Well, I got to be honest, Joe, I've been on your side. The Titans can't keep up this

workload for Derrick Henry, the curse of 370. He went over 370 touches last year. And historically that has ruined guys the next season afterwards. Well, I think at some point, not just the Titans fans and the Titans followers, but everyone around the league may just have to take a step back and say, okay, this guy is the exception. He's a unicorn. He's a hall of fame running back, maybe one of the top five, top 10 running backs to ever live. I think we're getting to that point. And while I think it is ridiculous the rate that he is at right now in terms of carries, in terms of workload. It just appears that if anybody could break the mold and be the exception, it's Derrick Henry.

He's been the exception every single year of his life since he was about 14 years old and probably before that, but they just don't track the middle school stats like they do high school football. While I agree with you, this workload seems insane, I think the easy answer is the simplest answer. Derrick Henry might just be an all-time freak and he can handle it. I mean, he's got the size and speed that doesn't make sense. Why can't he carry the ball this often for this long? Got to sneak one in about the defense here. As we've kind of referenced, there have been a lot of changes

for the Titans' defense this past offseason, and I think they've really tried over the last several years to get the right mix of personnel and coaching, right. That, that they like on that side of the football. I, like I said, I researched this team a lot yesterday and I had a hard time figuring out who is going to play and what, what role they're going to play just on based on how many injuries they have. So tell us about this unit. What do they do? Well,

where do they need to improve? And who is and is not going to play? Yeah, so I think the strength of the defense is now the defensive line, which it should be. I talked all season about the reallocation of resources on defense. The Titans cut both their starting corners. They cut a starting safety in Kenny Vaccaro.

They took that money. They gave it to Bud Dupree, who really has made zero impact early on. But I think a lot of people in the national media expected that. And I was skeptical of the signing as well, because you're given $16.5 million guaranteed for over the course of two seasons for $35 million to a guy coming off an ACL who was the fourth best pass rusher on his own team. But besides that, Jeffrey Simmons up front is a name that Billills fans have to know. He's one of the best interior defensive linemen in the NFL. He wrecked shop against the Jaguars. Now the Jaguars are a different level of team than the Bills, but Jeffrey Simmons seems to

have some good success against whoever he's going against. Harold Landry, the edge rusher, has been absolutely fantastic. He has the most pressures in the NFL this year, the only rusher in the NFL with five pressures in every single game so far. So Harold Landry and Jeffrey Simmons up front have been causing some havoc for offenses, and it's allowed the Titans' defense to be better, quite frankly, because I'm a guy who believes philosophically that the pass rush overall as a unit is more important than your coverage. I think the pass rush can benefit the coverage more than the other way around. Some people disagree with that philosophy, but hey,

that's why football teams can win with different styles. But for me, they put the resources in the defensive line. Danico Autry up front has been fantastic. He was amazing against his former team, the Indianapolis Colts, and really helped the Titans win that game. So the defensive line has been a lot better for the Titans. While there are some issues in the coverage unit because starting free safety Imani Hooker is out,

Kevin Byard has returned to his all-pro form. He's the number one rated safety per pro football focus in the NFL through three weeks. He's playing back to his all-pro levels. So that's great for the Titans. Christian Fulton, a second-year cornerback out of LSU, has stepped up and become their number one cornerback who's really held some guys down.

A guy like DK Metcalf, he completely shut off the water on DK Metcalf in week two. So you have those names that I think you really should focus on. Fulton and Byard, Simmons and Landry, those are the playmakers for the Titans if you can protect long enough to give your wide receivers a chance to get in those scramble situations you attack a guy like Jackrabbit Jenkins who's in his 30s who is a good corner but he's not going to be able to plaster a wide receiver for five to six seconds and the Titans have been attacked

when they let the quarterback outside of the pocket to make second reaction plays because Jackrabbit just can't hold up for that long. Also, you can really take advantage of the Titans linebacker group, their off-ball linebacker group, Rashawn Evans, David Long. They're just very overaggressive. They're undisciplined players, and while they fly around and make some big hits here and there, a lot of times they're going to overrun their gap and run fit. They're going to be distracted by motion or formation shifts.

So if I'm the Bills, I'm looking to attack over the middle of the field, use motion at the snap to try to confuse the Titans off-ball linebackers, and that should open up the entire game for them. Sounds like a situation that sets up well for Buffalo. Some of the stuff that you had mentioned there. Yeah, I'm picking Buffalo to win the game, I think. Early on predictions. I think I might be going with Buffalo in this one.

There are just too many ways to attack, and the strength on strength, it just doesn't line up well for the Titans, quite frankly. Yeah, and I think the best thing for Tennessee is obviously you can control football games with Derrick Henry, and that matters a lot. But it's about those guys obviously you can, you can control football games with Derrick Henry and that, that matters a lot, but it's, it's about, it's about those guys that you mentioned, those guys that can be difference makers in Jeffrey Simmons, in Kevin Bayard, in Harold Landry, those guys really meeting this moment. And, and, you know, they have a lot to, they're going to have a lot to say about this game. And if they can make an impact to their highest levels,

I think that's going to be really important to get that complimentary pressure on Josh Allen and then obviously a ball hawk like Kevin Byard. I think it's the run game with Derrick Henry and those three dudes on defense really meeting the call. And, man, I love Christian Fulton at LSU, man. He had a first-round grade on him. So I was disappointed. Yeah, if he can stay healthy, he's going to be excellent.

Right. And he didn't have much of a role last year, and so I was excited to see him get a little bit more going this year and play well so far. All right, well, Joe, this is a great conversation. I've got to be honest with you, man. I don't think that there is a better conversation that you are going to hear this week to get you ready for this game than the one that me and Joe just had breaking down this matchup.

Make sure that you check out Joe's work at the Draft Network as well. That site is phenomenal and a great resource for not only your draft needs, but all your NFL needs and news as well. Joe, thank you so much for coming on the show. Make sure that all you guys check out Locked

on Bills. Subscribe to Locked on Titans as well. Another crossover Thursday in the books and it was a good one. We will see you guys on Friday.