Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans v Dolphins: Defensive Scouting & Tannehill/Tua Reports

Episode Date: December 30, 2021

It is CROSSOVER THURSDAY and Tyler is joined by Kyle Crabbs from Locked On Dolphins joins to get you ready for this big AFC matchup. First, Tyler gives an updated on Derrick Henry and Kyle talks about the injury situation for the Dolphins. Next, how real is the Dolphins win streak? Kyle breaks down a key change made that changed the season. Tyler talks about the offensive line and their regression. Finally, Kyle gives a report on Tua's season and how the Phins are utilizing Jaylen Waddle while Tyler discusses the Titans defensive front.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And we are back for another Locked On Crossover Thursday. Previewing a pretty important game when it comes to the AFC playoff picture between the Tennessee Titans and the Miami Dolphins. You have me, host of Locked On Titans, Tyler Rowland, breaking down everything you need to know about the Titans. We have Kyle Krabs from Locked On Dolphins ready to give us the Miami perspective. A big Crossover Thursday ahead. 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. your team every day. All right, we're going to dive right in. Yeah, Kyle, how's it going? Yeah, man, I got to jump in and I just got to say, I'm really looking forward to about two months ago, you would have told me I was having my team play a meaningful football game in January.

I'd have laughed in your face. And here you are. And as you said, high playoff stakes for both. Obviously, Tennessee shooting for that number one seed in the AFC conference and Miami trying to hold on to a playoff spot. So good to be on talking a little ball with you here. Yeah, absolutely. Love that it's a good game. I mean, Miami's got a fun team.

Love watching that defense play all the pressure concepts and everything they're doing. We're going to get into all of the offensive and defensive schematics that we're looking for in this game. But I want to start. The Dolphins are on a seven-game winning streak, which is kind of like what you're talking about. You know, you didn't expect that they would be playing meaningful games in December. But here we are. But, of course, there are some people who are, let's say, skeptical of that Dolphins winning streak. The quarterbacks that have been played during that streak are Tyrod Taylor, Lamar Jackson, Joe Flacco,, diving into the tape, not only diving into the tape,

but grinding the tape, as the Twitter handle would say. What's your read on how real this seven-game win streak is and how high do you think the ceiling could be for this Dolphins team? Yeah, I think it's worth acknowledging the teams that they've played, but also Miami has made some changes as far as how they're playing defense. And it really went back to the second Buffalo game, which was the game before the seven that was involved there. And at one point in the fourth quarter, Buffalo was like 20 to 11 or something like that. So it was within a reasonable striking distance with six or so minutes left in the football game.

And they played Buffalo in that first half really, really well before they gave up a couple of big plays. really, really well before they gave up a couple of big plays. So I certainly look at how they played last year and halfway through the season when they kind of embraced, okay, we feel confident with a lot of the young guys that are put in new spots to play the same style that we played last year. And that's really what flipped the switch for me. So this isn't the same style of defense that they were playing in September. So I think just as much as it's important to acknowledge,

yeah, the competition hasn't been great. They've really dialed up the complexity of what they've been doing because they got a guy on the back end in Javon Holland, who for the first month of the season was kind of on onboarding mode and getting to know, and they were, he wasn't even the starter. It was Jason McCourty was starting at free safety. And once they felt comfortable with Holland and you really saw them open up the playbook, that's been a big piece of this process too. Well, the defense has been incredibly fun to watch.

And I go back to, you know, we, obviously I read off the list. It's not a lot of impressive quarterbacks or a team, but the one team that they did play with an impressive quarterback was Lamar Jackson. And they made team that they did play with an impressive quarterback was Lamar Jackson. And they made Lamar Jackson look like a high school quarterback with the way that they just backed off the DBs, said we're blitzing you with six or seven and making you beat us.

And they couldn't do it. So regardless, like you said, you know, obviously they've made changes and watching that defense work has been incredibly impressive. And all you can do is play the people on your schedule. So that's kind of, you know, here or there, the Dolphins are winning their games, and that's all they're asked to do. My question for you is going to be next, though.

What's going on with the Dolphins from an injury standpoint? I'll hit on the Titans side of it before we continue the conversation as well. But right now, where are the Dolphins with injuries? And, of course, as we have to discuss the COVID list. Yeah, so the COVID list, obviously the protocol changes of the last week have changed those dynamics quite a bit. They got a number of players back from the COVID list. John Jenkins, Brandon Jones, Albert Wilson went on over the weekend.

Brandon Jones, John Jenkins, and Adam Butler went on at the beginning of the week this week. They went on on Tuesday, so a couple days. But they brought back a couple of backup offensive linemen in Solomon Kidley and Greg Banz. They got back Seethan Carter, who's one of the utility tight ends and special teams player. Duke Riley's a rotational guy on the back end, and the linebacker group. He's back as well. And so is Justin Coleman. So they got a pretty good influx of guys back. I believe their only additional Wednesday was a practice squad center that was put onto the list. So they're in pretty good shape from a COVID perspective at this point in time. And from an injuries perspective, they had a couple of guys on the injury report, but they're all full participants and they're really reaping the

benefits of that late season bye week. They had the week 14 bye and they had everybody that was on the active roster that wasn't on the COVID list was available to play this past week as well. So they're in pretty good shape on that front. Yeah, that's pretty impressive stuff. And you're right. You talk about the late season bye. That's something that helped the Titans out as well as they were really struggling with injuries. The Titans got their starting inside linebacker David Long back at practice today. Taylor LeJuan came off the COVID list. The Titans starting left tackle. So he's a full participant in practice. The Titans only had three guys limited, Harold Landry, Jack Rabbit Jenkins,

and Aaron Brewer, but they're going to be able to play in the game if they're limited on Wednesday. That's what the Titans normally assign. They're going to be good to go. The only guy who didn't practice for the Titans was Corey Levin, a backup depth interior offensive lineman, and his was a non-COVID-related illness. So you've got to feel confident about his ability to be back. The Titans are not in as good of a spot when it comes to the COVID situation.

Bud Dupree and Julio Jones went on earlier in the week on Monday. On Tuesday, you saw Danico Autry, who's been one of the most impressive free agent signings in the NFL this year for what he's done on the rush package with Tennessee. So there are some COVID concerns for the Titans there, but all those players based on new protocols could be back for this game by Sunday. So hopefully if they're healthy and asymptomatic and good to go, they will be. So both teams look relatively healthy, which is kind of a crazy thing to say with all the up and down in the NFL season this year.

So that should make for a good football game. We're going to continue breaking down the ins and outs of this game, talk some schematics on offense and defense, talk some personnel and things like that as well before we get into it. Do want to remind you guys about BetOnline.ag. BetOnline has you covered this holiday season with more odds, props, and lines than ever before.

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and I'll let you kind of kick things off here for us. Yeah, obviously when you think of the Tennessee Titans, King Henry is the first name that comes to mind for very good reason. And I think as of this week, he's still in the top 10 in rushing leaders, despite the fact that he's only played in eight games this season. But I've kind of been keeping an eye on that from a distance in the buildup to this game for the past few weeks with reports that Derrick Henry could potentially be available before the start of the playoffs if the Titans needed him. And I'm curious, I haven't seen any headlines for them activating all fire or anything like that, but what's that timeline look like? Obviously you guys have the Texans next week, but you have to also have a

sweep of the Colts in your back pocket as you guys try and heal up the AFC South. So, um, doesn't look like we're going to see Derek Henry this week, but I guess my question is, had you lost the game to San Francisco, do you think maybe they would have felt a little bit compelled to try to, to have the urgency and bring him back? Um, I really don't think so. I think that the, you know, there's tons of data out there that shows that with a Jones fracture, you got to let a guy rehab for 10 weeks after the injury. I think that there's tons of data out there that shows that with a Jones fracture, you've got to let a guy rehab for 10 weeks after the injury. I mean, it's just cold cut. The production is actually up for players who come back with at least 10 weeks of rest off the Jones fracture, where it's a big drop, like a 23% drop in production if you come back before. It's a 10%

increase if you come back after. So I don't think that the Titans would have done that. The wildcard weekend is week 11, which means week 10 is week 18 against the Texans week, week, week, week, week over and over. But you guys get what I'm saying. So I don't think that they would have brought Derrick Henry back for this game. And I think it lines up with if the Titans lose this game and the Colts win their game, then they're in a situation where they probably need to bring him back. And that lines up with the reports that he could knock off some rust in week 18. So I don't think that he would have come back for this game in any scenario. I think it would have been negligible based on the data that people have

circled around, you know, online on Twitter, based on guys coming back from this exact injury. And when you look at a guy like DeMarcus Lawrence for the Cowboys, who had the same exact injury back on September the 15th, they waited 11 weeks before he played in a game, and he has been awesome since he came back. So I don't think that the Titans would have done that. I think this game, no matter what, would have been without Derrick Henry. But I don't necessarily, obviously, he's a big impact for the Titans.

But reality is the Titans run game has been okay. I mean, they lost Derrick Henry and they had two tough games in a row. 69 yards against the Rams, 66 against the Saints. But they have pretty good defensive fronts. But after that, 103 yards, 270 rushing yards against the Patriots, 102, 201 rushing yards against the Steelers. So the Titans are still able to run the ball. It's just the explosive run plays.

Foreman's going to take it for eight yards where Henry would take it to the house. Those are the differences in the run game for the Titans. But it doesn't look like he's going to be back this week. And quite honestly, I wouldn't have expected that whatsoever, just based on that medical data and the production data that I referenced at the beginning. So the run game in general, you mentioned there's been some improvements here, uh, as they've kind of got their footing without Derrick Henry. And, uh, I know that they've given some opportunities to effectively every guy in the backfield, right. Between not the foreman and Jeremy opportunities to effectively every guy in the backfield,

right? Between Donta Foreman and Jeremy McNichols and Dontrell Hilliard. But I'm curious how the offensive line has performed. I know there's been some availability issues. Roger Saffold missed a little bit of time. Nate Davis was on the COVID reserve list. I'm not sure if he's still on or not. So how's the offensive line taken the change in backs, you know, and, and have they been able to tie that identity in your mind to new backs in the backfield, or is it really amplifying the differences in how they have to block up front? Well, there's been changes this year. And I mean, it started with Henry, but it's been exasperated since they lost Henry with a guy like Adrian Peterson. You know, Peterson didn't spend the majority of his career in a zone blocking system.

You know, he was more ISO with a dot right in front of him. Well, the Titans tried to incorporate more of that stuff, and they have continued to do that with a guy like Foreman, with a guy like Hilliard. They're running a lot more misdirection, a lot more counter. They're running more ISO, man blocking scheme, gap blocking scheme, going away from the zone blocking that kind of created the foundation that got the Titans to be one of the better teams in the NFL over the last few years. Now, my question becomes, is that a diversification plan

and an evolution that they wanted to do on offense anyway so that they weren't so one-handed when it comes to their scheme on offense? Or is that a direct result of losing Derrick Henry halfway through the year? Because we saw some more plays that required pools and things like that early in the year. But like I said, it's been ratcheted up without Henry. And I think the offensive line has taken it well in run blocking. They're still one of the worst pass blocking offensive lines in the NFL,

which obviously is a concern going against the Dolphins. But run blocking, they're still one of the best run blocking offensive lines. And that's illustrated by the rushing numbers that I said earlier. The offensive line can still run block with the best of them. But pass blocking, by the run, the rushing numbers that I said earlier, the offensive line can still run block with the best of them, but pass blocking, they're one of the worst. So regardless of what the Titans have done, who's been in the backfield, I got to give credit to the Titans offensive line. They have continued to be good in run blocking, but the pass blocking is such a work that, you know, it's hard to call it a good offensive line or give them too much credit

with how bad the pass protection has been. But speaking of that pass protection, it's hard to call it a good offensive line or give them too much credit with how bad the pass protection has been. But speaking of that pass protection, it's going to be incredibly tested by the pressure concepts that the Dolphins bring to the table. You said that they made a change in that Buffalo game earlier in the year. What are you seeing the Dolphins do on defense schematically, and do you have any inclination as to what they'll do against the Titans in this game?

Yeah, I think the potential matchups on the perimeter are going to dictate how they choose to play uh their coverage whether they choose to press or they want to play that you've been seeing them play a lot of like eight to ten yard catch coverage where they're playing off and it's still zero and they're still manned up, but their eyes are quarterback first and foremost. And then if you try and switch release there, there's no threat of them getting rubbed or anything like that. And they're just counting on that athleticism to really drive downhill. Be interested to see if they try that, if they want to try to let Tennessee throw some quick game stuff and let AJ Brown get some momentum with the ball before you try and tackle him. One broken tackle and he's out of there. Right. Or you're going to take Byron Jones and Xavier Howard, who are two big physical athletically gifted corners and try and press them and stay in their

face, which I think they'll probably do to disrupt routes in that timing earlier. Yes. That's what they should do. Yeah. They should press. But the, um, the pressure packages I've been really impressed with over the course of the past month or so they've gone from their five Oh package, which is a couple down linemen and linebackers mugged up into the A or B gaps. And they're manufacturing a lot of five man protection calls. Plus, you know, the back's got to pick last guy up off this side of the line of scrimmage and tight end might lock and stay in, but they're always plus one for their rushes. But then they've taken that and then they found a drop eight front in which they've

got Andrew Van Ginkle and Adam Butler and Jalen Phillips. And those are the three guys that are rushing when they drop eight out. And then on top of that, now they got a four-man front that they're implementing where you're bringing in Emmanuel Ogbo on top of that group and you're playing Jalen Phillips at the three technique. So yeah, they've got a lot of different things that they can do, different fronts that they can present that they've built out over the course of this stretch of play.

It was just like the affirmation that I needed when I was watching the team to say, okay, they got rid of Kyle Van Nooyen and replaced him with Jalen Phillips. They got rid of Bobby McCain and replaced him with Javon Holland. These guys needed time to be able to kind of process the exotics of what Brian Flores wants to do. And then there's been also a big debate on how much Brian Flores has had to do with the changes himself because the first half of the season, he's standing there on the sideline and watching. And then the camera cuts to him these days, he's got a play sheet and it's like, oh, okay. Like maybe Brian's a little bit more involved here than what he, and he won't,

he won't take any credit for it or he will not say anything has changed. He's very protective of his coaches and his players in the media light. But that's definitely been a source of speculation that Brian Flores himself might be more involved in the second half of this season as well. That's funny because the Titans defense got better because Mike Vrabel quit calling plays and got less involved. That's so hilarious.

But all right, we're going to continue the conversation here. I have some questions about the Dolphins offense. i'm sure you got a couple more questions as well so we're going to dive into the next part of this conversation now let me let me start off i'm going to jump the gun here sure we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about the Ryan Tannehill revenge game dynamic, right? Right, right, right, right. Ryan's obviously enjoyed a career resurgence in Tennessee, and he got a lot of the things in Tennessee that he couldn't get in Miami with consistent play. Generally, maybe not so much this year, but consistent play on the offensive line and a running game that you can lean on and really embrace the play-action-passing dynamic.

running game that you can lean on and really embrace the play action passing dynamic. So what has been the biggest struggle for Ryan this season versus when he first took over the offense? And obviously the departure of Arthur Smith is also a subplot to this season that you guys are probably trying to sort out just how much of an impact that has had. But just kind of curious how Ryan's played this year versus the expectation that you guys have had for him based on your experience with him. Well, it depends who you ask, quite frankly. But for somebody like me, and I'm not trying to elevate myself here or pat myself on the back, but, dude, I've watched so much film

of what the Titans offense has done this year that I have a hard time blaming Ryan Tannehill. Ryan Tannehill is still the same guy he was in 2019 and 2020. He hasn't gotten any worse. He hasn't gotten any less efficient on any of his own doing. The pass protection has crumbled, and the Titans have been without A.J. Brown and Julio Jones for a lot of the year. And Julio is not Julio as you think of him right now,

they've been handling him with kid gloves. But the problem is the thing about the past protection being so bad is that puts a spotlight on Tannehill's worst trait. And that's his pocket presence and pocket movement. The dude doesn't know when to step up. He can't feel pressure. He has no instincts when it comes to making movements in the pocket. You watch a guy

like Joe Burrow, even a guy like Tua, who's so good at climbing in the pocket and feeling that around him. Tannehill just doesn't have that. He needs a clean pocket and he's a defined read, and he can use that incredible athleticism, that strong arm, that gutsy. He's tenacious. The dude's going to fire in balls like we saw to that touchdown to A.J. Brown on Thursday night football. I mean, he's going to let it rip if he has time, but when you get him in a muddy pocket, he's going to get happy feet here and there. He's going to feel less confident in the window that he has to throw into. He's going to take some sacks, and we've seen that. So the Titans, what's happened with them and the offensive line has been the most healthy out of pretty much every position group in the end on the Titans team this

year. So it's a big disappointment that they've been so bad in past protection. And that's the one thing that you can't be when you have Ryan Tannehill as your quarterback. But the reality is if the protection gets a little better, they've been doing some creative things, putting stacking two tight ends on the right side and doing a complete slide to the left and keeping everybody in and shotgunning, running three-man routes

and doing things like that to help. Because if you give him a clean pocket, he's going to fire some strikes and get you down the field. But the Titans haven't been able to do that for most of the year. And not only is that a problem, but that's created problems for Ryan Tannehill, showing some of the warts that he has, because he's not a perfect player. He's not one of these elite quarterbacks that's going to raise everybody up. He's a guy who needs a good system, good cast around him, which is 80% of the quarterbacks in the NFL right now. So Tannehill

has been fine. Tannehill has been himself. And when you give Tannehill one actual NFL wide receiver and a little bit of time, he's going to be the same guy he's been the last few years. And when you give Tannehill one actual NFL wide receiver and a little bit of time, he's going to be the same guy he's been the last few years. And the Titans showed that on Thursday night, giving him time and having AJ Brown out there. So as long as that continues, I think Ryan Tannehill can get the job done. And if the Titans fail, it's not going to be because Ryan Tannehill turned back into a pumpkin or something. It's going to be everything around him crumbling, which has been the case throughout the year. How about Tua, though?

My question for you, you know, we're talking quarterbacks. What is your, I mean, Tua's still a new player. You know, the Dolphins don't have a great offensive line either. They're trying to add weapons around him and kind of get things going for him. What are his strengths and weaknesses so far this year? So it's really interesting to hear the foil from Ryan, right? And we had seven years of taste of Ryan and their strengths and weaknesses in the foil of those two guys as players. The one word I would use to describe Tua is instinctual,

where that was not something with Ryan that you saw a lot of even in his tenure with Miami. So he's quick-footed. He's got a good sense and feel peripheral vision to see when that pressure is coming off the end of the line of scrimmage. And when he needs to step up in the pocket and then slide, he's done that. He had success with that starting in the preseason. And then obviously got cleaned in week two and broke his ribs. And he went on IR for three weeks, effectively missed four games.

But since he's come back, the offensive line and protection for Miami has been one of the worst in the NFL. They do have a bright spot in Robert Hunt at right guard, playing well, and Michael Dieter came back off of IR, so they at least have a little bit of stability on the interior with quality players, but it's been very leaky, and he has been doing a really nice job of extending. But he's missing some throws over the middle of the field because

of that, because he's either not able to see him or he's trying to throw up and over. He's not a tall guy. He's six foot six one. So that's a challenge in the intermediate area of the field to either see routes when you have to step up into the trash or you know I've got to get this ball up and over a guy that's a yard and a half in front of me who's five inches taller than I am so you go back to the opening possession of this past week in Miles Gaskin on a shallow crosser on third and short and he missed him because he had to throw around a defender that was right in his face they They had later in the game against the Saints, they ran a vertical press from too strong and ran Miles Gaskin on a slant route. And the right guard was in his throwing lane and he had to throw it to get up over top of him. He

missed the throw high. So there's just a little bit of restrictions. And like you said, I really appreciated your point there that 80% of the quarterbacks in this league, they're going to be scheme dependent. They're going to have limitations. And it's okay, right? It's how do you coach around those things? And I think what you've seen Miami do, really embracing, getting him outside the pocket, rolling, very high volume of RPOs. His decision-making process at the mesh point in real time is really good.

And he's reading multiple levels. It's not just end man on line of scrimmage, and I'm either giving or I'm dumping it off. They've really built out with some jet motion and trying to get a post and a wheel. They've introduced some stuff with RPOs you really don't see a lot of teams too just because the timing of that is pretty restrictive at the pro game when you're only allowed to get one yard downfield with your offensive linemen.

Which they don't call anyways, Kyle. don't call they call they'll call it against miami and they plan the cold twice a year and then the bills just drive me nuts guys five yards down the field he's throwing a slant what are we doing i was stunned they didn't throw one against miami against the saints i think they had five they had three offensive linemen five plus yards downfield and they didn't throw one against Miami, against the Saints. I think they had three offensive linemen five-plus yards downfield, and they didn't throw them. I'm like, oh, okay, they're letting them play today. Okay. Whatever, man. It's frustrating.

But to his good accuracy, quick feet, instinctual feel within the pocket, not the best arm strength, and throwing over top of offensive linemen with touch or having to drive throws are some of the limitations for what he's been able to put on display this year. And he's going to have a big test against this Tennessee defense. And I wanted to ask you about some of the impact players that exist here in this group between Jeffrey Simmons and Harold Landry, who's on the injury report, but we're expecting to see him this weekend. Those two guys as disruptive players up front, and I'd put Bud Dupree in this group, and I know his production hasn't necessarily lived up to some of the expectation. I know

he was coming off of an injury when he first got to Tennessee, so there's some understanding there for sure. How has that pass rush penetration disruption group been for the Titans in the front seven? Oh, it's been phenomenal. Philosophy-wise, Kyle, everyone who really gets into the ins and outs of football has their own roster philosophy in their mind. I am one that believes that pass rush is more important than coverage. If I had to choose between a good pass rush unit and a good coverage unit, give me the pass rush unit, and I think that that has a bigger impact

on the coverage than the other way around. I know that people have different philosophies, but that's mine. I build through the trenches, and having that four-man group of Simmons, Landry, Autry, and Bud Dupree has fundamentally changed the Titans defense. I mean, you look at the numbers from last year, they had the worst third down defense. I can remember giving up 51% of their third downs. They're top 10 right now in third down defense, and all of that has to do with that pass rush package. Jeffrey Simmons is going to push around whoever he wants, and he's going to get the double team. Harold Landry has great athleticism, and here's the thing about the Titans' pass rush.

They do stunts all day. You're seeing T.E. twist. You're seeing loop stunts. The Titans run this one package where they'll have three guys to one side, like stacked on top of each other, over guard, over tackle, over tight end with a wide edge guy, and then an edge guy all the way on the other side, and they will loop Harold Landry around the two interior guys and have him coming through the A-gap. I mean, they just do some phenomenal stuff up front, and those guys are all so talented.

It really has changed the Titans' defense. And my last question for you quickly here, I wanted to get one more in, is with Jalen Waddell, how are the Dolphins getting Jalen Waddell the ball? Because you talk about Tua's deficiencies throwing downfield. What are the plays or what are the style of things that they're doing to get Waddell the ball to allow him to be so impactful? One of the players that's been pretty quiet for Miami during the win streak

has been tight end Mike Gusecki. And the reason for that is I think you're seeing Jalen Waddell start to run some more of his routes in the middle of the field. Mike is effectively a big slot receiver, and he's a guy who can run up the seam, run the deep over route, the wide cross, and he'll run away from linebackers if you put linebackers in and if you try and put safeties on him, he'll big boy him. But Jalen taking some

more of those routes and the big threshold I was looking for in the first half of the season, when he was averaging like eight yards per catch, when Jacoby Brissett was playing was please run this guy on routes that cross both sets of hashes because running away from leverage is where his speed is going to set him up for more success. And you're seeing him start to do that. They'll play him on the perimeter. They'll play him in the slot. Uh, they'll use them in jet motion. But now this past weekend, you started seeing on Monday night football, there were four or five instances where he lined up in the backfield at running back and a little bit of pistol, a little bit of offset. They did a two back alignment and he ran a Texas route out of it.

And let me tell you, the Dolphins have not run a single Texas route to a back all year long, but they got Waddle on it to press outside and then bend back inside into the teeth of it, and he converted a first down on that. So they've really opened up the package for him. And if they'd like to put him in that Tyreek spot at three strong, where that speed, you're going to be really conflicted on who you want to carry him down the field. And if you're going to put athletes on him, then okay, then you've got a man indicator and you can kind of process from there what the coverage. So he's really valuable for a lot of

different reasons, but they've gotten very creative with him. And Monday Night Football was the most creative I've seen them with him kind of feigning going in pass pro and leaking out into the flat. And they put him on the rail when they ran mesh and they got it to him early there. So he's the guy you just find 17. Just make sure you find 17. Yep.

And I'm sure in the Titans defensive meetings, they're saying the same thing. But, man, Kyle, thank you so much. This was a great crossover. Talked a bunch of really good stuff that fans need to be looking for. This should be an excellent and exciting game. Kyle may even be talking to you in a couple of weeks. We might get this rematch in the playoffs.

I would love it. If the Dolphins end up winning this game. But that's going to do it for me. I'm Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans. Kyle Krabs from Locked on Dolphins. One of the best podcasts we have in the entire network. Locked on Dolphins. You guys got to check that out.

If you aren't already, then you are missing out. But another crossover Thursday here on the Locked on Podcast Network. You all guys, we will catch you on Friday.