Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans v Jaguars: Urban Meyer Controversy, Arthur Smith's Absence & Predictions

Episode Date: October 7, 2021

It is CROSSOVER THURSDAY once again and Tyler has Tony Wiggins from Locked On Jaguars on the show to preview this divisional matchup. The Titans and Jags are both licking their wounds after embarrassing losses, but the Jags also have a head coach controversy on their hands. Tony discusses where the Jaguars are as a team and his feelings on Urban Meyer so far. Tyler explains the differences between Arthur Smith and Todd Downing after four weeks. Finally, both guys give their predictions for the game!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow 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

Here we are again, folks. It is a crossover Thursday, and I got to say this is one of my favorite conversations that I get to have every year, and I'm lucky enough to get to have it twice. I am the host of Locked on Titans, Tyler Rowland. We have the host of Locked on Jaguars, Tony Wiggins, on the show. My OG, my big bro on the network.

Very excited to get into this matchup between two teams that don't like each other very much and two fan bases that don't tend to get along very well either. But it's all love, even with the competitive rivalry that is taking place on the field. So excited to dive into another crossover Thursday here for Week 5, Titans against Jags. And we're going to dive right in to all of the discussion with this game immediately. Before we do, though, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast and the Locked on Jaguars podcast your first listen every day.

We do appreciate that very much. And if you're new to the show, make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast. If you're new to the show, make sure that you subscribe to the Locked On Titans podcast. Subscribe to the Locked On Jaguars podcast on any podcast app that you use. And make sure that you subscribe on YouTube to both shows. Hit that notification bell so you know when our content goes live. Let's dive right into this game. And Tony coming off a Thursday night football game that looked like the Jags were in the driver's seat to get their first win and then a really nice comeback by the Bengals followed by

some controversy with the head coach just generally speaking where's your head at right now with this team through four weeks just get on the plane urban that's all you gotta do just get on the plane and go back with your team. But the head is here. The last two weeks they've played two teams in Arizona and Cincinnati that have a combined record of 7-1. They led both games at halftime. And that's a big difference from what you saw in them the first two weeks when they really looked poor in the first half of both of those games.

So against teams that, you know, Denver's a good team and obviously, but the first week they were just coming out of camp. They were horrible. They didn't seem prepared. It seemed like they really did not use the preseason for what it was about. But the last couple of weeks, you've seen improvement because you've seen them go back to depending on the running game and being very stout against the run and coming out with some early success with Darrell Bevel calling a very good game in the first half what happens is when they have to

continue it it bogs down and that's the sign of a team that isn't very deep and isn't very experienced and doesn't know how to be good. You know, sometimes you can watch a boxing match and a guy looks so good, and then he gets in those championship rounds, rounds 8, 9, 10, and 11, and 12, and all of a sudden he doesn't know how to put money in the bank and go to the body and have ring generalship and win rounds. And I think the Jaguars don't know how to have that field generalship and know how to win rounds and extend drives and get off the field on third down. Those are the things that winning football teams do, And right now they're just not doing it when they

need to. Yeah. I, I, but I think that's, uh, characteristics of a team led by a rookie quarterback led by a rookie head coach. Uh, obviously you kind of touched on it, but what, what's your general feel on urban? I do got to give you credit me and you were kind of aligned. There was some skepticism about some of the things that Urban was doing. After this latest controversy or whatever you want to call it, what's your temperature check, I guess, on Urban Meyer and whether or not he's going to be the guy to lead them to some success going forward?

The problem with Urban Meyer is he know thought of as a football savant in terms of he was one of those guys that are on the uh last quarter century mount rushmore of college football and when you think about him you know there are some people that never attributed character more so to speak to his name but what they did attribute to him is knowing the game of football knowing the x's and o's uh having the knowing attention to detail and understanding talent and how to motivate players so coming in there was this thought that he was going to be that and all of that and it was going to stabilize an unstable situation here in jacksonville well as it turns out he coming here acting like can't

get right you know what i'm saying he came into a situation where they had a boatload of salary cap money. They had the number one pick overall and a plethora. They had an extra first-round pick, an extra second-round pick, and an extra third-round pick. They had more salary cap than anybody by a mile. And you had a generational talent sitting there. Sometimes you get the number one pick or high picks in the draft. And you get Eric Fisher. Right. And that's not generational talent sitting there. Sometimes you get the number one pick or high picks in the draft, and it's a weak one.

And you get Eric Fisher. Right, and that's not what it was here. You get Trevor Lawrence, the guy that there was a consensus that the dude was an all-world quarterback. And then you get also an owner with deep pockets, even though the Jaguars aren't worth as much as a lot of other teams for obvious reasons. Small market, don't own their own stadium.

Their owner is one of the six or seven richest owners in the NFL. And he was willing to open his checkbook. So you had everything on the table for a guy to just come in here and do this the right way. And Urban had a reputation as a football man of doing that, just that. And then he comes in here and he acts like a guy at a frat party on a Friday night. And it's like, instead of being the best thing that's happened to the team, I'm not going to say he's the worst thing that happened, but it feels that way because it's not what you would have expected from him from the football side.

Not getting along with coaches, trying to tip a lot of tight end, hiring a questionable coach with a checkered past involving race relations in the times that we are in right now, and not recognizing personnel in free agency, thinking he can recruit players instead of just showing them the money and bringing them in in free agency, and then actually drafting guys in the second round that are healthy scratches for a 1-15 15 team having a quarterback competition all the way into the last week of training camp between Gardner Minshew and the guy that he picked to be the savior of the franchise who he says is the reason he came out of came to the NFL

for right he doesn't understand that it is not subjective when you're the shot caller in terms of personnel and you're the coach. Subjectivity goes out of the window. You made your choice when you made Trevor the number one pick and told everybody that that was the reason you came to the NFL. So now you got to go with it. You can't sit there and play devil's advocate and sit there and act like you're really having a competition to a guy that's now in Philly and is not even active.

Right. Yeah, no, you're 100% right. You hit on all of the things and that's something that actually on the locked on NFL show that I host on Thursdays, obviously you have your own day on the show as well, but those are things that I've talked about when urban has popped up. So it seems like fair frustration in Jacksonville. There's a lot of frustration in Tennessee right now as well. And we are going to talk about that as we continue this crossover Thursday edition here.

Got locked on Titans. I am the host, Tyler Rowland. We got locked on Jags host, Tony Wiggins. We're going to keep breaking down this matchup between teams that are closer together than maybe some people in Tennessee want to believe. But before we get into the rest of this conversation, I do want to tell you guys about our sponsor, rockauto.com. So you can go into a chain auto parts store right now,

and a couple things could happen to you. Number one, they could be out of the part that you want anyway because they have a limited inventory in the store. And then what they're going to tell you is they're going to order the part from their warehouse, so you're going to have to wait for it. Or they're going to have the part in stock, and the professional mechanic sitting next to you ordering the same exact part

is going to pay half the price that you're going to pay. You're not going to run into either of those issues if you order from rockauto.com. They have all of the different parts, brands, specifications, everything that you could need. And their online catalog really is easy to navigate, easy to use.

Just a few easy clicks get you whatever you need delivered directly to your door. So make sure you check out rockauto.com today. Check out all the different parts for your car or truck. And when you place your order, make sure that you write locked on in the how did you hear about us box so they know that we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. RockAuto.com

All right, we are going to continue this crossover Thursday between me, Tyler Rowland of Locked On Titans, and Tony Wiggins of Locked On Jags. Before we continue this conversation, though, just want to thank you guys again forins of Locked On Jags. Before we continue this conversation, though, just want to thank you guys again for making the Locked On Titans and Locked On Jaguars podcast your first listen every day. But, Tony, you were just talking about some of the issues in Jacksonville going on with not only the team but the head coach.

There are some issues in Tennessee as well and kind of at the moment with the Titans team that had high hopes this year, losing to a Jets team that was averaging just over six points a game, even without Julio Jones and A.J. Brown, still a very bad look. And the problem is that the Titans struggled in the first week and they had a good comeback, but they have not played a really solid game yet to give fans hope that that's a possibility. There's been struggles with the offensive line. They've given up the most sacks in the NFL, and that's really concerning when you consider

they have four starters back from last year on the offensive line. There's supposed to be continuity here, and that's supposed to help things. And the other bad part is the best offensive lineman on the team basically so far throughout the season has been the one guy who wasn't a starter last year in David Questenberry. He had a terrible game against the Jets. Titans fans are going to be screaming at me, but prior to that,

he had definitely been their best offensive lineman or at least the most consistent. The defense is showing shades of last year, having trouble getting pressure on the quarterback, giving up big plays in the passing game because the defensive backs just can't stick to wide receivers. So there's a lot of concern in Tennessee right now as well. And with that in mind, it makes me wonder,

how likely do you think it is that the Jags could get their first win? They're coming back home, 10 days rest, extra preparation, although clearly the head coach is not taking advantage of that extra preparation time. What do you think are the odds that the Jags could get their first win of the year? Well, strictly from a football perspective, what I like to do is line a team's strengths up against the other side of the ball in that area. And the Jaguars strengths actually do line up pretty well against the Titans weaknesses. do line up pretty well against the Titans weaknesses.

And if you guys are struggling with the offensive line, the Jaguars are going to be able to get after you a little bit because they've really, really improved their front seven. And the reason why they can do that, first of all, it starts with the fact that they stopped the run very well. They've added some big muscle up front. Of course, Devon Hamilton is in his second year. He came back after a knee injury, and he's playing lights out. He could probably end up being a pro bowler if the team starts winning some games.

Now you add Adam Gostas next to him, who's playing for Roy Robertson Harris right now, and Adam Gostas has been in that rotation for the last year and a half, and he's done really, really well. But the other part is Malcolm Brown, who they got in a trade from new orleans to give them a couple of 330 pound guys in the middle of that line that can really really move and what it does is it frees up the linebackers so that they aren't getting in trouble with those guards and they can really really flow to the ball and then of course you have josh allen i really like dewanot at the other side, on the other side, along with Jihad Ward more than I do Caleb on chase on, but they've been able to apply pressure. They've been able to stop the run. And when Joe Cullen times it correctly,

the way he did against Cincinnati in the first half, they've been really, really successful. The key is getting those guys on the back end to cover consistently to go along with what joe cullen wants to do because he wants to bring pressure he wants those guys to play straight up man to man and he's going to leave him on an island a little bit uh so far they've been able to really tackle well in space uh defensively however uh they've given up some plays at inopportune times and you saw that again last week down the stretch with Azuma, the tight end from Cincinnati. Being able to catch a ball, and they blocked it up perfectly. You got to get off those blocks if you're those defensive backs.

But I do think that since Tennessee's been struggling, and I did notice it, the Jaguars have a little bit of a distinct advantage on that side of the ball. And I know offensively, the Jaguars can cause some problems too, especially if you guys haven't improved against the past, because we always used to pick on Adore Jackson, but now he's gone and I'm sure there's somebody else we can pick on too. Yeah. His name is Jack Rabbit Jenkins. He is Jack Rabbit, man. I got to say, you know, he plays his role well, but if you ask Jackrabbit to cover young wide receivers when he's in his 30s for five, six seconds, then he's not going to be able to do it.

So while I understand he hasn't been playing well at the beginning of the year, the Titans' pass rush has been putting him in bad situations. So basically, here's what's happening. The Titans run all those games and twists and stunts up front with their defensive line because they can't win one-on-one. They can't just line the four guys up front against the offensive line and a guy have a nice dip and rip and get to the quarterback. I haven't seen a Tennessee Titans player execute a spin move

in what feels like a decade at this point. The Titans players do not have pass rush moves. The only way they get pressure on the quarterback is by running stunts and things up front. Well, the problem with that is they like to take that outside defensive end and loop him into the inside. Well, that gives a free lane for the quarterback to flush out of the pocket, to play make, second reaction throws. And that's big in the NFL right now. That's what you're looking for with quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Kyler Murray, Josh Allen, Russell Wilson, Deshaun Watson, when he's out on the field,

these guys wait, they get out of the pocket, and then they're able to make plays and get the ball downfield after you've worn out the defensive backs and coverage for multiple seconds. Well, teams are just doing that to the Titans. So if they don't get initial pressure on that game and stunt and twist, then the opposing quarterback, Kyler Murray, week one, who made some insane throws that'll be on his highlight tape if he wins MVP. Russell Wilson after that in the first half. Then you saw Zach Wilson last week, three bombs down the field because the Titans are looping in their defensive ends.

Quarterbacks are just rolling out, rolling out, taking their time and unleashing against the Titans' cornerbacks who just aren't good enough to cover that long and there aren't a lot of cornerbacks who are. So if Trevor Lawrence, who has the ability, he's another one of those quarterbacks who has the ability to make those second reaction plays. If the Jags can have enough patience on the offensive line

to wait for those stunts to develop, pick them up, and let him roll out of the pocket, the Titans defensive backs will not be able to cover for long enough. And that should give Jacksonville an opportunity to have not only some good plays, but some explosive plays. And we're going to kind of give our – go ahead, go ahead. No, I was going to tell you, that's another thing that, that they do have. You said, if I'm going to tell you,

we don't have to worry about if cause Trevor Lawrence can move and he can extend plays and he also can look to throw when he's on the run. So let's talk about that. And I want to ask you about Arthur Smith's absence and if the Titans really missed that and if that has anything to do with the offensive line struggles. And I guess we'll do that in segment three. Yeah, absolutely. We're going to dive into that next before we get into it though do want to remind you guys about betonline.ag the best place to gamble and wager on any pro or college football this fall they have a brand new website it's got a new updated interface with all

the best odds props and contests available on the internet. BetOnline is your number one source for everything football. Make sure you head to their website right now. You can use your computer, use your mobile device, doesn't matter. Just sign up and use the promo code LOCKEDON. That's one word, LOCKEDON. And when you do, you're going to get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit. That's literally free money at betonline.ag

when you use that promo code LOCKEDON from football to basketball to boxing, even down to your favorite Vegas casino games. You can find everything you need at betonline.ag. That's betonline.ag where the game starts. All right, so let's dive into our final segment and Tony you mentioned that you had some questions for me uh at least one about Arthur Smith what's on your mind I want to know if his absence uh sometimes when you lose your offensive coordinator you actually lose the guy Tannehill played his best with Arthur Smith. The offensive line had a groove with Arthur Smith. I thought things would just be the same with them,

and then what would happen is when you add Julio, you get Derrick Henry going and then the play action. The thing that scared me was, and I heard somebody mention it today, Urban actually said something like it. You get the play action rolling after you get Derrick Henry going. And the fact that Tannehill is mobile makes the play-action even more dangerous because now once you suck the linebackers up,

and if you have to guard those big receivers with those catch radiuses and that speed, even if you have it guarded at first, Tannehill can do things to make that, you know, he can make that pressure still not be existent. So I guess the trifecta was Derrick Henry, play action, great receivers, and then Tannehill with his mobility and his ability to extend plays, if the DBs are going to have their backs to the quarterback, that was all going to be dangerous but it hasn't seemed to manifest itself yet and I'm wondering if everybody's trying to get used to the new

offensive coordinator and if Arthur Smith's absence is throwing that scenario that I was so afraid of right out of the window yeah I think that's definitely a good question now I don't think that the loss of Arthur Smith overall has been an absolute killer. We've seen good moments from the Titans where they're putting everything together and all of those things you talked about are firing. Now, A.J. Brown being out for most of the early season and being injured has kind of put a damper on that same thing with Julio. But when the Titans have looked their best, that's exactly how things look. So the capability is there to do that. And from a Titans perspective, you've got to hope that new offensive coordinator Todd Downing will eventually find his groove.

I mean, through the first four to six weeks of the season with Arthur Smith in 2019, even myself, the criticism was at an all-time high saying the guy just didn't belong. And then flash forward 12 months later and he's a head coach of a different team. So things can change quickly. But I think my problem is you said that the Titans have to run Derrick Henry to set up the play action. But I actually think that it has to be the other way this year. And what the Titans aren't doing is they aren't going to those play action

bootlegs on first down enough. And they're just running Derrick Henry on first down over and over again. They're doing that in situations where the team is expecting it. You're not capitalizing enough on the play action power because you're too focused on, well, I should run Derrick to set things up. There's plenty of data out there. And even Brandon Staley, the head coach of the Chargers, talked this week, the even Brandon Staley, the head coach of the Chargers, talked this week.

The play-action pass works even if you're not running the ball well. There's no correlation between success in the run game and the effectiveness of play-action. The run fake is going to help, but it's all about wearing the defense down and the physical aspect of the game that makes running so important. And I kind of subscribe to that theory, so I think the Titans have to find a way to use more early down play action so that they can get themselves in better third down situations.

They've had a lot of third and longs. And while I agree that Ryan Tannehill has played his best in this system, Ryan Tannehill isn't Tom Brady. He isn't Patrick Mahomes. He isn't Aaron Rodgers. He is not one of these elite guys. And he's not just going to bail you out on third and long over and over again by making extraordinary throws. He can throw a few great passes every game, but it's not going to be consistent. And he doesn't have great second reaction ability. Yeah,

he has good mobility, but Trevor Lawrence has way better second reaction. Joe Burrow has way better second reaction pocket movement. One of the big hits on Ryan Tannehill was his pocket awareness, and the way that manifests is he has good mobility, but he's not a good scrambler. He has good mobility when he gets out of the pocket on those bootlegs and there's nobody in front of him. He can really get some good yards, but he's not a guy who's going to be in the pocket and move around

and then get out and then make a good read. You're just not going to see that from Ryan Tannehill a lot. So I think where the Titans are really hurting is early down play calling. They have to find a way to kind of flip what they're doing right now and flip the philosophy from what teams are expecting. And then the big area where Arthur Smith is lost and it's confusing is the red zone. The last two seasons in 2019, the Titans were number one in the NFL at 75.6% conversion rate in the red zone, turning opportunities into touchdowns. Last year, they were second in the NFL at 75, again, with the Packers only at 80.

This year, right now, they are 27th in the NFL with a 50% red zone conversion rate. The Titans' offense and the way that they play, they run the ball so much that there is the chance they punt a little bit more than other teams. And they need these explosive yards after catch plays. They're not a team that likes to grind it out all the way down the field. They like to get some big plays. So for me, if you're going to not get those big plays this year, then you have to be as efficient in the red zone. And with that efficiency taking a huge dip on them, it's not going to work out. And what's confusing is Todd Downing was the red zone coordinator for the Titans the last two years, or at least last year.

So it's not that the red zone plan is bad. It's the plays that are being called in the red zone aren't the right plays. And that's the difference between having Arthur Smith to call those plays and having Todd Downing to put the red zone plan together. So that's the biggest difference of not having Arthur. I'd agree with you. Play action is going to work, except if you're behind and the clock is working against you.

And, of course, if it's a long down and distance. However, to pad your point about play action, I did this as an exercise a few years back. I went back and looked at, during one of the Super Bowl seasons, I looked at Troy Aikman splits per quarter. And everyone used to talk about how they were a running team. And obviously they were because Emmitt is the all-time leading rusher, right? And Troy doesn't have these incredible, incredible stats as a quarterback. Watch his splits. His splits in the first quarter, he threw the ball more in the first quarter

than any quarter. Yes. He opened up going slant to Michael Irvin, throwing the ball to Moose out of the backfield, checking the seam to Jake Novacek. And then all of a sudden, once they scored 10 points, they pounded the rock to Emmitt, pounded the rock to Emmitt for two quarters. That's why some of their games, it was like 16-13.

Then all of a sudden, they go play action, Alvin Harper over the top. They did that every single time. So Troy Aikman actually threw the ball more in the first and the fourth quarter than he did in the second and the third. Yes. So that kind of backs up your point a little bit. So for a team like Jacksonville that they probably yards per carry might be number one in the league. I'm not a numbers guy with it,

but they are one of the best running teams in the NFL. They can't afford to not throw those body punches early. They have to force the run and get those punches in because they're not good enough and it showed against Denver

and it showed against Houston that if they get behind, it could get to a point where it's too late for them to invest in those body punches. And they absolutely need that. They're not good enough to not do it. So our teams are in two different situations.

Jacksonville has to be methodical about making sure that they implement the run early. But I will give you this. They can throw it on first down, create a situation where it's second and medium, get a run in, and throw it on first down, create a situation where it's second and medium, get a run in, and either get the first down or third and short. That way, with Trevor and his mobility, it makes it easier for them to keep moving the sticks.

So these coordinators are going to have to be creative. They got to be creative, man, like Peacock and Williams. Peacock and Williams are absolutely creative every single day in the Peacock and Williams podcast. I need that to be your second listen of the day after you listen to Locked on Titans and Locked on Jaguars because Peacock and Williams can break it down. Brian Peacock is an NFL analyst and my man Williamson is a former NFL scout. And they give it to you like nobody else on the Locked on Podcast Network. And that needs to be your second listen. And it's free on all platforms.

Make sure you subscribe to the Peacock and Williamson Podcast with Brian Peacock and Matt Williams. Always fun, Tyler. I didn't talk bad about you, and we're going to share this with each other's fan bases and enjoy. I won't say good luck. I actually think the Jaguars have a chance to win this weekend. I do, too. I think the players are going to, and I'm going to give you credit. I sent out a tweet last week saying when they said that Julio and AJ weren't gonna play and I said as if they don't need them you immediately I don't know if you were you holding me or you were calling me out but you immediately said anybody that thinks that this

is a cakewalk is a fool because the Titans are definitely not playing well. So I'm in D.C. watching the game, and the Jets threw a touchdown, and I'm like, that fool was right. They lost. So I give you credit. I said I was going to salute you when we did this crossover. You were dead right. You caught me slipping because I know better than that. I know that anybody can beat anybody on any given week.

That's why I'm picking my Jaguars to whoop y'all's ass this week. How about that? Hey, listen, if there's anybody who's going to find a way to fumble this bag, it'll be the Titans. It's just what they do. While the Jags have their own warts, the Titans fans know the Titans have their own as well. But I guess the last thing here, we'll keep it quick.

You said you're picking the Jags to win. I'm going to pick the Titans to win. But, again, like I said with the Jets, I think it'll be an incredibly close game. I just think if Mike Vrabel has any kind of gumption and any feel for this locker room, the Titans will find a way to right this ship and not lose to Jacksonville, a team that they normally at least can find a way to beat. But the game will be closer than Titans fans want to hear.

I know Jags fans probably believe that as well, and we appreciate you guys for listening to the show. That's going to do it for me, Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans, Tony Wiggins, host of Locked on Jags. Check out the respective podcasts. We will both check you guys out on Friday.