Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans v Texans: Derrick Henry Returns, Davis Mills Growth & Game Predictions

Episode Date: January 6, 2022

It is CROSSOVER THURSDAY and for the second time this season Coty & John from Locked On Texans join the show to get ready for the Week 18 matchup between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans. First, John & Coty discuss the season from the Texans and why they have exceeded expectations. Then, Tyler discusses Derrick Henry's return to practice, whether the Titans should play him against Houston and how the Titans can acclimate him back. Finally, Tyler gives an update on Julio Jones' performance before all three hosts give some early game and score predictions!!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!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

All right, folks, it's time for our second crossover Thursday of the season between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans. I am Tyler Rowland, host of the Locked on Titans podcast. We have Cody Davis and John Hickman from the Locked on Texans podcast. These conversations are always fantastic. Obviously, being division rivals, we get to talk to each other quite a bit throughout the year, in the offseason a few times, a couple times during the season. And this game, some people may think the Titans are heavy favorites,

but of course the Texans won the last matchup. So no guarantees in this game. We're going to be breaking it all down for you on this crossover Thursday edition. You are Locked On Titans. Your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Ready to dive in here. And I guess I'll start by asking you guys a simple question.

You got to be feeling pretty positive about what David Culley's been able to do, right? And actually, no, before you say anything, I got to give some credit to Cody. In our little preseason, offseason conversation, Tony Wiggins from Locked On Jags really went on a rant about the Texans being awful, being worse than the Jags, all of that. It did not play out. And, Cody, I hope that your final prediction of five wins isn't right because that means they would beat the Titans.

But, I mean, getting to four wins, I still think that's a win. So if you want to take a little victory lap before you answer the question about the vibes, I'm all for that. You know, I just want to say really quick, I knew that it was not possible for the Jacksonville Jaguars to have a better record and a better season than the Houston Texans, only because I did not know what to expect from Urban Meyer. And as we see, David Cully was not the worst coach in the NFL this season.

So, you know, that's just how I felt. You know, I'm hoping that they can still come away with five wins. But Tyler, to get this show really going, to answer your question, you know, I wouldn't necessarily say we are, you know, happy and a little bit impressed by the job that David Cully has been able to do. But what I will say is this. The best part about David Cully being a head coach of the Houston Texans this season, I think he was the perfect coach for it. Because, I mean, look, nobody is blind to all the nonsense that has been surrounding the Houston Texans ever since what they traded D hop away. You know, and it's just been drama after drama after drama. And of course, with the whole Deshaun Watson and the Jack used to be the drama and the laughingstock of the Houston Texans.

You know, it took on a different story. So with David Cully coming in, we were not expecting him to get us into, let's say, a playoff caliber team. But what I would say is David Culley was able to go in there and create a sense of positivity for that organization. And as I say, almost every single day here on Locked On Texans, especially when John and I are talking about David Culley as a head coach, there are so many guys in that locker room where, yes, they are having problems with upper management. Yes, they don't want to be a part of this organization, but they have the respect and they love David Cully. And that's part of the reason why the Houston Texans are sitting here with four wins on a season where nobody thought they would win a game is because they wanted to go out there and at least give it their all for David Cully.

is because they wanted to go out there and at least give it their all for David Culley. Yeah, absolutely. And I do want to add to David Culley's storyline, and that's the storyline, and I would say the reemergence of Lovie Smith. He's been super impressive here in the city of Houston. And one thing about it is, Tyler, we played each other twice last year. We're going to play each other twice until there's no more NFL. You guys remember how atrocious this Houston Texans defense was last year, ranked number 32 in the league, if not 32, 31 in the league,

and they gave up league records of how bad they were. Passing situations, passing wise, right? Right now the Houston Texans is the number 18 ranked defense in the NFL. So that's 13 to 14 jumps, and that's one thing that I wanted to see out of this team defensively in the offseason. You know, right? When we look at Ludwig Smith, the last couple of seasons we saw Ludwig Smith, whether that had been in college or the NFL before he went to college,

he was not pretty. He came in and it was work week one. But now in week 18, which is kind of weird to say week 18, right? But now week 18, Ludwig Smith has been, I think, a godsend for this defense. He's taken a lot of these players who may have not been top-tier players, maybe not even top two-tier players, but not a baller. Got them in a good situation, 32-31 all the way down, or up, rather, to 18. I think that's very impressive.

Yeah, I think it's impressive, too. I mean, we talked about Jonathan Grenard the last time that we had a crossover between these teams and what he's been doing. Obviously, Reid in the back end has been a pretty good player. I mean, what is it, Greger Hill? Is that how you pronounce that correctly? Tomo Grugier Hill. Oh, wow, I was way off.

Grugier Hill. You know, Grugier Hill, I mean, he had an interception against the Titans last time. He seemed to be playing some good ball. So, yeah, I think overall, especially when everybody was burying the Texans, expecting them to go defeated this season, really. I did a segment on the National Locked On NFL podcast with Alex Clancy that'll be coming out today on Thursday,

and we did stay or go for different head coaches and we were just unanimous quickly, David Culley should stay. And I agree with you guys. It seems like, you know, sometimes you have a regular job, you don't like the general manager or the guy who's actually in charge of your building.

But if you have the manager of your team that is a good manager, you'll work hard and stay for that guy. And I think that's what we're seeing, even though there's maybe some complaints with upper management. David Culley just seems like a super genuine and real dude who's going to keep it real with you and be positive and all that. And obviously, it's made a big impact.

So you've got to be impressed with what Culley's done, even if the record isn't tremendous or popping out at you. Yes, sir. Yep, absolutely. So I wanted to get that quick take on the Texans and their situation. Obviously, there's a lot of talk nationally about the Titans here and there with their position in the playoffs. We're going to get into the game some more.

I'm going to ask some more questions about the future of the Houston Texans as well. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys about BetOnline.ag. BetOnline wants to wish you a happy new betting year as we continue to march towards the playoffs. BetOnline remains the number one spot to bet all the NFL playoff action in 2022. It's a new year, so they have a new updated desktop, a new updated mobile website.

Go there, BetOnline.ag, sign up. And when you do, use the promo code LOCKEDON. That's one word, LOCKEDON. You're going to get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit. And it's not just football. They have pro and college basketball, hockey, boxing, UFC, even your favorite Vegas casino games. So don't wait to take advantage of all their amazing offers

that are available for 2022. BetOnline is the fastest and easiest way to wager on all your favorite sports. BetOnline, where the game starts. All right, guys, well, let's dive back in. Week 18 matchup between the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans down there in Houston. I know you guys said you had some questions for me,

so after I just forced you guys into the hot seat in that first segment, I'll feel free to flip it back to you guys. Yeah, Tyler, you know, ESPN's Diana Roussini mentioned that Henry playing on Sunday is a long shot. I don't think he should play. Mike Vrabel, head coach, also noted that the Titans will try to do what they can to recreate game situations in order to give Henry that trust and confidence. Should Henry get snaps on Sunday or continue to get healthy

and rest up for the playoffs? I've been pretty consistent. Obviously, there's diverting opinions in the Tennessee Titans community, but for me it's pretty simple. It's not worth the risk. The Titans should have beat the Texans the first time if they didn't just have five turnovers in the game. Now, it's easy to say should, would, could.

They didn't, so I get all that, but I just think that this Titans team and where they're at right now, they should beat the Texans, and I believe they should beat the Texans by double digits without Derrick Henry. And if Derrick Henry were to get re-injured or something in a playoff game, I think you could sleep at night knowing it was a playoff game. If you roll him out there in a Week 18 game against the Texans with, even though you want the one seed, a playoff spot clinched,

and he gets hurt again and then he's definitely out for the playoffs, I don't think you can sleep at night if you're John Robinson or Mike Vrabel knowing you made that decision. I think they should be excessively aggressive in practice. Here's one thing that I'll say. The Titans have experience with doing this because when

they brought over Adrian Peterson and signed him after Henry got hurt, they tried to acclimate Peterson who came off his couch to the NFL game by being extra physical with him and doing certain drills in practice where they were extra physical with him to help simulate that game environment. So they already have experience doing that with a running back this season. You keep doing that. And my thought process here is the Titans want to rest him past the 10-week mark. If you look at Jones' fractures throughout the history of NFL players,

if you wait until after 10 weeks, which, for the record, Demarcus Lawrence from the Cowboys waited 11 weeks, and he's been amazing since he came back, one of the best players in the NFL. So give Derrick Henry the 11 weeks, not nine weeks. You don't play him in this game against the Texans. You should win without him. And even if you don't for some reason, you still get to go into the playoffs with a home playoff game with Derrick Henry in your back pocket ready to go.

It is too risky for me, but I must say, as a person, I am generally risk-averse. I do want to throw one question back at you guys real quick. Davis Mills, just quickly, do we think that he has a chance to be this? I mean, he might be the most impressive rookie quarterback in the NFL this year, outside of maybe Mac Jones, but I got to tell you, he's a patriot, and they just get so much over-exaggerated love. I'm just not on the map. I don't even think he played that well against the Titans, even though they won by

a lot. He was inaccurate, not high on Mac Jones. Davis Mills looks pretty good. So, your general thoughts on Davis Mills, and I guess with an eye towards the future, is he the opening day starter for the Texans next year, or would you like something different? Cody, I'll let you take it, and then i'll bounce back off to you hey as i mentioned here on

locked on texans before i am a davis mill supporter and without a doubt you let this guy be the your starting quarterback for the houston texans in 2022 and tyler i'm glad that you mentioned it because i took a little bit of flack of calling him the, you know, the most impressive rookie quarterback for the majority of this season. But, you know, let's let's keep it real. You know, he's a third round quarterback. Nobody expected him to come in and take over the job from Tyrod Taylor, especially this early. And I know at the beginning of the season, things was a little bit shaky. I mean, he was literally thrown into the fire, but... He's a rookie! Yeah, he's a rookie.

How many games did he play in three years in college? I think it was like 15 in the span of three years. And, you know, one of the things why I was so intrigued about Davis Mills, you know, going back to high school before he told his ACL, he was rated, if not

the best, the second best quarterback coming out of high school. Now, once again, I get it as high school, but you are starting to see the promise that he showcased as one of the top rated quarterbacks in high school. And look, this organization, they have a relationship with Pep Hamilton and the day that Houston Texans drafted Davis Mills, Pep Hamilton has sung this young man Texans drafted Davis Mills. Pep Hamilton has sung this young man praises. Now, once again, the first five, six games of his career, you know, it was kind of shaky, but what I would say after he took over for Tyrod Taylor going into that game, going up to the week where the Texans were preparing against the Seahawks, if I'm not

mistaken, this guy has looked really, really impressive. And every time, whether it's myself, John, other reporters here in the city of Houston, I don't know if he's reading and listening to us, but it seems like every time we say we want to see this from Davis Mills, he answered the bell every single time. And I know he had a bad game on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, but my next, my next task for Davis Mills is I'm kind of glad he had a bad game on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers, but my next task for Davis Mills is I'm kind of glad he had that because I want to know how is he going to bounce back from a bad performance. And this guy has shown time and time again, I'm not going to go as far as to say he's the Texans' next franchise quarterback,

especially considering we are prepared to move on from Deshaun. But what I would say, even if he's not the answer you know let's say in 2023 and 2024 he's at least the answer for 2022 i will 100 agree and one thing about it is i don't believe uh in reaching for a quarterback and that's exactly what the houston texans would do if they go out and seek a quarterback in the draft i don't believe there seek a quarterback in the draft. I don't believe there's a quarterback in the draft worth taking in the first round. I agree. Personally, unless you're a team that needs a quarterback because maybe like the Broncos or the Saints where you're not 100% sold on your quarterback that you have at the time, second round.

There's no first-round quarterback. And some team, some poor team is going to overreach on the quarterback. I don't believe in no first round quarterback. And some teams, some poor teams are going to overreach on the quarterback. I don't believe I'm reaching for a quarterback. Number two, I think more importantly is, you know, what has he done for you to say no, right? He's contributed to two of the four wins, three to four wins that you've gotten. Same amount of number of wins you got last year with Deshaun Watson. He's had very impressive moments. Yes, he had those rookie moments,

and there's times when he looked worse than a rookie. However, take into consideration that he was thrown into the fire very quickly before anybody was ready to see him play football in the NFL. This guy definitely deserves to be the starting quarterback come week one unless they find somebody in free agency that can compete with him or they make a trade

with a quarterback that can come in and compete with him. If that happens and if that quarterback just outplays him, I'm fine with it. But as of right now and looking to the future, I do not want the Houston Texans to prioritize a quarterback in the NFL draft and I believe that David Spils has done enough along with

Kev Hamilton, him getting coached up by him to be the starting quarterback for next year. Yeah, I agree with you and before you guys obviously flip it back, ask me a question. I just wanted to say quickly that I don't think that it's fair for people to say, hey, Houston has the worst roster in the league. Hey, Houston should be defeated this year. They shouldn't win a game.

And then look at Davis Mills and what he's done and then also say that he hasn't been impressive. It can't be both. Either he's a rookie QB who was thrown into the fire on the worst roster in the NFL and has gone above and beyond, or you're admitting that the Texans are a little

bit better than maybe people said at the beginning of the year, and that he doesn't deserve as much credit because the Texans roster is actually a little bit better than what everybody was saying. You can't have your cake and eat it too and have it both ways. Either Davis Mills is impressive, or you were wrong about your evaluation of the Texans. I think for most people, it's that it should be Davis Mills has been impressive. So just wanted to throw that in there before you

guys asked your next one. And I do want to, you know, kind of piggyback off what you said. Well, off of what you said, when you said people may have not been right about their impression or wrong about their impression. At one point, they were right, right? But this is a game of adjustments. This is a game where things change week in and week out. At least that's what you would want out of your franchise and your franchise players. And so are you still looking at Davis Mills from that week three collapse

against the Carolina Panthers or when we took on the Buffalo Bills or the Arizona Cardinals? Are you looking at that version of Davis Mills? Or have you kind of wiped your glasses off or got some of the boogers out your eyes and have seen some of the things he's been able to do in the last couple of weeks with a competent pay column behind him, with better running with Rex Burkhead who rushed for 150? And then that game, that was probably the most complete Davis meal we were able to see.

I look at Matt Jones, and I look at Trevor Lawrence, and one thing I know is Bill Belichick is going to run that ball and run it efficiently. In Jacksonville, maybe they didn't use him correctly, but they had one of the best running backs coming to this year, James Robinson. And they had a decent offensive line, at least better than Houston's, with a stellar running back.

Davis Mills got a 150-yard performance from Rex Burkhead, of all people. Really put up some good marks, right? So I look at this, and this is more directed towards some of the fans. You guys have to understand that things can change on the fly all the time. That's what happens. It's a part of sports. Yep. The NFL stands for not for long.

And speaking of not for long Tyler, I got to ask you, man. And I wanted to ask you this the last time we played against you guys, but because he was hurt, I ain't felt like it was the right opportunity to do so. What has been your assessment of Julio Jones? Now, remember going into the season, I projected the Tennessee Titans to also be towards the top, if not at the top of the AFC, because I thought that that was a game changer for you guys. But it seems like due to injuries, we still have not seen how dangerous this team could be with Jones as one of Ryan Tannehill's receiver threats. Well, I think there are three things at play here. Number one, he's been hurt. So that's kind of at the top of the list.

Number two, because he's been hurt. I don't think he's gone full go. Like I have not yet seen on tape. Julio Jones really, really go. He's run some deep routes and things like that, but he just doesn't look like,

and maybe that's because the injury, maybe that's because he's 32, whatever. He doesn't have that gear anymore, but I can tell that he hasn't really opened it up because he's worried about getting hurt. And then three, the coaching staff has severely limited his snaps, even when he's healthy. They have him out there 30, 40 snap percent at max. So they don't want to overdo it either. But here's the thing. And it's been a disappointment. I would be a liar and a homer if I came up here and said it was anything but that.

It's been a disappointment. But the reality still remains that Julio Jones was traded for because he could take the Titans offense to the next level when teams pressed them, got on them with man coverage. They put a bunch of attention towards A.J. Brown. Now you have Julio Jones on the other side, and he can win one-on-one matchups, and that can help the offense function in playoff situations.

Well, guess what's about to start? Playoff situations. So although Julio Jones has been a disappointment for the three reasons that I mentioned, I think that if you get into the playoffs, he says, screw it, I don't care about getting injured. I'm not worried about getting injured. I got to go all out. The coaching staff isn't like, oh, we can only play him 35% of snaps, blah,, screw it. I don't care about getting injured. I'm not worried about getting injured. I gotta go all out. The coaching staff

isn't like, oh, we can only play him 35% of snaps, blah, blah, blah. No, we're throwing him out there for 60, 70% of snaps. I think if they actually just go full out and tell Julio to go full out in the playoffs, he can still have a tremendous impact. And I could see Julio Jones having some big games

in the playoffs and people being like, oh, we've been waiting for this all year. Well, the Titans made sure that this was possible to happen at this time of year. So everyone's really down on the Julio experience. But if he produces in the playoffs, there's no reason to be upset about the move because that's what it was for at the end of the day. But with that being said, we're going to move into the final part of our conversation. Before we do, got to tell you guys about GetUpside. For any Titans or Texans fan that uses gas,

you got to know about the free GetUpside app. Our listeners are getting up to 25 cents off every single gallon of gas every time they fill up. All you got to do is download the free GetUpside app. It's in the App Store. It's in Google Play. When you sign up, use the promo code touchdown and you're going to get a bonus 25 cents off per gallon on your first fill up. That's up to 50 cents cash back. Don't pay full price at the pump ever again. You're going to get cash back by using GetUpside. Download that for

free. Use that promo code touchdown to get up to 50 cents a gallon cash back on your first fill up. Some people who drive a lot get up to $200, $300 in cash back every single month. And here's the thing, there's no catch. The cash back goes right to your GetUpside account and then you can cash out directly to your bank account, your PayPal, or even to an e-gift card like for Amazon. Just download the free GetUpside app, use the promo code TOUCHDOWN, and you're going to get $0.50 a gallon cash back on your first tank. That's promo code TOUCHDOWN on the free GetUpside app. All right, guys. We are going to do this. We are going to start the final segment of our final Crossover Thursday of the year. Before we get to John's question, just want to remind you guys,

make sure you subscribe to the Locked on Titans and the Locked on Texans podcast. Whatever platform that you stream on, you're going to find the shows there, and they're always going to be free. I know one thing I like to do is go listen to the opposing team's game preview and the opposing team's recap just to get the opposite side of things. That's a fun adventure. I know a lot of you guys, at least in my comments, say you like to do that as well. So make sure you check out both podcasts, subscribe, all of that.

We appreciate it. John, go ahead. You know what? You mentioned in the previous segment Julio hasn't played that many games, only been featured in nine games. We talked about Derrick Henry, excuse me, and his health. One thing about the Titans this year, they broke the NFL record of most players using the season. Still growing.

Right, right, right. Now, the last time I checked, it was 86. It's up to 89 now. It's up to 89 now. Yeah, we signed Ryan it was 86. It's up to 89 now. It's up to 89 now. Yeah, we signed Ryan Izzo yesterday. It's up to 89. You guys just lost a tight end as well, right? Yep, Michael Pruitt, actually.

It was gross. Don't go look at it. No, I won't. I saw the injury. I read it, and I was like, I'm not going to look at it. Right. But are you concerned about the health with the players, with the playoffs

a week away? You know, I think that for the first time of the season, no. I'm not concerned. The Titans have found a way to get through that tough batch and now they're to the point, Mike Vrabel even said it in his press conference on Wednesday,

they're to the point now where they have to make tough roster decisions because everyone is coming back. I mean, we could talk about Bud Dupree and everything going on with him, but Bud Dupree is back. All the linebackers, Jayon Brown, David Long, Rashawn Evans, now they have Zach Cunningham, which thank you, Houston. He's been the best linebacker on our team

and led the team in tackles for a few weeks. I'm happy for you guys. Right, right, right. Outside of that, I mean, Julio wasn't hurt in the last game. He had COVID. So he's good. They don't have a ton of people on the injured reserve list that are actual starters and super important players.

The offensive line is completely whole. Going into this game against the Texans is basically the first time all year the Titans have all 11 starters on both sides of the ball. I mean, that's if Derrick Henry played in the game, which I don't think he will, but I mean, it's possible now, right?

He's been running the ball pretty good for you guys. Oh, Foreman's been excellent. He's got his own warts. There was a reason he was on the street on his couch before they picked him up, but he clearly has talent. The guy's clearly a super talented guy. He was, like we talked about, Davis Mills earlier. I mean, Foreman

was one of the top-rated guys in high school coming out, played for Texas, got a full ride. I mean, he's got talent, and you guys know, like I know, sometimes in professional sports, you got to get knocked down when you're that talented guy. You got to get tossed out of the league and come back. Look at a guy like, you know, multi-sport crossover,

but like Cameron Payne from the Phoenix Suns, their point guard. I mean, he was out of the league in China. The Suns gave him a chance, and he is an NBA player for the next five years because of it. So I think Foreman is in that spot. But the point is the Titans are as healthy as they have literally been all year long before they make that push into the playoffs. So for the first time all season, I can definitively say no,

I am not worried about injuries for the Titans. And I think all of that just leads to Mike Vrabel as the coach of the year. I don't, you know, Zach Taylor's done a good job. Sirianni, Belichick, these guys have all done a really good job, but Titans have the most rostered players in the history of the NFL. They're most likely going to get the number one seed. They didn't have Derrick Henry and AJ Brown for half a year. I just don't understand how anybody except Mike Vrabel could be the coach of the year, but all of that doesn't matter now. The Titans are as healthy as they have been.

So, fortunately, I don't have any concerns about the injuries. The only concern I have is making sure Derrick Henry doesn't get re-injured in a Week 18 game against the Texans. Outside of that, no injury concerns for me. You know, it's kind of funny.

In the last 20 years, the Texans, well, Houston has given you guys a franchise. Go back to the 90s. But in the last couple of years, you guys have got Deontay Foreman, who we've drafted, Zach Cunningham, your head coach, Mike Rabel, who was on our coaching staff. And in return, have you guys given us anything? Don't forget the playoff game that we gave them to get into the playoffs.

What was that, in 2019? We sent all of our starters. There's like a hate-love. We hate them, but at the same time, we love the Titans. They're our big brother who just happened to go away from college and never come back home. I don't know what it is. It's a family thing. There's no way to separate the two franchises at this point. Not only that, but I mean, Anthony

Midgett, the defensive back coach, used to be a coach in Houston. Michael Pruitt, who we just talked about, he played in Houston for a little bit of time. I mean, the Titans have a bunch of guys on the team. David Questenberry played for the Texans, and that's where Vrabel met him, and he's been our starting right tackle.

Even though he's been like the worst starting tackle in the NFL this year, he's still been our starting right tackle all season long. So there's tons of crossover there, tons of family ties and all that. So you're right about that. I got to tell you, I don't think the Titans have given very much back. So my apologies there. I'll just apologize now for all that. I will say that.

So we're not giving you guys that crown. We still got the better barbecue. I feel. Well, with that in mind, we'll kind of close things out here. I'm excited to talk to you guys again in the offseason and everything. But we'll take a moment and just talk about this actual game. I know basically the only two touchdowns that the Texans scored in the first game were Tyrod Taylor scrambling. That's not going to be the case with Davis Mills.

So with that and the Titans had five turnovers, which, God forbid, craziness, I don't think that'll happen again. Do you guys think the Texans have a chance to win this game, and how close do you think it'll be? You know, you just mentioned how healthy you guys think the Texans have a chance to win this game, and how close do you think it will be? You know, you just mentioned how healthy you guys were. And one thing that I'm scared of is two levels. Number one, that beast in the middle. I don't know how he did not make the Pro Bowl.

My boy Jeffrey. Oh, my God. I don't know how he didn't make the Pro Bowl, but I'm scared of him. Yeah, it's nonsense. I'm scared of him because our interior offensive line play has not been good all year. But then I go to the second level, and you just mentioned Rashad Evans back, and he's healthy.

Zach Cunningham has been playing very well for you guys. Not only that, Zach Cunningham knows what he can do offensively, and he knows our limitations. So that's not going to coach on the field cheat code for you guys. I'm scared about that. I look at Davis Mills, what he can possibly do. I think this is one of those games where the Tennessee Titans makes it real difficult for him to succeed because of that first and second level.

The third level I'm not necessarily too afraid of, but they put so much pressure up front that the third level succeeds off of that. I definitely think this is a game where the Tennessee Titans, like I mentioned, makes it very difficult and they come away victorious. You guys have a lot to prove. Tannehill has a lot to prove, especially

considering the last time, four turnovers on his own there. He goes out there Sunday. I think he's going to have a good game. I can see this being a 13-point victory for the Tennessee goes out there on Sunday. I think he's going to have a good game. I can see he's been a 13-point victory for the Tennessee Titans. I'll split you guys up here and just take a second. Two of the interceptions

that Tannehill threw were to Des Fitzpatrick, who's a practice squad rookie-wide receiver on the Titans. Tannehill was ripping him on the sideline after those picks. He ran the wrong route, didn't stop in the right place, didn't fight for the ball, stuff like that. And he's not going to be out on the field.

I do actually think that this one gets a little ugly. And remember, I'm not just, you know, Titans homer here. I basically said you guys were going to win the last one. You guys were telling me to calm down on my positivity and optimism. So I do think that the Titans handle business in this game, though, and I think the defense is playing so well. Davis Mills doesn't have the scrambling ability to kind of get out of crazy situations like Tyrod Taylor did.

I think it's going to be 31-10, I think, is where I see it coming down. The Titans are just in a mode. I think they force turnovers is why. I don't think the Titans offense can score 31 just on regular drives right now. But I do think that there are some turnovers from Davis Mills. And I think 31 to 10 is probably where I see that at. Maybe Houston scores another touchdown, 31-17. I could see that as well.

But I'm probably going to rock with like 31-10, 31-13. Cody, you've gotten a lot of things right this year. So what about this game? Man, first, let me say this. I do have the Tennessee Titans winning this game, but I don't think it's going to be a blowout. I think this is going to be a very entertaining game. I don't think it's going to be as entertaining than last year's season finale

when I think you guys won off a field goal. But I do have you guys winning by a touchdown. Look, we talked about Davis Mills a lot here. And, you know, he still has some growing to do on the road. But Davis Mills, he has been putting on the show at home. Inside NRG Stadium, he gets the ball out. And this is the final game of his rookie season. I'm pretty sure Tim Kelly and David Culley and whoever the hell else are calling plays from the purse box or on the field.

We still don't know who's actually calling plays in Houston. But I think they're going to let these guys go out there and give it their all. And, you know, Davis Mills has shown the potential that if you let him go out there and air it out, he's going to put some points on the board. I mean, the last time they was inside NRG Stadium, 41 points. He eclipsed 20 points twice against the Patriots and against the Los Angeles Rams, even though the majority of that came when the game was already in hands. But, you know, I think this is going to be a game where the Titans win. I'm going to go 27-21.

I think it's going to be a close game. Yeah. And I also want to add that you guys are like a top 10 sack team in the league. And I just mentioned what Jeffrey Simmons does and he scares me, man. I just think it's going to be difficult for our offensive line to hold up all four quarters. Yep. Last week, they played very good in the first half. And they played a San Francisco 49ers team.

They had Bosa, Minuba. They had a lot of different players on their defensive front. very good in the first half and they played a San Francisco 49 team. It was, they had both, uh, uh, men who, but they had a lot of different players on a defensive front, but it's known to get out to the football or at the quarterback rather. And they held up pretty late, pretty nicely.

The second half when the Texas were not able to run the ball, they kind of have a balanced offense. That is where you saw that San Francisco front really destroyed Houston. And I think there's going to be replicated in this game. Houston has to take advantage of opportunities. I still think Tannehill is going to give this defense some opportunities. This time they just got to score on those opportunities, put points on the board.

I still see this being the game where Tennessee walks away with it and get the number one seed in the AFC. You guys need it next week. Yes, because of the Derrick Henry situation, I absolutely do think the Titans need a buy-in. Here's just a stat for you guys. Mike Vrabel, when having extra preparation time in season, so not talking about week one, but after a bye week,

after a Thursday night football game with extra days, Mike Vrabel's 8-0. So that makes having— We're going to be 9-0 come Sunday. Well, it just makes having that We'll be 9-0 come Sunday. Well, it just makes having that bye week so much more important because Mike Vrabel has proven with extra preparation time in season, he wins every single time. So that's why it's just so critical for the Titans to handle business here.

But games between the Titans and the Texans are always tight, so I'll probably end up being wrong on that. Either way, great conversation with you guys. Can't wait to talk to you again in the offseason. We always have a good time when we get together here. So from the Glasses gang, me, Tyler Rolwin, host of Locked on Titans, John and Cody from Locked on Texans. Awesome crossover Thursday.

Regardless of what show you listen to, make sure you subscribe, and we will catch you guys on Friday