Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans v Texans: Texans Misery, Matchup to Watch & Game Outcomes!

Episode Date: November 18, 2021

It is CROSSOVER THURSDAY! That means it is time to begin to preview the Tennessee Titans matchup with the Houston Texans in Week 11! John Hickman and Coty Davis of Locked On Texans join the show to describe how miserable this Texans season has been. Then, Tyler, John & Cody discuss the one matchup in this game that could swing things in the Texans direction. Finally, hear the expected outcomes from the three fellas as they give you their game predictions heading into Thursday!Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.GetupsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get up to 50¢/gallon cash back on your first tank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It is time for another Crossover Thursday. I've been waiting for this conversation all year. Two of my absolute favorite guys to talk to in the whole network. We have Cody Davis. We have John Hickman from Locked on Texans. I am Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans. Like I said, it's a Crossover Thursday. Big Week 11 matchup.

The Titans obviously riding high at the top of the AFC. The Texans having kind of a tough season, but that doesn't mean that there aren't some positive takeaways in there as well. So we're going to cover all the good and bad for both teams and get you guys ready for this Week 11 matchup in the AFC South. Before we jump into all the topics that we are going to talk about today, I want to thank you guys for making the Locked On Texans and Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure that you subscribe to both shows on whatever platform you do stream. Remember, you can find both the Locked On Titans

and Locked On Texans podcast on all of the streaming platforms. And the best part, always free, never going to be behind a paywall here at the locked on podcast network. Make sure you check us all out on social media. I'm at Tic Tac Titans on Twitter. Cody, what's your handle? My handle will be C O T Y D A V I S underscore 24.

There we go. And John, John underscore Hickman 12. You can follow me on Twitter. You can also find me by some sports guy as well. If you typed it in the search bar. Absolutely. Some great content, not only on the podcast,

but also on the tweet machine as well. But with all that housekeeping out of the way, it's time to actually dive into this week 11 matchup. And, you know, kind of just want to take the temperature of these teams right here to start. Give both different fan bases an idea of where the head is at of the fan bases and where the teams are. So my guys over there with Locked On Texans, John and Cody, I know it hasn't been an easy year, but where are the Texans at right now? How is the first half of the year going? And do you see any kind of improvements

coming in the second half? It's been terrible. That's simple and plain. It's been terrible. We figured the Texans were going to be bad in 2021, but it's not the fact that they're sitting here 1-8 on an 8-game losing streak. It's how they're losing these games. I mean, if it wasn't for a better play calling, if it wasn't

for just having a real coach, if it wasn't for injuries, hell, if it wasn't for the kicker in the loss against New England Patriots, they could have a better record. It's just one thing after another, after another, after another. It's bad down here in the city of Houston, man. Yeah, and I think for me, Tyler, I'm going to piggyback off what Cody said. It's been terrible. It's been terrible with the fans and the relationship between the franchise. That has, over the course of the last, I would say, eight months now,

that has declined. The product of the last, I would say, eight months now, that has declined. The product on the field, right? One in eight, eight-game losing streak. How many games were you not able to score a touchdown? The issue that you had with communications and penalties when you came into the season to be this disciplined type of team, and that's out the window. Terrible is the best way, I think, to put it.

It's not good at all. Yeah, well, obviously, tough season. As someone who follows the Titans, I know all about those tough seasons when the Texans were on top of the division and kind of running things with Matt Schaub and Kubiak and doing that. The Titans were having their terrible time. So it's been a rough year for you guys, I know. But, you know, just stay positive.

All it takes is a quick change and things can flip pretty quickly. As for the Titans side of things, you know, I don't mean to rub it in in any way. But, of course, kind of the flip side of that 8-2, Titans are at the top of the AFC South, and whereas the Texans have maybe not handled some of the adversity, it seems like the Titans do all those things well. They find a way to keep the penalties low. They don't turn over the ball in bad situations,

although they have turned over the ball a bit more this year than they normally do. All of the injuries, the Titans are having a historic season in terms of the amount of injuries that they've encountered. 82 players they've used on the roster this year. The NFL record for players used is 84. So the Titans are going to shatter the all-time record in terms of injuries and players used.

And somehow Mike Vrabel keeps them going and keeps them playing winning football even when it's not pretty, something they say in Tennessee a lot. It wasn't pretty, but it was beautiful. And that's kind of how some of the Titans games have been. But, of course, some of the Titans games have just been absolutely gorgeous. Any way you can look at them, the win over the Rams, the win over the Chiefs, blowing those teams out.

Now everybody has their own issues halfway through the year. It doesn't mean that the Titans are going to win the Super Bowl, but at this moment in time, the improvements on the defensive line and the offense kind of eking along without Derrick Henry, that's where things could get a little squirrely. But the Titans season overall has been really solid, and I don't think you're going to get any complaints. I mean, right now, Titans fans, the team is so good,

you can't argue about the team, so they're arguing over a nickname for the defensive line. That's what's really going on for the Titans fan base right now. So generally two teams that are at the opposite ends of the spectrum going into the second wave of games. But this game, I think, could be closer than maybe some expect based on just what we're seeing on paper. The Texans always find a way to play the Titans close.

I mean, last year, the average margin of victory in both games combined was nine points. I think the Titans won by three the first time, won by six. Both those games, I think, went to overtime as well, including Derrick Henry's walk-off touchdown at the end against Houston in the last game of the year. So regardless of what these teams look like, the Titans and the Texans always seem to have close games.

Now, a lot of that has to do with Deshaun Watson being the quarterback for the Texans last year as compared to this year. But I just have a feeling, the way the Titans play down the competition that this will be a close game. And we're going to dive into this game in our second segment. Really talk about what we're going to see from these teams. I have some concerns. I have some other things I'm not as concerned about.

I'm sure Cody and John feel the same way. Before we get into that, though, I do want to tell you guys about a fantastic app that every Titans or Texans fan who buys gas has to know about. It's called GetUpside, and our listeners are making up to $0.25 for every gallon of gas every time they fill up. Just download the free GetUpside app in the App Store or on Google Play right now. Use the promo code touchdown. That's one word, touchdown, and you're going to get a bonus 25 cents per gallon on your first fill up.

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Use the promo code touchdown and get up to 50 cents a gallon cash back on your first tank. Once again, that's promo code TOUCHDOWN on the free GetUpside app. All right, fellas, let's dive back into this crossover Thursday, Locked on Texans with John and Cody, Locked on Titans with me here, Tyler Rowland. We're just going to bounce some questions back and forth, but I know you guys wanted to throw some questions at me to kind of kick things off. Absolutely, I do.

And I want to talk about the GM. How impressive, how impressed are you right now with this roster six-year general manager, John Robinson, has put together? Eight and two and a lot of improvements. How impressed are you right now? I mean, I think you've got to be incredibly impressed. And, you know, a lot of people want to point out the failures.

And there's the Isaiah Wilson pick from 2020's first round. I mean, Caleb Farley was a risky pick and he tore his ACL. So some people want to talk their third round pick Darrington Evans at running back from 2020 has been a complete non-factor with his injuries when the Titans really could use some running back help, especially right now. So there are misses in there. Genevieve Clowney, talk about, I'm trying to think of the address's name. I've literally expunged it from my memory. Vic Beasley is in there. Genevieve Clowney. Talk about, I'm trying to think of the edge rusher's name. I've literally expunged it from my memory. Vic Beasley is in there.

So the Titans general manager, John Robinson, has made some mistakes. But you look up and down the roster. Guys who have contributed this year, A.J. Brown, Nate Davis in the third round in 2019. Jeffrey Simmons has turned into one of the best three interior defensive linemen in the league. And that was a risky pick at the time with his off field and his medical concerns. But it's even deeper than that. David Long has been the Titans best linebacker. He's a sixth

round pick from 2019. A guy like Dane Cruikshank, who was drafted in, I believe, 2018, has turned into a great matchup nightmare for the Titans defense, even though he's a little banged up right now. Contributions from David Questenberry, the tight end group that they've put together. Some of the wide receivers who are stepping up who are undrafted free agents like Nick Westbrook, Akina, a guy on the line like Aaron Brewer,

an undrafted free agent. The defensive line, Naquan Jones, Tyre Tartt, both undrafted free agents who have given a ton of snaps for the Titans on the D-line, and then bringing in Danico Autry, bringing in Bud Dupree, bringing in Jackrabbit Jenkins, Christian Fulton as the draft pick, Imani Hooker as a draft pick. I mean, what else could you want from John Robinson? Kevin Byard in his first draft.

I mean, all of these John Robinson picks and John Robinson acquisitions are making huge plays every single day. And you got to mention that Mike Malarkey won a playoff game for the Titans for the first time in 10 years. And this franchise, the Titans aren't, you know, one of these blue blood organizations that win every year and expect excellence every year. Before John Robinson showed up, the Titans were the worst team in the NFL two years running

basically. So the fact that they would win a playoff game for the first time in 10 years and have the onions to fire that coach? I mean, you got to give John Robinson credit for saying, hey, he won a playoff game, but malarkey ain't the guy. Vrabel is the guy, and we're going to go get him. And John Robinson was right. So I like that question, John.

That's very smart. Not enough people give credit to John Robinson for essentially saving this franchise. That's really the truth. He saved this franchise from just perpetuity at the bottom of the NFL. So that's kind of a big thing that not enough people are talking about is John Robinson. But on your guys' side, I know things aren't going well, but are there any players that are standing out and players that have been playing pretty well that you kind of want to see hang

around or you think can continue to play well maybe in this game specifically if I have to pick I would have to say John Garnard he has been one of if not the only bright spot for the Houston Texans through this entire terrible 2021 season from Florida right yes sir and you know it seemed like you know last year he was a rookie he really didn't get an opportunity to see the field. But this year after bouncing back from, I believe it was an ankle injury that forced him to miss the first two games, this guy has been killing the defensive line. I mean, this guy has really became a real foundational piece for the Houston Texans to build around. the Houston Texans to build around.

And I would say if there is one aspect of this game, you guys might have to look out for is that defensive line, because along with Jonathan Garnard, you also have, you also have guys like Jacob Martin. You also have guys like the rookie Roy Lopez. I mean, there are so many guys on this defensive line that is making a statement on this team. And if they can find some kind of way to disrupt, you know, the backfield, even with it, even with the injury of Derrick Henry, I think they will have a slim possibility to pull it out.

I don't think so. But John Grenard in the whole front four has been by far the best part of the Houston Texans so far this season. John, is there anybody else who's standing out to you? I took a vow of silence. I knew he was coming my way, and I was just, oh, I'm not going to answer this. But I think John Grenard is one of those players who, you know, by the way, early in the week, we talked about him on the Locked On Texas, you know, he mentioned that the stats are cool, but he wants to dub.

And, you know, that's one of those statements where I love that, right? I mean, that shows team player type of guy who wants to get some numbers, of course, who doesn't want to get numbers. But at the same time, they want to win games. And I love that, but I think he has been a very great bright spot and a black hole for Houston this offense.

I mean, this season so far. And I would piggyback off of that and just say, man, Garnard, what he has brought to this team, I think his production has helped other players on that defensive line. Right. And so, uh, that's it, man.

Garnard. And we share the same name. So a lot of John love in this second segment, we got John Hickman, we got John Garnard, we got John Robinson. I mean, that's how it's going. But, you know, I'll piggyback off that because I think we're hitting on the matchup that can change this game from what people are expecting. You talk about the defensive line. And one thing that has stuck out for the Titans is, and now this didn't go that way against

the Rams. So I know that there are going to be Titans fans who jump on me to say that, you know, that's the example. But early in the season, talented defensive lines really gave the Titans problems. I mean, the Cardinals just undressed the Titans offensive line in week one. And that may just be a weird, weird things happen in week one every season. But you look at the Jets game, the Jets are not a great football team, but they do have some studs on the defensive line, like a John Franklin Myers and a Quinnen Williams, and they really gave it to the Titans offensive line

who did deal with some injuries throughout that game as well to put that in. The Buffalo game, the Titans won, but that Buffalo defensive line still did a good job against the Titans offensive line, and the Titans have given up the fourth most sacks in the NFL this year with 29. You guys want to know something crazy? They gave up 24 sacks all of last year. So the Titans have already given up five more sacks this year than they gave up all last

year, and they've only played 10 games. So that's got to be a concern. And the Titans have really struggled with athletic pass rushers and people who will crowd the line of scrimmage bl blitz, and try to confuse their protection. So I would expect to see the Texans do that. But like you're saying, if Grenard, maybe Malik Collins, maybe Roy Lopez, these dudes, if they can win one-on-one in their matchups, then they could.

The Titans offense is kind of limping along right now without Derrick Henry. And the defense has really carried them lately to wins. And special teams on Sunday against the Saints carried them to a win. But the Titans' offensive line definitely has the ability to let a lesser team with a good defensive line absolutely control the game. So if the Titans are already playing bad on offense, and then the Texans play well on the defensive line

to keep that going even more, and the Titans' defense doesn't play out of this world, which they have for a few weeks, there's absolutely a chance that the Houston Texans can find a way to win this game. So that's probably the biggest matchup to watch going forward. We are going to talk about our predictions for this game, a couple other tidbits that we want to get into in our final segment of the day.

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Alright guys, let's get to our final segment here. We talked about kind of the big matchup to watch. We kind of talked about where these teams are and where the fan bases are at at this moment in time. Looking forward to kind of how you think the game is going to play out. John, I'll let you go first. What are you seeing from this game? Where do you think the game is going to play out. John, I'll let you go first. What are you seeing from this game? Where do you think the score ends up being?

How do you think things play out on Sunday? Well, I am one half of the Locked On Texas podcast, and my other half doesn't believe that this is a Deontay Foreman revenge game. And I really want it. I want to see it. But I do see the Tennessee Titans, who you mentioned this young man's name earlier in the show, and it's Jeffrey Simmons' kid.

It's a monster at football. And, you know, this year compared to last year, you see the growth. He's learning the game more and more. He's been dominating. I see him disrupting this game for this offensive line that has been lackluster, to say the least, the entire year. He's going to affect the run game, which is already nonexistent. And right now, we still got to see more Tyrod Taylor,

but I don't know if a lot of fans have faith in what he can do moving forward. So it's kind of like you have the vet in, you're going to get the same result as when you got the young kid in. But this defense who's been on fire lately, they're going up against an offense that allows other defenses, the opposing defenses, to play better than what they already were. And you guys are playing great right now. So you're not going to see this being a 13-point win for the Tennessee Titans.

That is a little bit more hopeful than what I have because everything outside of the Texans front four led by John Grenard has been terrible. The offensive line has been terrible. The quarterback play, even though Tyrod Taylor was coming back from a hamstring injury that he missed six games, he was terrible on the last game. The run game has been non-existent. The secondary has been trashed.

Special teams, they've been subpar, but I still hold a grudge against them because if it wasn't for Kiami Fairbair, they would have won that game against the New England Patriots. Coaching staff, they don't know what the hell they're doing. It's just a mess here in the city of Houston. I got the Tennessee Titans winning 35-3. And look, this is a Houston Texans team that have not scored on the world since the second quarter of week two against the Cleveland Browns. And that was when Tyrod Taylor got hurt and everything with this season.

What the hell? Look, as a matter of fact, this season, they are averaging seven and a half points per game on the road. That is terrible. That's my prediction. It's just going to be another embarrassment. I mean, that's fair. I get where you're at, but I feel like I'm in a weird spot here.

But just to give you guys some optimism, something the Titans have struggled against is playmaking quarterbacks who can kind of run around in the pocket by time. The Titans love playing man coverage, so if you can run around in the pocket and force the defensive backs to cover four, five, six seconds, somebody's going to uncover. And that's just the reality of it.

So Tyrod Taylor still coming back from injury. I think, I think the Texans about a one, three or four games right now. If Tyrod doesn't get hurt in that Browns game, they win that Browns game. They probably win that Patriots game that you've been talking about. So I know that it looks terrible, and it truly is terrible. I don't want to sugarcoat it here, you know what I mean? But I just think the Texans are better than a 1-8 football team overall, and I worry that as Tyrod Taylor gets healthy,

if the defensive line for the Texans can play well, and then Tyrod Taylor can play make and kind of run away from the rush and give his guys time to play sandlot football. I think that gives the Titans a lot of trouble when there is the propensity for that to happen. The skill set for Tyrod Taylor, the talent of the defensive line for Houston, I think it's possible. And with the way that the Titans are playing offense, basically, if it turns out to be 35-3 or turns out to be 31-18 or a 13-point game, it's because the Titans were able to run the ball. So what I will say is Jeremy McNichols, the Titans, scat back, pass catching back. He might be out for this game with concussion.

He didn't practice. Mike Vrabel, if you have a concussion during the week, Mike Vrabel pretty much just doesn't let you play the next week is how they handle it. And then Adrian Peterson, while I have tons of love for Adrian Peterson and I'm sure you guys do as well, he's a 36-year-old running back

who hasn't played football in 10 months and it shows. He misses some holes. He's never been a guy who plays in a zone read system very often in his career. He's more of a gap man, you know, power runner. You combine the unfamiliarity with the scheme, the age. Adrian Peterson just isn't showing quite enough burst. So I would expect Deonta Foreman to get a mad amount of touches in this game.

And he's the only running back on the Titans that can catch the ball out of the backfield and run the ball successfully. McNichols can't run the football at all, and AP has never been a good pass catching back, let alone at 36 years old. So, Cody, I hate to tell you, if the Titans do what you're saying they're going to do, it's because Foreman ran wild, and honestly, what a beautiful story that would be. At least from my perspective to cover the team, that would be fun. Yeah, for Foreman to get that done.

The Texas guy, former Texan, all of that together, it would be pretty cool to see Foreman have a big day. But I just don't know if the Titans' offensive line is up to the task. They haven't been run blocking super well either, and Derrick Henry is really starting to show that this offensive line was kind of milquetoast all along, but him breaking off these big runs and getting more yards than is really

available has kind of helped. And I say that in kind of an average, I think they're probably like somewhere between 10 to 15. If you had to rank the offensive lines where the rushing production would lead you to believe that they were a top five, top eight offensive line.

The Titans offensive line's older. It's getting banged up. There's a lot of injuries. Roger Saffold can't finish a game practically. They've been shuffling guys in and out. So I guess I see an opportunity for the Texans to maybe have a shot to win this game. I think it'll be closer than people are expecting.

I am going to go with 31-21. I think that's where I'm going to settle at, 31-21. And I think the Texans, like, I don't know what the spread is right now on that game off the top of my head. I think it's 10-1. Yeah, last time I don't know what the spread is right now on that game off the top of my head. I think it's two and a half. Yeah, last time I checked, it was two and a half. I'm taking ten and a half. Like, I would take the Texans plus ten and a half.

I'd ride on that, man. I could see this being, you know, 24-17, 31-21 in there. I think the Texans definitely cover that. So, that's going to be my prediction as for the game. So we talked about where these teams are at from a team standpoint, where the fan base is feeling like they're at. We talked about, you know, a key matchup, the offensive line of the Titans versus the defensive line of the Texans.

We talked our predictions for the game. You guys have any final thoughts you want to share before we get out of here? Yeah, I do have a final question that I wanted to get your take on. What has been some of the small improvements that has taken this Titan team, now ranked 15th on defense compared

to last year when they were ranked 24th? I think that's a story that I wanted to just get your opinion on. Sure, sure. It's pretty easy, to be honest with you. It's the defensive line. The Titans' defense was terrible last year. They had 19 sacks the entire season.

19 sacks the entire season. That's the second most of any playoff team in the modern era. So that's pretty despicable. The Titans have 37 sacks. I'm sorry, I'm reading the wrong category here. The Titans have 37 sacks, or I'm sorry, I'm reading the wrong category here. The Titans have 27 sacks already this year, so that's pretty great if you're looking at that compared to the 19

that they had all of last year to have 27 already. The Titans cut both their starting cornerbacks in Malcolm Butler and Adoree Jackson. They cut their starting strong safety in Kenny Vaccaro. They went with youth in the secondary, and they took all that money, and they put it in the defensive line. They signed Bud Dupree, who's been in and out of the lineup and injured a lot. But Danico Autry has been amazing, and Jeffrey Simmons has just gone to another level.

Harold Landry, when he's not being dropped back into coverage 125 plus times for no reason at all, and actually gets to rush the quarterback, has already surpassed his career high in sacks. So if you want to know how the Titans, the Titans offense really hasn't been as good as it's been in previous years. So not only compensating for the poor defense last year, but also compensating for a slight regression in the offense. It's the Titans defensive line that has really created this 8-2 start. That's really all it comes to. And John Robinson, again, took the money out of the secondary,

which is how Dean Pease likes to have his defense set up, and put the money in the pass rush, which is how Mike Vrabel wants his defense set up. And that pretty much turned the tide for the Titans' defense and kind of helped them along throughout the season the Titans don't have the offense that they've had the last few years especially with Derrick Henry out so that defense had to step up and make this happen Cody do you have any final thoughts other than the fact that you have more faith in the Texans than we do no

I do not well it's kind of hard not to after watching the Titans, who were clearly better than the Texans last year, but still struggle to put them away, and a Tennessee Titans team that has shown consistently that they play down or up to their competition. If they play one of the best teams in the NFL, the Titans will play

lights out. If they play one of the worst teams in the NFL, the Titans play like one of the worst teams in the NFL the Titans play like one of the worst teams in the NFL it's just it's just what they do so I guess uh more than optimism in the Texans it's kind of like a PTSD with the Titans really well well what I will say to that point last year we had a guy who used to wear number four here in the city of Houston um he's not playing this game or the next game and possibly ever again in the city of Houston. So you don't have to worry about that

because the guy that wears number five, he is nowhere near as good as that last guy. That's very true. Yeah, he's one number better, but he's certainly not better as a player. But I like Tyron. I hate taking shots at him in that way, but I understand the vibes.

But that's going to do it for a crossover Thursday. Week 11 crossover Thursday between John Hickman, Cody Davis of Locked on Texans, me, Tyler Rowland of Locked on Titans. Both our respective shows are going to be back with you guys for Friday game previews to

cover all the other aspects of the game that we need to to get you guys ready. Make sure that you subscribe to both these podcasts on whatever platform you do stream. And I would encourage you, even if you're a fan of Locked on Titans or a fan of Locked on Texans, it's always fun to listen to the game preview of the opposing team so you can kind of get what they're looking for,

what the thought process is on the other side. So even if you're a Titans fan, check out Locked on Texans. And if you're a Texans fan, check out Locked on Titans. I think it's still a very entertaining listen, even if you're not that team's fan. But either way, that's going to do it for us. We will be back with you on Friday. Everybody take care, stay safe, and enjoy the weekend of football.