Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans v Texans: Who Are the Texans, Stopping Dameon Pierce & Game Predictions

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, it's Crossover Thursday, and I'm excited to be joined by Cody Davis, one of the hosts of Locked on Texans. We've got a lot to dive into. Who are the Houston Texans this year? We're going to get a great breakdown from Cody.

Starting point is 00:00:26 Also, how do the Titans stop rookie running back Damian Pierce? We'll talk to big matchups in this game. And then finally, Cody and I will both give our game and score prediction. Excited to dive into this matchup on a crossover Thursday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.

Starting point is 00:01:20 It's Crossover Thursday. We have an AFC South matchup between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans. Excited to get into it. I am host of Locked on Titans, Tyler Rowland here with one of the hosts of Locked on Texans, Cody Davis. And Crossover Thursday is presented by our friends at PrizePix. PrizePix is so much fun and it's easy to play. No competing with other players.

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Starting point is 00:02:09 up to $100 when they use promo code LOCKEDON. That's prizepix.com or the PrizePix app. Promo code LOCKEDON. But, Cody, we have a big matchup to get into here. I know that the Texans may not be doing their best record-wise, but you know as I know, the Titans and Texans always play close games, and there are definitely some redeeming qualities to both teams despite some sluggish football at times.

Starting point is 00:02:39 But getting into the biggest storyline for the Titans and the Texans going into this matchup. Really for me, obviously a blank slate to tell us what the biggest storyline with the Texans are, but I just wanted to weave a question in here. Who are the 2022 Houston Texans? I see good and I see a lot of bad. The 2022 Houston Texans are a mixture of a competitive team, a young team, a more promising team for the future, but at the same time, a bad team. Let's just say that. And look, you know, it's been somewhat of a roller coaster of a ride, right? And I think all the adjectives that I just used is the perfect example. I mean, Tyler, you know it. You've been watching the Houston Texans over the last three seasons.

Starting point is 00:03:30 You know how bad the Texans' rushing attack has been. Now we got Damian Pearson. He seems like he's on a trajectory to one day becoming one of the, if not the best running back in the game. And he is already carrying so much of the burden on the offensive side of the ball. Then you take a look at the defense. Once again, Tyler, you have seen it. The Houston Texans secondary has been one of the worst in the league.

Starting point is 00:03:55 You add in Jalen Petrie, you add in Derrick Stanley Jr., and now it seems like that is part of the reason why we are starting to see the Texans defense, at least in the secondary, starts to trend in the right direction. When you take a look at other young players like a Nico Collins, when you take a look at other young players like a Christian Harris, by the way, before we jumped on this podcast, news just broke that Kamu Guje Hill asked for his release. The Houston Texans granted it. And I'm not surprised because early on in the week, we heard from Lovie Smith and Lovie Smith said after Harris's debut on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, they want to give Christian Harris more responsibilities, more snaps. We saw him take a couple snaps away from Kamu Grugier Hill on Sunday. I say all that just to

Starting point is 00:04:43 say, even in his debut, he looked decent and everything looked promising for the future. But as of right now, when we walk into week eight of the regular season with a 1-4-1 record and the fact that the Texans have lost a lot of their games by one score or no more than two scores, you know, it shows that they are competitive. But at the same time, there are still a lot of holes to try to fill as you move on throughout the rest of the 2022 campaign. Yeah. And it's funny, Titans fans should remember Kamu Grugier Hill. He got the interception on Ryan Tannehill last year in the red zone. So that was actually something when I saw that right before we came on, I thought that is interesting because he's had some real success against the

Starting point is 00:05:30 Titans. And of course, for the Titans, the biggest storyline with them right now has to be the health of starting quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill took a pretty nasty hit in the game against the Colts. He rolled his ankle, said it was a sprained ankle at his press conference on Wednesday. He was listed as a DNP for practice on Wednesday with that ankle injury. Right now, it depends on who you talk to. You talk to a Titans fan, they'll tell you how tough

Starting point is 00:05:59 Ryan Tannehill is, how he's been able to start 49 straight games, a record for this franchise, how he always plays as tough as anybody, regardless of what position they play on this team. But if you look at Vegas, this game opened at about five and a half points with the Titans as the favorites. It's down to only two. I think there is some thought around the league and some whispers around the league right now that Ryan Tannehill may not be able to play in this game. Now, I wouldn't be surprised if the veteran gutted it out and went out there with a run game heavy game plan, but there is a slight chance that we get the rookie Malik Willis in this game, I think no matter what happens, whether it's a banged up Tannehill or it's a rookie Malik Willis, you're going to have an incredibly run heavy attack. It's going to be led by Derrick Henry, who might as well say it now, the last three contests

Starting point is 00:06:56 against Houston, Derrick Henry has averaged 224 yards and two plus touchdowns. So Derrick Henry has made a lot of money running the ball against the Houston Texans. And with the state of the Titans offense, with a healthy Ryan Tannehill, one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL, if not the worst, they were going to have to run the ball anyway to win games in any matchup. But against Houston here with the banged up Ryan Tannehill, whether he plays or not, or it's Malik Willis, they're going to have to run the ball. So whether Tannehill plays is the biggest storyline, but I think the secondary storyline is if Tannehill doesn't play Malik

Starting point is 00:07:36 Willis, that will be one of the biggest storylines of the entire NFL weekend. Yeah. And when you take a look at the biggest storyline here with the Houston Texans, the biggest storyline is who's going to step up with this wide receiving core? Because, look, second-year prospect, Nico Collins, as I just mentioned, promising young player. You know, everything looks good for the future. Nico Collins started off the season really, really good. But unfortunately, as of right now, he's not going to be able to play on Sunday's game because he is battling with a groin injury. Okay. Now, who has been a Houston Texans number one wide receiver over the last two and a half years? Brandon Cooks. And as of right now, I think it's safe to say that

Starting point is 00:08:19 Brandon Cooks' career with the Houston Texans is over. It looks like it. Throughout this, over the last couple of days, Brandon has been on social media, liking posts, talking about his trade value, liking posts, talking about, you know, which team can actually use his services. And, you know, I'm not a type of reporter who reads too much into the whole social media stuff, but we all know that there's something behind it. I did not start getting red flags on whether or not Brandon cooks is going to be here or not until Wednesday. Every single Wednesday,

Starting point is 00:08:58 ever since he'd been here, Brandon cooks always speaks to the media. You know, when he first got here was, it was Bill O'Brien, Deshaun Watson, Brandon cooks, you know, last year was, it here, it was Bill O'Brien, Deshaun Watson, Brandon Cooks. You know, last year it was David Culley, Tyrod Taylor, Brandon Cooks.

Starting point is 00:09:10 This year it's Lovie Smith, David Smith, Brandon Cooks. Like, Brandon Cooks has always been there. And Wednesday wasn't the first day that he took a veteran day. If he was in Texas, normally you let him take a veteran day. But even when he takes veteran days, he still is around the team. You still see him on the sideline. He still addresses the media if it's his day for an availability. But on Wednesday, they say Brandon Cooks had a veteran day at first,

Starting point is 00:09:37 and he wasn't around the team. Then when it was time for his media availability, a spokesperson came in and said that Brandon cooks was lifting weights. But once again, they said he was taking a veteran day and he wasn't around the team. So it's like, Hmm, what is going on here?

Starting point is 00:09:53 I see all that. Just to say, if they don't end up trading Brandon cooks before Sunday's matchup against the Tennessee Titans, I don't want to speak too soon, but I do not expect him to play. It seemed like behind closed door, they'll probably let him stay away from the team, stay away from the organization

Starting point is 00:10:11 until they try to find something out. And I'm looking at this from a standpoint of if Nico Collins is out due to injury, and if Brandon Cooks does not play, where's the offense going to come from on the wide receiving core? I mean, you take a look at Nico Collins and Brandon Cooks. Both of those guys are one and two in terms of the top receivers and receiving yards. And the next closest receiver is Jordan Aikens, and that's a tight end. So, you know, it's going to be really, really interesting to see how the Houston Texans move the ball with their passing attack. And it's probably going to be another game where we just see them run Damian Pierce down to the ground.

Starting point is 00:10:49 Right. And, you know, if you look at the Titans defensive stats, that might actually play into the Titans' hand. But we'll talk about matchups in this game that we are going to be paying attention to before we get into it. Do want to tell you about our friends over at Bird Dogs. Listen, I'm not lying to you guys. I love my Bird Dog shorts. Like they are so, so comfortable. It's like a cute little

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Starting point is 00:13:32 We are back for the matchup portion of this crossover Thursday. I am Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans here with Cody Davis of Locked on Texans. Make sure that you make Locked on Titans and Locked on Texans your first listen every day. It's your team every day, Monday through Friday, for free on all platforms. But as for your second listen, make sure you check out Locked On Sports today. It's all the biggest stories and all the biggest sports in under 25 minutes every single day, free and available on all platforms.

Starting point is 00:14:01 Check out the Locked On Sports Today podcast. But, Cody, it's time to get into our matchups after we talked biggest storylines. For you, what is a matchup that you're looking forward to in this game between the Titans and Texans? Derrick Henry versus the Houston Texans run defense, plain and simple. Tyler, you already talked about it. This is a guy that has recorded

Starting point is 00:14:26 not one, not two, but three games where he had over 200 yards on the ground. The last time the Texans squared off against the Tennessee Titans when Derrick Henry was on the field, because due to the foot injury, he did not play against the Texans last year. This is a man on January 10th, 2021, which by the way, was the Sean Watson's last game with the organization. Derrick Henry recorded 250 yards with two touchdowns. And it's sad to say, but here we are once again, and the Houston Texans once again is a team that cannot stop the run. They have given up 161 yards to Jonathan Taylor. They have given up 157 yards to Khalil Herbert. And just last Sunday, they gave up 143 yards to Josh Jacob. And when I look at the opposite side of the line of scrimmage,

Starting point is 00:15:31 you know, early on in the season, of course, you could attest to this as well. You know, it seemed like Derrick Henry might have lost a step or two because, what, he started the season averaging, what, about 70 to 80 yards on the ground. He was a little rusty early. There's no lie. The offensive line wasn't great, but He was a little rusty early. There's no lie that the offensive line isn't great, but he was a little rusty too. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:15:48 And now over the last three games, he has eclipsed over 100 yards. Not one, not two, but three times. And I'm pretty sure on Sunday, it's going to be a four. So, you know, the, the small hope or any hope that the Texans have for winning this game is going to be whether or not they can actually stop the run. Yeah, I think that's obviously the biggest matchup to watch there.

Starting point is 00:16:12 And like I mentioned earlier, Derrick Henry's success. The Texans are the worst run defense in the league. That's a great start because that is absolutely the big matchup to watch. For me, though, I got to look at one of the positives for the Houston Texans, and that is the offensive line. And look, I know it's not perfect, and you could break down why it's not perfect, and they're not one of the best offensive lines in the league. But you look, they're not one of the high-sack teams in the NFL.

Starting point is 00:16:43 They're not giving up some of the biggest pressure numbers in the NFL. The rookie Kenyon Green, I know, has had some major success to go along with Laramie Tunsil, who we already knew was a good player. Titus Howard, I know, has had his ups and downs, bringing Scott Questionberry, A.J. Akan. This is part of the thing, like I said, I wanted to ask a few questions too. I'm looking at that matchup. The Texans need to run the ball to have success,

Starting point is 00:17:08 but the Titans defensive line with Jeffrey Simmons and Bud Dupree, Danico Autry, Rashad Weaver, T.A.R. Tartt, they've been very good. I'm looking at that matchup. Can the Houston Texans offensive line do enough to allow them to have some success against the Titans defensive line. But with me looking at that matchup, I just wanted to ask you how that offensive line has looked this year. And if I'm off base by saying that they've had some good moments. No, the offensive line has been one of the most solid position groups that the Houston

Starting point is 00:17:40 Texans have had. And, you know, first and foremost, of course, to start with Laramie Tulsa, who is arguably probably still this team best player. You know, Laramie. And, you know, first and foremost, of course, to start with Laramie Tunsil, who is arguably probably still this team's best player. You know, Laramie Tunsil, you know, there was a lot going on with this organization last year, as you know. And Laramie Tunsil, I guess after he recovered from his thumb injury, you see I'm putting everything in air quotes. You know, it seems like he didn't want to come back to this organization.

Starting point is 00:18:03 But now, and that's one thing that I do like about the Texans bringing in Lovie Smith as head coach and bringing in Pep Hamilton. It seemed like that, you know, throughout this whole entire year, even as of right now with the Houston Texans sitting at 1-4-1, it actually brought like a sense of stability and a little bit more respect to the organization. And it seemed like that actually helped Laramie Tunsil lock in a little bit more and say, look, we might not be a team that's going to go out there and win games. But due to the respect that I have for Lovie Smith, due to the respect that I have for Pep Hamilton, I'm going to at least go

Starting point is 00:18:39 out there and do my job. And Laramie Tunsell has solidified himself once again as one of the best left tackles in the league. And we talk a lot about the success of Damian Pierce. And of course, you know, your running back nine times out of 10 could be just as good as your offensive line. And part of the reason why the Houston Texans run blocking has taken a giant leap forward is due to the attributes of rookie offensive lineman Keion Green. And that's part of the reason why I was excited for the Houston Texans to draft him, because in my opinion, when I was doing my pre and mid and post-draft analysis, Keion Green was the one offensive lineman where he was always rated as one of the highest offensive linemen,

Starting point is 00:19:25 offensive lineman where he was always rated as one of the highest offensive linemen, but more so in run blocking. And with him being out there on the field, that is basically helping Damian Pierce get to the second and third level like we have been seeing. And then you move down to the third most important offensive lineman, Titus Howard. Last year, he really didn't have a good year. That's because they kept moving him around. I think he played all across the offensive line and self-center this year. Like I mentioned, some stability, better coaching. They say, you know what, let's put him back at his natural position, which is right tackle. So because of those three guys and of course, the interior, it's been shaky at times. But even the interior with the addition of like AJ can, you know, the, the interior has been

Starting point is 00:20:05 pretty decent to say the least. So, you know, the offensive line has been good and you know, that that's one matchup that I'm looking at as well, because I do believe if the Texans offensive line can like hold their own against a very, pretty solid defensive line, that defensive line unit that you guys have maybe that might be enough to get this offense moving in the right direction yeah it very well could be and with most of the Titans games this year it just seems whether the Titans defensive line can dominate or not is whether or not the Titans have a chance to win because it's just uh the best part of of their team right now the other aspect, though, is the linebacker group,

Starting point is 00:20:47 and that's why I am watching it. The Texans win this game. It's because Damian Pierce was able to get off like Saquon Barkley did in week one, and that led to the Titans' demise. So if the Texans are able to run the ball, that would really put them in a position to win, and I think one of the biggest factors in that, away from just the offensive line

Starting point is 00:21:05 battle is the Titans linebackers against Damian Pierce coming downhill. The Titans are playing Dylan Cole right now, who's really more of a special teamer, but he's a physical guy who will come downhill and hit you even if he's not going to be able to outrun you. And then the Titans best linebacker, David Long, he's had interceptions in recent weeks, the game winner against the Commanders. He is an undersized linebacker, but he is going to pop you in the mouth, get downhill. He jukes offensive linemen out because he can't really stack them

Starting point is 00:21:33 and shed them like that. So he's just flying all over the place making plays. If they miss tackles against Damian Pierce in the hole and they get up into the secondary, the Texans may have something going. So that's something that I am watching for as well. Do you have any more matchups that you're looking at, Cody? I don't have a matchup, but I do have a question. You know, if Ryan Tannehill isn't able to play, of course,

Starting point is 00:21:55 that means Malik Willis is going to take the helm as your team starting quarterback. One, you know, how much confidence do you have in Malik Willis? And two, and most importantly, do you think this might be a start of a new era down there in Tennessee well I'll answer this question honestly I I don't have much confidence that uh Malik Willis will be able to play well quite honestly he's still far away in his development and the times that he has been on the field this year, it hasn't looked great. He's looked very unprepared and unready. And I know that the Titans coaching staff hasn't

Starting point is 00:22:32 been great on offense, but they're also a professional coaching staff who have their players prepared to play. The problems with the offensive coaching staff are play calling and situational things. So I do believe the Titans are getting Malik Willis as ready as possible. And I just don't think he's ready there. So I would worry a bit if he had to play. But one thing I would say is the game plan that the Titans would have with Malik Willis would be so incredibly different than what they would do with Ryan Tannehill

Starting point is 00:22:59 in terms of the quarterback read option game, quarterback power, quarterback counter, using Malik Willis literally as a running back in certain situations because that's what they know he can do right now. So read options with Derrick Henry, the regular run game for the Titans, quick, easy throws and screens. Hope Malik Willis can scramble for some plays and make some electric things happen there.

Starting point is 00:23:21 That would be the Titans game plan. And I think that against this run defense, that might actually work. But I think against, you know, maybe a better run defense, the Titans would be truly doomed. But I think there's a decent chance Malik does play in this game. And I just think that it might help the Titans in the sense of the Texans won't know what to be scouting for because the Titans have never come out with a early Jalen Hurts, early Lamar Jackson, Tim Tebow style, you know, offense. So I think it may be, it may get super interesting if the Titans are out in the league, but I don't think it's the start of a new era.

Starting point is 00:24:01 But with that being said, we are going to move into the prediction section of this jam-packed crossover Thursday between the Locked On Titans and the Locked On Texans. Before we get into our predictions, do want to just tell you guys about SimpliSafe. I moved into a new house before the season started and I needed a security system that was modern and interactive and something that I felt actually safe using.

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Starting point is 00:25:16 That's Simpli with an I. SimpliSafe.com slash LockedOnNFL to learn more. And remember, there is no safe like SimpliSafe. Titans fans, Texans fans, we are going to cap off this crossover Thursday with our game and score predictions. The moment you guys have all been waiting on. I am Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans here with Cody Davis, one of the hardest working men in show business covering all Houston sports.

Starting point is 00:26:00 I love his Houston Rockets coverage as a big NBA head. So make sure you guys tune in to Cody on Twitter on Locked on Texans because he does great work. But with that being said, time to get into our game and score predictions. And Titans fans get mad because I don't pick the Titans to win enough. But Titans fans, today is your day. I'm picking the Titans to win this game. At the end of the day, I got to say, even if Malik Willis was playing,

Starting point is 00:26:27 I'm going to pick the Titans to win because I think it all has to do with the run game. However, I do think it is going to be a close game because it seems like that's the only kind of games that the Titans play. I am going to go with the Titans winning 16-7. That's 16-7 is going to be my prediction for the game. Low scoring, it's going to be ugly, but I think the Titans defense is so on fire right now that I don't see Houston scoring a ton of points,

Starting point is 00:27:03 even if I also don't see the Titans scoring a ton of points either because that's just not what they do anymore. So, yeah, 16-7, Titans win. That's my prediction. Take the under, people. Take the under. Oh, well, you know, I hate predictions. Right.

Starting point is 00:27:26 I'm going to just come out and say it. I have the Tennessee Titans winning this game, but I've kind of conflicted on the score. Cause I want to say that the Titans will win 17 to 10, but I would not be surprised if the Titans win 17 to three. And I say that because, you know know like I just mentioned in the first segment there's so much place on the shoulders of Damian Pierce which is a good thing Damian Pierce has really helped this organization move the ball I mean I truly do believe and you know I hate to see the injury that took place early on early early on this week um with um um the running back in new

Starting point is 00:28:06 new uh bryce hall yeah bryce hall yeah you know i hate to see the injury that took place um with bryce hall because it seemed like him and damian pierce is going to like battle each other out for offensive rookie of the year but even if he was still healthy i would say that damian pierce should definitely get the helm for offensive rookie of the year just because he has so much place on his shoulders. However, I don't see the Houston Texans having that much success on the offensive side of the ball because Nico Collins, who has been this team best wide receiver, he's not going to be there. Then we have this big question mark with Brandon Cooks. If Brandon Cooks isn't there, you know, that is going to make this wide receiving court basically, you know, nothing. And even if Brandon Cooks is there,

Starting point is 00:28:48 now you got to take a look at the mindset of things. You know, is he going to give it 100%? Is he out there just so he won't get fined? You know, it's so much going on on that offensive side of the ball with the wide receiving court to the point where if the Texans, if Tennessee defense finally get things going where they have an opportunity to stop the run, I don't see the Houston Texans making too many plays at all

Starting point is 00:29:14 on the offensive side of the ball. So I have Tennessee winning. Best case scenario, I could see 17-10. Yeah, and I'm generally in that ballpark with you with my score as well. It's going to be a low-scoring effort, and I think the Texans may even be able to score off like a Titans turnover, and that may be, you know, because I think the Titans defense is just really dialed in right now,

Starting point is 00:29:37 the fourth-best run defense in the NFL, and with the wide receiver issues you mentioned, I think it makes it easier for the Titans to just kind of gang up on the run, but we will see. Well, just a little bit of a recap for you. The biggest storyline for the Titans here in this game is clearly the health of Ryan Tannehill. Will Tannehill, even though banged up, be able to go out there and compete against the Texans? Or will the Titans ultimately have to turn to the rookie quarterback Malik Willis and see if they can run an altered game plan that's heavy run

Starting point is 00:30:05 to try, which the Titans would be heavy run anyway, but even more heavy run than that to try to pull off this win in Houston. Cody, your biggest storyline for the Texans? Once again, who's going to step up on the wide receiving core? As a matter of fact, on Wednesday, we had an opportunity to talk to both Lovie Smith and Davis Mills. Both of them raved about Phillip Dorsett. I think Phillip Dorsett has been a decent addition to this team since he signed in December. However, when you're talking about replacing the talents of Brandon Cooks

Starting point is 00:30:36 and Nico Collins, I don't think Phillip Dorsett is going to be enough. Right, right. That makes complete sense. And then, of course, looking at the matchups in this game, obviously Derrick Henry with his average over 200 yards in the last three matchups with the Texans, and the Texans' poor run defense. The Texans' run defense against Derrick Henry

Starting point is 00:30:56 has to be the number one thing you're looking for. I also mentioned the Titans' linebackers trying to take down Damian Pierce, David Long, Dylan Cole, maybe Zach Cunningham, a former Texan. He returned to practice after missing a few games. Maybe he'll be involved in there as well. The linebackers of the Titans, can they tackle Damian Pierce and keep him from breaking off big runs? And then the matchups that you were looking at?

Starting point is 00:31:20 Once again, Derek Henry versus his run defense. And over the last two years the texans run defense has not improved so far this season it has given up an average of 164 yards on the ground yeah yeah absolutely it's a it is kind of a perfect matchup for henry to keep that average going no lie and then just don't give up over 200 again. Oh, my gosh. Hey, Titans fans will take 199. But with my prediction, I got the Titans winning this game 16-7. Cody, your prediction for the game?

Starting point is 00:32:00 I have the Tennessee Titans either 17-10 or 17-3. Yeah, if things really go crazy, 17-3. I could see both scores either way. Low scoring could end up being very close as the Titans and Texans always seem to be, but that's going to do it for us on a crossover Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans and Locked on Texans podcast presented

Starting point is 00:32:18 by the Locked on Podcast Network. I'm Tyler Rowland, host of Locked on Titans. That's Cody Davis of Locked on Texans. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. And tune in to each show for a game preview coming tomorrow. That'll be very important to listen to as well. Thank you guys all so much for tuning in and enjoy the game. you

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans v Texans: Who Are the Texans, Stopping Dameon Pierce & Game Predictions

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