Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Crossover Wednesday

Episode Date: September 5, 2019

Due some technical difficulties, the Locked on Browns host couldn't join, but let's preview the game from a Browns perspective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Thanks for joining me. I can feel the football in my bones, Titans fans, all the conversations heating up online. We're starting to get coach press conferences talking about the other team. The season is almost here.

Just want to remind you guys, I am going to have a daily podcast Monday through Friday, bringing you all the news and notes out of Nashville. I'm going to spend a lot of time breaking down the game tape, stepping in the film room, covering all the X's and O's. If you would, follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans, follow the show at LockedOnTitans. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever it is that you do stream your podcast.

Today, we're going to take a look at some of the hot topics coming out of the last 24 hours for the Titans, including Mike Vrabel's press conference from this morning. In our second segment, we are going to invite over the host of Locked On Browns to give us a little insight about the Browns' defense, offense, and some of their strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the ball. In our third segment, we'll keep the host of the Locked On Browns on here and go over some predictions, what he thinks the score might be, if the Titans win, if the Titans lose, and cover all those questions.

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All right, welcome back Titans fans. So just some quick hits right here coming out of the last 24 hours or so of Titans news. Looks like Ryan Suckup was unable to rebound from his preseason injury and feel comfortable enough to go into the season as our starting kicker. He was placed on IR. Now because Suckup did make the 53-man roster, he is eligible to return after week eight. So it is possible that he will return to the team and return kicking for the team halfway through the season. Now, if things go well with his replacement, who was signed, Cairo Santos, after a workout, apparently, according to Mike Vrabel in his press conference, he had Jarrell Casey talk a little bit of crap to Santos.

They put him in a couple pressure situations, and he was the most accurate during the tryout. So Cairo Santos will be the kicker for the Titans for the time being. Hopefully he's able to be accurate in comparison. Ryan Suckup is about 86% accurate on his field goals for his career. Santos is about 83%. Obviously I'm going to trust Suckup more than Santos, but kicking is such a confidence

game and all about momentum. If Santos can feel good and get on a roll, there is a possibility that we just stick with him throughout the season regardless of what Suckup does. Now, if Santos struggles whatsoever, then we're definitely looking for Suckup to return halfway through the year, but when a kicker suffers an injury like this and isn't able to kick for a while, that's a confident setback in itself. So So curious to see how it works out. Hoping that the loss of Suckup doesn't hurt the Titans too bad. Considering the last outing in Cleveland, it's definitely concerning, but you got to have faith. Got to hope that Santos is accurate when we need him and the coaches pick the right player. Moving forward, according to Jim Wyatt, the Titans have selected their captains.

Mike Vrabel followed up about this in his press conference as well. Looks like it'll be Marcus Mariota, Kevin Byard, Jarrell Casey, Wesley Woodyard, and Ben Jones. No real surprises there. Seems like that does cover most of the leaders on the team. Moving forward, something that was concerning yesterday in practice Dennis Kelly did not play yesterday those concerns were quelled today though Dennis Kelly did return our concerns were not completely quelled though as Mike Vrabel did report that Jack Conklin didn't practice today.

Now, the Titans have been big on maintenance days throughout the preseason, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that it's just a maintenance day, as Vrabel did say that Conklin would return to practice tomorrow. Now, whether it was something super minor and they just wanted him to take a day off or it literally was nothing and is just a maintenance day, either way, I've said this numerous times on this show. If the head coach is telling you not to worry about an injury, we can only take that at its word and not worry about it.

So I choose to remain positive and not worry about the health of Jack Conklin as he is going to practice tomorrow per Brable. So we are going to move forward to our second segment, take a little bit of a break. When I get back, I will have the hosts of Locked On Browns, and we will take a look at some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Browns defense and offense, according to someone who's on the ground in Cleveland. Long day at work, still stuck at the office? Open the DoorDash app and choose what you want to eat, and your food will be delivered to you wherever you are. Right

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Deposit bonus requires a 25 times playthrough. Eligibility restrictions apply. See DraftKings.com for details. Welcome back, guys. It looks like Jeff of the Locked On Browns podcast is having a little bit of technical difficulties. Therefore, I'm going to be mom and dad for us here in our second segment. We're still going to go over some strengths and weaknesses of both sides of the ball for the Browns,

look at who might be a difference maker for them, who we may not be paying attention to, and then look at how the Browns will most likely try to attack the Titans on offense and defense. We will start with the Browns' offense, starting with their strength. Browns offense, starting with their strength. As you guys are probably aware, Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham are one of the best wide receiver combos in the league, could possibly be the best. Odell Beckham has shown flashes of being the best wide receiver in the league at the minimum. He's top five, top six, so that's going to be a pretty difficult wide receiver duo to deal with, be a pretty difficult wide receiver duo to deal with, even with our talented secondary. I think Nick Chubb is a really solid running back. He can catch the ball out of the backfield a little bit. He definitely can run in between the tackles. So their playmakers on offense, including the

quarterback, Baker Mayfield, would probably be considered their strength. The clear weakness of the Browns offense is the offensive line. Greg Robinson, a high pick, hasn't really panned out, been mostly average or below. They do have two really solid interior linemen in Joel Batonio and JC Tretter. Eric Cush is their right guard. He has been a journeyman, hasn't really excelled anywhere. He's a very average to below average starter. Chris Hubbard, same at right tackle. So the Browns offensive line and in Cleveland, they would tell you that would be probably the biggest weakness of the team in general. So the Titans will have to attack there. Someone who may be a difference maker who we're not

paying attention to on the Browns offense is David Ninjoku. I am not a big fan of him in terms of some of the hype that he has around him. He's really athletic, but some of the nuances of the position, he doesn't do very well. He doesn't deal with the physicality quite well, but he is a very athletic talent. If he gets loose over the middle, which the Titans defense in previous years has shown a propensity to allow tight ends and running backs to get loose over the middle. If he were to have a good day over the middle off a play action and things like that, I think it would really give the Titans trouble. It would be something, of course, everyone's looking for Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, but if, if Ninjoku was able to have a great night, I think it would really be

a detriment to the Titans' defense. I'm hoping that they're able to sure things up over the middle with Jayon Brown and Rashawn Evans, hoping that the inside linebackers of the Titans being such a strength will help them there. Another way I think that the Browns will try to attack the Titans is outside, and I mean that in multiple ways so on one side Logan Ryan is typically going to play the slot corner for the Titans on the outside I expect to see Malcolm Butler and Adoree Jackson each of those players has a very obvious flaw Malcolm Butler can get beat off the line of scrimmage if he doesn't engage his press correctly and get roasted downfield.

We've seen some wide receivers in the NFL who aren't even considered speedsters beat Malcolm Butler down the field. So when you put someone like Odell Beckham on him with his agility and speed, it makes me nervous that the Browns will emphasize taking shots on Malcolm Butler. On the other side of that, I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of quick screens to Jarvis Landry on the outside with Adoree Jackson on him. Adoree Jackson has shown in preseason and throughout his career, he doesn't necessarily enjoy tackling. He's missed a lot of tackles, not just based on technique, but on effort. If I'm the Browns, I am going to attack a Dory Jackson and force him to make tackles

throughout the game. If he's not able to do it, the Browns are going to have a lot of success basically using screens as run plays. Since the Titans run defense is so good, it might be a way they can supplant the run game. I would expect to see that. So hopefully the Titans can shut down Njoku over the middle and not let him get loose. That would be a bad sign for the defense. If he has a big day, I don't think it's going to turn out great for the Titans. Also, I wouldn't be surprised to see

them attack Malcolm Butler deep with Odell Beckham and attack Adore Jackson on screens and see if he's ready to tackle. So that's what I think about the Browns offense. After a little bit of a break, we are going to come back and talk about the defense. Taking a look at the Browns defensive strengths and weaknesses, it's pretty obvious. The Browns have a great front four. Miles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi, Sheldon Richardson, Olivia Vernon. That's a really solid group. They're going to be able to put pressure on the quarterback. They should hold up and run defense. That's going to be a terror for most offenses. Not to mention the Titans are missing starting left tackle Taylor LeJuan, as we know, going up against Dennis Kelly. Miles Garrett could become a problem, to put it lightly. We'll keep moving forward, though. Denzel Ward is one of the better cornerbacks in the league,

even after his rookie season as a second-year player. He's fantastic. They do have a pretty good group in the secondary with Greedy Williams, Terrence Mitchell, TJ Carey at the corners, Demarius Randall, Morgan Burnett at the safeties. Not everyone there is fantastic, but they definitely do have some talent. Clearly the weakness on the Browns defense is going to be their linebacker group. Christian Kirksey, Joe Sherbert, Adarius Taylor. None of those players are really much to write home about Kirksey does have some athleticism One of their backups, Mack Wilson, is a pretty promising prospect A lot of folks know him from his SEC days at Alabama

But that's definitely somewhere that the Titans can attack The Browns will most likely try to drop back in a zone Let their front four get pressure. The Titans wide receiver group is better than it's been in most years, but it's still probably not one of the better groups in the NFL. I don't think it'll scare the Browns defense, quite frankly. They could throw Denzel Ward on Corey Davis and kind of let everyone else leave them to fight for their own defenses. I don't think that the Titans offensive group scares the Browns defense.

They'll let that front four of Garrett, Ogunjobi, Richardson, and Vernon get after it and probably try to let the rest of the folks drop back in coverage and deal with the Titans, let's call it average skill position players. That seems like the clear plan of attack. We will see if the Browns actually do do that. If I'm the Titans, though, it's obvious the plan of attack is going to be to try to run the ball and get play action going. That's going to be the Titans' plan most weeks.

But more than ever, with this pass rush and LeJuan missing, it's going to be important to establish the run. The number one thing that can stop an aggressive pass rush is running the football and play action in the screen game. Three things that I know the Titans offense will want to do, make it easy for Mariota, quick throws in the screen game that'll slow down the edge rushers. If we run the ball, it eliminates the pass rush completely.

And if you're able to have success running the ball, make the defenders think twice, then you're going to be able to hit play action over the middle and take advantage of those average linebackers. So if Delaney Walker is able to get off this game, if Delaney Walker is able to be productive over the middle on play action passes against these average linebackers, it should bode well for the Titans in the game. One difference maker the Browns could have who were least expect, everyone's expecting Miles Garrett, Olivier Vernon to make an impact. Everyone knows Denzel Ward. One person who I think could make a huge impact for the Browns if they are going to be successful is Demarius Randle. He is one of their safeties, but he can drop down and play

slot corner, can play both sides of the field. He can play up in the box. He's just a really talented, versatile player. He does make some mental mistakes here and there. You can catch him out of position. But as for his physical talent, he is gifted and has been since he's been in the league. So he could give a lot of matchup problems out on the field to our tight ends, to Adam Humphreys in the slot. Going to see him used as a key piece and as a chess piece for the Browns defense. So watch out for him. That's going to do it for our second segment.

We're going to take a little bit of a break. When we come back, I am going to do some predictions for what I think the score could be, some of the statistical outputs for some of the players, and talk about what I think needs to happen if the Browns win or what did happen to the Titans and what I think needs to happen for the Titans to win and what will be the case if they do pull out the victory. So see you on the other side. If you found $100 on the street, would you pick it up or keep walking?

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Visit mybookie.ag today. You play, you win, you get paid. Okay, so we will finish with some quick predictions here in our third segment. Go over what I think will happen if the Browns were to win, what I think will have happened if the Titans were able to win. If the Browns do win the game, I think it'll be because of two obvious reasons. The Titans' offensive line is not able to hold up. The Browns talented pass rush is able to get there. The Titans aren't able to move the ball in the run game to put themselves in third and manageable. A lot of third and longs, obvious passing situations, and it allows the

Browns defensive line to pin their ears back and put Marcus on the ground. The offense is never really able to get going because of that. On the defensive side of the ball, it'll be because the Titans' secondary cornerbacks, Adory Jackson and Malcolm Butler, as I mentioned in segment two, I think will struggle for the specific reasons, tackling and coverage deep. The Browns have the wide receivers to take advantage of the Titans' wide receiver or cornerbacks faults. So that's what I would see happening if the Browns were able to pull it out. Most likely would be a score of about 24 to 13. I think that's where it would land. Hoping that is not the case.

Hoping the Titans are able to pull that out. If the Titans are able to secure the victory, I think it'll be because they were able to get the run game going. They were able to impose their will on the Browns defense, not allow that talented pass rush to get going and get comfortable and get in a rhythm, constantly blowing them off the ball, pushing the defensive line back. Nothing ruins a pass rush or spirit like constantly being attacked in the run game. So I think that'll be what the Titans offense is able to do if they are going to pull out the victory. On the flip side of that, I think the Titans middle of the defense,

their inside linebackers, their safeties, and then Logan Ryan and Amani Hooker in the slot are able to blitz, get pressure, and contain the Browns running backs and tight ends. We know that the Browns have talented wide receivers. They're going to get theirs at some point during the game. We just have to limit their big plays, but if the Titans interior, the inside linebackers, the safeties, the slot corners, if they can shut down everything going on on the inside with the running backs and the tight ends and passing situations for the Browns. I think that would ultimately lead to success. I could see Tennessee pulling out a

victory 27 to 21, 24 to 21, somewhere in there if the Titans are able to secure a victory. So that's what I would see on both sides, but that's going to do it for our show today, Titans fans. Really appreciate you kicking it with me. We're going to be doing this crossover Wednesday event throughout the season. I'm going to have the host of our opponents' Locked On podcast talk about the game going forward on Sunday. Do want to remind you the show is sponsored by Mack Weldon. Please check out MackWeldon.com. Tomorrow, we are going to do the news.

There always seems to be tons of news that pops up between now and tomorrow's show, so we'll cover that in segment one. Segment two, we'll do a little bit more Tic Tac Titans. I'll talk about something schematically on offense. I expect the Titans to do to help with the Browns' pass rush. And then we'll start a new segment called Roland's Rewind. We're going to look back at the last time that we played this same opponent, so we'll go back and look at the last time we played the Cleveland Browns

just for a little bit of nostalgia. I want to thank you guys for listening to the show. Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the show at LockedOnTitans on Twitter. Follow me at TicTacTitans. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Twitter. Follow me at TicTacTitans. I am your host Tyler Rowland and this was Locked on Titans.