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

Episode Date: November 6, 2019

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. It is a crossover Wednesday, and we will have the host of Locked on Chiefs here to break down the game for you that will be played on Sunday. I'll ask him some questions about what he expects to see from the Chiefs and what we've seen so far. He'll do the same for me, and we'll get you guys all caught up on the Chiefs perspective for the game.

In our first segment, though, we will talk about Mike Vrabel and whether or not he should be on the hot seat and we'll dive into that and use him as a comparison to Mike Malarkey as he was hired to take this team to greater heights than Mike Malarkey had taken them so far. So we will use a general comparison there and see how much better the Titans have actually gotten under Mike Vrabel, if at all. So we'll do that before we hop into the interview. Really excited to get into the Crossover Wednesday episode as always with you guys. Let's get it. Your Tennessee Titans lead story. Is Mike Vrabel on the hot seat and should he be? Coach Mike Vrabel was brought in after head coach Mike Malarkey,

after Mike Malarkey had led the Titans to two back-to-back 9-7 seasons, including a playoff appearance and a playoff victory, the first for the franchise in 10 years. He was ousted due to the mediocre performance of the offense and the mediocre performance of Marcus Mariota, quite frankly. But Mike Vrabel was tasked with taking this team from the good team that he had under Mike Malarkey to a great team and to a team that was one of the top tier teams in the NFL. After going 9-7 in his first season, everyone thought Mike Vrabel might have this team on a path to do so.

The Titans weathered a lot of adversity last year, including Mariota not being able to quite properly feel his right arm for most of the season. So the expectation was that the Titans would be able to make that climb. Well, currently they sit at 4-5, and there is some improvement on the defense from Mike Vrabel's team, but we haven't really seen much improvement. In fact, we've seen the opposite in terms of the offense.

So taking a look at a comparison between the Mike Malarkey-led teams and the Mike Vrabel-led teams, on offense, in Mike Malarkey's first season, the Titans were 11th in yards with 358 per game and 14th in points with 23.8 points per game. In his second season, the offense was 19th in points per game at 20.9 and 23rd in the NFL with 314 yards per game. The defense was not as successful as Mike Vrabel's tenure has shown the defense to be, but in 2016, Mike Malarkey's defense was 16th in points, giving up 23.6 points per game and 20th in yards with 358 yards allowed per game. And then in 2017, the Titans were 17th in points allowed at 22.3 and 13th in yards allowed at 328 per game so we see about an average defense and then a above average offense that slowly became a below

average offense if we look at Mike Vrabel's tenure in these two categories granted the second season of data is this year with only nine games and not the full 16-game season that we're judging malarkey on, but at this time last year, the Titans were 27th in the NFL in points scored at 19.4 and 25th in yards per game at 312. This year, the Titans are 26th in the NFL in points scored at 18.7 and 26th in the league in yards at 313 and that's with two different offensive coordinators as well so the common theme there seems to be Mike Vrabel he mentioned this week that he was involved in the offensive game plan quite a bit and what kind of calls and what kind of looks the the titans are are looking to get to and looking to go against and that doesn't seem to be any help how would mike vrabel have any

experience with calling an offense just by playing and coaching on defense i i don't think that's a good sign for titans fans to hear as for mike vrabel's defense for which he is you know has a specialty and has a has an ability to cater to. Last year, the Titans were third in points allowed on defense, third best at 18.9, and eighth best in yards allowed at 333. This year, the Titans are basically on the same pace for yards at 333 allowed per game, but that's 13th in the league at this time, and they have given up 18.3 points per game.

That's seventh best in the league at this time. So with Vrabel you're getting an improved defensive unit which makes sense he was a defensive player and a defensive coach his entire life so you're getting an improved defense you're getting a top 10 defense or close to a top 10 defense but you're actually getting a worse offense it's hard to believe that the Tennessee Titans offense could be worse under someone other than Terry Robiskey, but it's quite obvious that Mike Vrabel's teams have no ability to play offense whatsoever. Matt LaFleur has gone to be the head coach of the Green Bay Packers where they're having a very successful season

and are one of the better teams in the league. It's hard to look at Matt LaFleur and blame him for the Titans' offensive struggles when we've seen what he's been able to do on his own. At some point, you have to wonder about the influence of Mike Vrabel and whether it's a positive benefit to anybody on the offensive side of the football. And you start to wonder that while Mike Malarkey didn't give you as tremendous of a defensive unit, he did give you a little bit better of offense was the sacrifice worth it were were the enhances that the Titans are getting on defense worth the hindrance that the offense has become one could say that Marcus kind of spiraling and

becoming broken is really affecting Vrabel's offenses and back-to-back years I would say that's possible but Mike Vrabel is the head coach who's deciding who to put out there. He is the person hiring the offensive coordinators who are tasked with helping his players. So at this point, it just seems like Mike Vrabel is unable to help the offense in any way with his mind, and he's unable to hire the correct people to do so either. That probably puts him on the hot seat as the Titans will look to improve this offense in any way possible. And if that means taking a little bit of a hit to the defense's ability to balance things out and make them a more competitive football team, I guarantee it'll

be an option. So Mike Vrabel should be on the hot seat. And unless he's able to do something drastic to fix this offense in the offseason, as I don't foresee any changes right now, he could possibly go with Arthur Smith and go with the offensive staff, just like Malarkey's fate happened to be. So that'll wrap up our first segment, and we will jump into our interview with the host of the Locked On Chiefs. Well, this is the crossover part of the show, and whether you're a Chiefs fan or a Titans fan,

this is going to be a lot of fun because this is going to be a big game for both teams. I'm Ryan Tracy, the host of Locked on Chiefs, and he's Tyler Rowland, the host of Locked on Titans. And if I can get that out of my mouth, Tyler, how are you feeling right now about this matchup? I am not in a great place. I would say the Chiefs are a pretty well-run, well-coached team, and the Titans don't necessarily seem to be that all the time. So I am a tad bit worried about how this matchup will play out.

But there are a few reasons of optimism I can hold on to. Yeah, I think your coach has got to be one of them. And the Chiefs kingdom is really familiar with Mike Vrabel. And I think in the back of their minds, they pull for him a little bit when they're not playing each other. But his tenure to this point, it seems like he's got his pulse. Like you said, there are some ups and downs, but he seems like he's got it together about this roster. How do you feel about his leadership? Well, he is a good leader. I do believe that's one of the reasons that he was hired. Typically, you're going with an X's and O's schematic driven coach, or you're going

with a leader of men, I say with air quotes. I think he's done a good job leading the team, but some of his, almost like Andy Reid, some of his in-game decisions, some of his time management in-game is questionable at best. I will say his ability to pick offensive coaches and an offensive staff seems to be questionable. So right now, he does very well with the defensive side of the football. The Titans are a top defensive unit in both of his seasons here. But on offense, there's so much left to be desired in his in-game decision-making. There's so much left to be desired that I'm hoping to see some improvements from him in the second half of the season.

Yeah, maybe it won't happen this week, but I have to be positive on that one. I pull for the guy. But speaking of your offense, and I know that that's not his area of discipline to come from, but intriguing, a lot of change. We'll get to the quarterback, I think. But really, what I want to focus on, first and foremost, is because the Chiefs, they've been better against the run lately, but it has been a thorn in their side dating back to the playoff game against these Titans. And Derek Henry's still there, but it was an interesting week for him last week, wasn't it? Yeah, it's just strange.

And that kind of lends to some of the things I was speaking about when I was questioning Mike Vrabel earlier, picking Arthur Smith, a person who has never called plays before in the NFL, never been an offensive coordinator with little experience as an important offensive coach in the NFL. It's very peculiar that they chose him in such a make or break season for the quarterback and for the team in general. We saw some of those concerns play out last week. Derrick Henry only got two carries in the first half against one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL in Carolina. They had given up 235 yards the previous week to the 49ers, but yet we come out with our big bruising back and only give them the ball twice in the first half. Very first drive of the second half, we go seven straight runs. He carries us down the field and we score our first points

of the game after giving up a 17 point advantage in the first half. So when he's involved and they do have a concerted effort to get him involved, he seems to do well. He's a talented back, but the play calling and the game plan going into these games is so peculiar. Sometimes it's hard to know whether he'll get his share. So knowing what you know about this particular coaching staff, is that an anomaly? Is that something they learn from? Is there any possibility that they ignore him again to start this next football game? I don't see how they would be able to do that if they were paying attention to the Chiefs team.

Right now, the Chiefs are 29th in the NFL, giving up close to 140 yards per game on the ground. It's one of their only weaknesses, and one of the great ways that this Titans team can attack the Chiefs is by running the ball and keeping the ball out of that high-octane offense's hands. Will they do that? It's hard to know. Last week, that seemed like an easy strategy,

and they spit in the face of it and did the opposite against the Buccaneers. They have a terrible pass defense and a good run defense. They came out and chose to run the ball right into the teeth of the best run defense in the NFL over and over. It's hard to tell whether the Titans will do the right thing because it's hard to know right now whether the offensive coaches are even watching film. It's hard to tell what the game plans we're seeing.

Well, if they are, I got to think that they need to study the rookie AJ a little bit more. I was huge on him in the draft. And what's his impact been to this offense? It's been fantastic because of what he's able to do after the catch. He's not a super polished route runner at this moment in time, nor does he have super reliable hands. He had a ball bounce off his hands for an interception last week, but if he does get the ball secured in his

hands on the short or intermediate routes, then he's able to do a lot after the catch with his physicality, his speed, his size. He's a big bruiser of a guy. He's very good with the ball in his hands after the catch, so if they're able to get the ball to him, he can really do some damage, and that's good for the Titans because neither quarterback, whether it be Marcus or Tannehill, are fantastic at throwing the ball down the field or have fantastic arms and are super accurate. So it's good for have guys out there who can catch the ball like a Johnnie Smith or an A.J. Brown, who can catch the ball in the short and intermediate range and then turn that into a lot with their their yak ability. range and then turn that into a lot with their their yak ability you know and I was a Mariota fan coming out so I'm still hoping he gets his career I'm guessing it's going to be in a new

locale but I hope he gets back on track but it seems to me from the outside looking in the Tannehill's really given this team a spark do you think he can sustain that well I think so because the things that they're asking him to do right now aren't anything out of what he's able to do. He's going to throw the ball into some tight windows. He's going to take some chances, which you have to in the NFL. Not everyone's going to be open. Your first read isn't always going to be open.

You're going to have to take some chances out there, and he's willing to do that. But he also has the arm strength. Like I said, this team likes to attack in the short and intermediate range in the passing game, and he has the arm strength to make the kind of throws that you're going to need to when you're not challenging defenses. Deep defenses are going to creep up, so you're going to need to sling some of those in there with some velocity to get them to the receivers, and Tannehill's willing and able to do that, so I wouldn't necessarily say that he gave the team a spark.

I think they just started playing regular NFL offense for the few games that he's been in there. And Marcus struggled so bad with the layup. Someone, I think it was Matt Miller on Twitter, had a great analogy that Jameis Winston misses a lot of pull-up contested threes, but Mariota misses a lot of layups. And he sure did.

So it was hard to sustain offense with him out there. So Tannehill just allows you to sustain offense with this consistent accuracy in the short and intermediate range and his arm strength, giving him the ability to make some of these throws that Marcus just wouldn't even attempt. Before we jump into the second half of our conversation

with Ryan from the Locked On Chiefs podcast, I do want to remind you guys that you can treat yourself to a meal you deserve and have your favorite restaurants come to you with DoorDash. Right now, our listeners can get $5 off their first order of $15 or more when you download the DoorDash app and enter the promo code LOCKEDON. When we look at the other side, it is a possibility that Pat Mahomes plays.

For the Titan fans out there, don't count it out until it could come down to a game-time decision, knowing the way that this organization has gone about trying to test him. He looked very good in warm-ups last week, and then they just pulled it at the last second. I have a feeling it may happen, but I can't guarantee it. pulled it at the last second. I have a feeling it may happen, but I can't guarantee it. If he does, they're going to be probably going max protection, throwing a few wrinkles to try and keep him protected. We don't know if Eric Fisher is going to play. The Chiefs starting left tackle has been out for a number of weeks with a core muscle strain. He did have it surgically repaired, but you're looking at Wake on one side, Landry on the other. Is it back and forth, or is there a clear leader about who brings the pass rush?

It's a clear leader, and it's Harold Landry. He was fantastic last week again. He's up to five and a half sacks. I'm going to say six and round up. I hate half sacks. I have a moral objection to half sacks. So Harold Landry has five and a half, six sacks on the season. He forced a fumble and recovered one.

He had an interception last week. He's just been fantastic in his second season. So I would say he does bring the pass rush primarily. And right now the Titans are without all-star, all-star pro bowl, interior lineman, Jarrell Casey. So if he misses another game this week like he missed last week, then that'll pretty much put all the pass rushing responsibility on Harold Landry. And it makes me worry that the Chiefs will do as you say

and maybe go max protection and find a way to just stump Harold Landry and then the Titans won't have much else. I do have a question for you on the Chiefs' offensive side of the ball when dealing with the pass rush and going max protection. That'll help you 20 to 20 a lot of times, but right now they're 26 in the NFL in red zone efficiency at 44.8%. What is causing this offense that's so dynamic to struggle in the red zone? Really what it is, is the man blocking in the run game isn't there. This is a depleted offensive line. Likely, if Fisher doesn't make it back, they'll be missing three starters when this game kicks off. And while they have athletic, capable backups, guys that fit the zone blocking scheme,

they're just not maulers. And this team has not been able to generate the short yardage situations. They can't get in there and go face mask to face mask. You're going to see screens. You're going to see pitches. They're going to try to hit the edges because that's what these linemen can block well. Yeah, I mean, I do understand your concern there, but as a Titans fan, one thing that I noticed from the Titans defense is without manufacturing pass rush with blitzes from the secondary and from the linebacker core, it's hard for them to get any kind of pressure, and that kind of plays into the Chiefs' hand

there with maybe struggling to pass protect and having some injuries on the offensive line. That's going to affect the run game as well. The Chiefs obviously are struggling to run the ball at times, 90 yards per game on the ground. That's 24th in the NFL. Do you think they're going to be able to get the run game going against this Titans defense that's a little susceptible to the run? I think they're going to give it a shot. It's going to be a question mark. We've seen kind of a rotation at the running back position with LeSean McCoy leading for quite a number of weeks. And obviously, Damian Williams had a big breakaway. In fact, a historic

play for the Chiefs record books. But beyond that was pretty lackluster in generating yardage in between the tackles. So I think they're going to give it a shot. I'm hoping that they see the Chiefs third running back is more of a power type in Darrell Williams from LSU. Maybe Titans fan are a little more familiar with him. If they can get him rolling, I think that gives you a little bit of a power element that I would use to attack the Titans. But I think you're going to see a lot of play action setting up that pass depending on who the quarterback is. And my last question for you is, if you're the offensive coordinator, if you're Andy Reid, who are you drilling down and attacking in the secondary for the Titans?

are you drilling down and attacking in the secondary for the Titans? Well, an unfortunate news for Titans fans is starting cornerback Malcolm Butler is out for the season with a broken wrist sustained last week against the Panthers. The Titans secondary is the strength of the team and it allows them to do all the complex coverages and all the different kind of schematic things they do on defense. So having a missing link in that secondary is really going to affect their ability to do those things. If I'm Andy Reid, it's pretty obvious. I'm trying to get the run game going against the Titans defense that at times this season is susceptible to the run, which will help kind of take pressure off Mahomes, who's coming back from injury if he does play, and it would be the same philosophy for Matt Moore. So I think that if I'm Andy Reid, I am trying to get the run game going,

and then I'm targeting LaShawn Sims, who will be Malcolm Butler's replacement in the passing game, try to get Tyreek Hill or even Travis Kelsey isolated on him and matched up, and then just keep attacking throughout the game. LaShawn Sims just isn't the player Malcolm Butler is, even though he's a decent player. So I would just look to get the run game going and then probably attack Sims in the passing game. Okay, so the likelihood is Logan Ryan isn't going to go out to the boundary. I don't think that that would happen because that just throws off everything they do. The reason that Logan Ryan has been so effective this year and the reason some people are even talking about him as a defensive player of the year candidate, definitely an all pro, is because of his physicality in the run game.

When the Titans go nickel, Kenny Vaccaro and Logan Ryan have the ability to play like a weak side linebacker or will because of how physical and how instinctive they are in run defense. If you move him to the outside, then you have to put someone else into the slot. Maybe Imani Hooker, move LaShawn Sims inside or Adoree Jackson inside and I just think that throws off what this defense does so well so I think that they'll look to just keep Sims on the outside like they did against the Buccaneers when Adoree Jackson was out but you saw that game from Mike Evans 11 catches 198 yards and two touchdowns so that's kind of where my answer to what Andy Reid should do came from. Sims is definitely susceptible, and I don't think that they move Logan Ryan outside.

Understood. Folks, if you like this section, make sure you check out either the Locked On Chiefs or the Locked On Titans, whoever you don't listen to every other day. We appreciate your time. Tyler, thanks for all your time. And folks, we'll be back.

Enjoy this game. Thanks for listening. That is going to do it for this episode. I hope you guys enjoyed that conversation. I always enjoy these crossover Wednesday episodes. I know you guys do too. So I appreciate you hanging with me for them. Once again, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this is Locked on Titans. you