Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: (1/10) Answering your voicemails on Mariota, LaFleur, Lewis and the 2019 Schedule

Episode Date: January 10, 2019

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked On Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you today? Doing good. Excited about today's show. Going to get to interact with some of our listeners, so it's going to be fun. Absolutely, really cool. And if you want to be a part of this show next week, we'll probably be doing one of these shows every week, as long as we have enough content during the off-season. as every week as long as we have enough content during the off season. You can leave us a voicemail, 615-787-8762. Try to keep your message to around a minute. It makes it a little bit easier on us for editing and that type of stuff.

And if you do that between now and the middle of the week next week, we'll be able to get you in for next week's show. Before we get started up with all that stuff, I remind you, Terry and I write for MediacyMiracles.com. We're recovering the Titans for SB Nation. So you can follow us there.

You can also follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. Get the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Just search out Locked on Titans. You can also play the podcast on your home speaker, Alexa, Google Home, whatever it is that you have. Just say play podcast Locked on Titans, and you'll be able to hear us there as well. All right, so now we're going to get into some of the voicemails that we got this week.

And first up is Don talking about Marcus Mariota. Hey, sorry, this is Don just finishing my thought. I'm so sorry, it's long-winded. I just want to say that I think Mariota's confidence is a little shot. He can't play his game. He's worrying about what the coaches are telling him. I think he's listening to what the fans and the media are saying. I think if you look at it where people were saying, all right,

he's not staying in the pocket long enough because he's not a pocket quarterback, he's running too early, then he's trying to stay in there too long and then he's getting sacked. And then when he leaves too early, then people are saying he's leaving too early. So he's just, like, listening to what everybody's saying, and he's feeling like he's not – it just feels like he's not comfortable. And when you can't play your game and you can't play freely and comfortably, you're thinking too much.

And I just think Mariotta has never really gone through a lot of adversity, and the first four years of his career has not gone the way he envisioned. And all the questions are coming up about everybody, and there's no doubt he hears it. And I think he really is not dealing with it as well as, you know, we would have liked him to deal with it. So hopefully someone can fix him. But right now, I think he's not playing freely, and he's not playing Marietta football. Thanks, guys.

Have a good one. Yeah, I think Don is right to a certain extent on Marcus Marietta. I think when you go through so many offenses, you learn so much terminology. It just kind of starts to weigh on you. And then you throw in the injury situation. You know, Jimmy's mentioned several times coming back from the leg injury, just didn't look the same, stepping up into the pocket, just kind of looked a little jittery.

You know, I can't really disagree with that. So the second year in this league, I thought he was great. You know, that's kind of what we're holding on to. That's what I'm holding on to. That's what he can be. Really haven't seen that since. Again, that's why we wanted Matt LeFleur to stick around. We wanted him to get comfortable in the offense.

But unfortunately now he's probably going to have to learn a whole new offense again unless they promote from within. So it's just the whole situation sucks for him. I mean, maybe he can go somewhere, you know, assuming he leaves Nashville, assuming he doesn't turn around, maybe he can go somewhere, maybe sit for a season and learn and get some continuity back in his career. Yeah, absolutely. Not to go, you know, how he's a titan on us here, but in comparing Marcus Mariano to, you know, my high school his career. Yeah, absolutely. Not to go, you know, how he's a titan on us here,

but in comparing Marcus Mariota to, you know, my high school athletics career. But one of our high school football coaches basically said, if you're thinking you're hurting the team. And the point he was making there is we need you out there, like, reading and reacting to things. And I think when you're a guy like Marcus who's been in so many different systems, I think it's just he's unsure of what he's supposed to do at certain times. I mean, you can see that from him out there. I thought you especially saw that last year, and like you're saying,

I mean, whether it was that he was worried about the leg and that kind of stuff, it seemed like that to me. But, you know, last year, there were definitely times where he just looked like he didn't have any confidence. and didn't look like he trusted what he was seeing. And then into this year, you know, Matt LaFleur said something. It was either right before the season started or early in the season. Basically, like, you know, he had told Marcus, you've got to go out there and let it rip. You know, you've got to go out there and play, make the throws, let whatever's going to happen happen.

You can't play timid. And so I think that goes back to a little bit of Don's point there, is just that when you don't have that confidence, you're not able to be out there and just let it rip like that. So, yeah, from that standpoint, it's tough seeing, you know, another system possibly coming in here. The other thing I'd say about this year is, you know, it's hard to say in what games he was healthy and that kind of stuff.

And, again, I know, like, we make these excuses and all that stuff, and we talked at length the other day about how, you know, year five is prove it or else, regardless of whatever else happens. But I do think at times this year he was unsure of his ability to throw the ball down the field. And so I'm certain that would hurt his confidence in, you know, what he was seeing in front of him and if he thought he could make a throw or not. But yeah, I think there's definitely something to that.

I think Don makes a really good point there that just when you've got so much stuff going on in your head because you've had to learn so many different things, it's hard to just be out there reacting to what's going on in front of you. All right, we will continue with the voicemails in just a minute. Before we do that, we're going to tell you about MyBookie. If you've been listening to us for any amount of time, you know that MyBookie is the place that we tell you to go to if you're going to be gambling online on sports.

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D&P coming back and talking about the teams we hate the most, and this is after the Matt LaFleur news, and so I wanted to call in and see what y'all thought about possible OC candidates, if it's too early to tell, what some of those might be, what that looks like for the Titans moving forward,

what it's like for Marcus to have another new offensive coordinator. And specifically in relation to that, I would love to hear if there's any silver lining in this for an offense that I think was ranked like 28th or 29th, where we had all kinds of offensive line issues and just general stagnation from the offense. Is there any possibility that this is actually something that could work out for the better, even if it means at the expense of continuity? So I'd love to hear about that, what that looks like,

where you think the Titans are going to go with that, if you think they're going to kind of try and stay in the same direction as LeFleur, the same kind of tree, I guess you could say, as LeFleur, or if you think that they're going to go a totally different direction with it. I mean, I know everybody's looking for the next McVay, but is it possible that LeF the floor, just him moving on, is actually better for the franchise overall long-term? Love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for the work, guys. Yeah, as we said a couple days ago, there's just a lot of names right now. I don't know that regurgitating all of them to you is productive at this point. I think we know who the guys are. We'll have a more in-depth discussion when Titans start to set up some interviews and some of those reports come out. But to your point about there being a potential silver lining with LeFleur leaving, I think there could be.

I think you know our stance. We wanted to see that continuity with Marcus Marietta and Matt LeFleur leaving. I think there could be. I think you know our stance. We wanted to see that continuity with Marcus Marietta and Matt LaFleur. But you bring somebody exotic in, somebody unknown. Maybe you go to the college ranks. There's certainly a chance for some upside there. And look, that's the way the NFL is going. So if they're going to go in a total new direction, I think Jimmy agrees with me on this,

I want to see them really branch out and do something kind of wild and kind of off the beaten path. I don't want to see a former NFL head coach or someone vanilla like that. I'd kind of like to see them go to the college ranks because, you know, we're still believers in Marcus Mariota. Obviously, there's problems there that we've talked about just about every day now, but I think he still has potential to play at a very high level. Just needs a little bit of help from both the coaches and the personnel around them.

Yeah, I mean, I think my first choice is probably if they have somebody, you know, the name Arthur Smith has gained a lot of traction over the last couple of days with Kaharski, you know, saying that that might be the guy that they could, you know, that they could promote on the staff and that kind of stuff. If they've got a guy that they think is ready to be that offensive coordinator or the dynamic play caller, if they've got that guy in the house, I think that would be my first preference, again,

just because of the continuity piece of it. Like you're saying, with LaFleur, if it wasn't all the switching in and out and stuff, I'd be fine with whatever. I mean, I never think it's a great idea to only give a guy one year, and then especially with, you know, the constraints that he had this year with all the injuries and that type of stuff. But, I mean, I was never overly impressed with what I saw out there. And, again, we talked about it, I think, yesterday or maybe the day before.

But when you go back to the two-point play call in London, the Luke Stocker handoff, the way that, you know, even when Derrick Henry got rolling, sometimes they would give Derrick Henry three or four carries and then pull him out and give the other series or whatever. There were things about Matt LaFleur that I thought were concerning and just question marks. But again, some of that maybe you chalk up to a guy and being his first season call in plays.

But yeah, I mean, I don't think it's the end of the world. I don't think the Titans lost, like, the greatest offensive line of this generation or anything like that with LeFleur leaving. Again, the biggest concern that I think we both have is just for the continuity of the offense. All right, coming up next, we will hear from Daniel, who is talking about basically the roles of the running backs on this team. Hey, guys, Daniel from L the scene. Hey, guys.

Daniel from L.A. again, California. Sorry for the long-winded voicemails. What I was trying to get at is if they're skimming for Deion Lewis, then of course, I mean, everybody knows he's not a featured back. But if – I'm not saying he's in New England, but if your main guy is Derrick Henry Henry and then you can bring in Deion Lewis where he's not schemed for and kind of offset what they're looking for, then I think he can thrive.

Now, obviously, it's difficult to take out a guy like Derrick Henry. If he's producing and then put him on the field, I get that. That's pretty fair. There is always that balance, and I think that's difficult for not only fans to figure out, but even coaches. But I think if he's brought for the correct role, which is a very productive third down or change of pace back, then he can thrive. He could be one of the best in the league in that role.

Yeah, he's a little overpriced, but if you have the money, you have the money. I mean, they have the room right now. As long as it doesn't prevent them from future moves, I think that's fine. I think it's kind of a little bit jumping the gun to say, oh, when we got a contract, he was really bad. Not really. He was just cast in the wrong role, in my opinion. But like I said, I agree with you guys that I don't think he has a future back

anyways love the show really enjoy the inside listen to you guys all the time hope you don't take any of the

disagreement negatively it's just I agree with most of what you guys say just thought I'd throw that out there love to hear you guys feedback

agree or disagree. Appreciate it. Have a good one. Yeah, I definitely think there's a role for Deion Lewis in this offense. Like you said, he's not a featured guy. It's pretty clear Derrick Henry is that guy. You know, it's pretty clear that Derrick Henry is still limited on

third down. So, obviously you've got Deion Lewis here. He's not giving up that role. That's what he's going to be. Now, what I don't want to see like Jimmy just said, answering the last question, I don't want to see it be a Deion Lewis draw.

There's no reason for that. Derrick Henry is clearly the better runner at this point. Now, that may change. We saw it change last year. But I think he's got a role. Passing downs, you don't want to tip your hand. He can handle some inside carries from time to time, obviously spelling Derrick Henry. But above all else, he's got to cut off the negative plays.

I just don't think he did a real good job of taking what was in front of him last year. Seemed to dance a lot. It's funny, him and Henry kind of seemed to swap roles. That was the knock on Henry last year. He seemed to bounce it outside a little bit. So I think he's got, when he's in there, he's got to take what's in front of him. He's got to run like he ran against the Chargers in London. You know, he was running over dudes.

I don't know where that guy went. The Titans certainly need him back, especially at his press bag. Yeah, absolutely. You know, it was just a weird year for the running backs. And I don't think when they signed Deion Lewis they ever envisioned him being the feature running back. But I think they at some point basically said, look, this is not working with Derrick Henry. We're going to have to go a different direction. It just kind of seems like that's what happened.

And then they didn't have to worry about it as much after Derek Henry got rolling. So they're absolutely right. I mean, he has a role. We talked about it too before. I don't know. Things got a little weird at one point in the season. It looked like he had lost a step. I don't know if there was an injury that we didn't know about or just if he was used

so much early in the season, which is that he hasn't been used to doing because he had been injured with the Patriots. Something like that. It just seemed like he didn't have that same juice at the end of the year. They're not going to move on from Daniel Lewis. He's got a contract situation and all that kind of stuff. Definitely a role for him

here. Another good point you made. They don't trust Derrick Henry on third down. I don't think it's because they don't think he can catch. I think it's more of a pass protection thing and that type of stuff. Was it the Chiefs playoff game last week, I think? You know, we had been yelling all year, get Derrick Henry on the field, get Derrick Henry on the field.

We don't understand why they're bringing DeMarco Murray in on third downs. And then, you know, Derrick Henry gets DeMarco Murray killed. So, yeah, I mean, I think there's still some stuff going on there. It's just, you know, understanding pass protection or whatever. So, yeah, I mean, listen, they're not, like I mean, I think there's still some stuff going on there. It's just, you know, understanding pass protection or whatever. So, yeah, I mean, listen, they're not, like I said, they're not moving on from Deion Lewis. He's going to be here, and I do think that he is. I mean, we've seen in the past, and we saw at times this year.

I mean, he had a couple of big receiving games. There are definitely some things he can bring to the game and bring to this offense. I just, for whatever reason, it just didn't shake out this year. Like I said, it was a weird season all the way around, and it was especially weird from the running back's perspective. All right, coming up, we will hear from JP. Hey, guys.

This is JP from Ohio. Huge fan of the show. Love what you guys do. Listen to every episode. So I'm sure, I don't know if you guys have looked ahead, but our schedule next year is absolutely brutal. I mean, with our division heating up and getting better with the Colts, Houston wasn't really healthy.

Jacksonville, you know, they're always a toss-up. But we got the NFC South and the AFC West next year. And, I mean, with KC and L.A. and then you've got Carolina and New Orleans, I mean, depending on what Tampa Bay does, what their new coaching hires have happened the past couple days, it could be brutal for us. Realistically, I mean, I could see a 7-9, 8-8 maybe.

I mean, depending on what the Titans do, if they get the proper help that, you know, a wide receiver, address the line issues, and Marcus stays healthy. So just wanted to hear your guys' thoughts. Thanks. All right, yeah, I was actually looking at this the other day. It does look a little daunting just when you look at it. You got home games against the Chiefs, Chargers, Saints,

Buccaneers, new staff down there. That offense is scary. Bills, and then, of course, the division opponents. And you give two Denver, two Oakland, two Atlanta, two Carolina, two Cleveland. You know, Baker Mayfield, Freddie Hitchens, they look pretty good at the end of that year. Then, of course, you've got your division opponents, too. So, yeah, I think I do this every year.

I think I look at the schedule and think it's probably harder than what it really is. The other point I'd make, I think it's a lot. Things change in the NFL really, really fast. No one thought Jacksonville was going to be one of the worst teams in the league this year. I don't think anyone thought Buffalo was going to be as tough as they were. They surprised some people. So I think there's going to be turnover. I think it's kind of dumb to worry at this point about the opponents.

I'm certainly guilty of it too, though. Chiefs, Chargers, Saints, that's the first three on this list. That's tough. I think you've got to look at the division too. Deshaun Watson's not going anywhere. Andrew Luck's not going anywhere. That defense apparently is not going anywhere either.

It's looking tough for the Titans in 2019. Yeah, absolutely. Like you said, it is tough to translate things from year to year. But you look at what the Chiefs and the Chargers are doing right now, and it's hard to see, you know, injuries or whatever is usually the thing that will get you there. But it's hard to see them not being good next year. You know, and then the NFC South, I mean, I think the Falcons were down this year. But, you know, they've got a lot of talent on that team, obviously.

They'll get a high draft pick to help fix their defense, most likely. So they're going to be good, the Saints. I mean, yeah, you know, you just hear and look at it, it links to the division, I think. This division, I mean, this year you had three teams in the division with winning records. And I haven't looked across the NFL three teams in the division with winning records. And I haven't looked across the NFL to see how many divisions can say that, but I know there's not very many.

And, you know, this division has been a laughingstock of the league a lot over the last decade. I think that's going to change going forward. There's Andrew Luck being back and healthy and Sean Watson and all that stuff. So, yeah, I mean, I think every year we're going to look at it and it's going to look challenging. But, you know, you just got to see, like you were saying, kind of have to see how it plays out, how the healthy teams are when, you know, that week comes up. And that's what I think is so funny.

You know, we'll be all excited when they release the schedule sometime in, I think it's usually late March or late April, somewhere around there. But we don't know anything. I mean, there are certain things that you can factor in as far as, like, when's a good time to go somewhere. You know, you don't want to go to Miami in September, which Titans have to do this year. You don't want to go to Buffalo in December.

I mean, those types of things. They don't pay the bills next year, but like, or do they? They do. But they get them at home. At home. So, yeah. But anyway, I mean, those types of things, like, you know, that you don't necessarily want.

But other than that, it's a week-to-week league. And, you know, listen, if you're a Titans fan, you know that better than anybody else. This team, some weeks looked like they could win the Super Bowl. Some weeks they looked like they wouldn't win another game all season. So, yeah, I mean, it's tough to project that kind of stuff. But absolutely, when you look at it on paper, it does look like a daunting schedule. And just that AFC West is just, I don't know,

I mean, I think that's going to be a tough division. All right, so that'll do it for today. We did have Dakota call in and leave us a message. He didn't really have a question, but had some nice things to say to us, and we appreciate that. Like I said, if you want to be a part of this show next week, 615-787-8762. That's the number you call.

Leave a voicemail, and we'll get you on the show next week. Check out musicmiracles.com between now and then. We'll have a lot of stuff. If anything happens with this offensive coordinator hire, we'll be talking about it there absolutely, like Terry said. You know, it is kind of tough at this point to throw out a lot of names,

but once we get reports of interviews and that kind of stuff, then we can start talking about those guys and, you know, looking into their backgrounds and all that kind of stuff. So keep an eye out there. Follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. And don't forget, with your Alexa or Google Home speaker,

just say play podcast Locked on Titans, and you can hear us there. So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks so much for listening, and we will talk to you next week.