Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Breaking down a win over the Bengals

Episode Date: November 13, 2017

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You are Locked On Titans, your daily podcast on the Tennessee Titans. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in to another edition of Locked On Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Limber. Terry, how are you tonight? I'm doing fantastic, but Jones is gone. The Titans won, so it was a really good day. It's been a big day for Terry. Terry, in addition to his work here in NBC Miracles, he also runs RockyTopTalk.com. So you should check that out.

Obviously a big day for his site with Butch Jones being fired. So the groomers are in full run. So we'll see how all that is. But anyway, so you got that. You got the Titans winning today, their fourth win in a row. And before we get into the particulars of this game, my biggest takeaway from today is this Titans team is different than all these other Titans teams that we've seen over the past,

like, almost 10 years now, okay? Because, and I mean, I think it's going to take a little bit for us to get used to this because we always get nervous you know same old titans and you start to have that feeling in some of these games but just think about it from this perspective it has left 14 points on the field today okay and i know you hear people say that a lot and you're like well whatever but go back to the uh richard matth Matthews had a touchdown pass in his hands. He dropped it, right? Would have gotten in easily.

The Titans end up missing a field goal on that drop, so they get no points there. Corey Davis' play, where he is at the one, probably in Mike Malarkey's center of the game, he told Davis, next time just lower your shoulder. You're a big guy. That's one of your advantages. He didn't get in. But anyway, so he tries to stretch out the ball. He fumbles it through the end zone. He told Davis, next time just lower your shoulder. You're a big guy. That's one of your advantages.

He didn't get in. But anyway, so he tries to stretch out the ball. He fumbles it through the end zone. DeMarco Murray catches it, but he's standing out of bounds in the end zone. So the touchdown, Bengals get the ball. So obviously the Titans get no points there either. So the Titans were able to overcome those two things and still come out with a win today. That's a big deal to me, and that's a big deal for this team.

Yeah, I'm with you. And I don't think the Bengals are very good good but they're you know this is the nfl any given sunday right uh so just just being able to overcome that still win uh it should have been a lot more comfortable um and i would be interested to see how the perception of this team would be different tonight. Had Mariota been able to score those two touchdowns, had Davis been able to get into the end zone, had Matthews walked into the end and made that catch, that would have put us at, what, 38-20?

So how would that perception be different? I think they'd feel a lot better. but it's kind of like big picture here. Titans are far from a finished product. They're still 6-3. I feel like we keep saying the same things here, but the Titans just keep winning. They're imperfect. They've yet to play

a great game, I think. You're seeing the improvements. Mariota's numbers today they were okay and again they look a lot better had cory davis gotten in the end zone rashard matthews make that catch uh i thought the run game was was moderately improved uh they threw some new wrinkles in so i think you're seeing step in right direction we're just kind of waiting for them to put the pieces all together. But still, they got the win.

Yeah, absolutely. And that's the thing. I mean, you're looking at, you know, with those two things, even if Davis just, he would be just down there. He doesn't, you know, doesn't get the end zone. He gets tackled at the one. You got first and goal inside the one. You like the Titans' chances there.

They were actually able to get a little bit of a push today in the running game. We'll talk about that in a minute. But so you like the chances for them to make a play there and get in the end zone. If you add, if Rashard Matthews catches that ball, you're looking at, let's just say Davis doesn't score, but the Titans end up scoring there, whatever. So take that one away. If Rashard Matthews catches his, then Marcus Mariota basically has 300 yards and two touchdowns. And again, the added play in there could have been three touchdowns.

And like you said, it's a completely different conversation at that point because then you're looking at those numbers, and it's just a different deal. But even with that being said, we'll jump into talking about the offense here. Marcus Mariota threw the ball 44 times today. So there's been a lot of talk about the play calling and they're too conservative and they don't use Mario to write and all that stuff. I thought today Terry Rubisky did an excellent job. That first drive, go back and watch that whenever you get a chance.

Keep in mind, and Paul Carr's got a lot of stuff on this in the couple weeks about the script to open the game, the scripted plays. That first drive was a thing of beauty. I mean, you just saw all of the different facets of this offense working together, the run game, RPO, Dory Jackson playing offense, all these different things kind of coming together, and the Titans were able to stay on schedule with that and just went right down the field.

I mean, they looked like just a well-oiled machine right there. And so that kind of gives you an idea of what this offense can do when it's clicking correctly. And, again, I just think, like you said, they still haven't put together a complete game at this point. So, I mean, I don't know. I feel really good about where this offense can go. Now, again, you know, there's a little bit of pause

because, you know, they do miss some things sometimes whatever but i don't know that when you look at that and then you just look at the way that mario to play it overall today at the one bad pick but other than that i just i i'm i feel really good about where this offense is right now yeah and i you know i think we saw a little bit of a shift uh 44 passes 36 runs uh that's a little different than what we're used to seeing uh that's definitely an uptick for mariota uh in attempts alone uh he had 28 attempts against baltimore um 34 against cleveland against indy so big uptick in attempts for for mariota and part of that was that the titans just seemed like they had the ball the whole game. But, you know, the run game, it was okay today.

But what I took away from the run game was Marcus Mariota really sparked it, at least in the beginning. You know, he had six carries for 51 yards on the day. Adore Jackson sparked it. And, you know, we were talking a little bit before the show, Adore Jackson might just be one of the best all-around players. You know, he's already one of the best corners on the team. He's the return man, and he might be the Titans' best scat back on the team. So it's fun to see them using him, utilizing his ability,

because, again, they don't have anybody offensively that can do the things that he can do. ability because, again, they don't have anybody offensively that can do the things that he can do. So I love the fact that the Titans have recognized that they have a little bit of an issue in the run game, and they're doing some creative things to remedy that. Well, yeah, and you talk about 36 carries. When you break that down, those are Moriota. Three of them were Adoree Jackson.

One of them was Tywon Taylor. So, I mean, you know, that's 10 of the 36 carries that were not Henry or Murray. Justin Fowler got one as well. That was the play where they were backed up, you know, to one, and they were just, you know, trying to get a little bit of space there. They're doing different things in the run game than, you know, just running up the middle like they were so often, it seemed like, earlier in the season. So they seem like that they have, I't know made some adjustments in that and gotten a little bit more creative

with the run and like you said i mean the run game was okay today uh derrick henry's numbers were pretty good he had 11 carries 52 yards that's 4.7 a carry you know if you can keep him in that neighborhood you're obviously going to be pleased um demarco mur, 14 for 42, only three yards a carry, but he had two touchdowns, and he also had a touchdown receiving. And great effort by him on that touchdown on the receiving play to get in the end zone. You know, I don't know. I feel better about this offense than I have in a while just because,

like I said, it seems like Terry Robeski is branching out a little bit and using some different things than just the running game. Again, they did a little more play action today, and that was one of the things that I guess that was something, you know, when you look at how much they've utilized play action in the two games coming out of the bye, I think it was like 33%, 35 last week 28 today of the of the passes were play action passes um so i mean i think they must have seen something on film that they liked there and again that grobiski has talked about in milwaukee too like talking about

running the ball running the ball running the ball it sets things up so even when it's not working as effectively as you would like for it to be, it does set some things up in the passing game. And it seems like to me that they have found a bond between trying to set that stuff up for the play action and doing some other things to spark the running game when your traditional turn around

and hand it to a Murray or a Henry is not really working. Shout out to Murray. We've kind of dogged him uh the past couple he looked really good today uh yeah the the stats weren't great um yards per carry wise but still he looked healthy uh that's that was my main takeaway finding the end zone three times you know i thought that was a big deal uh and you know it was kind of cool to see mario to kind of have that killer instinct uh that that last drive from him was great.

Went right down the field after, you know, being punched in the mouth. A.J. Green scoring that long touchdown. Titans offense had to go out and respond, and Marcus Mariota did it. So it was a third and goal play, too. So ultimate pressure situation, and Mariota kind of worked the pocket a little bit and found Murray, and Murray was able to get it in. So, all that just really positive developments, but, again, closer than it had to be. But I think you're kind of seeing this team grow up a little bit.

Well, and just one last thing on that last drive. You know, it came on the heels of the play where Mario ran. I think it was Dunlap that tracked him down from behind. Mario felt really hard on chest, head. My concern right there at the beginning was that he might have a concussion. They were going to have to check in for that.

Like you said, that was setting up a hurting goal. You're a little bit nervous at that point. It's all a timeout. Mario was able to gather himself and finish the game the game there he's a gamer i mean you know that like you said i mean he's got the killer instinct and so that's obviously really great to see um but you know there was there was some talk that he might have been like spitting the blood on the sideline and all that stuff there's a lot you can look on twitter at carski tweeted something earlier about they had the the pictures of that.

And basically, I think to me, the way that I saw it, Malarkey said that Marietta kind of banged up his shoulder on that play. I think he hit really hard on his chest and just kind of got the wind knocked out of him and all that kind of stuff. You can feel that for a little bit if you've ever done that. So with a short week coming up, playing the the sealers on thursday night uh you know obviously some some concern there but you know just to see him hanging that after getting after taking that hit and coming back and winning i mean that dude you just i don't know like i get more and more excited that he's our quarterback every week and you know we talked a little bit last week about how the numbers don't always show it

um what he's asked to do in this offense and stuff but he the sky's the limit for him and i just i really think that by the time this year is over because i'm anticipating a playoff run at this point um i just i think that the the national perception of marcus mariotta which is already strong i think he's going to be mentioned in that top-tier group of the quarterbacks. I'm not saying he's going to be Brady and Aaron Rodgers and any of that stuff, but I think he's going to be joining that group, and with a couple more years, he's going to be talked about amongst the best in the league.

He's close, yeah. He's definitely on that track. And I think a big deal going forward is just going to be time with these new receivers. I think we forget that it's still the first year and you're playing with a couple rookies. Really, three rookies if you add Johnnie Smith. Then you throw in Eric Decker

who you've never played before too. It's kind of the passing attack is just it's been off all year. We've said that. I think you saw it start to come together today. If those plays get committed, we're probably over the moon right now. But Delaney Walker with nine targets banged up.

Corey Davis with ten targets. Rashard Matthews with seven targets. So those are your big three. We've kind of seen Eric Decker start to take that beat now that Corey Davis is back. Tywon Taylor got involved early, which I love to see. So just a lot of mouths to feed in this offense all of a sudden. So really going to be interesting to kind of see them balance all those run plays and still keep these receivers fed and happy. Yeah, and one thing on Eric Decker, the play right before halftime

where they get the field goal. That was awesome. Yeah, where they line up with five seconds. I'm like, what are they doing? We're going to play and get that, you know. But, I mean, obviously that was something they had worked on. I mean, just a veteran play for Decker. Catch the ball, get down, start calling timeout, you know,

basically still in his slot. So that was big. And just to have a guy like that in the offense, I think it's important. He is starting to take a bite. But that's the role they brought him into play. I think you were a little bit in trouble early on when Davis was out, and you were expecting Decker to be your number two. I don't think that was ever the plan the Titans had for him.

So I think this offense is better with him in the role that he's in currently. All right, so that'll pretty much sum it up for the offensive day. We'll talk a little bit about the defense. And, I mean, I think we need to be really impressed with what this defense has done. So we'll take a look at that coming up. All right, so moving to the inside of the ball. Okay, so you have the 70- yard play to aj green if you don't have that play it's it's like we're talking about how dominant this defense is now that play did happen so we can't pretend like it didn't but you know it's a different age

or uh andy dalton sorry his numbers look mean, he had 265 of two touchdowns, obviously 70 and a touchdown of that coming on that one play to A.J. Green. But the Titans have two legitimate cornerbacks for the first time, and I mean I can't remember the last time that you felt really good about their starting quarterbacks. I mean probably back to like Finnegan and McCourty, you know, like years and years ago. Back to where you felt this good about the two guys that they had on the outside. And, you know, they used Logan Ryan, it looked like,

especially early in the game, and I'd have to go back and watch it. And, you know, I'm sure pro football folks will have some stuff on this later in the week. But it looked like early in the game they were using Logan Ryan to shadow A.J. Green. And we talked a little bit last week about, you know, the match that Adore Jackson, to shadow A.J. Green. And we talked a little bit last week about the match that Adore Jackson, or that A.J. Green would be for Adore Jackson. It's the height advantage, the veteran presence, all that kind of stuff. I thought Logan Ryan held up really well against A.J. Green. And obviously, like I said, the one big play.

So Green's had 115 and a touchdown in the game, but obviously 70 of that coming on one play. And just a note on Adore Jackson. This is from Pro Football Focus. He was targeted eight times in the game. He allowed four catches for 27 yards. And Andy Dalton's QB rating when training Adore Jackson was 57.8. Adore Jackson is really good.

And, again, we're still going to see times where he makes rookie mistakes. It's not like he's going to be this shutdown corner that you can put on just yet. He's going to get a big test on Thursday night with, obviously, Antonio Brown, the emergence of Juju Schuster, and we'll get more into that as the week goes along. But he's legitimately good. The Titans have got to be thrilled with where he is at this point. Yeah, it seems like I see him batting a ball away seemingly every drive now. So he's getting targeted, but he's making a play on the ball,

which is all you can ask. So I think he's come a long, long way from, I think it was that Bears game where he got killed with targets, that preseason game. So I've been really pleased with Adore Jackson. And you just talk about the value you get at 11. You're getting a starting corner, getting a turn man. You're getting an offensive gadget. So I'd say John Robinson hit a home run there to this point.

So it kind of eases the blow of not taking a Marcus Lattimore, which we kind of talked about last week. But, yeah, I'm not sure what happened to Brandon LaFell play. That seemed like a busted coverage to me. That was a weird one. There was nobody around him, but it kind of got the Bengals off and running. But A.J. Green did nothing until that point. And that was, I believe Logan Ryan was on A.J. Green. But that's a play that Kevin Byard has to make. And I know

Byard's been great, but that was a play for me that Byard had to make. He kind of just took a weird angle and ended up running right by, and A.J. Green took it to the house. But, you know, outside of that play, you've got to be really encouraged. We're not even a year removed from Parrish Cox and Bryce McCain and all that, and now you're seeing this great secondary emerge. You know, it's going to be really fun if John Robinson is able to pair up an elite pass rush with him.

Yeah, and so, you know, kind of of note there, the Titans blitzed Andy Dalton. It said 33% today. Again, this is for football. When blitzed, he completed Dalton's 72% of his passes, and the two touchdowns both came off of Blitzes. So, you know, to me, that says that the back end still has a little bit of work to do. Obviously, there was some kind of touchdown on the little foul play. Like you say, he's running all by himself.

You know, not exactly how the defense would have drawn it up there. So somebody missed an assignment there, clearly. And like you said, if Byard makes the tackle on A.J. Green, and when you Blitz, I mean, that's the kind of stuff you find yourself in. You got one guy back there, and he decided to make the tackle. He just didn't. And like you said, Bayard's been

fantastic. I think he should be a pro bowler at this point. He should be in the conversation as an all-pro. So, you know, you don't want to be too hard on him in this. But he does need to make that play. Pass rush is still an issue, you know,

and it doesn't show up as much when the defensive backs are better, and that's clearly what we have now. But they're going to have to figure something out. And, you know, today, going back to this PFF email, it says that the Titans only pressure Andy Dalton on 13.9% of his drop back. That's not going to get it done. And keep in mind, too, this is a bad offensive line for the Bengals. I mean, that was one of the issues they had coming into this game.

So we talk about it. It seems like we're hitting on it every week, and I don't know that there is an answer this point um arachpo had a sack you know in strip you know they got the signs got the balls that was obviously big but arachpo morgan casey all those guys are going to have to just play better um and they're going to have to pick their spots when they blitz and when they do they're going to need to get there um but i don't know you just you feel a little bit better about it with at least the defensive backs playing like they are. Yeah, and we keep harping on it, but, you know,

it might rear its head on Thursday night against a good quarterback, against a good passing game. The only way you're going to beat a good quarterback is to consistently pressure him and play good coverage. Titans have one of those in the equation, but they don't have both. So right now Dick LeBeau is just being forced to blitz. That's the only way he can get through. And all that does is create holes in your defense if you don't get home.

So Titans didn't get home. They ended up blowing two coverages, and you had two long touchdowns for the Bengals. So that's kind of the fire that you play with when you have to blitz like that. So as we've been saying, there's not a good solution to this right now. It's not like players are going to get better right now in the middle of the season. So LeBeau's just kind of got to do what he's got to do right now. And if you're looking for kind of the one thing that's going to hold this team back come January, it's definitely that.

Yeah, and, you know, the thing is, when you think about it this way, the secondaries, you need to be really excited about the secondary because think about it. You've got Kevin Byron in his second. You've got Dory Jackson, who's a rookie. You've got Logan Ryan, who they just signed to a forgated contract. I'm trying to look up real quick. I'm trying to look it up real quick. I can't remember how long his deal is.

But those pieces are in place. He signed a three-year deal. Those pieces are in place to be good for a long time. So if you can add a pass rusher or two in this next draft and you can get a guy to come in and make an impact, then you've got a defense that's legitimately good to go along with an offense that we think is just not starting to take off so i mean i think there's a lot to be excited about this team now like you said i think we're going to learn a lot about how effective they are and can be against a really good offense because

it's been a while since i have faced a really good. So we're going to see one of those. You know, unfortunately, we have to go to Pittsburgh. We saw today the Steelers are just terrible on the road for whatever reason. So it will be, you know, you saw a little bit there about the scan if it was in Tennessee. But we're going to see how much better, how many steps forward the season is really taking on Thursday night. But overall, and I mean, again, I said last week, you were the one that kind of expressed a little bit of caution with the optimism a few weeks ago with his defense. But I think you have to feel pretty good about where they are overall.

But again, keeping in mind that they're going to get the first real test in a while on Thursday night. You know who we're going to learn a lot about on Thursday night? Adore Jackson. Because he is getting maybe the best receiver in the NFL. They match up well size-wise, but Antonio Brown is going to be a handful. It's a handful for anybody. But we're going to see where Adore Jackson is in his NFL career development to this point.

So that's immediately already got my eye. That's going to be a spot where he's going to need some help over the top for sure. But I am really interested to see if he's up to that challenge. Oh, yeah, sure. I mean, this is going to be his biggest test in a good while. So, yeah, I mean, I'm excited to see it. Obviously, we'll get into that a lot more as the week goes along. It's a tight and short week for us.

Anything else from this game today we need to hit on? No, we'll dive into some PFF stuff. We'll re-watch and then we'll tie up the loose ends tomorrow. Yeah, sure. It's going to be a quick turnaround. Like we said, we won't have as much time to get down to this stuff before we get into Steelers stuff this week.

Check out our site, musicteameracles.com. We'll have a lot more on this game and Steelers preview and all that stuff coming up as well. Follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorphsmcm. Terry is at tlembertfb. But, hey, again, look, this is the best Titans team that we've seen in a really long time and a team that is finding ways to win.

Now they're going to get a good test on Thursday night, but for right now you've got to feel pretty good about where they are and, you know, still feel pretty good about where they are, and still tied for the division lead, still holding the tiebreaker over the Jaguars. If it weren't the stupid Chargers, then the Titans would have a game lead, but we'll talk a little bit more

about that tomorrow as well. For Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening. Check us out at www.mediacitymiracles.com, and we'll have another edition of Locked on Titans for you tomorrow.