Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Crossover with Locked on Giants

Episode Date: December 11, 2018

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All right, welcome in to another crossover edition. I am Terry Lambert of Locked On Titans. I am joined today by Locked On Giants. Go ahead and tell us a little bit about yourself and where we can find your work. Hey, everybody. Nice to be here. This is Patricia Trena of Locked On Giants. I'm the host.

I write for The Athletic, New York City, Forbes, Big Blue View, a whole bunch of other places. Best way to keep up with my work is at Patricia underscore Trina on Twitter. Happy to have Patricia on today. Of course, you can find our work over at MusicCityMiracles.com

part of SB Nation. You can find LockedOnTitans wherever you get your podcasts. We're posting four times a week, so be sure you're subscribed and all that. So I wanted to start out by asking Patricia some questions about the New York Giants. Titans need this game to keep their playoff hopes alive. I think we have to start here by asking the Odell Beckham Jr. question. Held out last week, kind of a surprise, at least on Friday that he was ruled out.

What's his status for this week? Well, as of yesterday, he was asked how he was feeling, and he kind of gave a one thumbs up, and he joked about hoping to be by two thumbs up by the end of the week. So I took that to mean that he's still sore, still coming along, but I also know he's getting round-the-clock treatment, everything possible, because much like the Titans, the Giants' playoff hopes are still alive.

They are still mathematically in it. Things are breaking their way so far. But in order for that to continue, they not only need help from around the league, they also need to keep winning. And, you know, they are a better team with Odell in the lineup than they are without him. Even though, you know, last week notwithstanding, you know, you want to have as many of your key players in the game. And they missed Odell I'm sure

in some way shape or form so hopefully he'll be okay to go Giants chose to go Saquon Barkley at this point it's kind of hard to argue that point but you're still rolling with Iba Manning back there

under center every time I seem to watch the Giants, it just seems like he's at the finish line of his career. Am I wrong on that? What's going on with Eli this year? Well, you know what? I've been saying since – actually before this year, I've been saying all along, give Eli a good supporting cast, and he can still play, and he can still win. And for years, he didn't have a good supporting cast and he can still play and he can still win. And for years, he didn't have a good offensive line.

He was constantly running for his life. I think he was one of the highest sacked or hit quarterback over the last several years. He didn't have a running game. And, you know, I'm sorry, I don't care who the quarterback is, but you're not going to be able to function when you're constantly running for your life, when you don't have a running game to take some of the onus off of you. And another point that I've made is that over the last several years, Eli has been asked to throw the ball like close to 600 times, if not over 600 times.

That's a lot of throwing for a guy who's getting up there in age. I don't care how good of a condition you're in so what they did they they uh addressed the offensive line they had to do a couple of different revert uh revisions to that unit to get the get it right and right now it looks like they got it right and they added saquon barkley with the number two overall pick in the draft and i know there were giant fans that were screaming oh they should have taken a quarterback they were stupid. They should have traded down. But look at what Saquon Barkley has brought to this team.

He's brought them a running game, which now sets up play action and all the things that Eli can do well. And look at what's happening. They're winning. He's getting protection. They're winning. And it all seems to be headed in the right direction in Giants country. Yeah, winners of four of the last five, I believe, so something's starting to click up there for sure. Dive a little bit deeper in on Saquon Barkley.

He just seems to be the focal point of this offense. How are they using him? Is it pretty straightforward? How are they getting him involved? How are they getting him the ball in his hands? Well, they're trying to get the ball in his hands as much as possible. I mean, as a runner, if you saw the game on Sunday against Washington, this kid, he's amazing. I tell you, he is really fun to watch. Give him a hole and he can really shoot through it with speed like no running back I've seen in recent years. I mean, with due respect to Ezekiel Elliott and Todd Gurley. The other thing that Barkley is really, really good at is when you get him into space, he's like a little bowling ball coming downhill, and he can just truck guys over and just, you know, he can do it all. And his pass blocking getting better, those few times they ask him to pass block but he has really become a

weapon for that Giants offense and he's you know the best thing about him is that he's been everything they thought he would be and then some very mature for his age he's only 21 years old and he's very humble he says I'm still a rookie I'm still learning I want to be great but I can't be great without this you know my supporting cast so kudos to that young man for having his head on straight. All right, let's assume Odell sits on Sunday. Who should Titans fans be worried about in the Giants passing game? Well, I think we could see the Titans get more involved. They were kind of quiet last week because they were asked to do more of the run blocking responsibilities.

But Evan Ingram did come back last week. Had some, you know, he had a couple of catches. And he's really, you know, a lot of people say he's like a big wide receiver in a tight ends body. So he could be a focal point to keep an eye on, you know. And then otherwise, you know, Sterling Shepard, who statistically speaking had a quiet game. He only caught two of seven receptions, but, you know, his blocking was just top shelf last week. So he got a game ball actually for his blocking. But he's the guy who can certainly break things open.

And then I think they're going to spread the ball around amongst their other receivers. They have Russell Shepard. They have Benny Fowler, Corey Coleman. So it's not like they have to hone in on just one guy. And even if Odell is in there, it's not like they're honing in just on him. They're spreading the ball around. And that's a good thing because when the offense is – when you know where the ball is going on every single play,

and we saw this a couple years ago with the Giants offense, they become one-dimensional and very easy to stop and game plan for it just done a really good job spreading that ball around getting the ball into Saquon Barkley's hands the receivers the tight ends and it's paid off for them shifting gears to the defense just doing some quick research uh Giants rank uh pretty much in the bottom half of every major category. Made some early season trades. Eli Apple is now gone.

Damon Harrison is now gone. What's kind of the strength of this unit, if there is one, and what's the weakness? Well, I think the unit started off very slow. I mean, they had no pass rush. And part of that was because Olivier Vernon, who was being counted on to bring pass rush, missed like the first five games with a high ankle sprain. He's since been back and, you know, he's kind of picked it up a little bit, but just not the production I think that they were hoping for given his contract status. for given his contract status. But the other thing is they had a couple of young guys that they had to get on that defensive front and get them to start playing well together. So if you look at that defensive front, they have a rookie in B.J. Hill who is really coming

on strong in the second half of the season. They have a second-year player, Dalvin Tomlinson, who's starting to find his niche. They added in Josh Morrow, who missed the first four games due to a suspended. So he's starting to get into a groove. Kerry Wynn is starting to fit in. So that defensive front for the Giants is starting to play better, and that's becoming strength. I mean, even the linebackers, you know, Alec Ogletree, who everybody thought was finished because he couldn't cover to save his life, he leads him with five interceptions. so he's starting to play better.

Kareem Martin's starting to play better. Lorenzo Carter is coming on. So just the whole defensive front is starting to gel a little bit more. I think that defensive front is going to be a big key because, you know, it certainly looks like the Titans found something in Derrick Henry last week. So we'll get into that when we come back after this break. All right, we are back, and I'll toss it over to Patricia for her Titans questions. All right, thanks so much, Terry.

So let's start off with the mood around the Titans. You mentioned at the top of the show that they're clinging to playoff hopes. I mean, where do you see them at right now at this juncture with the playoff picture shaping up the way it is? I think Nashville really wants to buy into this team, but I don't think they can. It just seems like the Titans have been the same team basically since the mid-2000s,

really since the post-McNair era. Just somewhere around 8-8, just kind of hovering with some exceptions here or there. This team is so inconsistent. You saw them go beat the Patriots by 24. Then you saw them blown out by the Colts and then the Texans. So, I mean, they're still alive. I'm just not sure the fan base has too much confidence in them. And, you know, I think you kind of saw that with the season on the line,

Jacksonville and town last Thursday night. The stands weren't very full. So I just think there's a problem there. I think they kind of want to see the Titans do it before they really buy in. And where does Marcus Mariota stand right now? I know he's had some up-down games. I think he had some injuries, if I'm not mistaken. Where is he at right now with this offense?

He's a really tough evaluation. Like you said, he's been dealing with those injuries. Week one, he has a nerve injury in his elbow causing him to miss a couple weeks. It comes back earlier than he probably should have because Blaine Gabbert gets knocked out of the Jacksonville game.

So he's playing without feeling in two of his fingers. So of course he's going to look bad through all of that. So it's a really tough evaluation. When he has gotten protection, kind of like what you're saying with Eli Manning, when he's gotten protection, when he's gotten help from the weapons around him, he's looked pretty good. When the offensive line has struggled, of course he's looked pretty bad.

You look at games against Baltimore, he looked terrible. But it's really hard to put that on him. So I think most Titans fans are still optimistic about Mariota, but certainly they're definitely frustrated with the injuries, which, you know, it's hard to put that on him. He's had some dumb luck in his career. Now, in the first segment, I mentioned how Saquon barkley has helped the

giants offense because he's given them a running game now in this last game that uh you guys had derrick henry 238 yards including a 99 yard touchdown run on 17 carries where has this been all year that's a really good question i wish i I knew. Henry's been very inconsistent. He said it himself. He needs to put it. He said it all year. Well, finally we saw it. And quite honestly, I think that was more of a case of Jacksonville laying down.

They got hit in the mouth, and then they just quit for the rest of the night. So I'm not so sure if we're going to see that again. I think Derrick Henry has earned more carries than Deion Lewis, which you've kind of seen start to happen over the past couple of weeks. Yeah, that part is interesting too. There was a portion of the year where Lewis was playing better than Derrick Henry, and he earned more carries. But I think is is becoming more

of a straight ahead runner you know he's six foot three 250 pounds uh but he has never really run like a power back you're finally starting to see him put his head down and start to make some plays and start to fall forward so uh holding out hope that that it continue, but also not holding my breath. Okay, and in terms of matchups, who's the one player on the Titans that you think the Giants need to really be concerned about? I think you need to look at a couple of guys. I think Taewon Taylor is a matchup problem just in terms of speed, and the Titans have really started using that. He was hurt, and since he's come come back they've really used him down the field

So I think they're gonna send him down and try and get those safeties out of the box and then hit with Derrick Henry And then you got to look at Corey Davis a guy that's really come on Been a little inconsistent and struggled against top cornerback talent, but that's a guy that can win in the middle of the field He can win with his routes He can really get some separation. He can win those 50-50 balls for you So Marcus has a ton of trust in him and it seems like they're finally on a same page. So Outside of that this Titans offense is pretty banged up, you know, no more Delaney Walker. He was out. He's been out since week one Pretty banged up, you know.

No more Delaney Walker. He's been out since week one. Tight end John New Smith is done for the year. They're going to rely on Anthony Ferkser and some unproven experienced talent underneath Taylor and Davis who don't have much experience at all. So you're kind of starting to see the picture I'm painting there of what Marcus Mariota is working with this year. Yeah, and I also saw a report that Jack Conklin

The tackles might serve the game. Yeah, and you know, I think that's probably for the best He was an all-pro his rookie year and he blew out his knee in that Patriots Playoffs game and hasn't been the same guy since so he's struggled, giving up a ton of pressure off that right hand. It's coming right at Mariota's face. So they're going to insert Dennis Kelly in the lineup, who's played really well this year in limited spots. So quietly, you know, that might be an upgrade because I just think Conklin just isn't right right now.

And let's flip over to the defense. What are the strengths of the Titans' defense? And let's flip over to the defense. What are the strengths of the Titans' defense? What do you think? And above all, going against a Saquon Barkley, who's just been tremendous in that run game, can they stop him? Well, the Titans have some very, very good linebackers.

It starts with Wesley Woodyard, the veteran who's seen it all. Jayon Brown, second-year player, really athletic, has a ton of speed to him. He's going to be a key covering Saquon Bartley in the pass game. Then you look at Rashawn Evans, first-round pick, missed all of training camp. He's just now starting to come on. So those three are playing really well. They've got a nice rotation going.

Where the Titans struggle is up front in the trenches. They didn't last week. They put in a good effort against Leonard Fournette, but also you had Cody Kessler there, not much threat of the pass. So it's interesting. You know, you struggle up front in the trenches, but those linebackers are good enough to where the run defense is just insta-bad, is more inconsistent so i'm pretty

interested to see how they hold up this sunday and what about the titans pass rush i mean the giants offensive line's been playing a lot better you know they still give up a sack here but certainly not at the alarming rate that they were giving them up in the first eight games where do you see the key matchups there with the Titans front versus the Giants offensive line? Well, on the edges, there's not much there. Brian Arakpo and Derek Morgan are on the tail ends of their career. They just don't have that explosive first step anymore. Titans have gotten no production out there.

So, really, your reserve rushers, Sheree Finch and Harold Landry, have been more productive this year. So, you know, look for those sub-packages there. I think the Titans will continue to attack the interior. Jarrell Casey, obviously a great player.

Pretty underrated throughout his career. But they send a ton of blitzes up the middle. You know, Jayon Brown, Wesley Woodard, Rashawn Evans. They'll cross you up. They'll force your hand and send pressure right up the gut, which has really been successful this year. So they don't get much pressure from the outside, but they'll really dial it up on the inside.

You're listening to the Locked On Giants and the Locked On Titans crossover show with Patricia Trena and Locked On Titans co-host Terry Lambert. This is the Wednesday crossover show. We're going to take a short break, come back, segment three, and wrap things up. So stay with us. All right, we are back. Patricia, I'll let you go first. Give me a prediction for Sunday.

Oh, wow. I've been terrible this year with my predictions because just when I think the Giants got it right and I have it right, the Giants jump in and make me look stupid. Although last week I was correct. I did pick them to beat Washington. I think, you know, look, the Giants are on a roll. I like the vibe that's coming out of the locker room. You know, these guys are playing like they have something to play for.

And they have been really all throughout the year. They've never given up. And it's a home game. They know that the playoffs, that they have to do their part to get in, even though, again, it's a slim chance given the mathematics and all that needs to happen. So I think Giants are going to pull this one out. I do think it's going to be a close one. But I'm going to say the Giants come up with, I'm going to say 33-24.

You know, I kind of have the same feeling in terms of picking the Titans this year. I just can't seem to get them right. I mentioned how inconsistent they are. They've won two in a row. This just feels like a spot where they're going to let me down again, so I'm going to go ahead and pick the Giants. Giants opened as three-point favorites out in Vegas. I think that's right on the money.

The Titans are too inconsistent for me. I think that week 17 matchup with Indy, potentially with the playoffs on the line, is already looming. So it's kind of a look-ahead spot in that sense. So I'll go Giants about 23-20. I think it'll be close, but I'm really worried about Titans being able to contain Saquon. Yeah, he's going to be a tough one for sure. He is definitely on a roll,

and look, he's coming off that big game. The confidence is sky high, so it's a matter of, do they continue it? Well, Patricia, thanks for joining me. It was great stuff. Let my listeners know where they can find you one more time. Sure. You can find me on Twitter at

Patricia underscore Trina, R-A-I-N-A. There you can find links to all my work. I have an article out on The Athletic that came out on Tuesday that kind of breaks down some of the Giants film work. If you want to read more about that, you can find me on Forbes. You can find me on BigView. Just basically follow

me on Twitter and you'll find links to wherever I'm published that particular day. All right. Thanks, as always, for listening to Locked on Titans and Locked on Giants. And we'll see you later.