Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans- Dec.14- WOAS, HDH, Pro Scope & more.

Episode Date: December 14, 2016

Wednesday means WOAS, HDH, Pro Scope & more. #BHop #TerryMc #GregA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That's for my crazy day. My packed commute. All those unread emails in my inbox. But I'm getting stronger, faster, and pushing myself further every day. I don't care if I'm not like everyone else. This punching bag is the best way to end my day. Fearless is knowing yoga isn't your style. That's the power of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program.

Learn more about our healthy benefits at fepblue.org slash getmore. You are Locked on Titans, your daily podcast on the Tennessee Titans. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. And welcome to Locked on Titans, your daily source for all Titans news and information with your host, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, Greg Arias and former Tennessee Titans all pro left tackle Brad Hopkins. It's Wednesday. We've got a lot of stuff to get to today.

As always on Wednesdays are what others are saying segment, hump day happenings in pro scope. But first guys, current news, Brad, Terry, a lot of things to talk about. Obviously, not much in the Current News segment as far as the Titans and moves, Terry. David Flewellen, who had been released on Tuesday, returned to the practice squad on Wednesday after resigning with the move that brought Mitty Abdesisma up to the active roster? Yeah, it was a situation where the Titans,

not knowing the status of Jarrell Casey and now Carl Kluge for this week's game, decided to get some insurance on the 53-man roster by promoting Mitty Abnisma, who actually made the original 53-man roster coming out of camp, but then was let go and signed to the practice squad. So now he comes back. Flewellen, who cleared waivers, now comes back to the practice squad, which was kind of expected in that regard. Yeah, I talked to Jarrell Casey last night at the Smoky Mountain event,

and I told him it wasn't an option for him to be in the training room, so therefore he needed to get himself ready for this week. He kind of chuckled and laughed. I thought he was being optimistic, but for the most part I told him it wasn't an option. Brad, you mentioned the Smoky Mountain relief effort that you were part of last night with Dolly Parton and several other members of the Titans, Jarrell Casey, Taylor LeJuan. Obviously that's big news for the Titans to be associated with that, and I'm told the figure is expected to be somewhere between $3 and $4 million that you guys were able to raise last night to help out the victims of the wildfires there up in East Tennessee.

Yes, sir, and the Tennessee Titans did it all by themselves. No, I'm just kidding. Yes, sir, and the Tennessee Titans did it all by themselves. No, I'm just kidding. Actually, the Titans actually donated $144,000 to the Smokin' Mountain Police Association. Obviously, given their time in answering phones, people were donating just another way for the tie-backing community, kind of showing you another obvious difference in the Tennessee Titans this year. Terry, did you have an opportunity to watch any of the program last night?

I did not. My daughter had a basketball game, but certainly a very worthwhile effort, and I certainly applaud all of those who were involved with the Titans and people in the entertainment industry. Certainly there are a lot of people up in the East Tennessee area hurting right now, and any and all efforts to help them is certainly saluted. Now, Brad, can people still donate to this? Is there some kind of way?

Obviously, I know there's probably still something open, but do you have the information on that? Where might you direct somebody? It's very easy to find. Just look under, you know, obviously when you're Google or using your search engine, look under Smoky Mountain Relief, and I'm sure that, you know, something of a Dolly Parton icon will come up. There's email addresses that you can actually send donations to. It's very simple to get involved, and, you know,

just the people that we talked to last night, all over the country, guys. I took calls from Houston, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, obviously neighboring states that weren't even directly affected. They felt, you know, at least been on their heartstrings to kind of call and give all that they could. So, you know, you have people like Paula Deans there last night. Obviously, you mentioned some of the country's music stars that were there last night, people who are living in and around the area that understand the connection the National Addison-Scanford area, obviously Dolly Parker's stuff at her backyard, which is from.

So it's a very charitable effort. And I would say great job of a dollar partner company to try to bring about awareness that I was in a perfect situation. Absolutely. If you have not donated and can, please do so. Go online and find the links to that. And any help that can be given to those people would be greatly appreciated guys let's move on to our what others are saying segment

this morning and as usual on Wednesdays we take information from our friends over at pro football focus and Brad this is going to be one I think that will be close to your heart again this week when we look at the Tennessee Titans' numbers from the win over Denver in that the five highest graded players on offense, four of those five are offensive linemen this week. I'm going to put you on the spot quickly, guys. Who do you think was the highest graded person? I'll give you a clue. It was not one of the four offensive linemen.

They ranked second, third, fourth, and fifth. Who was number one? Terry, you want to take a guess at this first? Well, I think I've already heard this, so I think I already know. I believe it's Charleston Fowler, the fullback who rated out very well, even though he had a limited role and a limited number of snaps at the ballgame. Brad, you want to take a guess? That's exactly what I was going to say.

I have no idea. It was. Johnston Fowler with a 90.2 is the highest graded Titans player for his efforts against the Broncos on Sunday. After that, center Ben Jones finished second with an 83.3. Quentin Spain third at 82.8. And the two tackles, Taylor LeJuan 81.7 and Jack Conklin 79.0 and guys they go on to talk about it and the fact that the

Titans dominated the Broncos especially in that first half with 20 minutes plus of possession time and they did it largely by being able to run the football and of course that would speak to Brad the fact that four of the five guys there were offensive linemen when you can control the football, and of course that would speak to, Brad, the fact that four of the five guys there were offensive linemen. When you can control the football for 20 minutes plus of a half, that's pretty dominating performance by an offensive line against a very good defense. Absolutely. It just means that you're staying on the football field.

It means that you've probably got a better third down efficiency rate than the other team that you're going up against. Obviously, we know that game was a tale of two different halves because the Titans definitely controlled the first half like you mentioned, Greg, but they didn't control the second half. That was all Broncos. Unfortunately, the Titans were able to make plays down the back end with the fastest little by little win.

But, yeah, Terry, I kind of agree with that question. Yeah, I think, you know, you talk about the play of the offensive line and what they did against Denver. Pretty much a statement game by that offensive line, I thought, especially in the first half, like you pointed out. I think in terms of going forward, I think you've got to have exactly, almost a carbon copy performance of that, maybe a little bit more from the passing game,

but almost a carbon copy of how that offensive line played in the first half in order to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, because the Chiefs and the Broncos are built kind of similarly. Defensively, they want to get you into passing situations. They want to harass your quarterback, force him into sacks, turnovers, things like that. And the only way to combat that is to run the ball effectively against them and put yourself in makeable third down and distance. Now, guys, as always, I also want to give credit to the defense

and some of their numbers. I won't ask you who was the highest-ranked defensive player of the week, but I think you're probably going to be surprised, unless Terry's already heard this one as well. It was rookie cornerback LaShawn Sims grading out at an 87.4 for his effort in the game. He was the highest ranked defender, second only to Joust and Fowler overall on the team. Then you had Brian Arakpo at 84.2, Wesley Morgan 83.1, and guys, two more cornerbacks, Bryce McCain 81.1 and Antoine Valentino.

They listed him as Antoine, but Valentino, Blake, at 79.9. So a pretty good effort from those three guys in the secondary there, even though they gave up a little over 300 yards passing, as it turned out, for the day. Yeah, very good performances. And we talked about it earlier in the week about how impressed Sims and Blake were, especially because those were two guys that Blake has struggled a lot this year, and Sims was largely untested. You didn't know what you were going to get out of him, but certainly a quality performance.

I think looking ahead in terms of LaShawn Sims, if you can build on that, Brad, then maybe that's one less draft pick or one less free agency purchase that you have to make in the offseason at cornerback, because everybody, I think, went in, you know, going into the offseason

would say that they needed two corners, maybe even a third defensive back. But if Sims can continue to build on this over the final weeks of the season, then certainly he could catapult himself into the mix of being a starter next year and maybe alleviate part of the problem that's been in the secondary. Absolutely, Terry. You hit the nail on the head. Any time situations like this come up, it might be a conundrum for a squad,

but in essence, it does build depth. It also builds trust. And these guys now have the most important experience in this game as an experience. I'm sure you know the game plan. You know the coin, the instruction, what you're trying to do. But anytime you can get on the football field and kind of get your feet wet and make a name for yourself, you're right.

You might make a name for yourself as far as identifying a job or at least being able to have them rely on you and trust you if your name gets called, if the starter in front of you goes down. Now, guys, I'm sorry, Brad. Go ahead. No, I was good. Okay. On the other hand, Jason McCourty, he struggled in the game against Denver, gave up nine receptions.

Brad, you've been there. You know how it is, life in the NFL. Jason getting up in years a little bit. Is this an aberration or is this maybe we're starting to see Jason slide just a little bit in his physical abilities as a player as he's gotten older? Yeah, I mean, it happens, but we don't want to start thinking that every time the numbers start going south, it's directly related to age. I think that a lot of instances,

guys like him who have been pretty savvy throughout their career can reinvent themselves. I played alongside a guy that played 19 years. You know, people mostly say when you reach your teens, you're old. But he found a way in Bruce Matthews to kind of reinvent himself and stay a step ahead of the game. So it's just a matter of simple adjustments here and there, whether it's, you know, taking care of your body in a different way

or getting to rest and doing more things to protect yourself. You'll play longer, but for the most part, it's just more of a situation where the numbers are kind of reflective of how the year has gone for them defensively. Brad, let me throw this out there at you, and this is something that's been brought up occasionally before, but, you know, Jason McCourty has one more year remaining on his contract, and it remains to be seen.

It's a pretty high cap number. I think it's over $7 million. But if they're able to rework that and he agrees to stick around for less, provided they want to keep him, could you see him now being at a point in his career, and you mentioned Bruce Matthews who played all up and down the offensive line. I think he began life as a guard, became a tackle, became a center, became a guard again, that sort of thing. But could you see Jason McCourty, maybe his role in one sense maybe being lessened,

but in another maybe say, okay, it's time for you to be a nickelback or it's time for you to be a strong safety, that sort of thing, in order to keep the experience and the savvy that he has on board but not put him in situations maybe where he can be exposed as much because maybe he's lost his depth. That's very smart, Terry. It's almost very baseball-esque. When you look at some DHS that were obviously in the defensive lineup, you know, say,

you can't play first anymore because, you know, he's getting up there in age, but he's still got a very useful bat. Same thing with A-Rod. You know, he's not necessarily the guy that can control the elbow, but he's the guy that has the hot bat to be a leader on the team. So, Jason Forty, you know, definitely being a guy that, if he had to reinvent

himself, I'm looking to say safety or something like that, or even, you know, restructuring his contract to make it more team-friendly so that he can get guys signed and he can stick around, I definitely see a guy that's been on the roster that long and who has entrenched himself in the community as Jason McCourty has to continue to do those things and continue to do whatever it takes for him to continue to be a part of the team, particularly when you start to see growth. What does that make for him to, you know, basically birth this team, one that we're seeing now, laying the foundation, and all of a sudden leave?

That'd be, that'd be counterintuitive. Guys, let's move on to our Hump Day Happening segment now, and as we do that, there have been a lot of people with a lot of opinions about Thursday night football, some good, some bad. Richard Sherman, the controversial at times, well-spoken, quoted regularly, cornerback of the Seattle Seahawks, had some pretty interesting comments about Thursday night football in which he called it a poop fest. about Thursday Night Football in which he called it a poop fest.

Guys, your thoughts on Richard Sherman's comments and Thursday Night Football as a whole in the NFL? Well, I think Richard Sherman certainly laid it out there and didn't mince any words about it. I think a lot of the players, they don't like Thursday Night Football on the front end simply because they think in one regard it's a safety issue. Their bodies don't have enough time to recover from having played on a Sunday. There's only a three-day break before you're playing again. But I do think on the flip side of that, you know, the players will certainly take that extra three days

that comes with playing on a Thursday night and not playing again until the next Sunday. So there is a little bit of a tradeoff, but players being creatures of habit like they are, I think they probably would prefer just to go Sunday to Sunday and then maybe mix in a Monday night so that there's only a one-day changeover in terms of extra time or short time. Yeah, Terry, you're speaking like you're someone who's been around this game for a long time, only a one-day changeover in terms of extra time or short time. Yeah.

Terry, you're speaking like you're someone who's been around this game for a long time and that understands the players because it is kind of a counterproductive move when you look at changing up the schedule to where guys that need a full six days of rehab and treatment and things and film work to be able to get back from one week to the next. Obviously, that being cut short sometimes, it has an effect not only on your body, but obviously your development too. I'm not sitting here poo-pooing it like Richard Sherman is, but I do understand the difficulties in that.

Say, like he's talking about, a guy's dealing with an injury, something that he's battled with all year. He'll never be above, say, 60%, 70%. I mean, it's going to affect how well he plays. It's going to affect his bottom line. It's going to affect a lot of things because you're screwing with the schedule and not allowing him at least a more complimentary time to adjust his body to, you know, that schedule.

So while you're talking about building in, you know, five weeks and things of that nature, it still doesn't help, like, you know, the short week and what can happen after that short week, particularly if you don't go into it already being 100%. My opinion, guys, just to throw it in at the end of this, is that while there is a positive of having the 10-day window after playing on a Thursday night, I think there's many more negatives to it from a player's standpoint than there are that one positive. Yes, it does give you a little bit extra time on the

back side, but as you guys have so well stated and pointed out, the things on the front side could make it worse, and if you go in, short rest, beat up, banged up, get beat up, banged up even more, that 10 days may not be enough time to recover, and you may, as a player, sustain an injury that might keep you out even longer than that. So I kind of agree with Sherman, not necessarily as strongly to use that comment, but I think Thursday night football needs to go away. Let's move on to our Pro Scope segment, guys, and I want to get you, Brad, first to comment on this because Terry and I talked on the Tuesday edition about the firing of Jeff Fisher with the Rams.

I know you know Jeff well, obviously, having played for him. We're going to take it a little bit of a different direction today with this and talk about perhaps some of the people that might be considered candidates to replace Jeff as the head coach of the Rams. You know, there are a lot of sexy, attractive names. Jim Harbaugh's name has come up. David Shaw from Stanford's name has come up. Pete Carroll's name has come up.

Even John Gruden's name has come up. And I'll stop right there because that's the one that I thought was the most attractive hire because when we listen to John Gruden on the call, we still hear the passion. We still hear the articulation of a coach, someone that really wants to get involved. And if you look at the situation that L.A. presents itself as far as, you know, brand-new stadium, second-largest media market in the country, the chance to develop a young quarterback like Jared Goff and, you know,

be stars for years to come, that's the kind of platform or the kind of challenge that entices a guy of that magnitude. I think it would be better for the L.A. Rams if, in fact, they did have a coach that was that magnifying. That way they could avoid issues like what come up with Eric Dickerson to where, you know, obviously Jeff Fisher might have underestimated the power of Eric Dickerson in that community and how being advanced with somebody that has been so beloved and is kind of preaching the same thing that the media and the fans are preaching, it's an uphill battle, one of which he couldn't win.

So there are a lot of people out there that can feel those shoes. We'll just see which direction Stan Kroenke goes. Yeah, one of the other things that's going to be interesting in this regard, and yes, Jeff Fisher got an extension and then was fired, they gave no guarantees that general manager Les Snead is going to stay on board as well. So there could be a complete house cleaning by Stan Kroenke with the Rams this offseason.

If that's the case, then they may wind up hiring a general manager first, letting that guy choose the coach. That said, it's L.A., and you're back in L.A. for the first time in 20 years. I think when people looked at it on the surface, most people thought Jeff Fisher would be a pretty good fit out there, because Jeff was a pretty media-savvy guy, granted it was in small markets like here and in St. Louis, but things really began to unravel on him pretty quickly. So with a big media market out there, I don't think I want to hire some young gun that hasn't

been around the block if I'm the Ram. I want to hire somebody that can deal with the media. I want to hire somebody that is okay with being in the spotlight, that's okay with the Jack Nicholson's and the, you know, Denzel Washington's of the world, you know, wanting to hang out and be part of the scene because it's L.A. and because it's cool. I think you've got to have a guy who is a football guy first

but also knows how to handle the situation and maybe has some big market experience. I don't think I want a first-time coordinator or somebody that's been a small market head coach if I can get away from that. Absolutely. That's a great point, Terry. And, Brad, of the guys that you named, if I were Kroenke, the two top guys from that group,

I think would be Jim Harbaugh and John Gruden. Not necessarily in that order, but those are certainly two guys that get it. They're good with the media. Both of them have had success in the NFL. And to Terry's point, both those guys would be able to come in. And I don't think L.A. would be too big of a spotlight for either one of those gentlemen in that sense. Agreed. Now, as for Jeff Fisher, what's his future hold at this point?

He's 58 years old. He probably does not want to simply just go off into the sunset and let this be the end of things. I'm pretty sure, Brad, that he would like to find something else to do in the NFL. Do you think he'll want to come back as a coordinator? Is he perhaps looking at television, maybe a job in the NFL as far as working for the league itself? What do you think the future holds for Jeff Fisher?

That's a great question. I don't necessarily see me, John Gruden, being an in-the-booth kind of guy. He doesn't have a personality, but the game that's played in the media is not one that Jeff Fisher likes to play. Terry, you know what I'm talking about. So I don't see him being a boot guy. The coordinator, I don't know, being someone's assistant? Jeff hasn't been an assistant in almost 20 years, like you said. So that's going to be an interesting situation itself.

like he said. So that's going to be an interesting situation itself. You know, would he be comfortable kind of, you know, delegating his role to one of less stature that he's used to, you know? But then again, you know, a fresh start, a new environment, you know, not having those crosshairs on your back and having to make all the decisions, that might be a welcome sight at this point for a guy that, you know, obviously has been around for a long time. So it's obviously going to be a young team,

a team that obviously needs someone like a rock star of Jeff Fisher's caliber to come in and really, you know, change some things. But I don't know if those opportunities have yet presented themselves, but I'm sure that they're right around the corner because, you know, like I know, Terry, you know, jobs are short-lived in the NFL. Yeah, they are. You know, it wouldn't shock me, you know, I know that, you know, we know that Jeff's kind of a coaching lifer,

but it wouldn't shock me to see him ride off into the sunset at least for a while and just go up to his cabin in Montana and do some hunting and fishing and those sorts of things that he likes to do and travel, spend some time with his family, or just kind of get away from it. I mean, you've got to remember, football has consumed his life for, you know, he's 58 years old, and the NFL and football have consumed his life now for 30 years. And, you know, maybe he wants a break from it. He got one break in 2011, kind of recharged the batteries, then, you know, took over the Rams head coach.

I think maybe it's time now that he just kind of pulls away from it a little bit. Maybe reenters a little later on, but maybe he just kind of pulls away and sits out for a couple of years to kind of see what goes on and kind of watch the wheels spin without him being involved in it. Absolutely. Guys, that's some great stuff there. But it's that time again, time for our final thoughts. Brad, your final thought on this Wednesday edition.

Seven and five feels oh so good right now. I think that obviously a road win against the Kansas City Chiefs, it's going to be a daunting task. But think about what the implications of that win. I think that the Titans would finally be recognized as a team to be reckoned with in the AFC. There's definitely an opportunity there, especially with how the Titans have been controlling the pace and even limiting their mistakes. So I want to continue to see this improvement and the confidence of Grove once they start doing it. Can you imagine 8-5? No one's talking about getting 8-5 for this team. I think it would be a phenomenal

mark, one that they can build on. Terry? Yeah, Brad, I'm going to piggyback off of that. You know, the fact that, you know, this team has become a surprising contender. I think when, you know, the year started, most of us said if this team could win six to seven ballgames that it would be a banner season, you know, great improvement, that sort of thing. Well, they're there. And, you know, great improvement, that sort of thing. Well, they're there.

And, you know, they've got three games left on the schedule. And if they can get things done in those three games, the team could make the playoffs. They could go worst to first in terms of reaching the playoffs just a year after being the worst team in the league and having the first pick in the draft. I think, you know, when you start handing out accolades, if this thing continues to move,

then I think you've got to start giving serious consideration to John Robinson as Executive of the Year and Mike Pilarch as Coach of the Year. That's something we would have never dreamed of back in April and May when the off-season program was just getting started and this team was coming off two terrible seasons. My final thought, guys, I'm going to give you one more stat as we go away on this Wednesday edition.

The people at Pro Football Outsiders are odds makers, statisticians. They project things like odds to win the division, and right now they have the Tennessee Titans favored to win the AFC South with a 51 percent margin. Now, that's not a lot. That's not a very big stretch considering 50-50 is even, so 51, but if you're looking for something to hold on to, the Titans do have that. They're being projected as a 51% chance of winning the division. I don't know how good those numbers are, guys, when you look at the NFL and try to project something like that with all of the variables that can go in with three games remaining.

But I'll say this. I honestly think if the Tennessee Titans can go into Kansas City on Sunday and get a win on the road over a very good Chiefs team that's playing very good football right now, this division is theirs because if they get that win, I think they will finish out, run the table, defeat Jacksonville and Houston on the way out, and be in the playoffs. A lot hinges on this Sunday, in my opinion. That's going to do it for us on this Wednesday edition.

We hope you've enjoyed it. Have a great rest of the day. We'll see you again on Thursday. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.