Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans-Dec.29- Robert Land Joins Us to talk Texans

Episode Date: December 29, 2016

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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 co-host, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, Greg Arias, and former Tennessee Titans, all-pro left tackle Brad Hopkins. A very pleasant Thursday morning to all our listeners out there. Terry McCormick, Greg Arias with you for this Thursday edition of Locked on Titans.

And Terry, as always, we start with current news where really the only news is good news if you're Titans fans at this point. The release of the statement by the Titans saying that Marcus Mariota's surgery took place in Charlotte, North Carolina on Wednesday and it was a success, if I can say the word. Yeah, you know, they sent out that statement Wednesday evening he had the surgery in the late afternoon yesterday and they said that

things went well so I guess the four to five month recovery process now begins for Marcus Mariota. I know that you know usually any time a surgery takes place you, most of the time they're going to say it's successful. They're not going to come out and say it wasn't successful. But a lot of it, of course, is critical as far as the rehab goes and how, you know, how the person's body responds and how, you know, they are in terms of being dedicated to the rehab and to the healing and that sort of thing. And just to know in the makeup of Marcus Mariota, he's going to put everything he's got into getting back as quickly as possible. Absolutely. I don't think there's any question about that.

And obviously, we won't know whether it was successful or not until he's actually able to get up and begin to move around and run and see how he feels and know those things going forward. So certainly still a wait and see process at this point in time. Definitely is. I think Titans fans are all hoping and praying and crossing their fingers and doing whatever they can that Marcus Mario's injury won't be one that affects his mobility and limits or stunts his growth as a quarterback. Terry, we're going to step

away from our normal Thursday format today because we have a special guest on the line with us. His name is Robert Land. He covers the Houston Texans in various media outlets, including the Locked on Texans podcast. And I had the privilege of being on yesterday with Robert on the Texans version. And he joins us today to talk a little Titans-Texans coming up.

Robert, thanks for taking the time to be with us this morning. Yeah, thanks for having me. It's a pleasure. Terry, questions for Robert? All right, let's jump right in. I think the big question on everybody's mind now that the Texans are division champs is Tom Savage, and what can he bring to the table? And can he win them a playoff game?

Because I think, you know, the last few years, the Texans have been either in the playoffs and, you know, got to the first round and been eliminated or been very near the playoffs. And, you know, when you look at their roster, all the pieces seem to be in place except the most important one, and that's a quarterback. Now, they tried with Brock Osweiler and it hasn't worked out so far, so now Tom Savage, a very inexperienced guy,

is going to lead them into the postseason. Yeah, we're kind of the opposite of the Colts. We have everything else but the quarterback, and they seem to have the opposite issue. But, yeah, Tom Savage is a a huge deal and really the thing with you know texans fans is right now at least there's hope you know we watched brock osweiler over the last few weeks and there was there was no hope it looked like the guy that didn't know what he was doing his numbers were the worst in the nfl it was hard to believe that you could do worse than

what they've had the last couple of years with b Hoyer and Ryan Mallett, Ryan Fitzpatrick. And, of course, a couple of those guys looked pretty decent with other teams, but you knew that those guys weren't going to take you to a Super Bowl. And Brian Hoyer, his numbers weren't terrible last year. I mean, if you looked at his numbers, they were okay. But after that playoff game against Kansas City when he threw about four or five interceptions, I think he had five turnovers, something like that. There was just no way the fans were going to put up with anybody. That's why they had to go out and get somebody. And it was either going

to be somebody in the draft and Osweiler. And Osweiler, they overpaid for him. I think even they knew they overpaid for him. But think even they knew they overpaid for him, but, you know, it's the deal with the quarterback is, and everybody that doesn't have one knows this, you know, if you got one and he's all right and he's maybe just above average, you go, well, there's no money that's too much for that guy because you got a quarterback. Yeah, that does seem to be the case around the league.

I know the Titans went through that for a long time. Once they traded Steve McNair, they had hope that Bench Young was going to be the guy. His career kind of flamed out. Jake Walker, then they turned to him. They had a couple of stopgap guys in Kerry Collins and Matt Hasselbeck that kept things afloat for a while. But until you get that true franchise quarterback,

it's always going to be an ongoing problem. And the Titans now think they found that guy at Mariota. And that's the one thing that I would criticize Rick Smith for in his work as the general manager. It seems like he has been unwilling almost to take a risk on quarterbacks. I know he drafted Savage in like the fourth round, but if I'm Rick Smith and I don't have a quarterback, I think I draft one every year and start training the guy

and draft and draft and draft until one pans out. Well, me and you must be using the same brain because we've mentioned that a few times on my show and I've mentioned it over the years on another show that I do. Absolutely. And you look at the Patriots, they have Tom Brady, and they're still drafting a quarterback every couple of years. And it's just a good thing to do no matter what in the NFL

because even if they're okay and people see something in them, you might be able to trade and get something more than you expect back from them. But in the meantime, you've got somebody that you can at least see what their potential is and maybe you've got something with it. As far as Rick Smith goes, he takes a lot of abuse here. There's been a lot of things that people have been very frustrated with him. Most specifically, the Texans have just been a disaster drafting from about the second to the fourth round. It's been one failure after another.

But the thing that, you know, you talk to people, the people that I've talked to, and what you hear over and over again is uh it's not just it's really the organization that's drafting him so i it feels like a lot of times he might you know from what i've heard he might have gotten overruled i heard wade phillips had a huge say in what they were drafting when he was the defensive coordinator and you know he was responsible for jj watt but there was a lot of a lot of other guys uh that he was drafting defensively that were a failure. So with Rick Smith, he's a guy that he seems to be the Teflon Don. He's not going anywhere. He's the godfather of our owner's son. And that guy is going to be down the road. So

to me, that's pretty good job security. And he's been through a 2-14 season and still has his job. So you don't think he's really going anywhere. The drafting has been better under the O'Brien regime, it seems like. In the middle round, it leaked a little bit better. They've had some disasters, too, but it's been a little bit better there. But that's an issue. With Savage, from what we've seen so far, I still feel very good.

You guys saw on Saturday night against the Bengals, the first half was terrible, but I thought there was major offensive line and protection problems. I thought they didn't take the leash off of him. There wasn't much of a hurry up when he threw the ball. It was when he had to throw the ball, which is not good when you're going up against the Bengals. They still have a pretty good defensive line, and the Texans offensive line this year has been a disaster at times with the pass rush on the right side,

which is where Geno Adkins is and where they were getting killed a little bit against the Bengals. So what I've seen so far, we feel like it's been pretty good and a definite improvement. But he's got all of the physical tools. It's how much he picks up an offense and what he's reading out there and all that sort of stuff that you kind of have to wait and see over a few games to see what you got. We're speaking with Robert Land of Locked on Titans podcast.

And, Terry, I didn't mean to interrupt there. Go ahead and get your question, and I've got one for Robert. All right, well, you know, a young quarterback's best friend is good defense, which the Texans have, and a good running game, which the Texans should have if Lamar Miller is healthy. Do you think we'll see Lamar Miller this week, or are they going to hold him out and save him for the wild card playoff game? My guess is no.

I don't think you would play him. He's been banged up with several different injuries the last few games of the year. banged up with several different injuries the last few games of the year. Funny thing was, early in the year, he was on a pace for over 400 touches and 400 carries for sure. And I even said something to Bill O'Brien in one of his press conferences about it. I said, is that a concern for you? And he gave me this real, I thought, bad answer, which was, we just play him as much as we think we need him

and we're not worried about him and all this kind of thing. It wasn't long after that where he starts having one injury after another and he's got a little nick. This is a guy that probably averaged only about 15 carries a game when he was with the Dolphins, and they used him minimally. I just felt like that was the best role for him. And I think you could have gotten a little bit more out of him. I think they went a little bit crazy with him early in the season.

So at this point, you know, I just don't see it being a good idea to roll him. If you're not going to roll Lamar Miller out there, and you didn't feel like he was ready, you know, against the Bengals when the whole thing was on the line with nothing on the line. I don't see any point in playing him. And Alfred Blue is a decent enough back, and you can win the game if that's what they're trying to do, which they say they are this week.

But I would definitely hold Lamar Miller back. Now, Robert, you mentioned a moment ago in talking about Tom Savage in the Cincinnati game that they didn't really take the reins off of him. Was part of that the fact that the Titans had already lost, they knew they had an opportunity to clinch, and let's play this close to the vest, not have him make a mistake that may potentially cost us this game and put us back into a tie where we have to go to Tennessee and

then play the Titans for the division as opposed to being able to win it here and the second part is will we see them take the reins off of him in this game with nothing to win or lose other than a football game their playoff spot secure will they try to throw it around a little bit and see what they got in this guy and get him ready in that aspect for the playoffs? Or will they keep the reins on him and not maybe let everybody else know what they've got with him? If they're not going to do what you just said, I don't know what they're doing, because this is the opportunity to do that. And as far as what you were talking about in the Bengals game,

the NFL head coaches are the biggest bunch of cowards that there are. I feel like because everything is always close to the vest and playing not to lose. And if you're the Texans, and if you're any organization in the NFL, your goal should be to win a Super Bowl championship. And sometimes you wonder about the Texans, if their goal is we're going to get in the playoffs every year, or your goal is to win a Super Bowl. And if your goal is to win the Super Bowl, you need to see what Tom Savage can do. And you might as well see it as soon as you possibly can, instead of, you know, giving him the idea that, oh, we don't think you're good enough to do anything, because you're not going

to win the Super Bowl. You're not going to beat the Patriots and Tom Brady with Tom Savage handing the ball off all the time and scoring whatever, no points in a half or 12 points in a game or whatever that is. You're not going to do that. So, you know, that was probably what they were thinking. We're going to play the old game not to lose and close to the vest and what we've been doing all year for the most part with Brock Osweiler

because that's pretty much all you had faith in him to do after a while. So I just don't get it. I mean, to me, I go out there, guns ablaze, and let's see what he can do. We're trying to win the Super Bowl. This isn't about getting into the playoffs and losing in the first round or getting into the playoffs and winning the first round. I grant you anything. You can think anything can happen once you get into the playoffs,

and maybe that's the mentality. But the Texans have played the Patriots year after year, and they roll into the fetal position and die every year because their quarterback isn't good enough. And the organization doesn't seem to have the confidence when you go into New England and the bravado to say, we can beat this team. And you see it with the Ravens. You see it with John Harbaugh.

You see it with Joe Flacco when they play them in the playoffs. They've always had that kind of success against them. When the Texans go play them, they're scared. And if you can't beat the Patriots and the AFC, you're not going anywhere. Very true. I agree with every bit of that, Robert.

As far as taking the gloves off and letting Tom Savage air it out a little bit, I think the Titans are the team to do that against because their secondary has been the Achilles heel of this team all year long. And now they're also wracked with injuries back there. So I think if you're going to see what Tom Savage can do, then this would be the Sunday to give it a try.

I guess the only downside that I would see would be that you might destroy his confidence if he gets picked off three times or something like that on Sunday. I just don't think you can go into it with that mentality. And if you have a quarterback whose confidence is destroyed with three interceptions and it's a quarterback that you know you can do nothing with, and you need to find out what Tom Savage can do before you go into the draft. Do you want to draft the guy in the second round? Do you want to draft the guy in the fourth round? Would you take a chance

on a guy in the first round? You know, what are you going to do? Because you can't go into next season thinking Brock Osweiler is going to be any better. You know, it's a fool that is going to think that because, you know, he's had plenty of chances and he was deteriorating. He was getting worse, it seemed like, as the season went along. Not better. So you need to see what Tom Savage can do in different situations. You need to see him face failure. You know, Eli Manning goes out there and has terrible games.

But then Eli Manning also took two teams to a Super Bowl championship, and it didn't seem to matter. The interceptions don't get to him. And the guys that are good quarterbacks in the NFL, the interceptions just don't seem to matter. The interceptions don't get to him. And the guys that are good quarterbacks in the NFL, the interceptions just don't get to you. Again, you've got to see what this guy can do, and you can't let interceptions bother you. You know, the other thing is if you're playing aggressively,

you know, an interception might not be a killer, but if you're playing, you know, kind of not to lose game, then you throw an interception or two, and then you feel like the game's over with because you're not going to you have no chance to go up and down the field a couple of times real quickly to score i definitely agree with that you know we we saw that type of approach here for years with the titans under jeff fisher and a little bit under mike munchak is that they were almost afraid to take the reins off the quarterback and throw the football down the field. And, you know, it does get frustrating, not only for fans but for media,

because you're saying we're a one-dimensional team. We're not able to beat you with the passing game with our quarterback. And when you do that, most times you limit yourself, and you're not ever going to reach the potential that the team could have. times you limit yourself and you're not and you're not ever going to reach the potential that the team could have yeah the fans here are feel like this team is a boring team and one of the big reasons is you know the offense and the quarterback play and all that sort of thing but not not a whole bunch of personalities either i mean it's a it's not a team full of personalities, and the NFL sort of has figured out a way to take away a lot of personality that you see in other sports, unfortunately, these days.

And you get head coaches and organizations that'll just try to damp down, you know, tamp down everything and, you know, don't say anything that, you know, somebody might think take the wrong way or whatever. And there's reasons that are probably good for that sort of thing, but boy, this team, because of the offense, because of how they play, it's not fun for the fans. And you take away a lot of that passion that they have. You're going to sell out in Houston.

It doesn't matter. It seems like no matter what happens with the Texans, they get people to sell out the games. Now, how many people are actually in the seats is a whole different story, but they've got a long waiting list, and I don't think there's any worry that that's going to change. You know, it's a football city, and, you know, there is that factor that they're dealing with that's on their side for that. But by the same token, you start taking everything for granted, and you keep running out that kind of product,

and you take away a lot of the passion and a lot of the feeling for the franchise. It's really funny, though, know if you if you look at it that the texans have now more division championships than two-thirds of the league since they've started up and over the last you know six years they got four division championships so you would think there would be more excitement but i guess it's how they won that won the division championships and the style of play and all all that sort of thing. It was fun at the beginning when they hadn't done anything, and it looked like they were more of a Super Bowl contender.

And Matt Schaub, he was a boring quarterback, but he was better than all of these other guys are right now. You're at the point after three or four years of doing the same thing where the quarterback play has been such a disaster and the offense has been such a disaster that, you know, it's not fun anymore. You know, show me something. Give us something to get excited about. Well, I know this would only be a short-term fix, but I'll ask you this.

And I know Rick Smith's never been one to really roll the dice, and when he did he got bit by Brock Osweiler. Could you see the Texans maybe even exploring the possibility of bringing in Tony Romo? I don't know how you would do that because, you know, right now I'm not seeing the Cowboys just letting him go. I mean, if that happens, you know, maybe. But I don't see that.

I don't know if they would go for a guy that's a stopgap. The thing about Romo is he needs a really good offensive line with all the injuries he's had, even in Dallas where their offensive line's really good. The Texans' offensive line has a lot of work to do. The right tackle, Derek Newton, who wasn't great, he was okay, but his career might be over with Chris Clark's terrible, and they're going to have to go get a right tackle. Their right guard situation right now isn't real good,

and I don't want Romo to come in in one of those circumstances because it doesn't look like he can handle it even with a good offensive line he's getting banged up way too easily but uh the money situation i'm wondering if dallas will dallas just release him because jerry jones seems to be in love with him and if you're not going to release him that's that's as much money as osweiler is making, and you're going to spend, you know, $35 million or more or whatever on a quarterback, that doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense for the rest of the salary cap and the rest of your roster. So for a lot of reasons,

I just don't see it happening. Okay, Robert. We're closing in on the end of our time with you. We thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today, but I've got to put you on the spot. Obviously, the Texans have the division clinched. They're probably going to rest a few guys this weekend, the Titans without Marcus Mariota.

Who's going to win this game? Oh, boy. This is one of those games where it's hard to pick because you don't know who's going to show the most energy and who's going to want to go out there and really try to win this game. I'm going to guess just because these teams are so even, even though it's in Tennessee, that the Texans will be a little bit more motivated

after what's happened with Tennessee the last week. I guess I'm going to say the Texans. But, you know, they might decide to, you know, take the starters out in the third quarter. And at that point, you know, then it's, you know, you never know what could happen. So the starters come out and then it's, you know, it's just, you know, you're playing the backups and then there could be some strange turnovers

and, you know, who knows what's going, and then there could be some strange turnovers, and, you know, who knows what's going to happen. But I'm going to say the Texans, I kind of think they're going to want to keep Savage out there. That means the offensive starters will at least be out there. You've got to leave out your offensive line if he's staying out there most of the game. So if he's out there for three, three-and-a-half quarters, then maybe they win the game because of that.

And hopefully, like you said and like we've talked about, they let him throw the ball. If they're going to let him throw the ball, I think they can score some points. I think he can do some things. And he showed it against Jacksonville, and he showed it in that second half against the Bengals. Robert Land, thanks so much for the time. Best of luck.

We'll catch up with you again soon. Thanks so much, guys. Have a good one. Have a happy new year. You too. Thank you. All right, you too. Well, Terry, time for our final thoughts on this Thursday edition,

and take it away with your final thought for today. My final thought centers on something that I wrote about last night for this morning on Titan Insider, and it's about Matt Castle. Here's a guy who's kind of run the gamut, if you will, as a quarterback. He started off as a backup, was kind of the apprentice to Tom Brady for a few years in New England, went to Kansas City, was a big money starter there, had a couple of good seasons, and kind of started to bounce around the league as a journeyman.

He's had stops in Minnesota and Buffalo and Dallas, and now with the Titans. He's here on a one-year deal, and he's getting his one opportunity to start in Sunday's ballgame. I think it means a lot to Matt Castle to give a good showing here because I think, obviously, everybody wants job security. He said that he would like to continue to play. Doesn't know if that future is going to be here or elsewhere.

I think he wants to give a good showing to at least give the Titans something to consider as far as bringing him back for 2017. My final thought, and I had one all planned out for today, but after speaking with Robert Land of the Locked on Titans podcast that we were just talking with, he said something in his prediction for the game that it would depend on which team was motivated and perhaps Houston would be more motivated. And I can certainly see that because they're a team that wants to build something going into the playoffs, wants to have some momentum.

They'll be riding a three-game win streak going in as opposed to potentially a one-game losing streak should they lose. But I don't think that the Titans will be unmotivated in this game. And, Terry, you touched on it just briefly. Matt Castle getting the opportunity the one time that he will get to start and he knows he's going to be the guy that will play the majority of this ballgame, barring an injury, of course, or obviously perhaps late in the ball game they might put Alex Tanney in for some play, but Castle wants to put out a good performance in this game. He's having the week, they're tailoring I'm sure the game plan and the

offense to his strength as opposed to a game plan that was tailored to Marcus' strength that he has to then come in and they're trying to figure it out kind of on the fly. I also think that the rest of this team will be motivated to come in and make a good showing in part because of Marcus Mariota and because of Carl Klug and because of the fact that they laid such an egg. Now I'm not saying they're going to win. I'll give you that prediction tomorrow but I think there's going to be a good effort from this team to go out and get a win come Sunday when they face the Houston Texans here in Nashville.

That will do it for us today. Enjoy the rest of your day, and we'll talk to you on Friday on Locked on Titans.