Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans- Dec.7 - WOAS, HDH, Pro Scope & more on Wednesday's edition.

Episode Date: December 7, 2016

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

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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. Guys, it's Wednesday. Always Wednesdays are a packed show.

Let's jump right in and start with the current news where for the Titans a couple of things have occurred. J.R. Tavai, Terry, and we'll start with you on this one. He returned to the practice squad yesterday, of course, with Kevin Dodd going out on IR for the season. Justin Staples being promoted to the active roster. Tavai, who had been with the Titans the last couple of training camps, had been on the street. Now back to the practice squad. jr tovi has a guy that the tights go pretty well from his time here previously on the practice squad that i think all together this is probably his third goal around with the club remember he had i think was

a knee injury his rookie year at training camp and landed on injured reserve. And then last year he was in camp, looked pretty good, was let go and then brought back. And then this year let go and cut and then brought back to the team once again. So J.R. Tavai proved to have more lives than a cat as it pertains to the Titans. Yeah, it's probably going to be an easy transition, too. A guy that obviously needs to fill a spot so they can prepare and practice.

He understands the lay of the land. He understands how they do things. So it should be relatively smooth. The other news coming out this morning, and certainly, Brad, you can comment on this, having been part of the NFL and what an honor this is. Jarrell Casey has been named the Titans Walter Payton Man of the Year. Of course, he will be then in competition with 31 other guys from each team

to win the official league award, but certainly an honor to have that as part of your team to select you for that position. Absolutely. Not only is he a hard worker and a leader on the field, he shows himself to be a very cognizant figure in the community, obviously a very philanthropic effort on his part, and I think that he'll continue to do those things because that's in his heart.

He's a passionate person. He's a charitable person, and this is just one of those examples of him being recognized for having such a big heart and wanting to give back to the community. Right, and one of the things that Jarrell Casey and his wife have done as part of their foundation of charitable work is to work with guys who have been, or ladies too, I guess, for that matter, who have been incarcerated in helping them to transition back out into society once they're released so that they're not reincarcerated for any other crimes committed.

I think, you know, Jarrell his brother, had had some problems growing up and had actually been a very talented football player himself for running afoul of the law. And Terrell Casey obviously wanting to give back to society in a different way than what a lot of times we might think of that players would do, but certainly a noble and worthwhile cause that he and his wife are doing. Just to piggyback that real quick, and that might segue into another segment we're going to do today, we're talking about the cleat night, basically, for the Titans and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cleveland Browns, obviously, since they were on by the weekend that the NFL allowed players to basically wear cleats during the game, Jarrell Casey, he has on his cleats just what you talked about, Terry, in remembrance of the people that are trying to get reinstated in society that have been incarcerated. So his memorabilia is going to be about that effort in itself. Brad, that was our next point and an excellent segue.

There are some other guys that will be participating in this, and at least three others besides Jarrell Casey, of course. We've seen Jason McCourty on the local news with his, but kind of take us through these other guys just a moment here. Yeah, Jason McCourty with Sickle Cell, obviously. He's a champion for that uh delaney walker um he's with the uh he's with his mothers against drunk driving uh that's going to be a memorial on his shoes we just mentioned um gerald casey and him with the uh

reinstated of people who've been incarcerated and taylor lawan he's actually going to do one too and i can't remember i'm sorry for the life of me, what his is for. But, you know, for a lineman to be doing it, that's pretty exceptional because we're usually the quiet ones, you know, kind of cute to ourselves. But, you know, Taylor's more of a rock star in essence. So I think obviously him wearing cleats that are in memory of something is definitely going to be noticed. Well, now, not to get too far afield here, Brad,

but there was really only one offensive lineman that I know of with the Titans that was really quiet. That would have been Big Stu, David Stewart. The rest of you guys didn't mind talking a little bit here and there. No, there's a difference between being quiet and there's a difference between being quiet to the media. You couldn't shut big country up. Inside the locker room. But to you guys, yeah. David Stewart, Mississippi

State. That's what you got. Well, you know, that was okay. It worked out pretty well. Let's move on and jump into our Pro Scope segment this morning. Excuse me, our What Others Are Saying segment this morning, where we look at some information from

other people around the NFL. And guys, I've got four sets of stats that I want to give you. Obviously, no game stats this week from Pro Football Focus because of the Titans' bye, but they went in-depth on Marcus Mariota. And here's some quick numbers on him. His passer rating weeks one through four when he had a clean pocket was an 81.8. That was good for 28th in the NFL. Weeks 5 through 12, now this is with a clean pocket, he's jumped from 28th to 3rd with a 123.5. When he's been under pressure, weeks 1 through 4, he was 47.2, 20th in the NFL.

Weeks 5 through 12 under pressure, first in the NFL with a 99.1. His passer rating on deep throws over 20 yards or more week 1 through 4, 18th in the NFL, 81.9. Weeks 5 through 12, 128.3. That's tied for fourth. And the final one on play-action passes, week 1 for 4, he was 30th in the NFL, 62.9. Weeks 5 through 12 on play-action, he is second in the NFL, 62.9 weeks 5 through 12 on play action. He is second in the NFL, 131.5.

That's an incredible jump from week 4 to week 5 when he started this run. And really, guys, that says a lot about why the Titans are sitting where they are right now, doesn't it, Terry? Yeah, it really does. I think when you look at the transformation and the maturation of Mariota, it goes hand in hand with the Titans' ascent toward the top of the division. I think what you're seeing is a young man who's starting to get comfortable as an NFL quarterback. It's different from being a college quarterback.

And when you're a rookie, you're learning that it's different. And you remember, you're talking about the first four weeks of the season. Marcus Mariota missed four games last year. So in essence, those first four starts were almost a part of his rookie season. So now you're seeing him in year two, and you're seeing him, you know, start to learn and start to grow. And certainly, you know, it would appear that he has a very, very bright future in terms of his play as an NFL quarterback. Yeah, the evolution of this offense coincides with the evolution of Marcus Mariota. Marcus Mariota in the beginning might have had a lot of anxious feelings,

but now that the game is becoming slower to him, his heart rate is lower. Therefore, he makes better decisions. And as that offense can trust his better decision-making, they can expand it and do more within it. So I think you're starting to see, obviously, the evolution of the development of a young quarterback, and he can only get better, guys. Brad, you touched on something that I wanted to ask you specifically there

when you said the game getting slower. We've heard that phrase, obviously. Terry and I have never competed at that level. Does it really slow down? Is it just something that just happens one day for you? Is it a gradual process where the game does slow down and you then, the moment's not bigger than you, you're in the moment and able to handle it? How about relate that to life?

How much more manic is your life in your 20s compared to speaking to you in your 40s and 50s? Life slows down for you. You don't deal with every situation like it's imperative or like you know the sky is falling but as a youngster when you don't recognize and they're not familiar with the things going around you you tend to panic you know i mean you put yourselves in even worse situations a lot of times but you know you look at how people get older and they develop the maturity to be able to sustain in life you know you start to see them look at living look at things differently that's the way Marcus is looking at defense differently.

He's looking at being a leader differently. He's looking at, you know, all of his responsibilities differently because it's not near as, you know, manic to him at this point. It's a good thing this is recorded because that might be one of the best answers I've ever heard, Terry, that Brad just gave there to compare it to life. Oh, absolutely. And I think, you know, when you're talking about, you know, what guys do in terms of learning the game,

in some ways it's probably a bigger adjustment for a guy like Mariota or somebody of that ilk who's been a big-time superstar at the college level to have to come in knowing that there's expectations and there's pressure on him to perform at the NFL level and yet it takes time to make that adjustment and we saw we've seen that off and on you know learning learning from his mistakes learning you know how to do things the correct way and now you're starting to see some of the fruits of that patient guys let's move on to our Hump Day happenings segment, and we want to discuss playoff position today. Certainly the Titans are in consideration in position at 6-6 in a three-way tie with Houston and Indianapolis,

though they've got some work to do because in a couple of the main tiebreakers, they trail either the Texans or the Colts. But it's been a long time, guys, and can either one of you remember the last time at week 13 or week 14 now, I guess, of the NFL season with four games remaining, that the Titans were still a team being talked about as a playoff contender? Probably 2011, the year that Matt Hasselbeck was their quarterback. That was Mike Munchak's first year as head coach. They went 9-7 that year, and they were in the running for a wild card.

Not necessarily the division title, but they were in the running for a wild card that season. And then there was that ugly loss to Curtis Painter and the Indianapolis Colts that kind of derailed those playoff hopes late in the year. But, yeah, that's been five years ago now, so that's the last time that this team was in any sort of playoff contention entering the final month of the season. And it's just like most divisions go. I mean, there are ebbs and flows, and you see a team like the Indianapolis Colts

that has usually led this division. You know, they're a little more dysfunctional right now, having issues there within themselves, and that makes them more susceptible. And the Titans are obviously playing better this year. Six wins is definitely welcome, but it's not necessarily where they want to be. They want to have more, but they're being very competitive.

Jacksonville with a lot of prognostication about them being really good, particularly on defense with all the youth that they've got this year that was high in the draft, and with a couple of free agents added to that mix. They thought they'd be a lot better, but Blake Bortles and Alan Hearns and Robinson really haven't stepped forward to be that much in the division. So the division being wide open, the teams they're using at the bottom getting better is one of the reasons why you see them have a three-way logjam at the top of the division.

I think we'll know a lot more about how this division may sort out after Sunday when the Colts and the Texans play each other because one of those teams is going to remain with at least a share of first place, obviously depending upon the result of the Broncos' tight game. And one of them is going to be a game behind and a little bit behind the eight ball with three games to play. So that will be something to keep your eye on as this division race unfolds down the stretch.

I mentioned, of course, the Titans behind. Obviously, the Texans in the division record right now. The Texans are 3-0. They do have to play every member of the division still remaining and, of course, close with the Titans. The Colts ahead of the Titans with a tiebreaker because they own the two victories in head-to-head. So really the easiest scenario of this for the Titans is you've just got to finish with a better record than the other two,

and then you win the division. Otherwise, if it gets to tiebreakers, the Titans certainly are not in good shape when it comes to those. Yeah, they're really not. Absolutely not, Terry. You can talk about it. Well, you know, they're 1-3 in the division, and realistically they probably need the Colts to beat the Texans on Sunday to at least give Houston that first division loss. And, yes, I know that they've lost twice to the Colts,

but Indy has lost to Jacksonville, which no other team in the division has done so yet. So if you're looking for a team to pull for in that matchup, probably the Colts would be more beneficial to win that game for the Titans than the Texans would. But, you know, in terms of where the Titans are, you're right, Greg. You know, the best-case scenario is finish the game ahead of everybody. The next best would be probably in some sort of three-way tie,

which would help cancel out the losses to the Colts because the Texans would be a part of that as well. Let's jump forward, guys, to our Pro Scope segment where we talk about something from around the league. Not a lot of huge news around the NFL this week, though. Some pretty big news, I guess, especially if you're a Patriots fan. And obviously they're a team with Super Bowl aspirations. They lose Rob Gronkowski, their all-pro tight end this week,

put on IR, a season-ending injury. And Brad, he is certainly a guy that is a difference maker from the tight end. He is a mismatch with most everyone that lines up against him in coverage because he's faster than the big safeties, not as fast as cornerbacks, but cornerbacks can't defend him because he's so big, broad, and strong. Absolutely. The thing about it is he changes completely the complexity of that offense. A lot of things went through him.

Obviously, him being a safety valve and also having design placed to him, he's a mismatched nightmare. When they don't have a real established ground game, even though Garrett Blount does look better this year, it does present kind of a challenge for them. Now, Tom Brady is one hell of a quarterback, of course, but when he doesn't have his go-to weapons all the time, ones that he's developing familiarity with,

those changes sometimes don't necessarily equate to you having success. So this team is looking completely different. It might be a rough go down the stretch for them. Yeah, in terms of, you know, Gronkowski, obviously you can't lose a playmaker of his caliber and not have it hurt. But, you know, the Patriots are still the Patriots, and they still have Tom Brady. They're still kind of the team to beat, if you will, in the AFC

until somebody else proves otherwise. But you're right, the loss of Gronkowski certainly is going to hurt them. That was my next question, Terry. You kind of touched on it. Does this change the Patriots from being the favorites in the AFC because of the loss of him? Brad, do you think that

knocks them out of the favorite role? Are they still the favorite even without him? Well, even in the head-to-head, they still have lost that head-to-head to the Raiders, who are sitting atop the AFC right now with a 10-2 record. So they weren't in the number one position as it was anyway. Now, they might have a home game throughout the playoffs, as it stands,

but they're not the favorite to win because of not only how well the Raiders are playing, but just by even the head-to-head matchup itself. Yeah, that's correct. I mean, you're talking the Oakland Raiders have kind of come out of nowhere to really be a team that has become a force to be reckoned with in the AFC. And I think, you know, but you can never discount the Patriots and what Tom Brady brings to the table. Guys, it's time for our final thoughts.

Brad, lead us off with your final thought on the day. Well, the thing about it is the Titans usually don't do well after the bye. That kind of time away slows down momentum and it's kind of a rough deal to kind of get things jump-started again. Hopefully Mike Malarkey has done things differently this week. Obviously, given the guy's time away from the facility is definitely needed at this point. But I think that basically picking up where they left off is going to be a challenge because typically it's kind of hard for a lot of teams to I think that basically picking up where they left off is going to be a challenge because typically it's kind of hard for a lot of teams to do,

to kind of pick up where they left off and kind of continue the success that we've already seen this season. So I wish them well. Terry? Well, my final thought is going to go a little bit toward the game this week. You know, all year long, one of the reasons that the Titans have had success is the play of the offensive line, and particularly the play of their young tackles, Taylor LeJuan and Jack Conklin.

Pro Football Focus has been very kind to them. They've graded out well there. They've been getting accolades from around the league in terms of people talking about how well they've played. But this week, it's final exam week for LeJuan and Conklin because Vaughn Miller, perhaps DeMarcus Ware come into town. And if Taylor LeJuan and Jack Conklin really want to be regarded as some of the best tackles in the league, which a lot of people believe they are,

then a good showing against this Denver defense will certainly make that statement for them. Absolutely. My final thought on the day, the Denver Broncos come to town. They are in the AFC West chasing right now the Oakland Raiders and the Raiders, of course, the best record in the NFL, excuse me, in the AFC, I should say. And to borrow a line from the dearly departed

former Oakland Raiders owner, Al Davis, just win, baby. If you're the Titans, that's really what you got to do. We talked about it a little bit earlier. If the Titans want to get into the playoffs, they have to win this division. That is the easiest road. So you've got to win at least three, and if you can, all four of these final games down the stretch to have an opportunity to do that because obviously in doing that one of the two teams the Colts or the Texans will take a loss this week facing each other the Titans finish up with the Texans have a chance to beat them head to head if you can win, you've got a great chance of getting into the playoffs and winning this muddled, not-so-great division,

but still a win's a win and a division title is a division title. And again, just win, baby. That's what the Titans have got to do. Thanks, Al, for letting me borrow that. Terry, Brad, that'll do it for us today. Been another great show, and we look forward to getting back with you on Thursday for more Locked on Titans.

You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.