Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Early Super Bowl Odds; Safety Breakdown

Episode Date: February 5, 2019

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked On Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you tonight? Doing pretty good. What's going on, man? Oh, not a whole lot. We got Super Bowl to talk about, then we're going to talk about some Super Bowl odds for 2019, and then finish up with our roster review talking about the safeties. Before we do that, I remind you to subscribe to MutantCityMiracles.com, recover the Titans for SB Nation, so you can check us out there. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm.

Terry's at TLambertFB. You can get the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Just search out LockedOnTitans. You can also play the podcast on your smart speaker. Just say, play podcast LockedOnTitans, and you can also hear us there. All right, so we're coming off of what I thought was the most boring Super Bowl in a while. You know,

there was a, I mean, you probably don't remember this, but like when I was a kid there was a stretch there really like in the kind of mid to late 90s where the Super Bowls were just never good. It was always lopsided one way or another. Now it's felt like that for the last

lot of years, the games have been good. Last night, the game was close. It wasn't a blowout, so it didn't lose intrigue in that way. The game was just not exciting. We were talking about this. You said the people today that have been

like, if you didn't like that game, you don't like football, you can't appreciate, you don't understand football, whatever. The Rams punted on nine straight possessions. That's just not fun. Yes, good defensive game plans, absolutely. Wade Phillips proved why he's

one of the highest commodities as a defensive coordinator in the league. Bill Belichick, again, perfect game plan against Sean McVay offense. I mean, all those things are absolutely true. But the game was just not fun to watch. You know, it was close until, you know, when Stephon Gilmore picked off that pass. It was like four and a half minutes left, whatever it was.

You know, the game was close to that point, but it still wasn't very exciting. You know, a few takeaways for me. I just, you know, there was that point, but it still wasn't very exciting. A few takeaways for me. There was that point in the middle of the season where everybody wanted the Titans offense or the Rams offense, and everybody was like, oh, the Titans lost the Jared Goff trade because the Rams got Goff and the Titans stuck with Mariota and all that stuff. We've been over all the Mariota stuff. But to me, Jared Goff is just a guy.

Sean McVay is what makes that offense go. I think there are any number of guys that you could plug in in that offense to play the role that Goff has played. I thought he was pretty bad in the Super Bowl last night. Missed some big throws, was late on a couple of throws, that kind of stuff. So, yeah, he's a fine quarterback uh he's a serviceable guy obviously in the league but you know for all the people that were just dying because the titans could have had jared goff and they should have traded out or you know

putting golf you know the top 10 quarterbacks in the league i think we can all take a step back from that and realize that he's just a guy in a really good system. Yeah, I think most people that have paid attention to the league would tell you that and agree that Goff is just a product of Sean McVay and is part of Sean McVay's genius. And, look, that's why everyone around the league is trying to find the next Sean McVay that isn't going away. They want the young, fresh ideas that can mold a quarterback and elevate his play.

But, you know, last night the thing that stood out to me, above all else, was Bill Belichick. You know, I made the comment to you before we went on, Bill Belichick's at a 10, everybody else in their league is at a 7. He's just that much better than the entire league around him. So you just look at what that roster is, what it's become. It's Tom Brady. You've got Julian Edelman, who is good at what he does.

You've got a broken down Gronk, and they still go out and win Super Bowls. So I think the coaching advantage is just wild to see them put the clamps down on that Rams offense who had just killed people all year scoring 30 points a game. It's definitely not the game that I thought we would see. I think we've been spoiled over the past couple of years with really good Super Bowls. We've been spoiled this year with points everywhere. But Bill Belichick's defense, I don't care who the defensive coordinator is, it's Bill Belichick's defense.

They really just shut the lights off on McVay's offense there. So McVay is young. He's, you know, what is he, just 33 years old, something like that? He's going to have a lot more shots at this. But what you're witnessing with the Patriots is something you'll probably never see again. The six titles in just this short span. It's just ridiculous.

And, you know, you kind of hate them, but at the same time you kind of have to appreciate what they're doing. I mean, I absolutely hate them. But you have to respect it, like you're saying. I mean, it really is remarkable. And they were talking about, I saw something today, and I wish I would have saved it, but the number of guys in Major League Baseball, or the NHL, the NBA, and the NFL, the number of guys that have six titles.

the NBA, and the NFL, the number of guys that have six titles. And it was pretty high numbers in the NHL and the NBA, and there's one in the NFL, one guy with six rings, and it's Tom Brady. And that's just remarkable. And when you think about, and we talked about this a little bit last week, I mean, going all the way back as far as 2002, 2003, when this run started for the Patriots, that they've been good for this long. It's just unbelievable.

I mean, nobody does it. And when you think about it, I mean, obviously, you know, Brady has had incredible luck as far as injuries have gone. He had the one year where he tore his ACL and missed pretty much the entire season. Then he got hurt in week one that year. He's been really healthy other than that. So, I mean, they've had a lot of stuff there. But like you said, I mean, Bill Belichick and Sean McVay,

I mean, he said as much of the game last night. He said, look, I got outcoached. You know, and like you said, 33 years old, probably going to have more shots at Super Bowls. At least, you know, he's going to have a team that's going to be competitive year in and year out because he obviously, you know, he knows what he's doing. And, you know, even though, even as bad as it looked last night, last night, just the fact that they got there and how good they were all year is obviously a testament to how good of a coach he is. But, yeah, Bill Belichick's on another level. And until somebody knocks the Patriots off this throne, especially in the AFC,

but even just in the whole league, you've got to talk about them being the team that you look at. It's just funny. I don't know. You think next year we'll learn, you know, when it's the middle of the season and they look, you know, they look like just another team. Well, they give us hope every year. Yeah.

They kind of look like, hey, we're falling apart, and then they just figure it out once January comes around. Yeah. I mean, it's just unbelievable. I mean, it seems like it's been the last three or four years. It's like, oh, the dynasty's dead, and then all of a sudden there they are again. Like I said, it's remarkable, and I hate

them, and I was cheering against them last night, but you have to have nothing but respect for what those guys have been able to do and just stay on top that long. It's pretty unbelievable. That'll lead us into our next topic of conversation which will be uh super bowl odds uh saw some of those come out earlier today

and we will have a few comments on those so the patriots obviously this these are these odds are via odd shark uh opened as the favorite to win the super bowl again next year no surprise there uh the rams coming in next and then you have the the chase and the chargers i don't know what you were looking at but i'm looking at odd shark the chargers are tied for uh third as far as the best odds i'm in the super bowl That's pretty interesting to me. Followed by New Orleans, Indianapolis, Chicago, the Steelers, the Packers. And then you kind of get into that middle tier of teams where you have the Vikings, the Cowboys, the Eagles, and then the Falcons, Ravens, Browns on that. But an interesting note, I mean, there's only the Titans, at least on odd shark,

are plus 6,000 to win the Super Bowl. The Bucs are right behind them at plus 6,500. And then you've got just those bottom of the league teams, Arizona, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Denver, Detroit, the Jets, Oakland at plus 10,000, Washington plus 15,000, Miami at plus 30,000. So an interesting spot the Titans are in. I think you made the point, you had some comments on the fact that the 49ers, the Jaguars, and the Giants all have better odds to win the Super Bowl than the Titans. Yeah, 49ers yet. Young coach that had everything go wrong this year, going to get Jimmy Garoppolo

back. It's an attractive destination for free agents and things like that. You get that. You talk about Jacksonville, that team fell apart. You don't know what they're doing. It's a quarterback position. The talk is Nick Foles, but how much better does that make

them? Can he fit into their offense and perform outside of Philly? We've talked about that. I'm just not sure. And they have to sign him, of course. That's not a done deal. And then the Giants, a team that the Titans beat pretty soundly on the road, just coming back with Eli.

Maybe they draft somebody. I don't know. I don't know. I don't get that. If I'm counting right, they've got the Titans ranked 19th in the league, which is, you know, it's in the ballpark. I think it's low. I think the Titans are probably somewhere around 13, 14, 15, somewhere in there on that fringe of the playoffs.

You know, all this before the draft and free agency, which I think the Titans can make themselves a lot better in. But just always interesting. Tennessee always comes in really low on these lists. I think it's kind of a product of being a small market team. And then I think you see teams like Philadelphia and New York get bumped up in the reverse of that. But, yeah, is Tennessee the 19th best team in the league?

No, I think they're a little better than that. Yeah, and, you know, again, you talk about all the things the 49ers had go wrong. The Titans had, you know, a whole host of things that didn't go their way, injuries and all that kind of stuff, and they were still 9-7. You know, like you said, the teams are going to change. It's free agency in the draft, so it's hard to project these things. But I don't know. It's just hard to see the Titans having worse luck next year than they did this year.

And so you just have to figure if they can stay a little bit healthier, they have pretty good odds of improving on where they were. Now you're in a tough division because when you look at it this way, you've got Indianapolis who has like the fourth or fifth best odds, Houston a little bit behind them, and then Jacksonville is ahead. So, I mean, the Titans are fourth in the AFC South in the odds there. You know, on Jacksonville, listen, we were worried about last year, last offseason, we were worried about if they got a quarterback,

if they signed a Kirk Cousins, something like that, to have a serviceable quarterback to go with that elite defense. It'll be interesting to see what happens with that team. Like I said, they fell apart, a lot of infighting, all that kind of stuff. So I'm not – I don't know. It's going to be interesting. I mean, if they get Nick Foles, whatever, I mean, that's an upgrade over Blake Bortles. I don't think he's an upper echelon guy, but that definitely is, you know,

better than Bortles. But I think that defense is going to take a step back. I don't think they're going to be as good, especially not as they were two years ago and as they were at times this year. You know, they kind of quit at the end of the year. I mean, you saw that coming. But I don't know. I'm not as afraid of them as I was this time last year.

I mean, obviously that makes sense. You know, last year they were coming off the NFC Championship game and all that kind of stuff. But, yeah, I mean, I just think that you'll see the Titans. I mean, I wouldn't – I don't think the Titans are necessarily a good bet to win the Super Bowl. But I do think their odds should be better than they are. And I would definitely – like I said the the tier right above the titans at plus 5 000 carolina jacksonville and the giants i mean i would take the titans over all three of those teams you got cam newton coming off the shoulder injury don't know what he's going to

look like we talked about jacksonville you talked about the giants so i mean i i think that they're probably a little bit you know underpriced here but I'm still not running to Vegas to place this bet. The team I think is interesting is Cleveland, who's tied for I think the 12th best odds. So Vegas is already sipping that Kool-Aid, just how they finished the season, what Baker Mayfield was able to do with Freddie Kitchens. Now you kind of bring that band back together.

They're going to be a player. You know, we figure the Titans are going to be in this wild card hunt. Obviously, you'd love to win the division, but more than likely going to be in that wild card race. Browns are going to be someone you're going to have to deal with. So a new player emerging, you know, kind of as the Bengals have disappeared. Not a lot going on there. They finally get rid of Marvin Lewis.

But Bengals and Browns have kind of swapped positions there. So interested to see what Baker can do in the AFC wildcard race. Yeah, they're going to be a fun team to watch and a lot of talent there. They still got some draft picks coming up too. So, yeah, I think they're going to be a fun team to watch and a lot of talent there. They still got some draft picks coming up too. So, yeah, I think they're going to be an interesting team to watch. All right, coming up we will talk about the safety position on the Titans roster. All right, so you've got an interesting conversation here with the safeties. Kevin Byard, obviously a very good player coming off of an all-pro season two years ago.

He's entering the last year of his rookie deal. I'm assuming they'll get something worked out with him before this time next year. He might be able to work a contract extension in for him. I guess it kind of depends on how a couple other things go. But he's going to get paid at some point. And you would think the Titans would want to hang on to him. You've got Kenny Vaccaro, who was your other starting safety this past season. He was a free agent.

Had a really nice year. I'm sure the Titans would love to bring him back. But it's probably going to be a little bit of a price consideration with him. You've got Jonathan Ciprian coming back off of the ACL injury. I wrote earlier in the soft season, I think he is a prime candidate to get cut just because of the number that he's set to make. I don't think you need to pay him that. You've got Dane Cruikshank kind of waiting in the wings.

And I think we'll get kind of an indication on how close the Titans think he is based on what they do with the guys like Vaccaro and Ciprian. If they go out and if they give Vaccaro, you know, a multi-year deal, maybe they're not ready to hand that over to Cruikshank just yet. You know, if they don't and if they're going to kind of let Ciprian play out his deal, then maybe they think Cruikshank's pretty close. We didn't see much of him as a safety this year.

We don't really know a whole lot. I know he's a great athlete. Saw the fake punt that he took to the house and how fast he was in that position. He was pretty good on special teams. So you know there's some talent there, but it'll just kind of be interesting to see what plays out with those three guys

talking about Vaccaro, Ciprian, and Crookshank. Yeah, I think you laid it out really well there. Me personally, I'm going to be upset if Vaccaro's not on this team next year. I think he was such an upgrade over what Jonathan Ciprian gave you. Vaccaro's not great as a deep safety, but I think he's a lot better than Ciprian was. You just go back to the 2017 season, asking Jonathan Ciprian to play center field, it just did not work well.

So didn't get to see Ciprian with a new coaching staff, so maybe things would have been different. But hard to argue with what Vaccaro brought to the table. You really noticed it when he was off the field. He just brought a presence to the table, you know, you really noticed it when he was off the field. He just brought a presence to the defense. So I think you can get him for, you know, cheaper than what you're going to pay Ciprian. So that's a no-brainer to me.

But like you were saying, Kirk Shank's kind of the wild card here. Maybe they do see something in him, but, you know, it's hard to project that right now because we just haven't seen a whole lot of him to card here. Maybe they do see something in him, but it's hard to project that right now because we just haven't seen a whole lot of him to this point. Yeah, and the Titans were really lucky to have, for Vicar to be available when he was, as late as he was, with Cibrian getting hurt. It was kind of a weird offseason with the safeties.

He and Eric Reid were still out there. You generally can't find a guy that can come in and be an upgrade over your starter when your starter goes down in August. The Titans were able to find themselves in that situation this past year. Like you said, he was a guy that just seemed to fit right in. We saw all offseason last year the Titans defensive backs were working out together. We know it was a really tight-knit group. And, you know, he was the guy that stepped right in.

They seemed to accept him. You know, he kind of seemed like an emotional leader a little bit for the team. You saw the way they struggled when he was out for a couple weeks there when he hurt his elbow. And you had Kendrick Lewis back there. You know, just think about that Chargers game in London. Those deep plays that they gave up in that situation. Kendrick Lewis had no business being in the league this year, quite honestly. But we'll see.

We'll see what they think they need to do there. Because I think they have quite a few options, so that's obviously always a good thing. Just kind of like we talked about, just seeing how they feel about Crookshank, how close they think he is. I think they'll like him. One of, I don't like him, you know. One of the only four picks in that draft last year. So, I mean, I think his future is probably pretty bright,

but it's just a matter of if he's ready yet or not. So, you know, again, when you talk about the defense, they need help on the line. They need some depth at edge. But they're pretty set inside inside linebacker cornerback safety i mean a lot of good options there and look that showed last year with how good the defense was for most of the year i mean finishes as a top 10 unit and again if you can get you know maybe a an interior pass rusher on the line another guy off the edge i mean i think that the ceiling is pretty high for this defense so i'm good to see, you know, that'll pretty much do it,

running through what the Titans have currently on the roster. And obviously as we move into, you know, further into February, into March, we'll start to get guys that will get cut, guys that will resign, and then we get a free agency, all that stuff. Speaking of, forgot to mention at the top, Austin Davis, the Titans didn't release him today. I said on Twitter, I didn't even know he was, I didn't know he had a contract for 2019.

So not real surprised that he doesn't, you know, factor into the future plans for this team. But we'll start to see more of that stuff in the coming weeks now the Super Bowl is over. Teams start to really turn their attention towards next year. So obviously keep you up to date on all that. The Titans do have a press conference scheduled for Tuesday, the 5th, with Arthur Smith introducing him as the offensive coordinator. I think Dean Pease is going to talk as well. So we'll get some stuff from that

and talk about that tomorrow. So be looking out for that. We'll also cover it on musicmyracles.com, so you'll be able to read about it there. So thanks for listening again tonight, and we will have a couple more shows coming at you this week. So, like I said, if you haven't already, please subscribe to the podcast. That way

you'll get the new episodes as soon as they're available. For Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening to Locked on Titans and we will talk to you again tomorrow.