Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Injuries, Malcolm Butler, Kevin Byard and the star

Episode Date: November 7, 2018

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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? Not a whole lot. We've got a few things to talk about. Obviously, Mike Vrabel had his day after the game press conference on Mondays, but being today on Tuesday after the Monday night game, so we've got a few things from that to talk about. Before we do all that, we will tell you that we write for you at CityMiracles.com cover 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 tlambretfb, and you can check out the podcast account at LockedOnTitans, and you

can get the podcast wherever you get your podcast, whatever platform you use, just search out LockedOnTitans, and you'll find us there. Alright, so I guess one of the more concerning things from last night was a couple of injuries. I guess three guys, really, that came out of the game injured. Tajay Sharp, who hurt himself in warm-ups,

but ended up playing a pretty significant amount of snaps. Then you had Taewon Taylor, who got hurt late in the game. You had Jack Conklin, who left the game evaluated for a concussion. So, Vrabel said today on Conklin he's in the concussion protocol, and we talked about that a little bit last night, that we'll just have to see how he goes through that throughout the week. Those are all different, all that stuff, so we'll see there. You know, on the other two guys, it's kind of a day-to-day thing.

It's what Vrabel said today. We knew what he was going to say. He wasn't going to give us any information. We'll get more based on practice reports throughout the week. But, you know, I'm assuming that Taj is going to be able to play. I mean, he was playing this game. No reason to think he would miss a game this weekend. But the Taylor thing, it looked kind of bad.

And so I think it's probably going to be a little bit of time on him. And so if they're going to be without him for a couple of weeks, they've probably got to do something to get somebody else in there, I think. Yeah, that's the problem that won't go away. And, you know, it's funny, just when you start to see some flashes of positivity, they didn't do anything spectacular. They just cost football. That's really all we've been wanting them to do all season.

So now you get Tajay banged up. You get Taewon banged up. So once again, Titans still need to add a receiver here, assuming this Taewon deal is is gonna go bad Rebel said that they're gonna look at him in the morning. I He kind of called him day to day. I just that like you said that looked bad So I'd be surprised if we got good news there Guy we talked about a couple weeks ago Roger Lewis

Signing to the practice squad and a couple weeks ago, Roger Lewis, signing to the practice squad. Had a couple weeks to immerse himself in the offense. That's a guy that has some ability. He played with the Knights a little bit. A little bit of experience at least. At least a little more than Cameron Batson. So maybe there's an option. It sounds like Des Bryant is going to head to New Orleans soon, so that option's off the table.

I don't know if it was ever on the table for the Titans, but it just, you know. Once again, here we are talking about Titans needing a receiver in the middle of the season. Let me ask you this. Des Bryant, if he does end up with the Saints, doesn't it make you think, if he's good enough to play for the Saints

that he would have been good enough to play here? I don't know. If he sounds like the Browns, whatever, they don't have the best track record of caring about guys having issues in the locker room or issues on the field, even whatever it may be. But when you talk about the Saints, an organization has, for the most part, since, I guess, Bounty Gate, you know, they do things the right way.

Winning culture, they're obviously a team that, you know, just beat the Rams and got kind of everything going for them. They have players, you know, in their receiver group. I don't know. It just seems like if they're willing to bring in Dez, it seems like maybe the Titans should have looked at that harder. Yeah, at a certain point, the narrative on it was just kind of odd to me. Yeah, he went backwards last year for Dez, clearly on the back end of his career.

But we're talking about Cameron Batson and Taewon Taylor here. That's all he's got to be better than. So you understand the Titans not being interested In training camp. You still got Richard Matthews on the team Corey Davis and emerged a one Taylor's gonna merge But you know as the week's piled up injuries happened Restart leaves the team you see the drops. I don't know. I just I became more pro des I don't know.

I became more pro-Des, and I never thought I'd get there. So it's going to be interesting to see how much he has left in the tank. Assuming he does sign with the Saints, it's not a done deal quite yet. Yeah, I saw whoever it was. It was either Rappaport or Pellicero. I can't remember. Saying that he's been close before. So we'll kind of see how that plays out. But, yeah, I mean, Roger Lewis is the only option at this point.

We spent a lot of time last week talking about trade possibilities. But obviously the trade deadline has come and gone. Can't do anything as far as that's concerned anymore. So I don't know. I mean, like you said, he's a guy that's played in the league. You know, he played in a good offense at one point. He's been here for a couple weeks now. So maybe he's acclimated and ready to go.

I don't know. I don't know. Batson was playing ahead of Taewon in the game Monday night. Maybe it's not that big of a concern. I don't know. That's still wild to me. The whole Taewon Taylor thing has been wild because it seems like

in preseason we were really high on him and then the regular season came and we got low on him again. At some point throughout the last few weeks we've kind of at least had some hope again and then, I don't know, it's just all gone. I don't have any idea how that's going to play out, but it's a story of

receivers in this franchise and we can go through the list of guys that we thought were going to be good, thought could do something, and they just flame out. That ended up happening. So I don't know. Well, we'll keep an eye on that, monitor that, and obviously, like I said, we'll talk about it here if they make a move. Check out musicmiracles.com.

We'll have that information there as well. All right, coming up, we're going to talk a little bit about the whole Malcolm Butler, LaShawn Sims thing that got brought up in the press conference today. Before we do that, we're going to tell you about Vivid Seats. Vivid Seats is the best place to get tickets if you're trying to get to a game, trying to get to a concert, trying to get to something in a theater. Vivid Seats is the place you need to go. They've got all the best tickets, the best prices.

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Why not let him have a crack at playing with all the issues that Malcolm Butler has had? And Vrabel pretty much just flat responded that Malcolm's better than LaShawn. I mean, that was basically his response to the question. Now, I think ability-wise, if you just put the two side-by-side and you look at the measurables, I don't think there's any doubt that Butler's going to win there. But the problem with Butler has not been physical ability.

It's been the fact that he's not playing disciplined football. And very well said a few weeks back, his eye discipline, not doing the right things there. You saw the exact same thing happen in the game last night. He bites a little move. He comes up, turns over the top. It's an easy touchdown. I was listening to the radio broadcast last night,

and when you see the play happen, you hear Dave McGinnis ask the question, how does he get that wide open? And you can tell he's watching the replay. He just goes, oh. And he's obviously not going to rip Butler in that arena because he's the team broadcaster and all that kind of stuff. And then he goes on to bring up play and says what Butler did. But it was just kind of like the realization of basically, oh, Butler did it again.

And so I don't know. At this point, I get ability-wise. But when you've got a guy that is killing you like Butler is, I don't know. I mean, we've seen LaShawn Sims play. He's been at least serviceable. He's been on the field. This stat from PFF today on Butler, in the game he allowed eight completions on 11 targets for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

On the season, he allowed 39 catches for 618 yards and seven touchdowns. 39 catches, 618 yards, seven touchdowns on the season. So, obviously, you're talking about over the course of 16 games, we're halfway through at this point, you're talking about a guy giving up close to 1,300 yards and 14 touchdowns if he's standing on the same pace. That's like, I mean, all those things are the worst in the NFL. That's got to be like the worst in history.

LaShawn Sims can do better than that. And the just absolutely wild thing is Titans have given up the fewest points in the league I mean with literally the worst corner in football this year just an ultimate eyesore

on one side of the defense the Titans have given up the fewest points so that's just that just blows my mind Yeah, just think about where this team would be if they don't go down this road and they stick with LaShawn since they draft another corner You know, you've got all that all that money to spend elsewhere hindsight 2020. I know but at this point

I don't know how you're not looking at making a change. And, you know, honestly, I hated the answer from Vrabel. I don't understand how you can sit there and tell us, you know, Butler's the better player at this point. It might be, like you said, in terms of measurables and stuff like that, athleticism, but there's something wrong there. He needs to be benched. He needs something to snap out of this god-awful streak. So that's not really what I wanted to hear from Vrabel.

I don't know if he's been told that he's got to play or something. We're paying him all this money. He's going to play. I'm not sure of the situation there. And, look, I'm not asking Vrabel to go trash Malcolm Butler. That's not what a head coach does. But I just would have liked to have heard, you know, hey, we'll evaluate that position this week in practice

or maybe it's up for grabs or something like that because Man, it just seems like you're just banging your head against the wall. Yeah, I just We've been down this road for what four five six weeks now, and it's not getting any better Well, and it's one thing, too, you know, if a guy's physical skills have diminished and he just can't get done anymore. But this is a guy not playing disciplined football. And I don't know. I mean, as long as you let him keep going out there, I don't know.

I mean, to me it's like when you've got your kids and they keep doing something that you don't want them to do over and over and over, and you keep saying, hey, don't do that. to me it's like when you got your kids and they keep doing something that you don't want them to do over and over and over and you keep saying hey don't do that but then they keep doing it like eventually you've got to like step up the the consequences right um I just I don't I don't know if that's it's obviously not exactly the same but it's the same problem over and over and again it's not like I mean he's gotten beat over the top by Jordan Matthews and Alan Hurds it's not like he's getting beat by Tyreek Hill. Like, we can understand that, right?

But it's just the way that it's gone down, and it hasn't changed him. You know, I mean, look, if you look at snaps, you know, they played. He's coming off the field, Butler is, when they're in base defense, which I don't think – that wasn't the case earlier in the year, right? Logan Ryan was the slot corner, and Butler and Adoree played outside. So they've made that adjustment, but still, I mean, when you're in nickel as much as NFL teams are now, he's still playing the vast majority of the snaps.

And I don't know. I mean, you know, and again, look, they're playing the Patriots this weekend, right? Malcolm Butler, I mean, we all know the story of not playing the Super Bowl and all that kind of stuff. I mean, maybe we're starting to see why. Maybe Bill Belichick didn't think he could trust him to not bite on one of these moves. I mean, it's starting to make a little bit more sense as each week goes by. You better believe that they're going to target him

because if there's anything we know about the Patriots, we know that they are going to watch the Titans and they're going to find out what their biggest weakness has been to this point on defense, and they're going to try to attack that. And there are a few things, obviously, that the Titans don't do just excellently on defense. But the number one thing, the easiest way for you to score on the Titans right now is to run a double move with Malcolm Butler and fight on it.

And you better believe that they're going to try to find a way to get Josh Gordon over there on his side early, and they're going to take some shots. And I don't know how we have any faith right now that they're not going to get big plays out of that. Yeah, and look at the weapons. They've got Josh Gordon, then they've got Phillip Dorsett. It's an absolute burner. You've got guys like Chris Hogan that are going to work on the outside.

So plenty of different options there. And you know exactly where Belichick is going. I mean, it's pretty clear why he didn't start that Super Bowl game. It's been clear for a few weeks now. So I think we've solved that mystery. Like you were saying, they're going to find that weakness and they're going to exploit it because they're the Patriots. They're the best.

That's what they do. So I'm expecting a big, big game from Josh Gordon. At the same time, if you're Dean Pease, you've got to know what's coming. You can't leave him alone. You've got to give him constant help. And if you're having to do that, you might want to consider making the change to LaShawn Sims because that's just not fair.

If you've got a guy that you've got more trust in, I think you've got to play him no matter what the other guy's getting paid. So it's a frustrating situation. The Titans have been here before. Just kind of reminds you of guys like Nick Harper and Bear Cox. And gosh, the list goes on and on. Boy, Ray Wilson. I mean, I could go on and on and on.

But the Titans have got to get better here. And I think the answer is eventually going to be Sims. I don't think Butler snaps out of this by playing through it. I think it answer is eventually going to be sims uh i don't think butler snaps out of this by playing through it i think it's something he has to sit down uh maybe go into more of a reserve role uh and really figure out what is going on with his technique because it just seems like he's always playing from behind and he's just behind from the get-go every snap and i can't really figure out why. Yeah, and you know, there are some teams

that if you had to give him help on every play or whatever, there are some teams that you can do that and get away with. The Patriots are not one of them. They've got weapons all over the field. And so if you're having to handicap your defense in one spot, again, they're going to find that. They're going to adjust to it.

I mean, Logan Ryan was talking about all the adjustments that they made. I heard him on Midday 180 today talking about that. And, you know, said, obviously, you know, really good halftime adjustments. But he was like, you know, series to series. Just the way that they adjust is different than most teams in the league. And so if the Titans are doing something to give Butler some help, something else has got to be open. So I don't know.

We'll see how it plays out. And, I mean, it could be a thing where, you know, Brable says what he said today and does something different this week. I don't know if that's what's going to happen, but we'll obviously keep an eye on that. But if that's going to be the thing that can really undo this Titans defense, like you said, they're number one in the league, number one scoring defense in the league.

They've been – I mean, you know, I knew they had talent and thought they'd be pretty good, but they've been just way better than I thought they would be. That's been the one issue that they've had so far. I don't know. We'll keep an eye on that and see if it gets worked out or not. Coming up at the end of the show, we will talk a little bit about Kevin Byard on the star celebration and Mike Brable's response to it.

Um, all right. So Bray was asked about Bayard's celebration on the star today. And, you know, basically he didn't like it. That's pretty much what it boiled down to. I heard him tonight on the,

you know, his coach's show, or I don't, I'm not sure exactly what it's called, but, um, and He basically kind of went with the line of, well, I would rather him get with his teammates and celebrate than do something that's trying to

draw attention to himself. This is one of those things, everybody's outraged because he disrespected the star, the logo, and all that stuff, which I just think is so freaking stupid. I don't know what the star actually represents logo, and all that stuff, which I just think is so freaking stupid. I don't know what the star actually represents. But, you know, and then there's the thing,

I think it was Pelsero that tweeted today that the league is looking into it because apparently there's language in the rule book about stomping on the other team's logo and all that kind of stuff, which all this stuff is just funny to me. But he didn't stomp on it. I mean, he just went there and stood there, and then he did like a little river dance or whatever. But I don't think it was, like, stomping, like, on the logo. But I don't know.

What did you think about it? Did you like it? I loved it. And I just wonder quietly if Rabel loves it. You know, he can't actually go out and say, hey, that's awesome. You know, go disrespect somebody's logo like that. But what about it through the bye wait? Titans are just, they're not a real exciting team.

You know, the small market team, there's a reason why ESPN doesn't pay attention to the Titans. They're just not all that interesting from a national perspective. So to see Bayard, who has already been disrespected by Deion Sanders, to see him go out there and just in a moment of celebration kind of go recreate the T.O. celebration, I thought it was really cool on a national stage. So like you said, the disrespecting the star thing is stupid,

and it would probably make me mad if I was a Cowboys fan. But from a Titans perspective, I love doing something that generates interest, that generates national interest. For a guy like that, Kevin Byard, who is a star, an absolute star in this league, just kind of to introduce himself to a national audience, I loved it. Yeah, and I wonder if the whole Deion thing didn't play into it a little bit obviously you know being on that stage you know being in dallas and where dion played and all that kind of stuff i wonder if there was a little bit of extra motivation there um you know as far as that's

concerned but yeah like you said i mean there's just not um there's not a lot it's just they're a small market team obviously but they're also just not they're They're a small market team, obviously, but they're also just not a fun small market team. You know, I mean, one thing, if they're scoring a bunch of points and doing whatever, but they're just not that fun. And nobody pays attention to them, and then everybody, you know, they're all up in arms about the pregame show

and all they're talking about the Cowboys. And listen, it's just funny to me. People get all mad about that stuff. You knew that was what was going to happen, you know, especially with the trade from Ray Cooper and all that. You had that buzz. But just think about it with the teams coming in with the same record, with Dallas being Dallas.

It's going to be like that pretty much regardless of who they play, but especially when it's the Cowboys. You're going to get that kind of stuff. And look, the way that you stop that is by winning. That's the whole thing. That's what this all boils down to i mean that to me that's what if you don't want the guy to go dance on your star i don't put interception i mean that's kind of how i feel about this kind of stuff i mean i don't necessarily love all of it i did like that but there are some things that i think are a little bit over the top or whatever but like if you don't want him to do it, make that play.

But, you know, listen, I respect the – because I think Taylor the one got asked the respect question again after the game last night. It was basically like, look, I'm not going down that road again. We need to win. That's the thing that matters because, you know, that was kind of the conversation and we talked about it here after the Eagles game. The Titans are still not getting any respect, all that kind of stuff.

And they go out and lose three in a row. And so then definitely nobody's talking about them. So, you know, they know now, I think, that you don't need to talk about that kind of stuff. You just need to show the results on the field. And that's ultimately what it all boils down to. And what, you know, guys, I mean, we saw Keith Bullock be here for years and not get the recognition he deserved because he was on a bunch of bad teams. You know, he played, he was a 4-3 linebacker,

and so didn't put up the sack numbers and that kind of stuff that the 34 guys were doing. But, you know, those things resolve themselves if you win. And that's the thing, and listen, the whole Marcus Mariota debate, it's the same deal, right? If he consistently be healthy and that's the thing and listen the whole marcus mariotta debate it's the same deal right if he consistently be healthy and stay on the field i think he's going to prove that he can be a good nfo quarterback he hasn't known that to this point so the these narratives that you know people kind of get all upset about they're there for a reason and it's really up to the titans to get rid of them and know, that leads me into my next point. Seeing Marcus Marotta do that on national stage,

in front of two of the three announcers, Jason Witten, Booger McFarlane, that said he needs to play more from the pocket. You know, if you're saying that, you haven't watched Marcus Marotta. He wins from the pocket. You know, you remember last year during the Monday night broadcast, John Ramos, just every single play, the Monday night broadcast, John Green. Oh, my gosh, yes. Just every single play, Marcus needs to stay in that pocket, and he ended up throwing for about 300 yards, and he went from the pocket.

I'm pretty sure he had a banged up knee. Yeah, he couldn't run at all. That was the end string, yeah. Yeah, so there you go. Just shattering narratives there. I love seeing Marcus do that, especially in front of all these national analysts who had kind of thrown dirt on him, who, you know, they don't know the story. You don't realize how many

offensive coordinators this guy's been through. You don't realize how many drops he's had. You don't realize how many more games he should have won that weren't his fault. You don't realize how banged up he was and how he couldn't feel two of his fingers. So it was just good for me personally to see Marcus come through in that big spot and really just becoming kind of a Monday night player. Back-to-back years, he's had great games on Monday night. Going to have another chance, I think it's Houston here in a few weeks. So we'll see if he can do it again. Yeah, absolutely.

And so, I mean, hey, that's what we're all hoping for, right, is that he can stay healthy and that we start to get rid of some of this stuff. But, again, it gets down to, you know, producing results on the field and winning the football games. And so if they can do that, then those things will start to change. All right, so that'll do it for tonight. Like I said, check us out at museummiracles.com. A lot more on this game and then obviously previewing the Patriots. Tomorrow night we'll have the crossover

episode with Mark Schofield who does Locked on Patriots. We've had him on back around the draft. Really good. I'm sure that show will be really good. So check that out. Like I said, subscribe to the show, Locked on Titans, so you get the newest episodes as soon as they're available.

So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening to Locked on Titans and we'll talk to you again tomorrow.