Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans- Nov. 10- Thursday Players & Coaches Corner plus more.

Episode Date: November 10, 2016

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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 Pro Bowl left tackle Brad Hopkins. It's Thursday of the Green Bay Packers week as the Packers get set to come to town. This weekend, Terry McCormick, and as always on Thursdays, we've got a lot of information to get to. We'll, Terry McCormick. And as always on Thursdays, we've got a lot of information to get to.

We'll do our current news segment. We'll talk about the players and coaches corner where we dissect comments from the opponents this week. And of course, as always, final thoughts. As for the current news this morning, Terry, it's injury updates on some key members of the Titans and a couple in particular that have the fans' attention that were out yesterday, DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry, both missing practice on Wednesday. Of course, DeMarco more likely, obviously, to play in this game.

Derrick Henry is out for the contest. Was yesterday just a day of precaution to give DeMarco Murray a little rest with that toe injury as opposed to maybe him being more questionable for the game on Sunday? I think so, and I'm not 100% on that, but I think so because when Mike Malarkey was kind of asked about it, he said that the injury wasn't something that was going to just go away, so I think it's something that DeMarco Murray's going to have to play with for the next game or two anyway.

I think it's something that DeMarco Murray's going to have to play with for the next game or two anyway. So probably giving him this practice time off, especially on Wednesday, which is more of the full contact type of day and more hitting going on out there than normally would be on Thursday or Friday. So I would look for DeMarco Murray to at least do something today. Derrick Henry, Mike Malarkey said he was a little better than he thought he was, that he didn't do anything, and I would not expect him to play on Sunday. Of course, with DeMarco, he doesn't necessarily need the practice time.

Obviously, it's good, but him being a veteran, he knows what he's doing. I'm sure he's in the meeting rooms, going through the game plan, and understands what's going on, and he can miss a day of practice maybe more so than a lot of guys on this roster. Oh, exactly. When you have a veteran guy that knows what to do, he's going to pay attention in the meetings. He's going to watch what's going on on the practice field, and he'll get back in there probably today, maybe Friday, increase his workload a little if he's limited today. today, maybe Friday, you know, increase his workload a little if he's limited today.

And I would expect that he'll be out there on Sunday answering the bell for the Titans. The other thing is, too, that it does kind of open up more practice reps for guys like Antonio Andrews and David Flewellen. And David Flewellen, who I talked to yesterday, is very excited because he spent a year and a half on the practice squad, and there's a very good chance Sunday that he's going to be in his first NFL game because he could be up and active giving them three running backs with Derrick Henry out. So it's going to be interesting to see that development take place through the week.

I almost would think it would be a certainty that he would be up, Terry, especially with DeMarco battling this toe injury that obviously he's going to play through some pain and he can do that, but you just never know when he's going to be out. I have to go out with that injury. So I would think that Flew Ellen would have to be active this week. Yeah, I would definitely be leaning that way. There was an interesting report that came out from a couple of

Nashville media sources yesterday that said Marcus Mariota is battling an ankle injury, but he was a full participant in practice and showed no real signs of dealing with anything related to an ankle, did he? Well, he admitted that he twisted his ankle a little bit in the second quarter of Sunday's game against San Diego, but obviously that didn't hurt him any because he had that 14-yard scramble for a touchdown, so he showed his running skills there. And then Wednesday in practice, he was a full go, looked fine, and doesn't appear to have any ill effects.

In fact, Mike Malarkey was asked about it. He said it was just bumps and bruises. And the ankle, I guess, it was such an insignificant matter that it wasn't even listed on the injury report. So nothing to see here, as they say. Well, certainly something to maybe keep an eye on on but not to be concerned about at this time. If Marcus is not concerned about it and able to go out in practice, obviously that's the best indicator of what's going on with the player is their ability to get on the practice field.

Exactly. And I think, you know, with Marcus being a full go, I don't think there's anything to worry about. If he gets added to the injury report, it will be because of something that happened at practice, not anything coming out of the San Diego game. Good news on that injury report yesterday. Quentin Spain back on the practice field and looks to be headed certainly, Terry, in the right direction

to get back on the field, perhaps even this Sunday. Yeah, he was full go yesterday, and also Rashad Johnson was back in a full go, Delaney Walker and Aaron Wallace. So several guys have been dinged up. A couple of them in Spain and Johnson have been out the last two games. So it's interesting that getting those guys back and starting to get a little bit healthy, and certainly that is good news for the Titans.

On the Packers' side of the injury report, there are multiple guys that are dinged up and have missed practice. Randall Cobb was limited yesterday for the Packers, but the biggest news of that, Clay Matthews did not practice yesterday. He's dealing with a hamstring injury that could well sideline him this week. Yeah, he was out last week with that injury, and I think it's certainly something that the Packers have to be concerned about. He's obviously a very key member of the defense, a leader on that team,

and a guy that they would miss sorely if he's unable to go. We had hoped, Terry, to have Bill Huber, who writes for Packer Report and does the Locked On Packers podcast on the Locked On Network with us this morning, but it looks like he's going to be a Friday visitor to the show when Brad returns to get some insight and inside information onto the Packers' side of things as they prepare to come to town this weekend, and certainly we can hopefully get a little bit more on their injury situation from him tomorrow.

That would certainly be good because Bill certainly knows his stuff. Been around the Packers for a long time. You're listening to Locked On Titans on the Locked On Podcast Network. Football season is back, and SeatGeek is the smartest, easiest way to find the tickets for the game. Yo, everybody get up! Everybody get up! Everybody needs to understand that I'm more than simply a hype man for this rap group. Just like GEICO is more than just a company that can save you money. GEICO also has fast and friendly claim service, so they can help you when you need it most.

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Enter the promo code LOTITANS, and SeatGeek will send you your $20 rebate after you've made your first ticket purchase. Download the SeatGeek app and enter the promo code LOTITANS today. Terry, it's time to jump into our coaches and players. And now, insurance-minded speeches from Geico. Hardship. My grandmother would go through it every month to pay her insurance bill. First, she would handwrite a paper check in cursive then using her own tongue she would wet a stamp for an envelope today however we need not weary our hands and tongues today we can pay

our geico bill with the geico app away with hardship in with bill pay on the geico app. Thank you. Segment corner where we look at comments from the opposing coach and player and this week of course for the Packers obviously that player is none other than Aaron Rogers the veteran star quarterback and he had a couple of interesting comments that he was asked about in the conference call on Wednesday. One being how this game is important to the Packers as they try to keep pace in their division. And then, of course, the other one that really stood out to me was his thoughts on the Titans' defense, and this is what he had to say about the defense he's going to face on Sunday.

Well, the multiple things they can do. I think, obviously, extremely well coached by a legend, but individually they do a good job of playing the scheme well and adjusting to the numerous things they do. They give you a lot of different looks with the fronts, with the coverages. They do a good job of disguising. I think that's the thing that works in their favor the best. So, obviously, he has spent some time, as we know he would, in the film room

and has seen what the Titans are doing with those multiple fronts, Terry. And one of the things that I find interesting about this multiple front that the Titans use, a lot of times you'll look down and there may be only one or two guys that actually are lined down with their hand on the ground, and there's two or three others, including a couple of linemen that are standing up and moving around and saying, hey, we're coming at you from a standing-up position, and you don't know where we're going.

Yeah, and then you see guys drop into coverage after they've been lined up like they're going to be a pass rusher and vice versa. You see all sorts of looks and wrinkles from Dick LeBeau. I think one of the players that gets moved around the most and to take advantage of his skill set is Jarrell Casey. And I think he's a guy that has to be accounted for on every play. And no doubt the Packers will want to monitor where Jarrell Casey lines up on the field

at every play because he's certainly more than just a five-technique end. And the Titans like to get a lot out of him. And Aaron Rodgers knows that the Titans Titans defense with those different looks is certainly designed to confuse any quarterback back there, no matter how good he is, even if he's a star like Rodgers is. And certainly, they're going to try at least to confuse him, but as you said, being a star and a guy that's seen everything, kind of like Phillip Rivers last week, You're really not going to give him anything he hasn't seen before. You might get him something he wasn't expecting from you, but not something that he hasn't seen.

Right, and I think that's the key right there. If you can give him something that kind of confuses him just long enough to disrupt his timing and rhythm and maybe disrupt the read that he was going to make, then that should be a win for the defense. But you're right, Aaron Rodgers, he's a very experienced guy, and the Titans have gone against a number of top quarterbacks already in Andrew Luck and Phillip Rivers and now Aaron Rodgers. So a number, not to mention Derek Carr. So they've gone against several top quarterbacks already this year,

and so this defense knows what it has to do, knows what it's up against. They'll have to certainly have Dick LeBeau dialing up a lot of things in order to compete. Rogers touched on something, Terry, that we have talked about on this podcast this week, and that's the fact, of course, the Packers are a wounded animal of sorts. They have struggled this season, certainly underperforming the expectations for their team.

Aaron Rodgers even called his teammates out this week, and he was asked about keeping pace in the division this week. And basically what he said, November, December, are very important for them down the stretch, and they've got three road games in a row. The common, you know, take it one game at a time phrase was thrown in there, but the Packers know the importance of this game because of their situation, and I think that just exemplifies what we've talked about with this team

being hungry and being desperate for a win coming in here on Sunday. Right. Well, probably the best news for the Packers, who have struggled a little bit and didn't beat up this season, I think probably the best thing they have going for them is that the Vikings have fallen back to earth, that the Bears are not very good and probably not really in the race. And the Lions have been a little bit up and down, sort of like the Packers. So I think when you look at that, it's probably a three-horse race.

In the NFC North, the Packers are probably fortunate that the Vikings have now had some struggles and that the Lions have been unable to, while rallying from a slow start, have been unable to really get over the top. I think they're five and four, if I'm correct. And so it looks like a three-team race. The Packers know they're in it, but they also know they can't afford very many four slip-ups. And their division a little bit similar, Terry, to the AFC South

in that obviously the two divisions are playing each other this year. The Titans have already faced Minnesota and Detroit, Green Bay this week, Chicago still to come. The Packers have a loss to Indianapolis while Detroit has a loss to the Titans, and obviously the other teams are playing as well. So both these divisions really struggling. Both these teams kind of in a similar position, pretty much needing a win this week to keep pace in the division,

which is going to make this certainly an interesting game. Yeah, it is. You're right. You know, both these teams right there in the thick of the division race and really can't afford to, you know, give away any games or have any slip-ups. And I think you're exactly right. You know, you look at the AFC South, it's a three-team race where the Texans are in charge, but the Colts and the Titans

are still in the middle of it. And, you know, and the thing of it is, even though Jacksonville's out of it, you have to kind of regard them like the Bears. You cannot, you know, go to sleep on them or else, you know, you could find yourself in a mess losing a critical division game to a team that's struggling, and that would seriously damage your playoff hopes. So in November and December, Rogers is right.

You've got to be playing your best football at that time of year if you want to be playing in January. Let's move over to the coach's corner where we look at some comments from Mike McCarthy, and he spoke about a couple of running backs. In fact, one for each team. He was asked about the challenge of facing DeMarco Murray, and this is what he had to say.

He's a heck of a football player. I really like the way he plays going all the way back to Dallas. He had a big game against us a few years back down there and was a challenge in the playoff game here too. He's a great fit for their scheme. They're committed to the run. He's a great fit for their scheme. They're committed to the run. He's definitely a focal point for us. So obviously, Terry, based on that comment alone,

the Packers are going to, I think, come in and want to take him out of the ballgame and put this game on the shoulders of Marcus Mariota to win it or lose it for the Titans. Well, I think they have the top-rated run defense in the NFL, so they are certainly capable of taking DeMarco Murray away or at least limiting him, slowing him down. And, you know, it's also going to be interesting on the Titans' side of,

you know, their offensive line. We know that Quinn Spain is, you know, coming back from an injury and also forgot to mention this earlier in the injury report, but Jack Conklin was limited yesterday with an elbow injury. So, you know, there's another place where they're a little bit banged up at a key position. So the Titans offensive line and the running game, they're going to have a big, big challenge this week

when they face the Green Bay Packers. And certainly the Packers will be focused on stopping DeMarco Murray. And, of course, we saw San Diego last week, who doesn't have, they have a very good run defense don't get me wrong but not the best in the league be able to limit the Titans to 80 yards so certainly that's got to make you concerned if you're Mike Malarkey, Terry Robiski and even Russ Grimm the offensive line coach this week as you prepare to match up with this team that as you said Terry certainly capable of stopping the run. Yes, they certainly are. And you can probably throw running back's coach, Sylvester Kroon, in that pitch as well

as they talk about all that they're going to have to involve in the run game this week. The other running back that Mike McCarthy mentioned was his running back, Eddie Lacy, and how the running game has been doing for Green Bay in his absence. And this is what McCarthy had to say. We're running the ball differently. I think that's an obvious answer to your question. Eddie's one of our best players. He's doing well.

He's in the meetings. He had the operation. It's an unfortunate part of the game. That's kind of where we are there. So obviously, Eddie Lacy will not play this week, which is a break for the Titans in that they don't face a big physical running back that certainly is capable of putting up big numbers given the opportunity. Yeah, it's certainly a different situation for the Packers at running back. They've been using Ty Montgomery, who is a wide receiver, I think, by trade.

They've been using him a lot at running back. who is a wide receiver, I think, by trade. They've been using him a lot at running back. So it's interesting. The run game has not been a focal point of that offense since Lacey went down, and I think they're relying even more on Aaron Rodgers at the passing game. That said, if you're the Titans, you can't just forget about run and and think that the packers are going to beat you with the pass only because if you let that happen you could see them gashing in and

taking advantage of you know people being out of their lanes and things like that a lot of what we saw with melvin gordon went wild on titan's lesson absolutely it's uh one of those situations where you come in and you think okay they're a little bit down but obviously you still have to prepare the same way because certainly we know that Aaron Rogers is capable of lighting teams up and the Titans secondary has certainly been vulnerable to that in games this season though the last couple of games they've done a little bit better against it but obviously last week the chargers didn't have to throw as much when they were running with as much success as they were

able to do yeah that's exactly right i think you know obviously rogers is your first concern but as i said before you simply can't overlook the run game and expect them to be one dimensional without a fight they are going to try to establish the run in some way at some point in the ballgame in order to make that play action and the pass game more effective. Now, Terry, there's one thing we haven't talked about this week because over the last few home games, it's been a non-issue, but the fact that we have, in the past couple of years, seen a lot of visiting fans be able to infiltrate and certainly get tickets in the lower portion of the stadium.

Now, that hasn't happened this season, but this is a Green Bay team that has a very large following, a worldwide following, and certainly I know a lot of Packer fans in the Middle Tennessee area, and I think that could be a key to the game. Will they be able to get a lot of tickets and make a lot of noise and turn this into a, quote, not home field contest for the Titans? Certainly it won't be Lambeau, obviously, but at least take away some of the advantage that we've seen the Titans have in a couple of games when they've had a good pro-Titan crowd there

and be able to get loud and affect the ballgame. Well, I think there will be a sizable number of Titans fans there outnumbering the Packer fans, but there will also be a significant amount of Packer fans. I think that's just, you know, something that you deal with when you face the Green Bay Packers. They have a national following, much like the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Dallas Cowboys and, you know, teams that have been, had a lot of success, you know, over the last, you

know, 15, 20, 30 years, what have you. Well, you know, the Cowboys have been a little up and down in that regard, but their success stems from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, and it's carried over to today. Not to get off topic, but there should be a lot of Packer fans in the stands. It's up to the Titans to take care of business in order not to let those Packer fans be heard and take over that stadium

in the event that Green Bay gets a lead late in the ballgame. Time for our final thoughts on the day. Take it away, Terry. Well, my final thought is on the Titans and the defense. Obviously, they were embarrassed last week against the San Diego Chargers with the way Melvin Gordon ran and the way that Phillip Rivers threw. against the San Diego Chargers with the way Melvin Gordon ran and the way that Phillip Rivers threw. You know, they're coming in against a Packers team that's, you know,

hurting a little bit. And they are, you know, certainly a wounded animal, so to speak. And, you know, you can't take that lightly. And I don't think they will take it lightly against Aaron Rodgers, obviously. But the defense needs to – they need a bounce-back game against a big-time quarterback. You know, not only to stay in this game and have a chance to win it, but also to

instill a little bit of confidence in them. You know, some of the games that they've lost this year have been to top-flight quarterbacks, like I mentioned before, like Derek Carr, Andrew Luck, Phillip Rivers. If they could right the ship and get a win over a guy like Aaron Rodgers,

it would do a world of confidence for this team's cycle. My final thought, Terry, is very similar to yours. You talk about a bounce-back game from the defense. I'm talking about a bounce-back game from the offensive line. Now, they certainly didn't play terrible against San Diego last week. They did well enough in pass protection that Marcus Mariota was able to throw for 313 yards and three touchdowns. Great numbers there.

Obviously, we've talked about the fumbles. We won't go there today. They need to run the football in this game. I know Green Bay has an outstanding run defense, tops in the NFL, but the Titans have to find a way to run the football better than what we saw last week in the 80-yard performance, whether that's David Flewellen, whether it's Antonio Andrews, whether Terry Robiskey has to come out of the coach's booth, put on pads, and go run the football.

Somebody for this team has got to be able to run the football to take a little bit more pressure off of Marcus Mariota to make sure that they have a better balance this week than they did a week ago. If this team, I think, is going to be effective, because if Green Bay can take away the running game and hold them to 80 or fewer yards like we saw San Diego do last week, I don't know that Marcus Mariota in this receiving group against this defense can have a big enough day to get a win.

It's certainly going to be a challenge. Obviously, that's why they play the game. But for me, bounce back with the offensive line, run the football better, and I think they have a chance, obviously, to shorten this game and to win. And, of course, by running and shortening the game, Aaron Rodgers can't hurt you when he's sitting on the sideline.

That's going to do it for us today. We hope you've enjoyed it. We'll see you again on Friday where we hope to have a very special guest. And we also, as always on Friday, will give you our predictions on who's going to win on Sunday when the Packers visit Nissan Stadium. Have a great day, everybody. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team

every day.