Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans- Nov. 18- Prediction Friday, Analysis & more

Episode Date: November 18, 2016

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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 is Friday, which means another jam-packed show full of information, of course, as always, current news.

We'll give you our analysis on the upcoming matchup on sunday our predictions as well as final thoughts coming up on the day and terry let's jump right into the current news where it's on the injury front today demarco murray back at practice which is a good thing for the titans but we really kind of expected that didn't we yeah it was pretty much expected. He's been getting some Wednesdays off, rest his foot, that injured toe that's on his right foot that's given him a little bit of trouble, but a full go today in practice and expect it to be a full go again on Friday

and be able to play on Sunday against the Colts. Jerry, I will say it's nice to be able to see Derek Henry step in in situations where need be. I would imagine that this late in the season, where obviously they were lying low on the run game, that they will start to try and use a little bit more of Derek Henry for his carries and yards will be up. What do you think?

It's possible. I think, you know, obviously with DeMarco Murray, you know, the lead back, you know, being a little bit banged up, certainly, you know, maybe giving Derrick Henry a few carries here to spell Murray is a smart idea. And I think Coach Stapp probably will give Derrick Henry, you know, spread out a few carries for him, maybe somewhere in the 5-10 range during the ballgame. Now, guys, let me ask you this.

Could that be part of the changeup that we're going to see on Sunday is perhaps some more things for Derrick Henry? You know, there's some certain formations where they come in and they go with both he and DeMarco Murray on the field at the same time. Usually, though, when that happens, Henry's more of a blocker in the role and Murray more of the running back slash receiver. Could we possibly see that as some of the change-up, Brad? That's certainly something that I would think that the Colts might not be looking for

because we haven't seen it on film when the two backs have been in there together. Well, the thing is that we haven't seen a whole lot of Derek Henry, period. So in whatever form or fashion they choose to get him on the football field will be something that neither the Colts or anybody else up to this point have seen much of. So I would expect him definitely to be a serious member of play action and what they're trying to do as far as keeping them off balance by even pretending like Derrick Henry's a blocker,

maybe even throwing him the ball. We obviously know that DeMarco Murray has got soft hands coming out of the backfield, but showing just how diverse that Derrick Henry's a blocker, maybe even throwing him the ball. We obviously know that DeMarco Murray has got soft hands coming out of the backfield, but showing just how diverse that Derrick Henry can be in the same capacity would probably throw a lot of defensive coordinators for a loop. Yeah, I think you're exactly right. I think he's a weapon that's kind of been kept under wraps for the most part. I think there will come a time somewhere along the way, may not be this week, but somewhere along the way before this season ends,

I think you're going to see a big player, too, from Derrick Henry. Other injury news for the Titans, Terry. It certainly looks like Quentin Spain is on track to return and perhaps even start this week at left guard. Of course, he's been out recently because of that injury. Brian Schwinke taking his place. Schwinke played well in his absence, but certainly will be good

to get Spain back in there. And having a rested Quentin Spain to go along with really, actually a rested Taylor LeJuan on the left side of the offensive line should be in good shape come Sunday. Yeah, I talked to Quentin today, and he says he's feeling good, that the knee feels good, he's looking forward to getting back in there.

So I think barring any unexpected or unforeseen setback, certainly Quentin Spain looks like he's on track to move back into the lineup. And like you mentioned, it certainly is a plus for the Titans that they know that when guys like Brian Schwinke and Dennis Kelly have to be called upon, as they have been in recent weeks, that you can get decent mileage out of those guys and that there's not an appreciable drop-off, especially in the run game. Yeah, I would agree with that 100%.

I think that whenever you've got guys like that that can fill in positions like that, Josh Klein everywhere, if he were to go down, or Ben Jones, or any of those guys in the middle, it's nice to be able to get, you know, guys that have been tested at some point in time during the season that kind of add depth. I mean, you talk about how fresh that left side shall be with Terrell LeJuan having missed most of the game this past Sunday and, of course, Quentin Spain coming off of injury.

This is just what the Titans want. Two guys that are familiar with one another have that definite chemistry that's been working well for those guys on that left side. To get that back and healthy will be a definite added bonus for the Titans this weekend on the road. Now, Terry, you're working on a story for TitanInsider.com concerning Derek Morgan, Jason McCourty, and Jarrell Casey. And you and I talked about this on the Thursday edition, and certainly we want to get Brad's insight into this

because he's been on both sides of the spectrum that these three guys have not as of yet, at least until now. But they talked to you, Terry, about playing meaningful games this late in the season because the last few years, let's face it, this Titans team has not had a meaningful game outside of week one or week two in probably quite a long time. That's absolutely true. Derek Morgan was talking about how every year you're out there beating your body up

and you're giving it your all. And really it just kind of goes for naught because you're not winning any games. And he said that guys have become really appreciative of being able, that this season things have turned around and that they're going to play. Now granted, it's probably a must-win situation up in Indianapolis for the Titans, but at least there's something to play for beyond personal accolades for the Titans as we enter mid-November here, and this team at 5-5, still in the thick of things. And you really have to be pleased for guys like Jason McCourty, Derek Morgan,

Jarrell Casey, who have been around here a long time and have not been able to taste very much success. Yeah, they're definitely recognizing the fact that the Titans are playing well. I'm talking about from the national perspective. Whenever you look around and read the headlines, Mariota Titans offense are white hot, or Andrew Luck and Marcus Mariota set to do a duel for the AFC South. They're recognizing now that the Titans are playing well,

and I think that it's a completely different feeling around the building nowadays than what they're used to feeling. I remember seasons where we were either 8-8 or hovering around 500, and then when we finally booked that quest and won a conference championship and then started being revered as one of the teams to get into the playoffs, I just remember the different attitude that we took even after that. So this team is really starting to feel the confidence from playing well, and it shows in how they're playing games.

Let's jump into some game analysis, Brad, and we'll start with you on this. Offensively for the Titans, what do they have to do offensively to win this football game on Sunday against the Colts in Indianapolis in a place that they have never won a game inside Lucas Oil Stadium and against a quarterback, obviously. And obviously the offense won't be going against him directly, but in a quarterback in Andrew Luck, they've never beaten.

I wouldn't expect them to get as exotic as they did this past weekend at home where they had the luxury of controlling the crowd and being confident that whatever they were trying to do was going to work. I think that this week is obviously about limiting mistakes, and the way you can do that is by not putting the offense in situations where there are too many extending parts, if you know what I'm saying. If you're trying to do too many things during a play, there's just too many parts that can break down, particularly on

the road in a loud, tough environment that just aren't necessary when you've got a team that's obviously in the top five, at least in rushing the football. It seems pretty pedestrian and even vanilla, but if that keeps Andrew Luck on the sideline, then that's

what this offense needs to do in just converting third down and staying on the field. Oh, you're exactly right, Brad. I think the Titans have been one of the better third down teams in the league this year in terms of moving the chains and keeping drives going. They've also been a great red zone team. And when you talk about what they have done in terms of those types of things, that's exactly the formula, like you said,

that they've got to use in order to beat the Indianapolis Colts and get that monkey off of their back of not being able to win in Indianapolis or beat Andrew Luck. I think when you look at it, you hit on it too with the turnovers. You've got to win the turnover battle. They've had trouble at times this year forcing turnovers, so that makes it extra imperative to take care of the football and then hope that your defense can get you the ball a time or two on a takeaway. Brad, let me ask you this, and certainly we'll get Terry to weigh in on it as well, but is there some type of pressure or feeling if you're a coach, and I know you never were a coach per se in the NFL,

but because of the way Marcus is playing, to lean on him a little bit more and to try to do more with him in the passing game, is that something you have to battle with to say, no, we still want to stand here and run the football because that's what we're built on, even though he is playing very well lately. And as we saw Sunday was really the difference in that ballgame. You know, it's one thing to not be predictable. And of course, you know, a coordinator is the face of that task every weekend trying to do and invent new wrinkles, basically, to not be so, I guess you could say, obvious.

But I think that when you do things well, there's nothing wrong with just sticking with that. I think when you look at this offense and basically where they've had their successes, their consistency is the one thing that actually adds to that. So if you continue to run the football the way you have behind an offensive line that loves moving forward rather than, you know, dropping back in pass protection, then you ride that out until you have to do something else.

It seems to work for them. So, like they always say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. You know, you're exactly right. I think the reason the passing game has been so good for the Titans of late I think is predicated on the fact that they're able to run the football and they have to bring an extra guy down into the box, and that creates more one-on-one matchups on the outside for Marcus Mariota to find with guys like Delaney Walker,

Rashard Matthews, and whoever else is out there in the pass pattern. I think that run game is what triggers everything. So to a point, I think you have to stick with that run game in order to make everything else work the way it's supposed to. On the other side of the football, defensively, obviously it starts, in my opinion, guys, with stopping Andrew Luck, but he's going to have more weapons available to him this time, it seems, with Dwayne Allen and some others being back from injuries than he had in the first game that the Colts won here in Nashville.

So, Brad, what do the Titans have to do defensively to stop Andrew Luck now that he's going to have some other weapons and they can't just line up like they did last time and get beaten one-on-one by Hilton and a cast of really unknowns? Well, what they have to do is do what they've been doing consistently well this year, which is getting after the passer. One area that the Indianapolis Colts have shown some vulnerability is with pass protection. And it's a good thing we have a guy like Brian Arakbu

who already has nine sacks on the season. Jarrell Casey's got a handful of sacks. Derek Morgan's contributing in sacks. There are a plethora of other guys that have one and two sacks on the season, which means that they're actually getting in the backfield and being disruptive. Andrew Luck is a very, very, very effective quarterback. When he has time to throw and basically muddying the waters around his feet and making it convoluted for him back there.

You know, an uncomfortable in the pocket is one way that, first off, they can speed up his clock, you know, forcing Andrew Lue to put the ball in the air earlier than he wants to, maybe creating turnovers or even ultimately getting sacks like we've seen them being able to do consistently over the past few weeks. Yeah, they've got to get pressure on him. You know, the Colts the last time out maxed the tech. It's going to be interesting to see how much they do that

now that they have more of their weapons back, now that they're going to have Moncrief, now they're going to have Allen, now that they're going to have Phillip Dorsett perhaps available. You know, you're talking about a team that's got a lot more weapons than what they were able to use in the first matchup, but if you start putting those weapons out there, then you open things up potentially for that Titans pass rush to get to Andrew Luck because the Colts offensive line has been a weak spot this year

in large part. So it actually, you know, the game plan they had the first time around actually almost benefited them because they were able to better protect Andrew Luck almost out of necessity. Now, guys, I'm going to throw this out just as a question here because a lot of talk has been done about the Titans secondary. We've done a lot of it here because they seem to have moments where they're not very good, and then they will stand up and make a play.

And certainly I thought last week probably their best overall game against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Are we wrong about this secondary? Is this a decent secondary, or are they just a bad secondary that make enough plays to cover up some of the things? Where do we feel like these guys are in the secondary? Terry, I'll go first. I think that when you look at this team,

it's a very opportunistic secondary. In other words, when a team is forced, you know, to put up, you know, the ball in the air because they're, you know, have to match points, you know, that the offense is being able to put up, then they're actually able to, you know, like we said, you know, feast on those opportunities. And obviously when you've got guys up front that are actually able to get sacks, the guys that are throwing the football know that, which means their clock is getting sped up just

a little bit. They're trying to either make something happen or force it to be mobile, which creates other situations for turnover. They're just basically taking what not only the offense has been able to do and putting points on the board and making their other offense have to match those points. But, you know, they're also, you know, feasting off of a front four or even front seven that's been very effective in getting after the passer. Oh, yeah, that's exactly it.

I think, you know, when the front seven does its job and they get pressure on the quarterback, then that makes things easier for the secondary. You know, by and large, the longer the secondary has to cover, the more they get exposed. You know, I think I still think that barring maybe other than Kevin Byard and maybe one or two other guys, I still think secondary is one of the areas that's going to be overhauled in the offseason by the Titans.

Now guys, I'm going to take us somewhere we haven't been in a few weeks because of late, things have kind of settled down. Remember back early in the season where the Titans special teams were having some struggles, had a couple of returns, one in particular in the Texans game that really contributed to the loss down in Houston. They fired Bobby April, the special teams coach. Since that time, it's kind of settled down a little bit. Now, we're not seeing a lot in the return game, either kickoff or punt return,

but the coverage units have at least been solid, and that has not been something that has plagued this team so much going forward. So that's a positive, and I think we probably need to at least address that and give a thumbs up to the effort that's been done so far. Yeah, I would agree with that. I think when you... It's one of the things I asked

Mike Malarkey today about, he said that the special teams units have kind of stabilized themselves. They've changed a few things, tweaked a few things since the change in coaches on special teams. And I think that's one of the things that, you know, they just wanted to do. They, you know, they don't have to be dynamic just as long as they're not making mistakes that are costing the team in certain situations and potentially costing them ballgames. And I think it's tough sometimes to make that adjustment and to change things radically during the middle of the season,

but I think the Titans special teams now look like they're starting to come around. Yeah, I think obviously whenever you have a coaching change, complacency gets thrown out the window because everything's fresh, everything's new. So now that people are paying more attention to what their responsibilities are supposed to be, if there was a communication gap or there just was some sort of area where they weren't understanding what they're supposed to do as far as responsibility is concerned, it's definitely been addressed.

So therefore, people are paying more attention to what their jobs are, and they're getting it done better because they're more focused. It's time to jump to the prediction segment where we tell you who's going to win and why. prediction segment where we tell you who's going to win and why. And, Brad, you and I had some comments from a follower on social media today on Twitter, to be exact, talking about the predictions and the fact that he feels like every time you predict the Titans to win, they've won and you've been pretty good. Now, I've got to give you, you've missed a couple. But for the most part, you're probably batting a pretty high average right now so go ahead and

lead this thing off and tell us who and why and see if you can make some listeners happy well listen first off i'm going to pick the titans and the reason why i'm going to pick the titans is because this week like weeks in the past the titans have a chance to win you know i definitely thought the tit Titans have a chance to win. You know, I definitely thought the Titans had a chance to defend home turf against the Packers team that really wasn't, you know, the Packers team of old that we're used to seeing. You know, they were very vulnerable, and the Titans took advantage of that. Same situation here in Indianapolis.

Even though it is going to be a tough road game, Andrew Luck, by all means, is not the Andrew Luck that we've seen in the past. Is he protected like such? And it doesn't seem like the Colts this year have the same kind of pass rush that we're used to seeing from the Annapolis Colts the final expect to see them you know being near as disruptive as they have been in the past and this offensive line is protecting a lot better than usual too so I expect the Titans to make big plays on the road expecting to control the clock with the ground game and I expect them Titans to make big plays on the run. I expect them to control the clock with the ground game, and I expect them to get after Andrew Luck and come away with a victory.

And the score? 24-17, Tennessee. Terry, your thoughts, predictions? I think, you know, thought about this, I think it's time. The Titans have lost to the Colts long enough, and I think all things, good and bad, I guess, must come to an end. I think this Titans team is hungry. I think they're on the ascent.

I think they're in a situation now where they've gained a little bit of confidence. They've gained a little bit of momentum. They're playing well with Marcus Mariota at the controls. bit of momentum. They're playing well with Marcus Mariota at the controls. I think they've done a lot to erase a lot of the bad karma that's gone on in the past few years. To me, a win on Sunday would be monumental for this team's chances of reaching the postseason. I'm going to say Titans 28-24.

Well, guys, I think this might be only the second time this season that we've all three agreed in picking the Titans to win a game I know we did against Jacksonville in the Thursday night home game I'd have to go back and look for sure but I'm pretty sure that was the only other time

I'm taking the Titans because and I've said this several times and kind of harped on the fact that they've struggled to beat the elite quarterbacks. Well, I can't say that anymore. This will be the last time I even mention it because they've done that. They beat Aaron Rodgers. Now it's time to go out and, as Terry said, kind of exercise some demons,

get rid of the can't beat Andrew Luck, can't win in Indy at Lucas Oil Stadium. This team is good enough to do it. They should have done it the first time when the Colts are here. Now, granted, that wasn't at Lucas Oil, but they still should have beaten the Colts in that game, and I think that left a bad taste in their mouth. And I think, as Terry said again,

they are hungry, and with what Brad said, run the football, take care of the football. Marcus Mariota doesn't turn the football over unexpectedly with fumbles that lead to Colts points. I really think the Titans can go in, jump out to an early lead, much like they did last week, and take the crowd out of the ballgame. They can certainly win this game in Indianapolis and get a victory.

Give me the Titans, guys, and I'm going 35-17 Tennessee. Wow. Oh, wee. Yeah. I jumped out on-17 Tennessee. Wow. Oh, wee. I jumped out on the big ledge, Brad. Hey, now when you go tell the team what I predicted, I'll be back in good graces this week. Well, I will say, as almost as far-fetched as that might sound, the Tennessee Titans are definitely poised in a position to do just that

if, in fact, they can get out to an early start, forcing the Colts in more passing situations, which is exactly what the Titans want them to do. Guys, it's time for the final thoughts as we close in on the end of the podcast today. And with that final thought, Brad, go ahead and give us yours on this matchup for Sunday you know it's crazy to say that 500 football feels so good when you talk about covering this team but you know when you look at you know the history you know recent history for the squad just to see the changes actually start to take effect it's actually refreshing and I think you're starting to

see that too in the Titans' confidence growing as far as the national conversation and understanding and absorbing just how good the team can be. You're going to start to see it play better in situations where otherwise they would be predicted to lose. So I like the way that the Titans are actually heading in the right direction. I think a win against the Colts, doing something that they haven't done on the road in a number of years

would be just icing on the cake for what seems to be the start of a great season. Terry? Well, I know this is not really going out on a limb very far, but there's one guy that I think the Titans look to a lot in big ball games to make big plays, and I would look for him to make probably more than one on Sunday, and that's Delaney Walker. He had a big game against the Packers, had I think 124 yards receiving on seven catches,

had a touchdown that he actually caught from DeMarco Murray. Look for Delaney Walker to be the guy that spearheads the Titans on Sunday, especially in the passing game. My final thought, guys, and I'm going to go in a different direction. Certainly I'm excited about this game and feel like the Titans can and will and should win in Indianapolis on Sunday. But what I'm most excited about, and I want to share this with the listeners, is the fact that the three of us guys will be in Indianapolis on Sunday

for this game. We're going to record the podcast for Monday live from Lucas Oil Stadium. We have a lot of fun when we're able to get together and all three be in the same location and do this. And I'm just excited and looking forward to being able to do that and spend some time with you guys in Indianapolis, eat some of that Indy food. Hopefully it won't be too cold.

It always is, but hopefully it won't be. And have a great podcast for the listeners when we come back on Monday. And hopefully we'll be happy in talking about a big Titans win, guys. Agreed. Touche. Sounds good. That will do it for us in the Friday

edition. Again, enjoy the weekend. Enjoy the games. Enjoy the Titans. And we look forward to being back with you on Monday on Locked on Titans. Until then, have a great weekend. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee

Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Your team, every day.