Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans- Nov. 2- Big Wednesday with WOAS, HDH and Pro Scope among others.

Episode Date: November 2, 2016

Big Wednesday with WOAS, HDH and Pro Scope among others. #BHop #TerryMc #GregA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Learn more about our healthy benefits at fepblue.org slash getmore. You are Locked on Titans, your daily podcast on the Tennessee Titans, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. And welcome to Locked on Titans with your host, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, Greg Arias and former Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl left tackle Brad Hopkins. It is Wednesday, the gang's all back together again and we have got a lot of things to get to and cover this morning. As always, our current news segment, we've also got our What Others Are Saying segment,

Hump Day Happenings, and Pro Scope that we'll cover this morning. And, guys, let's jump right into the current news, which obviously concerns the Titans and the elevation of Trey McBride from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, taking the place of Andre Johnson, of course, who retired. And, Brad, obviously, you being a former NFL player going through a retirement yourself at one point, kind of know what it was like for Andre Johnson going through this. And then obviously, of course, Trey McBride now, I'm sure, happy to have made his way onto

the 53-man roster. Absolutely. And what a phenomenal career this guy has had, particularly in the AFC South. And when you just look at the number of receptions, just nine receptions basically this year, he really wasn't featured in that offense, and nor should he be basically with all the youth that they have developing around him. He's been a cog, basically a veteran in the position room, I'm sure. But, you know, when you look back at his stellar career for the Texans, I think he is now in the top ten for yardage as far as receivers are concerned.

So the sun sets, and obviously he knows when that sun is setting, and we wish him a lot of luck. Yeah, Andre Johnson, when people were talking about him and his decision to retire, you could tell from, even though they'd only been with him for two or three months, there was nothing but respect coming out of the Titans locker room for Andre Johnson and what he had accomplished in his career and how he was a mentor to the younger players on the team. Of course, I mentioned Trey McBride being elevated, guys.

He is a player that had a good preseason for the Titans, and most people, I know Terry and I, certainly felt like he had done enough to have earned a spot on the roster ultimately didn't do that was released but re-signed the Titans get lucky that he got through waivers and got back where they could re-sign him to the practice squad and now he's going to get a chance to come up and help this team on game day yeah I think his biggest contribution is going to be on special teams. I know that obviously they went position for position with a wide receiver replacing a wide receiver.

But it wouldn't surprise me at all to see Trey McBride be active and be part of the 46-man game day roster for the Titans, even as soon as this week, simply for the fact that they need help on special teams. So while that would sound kind of crazy to think that he could be up and be active this week and that a guy like Harry Douglas might be down, don't discount that possibility for the Titans this week of having Trey McBride up on the roster.

I think also, I think it's really pretty much wide open as far as, you know, the seconds and thirds, just because there really hasn't been a guy that has established himself as a true deep threat. So, you know, the fact that they could possibly use a number of guys might also be the scenario, which could be advantageous for Terry Hrabisky. With the promotion of McBride to the 53-man roster, The Titans thus had an opening on the practice squad, and Terry, they filled that by bringing in Jonathan Krause. He is a name familiar to people in Middle Tennessee. He actually played at Vanderbilt as a receiver

and was on the same team with Jordan Matthews, now of the Eagles, and so he's going to get an opportunity on the practice squad to show what he can do. He is a big receiver at 6'2", and about 200 pounds, pretty good speed, nothing really dynamic. I guess maybe another one of those solid guys that they certainly are going to give an opportunity to see what he can do. Right, and when you come in in the middle of the year to be on a practice squad, you're

just looking for an opportunity. Obviously, he's been on the streets. He and his agent have been trying to schedule workouts to get him a look from as many teams as possible. And when an opportunity like this arises and a team signs you, you just want to come in, make a good impression, make as many plays as you can on the practice field and turn some heads because, you know, legitimately his opportunity probably to really show the Titans what he can do would come next year in training camp if he survives and stays on this roster

all year. But I think that, you know, any opportunity you have to get on the field and get in front of these coaches, you have to try and take advantage of it to give yourself a leg up. Now, Brad, you obviously weren't at the end of a roster in your career, being a draft pick and a Pro Bowl and all the credentials that you've had, but you certainly were around guys in that situation.

It's kind of an uneasy feeling for these guys in that position, isn't it? Because at any particular point in time, the team could decide they want to bring in another guy, and then just as quickly as you were signed this week you could be gone next yeah you're right about that but it's it's a difference in mentality though those guys that have that kind of scenario that happened to them you know that's usually been you know part of their career their their entire time they've been in the nfl yeah i mean unless it was a scenario where you were once a high traffic or whatever else and maybe you're you maybe your abilities have fallen off,

and now you're just kind of bouncing from team to team to team, and you can see you being a guy that's a bit let go. But for the most part, you know, if it's a journeyman, if it's somebody that's just trying to make a practice squad, then that's always been the case for him. You know, he's always had to fight for every incident he's gotten pretty much. And, you know, guys like that, they understand just how, you know, up and down and flexible this whole situation has to be.

Let's move along to our what others are saying segment. And, as usual, guys, on Wednesdays we go with the people over at Pro Football Focus. They always give us some very interesting things. And this week the most interesting of those stats coming out, of course, of last Thursday's game with Jacksonville, Marcus Mariota, 83.7 is his quarterback grade for last week, and this is what they had to say about him. Thursday night was the best game of Marcus Mariota's young career. He played mistake-free football and was on the money from start to finish.

Of his four incompletions, two were thrown away. He only attempted one pass of 20 or more yards downfield and completed that for a 36-yard touchdown. It really wasn't much more he could do with the limited number of attempts, only 22 in the game for Marcus Mariota. Guys, they're saying best game of his young career. Now, certainly we go back and look at last year against Tampa Bay in that opener. It might be comparable, but at least this is something for Marcus at home

that's trending in the right direction, having this game under his belt to move forward. Yeah, it really is. I think when you look at where Marcus was just four weeks ago when people were questioning what was going on with him, why he'd thrown more interceptions than touchdown passes. It's certainly been a remarkable turnaround. I think they're doing a better job of putting him in more comfortable situations. I mean, the protections have been good.

The running game has been good. They're not asking him to throw too many deep balls. He's been good on the short to intermediate passes for the most part. I think when you look at the way that they're starting to use Marcus Mariota, a mix of the run and the pass with him, I think, you know, that's part of the reason he's gotten on the right track. Yeah, I also think that obviously good quarterback play comes with consistency in making good decisions and ball security.

So when they're mentioning on the pro football focus that he had played mistake-free football, that's the most important part. He didn't contribute to turnovers, basically, given the other team opportunities to score, and of course stalling out any momentum that this offense had gained to that point. So I think that obviously him not doing too much, he even admitted that early on, just the expectations for this team,

maybe did raise what he was trying to do on a regular basis. And him understanding just taking, you know, one play at a time, it's allowed him to kind of put things in better perspective, and therefore he makes better decisions, and he's more secure with the football. Now, Brad, I know this will be near and dear to your heart, but it is the continued offensive play of the offensive line as a whole, but the tackles in particular. Taylor LeJuan, 82.1.

Jack Conklin, 81.2. Ben Jones, 79.5. So the offensive line as a whole, and this will be a great segue to our next segment coming up here in just a moment, but, Brad, certainly the tackles are getting it done. The offensive line are getting it done as a whole, and this is not the same offensive line the Titans started the season with now because obviously Chance Wormack being gone, having a replacement there,

Quentin Spain being out injured, a replacement stepping in there, but yet they're still able to do the job up front offensively. Okay, so what happens is the situations that they're getting into offensively are allowing it to complement the offensive line. What I mean by that is when they're not in third and 12, when they're not going forward on fourth down, when they're not having to be in long-distance situations where they need to throw the ball down the field, they can convert third down. They can stay in very manageable situations that are advantageous for the offensive line.

In other words, if you've got a guy that only needs to convert third and three, he can pass the ball, which obviously is a completion, or he can run the ball and get a first down. But yeah, those look favorable on the offensive line. Adversely, when you're talking about stressful situations because of bad decision-making and maybe sacks or pressures or things like that that create long downs and distances, those are more opportunities to get to screw up

and to have bad things happen. But the Titans are staying out of those situations, and that's why the offensive line is playing better up front. Yeah, I think you're exactly right. The Titans, you know, the times, and the other thing is the times that they have had some third and longs, they've been able to complete some of those, and I think they've scored on every drive

where they've converted a third and ten or greater. Now, you don't want a whole lot of those, but I think part of it is, like Brad was saying, you've got to stay in manageable down and distance. And I think some of that is the fact that they have been able to clean up some of the penalties. They've not had a lot of second and 20s because of the holding penalty. So the more you play mistake-free football and clean football,

the better your chances of being in a manageable down and distance, the better your chances of moving the change. And that's what this offense has to continue to do. Not to be shortchanging the defense guys, just quickly some numbers on some of them. Jarrell Casey, 83.3, his ranking. 82.2 for Sean Spence, 79.7 for Angelo Blackson. And Antoine Valentino Blake, they list him as Antoine, 78.0. He's a guy kind of that we have picked on a little bit from time to time,

as have opposing offenses in the passing game. But some good numbers from the Titans, certainly there defensively. Let's move along to our hump day happening segment, guys. And what we want to talk about here is DeMarco Murray and the fact that he is currently right now second only to Ezekiel Elliott of the Cowboys in rushing yards this season in the NFL. So potentially a chance for a rushing title in the future for DeMarco Murray and this Titans offense as a whole.

Terry, you wrote a story about that this week on Titan Insider. I did. And, you know, DeMarco Murray asked him about it. And he said, you know, he's been there, done that as far as a rushing title. That, you know, personally wouldn't mean a whole lot to him. But he does understand that the offensive line, it would mean something to those guys. And, you know, a couple of those guys, Taylor LeJuan and Ben Jones, admitted as much that they would like to be able to get DeMarco Murray a rushing title,

another one, after he had done it in 2014 with the Cowboys. So, you know, Brad, had done it in 2014 with the Cowboys. So, you know, Brad, maybe you can expound upon this. What does a rushing title by a running back mean for an offensive line? Well, usually when you ask a running back, you know, why he had such a successful day, the first thing he says is, I've got to give credit to the big boys up front. And that's obviously usually what happens.

You know, those guys are working very hard up there to at least give a running back opportunity to get through those holes and gain the yards that are necessary for him to achieve those kind of accolades. And it's a reflection on them, basically. So when you see the running back, who obviously is in a situation where they could be a candidate for a rushing title, people are looking at, well, why is he so successful running the football? Well, the first thing they usually would think about, well, those guys up front must be playing extremely well right now.

And that's exactly the case. Guys, here's a stat for you that will kind of expound on and prove how good this offensive line has been. Thursday night or last Thursday night against Jacksonville, the Titans gained 116 of their 221 rushing yards before contact. Think about that. They had 116 yards of the 221 before they were ever touched by a defensive player. So the offensive line was certainly giving these guys holes and room to run. And when I say guys, obviously Derek Henry just a part of that as well.

But that's what the offensive line is doing. And certainly that, if you throw Derrick Henry's yards in there, would inch DeMarco Murray closer to that rushing title as he's only in second place right now. Yeah, you're exactly right. And, you know, it's pretty amazing that he's second in the league in rushing. He's actually not really split carries with Derrick Henry, but Derrick Henry has gotten a few carries here or there,

and he's had a couple of games where he's been over 50 yards rushing himself, including Thursday night when he had 60 yards on 16 carries. So it's pretty amazing how the Titans have been able to run the ball this effectively with DeMarco Murray leading the way and Derrick Henry at that supporting role behind us off at the fly. Yeah, that's what makes them so dangerous, the fact that they have diversity in the offense. They're trying to bring along Marcus Mariota to add even more depth to the running back position as far as being able to run the football.

But, you know, the fact that he's an effective pass thrower, the fact that they have a relatively good receiving core, you know, only adds balance to what we just talked about, you know, which is obviously a pretty strong rushing attack. As we move along this morning, it's time for our Pro Scope segment where we look at events from around the NFL. And, guys, some pretty big news coming out this morning with the resignation of Norv Turner in Minnesota.

Of course, Turner, a well-renowned, well-respected offensive coordinator, has some Super Bowl titles to his credit, but he is now out in Minnesota. Terry, is there anything you can tell us about this? Well, it seems like it kind of came out of the blue this morning that North Turner announced his resignation. The Vikings offense has really been struggling the last couple of weeks primarily because of the play of the offensive line. They've had lots of injuries there, lost both Matt Khalil and Andre Smith as their starting tackles. They've got

two backups in there trying to limp along, as they say. And the Vikings offense, as you saw on Monday night, stalled out against the Chicago Bears, who are not exactly a reasonable facsimile of their 1985 version right now. So North Turner decides to resign. Pat Shermer, who was the tight end coach, comes in and takes over that role in the interim, and he has some familiarity having coached Sam Bradford

and been his offensive coordinator at a couple of Bradford's previous stops. So maybe that can jumpstart the Minnesota offense. Yeah, we were just talking about how protection is a premium nowadays, and I think that that was one of the situations that obviously frustrated North Turner the most, the fact that they couldn't stay healthy enough to keep the quarterback upright and therefore very effective. So I don't think that even though Pat Shermer has a lot of background with Sam Bradford, it's not going to help him when they basically don't have

the horses to keep obviously defensive fronts out of the backfield, but using their twos and threes because more than just the bookends are missing. Alex Boone went out this past weekend. I can't remember a couple of interior offensive linemen are gone, so it's almost the entire offensive line are backups, and that just doesn't bode well for anybody. Now, Brad, what is it like when a team goes through a coaching change be it an offensive coordinator

or a head coach or anything really in the middle of the season like this uh just uh how does that how is that handled by a team depends who gets the job if it's if if they agree with the change um if they felt it was necessary but didn't necessarily voice that, then they're going to be excited about it happening. They're going to be excited about the potential. But if it's a situation where they see a six of one, half dozen of another, it's basically the same old, same old, whatever else, then there really won't be any excitement.

And it will be harder for that transition to be effective because the guys won't have bought in. We are running towards the end of our day together again, guys. The time just flies when we do these Locked on Titans podcasts. It's time, as always, to close the show today with our final thoughts. My final thought is going to be pointing toward this game with the San Diego Chargers. You know, it's interesting. The Titans have not won in San Diego since 1990.

1990. Brad, were you on the team in 1990? 93 was my first year. Wow. So, I mean, it's been a long time since the Titans have won in San Diego. I think when you look at, granted, they don't play every year. They're usually only out there every three to four years or whatever. But this is something that the Titans are actually going to change it up a little bit.

They're going to go out there on Friday night and they're going to take an extra day in San Diego to get acclimated to the West Coast, acclimated to the time change, which obviously is actually a little bit more of a time change this weekend because of the fallback standard time on Saturday night. So it's interesting that Mike Malarkey has decided to change it up, try and change the Titans' luck out there on the West Coast. Yeah, you mentioned the change, maybe the change from the Ken Wisenhunt era because that's what Jeff Fisher used to do whenever we traveled a couple time zones. He would go out there on Friday.

Now, in one instance, that could be a good thing. Obviously, it allows the guys to, you know, camaraderize, you know, hang out with one another, you know, enjoy each other's company without necessarily parting the facility and going on doing your regular things once practice is over. You're in this together, basically. But it also can be a distraction when you're going to, you know, La Jolla County or, you know but it also can be a distraction when you're going to you know la jolla county or you know san diego county where it's absolutely gorgeous and

you don't usually get a time you've had many opportunities to travel out west and next thing you know you're you're kind of relaxed you know that's that that kind of goes against the business trip mentality that most um road trips kind of present when you're going out that far with that kind of time on your hands. So it could be good to let these guys, you know, get out there in a timely fashion to let those distractions get out of their system. You know, go to the movies, go get a steak, you know, then get yourself back focused on Saturday for what's going to be a tough game on Sunday against a team that's actually,

because it's a lot better than their record indicates. Phillip Rivers is having a tremendous day or season, despite, you know better than their record indicates. Phillip Rivers is having a tremendous season despite what their record shows. So this team is going to be hard to beat, particularly at home. My final thought revolves around the running game for the Titans. Obviously, that is what the Titans want to do. We saw them run with relative ease in the preseason against San Diego. Throw that out the window. I don't think that that's going to have a lot of bearing on this game,

perhaps maybe a little bit of confidence for the Titans. But San Diego right now giving up just over 90 yards a game on the ground to opponents running the football. The Titans, as you guys have said, need to come in focused. They need to come in prepared. They need to come in and run the football. It does two things. Obviously, it allows the Titans to move the football,

and they are very productive when they are running the football efficiently, and Marcus Mariota then can pick and choose his spots to pass. And at the same time, Brad mentioned Phillip Rivers and the season he's having. Rivers cannot hurt you if he's sitting on the bench. That's it for me today. That's it for us. It's been a great Wednesday. Guys, I've certainly enjoyed it.

We have a lot of fun doing this, and we look forward to Thursday's and Friday's edition. And, of course, coming up on Friday, we'll give you our predictions for the game on Sunday. Until then, for Brad, for Terry, I'm Greg. We'll see you on Thursday. You've been listening to Locked on Titans. You are locked on Thursday. You've been listening to Locked on Titans. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast.

Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.