Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans- Nov. 29- Perrish Cox released & More

Episode Date: November 29, 2016

The Titans released Perrish Cox on Monday & more. #BHop #TerryMc #GregA Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That's for my crazy day. My packed commute. All those unread emails in my inbox. But I'm getting stronger, faster, and pushing myself further every day. I don't care if I'm not like everyone else. This punching bag is the best way to end my day. Fearless is knowing yoga isn't your style. That's the power of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program.

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. Terry, it's Tuesday, and boy, do we have some big news from the Titans, of course, coming out Monday about 11 o'clock

that the Titans had made a major roster move as we jump right into our current news before our four downs for today. And that, of course, is the release of Parrish Cox, the cornerback that has struggled, sent on his way today by the Titans, and they bring up Kalen Reed from the practice squad. Yeah, interesting, you know, the timing of the move, the fact that, you know, heading into the bye, they decide to cut the cord with Parrish Cox

and go with the youngster, Kalen Reed, who probably starts out at the bottom of the depth chart. But obviously the way Cox had played yesterday, they were concerned about his continuing struggles. And he was a guy that, while he had three interceptions, the reason that he had three interceptions in large part was because he was getting thrown at consistently by opposing quarterbacks, and they were taking advantage of him.

And, of course, those struggles, not just alone to Parrish Cox, it was something, Terry, that had kind of gone on in the secondary. Jason McCourty struggled a little bit on Sunday in the game and gave up that long pass play on the defensive pass interference call against him. So it's been struggles across the board in the secondary, but Parrish Cox, obviously, it has to start somewhere, and he's the first domino, if you will, in that group to fall out of there. But what does that mean now?

Does that mean that LaShawn Sims is going to be the cornerback over there? Are we expecting to see perhaps Bryce McCain or Valentino Blake, who have starting experience, step into that spot? Well, it would seem to me that they may keep a rotation going. Remember, McCourty didn't finish the game because of a bruised knee, but with the week off, he should be fine. But it seems to me like that they're going to give LaShawn Sims, you know, a crash course there and see how he holds up.

I think, you know, he's a fifth-round pick. He didn't exactly play at the highest level in college playing at Southern Utah. But I talked to John Robinson about that the other day just in casual conversation, and he said that lots of times these small college guys, there are certain things that you look for in order to take a chance on them. But he said that they feel like that while Sims has a long way to go,

that there's certainly some potential there. So obviously they felt like it was the right time. And it's interesting, too, that they pulled the plug on Parrish Cox. He was still under contract through next year. He'll have to go through the waiver process because even as a vested veteran, it's past the trade deadline, so he goes through waivers. If no one claims his contract, the Titans will be on the hook, dead money-wise, for the prorated bonus that he had last year, which is a little over $833,000.

And also they'll be on the hook for the remaining portion of his $5 million base salary this year, which would be about 5-17th of that, broken down into weekly increments, counting 16 weeks of the season plus the buy. So basically the numbers aren't that bad, and certainly the Titans in good shape as far as the salary cap goes, so they can certainly afford to do that, and I'm sure John Robinson took that into consideration before making this move. But you never really want to have that dead money,

but I guess in this situation they felt like it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it to go ahead and get these younger players in Sims and read some extra work during the bye week in the practices that they will have. And then, of course, next week leading up to the game against Kansas City. Yeah, and it's probably a decent gamble because you think about it, you know, the four teams that are remaining on the schedule, which is Denver, Kansas City, Jacksonville, and Houston. And while those teams have some pretty good wide receivers who may provide some matchup problems, none of those four teams really have a dynamic quarterback that scares you

the way an Andrew Luck or an Aaron Rodgers or a Phillip Rivers, some of the guys that you've faced before. So it seems to me like this is kind of a calculated gamble in that the quality of offensive competition, at least in the past game, may not be quite what it was three to four weeks ago. So you absorb this loss with Parrish Cox and move on from him because he was struggling. And you get these new guys, get their feet wet, see what they got, and maybe you build on this not only for the rest of this year but into next year.

Now let's jump over and talk a little bit about Kalen Reed because he was an interesting story coming in to the Titans out of the draft, not necessarily because he was a first-round player, obviously. He was a seventh-round player, but he holds the tag of Mr. Irrelevant being the last player drafted, and now the Titans have two of those guys. He, along with Ryan Suckup, on their 53-man roster, two guys that were the very last pick in their respective year's drafts. Yeah, two Mr. Irrelevants and two Heisman winners. What are the chances of that that being on the same roster?

But, you know, Kalen Reed, I thought, and certainly feel free to weigh in on this, Greg, I thought he had a pretty solid camp in preseason, you know, considering how green he was, you know, coming in as a seventh-round rookie. And he made a few plays during the preseason. Now, obviously, he's got a lot to learn he's not probably going to be thrown out there instantaneously and asked to work miracles in the secondary but i think he's a guy who can help out on special teams maybe serve as a backup player and uh kind of get you through these last four weeks while he gets some valuable experience

on the job i agree and he was a guy that you and I talked about when he was drafted by the Titans. I really liked this kid. I had him listed as a fifth, sixth-round talent. And, of course, I'm no expert, but I do toy around with the draft and do my own draft rankings and things. And had him as a fifth or sixth-rounder and was really excited about the pick. He had great numbers in college. And he's going to bring something, Terry, that we've been talking about to this secondary that's kind of old and a little bit slow.

He is a speed guy, a true speed guy, a 4'3 guy in the 40 that can stay at least in coverage with the faster receivers in the league. He's not going to get beat in that aspect of the game, and we also saw him during training camp work as a return guy some. So there's potential there that he could see some action as a returner. Now, obviously, they're going to have to feel comfortable with him, and we don't know exactly where they are in that process. But he certainly has that ability and potential should you need him.

And we saw that yesterday for whatever reason, Kendall Wright, or Sunday rather, Kendall Wright coming in to return punts late in the ballgame. That's something that could fall on to Kalen Reed at some point in time if need be. Yeah, I wouldn't think it would be right away, though, simply for the fact that you're bringing this kid up off the practice squad and asking him to come in. You don't want to overload him with too much,

but I do like the fact that you brought it up, the speed element. You know, the Titans' corners, I think, the reason in part because they have struggled this year is because they're not fast enough to keep up with the receivers. When the pass rush doesn't get there, the receivers adjust their routes or they make their breaks, and they're able to get a little bit of separation because the Titans' cornerbacks were not able to have the foot speed and the technique and the precision to stay with them.

So while Reed may be a little bit green, his technique may not be really good, he may get caught out of position, he won't get burned because he's not fast enough to stay with the receiver. He is a little bit on the smallish side for a cornerback, only 5'11", 191 pounds. That's not terrible. It's certainly not Cody Riggs' size. He's bigger than Cody was, but certainly not necessarily as big as the cornerbacks that people want today, the 6'1", 6'2", guys with the long length.

But as we talked about, certainly the speed, Terry, makes up for some of that. But I think there's a place for this kid on the roster to be able to do some things. Now, it may not be as a starting guy outside. It may be as a slot corner in the Valentino-Blake role in the future, but I really like where this kid was in training camp and think that while today may not be his day, I certainly think he's got a future, at least,

of being able to contribute something to this team. Yeah, I think going forward, you know, what you're looking for out of Kalen Reed is really just to kind of get his feet wet and get acclimated to life in the NFL. And if he can contribute here or there on the defense and do something beyond special teams, all the better. I think, you know, you're making this move with an eye toward 2017 because the secondary is going to be revamped. And I think they want to take a look at LaShawn Sims and Kalen Reed to see if they fit into those plans for 2017 because I think they're going to have to spend in free agency in the secondary and they're going to have to draft in the secondary in free agency

this upcoming season. the secondary and they're going to have to draft the secondary free agent or this upcoming season that is a perfect segue to our four downs where we jump into first down and obviously the secondary is the biggest issue you and i and brad i think all agree that that's the first area of business certainly the titans can use some other players at some other places in free agency in the draft but as you just said retooling that secondary and getting it up to speed where it is equal to what the front seven have been doing this point in time is the biggest challenge John Robinson and the Titans will face during the offseason. And, Terry, you said it, free agency and the draft.

And I think they're going to need a combination of that. I think they need to get a guy in free agency, and I think they need to get a guy in free agency, and I think they need to draft a guy in free agency. You know, you talk to fans and you hear their input on social media. A lot of people are saying draft two corners in the first round because the Titans have those two picks. I don't believe in that. I think they need to get one corner there.

I think they need to go out and get a solid veteran, somebody on the way up as a player in the NFL in free agency to kind of balance that thing out. I agree. A guy like Stephon Gilmore, who came out of South Carolina and has kind of found himself this year with the Buffalo Bills, he's in a contract year. There's no guarantee that the Bills are going to be able to resign him

or if they would be willing to put the franchise tag on him. To me, that's a guy that would be a perfect player to target in free agency if you're looking at somebody who can be a leader in the secondary. I think when you look at the Titans secondary as it currently stands, other than Kevin Byard, who is making his way as a rookie and is certainly on the ascent, I think every other spot there is up for grabs. No one else should be guaranteed a roster spot in 2017

other than Kevin Byard, the way things are playing out right now. I think everybody else from that group that comes back should be on the spot to have to earn it, even veteran guys like Denoris Searcy, Damian Stafford, and Jason McCourty. I agree with that totally, which means that if those guys are having to earn it, the Titans are going to have to come out and find some kind of combination of veteran free agents and draftable players that they can bring in to try to compete for a few of those spots anyway.

So certainly a lot of work and a lot of things that we'll be paying attention to come the end of the season, free agency and the draft coming up. Let's move on to second down, Terry, where we talk about, obviously, this being the bye week for the Titans, and it's about the division race and the fact that the Titans now currently sit in second place despite having lost two games head-to-head to the Colts. The Colts are a half game behind. The Titans are going to need some help with this thing,

but they get an opportunity, Terry, to sit home this weekend, get some rest while the other teams in the division are out playing. And who knows, if the division were to lose a couple of games, certainly the Colts and the Texans, the Titans could see themselves tied for first place in this thing. Right, and both the Texans and the Colts are on the road next week. The Texans going to Green Bay, where we know that the Packers have been struggling, hasn't been the type of year that they were expected to have.

But anytime you have a guy like Aaron Rodgers at the control, they're a dangerous football team. And the Texans have certainly been struggling on offense, as their $72 million investment in Brock Osweiler has not paid off thus far. And then the Colts, they're going to New York to play the Jets. The Jets don't have a whole lot to play for. Their quarterback situation is still a little bit unsettled. We don't know if they're going to stick with Ryan Fitzpatrick,

who recently returned to the lineup, or if they're going to go and start their youth movement trying either Bryce Petty or Christian Hackenberg. Both of those guys probably not quite ready to assume control of the offense yet, but if you're in a rebuilding mode, you may want to see what they have. So the Titans are probably hoping that Fitzpatrick gets the call. The Jets maybe have other ideas and maybe want to see what their younger

guys look like. So it'll be interesting to see how the Colts. And the other part of that will be, will Andrew Luck be back? Most likely, you would think he would be out of the concussion protocol. But a Monday night game, the Titans fans have to hope that the Jets can rise up and get it done and play a solid football game like they did in falling just short to the Patriots on Sunday. If you're looking for any small glimmer of hope,

the one thing, Terry, in those two matchups that I can see are two dome teams, Houston, of course, playing in the NRG Stadium, a dome. Now, it is a retractable roof, but for the most part it's closed. The Colts, of course, in Lucas Oil, and that roof retractable, but it's closed. So both those teams are going to step outdoors and go to New York and Green Bay, respectively. And certainly we know that, especially in Green Bay, depending on what the weather is, that can play a huge factor in how teams perform when they go from warm weather cities or domed stadiums out to play in those elements.

Oh, there's no doubt about it. That's the huge advantage that cold-weather teams have. It starts to kick in around this time of year. And then you also have to factor in not only the cold, but sometimes there's the sleet and the snow that can come along as well and wreak havoc. Plus, in New York, the wind is notorious for creating problems there as well with the passing and kicking game. And Aaron Rodgers came out, by the way, I don't know if you heard it, but he said and

kind of promised the Packer fans that they weren't going to lose anymore, that they were riding the ship and things were going to go their way from here on out. So certainly the determination is there, and that's good news if you're the Titans because if you need the Houston Texans to lose a game, a guy like Aaron Rodgers is certainly a quarterback that can get that done. Yeah, I would think so. Obviously the Packers have been on a skid.

They were scheduled to play Monday night against the Eagles on the road. That's not going to be an easy task going up against that defense, which former Titans defensive coordinator and Lions head coach Jim Schwartz is running. But certainly Aaron Rodgers trying to rally the troops there as Green Bay tries to make a late surge to try to get back into the playoff chase in the NFC. Moving on to third down, we want to talk a little bit about some Titans players that desperately need some rest this bye week coming at a great time. Terry, you mentioned it earlier in talking about Jason McCourty.

He left the game early yesterday, was unable to finish. It doesn't seem anything serious, but he, along with Jarrell Casey and DeMarco Murray, who looked to be a little bit slow at times yesterday, obviously he's been battling that toe injury that he's had for several weeks and been playing with. The bye comes at a great time for those guys to get healthy, first and foremost, obviously the rest of the team, to get over some bumps and bruises

and perhaps anything that might have been persistently hanging on with them as well. So it's a good time for that. Yeah, it really is. In fact, it's probably a little overdue. You know, most of the time you don't wait until week 13 to get your off week in the NFL season. It usually comes sometimes between weeks 4 and 11 or so. But this year, the Titans with the late bye,

along with the Cleveland Browns this week. And you mentioned McCourty. You know, the one that concerns me probably is Jarrell Casey. He had a sprained foot. Titans were going to do some tests on that today to make sure that it's not serious. Casey, to me, is the one guy that they absolutely cannot do without on that defensive line.

He is the difference maker. He's a guy who takes on a lot of double teams and opposing teams have to account for. And the way he plays often frees things up for guys like Derek Morgan and Brian Aracpo to go in and claim the sacks.

Now I said this on the Monday edition of Locked On Titans. I want to go back and ask you again and see if you agree with me. And I even said it today, just a moment ago, about DeMarco Murray looking a little bit slow on Sunday. There were times when he would be taken down and he was slow to get up. I know age, obviously. He's not a young back anymore.

He's not the oldest guy, certainly. But I just feel like that toe injury is probably giving him a little bit more grief than he or the Titans want to let on. But certainly he is a player and a leader and a warrior and wants to go out and continue to play on it but I think perhaps as you said about Casey obviously he's a guy that the Titans on offense need to be that leader as well yeah absolutely I know you know you got Derrick Henry there who could come in if you need him to and did a good job in Sunday's ballgame, led the team with 60 yards rushing. But I think just the seasoned veteran that DeMarco Murray is,

I think the Titans would feel really good about having a healthy DeMarco Murray for the stretch run. And this bye week should be able to help him maybe, if not get past that foot injury, at least have a little bit of easier time dealing with it. I think Terry Robiskey said a couple weeks ago that Murray's foot injury is probably a little worse than he's letting on. Murray said a week or so ago that it's gradually getting better.

But it's one of those things, Greg, and you know how this is. When you have some sort of nagging injury, not a serious injury, but some sort of nagging issue that you're trying to play through, every time you go out there and you play on it, you aggravate it a little bit, you make it sore again, you make it hurt again. Maybe you're not doing a whole lot more damage to it, but by not resting it, it's not getting the proper care that it needs in terms of being able to heal up. Having this week off is probably going to allow Murray to get a little bit closer to

being healthy and be able to come back for these final four games stronger and maybe a little bit faster and maybe a little bit more zipped than he showed yesterday. Moving on to fourth down, our subject, Marcus Mariota, and the numbers that this guy is putting up this season, Terry, already 25 touchdown passes for him on the year. He is closing in on 3,000 yards. If he gets that mark, and he should based on the pace that he's been on, he will become the first Titan since 2011, Matt Hasselbeck,

to pass the 3,000-yard mark. And he's also closing in on a record or a mark of Warren Moons in the all-time list. And when you can put your name next to Warren Moon in any category with a team, you're saying something about that particular player. Right. You know, you're talking about a couple of milestones, 30 touchdowns. The only two quarterbacks in franchise history, both when they were the Houston Oilers, George Blanda and Warren Moon,

a couple of Hall of Famers, are the only ones in the team's history to have more than 30 touchdown passes in a season. Mariota just needs five more to join them. As far as the 3,000 passing yard mark, all he needs to do is get out of bed Sunday against, you know, a week from Sunday against Denver, and he's got that. He needs two yards. The bigger thing is could he go for 4,000?

He needs 1,002, obviously, to reach that number. He's got four games left to do it. That's just a little bit over 250 yards a game. Certainly, you know, right there around the average number that he's been putting up this season. I think he's putting up an average of somewhere around 249 yards, so he would be only slightly above his average to get to 4,000 yards, which would be incredible considering where this team has been in terms of trying to find a quarterback.

To have a kid throw for 4,000 or close to 4,000 yards in just his second season would certainly lead you to think that he's going to solidify the quarterback position here for a long, long time. Absolutely, and getting to 4,000 yards and even at 3,000 yards, if he gets to the 30-touchdown mark, I would think he would be in the running and in pretty good shape to get a free trip to go home to Hawaii to play in the Pro Bowl. Yeah, I think the Pro Bowl may actually be in Orlando this year. Okay.

He may get to go somewhere that he hasn't been as often as opposed to his home state of Hawaii. But certainly when you look at the quarterbacks in the AFC, obviously Tom Brady, the name that's always at the top of the list, but a lot of times veteran guys and especially guys who have a shot to make the Super Bowl, which the Patriots and Brady certainly do again, that's a situation where they may decline or may not be available if they are in the Super Bowl, then you start to look at the other names that would come up there. Derek Carr having a fantastic year with the Oakland Raiders. And then you look at the names that are traditional, you know, names that you think of as the top quarterbacks in the AFC, like Andrew Luck, Phillip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger.

Mariota certainly on par with the numbers that they have put up. So certainly in the running to be considered for the Pro Bowl this year. Time for our final thoughts on the day. Terry, your final thought for this Tuesday edition. Well, I'm going to go back to the Parrish Cox situation. the Parrish Cox situation. You know, I think, you know, it's interesting that here's this team in the middle of a race for the division crown. You know, as mediocre as the division is,

they're right there in the thick of things. And it's a gutsy move to pull the plug on a veteran guy who has been a starting cornerback and occasionally has made some decent plays for this team. It's a gutsy move to say that this guy is not getting it done, and it sends a message to everybody in that locker room that if your performance is not up to snuff, that your job may not be long for this team

because the message is they're going to build a winner and they're going to put the 53 best players that they think they can find out on the field. And it doesn't matter what your status is, doesn't matter what your past accomplishments are. If you're not getting it done, then you're in danger of being moved on from. My final thought tomorrow, Wednesday, the Wednesday edition of Locked on Titans will be our final edition for the week. Obviously, with the bye week this week, there's no way we can do our Friday prediction show.

The team's going to get a little rest. We're going to get a few days off, and so our show today and then tomorrow will be the final. There will be no Thursday and Friday edition of Locked On Titans this week. Wanted to go ahead and put that out today so our listeners would know in advance. We'll again remind you on the Wednesday edition to let you know that there will be no Thursday and Friday show this week. We will return next Monday as we prepare then for the Titans game versus Kansas City. That'll do it for us today.

Brad, will you rejoin us on Wednesday for the final edition this week? Have a great rest of the day, and we'll see you Wednesday. Locked on Titans. You are a Locked on Titan. Your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Your team every day.