Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans- Nov. 3- Thursday brings Players & Coaches Corner

Episode Date: November 3, 2016

It's Thursday which means that we go with our Players Corner, Coaches Corner & 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 with your host, Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, Greg Arias and former Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl left tackle Brad Hopkins. It is Thursday, Terry, which means just you and I today for the show. We've got a lot of things to get to. As always on Thursdays, we have our players and the coaches corner segments

where we talk about comments made by the opponents. This week it will be Phillip Rivers, the San Diego Charger quarterback, and head coach Mike McCoy. Of course, the Titans face them on Sunday afternoon out in San Diego. But as always, current news to lead off the show, and Terry, it again revolves around the injury front for the Titans and some guys that were limited, some guys that were held out, some guys that could be returning to the Titans roster.

And let's start with DeMarco Murray, who was limited today in practice. Yeah, they held him out in some respects. They limited him because it was a full pad practice, and he's dealing a little bit with the foot injury, so they didn't want to put him in harm's way any more than they had to. The only guy who was out of practice was Quentin Spain, and then one more guy, linebacker Aaron Wallace, who has a sprained shoulder, they limited him as well since it was a full contact practice. The good news, perhaps, if you are the Titans on the injury front,

is that of cornerback Parrish Cox, who looks set Terry to return. He practiced today. He has not passed his test to remove himself from the concussion protocol. Once he does that, he will be fully cleared and be able to come back. Of course, he sat out last Thursday night in the win over Jacksonville, but that certainly is good news to have him back in the secondary so that the Titans have a full complement of players, if you will, in that particular area. Right. He is due to get out of concussion protocol if he could pass the baseline test, which they administer after he goes through a full practice.

So I would assume that that would be sometime this evening or in the morning. So it's interesting that, you know, if they can get Parrish Cox back, you're right, it will give them the full complement of players in the secondary back because it looks like Rashad Johnson is going to be back as well. I'm going to put you on the spot here. And obviously you and I have neither one, or I should say I don't. I've never had it.

I don't think you have the baseline concussion test. Do we have any idea what that is that they do to the players to assure that they are well enough recovered from the concussion to return to the field? I think they ask them a series of questions before they ever get started when they first report to the team that each player has asked that, and I think the answers and the responses have to match up. You have to, you know, it has to match up, and you have to know what it is once you've suffered a concussion

so that you're back to normal, as they say, as far as your memory and as far as your symptoms go. So, in other words, mom's maiden name, where was your father born, what year did the Civil War start? My assumption is those sorts of things are probably some of the items that would be up for, you know, being asked. Well, that's certainly interesting, and maybe you and I should go out and get – no, let's don't do that.

Don't want to go get a concussion. Yeah, let's not do that. That is good news when we look at the injury report, though, that we are limited certainly to that at this point once again after being pretty banged up last week and having a couple guys miss and some other guys that were questionable going in. So the Titans getting at least a little bit healthy. Any news on Quentin Spain and when potentially he could return,

even though he still has not practiced? Well, they had hoped to have him back practicing this week. They said he was advancing and progressing a little bit quicker than they had initially thought. But he wasn't out there today, so my guess is that he is probably going to be held out for at least another day or so. He may get on the practice field to do a little bit of work here or there, but I think most likely you're looking maybe at next week

before he can really have a serious chance of playing again. Yeah, because even if he gets out on the practice field and practices one day, and with the Titans going on Friday, flying out, that will be just a short practice. He would not be probably in condition for one, and second of all, have enough reps with the game plan for this week to be effective. So that would certainly limit him. And even so, do you really want to rush him back in that? Would it be best, obviously, to give him a few more days to get over it?

Because Brian Schwinke has played well in that spot. You've got Dennis Kelly. You've got Sebastian Tritola. Some guys that you can stick in there if need be and just give him a little bit more time to fully recover, even more so than what he probably already is. Yeah, I would think that you'd want to err on the side of caution here. The Lions still played pretty well with Brian Schwinke stepping in last week, and I would think that you would probably want to err on the side of caution

with Clinton Spain, make sure he's fully healthy before you put him back out there. I want to go back to one more thing on the DeMarco Murray situation, Terry, before we move on into our next segment. Obviously, Murray listed as limited today. They don't think it's anything serious. Did he talk about the injury today after practice and say anything about how he was feeling or what was going on, or was that something that really wasn't mentioned with him?

Well, Mike Malarkey addressed it saying that he expects Murray's workload to increase as the week goes on. Murray usually does his once-a-week interview on Thursday, so we'll get a chance to talk to him later today. So I think when you look at it, I would expect that Murray's going to play. I would expect that he'll be fine. He went through the individual drill in the open part of practice and seemed okay. I think they're just erring on the side of caution, once again,

simply for the fact that they had a padded practice today and they didn't want to risk anything. And, of course, the luxury that the Titans have, if DeMarco Murray, for some reason, wasn't able to go, you've got Derrick Henry sitting there on the bench, fully capable, 100%, and ready to step in and take his spot if need be. So that certainly is a luxury that the Titans have at this point in time to keep that running game that has been so effective up and moving.

Yeah, and I think that's partly one of the reasons that they drafted Derrick Henry in the first place, because they want to be a running team, and they wanted to have a feature back, and if anything happened to that feature back, obviously it's to Marco Murray right now, they would have Derrick Henry ready to step in and carry the load.

You're listening to Locked On Titans on the Locked On Podcast Network. Football is back, and SeatGeek is the smartest, easiest way to find tickets for the games you want to see up close and in person this season. There's nothing like being in the stadium for the biggest games of the year and SeatGeek, it's never easier to get the seats you want at a great value. SeatGeek has the best deal on every ticket in the house, wherever you want to sit, whether it's the 50-yard line, the club seats, even in the upper level.

I have the SeatGeek app on my phone, and it's by far the easiest way I've found to shop for tickets. Yes, I have the app, and yes, I've used it. I can be anywhere, and with just a few taps, I can instantly find seats for this weekend or any game this season. With SeatGeek, you always get the best deal on every ticket because SeatGeek price compares for you by searching multiple ticket sites. Prices can vary depending on where you shop, but SeatGeek will

always find you the lowest available prices. And SeatGeek wants to help you get the most bang for your bucks. That's why every ticket on SeatGeek is given a grade based on value. You'll immediately see any underpriced seats and be able to find the best deals that fit your budget. Plus, every ticket you buy on SeatGeek is backed by their 100% guarantee. Best of all, our listeners get a $20 rebate off their first SeatGeek purchase. What do you have to do to get it? It's simple. Download the SeatGeek app, go to the settings tab,

and click add a promo code. Enter the promo code LOTITANS, and Seat Geek will send you $20 after you've made your first ticket purchase. Download the Seat Geek app and enter the promo code LOTITANS today. Terry, moving along, it's time for our Players Corner segment where we look into a comment from the opposing team. And this week it comes from Phillip Rivers, the San Diego quarterback who has tortured the Titans in his career.

And his comment today talking about the Titans' defense and in particular Dick LeBeau, who he has faced obviously in the past, LeBeau at Pittsburgh. But Rivers' comment was this. Obviously, it resembles a lot of the great defenses. You can see how hard they play, like all of Dick LeBeau's past defenses. They're kind of built the same way. They've got two really good edge rushers.

It's a stout front seven and an active secondary. It's a good team. That's the comment of Phillip Rivers on the Tennessee Titans defense. Yeah, I think Dick LeBeau, the amount of respect that people have for him around the league is pretty obvious. Even a guy like Phillip Rivers, who is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, he knows that Dick LeBeau will have something out there to challenge him on Sunday and make him have to readjust and think and decide where he's going to go with the football. I think the respect that opposing coaches and quarterbacks have for Dick LeBeau is pretty much expressed on a weekly basis on those conference calls,

and certainly Phillip River is no exception to that. Now, here's my question, Terry, about this Titans defense with Rivers. San Diego has a pretty good offensive line. They're maybe not the best in the NFL, but it's certainly not a bad offensive line. Can the Titans generate enough pressure to affect Phillip Rivers and sack Phillip Rivers, something that they've not done a lot of in the last several meetings with these guys. Well, I think

that's the plan. I think that's what they have to do. They have to get creative to do it. But I think in order to slow down the Chargers on offense, I think, and as Phillip Rivers goes, so go the Chargers, I think they're going to have to try and get some sort of pressure on him.

Even if they don't sack him, they're going to have to force him off his spot, make him readjust, and maybe throw off his timing. I think that all those things combined, maybe even if you don't sack him, if you can get in his face and harass him, you maybe can throw him off his game just a little bit. My concern with this is the fact that Phillip Rivers is a guy that really likes to throw to the tight end. And, Terry, we know and have made this comment many times in the past that tight ends have been an Achilles heel for Titans defenses,

and we can't really figure out why. But if the Titans allow the tight end to be a big factor in this game, Phillip Rivers will certainly pick them apart with that. Oh, there's no doubt about it. They're going against one of the best to ever play the game in Antonio Gates. Even though he's really more of a spot player now and not a guy that plays every snap because he's 36 years old, he can still create damage as he did last week against the Denver Broncos,

catching a touchdown for the Chargers at that game. I think, you know, the Titans' problem, you know, defending the Titans, whether it's with a linebacker or safety, well documented, but as well, the, you know, the Titans are going to have to know where Antonio Gates is every snap when he's on the field. It's certainly going to be a challenge. The San Diego running game has improved.

It's not at the top of the league, obviously. It's not the Titans' running game, but they are very capable. And certainly if the Titans are able, and I think they will be able to hold San Diego's running game in check, putting the pressure on Phillip Rivers, he's certainly a guy, a very experienced veteran, capable of handling that pressure and capable of being able to put the game on Phillip Rivers. He's certainly a guy, a very experienced veteran, capable of handling that pressure and capable of being able to put the game on his shoulders

and win the football game. So as you said, they have got to do something to affect this guy. They've got to get in his face. They've got to hit him. I would prefer sacks. And then, of course, as I said yesterday in our final thought, if the Titans can run the football effectively as well, that means they're eating up clock and keeping the ball out of his hands.

He obviously can't hurt you when he's sitting on the bench. Exactly, and I think that's what they're going to have to try and do. You know, as they say, the best defense is a good offense, and if the Titans can win the time of possession and limit Phillip Rivers' chances to hurt them, then obviously they're going to be in a much better position to try and win the ballgame. Let's move along to our Coach's Corner segment,

and in that we hear from head coach Mike McCoy of the San Diego Chargers, and Terry, I went looking through his comments to find something, and most of the time obviously we talk about either a particular player or a unit offensively or defensively where the other coach is talking about the Titans' offense, the Titans' defense, this, that, or the other. But, you know, there's a subplot to this game with Ken Wisenhunt, the former Titans head coach that was fired midseason last year. He is back in San Diego as the offensive coordinator.

Also former Titan Dexter McCluster signed and is with the San Diego Chargers. So they will face those guys this weekend. But McCoy talking about Ken Wisenhunt and what his return has meant as coordinator of this Chargers offense. Ken was here in 2013 with us and did such a great job then. So it was an easy transition with him coming back. You know you change and your personnel change on the team. A number of players have left since he left.

It was great, though, to bring him back. His relationship with Phillip Rivers and some of the guys on the staff that have worked together and bringing John McNulty with him has been a very smooth transition, and I think he's done a great job. Of course, John McNulty, Terry, also a former Titan member of that staff that was let go with Wisenhunt when the change occurred. Right. I think when you talk about Ken Wisenhunt,

he leaves a pretty bad taste in the mouth of Titans fans given the lack of success that they had here. But it's going to be an interesting matchup, going against the guy who was the previous head coach here, going against a guy who knows your system, knows a lot of your players, knows how you operate, and that sort of thing because he was there and was a part of it. I guess it's reciprocated because the Titans obviously know

Ken Wisenhut's tendencies as well. So it's going to be an interesting matchup in that regard simply for the fact that these two sides know each other so well. The Titans knowing Wisenhut, Wisenhut knowing them. Is there any advantage in that with each side knowing each other? And perhaps the Titans may be having a little bit of the better of it in the fact that they were actually coached by this guy for a little over a season while there have been some personnel changes certainly from his time here.

So is there an advantage in that for the Titans or is it just something that's there for speculation and talk? Well, we asked Mike Malarkey that today, and he felt it was a wash, the fact that the Titans know Wisenhut, but Wisenhut knows the Titans, and that some things have changed here in the time that he left. So I think it's probably a wash. There might be a little bit of an advantage here or there because you know a guy's tendencies. You know maybe what he wants to call on 37 from his own 43.

So, you know, that's the sort of thing maybe that you can use to your advantage, but by and large it's probably a wash. One thing's for certain, Terry, there will be some guys that will get an opportunity to get revenge on their former coach, if you will, the defensive guys, certainly. And I'm not saying there was any ill will or hard feelings, but you know these guys are going to want to go out and play and stop that offense because he's the guy pulling the triggers and calling the plays for it.

Yeah, that's true. I think, you know, it's going to be interesting just to see this matchup, you know, unfold, you know, Wisenhut versus the Titans and the Titans versus him, I think when you look at it, it's probably one that nobody's going to say it is, but it's probably one that Wisenhut has had circled on his calendar for a while. Oh, I would think certainly he would, and obviously added motivation for him having just been fired by this organization from a head

coaching position something that he desperately wanted and worked hard to earn after his days in arizona going back and becoming an offensive coordinator and going through the process again of building himself up to get to that head coaching spot and then unceremoniously after just a year and right right at a half, then being dumped. So certainly motivation on his part, I would think. Yeah, I would definitely think so. Terry, this is something that we don't talk a lot about on this show, special teams. We certainly have talked about the Titans special teams,

but when I look at this game, I think the Titans, the special teams rather, could play a pivotal role in this game, I think the Titans, the special teams rather, could play a pivotal role in this game. I think San Diego has a little bit of an advantage with their kick and punt return games when you look at the numbers and what they've done so far. Not spectacular, but they're averaging more and their starting field position they're leaving their offense with is better than that that the Titans are getting at this point in time, and that could be critical in this ballgame.

Yeah, it really could. You know, a lot of these games come down to a play here or there, and one of the things that's kind of hidden in that is special teams and starting field position, that sort of thing. A good punt coverage team, which the Titans have not been for a lot of the year, can really help you. It can help you flip the field. It can help you keep a team at bay because they may be limited in what they can call

when they're operating out of the shadow of their own goalpost. I think special teams will play a big role in this ballgame for both teams. Like you said, the Chargers probably have a little bit of an advantage just because of the struggle the Titans have had there in finding consistency this year. Is there any chance that we potentially see Trey McBride get some opportunities to return to maybe jumpstart the return game just a little bit? I would think that if Trey McBride is up and active on Sunday, he would most likely be as a gunner on special teams

and to be able to help with some of those coverage units. I don't think he's going to supplant Mark Mariani as the punter kickoff returner just yet. I think while Mariani hasn't had any outstanding returns or anything like that, I think it's a situation where he has been steady enough that they won't take him out of that role and chance it with somebody that's maybe not quite as tested and as much of a veteran as he is.

We are counting down towards the end of the program again today, Terry. And as always, we close with final thoughts. Your final thoughts on this Thursday edition. Well, my final thought is going to be there's an interesting matchup that if you're a Big Ten fan, you'll find particularly interesting.up that uh if you're a big 10 fan you'll find

particularly interesting and that's uh joey bosa chargers uh fine rookie uh defender plays some at defensive end some at outside linebacker they move him around a lot people already comparing it to jay jay watt and i think uh you know it's gonna be interesting because he's gonna be going against a lot of the time a couple of guys that he knows well, new in college. Jack Conklin, who played at Michigan State, battled him three years, I believe. And Taylor LeJuan, who said that he went against Joey Bosa one year when LeJuan was at Michigan and Bosa at Ohio State. Certainly that could be something to watch in this ballgame.

When I look at this matchup, Terry, I look at this as Phillip Rivers versus the Titans secondary, and the Titans secondary has won some, they have lost some. They've played a little bit better over the last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but in part because a lot of passes early on in the game, Blake Bortles struggled to hit his marks. When you look at the numbers, though, even though they played better in that game,

they still managed to give up over 300 yards and have done that three consecutive weeks. Phillip Rivers certainly knows that. He is a veteran. He is a guy that is capable of throwing for 300 or 400 yards against you. And I think that the matchup this week comes down to me for the Titans secondary they have to be able to come back play good defense now they have to get some help obviously in the pass rush to affect Rivers but they can't allow guys to be running free in this secondary they've got to have

their best game of the season against one of the better quarterbacks that they're going to face if the Titans are going to have a chance to win this game. That's my final thought for today. Remind everybody, of course, Brad joins us again on Friday where we will talk about the matchup and give you our final predictions on the game, who's going to win in San Diego come Sunday when the Titans face the Chargers. Until then, have a great rest of the day.

We'll see you on Friday. You're listening to Locked on Titans on the Locked on Podcast Network. You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day.