Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On TItans- Oct. 26- Special Prediction Edition, who wins & why.

Episode Date: October 26, 2016

It's a short week for the Titans as they host Jacksonville on Thursday night. We go WOAS, analysis & predictions. #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, your daily source for all Titans news and information with your host Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com, Greg Arias and former Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl left tackle Brad Hopkins. It is Wednesday. We've got a lot of stuff to cover today, guys.

Welcome, as always, Brad being back with us on this Wednesday. Terry McCormick, of course, is always here as well. And guys, we've had to change the format of the show a little bit from what we normally do on Wednesdays because of the short week. Of course, the Titans play Thursday night versus Jacksonville here at home. So rather than our normal routine, we will do our current news as always. We'll have our What Others Are Saying segment. We'll do some game analysis and then get into our predictions

on who's going to win that game on Thursday night. Terry, obviously, as we start the current news today, it's on the injury front where three Titans players were held out yesterday and three others very limited in their practice as they prepare for this short week in Jacksonville on Thursday night. Yeah, two of the three that were out I don't think are any surprise. Quentin Spain and Parrish Cox are not going to play in this Thursday night game because of injuries they sustained in Sunday's loss to the Colts.

The third one is Rashad Johnson, who has some stiffness in his neck, not able to practice. They'll make a decision on his status sometime later today. And then the other guys who were limited, they're also going to be kind of game-time decisions or made that decision later today. That's linebacker Kevin Dodd, who is still nursing the foot injury. Wide receiver Tajay Sharp, who came up with a knee sprain out of the game and was limited. And then the other guy, DeMarco Murray,

he was held out just to rest from the beating and the banging that goes on in the course of games on a short week. They just gave him the day off, so he will go, which is good news for the Titans. But the others, they'll have to be monitored to see exactly which ones will be on the active roster tomorrow night and which ones might be held out as precautions. I like the fact that there's a vote of confidence for Brian Swinke from a lot of guys, even

to Michael Murray himself, who references the experience that Brian has in this offense and the fact that he can play multiple positions in the interior of that offensive line. Also, I like what Mike Malarkey was saying about this being a short week, guys. They're able to get that terrible loss from Sunday out of their mouths as they prepare for the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that they actually beat last time they actually came together. So pretty confident that the Titans can get it done. Basically, another team that's below.500.

But guess what? The Titans are below.500 as well, trying to get to that.500 mark, and we'll see what happens tomorrow night. Absolutely. And it's amazing, guys, and certainly, Brad, you played the game, how quickly things can change. A week ago we were sitting here on a Wednesday prior to the Colts game talking about how healthy the Titans are.

And then in just one short week, we look at three guys potentially being out and some more certainly, with the exception of DeMarco Murray, just resting, that are banged up. And even if they play, might not be 100%. Yeah, this is the time of the year. And, Terry, you can talk about this, where basically every roster is pretty much full of training room people. You know what I'm saying?

People are trying to get little nicks and bruises and things taken care of, but that's what this part of the season is about. It's about maintaining. Sure, the healthiest team would be probably the most successful team to this point, but it seems like every team is probably dealing with injury issues. I mean, it's probably just par for the course for the R.A. now, Terry. Yeah, I would agree with that, Brad.

I think, you know, when you look at injuries, you know, the teams that are able to weather the storm as far as injuries, not have too many serious ones and be able to plug and play guys in that next man up philosophy are the ones that usually have the most success. You know, to me, you know, you mentioned Brian Schwinke being able to step in. He's a veteran. I think they'll be able to get by, you know, for a couple of games

with putting Spain out because of his experience. The bigger concern to me is what do they do in the second there. They were already a little bit suspect back there, even with Parrish Cox as the starter. With him out of the mix, you're looking at Bryce McCain, Antoine Blake, and Cody Riggs probably as your other three corners opposite Jason McCourty to man two of those spots, one being on the outside, one being the nickel.

It's going to be interesting to see how those guys can hold up Thursday night because the one thing the Jacksonville Jaguars do have is weapons in the passing game. You've got Allen Robinson, Allen Hearns, and tight end Julius Thomas. You've got Marquise Lee playing in the slot. So Blake Bortles has some weapons. And with the Titans being down a man in the secondary, that could be problematic for Tennessee if they're not able to mask the issues that they have back there in that back four.

Now, guys, let me throw this out to you and get your opinion. Cody Riggs has certainly been out for a couple of weeks with an injury, was not active last week as well. And I feel like that certainly we've seen Valentino Blake and we've seen Bryce McCain, and we kind of know what those guys are. They certainly have their limitations. I'm of the thought process, if I'm Mike Malarkey and Dick LeBeau, that maybe I give Riggs a shot at starting on the outside,

let those guys continue to play their role and see what we can get. You can always move one of those guys out if Riggs struggles, but that's kind of where I would look at. Let's get the young guy in there and see what he can do. Well, that's a situation where I guess they probably have a little bit more of a trust factor with McCain and Blake just simply for the fact that they have more experience. But I'm kind of with you. I wouldn't mind seeing Cody Riggs get some snaps. I do think that the Titans now, at least in the defense, is part of things. I know Riggs has

been a guy that's made his mark on specialties. I think they now view him as more of a nickel type of guy. So even if he's in there, I think it's probably going to be in a nickel package or some kind of dime package rather than being out on the outside. And I think that probably works to his advantage because he's not a very big guy. He's about 5'9", 180 pounds, and you certainly don't want him getting picked on by a big target like Alan Hearns on the outside. Yeah, I also think that maybe the rotation that Dick LeBeau was trying to get into last week with having multiple guys play multiple spots,

it kind of lends in their favor when you're talking about injuries being paramount. Guys that don't normally get a chance to be in that rotation now will see the field, providing some depth and a little bit more experience as the season progresses. That way you don't have to rely on one person particularly, especially if injury situations continue to amass. This team can actually have guys that have actually been in the fold and understand exactly what it's like to be in a game-time situation. So it might play well for those guys.

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It talks about Marcus Mariota and having taken a step back in year two. And, guys, let me give you just a little bit of what they've said in this article because it obviously focuses on Mariota, but they talk about the additions of DeMarco Murray in the trade and Derrick Henry. And it says those two players alone would have done a lot to lift the running game, but the Titans have suddenly happened upon the best offensive line in the game over the first six weeks of the season. So basically what they're doing, guys, is kind of laying the struggles of the offense at the feet of Marcus Mariota, saying he's gotten the protection, he has the running

game, perhaps maybe the receivers have not been as good as some other teams could be, but a lot of this is on Marcus. Do we buy into that train of thought here? Well, Doyle Green Beckham scored a touchdown this past weekend. If that's any sort of indictment about anything. I am a huge Marcus Murray fan. Let me go on record in saying that. But I also understand that sometimes simple carelessness

has been part of his problem this year. He's fifth in the league in turnovers committed. I think it's like nine of them, as a matter of fact. Six of them have been interceptions, three fumbles. But ironically, three of those turnovers have been turned into touchdowns by the other team. So not only has he given the ball back to them on occasion, but he's also allowed them to score, which obviously can't help when you're trying to chase above 500 records. So I like the fact that Mike Malarkey still wants him to be aggressive,

doesn't want him to be conservative or start thinking about the things that are actually plaguing him, and that's the only way that he can actually get out of this funk. But this is, in my opinion, the perfect example of a sophomore slump. Yeah, I would agree with that some. I also want to take this a step further. I think part of the reason that Marcus is struggling is that, and I think he was struggling in relative terms because you look at the overall numbers, they're still pretty good,

but it's when the problems have happened and on occasion how badly some of the misses have been on his passes. I think part of this is you've got to remember he's got almost a whole new set of receivers, and he's learning a new system. And I think when I look at this Titans offense, I go back to the way things were, Brad, when you played back in 1999 and 2000 and the early part of 2001. The Titans are built similarly to how those teams were built.

Eddie George and the offensive line were the guys who were meant to carry the load on that side of the ball, and they were responsible for grinding it out, controlling the clock, won a lot of games 20-16, and that sort of thing. Steve McNair at that time was still feeling his way around the offense. Everybody knew that he'd been a dynamic playmaker in college, but he was still learning the game at the NFL level. And it wasn't until Eddie George started to wear down in 2001, 2002, that Mike Heimerdinger convinced Jeff Fisher to hand the keys of the offense

to Steve McNair, that he was ready to take that next step as a quarterback. Steve was already five to six years into his career. Marcus is only in his second year. So it's no wonder that the Titans don't want to put too much of the offensive burden on him. Let the Marco Murray and the offensive line handle the bulk of the load. Let Marcus be a complementary piece, even though he's the quarterback, and let him grow into the role.

I think as time goes on and he learns and he cuts down on the mistakes, I think you'll see Marcus gradually start to take more of a responsibility in the offense. It may not be this year. It may not be next year, but I think it will happen. I like his development in the offense. May not be this year. May not be next year, but I think it will happen. I like his development in this offense. I think that he brings a diversity that should be well-warranted as far as what they're trying to do. But the mistakes have been the only thing in my problem

that have hindered this offense because they've been able to move the football. DeMarco Murray has three 100-yard games. We haven't had a 100-yard rusher here since Chris Johnson before this season. And also we're talking about an offensive line that's protecting well nowadays, like the national perspective has been talking about. As a matter of fact, they've been providing run support for probably, I think it's the second-ranked rushing defense, rushing offense in the league. So where are the problems?

The problems are in giving the football and contributing to the turnover margin, of which we have not been able to come out on top of. So when Marcus takes care of the football and doesn't give – let's think about that. Think about Marcus not giving the football back to the Colts in that last drive with two minutes to go. What an opportunity they would have had to do something they hadn't done in ten tries, which is beat the Colts. Simple mistakes have plagued this team, and he has to be better about it, period. Absolutely.

And the article does go on to say, guys, it's not all on Marcus. Some of it obviously has to do with the receivers and the fact that they don't get great separation. Now, they did pick up just a bit with the return of Kendall Wright, but he even was kind of missing in action, if you will. Didn't have a good game on Sunday against the Colts, he's certainly going to have to step up and have a better game on Thursday night for the Titans to have a chance to win. Let's move on. Well, guess what? He gets an opportunity to do that because, you know, Marcus Mariota has thrown 12 touchdowns and six interceptions,

but I guess he's thrown more interceptions. Blake Bortles, he's thrown nine. So it should be a good opportunity for that defense to feast off that and give him the ball back, meaning Marcus Mariota, and have him do something with it. Guys, when we look at this game, and Terry and I, Brad, talked about it yesterday and want to get your input on it today, this is really a must-win for the Titans.

This team can't afford to fall to 3-5 against an opponent, and you just mentioned one of the key stats in this matchup, the Blake Bortles interception and the fact that Jacksonville turns the football over at a much higher rate than even the Titans do with the mistakes that they've made. This is must-win, though, isn't it? They've got to find a way to win this game against Jacksonville, get back to that 500 mark at 4-4, and then kind of let the chips fall and play out through the rest of the season.

But 3-5 right now is almost a death knell for this team, isn't it? I think that when you look at this team and what they need to do, obviously getting off the snide of losing in a heartbreaking fashion like they did last week, it would only help them to come out with a W, but it would also completely derail their development if they were to lose to a below 500 team hosting them on what would be a national stage. There are far more implications there than just simply going, you know,

three and five. The fact that you've lost to a team that actually creates more turnovers than you have and is not playing very well right now. The one thing that they do do well is keep the football. They're first in the league in time of possession. Adversely, the Titans are 29th. So I think that, you know, what they're going to have to do is rely on one of the strengths of the Titans this year,

is that they're third in sacks. They need to give Brian Arakbo, Derek Morgan, all those guys that rushed the edge to make Blake Boros uncomfortable so that we can put the ball in the air and our secondary can come down with it, giving it back to Muriel to give them opportunities to score, Terry. Yeah, I think you're exactly right, Brad. I think both of these teams have their flaws. Both of these teams have their strengths. I think this is just the type of game that both of them have to win it

if they're going to stay in this AFC South race. And at the end of Thursday night, one of these teams is going to be looking and going, what's happened to our season? And the other one is going to be looking with some hope, saying, hey, we're right in the middle of this. This game and this matchup, to me, and as we get set here momentarily to make our predictions, comes down to a couple of things, and I think they're pretty simple things for the Titans. Possession of the football, take care of the football, do not turn it over and run the

football. I think they can do both those things. They certainly want to do those things. I think we see DeMarco Murray have a big game in this. We might even see Derrick Henry get a few more carries in this as they try to just grind on this team and keep the football out of Marcus's hands, so to speak, in the sense that they try to win this game without it being on his shoulders to do so, so that he maybe doesn't feel the pressure of a last-second drive against the Colts or two-minute drive that have to come back and try to win from behind. Is that something that you guys see as part of probably what they're going to try to do in this one?

I think that's something they like to do just about every week, get the running game going and not have to put all of it on Marcus' shoulders. But that said, Marcus has had some of his best games against the Jaguars, including last year when he had that 87-yard run to clinch the win at Nissan Stadium, the only time the Titans won at home all last season. So I think they're going to try to balance it out. They're going to try to run the football and control the clock, but they're going to pick their spot, I think they're going to try to balance it out. They're going to try to run the football and control the clock, but they're going to pick their spot.

I think it takes some shots with Marcus in the passing game. The only way that you can actually lose ballgames while you control the line of scrimmage is by losing the plus-minus ratio. I keep saying that over and over again because it is, unbelievably, the reason why the Titans are losing. They're third in the league in sacks. They rushed the football in the top five, so they can control the line of scrimmage on either side.

But why are they not winning consistently? Because they're giving the other team opportunities to score. If they don't give the defense an opportunity to score, this team, in my opinion, wins by two touchdowns, especially against a team that has played with turnovers more so than the one that we're talking about right now. So they just have to cut down on the mistakes, stop the mental errors, and this team led by Mike Malarkey will do some pretty good things, I think.

Brad, you gave us a hint as to where perhaps you're leaning with your prediction. It's time for us to make our predictions. Go ahead and tell us who's going to win and what your score is. Terry, I'll go first. There's no reason why this team on a national spotlight, the only one it's going to have this year, this team won't be featured on Monday night. To take advantage of an inept team, you know,

wearing crazy-colored jerseys, and to bring some excitement to this program. You get the bad taste out of your mouth of losing to the Colts and Andrew Luck. It actually gets you moving at.500 in the right direction. And I really see this team winning by 10 points, let's just say 31-21, if the Titans don't turn it over. Terry. Brad, I think you're on the right track.

I think it's going to be a high-scoring game, and here's why. I think on a short week with both teams kind of beat up, I think the offense has had the advantage. I think, you know, defenses are tired because defenses have to chase people around and they don't know exactly where they're going to go. They've got an idea, but they don't know exactly where a guy's going to go on a pass route or what hole he's going to hit, that sort of thing. The offense is, I think, having an advantage when both teams are tired.

That said, I think the Titans, like you said, if they can avoid the turnovers, I think they'll win this football game. I'm going to say 34-30 Titans in a shootout. Wow, guys, I agree with a lot of things both of you said. Obviously, you're spot on in what you're talking about here. My thing for the Titans, and I said it a moment ago when I said run the football, I also think they've got to do a little bit more with Marcus in some of those design runs that we saw

against Cleveland. We didn't see that against the Colts. I don't mean run him every play. I don't think he's got to have 10 to 15 carries for this team to have an opportunity to win, but I think he is more effective as a passer when they do some of those design runs, getting him to the outside, showing the defense what this guy can do. They already know it, but to see it in the course of the game and him hurting them with his legs makes them even more conscious of him. And then I think it perhaps cuts down a little bit on some of the guys that come rushing just as hard upfield because they know, hey, if we miss him and give him a seam, he can be out and gone.

And again, as in last year, 87 yards for a touchdown. So I think they have to run him just a little bit. Give him three or four runs early on in the game. Get him moving around a little bit. Get the blood pumping. Get something positive happening for him himself and not just the run game where he's handing off to DeMarco Murray and gaining yards. Run the football. Make some plays when you have to, take care of the football.

The Titans win this one. I'm going 28-21 Titans in a winner on this one. It's time for the final thoughts. Brad, lead us off on those. Get the crowd involved. This is a crowd that is just almost over the tipping edge as far as really buying into this team. A convincing win on a Thursday night would be phenomenal for the city, and I think it would reunite them, basically.

When you talk about the deficient record at home, taking care of the Jaguars, a below 500 team on national television, would be the best thing for the Titans right now. Get the crowd involved. Keep them in early and let them last 60 minutes. My final thought on this, Greg, is something Brad alluded to earlier with Blake Borles having nine interceptions.

The Titans could be without Rashad Johnson. Johnson, if he does play, probably won't be 100%. My guy to keep an eye on in my final thought, Kevin Byard, the rookie from MTSU. He was a ball-hawking safety in college, had 19 career interceptions, played more than had trouble throwing the ball to the other team, including several times in the red zone. Watch out for Kevin Byard making a big play at this ball game for the Titans defense.

My final thought, it's a must win. It's pretty simple. The Titans must win this football game. No matter what they have to do, be it throw the football, run the football, the defense score three touchdowns, whatever it takes, they have to find a way to win. I think it comes back again to running the

football, taking care of the football as we've said, getting some turnovers because Jacksonville will accommodate you in that sense. Guys, you made some great points. It's pretty simple. Just win, baby. That's what they've got to do. That's going to do it for us.

We'll see you on Thursday where we'll go a little bit more in-depth leading up to tomorrow night's kickoff with the Jaguars here in Nashville. Until then, have a great rest of the day. You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day.