Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Pro Bowl and Playoff Talk

Episode Date: December 20, 2017

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked On Titans. I am your host, Jimmy Morris. Joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, what's going on tonight? Not a whole lot. What's going on with you? Oh, not too much. Tonight, the big news, obviously, is the Pro Bowl rosters have been announced. So we'll get into that, and then we'll go through Titans playoff scenarios that have changed quite a bit in the last, you know, probably two or three weeks we've been doing this show. You know, two, three weeks ago it seemed like pretty much a shoe-in. The Titans were going to be able to make it.

Now every week, every loss against a bad team drops those chances a little bit more, and now they actually don't control their own destiny. So we'll talk a little bit about that in some different scenarios as far as that's concerned. But starting off, Titans got three players named in the Pro Bowl tonight. Taylor LeJuan named a starter. Jarrell Casey named a starter. And then Brett Kern is the punter.

So, you know, it's a big deal for this team to get three Pro Bowls. Listen, I'm not going to watch the Pro Bowl. I don't really care anything about it. But it's cool to, you know, have guys that are having good seasons get recognized. And people get all up in arms about who makes a Pro Bowl team and who doesn't, and I don't really get into that. But it's cool to see this team get three guys on the team because there have been years where the Titans had good teams,

had good players that deserved the recognition of being named to a Pro Bowl, and guys got completely left out and they get one or two players here or there. So, I mean, it's good that some of these guys are starting to get the national recognition that they deserve. And for a guy like Jarrell Casey, I said in the post on musicmyracles.com, you know, Casey's numbers, I mean, just as far as raw, you know, counting numbers that fans can look at a box score and see, I mean, his numbers are a little bit down this year.

He's still getting in the backfield. He's still making his presence known, creating pressures and that kind of stuff. But he hasn't had the sack numbers that he had in years past, at least not early in the season. So it's good to see him still get recognized in a year where just those box score numbers are not necessarily there. It shows the respect that he has around the league at this point. And then Brett Kern, I mean, cool to see him get there.

And he just seems like a good guy and, you know, does a lot of good stuff in the community and all those types of things. He's had a great year. You know, he should probably send a, you know, a fruit basket or whatever to Terry Rubisky, to Mike Malarkey, to Marcus Mariota. You know, part of the reason that he got recognition is because he's punted so much this year because the offense has been so bad.

So, you know, if things were different there, he's probably not on a lot of fans' minds or even guys in the league just because they wouldn't notice him as much if he didn't get as many opportunities as he does to punt in a game. Yeah, that was a surprise to me. I know Kern's been great, but I really didn't think, you know, a national audience would take note of that. But, like you said, it's pretty cool.

I thought Titans had legit gripes about Wesley Woodyard not getting in and Kevin Byard. Byard's probably just not a household name yet, and that's what it is. It's kind of a popularity contest along with how well you're playing. So I'm not going to get too bent out of shape about it. Pro Bowl means nothing to me. But those were two guys that I thought deserved some more recognition for what they've done.

Woodard's been the MVP of this defense. He's kind of in spots where the pass rush has struggled. Dick LeBeau has turned him loose up the middle, and he's made a huge difference. So Kevin Byard will get his time. He's only in his second year. He's still a relative unknown in the league. So as he improves and continues to gain more time in the league,

six picks already, if he keeps doing that, he'll go to plenty of Pro Bowls before his career is over. Yeah, and it does seem like it takes a year where guys should make the Pro Bowl before they actually do, in this market anyway. I don't think that's necessarily the case everywhere. But like you said, I mean, it is a popularity contest. And the weird thing is Kevin Byard won the fan voting.

So, you know, I thought after seeing that he was a shoo-in to make the team. But, you know, he to me is the most agreeable. And like you said, Wesley Woodard has been really good, but I don't think it's something that a lot of fans are going to take note of. And again, that's why I think you and I kind of agree here that it's not something that's worth getting all fired up about because this is a popularity contest more than anything else. One of my good friends in college used to get furious that Bruce Matthews made the Pro Bowl every year because at the end of his career, he was just making it on his name recognition. He wasn't still playing at that Pro Bowl every year because, you know, at the end of his career, he was just making it on his name recognition. You know, he wasn't still playing at that Pro Bowl level. But, again, that just kind of speaks to what it is.

And, you know, it's a cool thing for those guys to get to go. Not as cool, you know, when it's in Orlando versus being in Hawaii. And that probably takes away from the attractiveness for the players, at least a little bit, and their families. But still, it's good to get recognized for that type of stuff. And I'm sure some of these guys have incentives in their contracts and that kind of stuff. And I'm sure it's stuff that gets brought up in contract negotiations

for these guys. So cool for them to have that. A lot of times fans are up in arms about Delaney Walker not making it. And, look, if we're going to be realistic and talk about guys that have a legitimate beef for not being in the Pro Bowl, Delaney Walker's just not one of them this year. He's struggled in games. I mean, he dropped a touchdown pass last week, fumbled,

dropped another touchdown pass in an earlier game. And then when you look at the guys like Rob Gronkowski and Travis Kelsey, the numbers they put up week in and week out, they're going to make the Pro Bowl, and they should. Now, you can argue that Gronk, at least what he did in that Bills game, was garbage and that there should be some kind of repercussions from that, maybe even beyond just the one-game suspension that he got.

If you want to make that argument, fine, whatever. But if you're just talking about numbers, and that's what this is, numbers, they're not taking fans and or players who vote for this. They're not watching how well Delaney Walker blocks on a run play and grading him on his run blocking versus Gronkowski or Kelsey's run blocking to first selection to Pro Bowl. That's not how this works. You don't want blocking tight ends in a Pro Bowl.

That's not what that game is about even. So I think that if we're going to get upset about somebody not making the Pro Bowl, Delaney Walker is not the guy we need to be upset about. No, and you're not putting any offensive skill players on this team in the Pro Bowl. I mean, considering what the offense has done the past really two months of the season, it's just not an offense that's going to put up numbers. And that's what all of this is driven by. And you're talking about you know travis kelsey

and rob gromkowski ahead of him so he really had no chance uh which it sucks for him but then again he's taking a step back this year uh it hadn't been as consistent as he has been in the past so uh tough spot for him but you know like i said taylor one was probably the most deserving on this offense uh and probably the only one that really deserved to go. Yeah, and then I think I saw a list of alternates, and Conklin's on the list. We didn't find whatever. But Marcus Mariota is an alternative at quarterbacking.

Look, we've gotten accused of being too easy on Mariota at times. And, you know, maybe, I don't know, maybe rightfully so. But Marcus Mariota didn't start being a Pro Bowl this year. I mean, come on. But if you remember back to, like, Vince Young's rookie year, he got to go to the Pro Bowl that year, and he was, like, the sixth alternative or something. And it got down to even where, like, McNair was right ahead of him.

And McNair basically just stepped aside so benjone could go um so i mean you know in that in that way it gets to be a little bit of a joke i think adore jackson's the alternate as a kick returner and you know look we we we were excited about the the what he could bring to this return game um you know we hadn't had a game breaker like him really in a long time uh probably all the way back to pac-man but you know he's been largely disappointing in the return game i think he's been a better corner and he has been a returner which i would have never thought you know before the season started that's what we'll be talking about right now um but he hasn't the only big runs the only big returns that he's had that he's had have gotten called back on penalties

and i don't know for whatever reason right now he's had have gotten called back on penalties. And I don't know, for whatever reason right now, he's having trouble catching punts. It just seems like he lets way too many hit the ground. But again, all this stuff, that's kind of what the Pro Bowl is. There's a lot of, like you said, there's a lot of popularity that goes into it and a lot of guys that get there based off of reputation, not necessarily their play on the field. Yeah, and let's be real about Adory. I mean, what do you remember about Adory Jackson?

You remember him returning punts at USC. You remember him being an electric playmaker. And I think you've seen flashes of that. You've seen some return touchdowns that have been called back, going back to even the preseason. So I think that plays a role in it. Playing at a big visible school like USC certainly didn't hurt him there. So he didn't have stats to back that up.

But you've seen the flashes there. So I don't know. I don't have a real big problem with it. Like I said, I'm just not a big Pro Bowl guy in general. Yeah. All right, so that'll about do it on that. We'll keep an eye on that list. It'll change, obviously, as the game gets closer and guys miss

because they're injured or in the Super Bowl or that kind of stuff. But anyway, it is cool to see three guys from the Titans get voted in. So it'll be fun just to be able be able to to to talk about that and watch that or whatever uh before we move on to playoff scenarios i'm gonna tell you about draft um if you haven't checked out draft you really need you really need to fantasy football fans listen up it's not too late to join the 500,000 people that have already downloaded draft this season you get to play in a real live snake draft but you're under five minutes and they last just one week. You can join one right now for week 15. Week 16.

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really for most of the season i mean they've been in control of what they were able to do for most of the year but now they don't there's there's even a scenario at this point where the titans could win out and finish 10 and 6 and still not make a playoff now it's not very likely that could happen but it could actually happen if you look at uh football outsiders their playoff odds are down to 48.8%. That's down 19% from last week. And I can't remember what they were two weeks ago, but it was, you know, like in the 70s or 80% chance of making the playoffs. So obviously taking a drastic hit there.

You know, the biggest thing that we're going to be watching over the next couple of weeks is the Buffalo Bills because depending on how things shake out, the Titans could, if the Titans end up in a three-way tie with like the Bills and the Ravens or the Bills and the Chargers, and depending on which game the Titans win, you know, because the first tiebreaker is head-to-head. Obviously, if that doesn't, if the team's in other, if you have a three-way tie,

you obviously move on from that because, like, if the Titans and the Ravens are tied, then the Titans would go ahead of the Ravens, right? But if you've got Titans, Ravens, and Bills, and say all three didn't play each other, you don't have that head-to-head. Conference record comes next, and then common opponents comes next. And so basically after that – so basically the Titans, if they're going to only win one of these last two, it helps them more to be the jaguars than it does the rams because that's an afc game so that helps our conference record but

you know when we look at the different teams and terry and i were kind of playing around with this before we started the show so the teams that we're looking at are the ravens the bills and the chargers the ravens have the colts and the b Bengals at home in the next two weeks. So you got to figure they're probably going to win both of those. And if they win both of those, that would put them at 10-6. The Bills go to Foxborough to play the Patriots this week, which we would assume they're going to lose that one. And then they play at Miami in week 17. Now, the Bills just beat the Dolphins this past week. It was a close game. It was in Buffalo. So assume they're going to lose that one and then they play at miami in week 17 now the bills just beat the dolphins this past week it was a close game it was in buffalo so they go to miami you

know that that's a little bit more of a toss-up game um and then the chargers uh let's see i don't remember off the top of my head who they have left they have the jet they go to the jets this week which i mean you know you would feel better about that if josh m Josh McCown was still there. Tough trip across the country. They've had struggles with that in the past. And then they play the Raiders in Week 17. So, Terry, it's not a great place to be where you don't control your own destiny. There's still a pretty legitimate shot the Titans can get in. And there's actually a scenario where the Titans can clinch a playoff spot this week.

If the Titans beat the Rams and the Ravens and the Bills both lose, then the Titans would clinch a playoff spot this week if the Titans beat the Rams and the Ravens and the Bills both lose then the Titans would clinch a playoff spot this week so we do have that scenario and on top of that the Titans could still win the division um Jacksonville plays in San Francisco and then obviously in Nashville week 17 so if the Titans win this week Jacksonville loses at San Francisco which is not the most crazy thing in the world. It's probably not going to happen, but it's not the craziest thing in the world. So if the Titans win this week, Jaguars lose this week, then that Week 17 game becomes

again a game that could decide, or that would decide the AFC South championship. Is it bad that I'm just like, I'm totally out on the playoffs? These two games, just based on how this team has operated for a month, I just don't see any chance. You know, that's the big thing.

The Titans have to go win one of these, and it's fine to talk about scenarios. That's fine. It could all happen any given Sunday. That's a thing that happens in the NFL. But this offense is broken. You've seen the defense struggle now last week. You've got one of the most potent offenses in the league, if not the most potent offense in the league right now, coming to Nashville.

I'm just not sure the secondary can handle it. I'm not sure the Titans can get enough pressure. And then I'm not sure, you know, you're talking about the Rams scoring 30 points. Can the Titans match that? I just don't see that. The Jaguars are hot. Blake Portals is playing out of his mind. It's just crazy to say, like we said last night.

And considering that defense that they've got, how is this team going to even score on Jacksonville? So, I mean, I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but I'm just kind of out of the playoffs. I mean, like, I'm still rooting for it. I'm still pulling for it, obviously. If they win either of these two games, there's a really pretty good chance that they can get in.

But talking about it and doing it are two different things. You say you're out on it, but then what if Sunday night we're sitting here talking about Titans winning over the Rams? How do you feel at that point? Oh, I'm all the way back in. All the way. But, you know, that's what I've been saying for a month. Titans got to show me something.

And, you know, they just haven't. You know, we saw some glimpses at a Mariota, and then the defense let us down. So, I don't know. This has been the most frustrating year because you're just right there on the brink, and the Titans just can't push across the finish line. It's insane. It's so frustrating.

Yeah, it's a thing. I mean, like you said, right down the brink, and just in a season where everything has broken their way and to still be in week 16 not controlling your own destiny is kind of frustrating just because it feels like, you know, of all years, if you should have a good chance, this would have been it. But anyway, so, you know, we'll see how it plays out. And, you know, I think we're all kind of in that scenario where we're still rooting for it, but it's not something that we're really excited about.

Now, again, you go out and look good against the Rams, who are in the conversation as one of the best teams in the NFC. Things change a little bit at that point. Maybe that's something they can do to get us back in. We'll see how that plays out. We'll be back tomorrow, and we will discuss the Rams. In the meantime, you can check out Locked on Rams as well for their talk about this game and, you know, where their team's at

and all that stuff. You know, they're having similar conversations about their team as far as, you know, breaking down the plays and the games and all that stuff as we are. So check them out. I think Terry's going to be on with them at some point this week, you know, to talk Rams-Titans. So obviously we'll try to get a link out to that when it becomes available

because it's always good just to kind of get the information from the home team there. Terry, anything else that we need to hit before we get out tonight? Pretty slow day. We'll preview the Rams tomorrow. Yeah. We'll really break down their numbers and stuff tomorrow to preview that matchup.

Because, again, I mean, it is a big game, and we're not to the point. You know, Terry's talked about it being draft season. And, you know, like I said, on one hand, we're kind of leaning that way. But we're still to the point where these games do matter, and, you know, a win is a big deal. So we will dig into the Rams a little bit tomorrow and see if we can find a couple of places where the Titans should have some advantages in this game.

Like I said, check us out at musicofmiracles.com, part of SB Nation covering the Titans. We'll have a lot of stuff there. And if you want to jump in, we had an interesting conversation today about obviously the Rams are kind of tied to the Titans because they were the team that traded up for the Titans' number one pick when the Rams selected Jared Goff.

So looking at the players the Titans acquired in that deal, kind of have some conversations around that. So check that out. It's just kind of an interesting would-you-rather scenario. So we talked a little bit about that today. Follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry is at tlambertfb. And again, musiccmiracles.com. So check all that today. Follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry is at tlambertfb.

And again, musicofmiracles.com. So check all that out. Plenty of Titans coverage and we'll be back tomorrow to preview the Rams. So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening to Locked on Titans. Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Write and review. Do all that stuff for us and we will talk to you tomorrow.