Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked On Titans- Sept.30- It's Friday, so who did we pick to win vs Houston Sunday & more.

Episode Date: September 30, 2016

It's Prediction Friday, so who did we predict would win on Sunday when the Titans face the Texans in Houston & more. #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 with your host Terry McCormick of Titan Insider, Greg Arias, and former Tennessee Titans Pro Bowl left tackle Brad Hopkins. It's Friday and the band's all together again. Brad, glad to have you back.

Terry, welcome in as well. Thank you. It's great to be back, guys. A lot of things going on today on Friday, the Friday edition of Locked on Titans. We start as always with our current news and we'll get into, guys, Titans, Texans a little bit later on and give you our predictions on the upcoming weekend contest down in Houston plus our final thoughts. on the upcoming weekend contest down in Houston, plus our final thoughts. But in current news, and Terry, we'll start with you to kind of give us an explanation of this.

It's very unusual, but Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Malarkey missed practice today for personal matters, and that's something that doesn't happen often, and certainly we don't really know what that personal matter was. Hopefully it is not anything that's too serious right uh nobody disclosed what it was but mike malarkey was out today to tend to a personal matter and certainly wish him all the best he's supposed to be back tomorrow uh it was announced earlier in the week on monday or tuesday that he would be away on thursday so it was a little unusual uh not to see the head coach there to preside over practice. But the only thing that was missing was the overall team meeting, apparently, that they have during the day. Instead, they just went to offensive and defensive groups.

And then during the practice, obviously, Terry Robiskey ran the offense and Dick LeBeau ran the defense. And they went through their normal periods of practice, things that are scheduled and a routine that doesn't vary much from day to day and from week to week. Now, Brad, in all your years in the NFL, did Jeff Fisher ever miss a practice that you can remember? Yeah. Oh, yeah. As a matter of fact, it may have been a couple of times. Obviously, the role of the head coach is more expansive than just, you know, moderating the team, but you've also got things to tend to in the community. And we're only assuming that this might be a business matter.

It could be something very personal. I would only think that the fact that it was organized, the fact that, you know, they knew that he was going to be away, kind of doesn't lead to some sort of emergency. In other words, something he knew about, something that's manageable. So, like you said, we can only assume. But it's also good that you've got guys like Terry Hrabisky and Dick LeBeau who are obvious veterans in the game to be able to run a team

and make sure things are still functioning in the form of fashion for them to get something out of this week because this is a pivotal game for these guys. Obviously, for him to be able to step away and trust that his assistants are going to get the job done, it's got to be something that allows Mike Malarkey to sleep better at night, guys. On the injury front, some question marks for the Titans and some very big question marks.

And all of these guys are on offense as they get ready to head to Houston. Today on the injury report, Tajay Sharp listed as limited. He was that in practice. Also, Delaney Walker listed as limited, as well as Quentin Spain. So you've got a starting wide receiver, you're starting tight end and your top pass catcher, and then you're starting left guard, all limited. And I would say, guys, based on what we hear and saw,

that could quite possibly be out for the game as well. And, Brad, this is something Terry and I talked about yesterday. Hamstrings seem to be the issue with these guys for the most part. It just seems like that every year there's one injury last year terry mentioned that it was mcl sprains this year it seems to be hamstrings that are doing the damage to the titans yeah and that's the worst one to have because it's almost the hardest one to rehab from uh you think that you're feeling pretty good at one instance and next thing you know it's always weighing heavy in the back of your mind you You're about putting too much stress on it.

So, therefore, it's hard for you to be as explosive as you normally would be before you had the injury. So it's kind of hard to manage that way. And it's also hard, like I said, from the trainer's standpoint, to get these guys to a point where they're comfortable to be able to get out there and kind of get as close to being the player that they once were as before they got hurt. So it is kind of, you know,

I think that maybe it's the less time that these guys are getting to spend on the field, you know, that doesn't allow them to develop the kind of football condition, not cardiovascularly, but, you know, the football condition that, you know, enables your body to be able to do the rigors that it's actually doing now. So I don't know. Maybe it's a good thing for the league to kind of step in and manage better the time that teams have with players.

But then again, you can also see the effects when they don't spend as much time on the field. They're not near as durable. Yeah, and one of the things, you know, in terms of these guys being limited, you know, with a hamstring injury especially, and, you know, Delaney Walker was out yesterday and then limited today. I would think that he would need to be pretty close to full go on Friday in

order to have a chance because usually with a hamstring injury, like you mentioned, once you think it's pretty well close to being ready, then you need to give it a few more days. You know, that's what they did last week with Kendall Wright. They let him go through practice. He ran the scout team stuff, and then they hoped that he would be ready to go this week. He looks like he is on track to do just that.

Delaney Walker, by being limited today, he said today that they probably wouldn't make a final decision on what his status will be until probably Saturday. I think a lot of it is going to hinge on one, how much he can do tomorrow, and two, how he feels Saturday after he does something on Friday.

So certainly very much up in the air for Delaney Walker. That means could be Jason Morrow for a second straight week. Don't be surprised if that's the case, I would think. 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 with SeatGeek, it's never been easier to get the tickets you want for the great value.

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Guys, Titans Texans coming up this Sunday down in Houston, and certainly this is an intriguing and interesting matchup on a lot of fronts, and Brad, we haven't had a lot of opportunity to talk with you about the absence of J.J. Watt, but wanted to get your thoughts on what that means for the Titans offensively going into a game and not having to line up and know you're going to face 99 on the other side. Well, you wouldn't take for granted that J.J. Watt is not playing

like the J.J. Watt of four years ago and not have a game plan for him, but that is a fact. You're not replacing the guy that was the defensive MVP or anything like that by any stretch. The latest surgeries for him have taken their toll. He's a pretty productive player, but not near the guy, the difference maker that he was before. So that's not what you're trying to replace. But there also are a lot of expectations from, say,

De'Veon Clowney to kind of, you know, pick up the slack, so to speak, now that J.J. Watt will not be on the field at all. And that's been a question for them as well because he hasn't lived up to the billing not near as much as the guy that was promised to, you know, tear up the league coming out of South Carolina. So that hasn't happened yet, which makes an opportunity for basically the Titans to establish their run game. Unfortunately, Jadeveon Connie is a pretty good run defender,

so they're going to probably have to run away from him in obvious situations. But they can do that, especially what we've been able to see consistently late in the last part of the Raiders game and definitely a part of the Detroit Lions win. So this is a very manageable situation. I think the other conundrum is Brock Osweiler's thrown four interceptions up to this point, two, three touchdowns. Lamar Miller's just averaging just a pinch more than DeMarco Murray

at 269 yards already in the season on 74 attempts. They're feeding him the ball, basically. But he doesn't have any scores yet, which means that Brock Osweiler is probably going to be the way that they try and exploit the Titans' defense using Will Fuller and, of course, DeAndre Hopkins, which will put a test for who? Our corners. Paris Cox and Jason McCourty are going to definitely be tested

with the arm all day, and we'll see how they respond. be tested with the arm all day, and we'll see how they respond. Yeah, I think it's a big game for the Titans and a big game for the Texans. The winner of this game is going to be at least guaranteed a share of first place in the AFC South. The Colts and the Jags playing over in London, if the Colts win that, they would get to 2-2. If the Titans were able to win, they could force potentially a three-way tie at 2-2. If the Texans win, then they pretty much are taking control of this division at the outset. And with or without J.J. Watt, if you're 3-1 and you're the Houston Texans, you have to

like your chances in a division where there are lots of teams that are seemingly struggling. Let me pose this question to you guys and get your thoughts on this. If I'm the Texans and look at this Titans team and they come in on Sunday and if Tajay Sharp is not able to go, if Delaney Walker is not able to go, yes, they're getting back Kendall Wright, but then you've got an issue with potentially Quentin Spain either not being 100% or maybe even being out of the lineup, and we'll discuss that a little bit here in just a moment. But if I'm the Texans, I'm going to line up, put seven, eight, nine guys up in the box if I can and say, Marcus Mariota, beat me on the outside. Terry, do you think that's what the Texans are going to do in this game?

I think it's possible because they like to use that five down lineman set in certain passing situations and certain schemes as part of that defense. Romeo Cornell is a very creative defensive coordinator. He's going to do what he can to take away the thing the Titans want to do most, and that's running the football with DeMarco Murray. So if they can do some of that, then they're going to try to put this game on the shoulders of Marcus Mariota. And the same thing on the Titans end.

They're probably going to want to put the game on the shoulders of Brock Osweiler and take away Lamar Miller in the Texans running game. Yeah, you know what? I agree with that 100%, Terry. But then I also think that Terry Robiskie has been very effective with using Derrick Henry on the stretch play. Like you talked about downhill between the tackles with DeMarco Murray, I think it's kind of crazy the fact that this big boy can

rumble to the edges and really pick up first downs, running the tall sweeps and things like that, which make the defensive line have to keep that honest, basically. They have to be able to run down and flatten out down the line of scrimmage, but then when you come back with the downhill style from DeMarco Murray, it really kind of throws them off a little bit. So I think that, you know, there's no way in the world that Brock Osweiler can score from the sideline, and that would probably figure to be pretty big in the game plan

to at least, you know, stay out of third and long and be manageable, move the chains, and therefore stay on the field as long as you can, win the time of possession. I mentioned Quentin Spain, of course, a moment ago, limited in practice today. There are three names that pop up, guys, that would be in line to fill in for him should he not be able to go on Sunday. Of course, Brian Schwinke, who is a center by trade but can play guard.

You've got Dennis Kelly, the tackle that came over from Philadelphia, or tackle guard, rather, that came over in the trade with Philadelphia for Doyle Green Beckham. And then you've got the rookie in Sebastian Tritola, who all would have a shot at filling the spot of Quentin Spain. And, Brad, of those three guys, who do you think as being a former offensive lineman would be the best fit to slide in there?

A guy in Schwinke that's played center in the league but not a lot of guard? A guy that's played a lot of tackle in Kelly? Or a rookie that's only played guard but hasn't done it in an NFL game yet? Yeah, I don't like tackles on the interior. I do remember when, golly, I can't believe Justin Hartwig basically moved inside to center. I always thought that he was going to have a lot of trouble because he was kind of a relatively big guy, well above 6'5", 6'6", and trying to be short. Sometimes you lose the leverage game.

But I think, in my opinion, the guy that's got a lot of strength is Brian Swinke. And you need to have that in the front. He's definitely smart enough to be able to call out line directions and listen to what Marcus Mariota is calling out as threats and things of that nature. But I've always liked him, you know, ever since he came. And I thought it was kind of surprising to me that they went through free agency to get a guy like Ben Jones when they could definitely use Swinke

in a number of positions in the interior of that offensive line. So if I had my druthers, I would say Brian Swinky won. He's got three years under his belt, and that's just against the knock against Trotola. He's a rookie, basically, a sixth-rounder at that. So give me Brian Swinky. What about you, Terry? Well, I don't disagree with that.

I think when you look at, you know, what is the best fit, you know, moving a guy, like you said, moving a guy from tackle to guard, you know, would seem to be a little bit more of a difficult transition going from the edge to the interior rather than moving, you know, from center to guard, as Schwinke is trying to do. I think, you know, one of those two guys, one of those two guys with some veteran experience, either Schwinke or Kelly, is probably going to get the call.

Tritola, you know, still probably not quite ready in terms of what the Titans are looking for. I think they probably want to get him some seasoning this year and then maybe have him compete for a starting spot next year. I think they would prefer not to have to use him very much at all if they could help it this year. Have a red shirt season almost like they did with David Stewart back in the day. One thing's for sure, if Spain is not able to go,

Tritola will at least, I think, get to dress this week, guys, because without Spain there, they're going to have to have that extra backup up just in case something happened to either Ben Jones or to Schwinke or to Klein on the other side. That is true. I agree. Okay, let's move forward, and it's time now to talk about our predictions, who's going to win and why they're going to win. And, guys, I know me particularly,

and I haven't been keeping up with your predictions to know just how good you've done, but I certainly haven't done so well on my predictions so far. I am 0 for 3. I haven't done one wrong yet. I'm 0 for 3. I'll admit it. I'm 1 and 2. Well, Terry, you're 1 and 2. Brad's perfect. Let's leave Brad to last then with the perfect one. And I'm just kidding. Terry, you're 1-2. Brad's perfect. Let's leave Brad to last in with the perfect one. And I'm just kidding. Terry, go ahead and give us your prediction on this game,

and then we'll move on to Brad, and I'll give you mine as we move forward here. All right. Well, you've got the two lowest scoring teams in the NFL squared off on Sunday. Both teams have scored 42 points in three games. That's an average of just 14 a game. I'm going to say that they get a little bit over that, but I don't think it's going to be much. I'll go with the Texans, 17 to 16.

Brad? Oh, I thought you were going to go before me and I go last. No, go ahead. That's okay. I'll wait until last. I'm the worst at this. Yeah, well, I will say this. Both of these teams run the football at this. Yeah, well, I will say this. Both of these teams run the

football fairly effectively. When you look at the league rankings, the Texans are 13th versus the Titans being at number 8. So running the football is paramount for either one of these teams because points per game, they're pretty porous, which means in the back end, they're able to score against their both 31st

tied in the league rankings. But I think that one of the things that's going to be intangible in this game is the hometown crowd. You know, the Houston Texans want to at least get these kids moving off in the right direction, and losing to the Houston Oilers is not going to fare well. I know there's not much of a rivalry anymore. You know, hopefully these teams will be competitive, and therefore will be at some point in time.

But I just don't think it's going to be the atmosphere for the Titans to get a W. But it's not like they can't. I truly think that this team has the capability of doing it if it stops making the mistakes that thwart their own momentum. So if they don't shoot themselves in the foot, the Titans have an excellent chance of winning because both these quarterbacks, Mariota and Osweiler, have been susceptible to turnovers. Just the fact that Marcus Mariota has fumbled a few times, it adds

just some more, you know, less confidence that they can get it done. So, give me the Texans by a field goal. Maybe 21-24. Well, I think, and both you guys touched on it, that it's going to be a game and it's going to be about the quarterbacks. And this is a league that's quarterback-driven, as we all know.

But in this particular game, I think both defenses, because both offenses certainly want to and are capable of running the football, are going to come up and going to try to force these quarterbacks to throw the football and be successful. Certainly the Texans have better wide receivers overall in DeAndre Hopkins, who's one of the top four or five in the NFL, Will Fuller, an emerging star with great speed. So it's going to come down to the quarterbacks and making plays.

I think the Titans really need to go to the screen game this week, guys, and use DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry on some middle screens to invite that defense up, drop it underneath, get those guys running in open space against linebackers and cornerbacks and safeties down the field and try to get some yardage there, loosen things up. I think that's a great first step. And then, of course, Marcus has to protect the football

and be able to make some plays in the passing game. They're probably not going to get the chunk plays or the home run balls, but be effective in the 15 to 20-yard range and consistently move the football. That will loosen things up where they can run the football. Still, as Brad said, the home field advantage, NRG Stadium, Reliant Stadium, whatever the name has been, has never been very good to the Tennessee Titans. I don't think it's going to be good to them on Sunday.

I think the Texans' defense is good enough to hold the Titans' offense down. They're not going to score a lot of points, but they're going to win this game. I'm going to go with the final score of 14-10, the Texans, in this one. Tell me if I'm crazy, guys. Hey, well, first off, Terry, I want to go on record, and Greg, too, of course. I want to go on record in saying that this week's pick was from my head, not my heart, and I hope

that I'm dead wrong. I just want to go on record in saying that. Yeah, I mean, this is a game the Titans desperately need, but I'm not sure that they're going to be able to pull it off. I think they can pull it off. I'm just not sure that they will pull it off. So that's kind of the way that I look at it.

Time for our final thoughts as we near the end of our time today. Brad, go ahead and lead off with our final thought from you. Okay, well, see, I'm going to go ahead and reiterate the final statement that I made when we were just talking about the game itself, and that the Titans definitely have the talent, they definitely have the capability of being not only a team to be good in the South, but a team to be reckoned with in the AFC. The only thing that I see being the difference are the mistakes that they continue to make

that shoot themselves in the foot, and that just simply comes from ball control. You take all the turnovers that Marcus Mariota has committed this year away from the game, this team is undefeated. That's how good this team actually can be. And I would just hope that, you know, having put that as part of the emphasis for them getting better this week, you know, Marcus will obviously do what he's been working on all week and don't turn the football over. Win the turnover ratios this week, Marcus will obviously do what he's been working on all week and don't turn the football over.

Win the turnover ratios this week. My final thought is this. In terms of Marcus Mariota's development, I think what we forget about is that he is still a young quarterback. This is only his 16th NFL star, which is the equivalent of one full season. And I think that a lot of the mistakes that he's making, especially the interceptions, which come sometimes on bad reads, sometimes on not setting his feet and making the right throw,

trying to throw off his back foot, I think a lot of that will subside as he gets more experience in the NFL, more experience in the system, and better players around him. Now, the other part of that, the fumble, you know, that was a problem for him at Oregon too. And I think that's a product and part of his ability just to, you know, want to run and make a play when the play breaks down and scramble. And those things can turn into big plays for the Titans at times,

but they also can backfire. And I think, you know, that may be something, that may be a part of it that the Titans just have to live with for a while in terms of Mario's game regarding the fumbles. But I do think the interceptions will subside as he gets more experience as an NFL quarterback. My final thought, and I'm going to go back to what I said in my prediction, the Titans have to have some plays from Marcus Mariota. He's got to be able to do some things in the 15 to 20-yard range

and perhaps hit a home run throw here and there if possible. But just to be able to move the football, throw it enough and well enough to keep the Texans' defense loosened up where they can run the football. And then, as Brad said, they've got to win the turnover battle. They can't be even. They can't have a turnover-free game and not have some turnovers from the Texans. They've got to win it.

I think they have to win it by a plus two if they're going to have a chance to win. And if they can do that, they have a very good shot at winning this game. Guys, that's it for us for another day and another week. We'll join you again on Monday when we'll tell you how we did with our predictions for this week's game. Until then, enjoy the weekend, enjoy the games. We'll see you on Monday. You are Locked On

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