Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Tennessee gets back on track in Dallas on MNF

Episode Date: November 6, 2018

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked On Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you tonight? Doing pretty good. Pretty fired up about what we just saw. Absolutely. Titans got a huge win on Monday Night Football over the Cowboys. We're here to break all of that down. Before we do that, we will remind you that we write for MusicCityMiracles.com. We cover the Titans for SB Nation, so you can check us out there. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. You can find the podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Just search out Locked On Titans and you'll find

us there. Subscribe and you'll get the episodes as soon as they are released. Alright, so the Titans go to Dallas and get a huge win. It was a win that the Titans definitely needed coming off of two losses back-to-back against the Bills and the Chargers coming off the bye week. It felt like it had been forever since the Titans had played a game.

But they go to Dallas and really make a statement in this game. All the talk leading up to it was about the Cowboys, about Amari Cooper, what they were going to do. The Cowboys' defense had been so good, the Titans weren't going to be able to score any points. And maybe we got to see what this Titans' offense can look like with a healthy Marcus Mariota. Yeah, you go back to the first quarter. I'm about ready to hit the reset button and blow up this roster. You just saw so many mistakes. Two fumbles, particularly a third there with Fergster, but they rolled it incomplete.

Nothing could go right. And then somehow they flipped a switch and everything was fine Marcus Mariota was back to form his back to playing at a high level Corey Davis Corey Davis showed up Ten targets caught six of them like 56 yards, but good to see him getting involved Dion Lewis was great So happy to see that because I thought we were going to be talking about an ugly ugly loss after the first quarter yeah absolutely and really um you can't say enough

about the defense defense to play especially in that first quarter uh they really kept the titans in this game when you know it really could have been a disaster. I mean, the Cowboys moved the ball pretty well on their first drive, but they missed the field goal. So it came away with no points there. But then the Titans turned around and they fumbled the ball on their first offensive series. And the Cowboys get the ball. They take over at the 15-yard line and they touch down there. Titans fumbled again in the next offensive series. The Cowboys didn't get the ball at Titans 41,

but the Titans defense holds up there. Kevin Byard gets an interception of Dak Prescott in the end zone. It very easily could have been at least 17-0 out of those first three series there. They got a little help with the missed field goal, and then they stood up and got the interception. So defense did really well, kept them in this game. Really just didn't ever let the Cowboys get anything going offensively, and that allowed the Titans to possess the ball.

I think in like 35 minutes the Titans had the ball in this game, so they wereans to possess the ball i think like 35 to 35 minutes the titans had the ball in this game so they were able to control the clock that way and were they were really efficient offense so you know i just marx mariotta was playing with the glove for the first time since week one so he was finally you know back healthy uh seeing everything that he's able to do when that's the case you know he, he had the one missed throw to Corey Davis, but overall looked healthy, looked comfortable. And, you know, I mean, if he can settle in here, if this offense can kind of start to, if they can build off of this performance,

then maybe this is a team that can make a run at this AFC South division. Yeah, I think it's important to start on the defensive side tonight. And that's not something we normally do. But none of this is possible if they don't flex their muscles in the first quarter. Backs against the wall. Kevin Byard making that play. Somehow, someway, keeping the Cowboys out of the end zone. Only allowing them to score one time through all of that

mess. Coming into the second quarter, it was a 7-0 ballgame. So through all of that, you've got to give hats off to that defense, man. They played their guts out today. Jayon Brown coming up with that huge sack, fumble, really changed the game in the second half, got the Titans rolling in the second half. So none of this is possible without them all the headlines are gonna be for Marcus Mariota tomorrow But can't forget about that defense but back to Mariota

That's what we wanted to see and that's that's what we've been waiting on and you know, it's not a funny Through all of these past few weeks We've been wondering what's up with Marcus. Is he the guy? Is he not the guy? He just looked healthy. And maybe that's all this was. He didn't have the glove on tonight. He pretty clearly could feel all his fingers.

He saw the flashes in London. Played pretty well over there. Didn't have the numbers, had some drops. Tonight he didn't have the drops. His receivers made plays. Corey Davis made plays Taewon Taylor John who Smith's camera Batson made plays so it was pretty pretty wild to see pretty unexpected honestly so I'm just glad Marcus Mariota got rewarded for playing at a high level because I think he's been there I think he's been there at certain points this year he just hadn't gotten the reward.

So such a positive sign for this Titans offense. Yeah, and another thing that we saw tonight was that they have transitioned to Deion Lewis being the lead back for this team. And, you know, we'll see. I mean, they talked about it in the preseason. You know, it could be game plan specific and all that kind of stuff. But with the report over the weekend from Chris Mortensen that the Titans were shopping Derrick Henry at the trade deadline, didn't find any takers for him, I think that gives a pretty good indication that they were going to make the pretty heavy shift toward Deion Lewis.

You saw that tonight. Lewis got 19 carries to Henry 6. Lewis had a good night, 19 carries, 62 yards to Henry, 6. Lewis, it was a good night. 19 carries, 62 yards. He had four catches for 60 yards and a touchdown. So you're looking at 122 yards of total offense. And kind of the guy that we thought he would be. Now, maybe not the difference in carries there.

I thought maybe it would be the other way around when the season started. But Derrick Henry just hasn't been effective this year. I don't know if it's all him, if it's the offensive line, whatever it may be. But I just feel like for what they're trying to do right now, Deion Lewis' running style fits a little bit better. And, you know, I think they're not going to give Deion Lewis 100% of the carries because he's not going to hold up if they do that. But I would not be surprised to see the carries shake out more like we saw

tonight going forward this season. Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. Derrick Henry isn't what they need right now. That may change. I think Derrick Henry with a good line in front of him is still a pretty good player in this league But he's not a creator And that's that's something he's been missing since he got to the league something He didn't have to do it Alabama quite frankly, you know that

But Dion Lewis is the opposite of that. He is a creator. You saw him actually come out with some a few negative plays tonight I'm sure the coaching staff wants to see that cleaned up. But that's kind of who he is. He's going to get outside, bounce. He's going to stop, shift, and go the other direction. Didn't love all that, to be honest. There's just a point in time as a runner where you've got to take what you can get. But overall, you've got to love what Lewis did in the screen game.

We've been wondering where the screen game was. The Titans hit two big ones tonight. One in the second half really flipped the field there late and allowed the Titans to put it away on that Marcus Murray to scramble. So I think Lewis does more for you. I think he's the more effective back in just about every aspect of running the football. So, I mean, I'm for it. I think we've been firm on that pretty much since Deion Lewis on.

You know, I think we both kind of said, look, Deion Lewis is pretty dang good. So, interested to see what they do with Henry. But like you were saying, maybe not in the plans, at least in a big way right now. Yeah, they're going to have to use him. But I think you're just – I think Dan Lewis is going to be your feature back going forward. And I just think it allows them to do more of the things that they want to do.

And like you said, if the offensive line is not playing well, Lewis is the guy you need out there because he can create. And Derek Henry hasn't been able to do that in his time in the NFL. So talk a little bit more about the defense coming up here in just a sec. Before we do that, I'm going to tell you about MyBookie. If you've been listening to us for any amount of time, you know that if you're going to bet online, you should be doing it with MyBookie.

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You mentioned Jayon Brown, and I think we need to take a little time to talk about him because, listen, he's been, I don't know, has he been the best player on this defense so far this year? He's at least been the most consistent, I'd say. You've seen him show up at different times in different games. And, look, he was good last year for the role that they had him in. You know, a three-round pick, you don't expect a whole lot out of that guy. But he came in and was able to give that inside linebacking core the speed that they needed to be able to do some things in coverage. But this year he's been better against LeBron.

They've been using him in the blitz some. He had the big strip of Dak Prescott tonight. You know, I mean, they've got a lot of good things going on defense. They've got one really bad thing on defense. But other than that, everything else has been pretty good. And J. Allen Brown might be the best of the group. It makes you feel kind of weird about that Rashawn Evans pick, doesn't it? I mean mean just think

about what it could have been it could have been yeah pains me to even say this but a tight end you know we trashed that idea uh so much during draft season could have been a receiver but and i think rashaun evans is gonna be fine um but to see jay on brown Brown kind of emerge in this role, this full-time role, is not something I saw coming. I thought it would kind of be Evans on early downs and then Jayon on third downs, just kind of like it was last year. But he's really emerged. He's a blitzer.

It seems like they're kind of molding him to take over eventually for Wesley Woodyard. They're using those two guys in a similar sense. That blitz he had up the middle, gosh, I thought that play was over. He was on the ground, and he got up and not only sacked Dak Prescott, but was able to rip the ball out. So that play right there was probably bigger than any play any other Titan made tonight. And he just turned out to be a difference maker.

That's just not something I saw coming. Yeah, and I think the Evans pick, like you said, I think whenever Wesley Woodard moves on, which might be the end of this year, but he's still playing at a high level, then you've got Evans and Jayon Brown in there. And I thought Evans was pretty good tonight, too. He made a couple of plays. But, yeah, like you said, there are some things that maybe they needed more

than another inside linebacker at that point. But, I mean, I don't know that they would have counted on Deion coming on as much as he has. Harold Landry had another big sack tonight. Good to see him getting back in the action. The pass rush was kind of nonexistent in the beginning of the game, but then they stepped up at the end and made plays at the end of the game. You see a lot of teams when they know the opposing team has to pass.

You hear the phrase, pin your ears back and rush. They were able to do that tonight and were able to make plays to help the Titans hang on to that lead at the end of the game. That was obviously really good to see. We got to talk about Michael Butler. I don't, yeah, that to me is the most

I just don't get it. Like, okay, so obviously at this point we're not going to debate whether or not he was worth the money. That's a ridiculous conversation to have. Obviously he's not. Right? There was I guess a reason, now we know what the reason was. He didn't play in the Super Bowl. or not he was worth the money. That's a ridiculous conversation to have. Obviously, he's not, right? There was, I guess, a reason. Now we know what the reason was.

He didn't play in the Super Bowl. You know, and, I mean, it was the same thing tonight, right? I mean, it was about, you know, him, eye discipline or whatever you want to call it, bites him to double move. He does it all the time. It keeps getting beat over the top by Jordan Matthews, Alan Hearns. It's not like he's out there getting burnt by these speed guys. But he's been – I saw a stat tonight.

He's given up like 40% of the Titans passing touchdowns against this year. And I don't know. At this point, I've given up on him being like a shutdown guy, obviously. At this point, I just hope maybe he can get back to league average and he doesn't kill you out there. But I don't know. I mean, at some point, you've got to start having a conversation about whether or not you're going to put LaShawn Sims on the field, right?

That point is now. And if you don't, you should start firing coaches because that's absolutely ridiculous. You're talking about a bottom three cornerback in the league. It's mind-blowing. It's shocking bad. He is But at some point you've got to fix the problem at some point You've got a better player on the roster who isn't playing because Butler's on the field So I don't I don't really care what you're paying them anymore The whole argument of you're paying of 6060 million, you've got to play him.

I don't care. Go win games. Go play your best players. Maybe sitting him down does something for him. Maybe let him figure out his technique or something. You've got to try something different. Dak Prescott went

after him time and time again. I don't know why they stopped, honestly. Cowboys probably win the game if they don't stop. So he was getting abused. I think Amari caught a curl, and he caught a little in-and-out route in the end zone to give up the first touchdown. Then double move on Alan Hearns.

I mean, when you're getting torched by Alan Hearns, who, you know, if you talk to Cowboys fans, that guy can barely run anymore. So that's a problem. And I'm interested to see how they fix it. Yeah, like you said, I mean, at some point it doesn't matter what the contract says. You've got to win. And it's funny, listening to Paul Kaharski,

he was calling people ridiculous the other day on the radio for saying that they're going to put LaShawn Sims out there instead of Malcolm Butler, but then you get a tweet from Kaharski tonight saying it might be time to look at LaShawn Sims. And again, this is obviously not about ability, right? I mean, Malcolm Butler has more ability than LaShawn Sims, but at what point does he learn? Because it's the same stuff every week. So, you know, you've got a guy that's making all that money.

If nothing else, league average play out of him. If they get that, the Titans defense hasn't given up hardly anything this year. I don't know. It'll be interesting to watch that going forward. It'll be interesting to watch him against his old team this week against the Patriots.

You better believe they're going to throw some double moves at him. You take that fake against Josh Gordon, and it'll be over. So, anyway. Hopefully they can figure something out there in the next six days before the Patriots come to town. Alright, coming up, we'll finish up the show.

Kind of just a few last notes on this win. Alright, so let's just kind of do some fast takeaways um like i said i think the biggest the biggest thing the offense you're you're seeing this the shift of dion lewis you're seeing a healthy marcus mariota and what he can look like in this offense you know and listen if you listen to us for any amount of time you know that we are both very much Barks Mariota. I think he's the guy. I think he's a franchise quarterback.

And we've been called apologists and all that stuff for everything that we've said. But when you look at the injuries, the changes in coaches, coordinators, everything that he's had going on there, it's tough for a guy to succeed in that environment. Now, at the same time, he's got to stay healthy. That's the biggest thing. I really do think that you saw a little bit of what this offense can do tonight with him healthy. You still have the issues with the weapons. Now we've got question marks. Taewon Taylor left this game with what Mike Vrabel in the postgame press conference called a lower leg

injury. Tajay Sharp hurt himself in pregame warm-ups, twisted his ankle or something like that. So, you know, at the end of the game there, they're running out Corey Davis, Darius Jennings, and Cameron Batson. That's obviously not, you know, that's not striking fear in the hearts of defensive coordinators. So you've still got those issues, but Jonathan Smith looked like he played a little bit better tonight,

so maybe you've got some things going there. So, I mean, I think the biggest question going forward is, can Marcus Mariota stay healthy? I think they've got enough that they can get by if he can, but to me that's the whole key. My biggest takeaway was Matt LeFleur playing the more effective player in Deion Lewis. I'd love to see that.

And then moving Corey Davis around. You know, going in, I think I said it on the podcast last week, going to get Byron Jones. This basically eliminates him from the game because Byron Jones is playing at a really high level. I didn't see many snaps of Corey Davis taking on Byron Jones. So they moved him into the slot. They moved him on the other side, set him in motion.

They worked to get him open. So that was really encouraging for me to see because they didn't really do that against Baltimore and some other teams. They just kind of told him to go win that one-on-one matchup. So I thought that was different. Also, Jack Conklin. I'm not that was different. Also, Jack Conklin. I'm not sure what was going on with Jack Conklin there, but he was awful in the first half.

Ended up with a concussion. Dennis Kelly comes in, and the offense seemed to get better. So I don't know if he got hurt and was playing hurt or what, but you talked about Taewon Taylor. Jack Conklin is another situation to watch. And once again, just another game where Marcus Morata has to win down a starting lineman. So I'm just not sure if this offensive line is ever going to piece it together again.

Yeah, and it's been tough, obviously. You know, they've only had maybe a couple games through the first, you know, eight that they've had both tack a couple games through the first you know eight that they had both tackles in and playing the whole game so um yeah he was he was getting worked a little bit out there tonight i don't know if they'll start to give him a little bit more help uh in certain matchups but yeah that'll be something to watch uh as the week goes on in a short week so you know we've seen guys i mean you know no two concussions are the same, all that kind of stuff. We saw the week that Adoree Jackson and Taylor LeJuan both had concussions.

Adoree played, Taylor didn't. You know, we won't really know until we get kind of towards the end of the week. But like you said, that will be something to watch. And then, you know, they don't have a lot of depth back there now with all the guys that they've had hurt. So that'll be the thing to watch. Defensively, again, outside of Malcolm Butler, everybody played really well.

I love Dean Pease, the way that he calls defenses. They're aggressive all the time. They're bringing blitzes from everywhere. Like I said, the pass rush was a little bit slow in the beginning, but they picked up there toward the end of the game and really, you know, like I said, helped solidify the win, helped hold that lead. You know, in the run defense, you know, Ezekiel had a couple of big plays early,

but ends the game with 70 carries for 61 yards. You know, the defense is really good. And I think, if anything, the biggest takeaway now is if the offense can, you know, make the progress and make the steps forward that we think they can and the defense continues to play at this level, you might have a dangerous team. Yeah, I think Kenny Vaccaro is a bigger piece than anyone realized. And I think we all realized it the second Kendrick Lewis got torched against the Chargers on that long touchdown.

But more so than anything, just filling gaps, being that last line of defense, wrapping up, making tackles, doing the fundamental things, something the Titans haven't had since he's been hurt. So getting him back today was huge. But, yeah, you said it. Zeke did nothing, you know, by Zeke's standards. He is that offense.

So that was the most surprising thing for me because, again, you go back to the first couple drives, Dallas has blown Tennessee off the ball. It looks like the Titans aren't really interested in playing any run defense today, just getting whipped up front. But after things settled down, Titans got their answer on the board. That defense flipped a switch, and, man, that's fun to see. And, you know, you talked about the pass rush. It was nonexistent.

They weren't winning any one-on-one matches on the outside, which is a little bit of a concern. But then you started to see the second, the third efforts start to happen. You started to see some coverage sacks. And then, like you were saying, Dean Pease dials it up. It seemed like in that third quarter Dak Prescott was running for his life because Dean Pease was just releasing the hounds blitzing on every passing down yeah absolutely and so I don't know

I just it's it's funny how feelings change from week to week but I really yeah that's absolutely true um but really if you if you step back and look at the last two games again, it feels so weird because it just seems like there was so much time between, I don't know, it just seemed longer than a bye week, and obviously it was with having to wait, you know, having an early, early game on Sunday and then, you know, wait until Monday night to play the next one. But if you look at the last two games, the offense has been better. They've been coming along, and like I said, it's not a coincidence that Marcus Mariota is finally healthy. And so I think you're going to continue to see that progress.

If they can build on that, then we'll see. Obviously, huge test. This is with the Pages coming to town, short week, all that kind of stuff. So, you know, can't get too high right now. But I think a little bit of momentum. You're only a game back in the division. You know, so a lot of good things that they've got going on. That'll do it for us tonight.

We'll be back tomorrow. We'll get a Mike Brable press conference tomorrow, so we'll get some updates on a couple of the injury situations, hopefully, and see where we've got going with all that. Then we'll do a crossover show with Mark Schofield, who we've had before, who does the Patriots show. He's really good, so we'll do a crossover show with Mark Schofield that we've had before who does the Patriots show.

He's really good. So we'll get a ton of good information in that. In the meantime, check us out at museummiracles.com. A lot of good stuff going on there. Follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening to Locked on Titans,

and we will talk to you again tomorrow.