Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: What should the Titans do with Marcus Mariota?

Episode Date: January 3, 2019

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome in to another edition of Locked on Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you today? Doing good. Excited to dive into the episode everyone's been waiting for. Yes, the Marcus Mariota episode. It'll be a good time, so I'm sure you've all been waiting on pins and needles for this. A lot of talk, obviously, about Mariota. We'll try to dive in and talk about just kind of artists our honest assessment of where he is what that means for the titans going forward and what the titans should do to try to help him be successful in 2019 before we do that remind you we're up from you see miracles.com recover the titans for sb nation so you can check us out there you got to follow us on twitter i'm at jay morris mcm terry's at t lamfb. We have also now set up a Google Voice mailbox. So if you want to react to the show or you have a topic you'd like to hear us discuss

or you just want to give us some feedback, you can call in the number 615-787-8762. Again, that's 615-787-8762. Call in there. Leave us a message. We'll get it, and we'll be sure to discuss it on a future show. All right, so one new thing before we jump into Mariota. Derrick Henry was named the Offensive Player of the Month in the NFL for the month of December.

You know, a pretty obvious choice there. We all know what he was able to do, especially that two-game stretch against the Jaguars and the Giants. And, you know, kind of put this team on his back a little bit for a couple of games there. We all know what he was able to do, especially that two-game stretch against the Jaguars and the Giants. And, you know, kind of put the team on his back a little bit for a couple games there. It was something that we were kind of all hoping that we would see from him, but hadn't up until that point. So congratulations to him for that. Well-deserved, obviously. And again, kind of, you know, one of the brightest, probably the brightest spot on offense heading into 2019 and one of the brightest spots on the entire team. All right, so we're kind of going to look at the Marcus Mariota issue in a couple of different phases.

One, just kind of talk about how we feel about him at this point. Secondly, look at what maybe changes the Titans could make to help him be successful. So we'll kind of go through that as we work through this episode. If you've listened to us for any amount of time, you know that we are both big Marcus Mariota fans. If you would have asked me this time last year, there was no doubt in my mind that he had what it took to be a franchise quarterback in the NFL.

We all, this time last year, the system's terrible. Got to get rid of Malarkey. Got to get rid of Robeski. That was the discussion we were, this time last year, the system's terrible. Got to get rid of Malarkey. Got to get rid of Robeski. You know, that was the discussion we were having this time last year. I mean, I think we did the right thing in getting rid of those guys. But it still just didn't come together for Marcus this year. Now, it's tough to evaluate his play on the field from this year because he did have the nerve injury in week one against the Dolphins

that did not heal for, you know, four or five weeks there. We don't really know exactly when it healed up, but the best indication that we have is when he stopped wearing the glove because he said, you know, as soon as he got feeling back in those fingers, he would wear the glove. He did not play the Texans game in week two, came in the Jaguars game. So Jaguars, Eagles, Bills, Ravens, Chargers. So those, what, one, two, three, four, five games there, we work under the assumption that he still couldn't completely feel his hand. Got healthy after that until the Colts game where he got another injury

or re-aggravated the same injury. Kind of hard to know which one that is. And then, you know, obviously got injured again in the Redskins game. Had a good stretch of games there after the bye week, really starting with that Chargers game through that Colts game, you know, or up until that Colts game. Had a good stretch of games there where we put it together. Looked like, you know, maybe things were starting to click for this team.

Listen, bottom line is play on the field not good enough right um when you look at the last two years the numbers that he's put up uh you know he threw 18 touchdowns this year and again we understand uh you know the injury stuff and all that he was definitely not healthy all the way through but he did play in 14 games and you know or he did 11 touchdowns 11 touchdowns this year he did play in 14 games, or he threw 11 touchdowns this year. 11 touchdowns in 14 games, that's not getting it done in today's NFL. He threw 13 touchdowns last year in basically 14 and a half games. So from that standpoint, his play on the field has not been good enough.

Now, again, I think there are all these other things that we can take into consideration, but if we just want to look at pure numbers and what we've seen, hasn't been good enough to this point yeah you're absolutely right there's no way around that but you got to look at all these layers behind uh marx mariota and and you laid out a bunch of them which which you have to consider we've also got to consider what's been around him you know going back to his rookie year, playing with Jeremiah Patassi, who was a turnstile, essentially, in his face. He got pressure in his face just about every snap.

Still had a really good rookie year, had a really good sophomore season. Then he breaks a leg, and then he wasn't the same. So I know you've speculated, just kind of trying to figure it out, that that broken leg kind of started to shake him, and there might be some merit behind that. The offense behind Malarkey and Rubisky just was not good. Nobody was on the same page. It's hard to ignore that 2017 season

but at the same time I think we were all on the same page that the offensive scheme needed to get better the weapons around him needed to get better well the scheme changed but the weapons didn't so you put him out there with Taewon Taylor and Corey Davis in his second year you have Nick Williams out there playing meaningful snaps Rashard quits the team you don't have Delaney Walker's it goes on and on and on and we've talked all about that but at the end of the day something he has

to overcome some of this and I don't think he's done that good enough you know if this happens to Aaron Rodgers or someone like that, I think Aaron Rodgers is good enough to elevate the team a little bit. We just haven't seen it out of Marcus. Just over the past month, it's just kind of occurred to me that you can't give this guy $20 million plus. That takes a lot for me to say because I've been firmly in the re-sign camp. But unless he really comes out next year and lights the world on fire, looks like that 2016 quarterback, I really don't think John Robinson can pay him at this point. You've just seen so many teams go down this road. can pay him at this point.

You've just seen so many teams go down this road. Bears and Mike Glennon, Matthew Stafford up in Detroit, Kirk Cousins in Minnesota, paying average quarterbacks, and that is what Marcus Mariota is right now, gets you in a lot of trouble. So it's a complicated decision. It's not over yet, but that's where I'm at right now. Yeah, that's the frustrating thing, and we'll get into this a little bit more when we get into what they can do to help in 2019.

But, you know, we talked about it. When you have a rookie quarterback, you have your quarterback on that rookie contract, you have a window there where you can maximize the rest of your roster and you don't have that big quarterback number that you see in a lot of places. And the Titans are out of that window now. I mean, you know, Marcus's number is $20 million next year, and then we'll kind of see where it goes from there. But they missed those opportunities,

and I think that's what's frustrating about the fact that they didn't add anybody last year, didn't add any weapons and free agency. They sat on what they had. Their answer to upgrading the pass catchers was Michael Campanaro and Nick Williams coming into the season. So just not good enough, and it doesn't seem like they were willing to give him the best shot to be successful. Now, I know that this is the thing when we talk about Moriota. There's all of these circumstances flying around him that makes it impossible to evaluate but like you said at this point the one thing we do know is you cannot give him a big money

extension right now um that just that's just not something that would be prudent for them to do we thought for a long time that's what would happen it would be this off season maybe even you know the middle of this year, that they would try to get that deal done. But you can't do it right now. And it's unfortunate because one of the biggest questions I think we had coming into the season was, what is Marcus Mariota? We're excited to get to see him in the system, and then we would know.

And then we could say, heading into 2019, all right, we've got our quarterback, or we need to find one, or whatever. And sitting here right now, you still don't know. And I think that's the most frustrating part. All right, coming up, we'll talk about what they should do at the quarterback position next year before talking about kind of building the rest of the team. All right, so I think we can all agree that blaine gabbert is not good enough to uh win you football

games but i don't really know this is this is a backup quarterback is a tricky discussion because there are there aren't 32 good nfo quarterbacks right and so when you talk about that every you know there are a number of teams that are looking for a starter um it's impossible to you know to have a backup that is really good somebody that you know that you can count on so we kind of start out with that discussion with that being said i think with the titans with marcus mariotota's injury history, should be looking to invest a little bit more in the backup quarterback position. Now, they had some opportunities with some guys last year, but listen, it's hard to get a guy like Teddy Bridgewater. That was a guy that a lot of people talked about. It's hard to get a guy like that to come to a team that already has a quarterback in place that you know is going to be the starter.

And sure, you can say, look, this guy's missed X number of games and you're probably going to get to play, all that kind of stuff. But last offseason, Tade Bridgewater was looking for a place where he thought he had a chance to go and start. Now he signed with the Jets. The Jets also signed with McCown and they draft Darnold. So then you kind of wonder what Bridgewater was thinking after all that happened.

But there were a few of those guys on the market last year. The Titans didn't move into that, kind of waited for all that to settle, ended up with Blaine Gabbert. Blaine Gabbert, yes, an upgrade over Matt Castle, but they need to get a guy in here that if they need him for two, three, four games throughout the year, that he can do that. They need to get a guy in here that if he has to come in in the middle of a game and look competent he can do that and i mean i think blaine gabbert was i don't think he was confident at all i was gonna say he was more competent you

know the times that he had a week to get ready but he wasn't um not just just a guy not a guy that's gonna win you enough football games but again that's easy to win you enough football games. But, again, that's easy to say, but when you're looking at guys that are going to hit the market, who's the guy that they can bring in? And you say, yes, we know that he gives us a chance to win if he has to start for a month or longer. Yeah, and I think that guy is Ryan Fitzpatrick. Personally, you can look at Tyrod Taylor.

Some of those upper-tier guys that are going to be backups in this league, I definitely think they need to go after them. And, you know, to John Robinson's credit, we praised him for the Blaine Gabbert signing. We thought it was better. We saw what he did last season in Arizona. Didn't look near as bad as he looked here. But, yeah, I mean, it's clear.

Gabbert's probably done in this league. So, you know, you're going to get three, four, five opportunities with Marcus Mariota playing quarterback. You have no reason to believe that he's going to start 16 games, so you've got to invest. Yeah, that's another reason why Marcus Mariota probably shouldn't be paid by the Titans. He just can't be relied upon. It's not his fault.

It's just his body's working against him, and it happens. We saw it with Jake Locker at times. It's just bad luck. But, yeah, an upper-tier QB to Ryan Fitzpatrick. You saw what he did with Tampa, you know, coming in throwing for multiple 400-yard games. A guy that's not going to play scared. It's going to cut it loose.

Someone like that, you know, I mentioned Tyrod Taylor. That's a guy that, you know, the offense would go more towards the run game, but you can do some read option stuff. Maybe that works with Derrick Henry. That definitely needs to be on the table for John Robinson. And, you know, if you miss on a couple of guys like that, I don't want to see him go to a Chad Henney, a Sam Bradford, or something like that.

We know what those guys are. And you've gone down that road here with Matt Castle and Blaine Gabbert. Look at what Nick Mullins did. And maybe that's the exception to the rule, but also look at what Josh Johnson did. Go find something, a relative unknown, a young player with some upside. You know, maybe you try that with Luke Falk. It didn't work out this year.

I've got no problem spending a late-round pick on another quarterback this spring. Yeah, and it's a little bit different situation this year than it was last year when you talk about quarterback free agents. Like I said, Ryan Fitzpatrick, I don't think any team is going to look at Ryan Fitzpatrick and say, yeah, we want to bring that guy in here as our starter. You've seen that that's not really a road to success. But he can come in and win you games.

Like you said, he doesn't play scared. You can say whatever you want about Ryan Fitzpatrick. But playing scared is not a criticism you can have of him. And I thought Blaine Gabbert played scared at times this year. I thought for sure that Jacksonville game he looked terrified to be out there. But it's a different situation in that, you know, there were a lot of quarterbacks taken in the draft last year. So I think when you look at teams that need a quarterback,

I think you have fewer than you have in the past. Kind of going through the list, I mean, the Dolphins are going to be looking for a quarterback. But, you know, in that division, the Bills, the Patriots, the Jets, they're all, you know, at least set for now. If you move to the AFC North, Ravens, no. Bengals, maybe, but probably not, at least not, you know, a high priority. Browns, no. Steelers, no.

In the Titans division, it would just be the Jaguars you got the Broncos in the west maybe the Raiders but they gave Derek Carr a bunch of money but when you look at the other division I mean really the only other place you can see Tampa maybe if they're going to move on from Jameis Winston which you know that's been rumored um but everybody in the NFC North is set the Redskins I mean I guess there's a chance if um you know the Alex Smith thing you know apparently his leg he got I guess he got an infection and all that stuff. So kind of see how that comes back. But there's only four or five teams that really need a quarterback,

whereas last year it seemed like there was like eight or ten. So you might have a better chance as far as that's concerned. But, I mean, listen, if I'm John Robinson, I put a priority on signing one of Tyrod Taylor, Tay Bridgewater, or Ryan Fitzpatrick. I think one of those guys needs to be here next year, and Fitzpatrick's probably the cheapest of those guys if that's something that, I mean, obviously cost is always a part of the consideration, but I'm going to be disappointed if they don't do something like that.

Just coming off of what we've seen from Marcus Mariota for the last couple of years, I don't know how you don't go into 2019 with a better plan. I think they thought they had it fixed this year. I mean, obviously you hope your quarterback's going to stay healthy, and Blaine Gabbert was good. I mean, he beat the Titans in 2018. So, I mean, he was good at times in that season,

but I think we've seen enough now to know that they need to go in another direction, and I think it needs to be one of those top guys. This is the last stand for Marcus Mariota. I think that much is clear. I don't think you're going to see him come back and

sign a team-friendly deal. I know he says he loves being here, but is he going to give up millions of dollars? What would Marcus command on the open market? Let's play that game. Would someone give him $25 million? I think they would.

Just seeing how Sam Bradford got that deal. Mike Glennon got that deal. I think there's plenty of other examples. But I don't think he's going to take such a team-friendly deal where it's going to entice John Robinson to make that move and stick with him. Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe some of that depends on how he plays next year.

But totally on board with having a backup plan. I'm totally on board with having a backup plan. But, man, I just hope for Marcus' sake his body cooperates with him next year. I don't know if he can do enough. If he goes out and throws 30 touchdowns for 4,000 yards, is that enough? I mean, can you throw out the previous four years of injury concerns and average play to really put that behind you and move on? Maybe. I think we still have to wait to answer that question.

But right now I'm leaning towards this is probably going to be Marcus' final year. Maybe this backup, you can get Teddy Bridgewater, Marcus's final year, maybe this backup you can get Teddy Bridgewater, maybe you can see if you can start grooming him maybe for a couple of seasons here while you wait on another rookie quarterback or something like that. But I think the plan needs to be moving on from Marcus Mariota has to be a realistic option at this point. Yeah, and that sucks, but I think it is where we are. If he does go out and throw 30 touchdowns next year, I think they do pay him.

That's one of those things where that would be a really tough decision. You wouldn't necessarily fault John Robinson either way because once you've seen it, then you're like, okay, well, this guy can – and I think you still have to invest pretty heavily in a backup, because like you're saying, you still have the injury concerns, even if he does go out and stay healthy for 16 games next year. Again, all this goes back to it's just such a tough spot and a place that we didn't think we would be.

And again, listen, I'm not willing yet to say that i don't think he can do it but at this point he's got to show it and like i said we've got one year left here and so it's hard to it it's hard to have a whole lot of faith in that and you've got to have contingency plans at this point i mean it worked to the point where they've got to have something and if you sign teddy bridgewater to a deal you know two three year deal or whatever with with the the thought that he could be the guy that steps in in 2020 and then marcus goes out and lights it up well fine you know you've got both of them they're under contract because at that point you sign marcus and then that's good so um anyway but i think that's got to be a priority

is is getting one of those three guys in here to be behind Marcus. All right, coming up, we'll talk about what they need to do with the rest of the roster to make Marcus Mariota successful in 2019. So he doesn't have enough weapons, right? That's kind of been a theme of his time here. We've already talked a little bit about that. They will get Delaney Walker back. They will get John O'Smith back. They will get Delaney Walker back. They will get Jonu Smith back. We know what Delaney Walker is.

He's getting up there, but hopefully he's able to come back from this injury and be the same guy that he was before. Jonu Smith was really coming on when he got hurt, so I think we feel pretty confident in what he can bring to the table. I think we feel confident in what Corey Davis can do. I'm a little bit less bullish on the ceiling now than I was this time last year maybe, but I still think he's enough to be a really good receiver in this league. But they've got nothing outside of that.

Taewon Taylor, he just doesn't have it. I mean, I don't know. He can't track the ball. He runs into the back of blockers when he gets a screen. I mean, we've seen some good things from him. Two big catches, obviously, in that Jets game. But we've seen inconsistency more than anything else from him. Tajay Sharp, if he's the number five, that's fantastic.

Anything higher than that, I think, is a problem for this team. They've got to address the receiver position this year, and they need to do it in free agency. Again, don't understand why they didn't last year. You're going to have some guys on this market. Most likely, Golden Tate is going to be a free agent, a guy that we talk about them possibly trading for at the trade deadline. A guy like Tyrell Williams, they can stretch the field.

He's set to be a free agent. Now, I mean, any of these guys can re-sign with their teams. They may never hit the market. I mean, all of that is certainly a possibility. But a couple of these guys at least are going to be available. John Brown is on a one-year deal in Baltimore, a guy that was having a really good year before they made the switch in offense, another guy that can stretch the field.

But listen, if I'm John Robinson and we're on this last stand, like you said, with Marcus Mariota, I'm bringing in a couple of these guys. I'm spending the money that it takes to get these guys in here, to upgrade the offense, to finally see what you have, because I think that part of this evaluation does have to boil down to his weapons on the outside are just not good enough. I totally agree, and I think you'll see more names available. You never know who's going to get cut.

You never know who's going to be on the trade block. I don't think they're going to be in on Antonio Brown or Odell Beckham or anything like that. But some lesser options might come available via trade. So keep that in mind when you're trying to figure out who's going to hit the market. But absolutely, you can't. via trade. Keep that in mind when you're trying to figure out who's going to hit the market. Absolutely. If I hear John Robinson say we're happy with our receiving room, I'm done. That's not fair to Marcus Mariota. He's given enough to

this franchise for them to pay up for some receivers. What you've drafted hasn't worked. Let's just be honest. Corey Davis is coming's just let's just be honest Corey Davis is coming on. That's fine. But outside of that there's nothing there You can't rely on a table on Taylor to do normal receiver things. I think you can rely on him to be a deep threat You know a guy that can catch a screen screen pass and make some guys miss but even like you said he took that screen right into the back of a blocker On Sunday, so I think they've got to get stronger there They've got to add some veterans some guys that can come in and even help Corey Davis develop

So, you know, you're gonna hear a lot about Golden Tate. I think that's a fantastic option You know Marcus is gonna get Delaney back. It's just not enough. So we can talk about receivers all we want. I think when Marcus was at his best, it was when the offensive line was playing at their best. When they were protecting him, he was on the money. You go back to the Dallas games, you go back to the Chargers game, he was on the money.

So I think potentially investing in some guards. We don't know what's going to happen with Quentin Spain. They paid Josh Klein. He was awful. Ben Jones might be out. They've got to get some interior help, I believe. And that might be something that they can hit in the draft. But like you were saying, spend on receivers in free agency.

I'm tired of these guys coming in, taking three years to develop, and then potentially never even developing. So I'm fixing receiver right there. I'm drafting in the trenches, both offensively and defensively. Yeah, and I think we've seen the problem here at receiver goes well past John Robinson. I mean, it goes all the way back since the Titans have been here. It just hasn't worked out for any of these guys. I mean, the two most successful receivers that they have drafted are probably, what,

Derek Mason and Drew Bennett. I mean, that's like, you know, and that goes back a long way, obviously. So, you know, and they've had some guys that have been okay. They brought in a free agency. I mean, I think Nate Washington was a really good addition to this team. Rashard Matthews was really good for two years. So, I mean, they've had, you know, some success there. But I think at this point you just throw money at it

and just kind of see what sticks. I don't see why not. I don't know what you're saving it for. And like you said, with the offensive linemen, I feel like you can find those guys in the draft. I do think that probably the highest priority that they have in this upcoming draft is a pass rusher, preferably from the edge, even if it's

an interior guy that you think can can come in and make an impact um that's fine too but you know teams are finding guards centers in the middle rounds all the time and it's time for the times to be able to do that again you know mike munchak left here you know as the head coach, and that didn't go very well. But I think it makes us forget how good he was as an offensive line coach. I mean, there was a lot of time there where they didn't have to worry about spending high picks or spending a lot of money on their interior guys. They could draft a guy late, he could coach them up, and they ended up getting paid somewhere else, and they just brought in the next guy.

So, you know, they need to find a couple of those guys because, like you said, Ben Jones is not here next year, I wouldn't imagine. Josh Klein is probably still here just because, you know, the contract they gave him. But they've got to make a decision on Spain, and I think he has some value on the open market. So, I mean, I think we probably see two new guys in the mix there. And listen, they brought in some guys this offseason to compete,

to try to beat out Spain. It just didn't work out that way. You know, he held them off, and so, you know, good for him. But you're right, that has to get better. And the run game has to be successful if they're going to have success. And, I mean, I think that's the key for pretty much any NFL offense, but especially with a quarterback like Marcus Mariota. You need to have that threat.

They found a running back that can do that. He had his magic moment with Eddie George and decided to start running over people and had great success. I think we can feel confident in his ability to do that going forward. They've got to upgrade all around Marcus in order, I think, for him to have a chance to be successful. Because I'm to the point now where I think the ceiling for Marcus Mariota is a good quarterback when everything around him is right. I don't think he's the transcendent guy, one of those top five guys in the league that can bring in any receiver and not miss a beat, can do it without an offensive line. I think he needs those things.

Now, again, there are only five or six guys on the planet that don't. So that's not necessarily a huge knock at Marcus. But I think until they have everything else around him going right, he's not going to be successful. And so if they want to win in 2019, they've got to spend money in those places. Again, you're not going to find pass rushers in a free agency.

The good ones don't hit the market. Go spend on weapons on the outside, an offensive lineman if one of those guys comes available because they do from time to time and then upgrade everything else in the draft. I think that is the way that they can be successful because look this team was not in seven they had a a ton of injuries so you hope that maybe that you know the injury luck swings back

the other way next year they're not that far from being a legitimate contender but until they upgrade all of these things that we're talking about on offense, we're going to see the same 9-7 type team. 9-7 got virtually nothing out of the quarterback position minus a couple of games here and there. You know, Dallas and the Chargers game and Patriots game. So, yeah, I mean, the roster's pretty good. They didn't really need Marcus to play at a high level to win a bunch of games. So that's the positive here.

But just circling back to what you said about Marcus being that guy that elevated everyone, year one, year two, I think everyone was on board with that thought. And it's funny to see how the perception of that has changed, how that portion of his career has seemingly been forgotten. I mean, you're talking about the guy. You see Patrick Mahomes out here making no-look passes. Marcus Marietta was doing that in his rookie year. So he was playing at a super, super high level through all the injuries,

through all the crap that's been around him, through all the coaching staffs, through all the offenses, somewhere along the way he got broken. And it just sucks. There's no other way to put it. I just think he got broken somewhere along the way. Maybe you can piece it back together. That's kind of why we're wanting this entire coaching staff back,

even if the offense wasn't great. Just give him some continuity. And then finally give him something to work with. Because, you know, I really don't know of any quarterback that walked into this Titans offense last year and has a great year. There was just so much, so much youth, so much inexperience, so many injuries. He deserves this one final shot. He's going to get that still. Like I said, I don't know if it's enough.

We'll just have to see. Yeah, so again, I mean, the most unfortunate thing about all of this is we still don't know. You know, you'd like to have an answer one way or the other, and we just didn't get that yet. And so now we run into 2019, final year, just kind of see how it goes. yet and so now we run into 2019 final year just kind of see how it goes so um but i just hope they do more to help him in this offseason they did last year um because it just it wasn't enough that way that turned out to be you know really obvious and again listen you know john robinson couldn't know that richard matthews was going to quit he could have known that delaney walker was going to go down week one i mean all those things were certainly true but i think even with those

guys they still needed a couple more veteran presence playmakers that could have helped out. All right, that'll do it for today's show. We will be back next week with some more stuff. We'll get into draft needs and roster, looking at the position of the roster and all that stuff over the next couple weeks. Remind you again, we do have the voicemail set up, 615-787-8762. You can react to this show or anything else that you've got going on. Just call in, leave a message, and we'll get to it next week on the show. Follow us on Twitter.

I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening, and we'll talk to you again next week.