Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Malcolm Butler Injury Fallout, Titans Talk & Song of the AFC South

Episode Date: November 5, 2019

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, I don't know about you, but it feels like the sky is falling. If you go online whatsoever, everyone is acting as if the Titans don't have a win this year and they're one of the bottom feeders in the NFL. While I'm here to remind you that the Titans still are in the playoff picture and on the bubble and while things have looked bad, a little bit of an improvement and a little bit of a winning streak here could keep the Titans right in the conversation for making the playoffs.

So things are not as bad as they seem. Now that doesn't mean that things are good. So today we have to talk about a few things that aren't so good. Malcolm Butler is lost for the season. So in our first segment, we are going to talk a little bit about that and how the Titans respond and why that's such a huge loss, even though he is a little bit of a divisive player in the Titans fan base. In our second segment, I'm going to give you guys a little bit of some Titans talk. I want to hear from some players. I thought there were some

interesting quotes from some players. And of course, everyone wants to fire Mike Vrabel. That's the new wave that everybody is on. So I'm going to give you a little bit of an extended Titans talk and let you hear from the players and Mike Vrabel's press conference from the day after, which I think it's important to at least let him speak for himself and for us to all hear what he has to say. If he does end up getting canned at the end of the year, at least we'll know how he felt and what his logic was. And he owes that to us, in my opinion, for some of the things that we're seeing.

In our third segment, I do want to end on something positive. So I'm going to remind everybody where the Titans are in the playoff picture. And they are in the playoff picture, ladies and gentlemen. So the sky isn't falling. The world isn't ending. Things are bad right now. But it's nothing that the Titans can't turn around and think that if they've played this bad in your mind and are only four and five, well then, hey, maybe things will get better. So we will jump into all of that. Let's get it. Your Tennessee Titans lead story is the injury to Malcolm Butler. It appears that he did break his wrist on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers,

and he will be out for the remainder of the season. This is a pretty big blow to the Tennessee Titans defense, considering the type of production and the type of play that Malcolm Butler has provided to the Titans throughout the season and last season quite frankly at least the back half so we will talk about that one thing to consider here is not only what the Titans will lose with Malcolm Butler's production on the field but the type of trust and the type of ability he had mentally to work within the scheme what they'll lose, just having a player out there that allows them to do so much and that they can rely on to be in the right place and do

the right thing. So far this season, Malcolm Butler has had 32 tackles, one tackle for loss. He's had nine pass breakups, two interceptions, including the one that he took to the house against the Browns in week one. He's been very productive. And of course, like you'll have anytime you play cornerback in the NFL, he has given up some big plays here and there, some touchdowns one-on-one in the red zone throughout the season. But quite frankly, he's been fantastic. And he's physical in the run game.

He'll come up and make stops and he'll play his gap. He'll blitz, which is something the Titans do a lot is blitz their defensive back. So he's willing to get in there and make tackles and take on linemen. He jams his receivers at the line of scrimmage. He basically eliminated Julio Jones for a lot of the game against the Falcons. So Malcolm Butler has had some stellar performances. He was much maligned for the beginning of his tenure with the Titans last year he had 69 tackles he had four interceptions one sack 12 pass breakups I apologize four three interceptions three forced fumbles had a touchdown return last year on an interception through the back half of the season he was one of the highest rated cornerbacks in the league per pro football focus so he gave a lot to this Titans team since basically the middle of the season last year

after signing a five-year 61 million dollar contract so really disappointing to see him go out he made a one-on-one play in the red zone while breaking his wrist against the Panthers so really disappointing when he was having such a good year. And he was really living up to his contract for the Titans after maybe, you know, having a little bit of struggles to begin his career here. Now, one thing to consider is, like I said, it's not just losing Malcolm Butler's production on the field and him as a player. It's his replacement and what that takes away.

The Titans run a lot of complex coverages like I said they blitz their defensive backs Malcolm Butler is so solid in the run game and often he has put on the team's number one stud receiver if they have one like Julio Jones because he's willing to get physical with them at the line of scrimmage his replacement is LaShawn Sims and while LaShawn Sims is a very capable and solid fourth cornerback in the NFL, he's going to be asked to be a starter in the Titans nickel packages and dime packages. And that may not be something that's going to work out long term here. He's played 51 games for the Titans.

He has two interceptions after coming out of Southern Utah. And we saw what he was able to give the Titans in the Malcolm Butler role against a top wide receiver in Mike Evans in Tampa Bay when Adoree Jackson was out with an injury. Now, we're talking about Mike Evans, who is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, so I don't want to grade LaShawn Sims too harshly on that. Sims too harshly on that, but it does show you just his limitations compared to Malcolm Butler when you look at Malcolm Butler against somebody like Julio Jones and his performance and then what LaShawn Sims was able to do against Mike Evans. Adoree Jackson isn't the most physical corner and while he's having a very good year in my opinion after having some bonehead mistakes at the beginning of the year, LaShawn Sims just doesn't have the ability to cover receivers like that, and Adore Jackson against those bigger receivers

doesn't really have the physicality to be able to do that. So it just eliminates a type of matchup that the Titans are able to have in the secondary. Another aspect is that LaShawn Sims, quite frankly, can't be trusted to run the cover just called. Like Malcolm Butler is, he's a veteran. He's played in every type of situation possible. So losing that aspect of the defense will hurt the Titans as well. We'll see how they respond against the Kansas City Chiefs. That will do it for our first segment. Disappointing to see Malcolm go down for the

season. In our second segment, we will do some Titans talk. I will let you hear from head coach Mike Vrabel's day after press conference and some of the players whose quotes I found interesting, just a few in there. I think it's important to let Mike Vrabel explain himself at the minimum. So we will get into that next. Fellas, let's talk about the bedroom. Ever wish you could increase your performance or maybe just need a little confidence boost in bed? Well, listen up. BlueChew.com. That's blue, just like the color. Blue Chew brings you the first chewable with the same FDA-approved active ingredient as Viagra and Cialis, so you know they work.

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prepares and ships direct, they're cheaper than a pharmacy. Right now, we've got a special deal for our listeners. Visit bluechew.com and get your first shipment free when you use our special code LOCKEDON. Just pay $5 for shipping. Again, that's B-L-U-E-2.com. Promo code LOCKEDON to try it for free. Titans talk. So let's hear from some of the Titans players and eventually head coach Mike Vrabel about their thoughts on the game on Sunday. We will start with Corey Davis.

I do want to point out that Teron Davenport, who does an excellent job covering the Titans, asked a really good question for Corey Davis about if he's the number one receiver on some of the plays that are called. His response, I found very interesting. At some point in time, the frustration level with the coaching staff on offense is going to bubble over, and the players aren't going to be able to bite their tongue forever. They're doing a really good job of being professional and trying to you know point the thumb not the finger but it's very obvious that that these players are frustrated with the

offensive coaching so just wanted to point out a really good question from Teron I don't normally leave the questions in but I did on this one to make sure that you you guys heard that and got Corey Davis's response and knew what he was responding to exactly so that it's not taken out of context. So we start with Corey Davis. We go to Taylor LeJuan. We go to Derek Henry. And then we finish with Ryan Suckup. So I'm sure you guys will be able to tell the difference in the voices there. I tried to chop it up so it's pretty easy for you to tell. We will then jump into head coach Mike Vrabel. A lot of his answers aren't really satisfactory to me. It's the same old, same old. But like I've said throughout the show,

I do think it's important that he has the opportunity to at least explain himself to Titans fans. So I wanted to make sure you guys got to check that out. Can everybody in here trust the game plan? I mean, we're going to see. When you're putting up zero points. I mean, it's definitely tough. It's definitely tough.

But like I said, we're going to have to go in there and watch this film as a team, and then we're going to go from there. You're the number one receiver on this team. Are they calling plays where you are the first read? You got to ask them that. We're definitely facing some adversity.

We've been down, and it's definitely not a position that we want to be in, but it's where we're in, so we got to evaluate evaluate, like I said, and make sure we can move forward and focus on what we need to focus on. I don't think it's a lack of effort. I think all these guys work their ass off. I think we all work our ass off, but that starts with me,

and I take personal responsibility for those types of things. And when it comes to a lack of energy on the field, I do believe that starts, like I said, a thousand times, it starts with me. And when you have two penalties back to back, just kills drives, kills drives, kills momentum. And I take that very personally. Yeah, no, I mean, if there's another game to play, it's correctable. So, I mean, we got to take a big look in the mirror. Negative plays just can't happen. I don't know why that we have so many. It hasn't really been an issue in the past, I think.

But, like I said, I take responsibility for those types of things with the penalties. And, you know, we've just got to be better. And I've got to come out with more energy in the beginning and kind of get things going. And so I'm just disappointed in myself. I don't know. You know, it's kind of played this for a little bit now, and I just think, you know, at the end of the day,

they played better than us. They took advantage of situations when we didn't. Our defense played their ass off for us, and we just as an offense need to figure out a way to get started faster and I know it's redundant and I know it's annoying to hear and if I was a fan I'd be frustrated too. As a player I'm frustrated and I do believe that starts with me and I had to find a way to come up with better energy in the beginning. I think that's a big part of it. Yeah, I know, man. Just, you know, starting slow.

You know, those penalties killed us. Self-inflicted wounds. You know, we can't start off like that on a team like this. You know, just gave them all the momentum with those penalties. Just got to start fast to be better, you know, as a whole. And just be focused on what we need to do. No, I wasn't frustrated at all. I just wanted us to get going.

You know, put some plays together. You know, so we can get some momentum going, put points on the board, you know, because, you know, going in down 17 at halftime, you know, that's never good, you know, on a team like that. So, you know, like I said, we just shot ourselves in the foot one too many times. You know, we got going late in the second half, you know, but, you know, we just, you know, got to put plays together early put plays together early to give us a chance. Well, obviously, I had a good week of practice. It felt like things were really progressing nicely,

and then it obviously just didn't get it done today. And so that's tough. That's on me. I don't know. I think, obviously, as the game goes on, you're just trying to stay loose and trying to stay into it. And, you know, it felt, like I said, it was just tough because it felt like things were really going in the right direction this week.

And then, obviously, I just didn't get it done today. So, you know, I think I'll look at the tape and kind of see where we go. But, you know, I'll certainly look at everything and try to figure out exactly what happened. You know, no, I don't think so. I think, like I said, I felt like things were – I felt like this week at practice in particular, I really was starting to really hit the ball well.

And so it's just frustrating when I didn't do it today. So that was tough. No, you know, I'm not going to make any excuses or, you know, anything like that. I think I'll look at it and figure out how to get better, how to grow from this, and that's what we'll do. I think we have to not stall on the red zone. Great play by Tajay that forced a defensive pass interference. Took a sack and then ended up a yard short on third and 14.

Missed a field goal. Come back and gained 13 yards with Derek. Had a holding, had a face mask, had another face mask. Ultimately, obviously ended up punting. ultimately, obviously ended up punting. I think we need to, we gained some yards, 23 yards, AJ. Next play was a false start. So those are a lot of self-inflicted wounds.

That's really just not allowing us to, you know, get into drives because when we have gotten it down to the red zone, we've continued to score touchdowns and so I'm just not hurting ourselves not killing ourselves The things that I just talked about is because of energy Then then we should focus on energy, but I don't know committing penalties and holding and face masks Last I checked that didn't have anything to do with energy He's a very large part of it as you can see that once we were able to stay on track like we were in the second half, it was a large part of it.

Had a couple screens, a catch and run out of backfield. We ran the ball. We were able to block 59 and gain yards. But because of the way things went in the first half, it made it hard. Like I said, we had 11 plays out of, I think, the first 21 plays that were either first and 15, second and 10-plus, third and extra long, third and 14. Those are tough spots to be in when you want to try to have an identity

to run the football, throw play passes, run boots, run screens, mix in drop back passes. Those are tough down in distances to run that. But when we can stay on track and run it, throw play passes, throw screens, you can see that there was some effective and good football. When guys, we have to recognize when we see a look during the game that maybe somebody ran last week against us that that might have worked,

that, you know, we prepared for and we've coached, but maybe hadn't showed up as much on, you know, film, or we just have to be ready. You know, hey, if there's five defensive linemen and they're all down in a stance at the line of scrimmage, we have to reasonably expect that there's going to be some kind of game. There's going to be some kind of twist or pick game. So that you continue to have carryover from week to week

and just understand what's going on and how we're playing the game and the things that we have to do and essentially the keys to the game for us to have success. And that was being able to block 59, you know, put a hat on 59. And when we did that, we honestly gained yards and go back and track it. And when we didn't, for whatever reason, you know, whether somebody missed a block or someone mis-ID'd or there was some communication at the line of scrimmage, we didn't gain any yards.

We knew that our ability to get down to the red zone and continue to score touchdowns was going to be a key. We just didn't get down there soon enough. So we just have to make sure that we're ready to go and that we're not hurting ourselves early in the game. And when we do get it down there, that we're able to go and that we're not hurting ourselves early in the game. And when we do get it down there, that we're able to string some plays together like we did the other day, whether we get it down there by a big player or it happened to be a penalty. Well, I think that the value on all of our jobs is below average because we're four and five. So we haven't played well enough and we haven't coached well enough.

That's where I value all our efforts, starting with me. Well, the thing, when you talk about touches, I think that there's plays that I think are designed maybe for guys, but I don't want to fall into that trap. I want to make sure that the one thing I coach the receivers is you can't control how many times they throw you the ball. You can only control that you're open when you do run a route. And it's our job to evaluate that you the ball. You can only control that you're open when you do run a route. And it's our job to evaluate that you are open. And then the quarterback ultimately makes the

decision where to go with the football. And we have to coach him up when there's, you know, favorable looks or somebody's taken away, you know, the first option to be able to progress. But then to be able to do that, we need, you know, great effort from the offensive line, which, But then to be able to do that, we need great effort from the offensive line, which it all ties together. And then the expectations, again, it's not – we talk to them about not looking around and saying, man, whose fault is that? It's everybody's fault. Nobody's played good enough for us to remain consistent.

But there's been times where we have played well, and there's times where everybody's performed. Whether we drop a ball or fumble, those are all things that contribute to not playing well. So that was Corey Davis, Taylor LeJuan, Derek Henry, Ryan Suckup, and head coach Mike Vrabel. In our third segment, we are going to do a little bit of song of the AFC South and go over the AFC playoff picture and see if we can end this episode on a high note.

Before we do, I want to remind you guys that Peloton is offering a limited time offer. Get $100 off accessories when you purchase the Peloton bike and get a great cardio workout at home. Go to onepeloton.com and use promo code LOCKED to get started. So let's finish up and do our third segment on some song of the AFC South combined with a little bit of the AFC playoff picture. So after the disappointing loss to the Panthers, I just wanted to give you guys a little bit of an update on where the Titans sit right now. So at 4-5, they are technically in the hunt.

If you want to look at the general lingo that we see on these TV shows and the graphics that you're going to see all over the place on TV and on the internet all week. So right now, the Titans sit at four and five, and they do have quite an opportunity to make a push. The Raiders are in this conversation, the Colts and the Texans, the Jaguars, all teams that the Titans get to play again, the Colts and the Texans, the Jaguars, all teams that the Titans get to play again, some even multiple times, like the Texans, who the Titans play week 15 and 17. So they do have an opportunity to control their own fate. If the Titans were to beat the Raiders, beat the Colts, beat the Jags, beat the Texans twice, well, now you're talking about five wins, which would at least get them to nine.

So if they have the opportunity to win one other game, well, now you're talking about five wins, which would at least get them to nine. So if they have the opportunity to win one other game, well, now you're talking about 10-6. And I know that that's a long shot with the way the team is playing right now, but I am here to maybe lift your spirits a little bit and let you guys know that while the Titans aren't playing the type of football we want to see right now, they are not completely out of the playoff mix. So that's one thing to look at. So let's just go over it completely.

The Patriots at 8-1 are the number one seed in the AFC right now. The Ravens at 6-2, probably be the second best team at the moment with the Chiefs missing Pat Mahomes. The Texans improved to 6-3. Deshaun Watson continues to just be an absolute superstar for them and an MVP candidate. The Chiefs are 6-3 and still winning games and surviving with their great organizational structure. The Chiefs are

like everything that I wish the Titans could be. A good offensive mind, veteran play caller, and Andy Reid with a competent and exciting offense. Now they lack on the defensive end, but they're just an exciting football team and it would be nice to see the Titans emulate some of their success. So that's the division leaders at this moment in time. I don't mind the Texans being a division leader at this time, I guess, because the Titans do get to play them twice. So the wild cards are the Bills who sit at six and two. They do not appear to be a fluke whatsoever. Very, very talented defense and some good coaching. The Bills are doing things in a smart way and playing smart complementary football and relying on that defense that they do have there. I do suspect that they'll continue to play well and

fight for a playoff spot. The only thing I really see derailing them is possible injuries and even then they are well coached and have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Titans in their one matchup. The Colts, after losing Jacoby Brissett and having Adam Vinatieri again kill their chances at getting a win, the Colts go to 5-3, and with Brissett's injury, it looks like it's an MCL sprain. He may not be out for a long time, but if he misses any time, clearly Brian Hoyer, the third quarterback for the Colts on the season, is not the player that Brissette was and definitely isn't the player that Luck ever was.

So they'll take a little bit of a hit there, but like the Bills, they're a well-coached team with, you know, complimentary football and they play the right way and do everything kind of in sync. So maybe having a backup quarterback like we saw against the Steelers wouldn't completely kill their chances. But as a Titans fan who needs to get into that spot, you'd rather see Brian Hoyer than Brissette, that's for sure. In the hunt group, on the bubble group,

the Steelers are at 4-4 with Mason Rudolph at quarterback. That's one team I feel like the Titans, if they just play good football, will eventually be able to climb over. But the Steelers, with a big win over the Colts, kept themselves in playoff contention despite having the injury to their starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. The Raiders are at 4-4, much maligned in the offseason and hard knocks. A lot of people were crushing Gruden out there. They're a pretty competent football team.

But the Titans do get the chance to play the Raiders in the coming weeks. So that's encouraging from a Titans perspective that you'll have a head-to-head matchup against that team. Then we have the 4-5 crew, the Chargers, who the Titans have already beat head-to-head, so that's okay. They are a talented team, though. They have a lot of talented players and good veterans on that team, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them stay in the hunt for the time being,

but having that head-to-head victory is good for the Titans. The Jags are at 4-5 as well. The Titans have another matchup against the Jags with their quarterback situation now in flux. I think the Titans could play a lot better with an improved offense, and they would have given a much better showing if the offense was in its current state than the state that it was in when they played in Week 3. So that pretty much sums up the AFC playoff picture and where the

Titans division opponents sit at this time I know it sounds crazy but the Titans really can control their own destiny here they play a lot of these teams in the coming weeks they have a lot of division games left they have two games against the division leader so as I keep saying every week I know that it seems like the sky is falling for this team, but another good game to get them back to.500 this week against a Chiefs team that may get Pat Mahomes back, and the season would just feel completely different again. Boy, is it a roller coaster for us Titans fans. Well, we went over Malcolm Butler's injury in the first segment and how that impacts the team. We did some Titans talk with you guys in the second segment,

and we did our Song of the AFC South and AFC Playoff picture review in our third segment. So I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. Tomorrow we will do our Crossover Wednesday event, and we will have the hosts of the Locked on Chiefs on the show to discuss the upcoming game. I will have a lot of questions for them and how Matt Moore has changed the offense or if it's changed at all.

So you guys always seem to enjoy that. I enjoy those shows as well and having somebody to kind of go back and forth with. So hopefully you will check that out. Make sure that you subscribe to the podcast if you aren't already on, you know, Apple Podcast, Google Play, Spotify really helps us out. Also, I've never asked for this before ever really um I don't want to require you guys to do a lot to try to help out other than just listen I appreciate that as well but if you wouldn't mind possibly rating and reviewing the show on iTunes it would really help out haven't

gotten a review since I started doing the show probably because I don't ask which is fine but if you guys wouldn't mind maybe dropping a rating in there, I'm not going to campaign for five stars or anything like that. Just an honest rating would be great. So I appreciate it, guys. Hope you enjoyed the show. I'm your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. you