Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans BULLIED by Indianapolis Colts, DeAndre Hopkins Breakout & Kristian Fulton Disaster

Episode Date: October 9, 2023

The Tennessee Titans got beat at their own game in a physical battle with the Indianapolis Colts and it leaves them with questions about who they are as a team. Next, the Titans got a huge performance from DeAndre Hopkins in a loss with the veteran catching 8 passes for 140 yards. Finally, Kristian Fulton is killing the Titans' defense on a weekly basis, but the Titans don't have any realistic answers.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitans/videosSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Jase MedicalSave more than $360 by getting these lifesaving antibiotics with Jase Medical plus an additional $20 off by using code LOCKEDON at checkout on jasemedical.com.PrizePicksGo to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnfl and use code lockedonnfl for a first deposit match up to $100!GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed.eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Right now, NEW customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get TWO HUNDRED in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Tennessee Titans have an identity crisis on their hands after they lose 23-16 to the Indianapolis Colts. We're going to break down the loss on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it! You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans Podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's edition of the Locked

on Titans podcast is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, official sportsbook of Locked On. Make every moment more. Right now, new customers can bet $5 and get 200 in bonus bets guaranteed. Visit FanDuel.com slash Locked On to get started. We got a lot to talk about on today's show. The Tennessee Titans have an identity crisis on their hands after they were bullied by the Indianapolis Colts, and we're going to do Tighten Up, Tighten Down. There were some Tighten Ups to discuss as well. We'll talk about DeAndre Hopkins' breakout game, and then when we get to Tighten Down, we'll talk more about Christian Fulton. My lord. But before we get into all that, thank you guys for making the Locked On

Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year long on all apps, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. Tomorrow, Tuesday, is my all 22 review.

I'm going to go into the film, tell you guys what I saw from the Titans. Wednesday is what's next Wednesday, where we look ahead to this week six game against the Baltimore Ravens. Thursday's crossover Thursday. Friday is a game plan Friday where I break down how the Titans can win the game. Make sure you don't miss any of that. Make sure you're tuning in every single day. Shout out to my everydayers out there.

Let me know who you guys are down below. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now. The show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. But with all that being said, it is a recap show. Try to get all the little boxes checked. With that said, the Titans got bullied. And again, they have an identity crisis on their hands.

The run defense was not good enough. The Titans' run game on offense was not good enough. Okay? Outside of Christian Fulton constantly letting the Titans down, the Titans' pass defense was okay. I mean, you go back and you look at the box score here and just generally speaking, I mean, you don't want a box score scout,

but generally speaking, the Colts threw for 236 yards. It wasn't like, you know, against Justin Herbert or something. They were throwing it all over the place. It was the run defense. At the end of the day, again, 193 rushing yards allowed. Zach Moss, 165 yards on his own. The Titans couldn't stop the run, and the Titans couldn't run the ball.

That is who the Tennessee Titans try to be. That is who they want to be. They want to run the football when they need to and they want to stop the run. If they can't do that against this Indianapolis Colts team, then who are they? Who are they? The core of what they believe they are as a football team, they weren't able to do against a division rival that, in theory, they should be better than.

In theory, if you said Jonathan Taylor would have one carry for 16 yards, or Jonathan Taylor would have six carries for 18 yards, ineffective. Anthony Richardson would only play a quarter and a half. You would think the Titans won the game. But they didn't because they got beat at what they want to do the most. Which leaves the Titans, in my opinion, looking in the mirror. They need to figure out, okay, what are we doing this year? If we're going to step up and we're going to beat a Baltimore Ravens

team in London, get our first win not in our own home stadium. Because right now the Titans cannot win on the road. Now, that London game, neither team is the home team, but it's a road game for the Titans where they're not at their home stadium. It's going to be loud. The Ravens are a good football team that wants to run the ball, be physical.

Are the Titans going to step up and be who they want to be? Or are they going to get beat at their own game again? Because the Titans got bullied by the Browns too. And in a game with two physical teams, they got beat by the Saints early. So every time there's a physical battle, the Bengals aren't a physical football team right now. They've never had a great offensive line in this run with Joe Burrow. They have a good defensive line, but you wouldn't categorize the Bengals as a physical, beat-em-up

football team. The Saints, yeah. This version of the Browns, run the ball, bestie. Yes. So every time the Titans have played a more physical football team on the scale of NFL teams, they have lost. And they've been bullied while doing it. The Titans out there were able to throw the ball over the place. But they didn't commit to it until too late. So the Titans really need to do some self-scouting here. They're going to play Baltimore next week. Then they're going to go into the bye week. And I'm

going to be tooting this horn all week long. My everydayers are going to hear this all week long. This is a crossroads game for the Tennessee Titans season. If they go out there and they get bullied by the Baltimore Ravens again, and we're going to talk about this on What's Next Wednesday again, because it's only going to be more apparent as we have the full weekend settled. If the Titans go out there and get out-physicaled and bullied again by the Ravens in London, this season is going to have to change. The Titans are going to have to look themselves in the mirror at 2-4.

We're not able to out-physical any teams. We are the one getting out-physicaled in these games. They're going to have big questions to answer. They're going to have to look in the mirror and again, address who they want to be identity-wise. Because there is no way that the Titans should have been bullied this bad

and out physical this bad against this Indianapolis Colts team. And all credit to the Colts. All credit to the Colts. They deserve it. They were a tough team. They played physical. They executed when their guys were going down.

They had a lot of people missing in the game as well. Starting left tackle was missing. You got to give credit to the Colts here. And if the Titans, where they are right now, aren't better than the Colts, they're not going to be better than the Colts 10 weeks from now. They're not going to be better than the Colts later on in the season as they get more comfortable under a new coaching staff.

So, I thought this was an incredibly disappointing loss for the Titans to get out-physicaled and outright bullied by this Colts team. Again, it's just a sign that this team is maybe not as resilient as Mike Vrabel teams in the past, and

until they win a game outside of Nissan Stadium, there's just no reason to believe that they will. But with that being said, we are going to move forward, do a little tighten up, tighten down, and I'm going to start with the tighten ups because I want to talk a little bit of positivity. I want to talk about some of the bright side of things, all right? I've had enough of the negativity for right now. Let's talk about DeAndre Hopkins having a magnificent game for the Tennessee Titans. Before we get into that, though,

I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, America's number one sportsbook. Look, guys, it's the best time ever to join FanDuel right now during the NFL season. And new customers right now can get $200 in bonus bets guaranteed. When you place a $5 bet, that's $200 in bonus bets whether you win or lose. If you're thinking about joining FanDuel, there's no better time to get in on the action. The app is easy to use. You can bet on everything

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Before we get into it though, do want to let you guys know that football season is here and Locked On is kicking up our coverage with Locked On NFL Kickoff Live. Every Friday, Locked On will go live at 2 p.m. Eastern on every Locked On NFL YouTube channel. That includes here on Locked On Titans. Hosts Tenetra Batiste, Jarvis Davis, and Kyle Krabs will break down every game on the NFL slate and get you ready for your team's matchup, your fantasy lineups, your betting angles, and more in-depth coverage from our local experts all over the country, including me. Find Locked On NFL Kickoff Live every Friday at 2 p.m. Eastern

on any Locked On NFL YouTube channel. It's time for Tighten Up, Tighten Down. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to get into my tighten ups. We're going to do a little positivity here for just a moment because there were a lot of positive performances. Let me know who your biggest tighten ups are down in the comments right now. And of course, we'll get to tighten down the bad performances at the end of the show. But we got to start with DeAndre Hopkins.

Look, this seemed like an obvious DeAndre Hopkins spot. The Colts secondary has been struggling. They have multiple rookie cornerbacks playing. They have poor cornerback play in general. This was an opportunity. And DeAndre Hopkins had his first breakout game or the moment he became a Titan in this game. Eight catches, 140 yards.

Got 10 targets on the day. Should have got even more. I can't believe when the Titans were down there in that last red zone opportunity where they went to Derrick Henry on fourth and one. I can't believe that on third down they didn't at least throw at Hopkins once. One of those two plays, you've got to go to DeAndre Hopkins. He had 52 yards on that drive to get him down there on two catches. Just unreal, but Hopkins showed it. He still got it. He's still a guy. Eight catches, 140 yards again. Fantastic performance.

Exactly what the Tennessee Titans needed, a true number one wide receiver. It's just incredible that, not incredible maybe is the right word, but it's disappointing that the Titans would have DeAndre Hopkins have that kind of day and the passing offense looked the way that it looked for most of the day and the Titans still can't get it done.

You know, it's just tough to accept. But at for most of the day, and the Titans still can't get it done. You know, it's just tough to accept. But at the end of the day, a great game from DeAndre Hopkins. He deserves the credit. He's still got it. He is absolutely nothing like the Julio Jones experience or the Andre Johnson or the Randy Moss experience. We could put that behind us. That has absolutely put the bed at this point.

So, a tighten-up for DeAndre Hopkins. Also, a tighten-up for Tajay Spears. Spears was the better running back today. I wish Spears would have gotten more carries. I wish Spears would have got the ball more. He was the more explosive player. Whether it be out of the back field catching the ball, Spears had four catches for 35 yards on five targets.

Whether it be running the football, Spears had seven carries for 34 yards and the reverse for a touchdown. Tajay Spears is the better running back for the Titans in certain matchups, and they need to make sure that they accept it and see it. And in this game, the Titans should have gone with Tajay Spears. More 13 carries was three too many for Derrick Henry, in my opinion, who had 43 yards on the day, 3.3 yards per carry.

Tajay Spears was at 4.9 yards per carry, and yes, that is boosted by a 19-yard touchdown run, but I still thought that getting the ball to Tajay Spears was at 4.9 yards per carry, and yes, that is boosted by a 19-yard touchdown run, but I still thought that getting the ball to Tajay Spears should have been something the Titans did more. I mean, on the day, again, only 11 touches in the game when outside of Hopkins, he was absolutely your best player on offense. Also going to give a Titan up to Chika Conquo. He did have a drop in this game, but five catches, 33 yards.

I thought when he had opportunities, he caught the ball. He did the best he could. I think he was helpful out there for the Titans. Outside of that, I thought Jeffrey Simmons tried. Now, Simmons is probably going to get like a bad run defense grade from pro football focus. When we look at it on Monday, I always tweet that stuff out at Tic Tac Titans on Twitter.

It's probably not going to show as a fantastic performance, but with the lack of help that Simmons was getting, I thought he was trying to affect the game. I thought he was getting to the backfield, getting pressure. I thought Jeffrey Simmons did the best that he could. And he got hurt during the game, got friendly fire from one of his defense mates and was playing with an injured shoulder in run defense.

When you're asked to play that hard, it's going to be tough with an injured shoulder. I thought Jeffrey Simmons did his absolute best to come out there and play and try. So shout out to Simmons. Also, Sean Murphy bunting. I mean, he gave up a few catches in this game, but that physical tackle to force the fourth down and force the field goal against Michael Pittman late in the game. I thought Sean Murphy bunting was solid.

When Christian Fulton is deceived that he is on the other side of the ball, I don't blame teams for not going at Sean Murphy bunting over and over, and maybe that makes him seem like he's playing better than he is, but he's physical, he tackles, and he's just not a major issue. He just does his job, all right? So, tighten up for Sean Murphy bunting, and we got to do a tighten up for two guys on special teams. One, Nick Folk still hasn't missed a kick.

Three for three, hit a 53-yarder again. I mean, Nick Folk is absolutely fantastic for the Titans. No way around it. And I also thought Anthony Kendall. He had one tackle on the day, but I thought Anthony Kendall was really good on coverage units on special teams. So there are some positives. Also, in general, the Titans pass offense.

I mean, Tannehill threw for 264 yards. They only gave up one sack on the day. I thought Tannehill had time in the second half. Hopkins, eight catches, 140. Spears, four for 35. Chick, five for 33. I thought it was a pretty good day for the pass offense. The play-action pass was there all day long.

The Titans were taking advantage. They just weren't able to get it done in the red zone. That's all that it really comes down to. So, honestly, for me, all that it really comes down to. So, honestly, for me, I'm not that upset by the Tennessee Titans offense today. I know the points don't show it, but for me,

it's all about that red zone offense because the Tennessee Titans were one for four in the red zone. You're not going to win doing that in these games. And Tannehill throws the interception at the end. He's just trying to make a play. I don't really see anything bad with that. I don't know if I want to give Tannehill a tighten interception at the end. He's just trying to make a play. I don't really see anything bad with that. I don't know if I want to give Tannehill a tighten up.

23 for 34, 264, no touchdowns, interception. Thought he missed a couple of throws. Overall, he wasn't a big issue though. But again, when I watch the NFL every weekend, and I see teams with quarterbacks who are making plays, elevating the cast around them, second reaction, playmaking. Tannehill just doesn't do enough of that compared to the other quarterbacks in the NFL.

He just doesn't. And that may not be a huge issue in this game, that game, but over the course of a season, it's just so many opportunities that you don't get that other teams do get because their quarterback can play me. So I'm not going to blame Tannehill here. I'm not going to give him a tighten down, but I'm not going to give him a tighten up as well.

To me, it's more about the passing offense. He had a ton of time, play action, wide open Hopkins, just making the easy throws and getting the ball to it. Nothing to elevate the team. So it's not his fault. I'm not blaming him. It's not a tighten down. But at the same time, same thing with him. It's not a tighten down.

But at the same time, same thing with Henry, not giving him a tighten down, I'm not going to give him a tighten up either. So that's where I'm at on that. But we're going to move forward, and it's time to talk about some tighten downs. Because my Lanta, there were some bad performances out there in this game.

Before we get into all of that though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. These days, every new potential hire can feel like a high-stage wager for your small business. You want to be 100% certain that you have access to the best qualified candidates available. That's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs

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Terms and conditions apply. Titans fans let's cap off this recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast we are going to dive into my Titan downs we've already talked about the Tennessee Titans as a whole and the identity crisis that they face. DeAndre Hopkins breakout game with the Titan Ups. Now I want to get into the Titan Downs. And of course, make sure you let me know your Titan Downs

down below in the comment section or tag me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. Let me know your Titan Downs, your Titan Ups. If I missed anything, if you agree, disagree, all that. But getting into these tight end downs, number one, we got to start with Christian Fulton. I mean, through two games, Christian Fulton was allowing a perfect passer rating

when throwing his direction. I would imagine it's something similar coming out of this game. Michael Pittman had five catches for 52 yards. A lot of those were on Christian Fulton. Josh Downs had the big catch on Christian Fulton. And of course, I wasn't high on Josh Downs coming into the draft. And now Josh Downs is putting six for 97 on the Titans. But a lot of that was Christian Fulton letting him get beat deep and giving him pockets. Every time there was a big play needed to be made, the Colts could go at

Christian Fulton. It would be a catch. It would be a penalty. And this isn't new. Christian Fulton's up and down play has killed the Titans for a few years now, but there hasn't even been up and down play this year. It's only down play. Only down. I talked about it. Mike Vrabel said at halftime he had to consider benching Christian Fulton, but he coached him up and hoped he would do better.

I mentioned this in my instant recap. The problem is the Titans don't have anybody as talented as Christian Fulton to replace him. Trey Avery, Caleb Farley isn't ready to play in any way. What are they, Eric Garor, Anthony Kendall, bring back Armani Marsh. Like, the Titans don't have anybody at cornerback

who they can replace him with. You could try Trey Avery, but when Trey Avery played against the Chargers, he gave up 12 for 15 for over 100 yards and two touchdowns and a penalty. Like, Trey Avery, but when Trey Avery played against the Chargers, he gave up 12 for 15 for over 100 yards and two touchdowns and a penalty. Like, Trey Avery got killed. So, I don't have a good answer for what the Titans can do at cornerback.

Wait until next year's draft and draft a guy. That is my answer. Because there is no answer for the Titans right now to fix that cornerback spot or to bench Christian Fulton. They can't do it. If they do, it's not going to get better. It's going to be a player with less talent. Yeah, maybe they make less mental mistakes,

but they have less talent in general, so they're going to get beaten other ways. It's just... Here's the reality. The Titans need a first-round offensive tackle, and they need a first-round cornerback right now. That's what the Titans need a first-round offensive tackle, and they need a first-round cornerback right now. That's what the Titans need on this team. And John Robinson tried, and they were busts.

So there is no good answer right now for this team in that department with Christian Fulton playing the way that he is. Outside of Fulton, the interior defensive line backups for T.R. Tartt were terrible. Kyle Pecco, Jaleel Johnson, Naquan Jones, awful. They got moved around consistently by the Colts offensive line. Not only that, but the linebackers had their worst game of the season by far. Aziz, Gibbons, not only in being in the right spot in run defense and getting off of blocks when a lineman gets on you, but tackling.

The tackling was the biggest tighten down of this whole game. The Titans did not tackle worth a squat, man. It was just insane to see the Titans falling off so many tackles. It was disturbing, quite honestly. The tackling is probably the biggest tighten down, but it's a tighten down for the interior D-line backups, a tighten down for the linebackers. Honestly, a tighten down, when you give up this many rushing yards, it's a tighten down for everybody because the safeties were bad, the linebackers were bad,

the interior D-line and the edges were bad. I mean, Rashad Weaver just is not good in run defense. He's just not good. He's not disciplined in his rush. He's just not a guy who has lived up to what we hoped that he could be. We know that now. From last year to this year, we know. It's disappointing, but that's the reality. The depth on this defense is nowhere near where it needs to be and if we were all honest That's the reality. The depth on this defense is nowhere near where it needs to be. And if we were all honest with ourselves, we knew that coming into this game.

We knew that coming into this season, that this roster was not very deep. So, unfortunate, but that's the reality. Also, Aaron Brewer is not good enough to be a starter in the NFL. He's simply not good enough to be a starter. Mike Vrabel loves him. I don't think that they'll change. I don't think they'll make that kind of move.

But Aaron Brewer is not getting it done. He's just not. He's not a starter in the NFL. The Titans need a new center. Kyle Phillips, ghost. Gave the Titans absolutely nothing. Nothing. So he's not a difference maker, ghost. Gave the Titans absolutely nothing. Nothing. So he's not a difference maker, folks.

He's not a difference maker. He's a fifth-round rookie who's a one-down player who can barely punt return, which he has to to have value to stay on the roster. I hope that he can help them, but it's just certain things that we need to accept at this point. And then a Titan down for the coaches. Titans got outcoached in this game, in my opinion. Bad plan on offense early on.

Not being able to slow down the run in any way on defense. I thought Mike Vrabel kicking a field goal late in the game when it was a third short. I think you go for that. Tim Kelly didn't adjust quick enough. Shane Bowen didn't have a good enough plan coming in. This could have been a worse, honestly, guys, this could have been a worse loss if Anthony Richardson kept playing.

I think Garner Minshew was perfectly good enough to win, and he did. But this could have been even worse if Anthony Richardson was out there and even a fully healthy, fully ready-to-go Jonathan Taylor. So this has to be a look-in-the-mirror situation for the Titans, and they got a lot of answers that they're going to need to provide against the Ravens next week. But that is going to do it for this recap edition of the Locked on Titans podcast.

I'll be back with you guys tomorrow for Tic Tac Tuesday, dive into all the film. But as always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.