Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans BULLY Los Angeles Chargers, Classic Titans Offense, Clutch Defense & Peter Skoronski Update

Episode Date: September 18, 2023

The Tennessee Titans got back in the win column against the Los Angeles Chargers with a 27-24 victory in overtime. Ryan Tannehill will get all the headlines, but the Titans got a total team effort that drove the win. We saw classic Titans offense and clutch defensive plays including a key contribution on special teams from Nick Folk. Finally, the Titans were without guard Peter Skoronski and we got some rumors as to what caused the absence.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. BetterHelpThis podcast is brought to you by BetterHelp. If you’re thinking of starting therapy, give BetterHelp a try. Visit BetterHelp.com/Lockedon today to get 10% off your first month.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. eBay Motors dot 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

Ryan Tannehill silenced his doubters against the Los Angeles Chargers, but it was a total team effort that got the Titans back in the win column. We're going to break it all down on a victory 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. This victory edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to faster. Post your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your That's LinkedIn.com slash LockedOnNFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. We got to talk about a total team effort

for the Tennessee Titans that got them back to their winning ways. Ryan Tannehill was great, but everybody stepped up in this game across the board. We'll talk about that. Also, we got to get into tighten up, tighten down. And after a win like that, we're only doing tighten up. So we'll go through all the good performances in Sunday's win.

And then finally, we'll talk about the Peter Skowronski situation that happened at the end of the week and over the weekend and kind of get an update on where that's at. So before we get into all that, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all apps, always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed,

stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network where it's your team every day. Throw a thumbs up on the video. Show's always free. All I ask for in return is the press of a button. And of course, shout out to my everydayers out there. Tomorrow, we'll be diving into the tape on Tic Tac Tuesday. What's next?

Wednesday to look forward to the next game. Then crossover Thursday behind enemy lines information and game plan Friday where I tell you how the Tennessee Titans need to win this game. And that is a perfect segue into the start of our conversation because we talked about some things on the Game Plan Friday episode. We talked about a few things that would be very important for the Titans. And I said what the Titans needed to do in this game

is bully the Los Angeles Chargers. They needed to out-physical them. They needed to move them around. They needed to run the ball down their throat with Derrick Henry. They needed to go classic Tennessee Titans football. Derrick Henry, Derrick Henry. Oh, a little play action. Catching you sleeping.

And that is exactly what the Tennessee Titans offense did. Ryan Tannehill was 7 for 9 and 168 yards on play action. 7 for 9 for 168 yards on play action. 7 for 9 for 168 yards. 168 yards out of his 246 came on play action throws. You get Ryan Tannehill in play action, you prosper. Classic Titans football. Physical, beat you up, punch you. They led the time of possession 36 minutes to 28.

That's absolutely what they had to do. Red zone offense and defense. The formula is simple. I said it on Friday. You're not going to stop the Chargers from moving the ball. They're a good offense. They have great weapons. They have smart coaching on offense. They're going to move the ball.

It's about can you make them kick field goals. And the Titans defense in the red zone held the Chargers offense to 2 of 5. Boom. Getting the job done. On the flip side, the Titans would have won that game against the Saints if their red zone offense wasn't so bad. I think they went 0 for3 or 1-4. 0-3. 0-3. Had to be.

They went 0-3 in the red zone. 3-4 in the red zone for the Titans offense against the Chargers. That is Tennessee Titans football. The Titans have been really good in the red zone for multiple years. So it was crazy to see last week, but obviously that's a tough Saints defense. This is Tennessee Titans football. Run it down your throat. Pound you with Derrick Henry.

Play action and catch you sleeping. Let Tannehill pick his spots. I mean, it was great. Zero turnovers. Six for 13 on third down for the Titans offense. That's pretty solid. It's about 50%. A little less.

That's very good. And then the defense held the Chargers to 2 for 14 on third down. See, it didn't look pretty at all times for the Titans defense, but the defense did the job. Red zone defense was the key. Forced the Chargers to field goals. The defense did the job. The offense, play clean. Stay ahead of the sticks. Not quite

as clean as you want it to be. Some penalties that can get cleaned up, but no turnovers. Good red zone offense. Almost 50% with your third down conversions. This was great. The team started down 11-0. And I don't know about you guys, but when the Chargers scored that touchdown and it was 11-0, it felt like there was more on the line than just this game,

than just that drive. It felt like the season was in the balance. Like, is Tannehill going to get it back together? Is this team actually bad? Like, it felt like there was a lot more riding on that next drive after they went down 11-0 than what it actually was. And Tannehill throws a 70-yard bomb to Traylon Burks. First play, boom.

Play action, bomb. What an answer. And then Ryan Stonehouse. Play action, bomb. What an answer. And then Ryan Stonehouse, bombing punts. Kiaris Jackson, secure with the ball. Solid returns. On that last punt return for Kiaris Jackson, he got the Titans some yards. Special teams, defense, coaching, offense.

This was a complete team win for the Titans. Tannehill will get all the headlines, and he should. He deserves it. After getting all the headlines in the wrong way, you get all the backlash as the quarterback, but you get all the credit too. And we're going to give Tannehill his credit this week. But this win right here for the Titans,

after losing eight straight games, this win right here, this was a team win. This was Tennessee Titans football. And man, it felt good to see it in action again. Absolutely. But with that being said, we are going to get into

Tighten Up, Tighten Down. No Tighten Downs this week, baby. We're all positivity all the time after that great win. Let's talk about all the individual performances in this game. The Titans secondary specifically really stepped up in a tough matchup for them against some good wide receivers. We're going to do tighten up, tighten down next. Get your tighten ups and your tighten downs into the chat right now. Let me know who you guys thought played the best performances.

Let me know if you thought there were any tighten downs out there because I know there's at least one and I may slightly mention it at the end, but we're staying with the positives. Tighten up, tighten down here in just a moment. Before we get into it though, 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-stakes 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 helps you find the right people for your team faster and for free.

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your job for free at linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free. Terms and conditions do apply. Also want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy sports made easy. Look, guys, all you have to do is pick two to six players, look at a stat projection, and say whether they're going to do more or less. For example, think like Derrick Henry, 80 yards, more or less. Saquon Barkley, 60 yards, more or less.

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You get a little discount from PrizePix on Taco Tuesday where they give you a 25% off on player projections. You get a little discount for prize picks on Taco Tuesday. So make sure that you go to prizepicks.com slash locked on NFL. Use the code locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. That's prizepicks.com slash locked on NFL. Use the code locked on NFL for a first deposit match up to $100. It's PrizePix. Daily fantasy sports made easy. Titans fans, let's continue a victory edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. The Tennessee Titans win 27-24 in overtime over the Los Angeles Chargers.

What an absolutely clutch win. We talked about Ryan Tannehill, his excellent performance and play action, but overall, it was a team victory, and the Titans played really good football across the board. I want to dive in to more of the individual conversation. Now, we talked about the team-wide aspect, you know what I mean? Now, I want to look at the good individual performances in this game and tighten up, tighten down. Before we do, thank you guys again

for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else, so make sure you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast.

Of course, Tannehill, 20 for 24. Cooking, cooking. 246 yards, throwing touchdown, rushing touchdown. Look pretty spry on that 12-yard run. Maybe that athleticism decline. I don't know. Ryan Tannehill said, hey, now, holdry on that 12-yard run. Maybe that athleticism declined. I don't know. Ryan Tannehill said, hey, now, hold on on that. But a great day for Tannehill.

We've talked about him quite a bit. The immediate reaction show that I did, if you missed that, you can check that out. First segment, we've done enough. Derrick Henry, 25 carries, 80 yards. Not the most efficient day of his career. The Chargers were making it hard. They were loading up.

But the threat of Derrick Henry is what opened up the play-action passes that the Titans had so much success on. That is the formula. That is classic Titans football. That's what they needed to do in this game, and that's what they did. That's what they did. Derrick Henry had three catches for 15 yards. Had the touchdown.

I mean, it was Derrick Henry. They were chanting in the end zone, Henry, Henry, and he's just putting it in, man. Good for Henry, especially late in the game. They just knew. The defense knew what the Titans were doing. They were running duo inside, inside zone, whatever you want to call it. That's a debate for high-level football people, not me.

I don't care. But, yeah, I mean, Derrick Henry was Derrick Henry today, and they needed him to be. And a couple of big runs he broke off, fighting for yards, tough runs. They needed him. They needed him. But also, man, Tajay Spears, so explosive, so quick. So the way he is wiggling in the

hole, man, it reminds me of like a skier going down a slope the way he's able to just kind of back and forth. It's miraculous to see it's such a change of pace from what Henry is too. It's absolutely crazy. My fiance was laughing about it the whole game.

Henry's like this big lumbering dude falling forward for five yards and Spears is like this jitterbug back and forth. It's absolutely crazy. My fiance was laughing about it the whole game. Henry's like this big, lumbering dude falling forward for five yards, and then Spears is like this jitterbug back and forth. It's fantastic. Spears is a player, man. Spears is an absolute player. He had eight carries for 49 yards, 6.1 yards per carry. After having, what, nine yards per carry last week? He's just explosive, man.

The Titans got to keep getting him on the field. Honestly, if the situation wasn't what the situation was, I mean, Spears only got eight carries. He needs more. And it's going to keep Henry fresher, too. You know what I mean? But I'm not complaining about this in this specific game, but just as the season goes on.

Two catches for six yards. I'd like to see Spears more involved in the passing game, maybe get him a screen pass, maybe throw him a quick screen out when he's lined up, motioned out as a wide receiver, stuff like that. But those are conversations for what's next Wednesday, quite honestly. But just a tighten up for Tajay Spears

and the wide receivers. Nobody had like eye-popping stats, but just what a great effort by the collective group. Hopkins, four for 40. A security blanket for Tannehill. The big catch on the overtime drive. Huge. That was the biggest play of that drive.

14 yards to Hopkins. Deep crosser. Hopkins was there when the Titans needed him. Big, big catches and big moments when the Titans needed him. Traylon Burks. Big play, Burks. He does it again. A Burks bomb.

Three catches, 76 yards. Doesn't look crazy. Not going to wow anybody in the fantasy community or anything like that, but Burks served his purpose today and what his skill set is and what it needs to be for this team. He was a threat to go deep, and they fell asleep, and he made them pay. And the Titans needed that so, so, so desperately at that time. Like I mentioned in the instant recap, and like Mike Vrabel said after,

they were leaking oil at that time, down 11-0. And Burks makes such a big play. Huge. So, NWI, Chris Moore. I mean, they did their job. The Titans got great performances from depth wide receivers. To have your No. 4 wide receiver catch a 50-yard bomb for you in the second half, huge, massive, massive play. N.W.I. catches the touchdown pass.

Last week had the 4 for 58. This week, 3 for 25. Gets the touchdown pass. Last week had the four for 58. This week, three for 25. Gets the touchdown. Blocking out there, being physical. It's a good job by the Titans wide receivers. And Chikokonkwo, throw him in there. Four catches, 35 yards. Made a lot out of a little a lot of the time.

Really great performance. Again, just a total team effort. You look at the offensive line. They did give up five sacks. It needs to be better. It does. But once Dylan Radins came in for Xavier Newman-Johnson, that's the only tight end down. Xavier Newman-Johnson. We're not doing any other tight end downs, but there you go. Once Radins came in for Newman, Titans offensive line got a lot better. They improved a lot, and it wasn't perfect by any means,

but they got a lot better. I'm so excited to watch Dylan Raidens in the offensive line on the tape just to see what it looks like and see what happened and see how Raidens performed in place of Peter Skowronski, who, again, we're going to talk about what happened with Skowronski at the end of the show. But, I mean, it's a tight up for the O-line for getting better. And definitely a tighten up for Dylan Radins for coming in

and giving some semblance of security. I mean, the Titans literally couldn't function with Xavier Newman-Johnson in, and then Radins came in and everything kind of chilled out a little bit. You know what I mean? Some of that stuff, Tannehill's holding the ball too. I don't think the offensive line was miserable because they gave up five sacks. I'm giving them a tighten up, man. On defense, Landry, Simmons, Autry, Tartt, I don't think the offensive line was miserable because they gave up five sacks. I'm giving them a tighten up, man.

On defense, Landry, Simmons, Autry, Tartt. Kind of a quiet day for Key. Going up against Rashawn Slater, though. I mean, man, that's a tough matchup. Slater's really good. Landry was honestly quiet until that last sack, but that sack was clutch at the end. Simmons got another sack.

He's getting double digits this year, folks. It's going to happen. Autry has been, he got another sack, but Autry's been so good in run defense so far, like better than he was the last few years. He's been more active. I'll say that. He's been more active in run defense.

Tart had the tackle for loss. Jack Gibbons, Gibbons just stands out to me. He's just in the tackle for loss. Jack Gibbons. Gibbons just stands out to me. He's just in the right place, making the right play. I appreciate that. It's not flashy. It's not beautiful, but he just makes the right play.

And I bet that's what the coaches love as well. Roger McCreary. So physical. Sean Murphy bunting. Some really good press reps. Had that PBU at the end of the game in overtime, stepped up.

Again, this is a good offense, good group of wide receivers. Mike Williams got 80 yards. Keenan Allen went over 100. I get that the stats look good, but this tight and secondary missing two starters, battled, man. Trey Avery battled.

Especially Roger McCreary was so physical early on in the nickel. And we talked about how important the nickel cornerback would be for the Titans run defense. Titans run defense held the Chargers to 60 rushing yards after they got over 200 last week. It's impressive stuff. So, McCreary, SMB, Avery, Byard, Molden, tighten up for all of them because they battled.

And Nick Folk, again, what a clutch kick. He's been so great. I was wrong. He was worth the seventh round pick. I was wrong on that. No doubt about it. Folk has been awesome. What a clutch kick. Stonehouse, 61 yards per punt. Morgan Cox, snapping perfect snaps. This is a total team win and a tighten up for just about everybody. I mean,

it wasn't perfect for everybody, but man, what a team win and they needed it so, so desperately. But we're going to talk about Peter Skowronski because I want to talk about what happened with him and kind of what to expect going forward before we get into that though do you want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook snap into the action this NFL season with FanDuel. Right now, new customers 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've been thinking about joining FanDuel, there's no better time to get in on the action. Spreads, player props, over-unders, more, and I am 2-0 against the spread

picking Tennessee Titans games. So if you follow me, you might even help yourself out there. Visit fanduel.com slash locked on. That's fanduel.com slash locked on and kick off the NFL season correctly. That's FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Titans fans, we are going to cap off this victory edition of the Locked on Titans podcast talking about what happened with Peter Skowronski.

So I did my initial reaction podcast, about 15 minutes, talking about what happened. We just talked about the team effort from a wider lens. Then we zoomed in, talked about some of the individual performances as well. But now I want to talk about the biggest news that happened over the weekend outside of the game itself, because all of a sudden on Friday's injury report,

Peter Skowronski popped up and was questionable with an illness. And then he missed the game. There's a report on what's going on. I'll talk about that before I do. Thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast, on. I'll talk about that. Before I do, thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen. Each and every day, remember, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free.

We're going to have Tic Tac Tuesday tomorrow where I break down what I saw on tape. We're going to have What's Next Wednesday when we start looking forward to the Browns game. We're going to have Crossover Thursday with the guys from Locked on Browns so we can talk about what's going on in Cleveland and kind of get an idea of what's going on with them. And then Friday is Game Plan Friday where I outline exactly what the Titans need to do

schematically to win against the Browns. Make sure that you don't miss any of that coming up this week. Be an everydayer. Shout out to my everydayers. It's Locked on Titans. It's your team every day. But, according to a report or a rumor or whatever from Jared Stillman Now look, Stillman has been hit or miss in the past

but he says that Peter Skowronski is having an issue with his appendix. Appendicitis, basically. It could be he could have to get his appendix removed, all that. Those are the rumors going around. Stillman just said he had an issue with his appendix. When you hear that, you usually think appendicitis, right? As I say

all the time on this program, I'm not a doctor. So, I don't know. Alright, I don't know. But here's all of what I can tell you. All right, I don't know. But here's all what I can tell you. Pat Mahomes had his appendix out and he played 10 days later. If you want to be more conservative, I try to be more conservative in my timelines of when I think people will come back because I just don't want my heart to break.

I just don't want to set myself up for failure. You know what I mean? So, in my mind, Skorovki's going to be out three weeks. And that's if he had surgery already. Like, when he has surgery, it'll probably be three weeks. So, maybe he got it taken care of on Friday or Saturday. Maybe it started hurting on Thursday. He got it taken care of Friday or Saturday.

Now we're looking at maybe he's back for the Colts game in week five. Either way, I would say three games. Give yourself at least three games before you expect Skowronski to be back. In the meantime though, like I said, I'm excited to go watch the tape and see what happened. Dylan Radins, though. I thought Radins was all right.

I thought Radins did a pretty good job just on my initial watch of the game. Now, if I'm wrong about that, I'll be certain to come back tomorrow on Tic Tac Tuesday and tell you guys that I was wrong about that. But the Titans offensive line got a lot better when Radins went in there at left guard. And in my opinion, I have continuously said Dylan Radins went in there at left guard and in my opinion I have continuously said Dylan Radins is a left side player Dylan Radins has said Dylan Radins is a left side player he's more comfortable

on the left he looked pretty good and I like that at least to have an option I thought Dillard improved in this game so little rough but I thought he improved but at least gives you an option hey if you need to kick option. I thought Dillard improved in this game. Still a little rough, but I thought he improved. But at least gives you an option. Hey, if you need to kick Skowronski out the left tackle, play Dillard at left guard,

you can do that. That's an option that you will have. And let's say, you know, next year, that's what the Titans want to do. It's at least something that you have the option to go to with Dillard being stout at left guard. You know what I mean?

But what we know for certain is Dylan Radin should be playing over Xavier Newman-Johnson. So glad that they didn't let that mistake go on too long and made the correction and got Dylan Radin out there. But congrats to Dylan Radin coming back from the ACL injury and getting right in there and manning up, helping the team. Stepped up in a big way. But overall, a great team win.

So excited the Tennessee Titans won a football game. And man, they needed it bad. They needed it bad because they're going to play the Browns. They're going to play the Bengals. Joe Burrow might have got hurt, though. And if Joe Burrow doesn't play against the Bengals, the Titans better win. Dude, Jake Browning, I would be so angry. And if you don't know, I live in Southwest Ohio. So all these

Bengal fans around me, I'm in the jungle all the time, would love nothing more than just beat Cincinnati, even if it's not with Burrow, just because it would be terrible if they didn't. But Browns game, Bengals game, can the Titans wreck Ohio, get to 3-1, that would be great, but getting this win right here, so, so important for them. So, so important. But with that being

said, though, that's going to cap off. That's going to end this victory edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Felt good, though. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.