Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Derrick Henry NEEDS REVENGE, Stopping C.J. Stroud & Titans' Week 17 Tank Guide

Starting point is 00:00:00 If the Tennessee Titans want to knock off the Houston Texans on Sunday, Derrick Henry must get his revenge. I'll explain how he can do it 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.

Starting point is 00:00:43 I am your host, Tyler Rowland, Titans fans. Today's 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 job for free. Terms and conditions apply. Titans fans, it's game plan Friday. We're going to dive into how the Tennessee Titans can win this game.

Starting point is 00:01:11 I'll tell you how Derrick Henry can get his revenge. Then we'll talk about how to stop C.J. Stroud. And then finally, I'll give you guys a tank guide on what you should be rooting for if you're someone who wants the Titans to get a great draft pick this weekend. So we're going to dive into all of that. Before I do, do want to thank you for making the locked on Titans podcast.

Starting point is 00:01:27 Your first listen each and every day. Remember Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round, always for free. It's your team every day here on the locked on Titans podcast, throw a thumbs up on the video right now, throw a five star review on Apple podcasts. If you're listening,

Starting point is 00:01:42 I appreciate all those good Christmas press present to me. The show's free all year round. Least you're listening, I appreciate all those. A good Christmas present to me. The show's free all year round. Least you can do, throw a thumbs up, leave a review, stuff like that. But with that being said, I do want to remind you guys, I am going to be going live immediately after the game ends on Sunday to recap all of the action. Make sure that you stick with me here

Starting point is 00:02:00 on the Locked on Titans podcast. Again, we're at your team every day. But, as I said to start, on offense, we look at the game plan here. Derrick Henry must get his revenge. So last time the Titans played the Texans, it was maybe the worst day of Derrick Henry's career. He had 20 touches for 10 yards.

Starting point is 00:02:21 That's so terrible that we haven't seen a stat line that bad since 1951 and the player had 5 more yards. 20 touches for 15 yards. Henry had 20 touches for 10 in the modern NFL 70 years later. Insane how bad that game was. And Derrick Henry's previous games against the Houston Texans, last five before that, 1,000 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. So Derrick Henry is used to dominating the Houston Texans,

Starting point is 00:02:53 and to have one of the worst performances in NFL history against him, that simply can't stand. That simply can't be the way Derrick Henry goes out. If this is Derrick Henry's last game against the Houston Texans in a Tennessee Titans uniform, he needs to go out better than that. He has to get his revenge. And I think that the Titans are going to take what the Texans did last time and say, okay, I hope you do that again.

Starting point is 00:03:19 So what do teams normally do against the Titans? They crowd the line of scrimmage. They put five, six guys on the line of scrimmage. They crowd the box, bring in that extra safety. Got eight guys in that tight area. Not the Texans. The Texans played two deep safeties and said, you're not beating us with those deep shots.

Starting point is 00:03:38 And they only played four man fronts. And they said, you can double team us all you want on the line of scrimmage. You ain't gonna win. And the Titans didn't. I've been covering the Titans now. This is my fifth season, I believe, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. My fifth season covering this team, watching film on this team. I have never seen anybody play the Titans the way the Texans did in that game.

Starting point is 00:04:01 That is the opposite of how teams play the Titans because you're scared of the run game. That is the opposite of how teams play the Titans because you're scared of the run game. The Texans were not. So I think rather than the Titans saying, okay, you're not going to do it. We're going to change what we know. I think the Titans are going to double down. They're going to do what they did last time on steroids. And the key name to tell you about is John Ajuku. All right. He is a second year player out of Boise state offensive tackle. He's been playing tight end for the Titans because the Titans are so banged up at tight end.

Starting point is 00:04:29 Josh Wiley's been banged up. Kevin Rader's been banged up and just isn't that good. Trevon Wesko has been banged up. So, John Ajuku, I think, is going to get a ton. And the coaches said this week his performance was good and he deserves more reps. He's been working with the tight ends in practice. John Ajuku is going to be a tight end plus, a tackle plus,

Starting point is 00:04:53 and be a sixth offensive lineman for the Titans. I think the Titans are going to say, all right, Texans, come out in your four-man fronts with your two deep safeties. We're putting six offensive linemen on the line of scrimmage with a tight end, and we're going to blow you off the ball. Can the Titans do it? I don't know. Execution and play-in are two different things.

Starting point is 00:05:12 But what I can tell you is the Titans are going to double down, and they're going to try to flatten the line of scrimmage with multiple tight ends, and John Ajuku is a tight end plus, and they are going to try to run the ball down the Texans' throat if they run four-man fronts and two deep safety the whole time. We'll see if they can execute, but that's what they're going to try to run the ball down the Texans' throat if they run four-man fronts and two deep safety the whole time. We'll see if they can execute, but that's what they're going to do. And if they do that, King Henry has to have his revenge. The Titans have to be able to run the ball,

Starting point is 00:05:35 not only to give themselves a successful chance at offense, but to hold the ball because now with C.J. Stroud back and the Texans' weapons fully intact, they're going to be able to play a lot better than they did against the Titans in Tennessee two weeks ago. They're going to be able to score a lot more points than 19 if the game goes the same way with the Titans' ineptitude on offense. And a lot of that comes back to Tim Kelly.

Starting point is 00:06:01 Calling those run plays, I think it was 24 first down plays, 19 runs, 15 runs. I have it in my notes a couple pages back from the game when we did the film. But we all saw it, running the ball over and over and over again into the middle. I think the Titans are doubling down on that. I really do. So that's what I'm expecting. And if Derrick Henry doesn't have a great game,

Starting point is 00:06:24 the Titans are not going to have a chance to win because I guarantee that their game plan is we're going as heavy as possible. And that includes an offensive tackle at tight end. We're going to try to push you around. Now, when they throw the ball, to me, you got to get the screen game going. And I don't mean running back screens.

Starting point is 00:06:39 I don't mean fake play action and then hit a little outside screen to Derrick Henry. I mean actual like college football screens. A little outside screen to Derrick Henry. I mean actual college football screens. A quick tunnel screen to the wide receiver. A quick screen to the tight end on a slip. You need to do some quick, boom, one step, throw it out. Because the Texans are a penetrating, aggressive, downhill defense. And that's why they got seven sacks on Will Levis last time.

Starting point is 00:07:02 So if you want to prevent that, you need to get the ball out quick. Take advantage of that aggressiveness. Use it against them. And that is quicker screens, not these long developing screen plays that you want to run because by that time, the Texans will be in the backfield. And I think one thing the Titans need to consider is, think

Starting point is 00:07:19 about their backfield deception. Think about how the Titans like to use guys running through the backfield, use motion, fake handoff to Derrick Henry going outside, inside handoff to Tajay Spears. It's all about backfield deception. Well, to me, this week, you needed to see the Texans going horizontally. All right?

Starting point is 00:07:37 Not just a play-action fake going vertically, where Will Levis is faking the play-action and then just vertically dropping back. You need to have play-action fakes that get the defense moving sideways instead of allowing them to go downhill and keep their target in frame. All right? So side-to-side backfield deception, not vertical. Quick screens, quick ball out of the hand

Starting point is 00:08:00 to deal with the over-aggressiveness and the penetration. And then, of course, like I said, Derrick Henry has to have revenge. He has to go back to the Derrick Henry that was against the Texans the previous five matchups, not the historically poor performance we saw from Derrick Henry two weeks ago. So will they be able to execute? I don't know, but that should be the plan. We're going to talk about the defensive plan going forward, how the Titans can stop C.J. Stroup.

Starting point is 00:08:23 And at the end of the show, I'm going to break down what you need to be rooting for if you want the Titans to have the best draft pick possible this upcoming draft, this upcoming April. So we're going to dive into a lot more on today's show. Before we get into it though, I do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Look, when you're hiring for your small business I do want to let you know that today's episode is brought to you by LinkedIn Jobs. Look, when you're hiring for your small business, you want to have as many top-tier candidates as possible to interview. I feel the same as I do about the Titans who need the most possible top-tier candidates to interview in a draft. But that's why you have to check out LinkedIn Jobs.

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Starting point is 00:09:43 Post your job for free at LinkedInin.com slash locked on NFL. That's linkedin.com slash locked on NFL. To post your job for free, terms and conditions apply. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, 25 years a Tennessee Titans fanatic, certified film junkie, breaking down the X's and O's with you every single week, and a staff writer for Sports Illustrated over at alltitans.com. We talked about the offensive game plan. Now I want to get into the defensive game plan.

Starting point is 00:10:31 Remember, at the end of the show, I'm going to give you a rooting guide, who you should be rooting for if you want the Titans to tank and get the best draft pick possible the rest of the season. But talking about the defense, obviously, the Titans have to stop the run. I'm not breaking news. This isn't John Madden. I don't think you've got to be a genius here to have this as a game plan point. Last time the Titans played the Texans, 126

Starting point is 00:11:00 yards to Devin Singletary, over 140 rushing yards total as a team for the Texans. If they run the ball like that while having C.J. Stroud in the backfield throwing the ball, while having Nico Collins back on the field to throw to, while having Noah Brown, while having Dalton Schultz, could be trouble. Could be trouble. I mean, that is why on yesterday's crossover Thursday,

Starting point is 00:11:28 I predicted this game to be 26-16. I think the Texans win by double digits. Because they won by three last time in Tennessee. And now they get Stroud and Collins back and they're at home

Starting point is 00:11:44 after playing the Titans once already? Like, that's just tough. Now, I think the Titans keep it close early. I think this is like a 13-10 halftime score. I think this is a battle early on. But as we've seen for most of the year, other offenses are just able to have more success late in the games and able to put more points up on the board

Starting point is 00:12:04 and able to come away with victories. And that's what I'm seeing here. And a lot of it comes down to the Texans are just a much better football team than they were two weeks ago when the Titans lost to them at home. So it's just basic logic there. You know what I mean? But if the Titans want to win the game, they have to stop the run. There's no doubt about it. And especially in the A-gaps, the linebackers, they have to step up. They have to be able to get off blocks and get the ball carrier down. And a big thing is tackling. The Titans, when they struggle, it's because they don't tackle.

Starting point is 00:12:40 They'll hit guys two, three yards into a run, and then the ball carrier will get nine, eight, ten yards. And you just can't do that. You just can't live on that. Linebackers who don't tackle very well. Defensive linemen who can't hold on. I mean, it's just a tough position, and I'll be honest with you. I don't expect, I don't expect the personnel that the Titans have right now to be able to do that job. I don't expect the personnel that the Titans have right now

Starting point is 00:13:05 to be able to do that job. I don't. So, I don't know if they can pull it off, but I know they better if they want to win. If the Titans want to win, they have to stop the run. And like they did last week against Seattle, I think this is kind of similar here. A lot of cover two, a lot of cover four.

Starting point is 00:13:25 We're not playing man coverage against these wide receivers. We're not. With a quarterback that can locate the ball. Not playing man coverage. Because if the Titans play man coverage with Trey Avery outside, Noah Brown, DK Metcalf, or Noah Brown, Nico Collins, doesn't matter. I'm just throwing it up.

Starting point is 00:13:46 And we have seen over and over that the Titans do not win consistently in those one-on-one matchups. They don't. So, so, I'm playing cover two. I'm playing cover four. I'm sitting back deep. I'm saying you may get some underneath stuff,

Starting point is 00:14:03 but we're not letting you get big plays down the field. Because the reality here is the Texans are going to move the ball. And the Titans have been the number one red zone defense in the NFL, and that's how they've survived. That's how they've kept games close. Because even good offenses that go up and down the field getting yards on the Titans, they still struggle against the Titans in the red zone. So, you play cover four, you play cover two, you keep everything in front of you.

Starting point is 00:14:31 You understand that Stroud is going to hit some guys. He's going to hit some short stuff. They're going to move the chains from 20 to 20. They're going to move the ball. But once you get to the red zone, you hold them. And if you can make them kick field goals a couple of times, and then you get some turnovers, now you have a shot. The Titans are a

Starting point is 00:14:49 bad football team, so they gotta play the same classic formula anytime they play and hope that it wins. Get a couple turnovers, make red zone stops because you can't stop offenses from going up and down the field, and hope to hit some explosive plays and run the ball on offense. I mean, that is it.

Starting point is 00:15:05 That's where it's at for the Titans now. It's the only way that they can win. It's the only answer that they have. So we'll see. As for some individual matchups, I always go over some individual stuff. Again, we're going to talk about what the Titans need to be looking for if they want the best draft pick possible here in just a second. But Traylon Burks.

Starting point is 00:15:24 Burks had a good game against the Texans last time. Three catches, 62 yards. And Burks should have had 120 yards and a touchdown because Will Levis missed him. Bad, bad miss with Burks running wide open down the sideline on a play that was designed to go that way.

Starting point is 00:15:40 So I think Burks, with all the attention, because what the Texans were doing last time is, they were playing cover four, but they were having an outside corner, and the safety to that side, just totally over Hopkins. And letting everybody else on the other side, the other five defenders,

Starting point is 00:15:55 letting them play zone against everybody else. So two guys go with Hopkins, five versus four on the other receivers. Made it tough, because the Titans don't have great receivers. But anyways, who's going to step up in that mix? Has to be Traylon Burks, right?

Starting point is 00:16:11 Former first-round wide receiver. So, need to have a big game for Burks. Chica Conqua over the middle of the field. We talked about in the last game plan for the Texans how they run a ton of cover four. They run a ton of cover three. It makes them vulnerable over the middle of the field. Chica Conquo should have a good game.

Starting point is 00:16:29 Chicken Burks, that's who I'm looking at. The offensive line. So Jonathan Grenard, who had two and a half sacks in the last matchup, hasn't practiced Wednesday or Thursday. Will Anderson, not certain to go in this game. Malik Collins on the interior D-line, not certain to go in this game. Malik Collins on the interior D-line, not certain to go in this game. So if the Texans' defensive line is banged up, that could help the Titans in a multitude of ways

Starting point is 00:16:52 with what their game plan needs to be. On defense, Harold Landry, Aziz, Arden Key, they have to dominate. I mean, when the Titans play well, it's because their pass rush plays well. They didn't play terrible against the Texans last time. They had three sacks, got pressure, but it has to be a lot better against CJ Stroud, who's going to extend the play and has more athleticism and all of that. And then finally, Aziz. Aziz Alshire is going to be next to Otis Reese. Aziz is going to have to tackle. He's going to have to wrap up and not miss any tackles in this game. They're going to need it for run defense. But with that being said, it's time to talk about the tank.

Starting point is 00:17:28 What needs to happen for the Titans draft pick to go up this weekend? I'm going to go over all of that in just a moment. But before I get into it, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by DoorDash. Y'all know I love DoorDash by this point. Got some lunch delivered from DoorDash earlier today. Absolutely delicious. I know a lot of you guys in Nashville, you're looking on DoorDash.

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Starting point is 00:18:44 when you download the DoorDash app and spend $15 or more. Subject to change. Terms apply. Also, 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. The NFL season is almost over. And the weather may be getting colder,

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Starting point is 00:19:31 You can bet on spreads, player props, over-unders, combine stuff together for a single-game parlay. Make sure that you visit FanDuel.com slash locked on and get in on the action this NFL season. It's FanDuel, official partner of the NFL. Titans fans, we are going to continue today's edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. We're going to cap things off, okay?

Starting point is 00:20:11 We got the offensive game plan already in the books. We got the defensive game plan, some of the individual matchups already in the books. But I want to do things a little bit differently here because normally we spread things out, but I think it's important a little bit differently here because normally we spread things out, but I think it's important that we go over the tank, okay, and what the Titans need to do to improve their draft pick because that's obviously very important and a lot of people are paying attention to that right now.

Starting point is 00:20:38 Before I dive into your rooting guide for week 17, I do want to thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content, all year round, always for free. You're not going to beat that anywhere else. Also want to let you know that Locked On has launched the first ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel on YouTube. Locked On Sports Today is here for you 24-7,

Starting point is 00:21:02 covering the top sports stories of the day with local experts from Locked On, plus is here for you 24-7, covering the top sports stories of the day with local experts from Locked On, plus national shows covering every league. Go to Locked On Sports Today on YouTube and subscribe to the first-ever National Sports 24-7 streaming channel. Before I dive into this, I do want to give a shout-out to Titans Film Room on Twitter, who does a great job putting together a full comprehensive list of all the rooting guide stuff. Obviously, Justin has done great work with the

Starting point is 00:21:25 Around the NFL podcast and all the videos that he does. So Titan Film Room, shout out to you. But number one, we have to start with the Titans game. And obviously, you need the Texans to beat the Titans. Now, a lot of you guys say losers mentality, this and that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm sorry, but there are people who think the Titans should lose who make more money than you, who have a better job than you, who are more educated than you, who are, there are people who think the Titans should win, who make more money than me and are more educated than me. And when telling people that they have a loser's mentality in life because they think their football team should lose games to get better players is just absurd. All right.

Starting point is 00:22:06 It's absurd to make any far reaching analysis or statement about someone's life mentality. Like, I don't know. I always think that's a loser's mentality. You guys are morons. All right. Anyways, moving right along. Obviously, the Titans need to lose. If they win, there's a chance they could stay pretty low if other teams win,

Starting point is 00:22:29 but keep it safe. Titans need to lose. Then you look at the two teams that have five wins that are ahead of the Titans, and that's the Giants. They play at home against the Rams on Sunday. That's going to be a tough one to win win even with Tyrod Taylor back at quarterback. But the fact that the Giants went with Tyrod Taylor instead of Tommy Cutlets, that's at least good news for Titans fans because I think it gives the Giants a better chance to win the game. So I still think they lose, but it gives them a better chance. Then you look at the

Starting point is 00:23:01 Chargers who are the other team in front of the Titans right now. And the Chargers are at Denver this week. But Denver just benched Russell Wilson and went with Jared Stidham. And Russell Wilson isn't who he once was. But I still think Russell Wilson is better than Jared Stidham. And I think Denver gave themselves a much better chance to lose that game. And that was huge for the Titans. So let's go Chargers. Then you have the other teams in front of the Titans who are four win teams. You have New England who plays Buffalo. I'm not

Starting point is 00:23:31 expecting New England to win that game, but they could. And then the commanders play San Francisco, not expecting them to beat a pissed off San Francisco either. But I've been saying for weeks when we talk about this stuff that I don't see the Titans getting anywhere close to or getting over Carolina, Arizona, New England, and Washington. I never expected the Titans to get over those teams. So as long as the Titans have a top five pick, we're in shape. So I'm okay with as long as the Giants and the Chargers each win one more game apiece. And honestly, as long as one of those teams wins one more game

Starting point is 00:24:02 and Titans jump in front of them, I'll be happy with top six. But the second tiebreaker here outside of just your record is your strength of schedule. How hard is your schedule? And the easier the schedule is, the higher your pick will be. Because if you have four wins and another team has

Starting point is 00:24:20 four wins, but they did it against a harder schedule, that means they're probably a better team. So the lesser team would be the easier schedule. So for schedule reasons, you want Vegas to beat the Colts. That's pride reasons too. The Jets to beat the Browns. You guys have probably seen that game by the time you hear this. I don't think that's happening. Cincinnati to lose to Kansas City. I think Kansas City gets that done. Dallas to lose to Kansas City. I think Kansas City gets that done. Dallas to lose

Starting point is 00:24:47 to Detroit. Chicago to lose to Atlanta. Miami to lose to Baltimore. Philly to lose to Arizona. Carolina to lose to Jacksonville. New Orleans to lose to Tampa Bay. Green Bay to lose to Minnesota. And then Seattle to lose to Pittsburgh. So that is your rooting guide. I think personally, the games that we actually need to focus on here are three. Houston and Tennessee, obviously. Then the Giants and the Rams. And the Chargers and the Broncos. And particularly the Chargers and the Broncos. We need the Chargers to win that game.

Starting point is 00:25:21 But regardless of all of that, I'm going to be back here on Sunday breaking down everything that you need to know about what happened in that game against the Texans. Before I go, though, I got to give a shout-out to my baby boy, Kobe. Say hi, Kobe. Kobe is 11 years old today. He doesn't like sitting on my lap in this way, but I wanted to show you guys and to give a shout-out to my boy.

Starting point is 00:25:46 So say hi, Kobe. Happy birthday, Kobe. Love my dog. And I know that he doesn't always make a lot of noise on the podcast, but I certainly, certainly wouldn't have been able to do this show the last few years without him. So shout-out to Kobe. Happy birthday.

Starting point is 00:26:04 Shout-out to all you guys as well. Yep, I'll be back with you on Sunday to break down all the action. But that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland. And this was Locked on Titans. Good boy, buddy. Good boy.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Derrick Henry NEEDS REVENGE, Stopping C.J. Stroud & Titans' Week 17 Tank Guide

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