Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Derrick Henry Needs To Dominate Jaguars, Confusing Lawrence & Players To Watch

Episode Date: December 8, 2022

The Tennessee Titans see a MUST WIN game this weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars as they try to rebound from a two-game losing streak. If the Titans want to get off the streak they will need to get King Henry going against his hometown team. On Defense, the Titans will need to confuse Trevor Lawrence and create turnovers. Finally, the Titans need a big game from Derrick Henry, but their other star on defense Jeffery Simmons must come back to life.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!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFLBuilt BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!PrizePicksFirst time users can receive a 100% instant deposit match up to $100 with promo code LOCKEDON. That’s PrizePicks.com – promo code; LOCKEDONSimpliSafeWith Fast Protect™️ Technology, exclusively from SimpliSafe, 24/7 monitoring agents capture evidence to accurately verify a threat for faster police response. There’s No Safe Like SimpliSafe. Visit SimpliSafe.com/LockedOnNFL to learn more.TuroForget boring rental cars and find your drive at Turo.comAudibleHead over to Locked On NFL for a sneak peak of Block Forever or catch the full series available anywhere you get your podcast. Available everywhere now!BetterHelpThis episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at Betterhelp.com/LockedOn and get on your way to being your best self. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, the Titans have a must-win game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. How can they come out victorious? It starts on the offensive side of the ball where Derrick Henry must get going. Then on defense, the Titans must confuse Trevor Lawrence with complex zone coverages. And then we'll look at the individual players to watch in this game. And I'll tell you why the Titans two biggest superstars,

Derrick Henry and Jeffrey Simmons must dominate their sides of the ball. So how the Titans come out victorious in week 14 on today's game plan preview 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. Titans fans, it is a game plan preview edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm going to tell you exactly what the Titans need

to do to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars, get off this two-game losing streak, and just change the vibes around the team after a drama-filled week that included the firing of Titans General Manager John Robinson. Before we get into the game

plan, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure that you subscribe for Monday through Friday. Free Tennessee Titans content all year round on all platforms, including the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Subscribe there. Smash the notification bell. Throw a thumbs up on the video.

If you're watching right now, it goes a long way in helping support the channel. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, nearly 25 years as a Tennessee Titans fanatic and a certified film junkie, breaking down the X's and O's with you guys every single week. But with that said, let's dive in to this game plan on offense. It starts with Derrick Henry. The Titans must get back to running the damn ball. And after Mike Vrabel does a takeover of the organization, I would imagine that is exactly what he plans to do. Guys, the reality is here. With probably no Traylon Burks in this game, the only explosive options left are Chigakonkwo and Derrick Henry. And obviously, Derrick Henry's history of success against the Jaguars,

they got to find a way to get the big man going. We had a 50-yard performance against Denver, then an 80-yard performance against the Packers, but then back-to-back 30-yard performances. I mean, that may be the worst four-week stretch of football that a healthy Derrick Henry has played since he took over the starting role in 2018. So the Titans must, they must get back right in the run game.

And that's exactly how you beat Jacksonville because you look in Jacksonville's four wins this year, they've given up an average of 78 yards per game. In their eight losses they have given up an average of 131 yards per game. Guys, let me put it to you simply here. Jacksonville, if you get up on them early and you play physical football

they will quit. They will quit. Now, the Titans aren't going to be at full strength in this game and they haven't been playing their best football. Jacksonville has had some good moments this year, so Jacksonville may keep the game close and keep themselves engaged the entire time. But it looks like from what you've seen on the tape and what you see in the numbers,

this is a team that will lie down if you beat them up early. Okay? So get the run game going. Jacksonville is awful against the run in their losses. You have to continue that trend in the passing game. It's all about attacking the middle of the field. Number one, the Titans aren't going to have a lot of threats on the outside. With Traylon Burks probably going to miss this game.

Even CJ Borg is probably going to miss this game. You're going to have Robert Woods. You're going to have Nick Westbrook-Akene. You're probably going to get a healthy dose of Chigakonkwo in the slot. I don't think any of these guys are going to win on the outside consistently, so it's all about attacking the middle of the

field. And not only is the Titans best weapons in the past game, Robert Woods over the middle of the field sitting down in zone. Austin Hooper, Chigakonkwo, those are the best passing options the past game. Robert Woods over the middle of the field sitting down in zone. Austin Hooper, Chigaconquo. Those are the best passing options for the Titans in this game. So not only are your best passing options middle of the field options, but you look at Jacksonville's defense. Look at their worst pass coverage defenders. Their linebackers. Devin Lloyd, vendors. Their linebackers. Devin Lloyd, 34.7 coverage grade. Chad Mumma, 35.3 coverage grade. Aloacon, 56.5 coverage grade. Josh Allen, 48 coverage grade. Even their slot wide receiver,

Darius Williams, 52.6 coverage grade. So their worst pass coverage guys are in the middle of the field. And Andrew Wingard's had some pretty good numbers this year analytically, but we know that the Titans can attack Andrew Wingard over and over again. So attack the middle of the field with your best options, Robert Woods and your tight ends. Not only that, but Jacksonville is the worst rated tackling defense in the NFL. Their tackle rating, their tackle grade this year is 29.7 out of 100. The Jags do not want to tackle anybody. This is what I mean. If you beat them up early, you play physical football and you run down their throat,

this defense will give up. They'll quit tackling. They'll quit playing the run. You have to pummel them early and let them know they're in for a physical fight all day. And I believe that they will lay down. But can the Titans do that? Right now, I think one way that they can do that early, not in the running game, is the screen game. Screen to Chigaconquo. Screen to Derrick Henry. Swing pass to Derrick Henry out on the perimeter.

Get Derrick Henry and Chigaconquo the ball in situations where they can break some tackles because the Jags do not want to tackle. So, run the damn ball. Attack the middle of the field in the passing game, use quick screens to your explosive options and Henry and Chigaconquo to attack the poor tackling that is the Jags defense. That's what you have to do on offense

if you're the Titans to get back to good because boy, do they need a win. I outlined it on the USA Today's Titans Wire. I outlined it at the beginning of the show yesterday. This is a must-win game for the Titans. It is a must-win, and that's how you're going to do it on offense. But we're going to move to the defensive side of the ball. I'm going to break down what the Titans' defense needs to do,

and, my God, the defense is incredibly, incredibly banged up. So they better be careful with what their plan is this week. Before we dive into it though, do want to tell you that today's episode is sponsored by BetterHelp Online Therapy. Guys, life doesn't come with a user's manual. We all have experienced problems in our life, whether they be mental health issues, whether they be traumas or outside stress, all of these different things that can impact you on a day to day. And the number one thing that I want to tell you is

it's okay to ask for help. Me personally, I did some work with BetterHelp before the season started, going through some stressful periods of my life, and it really helped me kind of reflect on things and helped me feel a little bit better about where I was at within my maturation process as a human being. So it was incredibly important for me.

It helped me feel like I got unstuck in kind of the rut I was in mentally before the season. So get unstuck as well with BetterHelp. You can learn more and save 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash locked on. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash locked on. Titans fans, we are going to continue today's game plan preview for our week 14 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars. We just talked about the offensive side of the ball.

Run the damn ball. Attack the middle of the field. Use screens to your explosive playmakers to create yards after catch situations against a poor tackling defense. Now, I want to get into the Titans' defensive side of the ball. Before we do, I want to thank you guys again

for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Sunday, after the game, I'll be going live immediately to break down everything we saw. I'll have a 10-minute to 15-minute recap live after the game. And then later on on Sunday night, I'll have a full 30-minute breakdown with Tighten Up and Tighten Down and all that good stuff you guys have come to love.

So make sure that you don't miss any of that content. Subscribe right now. Hit the notification bell. Throw a thumbs up on the video. I greatly do appreciate it. Moving forward here into the defense. The number one thing for me is disguise coverages. This is what the Titans did last year against Trevor Lawrence.

And yes, Trevor Lawrence is a better quarterback today than he was last year. Much better coaching. Much better ecosystem for him. No doubt about it. year. Much better coaching, much better ecosystem for him, no doubt about it. But the reality is, he is still a young quarterback who hasn't seen every defense and who is susceptible to, I guess, misconstruing his pre-snap read to what the Titans are doing post-snap. And if I recall, the Titans had four interceptions on Trevor Lawrence in the final game against the Jags last season. They need to replicate that.

Maybe not four interceptions. I mean, I'm here for it. I'm here for a four interception game from the defense. Don't get me wrong. But with the state of the defense's health, I don't expect to see that. But nonetheless, the Titans still need to utilize that game plan. Disguise coverages. Use zone coverages, especially with a banged up secondary.

Probably going to have no Christian Fulton in this game. Probably going to have no Trey Avery in this game, which means you're going to have Roger McCreary and a collection of certified backups. You're going to have Greg Maben. You're going to have Terrence Mitchell. I mean, it's going to be rough out there for the Titans. So what they can't do for a third week in a row,

what they can't do is put their cornerbacks on an island and try to play man coverage. Because Zay Jones is banged up. But he might play in this game still. And then Marvin Jones as well. And then you have a guy like Christian Kirk who's been excellent this year. You can't leave a squad of backup cornerbacks in one-on-one all day.

So you got to play zone coverage. You got to rotate your coverages. Show a two high safety look. Rotate down to cover three. Rotate the field side safety. Rotate the boundary side safety. Do it different ways. If you're going to run cover one,

which I'm sure they will because they just can't help themselves, then do it differently. Don't just have David Long as the hook zone defender. Do alert coverage where you bring down the strong safety as that middle field zone defender. Switch it up. Show cover four. Transition to cover two.

We haven't seen a lot of cover two invert from the Titans in recent weeks. I'd like to see an infusion of that. Now, it's harder to do those complex things when you have backups out there. But the alternative is just to play tight man coverage. And quite frankly, the Titans don't have the talent nor the pass rush right now to be able to do that. I don't expect Danico Autry to be back in this game.

So, with that in mind, I don't expect the Titans to have consistent enough pressure to be able to afford to play man coverage as much as they want to. So you must mix in some zone coverages. You must confuse Trevor Lawrence pre-snap into post-snap. You have to do it because it's going to allow you to create turnovers. Six out of the Jags' eight losses, they've lost the turnover battle. Six out of eight.

The Titans have to create turnovers. They have to. This is kind of a key to victory for offense and defense because you've got to win the turnover battle on both sides of the ball. The Titans' defense has to take away the ball from Jacksonville. What they do when they lose both sides of the ball. The Titans defense has to take away the ball from Jacksonville. What they do when they lose is turn over the ball. So the Titans have to take advantage there. And if you're not going to be able to consistently generate pass rush, then you're going to have to do it by confusing Trevor Lawrence with the coverages that you're running.

Also, do want to mention that on the heels of that, it's all connected. If you're not going to get consistent pass rush with just rushing your front four because you don't have Danico Autry, then you got a blitz. Also, getting to Trevor Lawrence with a blitz would help your secondary out as well. Looks like there might not be a David Long in this game as well. I feel a little more confident that David Long will play than some of the other guys who got DMPs throughout the first two practices of the week. But still, if you don't have David

Long, then I mean, you got a lot of backups out there in coverage. And what you can't afford to do is not get pressure with your front four and let Trevor Lawrence have so much time that you ruin the advantage created by confusing him with coverage.

So, what you have to do is you got to blitz a little bit. I expect to see a lot more linebacker blitzes from Monte Rice and Dylan Cole. I expect to see a lot more blitzes off the slot from a guy like a Monte Hooker or Roger McCreary. The Titans have to find a way to manufacture some pressure without having Danico Autry out there. And I think one of the ways that they have to do it is blitz. The Titans love to do simulated pressures

where they blitz a slot guy and drop the backside defensive end so they're blitzing, but they still only have four guys involved in the rush. I think they need to do more. I think they need to have five guys blitzing. I think the Titans should line up where they crowd the line of scrimmage and have six guys on the line of scrimmage, and then they blitz six, they blitz five, they drop two, they switch. I think they need to do a ton of those pressure looks on Sunday

and keep Trevor Lawrence guessing, get immediate pressure. That's what they need to do. So with that in mind, Trevor Lawrence, 27.9 grade against pressure, 59.5 passer rating against pressure. Both of those are bottom five in the NFL and quarterbacks that have a requisite amount of snaps to be considered actual players. And he's the seventh worst quarterback in the NFL against the Blitz.

So you've got to get pressure on Lawrence. If you confuse him with coverages, so he doesn't know what coverage he's seeing, you get pressure on him. He's not going to take a bunch of sacks. He's not going to hold the ball. He's going to throw it, and he's going to make mistakes. That's what you have to do.

And on the flip side of things, with run defense, the Titans gave up 100 yards to the Bengals. They can't do that again to the Eagles. And what they're going to see is they're going to see a similar run game to the Colts. There's going to be a lot of trap blocks. There's going to be wham blocks from the tight end. It's all about taking advantage of an overly aggressive defense. So discipline in your gap.

Gap discipline in run defense will be so important. And if you don't have David Long, who makes incredible instinct plays and flies all around the field, then what you're really going to need is people to be sound in their assignments. We don't need people to make extraordinarily individual plays. We don't

need that for most of the people in the front six, front seven. Just do your job. Man your gap. And you will shut down the ninth best run offense in the NFL. Travis Etienne is good. Even Jermichael Hastie has a lot of speed. If you are over aggressive in your run defense, and you get out of position, and you open up a tiny little crevice for these speed running backs, they are going to dart down the field, and with the Titans having backups in the secondary and at linebacker,

that is going to become a problem. So the Titans must be disciplined in their gaps in run defense and not allow the Jags to get running on the ground, which I was shocked when I saw that they were the ninth best run offense in the NFL, but it just shows you that their offensive line is a good run. I like this offensive line more than your average bear that Jacksonville has. I think they're pretty good at run blocking as well. So that's something that the Titans really, really need to hone in on.

Running the ball and stopping the run are two things that the Titans have lost the last couple of weeks. They need to get that back. And look, we talk about the two losses, but against Denver as well, that wasn't a banner performance from the Titans in regard to running the ball and being physical up front. So the Titans need to get back in that realm against a team that they should be able to beat.

But with that being said, we're going to come down from this big picture view. We're going to zoom in, talk about the players and the matchups that I think make the biggest difference in this one. Before we get into it though, do want to tell you guys about today's sponsor, PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy made simple, guys. So look, PrizePix has a projection for every player. Derrick Henry, 90 rushing yards. Trevor Lawrence, an interception. Ryan Tannehill, two touchdown passes. All you do is you pick two to five players and you say whether the player is going to do more or less than the prize picks projection. It's really that easy. And if you win, you can win up to 10 times

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Either way, make sure that you head to prizepix.com right now and use that promo code LOCKEDON for an instant deposit match up to $100. Titans fans, let's cap off this game plan preview edition of the Locked on Titans podcast with the individual section of today's show. I'm going to be looking at the players that I think are most important, the matchups that we need to watch. We talked about the offense. We talked about the defense, what they need to do schematically speaking

to win this game. Now, before we get into the individual portion, do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen. Every day, ask for your second listen. Make sure to check out Locked On Sports today. From the games that matter most to the biggest stories in sports, go beyond the scoreboard and behind the scenes with local experts and insights

only Locked On can provide. Locked On Sports today, available on this app, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. I am going to go live after the game on Sunday, so make sure that you don't miss that. Get subscribed to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am going to go live after the game on Sunday, so make sure that you don't miss that. Get subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. Number one, I'm going to start the end where I started the beginning. Derrick Henry.

50 some yards. 80 against the Packers, but it wasn't easy sledding there. It wasn't a beautiful game for Henry. Then 30 yards, 30 yards. I mean, Derrick Henry seemed, for lack of a better word, pissed all week, all week. And now look, I know Titans fans hate to hear this. They do. Tribalism is real. I get it. Derrick Henry has not been his best this year. The offensive line, definitely to blame. Todd Downing, definitely to blame.

But Derrick Henry, definitely to blame. I've had some people reach out to me privately who watch film and say, man, are you noticing what I'm noticing? And yeah. Now, I don't like to talk about it a ton because you guys get really mad at me when I bring it up. Because it's fair. There are other people to blame here.

But if you're an honest Titans fan. You can look at the tape. And see that Derrick Henry is getting brought down by arm tackles. In the hole. Derrick Henry is missing holes. Derrick Henry is not breaking tackles that he normally would in the past. So. As we get into D-Hember,

as Titans Twitter has affectionately called it, I want to see prime Derrick Henry. That's what I want to see. I want to see Derrick Henry running through arm tackles, finding holes, grinding out yards. And I know that a lot of that does depend on the play calling and the blocking as well. Don't get me wrong. I know that.

But Derrick Henry needs to do his part too. And against the worst tackling team in the NFL, I don't want to see Derrick Henry brought down by one arm from a defensive lineman in a hole. Run through the arm, Derrick. Break a tackle. Stiff arm a defensive back to another region. I want to see vintage Derrick Henry running down the sideline in Nashville this weekend.

The Titans need it. Not only from they need to win the game, but from a spirit perspective. Nothing, nothing charges up the fan base, the team, the organization quicker than a monster Derrick Henry game. That's what the Titans need. Vintage Derrick Henry in this game. Step up, Derrick. Run through arm tackles. Find a way. They need you to be the best player on the team.

So, hope we see that. On offense as well, Dennis Daly vs. Jonathan Allen. So on Thursday, Keith Carter, the Titans offensive line coach, made it clear he's not really interested in replacing Dennis Daly right now. He said a lot of the issues were communication issues. He said, I didn't think it's blatantly obvious

that I need to make a change at left half is what he said on Thursday. So, I said don't expect to change GM. Don't expect to change at OC. Don't expect to change at left tackle. Looks like I'm going to go two for three. I was wrong about John Robinson. Who could have expected that?

But I was wrong. But, basically, what it comes down to is Dennis Daly is still the weakest link, whether he's going to be replaced or not. And Josh Allen has the most pressures of any player on the Jaguars. He's got 44 pressures this year. That's first on their team.

Second place is at 28. So Josh Allen against Dennis Daly has the ability to be a complete drop-off. And if that happens, then the Titans aren't going to be able to operate. So I'm expecting a lot of help for Dennis Daly this week. But Dennis, like Mike Vrabel said,

if we are chipping for you on the outside, you cannot get beat inside. So don't let Josh Allen beat you inside, Dennis Daly. That is a matchup that we have to watch. Also, the Titans' tight ends against the linebackers. I kind of outlined why at the beginning of the show with the middle

of the field defenders and their poor rankings and pass coverage. Devin Lloyd, Chad Mumma, Foyasai Daloacon, Josh Allen, Darius Williams, Andrew Wingard. Attack those guys over the middle of the field with the tight ends. Seam routes to Austin Hooper.

Quick throws to Chigaconquo. Get those guys the ball and attack the middle of the field. That simple. On defense, to me, it's two things. The cornerbacks. If Trey Avery is out, if Christian Fulton is out, then you're going to have McCreary in the slot against Christian Kirk. That's the number one matchup. And you're going to have Terrence Mitchell and Greg Maben on the outsides.

Titans better not put their cornerbacks on an island in this game, man. Okay. Don't do it. Don't do it. Zone coverages. Two deep safeties. I'm worried about the cornerbacks. Especially Roger McCreary against Christian Kirk. That is the number one matchup that we have to watch between the cornerbacks. Especially Roger McCreary against Christian Kirk.

That is the number one matchup that we have to watch between the cornerbacks and wide receivers. And then, finally, paging Big Jeff. I know that Jeffrey Simmons' ankle is beat up. I know that. I also know that

Bud Dupree isn't helping enough to make the pass rush what it needs to be. For $20 million, man, sure looks like a garnish to me. Yeah, if you got Danico Autry and Harold Landry and Jeffrey Simmons and then Bud Dupree, then Bud Dupree is good. But, you know, when it's Bud Dupree and Jeffrey Simmons, it doesn't work out as well.

So take note of that, everyone. I've been trying to tell you this for two years now. But anyways, the Titans need Jeffrey Simmons to dominate. It's the same thing as I said about Derrick Henry. The Titans have two all- pro level players on this team. Well, three. Three. And that makes sense too.

So you have Derrick Henry, you have Big Jeff, and you have Kevin Byard. The Titans need to force some turnovers, interceptions, and that'll probably be Kevin Byard.

So I said on yesterday's show, I expect Kevin Byard to get an interception in this game. But I talked about Derrick Henry. Now I want to talk about Big Jeff. Like I said, he's banged up.

He doesn't have a lot of help, but he has to play better. He has to play better. And when you got a matchup against rookie center Luke Fortner, and you got a matchup against left guard Tyler Shatley, who's actually been surprisingly okay in pass protection. When you have that, you gotta dominate.

You simply gotta dominate. You have to. Period dominate you have to period you have to they need a big game from Big Jeff two sacks dominating the line of scrimmage

I mean when you let me put it like this when you are on a losing streak and you're down bad like the Titans are right now. This is when your superstars come in to save you. Derrick Henry, Jeffrey Simmons, Kevin Byard.

The three people who have been all pros on this team. It's time for them to step up. It's time for KB to make an interception. It's time for Jeff Simmons to have a couple of sacks and really make an impact. It's time for Derrick Henry to have a vintage Derrick Henry game. To get the Titans back to good, their superstars

must show up when it counts. They need them on Sunday. It's a must win. I have the Tennessee Titans winning this game 20-17. I'd love if it wasn't that close. But with that being said, that's going to do it for me today, folks. I'll be back with you guys

on Sunday live after the game to break it all down. I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.