Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Mailbag Monday & AFC Playoff Picture Update

Episode Date: December 27, 2021

The Tennessee Titans got an impressive win over the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday Night Football, but what has happened in the AFC since and where do the Titans sit right now? Tyler discusses the AFC playoff picture and what the Titans need to get the number one seed. Then, Tyler takes questions from all of you in a Mailbag Monday!! Who is the Titans top weapon, who gets cut next year and a Marvel/DC crossover???Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnTitansSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus. 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, it is a mailbag Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. On today's show, we're going to talk about what happened in the AFC over the weekend after that Tennessee Titans loss, where the Titans stand within the conference, and what they have to do to secure the number one seed. And then I will get into all of your questions in a Monday mailbag 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 Mailbag Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Like I said, I'm going to dive into all of your guys' questions. Make sure I give you guys the answers and the shout outs that you deserve. Before we get into that though, do want to talk about what happened in the AFC over the weekend and talk about where the Titans stand right now.

Before we get into that, do want to thank you guys for making the Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. If this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You can find the Locked on Titans podcast everywhere and always free. Also, make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Smash that notification bell so you know when all of my content goes live. Also, you're going to want to follow me on social media, on Twitter, at TicTacTitans

for all my film breakdowns and my film clips. And check out the show Facebook page at Locked on Titans Pod. But with all that being said, I hope you guys had a great, had a happy, had a Merry Christmas weekend. And for the Titans, we got some of the gifts that we were hoping for, but we did not get them all.

But regardless, the Titans are still in a very good position in the AFC right now. So let's dive right in. Of course, the Tennessee Titans sit at 10-5 on the year. In the conference, the AFC, they're 6-4. Obviously, conference record, it goes your overall record, then the head-to-head tiebreaker, then your conference record when it comes to importance of tiebreaking. So that's something that we have to keep our eyes on as well.

But the Titans are at 10-5. And based on how things are unfolding on Sunday, it looks like the Titans will leave the weekend in the No. 2 spot in the conference. They'll be behind Kansas City. I wanted to wait until the Kansas City game was over against the Steelers because if the Steelers won that game, the Titans would be the number one seed. But the Steelers are a complete embarrassment.

Quite frankly, it's an embarrassment that the Titans allowed them to come back and win that game. Out of all the bad losses the Titans took this year, the Jets, the Texans, that Steelers game will be one I look back on a 13-3 lead at halftime. You just cannot allow the Steelers to come back and win that game. But alas, it is the case that the Titans did that and those same Steelers went to Kansas City and they are getting their doors blown off. It's 23-0 at halftime. The Steelers look completely lifeless, and I'm just not banking on them making a comeback in the second half.

So I took a risk here and decided to go ahead and get this out to you guys as soon as possible. So with that in mind, Kansas City is 11-4. They have a 6-4 conference record, but remember, the Titans beat Kansas City. It was actually the last game the Chiefs lost. They've won eight games in a row since, but all the Titans need to hop over Kansas City is for the Chiefs to lose one game. All they got to do is lose once because any of these

scenarios, we're talking about the Titans winning their last two games, and they should. The Titans play at home against Miami after having 10 days of rest. Mike Grable's undefeated with extra preparation time in season 7-0 in his career as head coach for the Titans. The Dolphins not only will be facing the Titans with more rest, but the Dolphins play on Monday night football, which decreases their rest. So no excuse for the Titans to not win that game against Miami at home. And then the last game against the Texans. If that first loss to the Texans wasn't enough, the Texans are just a terrible team anyway, despite their upset win over the Chargers this weekend.

That was pretty crazy, but the Titans should still win both of those games. So if the Titans handle their business, which is the number one step to all of this, they're going to need the Chiefs to lose one more game, because if the Titans and the Chiefs have the same record at the end of the year, the Titans get that head-to-head tiebreaker because they beat the Chiefs earlier in the year. The Chiefs go on the road to play Cincinnati next week. That's a tough game. And we've got to hope that Cincinnati gets the job done. And then they go on the road to finish the season and play Denver. I mean, that's a pretty

interesting last two games for the Chiefs. They could definitely lose one of those. So continuing down, Cincinnati beat Baltimore over the weekend. So Cincinnati's now nine and six. They have a seven and three conference record. So they're in the three spot right now. The Titans do not want to tie with Cincinnati because Cincinnati has the conference tiebreaker right now. So they got to make sure that, again, they handle their business and win their last two games. Buffalo did the Titans a big favor. We finally got to one of the gifts the Titans received. Buffalo is now 9-6.

They beat New England on Sunday, so that's big. Buffalo is 6-5 in the conference, so the Titans are better there. And the Titans have the tiebreaker, so that's great stuff for the Titans. Not really worried about Buffalo hopping over them, of course, if the Titans handle their business. Outside of that though, we didn't get the Chiefs loss. We got the Bills win over the Patriots. So we got the Patriots loss but we didn't get the Colts loss either. The Cardinals just looked absolutely horrible. The refs

everything went the Colts way in that game. It was preposterous quite frankly watching it. Watching the wayosterous, quite frankly, watching it, watching the way it was officiated, and watching the way it was coached by Cliff Kingsbury. A terrible, terrible job. Kingsbury's teams are always terrible at the end of the year, and that's a sign of a bad coach. So keep your eye on that right there.

So the Titans did get their win. The Colts won, however. The Chiefs won, however. But the Bills won and beat the Patriots. So those are the games that the Titans were really paying attention to now Indy is the number one wild card then New England after them both teams at nine and six Baltimore at eight and seven with that third wild card spot but they lost to Cincinnati and who knows what's going on with Lamar Jackson outside of that the Chargers who

lost to the Texans and dropped to eight and seven the the Broncos who look like they're going to beat the Raiders and go to eight and seven. The Broncos, who look like they're going to beat the Raiders and go to 8-7, and then Pittsburgh goes to 7-7-1. Those are kind of the bubble teams. But again, going forward, the last two weeks, the Titans got to win their two games, Miami and then Houston. But the Chiefs play at Cincinnati and at Denver. They lose one of those games, and the Titans win their two.

The Titans get the No. 1 seed. The Colts play the Raiders at home next week and then on the road to finish the year against the Jaguars. If the Colts lose either of those games and the Titans win their two, the Titans get the number one seed. The Colts play the Raiders at home next week and then on the road to finish the year against the Jaguars. If the Colts lose either of those games, the Titans clinch the AFC South. But realistically speaking, the Titans just need to handle their business and win their final two games. And that's what matters most. I'm going to talk about the ideal playoff matchup for the Titans in the first round if they don't get that number one seed as part of our Monday mailbag segment. So we're going to dive into the mailbag next. Before I get into that, I do want to tell you guys

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for 15% off at Built.com. Titans fans, we are going to continue this Monday mail bag edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Just talked about what took place in the AFC, where the Titans sit right now, what they need going forward to clinch the division, to get the number one seed, all that.

Now, going to dive into your questions. Before I do, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure you check out the ultimate college football playoff preview 2021. Local experts, betting advice, and draft analysis. The most comprehensive college football playoff preview begins this Friday. Diving into these mailbag questions. You guys had a ton of mailbag questions this week.

I think it's 23 in total. I'm going to start with a question from Phillip Motley. My guy, Phillip. Two questions from Phillip as a matter of fact. He says first, so I understand our Titans don't get the respect they are due, I guess, due to the small market. Nashville really isn't a small market, man. That's kind of

the thing about it that's perplexing. But why do you think the hype train is so big on JT for even consideration of MVP when the King didn't get one damn vote last year? why do you think the hype train is so big on JT for even consideration of MVP when the King didn't get one damn vote last year? What do you think is the real problem? I think that there is leftover sentiment for Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. I think it comes down to trust. The Colts have won a Super Bowl.

They've had good quarterback play and been consistent and been a playoff contender for years and years and years and years. And the reality is until the Titans win a Super Bowl or have an elite quarterback, a truly elite quarterback, like a Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes, a guy like that, people aren't going to trust the Titans, and that includes the national media. So they just have a natural tendency to float towards the Colts.

That's the only explanation that I reasonably have for you. But either way, FTC. Also, Phillip's second question. When the Titans go to the Super Bowl this year, in either way, FTC. Also, Phillip's second question. When the Titans go to the Super Bowl this year, in all caps, I like that positivity, what's your game time menu going to be? How many of us are you inviting over for the celebration? Because I know you're going to cook up some good stuff. A little editing there on my part.

Well, for me, I have a special chip dip that I like to make. I also have been really thinking about lately taco cups. Do something poppable with some good flavors in it. I'm always going to have some chicken wings on the ready as well. I might cook up a little Manhattan as a cocktail. Maybe a little gin and juice, which is my go-to. I love gin and tonics, stuff like that, Tom Collins, anything like that. So a couple of good cocktails with some whiskey and some gin,

some chicken wings, some chip dip, a little poppable snack as well. That would probably do it for me. And boy, I would have anybody over that I possibly could if the Titans made it to the Super Bowl. Corbin, my boy Mini Wheats, said, where do you have AJ all-time and Titans receivers? Number two. He's behind Derek Mason and me already.

Now, that's more of a commentary on the Titans' really horrible history with wide receivers. And, of course, I'm just talking about the Titans era, not going back into the Oiler days. But, yeah, for me, he's number two. I think he surpassed Drew Bennett. He's probably passed Kevin Dyson as well. I mean, some big moments there.

It's hard with the nostalgia that those teams ring on. But if we're talking talent-wise, he's probably number one. But in just terms of raw ability and what he's done, I'll go with number two already. And performances like what we saw on Thursday night, I don't see how you could argue that. But if you do, let me know. That's perfectly fine.

Moving forward, Daniel Mark Collins said, Bigger difference maker to the offense, Henry or AJ? I mean, that's really tough to me, guys. And quite frankly, I know that this even is blasphemous to some people, but I'm going to say that they're even. Because the reality is here, the Titans offense is built on home run strikes, whether that be in the run game or in the pass game.

And the guy who hits the home runs in the run game is Derrick Henry. We've seen Foreman have some pretty good runs. We've seen Hilliard have some pretty good runs with the blocking that the Titans offensive line gives. But some of these 12-yard gains, some of these 5-yard gains, some of these 8-yard gains that we see from Foreman or Hilliard, which I've highlighted in my film analysis on Twitter at TicTacTitans. Some of those are absolute paint jobs for Derrick Henry.

So you got to keep that in mind. But you also see the benefit of A.J. Brown for the Titans offense on Thursday night. You see what can happen there. So to me, they're even because they both do the same job, but they do it in two different ways. Everybody was so worried about Derrick Henry but the reality is if the Titans have A.J. Brown they could be a competent NFL offense.

If they don't have either of them, they can't. But with both of them, 35.5 points per game this year. So that's all you need to know about that. Both of them are the biggest difference makers but for me, I'm going to say that they're even and cop out because they're even. It's the truth. The Titans need them both. Moving forward, Sports Talk 47. No name or anything like that. They had your name on Twitter, so shout out to you. As an Ohio Titans fan myself, if you guys are new to the show or don't know,

I'm from Ohio. What made you stay away from other Ohio NFL teams, the Bengals and the Browns? My reason was because of Eddie George and also that I'm from Columbus, not Cleveland or Cincinnati. Or did you just start with the Titans when you started covering them? No, I just started covering the Titans for money, actually. This is my third season. I've been a Titans fan since the 90s, since they moved to Tennessee.

Definitely didn't start liking the team when I started covering. I've been in this for a minute, folks. But either way, I didn't like either of the Ohio teams because they were trash when I was growing up. They were terrible. And I wasn't raised around anybody who liked those teams. A lot of sports fandom is rite of passage. You know, your dad likes a certain team, your uncle, your brother,

your cousin, whatever, and you decide to like them. My dad, my whole family on my dad's side were big Packers people. We used to go to Bengals games when they played the Packers dressed in Packers stuff. I was raised a Packers fan until I was old enough to use my head and pick my own team when I was eight years old. So I was with the Packers by default because of my family. And I was taught to hate the Bengals

and hate the Browns. And again, both of those teams were trash. So I wasn't going to like those teams for no reason, even when my family didn't. So I liked the Packers until I was about eight, nine years old when the Titans moved to Tennessee. And then I was like, Eddie George is awesome.

And me and my brother were just like, man, this is the team for us. So I didn't like the Ohio teams because they were terrible and because no one in my family liked them either. I was raised in a Packers family. So that's kind of how that worked for me. Phillip, a third question I forgot. And this is a little fun one I'll do quickly. Phillip says,

so I know you're a huge DC fan. That's right, I am. I'm a huge Marvel fan. Hey, don't get it twisted though, guys. I know more about Marvel than just about every person you see walking down the street, okay? I am a big comic book movie fan, comic book fan. I love Marvel all the same.

I've seen everything that they've ever put out, and I watch as soon as it comes out. I saw Spider-Man on opening night. I watch Hawkeye on opening night. I watch everything and consume everything. I love all of that. But he says, what would you think about them coming together and doing a big DC Marvel crossover? So which characters would you want to see in it? Would you rather it be a movie or a limited series? Well, unfortunately now with a lot of the original Marvel 6 heroes from the Avengers kind of phasing out because they want to do different things with their lives

after being involved for so long, I don't think we'll ever get the true DC Marvel crossover that I want. But personally, if we saw it, as long as the Avengers and the Justice League are involved, I'm in. I'm in. But with all the money problems, Warner Brothers and Disney are really going to get together and agree on the pay

and all that. I just don't see it. But I will say in the Eternals, there are multiple references to DC characters. So that could be a little bit of ground work for that happening. But make sure that Batman's in there. But give me the Avengers. Give me Justice League. Have them fighting a Thanos and Darkseid team

up. That would be really sweet. But again, probably unlikely. Kenneth, Texas Sports 1015 says, what do you find during film study to be the main flaw with Downing's play calling? To me, it feels like he's relying too much on screenplays and using main weapons as decoys. Okay, well, the one big problem is he's telegraphing his play calls with his personnel. When you have Racey McMath and you have Cody Hollister

and you have Nick Westbrook-Akina out there with Jeremy McNichols or Jeff Swayman at tight end, it's pretty obvious that you're not going to run a passing play downfield. It allows the defense to creep up. But I also think that a big problem is too many of the Titans' plays are scheme plays where there's only one read for Ryan Tannehill. There's only one place to go with the ball. It's a pick play that if the pick doesn't work

and Racey McMath smashes into A.J. Brown, he's not going to be open. A wide receiver screen, a screen pass to a running back, another schemed-up play. The jet sweep to A.J. Brown on Thursday night. These are plays that don't have options. They don't have progressions. Tannehill can't quickly go to another route. You don't have four or five live receiving options

who are all running routes who can technically get the ball. It's set up for this one thing to happen, and too many times this year, we've seen that one thing get stopped immediately by the defense because it's obvious, and then the play doesn't have anywhere else to go, and it's just a ruined play. So, top down and getting too cute,

trying to scheme up too many looks and not beating the other team's defensive coordinator in the chess match. ZWZWhitner says, What is your ideal playoff matchup, assuming we do not get the first round by? For me, I want to play New England again. As long as the Titans don't play Indy, I'm cool. I don't want to play them in the first round. They're playing such good football and they're hot, but I would rather play New England than Baltimore as well. Also, if you have like the teams on the bubble,

the Chargers, Denver, I'd rather play Denver, Pittsburgh, or New England over Baltimore or the Chargers or Indy. And it really, what it comes down to is who has the better quarterback. Ryan Tannehill is a better quarterback than anybody Denver has. Ryan Tannehill is a better quarterback than Mac Jones. Ryan Tannehill is a better quarterback than Ben Roethlisberger. I do think Ryan Tannehill is a better quarterback than Carson Wentz, but the rivalry changes the dynamic a little bit. But I trust Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert a little bit more

than I trust Ryan Tannehill, at least from a talent standpoint. So with that in mind, I would want to play a team with a lesser quarterback, which is going to be the Chargers if they can get in. I really want to play New England again in Tennessee. That's really the matchup that I'm hoping for for the Titans. But a lot of mailbag questions you guys sent in like 23. So it's going to be a little bit of a long episode here, but I'm going to take a quick second to tell you guys about BetOnline.ag. BetOnline.ag has you covered this holiday season with more props, odds, and lines than ever before.

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Titans fans, we are going to continue this Mailbag Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Got more questions to answer, more shout outs to give. Before we get into that, do want to tell you guys about the Locked on Bets podcast. Of course, I thank you for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. But as for your second listen, check out the Locked on Bets podcast hosted by your boy Q and handicapping expert

Lee Sterling. It's presented by betonline.ag. So take all the advice that you get on the Locked On Bets podcast before you head over to betonline.ag to make your wagers. You can find it on any podcast platform. Once again, that's the Locked On Bets podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. But continuing to dive into your mailbag questions, a ton of them. I'm going to have to go a little bit quicker.

Travis Walker said, do you feel like Julio was told to take it easy on O, the field, to keep him healthy for the playoffs? Oh, would like to take it easy on the field to keep him healthy for the playoffs. I see what happened there. Like strictly using him as a distraction to open up the field for everybody else. No, I don't think that the coaching staff intentionally told him to take it easy or anything like that. I think they do want Julio to take it easy, but that is evident in his snap counts each

week. He's not a guy who's going to be out there consistently, but I think that changes once you get into the playoffs. Julio needs to be out there every single snap if possible. What's the point of all this time and all this waiting if you don't just go ahead and go all the way out in the playoffs? So that's what I'm expecting. Wesley Sargent said,

if Henry is able to return week 18 in Houston, do you think the Titans should start him regardless of the playoffs situation? Would it be better to play Henry at least for the first half in that game for him to knock some rust off, or should we wait until first round of the playoffs? situation. Would it be better to play Henry at least for the first half in that game for him to knock some rust off, or should we wait until first round of the playoffs? Wait until the playoffs. You don't put Derrick Henry out there against the Houston Texans in Week 18 for him to get hurt again before the playoffs.

Take the full time. Give him the full break. Get ready for the playoff run. I have faith, not faith, but optimism and confidence that Derrick Henry's rehab and his work will have him ready to go whenever he does step back out on the field. You don't risk it in a Week 8 team game against the Texans. Undercover Titans

War, Ren, Peace 95. That's pretty cool. What has been your top three plays of the season so far? Like your own personal favorite plays that have happened. Kevin Byard's interception at the end of the Colts game in overtime was awesome. Really loved that one.

The goal line stop against Josh Allen in the end zone, or not in the end zone, on the goal line for that win against the Bills. And then Kevin Byard's pick six against the Rams. I'm inclined to love defense. I'm a defensive guy. It's just the way my brain works. But I love those defensive plays from the Titans. So those are my three favorite plays of the year.

Michael Rowe. Michael Rowski. Another sweet name. Says, what is your favorite piece of Titans gear you own? And if someone got you a $200 gift card to the Titan shop, what's the first thing you'd buy? So for me, I would have to say my favorite Titans thing is either the Titans polo

that I wear all the time I wear it on Fridays and Mondays normally my game preview and my game recap just I love my Titans polo but also I have a Tennessee Titans baseball jersey I'm from Ohio so I'm in a Plato's closet

where I'm from I. So I in a Plato's closet where I'm from, I found a Tennessee Titans baseball jersey like eight years ago for seven bucks hanging on a rack. I bought it in 30 seconds. So I don't know why, but I just really like it. It's just weird. But if I had the gift card, I'm number one, I'm going to buy an AJ Brown jersey. Dude's a dog. Love AJ Brown. After that, I don't know. I don't know what else I would buy. I would let somebody else in the store pick something they want with the extra money because I don't need a lot.

You know what I mean? Titans fan 88 said, how's Derek's rehab going? Man, I gotta tell you, I don't know. I have no idea. I hope good. I saw a picture of him on Instagram over the weekend, and he didn't have a large boot on his foot. It looked like he was wearing a sandal and a shoe on the one that's not broken.

So hopefully that's a good sign. Why do you think the Titans were turning the ball over so much? I think they're using practice squad guys like Hilliard and Foreman and Nick Westbrook-Akina. And I also think it's kind of a snowball thing. Once those things start happening, they tend to just kind of continue to happen and people start stressing

and people start trying too hard to make things happen and then problems happen. What's your final record prediction? It's the same right now as it was before the season, 12-5. Cody Weath, TurtleMan92, he said, have you ever been a fan or followed along to other pro football leagues such as the CFL, the AAF,

the TSL, the XFL, etc.? If so, who was your team and why? The reality is, my real answer is no, I didn't follow along, but when the XFL first came out the very first time, I was a big LA Extreme fan. Not for any real reason.

I barely watched any of their games. But I like the Lakers. So it was just an LA team. I'm like, okay, I like the Lakers. I like this LA team. And I thought they had sweet jerseys. The LA Extreme. That's just a sweet name.

I used to draw their logo all the time when I was like in elementary school. I don't know. I just liked it. But Minnesota Titan said, Addressing free agency, what's the first specific need you personally believe the Titans need to address? I personally think tight end or interior defensive line. Love your stuff, man. Good to see the YouTube channel taking off. Thank you. I appreciate that. For me, it's pass catcher. Whether it be tight end or wide receiver, it's obvious that the Titans need more explosive elements in their passing game. They can run the ball.

They have a good run-blocking offensive line. They can run the ball even with some practice squad off the street guys. They've proven that. But what the Titans really need is more explosion in the passing game behind A.J. Brown because it's obvious that while Julio Jones could be a nice role player for the team, he's not that explosive second option that they were hoping for. So the Titans need that

right now and need it going forward as well. Slappy says with the new cut block rules, DB's not being able to low cut the offensive lineman outside the tackle box. Do you think we will see more tosses with our guards pulling outside as a convoy, especially in the playoffs

a possible wrinkle for Henry. I'll hang up and listen. The short answer is yes. If the rules are going to be such that defensive backs and people on the perimeter can't clean up lead blockers, which is asinine to make that illegal. What do you want the DB to do? Just take the 330-pound offensive lineman straight up

with hands to the chest and win? Stupid. Football can't be played that way. So I hope they fix that somehow. But while the rules are the rules the way they are right now, absolutely. You want to get big men, lead blockers, offensive linemen out on the perimeter as much as possible because there's really not anything for the defensive back to do to stop them.

So, yes, absolutely they need to do more of that. Tyler Chandler, will Henry be designated to return this week and wait until he's ready or will they wait until next week to make the announcement? I don't think it's coming either of those times. I think he'll be designated to return to practice the week of the playoffs the first week. Canadian Titan, always coming through with some weird ones. I appreciate it. Would you rather have cold hot dogs for fingers?

Why does temperature matter? Or sweat tomato sauce? This is easy for me. I'd rather have cold hot dogs for fingers? Why does temperature matter? Or sweat tomato sauce? This is easy for me. I'd rather sweat tomato sauce. I need my hands. I don't want any of my body actually affected. I would rather just sweat out tomato sauce. I wear a headband, wear, you know, a couple of bracelets, things like that. And tomato sauce is delicious. You get all up, up, up, and you never need to buy a tomato soup for grilled cheese. So I'm going with tomato sauce sweat. That's a weird thing to say if you clip that out of context. Cody James, assuming the Titans get the two seed,

the Bills and Bengals are the three and four. Which of the wild card teams would you like to play, hate to play? Please include Colts, Ravens, Chargers, Pats. I did answer that question before, but just to rehash, I would want to play the Broncos, the Steelers, or the Patriots. I want to play the Patriots the most. It's also the most realistic. I wouldn't want to play Baltimore, the Chargers, or Indy

because Indy is the Titans' division rival. It's just tough to play against them, and I trust the talent of Lamar Jackson and Justin Herbert more than I trust the talent of Ryan Tannehill. Next question here is from Franco. He says, with Rodgers having nerve damage, Jenkins basically being expendable, Roger Saffold having nerve damage, who he's talking about, Jack Rabbit Jenkins basically being expendable.

I don't agree with that. Did you see that pick in the end zone? Come on, man. You guys are just too hard on players when bad things happen. And Julio not being either used properly or healthy. Should all this money go to fixing the line or saving for AJ and Jeff's eventual big money contract? Well, one, Jenkins could get cut, but he's only going to get cut if Caleb Farley comes back healthy.

And quite frankly, I don't think that's going to happen anyways. And Jackrabbit next year, $7.5 million. There's not a lot of savings by cutting him. It's only about $3 million, so I'm not with that. Roger Saffold, however, on the other hand, yeah, I'm with you there. He's probably going to have to go or take a big reduction in pay. Julio's not going anywhere. He's got a big dead cap hit next year.

It's going to be tough to get him off the books. He's going to be $17 million in dead cap if the Titans cut him. So they're not getting rid of Julio. He's going to be $17 million a dead cap if the Titans cut him. So they're not getting rid of Julio. He's going to be back next year. But to your question, yes, some money has to be moved around to get Younger on the offensive line. That's definitely a concern and something that the Titans will have to focus on going forward.

The last question that I have here is from Bryce Penick. And Bryce says, after watching the last few Colts games, I feel like they've gotten every call and every spot to go their way because they have. Do you think this has anything to do with the Colts being on midseason hard knocks? After talking with my fam, it's hard to see how there isn't a correlation. Yeah, I mean, you would... It's a slippery slope, man.

I'm not... I'm not going to say that the NFL is rigging stuff for the Colts, but they do just seem to... They do just seem to get a lot of breaks. There's really no way around it. I mean, the T.Y. Hilton catch that wasn't a catch gave the Colts extra yardage before the safety play happened. They had to challenge a play that they shouldn't have had to challenge in there.

There's that pass interference call on the strip sack on Wentz, on Byron Murphy that was just an absolutely terrible call. It didn't make any sense. So, yeah, a lot of things seem to go the Colts way. It's always been that way. I don't know how to explain it. It's just annoying, and I'm already annoyed talking about it. But those are all the mailbag questions that I have.

Super long episode. The mailbags always are, and that's because of your guys' continued support, always sending in questions, and I greatly do appreciate it. But that's going to do it for me today. I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow. Tuesday, we always hit on some trending topics, some important things. Might get some injury updates, potentially on some things as well. So I'll just be bringing you the news of the day.

But Wednesday, we'll have our rewatch Wednesday edition of the show. I'll be diving into the film, telling you what I saw from the Titans schematically on offense and defense. Thursday, crossover Thursday with host of Locked on Dolphins. And then Friday, another game preview as we get ready for another weekend of football and ringing in the new year. Great week ahead here on the Locked on Titans podcast. That's going to do it for me today, though.

As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.