Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Mid-Season Report & Rankings: Offense, Defense and Players Ranks

Episode Date: November 9, 2021

The Tennessee Titans are halfway through the 2021 season which means it is the perfect time for a mid-season check in. First, where does the Titans offense and defense rank currently in the NFL? Tyler talks about those rankings and what they mean going forward. Then, Tyler dives into the individual stats on offense looking at Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry & AJ Brown. Finally, Tyler talks defense and goes over the statistical standouts like Harold Landry, Jeffery Simmons & Kevin Byard.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport 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.GetupsideJust download the FREE GetUpside App and use promo code TOUCHDOWN to get up to 50¢/gallon cash back on your first tank. 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 Tuesday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. After the Tennessee Titans win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, we are now officially at the halfway point of the NFL's 18-week regular season schedule. With us being midway through the year, it's a perfect time for a Tennessee Titans mid-season report. So first, we're going to look at things from a team perspective. Where does the Titans offense rank in terms of total yards, in terms of third down completion percentage? Also, what about the defense? How about the sacks? How about the Titans scoring defense? Where do they rank amongst the other NFL teams? Then we're going to zoom in on an individual level. Look at some

player stats. We're going to start with the offense. Where does Ryan Tannehill rank in terms of passing yards? How about A.J. Brown in terms of touchdowns? We're going to talk about that. Then we'll transition to the defensive side of the ball. Where does Kevin Byard rank in terms of interceptions, defensive touchdowns? Where does Harold Landry and Jeffrey Simmons rank in terms of sacks? I am answering all of that for you guys on a Tennessee Titans midseason report on today's 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, we are going to get into the Locked on Titans mid-season report on today's show. Before we do, I have to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. And if this is your first ever listen to the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. Subscribe to the Locked on Titans YouTube channel. Smash that notification bell so you know when all of my content goes live. Make sure that you follow me on social media at TicTacTitans on Twitter for all of my film breakdowns and film content.

Check out the show Facebook page as well at Locked on Titans Pod. And also, just want to share some moments with you guys, celebrate some moments with you guys. On Monday, I realized that throughout the last week, the tennis, the Locked on Titans podcast has been ranked in the top 100 football podcast in America on Apple iTunes. So a top 100 chart position for the podcast.

Can't thank you guys enough for that. It's a great milestone for, you know, this little engine that could, that is the Locked for the podcast. Can't thank you guys enough for that. It's a great milestone for this little engine that could that is the Locked on Titans podcast. And then also, on Monday, went over 1,000 subscribers on YouTube in just a couple of months. I mean, I can't thank you guys all enough for the support. Monday, obviously, I was taking some shots and taking some arrows from the Twitter crowd because of some of my takes heading into the support. Monday, obviously I was taking some shots and taking some arrows from the Twitter crowd

because of some of my takes heading into the game, and that's fine because it's always about balance in life and the support and the appreciation that I've received from a lot of you guys and seeing the numbers climb and climb and climb and the subscribers climb and climb and climb. It really makes all the work that I put into the show worth it. I was up last night until 2 o'clock in the morning pumping out a podcast

despite having to wake up at about 6 in the morning. And I don't say that for any sympathy or any pity. I wouldn't have it any other way. All I can say is all the work and all the effort and energy that I put into the podcast. I just want to say I appreciate you guys giving that back to me in terms of listening, watching, liking, commenting, engagement, all of that. Thank you all so much.

I wouldn't be here without all of you. It's been a great day, a great season for the Locked On Titans podcast. Thank you all so much. But with all that emotional, mushy-gushy stuff out of the way, it is time to dive into our mid-season report for the Titans. And before we get into the season stats, I do want to give you some quick stats coming out of the game against the Rams. In the last 15 years, there have been four teams

that have beaten four straight playoff teams in a row. Obviously, the playoff team status is from the year before. The Titans just beat four 2020 playoff teams in a row. They are the fourth team in the last 15 years to do that. The previous three teams all went to the Super Bowl and two of them won the Super Bowl. So great stuff for the Titans. Also going forward, the Titans magic number is five and the magic number is comprised of either Titans victories or Colts losses. This is a very popular thing in major league baseball. So if the Colts losses and the Titans wins add up to five, that would clinch a playoff berth and clinch the division for the Titans. So that'll

be something to monitor going forward. And also want to mention per FPI, which is the football power index, something that ESPN produces, the Titans have had the most difficult schedule in the NFL from week 1 through 9. But weeks 10 through 18, they have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL. And as the tweeter said, I don't remember who it was, number one seed, Titans, here we come. So those are just great numbers for the Titans coming out of the game, but let's get into the raw overall team numbers for the Titans on offense

and defense. So obviously they're seven and two. They're the number one seed in the AFC. They're five and one in the conference with our only AFC loss being to the New York Jets. How strange. Either way. The Titans offense right now has 3,211 total yards. That's the 10th best offense in the NFL. Their 22nd in passing offense, though, with only 1,961 passing yards. Obviously, that number, it detracts the sack yardage, so that number's not going to line up perfectly with Ryan Tannehill's passing yards because the sack yardage is taken away from that, but that's 22nd in the NFL, and the Titans aren't going to have this big-time yardage passing

game anyways. That's not the way that they play offense because on the flip side, they currently have the third-best running offense in the NFL with 1,250 total yards. So the Titans doing what they do on offense. More importantly than that, they are the sixth best scoring team in the NFL, averaging 28.3 points per game. The Titans offense starting to score points at the same rate they have in previous years. So you love to see that midway through the year.

The third down completion percentage, and I don't mean completion percentage in terms of completing passes, I mean converting third down opportunities into first downs. The Titans are 13th in the NFL at 42.1. Would love to see that improve, but here's the big one. Red zone conversion rate. 65.7% of their red zone opportunities are turned into touchdowns. That's 9th best in the NFL. The Titans were 1st place in that category in 2019. They were 2nd place in that category in 2020. They were as low as 26th in that category earlier this year going into the Bills

game. So to see the Titans turn that red zone percentage around, get back in the top 10, that is just a great sign for Todd Downing and the offense going forward. One bad note though, they have given up 23 sacks so far this year, which is the seventh most in the NFL. They gave up 24 sacks last year total in the entire season. So that's not a great thing and the Titans need to improve upon that very quickly. But a healthy offensive line would go a long way to doing that. In between the offense and defense, the Titans turnover margin,

they were second to last in the NFL going into the Jaguars game in week five. They've turned that around now. They are 16th in the NFL with a plus one turnover margin. So they are actually ahead of their opponents in terms of turnover. It's got to give a lot of credit to the Titans defense, who have had six straight games with having an interception.

Moving to the defensive side of the ball. Right now, the Titans are currently 27th in overall defense. They've given up 3,292 total yards. A lot of that has to do with the passing defense. They've given up 2,392 total yards. A lot of that has to do with the passing defense. They've given up 2,392 passing yards, that second last in the NFL. But the Titans have played the most difficult schedule in the league so far.

According to that FPI, they played the Cardinals, the Bills, the Chiefs, the Rams. I mean, they have played some really, I mean, even the Seahawks with Russell Wilson, they played some good offenses. And we know the Titans are a bend, don't break defense anyway. So, want to see that improve, but not too bad right now. We can live with that with everything else that's going on, like the rushing defense. The Titans have only given up 900 rushing yards on the year.

That's the 12th best number in the NFL. In terms of scoring, they're allowing 23.4 points per game. That's 14th best in the NFL. And with the Titans averaging 28 and the defense averaging 24, what does that sound like? It sounds like wins to me. Holding teams under 24 points per game in today's NFL is a great job by the Titans defense.

Bend, don't break. And speaking of that, they're the 9 ninth best red zone defense in the NFL, only giving up touchdowns on 52.8% of their opponents' red zone opportunities. They're the 12th best third down defense at 38.8%. And when you consider the Titans were giving up third down conversions at a rate of 51% last year. The worst team in the NFL. To see them have a 13-point percentage improvement, being the top half of the league,

I mean, that's everything that you could ask for. And we finished the offense with sacks, so we'll finish the defense with sacks. 27 sacks on the year. The Titans have had 19 last year total. So just absolutely great stuff from the Tennessee Titans right now on offense and on defense. I mean, with the turnaround we've seen from the Titans defense,

we're seeing the Titans offense kind of get things together. I really don't know what else you could ask for from the Titans at this moment in time sitting at 7-2. And a reminder here, a reminder, the Titans are the most injured team in the NFL on a record-setting pace when it comes to the amount of players that they have had to use so far this season. So all of that taken into account, a great start to the year halfway through for the Tennessee Titans. But we are going to drill down to the individual level next. We're going to talk offense, then we're going to talk defense. Before we do, got to tell you guys about the best tasting protein bar in the galaxy from our friends over at

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at the beginning of our show. Before we get into that, I want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. Make sure that you subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. You're going to find the Locked on Titans podcast everywhere and always free. So thank you guys so much for the support as well. Let's get into the offense here. And there aren't a lot of heavy hitters to talk about.

The Titans offense hasn't been going at a crazy rate outside of the superstars that we are used to making those plays. We'll start at quarterback, though. Ryan Tannehill currently has 2,145 passing yards. That's 13th best in the NFL. A really good rate for Ryan Tannehill, who's kind of asked to minimize risk. He's just asked to manage the offense overall.

He makes big plays every single week, but he's not asked to be some prolific passer bombing it down the field all the time. So that's a really good rate for Ryan Tannehill. He has 11 touchdown passes on the year, that 17th best, but I do believe he also has two rushing touchdowns to go along with that. So Ryan Tannehill, the dual threat, having value as always. He's thrown eight interceptions through nine games though. That's the seventh

worst amount in the NFL right now. He's really got to cut down on the turnovers. The Titans have been giving the ball away way too much early in the year. He's 16th right now in completion percentage, 66%. It's never really been Ryan Tannehill's game to be incredibly efficient with not in terms of his passing yards, yards per play and all that, he's incredibly efficient. But when it comes to completion percentage, being pinpoint accurate, Tannehill's the type of guy who's going to make some big throws and make some big plays. Not big throws in terms of long throws, but getting the ball over the middle of the playmakers, letting them make those explosive pass plays.

So all this makes sense with the type of player that Ryan Tannehill is. A really good start to the season outside of those interceptions. But Ryan Tannehill, of course, has been dealing with a ton of pressure in his face. We already talked about the Titans giving up more sacks this year than they did all of last year. So when you take all that into account and not having Julio and AJ for a lot of the season, good stuff from Ryan Tannehill keeping this ship afloat and leading the Titans to the number one seed right now.

Outside of Ryan Tannehill, though, you got to talk about Derrick Henry, who still, even though he didn't play this week, leads the NFL in rushing yards by over 100 yards. He's got 937 rushing yards. That's still first. Second is Jonathan Taylor with 821 rushing yards. Now Henry's obviously going to get passed.

He's not going to be able to keep that up. I really wish that he could come back for that last game against Houston and at least get over 1,000 yards. But the Titans have more important things than Derrick Henry getting over 1,000 yards. No big deal with that. Titans don't need to focus on that. They just need to get him back healthy for the playoffs. But still, for Derrick Henry to be in first, pretty impressive. And he's still also

tied for first place with 10 rushing touchdowns. James Conner of the Cardinals has 10 rushing touchdowns himself, but the fact that Derrick Henry didn't even play this week, he still leads the rushing total by a hundred. He's still tied for first place in touchdowns. Just shows how incredibly awesome he was before he got hurt. Sad face that he did get hurt, though. But the Titans are moving forward, and one of the guys that's going to be really important for them to do that is A.J. Brown. And despite the fact that A.J. has missed a ton of time this year, missed a ton of snaps, has played in eight games, but a couple of those games he came out very early and wasn't really a factor at all.

But he's still top 30 in catches with 40 and top 30 in yards with 551. He has three touchdowns on the year. He's really been cranking it up in recent weeks, so going to need A.J. to have a huge second half of the season. Got a feeling he'll be up higher by the end of the year, but we'll recap that when the time comes. Julio Jones, so far this year, only 21 catches, 336 yards, zero touchdowns, only in six games.

The Titans have obviously been very conservative with Julio Jones, holding him back at any moment because they know that if Julio can make plays for them in the playoffs, that is exactly why you traded for him. You don't need to get this guy hurt during the regular season when you're trying to push for wins. It's just not important with a guy like Julio, and the Titans are taking that approach with a guy like Bud Dupree as well.

So we're seeing that on both sides of the ball, the big all-season acquisition. The Titans are handling them with care. I do want to mention the offensive line. Now, I put out the pressure report on Twitter every Monday, so you can go check out each individual week. Don't want to crush these guys too much, but I just want to say as a whole, of course, they're a top 10 run blocking unit per pro football focus.

They're the ninth best run blocking grade in the NFL at 74.1. But no surprise here. They're the 28th rated offensive line in pass blocking at 53.1. So that really has to improve. Nate Davis has really struggled in pass blocking so far this year. Questenberry has had his struggles against certain matchups. We've seen Roger Saffold really struggle with good matchups here in recent weeks to Forrest Buckner and Aaron Donald.

But those are two of the top three defensive tackles in the NFL, along with Jeffrey Simmons. But we are going to talk about the defensive individual stats and where those guys rank. It's going to be a really fun conversation. We're going to do that to round out today's show. Before we get into that, though, do want to tell you guys about a free app that you have to check out

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that promo code touchdown to get up to 50 cents a gallon cash back on your first tank. That's promo code touchdown on the free GetUpside app. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's mid-season report by looking at the individual numbers on defense. And there is a lot to go over with the Titans' incredibly performing defense. Just what a revamped unit for the Titans. And all of it starts up front. Now, before we get into it, though, I do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast

your first listen every day. As for your second listen, make sure you guys check out the Peacock and Williamson podcast. It's hosted by Brian Peacock and former NFL scout Matt Williamson. They give you a national perspective on all of the latest NFL news. You get all your Titans news right here. So get all your NFL news with the Peacock and Williamson podcast, part of the Locked On Podcast Network on every platform and always free.

But going into the defense, number one, the Titans defensive line currently is number one in the NFL with the most quarterback pressures. They've had 100. I mean, it's unbelievable how this pass rush has flipped just from one season. You give Shane Bowen credit. You give John Robinson credit as well for putting the players on the roster that the Titans needed to actually improve that pass rush. He did it. J-Rob did it. And the Titans defensive line is being universally celebrated on Monday.

I mean, Brian Baldinger called the Titans the best defensive line in the NFL. I mean, by golly, how can you not smile at that? It's just unbelievable. So let's dive into the numbers that showcase that. Number one, Harold Landry. Right now, he's second in the NFL with nine sacks, tying his career high from his second season. He's got 48 pressures on the year. That's second in the NFL as well. Nine tackles for loss. Landry has been great. You look at Jeffrey Simmons. He's got 42 quarterback pressures on the year. That's the most for any interior defensive lineman. He passed Aaron Donald on Saturday night. Aaron Donald has

41. Simmons at 42. Maybe the most disruptive, most dominant interior defensive lineman in the NFL this year, Jeffrey Simmons. I mean, if the season ended right now, the Titans would probably have three all pros on defense. Landry, Simmons, and Byard. It's unbelievable. Unbelievable.

Jeffrey Simmons is currently 21st in the NFL in sacks with five and a half. He's got seven tackles for loss. Just completely dominant. You look at Danico Autry, who I have said all along I thought would be the Titans' best free agent signing, and he's actually turned into that. He is 27th in the NFL with five sacks on the year. He has six tackles for loss, and he's got 42 quarterback pressures, which also has him in the top 10. Jeffrey Simmons, Harold Landry, and Danico Autry all are in the top 10 in terms of quarterback pressures. And just so the numbers make sense, if you got 42 from Simmons,

41 from Autry, 48 from Landry, that goes over 100, but you can have multiple pressures on one play. So that's why the overlap looks the way it does. Now Bud Dupree, gotta mention Dupree, only played in six games.

He's got 12 quarterback pressures and only one sack, but he does have the forced fumble on that strip sack, and we know that Dupree has been coming along slowly. This second half of the season, the fire is about to rain down from the fireman, Bud Dupree. Can't wait for that. Simmons, Earth, Autry, Water, Landry, Wynn, Dupree, Fire, the Titans' pass rush elementals really stepping up

this season. The best defensive line in the NFL. At the linebacker spot, the Titans have had a lot of moving parts but one constant has been David Long who plays with ferocity, plays with physicality, plays with aggressiveness. He's got 66 tackles which leads the

Tennessee Titans by nearly 20 tackles. He's got an interception on the year, four tackles for loss. He's been great. Now, he's not going to get pro bowl love. He's not going to get all pro love. But we know that David Long is a sixth-round pick. John Robinson, you sexy, sexy dog. David Long is a sixth-round pick, has been a boon for the Titans.

He's played excellent football so far this year. Definitely the best linebacker on the team. And then, of course, we have to talk about Kevin Byard. The best defensive player in the NFL this year. Maybe Myles Garrett. Myles Garrett has 12 sacks, okay? He's been absolutely nuts. But right now, it's Kevin Byard.

Or it's Myles Garrett for defensive player of the year. In the NFL, and the whole league. Bayard's got 40 tackles. I'm glad that he's got less tackles this year than last year. He was over 100 tackles last year, and you just don't want your safety making that many tackles. It's not a great sign. So 40 tackles for Bayard.

Five interceptions, which is second in the NFL to Trevon Diggs of the Cowboys, who have seven. But if you watch Diggs play, and he got roasted by Tim Patrick on Sunday, Diggs is a boomer bust corner. He's going to make a lot of plays like that and interceptions, but he's going to get burnt over and over throughout the game as well because of that aggressiveness.

So, Bayard definitely been a better player. He's got one forced fumble on the year, one fumble recovery. He returned that fumble recovery for a touchdown against the Jaguars to start the game. He got the pick six against the Rams. That's two defensive touchdowns tied for first in the NFL this year. Four defensive touchdowns

is the record in the NFL. Kevin Byard's got an easy stretch of games and teams that will turn over the ball going forward. he could break that record. He could very well break that record. So just a great season from Kevin Bayard, ranking

at the top of the league. He's the number one graded safety in the NFL per pro football focus as well. So just across the board, Kevin Bayard has been tremendous. I also, before we get out of here, want to give some love to Randy Bullock. Bulletproof Bullock, 15 for 17 on the year, one for one on his only 50-yard kick, 25 for 26 on

extra points, and he's just been on fire recently. So a lot of credit to Randy. And as I say, like Mike Vrabel said after that Colts game, you've got a home here, Randy. You've got a home here. But that's going to do it for the Tennessee Titans Locked on Titans mid-season report. We went through some statistics on offense and defense from a team perspective. We talked about the individual stats and rankings from the offense and defensive perspective. I will be back with you guys tomorrow to break down all of the film from the Titans win over the Rams. I've already rewatched the game twice on the TV copy.

I'm going to dive into the All-22 Coaches tape on Tuesday. Going to be posting a lot of clips for a Tic Tac Tuesday on Twitter as well. So make sure that you check that out at Tic Tac Titans. That's going to do it for me today, though, folks. Remember, once again, thank you all so much for the constant support.

1,000 subscribers on YouTube. Top 100 football podcasts in America on Apple Podcasts. Couldn't do it without you guys. Thank you all so much. That's going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.