Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Need to TANK for Draft Position, #TitanUpTitanDown, Derrick Henry Tried & More Injuries

Episode Date: December 25, 2022

The Tennessee Titans have lost five in a row and with the injury situation not getting better any time soon, it is time for the Titans to set their eyes on draft position. With the needs on the roster becoming overwhelming, the Titans need to focus on getting as high in the draft as they can. Then, #TitanUpTitanDown for all the good and bad individual performances in the loss to Houston. First, Derrick Henry tried his best and Denico Autry made noise in his return. Finally, the Titans expensive vets on defense continue to let them down by not being on the field and Todd Downing continues to screw the Titans over on offense.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!NHTSADrive high, get a DUI. Click HERE to learn more.Ultimate Football GM To download the game just visit Ultimate-GM.com or look it up on the app stores. Our listeners get a 100% free boost to their franchise when using the promo LOCKEDON (ALL CAPS) in the game store.  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 coming off their fifth straight loss of the season. How should the Titans handle the last two games of the year? Well, I think there is an obvious path they need to go down. And then finally, we'll do a recap of the loss against the Houston Texans with everyone's favorite game, tighten up and tighten down to go over the individual good and bad performances from the loss.

All of that and more 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. Titans fans, it is a Christmas recap of the Tennessee Titans loss to the Houston Texans. But really, I kind of want to spin it forward at this point. Take a look at what the Titans should do going forward the rest of the season. Before we get into that, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, Monday through Friday.

Tennessee Titans content all year round on all platforms. It's going to be a wild offseason, a lot of really big decisions the Titans need to make. We're going to go over all of them. I'm going to be discussing them every Monday through Friday all throughout the offseason. So make sure that you stay locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast. But with that in mind, I do want to talk about what the Titans need to do going forward here. So a fifth straight loss. Jacksonville now leads the division over the Titans. And like I said on my postcast, I just don't see any way that the Titans

come out and beat Jacksonville. With Tannehill out for the rest of the season, Nate Davis and Ben Jones out for the rest of the season, Christian Bolton and Imani Hooker looking like, who knows when they'll ever play football again? Who knows. Bud Dupree got hurt. Zach Cunningham got hurt again. I mean, it's a skeleton crew of what we expected from the Titans at the beginning of the year. You look at the starters on opening data now,

it's just absurd, quite frankly. It's like 20 of the starters are missing. At this point, even if the Titans were to magically win against Jacksonville, what are they doing in the playoffs? They would be one of the worst playoff teams in NFL history at that point, maybe.

Let's say they lose to Dallas next week. I mean, I don't think the Titans are going to beat Dallas. Who is stopping Micah Parsons? You think the Titans are going to hold up against the physicality of the Cowboys' offensive line? CeeDee Lamb, who's guarding CeeDee Lamb? The Titans might get beat by 30 against the Cowboys.

Sadly, the only game of the season that I'll be attending in person. Unbelievable. Bought my tickets before Tannehill was out for the season. Crazy. So, with all of that in our minds, I mean, I don't see

how the Titans... I think the Titans lose the next two games whether they want to lose or not, but I think they need to lose those next two games because for me, at this point, it is all about rebuilding this roster. How do we rebuild this roster?

Fundamentally reshape and change this roster. The Ryan Tannehill, Derek Henry, Tennessee Titans are done. The window is closed. Ryan Tannehill, A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, that is done now. The next time the Titans are good, are a good football team, those two guys will not be on it.

So what they need to do is they need to get the best draft pick that they can possibly get this year so they can get one of these offensive tackles or offensive linemen and start there. From there, it's simple to me.

You need to trade Ryan Tannehill. Ryan Tannehill, I know some of you guys are going to hear this and think I'm nuts, but I promise you, I'm not. Ryan Tannehill is going to get you more in a trade than Derrick Henry will. Period. Next year, if you trade for Ryan Tannehill, you only got to pay him $27 million next year, not nearly $40 million like the Titans had to this year.

So, a team like the Jets, for example. A team like the Panthers, potentially. Hey, a team like the Colts. There are a lot of teams out there that I think, if Matt Stafford retires, the Rams could be interested. There are a lot of teams out there that I think could be interested. Maybe the Steelers even could be interested in Ryan Tannehill.

And I think the Titans could get like a third round pick, maybe even a second round pick. So you trade Ryan Tannehill, you ride with Malik Willis. And I know a lot of you guys are going to say that Malik Willis is terrible. He's not an NFL quarterback. Maybe so.

Maybe so. But if you're a Titans fan who wants to win a Super Bowl, then your hope has to be that Malik Willis plays every game next year, the Titans are god-awful, and they get Caleb Williams or Drake May in the draft in 2024. I just, that's the only path. Unfortunately, I'm worried that Mike Vrabel will hold on to the rope and Mike Vrabel will bring back Ryan Tannehill and say,

hey, if we're just healthier, we can win. And Vrabel will fool himself into thinking that. No, this team needs to tear it down. Build the roster back up anew because the window is closed. into thinking that. No, this team needs to tear it down. Build the roster back up anew because the window is closed. And luckily for us, excuse me, makes me sick to think about,

but luckily for us, looks like the Titans don't really have a choice in the matter. They're going to be losing their next two games anyway. So we do need to dive into some of the individual performances in this game against the Texans. There were some good performances and of course there were some bad. But before we get into those, I do want to tell you guys that today's show is brought to you by PrizePix. PrizePix is daily fantasy made simple. Basically, PrizePix has a projection for every player. 100 rushing yards for Derrick Henry. 300 passing yards for Pat Mahomes.

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Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We just talked about what the Titans need to do next. And for me, it's simple. It's best for them if they lose the next two games, trade Ryan Tannehill in the offseason, remake this roster with as much draft capital as they possibly can get their hands on. And I'm going to save my... Some of you may be picking up on how I feel about this, but I don't think that's the only trade the Titans need to make this offseason.

So we got a lot of time to get into things like that. But let's just talk about the good performances in that game against the Texans. And yeah, you can blame him. You certainly can. You can be mad about the fumble. But guys, you can blame him. You certainly can. You can be mad about the fumble. But guys, what would the Titans do without Derrick Henry? I mean, what would the Titans do without Derrick Henry? This version of the team,

I mean, Derrick Henry made them look a lot better than they actually were. 48-yard touchdown run, had 126 yards. I mean, with that offensive line, yeah, the fumble. I get it, the fumble. I know. But at the end of the day, the Texans got three points on that fumble, and they lost by five. So, it's not like that was the difference in the game per se.

Total-wise, the Titans should be able to score more points than 14. All right? So while Derrick Henry's fumble was bad, I'm still giving him a Titan up because I just feel like he's trying his best, and this offensive line is terrible. Malik's not ready. Todd Downing is the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL,

and Derrick Henry is still finding a way to go over 100 yards every week. I mean, just shout out to Derrick Henry. He tried his best, man. He tried his best. A lot of credit to Derrick Henry. He's been an incredibly fun player to watch. Danico Autry. My God, having Danico Autry back. Seven tackles, had a sack, two tackles for loss, two QB hits, blocked two passes at the line of scrimmage. I mean, just an incredible job. Danico Autry, the most underrated player maybe in the NFL, definitely the most underrated player on the Titans.

While the $20 million hero that all you guys defend all the time was doing absolutely nothing and leaving another game early. Danico Autry off a pretty tough knee injury comes back in and gives his best to this team. Man. Thank you Danico. Jeffrey Simmons as well.

I thought he really tried in this one. Two quarterback hits, four tackles. He got into the backfield quite a bit and made the running back alter his path, even if he didn't get a stat for it. Jeffrey Simmons is a great player, man. I'm worried about what Simmons thinks

about playing for the Titans long term after this end of the season where the Titans are probably going to lose seven games in a row to finish it out. Finish 7-10 like my idiot Bengals fan friend said they would. I cannot believe it. God. Anyways, I gave my game ball to this guy,

but he gets a tighten up as well, of course. And it's Jack Gibbons. Eight tackles. Four of them solo. Had the pass breakup. Had an interception as well. I thought Dr. Gibby had a great performance. Well, let's not say great. I thought he had a good performance out there. The reality was

the Titans linebackers got pushed around a little bit in run defense, Monty Rice and Jack Gibbons. So I can't give them like a full-fledged, you know, tighten up because of what I saw there. It's funny, if I do this enough, if I go through the entire game and all my thoughts, it's hard to give anybody anything because everybody has good and bad plays out there, of course. But I thought Gibby, for being an undrafted free agent thrown into the lineup like this,

I thought he did a pretty good job. So, tighten up for Jack Gibbons. Another tighten up for Trey Avery. Trey Avery came out there. He had a pass breakup. He had three tackles. He wasn't the Titans' worst cornerback on the day. He was a better cornerback than the second-round pick,

and he was an undrafted free agent. So shout out to Trey Avery because it's clear that he's doing his absolute best out there. I mean, really, it's hard to have many more tighten-ups than that, but the few that I do have here that are a little off the beaten path, I thought Corey Levin and Jordan Ruse actually played pretty well.

I thought in pass protection that it was Dennis Daly and NPF early on that had bigger problems. The offensive line was pretty terrible in general and pass protection overall. But I just thought in run blocking, Corey Levin and Jordan Roos held their own. I thought they did a pretty good job.

No lie. But of course, it's the same story every single week with the Titans offensive line. You get a tighten up in run blocking, you get a tighten down in pass blocking. So, again, riding the Titans offensive line. You get a tighten up and run blocking, you get a tighten down and pass blocking. So, again, riding the fence on it, I know, it's frustrating to hear, I'm sure, but just, you can't give the Titans offensive line

any kind of tighten up with the pass protection issues that have happened, but what can we expect? But I am going to give Jordan Roos and Corey Levin a tighten up because I don't think they killed the Titans out there and they let them at least run the football. So, shout out there. But not a lot of tight nups,

not a lot of happiness on this Christmas for Titans fans, I understand entirely. But we are going to get into the Titan downs as well in this game because there were some bad performances. Oh, wait, wait. I'm sorry. some bad performances. Oh wait. Wait. I'm sorry. I was wrong. False start on me.

I do want to highlight. One of the newer Tennessee Titans. Devontae Harris. Who went out there on special teams. And made about three special teams tackles. Including the first tackle of the game. That was a nice big hit. So shout out to Devontae Harris.

Just got on the Titans recently. And he's out there. Giving his all. Making special teams plays. So shout out to Devontae Harris. Just got on the Titans recently and he's out there giving his all, making special teams play. So shout out to him. Also Ryan Stonehouse coming off the Pro Bowl snub. I mean, six punts, 300 punt yards,

50 yards on average. Had a 61 yard punt. I'm just going to continue to give a shout-out to Ryan Stonehouse. So, we're going to move to tighten down, though, before we do. Do want to let you guys know that today's show

is brought to you by the National Highway Traffic. I don't know what the S stands for. I don't. Whatever. Moving forward. Either way, guys, got to get serious for a moment. I don't know what the S stands for. I don't. Eh, whatever. Moving forward. Either way, guys, gotta get serious for a moment.

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It's no big deal. What are the odds that you get pulled over anyway? Even so, what's the worst that could happen? Your insurance goes up. You lose your license. You lose your job. You total your car. You kill someone. Everyone knows about the risks of driving drunk. The results are tragic and often deadly. However, that still doesn't stop everyone from getting behind the wheel while under the influence. That's why police officers are out there right now looking for impaired

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Drive sober or get pulled over. Titans fans, we are going to cap off today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. It's a Christmas edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. I know Titans fans didn't get anything good for Christmas this year other than the end of this group as we know it. That is what we got for Christmas this year. A bunch of lumps of coal and injuries. Dang it. But either way, moving forward here,

do want to talk about some of these Titan downs before we all go into our Christmas day. Before I get into that, though, do want to thank you guys again for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year round on all platforms.

As for your second listen, though, check out Locked On Sports Today. It's the biggest stories around the sports world in 20 minutes or less, plus instant reactions, game recaps, and Locked On's take of the day. Locked On Sports Today available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. It's the National Highway Traffic Safety Association. I was so close. Can't believe I couldn't remember that on the spot. It's embarrassing. But anyways, a lot of embarrassment going around for Titans fans this weekend and this end of the season.

Tighten down. There were some tighten downs out there as well. And I'm going to start with Bud Dupree. And let me lump in Zach Cunningham as well. The amount of money that these guys count for on the cap for the amount of play and production. I mean, Zach Cunningham at times has been outplayed by Dylan Cole this year even when healthy, let alone being

out. I cannot wait. I cannot wait to cut Bud Dupree and Zach Cunningham. I can't wait for those announcements. I'm going to be here throwing confetti in the air.

High paid, older defensive players who give the Titans nothing, nothing. I think, now I'll have to look up the numbers, that there is a good chance that Bud Dupree misses or left early for more games than he played entirely for the Titans in the two years he is going to be with the team. You know, whatever. Call it what it is, me patting myself on the back, whatever. Since the day Bud Dupree signed, I said that was a stupid contract.

I wanted Hassan Riddick, who was cheaper, younger, more potential, wasn't the fourth best rusher on his team coming off an ACL. I wanted Trey Hendrickson, who's been great for the Bengals. Man. $20 million cap hit. Jeez. John Robinson. That is one of the more underrated, terrible moves of all time for J-Rob.

When they rate his bad moves, that should be higher on the list than what people will put it at. That's all I know. Major tighten down to freaking bomb Dupree. God. Cunningham, we waste an IR spot on Cunningham to come back for this. Unreal. Unreal. Unbelievable.

Also, tighten down, since I talked to you guys, Nate Davis placed on IR. The Titans are either going to get him in an incredible bargain to come back, which is what I want to happen, or they're going to let him walk to a team that's dumb enough to pay him way more than he should get. They're going to let him walk to a team that's dumb enough to pay him way more than he should get. I don't want the Titans to have to replace four spots on the offensive line.

I would love to have Nate Davis and NPF kind of locked in there so they can focus on the other spots. But it better be for the cheap because I ain't paying Nate Davis nothing. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Now for the people who actually were bad in the game, Roger McCreary, man, just abused in this game. They targeted, the Texans went 9-for-9 on their last drive.

Last two drives, I think. 9-for-9. And they just went after Roger McCreary over and over again. He made Phillip Dorsett look like Tyreek Hill. God. Now, McCreary is going to be fine. He's going to be a fine player.

He's going to be good. But he's clearly not going to be able to do that unless he has a good secondary around him. You know? He's not like a number one corner or anything like that. No, no, no. He's always going to be a role-playing cornerback. Titans have a huge need at cornerback. They do. Huge need at

cornerback. Huge need at edge rusher. I don't know if Rashad Weaver is good enough to be an every down guy. Huge need at edge. Huge need at cornerback. Huge need at linebacker. Huge need on the offensive line. Oh, man.

Huge need at quarterback, huge need at running back of the future, huge need at wide receiver. I mean, rosters in shambles. Continuing, Monte Rice, just not good enough at getting off blocks for a guy who isn't fast enough to get away from him. So, just not good enough in run defense. And then Todd Downing. I talked about it enough on my postcast,

but the Titans try to use Malik Willis like he's Ryan Tannehill. I mean, only one RPO, I can recall, maybe two. Only one or two read option plays. And Malik had success on those. No quarterback sweep. No quarterback counter. No quarterback power.

If you want to line up and shotgun empty with Malik Willis, then why not run quarterback power with a pulling guard against a slim box? I only recall one play action fake with a guy coming from the opposite side of the formation into the flat so Malik can get out on the perimeter and dump it off. I remember one of those to Austin Hooper. Maybe there were two, but that should have been the entire game plan. Why is Malik Willis dropping back to pass like he's Ryan Tannehill multiple times in the game? One, Malik Willis isn't ready to play

and win games consistently as a quarterback. And two, he's going to struggle even more to be able to do that if you try to use him like 10-man Ryan Tannehill. The roster, the coaching, and I'll just leave you with this thought, guys. I don't see, I don't see a way

that the Titans turn back into a really good team with Mike Vrabel as the head coach. He's going to keep Todd Downing. And as long as Todd Downing is the offensive coordinator for this team, they have zero chance to be a serious team. Unfortunately, it looks like Mike Vrabel is going to be another Mike Malarkey who refused to make changes on his staff, and it ultimately caused him to be the change on the staff.

So I think there is an offseason of major change ahead. Major change ahead. And it was a fun run. We had, you know, three, four years of fun football before the wheels,

wheels completely fell off. So, I'm grateful for that as somebody who started covering the team in 2019. So, thank you, AJ Brown. Thank you,

Arthur Smith. I think as days go by, we realize, you guys were what made this team special. So, anyway, moving forward, that's going to do it for me today. I'll be back with you guys on Monday night. I know this is coming out a little early on Saturday night after the game, but it'll be up for you on Sunday,

and it'll be the placeholder for the Monday podcast, and then Monday night on YouTube, I'll drop the Tuesday show and you guys will have that in your podcast feed. But if I'm with you on Christmas morning, Merry Christmas. Be safe. Find some happiness, guys. That's going to do it for me today, though. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. Thanks for watching!