Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Offensive BLAME PIE, Slowing Down "New" Joe Burrow & Blocking Trey Hendrickson

Starting point is 00:00:00 While Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill and the offensive line are in the spotlight, everyone is to blame for the Titans' offensive performance so far. I'll explain why on today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it! You are Locked on Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:44 I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, we got a lot to talk about on today's show. We're going to dive into a little bit of the tape, talk about what I saw on film from the Titans in week three, but use that as a way to spin forward and look at what's next for the Titans as they take on the Cincinnati Bengals in week four. First, we're going to look at why everyone is to blame for the Tennessee Titans' offensive performance. Who needs to step it up?

Starting point is 00:01:11 Also, we're going to talk about Joe Burrow and the new version of Joe Burrow that we saw on Monday night and what the Titans can do with it. And then finally, how in the world can the Titans slow down Trey Hendrickson? We're going to discuss all that and more before we get into it. Thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Remember Monday through Friday Tennessee Titans content all

Starting point is 00:01:34 year round on all apps and always for free. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast. Part of the Locked on Podcast Network where it's your team every day. Of course, shout out to my everydayers out there tuning in Monday through Friday, making sure that I'm bringing you guys great content every single day.

Starting point is 00:01:54 Tomorrow is crossover Thursday with the guys from Locked on Bengals. Then we are going to have game plan Friday, where we talk about how the Titans can win this game against the Bengals. And I'll be back on Sunday to break it all down with you guys with two shows on Sunday night. But getting into this offensive performance, and one thing that I wanted to focus on, like I said, is how everyone is to blame right now for the Tennessee Titans offense

Starting point is 00:02:18 and the lack of success that they're seeing. We know that the offensive line is letting the Titans down. Offensive line has allowed 13 sacks in three games. 13! That's second worst in the NFL. Only the Washington commanders are worse. I think they've allowed 18 or 19 insane that they've allowed that many more than the Titans. But the Titans without the commanders are basically the worst pass protection unit in the NFL. So obviously the offensive line deserves their fair share of blame.

Starting point is 00:02:53 And I think if we're giving out the most blame, the most blame is obviously on the offensive line. That's the biggest slice of blame pie. But we know that Ryan Tannehill has let this offense down as well. Ryan Tannehill had an opportunity to win the game multiple times in week one and couldn't do it. We have seen in certain circumstances you go back and look at that week two performance against the Chargers. While Ryan Tannehill did play well, there were definitely a lot of opportunities that he left out there and things that he missed. You flash forward to week three

Starting point is 00:03:23 and again, obviously the offensive line gets the most of the blame, but Ryan Tannehill is missing some throws as well. We can all say that. There has to be some nuance. There has to be some reality here in these conversations. It's not all on the offensive line. It's not all on Tannehill. The blame can be spread.

Starting point is 00:03:43 Now, how much blame everybody gets, that's what we can logically parse out. To me, most of the blame on the offensive line, but second on that list is Ryan Tannehill. But the thing is, they are not alone. They are not alone. You look at Traylon Burks. First round wide receiver. Dropped three passes on Sunday. Two of them were on target.

Starting point is 00:04:08 Dropped a few passes early in the season as well. Now, here's the thing. Traylon Burks has been open plenty of times, and Ryan Tannehill has not gotten him the ball, and he would have been able to make big plays. But that doesn't completely outweigh and erase the fact that Burks is dropping the ball on passes that he simply can't drop. Multiple plays on Sunday where Burks could have made big plays for the Titans had he just held on to the ball.

Starting point is 00:04:34 He's a first-round wide receiver. Wide receivers are coming in out of college and being studs immediately. Why can't the Titans? Alright? So, again, it's not all his fault. I give the most of the blame to Tannehill and the offensive line, but everyone is failing the Titans right now.

Starting point is 00:04:52 And Burks is dropping passes. Not only that, Nick Westbrook-Akina can't get open. Now, I'm not going to blame him on this one, but when you're running three wide receiver sets, the Titans ran a set, ran a set, a personnel group out there, with three tight ends and Nick Westbrook-Akene in the red zone and spread them out wide.

Starting point is 00:05:17 Who's going to get open? Did NWI get open? No, of course not. So, there's plenty of blame to go around. As a point, you want to look at the tight ends. And this is really where I want to take a moment. If you look at pro football focuses overall grades, right now, Chigaconquo is the 70th ranked tight end in the NFL out of 105. Trevon Wesco is 104 out of 105.

Starting point is 00:05:48 And Josh Wiley is 105 out of 105. So out of 105 tight ends who have played in the NFL this year, the two worst ones are Trevon Wesco and Josh Wiley. And Chigaconklo is only 70th. The tight ends have been a complete letdown. And one of the film articles that I've done this week that will be coming out on Tuesday night is about the tight ends. And I have a long eight to 10 minute video basically explaining how the tight ends completely

Starting point is 00:06:17 let the Titans down. They've been terrible. So everyone is to blame. Everyone is to blame. One thing that I do want to say is about the tight ends. There are certain circumstances where the Titans are running a double team with the right guard in the center, the left guard and the left tackle are running a double team on the two interior defensive linemen. The tight end has to have a one-on-one block with the defensive end. Well, the Titans tight ends lost that all game long

Starting point is 00:06:47 against the Browns. But here's the thing. It's a schematic disadvantage because people know what the Titans are doing and what the Browns were doing is they were having their defensive end crash in and get real close to that interior defensive lineman and they were literally just absolutely squeezing in behind the double team attack. The left guard and the left tackle going up to double team the defensive tackle. The defensive end would squeeze in and then just shoot right behind that. And the tight end can't get there. It crosses the tight end's face and he can't get there.

Starting point is 00:07:16 So that's a schematic thing too. And again, Tim Kelly deserves his fair share of blame when we're seeing this sort of lack of success from the Titans offense. But it feels like 2022 all over again to me, folks. And the Titans lost to the Bengals in 2022. Now, this is a new version of Joe Burrow that we're seeing out there with the calf injury. How do the Titans handle that?

Starting point is 00:07:36 We're going to talk about that in just a moment before we get into it. Do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by eBay Motors. Our partners at eBay Motors have teamed up with Locked On Fantasy Football host Vinny Iyer to bring you some of the best fantasy picks each week all season long. Whether you're prepping for a daily draft or scouting the waiver wire, every week we're going to provide you with players that are guaranteed to fit on your roster. So let's see who Vinny has picked out for us on this week's eBay's Guaranteed Fit Fantasy Picks of the Week. Jaguars wide receiver Calvin Ridley has the classic rebound and revenge opportunity in London in week four Sunday

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Starting point is 00:09:23 Only available to U.S. customers. Eligible items only. Only available to U.S. customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions. Apply. Titans fans, let's continue today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. We talked about how everyone is to blame for the Titans' lack of success on offense. Everyone has had their fair share of letdowns. Now I want to move forward, kind of talk about what's next for the Titans on defense

Starting point is 00:10:01 and stopping Joe Burrow and this new version of Joe Burrow that we saw on Monday Night Football. Before we get into it, once again, thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day, Monday through Friday, Tennessee Titans content all year long, always for free on all apps. Make sure that you get subscribed. Stay subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast where it's your team every day. Throw a thumbs up on the video right now.

Starting point is 00:10:27 Show's always free. All I ask for in return is a press of a butt. Let me know who is most to blame for the Titans' lack of offensive success down below in the comments. But if you guys watched Monday Night Football and you watched Joe Burrow with his calf injury, didn't look like Joe Burrow.

Starting point is 00:10:47 All right? Not the normal Joe Burrow that we're used to. Now, what I want to say is do not mistake this new version of Joe Burrow for a bad version of Joe Burrow. As you saw on Monday night, Joe Burrow, under constant pressure, without the ability to even move like he normally does,

Starting point is 00:11:13 still was able to lead his team to a victory. Still was able to make big plays when it mattered. You know why? Because that is what Joe Burrow does. So, he may be banged up. He may be a tad immobile. But don't think for a second that that gives the Titans a better chance of beating him. Because it doesn't.

Starting point is 00:11:35 He'll just beat you in a different way. And the different way that he's beating people is by getting the ball out of his hands as fast as possible. Because Burrow's calf injury makes him not want to take pressure, not want to take sacks, not be able to take risks. He simply can't move. If you guys remember when the Titans played the Colts in 2021 and Carson Wentz was on two bomb ankles,

Starting point is 00:11:56 it was week four, I believe it was, week three, maybe. Titans won like 25-14, I think it was, 24-15, something like that. Carson Wentz simply couldn't move. He was just throwing the ball into the ground when the Titans got pressure, not attempting to make second reaction plays, and that's what Burrow's doing right now, okay? So what we saw was Joe Burrow with his fastest

Starting point is 00:12:26 fastest time to throw of his entire career with 2.29 based on like his yearly averages from the first years of his career. And then we also saw his average depth of target, which is how

Starting point is 00:12:43 far he's throwing the ball on each of his throws, at 7.2 yards, which would be the lowest average in his career. So with the calf injury, Joe Burrow is playing differently. He's focused on getting the ball out quick. He's focused on throwing short passes, getting it to his playmakers. Basically, the Tom Brady diet, right? Old man Tom Brady. That's what Burrow's trying to do. And the thing is, Burrow has the pocket

Starting point is 00:13:07 presence, the accuracy, the anticipation to do all of that. So what do the Titans do here? The Rams tried to play zone at times, and Jamar Chase had an incredible night. Had an incredible night. He was just sitting down in the

Starting point is 00:13:23 zone, in the holes in the zones, finding the nooks and the crannies, sitting down finding them. So, I'm going to repeat this on Friday's show when we talk about schematically what the Titans need to do to win this game. The Titans have played so much zone this year. I've been complaining about the man coverage, saying they play too much man coverage, but they have just played a ton of zone. And I think it's because they're scared about McCreary in man. They're scared about Christian Fulton in man.

Starting point is 00:13:53 Sean Murphy Bunting has played better in zone than he has man. The Titans have to play man again in this game. They have to. They have to play press man at the line of scrimmage. Disrupt the timing. Joe Burrow does not want to hold the ball long enough to throw deep passes. He can't. And here's the other thing.

Starting point is 00:14:16 The Bengals gave up 15 pressures and 3 sacks against the Rams. Now Aaron Donald may be a better pass rusher than anybody the Titans have, but overall, the Titans' pass rush unit is better than the Rams. Excuse me. So, the Titans should be able to create havoc for Joe Burrow as they always have. And without Burrow's ability to escape

Starting point is 00:14:41 and with his willingness to be risky and with the inability to take big shots down the field because they don't have the time that gives the Titans somewhat of an area of opportunity to have a plan here. Tight man coverage press at the line of scrimmage, disrupt the route timing and Burrow won't be able to move. He's injured. Now, I will repeat this again.

Starting point is 00:15:10 This does not mean, this does not mean the Titans are going to win this game. They have a better chance of winning or anything. It just makes it obvious what the Titans need to do schematically. Now, if you fake some man coverages and drop into zones on third downs, try to create a turnover, create some confusion, I totally understand that.

Starting point is 00:15:31 And that's what should happen. But the Titans need to play more early down man coverage than they have been lately to disrupt the timing here and not just give Burrow those short throws because that's what they're going to try to live on. And normally, we talk about, hey, make the quarterback, make

Starting point is 00:15:47 10, 12, 13 play drives. Make them be perfect all the way down the field, taking what they give you, dump off here, 5 yards, 6 yards. Well, Burrow can do that and be fine. So this isn't like more turnover prone quarterbacks that you want to have that game plan against because they're going to give you one eventually. Burrow's not going to give you one. The interception he threw last night was like an insane play from McKellar Witherspoon, okay?

Starting point is 00:16:12 Insane. So, the Titans don't need to take a breath. They don't need to think they have an advantage in some way that they wouldn't normally have. But they do need to adjust to what Joe Burrow's doing, how he's playing, and find a way to disrupt that. And without the threat of the escapability, without the threat of the long, developing deep pass,

Starting point is 00:16:36 the Titans have to play tight. They have to come up to the line of scrimmage, take away those short throws, not make it easy, and the pass rush will have an opportunity to get home. That's what we know. So that's what the Titans have to do to stop the new Joe Burrow, or at least attempt to do to stop the new Joe Burrow. We need to talk about the other side of the ball, though, because what's coming next?

Starting point is 00:16:57 Andre Dillard against Trey Hendrickson, and I don't know about you guys, but it has me just a tad bit worried. So we're going to talk about that in just a moment. Before we do, though, I do want to let you guys know that today's episode is brought to you by Jace Medical. All right. Here's the reality, guys. You never want to be caught in a situation where you don't have life-saving antibiotics available for emergency use.

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Starting point is 00:18:28 from Jace Medical by using the code LOCKEDON. That's code LOCKEDON at checkout on jacemedical.com. That's J-A Locked on Titans podcast. We have talked about everyone being to blame on offense. Again, let me know who you think is most to blame for the offense down below. We talked about this new version of Joe Burrow getting the ball out of his hands quick, taking short passes. Now I want to talk about the other side of the ball

Starting point is 00:19:15 when taking on the Bengals. And for me, based on what we've seen so far this year, it is all about stopping Trey Hendrickson. Before we get into that, though, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen each and every day. Shout out to my everydayers out there. Tune in Monday through Friday.

Starting point is 00:19:34 Tomorrow, crossover Thursday with the guys from Locked on Bengals. Friday is game plan Friday. Going to be here on Sunday with my immediate emergency instant emotional reaction. Going to have a full 30-minute breakdown as well on Sunday night. Make sure that you stay locked into the Locked on Titans podcast. It's your team every day. But, Trey Hendrickson had 10 pressures and 2 sacks against the backup left tackle of the Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football.

Starting point is 00:20:04 Now, I know this isn't great to hear, but the Titans have a backup left tackle, playing left tackle right now, okay? So, Titans better have a better plan to deal with Trey Hendrickson than they had for Myles Garrett. Myles Garrett is a better player than Trey Hendrickson, for sure.

Starting point is 00:20:24 But the Titans better have a better plan for Hendrickson than they had for Garrett. Miles Garrett is a better player than Trey Hendrickson, for sure. But, the Titans better have a better plan for Hendrickson than they had for Garrett. Because what I saw on tape from the Titans, leaving Andre Dillard alone, just trying to follow him with two tight ends. So what the Titans are trying to do is, they're trying to put two tight ends together on the same side of the offensive line, and then have two tight ends block one defensive end and slide all five of the offensive linemen to deal with the other three.

Starting point is 00:20:52 It's not a terrible plan, but what the Browns did was on the back side of that where all five offensive linemen are supposed to slide to the nose tackle, the defensive tackle, and then the other defensive end. What the Browns did was, they put the backside defensive tackle and backside defensive end right next to each other over the guard and the offensive tackle.

Starting point is 00:21:19 So the center can slide over and everybody can slide over all they want. But when that happens, the guard has to take on the guy that's over him. He can't slide over and help the tackle. And the center can't slide over and get that defensive tackle that's over the guard's outside shoulder. So by default, you have two one-on-one matchups

Starting point is 00:21:47 because there's no way that the offensive line can slide that far. So the Titans have to put those two tight ends out there like they normally would and then motion one tight end back to the other side. That's the only way they're going to be able to do it. Remember when Myles Garrett was just jumping back and forth between the inside and the outside

Starting point is 00:22:04 and the Titans' tight ends were going back and forth and they had to take a timeout to avoid a delay a game? Who cares about that? Don't put yourself in that position. Go to one side. If they give you the alignment that the Browns gave you that I just described, then you motion a tight end over to that side and balance your tight ends out rather than having them both on one side. They have to be able to adjust because what I talked about in the first segment that we saw on tape where the defensive ends were shooting behind the Titans double teams

Starting point is 00:22:36 and what I just talked about right there where the Titans tight ends are lining up both on one side and the Titans are trying to slide protection and deal with people if I am already telling you how to beat these things the Titans are doing, if I am noticing, well, Lou Anarumo, the defensive coordinator for the Bengals, noticed this years ago. Because the Titans haven't been able to beat the Bengals or do anything against the Bengals in quite some time. or do anything against the Bengals in quite some time.

Starting point is 00:23:11 So, I'm just saying the Titans better be able to do what they did on tape so that the Bengals go against that and then adjust off of it. They have to be able to adjust of what they're showing off on tape right now. They have to. Or the Bengals' plan is going to be easy and obvious and the Titans' offense may not score more than three points again. That's the situation the Titans are facing if they don't develop some

Starting point is 00:23:33 very creative adjustments. So, I hate to be all negative Nancy here, but they just lost 27-3 and they're playing the Bengals who they haven't beat since 2017, 2018. Okay? 2017. Actually, I believe. Yeah? No? 2018? 2018. Anyways, with that being said, that is going to do it for me today, folks.

Starting point is 00:24:00 It's funny because I was literally at that game where DeMarco Murray ducked under the tackle and beat the Bengals as a walk-off. It was crazy. But anyways, with that being said, that is going to do it for me today, folks. It's funny because I was literally at that game where DeMarco Murray ducked under the tackle and beat the Bengals as a walk-off. It was crazy. But anyways, with that being said, that is going to do it for me today, folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.

Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Offensive BLAME PIE, Slowing Down "New" Joe Burrow & Blocking Trey Hendrickson

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