Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Record Predictions, Game-By-Game Analysis & Major Practice Squad News

Episode Date: September 9, 2020

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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. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, the season is right around the corner and I have been teasing some season preview content for quite some time. Well, today is that day. We are going to dive into my season predictions for the Titans record.

We are going to go week by week, 1 through 17, and I am going to give you my predictions on how the Titans fare in each of those games and what their record will ultimately be after the season. But the avalanche of news never stops coming. So we will begin our show talking about the major news from Tuesday. And that is the Titans adding a player to their practice squad that is member 14. to their practice squad that is member 14. Also, the Titans have announced their four protected players on this year's practice squad.

So that is definitely important information that we need to go over. I will tell you who the Titans picked up on the practice squad and who are the four players that they have protected before we get into our season win-loss predictions for the Titans. Also, as mentioned, the news avalanche truly never, ever stops. As I am recording, we have breaking news that Broncos pass rusher Von Miller has suffered a serious lower leg injury, and at this time, it is feared that he will be done for the season. I am monitoring this, and we'll talk more about it after we break down the big Titans practice squad news and get into my season win-loss Titans prediction today on the Locked

On Titans podcast. Let's get it. Throughout the offseason, we have seen the NFL make a ton of changes to help teams deal with the unusual circumstances that they will face in the 2020 season. And some of those major changes we saw came to the practice squad and the rules that govern the practice squad for NFL teams. Some of the major rule changes that we saw from the NFL in regards to the practice squad,

first, increasing the limit of players allowed on a team's practice squad. In 2019, it was 10 players. The NFL had planned to increase that limit to 12, but due to COVID-19, the NFL has actually increased that to 16 players that are allowed on your practice squad. Also, in previous years, if a player was on a team's practice squad and another NFL team wanted to sign that player to their active roster, they could absolutely poach that player off a team's practice squad once again as long as they were signing that player to the active roster. The NFL wanted to combat that this year so that teams did have some players they knew

that they would keep in their building and teams could use that to have a little bit more security during uncertain times. And the Titans took advantage of both of those major changes on Monday. They added a 14th player to their practice squad to join 13 other players who they have already added and they announced their four protected players that will be on their practice squad that other teams will be unable to poach. Let's dive in to those players and who actually filled those spots. The player who was added to the practice squad, the 14th member of the Titans practice squad, is defensive back Chris Miller. Chris Miller was originally an undrafted free agent this year signed by the

Seattle Seahawks. The Titans put Dane Cruikshank on the IR when they had plans to put him on the 53-man roster and then brought back defensive back Chris Milton to take Dane Cruikshank's place until he's ready to come off the IR. So the Titans obviously were down a defensive back that they expected to have. As for the protected players and the most important Titans news of the day, let's take a look at who the Titans have decided to keep protected from other teams. First and probably the least surprising name on the list is quarterback Trevor Simeon. The importance of the quarterback position cannot be overstated at any time in the NFL. And the Titans decided to go with Logan Woodside as the backup quarterback on the active roster.

But it makes all the sense in the world to protect another quarterback, especially with how important and how limited that group is. So if the Titans get in any situation whatsoever where they need to elevate Trevor Simeon to the active roster, they have a quarterback who knows their playbook, who has been in their system, and who knows the guys around him. And hopefully that'll help the Titans deal with any unfortunate circumstance that would require them to bring up Trevor Simeon to the active roster. The next player that was protected is running back Jeremy McNichols, the McWeapon. And this makes sense from the Titans' perspective as well.

Originally on the 53-man roster, they only intended to keep Derek Henry, Darrington Evans, and fullback Kari Blossom game. But Isaiah Wilson going on the COVID-19 list for a second time caused them to add an additional offensive player, which ended up being running back center rise Perry so it is possible that Perry will be cut when Wilson is back but either way the Titans don't have a lot of depth and even with Perry on the roster Perry is more of a special teams player than a truly talented running back so McNichols gives them someone who can help a tad bit on special teams, but also actually has some ability as a ball carrier if he is needed. So the next player

that the Titans kept is outside linebacker Wyatt Ray. And of course, the Titans may have added Jadavion Clowney, but the outside linebacker position, you can never have too many reinforcements. Ray did flash during training camp, so no surprise to see him as one of the protected players. And finally, Tucker McCann, the kicker. McCann lost the battle as the starting kicker, beat out Greg Joseph in camp, but lost to veteran Gostkowski. So Tucker McCann will be protected on the Titans practice squad. Again, the importance of position, the limited amount of players at the position, and McCann showed some versatility as a punter in college as well, which adds to his value. Now, before we jump into my season-long Tennessee Titans win-loss predictions, I do want to

update you guys on the developing story about Von Miller. I am recording this on Tuesday evening, as you know, dropping it on Wednesday morning, so I want to give you as much information and analysis as I can at this time based on what we know and Ian Rappaport first reported the story and tweeted this quote Broncos pass rusher Von Miller suffered a lower leg injury in practice today per me and Mike Garofalo the fear is that he's done for the season but the MRI will tell all and then Adam Schefter from ESPN followed that up a few minutes later by saying the leg injury that the NFL Network said Von Miller suffered

is an ankle injury per source. There's fear that it's season-ending per sources. Miller was hurt near the end of practice, what one person called a freak injury. Team still evaluating MRI now. End of tweet. So my quick analysis here, obviously that helps the Titans' chance of winning the game, but Von Miller is an excellent player who I enjoy watching. He also is one of my favorite personalities in the league, and then there's also the competitive nature of wanting to beat the best version of the team that you're facing and leaving no excuses.

So again, from the Titans perspective, if it's as serious as it appears to be, it definitely helps the Titans win the game or increase their chances of winning the game, but certainly unfortunate and you never want to celebrate or take any joy in injuries to other teams because eventually it will be you. So keep that in mind as we get more information about Von Miller's injury, and hopefully he's able to recover in a timely manner for his own personal health. But again, definitely does increase the chances the Titans can pull off a victory in Denver now that Dennis Kelly will not be seeing one of the best pass rushers in the history of the NFL. Before we jump into my season-long predictions,

I want to talk to you guys a little bit about how you can enjoy more NFL and this season get football on your time with NFL Game Pass. You can catch every snap from every game with full game replays and see all of the plays in just 45 minutes with condensed games, an excellent feature that I take advantage of when I want to watch non-Tennessee Titans games. I'm a fan of the NFL. I have a ton of different fantasy leagues I'm in,

and I just love football and love scouting other teams as well. So the condensed games are perfect for that purpose. You can also relive all of the gutsy calls, crazy catches, wild comebacks, and breakout stars from every game every week. It's all action, all the football you can handle, all in one place, all the time. And the NFL Game Pass is the only place that you actually can replay every game all season long.

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It's absolutely excellent, breaking down his best throws of the 2019 season. NFL Game Pass also provides access to the entire NFL Films archive. Go to nfl.com slash game pass to start your free trial today. NFL Game Pass, where football never stops. Titans fans, we have arrived. We have escaped the avalanche of news and made it to the beginning of our season preview content. So I will begin going through the Tennessee Titans schedule week one all the way through week 17 and giving you my predictions on whether they win or whether they lose and I will just say this up front some of these picks you guys are going to

be unhappy about you're going to disagree you're going to be mad at me for saying that the Titans could possibly lose that specific game. And that's perfectly fine. Let me know what you agree with and what you disagree with on Twitter at TicTacTitans. Follow me there and let me know what you think the Titans record will be this year. And heck, if you're going to do that, might as well subscribe to the show if you are new. I am pumping out Titans content Monday through Friday throughout the entire season, so make sure that you're locked in to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do

stream. Let's dive into this season. The Broncos obviously just took what could be a major loss losing Von Miller for the season to an ankle injury. We don't know for certain, but I have to tell you, I made these picks and did my preparation for the show before the injury ever happened. So I only feel more bold about declaring the Tennessee Titans

the victors on Monday Night Football against the Denver Broncos. Let me lay it out for you. The Broncos, while they do have a good defense, and we are going to hear about the Broncos in excess tomorrow from Cody Roark, the host of Locked on Broncos, incredibly knowledgeable football guy, knows a ton about the Broncos and should give us some really good information.

But one thing I can tell you from my experience with checking out the Broncos, excellent secondary, excellent safety specifically. Excellent secondary. Excellent safety, specifically. Absolutely excellent. You have Justin Simmons. You have Kareem Jackson at cornerback. They added A.J. Boye. So, a really solid secondary for the Broncos. They have some good talent

up front, of course, with Jarrell Casey, who we know very well. And then, although it seems like they may not have Von Miller, even if the injury isn't season-ending, there's a good chance at this point with the severity that's being reported, he won't be there for week one not have Von Miller. Even if the injury isn't season-ending, there's a good chance at this point with the severity that's being reported he won't be there for Week 1. With Von Miller going out of the lineup, they do have Bradley Chubb, but having only one of those talented pass rushers over two

definitely makes a difference for that defense. And then on the offensive side of the ball is where I really think the Titans, the Broncos' offensive side of the ball, is where I think the Titans can have an advantage here. While the Broncos do have a lot of tantalizing young talent, it's all young talent. They have Cortland Sutton, who's a solid wide receiver. I really like Cortland Sutton on the outside, but Jerry Judy and KJ Hamler are both rookies right now. The offensive line is not a good offensive line. They're a below-average offensive line in the NFL. And right now, I'm not willing to place my money on Drew Locke.

It's not a Locke that Locke will be a Locke to be their starting quarterback all year long. I just, I don't believe in Drew Locke, if I have to be honest. I love that he's a big fan of Young Jeezy. I love that. It resonates with me. It truly does. But I just don't have a lot of faith in him as a long-time top-notch NFL QB, so the Titans will win in Denver despite the excellent home field advantage that the Broncos have early in the season at home. Moving into week two,

the Titans will face the Jacksonville Jaguars in Tennessee, and of course, I'm taking the Tennessee Titans to win that game. Then, in week three, the Titans travel to Minnesota, and I am going to pick the Vikings in this game. I think Minnesota will win the NFC North. I think Minnesota has a very good team that is very similar to the Tennessee Titans, quite frankly, not only in scheme, but in personnel, so I think that the Vikings will win that game at home. If the Titans were at home, I'd pick the Titans. But Minnesota's a good team, folks.

There's no shame in losing to the Vikings in Week 3 on the road. Moving into Week 4, though, the Titans come back home and play a team that has really had their number for quite some time, and that's the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the Titans are a new team. It's a new dawn coming home from Minnesota. The Titans get a win the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the Titans are a new team. It's a new dawn coming home from Minnesota. The Titans get a win over the Steelers. I have to tell you though, this is one of the games that I was really on the fence about. And I think the Steelers are going to be a much

improved team this year. They were 8-8 last year. They had a phenomenal defense, terrible quarterback play, getting Big Ben back. Even though he's older, I don't think he's going to be as phenomenal as the reports are out of training camp, but he's still better than what they had last year. So give me the Titans beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, but I will put an asterisk next to that game in the early part of the season and tell you that I think there is a chance that the Titans could lose that game to the Steelers. But in week five, I have the Titans getting revenge against the Buffalo Bills. Buffalo, of course, stymied the Titans last year, 14-7 in what was the beginning of the end for Marcus Mariota. I think the Titans have a much better team than the Bills. They

would have beat them last year if Tannehill was in. And Josh Allen, I don't hate him as much as some analysts do, but I don't think that he's the type of guy who is going to be consistent enough to lead the Bills to consistent winning so I'm going to take the Titans over the Bills in week five and one thing you may notice is I have the Titans being pretty streaky throughout the season so I have the Titans down for their third win in a row at home against the Houston Texans. The Titans play three games in a row at home. Pittsburgh week four, Buffalo week five, Houston week six. I do think that the Titans will have fans in the stands by that time to help out a little

bit with that home field advantage. But there will be a lot of unrest with traveling this year because of all the concerns, the heavy restrictions that will be placed on teams and players when they are traveling. I think it helps out the home field advantage and helps counteract the loss of a packed stadium. And let's be honest, Pittsburgh-Buffalo, Titans might not have had that good of a home field advantage

for those games anyway, folks, if we're being honest based on how those fan bases like to travel to Tennessee. So it may not be the worst thing for the Titans to play those home games early on. And then I'm just so sick of the Titans dealing with the Houston Texans. I think the Texans take a step back this year, and the Titans are able to beat them at home in Tennessee to kick off things before the bye week. And the Titans go into a bye week in week seven. Don't love where that bye week is. Would like it just a little bit later to have the Titans have that rest

and rejuvenation week a little bit closer to the end of the season for a backstretch of games that is much more difficult than the first stretch, in my opinion. But the Titans come out of the bye week and travel to Cincinnati. Now listen, I know what you're saying. The Bengals had the first overall pick. The Titans should be better than the Bengals and should win against the Bengals. And I agree, folks.

I agree. But, but, I think the Bengals will be a much improved ball club. I do think Joe Burrow is a solid quarterback right now. And I think the Bengals will be a much improved ball club. I do think Joe Burrow is a solid quarterback right now. And I think the Bengals will be much improved. I see 6-10, maybe 7-9 at max. I think the Bengals have some solid talent on offense that could make it difficult for the Titans defense. So I think this game will be much closer than a lot of you guys are saying.

And I'm not ready to put an asterisk on it as one of those games that has me nervous because the Titans are coming out of a bye, but on the road at Cincinnati, it's not going to be as easy of a game as you guys are probably thinking, or some of you are probably thinking, although I do have the Titans winning. So just to recap for you guys, halfway through the season, I have the Titans beating the Broncos in week one, beating the Jaguars in week two at home, losing to the Vikings on the road in week three, and then three straight wins at home against the Steelers, on the road in Cincinnati. And that would bring their opening season record to 6-1. Yes, folks, I think that'll be the case. I think the Titans will set the NFL ablaze early on,

and people will realize this team is for real. So we will go into the back half of the Titans schedule. I will admit, a couple more losses in here, but I think you guys will be happy with what I end up with as the final record and my final prediction for the Titans place in the AFC. So we will talk about the back half of the schedule and how I think the Titans finish in our next segment. Before we do that, I want to talk to you guys about built bar duh the best tasting protein bar ever and I talked to you guys originally when we had a deal with built bar about their 12 original delicious flavors my favorite being the salted caramel I raved about the taste the 100%

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Once again, that is promo code LOCKEDON for $10 off at BuiltBar.com. Before we dive into the back half of the Tennessee Titans schedule, and I give you my second half predictions for whether the Titans will win or lose every game from week 9 to week 17. Let's recap the beginning of the season. Of course, I have the Titans winning at Denver week 1, winning versus Jacksonville at home week 2, losing to the Vikings at Minnesota week 3, and then three straight wins at home for the Titans. Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Houston, the bye in week 7, and then winning against Cincinnati in Cincinnati in week 8. That brings the Titans' first half season record to 6-1 and then they start out the back half

of the schedule in week 9 at home, returning home from Cincinnati against the Chicago Bears and take a look at the Bears quarterback room at the moment. I'm sorry but I cannot predict that they would have a chance to beat the Titans at home. So

Titans in that game and then the Titans have their first matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, and that is in week 10 in Nashville. And I am going to take the Titans in that game. I'm not very high on Phillip Rivers this year, as I have talked about at length on this show, and I think the Titans, especially at home in the middle of a nice run will demolish the Colts and it'll feel pretty good so I kind of want to recap where we are right now as I mentioned in the last segment I have the Titans being pretty streaky this season so week one and week two back-to-back wins a loss to the the Vikings. And then at this point, if you're keeping track, I have the Titans with six straight wins.

Three before the bye and three after the bye. And I think the bye week and then the competition on the back half of the bye week make that possible. But that leaves the Titans with a week 11 rematch against the Baltimore Ravens. And it's in Baltimore. And listen, I know that the Titans beat the Ravens in the playoffs in Baltimore. I get it. But the Ravens are a good football team, and when two good football teams play each other enough times, both teams are going to come out victorious here and there.

And I have the Ravens getting revenge on the Titans in week 11 and winning that game at home in Baltimore, which moves into week 12 at the Indianapolis Colts. And although I am not high on the Colts, it is incredibly difficult to sweep your division. So I do have the Titans losing to the Colts in Indianapolis. Phillip Rivers, while I'm not high on him, as I mentioned, he's not an absolute scrub and the Colts do Indianapolis. Phillip Rivers, while I'm not high on him, as I mentioned, he's not an absolute scrub and the Colts do have a pretty decent roster. So I will take the Colts to win that game. Then the Titans rebound against the Cleveland Browns in week 13. The Titans play the Browns at home in Nashville.

And I have to be honest with you, I don't have a lot of faith in the personalities in the locker room in Cleveland and I think by this time in the season they'll be ready for vacation rather than fighting for a playoff spot so I'm gonna take the Titans over the Browns in week 13 and then the Titans travel to Jacksonville in week 14 and give me a break Titans ain't losing to Jacksonville this year not having it then the Titans take on the Detroit Lions at home. And another team I think will be maybe fighting for a playoff spot, but not a division winner candidate in Detroit. I think the Titans win against them at home in Nashville.

And then the Titans have a pretty difficult task traveling to Green Bay on December 22nd, sorry, December 27th in the snow. And I'm going to go with the Packers in this game. I think the Titans have a better record than the Packers this year. I think the Titans are a better team than the Packers this year. But the Packers will be fighting for a playoff spot. We're playing at Green Bay in Lambeau Field at the end of December. Although I think the Titans are built for cold weather, it's just such an advantage for the Green Bay Packers

to play at Lambeau in the snow late in December like that. I'm going to go with the Packers. And then ultimately the Titans finish the season at Houston. But I think at this time, at Houston, but I think at this time, at this time, the Titans will be 11-4, and they will have their place in the AFC playoffs wrapped up, and I think we see a flip of what we saw last year. The Titans have the division wrapped up. They sit their starters in Week 17 at Houston, and the Texans win that game because the Titans are throwing out their JV unit. So I know that some of you will disagree with some of these predictions

and some of the games and the way that I see them going, but that is my season prediction for the Titans. They are a streaky team having a win streak of two games to start, then a win streak of six games, and then another win streak of three games. And that is how the Titans ultimately will amass their 11 victories in 2020. So let's just go through it again. A win at Denver in week one, a win in Tennessee in week two, a loss at Minnesota in week three,

a win versus Pittsburgh at home in week four, a win versus Buffalo at home in week 5, at home a win against Houston in week 6, the bye in week 7, a win at Cincinnati in week 8, a win at home against Chicago in week 9, a win at home against the Colts in week 10, a loss at the Ravens in week 11, a loss at the Colts in week 12,

a win at home against Cleveland, a win away against Jacksonville, a win at home againstts in week 12, a win at home against Cleveland, a win away against Jacksonville, a win at home against Detroit in week 15, and then two losses to end the season, both on the road. Green Bay in week 16, Houston in week 17. I will say some of the games that were on the fence for me, The game at Indianapolis, if the Colts are close to as bad as I think they might be, there's no reason that the Titans couldn't get that win

even if it'll be a tough game. Also, like I said, the game at Cincinnati, that'll be a tough matchup. I believe that. I really do. And then against Pittsburgh at home, I could see that game going either way as well, but I picked that. I really do. And then against Pittsburgh at home, I could see that game going either way as well, but I picked the Titans in this one. I have the Titans going 11-5. I

ultimately think they finish third in the AFC behind the Ravens and the Chiefs. I have the Chiefs getting the number one seed, the Ravens at the number two seed, the Titans at the number three seed. So I think the Titans can secure that with an 11-5 record. I also think it's possible, like I said, the Titans could go 12-4 at max, and I think their floor this year is 10-6. I really do think this is a division winning squad, and the Titans take care of the AFC South this year, even though they have a few tough games that they take losses in late in the season. I think by the end of the year, they will have that playoff spot sewn up and will be able to see the Titans actually rest some people for once at the end of the year.

But that is my season-long predictions. That is my win-loss predictions for the Titans. Again, follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans. Let me know where you agree, where you disagree, and what you think the Titans record will be at the end of the year. That is going to do it for today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Remember, tomorrow will be our first Thursday crossover of the season when we have Cody Roark from the Locked On Broncos podcast on the

show to break down the upcoming matchup. Make sure you tune in for that. Subscribe on whatever platform you do stream. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked On Titans. Thank you.