Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Tame the Jaguars, 37-19 - Game Recap: Team Takeaways, #TitanUpTitanDown & Road Ahead

Episode Date: October 10, 2021

Once again Derrick Henry leads the Tennessee Titans to victory in Jacksonville. The Titans win 37-19 in an inconsistent showing, but one that got the job done. Tyler gives you his big takeaways on both offense and defense including the Titans red zone offense improving and the defense forcing turnovers! Then, talk all the individual performances, both good and bad, in #TitanUpTitanDown. Finally, recap what took place in the AFC South and look at the tough road ahead for the Titans.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.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. 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 Victory Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. The Tennessee Titans emerge victorious down in Jacksonville by a score of 37-19. It was not the best game that the Tennessee Titans have ever played with inconsistencies on both sides of the ball, but a much needed victory as the Titans enter the most difficult stretch of their schedule. We're going to break down everything you need to know from the Titans win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. First, we're going to look at my big picture takeaways. The offense was able to grind it out, led by a fantastic performance by the hometown hero, Derrick Henry. The defense was able to get some big plays in big situations

while also giving up some big plays at the same time. But a 37-19 win for the Titans. It is a victory Monday here on 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, like I said, it was not the best game that the Titans have ever played, but a victory they will most certainly take.

And we are going to talk about my big picture takeaways from the offense and the defense. First, I do want to thank you guys for making the Locked on Titans podcast your first listen every day. And if you're new here, make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform that you do stream. Remember, you can always find the show for free. I'll be on any podcast platform. The Locked on Titans YouTube channel is popping. Make sure that you subscribe over there.

Smash the notification bell so you know when my content goes live. Also, got to check me out on social media, on Twitter, at TicTacTitans for my weekly film breakdowns. Also, check out the show Facebook page at LockedOnTitansPod. We are going to dive into this victory, and we'll start on the offensive side of the ball for the Titans. And number one, they did not turn over the ball.

That was going to be a big key to victory as the Titans were the 30th worst team in the NFL in turnover margin at minus five, but the Jaguars were the worst team in the NFL at minus eight. So whichever team lost the turnover battle almost guaranteed themselves a loss and the Titans had no turnovers on offense. They were able to force two turnovers on defense, also stop the Jags on a few fourth downs, which are essentially turnovers as well. So a good job there for the Titans winning that battle. But purely on the offensive side of the ball, the Titans just were able to grind it out throughout the day using the run game.

Not a lot of explosive plays in the passing game, which is a major issue for the Titans, but they were able to do enough and grind out a couple of things with a different cast of characters. A.J. Brown was on a snap count in this game, so it wasn't like he was available throughout the entire game like he would normally be. That means Ryan Tannehill had to use a guy like Marcus Johnson, Chester Rogers, Cam Batson,

and we did see some creative play calling at times with Cam Batson in the Wildcat. You could call it the Wildbat. We saw a reverse to Chester Rogers, some quick passes as well. I thought Todd Downing did an okay job in the game, a little bit predictable throughout, but he was creative enough throughout different portions of that game, especially the one touchdown drive, the last touchdown drive in the first half.

Just brilliant play calling all the way down the field from Todd Downing. So he's got it in him. He's got it in him, but just need more consistency. The Titans still did struggle a bit in pass protection. They gave up three sacks, and Ryan Tannehill definitely feeling the effects, and you can tell when he's in the pocket. He's a little more nervous, a little more anxious in the pocket these days, and it's hard to blame him.

They had issues in the passing game getting open against tight man coverage, but again, the Titans were able to grind it out and do just enough. Derrick Henry had 130 yards and three touchdowns, so really carried the offense when they needed it. But one big problem for the Titans throughout the year so far has been red zone offense, and they were four for five getting touchdowns in their red zone opportunities today against a poor Jacksonville Jaguars team, of course.

But nonetheless, a positive trend for the Titans to be that proficient in the red zone. So mostly led by Derrick Henry. Some inconsistencies throughout, but the Titans offense were able to grind it out to 24 points of their own to 24 points of their own, or 24 points of their own. They were able to get 30 points of their own.

Last touchdown, excellent by Derrick Henry right down the field. So nice to see that from the Titans to be able to take advantage in the red zone. On the defensive side of the ball, the big thing was the turnovers. The Titans got the scoop and score fumble on the very first drive of the game. I thought they were pretty lucky for that call to stand, but nonetheless, a touchdown for the Titans defense, and the Titans really, really needed that as they've been slow to start on offense this year. An end zone interception for Kevin Byard, who had a great game. Like I said, they got some big stops on fourth down, and that goal line stand in the fourth quarter, Tyier Tart

popping through the line of scrimmage and forcing the running back outside. A great job, but confusing there by Jacksonville. You have Trevor Lawrence, who's been pretty effective running the ball by the goal line. You have James Robinson, who's clearly the best running back on the team. And in the fourth down that matters most, you give the ball to Carlos Hyde.

Very strange there. Jacksonville had a missed field goal in the game, had matters most, you give the ball to Carlos Hyde. Very strange there. Jacksonville had a missed field goal in the game, had the turnovers as well, so they played terrible. They're a bad team. Jacksonville is awful, and Urban Meyer, I'd be surprised to see him make it into year two at this rate. But either way, the Titans' defense still played well. They were 3-for-10 on third down, so the Titans' third down defense continues to be improved this year,

and that's very important. One thing I will say is Jacksonville had a lot of success in the run game. James Robinson had a career-high 147 rushing yards. That was a big concern for me coming in, but the Titans almost seemed okay with allowing the Jaguars to run the ball. They ran four-man fronts on defense throughout the day, like a 4-3 base defensive alignment. And the Jaguars were using misdirection runs and pulls

and basically using different types of run plays that can get their offensive linemen pulling with a head of steam up against the Titans' second-level defenders, their linebackers, who had a horrific day for the Titans today. Very, very rough day for the linebackers. And we're going to talk more about that and tighten up and tighten down when we look at individual performances next. But the Titans' defense overall gave up a lot in the run game

but made some big plays, got a touchdown, some turnovers, fourth-down stops, the goal line stop. They did just enough to win this game, and the Titans were up by about double digits or close to double digits, nine points. They were in a comfortable margin throughout the game, but you always felt like the Jags were in striking distance because the Titans' defense would give up a big play here and there.

So inconsistent, but overall a good day, and that's pretty much the biggest takeaway for both sides of the ball. Inconsistent, but just good enough to beat this bad team. The Titans do move to 3-2 on the season, still have sole possession of first place in the AFC South. The Colts have a pretty tough matchup this week on Monday Night Football. We'll talk more about that at the end of the show when we do an AFC South recap. But let's dive into the

individual performances and tighten up and tighten down before we do. Got to remind you guys about direct TV stream. Does this sound familiar? You've got one device that lets you catch the game live. You've got another that lets you stream all your favorite shows. You're catching your sports highlights on your phone and you've got your neighbor's best friends log in for all the good stuff. Well, I want to tell you there is a simple way to get all the entertainment that you love without the hassle, a great way to finally get your TV together. It's called Direct TV Stream. It brings you live TV and on-demand favorites and puts them together like never before.

You can watch your favorite sports, movies, shows all in one place. That means no more juggling remotes and no need to buy another device ever again. The best part, there's no annual contract. So get rid of the clutter and the confusion and get your TV together with Direct TV Stream. You can learn more at directtv.com. That's directtv.com. Compatible devices required. Content varies by package.

Titans fans, let's dive back into this Victory Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. I know, I know the YouTube crowd gets very upset. I released the show on Sunday night, so a lot of people like to get in the comments, get a little

feisty with me, but hey, just be happy you get the content a little bit early. Either way, very excited to talk about a Titans win, even if it wasn't perfect, and we're going to dive into some individual performances that really stood out to me. Tighten up for all of the positives. Tighten downs for all of the negatives.

Put your tighten ups and your tighten downs in the comments underneath the YouTube video. Tag me on Twitter at TicTacTitans if you're not watching on YouTube. Send your Titan Ups and Titan Downs to me if you think I missed any, you just agree, whatever. Doesn't matter. But starting with the positives,

Titan Up, Ryan Tannehill. Not a perfect day, but 14-22, 197 yards, had the touchdown pass, did make a couple of big conversions with his legs. He's taken a lot of heat. There's a lot of pressure on him in the backfield. The Titans, although they got Marcus Johnson back with A.J. Brown on the snap count, still a

struggling pass-catching group. I thought Ryan Tannehill played a very solid game, made no mistakes for the Titans that really hurt them in any big situation. So, good game from Tannehill. And then of course, his battery mate in the backfield, Derek Henry. 29 carries, 130 yards, three touchdowns, an absolute beast. I mean, the Titans are 3-2.

If they just would have found a way to win that game against the Jets and be 4-1, Derek Henry would have to be the leader for MVP. I mean, it's unprecedented what we are seeing Derrick Henry do. Rushing on the road, just all the carries in general. You hope that he's going to be good to go throughout the season with all this early workload, but just incredible stuff from Derrick Henry at all times. Marcus Johnson, like I mentioned him earlier,

had three catches for 52 yards, was the leading receiver for the Titans on the day. I thought he really got some separation in some key moments, had some good catches, a good day overall. Chester Rogers and Cam Batson played similar roles, did some different things, but Chester Rogers had the one catch for 26 yards. Together, they had three carries for 24 yards rushing.

I thought that in that kind of gadget role, both Chester Rogers and Cam Batson, while not being super prolific in the box score, really gave a lot to what the Titans were trying to do and the creativity they were trying to have on offense. Like I said, both of them got carries, multiple carries, so you like to see that from the Titans' offense. I thought they served their role well.

Taylor LeJuan, with the offensive line, I always got to go back and double check, but it looked like to me throughout the day that Taylor LeJuan had a pretty good day, and you like to see that. Titans need him to get back up to his Pro Bowl level if they want to reach their heights. Jeffrey Simmons, three tackles, tackle for loss, had a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage. Solid day. I thought on both of the sacks for Harold Landry,

who we're going to talk about in just a moment, both those sacks, Jeffrey Simmons got interior penetration that flushed Trevor Lawrence out to Harold Landry, so Harold Landry owes Jeffrey Simmons big time. A good day for Big Jeff. Tyre Tart. Tyre Tart is an F for me. He had the big stop on the goal line.

So obviously everybody's going to want to give him that credit. And I understand exactly where you're coming from right there. But we'll talk more about his struggles on the day as well. But that goal line stop gets you a tight end up for me. Harold Landry, two sacks, two tackles for loss, had seven tackles. He's been probably the Titans' most consistent and best defensive player throughout the season, him and Christian Fulton.

But I think Harold Landry has made just a little bit more of a bigger impact for the Titans. Another great game for Harold Landry, who's now up to four and a half sacks on the season. He had five and a half total last year, so going to blow that out of the water and might even beat his second year total of nine sacks. So that's something to watch.

David Long is another, eh, like Tyier Tartt. I want to give him credit. He was flying all over the field, made some good stops, 12 tackles, had a tackle for loss. He made some really good plays for the Titans defense. Can't deny him there, but he had some inconsistencies as well. Kevin Byard in the secondary. Touchdown on the scoop and score. Had the interception in the end zone. Had great coverage in man all day. Had 10 tackles out there. I mean, Kevin Byard just played a great game. Christian

Fulton as well. Five tackles. Had some pass breakups. I thought he played very well for the Titans. Elijah Moulton, limited snaps. He's used sparingly, but three tackles, had a forced fumble on the scoop and score for Kevin Byard. So pretty good day for Elijah Moulton. Also want to give a Titan up to Caleb Farley. Had a pass breakup in the end zone. Kind of got lucky on it, but we'll take it. Just seeing him get out there and play for Christian Fulton at the end of the game. Love to see that from the Titans' first-round rookie. It's just nice to have a rookie out there playing for the Titans.

Monte Rice also got out there, got some snaps, and it's because of one of the Titans down, so we'll talk about that. So a decent day for the Titans' rookie class on defense. Randy Bullock, I know he missed that extra point late, but one for one on field goals, four for five on extra points. Been very solid for the Titans when we talk about how they're cursed with the kicking game. And then the kickoff team for the Titans special teams did great.

Jamal Agnew is an excellent returner. Just a couple of weeks ago on the Cardinals, he took back a missed field goal for a touchdown about 108 yards. The guy's a really good special teamer, and the Titans held him to 21.3 yards on average return. His long was only 24, so a good job by the Titans' kickoff coverage unit. Thought they did a good job throughout the game

making sure that the Jags didn't have great field position. The Titan downs. Going to go through these pretty quickly. I hate to talk about negativity after the Titans win, but it's just the reality. Dane Crookshank missed some lanes in run defense. Some of those bounces to the outside by James Robinson are on Dane Crookshank for filling and having a bad pursuit angle.

Had seven tackles on the day, but like I've said all along, Dane Crookshank to, is not a free safety. You can't put him back deep as the deep safety. He doesn't do a good... That's too much ground for him to cover in the run game. You don't want him going backwards in the passing game, so I didn't think it was a banner day for Croakshank, but he didn't

give up any huge plays. So, of course, take it with a grain of salt. Amani Bledsoe, not a good day for him. Number 94. The Titans played a lot of four-man fronts, like I talked about in the first segment. A lot of 4-3 alignments. Amani Bledsoe is being used as the defensive end in those sets.

No, sir. He did not have a good day. Those misdirections, those pulls, and the things I was talking about in the first segment, they were targeting Amani Bledsoe. And he was kind of getting blown off the ball. So not a great day. Same thing with Tyer Tartt. I know he had the big play on the first segment, they were targeting Amani Bledsoe. And he was kind of getting blown off the ball. So not a great day. Same thing with Tyer Tart. I know he had the big play on the goal line, but overall

not a very good day for Tyer Tart holding up in run defense. Ola Adani. The Titans are using him sparingly as a pass rusher. But he's not really that great. He's not a pass rush specialist. Titans are really missing Rashad Weaver, Derek Roberson,

and Bud Dupree right now as a pass rusher. Rashad Evans and David Long both had terrible days, if we're honest. Well, Long was okay, but Rashad Evans was absolutely terrible. I don't see why he should be on the field anymore. Play Monty Rice. It can't be any worse. It can't be any worse. Evans has just been absolutely awful.

Clearly the worst starter on the Titans defense all year long. Go ahead and play Monty Rice. If Jayon Brown can't stay healthy, you don't want to use Jayon on early downs, that's fine. Play Rice. Evans is cooked, and I'm just tired of watching him out here. It's hard.

It's a struggle. He's hurting the Titans defense actively, whether it's pass coverage, run struggle. He's hurting the Titans defense actively, whether it's pass coverage, run defense. He's not even helping them anymore. He's not helping them on short yardage situations. On the James Robinson touchdown up the middle of the gut for the Jags, Rashawn Evans in goal line just literally jumped over the pile two yards away from where the ball was even at. Just a terrible day.

Jeff Swaim seems like at minimum one play a game, he just totally ruins it for the offense. He's been off, just awful, to start the year. I thought Nate Davis and Questenberry struggled on the day. Of course, like I said, with Taylor LeJuan and tight nuts. With the offensive line, I always gotta go back and review the tape before I can really make a

determination, but my instant reaction, Nate Davis struggled, and Questenberry wasn't far behind him in terms of allowing pressure on Ryan Tannehill. The tackling on defense was overall terrible throughout the day. I mean, there were like five missed tackles just on the LaVishka-Chanal big long catch. Awful tackling for the Titans. It's not going to bode well for them when they play the teams that they play next. And speaking of the teams that they play next, we are going to bode well for them when they play the teams that they play next. And speaking of the teams that they play next,

we are going to talk about the toughest stretch of the schedule, which is coming. The next four weeks are clearly the toughest part of the schedule for the Titans. We're going to talk about what happened in the AFC South. We're going to talk about what lies ahead for the Titans. Before we move on to that, I do want to tell you guys about BuiltBar.com, home of the best tasting protein bars in the Titans. Before we move on to that, I do want to tell you guys about BuiltBar.com, home of the best tasting protein bars in the universe. Right now, they have a limited time

flavor. It's the cookie dough chunk. One of my favorite flavors of Built Bar that you could possibly find. Really good texture, really good flavor on the bar. If you're not into that, they have a ton of other delicious flavors on the website. There's something for everyone. All the bars are covered in 100% chocolate, but they don't just taste good. They're healthy for you as well. Low calorie, low sugar, high protein, high fiber, a great healthy meal substitute,

or just a guilt-free snack. Make sure that you go to BuiltBar.com right now. Use promo code LOCKED15, and you'll get 15% off your first order. Once again, use promo code LOCKED15 for 15% off at BiltBar.com. Titans fans, let's cap off this Victory Monday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. The Tennessee Titans are victorious 37-19 over Jacksonville in a win that is a win but did

have some major inconsistencies for the Titans. We talked about my big picture takeaways to start then went into the individual performances in tighten up and tighten down. Now let's take a look at what took place in the AFC South and what lies ahead for the Titans. So the only other AFC South team that played on Sunday besides the Titans and the Jags was the Houston Texans and they lost their game 25-22 to the New England Patriots. The Texans were in control for a lot of the time during this game but they lose the game 25-22. They drop to 1-4 on the year. Looking like they're going to follow the Jacksonville Jaguars' fate of getting that win on week one and then losing out the rest of the time.

Davis Mills did go a little bit crazy in this game for a little while. He looked pretty good, but ultimately it wasn't enough for the lowly Texans. They lose to New England. New England moves to 2-3 on the year. I do believe, going off the top of my head, the other AFC team, and then of course the Jaguars now move to the big 0-5. They're cooked. They're done.

Their head coach is probably going to get fired during the year, but the Colts now sit at 1-3 going into a Monday night football game against the Baltimore Ravens. You've got to think that the Ravens are able to take care of business and win this game. You've got to hope, at least, that that's what happens.

If the Colts go to 1-4, while the Titans go to 3-2, even if the Titans do lose back-to-back weeks, they're still in a pretty good position. So let's talk about why the Titans could lose back-to-back weeks. And I know a lot of you guys say I'm too negative sometimes, while others say I'm too optimistic. But either way, I don't think that it's being pessimistic to say that the Titans could lose to the Bills on Monday Night Football

and then follow that up with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Now the Chiefs have been bad in run defense. So maybe there's an area there, but the Bills have been lights out. And while we've talked about this Tennessee Titans win, what's lingering in the background is the Titans didn't play very good. And the Titans don't really look like a great team. They just don't. They're not a bad team, but they don't look like a great team either. They don't. They're not a bad team, but they don't look like a great team either. They don't look like the team, the quality of the Bills or the Chiefs or the Buccaneers,

the real Super Bowl contenders. Right now, the Titans just don't look like those teams. Now, maybe the Titans get healthier and the offense, the passing offense in particular, starts getting some explosive plays. The Titans defense quits giving up so many explosive plays, especially to bad teams. The pass rush gets better when Bud Dupree comes back. Imani Hooker returns, puts Cruikshank in a better position. I mean, who knows?

But right now, I don't see the Titans on the level of those teams. So the Bills and the Chiefs. And then the Titans go on the road and take on the Col of those teams. So the Bills and the Chiefs. And then the Titans go on the road and take on the Colts on Halloween. And that's a must win. Absolutely a must win. Because right after that, the Titans go on the road to the West Coast

and play Sunday night football against the Rams. There's a good chance that the Titans go 1-3 in those games. They need to go 1-3 in those games. Period. You come out of those games. They need to go 1-3 in those games. Period. You come out of those games at 4-5, you're probably still having, especially with another win over the Colts,

even at 4-5, though things are looking gross, you still at least probably have a stranglehold on the division. And you're probably still leading the AFC South at 4-5. Especially if you beat the Colts. So there's probably a 50-50 chance that the Titans go 0-4 in their next four weeks. There's a pretty good chance that they can go 1-3. If they go 2-2, I mean, whoo! I mean, going 2-2 in the next four games would be a miracle for the Titans.

There's no other way around it. So it's going to be interesting to watch, games would be a miracle for the Titans. There's no other way around it. Going to be interesting to watch, but for now, let's just enjoy a victory Monday or a victory Sunday night for the YouTube crowd. Either way, the Titans couldn't afford to lose this game, and thank God, they did not. But that's going to do it for me today.

I'm going to be back with you guys tomorrow, breaking down all of the big topics coming out of this game, all the big questions, all the big numbers, all the big statistics that come out. Wednesday is going to be back with you guys tomorrow, breaking down all of the big topics coming out of this game, all the big questions, all the big numbers, all the big statistics that come out. Wednesday is going to be rewatch Wednesday. I'm diving into the film after rewatching the coaches tape multiple times to let you know schematically what's going on with the Titans, give you guys a little bit of a recap of what they've been doing

throughout the season as well. Thursday, crossover Thursday, going to be talking to the host of Locked On Bills and Friday it'll be a game preview all over again headed into the weekend. So make sure that you subscribe to the Locked On Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Thank you for making the

Locked On Titans podcast your first listen every day. That's going to do it for me folks. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland and this was Locked on Titans.