Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - The Season Must Go On; Titans Set To Play, Weekend News, Injury Update & AFC South Recap

Episode Date: October 12, 2020

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Everywhere you want to be. The official partner of the NFL. It was a good and bad weekend. For the Tennessee Titans. Mixed results on a multitude of different fronts. And I'm going to go over all of the weekend news with you guys on this Monday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. The most important thing at this moment in time, though, is a Tuesday matchup against

the Buffalo Bills is still planned to be played as scheduled. So, of course, a lot of things can change at any moment in time. But right now, that is the biggest factor that the game is still set to be played. But I will go over all of the good and the bad from a mixed weekend for the Tennessee Titans. First, we have to talk about the updates in regards to the COVID-19 testing for the Titans, which again, as I said, we have some good and we have some bad. And then also, we got an actual injury report from an actual Titans practice on Saturday. So we will take a look at that. And of course, as is the theme for the day, we have some good takeaways and some bad takeaways

from that injury report and that practice on Saturday. And then we will finish up today's show with some more good news from the weekend for the Tennessee Titans, where we take a look at some of the results from over the weekend for the Titans division rivals in the AFC South, and take a look at how one top AFC contender did fall in an upset over the weekend. So a lot to talk about, a lot of good, some bad for the Tennessee Titans in a mixed week, but again, a lot to go over on today's Locked on Titans podcast. We should have a lot more to go over throughout the week as the Titans hopefully do get to

take on the Bills on Tuesday night, so make sure that you are subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. But a mixed weekend for the Tennessee Titans on the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. It was a mixed bag of news for the Tennessee Titans over the weekend. The weekend started off strong for the Titans after having two straight days of no new positive tests and being able to get back into the facility on Saturday. The Titans were actually able to have a practice on Saturday as well in preparation for a game

scheduled to take place on Tuesday against the Buffalo Bills. But on Sunday, the Titans got somewhat of bad news to balance out the good news they had been getting over the weekend, and that is an assistant coach for the Tennessee Titans did test positive on Saturday's testing for COVID-19. Now this bad news does have an element of good news to it in a way. Of course, you hope for the health of the assistant coach first and foremost, but from a game perspective, this coach had no contact with the players at any time in the last 12 days, has not been in the facility to have contact with players, and it is believed that that contraction of

COVID-19 actually did come from an outside source. There were even reports from some national media that the NFL does believe that the outbreak in Tennessee has been contained from a player perspective in terms of the infection possibility within the Titans actual building. So of course, some good news for the Tennessee Titans, but of course, some bad news as well mixed in. And of course, at this time, the NFL is still saying, despite that positive test from a Titans assistant coach, that the game against the Buffalo Bills set for Tuesday is expected to go on as scheduled if the Tennessee

Titans have no positive test within their roster on Monday or Tuesday before the game. So obviously anything can change at a moment's notice, but some good news for the Tennessee Titans with a hint of bad news as well. But the Titans weren't the only team affected over the weekend by COVID-19. The New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos game was scheduled to be played on Monday, but it has been officially postponed after the New England Patriots did have another player test positive for COVID-19 on Sunday. So that was one of the games, along with the Tennessee Titans matchup against the Buffalo Bills,

that inspired the NFL to make massive changes to their schedule going forward. So some of the changes that we will see made due to COVID-19 striking not only the Tennessee Titans, but the New England Patriots. The NFL has officially moved the Broncos game against the Patriots to week six next Sunday at 1 p.m. They have moved the Kansas City Chiefs at the Buffalo Bills, which was going to be Thursday night football this week, to Monday night football next week early at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Then they moved the New York Jets at the Miami Dolphins from Week 10 into a Week 6 spot at 4.05 p.m. Eastern. Then move the New York Jets at the Los Angeles Chargers that will move

from week 8 to week 7 and be played at 425 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. And then finally, the Los Angeles Chargers game at the Denver Broncos will move from week 11 to week 8 and be played at 405 Eastern Time. So the NFL is obviously trying to make changes to deal with the current situation you would have thought that some of these changes would have been made earlier in the season not in terms of the games being scheduled differently but adding additional buys and making some provisions for the inevitable fact that something like this would take place those changes weren't made and now the NFL is scrambling in a sense to make the necessary changes to make this NFL season work around this pandemic.

But good news and bad news for not only the Titans, but the NFL throughout this weekend. But the Tennessee Titans got some more good and bad news in terms of the health of their players outside of COVID-19, but also coming off the COVID reserve list. So the Titans are getting some players back who were diagnosed early in the process. Also in terms of injuries, the Titans got some important players back to practice over the weekend as well. So a mixed bag of results for the Titans over the weekend. And I'm going to continue breaking everything down on today's Locked On Titans podcast.

But first I want to tell you guys about Visa. Visa knows that local businesses are the heartbeat of our communities. Whether they're our corner stores, our coffee spots, or favorite shops, local businesses have always been there for us. They remember our orders. They call us by name, always giving back, making a difference, and going that extra mile to support us in our community. And right now, more than ever, local businesses need our support.

So now it's time for us to return the favor. Next time you go shopping, make the choice to shop at local businesses and look for the contactless symbol and tap to pay with a contactless visa to help support your community. Because where and how you shop matters. Visa, everywhere you want to be the official partner of the NFL. When the Titans got the news on Sunday that assistant coach had tested positive for COVID-19 out of an abundance of caution, although it's not believed to be related to the outbreak among the players. The Titans did close

the facility on Sunday, but they were able to get in a practice on Saturday when the facility was open. So that is a positive for the Titans in what I continue to call a mixed weekend. So let's jump into some of the big takeaways from that practice, but more on the injury side of things. The practice was closed to all media because of the weather in Nashville. It was in the bubble, so we don't have any concrete information about what the practice looked like, but the important information here is who could be available to the Tennessee Titans if they, in in fact are able to play their game against the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. So let's take a look at the injury report for that

Saturday practice. We're going to look at the Buffalo Bills one as well as they have some pretty interesting developments on their injury report and we need to talk about some players who were activated off of the COVID-19 reserve list for the Titans over the weekend. So again, some good and some bad. So let's start with this injury report from Saturday's practice. We'll start with the good. The good news is every player for the Titans on the injury report participated in practice in some capacity. And the two headliners on this list are, of course, wide receiver A.J. Brown and starting left tackle Taylor LeJuan.

So the best news of the day is for A.J. Brown. He was a full participant in that practice on Saturday, which is fantastic news and a fantastic development for him being able to play in the Titans next game. Taylor LeJuan was limited, but that's still a pretty good sign that he would be able to participate in practice whatsoever. So the other names on the list for the Titans all practiced in full, which is a great sign. That's cornerback Malcolm Butler, outside linebacker Jadavion Clowney, rookie running back Darrington Evans, and rookie cornerback Chris Jackson. So a pretty clean bill of health for the Titans, for the players who are not involved in the COVID-19 outbreak. But as for those players that were involved, it has been such a long saga for the Tennessee

Titans that the Titans may in fact have some players available to them from that initial outbreak. And we talked about that on Friday's show, but that actually became a reality on Sunday for the Titans when defensive tackle Daquan Jones and long snapper Bo Brinkley were both activated onto the Titans roster. And along with that, some more positive news. Two players who were the first two players for the Titans to be on the list during the timeline that turned into this COVID outbreak.

Defensive back Greg Maben and Titans first round pick rookie right tackle Isaiah Wilson both also came off of the COVID-19 list. So some big developments for the Titans there and along with that based on the timeline between the initial testing of these next two players and when this game is going to be played against the Bills on Tuesday night the Titans could have rookie cornerback Christian Fulton and outside linebacker Kamalei Correa back if they were asymptomatic players and they have negative tests and part of the negative testing for the Titans then they could be back on the field now whether or not the Titans decide to play them,

which I think is skeptical, over the weekend I fired off a tweet at TicTacTitans on Twitter, basically saying that the Titans should consider not playing any of these players that I'm talking about. AJ, Taylor, of course the full participants throughout the entire week on the injury report, that's fine, but AJ, Taylor, the guys who were on the COVID list, just for the long-term health of the players. But I mean, if everyone's ready to go and they're

healthy, I trust the Titans to make the best decision for the players and for the team. So if that's what they decide to do, then it looks like the Titans are going to have some major reinforcements. Long snapper is one of those underappreciated positions. You don't want to have a new long snapper without chemistry with your special teams unit, especially a veteran guy like Bo Brinkley who's been with the organization for so long. That would have been a major loss for the Titans, in my opinion. So having Daquan Jones back on the obvious side, obviously that's great news for the Titans who really were struggling in run defense and especially struggled even more when they had their backup defensive line

in there and Murchison and Mack. So having Daquan back, even though it doesn't look like they'll have Simmons, having Daquan back is a big boost for the Titans who will go up against a team that can run the ball in the Bills with two solid running backs in the backfield in Zach Moss and Devin Singletary. So the Titans roster is changing from that perspective. The last note on the roster for the Titans in terms of injuries is Adoree Jackson. And Adoree Jackson is not coming off IR.

He's not going to be available in this game against the Bills. And it is unfortunate. You would hope that he would be ready after that minimum three-week stint. But we got some reports during that that he might not be available. So it's up in the air right now. You want Adoree to be healthy as possible, and he's one of the most important players to the Titans defense in terms of what he can bring as a man cover corner,

his speed, his matchup ability with the best receiving option on the other team. So without him, the Titans are a much lesser defense, but hopefully he's going to be ready to return soon as Mike Vrabel has spoke optimistically about his status in recent weeks so hopefully Adoree will be able to be back against Houston as obviously they have a threat like Will Fuller who is a speed demon it would be nice to have Adoree Jackson back to match up against him in a big division matchup for the Titans against the Texans team they should beat but But that is for next week. We got to focus on this Bills game.

And the next thing that I want to talk about is the Bills aspect of the injury report. And they're pretty banged up too. The banged up Buffalo Bills, if you're a fan of alliteration like I am. So let's just talk about their laundry list of an injury report. And I'll start at the top. Wide receiver John Brown with a calf injury. He was limited in their actual practice on Thursday and Saturday's questionable for the game guard Cody Ford has a groin injury he was

limited in both Thursday and Saturday's practice and questionable as well their defensive end Jerry Hughes a pass rusher he's a full participant he didn't have anything injury related to his non-practice appearance on Wednesday. Linebacker Matt Milano, though, who is a very good pass coverage linebacker. One of the big strengths of the Buffalo Bills defense is at that linebacker position with Edmonds and Milano. But Milano is going to be out with a pec injury for the game. It's already declared he's not participating in practice. He will be out for the game.

So that does help the Titans in their ability to go over the middle on this stout Bills defense. Wide receiver Andre Roberts was limited in Saturday's practice. He's questionable. Starting cornerback Levi Wallace has an ankle injury and has been moved to the IR. I mentioned that on Friday's show. He is not going to be in the game, so that helps the Titans kind of even things out with them. They're not going to be able to have Corey Davis out there

and probably Adam Humphreys either. And then cornerback Tredavious White has not participated in any practice. Didn't participate on Saturday. Is listed as questionable. It says with a back injury, but as I mentioned, there are some rumors that his general worry about the COVID-19 situation could cause him to not want to play against the Tennessee Titans. Wide receiver Cole Beasley with a foot was a full participant.

He's going to play in the game. Backup quarterback Jake Fromm, not injury related, but was limited on the injury report. Running back Zach Moss, who's a big time player as a rookie at the running back position, has a toe injury, but was a full participant in Saturday's practice. He is questionable. Linebacker Deshaun Phillips, also a full participant, but listed as questionable with a quad injury. And then quarterback Josh Allen, full participant with a left shoulder, not a problem for him. He's going to be playing. And then defensive end Mario Addison, it wasn't injury related, but he hasn't participated in

practice yet this week. He doesn't have a designation, but that's a pretty important pass rusher for the Bills. So something to monitor there. They're pretty banged up, as I mentioned. That might help kind of level the playing field for the Tennessee Titans with what their current situation is. And we are going to continue talking about the good news of the weekend as there was good news and bad news for the Titans. Adoree, some of the people coming off the COVID list, some of the injury names that are returning that could be there for the game.

So up and down through the first two segments with the news. But I got to tell you, to end off today's show, got a lot more positive news than negative news when we go over the results of the games of the Titans AFC South Division rivals and one AFC power who was undefeated getting their first loss of the season next. It can be awkward or embarrassing to talk about erectile dysfunction. Usually we brush it off or blame ourselves, but Roman is here to get you the advice you want and the help you need with no shame.

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use promo code LOCKEDON for 20% off at BuiltBar.com. Out of the games that did get played over the weekend that have a impact on the Tennessee Titans, it was mostly positive news. Let's take a look at the Titans, two division rivals who played each other this week, and that's the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans. The Texans were able to win this game 30-14, which is actually, as a Titans fan, what you should have been rooting for.

That knocks both the teams down to 1-4, sets them back. I mean, it would be very, very unlikely for either of those teams to make a playoff push, but of course the Titans were two and four last year and were able to make a run, so if either of those teams can get a win in their next game, hopefully not the Texans for obvious reasons, but I guess they aren't completely out of it, but neither team looked very good during this game. There were multiple turnovers by both teams. The Jags could not run the ball whatsoever. The Texans were able to get, you know, the ground game going a little bit with David Johnson having 96 yards on the ground,

but like I said, Watson threw two picks. The Jags had two fumbles. DJ Chark was a ghost. He had about 16 yards. Brandon Cooks had a great day for the Texans with 161 yards from Deshaun Watson, but I wouldn't say either team looked very good. The Texans just had that bump from firing their coach. Teams usually do play better after something like that happens, so the Texans got that emotional bump and were able to take care of a terrible Jacksonville Jags team at home. And the Jags defense is just absolutely terrible. Their offense can score a little bit, but they can't sustain drives enough to really make up for how bad the defense is.

So the Jags took the loss to the Texans. Both those teams dropped to 1-4. And where things sit right now, the Titans are in a great position considering the Texans were able to drop the Jags. If the Jags were at 2-3, then they can kind of still get frisky in the division and the Texans are at 0-5 and yeah, that pretty much eliminates them from division contention at that time. But I would rather both those teams be 1-4 than have one team at 2-3 and one team at 0-5.

That's just how I see the situation. Let me know if you feel differently. The next game that finalized that had an impact on the Tennessee Titans was the Oakland Raiders upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City. A really fun game to watch. 40-32, the Raiders win Kansas City. The first time they've lost in over 300 days. And you remember the last loss that they had, which was to the Tennessee Titans.

Well, now that it's taken over by the Oakland Raiders and obviously a big deal, Kansas City was one of the last remaining undefeated teams in the NFL along with the Tennessee Titans. Now you have the Pittsburgh Steelers at 4-0 and obviously the Buffalo Bills at 4-0 as well. And then you have the Tennessee Titans at 3-0. So what happens here is, since the Chiefs lost, that's one less person that the Titans are competing for for the lead in the AFC as a conference. If the Titans can take down the Bills,

it'll just be the Titans versus the Steelers as the two remaining undefeated teams in the AFC. And then the Titans, of course, play the Steelers in two weeks if everything remains positive. The Titans have a chance here that if they win their next three games, it'll be a long shot. But if they're able to do it, they could have an absolute stranglehold on the AFC as a conference at that point. So it'd be very interesting to see what the Titans are able to do. They're in a very good position. Once again, the Texans beat the Jags 30-14,

and the Kansas City Chiefs lose to the Oakland Raiders by a score of 40-32. Let's talk about the Indianapolis Colts, who went up against the Cleveland Browns. And the Browns did the Titans a major favor by knocking off the Indianapolis Colts in the late window in the late afternoon by a score of 32-23. And the story of the game is Old Man Rivers absolutely imploding at the end of the game. Rivers had two second half interceptions. Both, I believe, came in the fourth quarter and also had an intentional grounding call in the fourth quarter while standing in the end zone that turned into a safety for the Cleveland Browns.

So a major victory for the Browns who moved to 4-1 and a very competitive AFC North. Also a very competitive AFC., also a very competitive AFC. And then that means the Colts will drop to 3-2. And wouldn't you know it, the Colts play a decent team and they don't get a win. So those of you who were very skeptical of the Colts' early season schedule, well, you may just be right. And earlier this week, I backed off my preseason prediction that the Colts would be garbage because I thought that they would be much worse than people were saying they were going to be.

I backed off that a little bit and said, hey, they might be pretty good. But, but, not so fast, my friend. It is possible that Rivers is exactly who I said he was. They played some terrible opponents early on in the season and that the Colts are exactly who I thought they were. So we will see, but what we do know is going into Monday, the Tennessee Titans have an outright lead in the AFC South at 3-0. And one other piece of news, another positive one, a lot of positivity to finish out today's

show. The Titans had their first quote-unquote real practice since the outbreak started 10-14 days ago on Sunday after getting clearance from the NFL after a positive test for an assistant coach, but that should not be indicative of the Titans environment in the building in terms of the virus. So the Titans having positive news, positive results from the games on Sunday, and then another positive step having their first quote unquote real practice on Sunday. So hopefully this is the beginning of the end of the COVID era for the Titans season

and we can move forward with a lead in the AFC South and get back to playing some football. So I'm excited to come back on Tuesday and have a game preview episode of the Locked on Titans podcast and I hope that you will join me. Make sure that you subscribe to the Locked on Titans

podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Also follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans as I have my visual breakdowns, the TicTac film segments, TicTac breakdowns. I got the TicTac 4-pack that'll come later this week with the four most impactful plays of the game against the Bills that hopefully gets played. No new positives, no new positives.

But either way, I should be back with you guys tomorrow, and hopefully we are breaking down and previewing a game against the Buffalo Bills. But that is going to do it for me today. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans. Thank you.