Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - #TicTacTuesday - #TicTacFourPack Film Breakdown & Pro Bowl Voting Results

Episode Date: December 22, 2020

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Starting point is 00:00:54 It is Tic Tac Tuesday, and that means that it is time for this week's Tic Tac 4-Pack. So step into the film room with me as I break down the four most impactful plays from the win over the Detroit Lions from an X's and O's perspective. Really exciting to talk about that with you guys. Remember, my visual breakdown will be going up on Twitter at TicTacTitans as well to go along with the audio breakdown that we will be doing today in this week's Tic Tac 4-Pack. Before we jump into that Tic Tac Titans film breakdown, we are going to talk about the Pro Bowl results. We got word on what the rosters were for the AFC and the NFC on Monday night, so I'm going to tell you which Tennessee Titans made the team, which Tennessee Titans should have made the team, and how much we should care about Pro Bowl voting.
Starting point is 00:01:46 So we're going to dive into that first, and then get into this week's Tic Tac 4-Pack, breaking down the four most impactful plays from Week 15 from an X's and O's perspective on this week's Tic Tac Tuesday. Let's get it. On Monday night, the NFL announced Pro Bowl selections for both the NFC and the AFC. And if you look at the AFC Pro Bowl roster, you will find two Tennessee Titans. Number one, and no surprise, superstar running back Derrick Henry, who continues to prove that he's the best running back in the NFL. He leads the league with 1,679 rushing yards and has 15 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Starting point is 00:02:38 The second Tennessee Titan on the AFC Pro Bowl roster is wide receiver A.J. Brown, who has 56 catches, 881 receiving yards, and 10 touchdowns. This is his first Pro Bowl selection of what should be many to come, but that leads us into the question of should the Tennessee Titans, who are 10-4 on the season leading the AFC South have had more players on the AFC Pro Bowl roster. Did the Titans have any snubs? And there are two names that really stick out when you dig into the snub list. And that is number one wide receiver Corey Davis. And Corey Davis has trumped A.J. Brown in two of those big categories. He has more catches at 60, has more yards at 945, although he does have half of the touchdowns. Corey Davis has five touchdown putting points on the board so I understand why AJ Brown got the nod but then you look at the other three AFC wide receivers that got those spots ahead of Corey
Starting point is 00:03:54 Davis and it does start to make a little bit of sense why the Titans could only get one wide receiver on the list you have Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill you have Bills wide receiver on the list. You have Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill. You have Bills wide receiver Stephon Diggs, who has been maybe the best wide receiver in the NFL this year. And then finally, you have Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers, who has 100 catches, 992 yards, and eight touchdowns as the number one wide receiver on that team. So he definitely should get the spot over Corey Davis. So it looks like the Titans only got one of the four spots available. And since A.J. Brown is the more explosive receiver who has scored more touchdowns, it makes sense that he would get the nod,
Starting point is 00:04:33 even though Corey Davis is having a fantastic season in his own right. The next snub candidate would be Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. And of course, when you talk about snubs, you have to talk about which spot they could have taken the three quarterbacks selected for the AFC were Patrick Mahomes who probably wins MVP is clearly the best quarterback in the league Josh Allen who has been phenomenal this year as well leading the Bills who are 11 and 3 at this moment in time so a better record than the Titans he's also a dual threat quarterback, so that makes sense.
Starting point is 00:05:06 The third quarterback was Deshaun Watson from the Texans. And although the Texans are 4-10 on the season, Watson is completing 67.7% of his passes. He has 4,134 passing yards. He has 29 total touchdowns to 6 interceptions. 34 passing yards. He has 29 total touchdowns to 6 interceptions. And Ryan Tannehill on the other side of that has 66.5% completion percentage, 3,482 passing yards, 35 total touchdowns on the season, and 5 interceptions.
Starting point is 00:05:41 So there's definitely a debate to be had there. But Deshaun Watson clearly has a lot less help than Ryan Tannehill. so it makes sense in my mind that Deshaun Watson would get that spot, although I understand that that is a debatable topic. And then the last few Titans that I want to mention here, I wouldn't necessarily call them snubs, but they at least have an argument to be mentioned at their position. Guard Roger Saffold, he's very favorably graded by pro football focus if you're into player grades. He has been the best offensive lineman on one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL this season, so he deserves some consideration. On defense, Malcolm Butler has 79 tackles, three interceptions, 13 pass breakups. Now, Zavian Howard from the Dolphins, Tredavious White from
Starting point is 00:06:22 the Bills, Marlon Humphrey from the Ravens, and Stephon Gilmore from the Patriots all really deserve those spots as well, so I get Malcolm Butler being on the outside looking in. But with Gilmore missing time with injury, there is some conversation to be had that maybe Malcolm Butler should have that spot. And then finally, you have Jeffrey Simmons, who hasn't had a completely dominant year. I would say Chris Jones from the
Starting point is 00:06:46 Chiefs Calais Campbell from the Ravens Cam Hayward from the Steelers and DeForest Buckner from the Colts even though Buckner somehow didn't make the roster either would all get those spots ahead of Jeff but 47 tackles and three sacks is a pretty good year now one thing that I do want to say and it's the classic conversation that we always get into when the Pro Bowl happens or any of these league-wide polls or anything, the Tennessee Titans didn't get enough respect. How do they only have two Pro Bowlers when they're 10-4? One thing I'm not going to do is get worked up about Pro Bowl votes.
Starting point is 00:07:20 Guys, we know what the drill is now. The Titans never get the national respect they deserve, but we also know that the Pro Bowl is a popularity contest. I mean, Evan Ingram, a tight end from the Giants who's been terrible this year, I mean, maybe not terrible, but definitely not deserving of a Pro Bowl spot, made it because he's from New York and plays in the New York market. So, you guys know the drill. Don't get upset. Don't get worked up over the Pro Bowl votes. Who really cares? The Titans who deserve the credit get the credit with people who know what's really going on. And if they deserve it, they'll get an all pro spot. So I refuse to get worked up
Starting point is 00:07:54 over any of the snubs or anything like that. The Titans two biggest national media stars are the two guys who got spots. Not that they didn't deserve it. They, of course, did, but you just can't be surprised at this point. One thing that needs to be said, too, is the game isn't even going to get played this year because of COVID-19, and because of that, there won't be any Super Bowl alternates. I would be shocked if the NFL did that.
Starting point is 00:08:18 There's no alternates to have. There's no game to be played. So I figured Tannehill would probably get in there if Mahomes goes to the Super Bowl, which is expected. So you're not going to see that either. So just right now, while it's early, just tell yourselves, don't get worked up about Pro Bowl votes. It's not that important. And we know how it's going to go every year, so we can't act surprised at this point. But with the Pro Bowl information out of our way.
Starting point is 00:08:47 We are going to step into the film room now. It is time for this week's Tic Tac 4 Pack. Breaking down the four most impactful plays from week 15. From an X's and O's perspective. Make sure that you follow me on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans. So you see the visual breakdown that I will be posting up to go along with this audio breakdown as well. Also, remember, got another film-centric episode coming for you guys tomorrow. It will be a rewatch Wednesday, and I'm going to do things a little different.
Starting point is 00:09:17 I usually focus on the Titans offense and then the Titans defense in our final two segments on Wednesday, but because it's such a big game ahead with the Packers, I'm going to break down the Titans offense and defense in one segment and then break down the Packers offense and defense in the next segment. So it's a big, big game this weekend against the Packers. I'm going to get us started a little early this week with a schematic breakdown to end off our rewatch Wednesday. Make sure that you don't miss that.
Starting point is 00:09:44 Subscribe to the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream. Before we step into the film room for this week's Tic Tac 4-Pack though, I want to tell you guys about how you can make all of this exciting football action going on right now a little bit more exciting. Are you ready for some football? College football heads, it's bowl season and there are some big matchups this weekend. The NFL regular season is finishing up, and the playoff picture is becoming clearer. There is only one place that has you covered, and there is only one place that we here at
Starting point is 00:10:20 the Locked On Podcast Network trust, and that is betonline.ag. Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use promo code LOCKEDON and get a 50% welcome bonus. And every Friday on the Locked On Titans podcast, we do Keeping It Plus 100, where I go over how to play the Titans game from a gambling perspective. So take that information, take your own intuition, and place a wager at betonline.ag. Don't sit on the sidelines anymore. Get in on the action action don't forget to use that promo code locked on to receive a 50% off welcome bonus with your first deposit betonline.ag your online sportsbook experts it is time for this week's tic-tac-four-pack so let's step into the film room as I break down the four most impactful plays from a week 15 victory over the Lions. And play number one is the play that really kind of set this game
Starting point is 00:11:47 off in my mind from the jump, and that was the 75-yard Corey Davis touchdown. So the Titans are tied in this game. It is 7-7, a minute 34 remaining in the first quarter. It's first and 10, the Titans' first play of their second drive. Now, at this moment in time, I'm feeling a little hopeless. I'm feeling a little paralyzed. The Titans' defense just let the Lions' offense carve them up all the way down the field. So, the Titans got to be thinking what I'm thinking. We're going to have to put up a ton of points if we want to win this game. So, it's no surprise that the Titans tried to strike on a deep one early on. Now this is a play that is pretty familiar to you if you have been watching all season. The Titans come out in 21 personnel. So
Starting point is 00:12:37 that's one tight end, two backs in the backfield. So they're in I formation. They have a tight end to the right side. They have the two wide receivers to the left. A.J. Brown to the outside and Corey Davis in the slot. Now the Titans go with a play action fake here. That's what we see all the time. And what they're working is they're working what we call a dagger concept. So a dagger concept, like I told you, the Titans two wide receivers are both on the left hand side of the formation Corey Davis as the slot on the left hand side is going to run a vertical route
Starting point is 00:13:10 and then A.J. Brown behind him coming from the outside is going to run an in route an in breaking route over the middle you see this work all the time the Titans hit that play action fake Tannehill turns right around throws it to A.J. Brown right over the middle of the field, and then he runs for a freaking touchdown. We've seen it for two straight years. It's a great play that the Titans use over and over. Some people call it a drift concept, but it's a quick-hitting dagger concept for the Titans out of play-action. So they do this, and through time, teams know what the Titans' bread and butter is. Throughout two years of Arthur Smith's system, teams know now that the Titans are looking to get that quick hitter over the middle. They also know that the Titans like to continue that over the middle push
Starting point is 00:13:55 by instead of running in a typical dagger route, a traditional dagger route concept, that inside slot receiver in Corey Davis is going to get vertical to open up the middle of the field for A.J. Brown coming in on the end cut well how he gets vertical and what route he uses to get vertical that can be adjusted so you can just do a straight fly pattern going straight down the middle of the field and if the defense is in cover too that's going to work a lot better because then you're going to take that safety who's on that deep half and you're going to run him away. Now, if it's a single high safety, there's only one safety in the middle of the field. If Corey Davis just runs straight vertical,
Starting point is 00:14:34 well, he can take him, but there's going to be a guy on the other side of the field as a cover three cornerback on the other boundary to be waiting. Well, one thing you can do to open things up even more when it's one single safety up top is you can have Corey Davis, instead of going straight vertical and staying on the left side of the field, you can have him cross the middle of the field and do a deep crosser. So now, not only are you threatening that deep safety vertically and open up the middle of the field for A.J. Brown, you're going to push him to the right side of the field with A.J. Brown doing an in route, but because he started on the outside of the formation, he's still going to be to the left-hand side of the field. So now you're creating
Starting point is 00:15:14 space vertically, and you're pushing that deep safety more to the right-hand side of the field. So the Titans will not just run a fly pattern as the inside slot in their dagger concept. They will run a deep crosser, and teams know this. They know this because the crosser matches up with Ryan Tannehill doing the bootleg on the other side. So it just makes sense. Well, now the Titans have gone from, we're going to adjust the typical dagger from a fly route from the slot and make it a deep crosser with an outside in. Now we're going to adjust that again, and Corey Davis fakes the deep crosser and then cuts back outside on the sail route,
Starting point is 00:15:54 on the flag route, on the corner route, whatever you want to call this route. You know what I'm talking, a seven route if you want to get technical on the route tree, but Corey Davis fakes the deep crosser, cuts back to the outside of the field, and because the outside cornerback is still looking at A.J. Brown running the end, there is no one out there, and Corey Davis just completely fakes out the deep safety, faking that crosser, and it's a beautiful route. It's excellent route running, and in my opinion, it is the part of Corey Davis' game that has grown the most. Now, this may be just because of health. He's healthy now, but man, what a performance. And then Corey Davis, the yards after the catch, him winding up and down the field,
Starting point is 00:16:37 down the sideline to beat his man for the touchdown. It's just a microcosm of what Corey Davis's season has been expert route running yards after the catch explosive play when the Titans needed it the most awesome so let's move into play number two of the tic-tac-four-pack after I've gushed poetic for six straight minutes about one single play and it's the first forced fumble the one on the goal line and it's pretty simple here ladies and gentlemen the Titans as I say all the time are the best team in the NFL at guarding one blade of grass and that characteristic showed up in a big spot there's five minutes left in the first half the Lions have just driven down the field with little to no resistance for the second time in the game.
Starting point is 00:17:25 It's third and goal on the one yard line. The Lions are in a goal line formation on offense. Three tight ends, a fullback in the backfield with the running back. The Titans are in a traditional goal line defense. They got six guys with their hands in the dirt. Two outside linebackers as the outside defenders. Two inside linebackers in the outside defenders, two inside linebackers in the middle in Compton and Evans, and Kevin Byard kind of roaming underneath, flying with
Starting point is 00:17:50 that tight end in motion just in case it's a pass. And let's break this down step by step. The Lions just try your traditional ISO lead, fullback going down the middle trying to clear out a lane for the running back and quite frankly it's not a terribly blocked play for the Lions but there are a few keys here that allow the Tennessee Titans to make this stop. Number one, Rashawn Evans comes downhill quickly and the center shoots out and tries to help out the right guard and hit Daquan Jones and then get to Rashawn Evans.
Starting point is 00:18:26 Well, Rashawn Evans jumps up in the air and completely avoids the center. So that's step number one. Now the center has fallen flat on his face in the end zone. Remember that fact that the center has fallen on his face. So Rashawn Evans jumps around the center and now he's got to take on the fullback. So now Rashawn Evans takes on the fullback and doesn't give him any penetration. He holds the fullback at the line of scrimmage. So no push there. Now let's talk about Daquan Jones. Remember the center and the right guard fired out and tried to take on Daquan Jones. He takes on that double team and does a fantastic job of moving to his
Starting point is 00:19:07 left-hand side and then doing a swim move on the guard to get right around him. So now at this moment in time, we have in the hole that DeAndre Swift is trying to go through, we have Rashawn Evans not allowing any push by the fullback stuffing the hole. We have Daquan Jones who just did an awesome swim move on the right guard and then the center who fell face first because Rashawn Evans jumped around him in the end zone. So that hole was completely blocked by Daquan Jones and Rashawn Evans. So what does DeAndre Swift try to do? He tries to go airborne. He jumps in the air, tries to dive for the pylon,
Starting point is 00:19:46 and quite frankly, Daquan Jones just does a great job of launching himself into the air, trying to meet DeAndre Swift at the point of attack in the middle of the air, and he can't get up that high as DeAndre Swift, but his helmet hits DeAndre Swift, and when he makes contact with Swift, it basically sends his body upwards in the air, and he drops the ball through his bottom arm. And then, that's when the last step of this comes through. Remember that center who fell on his face? If he didn't fall on his face, he would have been able to block Will Compton, who's shooting into the gap behind Rashawn Evans.
Starting point is 00:20:24 But because the center's flat on his face, no one's there to block Compton. He makes contact with Swift right after Daquan Jones realizes that the ball is free and drops straight on it. And we got to give Compton credit here in his only defensive snap of the day because there's no guarantee, as we've seen throughout the NFL and in this game, that the first guy who touches the ball is going to pounce on it. The Titans' second forced fumble we're going to talk about next. Spoiler alert, the first guy to touch the forced fumble didn't actually pounce on it,
Starting point is 00:20:53 squirmed around for a minute. So a good job by Compton there to actually secure the ball. Possession for the Titans, a big goal line stop in a day where the Titans needed every single ounce of help they could get on defense. Now, if you were paying attention, I may have spoiled what play number three is going to be, but we are going to talk about play number three and play number four in the second part of this week's Tic Tac Four Pack to cap off today's show.
Starting point is 00:21:21 But before we jump into part two, I want to remind you guys that the visual film breakdown. That I will be pairing up with this audio breakdown. Will be available on my Twitter. At Tic Tac Titans today. After you listen to this show. So make sure you go there and check that out. I put a lot of work into the visual breakdowns as well. So you guys can picture exactly what I'm talking about.
Starting point is 00:21:44 I want to give you guys a head start on these breakdowns. In so you guys can picture exactly what I'm talking about. I want to give you guys a head start on these breakdowns in our Tic Tac Tuesday, but make sure that you go to my Twitter at Tic Tac Titans and check that out. We are going to dive into play three and play four next. Before we do, I want to talk to you guys about Built Go, the best workout energy gel on the market. Everyone has a mental or physical wall they need to break through every day, and you can do it with Go. The workout gel comes in easy-to-take 1.5-ounce packages, easy to put in your briefcase, your pocket, or even your golf bag.
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Starting point is 00:23:20 Tack four pack for week 15. And that means it is time to talk about play number three. And we already talked about the Tennessee Titans first forced fumble of the day. So it's only right that we talk about their second forced fumble of the day. And to me, this play is so important. Not only because the Titans forced a fumble here. But considering the context and of course context is everything but the Titans defense just wasn't able to get a lot of stops in this game so forcing three turnovers the way that they did was just absolutely critical and that's going
Starting point is 00:23:58 to be the Titans formula going forward we know that they're not going to be a team to get consistent stops and the stop teams on third down over and over they're not going to be a team to get consistent stops and to stop teams on third down over and over. They're going to have to be a defense that forces turnovers. I've talked earlier in the season on the Locked on Titans podcast about that being the Titans formula. Sometimes you have a dominant defense with a very good offense that maybe isn't a completely explosive offense, but gets the job done and you play complimentary football, keep the score low, keep it manageable and
Starting point is 00:24:31 keep yourself in the game. The other side of that is you have an incredibly explosive offense and then you have a defense that maybe isn't great, but finds a way to get timely turnover. So if the Titans can be that, then they can accomplish their goals. And this is a good example of that. So play number three, we are now into the third quarter and the score is 24 to 15. So the Lions are knocking on the door again. They're at the 21 yard line with 10 minutes left in the third quarter. So if the Lions, as they had been all day, carve up the Titans' defense, go down and score,
Starting point is 00:25:13 well, now we're talking about a field goal game. Now we're talking about a two-point ball game, and the Titans definitely don't want to be in that situation. So a big play for the Titans, not only because of what took place, but also because of the context. And again, a critical third and one. So the Lions, as they did confusingly throughout the day, go heavy here. They had three tight ends and all three tight ends are to the right-hand side of the formation. One wide receiver to the left-hand side, Adrian Peterson, one running back in the backfield. Now they take TJ Hawkinson and they motion him as the outside tight end on the right side over to the left-hand side.
Starting point is 00:25:52 But then, right before the snap, they bring him in motion back to the right-hand side and it becomes a jet sweep. So, Matthew Stafford hands off the ball to TJ Hawkinson on his jet motion, and the whole point of this is it's third and one. You can catch the Titans defense off guard, and you can get a quick one yard on a play. They're not expecting a tight end jet sweep, and the Lions intentionally, schematically attack the Titans on the edges and run defense all day long, but here there are a few plays made that really make the difference. Number one, and this didn't really make the difference, but I guess it matters, Ty Smith
Starting point is 00:26:33 is playing cornerback on this side of the ball, and he darts in in front of the guy who's supposed to be blocking him, number 86 for the Lions, but he completely whiffs on TJ Hawkinson, goes behind him, completely misses him, and it does cause Hawkinson to turn upfield, but quite frankly, that's not a good thing. We don't want Hawkinson to turn upfield, so I can't really give Ty Smith credit for helping the positive outcome on this play, but that did happen, and it turned Hawkinson upfield, but where we see some really good plays made, Derek Roberson was not good in run defense in this game,
Starting point is 00:27:06 and it's the biggest weakness of his game. The coaches have talked about that in press conferences openly. But he does a really good job here against Jesse James of keeping his arms extended. This is exactly how you play sweeps as an outside linebacker, as an edge defender. When the edge blocker comes up to take you, you have to engage strong hands inside his chest, keep your arms extended so that the tight end can't get his
Starting point is 00:27:33 chest on your chest and take away your advantage. And you're not going to be able to push him back a lot of the time. So you ride the tight end down the line of scrimmage. Just continue to ride him down the line of scrimmage because what you to ride him down the line of scrimmage because what you don't want to do is you don't want to give up the perimeter, let the ball carrier get around you to the outside, and then get down the sideline. You want to contain him and force the ball carrier back inside where you have help from your interior defensive linemen,
Starting point is 00:27:59 your safeties, your inside linebackers. So Roberson does a great job of flying down the line of scrimmage, keeping his arms extended on Jesse James, and that allows him to not give TJ Hawkinson an easy lane to run through. He's going to have to push through. Well, at the same time, David Long comes crashing down from his inside linebacker spot, play side, strong side, and he takes on a block from an offensive tackle and gets through the block with his inside shoulder. A nice rip move to get through the block of an offensive tackle. A great play by David Long here. He makes contact with TJ Hawkinson, and this is where Hawkinson
Starting point is 00:28:39 goes to try to extend for the first down. So David Long makes contact, grabs him by the knees, and then Hawkinson reaches out his arm to try to extend and get the first down. I don't think he even would have had to do this, but at that moment in time, something kind of lucky happens. Derek Roberson, who is in place to get lucky because he's had good run defense so far in the play, his knee makes contact with the ball as Hawkinson stretches it out. The ball scrambles out on the ground. First, Imani Hooker tries to pick it up. It squirts away from him, squirts back inside. David Long tries to dive on it, and then Jeffrey Simmons dives on it and is able to secure the ball, and that's a turnover for the Titans defense,
Starting point is 00:29:22 and if you were following me on Twitter, yes, Jeffrey Simmons made clear recovery. It was a clear recovery. I'm sorry. I didn't see it correctly at first. My bad. But with that in mind, let's move to play number four. And we are headed back to the Tennessee Titans offense. It's the first play of the fourth quarter.
Starting point is 00:29:43 And this is a big moment for the Titans. They may have won this game 46-25, but with the fourth quarter starting, they were only up by six points, and they were 36 yards away from the end zone. So no guarantees that the game is still in the balance at this moment in time, but who would the Titans call on to salt things away other than the king himself, Derrick Henry? So it's 31, as I said, on the 36, and the Titans are in shotgun formation. They have trips to the left-hand side with A.J. Brown, Corey Davis, and Cam Batson. On the right-hand side, they have Jonu Smith at tight end, and he's attached to the formation.
Starting point is 00:30:20 He's not ISO'd out as a wide receiver. He's literally on the line of scrimmage, hand on the dirt. And Derrick Henry, at first, at the beginning of this play, is on the left-hand side of Ryan Tannehill. So that would mean, you know, he would run to the right-hand side, most likely following the strong side with John U. Smith. But what happens is Ryan Tannehill notices that the Titans have a numbers advantage on the other side of the center. So Ryan Tannehill and the center are in the center of the formation. They're in the middle. So Ryan Tannehill looks to the left side.
Starting point is 00:30:54 Remember, this is a run play. So Ryan Tannehill looks to the left side of the center. He sees two defensive linemen, one on the outside shoulder of Ben Jones and then the defensive end. And he sees one middle linebacker. So that's three on three. That's an advantage. Derrick Henry can get through a hole there. So that's why he flips Derrick Henry from his left pocket to his right pocket. Because on the right hand side where Jonu Smith is, there's two defensive linemen on the right side of the center, and then there's a cornerback and a linebacker, or safety and a linebacker, walked up on linebacker level. So now
Starting point is 00:31:32 you have three offensive linemen, or three people. You have Nate Davis, you have Dennis Kelly, and Jonu Smith, and you can add Ben Jones in that, and then you have four guys. So the numbers aren't as good on the right side as they are the left. So Tannehill flips Derrick Henry from the left side to the right side so he can run to the left, but something crazy happens here. The Lions, they just really dart in from the right-hand side. Like that right defensive end who is lined up ahead of Jonu Smith just darts into the middle of the formation. I'm sure that the Lions had a slant called there or the goal was to penetrate. But what happens is Jonu Smith does a great job. Instead of fighting that guy and trying to kick him out, he just goes with the defender.
Starting point is 00:32:20 If he's going to dart in and shoot into the middle of the formation like that, then just ride his outside hip and push him all the way inside. And what that does is Derrick Henry takes a patient step as soon as he gets the ball from Ryan Tannehill, allows Johnnie Smith to wash that outside defender from the right side into the middle of the formation. And then what you have is that safety and Derrick Henry one-on-one and the safety underestimates Derrick Henry's explosiveness he darts into the middle and Derrick Henry runs right past him so now it's Derrick Henry one-on-one 15 yards down the field with the safety now that
Starting point is 00:33:02 the deep field safety does a great job here of getting Derrick Henry out of bounds at the three yard line. But the very next play is the Ryan Tannehill read option for a touchdown and the two point conversion. So now the Titans are up by 14 with 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter. And that is a much more comfortable margin than only being up by six, obviously. And Derrick Henry was the one who made the play, who got them down. Remember, the play before this, more context to make this more important. The Titans, the only drive that they had had in the second half, they punted on.
Starting point is 00:33:42 So this was their second drive of the second half. The Titans had lost all momentum here. second drive of the second half. The Titans had lost all momentum here. So big play by Derek Henry to get the ball, get it down to the end, to the goal line, and an easy play for Ryan Tannehill to get it into the end zone. All set up by a phenomenal block by John U. Smith, and gotta give some credit here to Dennis Kelly as well, who washes his man down and makes a good block on the linebacker as well to continue washing him down. So that is this week's Tic Tac 4-pack, the four most impactful plays from week 15.
Starting point is 00:34:12 Hope you guys enjoyed. Make sure you check out the visual breakdown I have on Twitter at Tic Tac Titans that will go up today after the show drops. Also, subscribe to the Locked On Titans podcast for all the content I got coming up. Later on this week. Rewatch Wednesday.
Starting point is 00:34:29 Crossover Thursday. The game preview. Football Friday. A lot of great stuff. As the Titans make their playoff push. Also want to remind you guys. The NBA season does start today. So make sure you check out the Locked On Podcast Network.
Starting point is 00:34:44 NBA season preview. On the Locked On Podcast Network NBA season preview on the Locked On NBA show. Won't want to miss that as the NBA season does tip off tonight, but that's going to do it for me today. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked On Titans. Thank you.

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