Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - TITAN-alytics Tuesday - Rivalry History, Statistical Analysis of Ravens & Playoff Picture

Episode Date: January 7, 2020

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I'm your host Tyler Rowland Titans fans We got another playoff matchup to get ready for so it is a Titanalytics Tuesday We are gonna set the foundation going through some of the basic stats for the Ravens and some of the more complex stats To get a better understanding of who they are as a team from a base level and like I said set the foundation for our preview of the Ravens throughout the week. We will start by previewing the rivalry that is the Titans versus the Ravens. What happened to this rivalry along the way? What's the foundation of this rivalry and how do things sit right now two decades later going into this playoff rubber match between these two franchises then we will jump into the current Baltimore Ravens lay a foundation for who they are as a team

by taking a look at some of the statistics and analytics around the team we will do that and give you guys an idea of who they are so make make sure you're locked into that. And then we will cap it off with a conversation about the entire playoff field. Who is playing who this weekend. What potential matchups lay ahead based on the winners. We will get to all of that in a jam-packed Titanalytics Tuesday. Let's get it. the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens rivalry as we know it can be traced back to the 1999 season when Tennessee officially became the Titans after the Ravens moved to Baltimore from Cleveland in 1996 now prior to that the Houston Oilers and the Cleveland

Browns had battled for plenty of years before, but let's take a look at this rivalry from when it officially became the two teams as we know them in 1999. There were crucial battles early in the AFC Central that has been since dissolved. The Titans and Ravens played multiple times during the regular season. However, the most memorable matchups and the ones that we still discuss today were in the playoffs. Two times the Ravens and the Titans have matched up in the playoffs. First in 2001 in the division round. The Titans were the favorites in that.

They were the home team and the Ravens came in as a wild card and were able to win 24-10 in an upset victory. The Titans were able to repay the favor in the wild card round in 2004 when they went into Baltimore and won 20-17 on a last minute Gary Anderson field goal for the win. Those matchups included some of the most legendary players in these franchises' history and set the foundation for the organizations that they are today. For the Titans, you saw greats like Steve McNair, Eddie George, Derek Mason, Frank Wycheck, Bruce Matthews, and Brad Hopkins, Javon Kurse, Samare Roll, Keith Bullock, Kevin Dyson. On the Ravens side, players like Jamal Lewis, Shannon Sharp, Jonathan Ogden, Quadre Ishmael, Tony Saragusa, Ray Lewis, of course, Chris McAllister, and Rob Woodson. There are many other great players on both sides, but that's the foundation of this rivalry. Those

matchups against each other, they were bloodbaths. They were physical. They were tough, drag you out, knock you down matchups between Eddie George-led Tennessee Titans offensive power running attack and a physical swarming defense led by Ray Lewis. Two players who are essentially still the faces of these organizations, and they had countless battles, and the respect that they have for each other and the way that they talk about each other now sets the stage for what this matchup may end up being. Right now, the Titans are going up against a Ravens rushing attack that's physical, that's hard-nosed, but it's also multiple, complex, and even throws in college concepts

to use the most dynamic rushing quarterback we've seen since Michael Vick. So they have a very physical run-based offense, not much different than back when the rivalry began at the beginning of the 2000s and the late 1990s. So we're seeing both teams come in with a hard-nosed running attack and good defenses behind them. And honestly, it feels a little bit like one of those old playoff matchups and with those playoff matchups that we discussed from the early 2000s both teams were able to win one and in both of those games the underdog that was on the road came in and won the game so the Titans do have a chance to take the playoff game lead but looking at the series as a whole since 1999, the Ravens have won 10 times. The Titans have won seven. The Ravens are outscoring the Titans 313 to 254. Now, it is

worth noting that when the Titans lost to the Ravens in the 2001 playoffs, they lost five straight times between their next win against the Ravens which came in that wild card matchup in 2014 now since that game the Ravens and the Titans have split four and four and because of the shift away from the AFC Central into the divisions that we know now with the Ravens being in the AFC North they They haven't got to play as often, and it's made the rivalry lose some luster. But with both teams looking like they could be a force in the AFC for the coming years, it is a perfect time to spark that rivalry back up

and make it what it once was. Will the Titans and the Ravens be able to give us another chapter in that rivalry, or will the distance and the division continue to separate us from that history? We will see on Saturday night. Let's continue this Titanalytics Tuesday and jump into a statistical analysis of the Baltimore Ravens on offense and defense and I will tell you where I see some opportunities for the Titans to take advantage. If you haven't already, please subscribe to the show and follow me on Twitter at TicTacTitans for more. Let's continue our Titanalytics Tuesday by doing a

statistical analysis of the Baltimore Ravens on offense and defense to set a knowledge foundation for us as we begin to prep for the game on Saturday. Just like last week, tomorrow on Wednesday's Locked on Titans, we will do our crossover Wednesday conversation to add context to these numbers. And then on Thursday, with the numbers and the context, we will jump into a film review. But first, let's set that foundation and talk about the Ravens on offense. and then on Thursday with the numbers and the context we will jump into a film review but first let's set that foundation and talk about the Ravens on offense they've obviously been the

most dynamic offense in the NFL for the entire season 33.2 points per game that's first in the league they are averaging 407.2 yards per game that's's second best in the NFL. This is where there is a little bit of slippage. They only averaged 201.6 passing yards per game. That's only 27th in the NFL, so there is an advantage to be taken there, but that is counteracted by their dominance in the run game. They're averaging 206 yards per game on the ground. That's first in the NFL. Lamar Jackson's mobility allows him to not take sacks. They've only given up 28 on the ground. That's first in the NFL. Lamar Jackson's mobility allows him to not take sacks. They've only given up 28 on the season. That's seventh best in the NFL. On third down, they are the third best offense in the league, converting at a 47.1% rate on third down in the

red zone. They are the second best team in the NFL, only behind your Tennessee Titans. They have a 67.2% touchdown rate in the red zone. They don't turn over the ball very often, only eight interceptions on the season. They've only had seven lost fumbles, so pretty phenomenal. Their individual numbers, they have two rushers over 1,000 yards. Lamar Jackson with 1,200 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. That is the best quarterback rushing season of all time. Mark Ingram had 1,018 yards and 10 touchdowns and didn't play in the last game of the season. So they have dominant snare in the passing game. There is an area of opportunity.

Mark Andrews, the tight end, is their leading receiver. He has 10 touchdowns on the year, 852 yards, but only 64 catches. Marquise Hollywood-Brown, their speedy wide receiver, 46 catches, 584 yards, and 7 touchdowns. They have a whole list of characters who chip in. Willie Sneed, Nick Boyle, Hayden Hurst, three different tight ends. The running backs, Mark Ingram, will be out there. So they have different role players who help in this passing offense that the statistics show is limited,

but they utilize off of the play action and off of the run game so well that it's very effective. Now that is an area where the Titans can take advantage. If they can find a way to slow down this rushing attack even a little bit and force the Ravens to pass like we saw in the playoffs last year from Lamar Jackson, they may force them into mistakes and take them out of play in their game. Something that Teron Davenport actually covered on Twitter, you can check him out there. Dean Pease has success in the past going against this style of offense from

Greg Roman, the offensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens. He was the offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers with Colin Kaepernick in the Super Bowl in 2012. Well, Dean Pease was the defensive coordinator for the Ravens in that Super Bowl and had the game plan for this kind of college-style option attack. So, if there's anybody in the NFL on defense who has experience with shutting this down, it is Dean Pease. So we have to hope that the Titans will have the pieces, I think they do, to force the Ravens to pass. That doesn't mean that they're going to be successful.

Lamar Jackson still has the opportunity to defeat you in a million different ways. But that is what the Titans are going to have to focus on. And with the numbers there, you see that if the Ravens are forced to pass there is an area of opportunity to have success against them. Now going into the Ravens defensively they are phenomenal on defense as well. Third best defense in the NFL at allowing points only giving up 17.6 a game. Fourth best defense in the NFL when it comes to total yardage, 300.6 yards allowed per game. The passing defense is sixth best, giving up 207.2 yards per game, and the rushing defense is great as well, giving up less than 100 yards at 93.4 rushing yards allowed. That's fifth best. They

haven't missed a lot of tackles either, similar to the Patriots, although there was a 30-miss tackle gap. The Ravens are still the fifth best tackling team in the NFL only missing 93 on the year they blitz the Ravens defense blitzes non-stop the number one blitzing team in the NFL 54.9 percent of their snaps they sent a blitz now where things get a little weird is they've only registered 37 sacks on the year. That's 21st in the NFL. So that's not a great number for the amount that they are blitzing. They're only generating pressure on 23.7% of snaps. That's 16th in the NFL. So although they're bringing a lot of blitzes, they are not getting to the quarterback a lot, yet they're still having

success yardage and points wise. So that tells you that quarterbacks are getting the ball out of their hand, but once they throw it, they're not having a lot of success. And the Ravens defense really took a step forward in the second half of the year due to the acquisition of Marcus Peters. They traded for him from the Rams and were able to plug him into their defense with an already pretty solid cornerback group. Marlon Humphrey, Jimmy Smith is out there as well. So you have those three cornerbacks together with the talent they have on the defense, and they're going to blitz you. They're going to play man coverage outside and dare you to beat their guys,

similar to what we just saw with the New England Patriots. Now, they don't do it at as good of a rate as the Patriots do, so hopefully that will lead the Titans to be able to have some success in the passing game. But when it comes to defense, as we saw with New England last week, the Titans don't care what your rushing defense is like. They are going to run the ball. So the areas of opportunity right there for the Titans are they're going to have to find a way to beat man coverage. I hope they utilize some more screens. And then of course, they're going to have to run the ball despite what the numbers say. So we'll get into more of that tomorrow in our crossover conversation when we add context to the numbers that we're getting right now.

And I asked some questions from the hosts of the Locked On Ravens. And then on Thursday, as I mentioned, we will jump into our film review and I'll talk a little bit more about what the Titans are going to have to do to defeat this Ravens team as well. So a lot to look forward to going throughout the week as we continue to prep for this matchup against the Ravens. So that is our statistical analysis of the Ravens to help us set a foundation going forward. We will continue by having a conversation about how the playoffs shook out over the

weekend, where the bracket stands right now on both sides, and what potential matchups lie ahead for the Titans. Let's recap wildcard weekend's games other than the Titans' victory over the Patriots and take a look at this weekend's matchup than the Titans victory over the Patriots and take a look at this weekend's matchup and some potential future matchups for the Tennessee Titans. The Texans were able to pull off a huge comeback victory at home over the wildcard Buffalo Bills. They defeated them 22 to 19 after being down 16 to nothing in the second half, Josh Allen did some crazy stuff in the fourth quarter. Bad crazy stuff.

Deshaun Watson did some good crazy stuff in the fourth quarter. Got out of one of the craziest sacks I've ever seen. Wonderful play by him. I'm sure you all have seen it by now where he spun out of two defenders to make a play downfield. That game went to overtime. It was a very exciting game. And the Texans were able to get a play downfield. That game went to overtime. It was a very exciting game, and the Texans were able to get a field goal to win it. The Vikings on Sunday in the early window

were able to upset the dynamic New Orleans Saints. A fantastic game from Dalvin Cook with two touchdowns. Kirk Cousins came up big, throwing the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Another overtime game. Fantastic game. And then probably the worst game of the weekend. The Seahawks beat the number four-seeded Eagles 17-9.

Carson Wentz went out of the game in the first quarter with a head-neck injury. Kind of limited the excitement of the game. Ultimately, DK Metcalf, A.J. Brown's college teammate, had a huge game and was able to seal it with a long catch in the second half from Russell Wilson. So that leads us into this weekend's games. The Vikings will play the 49ers at 4.35 Eastern time in San Francisco prior to the Titans taking on the Ravens at 8.15.

And then on Sunday, the Texans will visit the Chiefs and play them at 3.05 Eastern Standard Time in Kansas City. And the Seahawks will travel to Green Bay and play the Packers at 6.40 Eastern Standard Time. So an excellent slate of football ahead. Hopefully, the Titans will have the ability to continue playing football next week, and if they do, their potential matchups are two teams that the Titans have already played and are very familiar with, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans. At this time, it's hard to say

which team you would rather match up with, but considering the offensive firepower for Kansas City combined with some of the talent that they have on defense and how well they've been playing lately, I think it's fair to say Titans fans would rather have another matchup with the Houston Texans and have another opportunity to take them on at full strength. But we will see that as far ahead. It's going to be a great weekend of football. Cannot wait for the Titans game, but all the other games look to be great as well. We are going to be back on Wednesday for the crossover conversation with the hosts of the Locked On Ravens.

We will add context to the numbers and the things we've seen from the Ravens so far this season and continue to get ready and get our knowledge up for the game on Saturday night. I will be here all week, so please subscribe to the show if you aren't already. As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.