Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Titans 2021 Schedule Release Party!! Game by Game Outline, Record Prediction & Schedule Highlights

Episode Date: May 13, 2021

Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Titans, your daily Tennessee Titans podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome to the Locked On Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, this Thursday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast is presented by RockAuto.com. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need.

Visit rockauto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Titans fans, it is a scheduled release party on Wednesday night. We finally got the Titans full 18-week regular season schedule, and I am breaking it all down on today's show. First we are going to go week by week 1 to 18 and break down every single game that the Titans will have in order and then we're going to go a little bit deeper. I'm going to talk about the hardest game the Titans have on their schedule and I'm going to talk about the easiest game the Titans have on their schedule. These weren't cut and dry. It was very difficult for me to choose which games I was going to talk about the easiest game the Titans have on their schedule. These weren't cut and dry.

It was very difficult for me to choose which games I was going to go with. And then at the end of the show, we're going to go over what is going to be the toughest stretch for the Titans, and the choice is very obvious. Unlike the easiest and hardest game on the schedule that were difficult to pick, the toughest stretch of the year pops out right at you as soon as you look at the Titans schedule. So we're going to go over that as well and talk about how the Titans could potentially navigate that very, very difficult segment in their slate. So very excited to dive in to the Tennessee Titans 2021 regular season schedule on this

Thursday edition of the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it! Titans fans, we are going to dive into the Titans full 18-week regular season schedule to kick off today's schedule release party. But before we do, quick reminder, I am going to be putting out Monday through Friday daily Tennessee Titans content, not only during the season, but all year long here on the Locked on Titans podcast.

Make sure that you subscribe or follow the Locked on Titans podcast on whatever platform you do stream so you never miss a daily episode. Also, check me out on social media at TicTacTitans, on Twitter, on Facebook at Locked on Titans pod. I got a ton of video content, reaction to the schedule release going up as well. Let's dive into this schedule. Week 1, the Titans will kick off the season against the Arizona Cardinals at home. They're going to have a healthy Kyler Murray.

There's obviously the Deshaun Watson and J.J. Watt situation being a longtime Titans division rival. And then, of course, a revenge game for Malcolm Butler. Then, we have the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2. That is a trip the Titans will take to the west coast of the country and go to Washington State. Getting a long trip, a long journey out of the way early in the season. I do like that. Then the Titans will play the Indianapolis Colts at home in week three.

That is fortunate for the Titans as newly signed left tackle Eric Fisher will most likely not be back from his torn Achilles. Week four, the Titans then go on the road to the New York Jets. And like I said in Wednesday's show, I love that this matchup comes early in the season. You don't want Zach Wilson as a rookie quarterback to start getting comfortable. That should happen later in the year. Then the Titans have an away game at the Jacksonville Jaguars. I think this game is going to be tougher than people expect.

With it being week five, I think Trevor Lawrence will be in a pretty good groove. He'll understand what's going on around the NFL. I think he's obviously more pro-ready than a guy like Zach Wilson, and that's the difference I have there. But I do think that the Titans should ultimately be able to take care of business on the road against the Jags. And then we get to the beginning of the tough stretch. Week six, home against the Buffalo Bills,

but a Monday night football game in Nashville. So that's fantastic. And the long time rivalry between the Bills and the Titans and all the different situations we've gone through with them over the years, that's always going to be a great matchup to watch. Then they follow that up with another home game, but against the Kansas City Chiefs. So Buffalo and Kansas City back-to-back. That's going to be tough, especially when you're playing Kansas City on a short week after Monday Night Football. After that, another very difficult game.

They go on the road in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts. That game will be played on Halloween, and scary things can happen when the Titans play against the Colts already let alone the game being on Halloween the Titans stay on the road again in week nine it's a crusher and they play the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night football not only do the Titans have to go west not only do the Titans have to play in prime time but they're playing a Rams team that should be improved. So very, very difficult couple of games there. Then the Titans come home and play the New Orleans Saints.

That's going to be an X-factor game. I'll talk about that more later. Week 11, the Titans finally get what I would consider an easy game, and they get the Houston Texans. That's a home game for the Titans. They absolutely have to win that game if they want to make it back to the playoffs. Then the Titans go on the road in week 12 and play the New England Patriots. I like that placement on November the 28th. They'll most likely get to play in the snow, which I think benefits the Titans. And even if it's not in the snow, I do think also that Mac Jones will be playing

quarterback for the Patriots by then. And I think that's a better matchup than going up against Cam Newton, so I like the placement of that game. But then, finally, the Titans get their bye week, get their rest in week 13, and I personally love that. Coming off a very difficult stretch of games, the Titans get a bye week late in the season. They can recharge their batteries and get ready for the final stretch, which, based on the tough stretch in the middle, they will have to be very, very good at going down to the end of the season. They come out of the bye week and play Jacksonville at home.

So in Nashville playing the Jags, that's got to be a win. Then they go on the road, a very difficult game at the Pittsburgh Steelers on December the 19th. Now, will Ben's arm be in trouble by then late in the season like it was in 2020? I don't know, but the Titans always seem to struggle when they play the Pittsburgh Steelers, so not going to count that as anything for certain. Then the Titans play a home game against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 16. That's so late in the season that I do believe Trey Lance will be ready and rolling, which is a

much more difficult game for the Titans. Then the Titans play Miami at home in week 17, and just my God, Miami always scares me. Weird stuff always happens. I hate that that game is late in the season, but the Titans cap off the year in week 18, just like they did last year on the road against the Houston Texans, and with the Texans at that time, they should be trying to secure the number one pick in the draft. That should be a win for the Titans. So the Titans get three primetime games in that mix. They have a game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football,

a game against the Rams on Sunday Night Football, and then finally a Thursday Night Football game against the 49ers in Week 16. So three primetime games for the Titans, a very difficult schedule in my opinion. We are going to talk more about what I think their win-loss record will be based on this schedule. Also, the hardest and easiest game for the Titans on the schedule and their toughest stretch. Before we get into that though, do want to tell you guys about the title sponsor of the show and that's rockauto.com. Rock Auto has been serving auto parts customers online for over 20 years. Their online catalog is unique. It's remarkably easy

to navigate. You can quickly see all the parts available for your car or truck, and you can get anything you need delivered directly to your door in a few easy clicks. Best of all, prices at rockauto.com are always reliably low, and the same for professionals or do-it-yourselfers. So go to rockauto.com right now, see all the parts available for your vehicle, right locked on in the How Did You Hear About Us box right underneath the shipping information so they know that we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need.

RockAuto.com. Titans fans, let's continue breaking down the 2021 Tennessee Titans regular season schedule. We got some superlatives that I want to go over. The Titans' hardest game, the easiest game on their schedule the toughest stretch but before we get into that I want to go game by game and give you my win loss prediction for the Titans based on the schedule release now comes with the obvious caveat here that these are very very early predictions but heck live a little make a prediction see what you think what's your initial reaction I hate people who get on social media and try to preach to everybody it's too early this is dumb exercise man live a little bit let your hair down make a prediction have some fun

live life on the edge you know what I'm saying either way I'm gonna go through and just tell you what I think just based on where I see the Titans right now, the difficulty of the game, what I think the outcomes will be. So, number one, week one against the Arizona Cardinals at home, I do think that the Titans will find a way to win that game. If you give Mike Vrabel, you know, extra preparation other than a normal game week, he has been pretty darn successful throughout his career. other than a normal game week. He has been pretty darn successful throughout his career.

I do believe that the only game that he has lost with more than a normal time span to prepare is his first game as Titans head coach ever, week one against Miami in 2018. Out of a bye, the Titans are 3-0 with Mike Vrabel as their head coach. So from my perspective, giving Mike Vrabel time to prepare for a team is giving the Titans a win. So I think they'll beat Arizona.

But like I said in the first section, I'm worried about a healthy Kyler Murray. His style of play gets him banged up. So it's probably easier to play them later in the year. There's a lot of personal motivation on the Cardinals side with Malcolm Butler, number one, and then DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt playing their old division rivals. So that will be a tough game, very close game, but I got the Titans winning that one. The Titans then go on the road to the Seattle Seahawks, their longest trip of the season. And while I like that it's early, Seattle's very good.

They're even better at home. I'm going to give the Titans a loss in that game. Then the Titans come home. They play Indianapolis. And although that game is at home, I do think it'll be a very difficult game. Always is for the Titans when they play the Colts. But as I mentioned, newly signed left tackle Eric Fisher should not be back from his torn Achilles in January at that time. That's obviously a help for the Titans for the Colts to not have their starting left tackle.

So I'm going to give the Titans a win at home against the Colts in week three, moving their record to two and one. Then the Titans go on the road and play the New York Jets. I love that they're playing the Jets in the first month of the season before Zach Wilson gets accustomed to the NFL. I'll give the Titans a win in that game, moving them to three and one. Then they're on the road again at the Jacksonville Jaguars I think this will be a tougher game than people think as I mentioned but I do think the Titans will be able to win that game as well so the Titans four and one in their first five games of the year and I think that will be incredibly important as they step into the next stretch of games at home on Monday night football against the Buffalo Bills I know some people aren't going to like this, but I am going to call that a loss for the Titans.

They smoked Buffalo last year during their COVID issues. Buffalo's going to remember that. I think Buffalo is a fantastic team. I'm picking Buffalo to go to the Super Bowl right now out of the AFC teams. I'm going to have the Titans losing that game. Then another tough game with Kansas City coming to Nashville in week seven. I think the Titans are going to lose that game as well. The Titans play the Chiefs at home and that's great, but they're off a short week after a tough game against the Bills. I just see that

as back-to-back losses for the Titans. Then they go on the road to the Indianapolis Colts on Halloween. As I mentioned with the first game, Eric Fisher factor. Fisher might be back by then. And the Titans, I just always expect them to, at minimum, or at best, split with the Indianapolis Colts. I'm not going to have the Titans beating them twice, pretty much ever, throughout the time that I'm covering the team. So that's three losses in a row for the Titans, which at that moment in time would take them down to 5-4.

And then they go on the road on the West Coast on Sunday Night Football against the Rams in Week 9. And unfortunately, I see that as a loss too. So I got the Titans taking four straight losses in a row in the middle of the season, bringing them to 500-5-5 at the time. Or my apologies, they would be 4-5 at that time. Then I have the Titans coming home and beating the New Orleans Saints. This is an X-Factor game.

I'll talk more about that in tomorrow's show as we continue breaking down the Titans schedule. But I think the Titans will win that game. I'm not as worried about the quarterbacks in New Orleans, Jameis Winston or Taysom Hill. Not too worried about what's going on there. I think the Saints take a step back, but it'll still be a tougher game than most people will want to happen. So that brings the Titans to 5-5 on the year through 10 weeks. Then they have a home game against the Texans. Has to be a win. They go on the road and play the New England Patriots on November the 28th. I think that is a win. I think the Titans, as I mentioned, will be playing against Mac Jones at that time.

And I trust the Titans to win that game. And Mike Vrabel is a Bill Belichick acolyte in a way. And him and Brian Flores and some of the other acolytes from Bill Belichick seem to give him trouble. So I like the Titans to win that game. And with that, they would move to 7-5 after wins against the Texans and the Patriots going into their bye week at 7-5 to recharge. They come out with a home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. That's got to be a win.

So 8-5 for the Titans at that moment in time. On the road against Pittsburgh. I'm going to call that a loss just to be safe. Pittsburgh always gives the Titans trouble, so they're at 8-6 then. Then a game on Thursday night football at home against the San Francisco 49ers, but my big issue there is I think in week 16, Trey Lance will be rolling, ready to go. As I mentioned in the first segment, he'll be acclimated. He'll know the playbook. They'll have him installed as the starting quarterback for multiple weeks at that point, which will make the game endlessly more difficult for the Titans than them having to go against Jimmy Garoppolo.

So I had the Titans losing that game in prime time, and that would take them to 8-7 on the year. But then I had the Titans finishing out the season with two wins against Miami at home in week 17 and then on the road against Houston in week 18, 10-7 on the season, and I do believe the Tennessee Titans win the division with that record. Before we move on to my schedule superlatives, the toughest game, the easiest game, the Titans' toughest stretch. I want to tell you guys about betonline.ag. Coincidentally, a great place to bet on all of these games and see if you can get some early line value. Also, if you don't want to bet football this far out, you got the

baseball season in full swing. Full swing, baseball, get it, haha. You also got the NBA going into the play-in tournament and the playoffs. You got NHL in full action as well. There's tons of UFC and MMA stuff all throughout the summer. Make sure that you head to betonline.ag, use their website or your mobile device today, sign up for free. And when you do, use the promo code LOCKEDON, that's one word, do use the promo code locked on that's one word locked on and you'll get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit bet online your online sportsbook experts We are going to cap off this schedule release party by going over some superlatives for the Titans schedule. What's their hardest game, the easiest game, the toughest stretch of games for the Titans.

Before we go into that, though, I want to remind you guys about the Locked On Today podcast. You're going to get all of your major sports news in under 20 minutes every morning with Peter Bukowski on the Locked On Today podcast. It's basically like having the sports section read to you every morning. Make sure you check out the Locked On Today podcast on whatever platform you do stream. But let's get into some of these highlights that I want to make on the Titans schedule. And number one, what is the hardest game of the year for the Titans?

And for me, this was a difficult question to answer because I see a lot of tough games for the Titans. Just looking at week six, week seven, back-to-back home games against the two best teams in the AFC, Buffalo and Kansas City. The Kansas City game, you're coming off a short week after playing Monday Night Football. Buffalo has tons of revenge factor there. So those are two insanely difficult games.

At Indy is always going to be a very tough game. But then you look at two games that I think are the top two toughest games for the Titans, and they come against really, really good NFC teams, and that's the two West Coast trips, at the Seattle Seahawks in week two, and then at the Los Angeles Rams in week nine, and ultimately, I'm picking that matchup against the Rams as the more difficult game, because it comes within a very difficult stretch for the Titans. Buffalo, Kansas City, Indy, and then the Rams. So that's a tough stretch to cap that off with an away game. Not only are the Titans going to the West Coast all the way across the country,

but also they're playing on Sunday night football. Primetime game. There's going to be added pressure. They're going to be playing later in the evening. It's going to feel weird to their bodies to play that late in the day going from the East Coast to the West Coast. Anybody who's been on a plane or travels

a lot know that can really throw off how you feel as a person. So you add in that. You add in it being Sunday night football on the West Coast after a tough stretch anyway and the opponent. The Titans are playing the Los Angeles Rams, who have one of the best defenses in the NFL, the best defense in the NFL last year, led by absolute animal all-timer Aaron Donald

at defensive tackle. Then you look at the offensive side of the ball. They're led by the absolute wizard in Sean McVay, and now he has a great quarterback in Matthew Stafford. So not just because of the team that they're playing, but the circumstances. To me, that's the hardest game of the year for the Titans. Now you want to flip that on the other side and look at the easiest game of the year for the Titans. That was also kind of tough because, well, the Titans have two teams in their division that I don't think are very good, the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars. So you look at the

games that make the most sense for those teams. Obviously, the home games are going to be easier than the away games just in nature. So you look at a week 11 matchup against Houston. You look at a week 14 matchup against Jacksonville. And I know a lot of you are saying oh that's easily Houston Houston's going to be a worse team than Jacksonville with Trevor Lawrence and you're right about that but the Titans play Jacksonville coming off their week 13 bye and I already mentioned how well the Titans play off of a bye with extra preparation under Mike Rabel so you add in that fact and it kind of balances things out. But for me, I am going to stick with the Houston Texans, especially in week 11 at the end of the year.

The Titans should easily beat the Texans because the Texans should be looking to lose and get the number one pick in the draft. They're probably going to have to move on from Deshaun Watson. Who knows if he'll ever even be able to play football again with all the legal trouble swirling around him. Davis Mills was a clown pick in the third round. It's going to look even dumber when they get the first pick next year and take a quarterback anyway. So the Texans should be all in on tanking by that time. So I'll go with the Week 11 home game against the Texans

as the Titans' easiest game of the year. Then the final superlative I want to talk about is the toughest stretch of the year for the Titans. And you probably know where it begins by this point. It's obviously starting with that week six game against Buffalo. So a home game against Buffalo on Monday night football in week six. Short week playing the best team in the AFC Kansas City at home in week seven. Then on the road, your toughest division game of the year at Indianapolis on Halloween in week 7. Then on the road, your toughest division game of the year

at Indianapolis on Halloween in week 8. And then the toughest game of the year, period, at the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football in week 9. I mean, those four games in a row, Buffalo, Kansas City, at Indy, at LA. My lord, guys. I mean, I got four losses in those games. Four straight. Maybe the Titans beat Indy.

I could definitely see that. I could see the Titans beating Buffalo on Monday Night Football at home. Those are two games that I could see going either way. I get that. But, just on paper, what a very, very difficult stretch of games in the middle. But I would rather have that stretch in the middle of the season than at the beginning and at the end. The Titans can get off to a good start, set themselves in a good position through the

first five weeks at 4-1. They can go through a tough stretch. Who knows? If they win a couple of these games that I talked about in that stretch, the Titans could end up 12-5. Or 12-5, it would be 12 and, yeah, 12-5. 17 games. So the Titans could end up as 12-5 or 12-5 it would be 12 and yeah 12-5, 17 games so the Titans could end up as 12-5 if they win a couple of those games

in between but then the end of the season you got Jacksonville Miami Houston the Titans could finish strong as well and I think they could very well win one of those games between San Francisco and Pittsburgh so there's plenty of opportunity for the Titans to go 12 and 5 11 and 6 I'm seeing 10 and 7 and a

lot of it has to do with that insanely tough stretch Buffalo Kansas City at Indy at Los Angeles Rams that's insane right there and that'll'll be a stretch to monitor for the Titans. They had a very difficult stretch through the middle of the season last year as well. So kind of a similar schedule makeup from what I'm seeing from last year to this year. But that's going to do it for our 2021 Titans schedule release party. Tomorrow's edition, I'm going to dive back into the schedule, go over some more things like my favorite matchup, like the game I'm most excited to watch, those

matchups, the games I'm most confident about the result, the games I'm least confident about. Also going to talk about some X-Factor games that could go either way for the Titans and will play a big role in determining what their ultimate record will be next season.

So make sure that you come back tomorrow for a Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast. Subscribe and follow on whatever platform you do stream. Check out my social media videos on Twitter at TicTacTitans. On Facebook at Locked on Titans pod. But that's going to do it for me today folks. As always, I am your host Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.