July 29, 2022 • 22 mins
Sometimes a single player can be all the difference in the NFL - will that be the case for Tennessee in 2022? In making a positive difference through Henry or Burks? Or making a negative impact through losing AJ Brown? What will this mean for the AFC South...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:08):
Welcome to another episode of Cleats Off the Couch.
We've been talking about the expected or projected seasons for 2022 with different NFL teams, and we've been through dealers in the Jazz, and here today, going one team from each division at a time, talking about the Tennessee Titans.
(00:28):
I don't want to dance around the bush, and I just want to hop into it, because one of my favorite moments I shouldn't say favorite, but one of the clearest moments for me when the draft was happening was seeing the video clip of Mike Verbel and his obvious displeasure with the Titans front office when they traded away AJ.
(00:56):
Brown to the Eagles.
I remember seeing different stuff about from AJ.
Brown and from Mike Braywell about how neither of them saw separation from either of them.
So Mike had spoken about how he didn't see anything without AJ.
With the Titans and AJ.
Never saw himself, not a part of the Titans, and then all of a sudden, boom, traded away.
(01:20):
Now he's on the Eagles, whom I think will be doing pretty darn well this year.
They have an excellent upgrade in their roster, but the Titans are one.
Last year I remember a lot of conversation about were they really as good as their record showed? They went twelve and five in the 2021 season, and it did seem kind of I don't want to say Cupcake, but it did seem really simple for them, an easy run to twelve and five season, and then obviously we saw pretty quickly that dropped out, that changed pretty darn quick in the playoffs.
(02:02):
The Colts had a shot at making it, and obviously we all know the drama that went down there with the Jacksonville defense getting three interceptions against Carson Wentz in the play in game, which actually put my stealers in with them losing.
I mean, I thought Carson wentz played a solid year.
(02:22):
Nobody wanted to talk about the entirety of different team moments of which the Colts had failed, and especially the fact that Carson Wentz never really had a wide receiver one.
But that's in the past, can't really fix that now because obviously Carson Wentz is in Washington, and now they've got Viman Mattyeis over there in Indianapolis.
(02:44):
So I think it's going to be a different indie team this year.
I think Indianapolis is going to be a fighter for the top of the AFC South this year.
I do think the Titans are going to be taking some steps back.
One, because they have a harder schedule this year.
They're not going to win twelve games.
Two, because AJ.
(03:04):
Brown is gone.
Three, because Derek Henry, the man, the myth, the legend, who has been carrying everyone on his back, he was injured, right? Was that last year or two years ago he got injured.
The biggest thing for me with Derek Henry is he's not going to be able to carry the same way that he has.
(03:28):
He's getting older.
He takes a beating, he gives beatings, but that lasts only so long.
You're only able to do that for so long before your body starts to wear down and it does have some negative effects.
And so I think we're going to start to see some of those.
I do think with Malik Willis, the pick up there for them at quarterback, I do think that was a great pick up for them to have.
(03:55):
I mean, I'm not really going to read too far into what Ryan Tanahill said early on in some of the interviews, but I think Tanah Hill is still good enough to be able to work the play action game and do just enough that's necessary to be able to get the ball where it needs to go.
Austin Hooper at Tight End.
(04:15):
I mean, they got Robert Woods now at receiver.
Trayland Burke, I think they have a little bit there in the receiving, but still it's going to be a letdown from AJ.
Brown.
I know Julio was kind of a letdown anyway when he came over, but the offensive line, I think, will still be its decent self.
The defense defense is going to be okay.
(04:39):
It's going to be, I think, pretty solid, probably middle of the league.
It's going to be hard for Tennessee to make it back to where they were last year, let alone actually win their division.
If I'm honest, I don't see Tennessee winning the ASC South this year.
I think that goes to the cults, but we'll save that for when we talk through the Colts schedule.
(05:02):
I like Mike verbal as a coach.
My one buddy and I always had a conversation the past couple of years.
We've always respected the mind of Bill Belichick.
And I don't like the Patriots.
But to be able to look at what Bill Belichick has been able to do.
(05:22):
I know there's been some hiccups and different people will go back and forth about different stuff with the flight gate and all that other stuff.
But just looking at how he's able to do what he's able to do with the people he's able to do it with and people like.
Oh.
Tom Brady.
You look at the entirety of the team and what he is able to put together every season, it's been pretty crazy at what Bill has been able to do.
(05:50):
Well, Mike Bray came out of that system, came out of the defense, and Mike variable.
He just seems like a fun dude.
Get me, Jacked.
Get me going.
Get me.
Let's call get the team behind me.
So I think they've got all the possibility there when it comes to the coaching staff, but I just question the overall roster.
(06:14):
Plus the AFC is tough this year.
The AFC in 2022, man, is going to be the hardest I've seen one conference be in a long time.
And so you're going to have the AFC West fighting it out.
You're going to have the AFC North fighting it out and then the AC South.
I think it's mainly going to be between Tennessee and Indianapolis.
But I just see, man, I like Mattie Ice, I'm not going to lie, and I'd like to see him garner something rather than a debacle by Atlanta's defense back in that Super Bowl.
(06:46):
But man, I think they take a couple of steps back and we'll just jump in and look here at what the Titan schedule looks like as we're looking at 2022, looking at the first week Sunday afternoon game on Sunday, the 11 September, they're going to be playing at the Giants and they're going to be playing at home in Nissan Stadium.
(07:12):
And so I think Tennessee can open up easily, get a win against some team like New York.
I think some of the culture is going to be changing there with the New York Giants, but I don't think it's going to be enough with the roster that they have and such.
Who knows? They could be a surprise, but I think the surprise of this year out of New York is going to be the jets, not the Giants.
(07:34):
So I think the Titans get a win in week one at home, which will be good for them to start off on the right foot, especially after that big AJ.
Brown move and other pieces that it just seems like Mike Bradley is going to have to kind of start almost feeling from scratch with what they were really investing with, with a first round pick in AJ.
(07:58):
Brown and such.
But anyway, enough about AJ.
He's in Philly now, but the Buffalo Bills in week two in Highmark Stadium, that's a tough game for Tennessee to win.
I will say this, if Tennessee can travel to Haimark Stadium in week two of the season and they can somehow come out with a win, I think it completely changed.
It's a Monday night game, too.
(08:19):
If they can do that, I think it completely changes the conversation.
I think it completely that right there is an opportunity game for them to truly be able to come out and put into perspective who they truly are and even what I'm saying, make us shut up and prove that they are still a viable team even in a heavy AFCAM.
(08:48):
That's the game, I think right off the bat that will really put things into perspective.
Obviously, later down the season will be important as well, especially as they ride somebody like Derek Henry.
He's got to stay healthy if they're going to play their style of football.
So I'm going to give, though, the loss that's my expectation of them is a loss in Buffalo.
(09:08):
So I'm going to start them out at one and one, and then week three, they're back home, back home against the Las Vegas Raiders.
And I know I've mentioned a little bit in the previous episodes about how I think the Raiders are going to be good this year.
The AFC West in general is going to be good.
But I think the Raiders man their defense with some upgrades, obviously, on offense, the upgrade there with Devante Adams, they still have Darren Waller, one of the best tight ends in the league.
(09:37):
They got Josh Jacobs running the ball.
They got a lot of good things going there in Las Vegas.
And so coming into Tennessee, that's another one back to back big games, Buffalo and Las Vegas, that's going to be big for Tennessee.
And if I'm honest, I really think Tennessee starts the season one and two.
(09:59):
I think those will be two big games to really set the tone.
Imagine if Tennessee is able to travel to Buffalo, get a win, come home and win against the Raiders.
What is this Tennessee team we're seeing? That's going to be the question that's going across like, okay, we're talking about the AFC West.
(10:23):
Okay? We're talking about AFC North.
Okay.
We're talking about the Buccaneers, and we're talking about what's happening with Aaron Rodgers and the packers as the season starts to unfold.
But if the Titans beat the Raiders and the Bills in the first three weeks, and then they travel to Indianapolis in week four and even potentially get a win there, okay, for this conversation, I think realistically, we see losses to Buffalo and Las Vegas.
(10:55):
So that starts them out at one and two on the season in my projection.
And then they travel to Indianapolis.
Like I said, I think they're going to split.
I think Indianapolis is going to win the division, but I don't think that Tennessee is going to just roll over.
I think Tennessee is going to split with Indianapolis.
We're going to see a one in one there.
So at this point, they're going to be in Lucas Oil in Indianapolis.
(11:19):
I'm going to start Tennessee off, guys, at one in three.
And then they travel to Washington to the Commanders.
I think that's going to be a better game than people probably project in FedEx Field, washington maybe a little bit improved.
I think Carson Wentz is better than people give him credit for.
I think this is obviously approve it for Carson West, unfortunately.
(11:42):
I do think Titans are able to come in and get a win there, especially if they go three game skid.
I think they've really burned in.
They're about to go into biweek.
They come in to Washington, they get a win.
Two and three entering their early week six by.
I do think for a team like Tennessee, let's be real, a team like Tennessee having a bi week in week six, is that's insane? That's going to truly affect things with the offensive line, with the run game unless they do some things to kind of open it up and to help Derek get some rest, not get pounded so hard.
(12:21):
Week seven through 18, man, that's going to be a long year.
That's going to be a long year.
But early on they come out of week six and then in week seven, they play Indianapolis again.
Already, I'm not a big fan of that early of a boom boom of the Rivals, but I do think that they split.
(12:43):
I think I can see the picture of the two and three coming out of Buy, get the win, to tie it up at three and three.
I can't see that happening.
I see Tennessee being good enough to get both wins over Houston.
Houston, I don't see enough improvement as a team.
I think they will improve, but I don't see enough for them to get even one win against Tennessee.
(13:04):
So I'm going to give the win in NRG Stadium, going to give that to Tennessee, which will put them back on the winning side at four and three on the season, which will be good for them, get things rolling again, potentially start to write the ship for the opportunity of playoffs with the AFC shaping at that point mid season.
And then they'll come in and play a team in Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs.
(13:28):
And with that, the Chiefs, I think, are taking a step back this year, but I don't think they're taking a step back as much as the Titans will be.
I do think that'll be a fun game.
I do think that will be a good game.
It's hard to give the Titans a win over Kansas City.
In Kansas City.
It's just hard to do that.
(13:48):
I think they can do it, I really do.
I think those two teams will be similar in their competitive nature this year, but it is hard, an arrowhead for them to come in and get the win.
I'm going to give the win to Kansas City here.
That's going to put them at four and four in Arrowhead, and then they come home to play Denver.
Denver is a team, I've talked about this a lot.
(14:10):
Denver is a team that will play well.
You got Russell Wilson, you got the defense.
I do think they're a good team, but they are a team that will probably be better at home than away.
And I think, again, that they're going to be at that competitive level.
They're not going to be at the top six teams in the league, but they're going to be right below that in that competitive piece, people who are play off viable teams like the Titans and the Chiefs.
(14:41):
And so I'm going to give the win to Tennessee.
Tennessee is not going to lose to all of these more competitive teams.
I'm going to give a win to Tennessee over Denver here, putting them at five and four and they're at home, so that goes their way.
And then they're going to travel to Green Bay Lambo, middle of November, Thursday night game.
(15:03):
I want them to get a win.
I want Tennessee to get some big wins.
And in Lambo, though, what are they at? Five and four.
I'm giving the win to Green Bay.
I'm giving the win to Green Bay.
I know Aaron Rogers doesn't have Devante Adams anymore, but they're going to find a way.
The defense is going to do well this year in Green Bay.
(15:26):
I think they're going to do well to try and offset that loss.
They're not going to obviously, they're not going to have anywhere near the production they had offensively.
They'll lean more into the run game.
They'll do a little bit more of late Payton Manning career.
They'll run the ball.
They'll open up some deep passes which were there even without Devante.
(15:48):
When you look at Randall Cobb and Valdes Scantling and those who they've had in the past, they'll open that up with some of the guys that they have now.
I'm going to give the wind to Green Bay, putting them at five and five.
And then Cincinnati, man, see and look at the schedule.
You hear the schedule comparatively to the Titans last year.
(16:12):
Already some of the top teams in the league.
In Cincinnati, in Green Bay, in Kansas City, in Las Vegas, in Buffalo.
Tennessee is playing all of them.
They're playing all of them this year.
And so, again, Cincinnati at home.
Again, Tennessee is not going to lose all of the big games.
(16:35):
Cincinnati is probably not the one to bet against, but at home, I can't do it, guys.
Cincinnati is just so improved.
I think Cincinnati comes and gets a win, and then that puts them at what, five and six.
And then we go to Philadelphia.
They're in Philadelphia.
I think Philadelphia is going to be good this year.
(16:55):
I think Philadelphia is my favorite to win the NFC East.
As of right now, I think Tennessee can go in and win week 13 beginning of December.
I could see that kind of like, what are you doing, Philly? Kind of situation.
Tennessee tired of losing big games.
I don't see them losing a ton of games in a row.
(17:16):
And so here I'll give the win to Tennessee, putting them at six and six, and then they are at home against Jacksonville.
I think Tennessee is again, they're a team just like the Texans that can beat the Jaguars twice.
I don't know that they will.
I don't know a ton about the AFC South when it comes to the division fights, but I do know, like in the AFC North, how teams, even when they are better, they tend to split.
(17:42):
And so even if you have a better team in Pittsburgh, they split with Baltimore.
And so I just have a feeling Titans are not going to sweep both the Jags and the Texans.
I gave the sweep over the Texans.
I'm going to give a split to the Jaguars.
I'm going to give the win here at home to the Titans, making them seven and six.
(18:03):
But later on when they play them in Week 18, I think they will lose.
We're not going to count that yet.
So we got seven and six.
And then going into Week 15, they're at the Chargers again, another team that I think they could get a win against.
But look, they're in La now so it's consistently the majority of these games, they're at those locations.
(18:23):
And so I think that's something that will play big in this.
With the Chargers, we're at seven and six.
I'm going to give guys, it's hard, this is hard.
I'm going to give a win.
We've given a lot of losses to the Titans and I don't want to just give a win, just be like, oh, I feel bad for them, or anything like that.
(18:46):
I really do think the Titans can't one of these games against one of these harder teams, especially looking at the AFC West teams, I think they can get a win.
I don't want to just hand it to them.
The question is which one? That's the question that's the difficulty in my mind is, OK, they're going to get a win over either the Broncos, the Bengals, the Chargers or the Chiefs, who? Which one? They're going to get a win over either the packers, the raters, the Bills, but which one? And so that's the difficulty of trying to make these projections, especially we're here towards the end of the season too, how healthy are they going to be, what's it going to look like? So I'm going to give a win over La.
(19:36):
I think of the AFC West teams that Tennessee could match up the most against, I would say it's Denver and the Chargers.
I say that out loud now and I think maybe the cheaps more than the Chargers, but I gave the Chiefs the wind earlier because they were in Kansas City.
I think it's harder to play in Kansas City than it is to play in La.
(19:56):
We'll give the win to Tennessee enough on that one.
Moving to Week 16, they're at eight and six.
They go and play the Texans.
I think they get the win in Houston.
No, this one's at home.
They get the win at home in Nissan Stadium.
So that puts them at nine and six and then they're at home against Dallas.
(20:18):
Dallas, I think, does better on the road.
Dallas gets the win here.
Now they're at nine and seven and then they're at Jacksonville.
And I said earlier, I think they split.
So I'm going to give a loss to Tennessee in Jacksonville, potentially being like Jacksonville decided last year with the Indianapolis Colts knocking the Titans out of playoff contention.
(20:43):
With how tight the AFC race is going to be, making them nine and eight on the season, that's what I'm thinking is going to happen.
I wouldn't be surprised.
Jacksonville, with a good coach and a good system, can do well in that.
And it seems like it seems like, although Jacksonville may not be great, may not do well, they still have a tendency to be able to upset within their division.
(21:11):
And so I'm going to give that division upset.
Putting them at nine and eight to end the season.
And therefore probably.
I mean.
We'll see at the end of this what the playoffs will look like.
According to my predictions here for 2022.
Probably knocking them out of playoff contention.
Especially with.
Again.
The AFC West and AFC North.
(21:32):
It's just hard to tell.
Although the AC North is now taking a different picture with everything.
Who knows yet what's happening there? What do you guys think? I know this is yet another one, another prediction.
I've got nine and eight for the Titans, and so doing the one win swing, we've got eight to ten wins for the Tennessee Titans, that's a drop off.
Last year they went twelve and five, so this year I'm saying nine and eight.
(21:56):
High swing of ten, low swing of eight.
I'm doing a plus one, minus one.
What do you guys think? Tell me in the comments, let me know your thoughts and whether you think I'm close or not, from here, we'll hopefully be able to keep shooting through and move through our final division with one team, and that'll be the AFC West, which I keep talking about so much.
(22:21):
Oh, boy.
So I look forward to that.
Thank you guys for listening.
I'll see you in the next one.
Welcome to another episode of Cleats Off the Couch.
We've been talking about the expected or projected seasons for 2022 with different NFL teams, and we've been through dealers in the Jazz, and here today, going one team from each division at a time, talking about the Tennessee Titans.
(00:28):
I don't want to dance around the bush, and I just want to hop into it, because one of my favorite moments I shouldn't say favorite, but one of the clearest moments for me when the draft was happening was seeing the video clip of Mike Verbel and his obvious displeasure with the Titans front office when they traded away AJ.
(00:56):
Brown to the Eagles.
I remember seeing different stuff about from AJ.
Brown and from Mike Braywell about how neither of them saw separation from either of them.
So Mike had spoken about how he didn't see anything without AJ.
With the Titans and AJ.
Never saw himself, not a part of the Titans, and then all of a sudden, boom, traded away.
(01:20):
Now he's on the Eagles, whom I think will be doing pretty darn well this year.
They have an excellent upgrade in their roster, but the Titans are one.
Last year I remember a lot of conversation about were they really as good as their record showed? They went twelve and five in the 2021 season, and it did seem kind of I don't want to say Cupcake, but it did seem really simple for them, an easy run to twelve and five season, and then obviously we saw pretty quickly that dropped out, that changed pretty darn quick in the playoffs.
(02:02):
The Colts had a shot at making it, and obviously we all know the drama that went down there with the Jacksonville defense getting three interceptions against Carson Wentz in the play in game, which actually put my stealers in with them losing.
I mean, I thought Carson wentz played a solid year.
(02:22):
Nobody wanted to talk about the entirety of different team moments of which the Colts had failed, and especially the fact that Carson Wentz never really had a wide receiver one.
But that's in the past, can't really fix that now because obviously Carson Wentz is in Washington, and now they've got Viman Mattyeis over there in Indianapolis.
(02:44):
So I think it's going to be a different indie team this year.
I think Indianapolis is going to be a fighter for the top of the AFC South this year.
I do think the Titans are going to be taking some steps back.
One, because they have a harder schedule this year.
They're not going to win twelve games.
Two, because AJ.
(03:04):
Brown is gone.
Three, because Derek Henry, the man, the myth, the legend, who has been carrying everyone on his back, he was injured, right? Was that last year or two years ago he got injured.
The biggest thing for me with Derek Henry is he's not going to be able to carry the same way that he has.
(03:28):
He's getting older.
He takes a beating, he gives beatings, but that lasts only so long.
You're only able to do that for so long before your body starts to wear down and it does have some negative effects.
And so I think we're going to start to see some of those.
I do think with Malik Willis, the pick up there for them at quarterback, I do think that was a great pick up for them to have.
(03:55):
I mean, I'm not really going to read too far into what Ryan Tanahill said early on in some of the interviews, but I think Tanah Hill is still good enough to be able to work the play action game and do just enough that's necessary to be able to get the ball where it needs to go.
Austin Hooper at Tight End.
(04:15):
I mean, they got Robert Woods now at receiver.
Trayland Burke, I think they have a little bit there in the receiving, but still it's going to be a letdown from AJ.
Brown.
I know Julio was kind of a letdown anyway when he came over, but the offensive line, I think, will still be its decent self.
The defense defense is going to be okay.
(04:39):
It's going to be, I think, pretty solid, probably middle of the league.
It's going to be hard for Tennessee to make it back to where they were last year, let alone actually win their division.
If I'm honest, I don't see Tennessee winning the ASC South this year.
I think that goes to the cults, but we'll save that for when we talk through the Colts schedule.
(05:02):
I like Mike verbal as a coach.
My one buddy and I always had a conversation the past couple of years.
We've always respected the mind of Bill Belichick.
And I don't like the Patriots.
But to be able to look at what Bill Belichick has been able to do.
(05:22):
I know there's been some hiccups and different people will go back and forth about different stuff with the flight gate and all that other stuff.
But just looking at how he's able to do what he's able to do with the people he's able to do it with and people like.
Oh.
Tom Brady.
You look at the entirety of the team and what he is able to put together every season, it's been pretty crazy at what Bill has been able to do.
(05:50):
Well, Mike Bray came out of that system, came out of the defense, and Mike variable.
He just seems like a fun dude.
Get me, Jacked.
Get me going.
Get me.
Let's call get the team behind me.
So I think they've got all the possibility there when it comes to the coaching staff, but I just question the overall roster.
(06:14):
Plus the AFC is tough this year.
The AFC in 2022, man, is going to be the hardest I've seen one conference be in a long time.
And so you're going to have the AFC West fighting it out.
You're going to have the AFC North fighting it out and then the AC South.
I think it's mainly going to be between Tennessee and Indianapolis.
But I just see, man, I like Mattie Ice, I'm not going to lie, and I'd like to see him garner something rather than a debacle by Atlanta's defense back in that Super Bowl.
(06:46):
But man, I think they take a couple of steps back and we'll just jump in and look here at what the Titan schedule looks like as we're looking at 2022, looking at the first week Sunday afternoon game on Sunday, the 11 September, they're going to be playing at the Giants and they're going to be playing at home in Nissan Stadium.
(07:12):
And so I think Tennessee can open up easily, get a win against some team like New York.
I think some of the culture is going to be changing there with the New York Giants, but I don't think it's going to be enough with the roster that they have and such.
Who knows? They could be a surprise, but I think the surprise of this year out of New York is going to be the jets, not the Giants.
(07:34):
So I think the Titans get a win in week one at home, which will be good for them to start off on the right foot, especially after that big AJ.
Brown move and other pieces that it just seems like Mike Bradley is going to have to kind of start almost feeling from scratch with what they were really investing with, with a first round pick in AJ.
(07:58):
Brown and such.
But anyway, enough about AJ.
He's in Philly now, but the Buffalo Bills in week two in Highmark Stadium, that's a tough game for Tennessee to win.
I will say this, if Tennessee can travel to Haimark Stadium in week two of the season and they can somehow come out with a win, I think it completely changed.
It's a Monday night game, too.
(08:19):
If they can do that, I think it completely changes the conversation.
I think it completely that right there is an opportunity game for them to truly be able to come out and put into perspective who they truly are and even what I'm saying, make us shut up and prove that they are still a viable team even in a heavy AFCAM.
(08:48):
That's the game, I think right off the bat that will really put things into perspective.
Obviously, later down the season will be important as well, especially as they ride somebody like Derek Henry.
He's got to stay healthy if they're going to play their style of football.
So I'm going to give, though, the loss that's my expectation of them is a loss in Buffalo.
(09:08):
So I'm going to start them out at one and one, and then week three, they're back home, back home against the Las Vegas Raiders.
And I know I've mentioned a little bit in the previous episodes about how I think the Raiders are going to be good this year.
The AFC West in general is going to be good.
But I think the Raiders man their defense with some upgrades, obviously, on offense, the upgrade there with Devante Adams, they still have Darren Waller, one of the best tight ends in the league.
(09:37):
They got Josh Jacobs running the ball.
They got a lot of good things going there in Las Vegas.
And so coming into Tennessee, that's another one back to back big games, Buffalo and Las Vegas, that's going to be big for Tennessee.
And if I'm honest, I really think Tennessee starts the season one and two.
(09:59):
I think those will be two big games to really set the tone.
Imagine if Tennessee is able to travel to Buffalo, get a win, come home and win against the Raiders.
What is this Tennessee team we're seeing? That's going to be the question that's going across like, okay, we're talking about the AFC West.
(10:23):
Okay? We're talking about AFC North.
Okay.
We're talking about the Buccaneers, and we're talking about what's happening with Aaron Rodgers and the packers as the season starts to unfold.
But if the Titans beat the Raiders and the Bills in the first three weeks, and then they travel to Indianapolis in week four and even potentially get a win there, okay, for this conversation, I think realistically, we see losses to Buffalo and Las Vegas.
(10:55):
So that starts them out at one and two on the season in my projection.
And then they travel to Indianapolis.
Like I said, I think they're going to split.
I think Indianapolis is going to win the division, but I don't think that Tennessee is going to just roll over.
I think Tennessee is going to split with Indianapolis.
We're going to see a one in one there.
So at this point, they're going to be in Lucas Oil in Indianapolis.
(11:19):
I'm going to start Tennessee off, guys, at one in three.
And then they travel to Washington to the Commanders.
I think that's going to be a better game than people probably project in FedEx Field, washington maybe a little bit improved.
I think Carson Wentz is better than people give him credit for.
I think this is obviously approve it for Carson West, unfortunately.
(11:42):
I do think Titans are able to come in and get a win there, especially if they go three game skid.
I think they've really burned in.
They're about to go into biweek.
They come in to Washington, they get a win.
Two and three entering their early week six by.
I do think for a team like Tennessee, let's be real, a team like Tennessee having a bi week in week six, is that's insane? That's going to truly affect things with the offensive line, with the run game unless they do some things to kind of open it up and to help Derek get some rest, not get pounded so hard.
(12:21):
Week seven through 18, man, that's going to be a long year.
That's going to be a long year.
But early on they come out of week six and then in week seven, they play Indianapolis again.
Already, I'm not a big fan of that early of a boom boom of the Rivals, but I do think that they split.
(12:43):
I think I can see the picture of the two and three coming out of Buy, get the win, to tie it up at three and three.
I can't see that happening.
I see Tennessee being good enough to get both wins over Houston.
Houston, I don't see enough improvement as a team.
I think they will improve, but I don't see enough for them to get even one win against Tennessee.
(13:04):
So I'm going to give the win in NRG Stadium, going to give that to Tennessee, which will put them back on the winning side at four and three on the season, which will be good for them, get things rolling again, potentially start to write the ship for the opportunity of playoffs with the AFC shaping at that point mid season.
And then they'll come in and play a team in Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs.
(13:28):
And with that, the Chiefs, I think, are taking a step back this year, but I don't think they're taking a step back as much as the Titans will be.
I do think that'll be a fun game.
I do think that will be a good game.
It's hard to give the Titans a win over Kansas City.
In Kansas City.
It's just hard to do that.
(13:48):
I think they can do it, I really do.
I think those two teams will be similar in their competitive nature this year, but it is hard, an arrowhead for them to come in and get the win.
I'm going to give the win to Kansas City here.
That's going to put them at four and four in Arrowhead, and then they come home to play Denver.
Denver is a team, I've talked about this a lot.
(14:10):
Denver is a team that will play well.
You got Russell Wilson, you got the defense.
I do think they're a good team, but they are a team that will probably be better at home than away.
And I think, again, that they're going to be at that competitive level.
They're not going to be at the top six teams in the league, but they're going to be right below that in that competitive piece, people who are play off viable teams like the Titans and the Chiefs.
(14:41):
And so I'm going to give the win to Tennessee.
Tennessee is not going to lose to all of these more competitive teams.
I'm going to give a win to Tennessee over Denver here, putting them at five and four and they're at home, so that goes their way.
And then they're going to travel to Green Bay Lambo, middle of November, Thursday night game.
(15:03):
I want them to get a win.
I want Tennessee to get some big wins.
And in Lambo, though, what are they at? Five and four.
I'm giving the win to Green Bay.
I'm giving the win to Green Bay.
I know Aaron Rogers doesn't have Devante Adams anymore, but they're going to find a way.
The defense is going to do well this year in Green Bay.
(15:26):
I think they're going to do well to try and offset that loss.
They're not going to obviously, they're not going to have anywhere near the production they had offensively.
They'll lean more into the run game.
They'll do a little bit more of late Payton Manning career.
They'll run the ball.
They'll open up some deep passes which were there even without Devante.
(15:48):
When you look at Randall Cobb and Valdes Scantling and those who they've had in the past, they'll open that up with some of the guys that they have now.
I'm going to give the wind to Green Bay, putting them at five and five.
And then Cincinnati, man, see and look at the schedule.
You hear the schedule comparatively to the Titans last year.
(16:12):
Already some of the top teams in the league.
In Cincinnati, in Green Bay, in Kansas City, in Las Vegas, in Buffalo.
Tennessee is playing all of them.
They're playing all of them this year.
And so, again, Cincinnati at home.
Again, Tennessee is not going to lose all of the big games.
(16:35):
Cincinnati is probably not the one to bet against, but at home, I can't do it, guys.
Cincinnati is just so improved.
I think Cincinnati comes and gets a win, and then that puts them at what, five and six.
And then we go to Philadelphia.
They're in Philadelphia.
I think Philadelphia is going to be good this year.
(16:55):
I think Philadelphia is my favorite to win the NFC East.
As of right now, I think Tennessee can go in and win week 13 beginning of December.
I could see that kind of like, what are you doing, Philly? Kind of situation.
Tennessee tired of losing big games.
I don't see them losing a ton of games in a row.
(17:16):
And so here I'll give the win to Tennessee, putting them at six and six, and then they are at home against Jacksonville.
I think Tennessee is again, they're a team just like the Texans that can beat the Jaguars twice.
I don't know that they will.
I don't know a ton about the AFC South when it comes to the division fights, but I do know, like in the AFC North, how teams, even when they are better, they tend to split.
(17:42):
And so even if you have a better team in Pittsburgh, they split with Baltimore.
And so I just have a feeling Titans are not going to sweep both the Jags and the Texans.
I gave the sweep over the Texans.
I'm going to give a split to the Jaguars.
I'm going to give the win here at home to the Titans, making them seven and six.
(18:03):
But later on when they play them in Week 18, I think they will lose.
We're not going to count that yet.
So we got seven and six.
And then going into Week 15, they're at the Chargers again, another team that I think they could get a win against.
But look, they're in La now so it's consistently the majority of these games, they're at those locations.
(18:23):
And so I think that's something that will play big in this.
With the Chargers, we're at seven and six.
I'm going to give guys, it's hard, this is hard.
I'm going to give a win.
We've given a lot of losses to the Titans and I don't want to just give a win, just be like, oh, I feel bad for them, or anything like that.
(18:46):
I really do think the Titans can't one of these games against one of these harder teams, especially looking at the AFC West teams, I think they can get a win.
I don't want to just hand it to them.
The question is which one? That's the question that's the difficulty in my mind is, OK, they're going to get a win over either the Broncos, the Bengals, the Chargers or the Chiefs, who? Which one? They're going to get a win over either the packers, the raters, the Bills, but which one? And so that's the difficulty of trying to make these projections, especially we're here towards the end of the season too, how healthy are they going to be, what's it going to look like? So I'm going to give a win over La.
(19:36):
I think of the AFC West teams that Tennessee could match up the most against, I would say it's Denver and the Chargers.
I say that out loud now and I think maybe the cheaps more than the Chargers, but I gave the Chiefs the wind earlier because they were in Kansas City.
I think it's harder to play in Kansas City than it is to play in La.
(19:56):
We'll give the win to Tennessee enough on that one.
Moving to Week 16, they're at eight and six.
They go and play the Texans.
I think they get the win in Houston.
No, this one's at home.
They get the win at home in Nissan Stadium.
So that puts them at nine and six and then they're at home against Dallas.
(20:18):
Dallas, I think, does better on the road.
Dallas gets the win here.
Now they're at nine and seven and then they're at Jacksonville.
And I said earlier, I think they split.
So I'm going to give a loss to Tennessee in Jacksonville, potentially being like Jacksonville decided last year with the Indianapolis Colts knocking the Titans out of playoff contention.
(20:43):
With how tight the AFC race is going to be, making them nine and eight on the season, that's what I'm thinking is going to happen.
I wouldn't be surprised.
Jacksonville, with a good coach and a good system, can do well in that.
And it seems like it seems like, although Jacksonville may not be great, may not do well, they still have a tendency to be able to upset within their division.
(21:11):
And so I'm going to give that division upset.
Putting them at nine and eight to end the season.
And therefore probably.
I mean.
We'll see at the end of this what the playoffs will look like.
According to my predictions here for 2022.
Probably knocking them out of playoff contention.
Especially with.
Again.
The AFC West and AFC North.
(21:32):
It's just hard to tell.
Although the AC North is now taking a different picture with everything.
Who knows yet what's happening there? What do you guys think? I know this is yet another one, another prediction.
I've got nine and eight for the Titans, and so doing the one win swing, we've got eight to ten wins for the Tennessee Titans, that's a drop off.
Last year they went twelve and five, so this year I'm saying nine and eight.
(21:56):
High swing of ten, low swing of eight.
I'm doing a plus one, minus one.
What do you guys think? Tell me in the comments, let me know your thoughts and whether you think I'm close or not, from here, we'll hopefully be able to keep shooting through and move through our final division with one team, and that'll be the AFC West, which I keep talking about so much.
(22:21):
Oh, boy.
So I look forward to that.
Thank you guys for listening.
I'll see you in the next one.
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