2020 Week 10 TNF Recap - Colts-Titans

quarterback sneak Jacoby Brissette thirty four to seventeen. The Colts win in Nashville. I'm Greg Rosenthal, and tonight on the recap, I'm excited to be joined by Shield Capatia. Uh. You know from Birds with Friends. It's a crossover week here on the Around the NFL podcast, Shiel writes for The Athletic, longtime writer with the Spin dot Com. To Shiel and Uh, I'll start with this. Were you surprised that the Titans offense only uh score seventeen points in a prime time

game here? I was surprised, but what really stood out is that they have such small margin for error. You know, I didn't watch like the first half and think, wow, the Titans are getting shut down here. But you just look at the other aspects of their team, which I'm sure we'll talk about here in a second, and it's like if the you know, the offense has been so efficient, they figured out the hard part building the efficient offense,

even though it wasn't at its best tonight. But like other parts of the team, tonight looked like a complete disaster, and so you end up with the seventeen point loss. Yeah, I um, I picked the Colts in this game. Shields really smart. Everyone should check out his stuff. He's he wrote that that Carson wentz Um takedown piece. I would call it earlier this week. I'm just kidding. You just wrote about the decline. Uh. And you've always got like

an analytical bet You're you're really smart analytical writer. And I noticed your record this year on picking against the spread is outrageously good, to the point where I was like, is this is this a misprint? But you know what, you got this one wrong? I did, and I got it right. If we started the season tonight, I want to know and your own one, do you feel bad that you didn't have as much faith in Philip Rivers

as you maybe should have. Yeah, you know, I really I I know you do picks also, and so I really wanted to be on the winning end of this one, knowing I was coming up coming on this podcast tonight. You know, the Colts, it feels like to me, they they could. They need to be so efficient on offense, like they are not going to produce a ton of explosive plays. They had some tonight and they moved the ball.

I mean they moved the ball inside the Tennessee thirty yard line on their first seven possessions, and so it was amazing. I couldn't believe it because you watched the Colts offensive times and it's just like everything so hard, nothing comes easy. And there were times tonight where you thought, all right, they got to convert another fourth and one they to convert another fourth than one. But give them credit,

I thought they they schemed it up really well. There were wide open receivers I felt like all night long, and Rivers did a good job of getting the ball out quickly. Yeah, I I only picked them, not like that had any um, not that any was any great insight is because I feel good about their offense, you know, against a team that can't rush the pass, or against the team that can't get off the field on third downs.

If you're able to do that, then I feel like the defense can show up, do its things, and the Colts should have enough to win. You you mentioned the four downs. They go three of five on four downs. There there was a goal line stand. There was another turnover on downs and field goal range, which usually will come back to haunt you. But I like that Reich uh State aggressive and they do have a big margin

for error when they played good defenses. But there's there's like not that many good defenses, you know, there's a couple in the a f C. Unfortunately for them, they're probably gonna have to go through the Steelers of the Ravens at some point, and I think that's gonna be a problem. But Rivers didn't see a lot of open receivers. Doesn't throw it deep. Uh, we know, he can't sneak even one yard. He definitely can't like make plays, but

he can throw and rhythm to these guys. And what I've been wanting to watch out of this team all year was just to find some juice and I'm always thinking, why don't they give Naheim Heinz more run because all the plays with the heim Hines are good, and like the plays with Jonathan Taylor are rarely good. And Taylor made a couple of good runs actually on third and one, fourth and one, so maybe he can be that short yardage guy. But him, says juice man, he has burst, uh,

and he's a great receiver. He's kind of what you want in a running back. I know, maybe you're not gonna give it to him twenty five times a game, but maybe fifteen and that he's kind of the lead dog there. So you get a little juice from him, and then you get juice from Michael Pittman going over a hundred yards, who is really good yards after catch. That's who you need. With Philip Rivers his guys that

are gonna make opposing defenses miss. And so if I'm a Colts fan, more of that is those two guys can give this offense a chance. Absolutely. You know, I thought the supporting cast has not been great all year.

You kind of watch him and you're like, all right, who are Who's like keeping the Titans up at night when they're game planning for this game on the Colts offense, So you know the Jordan Wilkins, John and like these guys, they have a bunch of okay guys, but I agree with you they needed someone with some juice and Hines has been doing it for a few weeks with the cartwheels in the end zone, uh the other week and

even today like that touchdown he had. It looked to me like the Titans had a defensive lineman in the backfield, but Hines like made him miss really quickly and then got into the end zone. I mean he was incredible. Seventy yards rushing, forty five, forty five receiving yards, and so I think he's definitely somebody who needs to get the ball for them a lot more. There's no doubt

about it. He passes the eye test. You know. We we tape this podcast on video, you know, even though it's for audio, and so I can't speaking of the eye test. I can't help. But you know, I think seeing your you know, tay fully shaved dome that you have shield and think of the other you know, beautifully bald man that I that I usually doing Thursday nights with Chris Westling. He has loved the heem Heinz since day one his rookie year. Always thought that he deserved

more uh touches. I think they've missed Marlon mac quite a bit this year, that he's actually a really good running back and has made that line look because there they haven't been like a great offensive line, at least in short yardage. They protect rivers pretty well, but they do have a great defensive line, and that that was the other thing I definitely want to hit on for the Colts. And they're gonna play the Titans again in two weeks. It's a really strange stretch of the schedule

here where they both play really good teams. Next week the Colts of the Packers, and um, the Titans have the Ravens in Baltimore, and then they're playing each other again. So these it's it's just kind of a crazy three weeks where if one of these teams can sweep the other,

that's huge. And I give the Colts a decent chance to sweep the Titans because because the next one will be on turf, and I think it's a big mismatch when the Titans have the ball and they're just so used to the play action passing game and in Tannehill getting back there and even though it didn't show up with a ton of sex, man, they get quick pressure, they get the Forrest Buckner and Autrey and Grover Stewart had a big game in Houston's just they just got

a lot of guys. I think if people haven't watched the Cults a lot this year, to me, that that stands out for them and to me that's a mismatch right now against the Titans team who was pretty banged up up front. Yeah, I think Grover Stewart would definitely be the starting nose tackle on like the football hipster or like the tape frinder to him. I mean, no, they they love, they love a Grover Steward. He showed up with that huge hit today, uh down near the

goal line. And you're right, I mean this was I'm kind of with you, you know, I've heard you talk about this this before. I'm the same way. I feel like there's a few great defenses that you have to really worry about, and then like defenses five through twenty, it just sort of depends on the day the matchup. Do they create some turnovers here and and the culture, you know, they're sort of making their case to be among those five defenses that really matter. And they definitely

played well uh tonight. And it seems like with with Tannehill, you know, there were a couple of plays it feels like where this game could have swung early on that a J. Brown At catch down the left sideline. You felt like, art, if he makes that catch, maybe it's a different game. And then in the second half, John new Smith I think was wide open there on the right side and Tannehill overthrew him. But you know, any defense, you're gonna get some of those breaks throughout the course

of the game. But overall, uh, they did a great job. I thought that Denico Autry play was like an underrated play. I think it was. It was a third and one, and in Tannehill was getting out there on a bootleg and he did a great job staying at home and kind of just getting enough of his ankle two sack him there, and then they got the Shanks punt after that. Yeah, weird, it was weird. They buned they bench the punter they brought in last week, which was Ryan Allen. Super Bowl.

Great for the Patriots, by the way, who had a big game. I didn't even know this, but some Titans fan was all in my mentions, going like why did they try and Allen after he came in an average fifty A fun It's like, I don't know, bro, but it did not work out because you mentioned it after that sac it was the seventeen yard shank and uh, it's it's one of the reasons why, um, you know

analytics Twitter says, always go for the fourth down. Of course, it's because hopefully you get a defensive stop, you get great field position like the Cold State and they scored. Right. Wait now, I heard you say, like football hipster tape grinder Twitter, like would you wouldn't you be part of your You don't consider yourself part of that because you you're more like the numbers. But I feel like you might be a football hipster at least. I don't know.

I did shave. I'm clean shaven here, I have a solid shirt on. It's not fun. I have no mustache. I don't know. We'll let the We'll let the listeners decide on. Yeah, that's that's pretty fair. Like your you're clean shape, you're kind of square, you're into the numbers. Maybe maybe not? Um, I want to. I did want

to hit on Rivers just before we're done. He he is now fifth all time in passing yards, which I don't put a lot into, but it's just kind of I find it interesting when you when you passed Dan Marino on that, Um, do you think he's playing? Do you think he has a chance this year? I picked them to win the Super Bowl just because I decided to, uh pick something I want to root for this year, and I didn't really believe in it. I don't believe

in it now. Um, do you think there's like any scenario where Philip Rivers could be good enough to go on a run like to the Super Bowl? I don't see it. I don't see the Colts having that that ceiling. And I love Frank Reich. I I like this team. I picked them to win the division before the season, but I just I look at their offseason and you know, like the Jonathan Taylor pick or even Michael Pittman, I felt like they needed to add a receiver or or somebody.

You know, we're talking about Nike Hines. You know it was a good good tonight. Look look at tonight. Yeah, but you know, I don't I don't see like enough there where their offense is going to be good enough and explosive enough throughout the course of like an entire post season to keep pace with a Patrick Mahomes or even even a Steelers or a Ravens team. So I've

got them in kind of like the next year. But you know, I have to remind myself that, like week ten, not everything's figured out, and so a month from now, you know, I feel like Rivers has probably played good games and three of the last four. Uh, they had a tough half last week against the Ravens, so maybe they can prove me wrong, But right now I would say they don't have that feeling. You know, you host

an Eagles bogg here an Eagles homer. I guess I don't even know, But you're like Frank Reich, Um, you know, what do they look like in week ten before they go on the run. There is a long way. There's a long way to go. But but it is the Hall of Famer, how about that? I think? So I heard a nice you know back and forth on Twitter tonight where Robert Mays was just going hard, uh doing the work of of the gods really for showing like how many top five passing attacks that Rivers has led

over the here. I think he is, but it would be nice to see him win. And I think UH, I really think they have a chance to win this to vision by by sweeping to UH and will wrap up with this which is which is the small margin that you kind of started with with Titans, Like it's a tough recipe. I think Tannehill is great, and you're right. If Brown catches that pass, everyone is talking about that Tannehill throw as he's getting just absolutely hammered and Brown

goes down the field. They've completed that past so many times. Was it actually was a play? Brown would say that he would make um but not great pass pro combined with bad defense UH and a team that wants to run the ball and pretty shaky special teams. It's like I I just have thought all year they've been a little shakier than the record indicates. If you throw away the Bills game really almost every week. Yeah, they're their defense. I mean I was looking at it. Philip Rivers got

rid of the ball in like two point three seconds tonight. Nice. I feel like their pass rushing their coverage don't mix, you know, like there are times where you look at it and say they need more pass rush. But tonight I just felt like their coverage was leaving guys open time after time after time and leaving uh, leaving open guys for rivers to find and staffold goes down tonight they already lost Luan, So if that's a serious injury,

their offensive line isn't gonna be good. I'll tell you what I was very nervous about, like an hour ago, just furiously googling Trevor Daniel. I'm like, of course that one time, I'm on that, that's the funner. And all I found out was what they said on the broadcast, which was that he was delivering packages for fed X. And I don't is this coincidence or not? Because the Arthur Smith the Titans o CE his dad is the founder of FED. Like, was Trevor Daniel doing a terrible

job delivering those packages? And his Dad's like, you know, Arthur, like, you guys got to sign this guy, get him out of the company. I don't know what was going on there. Oh that that was such a good value add to the program. Here your buddy bo Wolf, who joined us on Tuesday's feeling the heat because yeah, that I didn't even think of that. That you just benched like a super Bowl winning hunter Ryan Allen coming off a good week just because your dad runs fed X and there's

this great story. It almost feels like they were looking for free advertising and they got it. They got it here on this wine listen to podcast, which is probably more important to them than even getting it. During the saying that, I would say, in my eyes, uh, it would be amazing if that like costs the Titans a playoff spot. All Right, the f C South, it's fun. It's been Uh, it's been some down years in the FC South. This year not a bad one. Um, not a bad spot at all. By youth Siel. Thank you

u for joining me tonight for the first time. Um, but I've known I've known you a long time and it's good. People should really check out Shields work at the Athletic Um being serious, one of the the best writers in the game. You know, you've you you were kind of a beat guy and now you've moved on past leaves like that and you're a national guy. Now. I'm just glad you said I had to edge over bull Wolf so well. I I didn't say that a totally I'll put I'll put word in your mouth. You

had a good you had a good party. Shot. Yeah. Their podcast is Birds with Friends at the Athletic. Alright, um, Colts win. We will be back on Sunday with the flagship show. Uh. We are into week ten, double digits. Thanksgiving is almost here. We are making progress. Let's get out of SI