0:10

It's just the ott presented by Farm

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Bureau Health Plans. Get the home

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field advantage with healthcare coverage from

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Farm Bureau Health Plans. They've been

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protecting Tennessee and since nineteen

0:21

forty seven. My name is Mike

0:24

Keith amy Wells is here. We

0:26

are back in our normal studio

0:29

at St. Thomas Sports Park, at least

0:31

temporarily. It is not outfitted

0:34

as what we are used to with the big

0:37

table that people have seen at different times.

0:39

We are spaced apart, socially

0:41

distant chairs. We have Wayfair

0:44

tables here. I think, how do you know they were

0:47

from Wayfair? Well, that's what it looks like, right, I

0:49

mean maybe a big fan of Wayfair. So

0:51

I mean I hope they are. So

0:54

we're glad everybody's with us for what

0:56

is the OTP. On Friday, August,

0:58

the twenty eighth train camp

1:00

is over. Apparently, Yeah,

1:02

I guess that's what I'm told. This

1:05

has been the strangest training

1:07

camp, just trying to feel like, Okay,

1:09

now we're in the groove and then it's over. So,

1:12

but yes, training camp is done. We

1:14

are now transitioning into the transition

1:18

period, from which we

1:20

will then transition into the regular

1:22

season schedules. So what's going to happen

1:25

is the team's off tomorrow and then

1:27

they'll practice Sunday through Friday,

1:29

just normal practices. I

1:31

guess they'll do some stuff towards the first

1:34

game, but still the eighty man roster

1:36

still figuring out who goes where. And

1:39

then the cuts are due by September

1:41

the fifth to get to the

1:44

fifty three and then the sixteen man

1:46

practice squad, and then on

1:48

Monday the seventh, official

1:50

preparation starts for the Denver game,

1:52

which, by the way, now is a nine twenty

1:55

Central time kick. It wasn't

1:58

nine ten, but it's been moved back ten

2:00

minutes. Well, either way, that has

2:02

past my bedtime, so if

2:04

we were here in Nashville, I might

2:07

not see it. I have a hard nine o'clock

2:09

bedtime. Are you serious? Yes, you

2:11

miss a lot? Then? Well yeah, but like

2:13

only trouble, Only trouble

2:16

happens after nine pm, Mike, I

2:18

like to be in bed sleeping,

2:21

get my solid ten hours of sleep, ten

2:23

hours. I require a lot of rests.

2:26

Wow, I need need my sleep.

2:28

I got four last night. So is

2:31

that why you're so spry today? It may be yeah,

2:33

Well I'm so charming because

2:35

I only got the four. So

2:38

we watched the team practice today and

2:41

they had a two hour workout, two thirty

2:43

minute team periods, almost

2:47

like scrimmages. It was kind

2:49

of it kind of had that vibe. It was clearly

2:51

unscripted portions of practice,

2:54

and I think guys get

2:56

real fired up for that. It seems like there's

2:58

a little extra energy out there in those

3:00

times that they can just put the ball down and go.

3:03

Mike Vrabel has said that as soon as

3:05

they finished stretch, people are yelling

3:07

to put the ball down, So that's at the very

3:10

beginning of practice. So it's fun

3:12

to see. And there's still that evaluation

3:15

of guys in live

3:18

air quotes situations. So

3:21

I mean, these coaches are still trying to

3:23

evaluate guys that they haven't seen

3:26

for a substantial portion of time. They didn't

3:28

get as much interaction in person as they

3:30

normally would on the field. So whatever

3:33

they can do to create those live

3:35

reps, those in game experiences, they're going

3:37

to take them. The Titans

3:40

add two players who have been here

3:42

before. Jeremy McNichols are running

3:44

back. Was here for a brief time

3:47

at eighteen last year during training camp,

3:49

round the ball a bunch in the preseason a

3:51

year ago, so he's back in

3:53

the backfield as the Titans

3:55

make some changes with

3:57

their running backs. Cameron Scarlett gone

4:00

on, Marcus Marshall comes in,

4:02

Dalen Dawkins gone, so they're

4:05

taking a look at some different running back combinations.

4:08

The bigger name who is back is Will Compton,

4:10

and Wilcompton was a free agent linebacker

4:13

who played here in twelve games in twenty

4:15

eighteen and gets

4:18

a chance to come back after being

4:20

in Oakland last year for nine games

4:22

he started four, So

4:25

an experienced player who knows the system

4:27

can play special teams. You're

4:30

looking for veteran presence. Will Compton's

4:33

nearly thirty one years old. You're

4:35

looking for veteran presents to start the season.

4:37

Absolutely, and it's clear that this

4:40

coaching staff is looking for and is investing

4:43

in people who are familiar with

4:45

how things work, familiar with the game

4:47

plan. So you're not bringing someone new and

4:50

young up to speed. They already have an

4:52

idea of what things look like here

4:54

at the Tennessee Titans, and so

4:56

they're able to have some of that depth and some of

4:58

that experience, and some positions where

5:01

maybe they don't have that or where

5:03

they want to bulk up the back end of that depth

5:05

chart a little bit. And you have

5:08

the ability to keep six vested veterans

5:10

on the practice squad this year,

5:13

So you could decide, hey, we

5:15

did an extra linebacker or

5:17

we did an extra offensive guard, and

5:19

you could keep somebody who in normal years

5:22

doesn't have practice squad eligibility just

5:24

because you don't want to quote

5:26

unquote go young at that particular

5:29

spot. The other thing that you can do

5:31

too at this point is you could bring somebody back,

5:34

have them here for a couple of weeks, see

5:36

where they are physically really

5:39

be able. Can so and so still

5:41

run? Can you know how is

5:43

his shoulder holding up? How are things

5:45

going? Because then even if you

5:47

let him go when you go to the

5:49

fifty three, you may decide to bring him

5:51

back in September or October November,

5:54

knowing where he is. You're always

5:57

wanting to have as many options as possible.

5:59

Well, we've talked about this a lot, but

6:02

it's worth saying again there's going to be

6:04

a lot of rotation.

6:06

We're all kind of expecting to see a little

6:09

bit more turnover on rosters this year.

6:12

So being able to get your

6:14

eyes on as many people as you can

6:16

is great for John Robinson. Having

6:18

a lot of people around that he's already familiar

6:21

with and doesn't have to really focus

6:23

in as much on the evaluation part

6:25

of that. You already know what you get out of some of

6:27

these players is going to make his life

6:30

a lot easier down the line in October

6:32

November when you've got to be cycling some players

6:35

in for whatever reason. Well,

6:37

the good news for the NFL, outside

6:40

of the false positives last

6:42

weekend the seventy seven

6:44

related to the one lab that

6:47

apparently there was some contamination when

6:49

they went to do the samples.

6:53

Outside of that, the COVID nineteen news

6:55

has been pretty positive. And what we've seen,

6:57

Amy is we've seen a

7:00

lot of care. We've seen a lot of

7:02

diligence, guys with masks on,

7:04

coaches, with masks on, people

7:06

washing their hands. I think the whole

7:08

league has to feel pretty good about this right

7:10

now. Yeah, And I think that what

7:12

this shows the bigger population

7:15

of this country is that following

7:17

the protocols works. I mean, it

7:19

just does. And here we are in this situation

7:22

that I mean, yes, it's a little bit

7:24

more bubble esque right

7:26

now, because guys aren't really going anywhere other

7:28

than to practice, to meetings. They're

7:30

here at Saint Thomas Sports Park, or they

7:33

are either in their homes or their

7:35

hotel rooms. So they're still not super

7:37

exposed to a lot of things and

7:39

a lot of the hours of their day, More

7:42

of their hours of the day are taken

7:44

up in training camp than

7:47

when they begin just normal prec exactly.

7:49

They're in this facility for longer periods of time,

7:51

they're getting all of their meals here. I

7:53

mean, there's a lot of places for potential

7:56

exposure that they are not suscepting

7:58

themselves to right now. So it'll be

8:00

interesting to see, Okay, now that camp is over,

8:03

there may be spending a little bit less time in this building,

8:05

more time to go other places. See if that changes

8:08

across the league. And then of

8:10

course the Titans have it coming

8:12

up next as a road trip and

8:15

how things work when you take this on the road

8:17

and teams start traveling and

8:19

teams start playing with other teams. So it's

8:21

going to be interesting to see kind

8:23

of how this evolves as we get into

8:26

more scenarios, right, you know,

8:28

but as it stands, right now, I

8:30

think the NFL as a whole should feel pretty good

8:33

about what they've been able to accomplish.

8:35

I think doctor Allen Sills has said it, well,

8:37

they're pleased, but

8:40

they understand that at a moment's notice,

8:42

it could go heywire, like it did last Sunday

8:45

when they got the reports back about the

8:47

seventy seven positive tests,

8:50

and I think the Browns had eleven and

8:52

the Bears had nine, and there were a bunch and they

8:55

just didn't make sense to these teams as

8:57

to why this hit this way, and it turns out

8:59

that they were fall positives. I

9:01

think in the end though, it was almost

9:03

like a fire drill or

9:05

a tornado drill, where it

9:08

ends up being a good

9:10

thing for the league because they

9:13

got to see how everything works

9:16

if they get in these situations. Because

9:18

many people said, what if this happens on

9:20

a Saturday? What if this happens on

9:22

a Sunday in season? And

9:24

now we've kind of seen the means by

9:26

which they can go through to determine,

9:29

okay, if this hits. It was obviously

9:32

bad for the lab that it did, but probably

9:34

in the end good for the league to have a

9:36

run through, almost like a preseason game.

9:39

That's what I was just about to say. It was like a preseason

9:41

game for the medical staff to be able

9:43

to all right, we kind

9:45

of got a dry run at what this could

9:47

look like if something were to go

9:50

wrong. Here's how it works, here's what we can do

9:52

about it, to test out some of those procedures

9:54

and protocols. Ultimately, like you said,

9:56

it ended up being fine. Not so great

9:58

for the LAB, but fine for the NFL.

10:00

I think that's going to be really good,

10:03

and I think it's good for players

10:05

and coaches as well to have that experience

10:07

of seeing what happens, how this works,

10:09

what that's going to look like, because

10:12

once real football starts,

10:15

these guys don't like curveballs. They don't like anything

10:17

unexpected, So to have an

10:20

idea of what that will look like if something comes

10:22

up is helpful for everybody.

10:24

Sixty nine players opted out,

10:27

but the majority of the players

10:29

who are commenting on it in

10:31

terms of the protocols and how things

10:34

are being operated on, and the majority of the players

10:36

who are really getting deep into commentary are

10:38

very pleased with how the

10:40

league and the teams are handling

10:42

all the protocols. Yeah, I think

10:45

Dennis Kelly has taken it upon himself

10:47

to be the COVID man, being

10:49

the NFLPA rep for the team. He's

10:52

the mask police, and I think

10:54

that players give him a hard time

10:56

about it, But I think that

10:58

it's good to have someone in

11:00

this building who's able to

11:03

remind guys and kind of monitor

11:05

what's going on, even especially in the locker

11:07

room and spaces where there's not coaches and there's

11:10

not you know, people, to remind necessarily.

11:13

It's great that everyone's leaning into

11:15

it. Everyone is really taking it seriously.

11:17

It's not a joke. It's not a game, like just

11:20

put your mask on and wash your hands, Like, we're

11:22

not asking you to build bridges, right,

11:24

wash your hands, put them at just follow the protocol.

11:27

Yeah, And that's what's been happening. So knock

11:29

on wood. So far, so good. Titans practice

11:32

on this Friday. Did not practice yesterday,

11:35

and it was in

11:37

light of what happened in Kenosha,

11:39

Wisconsin, the shooting there,

11:42

what happened on Wednesday night when

11:44

the Milwaukee Bucks decided they were not going to

11:46

play in a playoff game. The WNBA

11:49

wasn't going to play, Mookie Bets

11:51

wasn't going to play, for the Dodgers. There were several

11:53

people that Kenny Smith walked off

11:55

the set on TNT in

11:57

terms of their NBA coverage, and many

12:00

things happened, and we got the impression,

12:02

you know, coming into yesterday, that there might

12:05

not be practice with

12:07

some NFL teams, that they might choose

12:09

to not practice. I

12:12

felt, based on the experience

12:15

since twenty eighteen with this

12:17

organization, when I got up yesterday

12:19

morning, I did not think the Titans would practice,

12:22

and they did not. They were one

12:24

of the first teams to declare, and they

12:26

were allowed to vote as a team that

12:29

they were that they were not going to

12:31

practice. Amy, I'm gonna let you just say what

12:34

you want to say about how

12:36

things went down yesterday and kind of what

12:38

stood out to you. I

12:40

think that one of the things

12:42

that I was the most proud of was

12:45

the statement that was made by the players.

12:48

I think that wanting to

12:51

have every person in

12:53

that shot, Kevin Byrn and

12:55

Ryan Tannehill were the only people speaking.

12:57

Everybody was there, though, and they were

12:59

intentional about it. I talked to our production

13:01

staff before that happened, and they were like,

13:03

WHOA, We're getting a lot of people on this call. What do

13:06

we do? You know? But it was something that they

13:08

were adamant. They wanted every single person

13:10

there, and I thought that that was such

13:12

a strong statement not

13:15

only of like teamwork and brotherhood,

13:18

but just support. People who

13:21

are of all races, all

13:23

shapes and sizes were standing in this

13:25

one place saying collectively,

13:27

this is a problem. And I thought that

13:29

that was a great thing, not only

13:32

for the Tennessee Titans, the organization and

13:34

you know, the camaraderie that you want to see on a

13:36

team, but I thought it was a great

13:39

example for Nashville,

13:41

for Tennessee, for the country to

13:44

see all of these different people

13:46

coming together and standing together for something

13:48

despite any difference that they

13:50

have. There are so many diverse

13:53

people in one space all agreeing

13:55

on something, which it feels like doesn't

13:57

happen as much anymore. And

14:00

to take that a step further, you

14:02

don't think that all eighty players

14:05

share the same viewpoint on

14:07

every bit of what was discussed.

14:10

There were probably some that on some of

14:12

the specifics actually may disagree

14:15

about how things ought to go down, But

14:17

the overriding point is they all agree

14:21

we should be talking about this. They

14:23

all agree that we should be

14:25

together in this and

14:28

you don't expect everybody in life

14:30

to agree on every fine point,

14:33

but what you hope people will do is

14:35

that they will agree. Being

14:38

together, being as one

14:40

and talking even if coming from

14:42

all different viewpoints is

14:44

such a key and I

14:47

think that's what the statement was

14:50

that I saw when I saw the picture of

14:52

all of them together and I listened

14:54

to Kevin and Ryan's comments, I also

14:56

thought about Amy Adams

14:58

Strunk and listen, she's our

15:01

boss, she owns the team. I mean, they get

15:03

it. You know, we work for her,

15:05

we love her, and I think if anybody's listening

15:08

to the OTP, they know how

15:10

we feel about her and that we've spent a

15:12

lot of time with her. But the

15:15

fact that she started this dialogue

15:18

almost three years ago, and

15:20

that has made it

15:23

totally acceptable that

15:25

this dialogue go on and

15:27

has made it such an important part

15:30

for the head coach, for the general manager, for

15:33

the players, for everybody to feel

15:36

like they have a say and they

15:38

should have a say. And this is important

15:41

enough. You know, it's like any workplace. If

15:43

something happens in the workplace that affects

15:47

so many people and it's that important, you

15:49

have to stop and address that issue. Just

15:51

so happens. This is a workplace for football,

15:54

but this is an important enough issue that

15:56

they stopped the work to work

15:58

on some thing that was probably

16:01

even more important. And Mike Vrabel saying they

16:03

didn't get football done yesterday, but they probably

16:05

got better as a football team. And

16:08

that came from where Amy Adams

16:10

Strunk started with this with

16:12

the WEE Stand for initiative nearly three

16:15

years ago, because she even

16:17

said I want to understand

16:19

the kneeling. I want to understand

16:21

what you're talking about. I don't and

16:24

I want to know it better. And after that

16:26

she felt like she did. She

16:29

in the organization donated a lot of money

16:31

to causes, but it's

16:33

not like the Titans had to pull something

16:36

together real fast. This

16:38

is part of their culture.

16:40

And Will Compton said it when he came back

16:43

last night on social media that it

16:45

really reminded him of what a special

16:47

locker room and a special building

16:49

this is. Well. And Amy is not afraid

16:52

of really anything, I

16:54

don't think, but she's not afraid of these hard

16:56

conversations. She's not afraid

16:58

of addressing this, and that

17:01

trickles all the way down having

17:03

the conversations around race

17:06

or current events or anything

17:09

not be off limits and not feel taboo.

17:12

Really creates a space where you

17:15

feel empowered to have your opinions

17:17

and have safe conversations about

17:19

them. Well, she said at the time, these

17:22

were not easy conversations that they had

17:24

back in twenty eighteen, that

17:26

everybody got honest with each other

17:28

in a big hurry, and that

17:30

she heard it and that she felt it.

17:33

And the bottom

17:36

line with her is she loves her

17:38

guys. She loves all of them,

17:41

and she really wanted to

17:43

understand this, not to win some

17:45

pr award or you

17:48

know, have everybody slap her on the back and say,

17:50

hey, good for you. If

17:53

this was important to her players.

17:55

She wanted to make it important to

17:57

her in a very real

18:01

way because these are her dudes,

18:03

These are her These are her

18:05

guys, and you see

18:07

her in the locker room with them, and

18:10

you see her in different places with

18:12

them, and they they love her, you know, miss Amy,

18:14

miss Amy, miss Amy, and she

18:18

feels that way about him. So I think the genuineness

18:21

of that is

18:23

why this team can have

18:25

this and can all stand

18:27

there together in that way

18:29

and do that. And it doesn't look like

18:32

some pr as I've read the

18:34

national media talking about the Titans.

18:36

People are like, man, this is something

18:38

different. These guys aren't just putting

18:41

on a showy They know where

18:43

it's at. Well. And speaking of leadership,

18:45

obviously, Amy Adams Strunk leading

18:48

this team, Ryan Tannehill

18:50

really impressed Mesh. Ryan since

18:52

he became the guy,

18:55

the quarterback, he

18:57

has led this team and he's leaned

18:59

into a lot of these issues. He's

19:01

not afraid. He is willing

19:04

to talk about just about anything. He's

19:06

put things on social media, standing with

19:08

his teammates. He wanted

19:11

to address this moment

19:13

this time, and he got emotional.

19:16

He really feels it and

19:18

he wants to help and he wants

19:21

to facilitate those conversations. And

19:23

it's not just so that guys will think he's

19:25

a nice guy or so that

19:27

you know, he can fit in with his teammates.

19:29

He cares and he's passionate about

19:31

it. And I think that that leadership, even

19:34

within the locker room, having someone who's

19:36

willing to drive the conversation,

19:39

I think that that's a big deal as well. And Kevin

19:41

Byrd, the

19:44

continued emergence of Kevin

19:46

Byrd, and here's this guy

19:48

that we met four and a half years

19:51

ago in Mobile, Alabama.

19:54

There are a lot of good things come out in Murphy's Borough.

19:56

You and I both combined have a lot of friends out

19:58

of Murphy's Borough, and that community

20:00

has been so good to us, and empty issue

20:03

has been incredibly good to us. And I

20:05

got such warm feelings about all

20:07

of that. So it's only fitting that

20:11

he would come out of Murphysborough and we

20:13

meet him standing at

20:16

the at the media reception

20:18

at the Senior Bowl and we're standing outside

20:20

and the winds blowing, and the interview

20:23

we used it it didn't turn out Gray Rocky,

20:26

but we were so impressed with him.

20:29

He was so real. He

20:31

was just such a nice guy.

20:34

And you're at times you're thinking, Okay,

20:36

is he a nice guy? Because he's trying to make a

20:38

good impression and because listen, some guys

20:40

are It happens a lot. I mean

20:42

yeah, I mean there there are people that

20:44

we run into in the pre draft process

20:47

who seem wonderful and after you get to know him

20:49

like mm, yeah,

20:50

yet not great,

20:53

but he was just such a nice guy.

20:55

Well then he comes here, we end up drafted

20:57

him and it turns out he is great and

21:00

he is the mayor of Murfreesborough and

21:02

he and he's turned into this elite

21:05

player and he gets married

21:07

and he has children, and

21:10

now he's a spokesman for

21:12

the defense and for the

21:15

organization. I mean, it's like it's

21:17

it's almost like we've known him since

21:19

junior high school or something. I mean, we've

21:21

watched him grow up in this way. And

21:23

as I saw him stand there yesterday

21:26

next to Tannehill and speak

21:28

from the heart and listen, it wasn't all planned. Neither

21:30

one of their speeches would

21:33

would probably get you an A and debate

21:35

class in terms of the presentation because

21:37

they stopped and they started because it

21:39

was real and it was emotional.

21:42

And now you'd get an A for content

21:45

that's that's for you'd get an A plus plus.

21:48

But where he's come is really

21:50

something, and it's not

21:53

just great for the community and everything

21:55

else. It's great for the organization. It's great for the football

21:57

team. Oh absolutely. And Kevin Bayer, You're

22:00

absolutely right. It feels like we've watched him

22:02

grow up and seeing him

22:06

in front of his teammates representing

22:08

them, he looked like a grown up. You

22:10

know, he looked like an

22:13

adult, like he was taking charge. He

22:15

was speaking on behalf of his brothers,

22:18

and it just we've been fortunate

22:21

enough, in my shorter

22:23

than your time here to see a

22:25

couple guys kind of come into their

22:27

own and really watch their evolution. Taylor

22:30

Lawan as someone else who comes to my mind. You

22:32

know, guys that are now stepping

22:34

into these big leadership roles on

22:36

this team and are kind of taking it over

22:38

for themselves are guys that we've

22:41

kind of watched up watch grow

22:43

up in front of us and grow their

22:45

families, and we kind of

22:47

get to be next to that evolution. And

22:50

that's a really cool thing to see. That's how I

22:52

was with Kevin Dyson and

22:55

that was one that's one of the great blessings

22:58

in this job. And Kevin

23:00

Dyson be the principal at Grassland

23:03

now is just, I

23:05

mean, it's fantastic. And to see

23:08

Rusty Smith coaching at Grace Christian

23:10

and our different

23:12

players involved in in so

23:14

many different things, it really

23:17

is special because you get to know them

23:20

as human beings

23:22

in this way that we're I

23:24

mean, we're really fortunate that we work for the ball

23:26

club and we have this relationship

23:28

and with some guys, you don't you

23:30

know, with some guys, they they sort of don't let

23:33

you in. That's just not how it operates,

23:36

and it you know, very sometimes the big

23:38

stars don't. Sometimes they do, you

23:41

know, I mean it, it's not let

23:43

you know. People will ask, well, what about this guy,

23:45

and I'll say, well, I really never knew him,

23:48

you know. And then you have some people that

23:50

you you really know well,

23:53

and so when you hear them talk

23:56

passionately about issues that are

23:58

important because you know them

24:00

as a person and you know where they're

24:02

coming from and you know it's

24:04

real, then you're

24:07

proud of them. You're defensive of them,

24:09

You're you stand up for them

24:11

because that's you know, that's

24:14

what it's really all about. And that's that's

24:16

one of the best things about our job. Yeah, we're

24:18

very fortunate too. I call it football adjacent,

24:21

Like we get to be next to

24:23

these people and kind of get a

24:25

unique perspective on them. You're right, You get

24:28

to know some guys, and you get to know some guys really

24:30

well. And so being able to kind

24:32

of witness that journey and be

24:35

in a place where people don't usually get

24:37

to be and see some of the things that we get to see

24:39

and have the interactions that we've

24:41

had. It makes

24:43

it that much sweeter when they

24:46

have a moment to shine and the world

24:48

gets to see a little bit of what we get to see

24:50

every day. Kevin Byrd meant what

24:53

he said today that was

24:55

as raw and real as you're going to get from

24:57

Kevin Byrd, and so being able to see him

25:00

have that moment, it was special.

25:02

That's something that I

25:04

will remember forever well. And look

25:06

where he's come from, from Philadelphia

25:08

to Atlanta to Murfresboro to hear

25:11

from being you know, a guy

25:14

who you know wasn't really wanted

25:16

out of high school so much, Kentucky

25:18

not wanting him at the last minute, and

25:21

he ends up at middle and it all works out

25:23

great for him there and then he's not invited

25:25

to combine and you know the stories

25:27

about being basically homeless,

25:30

his parents divorcing. I mean, this is a guy

25:32

who's seen some rough things and

25:35

is making a positive impact in this

25:37

world, trying to help kids.

25:39

And that's where in listening

25:41

to these players talk about what they're

25:44

going to do, and

25:46

you probably know more about this than I do, even

25:48

and I know it's still in it's maybe

25:51

embryonic stages. They're

25:53

gonna take the message out and they're gonna talk

25:55

to kids. Yep. That's what Kevin

25:57

byard and that's what Ryan Tannehill,

25:59

and that's what this bunch of players are

26:01

gonna do. They're gonna try to make a

26:04

difference with it on people

26:06

who need that, people that

26:08

they know if they would have gotten that

26:11

message when they were that age, what

26:13

a profound effect it can have. And it's

26:15

something that they wanted to do.

26:18

Like that's the key to this in my

26:20

mind. The players sat down, they

26:22

had the discussions, they had they

26:24

formulated a plan. This is what we

26:26

want to do. We want to talk to kids.

26:29

We want to have some early intervention,

26:31

you know, get to them, really try to educate

26:34

them. Yes, they're gonna think it's cool

26:36

that we're Titans players, but maybe they'll

26:38

listen. Sure, And the fact

26:40

that they put it together. It's not a pr stunt

26:43

that the organization is asking players

26:45

to participate in. The players are asking

26:47

the organization to make this happen, and

26:50

that I think is something that

26:53

means a lot. And you know people will always

26:56

kind of roll their eyes and be oh, players

26:58

doing this, it's a photo op. You know, so

27:00

many times we see guys out in the community

27:02

doing things, and the responses, well, it's

27:05

a photo op. Well they get paid so much

27:07

money, blah blah blah. It's the least you can do.

27:09

This is something that is not that. But

27:12

if you get paid lots of money,

27:15

if you're put on this stage,

27:18

doesn't it in the reality

27:20

of it, doesn't it

27:23

make you more responsible?

27:26

Doesn't it mean that you

27:28

you should be somebody who should step

27:30

forward even more if you have

27:32

the blessing of this platform. If

27:35

now, I know they've worked hard, but I mean they've been

27:37

fortunate, and good things have happened in their

27:39

life, and the Good Lord's given them gifts

27:41

that many of us don't have. If

27:44

you have that, is it not your

27:46

responsibility to turn and reach

27:48

the hand back and try to make

27:50

a difference with that. To who much is

27:52

given, much is required. Absolutely, And

27:55

I mean I think that that, to me is

27:58

a big part of what the Milwaukee

28:00

Bucks did the other night. And as I

28:02

watched those guys read that statement,

28:05

you know, and I know there was like, oh, they're

28:07

you know, millionaire athletes, Like no, that's

28:11

not what this is.

28:13

Now. They they're coming back to play,

28:15

And I think that's great. Too, But

28:18

you just feel like when

28:20

you see throughout our history,

28:22

the Eddie Georges do the right things,

28:25

and the Javine Curses do the right

28:28

things, and our friend Keith Bullock and Kevin

28:30

Dyson and Mark

28:32

Mary Andy and on and on and on,

28:35

we've had a couple of LULUs over the years.

28:38

I mean, there's there's no question. I

28:40

mean, I've been around for those two, but

28:45

over ninety five are people

28:47

who have done the right

28:49

thing and are trying to do the right thing

28:52

and to make a difference. And that's

28:54

always made me very proud to be with the organization.

28:57

Well, and even this past offseason with

28:59

some of the people who are no longer with the organization

29:02

and the comments about well,

29:04

who's going to be the leaders in the locker room now,

29:06

everyone was kind of wondering, is

29:09

this going to be a younger team that doesn't

29:11

have those strong leaders anymore? Who's

29:13

going to step forward? Is anyone going to step

29:15

forward? I think we can now confidently

29:18

say that there are a lot of leaders

29:20

in that locker room. I think that question has

29:22

been answered absolutely. And the leadership

29:25

question was one that was asked a lot,

29:27

and I think if you saw yesterday

29:30

if you have seen who's been talking

29:32

on behalf of the team, if

29:35

you've watched practice, I think

29:37

that question has been totally answered. Whatever

29:39

happens this year, lack of leadership

29:42

is not going to be the issue that holds

29:44

this team back. Absolutely, and I

29:46

think that a lot of that is to the credit of

29:49

John Robinson and Mike Frayblo. I agree.

29:51

I think that they pick the

29:54

right people. They pick the

29:57

people who are going to have those

29:59

leaderships still, who are going to take that initiative,

30:01

who care about things

30:04

of course football, but they care about each

30:06

other. And I think that,

30:09

I mean every now and then you feel

30:11

like you overhear the tough, smart, dependable

30:14

like the team. First. Yeah, attributes

30:16

of a titan, but it's

30:18

real and this is how we're seeing it

30:20

manifest itself off the field well,

30:23

and John Robinson has talked a lot about in

30:26

handling all of the diversions

30:29

that have come up that have had to but

30:31

in all of the strange things that have

30:34

already popped up in this offseason

30:36

and in this training camp and that continue

30:38

to go on. We're recording this seventeen days

30:41

before the first game, sixteen

30:43

days before the first trip.

30:46

We still don't know everything

30:49

about how everything is

30:51

going to work right now. Ye, ladies

30:53

and gentlemen listening to the OTP presented

30:55

by Farm Bureau Health Plans, that is

30:58

no way to live in the NFL, you

31:00

know, But guess what, it's no way

31:02

to live anywhere. Yes, John

31:04

Robinson says to the team, this

31:07

is our life right now, and

31:10

so get used to it. Don't

31:12

whine, don't complain. He

31:15

says. The thing we were all told the first

31:18

time we got into tackle football, and

31:20

that is knees bent, head

31:22

on a swivel. And what that means, quite

31:24

simply, if you never played, is

31:27

if you've got your knees bent, then

31:29

you've got your weight, you've got

31:31

your balance. You can take

31:34

a lick at that point. If you're standing straight up,

31:36

you're gonna fall down. If you take a hit, there's

31:38

more of you to hit. You're not in a position

31:40

to play football unless you have your knees bent. Head

31:43

on a swivel is a term that I use with my

31:45

two kids, and they still say it to

31:47

me, even in their twenties. They

31:50

say, Dad, I got my head on a swivel. And

31:52

that's every part of life you're watching in traffic,

31:55

you're watching people, if you're walking downtown

31:57

in a big city, if you're going through

32:00

somewhere trying to get a job, or you're

32:02

trying to to do anything. If

32:04

you get your head on a swivel, that means you're ready

32:06

for anything. Knees bent, head on

32:08

a swivel. And I think this organization

32:11

has taken on that mantra, that simple

32:13

mantra in saying

32:17

this is just how we're gonna handle

32:19

all of this. It's goofy,

32:22

it's strange, we don't

32:24

know stuff, it's disconcerting.

32:26

It wakes you up after four hours of

32:28

sleep. Well, no, but

32:31

I sometimes that's gonna happen. You.

32:33

You know, I woke up this morning thinking

32:35

about Denver, thinking about

32:37

something with Denver that I

32:39

needed to get an answer to. And

32:42

I may or may not get that answer as

32:44

as well as I want it, as quickly

32:47

as I want it. But that's what we're

32:49

living with right now. And for John, by

32:52

doing this on the football side, they're not

32:54

distracted because

32:57

everybody understands it's knees

32:59

bent, head on a yeah, and so

33:02

many things are distracting that almost nothing

33:04

is distracting, if that makes sense. Can be

33:06

there's so many different things that are moving

33:09

parts. There are so many different things that are different

33:12

that it can't be an excuse because

33:15

you won't be able to get anything accompromised, so

33:17

you're paralyzed. Yeah, exactly. So

33:20

just expect for things to be weird, expect

33:23

for things to be different, and we will

33:25

adjust. That's what we're doing this year,

33:27

and I think that's in every facet

33:30

of this football organization,

33:32

but also in a lot of people's lives.

33:34

There's a lot of adjusting to do. So

33:37

let's just get used to it. Let's

33:39

get comfortable with being uncomfortable, and

33:41

let's keep moving forward. The

33:43

ot people, I think at

33:45

the end of training camp and

33:47

after what went on yesterday and what

33:50

has gone on during COVID and you

33:53

know, the whole pandemic which continues,

33:56

I think what they need to know more than

33:58

anything else at this moment in time

34:00

is their football

34:03

team is together and

34:05

is going to be ready to play this season. From

34:07

what we've seen in practice, from

34:10

how we've seen people handle things, from

34:12

what we saw with the reaction

34:15

to Kenosha and the team being together with

34:18

Mike Vrabel, with John Robinson,

34:21

with everything, this

34:23

team is ready they

34:26

are ready to go forward, their

34:28

questions to be answered. It

34:30

would still be nice to add a Jadivian

34:32

Clowney or you know, that would be swell.

34:34

I mean those things. We need Vic Beasley

34:37

to get healthy. You want to see him play. I mean, they're they're

34:39

still football things out there. Nobody's

34:41

going to predict this team's going sixteen and ozero.

34:45

But I think if you're asking

34:47

where is my football team right

34:49

now? Like my man Wilson

34:51

at Kroeger the other night, where are we

34:54

We're in good shape? Yep, we're good

34:56

well, but I think you get Wilson,

34:59

hi, I think you can pronounce this

35:01

team is where

35:04

they need to be at this

35:06

moment. Now what they do from here, well

35:08

that's going to determine how the year goes.

35:10

But you don't want to be at August

35:13

twenty eighth and be way behind or scrambling,

35:15

or people are not getting along, or people

35:17

don't know what to do, or everybody's discombobulated.

35:21

It doesn't feel like that at all with

35:23

this team, in this organization. This is

35:25

a team that's ready to hit someone in a

35:27

different color. Yeah, I would agree, but they're ready

35:29

for that. They are at the

35:32

end of training camp place. This

35:34

is where you want to see your team be. This

35:37

is how it feels in a normal season,

35:40

when you're ready for your team. You're excited

35:42

to see him play. This feels

35:44

normal, which is very encouraging

35:47

to me because so many other things are abnormal.

35:50

This feels like like I'm

35:52

used to feeling at the end of training camp

35:54

when I'm anticipating a good season. You

35:56

know, yes, ma'am, And that is encouraging

35:58

to me. It is encouraging

36:01

and interested to see practices

36:03

next week as they move more into the

36:06

in season mode, which

36:09

he'll hold the practices at

36:11

the normal time, which is generally around

36:13

the noon hour, because the

36:15

Titans play the majority of their games at

36:18

the noon hour, noon hour. They

36:20

sure do. We remind you don't get sacked by

36:22

the high cost of healthcare. Make Farm Bureau

36:25

Health Plans your first line of protection. They've

36:27

been protecting Tennessee and since nineteen

36:29

forty seven. You know what we need to do. We

36:31

need to get some otpqs. Oh,

36:34

we do tell people how they can send

36:36

in their questions, and we need to get coach

36:39

Mac and Jim Wyatt in here next week

36:41

and hit some big questions

36:43

head on over to Tennessee Titans dot

36:46

com slash OTP

36:49

Q. There's a form right

36:51

there on the homepage. You can

36:53

just send your questions that way, we

36:55

will receive them. We will ask them here. I

36:57

think that would be a great way to kick off it

37:00

is. I guess closer to the regular season,

37:02

Labor Day weekend, Labor Day weekend,

37:04

we'll do a Labor Day mail bag

37:06

of OTP cues. You guys do the labor

37:09

so that we don't have to Sunday. Amy

37:11

Wells can get her ten hours of sleep.

37:14

I really sleep a lot, Mike,

37:17

like a lot. That's stunning. Well,

37:20

yeah, I need

37:22

to be rested, Yeah, Mike, I

37:25

need it. Yea. And caffeine. Ten

37:27

hours of sleep, lots of caffeine, Yes, yep.

37:29

I've got my Farm Bureau mug here. Oh

37:32

look at that. That's slick. My farm

37:34

Bureau ORCA is what you call it.

37:36

You get so much swag. I don't know about

37:38

that. Yeah. I just mentioned

37:41

them because they are our fine sponsor. So

37:43

that's going to do it for this edition of the OTP.

37:45

Have a great weekend, everybody, Thank you for

37:47

being with us. We'll certainly have a lot more coming

37:50

up. If you get a chance watch

37:52

the Titans All Access program throughout the

37:54

region. The first one of the season

37:57

is out this weekend. Also,

38:00

also, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame

38:02

program is on this weekend. It's

38:05

a special that is on in every TV

38:07

market in the state. It's a two

38:10

hour special. The Tennessee Titans

38:12

are the sponsor of that, and if

38:14

you get a chance to watch that program, please

38:16

do. Whether you're in Chattanooga, Channel

38:19

twelve, my VLT in Knoxville,

38:21

five plus in Nashville, JEA

38:24

E plus TV six in Jackson,

38:27

I think Channel eleven and Tri Cities

38:29

has it to believe it's on in Memphis as well,

38:31

but check your local listings. The Tennessee Sports

38:33

Hall of Fame. It's their special.

38:36

It's not a virtual induction. It's

38:38

a TV show hosted by host.

38:40

I host it, but that's not our friend. Spencer

38:43

Fritz put it together and Brad Willis,

38:45

who is in charge of the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame,

38:48

did just an immaculate job,

38:50

just an immaculate job on the whole thing.

38:52

And the Titans are very proud

38:54

to be the presenting sponsor Tennessee

38:56

Sports Hall of Fame Special. Airing

38:59

this weekend, so we've given you lots of

39:01

homework between the OTP, QUS, Titans,

39:03

All Access, the Tennessee Sports Hall

39:05

of Fame, special lots for you to do

39:07

out there. Yeah, no one's gonna be bored this weekend,

39:09

Mike, that's the idea. That is the idea,

39:11

Amy Wells. Great job, thank you, good to see

39:14

us for Amy Wells. I'm Mike Key. Thank you

39:16

for being part of the O t P