The OTP | The Titans Head to Houston

The OTP | The Titans Head to Houston

[Music] This is the OTP. I’m Amy Wells. The Titans are getting ready to head to Houston to take on the Texans in another division matchup. So, of course, we had to bring in the pros from Titans Radio. Coach Mack is here. Rep. Bryan is here. Hello, guys. How are we today? Who are the pros? You’re the pros. That would be you. You are the professional here. We’ve been called wizards, legends. Yeah, legends is actually what I wrote down. Warlocks. You hadn’t used that yet. No, but it’s on the list. You better believe it is. If if it’s in alphabetical order, we just hadn’t gotten to it. Well, I was going to leave that more for like Halloween time. The Warlocks of Titans Radio. Felt felt appropriate a little later in the season. I was just wondering where the pros were. That’s you. That’s a valid question. You are the pro. It’s you. Let’s go. And so I figured we could use your your professional insight on some of the things that are going on around here at the Titans organization and also in Houston with the Texans organization. There’s a lot to talk about. Both of these teams are 0 and3 looking for their first win of the season. Um on paper it seems like there are some similarities, but I think there’s actually some real differences. So we will talk about all of that. But before we get to this upcoming matchup, I think it would be a mistake to not acknowledge the fact that the Titans are about to go on the road for their first of three road games, all in a row, two of which are West Coast games in Phoenix and in Las Vegas. Mac, how important does that make getting a win in Houston to kind of kick off what’s going to be an exhausting stretch of football for this Titans team? Well, the immediate week is what’s important and so, you know, really you’re right in pointing out that we do have three road games, but nobody’s thinking about the other two right now. I mean, that right now you got to focus have to focus everybody, all of us on Houston and then you take the next one because you can’t you can’t worry about that. I think when we saw the schedule and we saw that this was going to be a three road game trip, you understand what that is. I think that was a little bit of the idea of going on that 10day journey that we went on in the in the preseason. So, but the focus right now is on Houston because that’s the only place you can be. Rhett, it’s a division matchup, so there’s a little extra excitement about that. And I do want to talk about these two teams and kind of the parallels between the two because neither one of them has gotten a win yet this season, but not necessarily similar circumstances even though it appears like they have some similar issues, right? It’s true. Uh when you look at I mean we we know how the first three games have unfolded for the Titans because we have been covering those and you know pre- snap penalties, multiple penalties per game, a couple of those in double digits. Um turnovers haven’t been as much of an issue. There’s there’s been some but not like there has been before. Um and then you know the health of the offensive line especially on the right side has been problematic. And the other thing is just the lack of scoring touchdowns with regularity. Um the special teams phase of this have really kind of been the shining stars of it and what was completely different a year ago and John Fossil has come in and restructured and put the foundation down for that. And you see the the the guys involved that are his guys. They’ve done an excellent job in that phase of things. Not just, you know, Joey Sly being perfect on field goals and uh all those kinds of things, but uh well, actually he missed one, but anyway, not the the record he has. Johnny Hecker’s great directional punting, but you know, guys like Bryce Oliver, who’s been a a good gunner, and we need Bryce Oliver back. We’ll see what happens. But um and then Dinard’s Wilson’s defense um has had its moments here and there and you know Jeffrey Simmons is playing really good football. They just haven’t gotten to the quarterback and gotten him on the ground and that’s what they’re going to try to do in Houston on Sunday. Now the Houston Texans total different story in terms of what phase is is out marking others. The defense has been the deal in this. And they’re they’re led by two excellent pass rushers and top draft pick from a couple of years ago, Will Anderson and Denil Hunter. They got in free agency. Those two guys between them, I think 29 pressures and five quarterback sacks already, 39 pressures as a team already. And they have excellent depth positionally through the three tiers of that stuff to be able to affect how these ball games are. That’s the reason why, yes, they’re 0 and3, but all three of their losses have been by single score in difference. Um, and I go back to something that that Mac Mack and I do a lot of radio and things together during the week. And Mac’s right. It’s the reason the reason why the defense is what it was. They still have a a quarterback who’s under under a rookie contract and it’s not eating up 35% of your salary cap. So, they were able to build this defense to help keep keep this stuff involved. The offense is the problem because like the Titans, they’ve been looking for the best five offensive linemen in this. And they have four from left tackle, left guard, center, and right guard. Four new guys outside of Titus Howard who returns and is at right tackle. They’ve been to the point where they’ve been rotating guards in a game like last week. And Arante Ursery is the starting left tackle, a rookie secondrounder from Minnesota. They traded away Laramie Tonsel to the Washington Commanders and because of those things um not having Joe Mixon and Nick Chub is doing fine but they’re just not putting points on the board. They don’t have enough opportunities because that starting five on the offensive line has had issues. Mac, when you’re trying to when you have two teams that are trying to get their first win of the season, do you have to almost anticipate some extra things or something that may be a little goofy or unexpected? Expect the unexpected, I guess, is the question. Because teams are going to throw just the book at the other team to try and get a win. No, what you want what when your teams are 0 and three, most teams, the ones that I’ve been involved with, when you’ve had you get back to basics, okay, is what you do. You don’t try to trick anything up. I mean, because clearly things have not been going copathetically. I mean, you you you you you expect what you expect is some is some basic basic fundamental football because that’s always what you go back to when things are going bad. You don’t you don’t start trying to make up new things because if if you’re if it’s not working well, the worst thing that you can do is try start trying to make up magic tricks. So, they’re going to go back. It’s going to You’re going to see two teams that are going to start trying to really play some basic football and be able to to protect two young quarterbacks. That’s the issue, you know, with both of these football teams. Rhett is right about their offensive line. They they’ve got issues there with their offensive line and that’s the reason that they lost three ball games because defensively they’re as good as there is in the league, especially pressuring the quarterback. So, I mean, I’ve watched done every one of their games. You know, I’ve, you know, dialed in on them pretty deep. And the one-sore games, they’re in every every game, but the thing that’s keeping them in the games is their defense right now. And the thing you don’t want is you don’t want your offense to start pressing and your young quarterback to think he’s got to do too much more and get out over his skis even more than he is right now. So, the trick isn’t to get cute. Don’t get cute. An example of what you’re talking about I’m I’m just going to jump in here for a second. Hit it right. This would this what example here for the Titans would that be Dinard Wilson and the defensive staff working on the tackling. The tackling was not great by the by the team last week against the Colts and try and you’ve heard Dinard Wilson, Brian Callahan, and others talk about needing to improve that. Well, yeah. I mean, look, this team knows how to tackle or they wouldn’t be here playing defense, but you’ve got to concentrate on it. And it it was costly. You know, it was costly last week. And again, you don’t go out there and you’re not going to put the pads on and do Oklahoma drills every day. I mean, that is not how that works. This is not illegal now. This is not Travis Junior High Blue Devils. You don’t You just You just don’t. Disappointing. You just don’t You just don’t do that. But they’ve got to concentrate on it and understand that that missing tackles in this league because of the skill of people that are carrying the football. Missed tackles are devastating because all of a sudden you’ve got you’ve got yards gained and you’re losing field position metrics for no reason other than you’re there and don’t make the play. Man, as somebody who never played football ever, I love an Oklahoma drill because I never had to do it. Oh yeah. You you you never had to do it. Yeah, that’s exactly right. If you’d ever had to do it, you probably would have really fond memories of it, man. I just as a spectator though, nothing better. Well, it’s like the people in the Gladiators. You like watching everybody kill somebody from the stands. That’s it. That’s it. I don’t know why I am this way, but I really like it. Okay. When you bring Helman’s creamy buffalo chicken dip to the watch party, you can cheer too loud or block the TV or be a couch coach and no one will eject you from the game. That’s a hail Mayo. Helman’s the official mayo of the Tennessee Titans. 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And Mac, I’ve asked you to compile a list of some of the the the greatest hits of Titans and Texans showdowns. Um, do you have any that come to mind? I’ve got five that come to mind. That’s great. Let’s go with um October 21st, 2007. Okay. The Titans led 22 to7 at halftime. Houston and quarterback Sage Rosenfills climbed back in it with four touchdowns in the second half. I was there. But yes, you were. But the consistent part of this kicker Rob Baronis was a massive part of the final score 3836 when he connected on field goals of 52, 25, 21, 30, 28, 43, 29, and a final one for 29 for an NFL record eight field goals in a single game. a mark that still stands today. Carrie Collins made one of the best throws I’ve ever seen at the end of that at the end of that ball game on the sideline. I mean, it was that we were we were done. I mean, I was in the press box. Chuck Cecil was a secondary coach and I thought he was going to jump. I mean, and that’s eight stories up. That was a That second half was a nightmare for a defensive secondary coach. A nightmare. Go ahead. Four touchdowns in the second half. 11 months later at Nissan Stadium, September 21st, 2008, um, taking on Houston at Nissan, Texans quarterback Matt Shaw was absolutely tortured by the Titans defense. Sacked three times, but as a result of their consistent pressure, Shaw threw three interceptions. In fact, the final one minute and change, the Texans had the ball at the Titans 5 line. Third and goal. Matt Shaw was looking to Hall of Famer Andre Johnson when all of the sudden at the one-yd line, Courtland Finnegan picked it and took it back 99 yards for a touchdown. Final score 3112 Titans. Yeah, you put those two names together. There’s a whole lot that comes up in this these matchups. Yeah, no kidding. Yeah, more than just that play. But Matt Shaw was just tortured because I mean in fact the reason they were third and goal is the previous play Kyle Vanderbos had sacked him for a one-yd loss right before all that happened. All right, so let’s go to let’s see I haven’t gone in chronological order. I’m just Okay, we can pass. Here’s one of the early ones and this is the one that just kind of put an exclamation point on Steve McNair’s MVP year. This is December 21st, 2003 at then Reliance Stadium. So, the Titans ended up beating the Texans 38-36 and um Dominic Williams hit the end zone from 5 yards out to give the Texans a 24-20 lead with 148 remaining in the fourth quarter. Then all these crazy things happened, wacky plays, but Steve McNair orchestrated an eightplay 75 yd scoring drive. He hit Drew Bennett on a 23-yd touchdown in the back of the end zone on fourth and 10. Night night Texans. In fact, Drew Bennett with the telling the crowd to be quiet. It was beautiful. That’s what you try to do is get to fourth and 10. Yeah, that’s usually the goal is fourth and 10. Of course. Yeah. Last fourth and 10 or more, right? How about October 21st, uh, 2007? one of the more memorable ones um in dramatic fashion and Mack was here for this one. December the 10th, 2006, Vince Young is a rookie and uh this thing was tied. Chris Brown, the kicker, Texans kicker, tied the score with a 46-yd field goal with 209 to go. It ends up going to overtime and the Titans are sitting right there trying to get it in to uh the end zone. Vince Young runs right, 39 yards, walk-off touchdown in overtime. Titans win 26-20. Richard Smith, defensive coordinator, called an allout zero blitz on that play for the for the Texans. And Vince Young took one step and he saw zero blitz with everybody’s back turned, back foot hit the ground, and the next thing he was in the end zone with his helmet off. It was that that you talk about that was chaos. Yeah, it was chaos. It was chaos with Mr. Adams coming down the escalator. Uh, it was chaos in the locker room. Uh, that was a lot of fun. And this is for to underline what Max’s saying. This is his first trip back to Houston as a professional. He’s a native son of Houston. And I remember there were many, many Vince Young jerseys in the audience that day sprinkled in with all the Texans fans with uniforms and gear on. That’s awesome. It was huge. It was a wild scene. It was a wild scene and it was a fitting ending to that scene. So, I had four, not five because I can’t count. So, here we are. That’s okay. We don’t require counting on this program. Those are four really good ones. Really good ones. And Mac, you had the infamous call. Great job, Sloan. Yeah. I don’t didn’t know what else to say. It was a great job. He doubled it, you know, for the division division title. I mean it at the end of the wildest year and the wildest times of our lives in the co year. Mhm. At the end of the 2020 season actually January of Yeah. That’s when we were broadcasting on the other side of the stadium completely opposite of the television cameras in about a 50 75 seat suite. So we were with fully catered food. We had an attendant. It was great. It was lovely. She was so nice. She was great. It was fully catered. We had we had more food than you could have anywhere. And we were 87 stories up in the air on the opposite side. And minus the seven and plus and plus it was where the sun was shining because we were on the other side. We were blinded for the first half because you couldn’t even see. I mean, you remember all that because it was a late afternoon kick. We were in the dark when all of that happened at the end. Yeah. Uh yeah. Derrick Henry ran for 2,000 yards in that game and then Sam Slowman puts her through the doinks it through the uprights. Yep. Oh yeah. Great job, Slowman. One of the alltime lines in Titans radio history. He had to hit every upright before it went in. And he did and it happened and the Titans won the division. It was so great. Well guys, on that note, I think it’s time for a cookie break brought to us by our good friends at Christy Cookie. It’s my favorite part of the show. You guys are compelling, but I love a cookie break. And today, my friends, is a special day because we have white chocolate macadamia nut. I like the mac part of it. I know they’re Mac cookies. I like the mac part of it. They’re white chocolate mac cookies. Have a mac cookie. Let me say this. Christy Cookies have been an institution. Christy Cookies right here. Absolutely. They’ve been an institution in the Nashville area for I’d say probably in retail modern spaces four plus decades. But I this the white chocolate chip macadamia nut. That is my favorite flavor of Christie cookie. And they’re all delicious. But this one chef’s kiss. It’s the greatest cookie of all time. I’m reading this right here. They got a little thank you on the back that they write before you eat their cookies. Yeah. I mean very polite. They’re legit. It’s a It’s a legit place. It really is. All their signature flavors, including the white chocolate, have little toffee pieces in them. That’s why they’re so good and they’re delicious. Thank you, Christie. Mhm. Christy Cookies, if you would like to have a cookie break. You can get a tin of cookies for yourself or for your co-workers or for your mom, for your boss. That would be a really good idea. Holidays will be coming up before long and there’s a that’s a great gift idea for that for sure. It’s a great idea. Go get your own tin. You’re not having any of these. crisycookies.com for your own tin cuz you can’t have any of these. Um, everybody I know will be getting Christy cookies this year. Congratulations. Merry Christmas to you. Well, at least we know what we’re getting. It’s outstanding. Home is at the forefront of all we do. It’s why we’re so committed to caring for the places and spaces in which we work and live. Ashley, the official furniture provider of the Tennessee Titans. Genesis is the first and only official jeweler of the Titans, having earned that title since 2006. Titans players, coaches, and fans trust Genesis for the absolute best in selection, quality, customer service, and of course, value. For diamonds, engagement rings, designer fashion jewelry, and the largest selection of luxury pre-owned Rolexes in Tennessee, Genesis is the handsdown winner. Genesis Diamonds in Green Hills and Cool Springs, the official jeweler of the Tennessee Titans. All right, let’s get into this a little bit here, guys. There’s a big matchup on the horizon and the Tennessee Titans would like a W. So, Coach Mack, I’m going to start with you. What is one area where the Titans can really make their presence felt against the Houston Texans on Sunday? They’ve got to be able to protect the quarterback because Houston is going to take the blueprint that these other people have used is try to get the Titans behind the chains and then just bring it. That’s been the blueprint so far. I mean, that’s that’s been what’s happening. So, stay ahead of the chains. I know I’ve been I’ve been saying that and it just I mean it sounds simple, but when you do it, you completely flip the mindset of your ball game. You’re not constantly trying to chase a first down. If you can stay ahead of the change, you got a chance. And plus, Rhett just talked about about Hunter and Anderson out there on the edge. You negate what they can do because now you put them in a 5050 strut of having to play run and pass. You’ve got to be able to do that offensively. Rhett, what about you? Is there anything that the Titans can do to give themselves the advantage or the upper hand on Sunday when they take on the Texans? I’ll go back to one of the the the fundamental things like Mack was talking about earlier. I think the Titans uh defense improving on tackling will help you because if they can get the pass rush going against an offensive line that has had some issues, um then you can give yourself a chance to um to make some things happen. But sure tackling and you know it’s something when Mack tells you he sees it on the film and certainly defensive coordinator Dinard Wilson points it out and his availability and Brian Callahan talks about it. I I think you start with that and work from there. The other thing that has to happen is is that the special teams and I’m talking about all of them have to continue the level of play they’ve had because the level of play they’ve had has been winning football. They’ve got to continue that. And I’m talking about everything. I’m talking about the return. I’m talking about coverage. I’m just I’m just not I’m just not talking about, you know, kicking the football because I mean, we’ve got guys that are really good at that. But you you’ve got to be able to stay ahead of the field position metrics in this football game. Bohart agrees taking over the play calling responsibilities from Brian Callahan. Mac, procedurally, how much of an impact is that going to make throughout the course of the game? Well, shouldn’t I mean it, you know, as far as just calling the plays and those types of things, you still got to execute the plays that are called. Uh, clearly what will happen is now the head coach, I mean, I’ve been in this situation before where you’ve got a lot of other things you’ve got to administer that will be that will be much that will be much easier. But, you know, look, Bohart agree, they’ve worked this group has worked very closely together offensively for the entire year. So, it’s not like you’re bringing somebody in brand new to do this. Now, the way that it functions on the sideline, that will clearly be different. What’s the key to Cam Ward having success? And this is a question for both of you. What’s the key to Cam Ward having success this week against the Houston Texans? You got to block their front. I mean, you got to block their front. Look, but both a quarterback’s success are is is complete dependent on everything else around him. That’s what has to happen. You’ve got to, you know, they’ve got to protect, they’ve got to protect it, but they not only not only passing protect, they’ve got to protect it being able to move the chains on down and distance. That’s how you protect your quarterback. You give your quarterback options as to where the defense has to have options that they’re they’re worried about rather than knowing you’re just going to dial in on one thing. I mean, I’ve called a lot of defenses in this league over my career, and if I only knew that the offense could only do one thing, well, then that really opened up things that I could do to them. If I have to worry about run and pass evenly, that’s a different world. I would say on Cam’s part, because the protection is where it all begins. But on Cam’s part, don’t be a re a repeat offender of of the pick that you threw to start that game last week. and he doesn’t show any propensity to to be a repeat offender that but the real thing his real quality is his calm demeanor in nature. He’s unflapable back there even when the Wolves are crashing the gates trying to get in. if he can just maintain that and not let the moment be too big for him, which I don’t believe that’ll be an issue, there’s some things where he can, you know, complete a a nice pass downfield and and try to uh keep those chains moving and stay ahead of those chains. We’ve reached the uh part of the program where we talk about upcoming matchups to watch. So, what who what groups you’re watching as the Titans take on the Texans. But before we give ours, let’s hear from our friend, former Titans great Keith Bulock. Here’s the deal. The matchup I’m looking forward to is the front seven of the Tennessee Titans going against the offensive line of the Houston Texans. We know Big Jeff is going to put pressure along with Sebastian Joseph Day and Ardan Key, but in order for the Titans to really get after CJ Strad and cause confusion, Dinard Wilson is going to have to implement some of his blitzing packages from linebackers in the secondary to give Houston Texans a really long day on offense. Titans fans, get 15% off your Little Caesar’s order of $15 or more at participating stores using code Titans 15. That’s Titans5 at checkout. Pizza. That of course excludes taxes and other fees. Don’t be ridiculous. All right, you guys. Don’t be ridiculous. Don’t be ridiculous. Use your common sense here. All right, matchups to watch. Rhett, you want me to start with you? You can. Okay. I’m going to agree with You only got You only got two choices to start with. Either me or Red. Well, yeah. So, I give Rhett the choice. Okay. That’s right. Let’s go, Red. I’m going to concur with um with Keith Bulock’s uh Little Caesar’s matchup there to watch. And I’ll I’ll finite go in a little further. uh Jeffrey Simmons who is playing really good ball against the left guard area to the center area of this Texans offensive line because Juice Scrugs and Lake and Tomlinson rotated at left guard in this thing. Now, we’ll see if that’s a thing again, but I like big Jeff’s chances against an offensive line that’s having trouble. Mac, your turn. Protect the edges. the edge the edge of their defense is their strength. Protect the edges. I mean, you have to do that. And again, the way you do it, you got to be able to run the football or do something so that first and second down give you third. What you look at, what you’re looking for, please look for it. You got to look for third and four or less. If you got a great percentage of third and four or less on say the the 10 or 11 third downs you’ll probably have in this ball game, you’ll like that. All right. Well, I like this. I’m so glad you guys were here. Thanks for hanging out with us on the OTP. The Titans take on the Texans this Sunday in Houston at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is at noon, but don’t forget Titans Radio is on the air at 11 a.m. Central time with Titans Countdown. We’ll have everything you need to know for this matchup. So, you don’t want to miss it. But then MAC is on the call with Taylor Zarzer and Rhett Bryan and myself and Will Bowling. We’re all going to be there. So, be sure you check it out. Kickoff is at noon for Coach Mack for Rhett Bryan. Our Titans Radio. What did you say you wanted to be? Wizards, Warlocks. Warlocks. Thank you, too. I’m taking this home. Professionals. Thank you very much. This I’m taking this with me. Christy Cookie Thieves. Christy Cookie. And I’m taking this right here. And the Snickers. Halloween is coming. Max starting to steal our snacks. For all of these guys and also myself, Amy Wells, thank you for listening to this edition of the OTV. [Music]

Amie Wells is joined by Titans Radios very own Rhett Bryan and Coach Mac to look ahead to the two-toned blue’s second AFC south matchup of the season, the Houston Texans.

00:00-1:52 – Intro
01:53-06:19 – 3 Road Game Stretch
06:20-10:58 – Need the first win
10:59-20:30 – Titans Texans History
20:30-25:11 – Presence vs Texans
25:11-26:10 – Kieth Bulluck Breakdown
26:10-28:35 – Matchups to Watch/Wrap up