Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Locked on Titans: Talking Patriots win, looking ahead to the Colts with Mike Keith

Episode Date: November 14, 2018

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Welcome in to another edition of Locked On Titans. I'm Jimmy Morris, joined as always by Terry Lambert. Terry, how are you today? Doing pretty well. What's going on, man? Not a whole lot, and today we are also joined by a very special guest, Voice of the Titans, Mike Keith. Mike, thanks so much for joining us. How are you doing? I'm doing great. It's my pleasure to be with you. Yeah, absolutely. We've had you on before. We appreciate you coming back. So we'll get to a lot of stuff with Mike about the team, about the Colts, all that stuff. Before we do that, remind you that we write for MusicCityMiracles.com where we cover the Titans for SB Nation. So you can check us out there.

You can also follow us on Twitter. I am at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlambertfb. All right. So the first question that I had, I mean, that win on Sunday was one of the bigger regular season wins really since the team regular season wins, really, since the team has been here, just considering the opponent, considering the way they did it and all that kind of stuff.

So, Mike, where does that rank for you, just kind of in general? And what are a couple of your favorite regular season wins that you've called? It has to go into the top ten immediately, without question. Where it's going to fall, think will be determined by what happens the rest of the year with both of these teams and here's what i mean by that so i've gone something that i've ranked later so i have 99 september 26th at jacksonville the rain game 20 to 19 i have september 24th 2000 at pittsburgh where mcnair throws one warm-up pass, comes off the bench, wins the game. December 21, 2003, McNair to Bennett, 4th and 10 to win the game at Houston, 27-24.

I've got November 29, 2009, Titans 20, Arizona 17, the 99-yard drive, Vince Young throwing the touchdown pass, obviously to Kenny Britt on the last play of the game. October 24, 2010. This is going to be a surprise to you probably. This is the win over Philadelphia, 37-19. Kenny Britt, seven catches, 225 yards, three touchdowns. One of the best performances I've ever seen out of a Titan. One of the best individual performances've ever seen out of a Titan, one of the best

individual performances. September 22, 2013, Titans 20, San Diego 17, Locker to Hunter for the game winner, only time we've beaten the Chargers. December 16, 2016, Titans 19, Kansas City 17, the field goal at Arrowhead for Ryan Suckup to beat his former team in zero-degree weather. And then the Philadelphia win this year, the New England win this year would go on the list. But my number one is actually December 3, 2006, Tennessee 20, Indianapolis 17. And that's the Rob Barona 60 yard field goal and that that game and the reason that you know when you go back after that season it makes that game even more impressive because not only is

there a 60 yard field goal not only did the titans get behind 14 to nothing not only was it a great game not only did jeff fisher out strategizeize Tony Dungy at the end, but these were the Colts at their best. It isn't like they were playing replacement players or had a bunch of injured guys. I mean, this was their top team that the Titans beat. As a matter of fact, it's the team that went on and won the Super Bowl. The only Colts team with Peyton Manning that won the Super Bowl. So that is actually the number one regular season game for me. But long answer to your question, I think it could be this one could supersede it if the season goes on to become something very special.

There are a lot of elements in that game that certainly are like none other in Titans history. If the season does turn out to be special, Marcus Mariota is going to be a big reason why. We're starting to see him sort of return to that 2016 form, you know, when everyone was so high on him. He just looks comfortable. Again, coming off the bye week, even before the bye week in London, I thought he looked pretty comfortable, turned in a pretty good game over there.

What's the deal with him? Is it just him kind of getting more comfortable in this offense, or is it simply getting more feeling back in that hand? It's all of it. I mean, it's 100% all of it. I think it's the hand. I think it's getting rid of the glove. I think it's more comfort in the offense overall.

I think it's the offensive coordinator having more comfort with him. I think it's better protection after that Baltimore game. I think they went back and worked on some things protection-wise to handle Blitz better. I think it's the decision to put Deion Lewis as the lead back. I think it's the decision to challenge the receivers the way they have. I think it's the reemergence of John O. Smith, who was gone and has now returned. We've seen not only the touchdown catches in the last two games, but he's had a 20-plus yard catch in each game.

I think he was going to score Sunday. When he broke free, I thought there was a real chance he was going to score. You're talking about a guy who runs a 4-6 and is a good blocker. So I think his re-emergence is a big deal. I think it's all of it. I really think it's every single part of it, and I think they can keep it up. All right, coming up, we'll have more with the voice of the Titans, Mike Keyes Alright, so this is a question from Twitter And it's a really good one, it's from Krypton Quaker I hope I'm saying that right

But basically asking about, you know, Adoree matching up with Josh Gordon on Sunday And he says, we saw that Adoree can match up against bigger wide receivers and still be effective With that being said, do you think we start seeing him shadow opposing teams, number ones going forward, or do you think that was something that was specifically done to throw off the Patriots? I think we'll start to see it more and more. I think it's another edge that this team has. I talked before the break about the different things they had changed up

offensively, the different adjustments they've made. Why wouldn't you keep doing it? He can do it. The last guy that consistently did that for us was Samari Roll. And it changes how you can play defense. Because in essence, you make that game 10 on 10. If they want to keep going to that guy, they can keep doing it. But I think what they're going to find out is adori jackson is going to make plays

and you know what guys he's feeling it right now too he he feels like he's the man doesn't mean he's not going to give up catch doesn't make everything perfect but i love having a corner that has that kind of feeling about him knowing that you know he feels like he can be a shutdown wherever he goes it's a great thing john robinson didn't make a move for a receiver at the deadline it was you know heavily scrutinized there um but it seems to be working out you know if you had told me that cory davis tijay sharp cam bats and darius jennings you know john smith were going to be the primary receivers told me that Corey Davis, Tajay Sharp, Cam Batson, Darius Jennings, Johnnie Smith were going to be the primary receivers for the Titans midseason.

I would have probably told you the Titans were terrible. But the Titans are actually hot. They've knocked off perhaps the greatest team in the NFL. How are they doing it? What's going on there? How are they developing as a group? They're still growing up.

And I think the challenge to cory davis has been a big deal the fact that he's caught 13 passes in the last two games he's you know a couple of his best catches were like eight yard routes but they were key and as my broadcast partner dave mcginnis likes to call them they were combat catches they they were with a guy on you and it's you make a play or you don't to keep a drive alive, and he's doing that. So I think that's a big deal. Tajay's been a little slowed with the ankle,

but certainly he has had a nice year and I think can be a very good player down the stretch. Hopefully get Taewon Taylor back. That would help us a whole lot. Optimistic that he might be able to do some things in preparation for the game this week. Darius is a reliable guy, and Cam gives you speed. And I think where they were at the moment at the trade deadline is for the prices that were out there and the prices that they were going to have to pay.

And understanding this offseason is going to be a little different challenge for John Robinson. This is not one where they're going to have $90 million to spend, and they've got some things on their own team that they have to spend on. So I think this draft is going to be really important for the Titans. Remembering, too, they've already given up a number six for Kamalai Correa. You know, I think that factored in as well. I was not surprised. If they were going to make a deal, I thought it would be for somebody who would be, you know, maybe a seven.

I did not think they would give up a pick in the first two days or the first pick of the third round. I was not surprised by that. The feeling that they had, honestly, is we have the people if they will produce. And that's really kind of what the story was of this whole team going into the bye week. If they said, listen, we think we have a pretty good club if they'll play better. And some of it was injury and some of it was inexperience, and some of it was newness, and some of it was just playing below capability. And I think they're playing up to capability now, which is a good thing, obviously.

Talk about what you've seen from this coaching staff, because going all the way back to the beginning of the year, we know the national media doesn't pay as much attention to the Titans as we would like for them to do. But obviously the storyline for the first couple games, the bizarre game in Miami, and then Marcus in the second two games missing the tackles, all that kind of stuff. But I think you've seen at least three spectacular coaching performances, Jacksonville, Houston, and in this game this past Sunday.

So talk about what you've seen from this coaching staff, because you talk about the pass catchers growing up. I think the same thing can be said for the coaching staff. I think they're new and they're all young, obviously with the exception of DMPs, but new to this team, Maliflor's a rookie play caller, all that kind of stuff. Talk about what you've seen from them, some of the things that you've really liked in their specific game plans. Well, see, I think that's a great

point, because the other thing that has to happen, too, is the players have to develop trust in a coaching staff. And that takes time. And last week was the best example, because they came in after Dallas and they're facing New England.

And he said, here's the plan. And this is the offensive plan and this is the defensive plan. Your coaches have put this together for you. This is how we're going to practice. And listen, the practices were barely more than sped-up walk-throughs. He chose to work them for a period of time as normal, but then he really backed them off because he was trying to save their legs. And there's the former player in him coming out.

So the players really like that. They trust that. And I think you've seen the group sort of grow and then grow together at the same time, which has really been interesting to watch. I've been so impressed with Vrabel really all along based on one thing, and that is I just think he gets it. I think he gets people. I think he gets what you have to do to manage. I think he gets how you handle a staff. He is so far ahead of any first-year coach I've ever been around. It's really been impressive, even through the bad stuff. And as you guys

know, you're going to have some. It was a a month ago today the Ravens beat us 21-0 in a game we were never really in. And today, a month later, we're ahead of them in the standings. Who would have believed that, right? But that's the NFL. And it's just like what was impressive about the Patriots on Sunday. Seven minutes to go in the game, Belichick says, we're out of here. He's not going to get his quarterback hurt. He's not going to do something stupid.

They were gone faster from underneath Nissan Stadium than any team I can ever remember. When we brought the Titans radio gear down, they were gone. Not because they were all angry, but it's like look it's a it's a bad day at the office we're done we're on to something else because that game did not determine a championship there was not a trophy handed out from that game that's one game and that's the hardest part of dealing with the nfl for a young player and in some cases for a young coach. Vrabel certainly gets that. That win Sunday sets up a pretty big divisional game in Indianapolis.

Got to keep pace with those Texans. Titans have never beaten Andrew Luck. You look at what he's done. He looks like he's back to form. You've got two hot offenses on both sides there I think the advantage lies with the Titans and that rock-solid Number one ranked Titans defense. Just give me your quick thoughts on India as a whole right now Andy is doing something special on offense. They have transformed Andrew Luck. He's on pace to throw 48 touchdown passes.

He's only been sacked 10 times. He used to get hit 10 times a game, and now it's not happening. They're playing a tight end-based offense where their number one job is protect him. He makes great decisions. They've run the football pretty successfully, which has given them a very different look. So they're not taking bad plays. They're not getting their best player hit. He's so smart and so talented. He's able to pick his spots, and he has transformed his game overall. And they're a machine right now. It's going to be a real challenge for the Titans' defense to see if they can get him.

They're also 52% conversion rate on third down. That's ridiculous. That's crazy. And the fact that he's able to stand there and hold the football and work his way through progressions without being worried about getting belted is huge. Defensively, they're getting better. They've got speed. They make plays.

They have 21 sacks they have 17 takeaways you know they're not quite as talented on paper as they are on offense but they're also not as experienced on defense so i'm very impressed with what they've done i really really am impressed with how they've come back and and how they have fought through the start of this season. If the Titans do finally beat Andrew Luck on Sunday, they will have had to earn it, no doubt. Coming up, we will finish up our chat with the voice of the Titans, Mike Keith, with some of the questions from Twitter. All right, so Michael Arndt, at MJA underscore DHO, asks on Twitter, is a win in this game bigger than beating the Patriots,

considering it's a division game on the road, all that kind of stuff? Yes, 100%. I mean, not even close, because this would make you 3-0 in the division. And beating the Patriots, too, makes it bigger, because now you're 6-4, and if Washington were to knock off Houston, you're back in first place in the division. Yes, these next two games are much bigger than the Patriots game. I was talking to my wife, and of course, she's a fan, and she doesn't care for the Patriots, and she's like a lot of the country. She doesn't care for the Patriots, and she's, you know, like a lot of the country, she doesn't care for the Patriots.

And she says, man, beating the Patriots would be the biggest. And it's like, yes, but not as big. I mean, if you told me I can beat Indian Houston or I can beat New England, I would take the Indian Houston wins. Because I just think the whole winning the division is so important because not only does it guarantee you a playoff spot, but it guarantees you a home game in the playoffs. You don't just get in the tournament.

You get in the tournament at an advantage. So, I mean, this ballgame is massive for both of these clubs. It also sets up, too, if you knock off the Colts, you drop them to 4-6. You change their arc. If they win this football game, they are in the middle of everything, and they become double-dog dangerous. And just as an aside, a win in this game sets up a really, really fun matchup

on Monday night in Houston. Absolutely. It would be four first place in the division regardless of what happens in Washington. So, yes. Listen, if you follow a franchise, that's what you want. I mean, you love these moments, right? You love Sunday at Nissan Stadium with the AFC champions, maybe the greatest coach of all time, maybe the greatest quarterback of all time,

in our town, knowing that this is our team that represents us in the NFL. I mean, as a fan, it's just so cool. Watching Tom Brady warm up the other day, I'm sitting there and I'm, you know, I'm 12 years old again because, I mean, it's Tom Brady. You're like, I mean, I want to beat him at everything, but you still respect the body of work that this guy has and what he means to the hit. I mean, next year this league will celebrate its 100th season,

and we're watching a guy who would have been one of the greatest players in any era, in any team that's ever played the game, and that really makes it special. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Alan Matthews at Alan underscore M asks, with the Colts not allowing a sack on Luck in the last three weeks, what's the key to breaking that streak? Coverage.

If you cover well and you make him hold the ball, they can't hold him out forever. So I think the secondary will have to play as well, if not better, as they did against the Patriots. That, to me, is the key. And that also means the linebackers, because the linebackers have a lot of responsibility for coverage with the tight ends. They've got Ebron and Doyle and Hewitt.

I mean, that's a really nice group of tight ends overall. All right, and the last thing, at South Texas Titan asks, Tom Brady, Carson Winston, Sean Watson, the Titans have looked good against all those quarterbacks so far. But Andrew Luck, as we've talked about, has kind of seemed to have this defense's number. Are they ready to finally step up against him, or do you see this game coming down to a shootout? I think you're going to have to score.

I think it's going to be hard to keep them from putting points on the board. It's sort of like Brady, though. You want to make him kick at field goals. You want to figure out a way to get off the field on third down. If you could hold them in the 30s in third down percentage, that would be great. I think the Titans have to be prepared offensively. One of my questions about the game last week, guys, is I wondered, can they score 30 points? Because they had not scored 30 points in 13 months.

And I thought, you're going to need 30 points to beat them. Well, they scored 30 points. It turns out they need 11. That was all they would have needed. But who would have thought that, right? I think you have to approach that. They beat Jacksonville last week 29-26. I think you've got to be ready offensively to go score,

and I think Mariota and company are up to that. I think in taking the reins, if we have a day where the defense doesn't have its best stuff, I think this offense can now win a game. And I think that's different from a month ago. Yeah, absolutely. One thing that I think is finally starting to get as much run as it should, but how good this defense has been. Hadn't even this game, they were the number one scoring defense in the NFL,

but there was that, well, I didn't play anybody, blah, blah, blah. But, I mean, they showed on on Sunday like this this defense is legit and so even you know if the offense does have another one of those days where you know they're confused or whatever they're having trouble getting on the same page I really think this defense can carry this team just as far if the offense struggles as vice versa yeah I think you're right it's one of the better defenses in the league I think when it's all said and done, statistically, it's going to be a top-ten defense in virtually every category and probably top five in some categories.

I think it is that good, and getting Morgan back will help. Certainly getting Woodyard back has made a difference. The biggest difference that may shock people, though, is getting Kenny Vaccaro back. I mean, Kenny Vaccaro is just a heat-seeking missile. That guy is just some kind of player. And he gives you such a lift defensively, particularly in the run game. But, I mean, he can come flying up on screen passes, as we saw on Sunday.

It's a pretty good unit. And if Malcolm Butler can continue to play the way he has the last three halves, then that steps you up pretty dramatically as well. Absolutely. Vaccaro, I think, set the tone in that game on Sunday. That game was awesome. Somebody described him to me, ironically, because we're playing the Colts. They described him to me as a Bob Sanders.

And you remember Bob Sanders with the Colts. Bob Sanders hit so hard he hurt himself. Vaccaro is a guy who has some of that tendency. And when he gets around, people seem to, let's just say, he has their attention. Absolutely. All right, Mike, well, we appreciate you so much taking the time to join us. seem to, let's just say he has their attention. Yeah, absolutely. All right, Mike, well, we appreciate you so much taking the time to join us. Y'all are still doing OTP every Thursday at 10, is that right? Every Thursday at 9 Central, 10 Eastern.

We do it live from the new studio that we've got here at St. Thomas Sports Park. So thanks for mentioning that. We have a lot of fun and appreciate the great feedback we get on that. Yeah, and you can watch that live, and you can also subscribe to the podcast so you can listen to it later if you can't see it then. Anyway, again, thanks so much for taking the time, and hopefully we can catch up with you again down the road. My pleasure. Thank you.

All right, so that will do it for today's episode. Appreciate everybody that sent in questions for Mike. We'll be back tomorrow previewing this game against the Colts. In the meantime, like I said, check out musicseemiracles.com. You can follow us there. You can follow us on Twitter. I'm at jmorrismcm. Terry's at tlembertfb.

So for Terry, this is Jimmy saying thanks for listening to Locked on Titans, and we will talk to you again tomorrow.