Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Sounds of the Titans - Head Coach Mike Vrabel on Play-Calling, Training Camp & Platforms
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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast.
I am your host, Tyler Rowland.
Titans fans, today's edition of the Locked on Titans podcast is brought to you by rockauto.com.
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We are going to jump into Mike Vrabel's Zoom conference from Thursday.
We got a lot of interesting notes when we heard from John Robinson in Monday's show.
So today we are going to keep that going with a lengthy interview with head coach Mike Vrabel.
And he gave a lot of really good information, in my opinion.
Talked about his questions about training camp and the process and the procedure.
Talked about some virtual standouts and any way that you really can stand out virtually.
Talked a little about his defensive mindset in terms of play calling and the hierarchy of defensive assistance.
I thought that was a very interesting nugget.
So I'm going to break all of that down with you guys.
Got things kind of segmented out here in terms of the macro things as we did on Monday with
John Robinson.
Some of the player specific and football specific things in segment two.
And then of course in segment three talking more about the social issues, the comments
that Mike Vrabel had to say again after his initial statement talking about how Ryan Tannehill's
leadership and Derrick Henry's leadership and Derek Henry's
leadership has impacted his views and he even talked about some of his past experiences with
him as a player that has shaped his views on these subjects so thought that was really important to
include as well and I'm excited to give it all to you guys remember on Friday we are going to have
our Friday mailbag so make sure that you're following me on Twitter, at TicTacTitans, and send in all of your questions to me there.
Also, make sure that you are subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast on Apple Podcasts,
following us on Spotify, or whatever platform that you do stream your podcast, as I will
be continuing to give you guys content throughout the offseason.
But with all of that said, it is time to dive into Mike Vrabel's Zoom conference.
Let's get it.
Let's start things off by talking about the virtual offseason program.
So the NFL gave the Titans an extension, well, gave the entire NFL an extension on their virtual offseason program.
But the Titans decided last week on Thursday to end their virtual program and not take advantage of the extension that the NFL provided.
And Mike Vrabel talks about why they decided to do that.
And his answer is pretty interesting.
Of course, audio is courtesy of TennesseeTitans.com.
To be involved with, to making sure that they worked out
and got on these meetings and our rookies to be involved in a rookie program
and get brought up to speed as best that they possibly could.
And so I felt like this was the right time.
I felt like it was – I didn't want it to drag.
I didn't want to see these long faces in the meeting,
and I felt like they continued to be engaged.
And as we started to add individual units into groups and secondary to linebackers
and linebackers at D-line, I started adding those groups and the receivers and the quarterbacks and then started working the tight ends and the running
backs. So that's kind of what we did. And to your other question about bringing them in,
if we could have brought them in, you know, I think, you know, they were talking about,
you know, working through some sort of phase one and conditioning and meeting.
And I, that wasn't something that I really took into consideration.
I anticipate an earlier start to training camp.
And so I felt like in order to allow for our players and their families to be
emotionally and physically ready for the season,
I wanted to try to give them some of that time,
as well as our coaching staff,
so that we could come back fresh and ready.
Obviously, Vrabel and the entire Titans organization
places a major premium on the work-life balance,
so I thought it was interesting that the Titans decided to
end that off-season program early,
even though they could have kept going.
I think the reasons that Mike Vrabel gave there about spending time with family, resetting
your mind, being fresh, I think all of that makes great sense. Now, one thing that Mike Vrabel
talked about next is, are there any positives that you can take from the unusual offseason
virtual program that the Titans had to do? I think what it did, it forced me to realize how great our coaching staff is
and how creative they are and what kind of teachers they are
to be able to adapt to this virtual setting.
Again, I thank them in front of the team.
I was in every meeting.
And instead of you falling into this rut of having to have team meetings
every single day and stand up in front of them
and talk about the things that I want to talk about.
But in the end, those coaches know those players better than anybody.
And those six running backs that are in that room with Tony Dews,
working through protections and working through routes and
working through run schemes. That's what I felt like they needed. And so that's what really it
forced us to do was to break things down and to have a lot of individual meetings so that these
guys can improve on their details within the calls and the time to come together um which we we have to as a
football team and obviously as a society it is going to be uh when we get these guys back for
training camp and speaking about having guys back in the building mike vrabel was allowed to return
to the team facility last week on monday what were his thoughts on just being back in his office?
Well, it's just good to be back here.
This is our home away from home.
It's where we're comfortable as coaches and players.
And I feel bad for them that they can't come in.
And I understand, and I'm not complaining.
I'm just saying these guys have a routine
and these guys that have chosen to make Nashville their home
would normally be able to come in here and be able to train
and be able to use our training room.
And unless they're on the rehab list, that's not possible.
So I'm thankful that I can do it,
but I'm also somewhat sad that our players can't
and then they have to find other ways to prepare.
Right now, the only way that the players can prepare,
in a sense, at least in team-organizedized activities was through that virtual off-season program.
So does that off-season program and all of the classroom work
that they've been doing change at all the way that Mike Vrabel
looks at the training camp schedule or what needs to be installed?
No, I think it's, I mean, we're still going to have an installation schedule
when we come back.
And, you know, normally what you do is you install something during phase one and phase two. You'll start back with that installation. When you go to OTAs, you'll start back over. You'll take a break and then you'll come back and you're going to reinstall from install one when you get to training camp. So we'll, we'll,
we'll get to training camp and we'll go back to install one and any time that
you leave the classroom, it's going to look differently on the field.
Motions are going to look quicker.
Breaking the huddle and getting lined up is going to,
going to have to be quicker.
And so those are all the growing pains that you're going to have to live with
year in and year out of training camp that when you leave the meeting room, you have to take the, and then you're going to have to live with year in and year out of training
camp that when you leave the meeting room you have to take the and then you're going to have
walkthroughs and you know we're going to try to do everything that we can that we would normally do
when we go to finally practice and I think everyone can relate to that kind of message
you can read every book in the world watch every instructional video hear a teacher or an
instructor break
it down for you, but until you actually get a chance to do something hands-on, and in
this case, go out and actually play football and run the plays that you're expected to
run and know if the defense lines up this way, well, we only talked about it this way,
all of the different circumstances and scenarios that can actually take place when you're doing something not just playing football really anything anyone
can relate to this feeling well obviously actually putting it into practice is going to be more
beneficial than just simply learning in a classroom but since the classroom portion of the
offseason is technically over for now what is the plan between now and the beginning of training camp?
No.
I mean, guys will come in.
I mean, the coaches are going to be off.
It's a long season.
These guys have family.
Their ability to go watch baseball games or go swim with their kids
or go on vacation is important to me that they do that.
And when we find a schedule, when I know that when we're going to come back,
then I'll make the schedule accordingly for us to come back
and make sure that we're ready to go for training camp and for the season.
But we're going to still be able to continue to use our computers
and to have access wherever we're at.
And if they choose to come in here, they can choose to come in here.
But these guys need some time off.
They need to spend some time with their families and make sure, again,
like the players, that the coaches don't have to be physically ready,
but they have to be mentally prepared for a long season.
And finally, what are Mike Vrabel's expectations for training camp? What sort of
questions does he have about that process and that procedure? I thought this little bit was
really insightful. Vrabel obviously has a ton of questions. There's a lot of unknown right now,
and some of the questions that he raises are very good ones. So take a listen.
It's just the flow of the player when they walk
in in the morning and try to do that and see what that looks like. How many guys can be in a hot tub?
How many guys can be in a training room? How many guys can lift and what time you want to lift? And
some guys like to lift before practice. Some guys like to lift after practice.
What the flow through the lunchroom looks like and how the boxed lunch has to be and no buffet.
How many guys can sit at a table and how you space that out?
The meeting rooms, like you mentioned, you know, how do you do a team meeting room with
90 players?
And how do you do an offensive and defensive unit meeting?
And so we're looking at all that, Jim, and I'm confident that everybody within the organization is going to help us do
that and make it as seamless as possible.
It's going to look different.
I mean, I told the players it's going to look different,
but we're still going to be here for a reason,
and that's to prepare for a season, a successful season.
Those are some really good questions that right now i don't know that
anyone has an answer to it's it's just a difficult proposition we're seeing this all around the
sports landscape baseball is on the brink of not having a season basketball is having a lot of
debate right now between its players as to whether and not they want to play, not just due to COVID,
but obviously the social issues going on in our country right now. So it's just very difficult
to have professional sports with social distancing. I mean, that's what it comes down to. So a lot of
questions that will need to be answered by the NFL between now and the beginning of training camp.
We are going to get into more player specific football
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RockAauto.com okay so what i thought was the most interesting part
of raybould's conference call was where he talked about the defensive roles for his assistants.
I mean, he didn't go too in-depth, but he dropped a little bit of a nugget that should
give us an indication on who may be calling defensive plays or at least the process.
So here, Mike Rabel just starts off talking about not having Dean Pease, but it leads
him into dropping this little nugget.
I'll let you guys check it out.
Well, I think you know how important Dean Pease is to me and these players that have been around him,
not only on our team, but other teams in this league,
the impact that he's made on their lives as players and people.
But I'm very comfortable with the staff and excited about the staff,
the addition of Jim Haslett and Matt Edwards on defensive side, Zach Kerr.
And, you know, Shane, I've told the defense,
I've told the defense that Shane Bowen is going to help me
and is going to be the voice in there when I'm not there.
So Shane and I are going to, you know,
we'll figure out how we're going to proceed going forward. But I love where we're at right now in our communication and
how we've been able to approach these meetings and organize. And when we get to the next step,
then we'll figure out what we're going to do from there. Boom, boom. That's the nugget. Shane Bowen
is the defensive coordinator. And if you recall,
when we listened to Shane Bowen's conference call last week, I was incredibly impressed with how
articulate, well-spoken, and detail-oriented he was. The way he talked about breaking down players,
the way he talked about scouting his own players, how they need to improve all of that. It was just, it was impressive.
And it's clear that he's able to communicate very well.
And that's the most important thing for a coach or a teacher or anything whatsoever.
So to me, that right there is Shane Bowen could be making the calls.
Regardless of the play calling, Shane Bowen is the defensive coordinator. Mike
Vrabel is the head coach. He's got to be in all the meetings, special teams, offense, defense,
all of that. When he's not in the defensive meeting room, Shane Bowen is the one who is
leading the room. Shane Bowen is the defensive coordinator, whether or not he has the title or
not. In terms of play calling, I'm going to talk a little bit more about that after this next answer, but basically what happened was I believe it was John Glennon kind of pressed
Mike Vrabel later on to talk more about Bowen's role and how that impacts play calling, and of
course Mike Vrabel has always got very, very testy in his response, but did give us a little bit more
information. I'm going to continue to be the head coach, John.
And so I'm going to continue to try to be in the special teams meetings.
And I'm going to continue to try to be in the offensive meetings.
And I think I can provide input.
And again, I trust our staff on all levels.
And so if I, for whatever reason, am not in the defensive meeting room
while the entire defense is meeting, Shane would be the one that would probably be talking to him, along with some other coaches if we were making presentations on ball disruption or third down.
So, again, that's kind of where we're at. As far as having three or four signal callers based on a down in distance
or if it's third or fourth down or a run, we're going to have one call.
And I'm not really sure who's going to make that call right now.
Just like there were times where I wanted things called and let Dean know,
and there were times that Dean made a call.
So there's going to be one call that goes into the huddle,
and it's going to be the one that we think is going to give the players
the best chance to be successful.
Okay, so let's talk about what Vrabel said there at the very end of that statement.
Basically, he's saying that last year, Dean Pease is calling the plays,
but if Vrabel wanted a play call, all he had to do was tell Pease, hey, we need to go with the cover two cross dog.
Or, you know, I'm not going to sit here and try to, I don't know the Titans defensive play calls or terminology.
I'm not going to try to make it up.
But you guys know what I mean.
If Vrabel thought that man coverage was working, if Vrabel thought that cover six cloud coverage was working best,
all he had to do was tell Dean Pease, hey, on third and six or less I want to run this play and I have a feeling based on these last two comments that we
got from Vrabel that Shane Bowen will be calling the plays but Vrabel will be adding in his
recommendations a lot more frequently than he did with Dean Pease so right now if I had to bet money
my bet on the structure of defensive play calling,
based on what Vrabel just said here,
is that Shane Bowen will call the plays normally,
but Vrabel will have a major influence, a major impact,
and offer plenty of suggestions.
So that's my bet right now, if I had to place one.
I thought, like I said, that was the most interesting part of Vrabel's press conference,
but then he transitioned into talking more about the players and what he's seen from them.
Here he talks about things that he doesn't know about the team right now that normally by this time in the process he would know.
Sure. You don't know what their conditioning level is.
That was something that I could, as a coach and Frank, that Todd, we can monitor their conditioning level.
You know, it's going to be important that we focus on fundamentals, making sure that we don't
just gloss over the fundamentals when we get to camp, because the phase two and the phase three,
that allows for fundamental football, you know know without pads during the spring and so
that's those are things that I've been thinking about making sure that we don't just gloss over
and say hey let's just rush into to two minute or all these situations when we have to to make
sure that there's a foundation and a base for for football season, which with everything that gets tough,
you have to rely on fundamentals.
And so I'll be conscious of that to make sure that we don't gloss over that
and the tackling and all those things, all those fundamentals for each position
and for each side of the ball, ball security, take care of football,
trying to get the football out.
All those things can't get glossed over because we've missed a few weeks of that.
Vrabel makes a good point there.
You can't miss out on fundamentals that are so important to the game
because you're in a hurry to install offense and defense and things like that.
Vrabel talks a little bit more about his concern
and how much technique work players are missing out on and if that will impact him.
Yeah, I mean, we're going to always, you know, there's nothing more important than the health of the football team.
So, Terry, again, when we would normally have left here after minicamp, those players would have gone back.
Some would stay here.
Some would go back to their hometowns and they would train.
And guys have trainers. Everybody has somewhere that they go. They have a routine.
And so, you know, I'm confident that they'll do that.
But we'll also still make sure that we we have an evaluation of them from from a fitness level and a conditioning level.
We'd also track body weights for nine weeks. We'd also said, Hey, you know,
watching you move around, this is where you're at.
And there wasn't an official way in,
but we could monitor that and see where guys is what we thought their ideal or
optimal body weight plan weight was.
We'll have to continue to monitor that when they get back here to make sure
that that's something that's the best for them and the best for the team.
And then you mentioned that the fundamentals and I can't say it enough.
I it's it's my charge to make sure that we're a fundamental football team, that we're using the proper fundamentals so that we avoid penalties during the play.
to do our job because the talent level is so close week in and week out that technique sometimes is going to be the determining factor
in whether somebody does their job or somebody has an advantage.
Speaking of technique, the wide receiver position is historically technique-driven.
How does Mike Rabel evaluate the young group of wide receivers
he has behind the big three in these circumstances?
Right now they're answering all the questions
and they're memorizing the routes and the arrows.
And when there's another body over there against them on the field,
then we'll figure out if they can get lined up quick enough,
can they motion to the right spot, and can we'll figure out if they can get lined up quick enough. Can they motion to the
right spot, and can they beat man coverage, and can they sit down and be a target for the
quarterback in zone coverage? But right now, Luke, until we go out there and practice, that's going
to be real difficult for me to determine. Yep, they know what to do, but can they go out there
and can they execute it versus another player on the field?
And until Vrabel is able to actually see what these guys can do on the field,
how are the Titans testing the knowledge
and making sure that their players are soaking in all of the information
that they've gotten in these virtual programs?
Well, they've got these things called Quizlets now.
Let me check on my phone. I got the app. I got to, got to remember the name. Um,
but you go on there and, uh, you press in their code and then all of a sudden everybody's on there
and they're going, uh, going against each other and you get points for like time and getting it correct. And so we do a great job of being creative and, and testing,
testing the players, you know, each week,
whether that's through a jeopardy type game or, you know, again,
just trying to keep them engaged and,
and get the group together and see how everybody's learning.
You ask them questions through virtual settings.
The one thing we do is we ask a lot of questions.
We try not to say, hey, does anybody have any questions?
Because usually nobody raises their hand except for media people.
But normally if you ask a group of football players,
hey, does anybody have any questions, they're not going to ask a question.
So you have to do a lot of direct teaching and you have to ask questions
so that you can identify who knows the material.
And if they don't know it, then you can you can fix it quickly.
I can't help but find it pretty dang funny that NFL coaches have just been turned into teachers.
That's it. I mean, coaching since the dawning of time is just teaching in sports.
So, I mean, the connection there is obvious but
literally they're in a virtual classroom they're giving quizzes and online testing websites with
scores and trackers and asking anybody got any questions before we dismiss oh it's so funny in
my head to just imagine NFL football players basically going back to college
and NFL coaches basically becoming college professors. So there is something funny in
there that I can't help but laugh at. So that is going to do it for the player and team specific
portion. In our third segment, I am going to give you some of Mike Vrabel's quotes about the social
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you know, the players and their platform, some of his experiences as a player, and
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The first thing that I wanted to play here in our final segment of the show today is Rabel talking about, so in this virtual setting, well, I guess let's go back even further.
The Titans typically will give out off-season awards due to people who work really hard and lead by example. And of course, in the classroom setting, it's hard to really have standouts. But Rabel talks about if anybody really caught his eye in terms of their work.
first question because I've actually been thinking about it since I've been back in the building.
John and I, you know, there's four spots out there in the front by the door that we've reserved as part of the package for those performers of the offseason. There's no signs on those polls now.
And so as I've left here the last couple of days, I've thought, you know, is that something that we
want to do? And I think that it is.
And that'll be something that I continue to think about over,
over the next couple of weeks, you know,
just to honor those guys that really showed a
great improvement and put a lot into it. You know, one,
one name that's probably not going to jump off the depth chart is, is Rashard Davis. You know, one, one name that's probably not going to jump off the depth chart is,
is Rashard Davis. You know, it was a young receiver that we had here last year that played
some for us that made, made a couple of big catches down the stretch. I think he's really
put a lot into it. And so as most of the other guys, I think A.J. and Corey and their leadership in the wide receiver room, you know, I think a lot of the players have.
And for me to go down there and, you know, name a bunch of guys right now, I don't think it's fair to anybody.
And I would just say that I miss my players.
I miss my players. I miss seeing them. I see the few that come in for rehab and it makes me realize why I want to do
this and coach and try to make an impact on these players.
And so when we get back to training camp, we're going to, you know,
everybody's going to compete and everybody's going to have an opportunity.
Some guys will have more opportunity than others. That's how it goes,
but everybody's going to have an opportunity. Some guys will have more opportunity than others. That's how it goes, but everybody's going to have an opportunity,
and hopefully they've done enough to take advantage of it when they do get them.
Someone who we know will always be ready to take advantage of his opportunity
is Derrick Henry.
Mike Vrabel here talks about Derrick Henry's role going forward,
the type of example that he can lead,
and I think he gives some really good nuggets about what makes Derrick Henry so special.
We anticipate that Derrick is going to come back in fantastic shape.
We think that, you know, this isn't a, you know, you don't, you don't to run the ball
or do anything in this league.
You just don't give it to one guy and say, go beat 11 guys.
You know, we understand it takes all 11 players.
It takes the receivers blocking in a run game.
It takes the offensive line to get on and move guys in the lineup to a lot of scrimmage.
And certainly Derek had a great season.
But you have to come back every year in this league and be able to do something better because everybody else is trying to get better.
So I think that the leadership is something that he'll continue to develop.
And it's hard in this virtual setting.
It's very difficult, you know, because there are some guys that, you know, I would say
during those off-season OTAs and those phase one and phase two is when they're conditioning
and they see guys see how hard they work and how committed they are to to taking care of their body and and the nutrition
and that's probably something that Derek I think would strive in in which he has done in the past
and maybe not the biggest vocal leader but I think he does a great job of leading by example when
he's here and so those are things that we're going to have to get back to when we get back to training camp.
I really like the part talking about Derrick Henry's nutrition in there.
That's something that I've talked about when discussing how he may be different than the other examples of running backs we've seen get big contracts just because of his level
of commitment, his overall incredible athleticism and his body.
He may just be a rare, rare breed.
He may be a unicorn, guys.
It's definitely a possibility.
And another person that led this team last year was Ryan Tannehill.
So Mike Vrabel talks about Tannehill's leadership and how he can be a part of leading a team
and having a player-led team.
and how he can be a part of leading a team and having a player-led team.
I think that player-led teams are always going to be, I would think, the better team.
John and I can hold players accountable, and we can do our best, but the best teams that I've been a part of have been player-led,
and the players hold each other accountable.
And I'll still, and John will still have a large factor in that,
but that they can lead. And, you know, I thought that that was great.
The guys that went out there and did that with, with Ryan.
And so, you know, we had a team meeting and then asked if,
to hear from guys, you know,
I didn't want to make it formal and call on guys and,, you know, the guys that chose to speak, you know,
I appreciate it because I said, yo, at least, you know, you guys are,
we're all speaking the same language and we see it through the same set of
eyes.
And they talked about, you know,
reaching out to guys and making sure that, you know,
you're still finding ways to stay in contact
with players in your position group
or making great decisions about when you do things socially
or when you go out or making great decisions on when to train
and when to take vacation.
So all those guys that spoke, I was proud of the things that they said in there.
Rabel continues to talk about his players speaking up and leading when he gets into
his thoughts about the platform that his players have.
I would say that the first thing is I think it's a, we have a very important platform
as coaches and especially players in the National Football League,
that the things that we say are going to carry more weight
than the things other people say.
And the people that don't have that same voice or platform,
you know, we have to speak for them.
And we have to make sure that we're caring
and we're leading the charge for them.
And I think that I
would say that more players have done that this time and I'm proud of them and I'm proud to be a
part of that group both as a player as a former player and now as a coach it's an unbelievable
honor to be associated with people like that especially in the National Football League.
I don't think that the discussions as a player were what they are today or what they've been recently.
It's just about being a great teammate, being a great husband, being a great friend,
earning your right to the team based on your ability to help the team,
your toughness, your accountability, your performance.
And so that's why it didn't matter.
Race didn't matter.
How much money you had didn't matter.
What your religion was never mattered. So it wasn't talked about as much and so now i think it's
been really good to be able to have those conversations and hear our players talk
and try to understand and empathize with what they've um been through what their families
have been through what their parents have been through, what their parents have been through,
and, you know, what the talk meant to some of our minority assistant coaches, what that talk meant.
And the talk to me wasn't the same, what the talk meant to them. And so it brings great perspective. So I think that this has probably been my best experience with having those conversations.
Of course, Vrabel had conversations as a player as well with different teammates who helped shape his views and his thought process on current issues.
And he talks about his experiences as a player and in different locker rooms as well.
And he talks about his experiences as a player and in different locker rooms as well. Well, I would say that I was been very fortunate since the time that I entered into the National Football League to be around great players.
And a lot of them, you know, African-American.
Dermot Dawson, Cordell Stewart, LeVon Kirkland, Greg Lloyd,
Carnell Lake.
I mean, these guys were men when I was a boy,
when I was a 21-year-old naive defensive end from Ohio State.
And then that transitioned on to the New England Patriots
and players like Willie McGinnis and Rodney Harrison,
Loyal Malloy, Ty Law, Troy Brown.
So when you look at our football team, you know, and you listen to them and you hear their experiences,
hear their experiences, you have to try to find some empathy and understand that we shared, as we grew up and as we are today, different experiences. And they talked about the pain and
the numbness. And when those players say that and the apprehension to make a stand in fear of losing their job or not getting a career off or started, that maybe they were a young player. Something that we now have to take notice of and try to help them and make this a positive change for everybody.
All right, guys.
That is going to wrap up the highlights from Mike Vrabel's Zoom conference.
Once again, we did full episodes on these where typically I just chop it up and give you one segment of highlights.
But the reality is we might not hear from
anyone related to the Titans until a month and a week, maybe six weeks, depending on
when they decide to go ahead and start training camp.
So I thought it was important to give you all of the possible information that I could.
Now that you are done with this edition of the Locked on Titans podcast, make sure to
check out the Locked on NFL podcast.
Never a bad time to take in the national news.
There's a lot going on around the NFL right now
that isn't Titans related,
so make sure that you check up on that.
It's a wonderful show over there.
Once again, that's the Locked on NFL podcast.
But that is going to do it for our Wednesday show.
I'm sure some of you will be hearing this on Thursday morning,
but I will be back with you guys on Friday.
Once again, send in your mailbag
questions to me at
tiktaktitans on Twitter, or if you don't
have a Twitter and want to put it in an
Apple 5-star review, I won't be mad
at you there, and I check those as well.
So, I do appreciate you guys,
and I will be back with you on Friday,
as I said. As always,
I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.