Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - Tennessee Titans Back-Up Coach?? Titans Offensive Stars Speak to Media..

Episode Date: August 13, 2020

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Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host, Tyler Rowland. Titans fans, today is the first day that all Titans players, both group one and group two, can be out on the practice field together. That is very exciting news as we continue to progress through this new looking version of Titans training camp. And on today's show, we are going to catch you up to speed on what some of the Titans best players on offense and defense are saying and some really important updates we got from

Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. And we are going to start with Mike Vrabel, hear what he has to say about Adoree Jackson's development, some training camp specific items that he touched on, and we've talked a lot about the depth required from the roster. Let's hear Mike Vrabel talk about what the depth looks like from a coaching standpoint. So that'll be a very interesting thing to discuss opening up our show. And then we will hear from some of the leaders on the Titans offense center. Ben Jones, quarterback Ryan Tannehill, wide receiver A.J. Brown, and wide

receiver Adam Humphreys. We will go over the highlights from their Zoom conferences with Titans media as well as we progress further through training camp. And actually, the first day that media will be allowed to view Titans on-field practice will be Friday. So very exciting Titans news ahead. Make sure that you are subscribed to the Locked on Titans podcast on Apple Podcast, following on Spotify, or whatever platform you do stream, as I will continue to pump out Monday through Friday content throughout the rest of the season.

But some very interesting quotes ahead in this Sounds of the Titans episode of the Locked on Titans podcast. Let's get it. We have talked at length on this podcast throughout the offseason about all the changes that the NFL has made this year to deal with the uncertainty of COVID-19 and how it'll impact rosters. They increased the size of the practice squad from 10 to 12 and then to 16. They increased the amount of players that can go on injured reserve and come off of injured reserve back to the team. They did special restrictions for practice squad guys so that teams can't poach and steal from other practice squads. You have protected players. They have increased maneuverability back and forth between the active roster and the practice squad,

all to deal with that uncertainty from COVID-19 and how it'll impact the depth of these rosters throughout the season. But what we haven't talked about much is how it'll impact the coaching staff. And if you watch NFL Hard Knocks the first episode of the year was on Tuesday and it was revealed that Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn contracted COVID-19 earlier in the offseason now he was luckily enough he was healthy and ready to go for the beginning of Chargers training camp but just a window into what could take place to the Titans. If Mike Vrabel was to contract COVID-19, what would the Titans do?

Well, Mike Vrabel answered that in his Zoom conference on Wednesday, audio courtesy of TennesseeTitans.com, as always. But who stepped up for the Titans to be that backup head coach when Mike Rabel took his son to college? Mike Rabel tells us. Well, I took Carter to college yesterday. I dropped Carter off at college, and so we kind of used yesterday as a day for Craig Aukerman to be able to handle the team meetings and handle practice or handle the walkthrough that we had yesterday um and then obviously we've been through and we have set up a you know a flow chart I feel like we're set up pretty well uh to be able to handle some of those things if coaches were out I feel very comfortable about where we would be um and we'd still be able

to zoom and do game planning and a lot of different things. It's just on the day-to-day, being in front of the team or being at practice. Craig was able to handle that yesterday, so that gave us an opportunity at least for the players to see and hear him. So special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman is the backup head coach, and that makes a lot of sense because, quite frankly,

the offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and the de facto defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, they just have a lot more on their plate on a week-to-week basis coordinating the offense and defense as opposed to coordinating the special teams. I don't mean to diminish the value of special teams, but that's just the reality here. So rather than putting additional responsibility on the plate of Arthur Smith or Shane Bowen as they try to game plan and coordinate that side of the ball, have special teams coordinator

Craig Aukerman, who is still a top ranked member of the coaching staff. You're not going down to a position coach he's still a coordinator of one of the three sides of the football there are no sides to a football because it's round but you know what I mean by the expression so it just makes sense that Craig Aukerman would take over that responsibility if for some reason Mike Vrabel did contract COVID-19 and had to miss any time and God forbid hopefully that is not the case for the Titans this upcoming season but Mike Vrabel also dished some very important information on the schedule going forward I talked about some of that at the

beginning of our show in the intro the Titans will be on the field all together for the first time today Thursday but media will have their opportunity to see the Titans on the field for the first time today, Thursday, but media will have their opportunity to see the Titans on the field for the first time Friday. And remember, there are still two different groups who are on two different schedules. Tomorrow, we'll have everybody that's available on the field at the same time. We'll work through some phase two stuff. The phase two rules have changed slightly this year.

Players at the same position can be across from each other. So an offensive lineman can hold a bag for another offensive lineman. A defensive lineman can hold a bag for another defensive lineman. In a teaching phase, in an individual drill, players on the same side of the ball can line up, offensive players can line up as defensive players in a walkthrough formation. You know, we can't go offense versus defense, but they have changed and modified some of those phase two rules at that point in time. Once that's completed, we will have a little bit extra time for some of these group one players that came in, rookies, a little bit extra time for some of these group one players that came in, rookies, quarterbacks,

some of the veteran players that came in early, which would then be able to transition into an OTA type practice, which would allow for some one-on-one, some releases, you know, different drills that we feel like can help them acclimate towards practice. So it'll look the same at the beginning, and then there'll be another group there for a little bit there at the end that'll be moving on in their acclimation progression. So as I mentioned, there are two different groups. One group started earlier than the other. That would be the rookies, the quarterbacks, and veterans who were rehabbing from injury. So basically, they're going to move on to phase three of the process, which phase two, as Vrabel outlined, is where you can only work with your side of the football. If you're on defense, you can do things with other defenders.

For example, on offense, you can have the first team offense running plays and then you can have backup offensive players being a scout defense during a walkthrough session basically so phase three is where you can intermingle you can have a cornerback going one-on-one against a wide receiver doing some one-on-one drills like that and go full speed not a walkthrough not pads on yet but you can do that so one group is going to get to that level before the other until they finally all catch up with each other eventually and padded practices start on the 17th but really uh enjoy Rabel being so detailed they're giving us a good inside window into what actually the Titans are doing and when we can expect the team to get fully

together. Next, of course, I had to throw in a comment about Vic Beasley. And I think you can tell from Vrabel's tone here that he's not happy with everything that's been going on either. You know, Vic's here, which I'm excited about. He's been in the meetings. He's working through, you know, the same program, the same schedule that everybody else is. You know, as far as a doghouse, I think that, you know, I'm going to coach them all the way that I think is best and try to get them to develop and learn our system

and put the team first, all those things that we talked about, and hold every player accountable. It's funny, at the end he mentions two things, put the team first and hold players accountable. And Vic Beasley hasn't been accountable to his teammates and he hasn't put his teammates first. So I think that although Vrabel isn't going to come right out and say that he's upset or angry or anything like that,

I think that tells you exactly what's on his mind. Next, Mike Vrabel talks about Adoree Jackson. I think he's one of the most important players for the Titans coming up in 2020 and we have been hearing rumors that Adoree is experimenting again as a punt returner, which has had up and down results in the past. And seems like it is affected as cornerback play at times. So what does Rabel think about Adoree as a corner and then on the flip side as a punt returner?

Yeah, I mean, I think just staying focused and just continuing to show him all the positive plays when he's challenged and he's aggressive and he's confident. It's hard playing corner in this league. I mean, it's hard with the way the rules are set up and the DPI and, you know, you got to have a mentality that you come back and compete the next play. But there's a lot of clips of really good football that that's the expectation with the Dory. And so just continuing to show them all those positive plays and, and then maybe identifying some of those areas of focus that,

that we can, and he can get cleaned up through, through, you know, Anthony midget and through the conversations with the other, other corners. And that's a tight group and they're all helping each other develop and improve. You know,

I try to do what's best for the team and you give the, give, give each player what they can handle. And you know, if they can handle it then you give them a little bit more. And if they can't you know, you have to, you have to pull back a little bit more. And if they can't, you know, you have to pull back a little bit. You know, I don't know if that's the reason that he gives up a completion or has a penalty downfield. I'm not sure if those eight-minute reps during the punt return period or the 20-minute meeting that we have on it is the reason for it.

But we'll put the guy back there that we think gives us the best chance to one, feel to take care of it and then gain us some positive yards. Adoree's taken on so much of a responsibility as this team's top cornerback that it's hard to give him the additional responsibility of punt returning, but he's such a dynamic athlete, and that was one of the biggest things about Adoree when John Robinson drafted him in the first round is he added a dynamic element on the special teams. So having a dory add to that again that would be nice but hopefully it doesn't make his cornerback play fall off at all and then the last thing mike vrabel talked about the last highlight i have for you guys here is him talking about training camp fights and this

is something that is polarizing some people like you know the feistiness if you're fighting that means you care your emotions are high you're trying, that means you care. Your emotions are high. You're trying hard. But I think Mike Vrabel makes some good points here, and I agree with his stance that, honestly, at the end of the day, getting in the habit of fighting when you're playing football will ultimately just hurt the team. Well, they're going to be close together. They're going to bleed, and they're going to sweat

and breathe on each other when they play. I don't think they're going to be and breathe on each other when they play. I don't think they're going to be any closer or any further apart because one guy is throwing a punch at another guy. When we fight in the game, they eject us, which then costs the team, makes other guys scramble to play other positions, and I think it puts the team at a disadvantage. Do I think that things are going to come up in training camp? Yep, it's going to come up.

But, you know, if you throw a punch, we're going to send you over to the sand pit with Frank. That's what we've told him. So it's about the team at that point. When you get ejected from a football game, we get one opportunity a week to go out and to win a football game and have the opportunity to win. And when we don't have everybody available,

it puts the team in a tough position. the titans will be hitting the grass soon players have been in the building and you can smell the football let's hear from some of the studs on the offensive side of the ball for the titans right out of the gate let's hear hear from quarterback Ryan Tannehill. And Tannehill was asked about his approach to this season with all the changes that we have seen and if it has left him feeling rushed to get his preparation and to get ready for the season. I don't think we feel rushed.

I think there's a sense of urgency and want to take advantage of every period that we have out there. But I don't think it's a rushed feeling, but definitely a sense of urgency that time is ticking and we have games coming up quick and not a lot of time to prep for them. So take advantage of every day, take advantage of every period. Really right now, just working on the little things, working on fundamentals, getting back into football shape and getting ready to go. Working on the little things, working on fundamentals, getting back into football shape, and getting ready to go. One of the key differences in the process of getting ready to go for Ryan Tannehill this year will be the fact that he is the starting quarterback from day one, and you could say it is his team, quote unquote. So how does that change the process for Ryan Tannehill compared to the offseason last year? It's a little bit

different, like you said, just from, you know, last year I was in a different position heading into training camp. Wasn't able to be as vocal, be the leader that I like to be, that I am. So, you know, now just able to assert myself a little bit more and be vocal about what I want from receivers, what I want from tight ends and backs in the pass game, or just what we expect as a team and offense in general. So that's probably the biggest difference. You think about things like timing on a route, when the wide receiver or the tight end or the running back is going to make their break, when they're going to stem from the top of their route, what depth the route is going to be at. I need you to be at nine yards, 10 yards, 11 yards, the route is going to be at.

I need you to be at 9 yards, 10 yards, 11 yards, 12 yards. Think about all of the little intricacies on every single play about exactly where each player needs to be inch by inch and not just where they need to be, but where Tannehill prefers them to be is really what it's all about. And that's all in the process of getting on the same page, which Tannehill talks about more. Yeah, it's all about. And that's all in the process of getting on the same page, which Tannehill talks about more. Yeah, it's a balance. You know, it's a little bit of both of those things. You know, if it's something I feel strongly about, then I'll definitely say that and say what I expect.

There's a lot of times where I'm working with the receiver. Hey, you know, what do you feel like the top of this route? How do you, how do you see yourself coming out of this? Cause they're not every receiver is the same physically or mentally and how you communicate with them. So definitely each, each person's a little bit different. Each situation is a little bit different and, and just understanding the end goal. What's the best way for us to make, make the best play on this. What's the best way for us to, to find the end outcome that we're

looking for and how we get there we work through that and one player that Tannehill will need to get on the same page with much more quickly this year is Adam Humphries Adam Humphries was dealing with injuries a lot of the time that Tannehill was at quarterback. They never really seem to be on the same page. So what does Tannehill see Adam Humphreys adding to this offense now that they might be able to get a little bit more of a rapport going with each other, having an off season to get ready? Well, Adam's a great player. You know, I think he brings a lot to the table for us. A veteran guy, a guy who's played a lot of football. He understands what we're trying to do. He understands how to get himself open in a lot of different coverages, whether it be man or zone. Hopefully, we can expand on what we did with him last year. He's a guy I have a

lot of confidence in, and I think is coming to this season with high expectations. I think just like I know I have high expectations for him. I'll let him speak for himself, but I'm really excited about what he brings to the table for us. And clearly the biggest thing that Adam Humphreys brings to the table for the Titans is his ability to move the chains on the underneath passing game. And that's something that the Titans can excel at because of the type of weapons that they have and the type of ability that the Titans cast

of characters has after the catch Ryan Tannehill talks about that underneath passing game ability that this offense has and then talks about what his guys can do after the catch and if he's basically expecting them to break off these long runs yeah we have some guys that um you know are great with the ball in the hand. You mentioned John who a guy who's extremely talented and it can make a short game into a, into a touchdown quickly. You know, I think, I think we're excited to have him back. Humphrey's a guy who has a knack for finding the open spot in zone underneath

has a, has a good feel for how to use his body, his route to, to find a way to get open in man. So, like I said, just excited to have him back. And, you know, I know he's going to make a lot of plays for us this year. As a quarterback, you want to go through your read and try to hit the open guy. And when you do that and put the ball in a good location, if guys are on the move on a shallow route or something going across the middle,

if you can put the ball in a good location and they're's some space, then we have guys that can take it and make something big out of it. So as a quarterback, you're not expecting a big play, but if you can accurately put the ball in a good location and keep them on the move and not have to slow down or adjust to the football, then we're going to be in a better situation to create a big play.

And that, of course, is one of the biggest keys in creating these major yards after the catch chunk plays is the pass has to be accurate. You have to make sure that you're not slowing down the target that you're throwing to, and that's something that Tannehill was excellent at last year. And one of the people that he threw the ball to so excellently was A.J. Brown, and A.J. is going into his second year

hoping to explode on the scene again and take another leap into one of the top wide receivers in the NFL and A.J. talked about the biggest thing that he tried to work on from last year to this year. First off uh uh it definitely had to be like to try to get in the best shape ever, you know, be able to go through the entire game, make my routes look the same, you know, so I definitely got to be well-conditioned and that's exactly what we preach on here with the Titans. That's a key thing with Coach Braves. The main takeaway from that opening statement from A.J. Brown is him saying that he wants his routes to look the same in the fourth quarter as they do in the first half or the first quarter.

That's an interesting critique. First real critique we've heard A.J. give to himself throughout this offseason. He talks more about what kind of shape he's in this year, if that was something he wanted to improve. I'm definitely in a better place mentally, too, as well. You know, last year I was flying and going places, and I never really could just sit still and just put in the work, you know.

So, definitely, man, I had time to really get my feet up under me, you know, really put in the work and get myself in the best shape as possible coming into camp because, you know, it's only going to get tougher. So, you know, we're going to Denver. You know, the air is really thin up there. And with either of those statements, A.J. never really truly comes out and says that's something that he didn't do well last year or that hurt him last year during the season.

So the question is asked very directly. him last year during the season so the question is asked very directly is that something that he feels like he struggled with last year is conditioning late in games um I definitely just just say fatigue and in the fourth quarter I definitely can just like I said try to get in the best service I can you know uh because the fourth quarter is big and you know uh watching looking back on some film, and I left some plays out there because I was a little tired or something like that. So just trying to be all-around complete and leave nothing out there. It's obvious that A.J. Brown has been working on his game, his conditioning, the mental aspect of the game as well throughout the offseason,

and a lot of that is based on advice given to you by different people that you look up to, different veterans around the league. And one of the greatest players in the history of the NFL gave A.J. Brown some advice. And it's the best advice he's gotten so far in his career. Definitely still have to be what Tom Brady told me. Work on the things you know you need improvement on and so far in his career? Definitely still have to be what Tom Brady told me. Work on the things you know you need improvement on so you won't have no weakness.

Everybody works hard, but everybody knows what their weakness is. So work on your weakness so you have no weakness. It's credit to him and how his long career and everything he done did. So, you know, it's all a family. Obviously, one of A.J.'s biggest weaknesses, long career and everything he didn't he didn't did so you know it's all a family obviously one of AJ's biggest weaknesses as he already explained to us was the crispness of his routes later in the game which just leads us to you know route running ability in general which in my opinion is the next big leap AJ can make is become a technician in his routes and he talked about his want to kind

of get there with his route running ability. Definitely just not giving little hints here and there, you know, making my pad level the same the whole way through the whole route. You know, just not putting on your turn signal before your turn, you know. A little inside football terms that he's using there, but it's obvious he's been working with different trainers and the coaching staff to try to improve his route running this is as descriptive as AJ Brown has been at any point

in time about what he's working on specifically in his routes or in his game usually he uses even more generic and vague language when describing what he's working on just trying to get better every day those cliches that you, but this is some good stuff from A.J. Brown. It's obvious he's really given a lot of thought to what he needs to improve on going into next season. And we are going to move into the next interview from Titan Center Ben Jones. Titans center Ben Jones, possibly the most underrated player on the offensive side of the ball for the Titans. He's the signal caller on the offensive line, the central brain of everything they do as a unit, calling out different pass protections, working with Ryan Tannehill to get the quarterback and the entire offensive line on the same page.

And not just the mental side of the game, but physically as a player, Ben Jones has been a very solid pivot man for the Titans, which led to him getting an extension last offseason. But Ben Jones talks about the fact that this layoff that they have experienced, Ben Jones talks about the fact that this layoff that they have experienced, does that make the team, or at least him, rusty, or is he feeling fresh going into on-field activities? Yeah, our job is to stay in shape.

It's our job. So you had the off-season to get in shape and stay on with your workout regimen. But now it's time to build the bond of camp. You're here every day. You're grinding. And camp's camp. And for us, we're going to go out there and do what we did in the past and just build this bond as an offensive line and try to get better each day. Jones also had some really insightful comments about what rookies will be dealing with people have never played in an NFL game because they're not going to get the opportunity to play in the preseason. And it's more than just playing in real games.

It's about your routine. When do you eat? What time do you want to eat? What do you want to eat? Look at me focusing on the food. But it's all about setting your game day routine. And Ben Jones talks about how that will be one thing that's most difficult for guys to get ready before the season without preseason games.

Yeah, you kind of learn. I know as a young player, you kind of learn how to be a pro, how to travel, how to take care of your body, making sure you know how to dress, you know how to eat before a game. You kind of build a routine. So it's definitely going to be harder for young guys. They're going to have to get with veterans and kind of figure out because we are playing at different times. You play at 12 o'clock and you're

getting to the stadium by yourself so you got to find out a routine you got to get a schedule you got to get a veteran to take you under their wing and kind of bring these young guys along so because they don't have that experience we talk a lot about the impact that we will see on the field but that kind of off the field impact on the players that anyone who covers the team or follows the team wouldn't really even consider is that just routine and how you want to get comfortable for a game day so I thought that was very interesting from Ben Jones there and then lastly Jones talks about the possibility that it will be more difficult for the offensive line to get into a rhythm without the preseason games than other positions.

And the fact that that could lead the Titans offense to coming out and having a slow start. We hope that we hope not. Our goal is to be ready for game one and come out firing. But that's what counts for you. Coach Rabel does a great job of making like gamelike practices and bringing individual to team and team to game. So he does a great job of leading us and showing us what it takes to win and give us those game-like realities in practice so we are ready for games. And then finally, we will hear from Titans wide receiver Adam Humphreys.

And of course, Humphreys was injured a lot of last season. Wasn't able to make the type of impact that he, the fan base, or his teammates were hoping for. But this year is a new season. Humphreys is healthy and ready to go. And one thing that Humphreys, of course, can add to the Titans offense is his ability to move the chains. Being underneath or an intermediate option for the Titans. move the chains, be an underneath or an intermediate option for the Titans, be open against man or zone and allow himself to help the Titans get first downs? What does Adam Humphreys do or what allows him to be that sort of weapon in the Titans

offense? Yeah, I think it's just, you know, the way, you know, the situation, you know, presents itself, whether it's third and long, third and medium or third and short, you know, the situation, you know, presents itself, whether it's third and long, third and medium or third and short, you know, we have a package that we're going to run and, you know, we got to be prepared for, you know, exotic looks from the defense and, you know, just being able to get whatever's needed to keep the chains moving. And, you know, like I said earlier, just having a good relationship at whoever's at quarterback, you know, just knowing if a certain blitz is coming from, you know, a certain direction, you know, I'm going to show eyes and I'm going to be there for you if you need me.

So, you know, it's just, you know, being prepared for, you know, whatever situation presents itself, you know, on those third down plays. And some of the things that Humphreys talks about right there where his eyes are at coming out of the break some of the things we talked about before with Ryan Tannehill where I want you at this depth I want you at this angle all of those things are discussed between Humphreys and Tannehill and obviously the quarterback has to take charge in those situations and kind of let guys know where he needs them to be. So how does it help the Titans this year having Tannehill lead?

And how does it really help the entire offense to have Tannehill be the type of guy who's not afraid to tell guys where he wants them? Yeah, no, I mean, I noticed him doing that, you know, last year as soon as he got here. You know, obviously he kind of sat back and allowed Mariota to lead originally, but he was not scared to speak up if he knew something wasn't being run the right way and it wasn't like a bad approach to it or mentality. He came at us with just some good information, and if something comes up in a meeting and he needs to speak on it

you know he will and the biggest thing with him is you know he just wants to make sure we're on the same page as he is and that's that's all you can ask for and you know he's doing a great job. Yeah it's great because you know whether he's coaching me up or AJ up or whoever it is you know someone else can learn learn from that that, that coaching point. So if, you know, I've run a route, that's not exactly the way he wants it. You know, not only is he coaching me, you know, Hey, I need that two more yards deeper. He's also, you know, helping the rookies, Hey, if you have this route, you know, make sure it's at this distance. So, um, you know, he's coaching us personally, but, you know, he speaks, speaks loud enough and, and, and, uh, you know, demands everyone to listen because, um, you know, he's coaching us personally, but, you know, he speaks, speaks loud enough and, and, and, uh, you know, demands everyone to listen because, um, you know, it's, it's

just helping us and it's helping our team. Excellent details right there from Adam Humphreys about how exactly Ryan Tannehill goes about things. It has to give you a lot of optimism heading into the 2020 season. And I'm excited to continue to break it all down with you guys on that note. I will be back with you for a Friday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast and we can end the week on a good note.

As always, I am your host, Tyler Rowland, and this was Locked on Titans.