Speaker 1: Four Van rush Garoppolo over the middle. It's picked up
Speaker 1: and there was movement, would be a three players what
Speaker 1: it is? The hell sentences? You're gonna throw a dep
Speaker 1: J Burlo hello, Baroppolo surveying and Soulo touchs out's got
Speaker 1: it coming down of final seconds, It'll be a forty
Speaker 1: four yard attempt from Randy Bullock and he well, what
Speaker 1: do you know? The Tennessee Titans, looking like a team
Speaker 1: lost and out of ideas, come racing back on Thursday
Speaker 1: Night Football thanks to a defining star performance from A. J.
Speaker 1: Brown in the twenty seventeen win over the San Francisco
Speaker 1: forty Niners. You know, it keeps their a f C
Speaker 1: South title hopes alive when it looked like the cults
Speaker 1: were edging in. And that right now is for another day.
Speaker 1: This is Mark Sessler. I'm here with the grave digger
Speaker 1: Titans fan, Justin Graver, And you know what I was concerned,
Speaker 1: Um that the night we have you guesting on this show,
Speaker 1: that the Titans looked um putrid for it was. It
Speaker 1: was just an incredibly ugly first half. And if you
Speaker 1: know you're tracking Twitter on these Island games and Todd
Speaker 1: downing um was essentially going to be sent out of
Speaker 1: town in a box at some point. But look at
Speaker 1: the whole team gathered around. This is sort of the
Speaker 1: Titans and who they've been just with so many injuries.
Speaker 1: But they got a J. Brown back tonight, and I
Speaker 1: just thought that he heated up and looked more comfortable
Speaker 1: as the game went on. Sixteen targets, a ton of
Speaker 1: catches and yardage. Grave digger, you're a happy grave digger.
Speaker 1: I think typically that profession um doesn't always attract happy people.
Speaker 1: But you've seen tonight. I see a smile on your
Speaker 1: face here Um on our stream yard. How you feeling?
Speaker 1: What are you thinking? I feel great, a little pumped up.
Speaker 1: I was celebrating around, running around, screaming a little bit.
Speaker 1: But I mean, what can you say about a J. Brown?
Speaker 1: I think I mentioned this on Maybe it was last
Speaker 1: Sunday Nights show that I thought a J. Brown, or
Speaker 1: maybe it was a different show. I don't know. I
Speaker 1: said it on a show recently, on so many shows
Speaker 1: at this point that it's how I understand it's hard
Speaker 1: to keep trying to keep tracking, but um that A J.
Speaker 1: Brown might be more important to the Titans offense than
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry Even, and I think that played out tonight
Speaker 1: because the Titans had so much trouble manufacturing explosive plays
Speaker 1: over the last few weeks, not to mention turning the
Speaker 1: ball over, and they didn't turn the ball over tonight,
Speaker 1: which is a huge way to help you win a
Speaker 1: football game. Niners turning over twice and A J. Brown
Speaker 1: the explosive plays. He had a twenty something yard catch
Speaker 1: in the first half on a big third down. He
Speaker 1: had that huge bomb down the field on the free
Speaker 1: play on a third and twenty plus, And I felt
Speaker 1: like the Titans, because they had a J. Brown in
Speaker 1: the field, we're constantly able to overcome those third and longs.
Speaker 1: They were faced with so many third and longs, and
Speaker 1: I think at one point um they said they were
Speaker 1: like six of nine on third and long and then
Speaker 1: they converted on that play to make it seven a
Speaker 1: ten And it was just in an m v P
Speaker 1: performance I think in this game from A J. Brown,
Speaker 1: and that's why the Titans came out on top. You're
Speaker 1: so right about the third and long attempts. At one point,
Speaker 1: you know, when when the touchdown happened to A J. Brown,
Speaker 1: they had at that point six conversions and third and
Speaker 1: ten or longer, which is the most in a game
Speaker 1: by any team this season. So you know, as as
Speaker 1: much as they struggled, uh, they when they came to life.
Speaker 1: I mean it really brought Ryan Tannehill um oxygen. I thought,
Speaker 1: after just a tough month where you know, he's throw
Speaker 1: into ghosts and the turnovers killed them. And when we
Speaker 1: saw against I know it was the Jaguars, but when
Speaker 1: they had a turnover free game, they were dominant. And tonight,
Speaker 1: when they don't make those mistakes, when they weren't saddled
Speaker 1: with those errors, uh, they were able to climb out
Speaker 1: of the low start and fight their way back. I
Speaker 1: also thought that the Niners. I mean, it's the kind
Speaker 1: of game where you look back. If you're a Niners fan,
Speaker 1: you think, look at number one. We we also um
Speaker 1: have stars on our team, but we cannot go make
Speaker 1: the mistakes that we had tonight. And so especially from
Speaker 1: the quarterback position, it was the killer interception to Jack
Speaker 1: Rabbit by by Graff Jimmy g You know, why why
Speaker 1: why why am I struggling to say his last name?
Speaker 1: I've never known him for like seven years. Here. I
Speaker 1: mean that that was a killer turnover. Um, he had
Speaker 1: the missed deep shot to Kyle U's check, which would
Speaker 1: have been another score. He had a terrible interception to
Speaker 1: open the third quarter. I mean we were texting during
Speaker 1: this and it was just like points left on the
Speaker 1: board and it led to you tweeting at halftime and
Speaker 1: it wasn't I didn't think it was just a sunny
Speaker 1: fan type of tweet. It was you could see this.
Speaker 1: You could see this like not a game where the
Speaker 1: Niners did not close the door. You said the Titans
Speaker 1: will win this game, watch and bang you were dead on.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think that the Niners come out of this,
Speaker 1: and I know that you know we're not going to
Speaker 1: Trey Lance probably at this point. I know people are
Speaker 1: taught king about even the Alex Smith to Kaepernick transition
Speaker 1: on a playoff type season years ago. Um, that's possible.
Speaker 1: I mean, anything is possible. But Jimmy g just when
Speaker 1: you get this version of them, um, it's hard to overcome.
Speaker 1: It's like it kind of left George Kid a lot
Speaker 1: of the mix. I mean, Deebo Samuel had another to
Speaker 1: watch him and a J. Brown go you know, punch
Speaker 1: for punch. He had that huge catch that's set up
Speaker 1: the touchdown to tie it late in the game. So
Speaker 1: it's like these are two teams that in a way,
Speaker 1: it's just like there's not a lot of margin for error.
Speaker 1: But Jimmy g has floored them a couple of games
Speaker 1: in the last month that leave them, I know, there's
Speaker 1: still the six seed, but leave them wanting and wondering
Speaker 1: what they're ceiling is when you're gonna get that kind
Speaker 1: of quarterback play, I think they will only go as
Speaker 1: far as he can take them, and as far as
Speaker 1: Shanahan can scheme around his deficiencies. I thought the Niners
Speaker 1: opening drive was brilliantly drawn up. They had a couple
Speaker 1: of those bootleg plays that got players in space on
Speaker 1: in the flat they it felt like, I'm not sure
Speaker 1: if this is exactly true, but it felt like every
Speaker 1: passing play on that first drive was off play action,
Speaker 1: which had the Titans defense all discombibulated and out of balance.
Speaker 1: And then the Titans defense stepped up and after the
Speaker 1: that scripted drive and the one right after it where
Speaker 1: the Niners went all the way down the field and
Speaker 1: through an interception in the end zone. From there, it
Speaker 1: felt like the Titans defense got it together and kind
Speaker 1: of understood how to stop at least slow down the
Speaker 1: forty Niners playmakers, especially I mean Deebo Samuel had his
Speaker 1: amazing game, but Kittle and auk Or and Jeff Wilson
Speaker 1: too were pretty much taken out of the game. And
Speaker 1: I think that the Titans defense did a really nice
Speaker 1: job adjusting and and stopping those guys. Well, their defense
Speaker 1: has just come up big in certain games here, and
Speaker 1: it's it's like, I really think the journey that they've
Speaker 1: been on and and and for you, for you as
Speaker 1: a Titans supporter, I mean, it looked like things. It
Speaker 1: looked like a team just heading in the wrong direction
Speaker 1: to anemic. Um. But now they've got the Dolphins and
Speaker 1: the Texans, and by by the nature of sweeping the Cults, Um,
Speaker 1: I mean, they've got wiggle room. They're gonna win this
Speaker 1: division barring a disaster. I mean, I'm not convinced they're
Speaker 1: a better team than the Cults right now on any level. Um.
Speaker 1: But when you get these guys back, you start to remember, Uh.
Speaker 1: And I don't like saying remember the Titans. That's extremely
Speaker 1: I didn't even attempt to do that. That's that's it is,
Speaker 1: but you recall what this team was when they were
Speaker 1: I think the best team in the a f C
Speaker 1: early in the season and and the Niners their final
Speaker 1: two games against the Texans and the Rams, they're gonna
Speaker 1: make the playoffs, barring I mean the Rams game will
Speaker 1: be but even if they lose that, they've got the
Speaker 1: tiebreaker over teams like the Vikings and others that are
Speaker 1: sort of hanging around. So it's not a crisis. It's
Speaker 1: just that I think that you find out, Yeah, the
Speaker 1: Niners drafted this quarterback for a reason, um Trey Lance,
Speaker 1: and in his you know, other rookies are just playing.
Speaker 1: They've not done that with him. And a flip side
Speaker 1: I thought for Ryan Tannehill, I mean he you know,
Speaker 1: he's such a great athlete that that great run that
Speaker 1: he had down the stretch in the in late in
Speaker 1: the game, UM mattered and he and you just remember that,
Speaker 1: you know it was last year when you had a J.
Speaker 1: Brown that he would take these shots where he would
Speaker 1: get thundered titanically to the ground but complete that four
Speaker 1: five yard passed down the field. And with a J.
Speaker 1: Brown back, and then when you get Derrick Henry, it's
Speaker 1: like you know what they did the job. I really
Speaker 1: think that Mike Rabel has created a culture where they survived.
Speaker 1: They survived these things and it came real close. This
Speaker 1: was another example of Razor's edge. We've talked about it
Speaker 1: with the Titans for a bunch, but you've got to
Speaker 1: be feeling good um as a Titans supporter and analyst,
Speaker 1: just to see how they escaped tonight. Yeah, and when
Speaker 1: it was ten zero at halftime, I thought that was
Speaker 1: such a huge bummer, like a deflating sequence for the Titans,
Speaker 1: when it went from Deontay form and breaking one for
Speaker 1: a long touchdown and then two flags on the play,
Speaker 1: one on him for face masking which he didn't even
Speaker 1: touch anyone's face mask, and a second penalty on the
Speaker 1: Titans for a hold. That was a really not to
Speaker 1: be biased as a fan, but I felt like his
Speaker 1: Jeff Swain's hands were inside the shoulder pads pretty tight,
Speaker 1: and Greg Olsen even said so on the broadcast, and
Speaker 1: yet the flag came out and the Titans to not
Speaker 1: even come away with points from that drive was such
Speaker 1: a bummer. But I felt encouraged by the fact that
Speaker 1: they showed the ability to at least make a play
Speaker 1: like that even if it didn't count. And that's when
Speaker 1: I felt that the Titans were going to come out
Speaker 1: in the second half and get the ball to start
Speaker 1: the half and possibly go win the game. That's why
Speaker 1: I tweeted that. And we were texting a little bit
Speaker 1: during the game, and I said, it feels like games
Speaker 1: like this always flipped when it's like a ten zero
Speaker 1: halftime game. The same thing happened earlier this week with
Speaker 1: the Browns and the Raiders. Um, weren't the Browns up
Speaker 1: ten nothing or fortunately nothing at halftime and then like
Speaker 1: right in them, it's like like not going back into it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean they climbed back in. So I think you're
Speaker 1: so right in these TNF games, we understand that they are.
Speaker 1: There's a zany d n a um through throughout the
Speaker 1: bloodstream in these games. Um, but yeah, like the Niners
Speaker 1: should have been up twenty four nothing at one point.
Speaker 1: It's like it had they done that, I think it
Speaker 1: changes sort of everything that the Titans could hope to do.
Speaker 1: But to have, you know, to have the advantage or
Speaker 1: the disadvantage just to be ten points, it's like then
Speaker 1: you have your best player, um becoming comfortable. It's like
Speaker 1: they I think they noted, you know, correctly that he
Speaker 1: didn't get to practice, and we don't, like we don't
Speaker 1: really track that sometimes, but it's like, what was his
Speaker 1: uh warm up over the week to get back into game,
Speaker 1: you know, mentality and it's like you just saw him
Speaker 1: becoming more comfortable in his own skin. Is the game
Speaker 1: crept along? And then then then really it seemed like
Speaker 1: the door was wide open for Tennessee. So a massive victory.
Speaker 1: I have a question for you, how did you, um,
Speaker 1: how did you become a Titans fan? I don't know
Speaker 1: if we've covered We've covered a lot of things about you,
Speaker 1: um this more a mundane aspect of your existence at
Speaker 1: the moment. What what's how did that happen? I wish
Speaker 1: I had a more interesting answer. But when I was
Speaker 1: really young, I grew up in Dallas. When I was
Speaker 1: really really young, I was a Cowboys fans. The Titans
Speaker 1: were still Houston Oilers. And when the Titans moved to
Speaker 1: Nashville and became the Titans. For some reason, as like
Speaker 1: an eight year old kid, I loved Eddie George. And
Speaker 1: when I was nine, the Titans went to the Super
Speaker 1: Bowl and they lost to the Rams by one yard,
Speaker 1: and I just felt so much heartbreak for them losing
Speaker 1: that Super Bowl, and I loved Eddie George and I
Speaker 1: loved watching Steve McNair that I just decided I'm gonna
Speaker 1: ride with this team because as why not, I don't know,
Speaker 1: And here we are fifteen years later. I think that's
Speaker 1: a very pure origin story. I enjoyed that. I also
Speaker 1: thought you were getting a little spicy tonight. I enjoyed
Speaker 1: this uh p f t. You know, you know, at
Speaker 1: some point during the game when the Titans were, you know,
Speaker 1: dealing with some issues put out Are the Titans frauds?
Speaker 1: Question mark? Discuss? And then you just you know, you
Speaker 1: you quote tweeted them and just said when they were
Speaker 1: coming back and starting to feel like total raging fire, yes, discuss.
Speaker 1: I like what you're doing tonight, You're you're feeling yourself
Speaker 1: a little bit. You deserve it. It's a huge win
Speaker 1: for them. I mean, had they lost, I think that
Speaker 1: you'd have to be questioning a lot of things about
Speaker 1: the Earth right now. Yeah. Really, I do want to
Speaker 1: say about the Niners that I think their defense, I mean,
Speaker 1: the Titans have been pretty great on the ground the
Speaker 1: last few games, even without Derrick Henry, but the Niners
Speaker 1: defensive front was really stout tonight. The Titans couldn't really
Speaker 1: get much running game going. McNichols was their best rusher
Speaker 1: seven carriers for thirty one yards. Tannehill was second on
Speaker 1: the team. And this is a team that's using three
Speaker 1: running backs now a lot Hilliard five for twenty form
Speaker 1: and though only nine carries for nine carries for only
Speaker 1: seventeen yards, and that Niners front is so ferocious. Granted,
Speaker 1: the Titans had a lot of backups in on the
Speaker 1: offensive line, but their kryptonite is the cornerbacks, and that's
Speaker 1: how Tennessee was finally able to get back in this game.
Speaker 1: It felt like the first half it was a lot
Speaker 1: of stuffed runs up the middle that led to all
Speaker 1: those third and longs we talked about. But in the
Speaker 1: second half they were throwing them ball more on early downs,
Speaker 1: finding a J. Brown And I think the Niners are
Speaker 1: gonna have to figure out how to overcome these weaknesses
Speaker 1: in the secondary if they want to do anything in
Speaker 1: the playoffs this year. You are right about their deeds.
Speaker 1: Their fifth and d v O A since Week ten,
Speaker 1: ninth against the past, and it's not looked like it's
Speaker 1: sometimes but second against the run, behind only the Rams,
Speaker 1: so that that has been a strength for them, you know,
Speaker 1: Arey Thomas. I think it's just had a rough rookie
Speaker 1: season and a rough December. I thought he made some
Speaker 1: place tonight. You know, you can still see with confidence
Speaker 1: and if that, if that, if he can round into
Speaker 1: shape over the next couple of weeks, it will be necessary.
Speaker 1: That will help a lot because they have been victimized.
Speaker 1: I mean he specifically through the air, and I mean
Speaker 1: I think tonight just like oh, by the way, when
Speaker 1: you're gonna get a J. Brown turning into what he was, um,
Speaker 1: you know, from the halftime, from half on, like no
Speaker 1: one in the league stopping that, and we've seen examples
Speaker 1: of it in the past. It's the kind of thing
Speaker 1: where if you're gonna get if you get three or
Speaker 1: four games like that from him in a row in January,
Speaker 1: we have no idea where this team will end up.
Speaker 1: I mean, it just it is an example that it's
Speaker 1: a star it's a star led league, and they just
Speaker 1: have been playing without those guys and and it hasn't
Speaker 1: been there. It hasn't to your point about him being
Speaker 1: you know, as valuable, if not arguably more than Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry inside that offense. I mean, we all get to
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry is, but they have been able to run
Speaker 1: the ball um yardage wise. It's just that I think
Speaker 1: that when you're dealing with Derrick Henry, it's like it's
Speaker 1: a little different than Foreman and the rest of the
Speaker 1: cast of characters. Um. But but they have just been
Speaker 1: missing so much through the air. So this was a
Speaker 1: god send this evening, and they got just enough. It's
Speaker 1: a huge win. UM. I don't know if we need to,
Speaker 1: you know, beat this dead horse anymore at this point,
Speaker 1: we've said it all. But is there anything else you'd
Speaker 1: like to add about what you witnessed this evening? I
Speaker 1: have confidence that the Titans could potentially win their next
Speaker 1: two games and make a playoff run. With Derrick Henry
Speaker 1: back as a Titan stand it feels pretty nice to
Speaker 1: see this team finally kind of snap out of the
Speaker 1: offensive funk they've been in for quite a while. So
Speaker 1: felt good. Well, I'm glad for you. UM it keeps
Speaker 1: your spirits high during this Christmas season. I think it's
Speaker 1: probably gonna be Um the opposite how I'm how I'm
Speaker 1: feeling after the Browns are like walloped by Aaron Rodgers
Speaker 1: and the packers and like six degree a Green Bay,
Speaker 1: uh skies. You know at eleven am Western time, Um,
Speaker 1: on Christmas Day, you know it's that's the President. I'll
Speaker 1: be opening. I suspect, but um, your president is shinier
Speaker 1: and I'm happy for you. Fair and Greg should not
Speaker 1: have locked against the Titans. Poor guy. I told them.
Speaker 1: I tried to warn him, but he didn't. Well, he's
Speaker 1: sort of out of the race. I think he's gonna
Speaker 1: he's gonna do something evil with the locks um willing.
Speaker 1: He's he's lost the power to take that part of
Speaker 1: the show away from us. So too bad for him.
Speaker 1: All right, anyway, all right, thanks everyone. Um, we've got
Speaker 1: a lot coming up. We've got our Friday Network show tomorrow,
Speaker 1: which airs at four am on the West Coast on Saturday,
Speaker 1: so I know all sorts of young people will be
Speaker 1: up at that time, and we've got our Sunday flagship
Speaker 1: show as well. Grave Digg will be back in the
Speaker 1: studio along with Tam Posey and the rest of the
Speaker 1: crowd that night. Good evening. H. S.