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Speaker 1: Nine to six to Colts in front early third Tian

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Speaker 1: Titans on first down, it comes Flitch Let's coming give

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Speaker 1: Eddie Charge cuts back up the middle thirty five hass

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Speaker 1: room forty he's out of hair, fifty forty five, forty,

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Speaker 1: thirty five, thirty, twenty five, twenty fifteen, ten five in

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Speaker 1: zone sixty eight yards Eddie George touchdown. Titans heard down

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Speaker 1: at five. McNair stepping over the things outsidecking to run now,

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Speaker 1: steps back, rolls left, rolls right in bad trouble. Back

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Speaker 1: at the forty he gets away somehow fires out build.

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Speaker 1: There's tson ticon at timeouts, all timing. He's crackled in

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Speaker 1: the tens. The Titans ask for timeout with five seconds

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Speaker 1: to go. Glad to have you with us for the

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Speaker 1: Official Titans podcast. This is the OTT, a very special edition.

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Speaker 1: I'm Mike Keith, joined by former Titans hit coach, former

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Speaker 1: Oiler's head coach Jeff Fisher. This feels familiar, it does. Obviously,

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Speaker 1: this is all new. There's a lot of things that

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Speaker 1: are new, you know. On my way in. How long

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Speaker 1: has it been It's been nine years, you know, so

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Speaker 1: a lot's happened. But it's very exciting to be back

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Speaker 1: and an exciting week for everybody who loves Steve McNair

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Speaker 1: and Eddie George. Their jerseys will be retired Sunday at

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Speaker 1: Nissan Stadium. Can you just start off describing your feelings

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Speaker 1: about the fact that you were their head coach. You know,

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Speaker 1: it's just I've been out of it now, Mike for

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Speaker 1: a few years, and to think back at the moments

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Speaker 1: and time and the special moments, and not only the

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Speaker 1: wins and the playoff appearances and everything, but just the grueling,

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Speaker 1: hard days in the off season and the training camp

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Speaker 1: days and just day to day with not only the

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Speaker 1: two of them, but the rest of their teammates. You know,

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Speaker 1: I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was just amazing

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Speaker 1: and and because of because of what we're talking about

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Speaker 1: and the events you know, come Sunday, which I'll be

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Speaker 1: at incidentally, So I was really excited to be invited

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Speaker 1: and invited me and so I'll see you again. But um,

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Speaker 1: you know, it's just so many memories of the two

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Speaker 1: of them, and um, you know, and obviously they're the

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Speaker 1: memories are similar when you when you talk about you know,

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Speaker 1: the plane memories, the game memories of football memories and

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Speaker 1: and those things. And then of course you know their

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Speaker 1: their past took such drastic different different directions, and you know,

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Speaker 1: I think about Steve almost every day. I mean, it's

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Speaker 1: certainly the fourth of July is hard on me, as

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Speaker 1: it is their family and everything. But uh, it's really

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Speaker 1: a first class thing to do. I think on behalf

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Speaker 1: of the Titans organization. To recognize both of them, and

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Speaker 1: to be able to put those jerseys up on the

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Speaker 1: on the inside of the stadium knowing that they'll never

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Speaker 1: be worn by anybody again, that's pretty impressive. You become

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Speaker 1: the coach of the Oilers in late ninety four. First

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Speaker 1: draft is spring of ninety five. You're made the permanent

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Speaker 1: head coach. You and Floyd Reese, working together, decide you're

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Speaker 1: going to select a quarterback, and you're going to take

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Speaker 1: a quarterback out of Alcorn State who should have won

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Speaker 1: the Heisman Trophy. But there's still lots of questions about

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Speaker 1: whether or not this guy's game is going to translate

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Speaker 1: to the NFL. What convinced you and Floyd and everybody

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Speaker 1: else in the process that Steve McNair could be your

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Speaker 1: franchise quarterback. It's pretty simple. I don't want to simplify

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Speaker 1: the process. But we watched all the tape. Floyd and

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Speaker 1: I rich Sneed and Jerry Rome went down to a

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Speaker 1: pro day and we watched Steve in person, and we

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Speaker 1: had time with Steve after and got him on a

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Speaker 1: boar and you know, it wasn't till what people don't realize.

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Speaker 1: I mean Steve coming out everybody folk on that last

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Speaker 1: year and the year before he played in a pro

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Speaker 1: style offense. He was at under center and making calls

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Speaker 1: and then they'll you know, they changed their offense to

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Speaker 1: suit his ability, and he's running up and down the

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Speaker 1: field shotgun and you know, doing all that stuff. People,

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Speaker 1: well that's not going to translate. Well guess what, he's

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Speaker 1: already done stuff that's gonna translate. So, you know, we

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Speaker 1: knew it was gonna be hard. We knew it was

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Speaker 1: gonna take time, but we had time. It wasn't like

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Speaker 1: we're gonna bring this young man in and we're going

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Speaker 1: to stake him under center and go. We did that

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Speaker 1: in his first preseason game. It was hard. I mean,

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Speaker 1: I think we played Arizona and Buddy Ryan and Buddy

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Speaker 1: was going to prove something, and I mean Steve dropped

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Speaker 1: a snap and then this, you know, and fumble, and

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Speaker 1: you know it was he wanted to prove a point. Well,

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Speaker 1: you know, we just said told Steve, it's like, hey, look,

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Speaker 1: you know we're gonna get you ready. Just you're gonna

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Speaker 1: be really good in this league. And and I just

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Speaker 1: never forget Steve always saying when someone asked, well, when

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Speaker 1: are you gonna be ready? When you gonna play? And

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Speaker 1: Steve's answer was when coaches say I'm ready and and

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Speaker 1: coach says I'm ready. So um, you know, it was

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Speaker 1: fun watching him develop and over the couple of years,

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Speaker 1: you know, ninety five ninety six, he had all kinds

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Speaker 1: of experience. He had. He came in we're head, came in,

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Speaker 1: we're behind, came in we're eliminated from the playoffs, and

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Speaker 1: came in when someone got hurt, when when Chris Chandler

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Speaker 1: got hurt. So he got all the experience and then

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Speaker 1: you could tell it attitude, attitude start change. And he

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Speaker 1: had enough of this you know, backing up stuff, and

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Speaker 1: he was ready to go. And so you know, we

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Speaker 1: we got him ready, we got him going. So it

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Speaker 1: made a coordinator change and got Steve going, and he

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Speaker 1: certainly took it and rent with it. You stuck with

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Speaker 1: a plan with him. Could you do that in today's NFL?

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Speaker 1: I don't. Well, you quit, you can, but um, nine

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Speaker 1: out of ten people are going to disagree with you

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Speaker 1: and they're gonna find reason. And you know, it's it's

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Speaker 1: just a different world now, the social media thing is

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Speaker 1: so different. But you know, we just said, look, we

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Speaker 1: got a plan and just trust us. This is gonna work.

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Speaker 1: It's it's work, It'll work out. And you know it did,

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Speaker 1: and you know from from you know, people question. I'm

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Speaker 1: sure there are people question they wanted to see him play,

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Speaker 1: but you know, he ends up taking us the Super

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Speaker 1: Bowl and then a couple of years later is the

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Speaker 1: call MVP. So you know our process worked. It's hard.

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Speaker 1: The position is hard. I mean we're a month after

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Speaker 1: right now, you know Andrew Luck retiring, right. I mean

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Speaker 1: that just shows you how difficult it is and how

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Speaker 1: demanding it is. And you know, not only physically, but

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Speaker 1: just motionally, no menally, it's it's a tough position to play.

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Speaker 1: On third down and eight, the line to make the

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Speaker 1: three bennet is wide to the right, Mason and mccarons

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Speaker 1: to the left. McNair from the gun. Holcomb is to

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Speaker 1: his immediate right. Mccarn's in motion inside Mason on the

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Speaker 1: left side. Mac takes the snap, looking looking looking, has

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Speaker 1: some time now, he's running out of time. How he

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Speaker 1: may run. Nair breaks a tackle ten five TI. All right,

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Speaker 1: So let's fast forward in nineteen ninety nine, ninety seven

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Speaker 1: at Memphis, ninety eight at Vanderbilt. You're the Titans. You

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Speaker 1: open the stadium, you get ahead of Cincinnati twenty six

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Speaker 1: to seven. Jeff Blake gets hot. They scored twenty eight

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Speaker 1: straight points. Jeff Blake cramps up, has to come out

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Speaker 1: of the ball game. So you're down thirty five twenty six.

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Speaker 1: You come back and win the game thirty six to

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Speaker 1: thirty five, ten points in the last four minutes of

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Speaker 1: the ball game. Steve McNair needs back surgery. Right after that,

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Speaker 1: when did you find out that Steve McNair needed back surgery. Well,

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Speaker 1: we knew that. We knew that Steve was hurting. Steve

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Speaker 1: had been hurting. Not very many people knew. You know,

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Speaker 1: Steve did some amazing things during his career, and he

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Speaker 1: was in a lot of pain. But for some reason,

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Speaker 1: for three hours in four minutes on Sunday. He can

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Speaker 1: block it. But it got to the point where he

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Speaker 1: was gonna he's gonna need something. You told everybody though,

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Speaker 1: you said he'll be back in six weeks. He'll miss

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Speaker 1: five games and then he's the starter again. Neil o'donnald

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Speaker 1: comes in, does a great job. You go four and one,

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Speaker 1: You come out of the buy five and one. Steve's back.

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Speaker 1: You're ready to play the Saint Louis Rams and you say,

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Speaker 1: against a lot of people publicly who are saying, what

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Speaker 1: are you doing, Steve McNair is back at quarterback. So

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Speaker 1: it's first in Gold, Tennessee. They cannot make a first

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Speaker 1: down McNair quarterback draw. He's in five McNair touch that titan.

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Speaker 1: You were right, that's too easy ten yard run for

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Speaker 1: Steve McNair. And just listen to him. Why was it

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Speaker 1: that you never forever relented about him being the guy

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Speaker 1: when he could go? Well, I knew him very well. Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, I just there. You know, Neil had a

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Speaker 1: great career and his role here was extraordinary. But Steve

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Speaker 1: was our guy, and I just we committed to him.

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Speaker 1: I made the personal commitment. I looked him in the

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Speaker 1: eye and told him that you are our guy and

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Speaker 1: I'm going to stand behind you regardless of what happens.

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Speaker 1: And uh, you know, I kept my word, and it

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Speaker 1: was it was hard. It's not hard to keep you

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Speaker 1: ward to Steve McNair, I mean you talk about the back,

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Speaker 1: I mean all fast forward, you know, six or seven years,

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Speaker 1: I'm over here around the corner in Baptist Hospital and

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Speaker 1: er not er. But I was in recovery because my

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Speaker 1: youngest son had to have a plate or my oldest

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Speaker 1: son had had a plate taken out of his ankle

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Speaker 1: because he injured in college. And it was Thanksgiving weekend,

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Speaker 1: so he came home for the holidays. We'll have our

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Speaker 1: matter staff do it. And I'm sitting there waiting for

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Speaker 1: him to come out of surgery, and I'm game planning

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Speaker 1: on Tuesday. It's a day off, and I'm sitting there

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Speaker 1: looking at the notes and things that I look up,

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Speaker 1: and Steve McNair is walking across pushing a walker with

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Speaker 1: Michelle across the surgery center and a walker, and I

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Speaker 1: had no idea that my quarterback was going to be

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Speaker 1: over there at the hospital. And I called the head

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Speaker 1: training goes, oh yeah, he's just getting an epadrill injection.

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Speaker 1: It's back. So he probably justed Tomorrow's nobody do. It's like,

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Speaker 1: nobody do. That was just that was commonplace for Steve.

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Speaker 1: And now this is four or five, five, six years later,

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Speaker 1: but they didn't even feel like they needed to tell

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Speaker 1: you that because this was just standard Steve McNair's procedure. Yeah. Yeah, no,

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Speaker 1: I've seen. I mean I watched him on the sideline.

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Speaker 1: I go, you're okay, shaking his hand and then you know,

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Speaker 1: thumb's dislocated or nails torn off because jumpin, I'll be fine,

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Speaker 1: I'll be all right. Yeah. That What was really amazing

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Speaker 1: about them football wise, Eddie and Steve is that it

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Speaker 1: was almost as if Eddie's incredible reliability and the fact

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Speaker 1: that he never missed a game, which is unreal it

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Speaker 1: almost allowed Steve to grow up into this role that

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Speaker 1: you saw for him all along. Fair it does. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean, there's no better way to develop a quarterback

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Speaker 1: than to run the ball and play good defense. And

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Speaker 1: that's that was a huge That was a contributing factor

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Speaker 1: towards Steve's success. Had we had the approach, well, we

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Speaker 1: brought him in and we want to put him in

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Speaker 1: a run and shoot offense and just throw it forty

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Speaker 1: fifty times a game. Steve wouldn't have survived. But Steve

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Speaker 1: had an amazing memory, and he had he was able

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Speaker 1: to grasp this game, and he had a feel, and

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Speaker 1: he had that burning desire to be cut loose. But

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Speaker 1: I just didn't want to cut him loose too soon,

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Speaker 1: too soon, and so we just brought him along. And

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Speaker 1: people can argue all they want with how we handled it,

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Speaker 1: and everybody's different too. I mean, you know, we bring

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Speaker 1: Knee and Neil Neil, you know, he grabs a playbook,

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Speaker 1: comes back and he knows the offense. He's gonna go

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Speaker 1: get get it done. And not that Steve was a

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Speaker 1: slow learner, but Steve needed the experience and he once

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Speaker 1: he had the experience, then it was. It was really

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Speaker 1: fun to watch him play. From the thirty five first

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Speaker 1: to ten. I think there goes cost to meet George

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Speaker 1: coming left, Hetty cuts it out thirty twenty five, twenty yeah,

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Speaker 1: fifteen ten five in so Eddie George thirty five yards

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Speaker 1: the paydirt touch that tight you played with Walter Pate,

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Speaker 1: you know, tough Eddie George never missing a game. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean It's amazing to think that that running back

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Speaker 1: in in the modern football era has not missed a game.

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Speaker 1: A look over your shoulder or puts put something on,

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Speaker 1: put NFL network on or Sports Center and watch these

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Speaker 1: guys go down. It's amazing. But the Eddie was there

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Speaker 1: week after week after week. Eddie knew that he and

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Speaker 1: I had seen this out of one person. Now Walter

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Speaker 1: was a different it was a different deal. That mean,

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Speaker 1: I'm really fortunate Mike for having the experience in the

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Speaker 1: years in the league and seeing and I'm I love

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Speaker 1: to share the stories. But to watch Walter do what

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Speaker 1: he did was amazing. Concerned the fact that Walter was

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Speaker 1: just over five to nine, he was right at two

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Speaker 1: hundred pounds and and a size eight and a half

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Speaker 1: foot and but now Walter could jump on his hands

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Speaker 1: and walk on his hands across the field. I watched

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Speaker 1: him do that. But he was so tough and never

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Speaker 1: missed a game. And then to have an opportunity, I mean,

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Speaker 1: there was a lot of that Walter Peyton in me

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Speaker 1: when we saw when we saw Eddie, Eddie was a

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Speaker 1: different type of back. He was a big, powerful back,

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Speaker 1: but he was just dominating. And that's that's how you

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Speaker 1: run the football and how you win games in the

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Speaker 1: National Football and I still believe that's the case. Today

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Speaker 1: things have changed. You gotta obviously you got you gotta

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Speaker 1: do it what you gotta do whatever week to week

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Speaker 1: to win. But when it comes down to it, you know,

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Speaker 1: they're put fear in your opponent's eyes by saying, you

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Speaker 1: know what, I don't know if we could stop this run.

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Speaker 1: So but anyway, that's why Eddie was And to think

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Speaker 1: that he never missed a game. Now, he might have

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Speaker 1: been close here and there, but he's sure he didn't

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Speaker 1: let you know. But my point is this is that

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Speaker 1: as Eddie as as the years grew and Eddie moved

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Speaker 1: on in the you know, in that year four and

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Speaker 1: five and six, he would he knew that he had

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Speaker 1: to work harder every offseason just to maintain the level,

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Speaker 1: not to get better, but just to maintain you had

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Speaker 1: to work harder. That was Jerry Rice's philosophy. I saw

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Speaker 1: that firsthand in San Francisco. So that was where Eddie was.

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Speaker 1: And so if he trained, you know, if he did

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Speaker 1: something between year two and year three and he thought

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Speaker 1: he trained as hard as you possibly could, that next

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Speaker 1: year he had to train harder. And that brings up

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Speaker 1: that story, you know, Eddie, and Eddie surprised me. I

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Speaker 1: was on an NFL network, you know, a month ago

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Speaker 1: or two months ago, and they surprised me with Eddie

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Speaker 1: and I had just finished telling the story about Eddie

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Speaker 1: and and then they asked them about it, and guess

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Speaker 1: what they were They were accurate. We were both speaking

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Speaker 1: the same language, telling the truth about the same thing.

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Speaker 1: And real quickly, the Super bowls over. Okay, ninety nine,

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Speaker 1: we've lost, We're back. We've had the parade on Tuesday,

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Speaker 1: and after the parade, we're in this building and Jeddie

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Speaker 1: walks into my office and he says, I don't want

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Speaker 1: to go to the Pro Bowl. And I said, what

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Speaker 1: are you talking about, Eddie? You got to be supposed

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Speaker 1: to be on a flight already the Pro Bowl Sunday.

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Speaker 1: It's Tuesday. I don't want to go. I go, Eddie, wait, wait,

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Speaker 1: listen to you what you're saying. You've been voted by

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Speaker 1: your peers and by the fans and the coaches, and

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Speaker 1: you're gonna go to the Pro Bowl and just go.

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Speaker 1: It's like it's the thing you gotta do. Why don't

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Speaker 1: you want to go, he goes because Jeff, I want

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Speaker 1: to start on next year right now. And that was

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Speaker 1: the mindset after the nine nine season. But that was

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Speaker 1: Eddie's mindset f from year one all the way till

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Speaker 1: the time tired as a couple. When Steve died. You

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Speaker 1: told the story about two thousand that nobody ever knew,

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Speaker 1: and that was the Kansas City game. He takes the

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Speaker 1: shot in the Sternham. We later find out that his

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Speaker 1: sternham never developed. Doctor l Rod later discovered that he

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Speaker 1: did not have a sternham like a normal person. So

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Speaker 1: this injury had to be horribly painful. We had a

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Speaker 1: very strange week three by so there were two weeks

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Speaker 1: between the Kansas City game. In the Pittsburgh game, you

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Speaker 1: told the story that Steve McNair didn't want to play

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Speaker 1: football anymore. I didn't share the story with many people

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Speaker 1: until I eulogized it, right, But yeah, it was. It

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Speaker 1: was a defining moment in my career when we when

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Speaker 1: we went through that, Steve was hit. As you say,

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Speaker 1: we were down. He threw a couple interceptions that weren't

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Speaker 1: his fault against Kansas City. He got hit and um,

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Speaker 1: he didn't get up off the field. I went on

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Speaker 1: the field and he's breathing and he was really really

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Speaker 1: I've never seen an athlete in in the moment in

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Speaker 1: so much pain. Steve goes up the tunnel and he's

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Speaker 1: he's going in the tunnel. It's one hundred degrees and

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Speaker 1: he hears now at quarterback number fourteen year old Donald

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Speaker 1: and the crowd goes nuts. So he hear's that okay?

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Speaker 1: And then he gets at the hospital. So so, um,

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Speaker 1: I'm busy and everything so on. You know, I stayed

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Speaker 1: in touch with the doctors, and he's there. You know,

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Speaker 1: there's there. He's sedated, he's resting comfortably. So Tuesday, I

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Speaker 1: go over to see him and I walk into the

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Speaker 1: room and his wife Lucie im his mom, rather Lucille

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Speaker 1: and Michelle are there and my game Lucia a hug

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Speaker 1: and she shook her head. How's he doing? She shook

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Speaker 1: her head. So I go in to see him and

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Speaker 1: he has done. He's done. Um. He wants to uh

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Speaker 1: quit and retire or what ever, but he's not gonna

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Speaker 1: play anymore. And so this is Tuesday. Now, as you've

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Speaker 1: just mentioned, we had a bye week, So for say,

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Speaker 1: I had a bye week So I went Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,

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Speaker 1: He's not changed his mind. Friday, he's you know, he's

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Speaker 1: still he's feeling a little better. We had a practice

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Speaker 1: before I cut him loose for the weekend, and I

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Speaker 1: caught him laughing behind the offense and Steve was just saying,

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Speaker 1: talking about the passion that it's just the passion's not there.

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Speaker 1: I just don't feel it. I just it's like he

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Speaker 1: was like unemotional, he was numb. And I caught him

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Speaker 1: laughing behind the offense on the practice field with a

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Speaker 1: couple of guys, and I brought him in my office

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Speaker 1: on Friday before the bye weekend and I said, I said,

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Speaker 1: all right, I said, I'm gonna ask you two questions.

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Speaker 1: One is you know what you were doing behind the

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Speaker 1: offense during the seven on sent period. No, you know,

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Speaker 1: I go, you were laughing. He kind of showed you

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Speaker 1: shoulders and he goes, whatever. I go, No, you're having fun.

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Speaker 1: There was a little bit of fun out there. You're

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Speaker 1: having fun. And ask questions, what are you doing this weekend?

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Speaker 1: He goes, well, I'm gonna go. I think he said

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Speaker 1: he was gonna Chicago and just get away, and so

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Speaker 1: I said, all right, get away, take a deep, you know,

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Speaker 1: just go get away, rest up, get away from ball.

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Speaker 1: We'll talk. But at that point, I mean, he was

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Speaker 1: still done. He wasn't. So now Neil, I got Neil's planning.

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Speaker 1: I'm playing against Pittsburgh the fall weekend. And so by

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Speaker 1: weekend's over, he and I see Steve, and I'm thinking, okay,

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Speaker 1: all I got to do now. I got to figure

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Speaker 1: out a way to get him to be a number

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Speaker 1: two rather than three, because you do, you activate your

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Speaker 1: third quarterback. So I go, okay, So let's so he

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Speaker 1: comes back. I said, how Chicago goes? I didn't go

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Speaker 1: to Chicago. Go really, where'd you go? He go? I

355
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Speaker 1: went to Houston. He went to Houston, and then yeah,

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Speaker 1: he went to the story has it? Truth has it?

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Speaker 1: He went to Houston to reunite a relationship with our

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Speaker 1: former team pastor Mitch. And so he spent the weekend

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Speaker 1: there in pain, but visiting with the team pastor Mitch,

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Speaker 1: and who's a great man. And so I said, so, no, Chicago, Mitch, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: how are you doing? He goes, Yeah, I can't do this.

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Speaker 1: I go, well, let's just let's let's see if we

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Speaker 1: can get through the week, and maybe by the end

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Speaker 1: of the week you could be at two rather than

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Speaker 1: a three, and then we'll just get Neil's with the game.

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Speaker 1: We'll kind of see where it's at. So anyway, we

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Speaker 1: get through the week, nobody knows because Steve Sternham hurts.

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Speaker 1: It's it's really easy to hide all this stuff behind

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Speaker 1: the injury. So we do so. And as you remember,

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Speaker 1: you have to help me with us. But we were

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Speaker 1: down by four, I think, with inside of two minutes

372
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Speaker 1: left at Pittsburgh, and Neil comes. He's being carried off

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Speaker 1: the field. Yeah, and Neil's face mask is sideways and

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Speaker 1: there's blood coming out his nose, and Neil is in

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Speaker 1: somewhere in the next month. He's not well. And I

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Speaker 1: look at Steve, and Steve he motions to our assistant

377
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Speaker 1: equipment guy who's still here, Joey Bronko. He goes and

378
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Speaker 1: gets the ball and he throws it three times. He

379
00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:47,720
Speaker 1: turns it me and he winks. He runs out on

380
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Speaker 1: the field. Four plays later, he throws a touchdown past

381
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Speaker 1: to Eric Kinney in the back of the ends after

382
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Speaker 1: scrambling I think for about fifteen eighteen yards and scores

383
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Speaker 1: and we scored a touchdown to Games, takes the snamp,

384
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Speaker 1: Let's come in Nair, loves the ball for Kitty. He's there,

385
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Speaker 1: touchdown Titans Aeron. Kitty catches it in the right corner

386
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Speaker 1: of the end zone, running all alone. I caught him

387
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Speaker 1: after I shook Bill Cawer's hand. I caught Steve and

388
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Speaker 1: I walked off. I go, you're good, and he winked

389
00:21:21,480 --> 00:21:23,880
Speaker 1: at me, smiled, and he pointed up that this guy

390
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:27,040
Speaker 1: at that happens now it and he went on from there.

391
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Speaker 1: Changed everything it did, But what that did to me

392
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Speaker 1: as a coach, it made me realize that how much

393
00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:41,439
Speaker 1: I personally failed him between the ninety nine season and

394
00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:46,400
Speaker 1: the beginning of that current season two thousand, because I

395
00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,840
Speaker 1: took the Eddie George approach, if you will, I want

396
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Speaker 1: to start on next year right now. And the quarterback

397
00:21:54,160 --> 00:21:58,840
Speaker 1: position itself is delicate and it is hard, and I

398
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:02,280
Speaker 1: don't want to put Andrew Luck in this, but he

399
00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:06,440
Speaker 1: still falls into the category in that it is there's

400
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,439
Speaker 1: a defining moment at somewhere and if over history, and

401
00:22:10,440 --> 00:22:13,240
Speaker 1: I've talked to other coaches about it, it's year four

402
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,760
Speaker 1: to six or four to seven where they just don't

403
00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:19,560
Speaker 1: want to do it anymore because one their body to

404
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:24,040
Speaker 1: the just the mental drain. Three the pressure, and it's

405
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Speaker 1: not Mike, It's not Sunday pressure. It is Wednesday, Thursday,

406
00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:35,520
Speaker 1: Friday pressure. That's the that's the misconception. If your quarterback

407
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Speaker 1: on a Wednesday practice, first day of the game plan day,

408
00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:40,600
Speaker 1: goes out and has a bad practice, your team has

409
00:22:40,640 --> 00:22:43,640
Speaker 1: a bad practice, and guess what, everybody out there says,

410
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Speaker 1: You're not gonna win because we had a bad practice

411
00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,320
Speaker 1: on Wednesday, because somebody through social media's counting your interceptions,

412
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Speaker 1: your completion percentage of whatever it is, and so you can't,

413
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Speaker 1: you know, you just as a quarterback, you can't have

414
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Speaker 1: a bad practice. So there's too much pressure. So I

415
00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:01,719
Speaker 1: realized that, and from that time on, I made it

416
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Speaker 1: fun for him, and I made it fun for any

417
00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:08,359
Speaker 1: quarterback that I ever coached during the season. On the Wednesday, Thursday,

418
00:23:08,359 --> 00:23:10,960
Speaker 1: Friday thing, it had to be fun. But I think

419
00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:13,920
Speaker 1: you're wrong about something. I think you had done something

420
00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:17,920
Speaker 1: for him coaching wise. You got him Mike Heimerdinger, I did, yeah,

421
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Speaker 1: and Dinger worked on him through two thousand. But when

422
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Speaker 1: Eddie's toe was heard in two thousand, and one. Yeah,

423
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:30,400
Speaker 1: Dinger turned the offense towards Steve and their relationship so

424
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Speaker 1: unusual because Dinger was nothing like anybody who'd ever been

425
00:23:33,920 --> 00:23:38,000
Speaker 1: around Steve. But he so brought the best out of

426
00:23:38,080 --> 00:23:40,840
Speaker 1: him and believed in him the same he did. And

427
00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:44,240
Speaker 1: it was Frank and it was Derek, and it was

428
00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,439
Speaker 1: Drew Bennett and it was a group. You know, he

429
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:52,320
Speaker 1: just he's just stretching it now. And you know, we

430
00:23:52,320 --> 00:23:55,800
Speaker 1: were a running football team. People were gonna they're gonna

431
00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,359
Speaker 1: load the line of scrummage regardless of whether Eddie's there

432
00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:01,879
Speaker 1: or not. And now it's the long play action, those

433
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:05,200
Speaker 1: deep shots, and you know, obviously he ends up being

434
00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,320
Speaker 1: the co MVP. You think I was excited and he

435
00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,680
Speaker 1: was excited the two of us after what we had

436
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:14,920
Speaker 1: been through together in two thousand. That was amazing, just

437
00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:18,119
Speaker 1: the relationship and the depth and you know, and just

438
00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,439
Speaker 1: the personal things that every player goes through. He was

439
00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:25,240
Speaker 1: just really, really good and open about them. Titans will

440
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 1: go back into the spread. Three receivers to the right,

441
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:33,000
Speaker 1: including Holcombe, two to the left. McNair from the gun.

442
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:39,679
Speaker 1: McNair takes the snap, looks, looks, looks, throws into the

443
00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:46,840
Speaker 1: ends of white Jack touch that Titans, Frank white Jack

444
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:51,760
Speaker 1: his eight, grab his third on this drive, and what

445
00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:56,040
Speaker 1: a revival for the veteran from Maryland. Let me ask

446
00:24:56,080 --> 00:25:01,199
Speaker 1: you about Steve becoming an MVP and elevating to that

447
00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:04,240
Speaker 1: next level. Two things I want to hear from on

448
00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,760
Speaker 1: you how much that meant to you and Mike Keimer

449
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:12,560
Speaker 1: Dinger and the other players around Steve. But also how

450
00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:17,040
Speaker 1: amazingly Eddie George handled the offense going from Eddie's offense

451
00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:21,040
Speaker 1: to very much becoming Steve's offense. Well a lot about

452
00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:23,159
Speaker 1: both of them. Yeah, it was, there was a it

453
00:25:23,280 --> 00:25:25,440
Speaker 1: was a transition period. I mean, I want to say

454
00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:29,200
Speaker 1: Eddie was Twilight. But Eddie thought, you know, I may

455
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:31,760
Speaker 1: play a little bit longer here. We can throw instead

456
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,920
Speaker 1: of being that you know, sixty forty run pass. Maybe

457
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:37,760
Speaker 1: if we're sixty forty pass run, I may this play

458
00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:40,680
Speaker 1: a little longer. But he understood that it was Eddie

459
00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,959
Speaker 1: was just a team guy. Now, I'll never forget that moment,

460
00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:48,440
Speaker 1: man and choke up now. But when I had coaches

461
00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:50,320
Speaker 1: and players in that room and I shut that door

462
00:25:50,359 --> 00:25:55,040
Speaker 1: down this hall, and I told him that Steve was

463
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,600
Speaker 1: the COMBP. I mean that was. That was one of

464
00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,040
Speaker 1: the highlights of my career. Able to tell that football

465
00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:03,160
Speaker 1: team that then in that moment when I got word

466
00:26:03,200 --> 00:26:07,080
Speaker 1: from New York and um so, but yeah, there was

467
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,640
Speaker 1: a transition there. It went from from Eddie to Steve

468
00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,800
Speaker 1: and all of a sudden, people going, whoa, these guys,

469
00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:17,440
Speaker 1: you know, these guys if they stay healthy and it's

470
00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:19,760
Speaker 1: hard enough as it is, but if you know, we're

471
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:21,760
Speaker 1: gonna do go do some things. And then of course,

472
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:25,320
Speaker 1: you know, you got that. We lost championship game the Raiders.

473
00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:28,520
Speaker 1: You know that was difficult, but um, we didn't play

474
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,280
Speaker 1: particularly well on defense. But we've got there. You know,

475
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:36,040
Speaker 1: we got there with with an outstanding quarterback. I can

476
00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:38,120
Speaker 1: still make the case that the two thousand and three

477
00:26:38,119 --> 00:26:41,000
Speaker 1: Titans were the best team that's ever been here. Yeah,

478
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:44,080
Speaker 1: I think the two thousand, I mean the two thousand, Yeah,

479
00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:47,160
Speaker 1: two o three was good. That yeah, with that offense.

480
00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,320
Speaker 1: But I mean, well, I'll say two thousand was a

481
00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:54,719
Speaker 1: better team than ninety nine. I thought, um and uh,

482
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:56,840
Speaker 1: and then you know, to have what happened to happen

483
00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,800
Speaker 1: to us against Baltimore was like whoa, but I mean

484
00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,520
Speaker 1: block two punts and they go sidewise out of bounds

485
00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:05,879
Speaker 1: and then whatever else happened, the ball and off Eddie

486
00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:08,760
Speaker 1: and Deray and you know, I, you know, I look,

487
00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,440
Speaker 1: I still congratulate Brian when I see him. But that

488
00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:14,200
Speaker 1: was that was a crazy day. It wasn't I don't

489
00:27:14,200 --> 00:27:16,120
Speaker 1: think there was a first talent in the second half

490
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:20,280
Speaker 1: by their offense. But the two thousand and three team,

491
00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 1: until Steve suffered the cracked bone spur in his ankle,

492
00:27:24,920 --> 00:27:29,679
Speaker 1: was unstoppable on offense. And how you how you meshed

493
00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:32,280
Speaker 1: that down the stretch to go ahead and get yourself

494
00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:35,840
Speaker 1: into the playoffs using three different quarterbacks. You talked Neil

495
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,879
Speaker 1: o'donald into coming back for the Tampa Bay game after

496
00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,320
Speaker 1: you'd cut him twice during the year. But in the playoffs,

497
00:27:42,320 --> 00:27:45,560
Speaker 1: I mean, Steve wasn't right. You go to Baltimore on

498
00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:50,240
Speaker 1: a Saturday, you haven't beaten Baltimore in four years, and

499
00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:53,280
Speaker 1: you've got to play this team that's been your nemesis.

500
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:56,520
Speaker 1: Steve throws three picks. He doesn't he's the MVP the

501
00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,719
Speaker 1: day before officially, but he doesn't have the good stuff.

502
00:28:00,040 --> 00:28:03,359
Speaker 1: And yet it's Eddie George's signature game. Yeah it is.

503
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,800
Speaker 1: It's said in Ray, Eddie and Ray, you know, matchup

504
00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:10,240
Speaker 1: after matchup, and it was there, gives George running left,

505
00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,280
Speaker 1: running hard and dragging tacklers down to the forty six

506
00:28:13,359 --> 00:28:18,000
Speaker 1: yard line. He gave Lewis arrived that entire week, I

507
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:22,359
Speaker 1: just Steve really quiet, and I said, this is for

508
00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:27,400
Speaker 1: my legs. Give George running left thirty twenty five twenty.

509
00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:31,359
Speaker 1: It's sign the twenty and down, first down Tennessee George

510
00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:35,439
Speaker 1: by the thirteen yard pickup. I'm willing to die for this, legs.

511
00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:44,120
Speaker 1: I'm willing to die to give Tennessee the lead. Stamp said,

512
00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:51,000
Speaker 1: Anderson's kick on the way God, game over, the Curse

513
00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:57,600
Speaker 1: of the Ravens nevermore. Final score Titans twenty, Ravens seventeen.

514
00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:01,720
Speaker 1: Tennessee comes to Baltimore. That gets it done. I can't.

515
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:06,520
Speaker 1: It's always just a treat to go into Baltimore and play.

516
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,480
Speaker 1: And because they really didn't like us and we didn't

517
00:29:09,520 --> 00:29:12,200
Speaker 1: like them, but it was a fond memories. But yeah,

518
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:14,160
Speaker 1: that was you know, we turned it over to Eddie

519
00:29:14,200 --> 00:29:15,840
Speaker 1: and said, Eddie, you're gonna have to win this for us.

520
00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:19,400
Speaker 1: He did. What's the saying that the candle burns most

521
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,240
Speaker 1: brightly before it goes out. He only had one more

522
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,719
Speaker 1: game as a Titan, but to put that shoulder harness

523
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:29,160
Speaker 1: on that day and finish that thing was That was

524
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:32,280
Speaker 1: the epitome of what the Titans were in that moment.

525
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:35,720
Speaker 1: And Eddie was such a big part of the soul

526
00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:40,600
Speaker 1: of those Tights. He was weekend, week out, just the

527
00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,240
Speaker 1: start of training, can't practice after practice, you know, he

528
00:29:44,360 --> 00:29:47,040
Speaker 1: wanted and he wanted to play the whole game in preseason.

529
00:29:47,080 --> 00:29:49,240
Speaker 1: He just wanted to play. You think of that now,

530
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,520
Speaker 1: you know somebody ask him to play. Just let me play,

531
00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:57,120
Speaker 1: you know, no, you can't half enough or whatever it is.

532
00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:59,160
Speaker 1: You know, that's how he was. He just loved the

533
00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 1: game and it did not fear injury. I think he

534
00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:08,800
Speaker 1: feared failure because all great players like that, fear of failure.

535
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:11,320
Speaker 1: But he had no fear. He just wanted to play.

536
00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,360
Speaker 1: What about Steve McNair and Eddie George as we wind

537
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:18,760
Speaker 1: this down, what do we not know that we should

538
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,400
Speaker 1: know about what they were to the Titans during that time.

539
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:28,160
Speaker 1: I wish I could describe the feelings the experiences that

540
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:33,880
Speaker 1: I had, not only as them being in a team meeting,

541
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:38,720
Speaker 1: talking to the team and and they're always paying attention.

542
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,640
Speaker 1: They're always staring at you. They trust you. But more

543
00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:46,640
Speaker 1: and probably more importantly, it's that you know, it's a

544
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:51,000
Speaker 1: game against here against Jacksonville, and you know it's third

545
00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:54,960
Speaker 1: and eight, and if we get the first down, the

546
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:59,160
Speaker 1: game is over and we've been hammer pounding them and

547
00:30:59,160 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 1: and so they're out of timeouts. You get the first down,

548
00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:04,800
Speaker 1: we kneel on it and the game's over. And so

549
00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,239
Speaker 1: during the Jacksonville last time out, got him on the

550
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:11,360
Speaker 1: sideline and go, Steve, we can you know, we put

551
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:13,360
Speaker 1: on your hip, you can fake the ball, you know,

552
00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:15,160
Speaker 1: and just keep it and get what you can. But

553
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:18,479
Speaker 1: I think they're expecting that Eddie, I need eight, and

554
00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,840
Speaker 1: Eddie goes, I'll get you ten. Jeff, just give me

555
00:31:21,920 --> 00:31:26,280
Speaker 1: the rock, and he got thirteen and we kneel on.

556
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:29,160
Speaker 1: The game's over. But the people don't realize those kind

557
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:32,520
Speaker 1: of conversations, like what's the coach doing talking to players

558
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:34,440
Speaker 1: like that or trusting a player. But that was the

559
00:31:34,440 --> 00:31:36,400
Speaker 1: way they were. They're gonna do what they said they

560
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:41,000
Speaker 1: were gonna do. And and you know, there's there's so

561
00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:45,760
Speaker 1: much more to the relationships between a coach and a

562
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:50,400
Speaker 1: player than just what takes place on Sundays. And that's

563
00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:53,160
Speaker 1: the thing that I am honored to share with the

564
00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:56,960
Speaker 1: listeners is how special those two relationships were to me,

565
00:31:57,360 --> 00:32:02,880
Speaker 1: and their relationship with one another, yes, which was all

566
00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:07,040
Speaker 1: the stars you've been around? Yeah, how rare that these

567
00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:10,760
Speaker 1: two guys back to back first round picks were as

568
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,120
Speaker 1: close as what they were both personally and profession Oh yeah, no,

569
00:32:14,720 --> 00:32:18,320
Speaker 1: they were. I mean different backgrounds, you know, different come,

570
00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:23,120
Speaker 1: different styles of play, probably didn't eat the same things,

571
00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,360
Speaker 1: didn't sleep at the same time, but boy, when it

572
00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:30,360
Speaker 1: was time for football, they were close. And you know,

573
00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,560
Speaker 1: Steve was that guy that he was not going to

574
00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,120
Speaker 1: play well if he hadn't had his nap, you know,

575
00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,360
Speaker 1: And you know, you remembered all that, and you know,

576
00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:42,840
Speaker 1: the hardest thing our equipment staff did here was find

577
00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:46,360
Speaker 1: a place for Steve to knap prior on Sundays. But

578
00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,560
Speaker 1: you know, two hours or three hours for a kickoff

579
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 1: on the road, make him a little bit, tuck him

580
00:32:50,600 --> 00:32:52,920
Speaker 1: away in the corner closet. But Steve has to nap

581
00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,480
Speaker 1: before the game, and if he didn't, he won't go

582
00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:57,320
Speaker 1: play very well. And I don't know what the numbers were,

583
00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:59,560
Speaker 1: but I remember Heimerdinger coming in here in the first

584
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:02,560
Speaker 1: first go season game coming. They're just fit to be tied.

585
00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:05,280
Speaker 1: Telling me the quarterbacks sleeping and wouldn't making adjustment with

586
00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:07,920
Speaker 1: him pregame And he's sleeping, I go let him sleep.

587
00:33:07,960 --> 00:33:10,080
Speaker 1: Eagles one, you don't sleep, I'm not gonna play well.

588
00:33:10,160 --> 00:33:13,840
Speaker 1: So anyway, that's how Steve was. Eddie. No, Eddie had.

589
00:33:14,160 --> 00:33:19,160
Speaker 1: Eddie had his own personal private massage therapist and his diet.

590
00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:22,280
Speaker 1: And you know, Steve did what he did with burgers

591
00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:26,720
Speaker 1: and shakes and beers, and Eddie was different. But man,

592
00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:30,480
Speaker 1: when they when they put the plastic on their heads,

593
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:33,080
Speaker 1: they were one two, one of a kind. This is

594
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:35,560
Speaker 1: pretty special week. It was. Thank you for allowing me

595
00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:37,920
Speaker 1: to share. Oh, thank you so much. Jeff Fisher with

596
00:33:38,040 --> 00:33:41,520
Speaker 1: us on the OTP as we celebrate the retirement of

597
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:45,400
Speaker 1: the jerseys. Steve mcnaret, Eddie, George Sunday as the Titans

598
00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,080
Speaker 1: take on the Indianapolis Colts kick off his set for

599
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:51,800
Speaker 1: noon at Nissud Stadium. Jeff, thank you, thank you, thank

600
00:33:51,840 --> 00:33:55,240
Speaker 1: you for listening to the OTP talk said, eye to

601
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,280
Speaker 1: the right, two wide receivers to the right. Give George

602
00:33:58,280 --> 00:34:00,840
Speaker 1: going right, trying to get out right. He gets outside

603
00:34:00,880 --> 00:34:03,880
Speaker 1: fifty ten five stretch back to the middle. Guys for

604
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:11,040
Speaker 1: the inside TOUCHTA Titans any George nineteen yards defeat and

605
00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:15,720
Speaker 1: Tennessee up twenty. They're stacked up. Kite play act. Shom

606
00:34:16,280 --> 00:34:18,920
Speaker 1: McNair looking be cuts up the middle. He can run

607
00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:23,120
Speaker 1: fifty forty five, forty thirty five, thirty twenty five, twenty

608
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:29,080
Speaker 1: fifteen ten five Gods to the one yard one Like

609
00:34:29,200 --> 00:34:33,400
Speaker 1: I said, Run, Steve McNair, Good call. J