Speaker 1: This is the OTP, presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans.
Speaker 1: Fire Bureau Health Plans is for those who make plans
Speaker 1: for everything except themselves. We make it easy and affordable
Speaker 1: for Tennesseeans who don't have a group or employer plan.
Speaker 1: Visit FBHP dot com to learn more. With Amy Wells,
Speaker 1: I'm Mike Keith, and we are so glad to have
Speaker 1: you with us for this edition of the Official Titans Podcast,
Speaker 1: better known as the OTP. As we are back in
Speaker 1: the AFC South preparing to go to Indianapolis this Sunday.
Speaker 1: We'll actually be going at some point on Saturday. The
Speaker 1: game is Sunday at twelve o two Central Time. That
Speaker 1: means it is eleven o'clock Central time for Amy Wells
Speaker 1: and Rhet Bryan with Titans Countdown on any of our
Speaker 1: fifty Titans radio stations. And if you are going to
Speaker 1: the game and you would like to get together with
Speaker 1: some Titans fans, Titans cheerleaders, Titans mascot t rack, you
Speaker 1: can do so. The Titans Road Rally. It's presented by
Speaker 1: Old Smokey Distillery. There's a pepper rally on Saturday night
Speaker 1: from seven to ten Eastern six to nine Central at
Speaker 1: sixteen Bit Bar and Arcade and then tailgate party on
Speaker 1: Sunday from ten am to twelve thirty eastern at the
Speaker 1: Airloom right outside of Lucas Oil Stadium. So the road
Speaker 1: Rally Weekend presented by Old Smokey Distillery PEP Rally at
Speaker 1: sixteen Bit Bar and Arcade seven to ten Eastern on
Speaker 1: Saturday night, and then the game day party at the
Speaker 1: Airloom at Lucas Oil Stadium from ten am to twelve
Speaker 1: thirty eastern on Sunday. A road rally a gathering spot. Yes,
Speaker 1: I like when everybody can get together before the game, celebrate,
Speaker 1: meet some friends. Well that's the only thing it's really
Speaker 1: hard about this is very rarely do the Titans play
Speaker 1: that close to home, because Indianapolis is about four hours away.
Speaker 1: Atlanta's three and a half. Yeah, New Orleans isn't bad.
Speaker 1: I think it's probably seven and a half to eight.
Speaker 1: The Ohio's aren't far. The Ohios aren't far at all.
Speaker 1: Cleveland Cincinnati, Cincinnati is about the same distance, maybe just
Speaker 1: a little further than Indianapolis. But we don't play them
Speaker 1: every year. Now we're in the same division for thirty
Speaker 1: plus years. Yeah, and that used to be an annual
Speaker 1: trip that was really great. And I like Cincinnati very much.
Speaker 1: It was an easy trip, and Cleveland's not bad. It's
Speaker 1: considerably further though. Yeah, Cincinnati and Indie are the two
Speaker 1: that are very reasonable road trips. Just you can go
Speaker 1: up and back in a day if you want to,
Speaker 1: but we suggest going the night before, make a trip
Speaker 1: of it. Then you can go to all of the festivity. Well.
Speaker 1: And thanks to Old Smoky Distillery for sponsoring those two
Speaker 1: events for the fan base, and we know a lot
Speaker 1: of you like to go up there. It's a it's
Speaker 1: a great downtown. It's Amy's favorite trip because of the Combine,
Speaker 1: and Amy continues to celebrate the fact that the Combine
Speaker 1: will stay in Indianapolis. I feel like people think that
Speaker 1: I like work for the Indianapolis like tourism Bureau. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't. I just like the consistency of having that
Speaker 1: event specifically in Indianapolis. I think that it's a downtown
Speaker 1: that lends itself so well. So if it were in
Speaker 1: Oakland every year, you would be for that just because
Speaker 1: it was in the same spot every year. If it
Speaker 1: was in Oakland, no, if it was as convenient as
Speaker 1: what Indie provides Oakland would nobody because traffic is a nightmare.
Speaker 1: You are going to have a hard time finding anybody
Speaker 1: who can do it better than Indianapolis because of a
Speaker 1: their downtown and be the medical facilities that are close
Speaker 1: enough to be able to do all of the testing
Speaker 1: for the players that they want to do. Nobody ever
Speaker 1: said that it wasn't the best set up, right. It's
Speaker 1: just the league wants to make more money off of it.
Speaker 1: And I understand that, and really I get it, and
Speaker 1: that's why Indy and for all the talk about all
Speaker 1: Indie kept it, Indy kept it because they paid more money. Yeah,
Speaker 1: they were getting, which God love him, and I appreciate that,
Speaker 1: and I hope it stays there forever. It's not because
Speaker 1: it is so convenient, and we get the new stadium here,
Speaker 1: it'll be here well, and that would be very convenient,
Speaker 1: and I appreciate that. Ease and convenience is what I like.
Speaker 1: I would say this to all the OT people. It
Speaker 1: is a great trip. It's a great trip. It's a
Speaker 1: really nice city, and the people are friendly. I mean,
Speaker 1: they want to beat us and we want to beat them.
Speaker 1: We all get that. And their owners tweeting out today
Speaker 1: trying to get the fans fired up. I mean, okay,
Speaker 1: so it's a rivalry, fine, but it's not nasty or
Speaker 1: I mean, I don't find it to be Did you
Speaker 1: want them to be primal? Is that the word he used? Primal?
Speaker 1: Pissed off and primal? Yeah, it's I mean, yeah, whoa, yeah,
Speaker 1: whoa is right? Whoa? That's he is quite a follow
Speaker 1: on Twitter. Oh, he's a great follow on Twitter. Not
Speaker 1: so great if you work in the public relations department
Speaker 1: for the Indianapolis Colts. I don't think. Didn't you deal
Speaker 1: with him regularly when you interned there? Not regularly, but
Speaker 1: I did have. Well, he has very specific specifications for
Speaker 1: how he likes his morning news delivered to him. Okay,
Speaker 1: in his news clippings that go out to the whole organization,
Speaker 1: they are in a very specific manner. It is organized
Speaker 1: in a certain way. He wants to know very specific
Speaker 1: things about very specific teams, because this is how he
Speaker 1: gets a lot of his news. It's organized in a
Speaker 1: specific way. And you understand, let's stop for just a
Speaker 1: second and explain what lips are. So people, Yeah, every
Speaker 1: team in the National Football League, and I'm sure a
Speaker 1: lot of other places have all of the news that
Speaker 1: has been reported about a team in the last say,
Speaker 1: twelve to twenty four hours put together in one document.
Speaker 1: So it's a lot of running through the ESPN's all
Speaker 1: your beat writers, all news articles that have anything to
Speaker 1: do with, say, the Tennessee Titans, are all compiled into
Speaker 1: one document. There's a lot of different ways to do it.
Speaker 1: Every team has certain quirks about the way that it's done,
Speaker 1: the way that that's assembled. Indie has one of the
Speaker 1: most thorough clippings documents I've ever seen. So they don't
Speaker 1: just email links out. Oh no, my friends, do you
Speaker 1: think they still even ten years later, they still print
Speaker 1: everything out for him in this way? Oh, I'm sure,
Speaker 1: I am sure of it. There was factsing involved. There
Speaker 1: were I did that. It is your internship duties a
Speaker 1: variety of places, and most interns that what you did
Speaker 1: in Baltimore, as we did in Baltimore as well. Were
Speaker 1: they as stringent about it? Absolutely not. No, just the
Speaker 1: basic Yeah, just the basic kind of stuff, And the
Speaker 1: same with here at the Titans. It's kind of your
Speaker 1: basic form. It's the news of the day, and it's
Speaker 1: all in a document, and you love to have it,
Speaker 1: and it's very helpful there. It was organized, and it
Speaker 1: was in a certain specific order, and you have a
Speaker 1: table contents, and it has an appropriate cover sheet, and
Speaker 1: you include a lot of other things about other teams,
Speaker 1: because he wants to have a very well rounded perspective
Speaker 1: of what's going on within an organization. And so that's
Speaker 1: how he's getting his news. And I mean, you got
Speaker 1: to respect it. I do. I mean, if if I
Speaker 1: own the team and I wanted to take it as
Speaker 1: seriously as possible, I see nothing wrong with being specific
Speaker 1: about what you want to read. Because his time is valuable, exactly,
Speaker 1: he just like Amy Adam strunk Hurt, I'm as valuable.
Speaker 1: You don't want your owner to waste time looking for
Speaker 1: something or reading something that has no relevance to what
Speaker 1: they need to know for their day. And he wants
Speaker 1: it to be the first thing that he consumes in
Speaker 1: the morning. So he get it to him really early,
Speaker 1: really really how early six am? When I was there.
Speaker 1: He needed it by six Does he still lift weights
Speaker 1: like he used to? Is that? Does he read it
Speaker 1: while he works out? That? I don't know, because he
Speaker 1: saw him consuming He was a nationally ranked powerlifter at
Speaker 1: one point in his life. Yeah, and he's had some
Speaker 1: back issues surgery, I can say, so, Yeah, it's a
Speaker 1: little bit different. But I mean the pictures of him
Speaker 1: back in the eighties like deadlifting and power cleaning. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean it is no joke. It's no joke. He
Speaker 1: is a renaissance man in that he has a lot
Speaker 1: of interests that are just why. I mean he has
Speaker 1: he has collections guitars, all kinds of things, tars, but
Speaker 1: all kinds of other historical documents and relics and things
Speaker 1: that he's just kind of gathered over the years. I mean,
Speaker 1: he is a man of many interests. He's super eclectic,
Speaker 1: which is really cool. And his number one thing is
Speaker 1: the Indianapolis Colts though, and I mean he is all in.
Speaker 1: There's nothing wrong all over the road in terms of
Speaker 1: he wants. He has thoughts and ideas here and free
Speaker 1: here's what I say about this. And I mean people
Speaker 1: oftentimes joke about certain owners like a Jerry Jones or
Speaker 1: the late George Steinbrenner with the New York Yankees, And
Speaker 1: as you know, I'm a Yankee fan. And congratulations, by
Speaker 1: the way, thank you George Steinbrenner was kind of nuts,
Speaker 1: you know. I mean, he did some he did some
Speaker 1: very strange things. But you know what, Amy, as a
Speaker 1: Yankee fan, that's what I wanted, because all I'm interested
Speaker 1: in is winning championships. I want I want the Yankee
Speaker 1: I mean, I get up. The first thing I do
Speaker 1: every morning is I get on my phone and I
Speaker 1: find the box score and I'll sit there while I'm
Speaker 1: watching TV at night going over the box score and
Speaker 1: updates on the games and who they're bringing in from
Speaker 1: the bullpen. I mean, I'm serious about it. I want
Speaker 1: my owner to be as serious, if not more serious
Speaker 1: than I am. So I have mad respect for an
Speaker 1: owner like Earsay who says, hey, I mean, we want
Speaker 1: to win the whole thing. This is our goal. We're
Speaker 1: not getting it done. I mean a lot of people
Speaker 1: poked fund at his video at the end of last year,
Speaker 1: and I didn't because I get it. I mean, so
Speaker 1: that's not normal to some people, but to me as
Speaker 1: a fan. If I'm a Colts fan, that's what I want.
Speaker 1: That's why I win. Our owner stands up and says
Speaker 1: we want to win a championship, and then she spends
Speaker 1: a whole bunch of money on a whole bunch of
Speaker 1: players and coaches, buildings and stuff. That shows me she's
Speaker 1: committed to winning a championship. Doesn't guarantee that you will,
Speaker 1: But I want my owner to be as committed as
Speaker 1: I am as a fan. And the thing about Amy
Speaker 1: Adams Strunk that makes her so popular beyond just her enthusiasm,
Speaker 1: her passion, her obvious complete buy into the organization. With
Speaker 1: the amount of just the widespread amount of ways that
Speaker 1: she has invested in this team, you get her without
Speaker 1: the crazy, which you do, which she's crazy. She's very relatable,
Speaker 1: she has incredible common sense. Yes, she is very She's
Speaker 1: someone who you feel like you can have a conversation with.
Speaker 1: But she's as passionate as earsay is. Absolutely she does.
Speaker 1: It doesn't come across the same way, but she's like, hey,
Speaker 1: we went a ball game. She's happy. We lose a ballgame,
Speaker 1: she is not happy, right, And when the whole Ken
Speaker 1: Wizzen Hunt thing was going down and he was three
Speaker 1: and twenty, she was not happy. Or she said that's enough.
Speaker 1: Ye when the concessions weren't good enough for the fan base,
Speaker 1: when she heard that over and over and over again,
Speaker 1: at Nissan stage. She bought them out. Yep, she she said.
Speaker 1: If our fans are telling us this is unsatisfactory, I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna sit here and and watch this happen. And
Speaker 1: I think that is the reason we like working for
Speaker 1: her so much, is you can say something to her
Speaker 1: like that and she goes, Okay, do that. She's decisive.
Speaker 1: That's better, she gets it done, what she wants to
Speaker 1: win in everything. I love it. Yeah. I take her
Speaker 1: over any owner in any sport, anywhere, all the time
Speaker 1: of the time, mainly because she gave you a job
Speaker 1: she did well. Yeah, and I appreciate that and continues
Speaker 1: to give me a job. And that is also an
Speaker 1: important thing. But really, if Amy Adam Strunk said, you
Speaker 1: know what, I think I'm going to open a bread factory,
Speaker 1: I would probably try to get a job at that
Speaker 1: bread would Yeah, because I enjoy working for her as humans.
Speaker 1: I've said on more than one occasion, these are the
Speaker 1: good old days. Yeah, this is it. And from our
Speaker 1: standpoint to six straight winning seasons and being in the
Speaker 1: middle of it and you know, gonna go out and
Speaker 1: fight the Indianapolis Colts right now, and neither one of
Speaker 1: us are where we want to be right now. But
Speaker 1: there's nobody that I know who has a brain that's
Speaker 1: ruling either one of us out right now. Oh no,
Speaker 1: so good. I mean it's gonna be that kind of game.
Speaker 1: I love those games. The Titans added Mario Edwards defensive
Speaker 1: linemen off the Jacksonville practice squad, lot Raven Clark offensive
Speaker 1: linemen off the Philadelphia practice squad. They signed Joe Schobert
Speaker 1: to the practice squad. He's a linebacker. Do you know
Speaker 1: Joe Schobert's story? Not very well? No? Okay, So I
Speaker 1: love this story. I mean, you know when I go
Speaker 1: to the Senior Bowl, I love these backstories. Yes, you do.
Speaker 1: That's my thing. And I want to apologize to the
Speaker 1: OT people right now because we're gonna Uncle Mike's gonna
Speaker 1: tell a story because because I love these stories. Okay,
Speaker 1: So this Joe Schobert, he's an All American at Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: You know, Wisconsin has been good for thirty years since
Speaker 1: Barry Alvarez got there. I mean they've been they've been
Speaker 1: really good. They produced all kinds of players. So here's
Speaker 1: another All American, Joe Schobert. So I'm reading about this
Speaker 1: guy and he is so not the five star all
Speaker 1: the way through, projected to be an All American. He
Speaker 1: comes out of this place called Waukashaw, Wisconsin. It's town
Speaker 1: of seventy thousand. Waukeshaw, Wisconsin is in Waukashaw County, which
Speaker 1: is the same county that produced the Watt brothers. Oh, okay, okay,
Speaker 1: they're from Colwaukee, Wisconsin. Colwaukee, Wisconsin. It's a great name.
Speaker 1: It's a great name. There have been other players, other,
Speaker 1: various people in sports come out of that county, including
Speaker 1: the man who invented spaghettios. No kids, true, So Joe
Speaker 1: Schobert goes to Waukeshaw West. He's a record setting running back.
Speaker 1: His junior year he rushed for two hundred ninety six
Speaker 1: yards in the state championship game. He's also a great safety.
Speaker 1: He's one hundred ninety five pounds. He's two times All
Speaker 1: conference on the basketball team, and he's third in the
Speaker 1: state as a high jumper, which if you've ever done that,
Speaker 1: you know how hard that is. You got to be
Speaker 1: an athlete to be a high jumper. Yeah. So, no
Speaker 1: scholarship offers nothing, MADA. He's gonna walk on at North
Speaker 1: Dakota there's a coach in Kenosha, Wisconsin at Bradford High
Speaker 1: School named Jed Kennedy. He's probably best known because he
Speaker 1: was Melvin Gordon's high school coach, Melvin Gordon who went
Speaker 1: on to become a great running back at Wisconsin and
Speaker 1: then of course has been in the league for a
Speaker 1: long time. He calls the Wisconsin staff and he goes this,
Speaker 1: Joe Schobert, you need to get him to walk on
Speaker 1: at Wisconsin. You need to make that happen. This guy
Speaker 1: can really play. So they go get him before just
Speaker 1: before he leaves for North Dakota. He goes to Wisconsin. Well,
Speaker 1: he puts on fifty pounds. He's a special teams player,
Speaker 1: he's a backup, then he becomes a starter, and then
Speaker 1: he's an All American in twenty fifty sure from Walker. Yes,
Speaker 1: so he gets drafted right at the start of the
Speaker 1: fourth round by the Cleveland Browns. Second year, becomes a starter,
Speaker 1: goes to the Pro Bowl, plays four years for the Browns,
Speaker 1: signs a big free agent contract with Jacksonville, and has
Speaker 1: a great year with Jacksonville in twenty twenty one hundred
Speaker 1: and forty one tackles. Well. Of course, they change coaches
Speaker 1: and guess who doesn't want him on the team. Yeah,
Speaker 1: probably because he went to Wisconsin, So Noah urban Meyer.
Speaker 1: So they trade him to Pittsburgh. We played against us
Speaker 1: last year and he had over one hundred tackles last year. Well,
Speaker 1: he's going into the third year of that contract that
Speaker 1: he signed in Jacksonville Steelers. They're saying, we can't afford it.
Speaker 1: So they let him go, and they let him go
Speaker 1: right into free agency. They cut him on seventeenth, So
Speaker 1: the first wave of free agency is already over at
Speaker 1: that point, that big you know, the big running shoot
Speaker 1: period where everybody goes out and signs the massive contracts.
Speaker 1: So he gets cut right there. Well, now he's between
Speaker 1: a rock and hard plays. He figures, I'm gonna wait.
Speaker 1: Denver signs him on August the fifteenth because they've got injuries.
Speaker 1: But if you've seen Denver's defense pretty good, they just
Speaker 1: need him because they have some guys injured. And so
Speaker 1: after eight days they say, well, we're you know, you're
Speaker 1: a veteran, we're gonna let you go. And so he
Speaker 1: hasn't been playing football for the past five weeks. Well,
Speaker 1: now he's on the Titans practice squad, and there is
Speaker 1: a reasonable shot that Joe Schobert is going to be
Speaker 1: activated on Sunday, might even start who knows, who knows,
Speaker 1: But I mean, we've seen those sorts of things happen
Speaker 1: with Terrence Mitchell and whatever. I mean, we'll see it
Speaker 1: may not, but we'll see. But theoretically it's out there
Speaker 1: that he could be playing against the Indianapolis could on Sunday. Joe,
Speaker 1: what a wild ride. Well, so, the reason I found
Speaker 1: his story and got so interested in him and have
Speaker 1: always been a fan is because he was such a
Speaker 1: good guy at the Senior Bowl. He was a lot
Speaker 1: of fun to talk to because he's had all this
Speaker 1: stuff going. So when he gets here, I requested an
Speaker 1: interview with him and he was gracious enough to grant it.
Speaker 1: And so here he is Joe Schobert talking to the
Speaker 1: OT people more specifically me, but threw me to the
Speaker 1: OT people are the OT peol. So you have played
Speaker 1: against the Tennessee Titans six times in your career for
Speaker 1: three different teams. Is it a little odd to be
Speaker 1: part of the Tennessee Titans after facing them so many
Speaker 1: times on the field? Yeah. I think the weirdest thing
Speaker 1: is when you get into the building and you see
Speaker 1: the day to day operations, he said, this side of
Speaker 1: the team in the locker room and the meeting rooms
Speaker 1: and the cafeteria, and it's just different because, like, especially
Speaker 1: when you're a division arrival, like when we're in jackson
Speaker 1: When I was in Jacksonville, it's like aimless gray faces.
Speaker 1: You hate these guys at big rivals, and then you
Speaker 1: just make them up to be like people who aren't
Speaker 1: just like you, and then you pop in the building
Speaker 1: like Matt, everybody's cool, they do things good here, Like,
Speaker 1: it's definitely interesting to be part of the environment. How
Speaker 1: much has it helped you stepping in because you had
Speaker 1: to do the same thing in Pittsburgh last year in
Speaker 1: training camp when you were traded from Jacksonville to the Steelers. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I've I mean, this is my eighth different
Speaker 1: scheme I've had to learn in seven years. So I've
Speaker 1: got a lot of training and learning new stuff. And
Speaker 1: thankfully for me the package this week for the mentally,
Speaker 1: I'm able to start picking it up pretty quickly. I
Speaker 1: got a lot of time with Zach, the insistent linebackers coach,
Speaker 1: and just one on one time being able He's really
Speaker 1: helped pulling me along, getting things installed, making sure I'm
Speaker 1: dotting my eyes and crossing my teas before I get
Speaker 1: out here on the practice field. All right, So you
Speaker 1: had eight days in Denver, but otherwise you haven't been
Speaker 1: with a football team since then. Is it hard to
Speaker 1: get back in that Maybe not football shape, but just
Speaker 1: in that mode? Yeah, Like nothing simulates playing football like. No,
Speaker 1: I'm a train like I've been training and working out
Speaker 1: the whole off season. I've been up in Denver at
Speaker 1: altitude like working out, breathing heavy. But nothing no matter
Speaker 1: where you go, if I wouldn't Sea level, if I'm
Speaker 1: up in the mountains playing football, you can't replicate it.
Speaker 1: As soon as you got on the field, you start
Speaker 1: getting that cotton mouth. You start to see yelling, communicating,
Speaker 1: run around, hitting people one hundred miles an hour, and
Speaker 1: it's something you have to get adjusted to. But I mean,
Speaker 1: at this point in my life, I've got a lot
Speaker 1: of a lot of miles on the legs playing football.
Speaker 1: So they just need to knock the rest off and
Speaker 1: get back at it. You've got a lot of success.
Speaker 1: Started in this league for five years, five straight years
Speaker 1: with one hundred plus tackles. Knowing what your resume says,
Speaker 1: it would seem like this offseason would have been hard
Speaker 1: for you based on the fact that you've done a
Speaker 1: great job everywhere you've been. Have you stayed positive? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think I've just got to take what life gives you.
Speaker 1: I mean, the way I got released in Pittsburgh last year,
Speaker 1: it was kind of behind the eight ball and free agency,
Speaker 1: so there wasn't a lot of opportunities. So just take
Speaker 1: it as a positive and the fact that I can
Speaker 1: work out at home, I can see my family every
Speaker 1: single day from April until I got here and be
Speaker 1: able to just enjoy those moments and just keep ready
Speaker 1: to stay ready for when I get the call, so
Speaker 1: I know that wherever I go, I'll be able to
Speaker 1: contribute and help the team in any way I can well.
Speaker 1: On the bottom line, too, is you did it the
Speaker 1: hard way coming out of high school. So this is
Speaker 1: just sort of going back to those roots for you,
Speaker 1: isn't it. Yeah, definitely. I mean, once you're a walk on,
Speaker 1: you're always a walk on, So you care that mentality
Speaker 1: wherever you go on a football field to the rest
Speaker 1: of your life. And Wisconsin is a huge a great
Speaker 1: tradition of walk on is just being not even just
Speaker 1: the guys who made it to the NFL, but guys
Speaker 1: who some of my teammates who have just gone on
Speaker 1: and be super successful in their personal lives, and just
Speaker 1: a badge of pride you carry with you and chip
Speaker 1: on your shoulder that never goes away and it just
Speaker 1: makes you appreciate where you came from. So the challenge
Speaker 1: this weekend for the Titans is another Wisconsin man talking
Speaker 1: about Jonathan Taylor. You guys missed each other by two
Speaker 1: years in Madison. You've played against him twice. You're on
Speaker 1: the field for a game where he gained two fifty three,
Speaker 1: so you know exactly what he's all about. What stands
Speaker 1: out about Jonathan Taylor. I mean the first thing is
Speaker 1: to speed. I mean I remember when he came to Wisconsin.
Speaker 1: Ever just talking about I tend to one hundred meter
Speaker 1: dash at two hundred and twenty pounds, and you see
Speaker 1: that on the film. You see it when he gets
Speaker 1: out in the open field, a lot like the guy
Speaker 1: we have in the backfield here. When he gets an
Speaker 1: open field, very few people catch him. And then he yeah,
Speaker 1: obviously pairs that with a great offensive line and great
Speaker 1: vision to exploit it. And they like to hand him
Speaker 1: the ball twenty plus times a game and hope he
Speaker 1: just breaks one or two and that's good for them.
Speaker 1: So he's a work course. He's been healthy his career
Speaker 1: so far. He carried about thousand times at Wisconsin, gained
Speaker 1: two thousand plus yards every year, and he's just keeping
Speaker 1: on that track in the NFL. So it's going to
Speaker 1: be our job to slow him down limited him on Sunday.
Speaker 1: You've really done everything. You've rushed the passer in the league.
Speaker 1: You've been the guy who's called the signals and made
Speaker 1: sure the gaps are filled. You've been excellent in pass coverage.
Speaker 1: You said you've played in eight different schemes, so even
Speaker 1: on short notice, whatever they ask you to do, you
Speaker 1: could probably do that. Yeah, that's a good thing about
Speaker 1: If there is a good thing about learning eight different schemes,
Speaker 1: is that there's a lot of carryover. May not be
Speaker 1: the verbiage or may not be the exact calls, but
Speaker 1: you can only play cover three so many different ways,
Speaker 1: and you just got to learn how this team communicates
Speaker 1: that and how they communicate all their checks and balances,
Speaker 1: and just get in there and pull back on the
Speaker 1: information you learn in the fast It's like just opening
Speaker 1: a little a little lot container right back in the
Speaker 1: back of your mind and pulling that stuff out and
Speaker 1: just applying it to the football field right here right now.
Speaker 1: You gotta like that down. Yeah, Oh, well, but the
Speaker 1: whole thing. I mean, the guy's nearly twenty nine years
Speaker 1: old and he's had this wild ride throughout football and
Speaker 1: he's just been He's been a great pro. I mean,
Speaker 1: you start five years in the league, you have over
Speaker 1: one hundred tackles a year, you play a position that
Speaker 1: doesn't play all three downs on defense all the time. Now,
Speaker 1: it's so in terms of supply and demand, the supply
Speaker 1: way exceeds the demand. Yeah, and for him torn, Yeah,
Speaker 1: if he were a corner or a wide receiver, no problem.
Speaker 1: But if you played to that level at those positions,
Speaker 1: you would have a job forever. But linebackers are just
Speaker 1: viewfferently now. Well, it is so nice for him to
Speaker 1: be able to be a consistent performer regardless of kind
Speaker 1: of the circumstances. It sounds like wherever he has landed,
Speaker 1: whatever he's doing, he's been able to perform well. And
Speaker 1: you heard what he just said. He's played in eight
Speaker 1: different defensive systems in his time in the league, and
Speaker 1: that's because he started his career with the Browns. I'm
Speaker 1: not trying to make fun of the Browns, but the
Speaker 1: Browns have run through some coaches, they have run through
Speaker 1: some assistant coaches. Then he goes to Jacksonville and he
Speaker 1: plays for one coach and they get rid of him,
Speaker 1: and then they bring in Urban Meyer and he works
Speaker 1: for several months in that system, then gets traded to
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh and then he goes out to Denver only for
Speaker 1: eight days. So he's seen eight systems through the course
Speaker 1: of his career. And he's a brain. Yeah, you can
Speaker 1: hear the way he talks. But I just love guys
Speaker 1: with that sort of perspective. And you know, you think
Speaker 1: about Kevin Byard and what's going to happen Friday night
Speaker 1: at MT issue, same age guy. I think they're three
Speaker 1: months apart in age. But you're married, you've got kids.
Speaker 1: You can see there's gonna be life without football. You're
Speaker 1: probably closer to the end than you are the start.
Speaker 1: And you have friends in the neighborhood who have real
Speaker 1: jobs and they're just normal. Yeah, people who are experiencing
Speaker 1: real life as they are still playing in the NFL
Speaker 1: are I am finding some of my favorite players because
Speaker 1: they have that perspective. They have a vision of the
Speaker 1: bigger picture of what this opportunity and what this job
Speaker 1: means for them right now, and they can see how
Speaker 1: it will help them in their future once the game
Speaker 1: is over correct And I think that that is a
Speaker 1: valuable perspective to have, and I think it makes them
Speaker 1: better players. I think it makes them better players too,
Speaker 1: because I think they're more focused on the important things. Yep.
Speaker 1: I don't think they waste time on the silliness of this,
Speaker 1: that or the other, like all of us did when
Speaker 1: we were twenty three or twenty four years old. You
Speaker 1: know what's really important once things are put in front
Speaker 1: of you from real life. Yeah, I had an apartment
Speaker 1: in Silly Bow when I was twenty four. I'll tell
Speaker 1: you right well, you know everybody did. So. Speaking of
Speaker 1: Kevin Byrd, Friday Night, MT Issue, they are retiring his
Speaker 1: number twenty. They're playing the University of Texas San Antonio.
Speaker 1: Kickoff at Floyd Stadium is six thirty. I know everybody
Speaker 1: from MTSUE is going to be there because that's their night.
Speaker 1: I know Titan fans who are just going to go
Speaker 1: because they want to see a good football game, a
Speaker 1: team that just beat Miami of Florida, and because they
Speaker 1: want to support Kevin Byard. Rutherford County in particular is
Speaker 1: proud of him. And I'm looking forward to being there
Speaker 1: tomorrow night. Rhet, Bryan and I are going. I think
Speaker 1: there are other people going, but I just want to
Speaker 1: see that moment for him. Yeah, it's going to be
Speaker 1: so cool. It was very fun to be a part
Speaker 1: of telling him that this was going to be happening
Speaker 1: and kind of surprising him at practice. There were not
Speaker 1: a lot of dry eyes in the joint when he
Speaker 1: found out. It was just a very cool thing. So
Speaker 1: now to actually have the ceremony and the game and
Speaker 1: the full experience with all of the kind of pomp
Speaker 1: and circumstance that comes with that, such an awesome thing.
Speaker 1: And you couldn't find a more deserving human. You couldn't.
Speaker 1: It's really going to be a great thing, and I'm
Speaker 1: really excited about having a chance to be there. I'm
Speaker 1: glad you're going. Well, Rhet and I are fired up.
Speaker 1: We're pumped. Yeah, we'll get all the work done and
Speaker 1: then we're going to the ball game. Oh, Mike, that'll
Speaker 1: be a nice night out for you for us. Yeah,
Speaker 1: looking forward to it. You know, Kevin Byrd was the
Speaker 1: hero of the Indianapolis game last Halloween. He intercepted the
Speaker 1: pass in overtime set up the game winner. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: remember that? Oh yes, So that's how we're transitioning. I
Speaker 1: said earlier this week wrongly that the Titans had won
Speaker 1: two in a row and in Annapolis. They've won three
Speaker 1: in a row at Indianapolis. So now they've won three
Speaker 1: in a row at Indianapolis, three in a row in
Speaker 1: the series, and four of the last five. That's why
Speaker 1: Jim Eersay wants to win this game so badly. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I think it's interesting also there are so many
Speaker 1: things about the Titans and the Colts that are similar.
Speaker 1: They're kind of built the same way in terms of
Speaker 1: what they want to do and what kind of a
Speaker 1: team and what kind of identity they want to have.
Speaker 1: So to have someone beat you at your own game
Speaker 1: that many times, it's got to be frustrating. Well, and
Speaker 1: they've been a good team, right, Oh yeah, they they've
Speaker 1: been a good club. They are a good club. They're
Speaker 1: one one and one. On Monday, we had a chance
Speaker 1: to visit with the outstanding young voice of the Indianapolis Colts,
Speaker 1: Matt Taylor. Amy was there, Rhett Brian was there, I
Speaker 1: was there. We had a chance to talk to him,
Speaker 1: and we weren't able to play all of it on
Speaker 1: Mike Vrabel Show because it was a long conversation. So
Speaker 1: we want to give you the meat of what we
Speaker 1: got from Matt Taylor about where this ball club is
Speaker 1: interesting place for the Indianapolis Colts right now without a doubt.
Speaker 1: So here's our chat with Matt Taylor, the voice of
Speaker 1: the Indianapolis Colts. Matt Taylor, the voice of the Indianapolis
Speaker 1: Colts with us, let's talk about your outstanding running back
Speaker 1: Jonathan Taylor. So far this year, sixty one carries, two
Speaker 1: hundred and eighty six yards a touchdown, eight catches for
Speaker 1: forty three yards. How would you characterize Jonathan Taylor's first
Speaker 1: three games in twenty twenty two. Yeah, I'd say it's
Speaker 1: been good, but it's certainly not been you know, statistically
Speaker 1: speaking on par with how he closed last season. And
Speaker 1: I think a lot of that has to do. It's
Speaker 1: just how teams are playing the Colts, they're selling out
Speaker 1: to stop the run, and quite frankly, the offensive line.
Speaker 1: I think when you look at the Colts up and
Speaker 1: down nature of the season to begin with, here, I
Speaker 1: think the most disappointing factor, and that has been the
Speaker 1: offensive wine. Teams are blitz the Colts like crazy. You're
Speaker 1: seeing stunts and twists and text games at the line
Speaker 1: of scrimmage, and the offensive line just isn't doing as
Speaker 1: good enough job as they need to picking those things up.
Speaker 1: I mean, Matt Ryan's been sacked twelve times already on
Speaker 1: the season, five times in each of the last two games.
Speaker 1: It's not just the sacks, it's it's when they're coming.
Speaker 1: They're coming on third down, or they're knocking the Colts
Speaker 1: at a fuel goal range, or they're striped sacks that
Speaker 1: are being recovered by the opposition. Those are the things
Speaker 1: that are killing the Colts in terms of efficiency on offense,
Speaker 1: and I think that's going into the running game or
Speaker 1: the lack there off in terms of the push of
Speaker 1: the offensive line is giving for Jonathan Taylor, so you
Speaker 1: certainly haven't seen nearly as many big explosive runs where
Speaker 1: he's ripping off ten twenty yards at a time like
Speaker 1: was the case routinely last year to end the season,
Speaker 1: they've been there. This year, they've They've been kind of
Speaker 1: been sprinkled in here and there, but not nearly as
Speaker 1: consistent as last season. And I think that a lot
Speaker 1: has to do with the offensive line and they're inconsistencies
Speaker 1: of wing up front getting that push. But again, the
Speaker 1: Colts just if you if you look at the three
Speaker 1: games in totality, they haven't been in favorable third down
Speaker 1: situations a ton. Now you've seen it here and there,
Speaker 1: but a lot of times they're not worth winning on
Speaker 1: first and second down, getting in the third and long
Speaker 1: where you're not going to run the ball with Jonathan Taylor,
Speaker 1: I think all of those factors have contributed to the
Speaker 1: Colts not being as explosive in the running games so far.
Speaker 1: With number twenty eight, I'm mean to switch you over
Speaker 1: to the defensive side of the ball. How has the
Speaker 1: absence of linebacker Shack Leonard been felt on this team?
Speaker 1: And who do you feel has really stepped up to
Speaker 1: fill that role? Yeah, great question, and I think you
Speaker 1: know there's no there's no question, there's no denying that
Speaker 1: Shag Shack Leonard is the you know, the heart and
Speaker 1: soul or whatever you want to call it, the guy
Speaker 1: that brings the juice and you know, mentally psychologically takes
Speaker 1: that defense to the next level. And you just can't
Speaker 1: take anything away from him and his takeaway ability and
Speaker 1: his game changing ability, the way that he plays the game,
Speaker 1: his propensity to you know, knocked the ball out or
Speaker 1: get a strip sack or you know, just have a
Speaker 1: huge impact when he's out there. But I tell you,
Speaker 1: I've been really impressed with the Colts defense and their
Speaker 1: ability to step up without him on the field and
Speaker 1: against the run, you know, they really haven't missed a beat.
Speaker 1: You know, they're giving up less than three yards per
Speaker 1: carry on the season against the run. Against the Chiefs,
Speaker 1: you know, they ran for only like fifty eight yards
Speaker 1: and their lead back Clyde Edwards, a layer, only had
Speaker 1: like seven carries for no yards when you look at
Speaker 1: it the box score at the end of the game.
Speaker 1: So guys that have stepped up in a big way.
Speaker 1: You've got Zayo Franklin, twelve tackles. E J. Speed's played great,
Speaker 1: you know, covering as a linebacker. Bobby Okaake, those guys
Speaker 1: really have stepped up without shack Leonard. I think the
Speaker 1: biggest thing to this team when this defense is missing.
Speaker 1: So far, they've been great. I'm pretty consistent. You know
Speaker 1: that sack numbers aren't there and mass numbers, but again,
Speaker 1: the pressure on Mahomes was really good. They're the running
Speaker 1: game or the ability to stop the run that's been
Speaker 1: there through three games. I guess what's missing is, again
Speaker 1: what I just said earlier is Leonard's ability to take
Speaker 1: the football away. Because this Colts defense only has two
Speaker 1: takeaways through three games. That was a hallmark Last year
Speaker 1: they had thirty three takeaways as a defense for the season,
Speaker 1: so they're not on pace to duplicate that. That's where
Speaker 1: Leonard was so so good at just having this knack of,
Speaker 1: you know, watching a ball carrier hold the ball and
Speaker 1: being able to know when he can strike and go
Speaker 1: after it and create a big play. So if they
Speaker 1: get him back in this game, that would be big.
Speaker 1: But it's I think you have to kind of curb
Speaker 1: your enthusiasm if you're a Colts fan, considering this guy
Speaker 1: hasn't played since January ninth. I think it was against
Speaker 1: the Jacksonville Jaguars of last year, missed all of the
Speaker 1: offseason workout program, missed all of training camp. He still
Speaker 1: might have to come back slow if indeed he gets
Speaker 1: back on the field coming up this Sunday, Matt Taylor,
Speaker 1: I don't want to go back to what you said
Speaker 1: about the people selling out to stop the run and
Speaker 1: Jonathan Taylor, and you made note of, you know, the
Speaker 1: receivers that have been missing in spots before last week
Speaker 1: with Michael Pittman and Alex p Year fourteen to forty
Speaker 1: on third down. What are some of the other issues
Speaker 1: as to why the Colts have had so much trouble
Speaker 1: in converting third downs. Well, let's first and second down.
Speaker 1: Like I said, I mean, teams are stopping the run,
Speaker 1: you know, not as many big plays for Jonathan Taylor.
Speaker 1: And if you go back to Week two against the Jaguars,
Speaker 1: you know, again they were down without Michael Pittman and
Speaker 1: Alec Pierce and no excuses, right, injuries happened to every team,
Speaker 1: but guys in that game specifically just didn't step up.
Speaker 1: You know, you had some drop third downs by Desmond Patman.
Speaker 1: You know Paris Campbell didn't have a catch in that game.
Speaker 1: You know, the tight ends weren't utilized a ton in
Speaker 1: that game, So I think that's kind of a microcosm
Speaker 1: for how the season has gone through three games. As
Speaker 1: their struggles on third down against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the
Speaker 1: Colts didn't get into nearly as many third downs as
Speaker 1: they did the week before because they were better on
Speaker 1: first and second down, especially on that last drive of
Speaker 1: the game. I think the Colts went sixteen plays seventy
Speaker 1: five yards eight minutes, and I think they only face
Speaker 1: two third downs on that possession. So that speaks to
Speaker 1: their efficiency on first and second down, which they're trying
Speaker 1: to duplicate going forward. But yeah, there's no question that
Speaker 1: just again, the offensive line push, the reliability within the
Speaker 1: past catchers outside of Michael Pittman Junior hasn't been there
Speaker 1: as consistently as it needs to be. But again, yesterday
Speaker 1: was a little bit better. They're taking incremental strides forward
Speaker 1: as far as those things are concerned, and just trying
Speaker 1: to put it all together in Week four against a
Speaker 1: good Tennessee team, and it's obviously a huge game in
Speaker 1: terms of the standings and what this game has meant
Speaker 1: for the ultimate winner of the AFC South. When the
Speaker 1: dust settles after a seventeen game schedule, Matt new quarterback
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan thrown for over sixty thousand yards in his
Speaker 1: career three hundred seventy touchdowns, but a new team settling
Speaker 1: in figuring it all out. Is Matt Ryan coming off
Speaker 1: his best game so far as an Indian Appea's cold
Speaker 1: Yeah so far? Absolutely. Now, he had a great four
Speaker 1: quarter against the Texans when they were down twenty to
Speaker 1: three and rallying back to tie that game in Week
Speaker 1: one was his best game. So he's been there before.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's why the nickname exists, right, Mattie
Speaker 1: Ice just being cool and comfortable in late game situations
Speaker 1: when the game is on the line, and I think
Speaker 1: you're seeing that trust. I think you're seeing that buy
Speaker 1: in from the rest of the offense. But they just
Speaker 1: got to get some of those little things corrected, like again,
Speaker 1: pressures and blitzes and let's pick up from the offensive line,
Speaker 1: because there's been a lot of times where Ryan and
Speaker 1: I know it's a new system and I know it's
Speaker 1: a new scheme, but he just has he does not
Speaker 1: have a lot of time to think out there because
Speaker 1: guys are in his face and the Colts are going
Speaker 1: to continue to see this. You guys know this. It's
Speaker 1: a copycat league, and that leaky faucet is going to
Speaker 1: continue to leak so long as you you know, you
Speaker 1: don't fix those problems. And I would fully expecting his
Speaker 1: seat to continue to bring people, you know, bring multiple
Speaker 1: people off the edge or you know, provide those those
Speaker 1: stunt games and the line of scrammlers to kind of
Speaker 1: fool the Colts offensive lineman. There's just been a lot
Speaker 1: of times where a thirty seven year old quarterback was
Speaker 1: not a lot of mobility to begin with, is under
Speaker 1: siege as soon as he takes a shotgun snap and
Speaker 1: he's got to make quick decisions. He's trying to throw
Speaker 1: the ball away or a guy's coming from behind him
Speaker 1: and you know, creating a strip sack, as was the
Speaker 1: case twice against the Chiefs. So they're trying to put
Speaker 1: those things together to help Matt Ryan. But when he's
Speaker 1: been protected, I mean, this goes this is an obvious statement, certainly,
Speaker 1: but when he's been protected and he's got time, you know,
Speaker 1: he's still pinpoint accurate, he's got great ball placement, and
Speaker 1: he's still you know, one of the best quarterbacks in
Speaker 1: terms of just throwing of the football. The accuracy is
Speaker 1: still playing in the NFL, just like a Brady or Rodgers,
Speaker 1: but he's got to have time and so far this year,
Speaker 1: consistently it hasn't been that way by the Colts offensive line. Matt,
Speaker 1: you had said that the Colts best football is still
Speaker 1: ahead of them. So in your mind, what area do
Speaker 1: the Colts need to tighten up a little bit to
Speaker 1: consistently be playing their best football? Well, I think the
Speaker 1: strength of this team so far, are you know, stopping
Speaker 1: the run? I would say, you know, you know, you've
Speaker 1: got Jonathan Taylor, so you need to have him continue
Speaker 1: to be, you know, a major part of this offense.
Speaker 1: Get him anywhere between eighteen to twenty five carries per game.
Speaker 1: But I hate to just be a dead horse. But
Speaker 1: it's the protection upfront that's what's holding this team back
Speaker 1: right now. And then on defense, they were stopping the run,
Speaker 1: but they were also giving up a high completion percentage.
Speaker 1: You know, I think, you know, Davis Mills and Trevor Lawrence,
Speaker 1: who I think are going to be good quarterbacks that
Speaker 1: are growing into their own. But as of right now,
Speaker 1: you wouldn't categorize these guys as elites, you know, top
Speaker 1: five quarterbacks just yet. But the Colts allowed those guys
Speaker 1: to complete over seventy percent of their passes and get
Speaker 1: some easy chunk plays and had a hard time slowing
Speaker 1: people down in front of them. So I think those
Speaker 1: are the two areas they're trying to shore off on
Speaker 1: on both sides of the ball. Is better push, better
Speaker 1: protection up front and slowing down the big plays and
Speaker 1: not giving up such easy pletions to quarterbacks get into
Speaker 1: a groove and get into a rhythm early. I think
Speaker 1: if Ryan Tannehill gets into an early rhythm in this game,
Speaker 1: that could be bad for the Colts, especially if Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry's running the football and they're winning up front on
Speaker 1: first and second down. So I think those are the
Speaker 1: things the Colts are trying to shore up. Special teams wise,
Speaker 1: Like I said as he began, I think they've been really,
Speaker 1: really solid. They kind of tweaked some things in the
Speaker 1: second Dary. They played Isaiah Rogers Moore when they went
Speaker 1: Nickel package over a guy like Brandon facing That seemed
Speaker 1: to help a little bit. The Colts knew they had
Speaker 1: to plaster receivers with Patrick Mahomes running all over the place.
Speaker 1: Ryan Tannehill not so much that guy. So it'll be
Speaker 1: interesting to see what they do in the secondary to
Speaker 1: kind of combat the strengths of this Titans defense. But
Speaker 1: high completion percentage has definitely been a bugaboof for the
Speaker 1: Colts through three games. You mentioned the protection issues along
Speaker 1: the offensive line. Is it in one particular place or
Speaker 1: is it coming from everywhere? With the twelve quarterback sacks
Speaker 1: they surrendered in the first three games, Yeah, say right now,
Speaker 1: I mean it has. Everybody's been guilty of it, right
Speaker 1: and when you play five is one as the offensive
Speaker 1: line tries to do, you know, everybody's going to be culpable.
Speaker 1: But I would say more often than not, it's coming
Speaker 1: from the interior. It's center in both guards, and I
Speaker 1: think that's the stunts in the text games, you know,
Speaker 1: especially when you've got defensive ends swinging inside and coming
Speaker 1: right up the gut. You know, when when a center
Speaker 1: declares I'm gonna help on on one side or the other.
Speaker 1: In terms of more protection from a guard, you know
Speaker 1: you've got a defensive end or safety blitzing late coming
Speaker 1: right at the quarterback unscathed, untouched. That's been the problem.
Speaker 1: So I think you know your two guards. You know, obviously,
Speaker 1: Quentin Nelson is you know, he's he's the best guard
Speaker 1: in the NF Valley. He was paid as such a
Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago, right before the start of the season.
Speaker 1: You know, he's on pace to be, you know, one
Speaker 1: of the best players in franchise history. But then you've
Speaker 1: got a guy that's only played three games at the
Speaker 1: right guard position and Danny Pinter and it's been up
Speaker 1: and down for him, and they're trying to figure out
Speaker 1: the best combination of offensive linemen out there. You know,
Speaker 1: could it be you know, put your rookie Bernard Ryman
Speaker 1: a left tackle, have left tackle Matt pryor swing at
Speaker 1: the right guard position. I think everything right now is
Speaker 1: sort of on the table as the Colts figure out
Speaker 1: who they are up front, where they need to be,
Speaker 1: and what their best personnel lineup should be to protect
Speaker 1: a thirty seven year old quarterback. Matt Taylor. Thank you
Speaker 1: as always, and we look forward to seeing you in
Speaker 1: the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium. My pleasure, guys.
Speaker 1: All right, that's Matt Taylor talking about the Indianapolis Colts.
Speaker 1: The Indianapolis Colts injury report for Thursday saw them get
Speaker 1: the majority of their players back. Only safety Julian Blackman,
Speaker 1: with an ankle, did not practice for the second straight day,
Speaker 1: and DeForrest Buckner, defensive tackle, did not practice for the
Speaker 1: second straight day with an elbow. He did work out
Speaker 1: on the side, though, with some sort of contraption on
Speaker 1: his elbow. I think he's playing, yeah, to find Gilmour
Speaker 1: was back to practice. Pro Bowl center Ryan Kelly was
Speaker 1: back to practice. Outside linebacker yannicking Goaquay was back to practice,
Speaker 1: and so was Jonathan Taylor, the talented running back. He
Speaker 1: was back to practice today. Do you feel kind of
Speaker 1: bad he broke that streak he had? It's really remarkable.
Speaker 1: So he missed practice on Wednesday. And in case you
Speaker 1: didn't know it, Adam Schefter pointed this out. Jonathan Taylor
Speaker 1: never missed a practice in high school, never missed a
Speaker 1: practice at Wisconsin, and had never missed a practice in
Speaker 1: the National Football League, and yet he missed yesterday's practice.
Speaker 1: But here's what's really fascinating. You know, this is a
Speaker 1: third year in the league. He did miss a game
Speaker 1: against the Titans two years ago, but he practiced leading
Speaker 1: up too. He got COVID or he was he was
Speaker 1: put into the protocol the day before the game, and
Speaker 1: there is no practice the day in that way, and
Speaker 1: so then he was able to get back by the
Speaker 1: following Wednesday. I feel I mean, you know, we're going
Speaker 1: up against them and so whatever for a lot of things.
Speaker 1: But I feel kind of bad that. I mean, it
Speaker 1: seems like he's okay, he was a full participant. He's
Speaker 1: gonna play. Yeah, he's gonna play on Sunday. I'm sure
Speaker 1: of it. Sure, And here he is starting over at
Speaker 1: day one after all of that time. I think I'm
Speaker 1: gonna make it. I just here's the Titans injury list.
Speaker 1: Traylan Burkes was back from illness. Zack Cunningham did not
Speaker 1: practice for the second straight day with an elbow. Amani
Speaker 1: Hooker did not practice for the second straight day with
Speaker 1: a concussion. Austin Hooper didn't practice yesterday with the neck,
Speaker 1: but he did practice in a limited fashion today. A
Speaker 1: Dainty a second straight day of limited participation with a neck.
Speaker 1: Ugo Amadi limited yesterday with his ankle, did not practice today.
Speaker 1: Don't know what that means. Sometimes a guy is a setback.
Speaker 1: Sometimes they just decide to hold him the day after
Speaker 1: and then they'll come back tomorrow and see if he
Speaker 1: could go. Would be good to have Ugo back. Christian
Speaker 1: Fulton with a knee limited yesterday, full participant today. Kyle
Speaker 1: Phillips with a shoulder limited again today after being limited yesterday.
Speaker 1: Bud Dupree with a hip, full participant yesterday, limited today.
Speaker 1: Nate Davis did not practice with a knee that has
Speaker 1: been kind of common for him. Is taking some Thursdays off,
Speaker 1: so hopefully he'll be back tomorrow. Cody Hollister out with
Speaker 1: a back injury, and that is apparently something that has
Speaker 1: just occurred because he did practice yesterday. The injury report
Speaker 1: very interesting. Thank you yep? Are you ready to go
Speaker 1: do this thing? Oh? I'm ready, You're ready to go.
Speaker 1: I'm fired up. Love an indie trip. I know everyone
Speaker 1: knows every not for the reasons you think every one
Speaker 1: of the ot people knows. I just like to go
Speaker 1: eat a good meal and then play a ball game,
Speaker 1: get a win, and go home. Tomorrow night we're going
Speaker 1: to celebrate the mayor of Murfreesboro, and then on Saturday
Speaker 1: and Sunday will celebrate you the mayor of INDIANAPPI I
Speaker 1: am not the mayor of Indianapolis. It's not me as
Speaker 1: somebody else. I just like a good meal in a
Speaker 1: place that I can walk everywhere. And I like winning,
Speaker 1: and we do that a lot in Indie. No matter
Speaker 1: your life stage, you can plan on Farm Bureau Health
Speaker 1: Plans for great healthcare coverage with a sensible price tag.
Speaker 1: Visit FBHP dot com. I just like big games. Division
Speaker 1: games are big games and it's fun. You know, people say, oh,
Speaker 1: Houston's record or Jacksonville's didn't make any difference. Every division
Speaker 1: game is a big game because if you go five
Speaker 1: and one in the division, you're probably going to win
Speaker 1: the division. That's true, you know, because you'll do enough
Speaker 1: everywhere else to fill it in. But for all the
Speaker 1: people when this team was ozin two, we're saying, well
Speaker 1: it's over, it's like, well, you've still got six division games,
Speaker 1: and the more of those you tick off, the better
Speaker 1: chance that you have. And I'm not talking about going
Speaker 1: seven and ten and winning the division. I'm saying that
Speaker 1: normally like what Cincinnati did last year. They won ten games,
Speaker 1: but I think they were five and one in the division.
Speaker 1: This is what it's all about. Yep, you got to
Speaker 1: win those division games. Well, it's it's just and when
Speaker 1: you go on the road, it's an opportunity. When you're
Speaker 1: at home, you have to hold serve. Like in tennis,
Speaker 1: the pressure is on the home team. Yeah. Yeah, And
Speaker 1: Indianapolis has made it very clear that they know who
Speaker 1: this opponent is. Primal passionate. It's a thing. I just
Speaker 1: want to know what a Primal fan base looks like.
Speaker 1: Are they wearing like furs, like some sort of animal
Speaker 1: skin this Like? I don't think that would go over
Speaker 1: Oh I don't know. I mean, I just don't even
Speaker 1: know what that would look like. I think it's time
Speaker 1: to go. Thank you for joining Amy Wells and me
Speaker 1: Mike Keith for this edition of the O T P.
Speaker 1: Primal Welcome to the Big Show where the legends go.
Speaker 1: Everybody knows it's our house, fighting thoughts. Tennessee making its
Speaker 1: three greatness is meant to be