WEBVTT - The OTP | Planning for Training Camp 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:15.560 Welcome to another edition of the OTP. I'm Amy Wells 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:20.600 and we are joined by Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan. Coach, 0:00:20.640 --> 0:00:23.880 We're so happy to have you here. It's a holiday weekend, 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:28.120 so there's a lot of time for relaxing and slowing down, 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:29.600 and we want to talk about all of that. But 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:34.000 first we've got to do some football stuff. Early, early, early, 0:00:34.120 --> 0:00:37.720 early in the off season program, you established that competition 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:40.440 was the name of the game throughout the whole process. 0:00:40.880 --> 0:00:43.960 What was it that you saw or noticed about the 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:47.560 twenty twenty four season that you felt like a little 0:00:47.600 --> 0:00:50.160 more competition could solve that problem. 0:00:51.159 --> 0:00:58.280 I think there's probably more layers to it than that. Okay, 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:01.920 certainly after the season, from feedback from coaches and players 0:01:01.760 --> 0:01:06.559 as we left, and obviously whatever whatever we did prior 0:01:06.720 --> 0:01:09.520 wasn't quite good enough. And so how do you know 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:11.400 as a as a leader, you have to sit there 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.560 and you got to take a lot of different viewpoints 0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:16.319 and criticisms, and you have to be open to that 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:17.840 because at the end of the day, it's going to 0:01:17.920 --> 0:01:20.000 make make you better, it's going to make our team better, 0:01:20.040 --> 0:01:22.360 it's going to make our process better. So there's a 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:25.160 lot of different things that that some coaches and players 0:01:25.200 --> 0:01:28.080 and people had sort of gave me feedback on that 0:01:29.920 --> 0:01:33.319 I reflected on for a long time, and it's how 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:35.160 do you take all this information and how do you 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:37.280 make it actionable? How do you how do you take 0:01:37.400 --> 0:01:40.920 a comment here and an idea here and another idea 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:43.360 over here, and so how do you manage all those things? 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:46.240 So I spent a lot of time going back through 0:01:46.240 --> 0:01:47.960 all the things that the conversations I had at the 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:50.960 end of the year with a lot of people, and 0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:53.240 and I sort of came away with like three or 0:01:53.280 --> 0:01:57.320 four main points of emphasis. One is how do we 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:01.480 win football games? That's that's the goal, right, how do 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:05.840 we better put ourselves in position to win in doing that? 0:02:06.160 --> 0:02:08.120 When you're saying how do we win football games? Well, 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:12.040 how do we keep ourselves first and foremost from losing 0:02:12.080 --> 0:02:14.640 football games? Because that's a huge part of NFL football 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:16.200 is that you can lose a game a whole lot 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:18.520 easier than you can win one. And so we went 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:20.480 through and looked at and as part of yourself scout 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:22.559 and all that, all the different things that we did 0:02:23.200 --> 0:02:27.560 and where we can actionably improve the things that we 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:30.560 can control, right, what are what did we do in 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.919 games that don't doesn't have anything to do with talent, 0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:35.320 doesn't anything do with scheme. What are the things that 0:02:35.360 --> 0:02:40.239 we can very actionably be better at that we can 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:42.320 control on a regular basis, And then how do we 0:02:42.560 --> 0:02:44.680 measure it and verify it? That's kind of the theme 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:47.040 of what you what I'm going to talk about ultimately, 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:49.720 And that was the first thing. How do you do that? 0:02:49.800 --> 0:02:54.760 Then the second thing was, we need more connection on 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:57.800 our football team from top to bottom coaches and players. 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:01.600 Coaches and coaches, how do you how do you players 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:05.920 to players? How do you foster connection? I thought we 0:03:05.960 --> 0:03:09.680 had okay connectivity on our team, but it just needed 0:03:09.720 --> 0:03:11.639 it needs to be more, It needs to be better. 0:03:11.720 --> 0:03:15.000 So how do we do that? And for pro athletes 0:03:15.480 --> 0:03:18.600 generally speaking, the thing that they connect over the quickest 0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:22.280 is competition. Yeah, and so how do you how do 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:24.919 you make something that they're going to that doesn't feel 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:29.840 like you know, Kitchie and in high schooling and stuff 0:03:29.880 --> 0:03:32.400 like that, but still but still gets to the core 0:03:32.440 --> 0:03:35.000 of what you're trying to accomplish, which is is to 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:37.920 ramp up the level of competition, which should also then 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:41.680 in turn ramp up the level of connection those are 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:43.880 that that was kind of the core of what I 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.119 was looking at over over the course of the leading 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:47.680 up to the off season program is that how do 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:49.960 we do those things? How do we win football games? 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:52.800 How do we take take command of the things that 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:56.280 we can control, and then how do we connect our 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:58.000 football team better? And a lot of that is going 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:04.320 to be through competitive drills, competitive practices, competitive games for 0:04:04.480 --> 0:04:08.400 lack of a better term. And it really sort of occurred. 0:04:08.400 --> 0:04:11.280 I had a Peyton McCollum, who's who's our assistant wide 0:04:11.280 --> 0:04:14.600 receivers coach. He had came to me and said, look, 0:04:15.080 --> 0:04:19.000 there's here's something you should here's the thought. And I 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:21.880 take thoughts and ideas from everybody, and and he said, 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:26.800 there's this. You know, there's a there's a coach that 0:04:26.800 --> 0:04:29.279 that I've kind of gotten familiar with over the years. 0:04:29.800 --> 0:04:33.320 Who's a guy named Anson Anson Durants who's the head 0:04:33.480 --> 0:04:37.560 women's soccer coach in North Carolina. He's written now multiple 0:04:37.600 --> 0:04:40.719 books and you know they've been North Carolina women's soccer 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:44.240 has been one of the highest they're one of the 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:47.559 best programs in sports. And he was like, you should 0:04:47.560 --> 0:04:49.839 just breath this. It's pretty interesting on how they structure 0:04:49.920 --> 0:04:53.080 practice and how they compete, and so I kind of 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:55.200 dove down this rabbit hole of all the things they 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:57.880 did there and it's super fascinating. They do an unbelievable job. 0:04:58.680 --> 0:04:59.800 And then I come to find a lot of it 0:04:59.839 --> 0:05:03.560 can from Dean Smith, who was obviously legendary coach for 0:05:03.600 --> 0:05:10.320 North Carolina men's basketball, and how they charted and uh 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:13.400 tracked practice. Uh So there's there's a whole and act 0:05:13.640 --> 0:05:15.400 kind of like that's really fascinating. Well, how do I 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:18.240 how do we do something? Here's all the things I 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:21.880 want to do, here's some ideas, and how do you 0:05:22.040 --> 0:05:25.280 meld them together? That's sort of how the whole thing 0:05:25.440 --> 0:05:28.520 was born. And it was again a lot of thought 0:05:28.520 --> 0:05:30.560 and effort and time and energy put into it. But 0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:33.960 that's how we divided our That's the first step was 0:05:34.640 --> 0:05:38.240 dividing the locker room back into into not just by 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:42.440 position groups, so we weren't siloed in the positions, because 0:05:42.440 --> 0:05:44.640 that's where we spend all our time is with our position. 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:46.760 So I mixed the whole locker room up, and then 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:49.080 I said, well, let's mix the whole team up and 0:05:49.120 --> 0:05:51.080 So the idea was this, we come up with these 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:54.960 eight different teams they have captains, and now you have 0:05:55.000 --> 0:05:57.719 eight captains, and then you have a bunch of guys 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:01.839 that are competing for something other than just an offensive 0:06:01.920 --> 0:06:06.000 defensive win. You know, in practice, so an offensive player 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:08.760 might get a point for a touchdown, but he also 0:06:08.800 --> 0:06:10.400 might have a defensive player on his team that he's 0:06:10.440 --> 0:06:13.200 playing against that has a negative because he just had 0:06:13.320 --> 0:06:16.039 bad leverage and he gave up the touchdown. And so 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:18.680 there's this sort of points back and forth that really 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:20.920 the guys as it went on, they really bought into 0:06:22.160 --> 0:06:27.719 and the competition amongst the players that wasn't just offense 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:31.880 and defense. That was truly about they wanted their team 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:36.320 to win. And so we again points, we points are 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:38.800 assigned for a million different things. But the idea was 0:06:38.960 --> 0:06:41.240 is how do we how do we connect more through that? 0:06:41.400 --> 0:06:45.039 And I think it was a really cool offseason program. Again, 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:47.479 the players will probably tell you their perspective on it, 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:49.520 but for me, it felt like the intent of what 0:06:49.560 --> 0:06:51.880 we wanted to do we got out of it. And 0:06:51.880 --> 0:06:55.039 that's that's encouraging and exciting for me as a head coach. 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:57.800 I think for our football team is that we found 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:00.000 a way to get all of those things kind of 0:07:00.040 --> 0:07:02.400 packed into a very short amount of time, and I 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:05.000 think we got value from it and we're better for 0:07:05.080 --> 0:07:07.760 it because of the of how we went about our business. 0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:11.520 So I know that's a kind of a long roundabout 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:13.520 way of talking about the whole process, but I think 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:15.920 it's important to have the context in the background of 0:07:15.920 --> 0:07:20.000 where it came from and why we're doing it. And 0:07:20.480 --> 0:07:22.200 at the end, the one of the first videos I 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:24.119 showed the team and the team meeting was a video 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:27.400 from Steve Kerr from the Quarter Gold documentary, which is 0:07:27.440 --> 0:07:29.280 really fantastic about all these other, you know, the other 0:07:29.320 --> 0:07:32.200 basketball teams for the Olympics, and Steve cur said he'd 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:34.239 been around a bunch of winning, He's won a lot, 0:07:34.920 --> 0:07:37.400 he's you know, first and foremost good players. That's part 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:39.440 of it, he goes, but there's two things that matter most, 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:42.520 and what wins its joy and its competition. And then 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:45.040 the third part is it's the joy in the success 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:48.320 of others. And that sort of was like, that makes 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:50.400 sense to me, And I think that's what we got 0:07:50.400 --> 0:07:52.680 out of our off season program, is that was those 0:07:53.360 --> 0:07:55.320 quite a bit of joy and a whole lot of competition, 0:07:55.400 --> 0:07:56.880 and I think we're better for it. 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.000 It's interesting because conventional wisdom would say there's a five 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:04.400 in line when instilling competition in something where you want 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:07.320 guys to compete, but not compete to the level where 0:08:07.640 --> 0:08:10.640 you then fracture a locker room like you go too far. 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:14.480 But it seems like throughout this whole off season you've 0:08:14.480 --> 0:08:17.680 done a really good job of minding that line and 0:08:17.760 --> 0:08:22.000 getting peak performance and peak competition. So you're right at 0:08:22.000 --> 0:08:23.040 the top of that curve. 0:08:23.440 --> 0:08:27.240 Yeah, anytime now there's when you're competing for something there 0:08:27.280 --> 0:08:30.160 you're always risking that that you're tipping over the edge 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:32.679 right where it goes a little bit too too far. 0:08:33.400 --> 0:08:38.240 We haven't had that issue, I think partly because it's 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:43.520 not it's not just a offense defense competition that there's 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:47.800 that there's more involved in it, and there's more things 0:08:47.840 --> 0:08:51.760 that they're competing for with their team of guys as 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:54.240 opposed to our side of the ball. Because then you 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.479 do sides of the ball sometimes and it just becomes 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:59.360 it becomes almost irritating and personal. Is that they just 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:00.959 they just want to beat the hell out of each other, 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:03.360 you know what I mean? Right, This wasn't that This 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:08.040 wasn't that style of competition necessarily. It was more about 0:09:08.080 --> 0:09:12.439 the connecting and the building up of the players and 0:09:13.520 --> 0:09:16.199 the building of the relationships with guys maybe they hadn't 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:21.360 been around a lot previously, and I think that's what 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:25.160 kept it from being more than what we were looking for. 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:28.680 So in your first year, you build a foundation to 0:09:28.720 --> 0:09:30.720 your football team what it's going to be. In your 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:34.679 second year, you're adding this layer of connecting, of competition 0:09:34.800 --> 0:09:37.080 and kind of establishing that this is going to be 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:42.080 the expectation going forward, that we handle ourselves in this way. 0:09:42.120 --> 0:09:44.679 What are you hoping that that creates in your team 0:09:44.880 --> 0:09:48.000 as you go through training camp and beyond through the season. 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:50.280 At the end of the day, you're trying to create 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:53.760 You're trying to create your culture of what you want 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:56.840 your team and you're building to look like and act 0:09:57.000 --> 0:10:00.520 like to the point where what you hope happens is 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:02.400 you get to you get to a spot where you 0:10:02.440 --> 0:10:05.960 bring somebody in and they do something that isn't, you know, 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:08.360 kind of in line with how we operate, and people go, 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:10.480 you know, we don't do that here, you know what 0:10:10.480 --> 0:10:12.320 I mean, that's not how were that's not how we 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:15.200 do business here. That's what you're trying to get to, 0:10:15.400 --> 0:10:17.160 is you're trying to get to something that's so ingrained 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:21.800 in the locker room in the building that that's what's expected, 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:24.240 that's your that that is what your standard is. Now, 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:26.120 we got to go earn our standard. You know, you don't. 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:27.720 You don't just get to say what your standard is. 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:30.560 You have to earn it right, and and you earn 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:32.400 that through At the end of the day, you your 0:10:32.440 --> 0:10:37.200 culture and your standards and your expectations are are ultimately 0:10:37.200 --> 0:10:40.280 built through winning, because that's what we're all trying to 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:42.800 get done is win football games. But there's a whole 0:10:42.760 --> 0:10:45.280 other part of that that as you as you win 0:10:45.440 --> 0:10:47.560 and you build through the culture, through the things that 0:10:47.600 --> 0:10:51.240 you're emphasizing and expecting, you hope that that's ultimately what 0:10:51.320 --> 0:10:53.960 takes hold and then it becomes who you are, It 0:10:54.000 --> 0:10:56.280 becomes what your organization is, your football team is that 0:10:56.320 --> 0:11:00.720 when you walk in that locker room, there's no there's 0:11:00.760 --> 0:11:06.000 no confusion on what's expected and what works for us here. 0:11:06.080 --> 0:11:07.520 And if you're not a part of that, if you 0:11:07.520 --> 0:11:09.320 don't buy into that, then you won't be here. 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:13.280 Hey, Titans, fans With a Kroger Boost membership, you'll score 0:11:13.400 --> 0:11:17.440 big with double fuel points, free delivery, and lots more. 0:11:17.840 --> 0:11:21.439 Go to Kroger dot com slash boost for details. Kroger 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:25.800 the official grocer of the Tennessee Titans. Tighten Up Home 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:28.600 is the forefront of all we do. It's why we're 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.680 so committed to caring for the places and spaces in 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:35.560 which we work and live. Ashley the Official furniture provider 0:11:35.679 --> 0:11:42.400 of the Tennessee Titans. Now back to the OTP. This 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:45.360 team looks very different in twenty twenty five than it 0:11:45.400 --> 0:11:47.960 did in twenty twenty four. A lot of new faces. 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:51.160 This roster has just experienced a lot of change. So 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:55.559 I'm going to make some sweeping generalizations about this team 0:11:55.920 --> 0:11:58.120 and you can let me know if I am heading 0:11:58.160 --> 0:12:00.880 down the right path here. The first one is that 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:04.240 one of the main characteristics you guys were looking for 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:09.000 in free agent acquisitions over the twenty twenty twenty five 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:12.680 offseason was durability. Is that correct? 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:16.120 Yeah, it's it's hard to It's hard to go out 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:21.960 and pay players that you don't know if they're going 0:12:22.000 --> 0:12:25.439 to play seventeen games for you, because you're at the 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:26.880 end of the day. It's, you know, you to take 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:28.520 a step back from the personal side that you look 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:30.760 at the business part of it. It's you know, it's 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:33.599 you're you're making an investment in in a player, and 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:37.199 you're making investment in in performance. And it's hard to 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:40.440 perform if you can't play. And when you're when you're 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.520 investing money and you're spending the money of the organization 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:46.160 to upgrade your football team, you look at how does 0:12:46.200 --> 0:12:49.160 this how does this player impact our team? And when 0:12:49.160 --> 0:12:53.440 they're healthy, they are impactful. But you know this player 0:12:53.480 --> 0:13:00.160 acts only played forty of his games and player be 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:06.360 as played ninety and so you're you're essentially betting on 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:08.960 the durability and that they're going to be there to 0:13:08.960 --> 0:13:13.240 help us longer more often than you know another play 0:13:13.280 --> 0:13:15.400 that maybe isn't that's not part of their strengths. And 0:13:15.440 --> 0:13:20.280 so we invested heavily in availability. You know, guys that 0:13:20.520 --> 0:13:23.360 have been available and performed at a high level over time, 0:13:23.400 --> 0:13:25.240 and you want as many of those guys as possible 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:32.080 because there's also a mental toughness and a character, a 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.400 defined character to guys that are available, if that makes sense, 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:38.160 Because it's hard, it's very hard. It's hard to play 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:42.360 that many snaps over your course of your career because 0:13:43.520 --> 0:13:47.160 it's a physical it hurts these guys. But there's part 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.880 of there's part of what drives these guys to continue 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:52.080 to suit up on Sundays. And you want as many 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:53.240 guys like that as you can find. 0:13:53.720 --> 0:13:58.840 All Right, another broad generalization, but this rookie class is 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:02.480 one of the most sure groups of rookie football players 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:03.559 that has ever existed. 0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:09.400 It's a really impressive class when it comes to professionalism, maturity, 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:12.840 those things. It's they've they check all of those boxes. 0:14:13.679 --> 0:14:17.640 That was intentional, I know. I know Mike was very 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:20.800 adamant about it. The same with Chad and even for me, 0:14:21.040 --> 0:14:23.400 I like him back at some point in the draft 0:14:23.480 --> 0:14:26.520 process to really what turned you know, you just your 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:29.520 your product of your experiences. And so a lot of 0:14:29.520 --> 0:14:34.200 my experiences with building of a team was through Cincinnati 0:14:34.240 --> 0:14:37.160 when I was there, and I thought about the draft 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:40.280 class that sort of flipped our football team, and it 0:14:40.360 --> 0:14:42.760 was our twenty twenty draft class, and that was it 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:45.040 was Joe Burrow and T Higgins and Logan Wilson and 0:14:45.080 --> 0:14:49.280 Keem Davis gaither those guys that were I think of 0:14:49.320 --> 0:14:52.040 that draft class. I think seven of the eight picks 0:14:52.040 --> 0:14:56.440 were captains. They were super high level character players. They 0:14:56.560 --> 0:14:59.920 became the foundation. That draft class and that free agency 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.800 class that we signed that year became the foundation of 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:05.680 of what was back to back AFC championship games and 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:10.040 a lot of success over two seasons. Mike had similar 0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:12.720 experiences in Kansas City. And so when you when you 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:14.560 go when you and you were very intentional about the 0:15:14.640 --> 0:15:17.320 character you're drafting, and you do all the work and 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:19.200 making sure that these are the kind of guys that 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:24.840 love playing football, that are intelligent football players, that have people. 0:15:24.840 --> 0:15:27.160 When you draft a player and everybody you talk to 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:31.200 at the school says, this is this is the guy, 0:15:31.360 --> 0:15:34.280 this is this is and maybe it's not their best player, 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:37.280 but it's like that's the guy. Like that's the guy 0:15:37.280 --> 0:15:39.080 that's going to succeed. And so you you bet on 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:42.600 those characteristics that that's going to allow them to succeed. Uh. 0:15:42.680 --> 0:15:45.400 And what is ultimately very challenging and difficult profession to 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:48.840 succeed in. And that the class in and of itself 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:51.560 has been fantastic when it comes to those things, But 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.560 it was all very intentional. We we sought out those 0:15:54.640 --> 0:15:57.800 characteristics and players, and we drafted guys that fit that 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:00.960 profile for us, and uh, it has certainly paid off. 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:04.440 We've made it this far without saying the name cam Ward, 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:06.560 which feels pretty impressive. 0:16:07.240 --> 0:16:08.200 Just for us. 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:12.400 So this feels like the appropriate time to ask what 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:15.600 has surprised you the most about cam warden the time 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:16.160 that you've been. 0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:17.880 Able to work with him? Nothing? 0:16:18.200 --> 0:16:20.520 Really, he is as advertised. 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:23.840 Yeah, nothing is surprised me. Because the more when we 0:16:23.880 --> 0:16:26.080 went back to the beginning and we start watching this tape, 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:29.920 I would say that we were probably we were probably 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:31.840 pretty early on the process because we knew we were 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:34.200 picking first, so we kind of jumped into that maybe 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:35.960 a little more in depth than some teams would have 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:39.280 at the moment. And the more you watched him, you're like, man, 0:16:39.920 --> 0:16:43.640 I think this guy's got real talent. And what matters 0:16:43.680 --> 0:16:45.600 most in playing quarterback in the NFL, though, is the 0:16:45.600 --> 0:16:46.040 rest of it? 0:16:46.760 --> 0:16:47.040 Exactly. 0:16:47.080 --> 0:16:49.040 There's plenty of guys that got talent, it's just the 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:53.480 rest of it. How do they process, what's their ability 0:16:53.520 --> 0:16:55.640 to relate with their teammates, how do they lead? What's 0:16:55.680 --> 0:16:58.640 the toughness like all the other things? Is what really 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:03.160 matters in quarterback play, and at every point that we 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.360 met with Cam, we learned more and more about him 0:17:06.400 --> 0:17:08.879 as a person. And the more people you talk to 0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:11.960 you learn about him as a player. In the locker 0:17:12.040 --> 0:17:16.560 room and everything that we heard and all of our 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.960 own experiences, and once we got him here, everything was 0:17:20.440 --> 0:17:26.280 exactly as advertised when it came to those things. And 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:29.119 that's what I mean by like nothing has surprised me, 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:35.920 because he's incredibly focused. He loves playing football. He only 0:17:35.960 --> 0:17:38.840 cares about playing football at a high level. He works, 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:43.080 his work ethic is off the charts, and then his 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:46.280 ability to connect and relate to his teammates. He's got 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:49.480 an easy way about him, but he is He's also 0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:54.159 highly competitive, hates to lose in anything he does. So 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:57.200 all these things are all things we knew about him 0:17:57.400 --> 0:18:00.640 in the process, and then once he got here, as 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:03.919 you get to know him better, it's all real. That's 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:06.600 who he is. And so that's why nothing about Cam 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:09.600 has surprised me, because I feel like we had a 0:18:09.640 --> 0:18:11.400 pretty good idea of who he was, and then he's 0:18:11.400 --> 0:18:13.040 shown that to be accurate. 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:16.080 Throughout the offseason. But specifically, I think it was the 0:18:16.119 --> 0:18:20.360 most pronounced during the mandatory mini camp. You could tell 0:18:21.000 --> 0:18:24.240 that cam Ward was going to do cam Ward things, 0:18:24.600 --> 0:18:28.239 and the defense as a whole collectively was determined to 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:31.879 remind everybody that he is still a rookie. Yeah, do 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:33.760 you like that? I know you're an offensive guy, and 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:36.280 I know you're a quarterback guy, but is that what 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:38.040 you want to see on your defense? 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:38.159 That? 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:42.640 All right? Cool, we appreciate your eighteen in a row completions. 0:18:43.280 --> 0:18:44.400 We're coming for you now. 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.440 Yeah. That's what he needs, That's what our team needs. 0:18:47.520 --> 0:18:50.200 And I think the mark of a good football team 0:18:50.280 --> 0:18:52.920 is when you do have You do have back and forth. 0:18:53.160 --> 0:18:56.240 You have offense has good days, defense has good days. 0:18:56.320 --> 0:19:00.720 Defense makes plays. Offense makes plays because you're competitive. Uh, 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:04.840 if the defense is consistently beating you drill the drill 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.040 day to day, that probably means you're not very good 0:19:07.080 --> 0:19:10.399 on offense and vice versa. And so that competitiveness and 0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:14.320 back and forth, I think is is great. And at 0:19:14.359 --> 0:19:16.600 the end of the day, all the defensive players want 0:19:16.600 --> 0:19:18.360 to know is is this a guy that we can 0:19:18.359 --> 0:19:21.439 count on? And is this a guy that's gonna gonna 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:26.200 do what we think he can do? And they're testing him. 0:19:26.440 --> 0:19:29.240 They want to find out because I think the ultimate 0:19:29.280 --> 0:19:31.960 mark for pro football players is it doesn't really matter 0:19:31.960 --> 0:19:34.400 where you come from, doesn't really matter what what anybody 0:19:34.440 --> 0:19:36.120 else thinks of you when you walk in the locker room. 0:19:36.160 --> 0:19:37.720 The players in the locker room want to know can 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:40.920 you help us win? And that is ultimately what they're 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:43.840 trying to find out. And that's why they they test 0:19:43.880 --> 0:19:45.960 and they poke, and they prod and they and and 0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:49.640 they don't care. They're not They're they're not trying, No, 0:19:49.680 --> 0:19:52.760 They're just they're just trying to find out if this 0:19:52.800 --> 0:19:54.920 guy's for real. And that goes the same way for 0:19:54.920 --> 0:20:00.640 for for Elk and Strepo and Chim and all these 0:20:00.640 --> 0:20:02.920 young players. They're just trying to find out are you 0:20:03.080 --> 0:20:04.280 Are you going to be able to help us? And 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:05.600 they're going to find out are you made of the 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:10.639 right stuff? Do we think as veteran players and older 0:20:10.640 --> 0:20:13.920 players or defensive players that all these young players are 0:20:13.960 --> 0:20:17.360 able to help? And they go through their own process 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:20.440 of finding out. And that's really what you saw sort 0:20:20.440 --> 0:20:22.120 of in real time, is that they're trying to find 0:20:22.119 --> 0:20:23.840 out if these guys are up to the task. 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:27.120 This summer seat Geek has your ticket to the best 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:30.920 live concerts in Nashville at Nissan Stadium. Seek Geek has 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:35.480 the best seat your seat for an unforgettable summer. From 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:39.080 Rock Royalty to rap superstars R and B to Country. 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:42.600 Find it all on seat Geek, the official ticketing partner 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:46.280 of Nissan Stadium. Little Caesars is the official pizza partner 0:20:46.359 --> 0:20:49.639 of your Tennessee Titans. Download the Little Caesars app and 0:20:49.640 --> 0:20:54.400 get your favorites delivered today. Delivery fees apply now. Back 0:20:54.400 --> 0:20:58.720 to the OTP. Is that why it was so important 0:20:58.760 --> 0:21:01.560 to do as many joint practices with other teams as 0:21:01.600 --> 0:21:05.359 you could to get that experience, to get that adversity. 0:21:06.000 --> 0:21:09.280 Yeah, that's exactly what you hope for. And it's good 0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:11.119 because you get tired of playing against the same scheme. 0:21:11.320 --> 0:21:13.600 You know, we've played all spring against an Arnge defense, 0:21:13.640 --> 0:21:16.600