Speaker 1: We welcome you to the OTP, presented by Farm Bureau
Speaker 1: Health Plans, and I read this for you get the
Speaker 1: home field advantage with healthcare coverage from Farm Bureau Health Plans.
Speaker 1: They've been protecting Tennessee and since nineteen forty seven. My
Speaker 1: name is Mike Keith and I'm joined by Amy Wells. Amy.
Speaker 1: How you doing, Hey, Mike Keith, you sound especially announcery today.
Speaker 1: I feel like we need to get you to booth.
Speaker 1: That's because I've got a top flight professional television announcer
Speaker 1: with us. Say hello to our longtime friend and Tennessee
Speaker 1: Sports Hall of Famer Charles Davis. Welcome to the OTP. Hey,
Speaker 1: thanks for having me. It's great to see you guys again.
Speaker 1: So I was doing the background stuff and I was like,
Speaker 1: let's talk about the jobs of Charles Davis. Amy, this
Speaker 1: is incredible. He is the voice of Madden Football. So
Speaker 1: for all the gamers out there, you know, Charles Davis
Speaker 1: is the voice of Madden. You were doing Madden earlier today,
Speaker 1: is that right? Yeah? Doing sessions from home myself and
Speaker 1: my partner or the play by play voice, Brandon Goaden,
Speaker 1: who at one point was the voice of Butler basketball,
Speaker 1: and of course football, although when you think Butler, you
Speaker 1: think basketball and Georgia Tech before moving into the full
Speaker 1: TV ranks. For the most part with Big ten network,
Speaker 1: Fox Sports still does Westwood One radio for NCAA basketball
Speaker 1: tournament and other things. So yeah, we're having to work
Speaker 1: from home like everyone is, and the Maddened people came
Speaker 1: through with home equipment and we're still cranking it out.
Speaker 1: So what are you recording right now for Madden? What
Speaker 1: are the sort of I know you don't want to
Speaker 1: give it all away, but the sort of topics that
Speaker 1: you're doing at this point, well, finishing up everything to
Speaker 1: get ready for this year's game to come out, Madden
Speaker 1: twenty one. As you understand, during the initial days of
Speaker 1: the pandemic, as we all came to a kind of
Speaker 1: a grinding halt, we're making up a ground there. We're
Speaker 1: doing fixes and patches in the game, meaning you'll find
Speaker 1: glitches in the game that the gamers will quickly let
Speaker 1: you know about and you better really get it fixed
Speaker 1: as fast as possible. And that's what we've been working
Speaker 1: on as well. And I'm sure we're already sprinkling in
Speaker 1: some stuff for next year's game to go ahead and
Speaker 1: start getting ready. But you know, we got all the
Speaker 1: rookies now have been drafted, the free agents have changed teams,
Speaker 1: and so for the most part, we have guys in
Speaker 1: the proper places on their rosters. As we head into
Speaker 1: training camp, obviously there'll be trades, cuts, things of that nature,
Speaker 1: but right now we know Tooltunguea Violoa has indeed gone
Speaker 1: to the Miami Dolphins, although I don't know we were
Speaker 1: if we thought him going at number five was actually
Speaker 1: going to happen. Right we know that Isaiah Wilson is
Speaker 1: now a Tennessee Titan. So these types of things, you know,
Speaker 1: have to go into the game and people getting ready
Speaker 1: for that. And I can't imagine it's real for these
Speaker 1: young guys the first time. Did they get to see
Speaker 1: themselves in this game? Because I would bet the vast
Speaker 1: majority of them have played it growing up and probably
Speaker 1: had visions in their mind, dreams of putting on that
Speaker 1: NFL uniform and being in that game. And it won't
Speaker 1: be long they'll be able to look and see themselves
Speaker 1: in their uniforms playing. It's gonna be pretty cool. Amy,
Speaker 1: would you freak if that were you? Oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: I would lose my mind. But I would also play
Speaker 1: it every single day. I wouldn't. I would just play
Speaker 1: myself on that video game, and I would want to
Speaker 1: hear Charles's commentary every step of the way. All right.
Speaker 1: So he's also on Serious NFL satellite radio that's Channel
Speaker 1: eighty eight. And how often are you on there in
Speaker 1: the offseason? Typically once a week, usually on Thursday nights.
Speaker 1: Occasionally we'll fill in when other people, you know how
Speaker 1: it goes, take vacation or unavailable, that sort of deal.
Speaker 1: But I typically do that from about the time we
Speaker 1: all meet together at the Combine, you know, our annual
Speaker 1: visit it the Combine in Indianapolis. That's when I tend
Speaker 1: to start, and I will roll through until probably about
Speaker 1: mid training camp, and then I get out of it
Speaker 1: for the season. Could I do it, of course, But
Speaker 1: I really like the flexibility during the season of just
Speaker 1: locking in on what we all have to do each week,
Speaker 1: which is getting ready for a game, you know. And
Speaker 1: the serious people have been fantastic with me, and and
Speaker 1: really I appreciate every opportunity that they've given me. So
Speaker 1: you understand, Mike, You've You've had plenty of experience with
Speaker 1: the serious XEM people and doing the radio there, and
Speaker 1: I remember calling you one time. I was like, Mike,
Speaker 1: I'm listening, tell you right, this is so cool. I
Speaker 1: want to do this with you. This is so awesome.
Speaker 1: So you know, here, here we are once again. I'm
Speaker 1: continuing to follow the path you've blazed and it's pretty cool.
Speaker 1: From the serious x M. NFL radio is fantastic. I
Speaker 1: love it. Now are you still doing NFL network stuff
Speaker 1: when they call? But now that the draft is over,
Speaker 1: As a general rule, I'm pretty well done until next year.
Speaker 1: With the run up to the draft and through there.
Speaker 1: There might be an occasional thing they might call me
Speaker 1: for throughout the season, but not nearly like it was
Speaker 1: years ago. You remember during that time frame, I would
Speaker 1: do a game, whether it was a college or an
Speaker 1: NFL game, on a Saturday or a Sunday and fly
Speaker 1: to Los Angeles and then I'd be in Los Angeles
Speaker 1: work NFL Network Monday, Tuesday, maybe something possibly Wednesday, but
Speaker 1: the general rule Tuesday, catch your red eye flight home,
Speaker 1: and then Thursday or Friday start all over again, going
Speaker 1: to the next city and doing the next game. And
Speaker 1: I did that for about five years, so there's a
Speaker 1: lot of fun. And you know, every time I tell
Speaker 1: that story, I always say to myself, how's that sounding
Speaker 1: to people? Are people hearing that and saying, oh, look
Speaker 1: at you, mister, Oh my god, I had to fly
Speaker 1: everywhere and do all of that. That is certainly not
Speaker 1: the way I want to come across. It's an honor
Speaker 1: for us to get to work. I mean, you know
Speaker 1: that Amy knows that anytime someone asks us to work.
Speaker 1: Are there times when we're tired? Yes? Are there times that,
Speaker 1: oh boy, I had such and such scheduled. We have
Speaker 1: all those things like everyone else has in the world.
Speaker 1: You know, we all have different things. But but I
Speaker 1: don't want anyone to ever think for a second, I
Speaker 1: don't understand. Yeah, we're pretty fortunate, you know, because because
Speaker 1: people are working every single day in a decent number
Speaker 1: of people are doing things they don't want to do.
Speaker 1: We're doing exactly what we want to do, and I
Speaker 1: cherish that. And then of course, back working with the
Speaker 1: Titans an analyst for our preseason television. We are so
Speaker 1: thrilled that you're back. Now. The question, however, is are
Speaker 1: we going to play four preseason games or are we
Speaker 1: going to play two? Preseason gifts. What do you think
Speaker 1: about hearing the first word of that right now? Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know it's it's it's one of those things that
Speaker 1: it stopped chewing your tracks and you first get it.
Speaker 1: I don't know what exactly you and Amy thought right away,
Speaker 1: but when I heard it, I was like, oh, because
Speaker 1: we look at preseason a little bit differently than I
Speaker 1: believe the general public looks at preseason now, because when
Speaker 1: I was a young whipper snapper, preseason meant a lot.
Speaker 1: There were six preseason games. Now, Amy, there's no way
Speaker 1: you were around fronty of that, okay, but there used
Speaker 1: to be six preseason games, fourteen regular season games, and
Speaker 1: then you got into the playoffs and the six preseason games.
Speaker 1: You were more than likely going to see starters in
Speaker 1: every preseason game in some shape or form. Maybe a
Speaker 1: little bit less in the beginning, but as it went on,
Speaker 1: more and more and more you would see them. Now,
Speaker 1: the sixth game that's when they pull people back, but
Speaker 1: for the most part, you would see starters all the
Speaker 1: way through preseason. It was a different deal. Then as
Speaker 1: we got to the four games in sixteen and other
Speaker 1: things kicked in, it still took a while to get
Speaker 1: to where we are now, where you may not see
Speaker 1: any starters in the preseason, they may be in full
Speaker 1: bubble rap. So to go from four to two for us,
Speaker 1: it's a little bit different because this is part of
Speaker 1: what we do. This is part of our livelihood. And
Speaker 1: now I'm thinking of people who work these games. Think
Speaker 1: of the people at the stadium right who this is
Speaker 1: part of their job and their income. If you cut
Speaker 1: it down to two I'm guessing, right, guys, we'll talk
Speaker 1: about one home game, one road game, right, So they've
Speaker 1: gone from two games to one. Their income gets cut
Speaker 1: in half. If you're working at home. The people who
Speaker 1: are doing the games, whether it's Titans, radio or TV,
Speaker 1: now all those people who are used to working three
Speaker 1: or four games depend on if you get a national
Speaker 1: game or not. That gets shrunk down. So I don't
Speaker 1: want people to hear that and think about us as much,
Speaker 1: and think about everybody else that's involved in putting on
Speaker 1: an event, putting on a game. They're come gets cut
Speaker 1: in half because the preseason you're getting too. Now you're
Speaker 1: getting cut to one. That's my first thought. My second
Speaker 1: thought is I'm not overly surprised. It's been that type
Speaker 1: of the off season with COVID going on. I'm not
Speaker 1: I'm not overly surprised at all, because aren't we kind
Speaker 1: of headed in that direction to begin with, right where
Speaker 1: we're talking about the day when we know we're gonna
Speaker 1: get cut down on preseason. It just may start earlier
Speaker 1: than we expected. So whether there's two preseason games or
Speaker 1: four preseason games, you will still be working though, Charles,
Speaker 1: because you're now also with CBS Sports. Tell me how
Speaker 1: that CBS opportunity came to be Amy, You know, I
Speaker 1: always to use the words lucky, fortunate, and I hope
Speaker 1: they don't know right after a while because they're real.
Speaker 1: But I was fortunate that, you know, I had fourteen
Speaker 1: terrific years with Fox. I mean I got to do
Speaker 1: a lot of things there, including the BCS National Championship
Speaker 1: games before we got to the College Football playoff you
Speaker 1: know called NFL games, you name it. I had an
Speaker 1: opportunity to do a lot of great things there. But
Speaker 1: my contract was ending at the end of last year,
Speaker 1: and as a free agent, I had an opportunity to
Speaker 1: explore other options if indeed someone was interested in me,
Speaker 1: and as it turned out, I was again fortunate and
Speaker 1: happy that CBS actually had some interest. So that's where
Speaker 1: it came about, Amy, And it all worked out for
Speaker 1: me that CBS had that interest, they had an opportunity
Speaker 1: for them, they hadn't something in mind. And as it
Speaker 1: turned out, you know, Fox, as I said, terrific to
Speaker 1: me for all those years, they gave me an opportunity
Speaker 1: to continue with their their group and continue going. But
Speaker 1: what it was all said and done, it made more
Speaker 1: sense in my opinion, to be with CBS and start
Speaker 1: a new chapter in my life. So I thank Fox.
Speaker 1: I thank them for having the interest in me in
Speaker 1: the first place and still wanting me to be around.
Speaker 1: But I also thank CBS. Of course we're giving me
Speaker 1: this great new place to be, great news start in
Speaker 1: doing something thing that I love to do. And now
Speaker 1: I get to work with a guy by the name
Speaker 1: of I an Eagle and Evan Washingburn works the sidelines.
Speaker 1: And I've been and I'll leave it with this. How
Speaker 1: lucky am I in my career? Amy? These have been
Speaker 1: the play by play people I've worked with at Fox. Okay,
Speaker 1: Tom brennaman college football, Dick Stockton. When I went to
Speaker 1: the NFL, Tom Brennaman again while I was with the
Speaker 1: NFL Gus Johnson. When I went back to college football
Speaker 1: and finished my last few years with Kevin Burkhardt, another
Speaker 1: good one could not be I mean, what person could
Speaker 1: be upset with those played by play people, every single
Speaker 1: one of them phenomenal in what they're doing. I mean,
Speaker 1: Dick Stockton's a hall of famer, a living hall of
Speaker 1: famer for us, you know, so to be able to
Speaker 1: do that, and in these last few years with Kevin
Speaker 1: could not be better. And then what was my landing part?
Speaker 1: Landling spot? I an Eagle? You're kidding me? I met
Speaker 1: I in years of amy. I remember I told a
Speaker 1: friend of mine, Laura Oak, and I said, Hey, if
Speaker 1: I ever had a chance to work with I A
Speaker 1: the Eagle in my career, that would be phenomenal. I've
Speaker 1: realized that was probably ten years ago, and now it's
Speaker 1: come it's actually come to pass. Unbelievable. Have you and
Speaker 1: I and already started doing things together? Have you already
Speaker 1: started the collaboration process. He's been so terrific. Welcomed me
Speaker 1: right away, so did Evan Washburn, so did everyone else
Speaker 1: on the team, you know. Producer Mark Wolfe and director
Speaker 1: Bob Fishman. And we've been doing like I think a
Speaker 1: lot of us have been doing, phone calls, zoom calls, emails,
Speaker 1: getting to know each other, know each other's background, just
Speaker 1: spending time and I think it's been extremely valuable for us.
Speaker 1: And what I've liked about what these guys have done
Speaker 1: and welcoming me in is they didn't bring me in
Speaker 1: and say, Okay, this is how we do a game,
Speaker 1: and this is how we're gonna go over the first quarter.
Speaker 1: We're just meeting each other, similar to the three of
Speaker 1: us talking right now, we've got experience. We've done this
Speaker 1: us for a while. Now we fall into this like that,
Speaker 1: the three of us, we're learning that. Now I'm learning them,
Speaker 1: they're they're learning me. But I consider myself again happy
Speaker 1: and again fortunate. These guys have been extremely welcoming and
Speaker 1: it's been fun. Now you've had the opportunity to start
Speaker 1: that prep process a little bit, and we talked a
Speaker 1: little bit about the preseason, but we are hoping that
Speaker 1: things are still on track for the twenty twenty season
Speaker 1: to start kind of in a regular fashion. In your opinion,
Speaker 1: what is the biggest hurdle that's kind of left to
Speaker 1: clear before we can, maybe with more confidence, say that
Speaker 1: the seasons is going to start on time. You know
Speaker 1: that expression above my head. It is, but only for
Speaker 1: this reason. Our medical experts are going to tell us
Speaker 1: what the big hurdle is. I mean, they're going to
Speaker 1: flat out tell us. And what I love about us
Speaker 1: and I keep referencing the three of us because I
Speaker 1: know that we do the same thing right in terms
Speaker 1: of we prep, we care, we investigate, we do all
Speaker 1: those things. And you guys have been so wonderful to me.
Speaker 1: But let's be honest about it. Whatever the adjustment is,
Speaker 1: we'll be prepared for it right. Whatever it is, and
Speaker 1: how they say we go, how we cover, how we
Speaker 1: we'll do it, that's not a big That part's not
Speaker 1: a big deal. Whether it'll look like gets looked before.
Speaker 1: The medical experts to tell us that and the league
Speaker 1: will listen to them and then they'll emplement how we go.
Speaker 1: So that's the only thing I keep coming back to.
Speaker 1: But whatever it is, it's kind of like remember the
Speaker 1: Titans when when Louis came running into their first being
Speaker 1: a little bit late, and they're like, where do you guy?
Speaker 1: He said, I heard football and I came running, that's
Speaker 1: gonna be the three of us. Well, there's been some
Speaker 1: talk in some other sports that broadcasts like radio and
Speaker 1: TV are going to be done remotely. So do you
Speaker 1: have any experience with that? Do you know what some
Speaker 1: of the challenges may be with broadcasting and you're not
Speaker 1: running into the field, but you're running to a studio
Speaker 1: somewhere to broadcasts. You know. I did some remote games
Speaker 1: for NFL Europe years ago. All right. I went to
Speaker 1: a studio and I think I went to NFL films
Speaker 1: and did games that were in Amsterdam or Barcelona or whatever.
Speaker 1: I don't remember challenges during that time, but it was
Speaker 1: younger in my career, and I was just like, okay,
Speaker 1: great and you just go ahead and do it. The
Speaker 1: rest of it, I couldn't begin to tell you because
Speaker 1: I know whatever is going on out there, everyone behind
Speaker 1: the scenes is going through all the permutations, aren't there.
Speaker 1: They're going through all the possibilities. Shouldn't we try this?
Speaker 1: Should we do that? And again when they tell me,
Speaker 1: I'm going to do it. But I don't know of
Speaker 1: any major challenges other than, let's be honest about it,
Speaker 1: we're used to being on site We're used to being
Speaker 1: in the fray. We're used to walking into that stadium
Speaker 1: three hours ahead of time and feeling it all unfold
Speaker 1: in front of us rise to a crescendo. If we're
Speaker 1: all going to studios, that part may be a lot
Speaker 1: different for us. But again, we would adjust, and we
Speaker 1: would adapt, and we would do it. But you know,
Speaker 1: being on site with a full crowd is a whole
Speaker 1: different ballgame than than not. We'll just have to see
Speaker 1: if we actually get to that point. This is the OTP,
Speaker 1: presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans, Amy Wells, Mike Keith,
Speaker 1: joined by Tennessee Sports Hall of Famer Charles Davis, who
Speaker 1: is leaving Fox to broadcast for CBS. One more broadcast
Speaker 1: question before I jump into the Titans, Gonna have a
Speaker 1: chance to do other sports, Gonna have a chance to
Speaker 1: do other things for CBS. Do you know yet there's
Speaker 1: a possibility that I might do some do some golf.
Speaker 1: They had mentioned that and with PGA Tour Radio on Thursday,
Speaker 1: with the golf coming, Golf coming back, I'm gonna do
Speaker 1: something with PGA Tour Radio, you know, through CBS, I
Speaker 1: would believe, for about an hour and a half on
Speaker 1: the internet, which is gonna be a lot of fun
Speaker 1: to get my feet wet again and kind of get
Speaker 1: reintroduced to my old PGA tour days, which was a
Speaker 1: whole lot of fun when I was a tournament director
Speaker 1: at Disney. So yeah, Matt might do a little bit
Speaker 1: of that, but again that remains to be seen. And
Speaker 1: you know how that is, Mike and Amy. Bottom line
Speaker 1: is they signed me up for football. I'd better do
Speaker 1: my best job with that before I worry about anything else. Well,
Speaker 1: that's true, but you have that background with golf and
Speaker 1: you have such a love for any sport and such
Speaker 1: a great night. I could see you work in the
Speaker 1: nc Double A tournament somehow, and that was a blast.
Speaker 1: I did that, I think for three years and had
Speaker 1: a great time working NCAA tournament and meeting coaches and
Speaker 1: doing interviews and chasing down players after hitting game winners
Speaker 1: and things of that nature. That was a blast. Let's
Speaker 1: talk about some of the newer types. Charles. One of
Speaker 1: the exciting things about you being on CBS, as you're
Speaker 1: going to get to do AFC games, Hopefully we'll see
Speaker 1: a lot of Charles Davis at Nissan State him and
Speaker 1: on the road calling Titans games. But for the last
Speaker 1: few years you've called NFC games, You've seen the Atlanta
Speaker 1: Falcons a lot. Tell us what you think about the
Speaker 1: Titans newest outside linebacker, Vic Beasley. He's one of those
Speaker 1: guys that's just loaded with talent. We saw that in
Speaker 1: what was it the twenty sixteen season, which was the
Speaker 1: monster breakout, you know, when he had fifteen and a
Speaker 1: half sacks. Even more than that, I think he had
Speaker 1: seven fourced fumbles during that time. He was he was
Speaker 1: exactly what you were looking for. You know. You guys
Speaker 1: know nowadays we don't need a ton of bulk to
Speaker 1: play on the defensive side of the vault. Speed, the
Speaker 1: ability to get to the quarterback. That's what made Big
Speaker 1: Beasley Vic Beasley. I think the last couple of years
Speaker 1: for him and in Atlanta, he's been more of a
Speaker 1: hybrid type player where he's had to play on the
Speaker 1: defensive front and maybe drop into coverage a little more
Speaker 1: often than maybe you might expect from that type of
Speaker 1: a player. My guess is that Mike Graybill now have
Speaker 1: a heavier hand in the defense, a second opportunity for
Speaker 1: Vic Beasley in a new spot. He's going to do
Speaker 1: probably brush you in the quarterback that's what this That's
Speaker 1: what they got him for. That was a need for
Speaker 1: Tennessee something to upgrade. And if they can get that
Speaker 1: Vic Beasley back twenty sixteen or approaching those numbers, that's
Speaker 1: that's a big hit for Tennessee because now it allows
Speaker 1: the Jeffrey Simmons of the world to work inside and
Speaker 1: be even more courseful getting up field themselves. From Titans fans,
Speaker 1: I get a lot of questions and Mike Keith, I'm
Speaker 1: sure you did too, about the time second round pick
Speaker 1: Christian Fulton and whether he will be ready to make
Speaker 1: an impact in this Titan secondary as a rookie. Now, Charles,
Speaker 1: you know Dbs, you know Christian Fulton. What do you
Speaker 1: like about him and how he's going to fit in
Speaker 1: with the Titans. Well, what I like is one playing
Speaker 1: in the SEC and dealing with the speed that he
Speaker 1: saw every week. That was a big deal. Next step
Speaker 1: is playing at LSU and dealing with the receivers that
Speaker 1: they put out, because think about it, justin Jefferson, first
Speaker 1: round pick this year, right going to the Minnesota Vikings,
Speaker 1: their number one receiver wasn't eligible to come out this
Speaker 1: year Jamar Chase, he was the bullet and the coff winner.
Speaker 1: I believe in college Roll was the best receiver in
Speaker 1: the country. So those are the types of players he
Speaker 1: has to deal with all the time. You know, worked outside,
Speaker 1: worked inside in the slot. He's really a quieter kid.
Speaker 1: He's not one of those you know, a lot of
Speaker 1: times with dbs and wide receivers, you know, we tend
Speaker 1: to be a little more of the expressive types. So
Speaker 1: he is not really like that in terms of, you know,
Speaker 1: that type of interpersonal and being a little brash and louder.
Speaker 1: He's gonna be much more letting his play do the
Speaker 1: work for him. I think he'll have a very nice
Speaker 1: opportunity to get his feet wet early and have a
Speaker 1: chance to go in there and play. And I think
Speaker 1: for him, if I'm eyeballing a spot to go, I'm
Speaker 1: thinking hard about going inside and playing that nickel with
Speaker 1: everyone that they've got in the secondary already that can
Speaker 1: command the outside of the Dory and Malcolm and you
Speaker 1: know those guys, I think hard about finding a spot
Speaker 1: there being able to get on the field early. But
Speaker 1: I do think having played at LSU, played for a
Speaker 1: national Championship last year, played more games in the average
Speaker 1: Bear and more big games than the average Bear. That
Speaker 1: helps your transition coming into the NFL. Now, he touched
Speaker 1: on a little a little bit earlier, but I want
Speaker 1: to circle back to it. There's a chance Mike Rabel
Speaker 1: could be calling the Titans defense this year. What challenges
Speaker 1: do you see for him if that's a role he
Speaker 1: decides to take on. Well, I think for coach Rabel,
Speaker 1: the challenge is just simply delegating a few more things
Speaker 1: off of his plate in order to get ready to
Speaker 1: be a play caller on the weekend. You know, he's
Speaker 1: not gonna shirt his duties of being the head coach
Speaker 1: in the face of the franchise for Tennessee. You know,
Speaker 1: we're still going to get him in those pressers and
Speaker 1: other things that he's going to have to do. But
Speaker 1: as far as some of the other things that he'll have,
Speaker 1: every head coach has a personal you know, a guy
Speaker 1: next to him, kind of like if you were a
Speaker 1: West Wing fan back in the day, Charlie was the
Speaker 1: body guy for President Bartley. Everybody's got a body guy,
Speaker 1: all right. That body person is going to take a
Speaker 1: few more things off of the play to the head
Speaker 1: coach as well, in order for him to game plan
Speaker 1: spend that time with the defensive staff in order to
Speaker 1: get ready to call that game. If indeed that's the
Speaker 1: direction that he goes. But I don't think that's a
Speaker 1: major problem for a guy like Mike Grabel delegating understanding
Speaker 1: being efficient use of time. He's already done it. Remember
Speaker 1: he's been a decordinator in the league before, So for him,
Speaker 1: that's just going back to his roots and being a
Speaker 1: little more hands on on game day, even though, let's
Speaker 1: face it, over the headset, he's probably been hands on
Speaker 1: on game day anyway, just making the final call, but
Speaker 1: that final call goes through his head headset, so we
Speaker 1: do know he's had a hand in that part of
Speaker 1: it as well. Amy, did he know? Did he know
Speaker 1: that you were a West Wing freak? I was just
Speaker 1: about to say he enhanced this podcast by a million
Speaker 1: percent by making a West Wing reference. I'm done, Like
Speaker 1: I'm out. We peaked, had no idea. You're best fan
Speaker 1: favorite show at the Universe, hands down. We're gonna have
Speaker 1: a conversation about this later, Charles. You're coming back for
Speaker 1: the West Wing edition of the ONTP I'm excited about
Speaker 1: that because I still remember the first episode when President
Speaker 1: Barla Belle off the bicycle and got hurt and everybody
Speaker 1: wants to know who potus is. Oh, I could do
Speaker 1: And then of course by the time it was over,
Speaker 1: he realized that everybody hadn't really been doing their thing.
Speaker 1: And that's when we learned vacations over, everybody get back
Speaker 1: to work. And we saw that repeated over the years
Speaker 1: on the West Wing. Oh, this is making me so happy.
Speaker 1: This is not the West Wing podcast. Amy listens to
Speaker 1: a West Wing podcast. This is actually the OTP presented
Speaker 1: by Far Bureau Health Plans. Don't get sacked by the
Speaker 1: high cost of healthcare. Make Far Bureau Health Plans your
Speaker 1: first line of protection. They've been protecting Tennessee and since
Speaker 1: nineteen forty seven. I want to jump ahead and I
Speaker 1: want to talk offense. We've been talking defense. What excites you,
Speaker 1: Charles Davis about the Titans offense heading into twenty twenty
Speaker 1: if they understand who they are and they're not worried
Speaker 1: about Okay, do we have to change this? Do we
Speaker 1: have to change that? Of course you're going to add wrinkles.
Speaker 1: Of course you're going to play off of some of
Speaker 1: your success before. Of course you're going to say, okay,
Speaker 1: do we really want to run Derrick Henry every single
Speaker 1: time we snapped the football. Those things are going to
Speaker 1: come up and they're going to look at that and
Speaker 1: tweak it. But when you look at their draft and
Speaker 1: what John Robinson did and said, Okay, this is who
Speaker 1: we are, where's our need and where do we have
Speaker 1: to plug in? Jack conchlind goes to the Browns. Isaiah
Speaker 1: Wilson gets drafted in the first round. Now, the three
Speaker 1: of us know that if you go back through the
Speaker 1: mock drafts of the so called experts, even though you know,
Speaker 1: I guess I would quote unquote counting that you and
Speaker 1: Amy were counting that. But around the league, right we
Speaker 1: all had, you know, mock drafts one, two, three to
Speaker 1: four or five, whatever it was, pick the top people
Speaker 1: that we saw out there. How many times did you
Speaker 1: see Isaiah Wilson in the first round? Now, the answer
Speaker 1: to me was probably zero up until probably the week
Speaker 1: of the draft. And then you know how you get
Speaker 1: closer to the draft and things start to leak out
Speaker 1: a little bit, and you know, people hear different things
Speaker 1: and they connect a few more dots and he started
Speaker 1: to get a little more love closer to the draft.
Speaker 1: But all in all, Isaiah Wilson wasn't on very many
Speaker 1: mock drafts. People respected his ability, but they didn't see
Speaker 1: another tackle going in that first round. The reason I
Speaker 1: bring that up is John Robinson and crew were like, look,
Speaker 1: we don't care what you people think. We care what
Speaker 1: we think. We care what it's good for our team,
Speaker 1: how we evaluate it, how we're going to go ahead
Speaker 1: and do things. And by the way, this guy is
Speaker 1: a Mahler brawler in the run game. That's where we
Speaker 1: make our living. Hello, Isaiah Wilson, welcome to Tennessee. Do
Speaker 1: the things we saw on tape at the University of
Speaker 1: Georgia and better and we're gonna be just fine, young man.
Speaker 1: Plug in and go. And then you continue to add
Speaker 1: off of that offense, right, you continue to develop Ryan
Speaker 1: Tannehill at the quarterback position and what he gave. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry's there, but one of my favorite picks was
Speaker 1: Darrenton Evans. Okay, the kid out of Appalachian State. I mean,
Speaker 1: you talk about getting into my heart and me going yes,
Speaker 1: that's the perfect type of a guy. Change up guy.
Speaker 1: Forget that third down back stuff. This kid is a
Speaker 1: running back, but he's going to give you those extra plays,
Speaker 1: just like we had thought about Dion Lewis being here previously.
Speaker 1: That's what he's gonna do. Plus, he can bring a
Speaker 1: game open if you want to make a mckickreturner as well,
Speaker 1: plug independ state tape and watch him go. All right,
Speaker 1: So let's talk about Jadeveon Clowney for a second. Titans
Speaker 1: fans have been talking about Jadevian Clowney for months. Maybe
Speaker 1: a free agent that the Titans add, Maybe not, maybe
Speaker 1: he goes somewhere else. So two part question, what do
Speaker 1: you think's going on with Jenevian Clowney right now? And
Speaker 1: number two for the team that adds him, what does
Speaker 1: he add to your defensive scheme that makes you different
Speaker 1: and special? I think that for Jadevion Clowney and what's
Speaker 1: going on with him now, with no conversation with him,
Speaker 1: no one in his camp outside observer, I think he's
Speaker 1: got to get comfortable with the idea that the money
Speaker 1: he had hoped to make he might not make. In fact,
Speaker 1: it looks like he's not going to come close to
Speaker 1: making that kind of money. I'm sure he was looking
Speaker 1: for that top defensive end type of a contract and
Speaker 1: it's has not been there. No one's come close to
Speaker 1: showing him, you know, for Jerry McGuire and crew, no
Speaker 1: one showing him that kind of money so far. So
Speaker 1: he's got to get comfortable with that idea that, Okay,
Speaker 1: am I gonna come down sign a one year or
Speaker 1: two year maybe lesser money, try and make it up later.
Speaker 1: All those things have to come into play. The second
Speaker 1: part with that is where can I go to show
Speaker 1: those talents in order to get that money, whether it's
Speaker 1: with that team I signed with or the ability to
Speaker 1: jump somewhere else after having signed with them. Well, look,
Speaker 1: if you're a Tennessee Titans fan, you're going this is
Speaker 1: a spot man. There's a screaming need for pass rusher
Speaker 1: right here in Nashville. You'll be plugging play right away.
Speaker 1: You'll be counted on to be that guy. Yes, Vic
Speaker 1: Beasley got signed in the off season, Yes, Harold Landry
Speaker 1: is here, but Jadevi and Clowney shows up. This is
Speaker 1: your chance, man, This is a great spot. Plus, you're
Speaker 1: going to a team that went to the NC Championship.
Speaker 1: Game last year, and in your own division, you get
Speaker 1: a chance to go against Houston twice who you used
Speaker 1: to be with. Go chase down Philip Rivers in Indianapolis
Speaker 1: and go get a young Gardner Minshew in Jacksonville. Not
Speaker 1: a bad place to go hunt it. So that part
Speaker 1: works out well. The second part of this for him
Speaker 1: is over time. All we talk about is athleticism, right,
Speaker 1: because it is breathtaking. You guys remember when what was
Speaker 1: four to six six at the combine and almost Dion
Speaker 1: Sanders and just went out the door and we never
Speaker 1: saw him again. He was number one picking the entire draft.
Speaker 1: We remember the big play against was Vincent Smith from
Speaker 1: from Michigan in the ballgame, right, we all remember that.
Speaker 1: I was talking with Alex Boone, the former offensive lineman
Speaker 1: with the Vikings and Arizona Cardinals. He said he played
Speaker 1: against Clowney and he said two things. Consistency, which is
Speaker 1: part of it. Is he bringing it every play every down. Heck,
Speaker 1: forget every play. Can you get forty great plays out
Speaker 1: of out of sixty snaps? If you do that, that's
Speaker 1: pretty good. You gonna get some big play. But he said,
Speaker 1: underrated is his ability to play the run. He said,
Speaker 1: Jadevidanwy's not just a pass rusher. He talked about one
Speaker 1: play that he was like thinks with Minnesota. He said,
Speaker 1: they're guard pulled and there's a trap play and Clowney's like,
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna deal with this trap all day long,
Speaker 1: and he said he hit the guard with a forearm
Speaker 1: in the chest and knocked him out. He said, the
Speaker 1: guards done finished game day day over. He has that
Speaker 1: type of breath physical ability that you're which is part
Speaker 1: of the problem because you see it and you're like,
Speaker 1: I want that every play. Well, it may not be
Speaker 1: possible every play, so we fall back on well, he's
Speaker 1: not giving it to man. I don't know about all
Speaker 1: that part that I'm gonna leave that to the scouts
Speaker 1: and the person to tell people. But I do know
Speaker 1: consistencies the deal. Because let's just go back to last year.
Speaker 1: Was it a Monday night against San Francisco he wore
Speaker 1: them out their first loss, yep. Was there a better
Speaker 1: defensive end in the league that night? The answer is no, absolutely. Now,
Speaker 1: he wrecked the game. We use that term all the time,
Speaker 1: probably more than we should. He wrecked that game for
Speaker 1: San Francisco and the rest of the season. Everybody kept
Speaker 1: waiting for more of that, but he was in an
Speaker 1: aval line up with some injuries, some other things that
Speaker 1: went on. And here's the thing to remember. For all
Speaker 1: his breathtaking gifts, the highest number of sacks and then
Speaker 1: season for him is nine and a half, which absolutely
Speaker 1: shocks you because you think he's a double digit guy
Speaker 1: each and every year. But he has to be on
Speaker 1: the field in order to do that. But look, if
Speaker 1: it's a friendly contract, then Tennessee can get him for that.
Speaker 1: I would run there myself, and I think John Robinson
Speaker 1: would do exactly that if indeed it could fit within
Speaker 1: their cap. It's a friendly contract for the team, he's
Speaker 1: not going to get the kind of money he was
Speaker 1: looking for. And when this whole thing began, are there
Speaker 1: other agents that are still on the market that could
Speaker 1: have that same level of impact for a team? I
Speaker 1: think there are very few left when we're talking about that, amy,
Speaker 1: when we're talking about who those free agents are, because
Speaker 1: now we're really into quarterbacks, aren't we We're really into
Speaker 1: is you know, how's Cam Newton not out there somewhere
Speaker 1: running someone's team. And it is really blown me away
Speaker 1: because I'm like, okay, let me get this straight. The
Speaker 1: NFL MVP from just a few seasons ago, remember in Nashville,
Speaker 1: helped cause a ker fluffle because he you know, the
Speaker 1: time he's spent in the end zone and next thing
Speaker 1: you know, we're having a national debate about how long
Speaker 1: you get to celebrate and all the other stuff. He's
Speaker 1: not signed anywhere, and it looks like we're gonna have
Speaker 1: to get into training camp and see where an opportunity
Speaker 1: comes up if the starter goes down all those things,
Speaker 1: which really really is stunning for guy visibilities. We're falling
Speaker 1: back on the injury thing and in COVID times, you know,
Speaker 1: the pandemic, we can't you know, get the physicals, do
Speaker 1: all the things we're looking for. So we'll see how
Speaker 1: that part plays out. But he's going to be the
Speaker 1: big one. And obviously, you know, when when you're looking
Speaker 1: out there for other players, I think Amy is going
Speaker 1: to be in training camp time. You know, maybe a
Speaker 1: guy we're wondering if he can play one more year.
Speaker 1: That team may decide he can't, but he may fit
Speaker 1: somewhere else for someone. We'll just have to see how
Speaker 1: it plays out. Right now, the biggest news in the
Speaker 1: NFL mirrors the biggest news in the world, and obviously
Speaker 1: that's talking about dealing with social injustice. So through the
Speaker 1: conversation that has gone on over the last two weeks,
Speaker 1: what are the most important things you have heard and
Speaker 1: are hearing right now? Charles Davis, Well, for me, the
Speaker 1: consistency is the word listen. The consistent word, I should say,
Speaker 1: has been the word listen. And it works every which way.
Speaker 1: It is not just you listen to this group, or
Speaker 1: you know they listen to you. It's all over the place,
Speaker 1: all of us. It's like us having this conversation. Now
Speaker 1: you ask me a question, I have to listen to
Speaker 1: that question to give you a good answer. When I
Speaker 1: throw something in there about the west Wind, Amy heard
Speaker 1: that and reacted because she was listening. We have to
Speaker 1: do that on the biggest scale we've ever had. But
Speaker 1: it's hard to listen and not be defensive, not wall
Speaker 1: things off. If we hear something we didn't want to hear,
Speaker 1: if we hear something that makes us uncomfortable, which is
Speaker 1: the word we use all the time, which means that's
Speaker 1: not me, that's someone else, you know, that's not this,
Speaker 1: And all of us have to be able to drop
Speaker 1: those defenses a little bit and find out what it
Speaker 1: is that that person's talking about. You know, my parents,
Speaker 1: I was so lucky to have the parents i've had.
Speaker 1: I lost my mom four years ago. My dad's still
Speaker 1: with me. But one thing they talked about with me
Speaker 1: growing up is you're going to encounter issues. You're going
Speaker 1: to just look at who you are, and that's just
Speaker 1: there's just no way in this world a black person
Speaker 1: is not going to have some issues along the way.
Speaker 1: It's going to be associated with the color of their
Speaker 1: sk in. Now, is that going to paralyze you to
Speaker 1: the point where you're going to just stop at that
Speaker 1: point and I can't do anything or whatever. We're gonna
Speaker 1: figure out other ways. Achievement was the word they talked
Speaker 1: about all the time. How do you achieve how do
Speaker 1: you push through? How do you tend to tend to
Speaker 1: fight through all these things? Have that achievement? Treat people
Speaker 1: as well as you as you expect to be treated.
Speaker 1: And if you don't receive that back, figure out why,
Speaker 1: how whatever, and keep moving because that's just we're not
Speaker 1: gonnall like each other, and it's not always because of race.
Speaker 1: I just may not like the sound of your voice.
Speaker 1: You may hate the sound of mine, you may not
Speaker 1: like the shirt ey war. It could be any of
Speaker 1: those things. But if we listened to each other a
Speaker 1: lot more, Mike and Amy, I just think that we
Speaker 1: have a better chance. But it's really hard because we
Speaker 1: all come hardwired and bring our own experiences with us,
Speaker 1: and sometimes those walls. It takes a while for us
Speaker 1: to let those go and trust somebody else with someone
Speaker 1: else when they tell us something about ourselves we may
Speaker 1: not want to hear, or we may not have observed
Speaker 1: in ourselves. And a lot of times you get, oh,
Speaker 1: that's what you said to me, Well, let me tell
Speaker 1: you about you, and we hit back instead of going hum,
Speaker 1: let me contemplate that, okay, and how do I bring
Speaker 1: that message to that person in a better way so
Speaker 1: we actually continue to listen to each other. So it's hard,
Speaker 1: you know, it's really really hard, and I'm not about
Speaker 1: to be Pollyanna about it. We are in a really
Speaker 1: tough spot right now, we really are. And you know,
Speaker 1: for anyone in this world, if you can't see yourself
Speaker 1: or someone that you know being in George Floyd's position,
Speaker 1: and you can take everything else out of it all right,
Speaker 1: whatever happened in George Floyd's past, whatever happened, and putting
Speaker 1: him in that position there, the end result never should
Speaker 1: have happened. The end result should never happen. We've seen
Speaker 1: mass murderers treated better, killing Root in South Carolina, killing
Speaker 1: all those people in the church, gets walked out, didnt
Speaker 1: see a scratched, didn't see it, issued, didn't see whatever.
Speaker 1: And I'm not saying there should have been. The right
Speaker 1: way was to arrest toe me getting out of there.
Speaker 1: But if that can happen, normal stop normal. You know,
Speaker 1: arrest ends in a person being dead because someone was
Speaker 1: callously didn't care about their life. That doesn't make any sense.
Speaker 1: So I just think that the dast majority of people
Speaker 1: you me Amy No, would look at that and go
Speaker 1: that's not right. And now here's our chance to start
Speaker 1: making it right in the future. And I think we
Speaker 1: got to keep working together on that. From the listening
Speaker 1: standpoint and the instructive standpoint. As painful as it was
Speaker 1: for all involved, will the Drew Brees New Orleans Saints
Speaker 1: situation end up being as good a lesson that comes
Speaker 1: out of the NFL as we might have. And I'm
Speaker 1: talking about the whole seventy two hour process of it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think so in a lot of ways, because, like
Speaker 1: an Aim, I'm of the opinion that if someone is
Speaker 1: truly trying to help, if they say the wrong thing
Speaker 1: or it doesn't come across the right way or whatever,
Speaker 1: if that person has had a history of doing the
Speaker 1: right things, am I gonna want to cast them aside
Speaker 1: at that moment because of one comment? Probably not, That's
Speaker 1: just the way I'm built. I want to hear more
Speaker 1: about it. For Drew, look, being in that locker room
Speaker 1: and not understanding what the message was trying to come
Speaker 1: across and equating it again with kneeling in the flag
Speaker 1: and all, that was a mistake. But when they had
Speaker 1: the zoom call and his teammates got with him and
Speaker 1: the reaction and whatever, you've heard, his teammates come out
Speaker 1: and say, we hear Drew, we take him at his word,
Speaker 1: we respect him, We're moving forward because it's not like
Speaker 1: Drew Brees didn't try and help a whole lot of
Speaker 1: people along the way. I mean, who are we kidding? Right,
Speaker 1: go back and look at the track record. It's really impressive.
Speaker 1: Does that absolve him of the comment. No, but he's
Speaker 1: acknowledged that. He acknowledged that to the world multiple times now.
Speaker 1: When people say, Okay, let's see how he's gonna walk
Speaker 1: the walk, I was like, he's walked it already. I
Speaker 1: think he'll keep walking it. I don't. I don't worry
Speaker 1: about him. Those are types of things that for me,
Speaker 1: I want to see happen. I do know a number
Speaker 1: of people have said, ah, done, definitely. How could he
Speaker 1: say that. That's not where I sit, Mike, That's not
Speaker 1: where I sit, Amy, That's not how I go about it.
Speaker 1: I'm not saying you can say anything, and I'm gonna
Speaker 1: give you you know, and we're gonna get there. But
Speaker 1: if I know who you are before, I'm not about to. Okay,
Speaker 1: this was that comment. Let's find out what was driving it.
Speaker 1: Do you stand with that. Let's go from here, okay,
Speaker 1: and look where they are now. I think the Saints
Speaker 1: are much healthier because of it, and they'll move forward.
Speaker 1: And the beauty for that is, in high school, your
Speaker 1: head coach is probably involved in that. Right in college,
Speaker 1: your head coach is probably involved in that. The NFL
Speaker 1: the scenes pretty much took it upon themselves as a
Speaker 1: locker room before Sean Payton and crew had even bother
Speaker 1: to get involved, not that they wouldn't have. I'm just
Speaker 1: saying these are grown men having grown man discussions. People discussions,
Speaker 1: adult human being discussions. Remember the words we used, uncomfortable listening.
Speaker 1: They'd listen to all sides, you know. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: when Drew Brees had those conversations with guys, they may
Speaker 1: have heard some things from him that maybe they had
Speaker 1: to take stock of. I don't know that this was
Speaker 1: just a one way street, even though it might be
Speaker 1: painted that way, But it seems to me that that's
Speaker 1: a healthy locker room. They found a way to negotiate
Speaker 1: and maneuver through that, and I'd be surprised if we
Speaker 1: didn't have a lot of healthy locker rooms across the NFL.
Speaker 1: I think a lot of these people will be able
Speaker 1: to do that, and I hope that we can use
Speaker 1: some of those locker rooms as models for the rest
Speaker 1: of our society. Last question, what needs to happen in
Speaker 1: the National Football League in the coming weeks and months
Speaker 1: that can make a positive difference in all of society
Speaker 1: when it comes to social injustice. I just think in
Speaker 1: a lot of ways, I don't want to come off
Speaker 1: polly animight, because that's just the worst thing that can
Speaker 1: do right now. But a lot of things have been
Speaker 1: said in the past, a lot of things have been
Speaker 1: floated in the past, ideas how we can do things
Speaker 1: better that may not have been heard before, that may
Speaker 1: have been rejected before, may not have been implemented before.
Speaker 1: I think we've got a chance to do that now,
Speaker 1: I really do. And I think that those are the
Speaker 1: things that we will see. I just hope we don't
Speaker 1: get caught up in the whole idea of well, let's
Speaker 1: see what happens on opening day, whether people are gonna,
Speaker 1: you know, kneel or what. It's way bigger than that,
Speaker 1: way bigger than that. And actually had someone say to
Speaker 1: me the other day, someone I really really respect, like,
Speaker 1: I'm just wondering if whatever gesture the players and the
Speaker 1: teams come up with, if you make sure it's not
Speaker 1: right there at the anthem so that no one gets
Speaker 1: confused anymore about the flag. Well, people who have said
Speaker 1: that they would get with things as long as it
Speaker 1: doesn't can you get involved? That would they now get involved?
Speaker 1: It's a thought. I'm not sure we'll get there. We'll
Speaker 1: see how everyone decides to do it, but I still
Speaker 1: want everybody get caught up with that's the only conversation.
Speaker 1: It's a much bigger deal than that. How do we
Speaker 1: make things better? Continue to make things better? And I
Speaker 1: think we got a lot of people who are trying
Speaker 1: to get that done. I mean, I do have optimism
Speaker 1: that way. My heart hurts right now for our country.
Speaker 1: But I will say this, the next time I hear
Speaker 1: someone tell me we live in unprecedented times, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: be like, hold on a second, because I've already done
Speaker 1: it with people. Unprecedented. You have what history of did
Speaker 1: you watch in the United States? In a lot of
Speaker 1: take race out of it? How did the United States
Speaker 1: get started? Revolution that unfortunately ended up violent? Right, But
Speaker 1: that's how we had to get our independence and start
Speaker 1: as a nation. And we've had these things happen and
Speaker 1: bubble all the way through. So when they say unprecedented,
Speaker 1: I was like, you're missing that. It's not unprecedented. But
Speaker 1: this is our flashpoint? Is this our chance to jump
Speaker 1: off and actually get better? That's what I'm looking for.
Speaker 1: Let's use this timeframe making a jump off point for
Speaker 1: our country and all of us find a way to
Speaker 1: get better. And the first person I'm looking as a guy,
Speaker 1: look at it in the mirror every morning. I have
Speaker 1: to be better. How's to start here? Everyone looks at it.
Speaker 1: That's what it's about. The defensiveness. Oh, you're telling me
Speaker 1: what I have to do all the time. Yeah, but
Speaker 1: I'm telling myself, I'm part of I'm part of the deal.
Speaker 1: So I want to be part of the solution. Please
Speaker 1: let me be part of that. Tennessee Sports Hall of Famer,
Speaker 1: former Tennessee volunteer broadcaster for Fox Now for CBS PRECS
Speaker 1: in television with the Tennessee Titans. You are a friend
Speaker 1: and a gentleman and a scholar. And Amy Wells and
Speaker 1: I thank you so much for joining us Charles Davis
Speaker 1: on this edition of the OTP. Yeah, I thank you
Speaker 1: and Amy Wells and the Tennessee Titans. And can't wait
Speaker 1: for all this to get started again when we're back
Speaker 1: out on the field and all of us get together
Speaker 1: and talk ball and talk Titans and talk season. So
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to it, and thank you both of
Speaker 1: you and everyone else is watching. Please stay safe. You
Speaker 1: know everything's going on in this world. COVID still out there.
Speaker 1: Please stay safe. Healthy, Let's not forget what's led us
Speaker 1: do where we are today in a lot of ways,
Speaker 1: and the rest of it. Let's let's get better as
Speaker 1: a people, let's get better as a nation. And I
Speaker 1: want to be a part of that. For Charles Davis
Speaker 1: and Amy Wells, Mike Keith says, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 1: Presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans, this has been the
Speaker 1: team