 It's a good week for us to get covered mentally, physically. I heard the word kinetic energy. I ain't heard that since grade school. It ain't about what they do. You know that energy can't be created. It's about what we do. Energy is always there. It's all about there going out there and making plays. Like, I can just remember in the Atlanta game when Chris Mill made a big play on special teams. You know, we came out there on defense, kind of turned up. It can't be created. It can only be transferred. So I think it's all about you being a transfer energy throughout the game. Rested and refreshed and ready for the Mike Vrable show with the head coach. I'm Mike Keith, glad to have you with us. Coming off the bye, which finds the Titans one game out of first place in the AFC South. Mike Vrable, everything is there for the taking if you take care of business down the stretch. Sure, got to take advantage of the opportunities one week at a time. They saw a little bit of a physics lesson there with the energy. And I know a lot had been made of the energy, so I did a little research and went back to the old physics back at Ohio State. And apparently Kevin was listening, which I know he always does and I appreciate. And so it doesn't fall upon deaf ears that Kevin was able to explain that as well. If the Titans are going to make a run down the stretch, they need to do some of the things they did best in the season's first 10 games. So in Vrable's six pack tonight, we look at some of those things that the Titans want to do well down the stretch. And we'll start with number 22 himself. That's Derek Henry. Titans want to get him loose a lot the rest of the way. Well, it takes all 11 and we've gotten them to some good 10 and 12 yard gains. You have to be able to block the edges. Receiver is doing a great job on this play, but running the ball better at this point in time than we had last year, believe it or not. And I know that we all believe that there's a lot more left in there. I think everybody understands that. And we're getting close. It was good to see us hit a big one there. We'd had a couple other big ones called back for penalties and technique issues. So we have to clean that stuff up and continue to do that and use that to our advantage and let it compliment our offense. Turning to defense, let's talk about more takeaways for the Titans. This team right now plus five in turnover ratio. We've done a good job. I think we can do a much better job of just not having those MOBPs. I catch the ones they throw you. I feel like we're looking for those opportunities to hammer the ball out. We can always try to affect the quarterback. If we can't get there, being able to get our hand up, affect it, tip it, usually tip balls in this league, get intercepted. We saw that with Harold Landry and the Carolina game. But if we can just catch the ones that are thrown to us, we can really give our offense a short field and that's another way to transfer that momentum and that energy. When you get inside the other team's 20, score touchdowns. That has been something that we've had a lot of confidence in lately. It's always a combination of the scheme and execution. Sometimes in this case, it's just players making plays. Ryan throws a great ball. Tajé runs a great route, catches it. He's able to show his hands late. And then there's some other times where we've been able to dial up some plays that I thought were very, very good plays and good, well-called plays and designed plays. So there's a good balance there. Make big plays in special teams, like at the end of the game against Kansas City and at the end of the Atlanta game. Well, we have to be able to always protect our kickers. We feel like we have one of the best, if not the best punter in the league. It's OK to reserve the right to punt. As you can see here, we're great on the goal line. This is something that we practice a lot. And they understand the rules. They try to bleed it out here. But being able to do that, we've got to get this kickoff return unit going. That was such a weapon for us last year. We've hit a couple. But when it starts to get colder now, those kicks aren't going to travel as far. And we have an opportunity to return them. And we have to be able to get on guys and not have the penalties that we had against Kansas City. Make it hard on opposing offenses. We'll get back to playing great defense. And not that we haven't. It's just been inconsistent. We've had a couple guys out. And I think we've played some actually really talented offenses. I think that when you talk about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs, I mean, these are teams that have talented, talented skill players. And we have to make sure that we're getting off the field on third down and we're great in the red zone. When you get to November and December, you're playing a lot of division games. You just have to find a way. Bottom line. That's really what we're about. We feel like the grittier it is and the grimeier it is, the better it is for us. And I think that's just the type of people that we are. I think we've done a good job of executing in critical situations, understanding what the situation is, somebody coming up, making a play. They saw that in a few wins that we've had this season. That could have been our Bridgestone clutch performance play of the first 10 games. But we think we've got an even better sequence. And that's up next on The Mike Brayble Show. Bridgestone clutch performance play of the first 10 games, we should call it the sequence. From the Chargers game, first and goal at the one, they're going to run it. Gordon does not get in after initially being ruled in on first down. Just an unbelievable sequence of plays here. I think when you get down here, it just got to be penetration. You see Jeff and everybody else scratching, clawing, fighting. And then on the second down play, a guy comes in, puts his hand on the ball, hammers it out of there. We have clear recovery. I mean, there's a lot going on at this point in time. The clock was running. They stop it. But our guys were locked in. You have to have clear recovery right there. Jarell did, was ruled a touch back. He was touched down in the end zone. But just the fight that you have to have to win some of these games in those situations. But you look at those two plays on the first one, Simmons and Evans combined to make the tackle. On the second one, you get great penetration initially by Evans. Woodyard causes the fumble. Casey recovers the fumble. Jones was in there. There were several guys making things happen to keep them from getting in from three feet away. And that's what you have to have to have a great team or a great defense. You have to have 11 guys that are complimenting each other that are selling out for each other. And I understand that it's not always going to be pretty. But the guys are fighting and scratching and clawing for each other. And that's what made it so fun to be a part of. That's who you are. I think at the end of the day, that's who we are. I think the guys understand that. We have to play to that mentality and that type of just grit that I think is so critical in this league. Are you ready for Delta Dental, guess the titan? Worst part of my week. Worst part of your week? You're five out of nine on this week. I get so nervous. Thanks to our friends at Delta Dental. Gonna take a look and see, oh, wait a minute. Two pack? It's two, yeah. It's two people. It looks like two thirds of this three stooches for God's sakes. Huh, one looks familiar. We need to get a break. It's a two pack. Delta Dental, guess the titan? Mike Vrable, five out of nine on the season. So can he get one or both of these as we move forward on the year? Coming off the buy, looks like one on the left has no neck. I'm in a lot, I'm focused on the Jacksonville Jaguars. I can't even figure this out. You don't know who either of those are. I don't. All right, I guess we show them. Mike Vrable and Mike Keith. Yep. Good God, Mike. Who's a handsome young fella? I don't know what happened. I mean either. That's pitiful. Pitiful. I'm surprised they didn't leave us at the hospital. I was talking about other pictures. Well, they tried, I think. Here's somebody who was born in the 1990s, Derek Henry. He's gonna be our Geico gladiator of the game. Derek Henry, 999 total yards so far this season in 10 touchdowns. Just gotta keep going. The heat continues to improve. It's got a very unique skill set, size, speed. It's got length. He's really trying to focus on his ability to use his stiff arm, catching the ball. And so those are things that we have to continue to be a part of our offense. And I think this is really where we're gonna need him to come along here and we start playing meaningful games in November and December. Special God, undoubtedly. Derek Henry, 2015 Heisman Trophy winner. All-time leading rusher in American high school football and the tailback for your Tennessee Titans. Derek, I've got to ask you a question that only a running back could answer. When you take a handoff and you start working towards a hold, whether it be on the right side or the left side, do you know what you're gonna do as you get ready for contact or get ready to make a move? Or is that more reaction? Yeah, I just think you just react to what the defense gives you and then the reaction off your blocks. Making your reads and trying to make a one-cut and get downhill to get advantage on the defender. When you watch yourself on tape, do you even sometimes surprise yourself with things that you've done? Probably not really, because I always think I can do better, and I'm always pushing myself, so I probably say probably not. Sticking with tape watching, when you're viewing it during the course of the week, either watching your game that you've just played or the upcoming opponent, what are the most important things to watch for our running back? How you finish runs, how you were effective when you had a ball in your hands, being effective with the ball, not in your hands, your effort and your finish, because those guys block, seed was tight ends and you wanna make sure that you're blocking with those guys and they have the ball. Just being an all-around team guy and basically just being physical and having an attacking mentality, because at a position, we're gonna get hit a lot, so you gotta have that mindset to deliver balls. Titan fans go nuts when Derek Henry goes into the Wildcat, and you are very good at running the Wildcat when they snap the ball directly to you. What's the real key to making a Wildcat play work and work well from your perspective as the guy who has the ball snapped directly to you? I think he's just a guy who looks naturally doing it, and I've been doing it since high school. Been running here a couple of times, we had success with it, so I think it's just all of us being locked in, it's not a formation or things you see each and every week in the NFL, so if you're running it, you gotta have confidence in to be efficient. I think we've done a pretty good job when we got a chance to do it. Do you like running Wildcat? Yeah, it gives me an opportunity to get the ball in my hands. Actually, been at a quarterback position when I'm getting out in space and making plays and having the fishin' run, so all credit is to everybody on the offense just doing their job and making that thing go. Have you talked to him about letting you throw a little more? Not really. I just go over what they wanna put in, it's got to go out there and execute it. Cold weather is upon us. Do you like playing in cold weather? And the second part is, why do you think you're more effective in cold weather? I really don't matter to me, football is football. It's cold, rainy, or hot. I mean, you just gotta go out there and play. That's the nature of the game. You're gonna have to play in those conditions, and I think it's just a mindset to go out there and play at a high level. I think it's just a different mentality when it gets to the cold weather. There's nobody really wants to play in the cold, but you just have to be physical. Like I said, it's just a mindset thing. I think you just gotta run more physical, one court runs and just get down here. Playing the division, when you play Jacksonville, you know they're gonna be tough games. What's the key to having success running the football against a physical defense like Jacksonville's? I think you just gotta stay with it, stay confident and believe in the game plan that's been installed, because there are defense where it might be muddy at times, it might not be big runs, but I feel like as the game goes on, if you stick to your rules and what you do as an offense, I think those four to five yard games are turning into big games, because they're fast, they're physical, got disruptive guys, so you just gotta stay locked in, even when they don't seem like nothing's going well. Welcome back to the Mike Vrable Show. The head coach had an idea last spring as he talked with linebacker Wesley Woodyard. He said, Wesley Woodyard needs to get some broadcasting reps. And so he got some, along with several of his teammates, as we put together a player takeover of our Titans All Access program. Take a look at our guys that worked behind the scenes. I can't wait. You got the lumberjack taking over the things. It's a bi-week, the players are here. We're ready to run this thing, baby. You're talking none, that's what the jack does. So you're talking to Spencer's camera, and so your first line is from me, Wesley Woodyard. We're not just on part of the show, we're taking over the show. We're not just on the show, we're a part of the show. Here we go. We're not going to get to it. We're not going to get to it. I honestly, you're going to get to it. It's for the college competition. All these guys with his hair like that, when you got back around top of your head. You see a lot of previous football players being able to get into this field. So, you know, it's kind of something that you can continue to gel with the brotherhood. It's the lumberjack, welcome back. That's perfect, that's perfect. Of course, that's what the jack does. Jack gets out here, shows up, shows out. Definitely what I'm going to be doing after football. This is my 12th year in the league. Sometimes you got to find ways to wind down, get away from football. Better way to do it, play a little video game. Oh, get him. Yup. Where you at, KB? I'm on the left side. Oh, I got to reload. All right, fellas, let's end it like we always do. Let me get an easy work on three. One, two, three, easy work. You're asking the champ, how was that experience? I should ask you, how was that experience? That experience was great for you, Wesley. You loved that experience. That experience was everything that you were hoping for. The lumberjack loved it, baby. It was great. It's harder than playing linebacker, isn't it? Are you still here? I thought I kicked them out a long time ago. Lumberjack out. That was a great experience for everybody involved. And you saw Wesley Woodyard, you saw Roger Saffold, you saw Kevin Byrd, you saw the linebackers. They got to have some fun, but they realized that broadcasting boot camp and several of the things the NFL offers them is a great opportunity to prepare them for life after football. And you've had some friends that you've played with who've done it and done it very well. Sure, it's a great transition for these guys. They're very knowledgeable. They put a lot of time in the game. And you've seen a lot of people, former players of mine, teammates of mine, William McGinnis, Teddy Bruceke, Rodney Harrison, Matt Chatham is even still involved in it and up in New England. And they give such a great perspective. And they work hard at it. These guys are used to hard work. And so they understand that they may not be great at it to begin with, but they're going to work hard. And it was fun to watch those guys do that and enjoy to do that. And I just felt like that would be a great perspective for our fans to get to see them in that light. Yeah, it's always fun. The fans love to see the players. But truthfully, we want to thank them. They were very coachable in the process. And everybody involved really enjoyed the player takeover. When we come back, it's time for the coach keys to success. Jacksonville on deck and we're back to talk about it next on the Mike Drupal show. Who was Skip Hicks? Do you remember Skip Hicks? He was a running back from UCLA who joined the Titans in 2001 during the season where Eddie George was battling a toe injury, yet still trying to play. On December 16th, 2001, the Titans were hosting the playoff bound Green Bay Packers at Nissan Stadium. Brett Farve was at his apex as the Packers quarterback and the Titans were just like Eddie George, really beaten up, but still trying to show the heart of a champion that they had displayed in the two preceding seasons. On this day, it would not be George or Farve or any other big name who would make headlines. It would be Skip Hicks. 17 rushes for 142 yards. A 51-yard run and a 22-yard touchdown run that put the game away with 10-42 remaining as Tennessee would upset Green Bay 26 to 20. Footnote on Skip Hicks. He would carry 16 times in another upset win at Oakland six days later, but then amazingly would never carry the football in an NFL regular season game again. Time for Mike Vrabel's keys to success, the opponent Jacksonville. And you got to start with their pressure up front. You got to slow down their blitzes. Yeah, not only are they talented on defense, but they also love to bring pressure. And that's something that, you know, there were times where we handled it, but we have to make them pay if they're going to pressure us. And that's a huge key for us offensively, is be able to identify it and be able to attack it. Second key is about Leonard Fornett. You have to stop him running and catching the football. You know, one of those guys that they have become a focal point of their offense. And I know that they've always thought about making him and this team is built to play with the lead. They can give him the ball, they can throw it to him, screen it with him, flair it to him. And this will be a huge challenge for us. I felt like we did handle it okay. We gave up the one at the end, which is unfortunate, but you know, we were very aware of him and they're just going to continue to try to create ways to get him the football. Mike Vrabel's final key to success, when on third down on both sides of the football? Well, through the first 10 weeks, we spent too many downs or third downs and third and seven plus, 66 times. And that's too many to be able to convert on a regular basis. And so we have to start by not putting ourselves on third and long. And defensively, we got to get back to getting off the field on third down there. When it gets to be third down and money down, we got to get back to where we were earlier in the season. Titans and Jacksonville coming up at Nissan Stadium on Sunday. Remember, kickoff is set for 3.05. We're on the air with Titans Radio at two o'clock central time and tickets are still available. Want to see as many of you out there as possible for the Titans and the Jags? Go to titansonline.com slash tickets. For Mike Vrabel, Mike Keith says thanks for being with us on the Mike Vrabel show.