 Not like playing the same football, baby. Not like it. That's sack number 50 in his career. Very new comedy. Tannehill rolls right. To the Christmas Eve edition of the Mike Vrables show with the head coach, I'm Mike Keith. Merry Christmas, everyone. Merry Christmas, coach. Merry Christmas. Glad to be with you tonight and ready to talk about this football team that has a big week ahead of it. Everybody excited here at St. Thomas Sports Park knowing if you go to Houston and win, you go to the playoffs, the challenge right in front of you. Sure. And that's of, as soon as that game ended, we're in a playoff mentality. Because when you win in the playoffs, you play again the next week. And when you don't win, your season's over. And that's where we're at right now, where we're going to prepare to go out there and win the football game. Just like everybody else does every week. But we just got to tighten things up and continue to move forward and keep doing the things that are helping us and eliminate the things that are given the other team advantages. Two days ago at Nissan Stadium, you played a football team that's very talented. In a game that did not matter toward your playoff standing, but goodness, your team certainly played it like it mattered for everything. And that has to make you very proud. Sure, it does. And I know that there are some things get said in the media. And we have to make decisions as coaches when you get into some of those situations. But our guys came out. They started fast. They executed. They understood. And they executed the game plan against a very good football team in all three phases. And then there were times where we didn't. And you saw that kind of happen in there toward the end of the first half and then beginning of the second half. But we kept battling. And we got it back to three. And we've got the football there late in the game, driving, hit a play. Unfortunate the situation with CLEAF. And then again, we just weren't able to get a stop there to keep them to a field goal. Let's take a look now at Mike Vrabel's six pack from the New Orleans game. As the coach mentioned, a fast start coming courtesy of Ryan Tannehill and Jonu Smith. It's a 41 yard score. Yeah, it takes everybody here. We hard sell run action. You see Roger coming there and getting a good block. Great timing. And then Jonu really turns it up and looks like AJ out there running. I'd rather not reach the ball over there at the goal line but to sell there and then be able to get blocking downfield and Jonu taking care of the football and getting vertical north and south. Do you think Jonu's speed surprises defenders? I think it probably does. I mean, he's got very good power, straight line, speed. And then once he gets rolling, he's hard to tackle. We've just seen him outrun the angle multiple times. It looks like those guys are sometimes shocked. He's had a lot of X plays for us. He has. And talking about shocked, Derek Roberson, Rookie, Sam Houston State, undrafted on the practice squad most all year, his first NFL sack on a future Hall of Famer. Well, does a nice job. We'd like to see him attack the football there a little bit and maybe try to get it out. But he had a good get off, very good get off. And dipped, bend the edge. You could see the bend and the ability that he has and why we've really tried to target him coming out of the draft or the post draft and using his hands and his hips and his feet in unison, turning the corner there on really Ramcheck had been playing a lot of good football these past couple of years. So it's a good start for Roby. And we'll keep working with him. All right, so a sack there in the first quarter. The Titans get another first quarter touchdown. It comes on a little bit of razzle dazzle with AJ Brown, but it's not a catch. No, you can see well blocked here, Pru and Taylor get out there, they're pressuring over there. That's not the best look that we want to be in. But Corey's looking for somebody to block. And at this point in time, we're able to get AJ to the end zone. He's such a big, strong, physical player. He's a well executed play, well called play, well designed play. Ultimately, you can see him break tackles there. And that's what we have to do again this week to help us win. 14-nothing lead unfortunately turns into a second half deficit of 24-14. But the Titans come right back down 10 to get a touchdown. And it happens on a third and one improvisation. Yeah, we were trying to get Deion to the flat there. And they did a great job of covering it and protecting it and getting things wadded up. Tajé stayed alive. Ryan kept his eyes down field. And Tajé took advantage of almost every opportunity I think he had yesterday, securing a catch. And then now finding his way to the end zone. Five catches, 69 yards for Tajé Sharpe. So we're going to do a few replays. And they're actually second takes, if you will. We showed you Derek Roberson's first career sack. He got a second sack of Drew Brees in the ball game. Let's watch. Well, I think this is a well executed game. You see Jarrell doing the dirty work right there. They're running a little stunt. Jarrell gets penetration. Quarterback has to slide off the spot. You'll see Brees here work a little bit to his left. And then right into Roberson. So anytime we're doing something with more than one person, we're going to need the teamwork and the communication and the details. And that's what happened right there. So Roberson finishes with a couple of sacks. Tajé Sharpe finishes with a couple of touchdown catches. This one, as he works the back line for his quarter. Well, you see the three man rush. Ryan understands that. He comes. He probably takes a hit there that could have been penalized. But again, who am I to judge the player putting his helmet in the quarterback's chin. But again, Tajé working the back line, great extension and getting both feet down, going to the ground, securing the catch, making sure that the ball survived the ground. And that's one thing you really like about Tajé Sharpe. Those plays come from work and practice. And very few guys work harder at his craft than number 19. And he does. And again, we're going to try to continue to reward players that work hard in practice and take advantage of their opportunities. When we come back, it's time for our Bridgestone Clutch performance play of the game. That and more coming up on The Mike Vrapel Show. Welcome back to The Mike Vrapel Show. Time for the Bridgestone Clutch performance play of the game. We give it up to number 99, the four-time pro bowler, Jarell Casey, with his 50th career sack. Well, you can see him doing the dirty work here. He's going to pick. He gets a great pick. Roby comes around. Now the guard, the center's got a choice. What's he going to do? Is he going to come off on Roby? Or is he going to stay on Jarell? And that's how you get the old two-on-one. You see Jarell with the penetration and continue to push forward the pocket. The center makes a decision, comes off on Roby. He's able to finish there with a huge play on third down. Jarell Casey, a leader on this football team. Captain. A guy who's had a tremendous amount of buy-in since you've become the head coach. Sure, and I can't say enough great things about Jarell and our other leaders on this football team. They continue to carry the message into the locker room, outside the meeting rooms. I'm excited and I enjoy coaching them every week. Yeah, Jarell Casey, something else. A big part of the Titans in the community. I mean, he's done so much for this organization. Hard to believe he came here when he was 21 years old and he's now 30. Time flies when you're having fun. They got a couple more. They brought a couple more people with them. With new kids and everything, it'd be a great Christmas. That's exactly right. Let's take a look now at our Delta Dental, Guess the Titan. We go from one of coach's favorite parts of the show to one that can sometimes frustrate. Well, Delta Dental, they're wonderful people, Coach. They just have a hard game. They have a hard game. They do like to work you over just a little bit. Can you guess this Titan? I don't know. I don't know if I have that one. We'll have a little water. OK, well, we'll take a break. I get a few minutes to think about it. We'll give you a little time. Stay with us. Delta Dental, can you guess this Titan? Probably not. Love you, Delta Dental. They're great people. They are. Dr. Wynne. They make me play a tough game. They do. Do you have a guess, Coach Mike? Sure. That's Roger Saffold. Roger Saffold is his guess. AJ Brown. AJ Brown. Kind of the same haircut he has now. Sure? Yeah, it's kind of the same. That little high top box fade, I guess, I don't know. Well, when you play like he does, you have whatever haircut you want. Sure. I mean, pretty exciting young player. He is fun to coach. He wants to get better every day. I enjoy coaching him. I know that Rob loves coaching him. Luke Stechle and Arthur, he'll do whatever the best thing for the team to do, he'll do that. Pretty good rookie class overall. And you add a guy like Derek Roberson, who's our Geico gladiator of the game. And I know that he brought him in for a pre-draft visit. We got to know him through that. And then he has continued to develop. Looked like he was going to sort of take a red shirt year on the practice squad. And instead, he's now already helping your football team. Yeah. And again, you talked about it. We had identified him early on. He was, you know, ended up at a small school. And again, sometimes they don't get all the seasoning that they need for this league. But they have talent, they have ability. John and I went and worked them out. And we really targeted them. And we were able to get them here. And we've been excited. Shane's done a great job. Ryan Crowe's done a great job of working with him every day. He's continued to get better. He's one of those guys that we talk about that works his way up from the practice squad, shows good things in practice, and then carries it over to the game. You know, that's the most important thing is that when you get that opportunity, you know, you take advantage of them, and that earns you more opportunities. AB Wells had a chance to sit down with the rookie from Sam Houston State, who's headed back to his home state this weekend to take on the Texans. Derrick Roberson, our Geico gladiator of the game. Breeze dropping. Blitz coming. Breeze in trouble. Sam! Roberson, the rookie from Sam Houston State. On third down and 10 from their own nine. Breeze, feeling some pressure. Hit. Daaack! Roberson, did he get him in the end zone? They're saying it's at the one. Derrick Roberson, you had not one, but two sacks on Drew Breeze. Two sacks on Drew Breeze. What was it about their offense that you were able to take advantage of? I mean, we just knew going into the game, you know, that we can take advantage of the old line and then running games. So I mean, that's what we did. We just executed. Both of your big sacks were in clutch situations and third down situations. What was it about that moment that gave you the sense of urgency to make those plays? I mean, you know, just third down, that's money down, you know, you just get to stop on third down. Fourth down, they got to get it back to the offense. So, you know, that's all it is on third down. Get to the quarterback. Did you realize on the play that was in the end zone, did you realize where you guys were on the field? No, I really didn't know where it was on the field until like afterwards everybody was like, it's a safe. I was like, what? And I was like, oh man, you know, you're right. Having games like the one that you had against the Saints, does that give you maybe some confidence continuing on that you are in the right place for you? Oh yeah, it's definitely, it's a confidence ability, you know, just let me know and let my teammates know, you know, I'm here, you know, just let me know. What you need me to do and I can do it for you. What is it about Dean P's defense that is so well suited for you? Just, you know, he blisters a lot. He brings a lot of pressure, you know. He puts dudes like me who's in good opportunity to get to the quarterback, so perfect for the defense. Being a part of this Titans defense that has such a good mix of young guys and veteran leadership, how has that helped you kind of evolve throughout this season? Oh man, it helped me a lot tremendously, especially throughout like OTAs and then training camp, you know, then being with the Vets, you know, they tell me like, you know, just calm down, do this, you know, you got it, you know, especially just hitting it from like wood, you know, cam, you know, cummelade, they always in my area, you know, just them being, you know, good support is real helpful. For you making the switch from undrafted free agent to them being on the practice squad, to them being on the active roster, what has been the biggest adjustment for you throughout this season? I mean, just really just being standing ready, you know, standing in a playbook, standing tune with the medians and all that, just, you know, you never know when your time's gonna get caught. How do you keep up that confidence? Really, you know, just stuff like these guys just brush it off and just on to the next day. I don't want to just sit on too much like that. I mean, yeah, it was a good game, but at the same time, you know, you got other games to come ahead. You're getting ready for the last game of the regular season against the Houston Texans for the chance to go to the playoffs. How do you keep an even keel and not get too high with so many things on the line? Oh, you know, it's just got cool. It's just another game, but it is a playoff game for us. So we gotta win this game and then win the next one. The best Titans game that never gets talked about occurred on December 16th, 2002 at Nissan Stadium. Monday night football, the Titans host the Super Bowl champion Patriots. After starting one and four, the Titans are rolling led by who else? Steve McNair, Eddie George and Rich Cody. McNair rushes six times for 49 yards and scores two touchdowns. George pounds the pass into submission. 31 carries for 101 yards. And Rich Cody returned to Tom Brady past 24 yards for a touchdown. Brady from the gun takes the snap, throws right side quickly, ball up in the area, intercepted Rich Cody, 25. In all, the Titans rushed for 238 yards. New England gained just 176 total yards and the Titans whipped the Patriots 24 to seven. We love to feature a lot of the things on this show that the Titans do in the community, especially love to feature the things the Titans do in the community by promoting high school football. And one of the great things that this organization has done for over 20 years now is name a state coach of the year. There's a coach of the week program. And then at the end of the season, from that list of coaches of the week, we pick a Tennessee Titans coach of the year. This year, Sean Whitten from Elizabethton, the state champions Josh Corey there from the Tennessee Titans staff. He is the director of high school football and football outreach for the program for the Titans and Sean Whitten there. And if that name sounds familiar, it should be. Yep, it's Jason's brother, much better looking version than Jason there. But you mentioned Josh Corey does a great job with our high school program and relations. We want to continue to grow our coaches clinic here in the spring. That's something we really enjoy. You know, I remember playing against Jason and being on and being Pro Bowl and then saying, you know, talking about his brother and he told me he was a high school football coach. I never thought I'd be in a position here in the state of Tennessee that where the Titans are honoring him some 15 years later. But what it means to high school programs to have a tie in with a professional football team, just that rub, that acceptance, it's a big deal to those programs helping to grow the game. Well, that's where it is. That's where it starts. And we need more players from schools to come out for the game, enjoy it. There's a lot of positions, you know what I mean? There's a lot of positions that kids can play and there's a lot of great high school football coaches out there to help mentor those athletes. Like Sean Whitten from Elizabethan, the state champions in 4A, congratulations to everybody in Elizabethan and especially congratulations to Sean Whitten, our Tennessee Titans high school coach of the year. When we come back, Mike Vrabel's keys to success in winning a game and making the playoffs. It's a big one. Stay tuned. Mike Vrabel's keys to success. Neat success this week. A win and the Titans go to the playoffs and once you're in the tournament, that's all you care about. You gotta be ready to win a close game Sunday at 3.25. Sure. And understand that that's okay. If that's what the game we're in, you know, the Texans have played 11 one-score games. You know, they're eight and three. So we played them a close game, didn't get the win. They played a close game in Tampa. That's how these games are in the National Football League, whether one teams up or one teams down. So, you know, we have to be prepared situationally when you talk about one-score games. It's things that come down to the end of half and running those situations, you know, very well. All right, let's take a look at the second key to the game. It's not when the loss, it's when the line of scrimmage. Yeah, I think when you get down to these games and you have to get back to fundamental football, you have to be able to stop the run, you have to be able to control the line of scrimmage. Our defensive line, it's going to be a great challenge. They have a very good running game with the quarterback included in that. And for us, it's going to be a great challenge. You know, those guys do a great job. Reader, Blackson, Whitney Mercelis, Cunningham, McKinney. You know, if we can't win up front at the line of scrimmage, it's going to be hard for us to do the things that we want to do offensively. All right, third down is the third key. When third down on both sides of the ball, Texan's fantastic converting third downs with their offense. Yeah, I mean, they just, they do such a great job of obviously the quarterback, you know, being able to extend plays or, you know, if you're soft in a zone, Hopkins or, you know, those guys are good enough to sit down. You know, they have a good third down back, Duke Johnson. So it's going to be important that we get off the field on third down and then also, you know, we're staying in those third and manageable. We had too many third and longs last week. We know that that's not the recipe for success. So it'll be important for us to continue to, to keep it in third and manageable and then convert. Titans have gotten considerably better on third downs on offense over the last month. Well, since the bye week, I mean, we made a conscious effort. We had talked about how many third and seven pluses we had, it's the third of our third downs were third and seven plus or two thirds, excuse me. We've probably flipped that number. And therefore, you know, just by doing that alone has increased our percentages of, of converting third downs. I want to remind everybody, this game Hems has been moved to 325, 325, the Titans in the Texans from NRG Stadium. We will be on the air on Titans radio with Titans countdown at 2.30. So we'll know early Sunday evening, Titans win and they are in and that is what we want to see. That's what I want for Chris. That's what I want too. For the head coach, I'm Mike Keith. Merry Christmas, everybody. Thanks for joining us.