 He's over 1500 and he is the baddest man at NRG Stadium today We just punched our ticket to go to the playoffs man, but we got to go back to work Fill up the little things man. We'll see how the fuck for you to the Mike Vrables show I'm Mike Keith joined by Titans general manager John Robinson kind enough to sit in for the head coach because the Titans play on Saturday night 715 kickoff you can hear it on Titans radio beginning with our coverage Titans countdown starts at six o'clock We hope you'll join us But with one less day to prepare the head coach is Preparing and the general manager is here and that's because it's playoff time John I know you're awfully proud of this staff and this football team postseason second time in the last three years Yeah, I mean it's been a lot of hard work and a lot of effort by coaches players staff You know there are times where things didn't go our way, but we never got down we kept fighting we kept battling and Just excited to be playing football in January Belief in what you do in who you are and it really showed up Sunday in Houston You knew the job you went out and did the job never opened the door for the Texans to make any sort of run Yeah, we talked about the keys earlier in the week You know the number one key offensively was to run the football and we certainly did that on Sunday Control the field position in the kicking game and execute the defense You know there were some plays or some drives where the Texans were able to move the ball a little bit But we're able to settle down get back to the details and execute the defense and the Titans pick up a victory to finish the Year with nine wins and head to the playoffs Let's take a look at this week's six pack of plays that impacted the Titans 35 to 14 win in Houston Start off Titans down seven Texans drive 75 yards 15 plays take over seven minutes off the clock Titans get an answer quickly however Yeah, it's a really good job by Ryan of staying alive there I mean he got a little bit of pressure But he never wavered you know he found some some some separation to get outside of the pocket AJ did a nice job of continuing his route He cleared there was a safety that actually tried to rob the route and catch and run big score for us AJ Brown 51 yards this year nine plays of over 40 yards for AJ Brown Five of them including this one going for touchdowns. He finishes the year 52 catches Averaging over 20 yards per catch first Titans rookie receiver over a thousand yards in 33 years that tied the game at seven go to the second quarter still tied at seven And then the Titans take a lead that they will not relinquish at the end of a long drive Yeah, a lot of effort by a lot of different players On on this play there was there was a lot of misdirection over the middle of the field With pass routes tried to cross some guys And pick off a few defenders really good job by the line of scrimmage They're holding their ground getting those guys on the ground Ryan escaping the pressure and he actually is throwing it to Jonu and Mike Cole is right there And does a great job of coming down with with the catch and getting points for us Pro it's a guy who has sort of slimmed his body down Still a good blocker, but wanted to be more of a factor in the receiving game wanting to be More of a complete tight end. Pro it a real team player as well. He has he's done a really good job for us and you know And the run blocking he plays in the kicking game And he's made some plays for us catching the football catching run. He had a couple yesterday into the first half Texans are on the move. It's only 14 to seven. They're looking to get points. Who ends that 99 Yeah, great job by by Jarrell there of getting pressure Harold actually comes off the edge and kind of flashes a little bit On mccarran, but it's a great, you know, we call it button jerk technique by by Jarrell there It gets into the guard gets him kind of going back on his heels a little bit And then he feels the guard start to sit down on him and he jerks his body past him And then accelerates into mccarran for a big play big sack for us Ends the first half at 14 to seven Titans get the ball to start the second half and go right down the field on the drive Derek Henry seven rushes 46 yards. This wraps it up. Yeah, tall display here around the outside You know, it's it's kind of we've got a bunch set to the right Really good job by those three guys. Good job by the line Securing the end you see prude getting a block there dj getting a block there And john who out on the perimeter really kind of creating the lane for Derek to push through It's 21 to 14 as we go to the fourth quarter Titans have the ball at the Texans 48 yard line And ryan tannahill makes an incredible throw a j brown an incredible catch Yeah, this was a little you know, they played zone coverage on this thing They kind of sloughed off the safety on the backside AJ just kept running and he found a crease in there between the front side safety and the back side safety Great job by ryan trusting him throwing it up to one of his playmakers and a great job I told him after the after the game I mean he had about the size of a coffee cup to make that catch and it was great Literally the most improbable Completion of the year in the nfl according to next gen stats If you're into that kind of thing if you're into that kind of thing and then it ends with the monster Derek henry capping off a great year with a 53 yard run to win the rushing title Yeah, really good play here. We get a lead by blazing game on on the left side We get up on the one linebacker and and the play kind of takes the backside linebacker out of it He over scrapes Derek makes a cut back and then it's Derek against the safety And that's the one guy that we really can't block and he does an outstanding job of putting his foot in the ground Finding that crease on the backside Getting downhill getting behind his pads and then accelerating all the way to the end zone John with the week off it looked like he had his quickness to the whole back Yeah, I think that was the you know, the right decision for us in the end was to to give him a little bit of an extra time He's such a hard runner And when he once he really gets rolling that stride opens up and we wanted to make sure that he was back to form The bridge stone clutch performance play of the game is next along with the delta dental can John Robinson guess the titan all that and later in the show a talk with ryan tana hill the titans quarterback Stay with us for more of the mike bravel show bridge stone clutch performance play of the game Closing it out with some defense and the mayor of murphrysboro with his fifth interception of the year john Yeah, I mean he's he's the high safety here. He does a really good job of of staying back We've got a we get a little bit of pressure there and it's it's the ball's kind of overthrown The receiver just can't get to it and and kevin does a great job of reading the quarterback's eyes Seeing what his intentions are getting a great break keeping his concentration that ball gets tipped He's taking an angle, but he's able to kind of refocus on the ball and come down with a huge play force there to kind of Seal it seals it as the titans go on to win 35 to 14 our bridge stone clutch performance play of the game kevin barre a lot of times when barred starts to get Interceptions they start to come in bunches It had been a while since he'd had one so you wonder can he get on a roll be a great thing We'd love to have a bunch on a saturday night. All right. Let's take a look now at our delta dental guess the titan It's mike verable's favorite feature of the show Not really But john robinson can you guess this titan? Yeah, I think i've got it the suit kind of threw me off a little bit collars look pretty good But it looks like uh, that may be our quarterback ryan tanahill. Wow. He comes with the guess right away He says it's ryan tanahill show us ryan tanahill look at that I think i'm two for two on this. I think you are two for two. Have you talked to verable about that? He's under 50 percent really wow. He missed himself one night on that We put up mike verable and he didn't know his own baby picture. That's why I pick players one of the highlights Yes, that's right. I don't call place. It's a gift Well good stuff nonetheless ryan tanahill certainly has had a Super run for the titans. It has been fun to watch this guy play It has you know, and he's come in you know ever since the off season when we made the trade He's bought into what we are about. He understood the situation He came to work every single day immersed himself in the offense And was just ready when the opportunity presented itself You know and we handed him the football he took it and he's rolled with it And he's done a really really good job for us when we come back on this edition of the mike verable show The geico gladiator of the game is ryan tanahill I sit down with number 17 next stay tuned The mike verable show continues with our geico gladiator of the game and as promised Titan's quarterback ryan tanahill is here. Welcome. Hey, thanks for having me. Thanks for taking the time I was thinking about you in houston Taking a knee there at the end the best play in football. No doubt getting to enjoy it What's going through ryan tanahill's mind as you're taking those final snaps in the game in your home state in houston It was fun, you know, it was a exciting experience, you know something to look forward to something we we You know played throughout this season the ups and the downs and fought through a lot of adversity to to reach that moment of Punching our playoff ticket, you know, so I was really proud of the guys the way we battled Not only in that game, but throughout the whole season just taking that next step being able to to get in the dance and You know get ready for a big one coming up this week I've got to ask you about the throw to aj brown that's been so talked about on the 47 yard completion Next gen stats calls it the most improbable completion of the entire season That it only had a six percent chance statistically Of working because you had to throw the ball over 60 yards and aj wasn't that open and you didn't have that much room Knowing all that would you have still made the throw? Yeah, no doubt the defense actually played it pretty well the guy covering furk kind of came off and was running deep cut aj off and Held on to it because of that then they both kind of slowed down like all right I can put it on the sideline. It's either going to be aj or nobody, you know so one of those You know trust your guy to make an amazing play or or it falls incomplete So threw it up and obviously aj made an incredible play there on the sideline and came down with it What has offensive coordinator arthur smith meant to you and your game this year? Well, he's been huge, you know, I think as the season's gone on, you know We've just gotten more and more comfortable with each other and what we're trying to accomplish You know, he's so consistent and And how he wants to accomplish things and the way he calls things very thoughtful and and why we're doing certain things And I think he's obviously put us in a great position for all your experiences in football This is your first playoff go around. Do you anticipate it will feel different when you step on the field? You know, everyone says it amps up a little bit in the playoffs. I was around in 16 I had hurt my acl but uh was around for a playoff game So got to kind of experience there a little bit But obviously my first time playing in one so you know looking forward to it Everyone says it amps up a little bit, but you know at the end of the day, it's football You just got to go play football and and play well Quarterback Neil O'Donnell was nothing short of a hero for the Tennessee Titans From 1999 through 2002 he served as Steve McNair's backup and while starting and relieving helped Tennessee win several games O'Donnell's 2003 on-core topped the whole thing off perfectly The Titans cut him not once but twice in 2003 for salary cap reasons And he was not happy about it But with Steve McNair battling a cracked bone spur in his ankle Billy Volick out with a lacerated spleen and only untested Jason Gesser on the roster Coach Jeff Fisher needed a quarterback for the last game of the 2003 regular season So he coaxed O'Donnell to return At 37 having not played football since training camp and with just a week of practice O'Donnell started against a talented Tampa Bay defense and beat them Throwing for 232 yards and two touchdowns O'Donnell showed no signs of rust in the 33 to 13 victory The Steelers offered O'Donnell a chance to return in 2004 But the Wiley veteran who calls Nashville home Decided that he would like his final masterpiece to speak for itself You may have noticed in the past 48 hours the inordinate amount of talk in the national media, especially in the northeast About Mike Vrabel's return to Foxboro. After all Vrabel faced the Patriots in a game last year Didn't we take care of that whole Vrabel against his old team thing? Well, not quite Mike Vrabel actually joined the Patriots in 2001 when they were the team that refused to be introduced individually No stars just team first guys and Vrabel embodied that on three Super Bowl championship clubs Vrabel is also beloved in New England because while he's from the Midwest He has northeastern sensibilities tough. No excuses not scared of anybody or anything And yes, the combination of sarcasm and gruffness to new englanders Mike Vrabel was one of them Add to that that he played so well on both defense and offense for the Pats And you have a beloved figure for all time But they didn't love Vrabel so much in week 10 of the 2018 season The Patriots came to Nashville at seven and two and on a six game winning streak The Titans were scuffling at four and four But tennessee attacked new england from the outset Scoring 17 first quarter points and taking a lead. They would never relinquish Tom Brady was never able to get comfortable Missing 20 passes and being harassed all day Brady in trouble stepping up SACK Corey davis and johndo smith caught touchdown passes Derek henry paced the titans rushing attack on a day that tennessee ran for one 150 yards and the titans actually outgained the patriots by over 100 yards With seven minutes left in the game Tom Brady had taken a seat as tennessee went on to win 34 to 10 But that was just one regular season game The titans finished nine and seven and didn't make the 2018 playoffs The patriots ended up winning the superbowl for the sixth time And brady was pretty quick to remind mike verable of that this past august When the patriots came to town for joint practices with the titans Brady actually presented verable with a trophy signifying what tennessee's regular season went over new england had meant It was one game out of 16 More than anyone else verable got it And when the two teams practiced together for those two days in august Verable got after it with brady and brady gave it right back The laughs were all in fun, but the work was deadly serious And as the assembled fans and media saw bill bellicek coach his patriots They completely understood where verable gets his attention to detail Whether it be their first team second team or guys who would eventually be practice squad members The new england patriots take everything they do seriously Even when their rookies are told to sing happy birthday to the former patriot Who's now a head coach of another nfl team The preseason game that followed was anti-climactic brady and the majority of the patriots big names sat While the titan stars mostly made cambiums New england won 22 to 17 And many wondered then if the two teams would have a date in foxborough in january and now they do Mike verable is returning to foxborough to face his old head coach and his quarterback The national media is eating it up Expect it to continue all week even though mike verable has made it clear that he'll leave homecoming celebrations to high schools and colleges When the mike verable show continues, we've got the titans keys to success in foxborough stay tuned We're back with the general manager john robinson sitting in for the head coach mike verable tonight because The titans have one less day to prepare so the gm kind enough to step in and kind enough to give his keys to success At foxborough on saturday night john robinson You start with stay on track offensively. What exactly does that mean? Well, I think that's continuing to build on with the momentum that we've had so far offensively Running the football establishing the run game which sets up the play action game You know, which leads into your drop-back game where you're protecting the receivers are getting open and they're catching Staying on track making third downs getting to the red zone and scoring touchdown So you're able to use your whole offense. That's it. All right key number two for john robinson Execute your defense. What does that mean specifically? Well, there's a lot of calls And there's a lot of checks that that are that are involved in coach peas and coach frables defense um New england they do a lot of motioning they do a lot of shifting to try to get tells on what you're doing There's a lot of communication that's that's involved. Um, we've got to execute, you know, the calls We've got to get the checks. We got to be on the same page Communication wise and then play, you know execute the calls and the checks that are made New england also does an amazing job winning hidden yardage in the kicking game And that's why key number three is win field position for the titans in the kicking game. How do you do that? It is, you know, we've got to block their gunners We've got to try to get the return game going on the punt return Same thing with with the kickoff return if it's not touch backs But they do they try to steal those hidden yards in in the return game and on special teams And we've got to do a good job of covering kicks to force them to go the long way offensively And conversely move the ball on a return game several of your key players played in a divisional round game in foxborough Two years ago. How much do you think that helps if any? Well, I think it does you've got some experience you you understand Um, how the game is really amplified, you know, it's it's a one game season The winner gets to keep playing the loser goes home and they're done with football for the year So I think having that experience of playing playoff football playing in january It certainly bodes well for us. Exciting. It's extremely exciting. Yeah, we're ready to go The titans going to go take on the defending super bowl champion new england patriots saturday night remember It is a 7 15 kickoff 7 15 kickoff from gelette stadium We will be on the air on titans radio, which in nashville is 1045 the zone at six o'clock with titans countdown For john robinson. I'm mike keith. Thanks for joining us on this week's mike bravel show