 This is the OTP presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans, celebrating 76 years of providing Tennesseans with high quality health coverage at an affordable rate. Visit FBHP.com to learn about their history in Tennessee. With Amy Wells, I'm Mike Keith, glad to have you with us following the first Titans preseason game. And Amy, you were not there. No. You were missed. Yes. But because you were not there, different and unique vantage point for you. So you will spend this edition of the OTP in the Snickers hot seat. Well, that's great because the jar has been refilled. We've had people in this seat and they keep taking my candy. Everybody takes one. I know, which is great. And that's what they're supposed to do, but also like be cool guys. So I'm glad it was refilled. Watching the game, this was the first Titans game that I have watched on TV as it was happening. It's the first one, which was crazy. And this is your 11th year with the team. This is my 11th year with the team. Explain why again for those who might not know. Well, so I am, if you're not watching this on YouTube, if you're watching this on YouTube, you can tell. But if you are listening via iTunes, Google, whatever. Wherever you get your podcast. I am having a baby in October. And because of the timing of that, Ramon Foster is doing sidelines. He's filling in on the pregame show for me. And he's doing an excellent job. Say something bad about him. I won't say anything bad about him. No, it would be great if you did. Cause that would stir it up. It'd be good for our numbers. Except that he's a big man. He is a big man. And he lives pretty close to me. So like, I'm not messing with the big guy who lives down the street. And he is an exceptionally nice person. He's an incredibly nice person and really truly from the bottom of my heart, he did a great job in his first game. It was just, I was so proud. I was a proud mama. So you're not gonna say anything bad about him? So I'm not gonna say anything bad about him. But it was not my favorite thing, not being at the game. I missed you guys a bunch. We missed you. It was very, very bizarre. But I also got to see the game in a completely different way, like you said. I listened to, of course, the radio broadcast. I also watched it on TV cause I had to see Charles and Paul Burmeister. I had to watch them. And the reviews they're getting on. They did great. Somebody said to me that the Titans now have the best pre-season TV team of anybody in the NFL. And I thought, that's what we want. Yeah. That's great. It was really good. It was entertaining. They told compelling stories. I mean, those two guys can't call a bad game and you can tell they're friends. And so the whole thing was just, it was great to watch. But because there's a little delay just in the way everything sinks up, you know, like with streaming and all of the things. I got two cracks at every play. So I'd watch it. I'd hear it. It was great. So I got a lot of, I got to see a lot of things. I could rewind if I missed something, which was also kind of nice. Rich, because you have a 16 month old. Yeah. Was good. Who slept through the whole first half. The second half got a little weird because she wanted like snacks and things. But first half, great. Baby's sleeping. I'm watching football. Dialed in. So let's do Amy Wells, three positives and three negatives from the first pre-season game with Amy sitting in the Snickers hot seat. Let's start with a positive. Okay. That's nice. I think we should start with positives. So my first positive was Tajay Spears, the running back. He had six attempts for 32 yards, watching him especially early on in this game when he was behind the first team offensive line, that first drive was rocking and rolling for the Tennessee Titans. And he looked great. We saw that shiftiness that we had talked about on. Shake. That's it, the shake that we had talked about on the last edition of the OTP. We got to see some of that. We got to see what he could do. He didn't look scared. He didn't look like uncomfortable or like he didn't know what he was doing. And we had said, we're not going to see the full gamut of what he's able to do. We're not going to see every single way that the Titans are going to utilize him. But we saw him do what he needed to do, which was run the ball and make some plays. And he did that. So I was very excited to see that he kind of stood up to the hype and he was a consistent performer on the field when his number was called. I mean, he also, he had a catch, which was good. He had a kickoff return, which was good. So you got to see kind of a little sampler, I think, of what he can do and where he's going to be plugged in. And I'm excited to continue to see him kind of get in the mix. And as you see more elements of this offense throughout the preseason, I'm excited to see where he's going to fit in. Your first negative from the Chicago preseason game. Oh, we're going back and forth. Yeah, we're going back and forth. All right, I like that. The Titans defense needed to finish some plays. There were some areas where I feel like things were left out on the field. Like how you did that? Yeah, I thought you might like that. Especially that second touchdown for the Chicago Bears. Titans are coming in, they're blitzing them. And it was Jaden Peevey and Elijah Molden and they just didn't get to the quarterback. They're right there. They had him. But if they had sacked him, all of a sudden he can't extend that play any longer. And you don't have a 56-yard touchdown run. Right. I mean... But you got to get there. That's finishing the play. You're right there, finish it. Well, and I think the point is good because in going back and watching it, it was a designed screen. Because you outnumber them on the blitz, which is great if you get there, if you don't, you have a big problem on the back end. The first touchdown, the quick screen to DJ Moore, they just missed tackles, might have been a block in the back, might have been an offensive lineman downfield. But nonetheless, you're just not playing good defense there. That's not great. The second one, the pass to Herbert, is the one that you're right. If they get home, if Elijah Molden gets home, then all of the sudden, you don't think anything about that. And they didn't. And it goes for a 58-yard touchdown. Well, and here's the thing that we need to remember in that situation as well. You're seeing second and third team defense. You didn't see a lot of starters on either side of the ball for the Titans. So, I mean, you're seeing guys who aren't necessarily going to be asked to make plays all the time. You know, obviously, you want them to contribute and perform and do all that. But you're seeing a lot of guys that the coaches want to see get work done. So, yes, it's still work in progress. Yes, there's a long, long way to go throughout this preseason. But when you have the chance to make the play, make the play. Make the play. Come on. Make the plays. Okay, make the play right now by this Friday at Pinnacle. Here's what you do. All right, that was good. Open a Titans checking account with at least $100 and a reoccurring direct deposit by this Friday at Pinnacle. And you could get two tickets to five Titans home games. Details at titansbanking.com. Titans checking from Pinnacle. Play hard, bank easy. Member FDIC. Again, the cutoff is this Friday. Oh, so open. So, yeah, make the play by Friday. Get in there. I was afraid you were going to ask me to make a play and I don't. No, no. That's not going to happen. No. I'm not moving fast. Let's go with a second positive for Amy Wells. The starting offensive line. We only saw them in one series, but it was a really good series. I ended in a touchdown. I mean, there were passes that were completed. There were runs that were moved, that were run. They moved the ball down. They knocked them off the ball. Yeah, they did a great job. Points were scored. No penalties, no sacks. Like, what more can you want out of a starting five? This is great. So it was exciting to see that cohesion. This is something we've talked about all throughout camp is, what is this offensive line going to look like? Who are going to be these guys? And could we still see some change up? Absolutely. Sure. But what the Titans had right now for their starting five on offensive line worked. Well, you hope you don't see any changes. You hope, and I mean, I'm not in the meeting, so I don't know how everybody grades or what the exact health of everyone is. I'm just saying as a theory right now, the best thing for the Tennessee Titans would be for this five to be able to stay together through the next two weeks, and then the two weeks after that, leading into New Orleans. Absolutely. So continuity. Yeah, and that's what you want. That's what that group is so much about. Chemistry, consistency, continuity, all of the C's. And you really want them to start to develop all of those things starting right now. So having a good series where they were able to go out, show what they could do, and then get off the field and just kind of be, that's what you want. You can't ask for anything better than that. All right. Second negative. Give us a second negative from Saturday's preseason opener. My Keith, I think it's the turnovers. I think four turnovers is not great. That's not what you want to see. Each quarterback had an interception. You had some lost fumbles. Maliguelas had one. Josh Wiley had one. It's just it's ball security. It's making good choices. It's making good decisions. Turnovers are a frustration for the Titans and have been as of late. And they are for all teams. But it feels like an extra pain point around here. Agreed. And so that's something that needs to get cleaned up. Hopefully that will come with more experience, more consistency, more opportunities to make plays. But oh, it's frustrating to see that many turnovers. Your third positive. Well, in that same vein, it's the takeaways. There you go. Because one thing the Titans have been working a lot on since it feels like the minute the 2022 season ended, they started saying, we need more takeaways. This is what we have to do. And to see them generate four takeaways, that's great. That's awesome. That is something that we know has been a point of emphasis. We know they've worked out. We've seen them work on it in practice. So to get an interception, to force two fumbles, I think that's great. I think that's an awesome start. I think those are the things that you want to see. And that gives you, I mean, if you don't have the four turnovers, so you finish the game, minus one turnover ratio, four turnovers to three takeaways, the three takeaways is a nice start. If you only turn the ball over one time, then you're in the positive. Then you're very much so. Yes, it's very good. All right, your final negative. What was your final negative? What did you go with here? The eight sacks. Eight sacks. Yeah. And four of them, Tim Kelly said, we're on the quarterbacks. Well, and that almost makes it a little bit better to me that it's a mix of everybody's involved. It's everybody's fault. Makes me feel a little bit better as a fan that it's not just one area that really needs work or another area that really needs work. There's a lot of things that need to be fixed in that. It's everybody's problem, but they can work on it. You just don't want to see eight sacks ever. That's not something you like. No, it's negative. I wrote, not great. Not great. That was my note on my paper. You know what is great? Oh, what, Mike Key? Duncan. Duncan is great. It's always great. It's always game on with Duncan. So grab a coffee and kick off the action. Whether that's drinking a cup of coffee on your way to the game or grabbing one to go before watching the game at home or listening to the game at home. Duncan is always there to help you get your game on. Just like the pros, we need to be at our best come game time, which is why Duncan is the most important part of your game day ritual because it's always the best call for football. America runs on Duncan. Come out of the game with any questions. I did come out of the game with a question, actually, and it's written here at the top of my page. Who is Eric Garer? Eric Garer, I'm so glad you asked. Who is that fella? Eric Garer is a player that was a tryout for the Titans in the rookie minicamp. And you know, you can bring in players who have agreed to undrafted free agent contracts. You can bring in veterans for those camps. You can have a select number of younger players who practice. And then you can just bring in people as tryouts. And the Titans brought in Eric Garer as one of the tryouts. And he made the team. He made the team over some people that they had initially thought that they were going to sign. And so Eric Garer was signed to the roster on May the 15th. He played at Louisiana. Louisiana Lafayette, but it's now known as Louisiana. 62 games, 162 tackles, three tackles for loss. I have here one sacks. No, it'd be one sack, Mike. That's OK. Nine interceptions with 105 return yards. So when he gets his hands on the ball, he does something with it. Eight kickoff returns for 127 yards. But here's what's crazy. 95 punt returns for 814 yards and three touchdowns. His senior season, he averaged 15.1 per punt return and scored two touchdowns. Eric Garer, 58174, ran 451 at Louisiana's pro day. He originally prepped at McGill Tulin Catholic in Mobile. That's one of the best prep schools in Mobile. And that's saying something. Wow. His original commitment was to Richmond, but then Louisiana came in. He was not going to be a spider. Instead, he became a raging cajun. And in the ball game on Saturday, four tackles, two for loss, two punt returns for 26 yards. I have a hunch we're going to see more of him Saturday night as the Titans take on the Minnesota Vikings. Name to know. Eric Garer. There you go. It's pretty good. Are you excited to go to Minnesota? I am. I was thinking about the last time we went and just what a bizarre sequence that was. We were there the last weekend in September of 2020. Yes. And the Titans really played pretty lousy for the majority of the game. They were behind 12 points in the third quarter and came back and took the lead and then let the lead get away. And they had to kick two field goals. Steven Gaskowski from 54 and then from 55. And then the defense held on. Amadi Hooker picked off the pass at the end. And they won 31 to 30 to go to 3 and 0. And there was nobody in the stands because of COVID. Yeah. Yeah, that was back before there were limited people in the stands or just friends and family or something. It was empty. Well, and that was when we were the only AFC radio crew who was traveling. The only other radio crew that traveled that year was New Orleans. The Titans and the Saints were the only two radio crews that traveled. And I remember we convinced you after the game to do something kind of goofy because if you watch the Mary Tyler Moore show growing up as I did and you loved Mary Tyler Moore as I did and do even though she's no longer with us but I still love her. We convinced Amy to do the Mary Tyler Moore twirl and hat throw. If we won the game, you were very reluctant to do this. I was afraid I was going to get hit by cars. What is not told in this story is that the road that we did it across was a pretty major street in downtown Minneapolis. And it was not the Mary Tyler. It was not the place where Mary Tyler Moore did that famous hat throw in Minneapolis because she worked for I think it was WJM. I think that was the name of the TV station in Minneapolis. And she did the famous hat throw. And of course she was the modern woman of the time and the whole thing. And we thought this would be really cute because we have you who. Speaking of modern women. Modern women, that's true. But you're not married at the time. No, you sort of fit the whole thing. And we thought this would be a cool. So Brad Willis, who is our expert in technology, put together the video. And I think I'm going to post it again on Instagram. You should let people see it. If you don't remember it, because here's what happened. So we're in the Minneapolis airport. And Brad, Brad does the video. He edits the video on the way to the airport. He shot it on his phone, edited it on his phone as we're driving. The rental van that we had. Because every week we had a rental van. Because Mike Keith loves a minivan. Well, no, it's because we needed a minivan to drive everybody around. Mike loves a minivan. I don't really. A phone too. But that's when we had children who needed minivans. But that's another story. Anyway, so we get there and Brad posts this on Twitter. It goes crazy. It exploded. It goes absolutely nuts. And we're sitting here thinking we've got a sensation on our hands because the Titans are 3-0 and everybody's excited. That was the reason supposedly in the video for Amy throwing the hat. And so you get this thing. And then the next day, the next day, the news hits that the Titans have had a massive COVID outbreak. And we would go through the two most bizarre weeks in my time here. Game being postponed. TV shows being postponed. What access we could have to anything and anybody? I mean, the whole thing was just nuts. It was crazy. It was like that video. I have very distinct memories of that moment, which throughout a season, a lot of things kind of get muddled together. But I remember us being in that airport. I remember all of us being on our phones with social media going crazy. Like everybody loves this video. What a weird thing. Well, it's so Brad Willis, so well done. A funny thing that we just decided to do that people actually think is funny. We must be hilarious. We must be hilarious. But it was like this really high moment. And then the next morning, it was like boom, the sky is falling. It is over. And it was just the craziest swing from this really high, high coming off a wing. We're three and oh. We're three and oh. What a funny thing. What a great trip we've had. And then what in the world is going on? How are we even gonna move forward? Well, because Amy, you'll remember, we were so in the dark about everything that was really going on because we, at that point, we couldn't enter the building. And we were having to get COVID tested regularly. We would do the drive through COVID tests. And so we didn't see anybody. We really didn't see anybody in person in regards to football for the 20 or the 21 season. But in the 20 season, we really didn't see anybody. So. We barely saw each other. Right. In person. Right. But the information was so fourth hand because we're all at home and we just didn't know. And so it went from yes, we're three and oh and this is kind of fun. And we did this to not making fun of anybody, just doing something kind of fun. And you did it and you were great sport. It was great. And the next minute you know, it's like, wow, nothing's funny right now. Nothing's, and as it turned out, the Titans didn't do anything wrong. No. Initially there were some who said, you know that the Titans have done something wrong. The league ended up learning a lot from what happened to the Titans in that instance, which allowed them to keep it from happening to other people. And then the Titans played two weeks from that Tuesday against Buffalo. In another crazy game with, I mean, minimal practice. But they hadn't, the team for all intents and purposes didn't practice for 16 days. Yeah. It was crazy. To your point about minimal information, I just remember laying in bed every morning, I'd wake up and the first thing you would do is refresh Twitter over and over and over because Adam Schefter was reporting COVID tests and how the number of positives for each team. And every morning you'd wake up and refresh Twitter a million times and you'd check your email over and over and over and over, waiting to see what had happened. Cause we're all being tested and then you just drive home and cross your fingers. Well, this trip to Minnesota will not be as bizarre. No. I mean, we hope. There is almost no way. No. I mean, yeah. I can't think of anything that would make it weirder. What? West Nile, I guess. No, don't even say that. Seat Geek is now the official ticketing partner of the Tennessee Titans. That's right, the deal is finalized and Seat Geek is the newest member of the Titans family. If you haven't heard the name yet, get used to it because you'll be hearing it a lot more this season. Whether you're buying or selling tickets to the Titans games or any live event in Nashville, Seat Geek is the place to do it. Seat Geek, the new official ticketing partner of the Tennessee Titans. So Titans fans can fan. Well done. I'm blanked out for a minute. You kind of went out of it a little bit. So couple of things that we want to make sure that people know. Yes. If you are not a current Titans season ticket member, you can put down money. You are able to get in line for a PSL in the new stadium. That's exciting. Yes. That is up and running as of 10 o'clock on Tuesday morning, August 15th. All right. So get in there if you want to do it. If you're a current season ticket member, no worries, you're already in line. So that's good news. That's great news. But if you want to get in line. Now is the time to strike. Now is the time to strike. Titans Foundation luncheon, exciting. On the way to Minnesota where the Titans will practice Wednesday and Thursday against the Vikings Friday just to practice. The two teams will be separate. And then Saturday, the game is at 715 central. Titans radio on the air at six central. That's so exciting. What an exciting week. I love joint practices. Look at this though. I mean, we're 10 days away from the preseason being over. Oh, don't say that. And then two weeks toward the lead up. That's crazy. It is crazy. Time is going in fast forward. Yes, it is. Does nobody else feel that? I mean, I feel that 100%. I mean, holy smokes. We get back from Chicago. We're in for the Vrable Press Conference. And next thing you know, we're on the way to Minneapolis. It's time to turn around. It's time to turn around again. Do your laundry fast. That's what I had to do. Yeah, just one big load. Absolutely. If it's not clean, just shake it for breeze it. Throw it back in. I mean, because you've got to have more stuff to do. I mean, just had to have a couple days worth to go to Chicago. We went to Chicago early. Yeah. Our broadcast crew did because we went to Indianapolis and shot some things at Indianapolis Cathedral High School. Spoiler alert, OT people. We're doing a story on Blaine Bishop, which is kind of a cool thing. And different players have said it in the course of this process that they feel like he is the most under-discussed great player in Titan's history. Yeah. We're out to change that a little bit, because his story is rather remarkable. And he was certainly a player who was highly accomplished. And then we went on to Chicago Thursday night. And on Friday, we got to have lunch with Bob and Ann Skronsky. How was that? They were lovely. We went to Peace, Pizzeria and Brewery, where his draft party was held. Yeah. And they were just fantastic. Did you eat pizza? I did, of course. Well, it's coal fired, which is New Haven style. OK. So Bob Skronsky Jr.'s dad, Bob Skronsky, who played for the Packers, played for Vince Lombardi, he was from Connecticut. OK. And so he grew up having this kind of pizza when he would visit the relatives in Connecticut. And it's very different and outstanding. Sounds good. I recommend New Haven style pizza. OK. I recommend Chicago style pizza. You recommend most pizza. I recommend New York style pizza. But I'd never had this kind of pizza. And the crust is unbelievable. It's not cut into squares, is it? No, no, no. That's Detroit. I don't like square pizza. It's OK. Detroit's good, too. I like Detroit style pizza. But they were lovely. Oh, good. And I learned an interesting fact about Bob Skronsky, who played for the Packers. OK. What was it? I'm going to share this with the OT people, because I just think it's a great story. So he's from Connecticut. Right. Indiana offers him a scholarship to come play football. So he goes to Indiana. And he's going to sign the scholarship papers. All right. And so his name at the time is spelled S-K-O-W-R-O-N-S-K-I. OK. All right. When they hand him the scholarship papers, there's no W. I found this on the web. Well, I found it on the web, too. So they misspelled it. So they spelled it S-K-O-R-O-N-S-K-I. They left out the W. OK. Bob Skronsky never says a word. He's just happy to have the scholarship. He doesn't want to correct anybody. So he just signs in the new spelling without the W. He signs it the misspelled way. But the whole thing is, his whole thing was respect for the people who were giving him this. And he's glad to be playing football and to have a scholarship. He didn't want to correct them. He's never going to rock the boat. And so the rest of his life, and now Bob and Peter and the rest of the family, they spell it without the W. The two brothers, older Bob Skronsky's brothers, who were in their 80s, still spell it with a W. It's like having an alias. But to me, it shows, first of all, that is an offensive lineman in a heartbeat. Through and through. Never wants to rock the boat. It's not about me. Spell my name however you want. I don't care. And he was a great player for the Green Bay Packers, a great player. But it just also says something about just being appreciative. And hey, I'm just not going to get into that. That's a really sweet story. Well, when I saw that the uncles spelled their name, they both played at Harvard, by the way. Bob Jr. played at Yale. And this is a smart family. Proud to tell you, he never lost to Harvard or Princeton in his four years, by the way. So the story, I read that the uncles spelled the name this way. And I'm like, oh, they've misspelled this in the article. And then I go back and read the whole story about Bob Sr. And it's just really remarkable. So that's a good story. That's a good story. Ann and Bob Skransky are wonderful people. Their son played well the other day. He did. He comes off the ball, ladies and gentlemen. And New Haven Pizza, huge thumbs up. Ashley Farrell says huge thumbs up, too. Well, this sounds like just a rousing success all the way around. Well, it was pretty great. It was a good experience. I could see why they loved having his draft party there. Yeah. What a nice place. If you ever go to Chicago and get peace, P-I-E-C-E. Like a piece of pizza. But they do the whole thing with, like, it's a takeoff on peace, like peace, love, and understanding. What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding? What? That's Elvis Castello. Oh. Well, before your time. We're going to have an OTP from Minneapolis, that and a lot more. And you're going to keep watching. I'm going to keep watching. I mean, I keep taking my notes. I thought that was good. Yeah. That was a good, because, I mean, when we met before, spoiler alert, I knew what she was going to say. But her insight was very good because you do get to watch it in a different way. It's a very different way. And again, there's a lot of things I have to get used to about this new arrangement for this season. Yes. This season's going to be an adjustment in a lot of ways. But being able to watch in a new way is very interesting. Did you talk back to Coach Mack at all as you listened to him on the radio? Did you find yourself answering him? No. I had more commentary for those on the technical side. I may have said some things out loud to our friend, to Phil Noel. And you won't say anything bad about Ramon Foster. No. Never, never, but Phil. I tried, Ashley. I'd come for Phil every now and then. No, it was so much fun to listen. I had my hardest thing was remembering that everybody's working and not texting everybody every thought that came into my brain. That was my hardest part was everybody's, they're working. You didn't text me. Let them work. No, I didn't text you. Well, I know you won't have your phone anyway. Correct. I know. Mike's a professional, ladies and gentlemen. From the Snickers hot seat where she will be all 2023, whether it be watching at home or having a second child. Yep. That's certainly the Snickers hot seat of a different sort. Yeah, I'm taking these Snickers with me. A lot of work. I might need them. Amy Wells, Mike Key, thanking you for listening to the OTP.