 Just trying to find any way you can to be better teammate, be a better leader, and everybody's just trying to work as hard as they can to get a win. When you come up short, I mean, yeah, it sucks. But at the end of the day, we still got two more games, and we got to come back to them and figure out a way. Tighten up, man! Tighten up! And the Mike Vrable show, presented by Shift4. The Titans play two nights from now against the Dallas Cowboys at Nissan Stadium. So, obviously, Mike Vrable is preparing with his staff and his team. His stand-in tonight, another coach from Titans Radio, Coach Dave McGinnis. Welcome. That's great to be here, Mike. Get the team ready. I'm here to help however I can, so let's go. Let's go. And how hard is it to get ready for a Thursday night game this late in the season? Well, I mean, it's different, but Mike Vrable is very good with altered schedules. We've seen throughout his tenure here as a head coach, he understands the altered schedule. And the thing about players in this league is, Mike, if you give them the schedule early enough and they understand where they're supposed to be, when they're supposed to be, then they're fine. The thing you don't ever want to do with an altered schedule is surprise players about what's coming up, when it comes up. He lays out the schedule for them long time in advance. Now, you have to adjust it some, depending on who you've got healthy, who you don't, but at least they have something they can look at, they can prepare for, so he's really good at that. The Titans will actually be playing on five days rest because they took on Houston on Saturday, so they do get one extra day. Let's take a look now at the Mike Vrable six pack, or I should say the Coach Mack six pack on the Mike Vrable show. Six of the best plays from Saturday's game. Hey, let's start with the first one. How about a Derek Henry touchdown run? Got 13 on the year. This one came from 48 yards, Coach. Yeah, now, this was a counter-roll out of a shotgun formation. Really nice job by the center of the guard, the guard and the tackle pulling from the left side, and then the right side was completely caved down. Then Derek Henry stepped out of one tackle, made the safety Petrie Miss, who's an excellent tackleer, by the way, in his rookie season, and then hit the accelerator for a 48-yard touchdown. This was classic, blocking up front, and this is classic Derek Henry run. You try to get him to that position where he can be one-on-one with a defensive back, and then he has to win. Well, we always talk about getting him to his fourth step, and his fourth step, and they employ the counter-OT look, which blocks down the front side, pulls the guard and the tackle from the backside, confuses the eye-reads for the line-buggers at the second level, and then Derek Henry, you get him one-on-one, he's gonna win most of them. Titans played good run defense in the game, only 70 yards rushing on 30 tries for the Texans. Let's take a look at this second quarter play from DeMarcus Walker. Well, this is just an absolutely great job. This is penetration. Penetration by defensive front-mic kills any type of run game. You wanna put up, present to a defense. The thing that I like about this is, is they were taking shots at the runner. We talk about getting to the fourth step, he never got to his first step, and that's what you gotta have. When you can take shots at the runner like this, and then get roll call to the ball like you see there, all the players you see around that football, that's what you want. If you liked that one, you'll like this one even better early in the third quarter. We see Houston with a fourth in one play. They put Jeff Driscoll in it quarterback. Put Jeff Driscoll in, ran a receiver across to make it three by one. Got an upside tight end on the backside. The great thing about this is, this is a great mesh point play read and come back outside. And then what happens to Nico Autry, this is a classy two hand jab, get somebody off of you, and then watch him collapse on the ball. This is a perfect vice tackle right here, big fourth down stop. Talu is in there along with Lonnie Johnson. The Titans get the ball at their own 48 after this and some determined running by Derek Henry, by Traylin Burks, and then by Malik Willis gets the Titans home for six. This is the same type of play, Mike, that you just saw Derek Henry go with 48 yards on. Watch everybody on the linebacker spot for the Texans, takes the fake, everybody comes to Henry. Everybody's on Henry like goldfish to food in a bowl. I mean, they're all on top of it. And Malik Willis does a nice job. He's a strong runner, makes a spin move, and then Ruse helps him in gently, helps him into the end zone with a nice spin. This was a team effort touchdown for Malik Willis's first NFL touchdown. Yeah, he had some good runs in the ball game, seven carries for 43 yards. Let's take a look at a little defense that followed by a rookie linebacker by the name of Jack Gibbons. He gets the stat, but several defensive players made play. Three by one look, a single receiver on the backside. Davis Mills, the quarterback, he looks to the three receiver side first. Great, great play by Avery over there, punching this ball out. But Jack Gibbons, they're playing zone defense. He's on the backside with his drop, but he gets an excellent directional delivery key on the ball and always run to the ball. In zone defense, that's the advantage. You've got all eyes on the ball. Jack Gibbons ran to the football and it ended up right where it needed to be for a great interception for him. Jack Gibbons finishes the game with seven total tackles for the Titans. Also finishing with seven tackles, seven quarterback pressures, tackles for loss and more, including a sack. Here's Danico Autry. Danico Autry being back is huge. You can just see he's a disruptor. He's a huge disruptor for any offense that we're playing his presence and he brings energy to this defense. He can play multiple spots. Great to see Danico Autry back on the field for the Titans defense. Danico Autry now leads the Tennessee Titans with eight sacks. Jeffrey Simmons has seven and a half. DeMarcus Walker has six and a half. When we come back with more of the Mike Vrabel show presented by Shift Four, it's Epic Western's genuine Titan and it's somebody who's with us almost every single week. That's next on the Mike Vrabel show. Welcome back to the Mike Vrabel show presented by Shift Four. What's the number one question that I get about this show? What is Mike Vrabel really like? So in this week's Epic Western genuine Titan, we decided to answer that question. With Mike Vrabel, what you see is exactly what you get. He is tough. He is sarcastic. Okay, listen to me. We're going like a minute in between plays. So we're gonna have to go a hell of a lot harder than that. He is very funny. He is unafraid. Mike can be grumpy. Yes. Let's go Special Teams jog through. Gunners, you're over there. You're not a gunner. Four, six, five is not gunner material. Go win a job, man. But he can also be encouraging. Good ball. Good ball, Malik. Oh, good ball. He's not easy. That's true. But it's not because he is unrealistic. He wants your best. He believes that he can get it out of everyone. When I was walking down the field, that was my guy that came across. Okay, then what'd you do? Make a very light count and made up for it. Like, we're gonna make mistakes. Like, whatever. That's a great shot, dude. That's how you protect the guy with your balls. Mike Vrabel is not a bully in the least. He only gives the business to people who can take it. And it's never personal. I wish to wash my Irish wristwatch. Did I get it? Yeah, finally. Say it faster. I wish to. No. I will not. He has a massive heart, but he really doesn't want you to know that. I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen anything like it. I've never seen anything like it. I love you like my, oh, you hear me? I mean, I've never seen anything like it. He loves his family. He loves his friends. He loves the guys on his team. Mike Vrabel is smart. He is curious. He is constantly challenging himself to learn. He expects the same things from himself that he does from his players and coach. So what is Mike Vrabel like? He's exactly the guy that you would expect, because he is 100% real, a genuine Titan like no other. That's the Mike Vrabel we know. In anything that we do, and Coach Mack, you've been with him for five years since he's been here. You've been around a lot of great coaches in the league. When you're going through a tough time, that's the kind of guy you want to have here. Well, I mean, look, I'm a lifetime NFL coach. That's a real ball coach. Mike Vrabel is really good at real football. And he's good because he's really good with people. I broke into this league with Mike Ditka. A lot of the same persona. Everybody would think this is a gruff dude that is just all meanness. No, he cared a lot about people. But players respect him, and they respect Mike Vrabel immensely. This guy is one heck of a football coach. I really enjoy him. I enjoy meeting him, and I enjoy being able to say he's my friend. And he's also a really good football coach. Our genuine Titan tonight, the namesake of this show, Mike Vrabel. When we come back, we look ahead to Thursday night and know your foe. Coach Mack knows him. He's gonna tell you about it. On the Mike Vrabel Show, presented by Shift4. Next. Glad to have you with us. In the Bet MGM Studio, the Mike Vrabel Show, presented by Shift4. Sitting in for the coach tonight, Coach Dave McGinnis, because the Titans play Thursday night against the 11 and four Dallas Cowboys. And that leads us straight into know your foe. The Cowboys coming off a big win over the Philadelphia Eagles 40 to 34. Let's start with a quarterback, Deck Prescott. Yeah, well, Deck is, really, in the latter part of this season has really started playing well. He's got some weapons. Talk about C.D. Lamb. C.D. Lamb is somebody that gives everybody problems. But Deck Prescott, a big, strong quarterback is a guy that can throw off blockers when they come into him. And plus, he's done a nice job since he's been in the league, really perfecting his progression reads. He's the leader of this offense. And they've certainly got some weapons. You just saw T.Y. Hilton make a catch. He's just joined them. And Deck is a big guy who can run, speaking of running the two-headed monster at tailback, Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard. Yeah, this is gonna be very, very important to be gap-sounding physical against these guys. You know, Zeke is the guy that they lean on. But Pollard, Pollard is a real great addition to this running game. Pollard has got speed. He's also a very, very strong contact balance runner. Both of these guys, this two-headed running attack, Mike, is gonna be a big, big issue if you're not gap sound and you don't group tackle. And they've run every play with both backs. Absolutely, they do. And they just get their people on the field. And what they do with these two backs is they can both really take it the distance, either one of them. But when Pollard has the football, you better catch him before he gets started. All right, let's turn to defense and the unbelievable Micah Parsons. Last year is a rookie 13 sacks. This year, 13 quarterback sacks. And the guy can play all over the field. Yeah, well, Micah Parsons coming out of Penn State was somebody that everybody was vetting at the combine. And the question was, where do you play him? Where do you play him? Do you stand him up behind the line? Do you stand him up outside? The answer to that question, you play him everywhere. This guy is very, very physical. He's a really blessed athlete, Mike. Extreme, extreme athletic ability. He's a guy you've gotta get a hat on no matter what you're doing. The Dallas Cowboys have players all over the field. And that's gonna be the challenge Thursday night because they need to win this game if they're gonna keep pace in the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles. When the Mike Vrable Show returns, you'll meet our Wesley Mortgage Community Hero. This is very special, you won't wanna miss it. Stay tuned. Welcome back to the Mike Vrable Show presented by Shift Four. In 1988, Joyce Watkins was convicted of a horrible crime that she did not commit and spent 27 years in prison. Earlier this year, she was exonerated, becoming the first African-American woman in Tennessee to be released from prison after it was learned that she did not commit this crime. She's this week's Wesley Mortgage Community Hero. Let's hear her story. Hey. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Hey, Jason. How are you? I'm good. We got a surprise for you. Dear Joyce, the Tennessee Innocence Project is honored to nominate you as the Wesley Mortgage Community Hero as the first and only African-American woman ever exonerated in the state of Tennessee. Your heartbreaking story of strength and perseverance is something everyone needs to hear. In 1988, you were wrongly convicted of a murder you did not commit. You spent 27 years locked up behind bars, fighting to prove your innocence. Earlier this year, the truth prevailed. The Nashville judge heard the medical evidence, which definitively proved you did nothing wrong. The charges against you were dismissed and you were released from all the conditions of your life sentence. Joyce, your story gives hope and inspiration to all the other innocent people in prison. You lead a life of grace and forgiveness, despite the three decades that were wrongly taken from you. It is a joy to know you and a gift to be part of this journey with you. Congratulations on this honor. You're family at the Tennessee Innocence Project. Thank you. This is an award that the Titans do. These are 14 tickets to the Christmas Eve Titans game and they're gonna play your story and show it to the crowd that night during the game on the big screen. You only need to spend about two minutes with Joyce to realize that there is no way that Joyce committed the crime that she was convicted of. There is no better gift in life than helping someone get their life back. Look, it was a great day of celebration. It's bittersweet because you can't fix what happened, right? There's no justice for what was taken from her, but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate her and we can't celebrate her exoneration and the fact that the world now knows her story and knows that what happened to her was wrong. I always do that one day I would get out. When I didn't know. But I always had that feeling that one day I would get out and I would pray and ask God to send somebody, put somebody in my life to help me prove my innocence and it too came to pass. Oh, I thank the Western Marvin and the Tennessee Titans very, very much. I wanted to go to a game, but I never got there, but I get there now. You made the rest of this year good. So as you heard in that story, the Titans had her at the Christmas Eve game. And as mentioned, the Titans recognized her at the game, but the surprises continued. You take a look at it as we go to break on the Mike Vrable show. 2022 Inspire Change Changemaker Award winner and you are going to the Super Bowl. It means a lot to me. It means the awful lot to me. And I appreciate everything they did for me and the Tennessee Innocence Project is a good organization. This is something that I always wish for and I am so grateful and so thankful. Back at the Bet MGM Studio, Mike Vrable show presented by Shift4. Coach Dave McGinnis sitting in for the head coach because in 48 hours, the Tennessee Titans will be on the field against the Dallas Cowboys. Time for our Nissan Keys to success. And key number one, I mean, it's pretty simple. Eliminate the unforced errors on both sides of the ball. Yeah, Mike. It's hard to win a national football league game no matter when you're playing them Sunday, Thursday, Monday, whenever, but you can't help your opponent. And unforced errors have hurt the Titans lately. And unforced errors, I'm talking about misaligning, jumping off sides, aligning on sides. Those are things you can control. Just let's eliminate those unforced errors. It gives you a step up on your opponent. All right, key number two in the Nissan Keys to success. Ball security against the Dallas defense. They've got some guys who can take it away. Yeah, well, we just talked about Michael Parsons and he's just one of many. They can really, they rally to the football very hard. Turnovers are really a determining factor in most NFL games. And you just cannot afford to let this defense get after you with loose ball security. So who's ever carrying the football? You're running it. You've caught it. If you've got it on a punt, you've got it on a kickoff. Secure the football against this group because they go after the football very hard. And they run the football with Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard. So you've got to be gap sound on defense against their run. Yeah, and the Titans have played really good run defense this year. They really have, but that takes a lot of discipline. Playing the run in the National Football League takes a lot of discipline and it takes extreme effort every play. You know, we always used to say, you know, when you start playing defense in this league, you earn the right to rush a passer by stopping the run. This two headed running group that they've got, these two guys that they've got running the football, they're going to test this run defense. We need to be gap sound and we need to be gang tackling. Coach Mack, thank you for being here. It was my pleasure, Mike Keith. We appreciate you sitting in for Coach Mike Vrable. I will be joined by Coach Mack Thursday night on Titans Radio 104-5 The Zone in Nashville. For Titans Cowboys, our coverage begins at 6 p.m. Kickoff at 7.15. For Coach Dave McGinnis and our fine crew, Mike Keith says thanks for watching the Mike Vrable show. Nashville's the top five city in America in terms of chef driven restaurants. It's always a tremendous honor to be able to represent the city. Nashville's freaking amazing. Hey, it's Matt Moore. 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