December 15, 2023 • 34 mins
Andre Johnson visits. Also, Mike Keith, Voice of the Titans.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello Texans, and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What a game for the Houston Texans this weekend at Tennessee.
And this is another example of you never know what's
going to happen when you get there. When you see
a game on the schedule back in the summer, back
in October, November, even three weeks ago, who could have
predicted this. The Texans are as banged up as I
have ever seen them when you consider the magnitude of
(00:28):
position players that can't be participating in this game, and
then you look at the stakes coming off the lost
to the Jets. You look at the Titans coming off
a huge win over the Miami Dolphins on the road
to win that very few people thought they could get.
Then you look at the whole Oiler angle. You knew
that they would be wearing the Oiler uniforms. But here
we are, and the Texans have all these issues going on,
(00:53):
have to circle the wagons to get this one against
a team that is trolling Houston big time. They might
they're honoring the Oilers, but it is a massive troll
job by that organization. With all the love you blue stuff,
they are going to honor Billy White Shoes Johnson at
the half and put them in their ring of honor
or whatever. And my take on this was he played
(01:15):
almost half his career in Atlanta. They had Atlanta in
their building, they had the falcons in their building this year.
That would have been a marvelous time to honor Billy
White Shoes Johnson. But they're going to do it against
the Houston Texans. So we'll see how this goes. That
part of it. I don't think the players understand any
of that. I mean they could intellectually. Will it motivate them?
(01:36):
Probably not, But the fans are going to be bathing
in the narrative as the players play it out on
the field, But more importantly have to bounce back and
stay above five hundred in this playoff chase and hopefully
you get key players back next week when you take
on the hot Cleveland Browns on Christmas Eve at NRG Stadium.
(01:58):
That game is way tougher. You know it was going
to be tough anyway, but way tougher than you thought
it was going to be when Deshaun Watson went out,
because you thought, all right, PJ. Walker is it DT?
Is it d DTR?
Speaker 1 (02:12):
That's it?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
DTR? Who's it going to be and now it's going
to be Joe Flacco, who is on fire for the
Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Man, there's so much going on.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So when you have a big game and you have
a lot of psychological physical questions, who better to bring
in than the goat Andre Johnson and Johnny Harrison. I
caught up with him in studio, Drake, Great to see you, welcome,
Good to see you guys. All right, so let's just
go present day, shall we. With the team in a
(02:43):
little bit of a pickle right now, injury situation, really
big game, gotta win it late in the season. How
do you think the bodies are feeling the magnitude of
the situation, maybe having to go without the quarterback, all
of that added up.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
As you take on Tennessee on the road.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Well, I think everybody's beat up right now. I mean
it's a long season, you know, playing seventeen games now,
so it's a very long season. I just think the
biggest thing is that the whoever's playing, they just have
to rally around each other, you know, all it takes
(03:23):
a couple of plays to win a game, so you know,
you ought to rally around each other and just play
good football. And you know, just kind of see what happens.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Andre. You run a lot of quarterbacks here.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
I think probably played the longest stretch maybe with Matt,
but you played with a number of quarterbacks while you're
in this building. What do you see in the quarterback now?
CJ Strab What have you seen the young guy?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I mean he, I mean, he has the potential to
have a great career. He's you can tell he's definitely
a guy that learns from his mistakes. But you know,
as a rookie, you still have a little a few
growing pains. He's here and there. You know, he got
beat up a little bit last week, so you know,
(04:07):
I don't really think he got beat up much this year.
You know, most rookies when they come in, they take
a lot of hiss and they get beat up pretty
pretty good. But he's maintained most of the seasons and
hasn't done a great job. So I only expect them
to get better.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, we talk about that year one to year two improvement,
and if there's improvement, that's really great, But what is
that like that transition from rookie year you get into
the offseason, you can work on whatever you need to
work out, don't have to worry about pre draft, post draft,
all that rookie camp.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Now you're a vet.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
What can he do this offseason as he gets ready
for year two. What's going to be like the whole process.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Well, I think the thing is that you as a
rookie year you kind of just learning, you know, you
get to experience a lot of different things, a lot
of different situations during games. But with him being able
to go out and perform the way he has as
(05:06):
a rookie, that's what makes the future look so bright
for him because he's been in a situation. He you
come back that second year, you've been in those situations.
You understand what's going on. There could be teams that
you played against, you know, like your division teams and
(05:28):
things you see, things you may experience and you know
what to expect. So those are the things you you
hop on, you try to learn from, and you just
try to, you know, go over the mistakes that you did,
make it so that you won't be making them again.
But he's done a great job of that.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
Andre You're in the building for about three or four
years and then a young rookie comes from Alabama, Demiko
Ryans you've seen him blossom into a rookie head coach
where your thoughts about what Themiko has done with your organization,
and then as head coach this team.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
He's done a great job. I don't know if a
lot of people remember when I think it was my
first time on here after he got the job, and
I think Mark asked me like, what did I expect?
And I was like, don't be surprised. Yeah, yeah, and
a lot of people, I think this year surprised a
(06:24):
lot of people. I don't think they thought it would
be in a situation with right now. But he for him,
he's done a great job. And if you know him
as a person, you know that the players are gonna
want to play for him. And I think with him
being here too, with us hiring him, we've created a
(06:47):
destination for free agents. So uh, he has a great
uh just overall name and reputation around the league, and
you know, guys want to, you know, come play for him.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Andre the Titans will be wearing the Oilers' uniforms. And
when we revealed this to Damico Ryans during his show,
and he was sitting in the chair you're sitting in
right now, he had a little bit of a bit
of a reaction.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
He was getting fired up.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Those are his words about that prospect, even though he
wasn't here when the Oilers played, and you weren't here
when the Oilers played.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, just a few years later.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
But does that speak to you at all that they'll
be doing that and that they have the logo all
over their social media and they're calling it the Texans
versus the Oilers and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Does that say anything to you?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
And do you think that can possibly be conveyed to
the current players to help the cause a bit.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I think it's something that is personal. I think that
if you look at it when we had the Ahetown
Blue and the University of Houston war, you know, the
un forums, I mean, they took it very personal. But
(08:05):
I mean nothing about Tennessee says oil Us, right. I
mean for me growing up as a kid, even I
remember when I first got in the league, and you know,
people would ask me, like most time, people thought I
played basketball, and I was like, nah, play football. And
they'd be like what team you play for? And I'd
(08:25):
be like Houston. They'd be like the Oilers, and I'm like, nah,
it's the Texans now. So everything. I mean, like I said,
I think it's personal, and I think it's something that
that me COO could us as motivation to motivate the
guys and just kind of give them the history of
what Oiler was about what it stood for. And I mean,
(08:47):
the stadium is right next door, so I think it's
definitely something we could use as motivation.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Andre on social media a couple of days ago, there
was a TV there was a snippet I think it's
from the came They've been on nine and it showed
you guys against the Titans, and it showed Kyle Vandenbosh
like yelling. Everybody in Texas Sideline. Everybody in the Texas
Sideline wanted to fight Vanderbosh. Joeld Reeson being first and foremost.
(09:13):
Joel's always told us about those stories with he and
Vandon Bosh. How nasty was that rivalry with you in
Tennessee during that time?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
It was bad. It was really bad if you pull up.
So the whole thing kind of started when we ran up.
It was a play like the first player of the game,
and we cracked. We ran like a crack block, and
it kind of like set the tone when you cracking
(09:43):
or just that's why. Yeah, Joel was the long snapper
and like he he would snap for field goals and
punts and the whole d Lion would be chase. Like
it was like the funniest thing, you like what we
(10:03):
will watch over that whole film. But it became like
a personal like a personal thing and like, uh, you
know the thing will happen with me and Finnigan and
you know it just it was it was just something
that was different, like we knew when they came here
to play us and we came here to play them.
It was just anything was bound to happen. So I
(10:28):
think that's something that we need to bring back.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Well with the Finnegan thing. I was listening to some cuts,
just listening to the nine game week two up there
when you had that sort of bench wasn't really a brawl,
but guy's pushing and shoving and Mario's over there and
it's just a big mess.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
And I'm mentioning Finnegan's name.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
He's in there and he comes out, And it started
way before the twenty ten incident between you two, right.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Yeah, So I don't know if you remember Bryce McCain
shut it back. So I used to just watch. I
used to just see like stuff he would do, and
you know, I used to you know, you try to
keep your composure, you know. And it was a punt
(11:14):
play and he like, I think Bryce was a rookie,
and he like grabbed Bryce and like threw him to
the ground. So it's like something crazy, and I literally,
like to wanted to run off the sideline because you know,
I'm a guy. I'm gonna stand up for my teammates.
So I just told Larry, we got the ball back.
(11:38):
I told Larry. I was like, man, I was just
like I'm about to go at him, and he was like,
what you mean. I was like, just watch so if
you look at that play, like it was a run play,
and I literally took him from the field all the
way to the water cooler, like and I was trying,
and it got it got to the point of where
(11:59):
like some punches and stuff war thrown, but because of
the way everybody was crowded in the on the sideline,
you really couldn't see what was going on.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Oh wow, yeah, that is awesome.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
I mean in that game where you have where this
incidant in twenty ten, you catch your touchdown early on
in that game, right, was your success for better way
of saying, what pissing him off more?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
In that kind of led even more.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Was he kind of agitated more because you were having
that success against him?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Yeah, he was. He used to get mad because we
used to run these re routes and he couldn't stop it. Yeah,
So it was always I always had a choice to
either take the post or I could just sit the
route down. And he was like, he used to always
tell me, you ain't nothing. All you could do is
(12:54):
run double moves like he and they used to irritate him.
So in that same game he cost them the game.
If you remember, we ran a reroute and that week
coach Kobeak it was either Kobak or Kyle. They was like,
(13:14):
we gonna put a w a wheel route on it.
Oh oh, So if you noticed, that was the plage
that Kobe caught running up the sideline and we ended
up and it was like a big player in the game,
and he was so focused on me and I had
talked so much, you know, we had went back and
forth so much during the game, and on that uh
re route when it was a wheel on it actually
(13:36):
was sitting the route down, yeah, because Kobe was and
when I sat down, he jumped all over it and
Kobe was running up the sideline. So it w It
was like I said it was, It was a great time.
It was a lot of great memories, you know, competing
against them, but I think you know what they're doing
(13:56):
this Sunday is definitely something we can use in the motivation.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Andre, thanks a lot for joining us. We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
All Right, there's Andre Johnson, man. I love visiting with him.
You're gonna hear a whole lot more of that on
Texans Radio coming up. Now, let's get to Mike Keith,
voice of the Tennessee Titans, and he's a great one.
A lot of things to say about this team. Let's
get the ins and outs of what's going on with them,
and also a take on the oilers jerseys, because you know,
I couldn't resist asking that question.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Mike. Great to have you on.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Congratulations on the win Monday night football, knocking off the Dolphins.
And I know it's a short week, but it's got
to be a week filled with energy for the Titans
as they get ready for this home game.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
First of all, Mark good to be joining you in
Happy holidays to you and yours. It is good. It
is good. We've had certainly a tough run on the
road for over a year, and so to go to
Miami and to surprise a lot of people and win
in a very strange way, it was a lot of
fun and it kind of built on some things this
(14:59):
team's and working on for quite some time. And now
they see if they can keep it up. The team
did some good things in the Indianapolis game, lost that
game in an unusual manner, and then they win this
game in an unusual manner, and so now they're going
to try to see if they can play a normal game.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
All right, Well, let's start with Will Levis as far
as the Titans go. I know it's not all about him,
but he is a focal point right now as you
start the rookie quarterback, What are you seeing so far
in the development? And everybody noticed that for a touchdown
pass game to launch his career. And I know it's
been a little bit of a rocky road since then,
but what a great performance against the Dolphins.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
What do you see in Mike?
Speaker 5 (15:39):
He's growing up and I think this is probably a
little sooner Mark than they wanted to get him in there.
But when he finally became the starter on October the
twenty ninth, he had been with the organization for six
months and so he had been in that quarterback room.
He had been around Ryan Tannehill. They had been able
to take their time with him. He had a quad
(16:01):
injury at the end of training camp, which sort of
slowed his progress, but he had been working very regularly.
They had an idea of what they had in him.
They had gotten to know him. They'd certainly worked on
some things with him about understanding that in the pro game, Hey,
you're going to make mistakes, You've got to get over it.
(16:22):
You've got to be even tempered, And that was something
at Kentucky. He would get down on himself. You know,
he would make a mistake and then he would take
it very hard, which you like in a way because
you know he's a guy who cares deeply. But at
the same time, you have to be able to let
it go. And I think Monday Night was a great
(16:42):
example of Betty to a bad interception in the first quarter,
he made a bad pitch in the fourth quarter, and
yet he just kept playing and his physical talent is undeniable.
Now teams have tape on him and so they're able
to make adjustments to him. He's having to adjust back.
But Mark, I would say, so far, so good. I
(17:03):
don't think anybody's you know, proclaiming anything or saying it's
all fixed or it's all great, or you know, whatever
the case may be. In a world where we like to,
you know, sort of make snap proclamations about anything, you know,
hot takes whatever. I think the Titans are quietly, very
(17:23):
pleased with where he is and understand there's more work
to be done. And I think Will Levis is the
same way, Mark, And that's the best part of this
story so far.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Mike Keith, voice of the Titans, joining us Derrick Henry.
What are we getting out of Derrick Henry? Now he
looks pretty much the same to me. Maybe you're not
getting as many long runs whatever, he's just so keyed on, Mike,
Yet he still manages to gain a ton of yards,
averaging four point one eight seventy five on the year.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Yeah, he's doing fine. And you're right, they're keying on
him and this offensive line has issues. But here he
was the other night and that the Titans are in
a situation where he rushes seventeen times for thirty four yards.
But you know what he did. He scored two touchdowns.
He scored the game winning touchdown. And he was as
(18:12):
happy after that game as any of his one hundred
and fifty two hundred yard games because he knew he
contributed in the way he could help. If he's lost anything,
it's not much. He can still really play and he's
in a bit of a different role. He understands that
with Taja Spears, because Taja is the best partner he's
(18:36):
ever had since he became the lead back. He gets it.
I think he understands where he is. But guess what,
He's going to finish the year with twelve thirteen hundred yards.
And I think most teams would be happy to have
a twelve or thirteen hundred yard back.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And when you drafted Spears in Nashville, we were all
bummed out because we all really liked Taja Spears. And
I was also that when DeAndre Hopkins signed with the
Tennessee Titans, because you know, we love hop here and
to watch him as spry as he is right now,
he looks about as good as he could possibly look
at this age. And it must be a little freaky
(19:13):
for you because he's had some big games against the
Titans and now he's having some big games for you.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
It's funny. I mean, it is a it's a funny
world that we live in because he absolutely tortured us
for years. I mean, he didn't just play good against us,
he tortured us. And then he went to Arizona and
his first game with the Cardinals, he tortured us. So
I finally got a chance to sit down with him
not long ago. We were talking about he goes, Yeah,
(19:40):
he goes, it's kind of freaky, he said. It's a
little different. But I think he's having a good time
on this team. He likes Rabel and you know, they
knew each other from their time together with the Texans,
and so they have a good personal relationship. The Titans
manage him very well, which is something that they do
well with veterans. They do it with Henry, they do
(20:02):
it with Hopkins, They've done it with Jeffrey Simmons, on
and on and on. You just see that, and so, yeah,
he's he's playing well. He had a good game the
other night seven catches for one hundred and twenty four
yards and what a what a breath of fresh air
for a guy like Will Levis to have a receiver
that's going to the Hall of Fame that you can
(20:23):
count on in this way, And I think to me,
that's the part that DeAndre Hopkins is enjoying the most.
Is much like his time with Deshaun Watson where he
sort of broke him into the league in that way
being his guy. He's doing the same thing for Will Levis,
which is which is really cool to see. It's it's
(20:43):
interesting to watch a professional in this way do it
the way he does it every single day and you
understand why he is the special player that he is.
You know, from Afar being tortured by him, we knew
was good, but to watch you work every day in practice,
it's really fascinating and gives a lot of insight into
(21:07):
why he's had the career he's head.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Absolutely, always a quarterback's best friend.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Mike.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
What about that defense because we see some of the
names we know oh so well. You see Harold Landry,
Jeffrey Simmons. I know we missed the last game, Daniko autry.
There are some new guys as well, though, what are
you getting out of that Titan d They've had.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
A pretty good year. Yeah, the statistics will tell you
it's not been bad. And if you saw him on
Monday night, with how they contained Miami, that's pretty much
the story of their season. They've rushed the passer pretty well,
they've kept teams out of the end zone pretty well.
The disappointment in this defense is we thought they had
(21:49):
a chance at the beginning of the year to be dominant,
and they have not been. They have not had the
number of takeaways that we had hoped. They've just not
had the big plays that we had hoped. But they've
been very solid, and had the Titans offense been better,
(22:09):
I think that might have given the defense a chance
to be better because I think some teams offensively have
been able to keep things more basic due to the
fact that the Titans have had problems until the last
two weeks scoring. And you know this, Mark You've been
around the league for a long long time. When an
offense and opposing offense doesn't have to take a lot
(22:32):
of chances to win the game, they're not going to.
So the end result is the opposing defense has less
chances to make things happen, and I think that's been
part of the issue for the Titans this year. But
you know, the defense did a great job the other night.
They essentially did not give up a touchdown an offensive
(22:53):
touchdown to the Dolphins. One was on an interception return,
and the two late ones came and the Dolphins only
had to drive nineteen yards for the fourteen points. So
pretty good job by them overall.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Mike, let's look at the division here for a moment,
then we'll get back to this game. What are your
thoughts on what you're seeing from the Colts now, because
to me, it's pretty disturbing that they're still very much
in this thing and they've suffered through everything they've suffered
through with Jonathan Taylor, losing Anthony richardson, all of that,
yet here they are still very much in the mix
(23:28):
heading into the final four games.
Speaker 5 (23:30):
They're good on defense. You know, they've had good people
and they've kind of continued to put that together, in
particular with their rotation in the front four on defense.
And then Zire Franklin is having a monster year at linebacker.
I mean, he's taken over for Darius Leonard and he's
now that guy for them, which is why they could
(23:51):
let Darius Leonard go offensively. I think at this moment
they're probably better off with Garner Minshew. Now we'll see
what happens next year, because Anthony Richardson will almost have
to start all over again. I think they wanted him
to battle through that rookie year and learn and grow
(24:13):
and all those sorts of things. And then he gets
hurt and ironically in the game against US, and they'll
go back to him next year, but he'll still have
a ton that he will have to learn, having just
basically played a month, and Minchew manages them better now
I think does a good job with with all of that.
(24:34):
He gets who he is, and he understands who he
has to be in that offense, and you know, he's
got a guy that that he can lean on in
Michael Pittman, and the rookie Downs is a really good player.
He was a guy that you know, I was sitting
there thinking, oh, man, if the Titans could get him,
that would be a really good player. Josh Downs is
really nice and gives them a kind of a different element.
(24:57):
And I think Steiken gets where they are too. Mark,
I'm pretty impressed with the way he has coached that team.
You know, that's one of the things you see in
the league. It's easy to be a good coach, but
you've got to coach the team you have well. And
he has coached the team he has very well, which
I think, unfortunately for both of us, that doesn't vote
(25:20):
well for what he's going to do with them moving
forward as they get better.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Mike Keith's voice of the Titans with US Jaguars have
lost back to back. Texans had a field goal attempt
bounce off the crossbar that would have tied the game
at the end of regulation with a chance to maybe
win an overtime. Who knows you're going to host them
to end the regular season here. How much trouble are
they in, Mike, and how good can they be?
Speaker 5 (25:46):
I think to worry for them right now more than
anything else is they're having some injury issues that they
haven't had the last two years. And you know, and
last year they were so healthy, They were amazingly healthy.
They did not lose a starter until Week eighteen when
they played the Titans on Saturday night to get into
(26:09):
the playoffs and Robinson got hurt and couldn't play in
the playoffs. You know, you have some of this that
you see as we go through November and get into December,
the injuries chip away. The guys who've been having to
play are not quite as good, and they're a little
banged up having to play more snaps. And I think
(26:31):
that's kind of where Jacksonville is right now. I think
they're trying to fight through this tough period. The question
with Lawrence two and the ankle, and he's had the
knee all year, and you know, where is he at
this point? He played very well against US, really really
played well against US last month. But we'll see, you know,
(26:54):
down the stretch, we'll see exactly what they look like
and are they able to maintain the pace with where
they are health wise? They they're probably the most talented
team in the division, but you know, as we know,
that doesn't always win it.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Who's the best team in the AFC? Not record wise?
But who would be your pick if it's not the Titans, Mike,
you know.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
I think it's probably going to end up being Baltimore.
The team that I think is really interesting is Cleveland, though,
you know, if they and I don't know if FLACOA
can hold up or you know who's going to play
quarterback for them. But their defense is so good, Mark,
I mean, they are so good. You know, they're one
(27:41):
of those teams in that one off situation in the
playoffs you do not want to play. Ironically, they're almost
like the Ravens were back, you know, fifteen twenty years ago.
You just don't want to play them because, I mean,
you could get a day where they can hold you
to one hundred yards. They're that good. So I don't know.
(28:03):
I mean, I think it's more wide open than it
has been. I think on the other side, San Francisco's
the best team. I think that's going to become clear.
Dallas may be taking a step. But in our conference,
I think it's more wide open. If you ask me
today to give you an answer, my best answer is Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Okay, I've got one more for you.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Here.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
As the Texans and Titans meet on Sunday, I was
thinking about all the moments in this rivalry. I was
thinking of the eight game here mostly Texans wins, Mike,
because it's my perspective, thirteen twelve victory against the thirteen
and three Titans team team that would go thirteen to three,
That oh nine game Week two that was wild with
the bench brawl and everything like that. I think of
(28:48):
all it at Cortland Finnegan, and then I zoom it
into today because Demiko Ryan's played in this rivalry and
now it really feels like it's on again and the Oilers'
uniforms will be worn on Sunday. What about that vibe?
Because you've been through it once already this year. Do
the Nashville fans embrace that. It's kind of a weird
(29:08):
dynamic to me, the way the whole thing is, but
it is what it is and we're going to enjoy
it and see how it plays out.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
They just, more than anything else, they love the look,
you know, because everybody loves retro in everything now, and
when they came out and they had a chance to
see them, people just went wild over the look. Ironically,
in the two years that we played in Tennessee as
(29:35):
the Oilers, we never wore the blue jerseys at home.
We only wore them. This is very strange. We wore
them in a game Miami in September when they wore
their whites, and then we wore them on Thanksgiving ninety
seven at Dallas because Dallas wears white at home, and
(29:58):
they chose the organization chose to wear the white jerseys
in ninety seven and ninety eight because from a mental standpoint,
they wanted the team to always think, hey, we're the
road team. You know, we're at We're not in our home.
We're having to play away. We're going to be strong,
and we're not going to make any excuses whatever. So
when people walked into Nissan Stadium on October twenty ninth
(30:21):
and saw the jerseys, they went crazy and they really
do look fantastic, and so the kids are buying them
like crazy. I mean, the team store can't keep them
all of that, and I think that's been more of
the overall vibe than anything else. You know, it's not
about I mean to our ownership group and to the
(30:43):
people who I was an Eiler, so I know and
it means something to me. But from the fan perspective,
it's just, man, this is cool that we're getting to
live in the retro, and the retro is so cool.
So we'll see, you know, it's been It was fun
that day and we'll see exactly how the stadium looks
(31:04):
come Sunday, will they do the Oil Derek in the
middle of the field like they did for the earlier
game and things like that. I don't know, you know,
I don't know. That was homecoming weekend, and so with
all the Oilers back in town, they decked out Nissan
Stadium in Ohilers Mike.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Finally, former Oiler and Tennessee Titan Frank Wichek passed away
last weekend. I know you worked with him in the booth,
you knew him well. My condolences to you, and I
know that he had a great career on and off
the field for the organization.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Yeah, thanks for saying that, Marks, It's been a rough week.
Frank is probably the most popular player in this part
of our history because when the team moved to Tennessee,
he was the guy who got out in the community
the most early on, and he was doing all of
those community events at a time that he was one
(31:59):
of the best tight in the NFL, and so he
combined that sort of big personality with a guy who
was catching sixty passes for six hundred yards and going
too Pro Bowls. And then after his playing career ended,
he immediately went into the talk show business, and he
was very good at that. His talk show was hilarious
(32:22):
and was the topic of everybody every day. And then
you know, he was on Titan's radio for twelve years
as well as our as our analysts, and so Titans
fans had him for twenty seasons as a player and
as a broadcaster, and that bond with him is such
(32:42):
that we've we've never had, even with Steve McNair and
Eddie George and some of our other grades. There was
nobody as close to the heart of the of the
player or of the fan base as Frank Whycheck. And
I don't know if this is an app comparison, but
it feels like how the Texans fans feel about JJ Watt.
(33:05):
And that's that closeness that love, you know, just more
than anything else, not only loving the player, but loving
the person and loving the personality. And you will still
see eighty nine jerseys at games, You'll still see him
everywhere you go because he meant so much to people.
(33:26):
So for the Titans family to lose him, I mean,
it is just crushing. And this this week has been
in many ways just awful. I mean, you hear the
great stories about him, and it's fun. But just the
shock that he's not with us anymore. I really don't
(33:49):
know how to describe it other than there's a hole
in our hearts.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Very well, said Mike, and once again our sympathies and condolences,
and we'll see what happens Sunday. I'm sure they're going
to honor rank and we look forward to that and
seeing you in the booth on Sunday, my friend, as
the Texans and Titans get together.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Thanks so much for the time, Mike, appreciate the visit.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
My pleasure, Mark, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
All Right, there's my buddy, Mike Keith, voice of the
Tennessee Titans. That's gonna do it for this episode. Let's
buckle up, get ready for Nashville Sunday at noon. Sports
Radio six ' ten The Bull one hundred point three FM,
the Texans app Odyssey app, your home, big brother, smart device,
whatever it might be, listen in. Let's hope for the
(34:31):
very best. Here is the Texans rally to face the
Titans on Sunday. Have a great evening or day or
morning whenever you're listening to this. I listen to podcasts
walking my dog actually go Texans,
Hello Texans, and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What a game for the Houston Texans this weekend at Tennessee.
And this is another example of you never know what's
going to happen when you get there. When you see
a game on the schedule back in the summer, back
in October, November, even three weeks ago, who could have
predicted this. The Texans are as banged up as I
have ever seen them when you consider the magnitude of
(00:28):
position players that can't be participating in this game, and
then you look at the stakes coming off the lost
to the Jets. You look at the Titans coming off
a huge win over the Miami Dolphins on the road
to win that very few people thought they could get.
Then you look at the whole Oiler angle. You knew
that they would be wearing the Oiler uniforms. But here
we are, and the Texans have all these issues going on,
(00:53):
have to circle the wagons to get this one against
a team that is trolling Houston big time. They might
they're honoring the Oilers, but it is a massive troll
job by that organization. With all the love you blue stuff,
they are going to honor Billy White Shoes Johnson at
the half and put them in their ring of honor
or whatever. And my take on this was he played
(01:15):
almost half his career in Atlanta. They had Atlanta in
their building, they had the falcons in their building this year.
That would have been a marvelous time to honor Billy
White Shoes Johnson. But they're going to do it against
the Houston Texans. So we'll see how this goes. That
part of it. I don't think the players understand any
of that. I mean they could intellectually. Will it motivate them?
(01:36):
Probably not, But the fans are going to be bathing
in the narrative as the players play it out on
the field, But more importantly have to bounce back and
stay above five hundred in this playoff chase and hopefully
you get key players back next week when you take
on the hot Cleveland Browns on Christmas Eve at NRG Stadium.
(01:58):
That game is way tougher. You know it was going
to be tough anyway, but way tougher than you thought
it was going to be when Deshaun Watson went out,
because you thought, all right, PJ. Walker is it DT?
Is it d DTR?
Speaker 1 (02:12):
That's it?
Speaker 2 (02:13):
DTR? Who's it going to be and now it's going
to be Joe Flacco, who is on fire for the
Cleveland Browns.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
Man, there's so much going on.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
So when you have a big game and you have
a lot of psychological physical questions, who better to bring
in than the goat Andre Johnson and Johnny Harrison. I
caught up with him in studio, Drake, Great to see you, welcome,
Good to see you guys. All right, so let's just
go present day, shall we. With the team in a
(02:43):
little bit of a pickle right now, injury situation, really
big game, gotta win it late in the season. How
do you think the bodies are feeling the magnitude of
the situation, maybe having to go without the quarterback, all
of that added up.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
As you take on Tennessee on the road.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Well, I think everybody's beat up right now. I mean
it's a long season, you know, playing seventeen games now,
so it's a very long season. I just think the
biggest thing is that the whoever's playing, they just have
to rally around each other, you know, all it takes
(03:23):
a couple of plays to win a game, so you know,
you ought to rally around each other and just play
good football. And you know, just kind of see what happens.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Andre. You run a lot of quarterbacks here.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
I think probably played the longest stretch maybe with Matt,
but you played with a number of quarterbacks while you're
in this building. What do you see in the quarterback now?
CJ Strab What have you seen the young guy?
Speaker 3 (03:44):
I mean he, I mean, he has the potential to
have a great career. He's you can tell he's definitely
a guy that learns from his mistakes. But you know,
as a rookie, you still have a little a few
growing pains. He's here and there. You know, he got
beat up a little bit last week, so you know,
(04:07):
I don't really think he got beat up much this year.
You know, most rookies when they come in, they take
a lot of hiss and they get beat up pretty
pretty good. But he's maintained most of the seasons and
hasn't done a great job. So I only expect them
to get better.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Well, we talk about that year one to year two improvement,
and if there's improvement, that's really great, But what is
that like that transition from rookie year you get into
the offseason, you can work on whatever you need to
work out, don't have to worry about pre draft, post draft,
all that rookie camp.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Now you're a vet.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
What can he do this offseason as he gets ready
for year two. What's going to be like the whole process.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
Well, I think the thing is that you as a
rookie year you kind of just learning, you know, you
get to experience a lot of different things, a lot
of different situations during games. But with him being able
to go out and perform the way he has as
(05:06):
a rookie, that's what makes the future look so bright
for him because he's been in a situation. He you
come back that second year, you've been in those situations.
You understand what's going on. There could be teams that
you played against, you know, like your division teams and
(05:28):
things you see, things you may experience and you know
what to expect. So those are the things you you
hop on, you try to learn from, and you just
try to, you know, go over the mistakes that you did,
make it so that you won't be making them again.
But he's done a great job of that.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
Andre You're in the building for about three or four
years and then a young rookie comes from Alabama, Demiko
Ryans you've seen him blossom into a rookie head coach
where your thoughts about what Themiko has done with your organization,
and then as head coach this team.
Speaker 3 (06:02):
He's done a great job. I don't know if a
lot of people remember when I think it was my
first time on here after he got the job, and
I think Mark asked me like, what did I expect?
And I was like, don't be surprised. Yeah, yeah, and
a lot of people, I think this year surprised a
(06:24):
lot of people. I don't think they thought it would
be in a situation with right now. But he for him,
he's done a great job. And if you know him
as a person, you know that the players are gonna
want to play for him. And I think with him
being here too, with us hiring him, we've created a
(06:47):
destination for free agents. So uh, he has a great
uh just overall name and reputation around the league, and
you know, guys want to, you know, come play for him.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
Andre the Titans will be wearing the Oilers' uniforms. And
when we revealed this to Damico Ryans during his show,
and he was sitting in the chair you're sitting in
right now, he had a little bit of a bit
of a reaction.
Speaker 1 (07:13):
He was getting fired up.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Those are his words about that prospect, even though he
wasn't here when the Oilers played, and you weren't here
when the Oilers played.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Yeah, just a few years later.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
But does that speak to you at all that they'll
be doing that and that they have the logo all
over their social media and they're calling it the Texans
versus the Oilers and stuff like that.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Does that say anything to you?
Speaker 2 (07:35):
And do you think that can possibly be conveyed to
the current players to help the cause a bit.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
I think it's something that is personal. I think that
if you look at it when we had the Ahetown
Blue and the University of Houston war, you know, the
un forums, I mean, they took it very personal. But
(08:05):
I mean nothing about Tennessee says oil Us, right. I
mean for me growing up as a kid, even I
remember when I first got in the league, and you know,
people would ask me, like most time, people thought I
played basketball, and I was like, nah, play football. And
they'd be like what team you play for? And I'd
(08:25):
be like Houston. They'd be like the Oilers, and I'm like, nah,
it's the Texans now. So everything. I mean, like I said,
I think it's personal, and I think it's something that
that me COO could us as motivation to motivate the
guys and just kind of give them the history of
what Oiler was about what it stood for. And I mean,
(08:47):
the stadium is right next door, so I think it's
definitely something we could use as motivation.
Speaker 4 (08:52):
Andre on social media a couple of days ago, there
was a TV there was a snippet I think it's
from the came They've been on nine and it showed
you guys against the Titans, and it showed Kyle Vandenbosh
like yelling. Everybody in Texas Sideline. Everybody in the Texas
Sideline wanted to fight Vanderbosh. Joeld Reeson being first and foremost.
(09:13):
Joel's always told us about those stories with he and
Vandon Bosh. How nasty was that rivalry with you in
Tennessee during that time?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
It was bad. It was really bad if you pull up.
So the whole thing kind of started when we ran up.
It was a play like the first player of the game,
and we cracked. We ran like a crack block, and
it kind of like set the tone when you cracking
(09:43):
or just that's why. Yeah, Joel was the long snapper
and like he he would snap for field goals and
punts and the whole d Lion would be chase. Like
it was like the funniest thing, you like what we
(10:03):
will watch over that whole film. But it became like
a personal like a personal thing and like, uh, you
know the thing will happen with me and Finnigan and
you know it just it was it was just something
that was different, like we knew when they came here
to play us and we came here to play them.
It was just anything was bound to happen. So I
(10:28):
think that's something that we need to bring back.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Well with the Finnegan thing. I was listening to some cuts,
just listening to the nine game week two up there
when you had that sort of bench wasn't really a brawl,
but guy's pushing and shoving and Mario's over there and
it's just a big mess.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
And I'm mentioning Finnegan's name.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
He's in there and he comes out, And it started
way before the twenty ten incident between you two, right.
Speaker 3 (10:53):
Yeah, So I don't know if you remember Bryce McCain
shut it back. So I used to just watch. I
used to just see like stuff he would do, and
you know, I used to you know, you try to
keep your composure, you know. And it was a punt
(11:14):
play and he like, I think Bryce was a rookie,
and he like grabbed Bryce and like threw him to
the ground. So it's like something crazy, and I literally,
like to wanted to run off the sideline because you know,
I'm a guy. I'm gonna stand up for my teammates.
So I just told Larry, we got the ball back.
(11:38):
I told Larry. I was like, man, I was just
like I'm about to go at him, and he was like,
what you mean. I was like, just watch so if
you look at that play, like it was a run play,
and I literally took him from the field all the
way to the water cooler, like and I was trying,
and it got it got to the point of where
(11:59):
like some punches and stuff war thrown, but because of
the way everybody was crowded in the on the sideline,
you really couldn't see what was going on.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Oh wow, yeah, that is awesome.
Speaker 4 (12:13):
I mean in that game where you have where this
incidant in twenty ten, you catch your touchdown early on
in that game, right, was your success for better way
of saying, what pissing him off more?
Speaker 1 (12:26):
In that kind of led even more.
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:29):
Was he kind of agitated more because you were having
that success against him?
Speaker 3 (12:32):
Yeah, he was. He used to get mad because we
used to run these re routes and he couldn't stop it. Yeah,
So it was always I always had a choice to
either take the post or I could just sit the
route down. And he was like, he used to always
tell me, you ain't nothing. All you could do is
(12:54):
run double moves like he and they used to irritate him.
So in that same game he cost them the game.
If you remember, we ran a reroute and that week
coach Kobeak it was either Kobak or Kyle. They was like,
(13:14):
we gonna put a w a wheel route on it.
Oh oh, So if you noticed, that was the plage
that Kobe caught running up the sideline and we ended
up and it was like a big player in the game,
and he was so focused on me and I had
talked so much, you know, we had went back and
forth so much during the game, and on that uh
re route when it was a wheel on it actually
(13:36):
was sitting the route down, yeah, because Kobe was and
when I sat down, he jumped all over it and
Kobe was running up the sideline. So it w It
was like I said it was, It was a great time.
It was a lot of great memories, you know, competing
against them, but I think you know what they're doing
(13:56):
this Sunday is definitely something we can use in the motivation.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Andre, thanks a lot for joining us. We appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
All Right, there's Andre Johnson, man. I love visiting with him.
You're gonna hear a whole lot more of that on
Texans Radio coming up. Now, let's get to Mike Keith,
voice of the Tennessee Titans, and he's a great one.
A lot of things to say about this team. Let's
get the ins and outs of what's going on with them,
and also a take on the oilers jerseys, because you know,
I couldn't resist asking that question.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Mike. Great to have you on.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
Congratulations on the win Monday night football, knocking off the Dolphins.
And I know it's a short week, but it's got
to be a week filled with energy for the Titans
as they get ready for this home game.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
First of all, Mark good to be joining you in
Happy holidays to you and yours. It is good. It
is good. We've had certainly a tough run on the
road for over a year, and so to go to
Miami and to surprise a lot of people and win
in a very strange way, it was a lot of
fun and it kind of built on some things this
(14:59):
team's and working on for quite some time. And now
they see if they can keep it up. The team
did some good things in the Indianapolis game, lost that
game in an unusual manner, and then they win this
game in an unusual manner, and so now they're going
to try to see if they can play a normal game.
Speaker 2 (15:18):
All right, Well, let's start with Will Levis as far
as the Titans go. I know it's not all about him,
but he is a focal point right now as you
start the rookie quarterback, What are you seeing so far
in the development? And everybody noticed that for a touchdown
pass game to launch his career. And I know it's
been a little bit of a rocky road since then,
but what a great performance against the Dolphins.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
What do you see in Mike?
Speaker 5 (15:39):
He's growing up and I think this is probably a
little sooner Mark than they wanted to get him in there.
But when he finally became the starter on October the
twenty ninth, he had been with the organization for six
months and so he had been in that quarterback room.
He had been around Ryan Tannehill. They had been able
to take their time with him. He had a quad
(16:01):
injury at the end of training camp, which sort of
slowed his progress, but he had been working very regularly.
They had an idea of what they had in him.
They had gotten to know him. They'd certainly worked on
some things with him about understanding that in the pro game, Hey,
you're going to make mistakes, You've got to get over it.
(16:22):
You've got to be even tempered, And that was something
at Kentucky. He would get down on himself. You know,
he would make a mistake and then he would take
it very hard, which you like in a way because
you know he's a guy who cares deeply. But at
the same time, you have to be able to let
it go. And I think Monday Night was a great
(16:42):
example of Betty to a bad interception in the first quarter,
he made a bad pitch in the fourth quarter, and
yet he just kept playing and his physical talent is undeniable.
Now teams have tape on him and so they're able
to make adjustments to him. He's having to adjust back.
But Mark, I would say, so far, so good. I
(17:03):
don't think anybody's you know, proclaiming anything or saying it's
all fixed or it's all great, or you know, whatever
the case may be. In a world where we like to,
you know, sort of make snap proclamations about anything, you know,
hot takes whatever. I think the Titans are quietly, very
(17:23):
pleased with where he is and understand there's more work
to be done. And I think Will Levis is the
same way, Mark, And that's the best part of this
story so far.
Speaker 2 (17:33):
Mike Keith, voice of the Titans, joining us Derrick Henry.
What are we getting out of Derrick Henry? Now he
looks pretty much the same to me. Maybe you're not
getting as many long runs whatever, he's just so keyed on, Mike,
Yet he still manages to gain a ton of yards,
averaging four point one eight seventy five on the year.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Yeah, he's doing fine. And you're right, they're keying on
him and this offensive line has issues. But here he
was the other night and that the Titans are in
a situation where he rushes seventeen times for thirty four yards.
But you know what he did. He scored two touchdowns.
He scored the game winning touchdown. And he was as
(18:12):
happy after that game as any of his one hundred
and fifty two hundred yard games because he knew he
contributed in the way he could help. If he's lost anything,
it's not much. He can still really play and he's
in a bit of a different role. He understands that
with Taja Spears, because Taja is the best partner he's
(18:36):
ever had since he became the lead back. He gets it.
I think he understands where he is. But guess what,
He's going to finish the year with twelve thirteen hundred yards.
And I think most teams would be happy to have
a twelve or thirteen hundred yard back.
Speaker 1 (18:52):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
And when you drafted Spears in Nashville, we were all
bummed out because we all really liked Taja Spears. And
I was also that when DeAndre Hopkins signed with the
Tennessee Titans, because you know, we love hop here and
to watch him as spry as he is right now,
he looks about as good as he could possibly look
at this age. And it must be a little freaky
(19:13):
for you because he's had some big games against the
Titans and now he's having some big games for you.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
It's funny. I mean, it is a it's a funny
world that we live in because he absolutely tortured us
for years. I mean, he didn't just play good against us,
he tortured us. And then he went to Arizona and
his first game with the Cardinals, he tortured us. So
I finally got a chance to sit down with him
not long ago. We were talking about he goes, Yeah,
(19:40):
he goes, it's kind of freaky, he said. It's a
little different. But I think he's having a good time
on this team. He likes Rabel and you know, they
knew each other from their time together with the Texans,
and so they have a good personal relationship. The Titans
manage him very well, which is something that they do
well with veterans. They do it with Henry, they do
(20:02):
it with Hopkins, They've done it with Jeffrey Simmons, on
and on and on. You just see that, and so, yeah,
he's he's playing well. He had a good game the
other night seven catches for one hundred and twenty four
yards and what a what a breath of fresh air
for a guy like Will Levis to have a receiver
that's going to the Hall of Fame that you can
(20:23):
count on in this way, And I think to me,
that's the part that DeAndre Hopkins is enjoying the most.
Is much like his time with Deshaun Watson where he
sort of broke him into the league in that way
being his guy. He's doing the same thing for Will Levis,
which is which is really cool to see. It's it's
(20:43):
interesting to watch a professional in this way do it
the way he does it every single day and you
understand why he is the special player that he is.
You know, from Afar being tortured by him, we knew
was good, but to watch you work every day in practice,
it's really fascinating and gives a lot of insight into
(21:07):
why he's had the career he's head.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:09):
Absolutely, always a quarterback's best friend.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Mike.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
What about that defense because we see some of the
names we know oh so well. You see Harold Landry,
Jeffrey Simmons. I know we missed the last game, Daniko autry.
There are some new guys as well, though, what are
you getting out of that Titan d They've had.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
A pretty good year. Yeah, the statistics will tell you
it's not been bad. And if you saw him on
Monday night, with how they contained Miami, that's pretty much
the story of their season. They've rushed the passer pretty well,
they've kept teams out of the end zone pretty well.
The disappointment in this defense is we thought they had
(21:49):
a chance at the beginning of the year to be dominant,
and they have not been. They have not had the
number of takeaways that we had hoped. They've just not
had the big plays that we had hoped. But they've
been very solid, and had the Titans offense been better,
(22:09):
I think that might have given the defense a chance
to be better because I think some teams offensively have
been able to keep things more basic due to the
fact that the Titans have had problems until the last
two weeks scoring. And you know this, Mark You've been
around the league for a long long time. When an
offense and opposing offense doesn't have to take a lot
(22:32):
of chances to win the game, they're not going to.
So the end result is the opposing defense has less
chances to make things happen, and I think that's been
part of the issue for the Titans this year. But
you know, the defense did a great job the other night.
They essentially did not give up a touchdown an offensive
(22:53):
touchdown to the Dolphins. One was on an interception return,
and the two late ones came and the Dolphins only
had to drive nineteen yards for the fourteen points. So
pretty good job by them overall.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
Mike, let's look at the division here for a moment,
then we'll get back to this game. What are your
thoughts on what you're seeing from the Colts now, because
to me, it's pretty disturbing that they're still very much
in this thing and they've suffered through everything they've suffered
through with Jonathan Taylor, losing Anthony richardson, all of that,
yet here they are still very much in the mix
(23:28):
heading into the final four games.
Speaker 5 (23:30):
They're good on defense. You know, they've had good people
and they've kind of continued to put that together, in
particular with their rotation in the front four on defense.
And then Zire Franklin is having a monster year at linebacker.
I mean, he's taken over for Darius Leonard and he's
now that guy for them, which is why they could
(23:51):
let Darius Leonard go offensively. I think at this moment
they're probably better off with Garner Minshew. Now we'll see
what happens next year, because Anthony Richardson will almost have
to start all over again. I think they wanted him
to battle through that rookie year and learn and grow
(24:13):
and all those sorts of things. And then he gets
hurt and ironically in the game against US, and they'll
go back to him next year, but he'll still have
a ton that he will have to learn, having just
basically played a month, and Minchew manages them better now
I think does a good job with with all of that.
(24:34):
He gets who he is, and he understands who he
has to be in that offense, and you know, he's
got a guy that that he can lean on in
Michael Pittman, and the rookie Downs is a really good player.
He was a guy that you know, I was sitting
there thinking, oh, man, if the Titans could get him,
that would be a really good player. Josh Downs is
really nice and gives them a kind of a different element.
(24:57):
And I think Steiken gets where they are too. Mark,
I'm pretty impressed with the way he has coached that team.
You know, that's one of the things you see in
the league. It's easy to be a good coach, but
you've got to coach the team you have well. And
he has coached the team he has very well, which
I think, unfortunately for both of us, that doesn't vote
(25:20):
well for what he's going to do with them moving
forward as they get better.
Speaker 2 (25:26):
Mike Keith's voice of the Titans with US Jaguars have
lost back to back. Texans had a field goal attempt
bounce off the crossbar that would have tied the game
at the end of regulation with a chance to maybe
win an overtime. Who knows you're going to host them
to end the regular season here. How much trouble are
they in, Mike, and how good can they be?
Speaker 5 (25:46):
I think to worry for them right now more than
anything else is they're having some injury issues that they
haven't had the last two years. And you know, and
last year they were so healthy, They were amazingly healthy.
They did not lose a starter until Week eighteen when
they played the Titans on Saturday night to get into
(26:09):
the playoffs and Robinson got hurt and couldn't play in
the playoffs. You know, you have some of this that
you see as we go through November and get into December,
the injuries chip away. The guys who've been having to
play are not quite as good, and they're a little
banged up having to play more snaps. And I think
(26:31):
that's kind of where Jacksonville is right now. I think
they're trying to fight through this tough period. The question
with Lawrence two and the ankle, and he's had the
knee all year, and you know, where is he at
this point? He played very well against US, really really
played well against US last month. But we'll see, you know,
(26:54):
down the stretch, we'll see exactly what they look like
and are they able to maintain the pace with where
they are health wise? They they're probably the most talented
team in the division, but you know, as we know,
that doesn't always win it.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
Who's the best team in the AFC? Not record wise?
But who would be your pick if it's not the Titans, Mike,
you know.
Speaker 5 (27:19):
I think it's probably going to end up being Baltimore.
The team that I think is really interesting is Cleveland, though,
you know, if they and I don't know if FLACOA
can hold up or you know who's going to play
quarterback for them. But their defense is so good, Mark,
I mean, they are so good. You know, they're one
(27:41):
of those teams in that one off situation in the
playoffs you do not want to play. Ironically, they're almost
like the Ravens were back, you know, fifteen twenty years ago.
You just don't want to play them because, I mean,
you could get a day where they can hold you
to one hundred yards. They're that good. So I don't know.
(28:03):
I mean, I think it's more wide open than it
has been. I think on the other side, San Francisco's
the best team. I think that's going to become clear.
Dallas may be taking a step. But in our conference,
I think it's more wide open. If you ask me
today to give you an answer, my best answer is Baltimore.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
Okay, I've got one more for you.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
Here.
Speaker 2 (28:25):
As the Texans and Titans meet on Sunday, I was
thinking about all the moments in this rivalry. I was
thinking of the eight game here mostly Texans wins, Mike,
because it's my perspective, thirteen twelve victory against the thirteen
and three Titans team team that would go thirteen to three,
That oh nine game Week two that was wild with
the bench brawl and everything like that. I think of
(28:48):
all it at Cortland Finnegan, and then I zoom it
into today because Demiko Ryan's played in this rivalry and
now it really feels like it's on again and the Oilers'
uniforms will be worn on Sunday. What about that vibe?
Because you've been through it once already this year. Do
the Nashville fans embrace that. It's kind of a weird
(29:08):
dynamic to me, the way the whole thing is, but
it is what it is and we're going to enjoy
it and see how it plays out.
Speaker 5 (29:14):
They just, more than anything else, they love the look,
you know, because everybody loves retro in everything now, and
when they came out and they had a chance to
see them, people just went wild over the look. Ironically,
in the two years that we played in Tennessee as
(29:35):
the Oilers, we never wore the blue jerseys at home.
We only wore them. This is very strange. We wore
them in a game Miami in September when they wore
their whites, and then we wore them on Thanksgiving ninety
seven at Dallas because Dallas wears white at home, and
(29:58):
they chose the organization chose to wear the white jerseys
in ninety seven and ninety eight because from a mental standpoint,
they wanted the team to always think, hey, we're the
road team. You know, we're at We're not in our home.
We're having to play away. We're going to be strong,
and we're not going to make any excuses whatever. So
when people walked into Nissan Stadium on October twenty ninth
(30:21):
and saw the jerseys, they went crazy and they really
do look fantastic, and so the kids are buying them
like crazy. I mean, the team store can't keep them
all of that, and I think that's been more of
the overall vibe than anything else. You know, it's not
about I mean to our ownership group and to the
(30:43):
people who I was an Eiler, so I know and
it means something to me. But from the fan perspective,
it's just, man, this is cool that we're getting to
live in the retro, and the retro is so cool.
So we'll see, you know, it's been It was fun
that day and we'll see exactly how the stadium looks
(31:04):
come Sunday, will they do the Oil Derek in the
middle of the field like they did for the earlier
game and things like that. I don't know, you know,
I don't know. That was homecoming weekend, and so with
all the Oilers back in town, they decked out Nissan
Stadium in Ohilers Mike.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
Finally, former Oiler and Tennessee Titan Frank Wichek passed away
last weekend. I know you worked with him in the booth,
you knew him well. My condolences to you, and I
know that he had a great career on and off
the field for the organization.
Speaker 5 (31:36):
Yeah, thanks for saying that, Marks, It's been a rough week.
Frank is probably the most popular player in this part
of our history because when the team moved to Tennessee,
he was the guy who got out in the community
the most early on, and he was doing all of
those community events at a time that he was one
(31:59):
of the best tight in the NFL, and so he
combined that sort of big personality with a guy who
was catching sixty passes for six hundred yards and going
too Pro Bowls. And then after his playing career ended,
he immediately went into the talk show business, and he
was very good at that. His talk show was hilarious
(32:22):
and was the topic of everybody every day. And then
you know, he was on Titan's radio for twelve years
as well as our as our analysts, and so Titans
fans had him for twenty seasons as a player and
as a broadcaster, and that bond with him is such
(32:42):
that we've we've never had, even with Steve McNair and
Eddie George and some of our other grades. There was
nobody as close to the heart of the of the
player or of the fan base as Frank Whycheck. And
I don't know if this is an app comparison, but
it feels like how the Texans fans feel about JJ Watt.
(33:05):
And that's that closeness that love, you know, just more
than anything else, not only loving the player, but loving
the person and loving the personality. And you will still
see eighty nine jerseys at games, You'll still see him
everywhere you go because he meant so much to people.
(33:26):
So for the Titans family to lose him, I mean,
it is just crushing. And this this week has been
in many ways just awful. I mean, you hear the
great stories about him, and it's fun. But just the
shock that he's not with us anymore. I really don't
(33:49):
know how to describe it other than there's a hole
in our hearts.
Speaker 2 (33:53):
Very well, said Mike, and once again our sympathies and condolences,
and we'll see what happens Sunday. I'm sure they're going
to honor rank and we look forward to that and
seeing you in the booth on Sunday, my friend, as
the Texans and Titans get together.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
Thanks so much for the time, Mike, appreciate the visit.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
My pleasure, Mark, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (34:10):
All Right, there's my buddy, Mike Keith, voice of the
Tennessee Titans. That's gonna do it for this episode. Let's
buckle up, get ready for Nashville Sunday at noon. Sports
Radio six ' ten The Bull one hundred point three FM,
the Texans app Odyssey app, your home, big brother, smart device,
whatever it might be, listen in. Let's hope for the
(34:31):
very best. Here is the Texans rally to face the
Titans on Sunday. Have a great evening or day or
morning whenever you're listening to this. I listen to podcasts
walking my dog actually go Texans,
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