The OTP: Evaluating the 2020 Schedule

You want me to just roll through it. The Tennessee Titans will open the regular season on September fourteenth, Monday Night Football, the last game of Kickoff weekend in primetime at Denver. It's a nine to ten Central Time kickoff. The Titans home opener comes to following Sunday, September the twentieth, at Nissan Stadium against AFC South rival Jacksonville. Spoiler alert, the Tight don't play the Jags on Thursday night for the first time in this century. I think something like that.

Week three, Tennessee is at Minnesota, the first trip for the Titans to US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The first quarter of the season ends with a home date against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's actually the first of three straight home games to begin October. That Pittsburgh game is on October fourth. Tennessee host Buffalo October eleventh, Houston October eighteenth, the Titans by week In Week seven, that's the weekend of October the twenty fifth. After the bye, the Titans

make a November first visit to Cincinnati. The Bears come to Nashville on November the eighth, and then the Colds hit town for Thursday Night football November the twelfth. That's right, a second primetime game for the Titans. Stay tuned. There is another one to come, but first let's hit back to back road games to end November at Ball tomorrow November twenty second, at Indianapolis November the twenty ninth. December starts with a visit from the Cleveland Browns. The Titans

then head to Jacksonville on Sunday, December the thirteenth. In Week fifteen, Tennessee's final regular season home game, hosting Detroit. It'll either be Saturday, December nineteenth or Sunday December twentieth. Whether it's Saturday or Sunday against the Lions be determined later in the year, and then tough ending roadwork big time Sunday night Football at Green Bay December the twenty seventh, and at Houston in week seventeen, which comes on January

the third. Coach, very well, we have a lot of questions for you about this schedule. NFL fans around the league, of course, are super excited to be seeing this schedule. As players and coaches, how do you approach this news today, Well, we had an idea of who we played, and we

knew where, we just didn't know when. So I think it's most important for us to work on maybe the common opponents, the opponents that we have an idea about, maybe we played them last year, teams out of our division, for example, the difference between the Denver Broncos, the Baltimore Ravens, the Buffalo Bills, or maybe the Vikings or the Packers that we're not quite so sure about or haven't played recently.

I think that's the first thing that comes to mind, is is who you're familiar with and who you've played recently. Every years a new year, amy but we're certainly excited to continue this preparation as we work our way through these virtual meetings. When you get this schedule, how do you begin to start breaking it down and kind of putting it into more manageable chunks. Okay, we always talk about the season in four quarters. But I'm not going to sit here and do what we ask our players

not to do, which is which is count numbers. Is to sit there at training camp with ninety players and that we're gonna get it down to fifty five and to have guys sit there and start counting, well, how many guys in my position? What number am I? Um? We ask our players not to do that, So as the head coach, I'm not going to do that and start counting and saying, well, this is a tough game. This is I mean, I've I've all been in the NFL a lot a lot of years, twenty years for me,

and they're all tough. And when you play well, you have a chance to win, and when you don't play well, I guarantee that you're gonna lose. So, um, we have a great operations team, we really do, led by Brent Acres and his staff, and I know that they'll have us prepared for when we have to travel, and we're excited about having home games here early coach, was there anything that surprised you about this schedule? Nope. I'll figure out what uniforms we wear before we go out on

the field that day, you know, Mike. Mike always wonders what uniform we're gonna wear and what time Z owned and at what time and what station. So I'll let you know as soon as we go out to kick off. Well, we know all the games around Titans Radio. That's good news, Mike, So we are definitely sure about that. I do want to ask you, though, Monday Night Football week one in Denver, how excited will the Titans be to take part in Monday Night Football the last game of kickoff weekend. Well,

it's always an honor. I think when you grow up watching football, and you did, and I did, and a lot of our fans that when you grow up watching football, you watch Monday Night Football. I mean that's your last taste of it until now on Thursday. And so before it was and there was no Thursday night football, so it was like, man, we got to get this game in and then get all the way to the weekend. So it's an honor to play on Monday Night Football.

Certainly a great challenge to go on the road in Denver. You know, hopefully we can score a point this year and see how that goes a little better. But it'll be a great way to start the season. There'll be a lot of excitement and a lot of people tuning in three primetime games for the Titans on the schedule. How excited are you for Titans fans that this club gets the show of respect it does by being selected

to play in primetime at least three times this year? Well, again, you ear in respect by winning football games and by playing hard, and you know we got to continue to do that. But it is certainly an honor and you want to be ready to go and be at your best at those games. They all count the same, but I know a lot more people are watching and players around the league, you know, are tuning into those games

as well. Mike, speaking of Titans fans, four of your first six games are at Nissan Stadium, six of your first nine. The Titans and Titans fans have to find a way to take advantage and make Nissan Stadium as tough as they possibly can, especially to begin twenty twenty. Yeah, way,

do you know? We have to start better and we played well down the stretch last year and that's really what it allowed us to get into the playoffs and win a couple of games, and we're gonna have to start the season off better so that margin Frere isn't so thin, you know, we have to The goal is to in the division, to host home playoff games, to put ourselves in the best position possible. And that'll start, you know, early in the season with those games that

you mentioned that we have at home. And you know, I think people are you know, I just think the confidence and a momentum in which we had at the end of last year. I hope that our fans had that same type of feeling. You know. I know a lot of people had watch parties. Unfortunately, we couldn't have a watch party at Nissan because we were on the road. But you know, let's see if we can't have a

couple of watch parties down there at Nissan Stadium. Are there specific preparation challenges for you and your staff and this football team with the schedule, you know, those are some things that you look at, those quick turnarounds, you know, the Sunday that Thursday, the Monday night to Sunday, you know, traveling to Denver not much of a time zone, and we can't do much to replicate altitude don't don't have any on the West coast, So those are some things

you worry about. It'll be cold in Green Bay, you know, it's just you know, we approach those things, you know when they happen, but certainly we're very aware of them. Um. You know, now as it starts unfold, you mentioned that Green Bay game. That's one of the last two games that are on the road, at green Bay and then at Houston. Does that almost add extra emphasis or drive home the need to make sure that the twenty twenty

Titans are getting a home playoff game. It's important that that we put ourselves in the best position to be playing meaningful games. And we all know that a lot of those seasons started Thanksgiving, where where teams start to you know, some start to continue to improve and some don't and some kind of flatten off. So you know, we have to be playing our best football late. The teams that do and continue to improve are the ones

that go into playoffs. And whether you play them on the road or your play them at home, you're gonna still have to play well enough to win. Finally, Mike, how is all the virtual offseason going with your current players couldn't be happier. I think it all started with the draft and the work that our it department, in our video department, and everybody put in to making sure that that draft ran smoothly on a virtual level. I think that really carried over to our coaching staff and

these meetings. I think the players are excited to see each other on the screen, on the on the computer screen. Our coach has done a fantastic job with being great teachers film and making sure that the players are getting exactly what they need. Players are engaged, They're making sure that they are answering questions and asking questions when they don't know something. When can the rookies get started, Mike, We'll be starting with these guys Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock.

There'll be a squad meeting. We'll go through introductions and these guys are getting ready to go. And finally, what uniforms are you going to wear in Denver on September fourteen? I have no idea. They'll have hamlets and shoulder pads on be dressed as the Titans, for sure. Mike thinks so much. We always appreciate your take, especially on a day like this that made so much to Titans fans when they get the schedule for twenty twenty. Yeah, thanks Mike,

Thanks Amy. Titans head coach Mike Vrabel kind enough to take time with us aby as we get ready to run through the OTP presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans. Let's go through that schedule one more time. The Tennessee Titans opened the season at Denver on Monday Night Football on September fourteenth at nine ten pm Central Time. Then Jacksonville comes to Nissan Stadium on September twentieth. Tennessee is at Minnesota on September twenty seventh, and the Steelers will

be in Nashville on October fourth. Two more home games in a row after Pittsburgh. October the eleventh against Buffalo, October the eighteenth against Houston, then the bye October the twenty fifth. That's in week seven. On November first, Tennessee is at Cincinnati. The Titans are home for back to back games next November eighth against the Bears, followed by Thursday Nights Football against the Colts. Ten days later, Tennessee

is on the road at Baltimore. Then the following Sunday it's second meeting in seventeen days with the Indianapolis Colts, this time on the road. All right, here are the final five down the stretch for the Titans. A home game with Cleveland, a road trip to Jacksonville home for Detroit, either on Saturday, December nineteenth or Sunday, December twentieth, Sunday Night Football in Green Bay, where Amy Wells will need a parka on the sidelines, and then January third at

Houston to end the regular season. So more expert analysis about this schedule. We welcome to the OTP, presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans, Jim Watt, the Great Jim White from Tennessee Titans dot com, and also coach Dave McGinnis from Titans Radio. Amy, you may proceed with the questioning. Now that sounds so formal, Mike when you say it like that. These are friendly questions, and I want to start with Jim, and then I'll ask Coach Mac. Give me the game on the schedule that jumps out to

you the most and tell me why. Well, I think it's the December twenty seventh game at Green Bay, the one Mike just mentioned on Sunday Night Football. Have to have it means something for that game to be important, obviously, But the thought of going to lambeau Field in December on a Sunday night, a team that just went thirteen and three, a team that's coached by Matt Laflora, a guy who used to be Tennessee's offensive coordinator. I think that game has a heck of a lot of intrigue.

And that's in a schedule that's pretty attractive with three prom town games. Map. What about you the Houston game before the bye. Houston's won this division for out the last five years. You want to go into the bye on a positive feeling. We've got our five of the first six or AFC games, four over mur at home, big time. Important to win that Houston game before the bye. Coach back, and then I'll ask Jim the same question.

Is there anything on this schedule that surprises you? The only thing that when I look at it is when you look at the opener at Denver, Okay on Monday night. I mean, there's clearly a reason that they felt like we needed to go out to the AFC West coming off of a shortened off season, and who knows how much training camp we have. I mean, that's interesting to me. We're gonna do it. We'll go out there and beat them.

But that just looking at it right from jump, I went, Okay, there was a lot of talk leading up to the schedule coming out and don't I haven't seen schedules for other teams yet, but I know there was a lot of conversation leading up to schedule, at least about the potential for out of conference games within the first four weeks of the season. I look at the Titan schedule, I see three out of four games against AFC opponents, including a home game against a division foe in the

Jacksonville Jaguars. I think that's the biggest surprise to me. I was expecting to see a lot of NFCC teams early in case the schedule needs to be moved, in case the season needs to be shortened because of a lot of unknowns going on with the situation that the league and the world is in right now. But it didn't play out that way, at least for the Titans. Jim, the Titans have three prime time games. Is this a reflection of the success that the team had in twenty

nineteen making it so deep into the playoffs? I definitely think so, man. I think the success of the Titans had the fact that Derrick Henry's back, or Iyan Tanney Hills back into the team that was exciting down the stretch, going to win in New England and Baltimore in the playoffs. I think the three prime time games served as a reward.

I kind of anticipated one of those prime time games being against the Ravens since that would have been a rematch of a division additional playoff contests that had been a new game in November, but the ones that are on the schedule, exciting opening in Denver facing a team that obviously beat the Titans last year kind of led

to the quarterback change. In Tennessee, facing Jurrell Casey in Week one of former great time Titan and then having a chance to play against the Colts in a game that's certainly will mean a lot here in Nashville on a Thursday night, and against the Packers on that Sunday night game I mentioned, it's a reward for a good season from twenty nineteen, and it's the chance for the Titans to kind of show how we've still got it all right, Coach Mac, A question for you which is

the bigger challenge. A Monday night game in Denver that kicks off well past my bedtime with a short week to get ready for Jacksonville right after that. Or back to back road games in November at Baltimore and then at India. It's the back to back games in November for me, those are AFC games we're going to be fighting for playoff positioning. Then look, the Monday night game, the opening, I love it. You've got a lot of

time to prepare for it. And if you're going on the road in an opener on Monday night, then at least your second game that you're coming off with one less date of repair, it's against a very very well known opponent for us, So to me, it's much much more difficult later in November those two that you mentioned. This is the Official Titans Podcast, presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans. Healthcare coverage from Farm Bureau Health Plans is like an extra set of pads when you need them

the most. They've been protecting Tennessee and since nineteen forty seven. All right, for the three of you, I'm going to ask this question, so Amy, get ready. I want to start with Jim then Amy, then coach Titans get a bye week Week seven, October the twenty fifth. They will have played four of their first six at home. As a matter of fact, they won't hit the road for six weeks from September twenty seventh through November first, because of three straight home games and the buye It's really

kind of an intriguing type of scheduling quirk. If you will, Jim Wyatt, do you like to buy and we seven? Would you rather have it earlier or later? I'd rather have it later. They tell you it's never a bad time for the by a week, except for maybe if it's week three, and I think the Titans had a Week three by a week way back back in the day. I would have preferred to have seen it right close

to the middle of the schedule. But I do think, you know, after a tough stretch of three straight home games, you can get off to a good start, You can kind of catch your breath a little bit and then get get loaded up for the final ten. But if I have my druthers, I think I'd go I'd pick after a week eight or nine. Amy. I think I agree with Jim and that if I were allowed to choose.

I'd have it be a couple weeks later, but I like the idea of having a chance to rest, let guys get really healthy, and then pushed through to the end. It gives you a chance to build that momentum with hopefully a healthy squad. You know what I'm on a First of all, I'm on the question the great Jim Watt's math at seven weeks that's pretty close to the middle of sixteen. Okay. Now the other the other thing

is I like it. I like it coming right where it is because you've come off five of six AFC opponents. I like that you should have set yourself up for some success down the stretch. I like that where it is.

You know what's interesting with it is if the Titans do have training camp as normal, and if there are four preseason games as normal, then that would actually come at the midway point of football, meaning that you would have had four preseason games in six regular season games, and you would have ten games to go, so it would be technically the middle of football. Now, again, we don't know how it all works out with preseason and such,

but I like it. I think I think right there is a great time especially knowing that if you got somebody banged up, man, it would be great to get an extra week to go into that sense of natty game and be as healthy as possible. I also like having it to be able to spend a little time on Cincinnati or a little extra time on Cincinnati and Joe Burrow, who will probably just be settling in at that point. I will never question the great Jim Wyatt. I questioned his math are a little I think you

just questioned it. Hey, let's talk about someone coach. You take this first, and then Jim next. Jonathan Joseph thirty six year old, corner speaking of math. By the way, the Titans will be off five weeks or will be at home five weeks, not six. That's my bad on math, So figure that Weber twenty seventh to November first. I'm sorry anyway. Jonathan Joseph signs with the Titans. Thirty six years old, former first round pick, fourteen years in the league,

nine years in the division. How does he help this defense? Coach Mac I love his press conference. This is a pros pro. You can tell just by way he talks. I mean you can tell he gets it. He gets it at all levels. He gets who he is. He's very comfortable in his own scan. Look a pro that's comfortable in their own skin, especially if you're not going to have a lot of time to involve yourself with

with your new teammates. Well, I tell you one thing, players respect longevity in this league because to be in this league that long, especially at that position, you have to have a lot of water in your bucket. And I like that. I like that a lot. When I heard him today on the press conference, I was really impressed. Nice edition. Yeah, I thought it was intriguing too. I didn't realize his wife went to Hillsborough High School and

then went to Tennessee State University. It was interesting and ends up in Nashville, where his wife, you know, grew up. I think he's a great addition. This is obviously a team team that has lost some really good leaders, including Logan Ryan. In that secondary room, He's won somebody that can come in and provide, you know, some great knowledge to some of the younger guys, and just his love of the game and his ability continue to play. After

fourteen season in the league. He's made a lot of plays on the ball that was interesting to hear him say he thought if he thanks you dropped thirty thirty five interceptions during the course of his career, just because he's been around the ball so much so he's got a great relationship with Ben Jones. Just to hear Ben Jones, a former teammate of his in Houston, talk about him kind of reassures you that this is a quality guy

coming in who's going to help that secondary room. It's going to need some need some more veterans to step up and help some of the young guys. All right, well, Jim, there was another signing in the secondary, Abraham Campbell. He's a safety from Green Bay. Where do you think that he could fit in. I think he adds depths to the safety position. He's been a really good special teams player. Is something this team has done here in recent week is just trying to find some guys that will compete

on the back end, give you some depth. I think the fact that this offseason, that the fact that there may not be an offseason, an offseason program ots mini camp. You know everything's gonna be sped up when the team returns to training camp, so you need as many veterans there instead of trying to rely out undrafted free agents to healthy and certainly the team signs some guys, fourteen

of them. We're gonna talk about those guys here shortly, but I think he will bring knowledge to the team, to special teams, to that secondary safety position, and he'll have a chance to compete in our respond. Yeah, he's a veteran special teams contributor, and that's huge. We won some games last year on special teams guys. I mean, you have to do that in the National Football League. That's vital. You used to could be able to before

free agency in the salary cap. Keep about six seven eight year vets at all they did was play special teams. Having a special teams contributor that knows how to do it, that's huge. All right, So Jim mentioned fourteen undrafted free agents have signed with the Titans. I'm going to ask each of you to give me one name among the undrafteds to keep an eye on. Jim Wyatt, you lead us off, Well, I'm gonna go Tucker McCann, the kicker from Missouri, who I'm sure as a fan of got

a couple of Missouri guys on here. Sixteen to twenty two field goals last year thirty four or thirty seven extra points. He can punt, so he can take a little pressure off of Brett curning Camp. But he's obviously brought in here to compete for the kicking position. And Greg Joseph is another player that's gonna be in the mixed here who finished the season last year. I think some people expect the type to maybe draft a kicker, potentially signed somebody during the course of this obvious and

that has not happened. So Tucker McCann has a chance to earn a job, there's no question about it. I'm curiously how this one plays out because you have mccannon, you can have Joseph competing, and we've seen some offseason the past where you've got young guys competing. You know, if one of them doesn't kind of stand out, you could always dip back into free agency at that point. That's what happened, was Ryan suck up. You know several

years ago. It could happen Ryan suck up again. I think once he gets healthy and healed up in a position to kick again, maybe he gets back into the mix. But in the meantime, talker mccainn and Greg Joseph are going to have a chance to win the job. Well, I'm going to go with another Missouri guy, because of course I am Kale Garrett. He's a linebacker. He wasn't

on the field a ton at Missouri. He struggled with some injury issues, but I think that when he was on the field, he really impressed coaches and I'm excited to see what he's able to bring to the next level. And he's a pretty versatile guy. I think that he if he's able to find his niche somewhere, I think that he could carve out a little spot for himself. And you can never have too many linebackers, so I'm

excited to watch him through camp. You know, Coach Mack, had he not torn his peck last year in the fifth game of the year, he would have been an All American. He was having a phenomenal year for the Tigers, very productive linebacker and well known to SEC fans. So he will certainly be one to watch. Who's Your Gay from Anthony Anthony McKinney TCU tackle six eight, three hundred and fifteen pounds. You know, and this kid is just

now learning how to play football. I mean, he was a wrestler in high school and then went then went to Iowa Western Community College and he's just now learning how to play six eight, three to fifteen. Uh. He was at he was at Uh and look, I recruited those Iowa junior colleges. Iowa Western puts out some really good players. Uh. I got one hundred dollar bill here. Everybody see it. Everybody see this one hundred dollar bill.

One question. All three of you start with Amy, what are what is the mascot for the Iowa Western football program? You are you ready? All right? You don't know? Next Janus, Yes, and then look it up. A lizard of some sort. It's not a lizard. Jim go, I'm gonna go with the dollar bills since you're held up money. Okay, that's exactly wrong. Mike Keith chiefs, Okay, that was that was closer. It's the Reavers, the Reavers, the R E V E R s, the Reavers. Yes, I will tell you what

a rever is. A rever of the thirteenth and the seventeenth century on the border of Scotland and England. They had a lot of river pirates in Autumwa, Iowa. I mean this splits the De Moron River splits the city in half, so they're the river pirates the Reavers. There you go, I can't. I can't do that well, actually, but here's mine. Their four receivers signed among the undrafteds. Christian Wilkerson is really interesting to me because he went to Memphis Craigmont and then he played at Simo and

did a great job there. Nick Westbrook from Indiana is a receiver that was on his way to something special with the Hoosiers, had an injury and is just now coming back. Kyle Williams from Arizona State is a talented young guy, really smart, gonna be a doctor. But the name I give you from Barry College in Rome, Ga, I'm talking about none other than Mason Kinzie, a Division three player, the first ever player from Barry College to sign with an NFL team. He's from Demerist, Georgia. That's

a town of about fifteen hundred to two thousand. He caught fifty touchdown passes and he did a great job in a postseason bowl game. I think it was the Shrine Bowl. He played in and played really well. A D three player trying to make an NFL roster is something else. But Mason Kinzie is a guy who signed with the Tennessee Titans. Interesting player to watch. How about that you cannot gets anywhere else in the world, virtual non virtual, face to face nowhere else in the world.

Nobody would one hundred dollars and I had let us place at the receiver position. There's I think there's a spot to be had. You know, Corey Grace, A. J. Brown, Adam Humphrey's gonna be on this team. I think calif Raymond has the edge over Cam Batson for the four spot. Then you got Batson, whether he can establish himself and stick. And then all of these undrafted free agents who have a chain it. So with the fifty five man roster with extra room on the practice squad, one or two

of these guys I think is gonna end up sticking. Yeah, that's a great point. Well, this has been really good. We've talked schedule, We've talked undrafted's, We've talked about Jonathan Joseph, We've talked about Reavers, and I mean so much that we have packed into this edition of the Official Titans Podcast, brought to you by Farm Bureau Health Plans, Get the Home field advantage with healthcare coverage from Farm Bureau Health Plans.

They've been protecting Tennessee ands since nineteen forty seven. We move ever closer to football season as we get the schedule today exciting for Titans fans. Three count them, three primetime games for Amy Wells, Jim Wyatt and coach Dave McGinnis. Mike Keith, thanks you for listening to the Ode Teeth