Tennessee Titans: What Stood Out At Camp Day 14
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Wednesday's Tennessee Titans training camp practice felt totally different than anything I have been a part of in three years covering the team. Truly, a vibe permeated Saint Thomas Sports Park with Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in town. Each day, we will analyze the biggest takeaway, individual stand-out […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Wednesday's Tennessee Titans training camp practice felt totally different than anything I have been a part of in three years covering the team. Truly, a vibe permeated Saint Thomas Sports Park with Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in town.
Each day, we will analyze the biggest takeaway, individual stand-out or topic du jour that came out of practice and what it could mean for the upcoming season. Let’s take a look at Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr.'s relationship with Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel…
Day 1 of the joint practices between the Titans and New England was filled with family ties.
The first of the two inter-squad exercises before the teams meet Aug. 17 for the second preseason game of their respective seasons also happened to be Titans coach Mike Vrabel's 44th birthday. Brady, who turned 42 on Aug. 3, is preparing to be the first NFL quarterback to complete a 16-game regular season at that age. "Mikey" (Vrabel) and "Tommy" (Brady) are what the two refer to each other as. Half of Brady and Belichick's six Super Bowl victories came with Vrabel on the Patriots' roster as one of the best players in the franchise's history.
Good vibes and plenty of trash talk for all.
"It was fun," Vrabel said after practice. "It brought back a lot of memories just to be able to sit out there, they make a play and he turns around and says Mikey (Vrabel), you better cover that and you guys need to do this. I’m sure I had plenty to say too, so it was a lot of fun. We’ve got a lot of respect for those guys, and we can learn a lot from the way they practice and how they operate."
Brady spent the bulk of the day picking and popping passes to slot receivers and running backs on wheel routes and screens to give the Tennessee defense a much-needed challenge and change of pace. New England's GOAT got the better of the opposition on the day but what stood out most is the way that Vrabel acted around these high-profile visitors and the message that it sent to the players and to all of us watching.
Do not pay any mind to the accolades of Brady, just compete.
"I think it’s important for me to be with our defense and be able to see that and be able to see the Patriots operate," said Vrabel. "Allow Bill (Belichick) to kind of watch our offense and his defense. That was something that we wanted to try to do a little differently this year. Plus, it gives me a chance to stand back there behind Tom (Brady) and chirp in his ear and talk a little bit. It’s really about being able to make adjustments. There were some things that we knew coming in that we hadn’t practiced, and we hadn’t seen from our offense and I wanted to see how our defense responded to it.
"Could we get on the sidelines, make the adjustments just like we’re going to have to do in a game? That’s how we try to structure these practices – fast-paced, tempo, not a lot of scripting, just let the coordinators call it, let the signal callers call it, get lined up, take care of each other and play hard."
Vrabel and Brady's enjoyable back and forth did for his defense what it did for all of us watching the two interact. Mike Vrabel humanized the greatest quarterback of all time in a way that was a mix of authentic and disarming. The Titans' coach made sure his players knew that he was not out there to kiss the ring(s) and that his team should follow suit.
Vrabel's attitude infects his team and staff and helps them do things like, you know, beat the Patriots when they came to Nashville last season by 24 points. That demeanor allows him to maintain his head when coaching against arguably the best coach-quarterback pairing in the NFL in a way that few of his colleagues have been able to do.
"It’s fun for us," Vrabel said. "It’s good for us to be able to come out here and compete against him"
Whether that "good" becomes a "great" by the end of Day 2 or after Saturday's exhibition game remains to be seen. Stock in Vrabel's approach as the head man, however, continues to trend up.
Featured Image: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports.
