NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The NFL brain trust works and works -- or so it would have us believe -- to find ways to get minority candidates better opportunities to show they can be capable head coaches.

Then Mike Vrabel casually walks in and hands the reigns for the Titans' first preseason game to his assistant head coach and defensive line coach Terrell Williams. Boom, good idea, executed without committee conversation or fanfare.

That's where we start this week's podcast.

The new episode awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube, which is below.

Other subjects I dive into:

💥 Deep thoughts on several wide receivers
💥 Has situational play started to separate Will Levis?
💥 A visit with undrafted corner Anthony Kendall from Baldwin Wallace

It's all Brought to you by Jasper's

The podcast is the front door to PaulKuharsky.com.

If you like what you hear or see here, you'd really love the rest of the site. Join the fun, now at 25 percent off.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- What matters in preseason football? We’ve known for a long time now that preseason wins and losses do not correlate to regular season or playoff success, largely because of how teams now treat these exhibition games. Few teams play established starters at all and even fewer play their top-level talent more than a series or two total over the course of the preseason.

Statistics also don’t matter, at least not much. Remember when undrafted outside linebacker David Anenih racked up three sacks last preseason before getting cut at the 53-man roster deadline? He bounced around practice squads for the rest of the season and was never active for a game day. Anenih just signed to join the Cardinals in camp a week ago after generating little interest over the course of the offseason.

How about [insert fan favorite Titans UDFA wide receiver here]? Preseason numbers proved not to be a preview of sterling NFL careers for the likes of Michael Preston, Biren Ealy, or Deontay Burnett.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lock in on Peter Skoronski during a Titans practice and what jumps out is his strength.

The 6-foot-4, 314-pound guard doesn’t get pushed back very far very often.

“I mean he’s pretty strong, I feel like going against him I’ve been feeling his strength get better each and every day,” said the very strong Jeffery Simmons, who’s gone against the Titans' first-round pick out of Northwestern pretty regularly. “What he works on with (Mike Vrabel), I hear him in the team meeting coaching him up about replacing his hands.

"And when he replaces his hands -- I’m a strong guy, but once he replaces his hands and gets his hands on guys, not many guys are going to get past him because he’s that strong.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Young Titans' receivers will undoubtedly learn a lot watching and listening to DeAndre Hopkins, who ranks seventh all-time in yards per game with 77.9.

But they’ve also got a more relatable veteran resource who’s new to the locker room, who’s earned rave reviews from Mike Vrabel. Chris Moore came into the league as a fourth-round pick by Baltimore in 2016 and made his way as a special teamer who maxed out with 21 catches through his first six seasons.

Only in Year 7, last year with the Texans, did he post notable numbers on offense, with 48 catches for 548 yards to go with  two scores. That receiving yardage would have led the anemic 2022 Titans offense.

Vrabel said Moore carries himself “very, very professionally.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Welcome to the weekend. 

The Titans have a closed walk-through Saturday and they are off Sunday before returning to regular practice action Sunday. 

So if you haven't listened of watched the pod, it's catch-up time: Here it is on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube.

I also sorted through the best of your questions to provide you with this mailbag.

Marty Clark Is Tannehill going to have protection from the O Line, or is he set up for failure?

Read More...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The heady, undrafted second-year underdog looks to be leading the athletic third-year third-rounder.

Ultimately the Titans want the most productive inside linebacker they can get next to Azeez Al-Shaair, whether it’s Jack Gibbens or Monty Rice.

But that Rice has played a good share of second teams snaps behind Gibbens is a bad sign for another high draft pick. The Titans took Rice 92^nd overall in 2021 when they had other needs, seemingly lining up the next guy in a line of succession extending from Avery Williamson through Jayon Brown to David Long.

It’s Gibbens, however, who’s in a more favorable spot.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The things Mike Vrabel and Shane Bowen recently said about Kristian Fulton seem to suggest some things about cornerback as he heads into his fourth year.

Might they believe he's not handled the multiplicity of the coverage well in the past in part because of focus issues? Do they think that aside from being injury-prone he's not been in good enough condition?  

That's where we start this week's podcast.

The new episode awaits you on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, iHeart and YouTube, which is below.

Other subjects I dive into:

💥 Are we over-projecting Chig Okonkwo's potential numbers?
💥 A potentially emergent receiver
💥 The Titans need to find a way to hold an off-site training camp practice that's open to all fans in the future.
💥 Would you take a medicine whose potential side effects included temporary inability to move or talk?

It's all Brought to you by Jasper's

The podcast is the front door to PaulKuharsky.com.

If you like what you hear or see here, you'd really love the rest of the site. Come join the fun, now at 25 percent off.

By MIKE HERNDON, columnist

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It has been impossible not to notice Arden Key early in Titans' training camp.

When the free agent addition isn’t popping up in the backfield again… and again… and again, he’s – loudly – rooting on his defensive teammates and chirping at the offense. His energy level is intense and unrivaled among players on both the current Titans squad and any other version of the team that I’ve covered over the past six years.

Arden Key on the volume of people from #Atlanta. #Titans pic.twitter.com/zp0T6KJDdb

— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) August 1, 2023

Key brings an easy smile, a big personality, and a loud voice to a team that has sometimes lacked that type of presence. Defensive coordinator Shane Bowen talked on Tuesday about him being able to bring some teammates along, which can be an asset for a team over the grind of a 17-game season.