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Spero Dedes on Jaguars Elevating Their Level of Play | Countdown to Kickoff · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The Jaguars and the Indianapolis Colts coming up in Week five.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Spiroddas has the call on CBS Sports. Good to see you, Hey,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: the Jags are owing for I don't think anybody saw
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: this coming. The Jags is the only winless team in football.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: What's up, Spiro A JP. Always good to hear your voice.
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, every time we talk, it's something exciting, whether it's
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: positive or negative going on down there with this team,
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: the Urban Meyer season, which I'm sure is something that
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: everyone wants to forget down there a couple of years ago.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Then they turn a corner with Doug ep and then
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  Speaker 2: I gotta say, I'm not surprised as anyone else. You know,
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: we talked about this team at the end of last year,
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  Speaker 2: obviously with a disappointing kind of second half to their season,
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  Speaker 2: but I thought that they addressed some areas of need
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: in the offseason, and so all of us, like many
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: people down there, the fan base down in Florida, thought
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: that this was a team that was turning a corner
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: and it solidified itself. But this start, to me is
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: one of the big surprises around the league. Through the
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: first four weeks in the season, there's no doubt.
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: We know the investment in the offseason that the ownership
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: and the personnel office made. I mean they paid the quarterback,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: defensive end. Josh Heines Allen of course got the big contract,
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: Tyson Campbell, Foyer Lucan got an extension. I mean, all
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: these guys, well a lot of them are not on
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: the field right now. I mean Tyson Campbell hasn't played,
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  Speaker 1: Josh hens Allen was in the protocol this week, Foyer
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  Speaker 1: Lucan's out for a number of weeks, and the quarterback's
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: not playing well. So your big players have to play
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: and play well, and that's not happening right now. So
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  Speaker 1: the only one out there right now, at least is
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: the quarterback. His performance have of gears this whole thing.
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: How does he take that step and become the guy
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  Speaker 1: that can overcome some deficiencies.
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean there's two schools of thought. One is
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: that you can't really evaluate where this team is right
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: now because of the injuries. And the other school of thought,
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: of course, is, well, look, if we're going to pay
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: our supposed franchise quarter back two hundred and seventy five million,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: he's got to elevate the team in these moments where
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  Speaker 2: maybe everything around him is not ideal, is not you know,
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  Speaker 2: where you want it to be. I think the truth
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  Speaker 2: is probably somewhere in the middle, you know. I know
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  Speaker 2: my partner out of Marcialletto was breaking down some of
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  Speaker 2: the film this week, and it's something we'll talk about,
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: I'm sure during the game on Sunday, is that you know,
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Trevor has had some opportunities despite all the stuff around him,
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  Speaker 2: despite all the instability, He's had chances to make plays
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  Speaker 2: and he hasn't necessarily been at his best. So yes,
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  Speaker 2: there are some built in excuses with the injuries. You know, Yes,
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  Speaker 2: they're missing some key guys. Defensively, obviously a Luken is
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: a monster. Hopefully heinz Allen is okay. But just in
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: terms of the offense, despite all that other stuff, I
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: think that there have been up some opportunities and Trevor's
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  Speaker 2: just got to play better. I mean, this is not
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  Speaker 2: a good start for him. You go back to last
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  Speaker 2: year JP he was he was so good. I think
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  Speaker 2: it was like a sixteen a team game stretch where
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: he was like thirteen and four. He was really starting
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  Speaker 2: to trend upwards towards the upper echelon of quarterbacks, but
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: to not have want to start now I think going
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: on eight to nine games and you just look at
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: his numbers, he's just not the same quarterback. So there's
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: something going on with Trevor. They got to figure it out.
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  Speaker 2: And now with this contract, that just adds another layer
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  Speaker 2: of pressure on him, on Doug Peterson. And when your
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: owner goes into a season and says, look, we need
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: to win now, that changes everything. The tenor of everything
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  Speaker 2: has changed, and now you know these guys are The
• 3:33
  Speaker 2: sense of urgency I think is as high as.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: It's been spirodidas CBS Sports with us. Yeah, the pressure
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  Speaker 1: on the coaching staff as well. Of course Doug Peterson
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  Speaker 1: now owen for it's his worst starting as a head coach.
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  Speaker 1: And we've seen what he's done in the past. He's
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  Speaker 1: turned teams around from unlikely places here in Jacksonville, he
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  Speaker 1: did a couple of years go certainly in Philadelphia when
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  Speaker 1: a quarterback got hurt they made the Super Bowl run.
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  Speaker 1: This would be a different level. I mean it feels like,
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: how does how does Doug Peterson do this? And can
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: he do it again?
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  Speaker 2: Well? It was interesting to see and hear Doug's postgame
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  Speaker 2: press conference after the last one on Sunday. I saw
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  Speaker 2: a coach who was tired. I saw a coach who
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  Speaker 2: was uncharacteristically stressed with this situation. You know, Doug has
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  Speaker 2: always come across as someone who's even keeled, laid back,
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  Speaker 2: a guy who you know, when the bullets start flying. Look,
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  Speaker 2: he played the toughest position in sports for years. You know,
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  Speaker 2: he knows what what chaos feels like. But I saw
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  Speaker 2: a guy up there who who you know, maybe he's
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  Speaker 2: had enough of some of these questions, you know, who's
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: calling the plays and all that stuff. Now, you know,
• 4:42
  Speaker 2: there's this report out this week that maybe the locker
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  Speaker 2: room is not where you want it to be, and
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  Speaker 2: maybe there's some second guessing. Maybe there's some guys that
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  Speaker 2: have that have tuned out a little bit that when
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  Speaker 2: I start to hear that stuff, that's that starts to
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  Speaker 2: become a little concerning, you know. So now, can't can't
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  Speaker 2: Doug and his staff get their arms around the thing
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: before it spirals out of control? Because now, you know,
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  Speaker 2: you're an own four territory. If you look at the
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  Speaker 2: history of the league, very few teams. Maybe I have
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  Speaker 2: to check this week to see if one team have
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  Speaker 2: got into the playoffs. Okay, so if there's a risk
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  Speaker 2: of losing a season and losing a locker room this early,
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  Speaker 2: you know, barely a month into the season, you're starting
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  Speaker 2: to enter some some dangerous water. So this is this
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  Speaker 2: is a monster game for this club this week. I
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  Speaker 2: thought they performed well last week all things considered, to
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  Speaker 2: have a chance to win down there in Houston. But boy,
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  Speaker 2: you lose this week and things could get ugly there quickly.
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  Speaker 1: Nineteen ninety two San Diego Chargers the only er all
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  Speaker 1: ower team to make the playoffs. Bobby Ross, I think
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  Speaker 1: was the head coach. It's been a long time. That's
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  Speaker 1: a long time ago. Yeah, it certainly is. The Indianapolis
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  Speaker 1: Colts two and two, they've got quarterback questions right now.
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  Speaker 1: Anthony richardson surprise, is injured again. We'll see a status
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  Speaker 1: for this week. But Joe Flacco is a guy who's
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  Speaker 1: played for eighteen years and carved this Jaguars team up
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  Speaker 1: last year. So where are the Colts right now? Two
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  Speaker 1: and two? You are what you are, and there are
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  Speaker 1: a lot of questions in Indy, but they are two
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  Speaker 1: games better than the Jags. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: We actually had their game against the Steelers last week.
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  Speaker 2: Joe Flacco guy is just unbelievable. He's like, I think
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  Speaker 2: he's fifty seven years old and he just keeps coming
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  Speaker 2: in and carving teams up. It was wild, it really
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  Speaker 2: was to come in, didn't skip a beat. Their offense
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  Speaker 2: changed considerably. Obviously much different style quarterback than Anthony Richardson.
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: A couple of things. Anthony Richardson Now, I think they're
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  Speaker 2: getting to the point now he's played eight career games
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  Speaker 2: in the NFL and he's finished four of them, and
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: all of his injuries have come on designed runs. So
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: I think they're getting to a point now where they
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  Speaker 2: go to they got to sit and really think about
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  Speaker 2: how they're going to handle Anthony Richardson when they play.
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  Speaker 2: Shane Steiken's play calling, all of those things that I
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: think they have to consider because this when he's played,
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: you know, the few games that he's had that he
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: has played, you can clearly see the talent. I mean,
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: this kid is a potentially elite quarterback. Obviously dual threat.
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  Speaker 2: Everyone talks about his legs. He's got a cannon of
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  Speaker 2: an arm and he's got pretty good accuracy. I know,
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  Speaker 2: He's made some bad decisions with some pretty bad picks
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  Speaker 2: the first part of this season, but it's all there
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  Speaker 2: for him. He's got the tools. They just have to
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: figure out, how are we going to protect this kid
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  Speaker 2: when he plays number two? How does the offense now change,
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  Speaker 2: not only with Flacco but potentially Jonathan Taylor's status, Because
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  Speaker 2: you know, a big part of what made Jonathan Taylor
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  Speaker 2: so lethal. Everyone knows he's arguably the best running back
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  Speaker 2: in the NFL, but when you add him in an
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  Speaker 2: offensive backfield with Ar, it just it puts the defense
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  Speaker 2: in a really tough predicament. When Richardson left the game
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  Speaker 2: last week, Pittsburgh was able to really lock in on
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  Speaker 2: the box and lock in on Jonathan Taylor, and it
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  Speaker 2: really took away Indianapolis's running game. So that'll be interesting
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  Speaker 2: to see this week if ar is out and Jonathan
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  Speaker 2: Taylor can play. We don't know if Taylor can play.
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  Speaker 2: His status is still up in the air, but you know,
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  Speaker 2: this is a tough week I think for Jacksonville's defense.
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  Speaker 2: Prepare you don't know which of these guys are playing.
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  Speaker 2: Are they both out? Is one in? Is the other out?
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  Speaker 2: Flacco drastically changes who they are offensively, but I'll say this,
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  Speaker 2: if it is Flacco, this is not going to be
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  Speaker 2: a walk in the park for Jacksonville's defense. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: he can clearly still play, and he adds an element
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  Speaker 2: that they don't have when Anthony Richardson's out there, and.
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  Speaker 1: The Jaguars have had some pass rush issues for guys
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  Speaker 1: who don't move around and run into pressure. I mean,
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  Speaker 1: that's what Anthony Richardson might do defensively. What's the strength
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  Speaker 1: of the Colts defense?
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  Speaker 2: Well, the strength is one of them is your old
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  Speaker 2: buddy Gus Bradley. You know, you look at how they
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: started the first two weeks of the season, and they
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  Speaker 2: gave up in week two at Green Bay. They gave
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  Speaker 2: up two hundred and sixty one yards on the ground.
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  Speaker 2: We visit with Gus. He's one of our all time
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  Speaker 2: favorite people. He's as positive a coach as I've ever
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  Speaker 2: been around in the NFL. And he called the first
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  Speaker 2: half in Green Bay embarrassing. I've never heard Gus talk
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  Speaker 2: about his team so negatively before, and he said, look,
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  Speaker 2: we had to build them back up spiritually after that game.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, they were they were so broken and their
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  Speaker 2: confidence was so shaken. And to think that in less
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  Speaker 2: than two weeks they went out and played the way
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  Speaker 2: they did last week. They were phenomenal against the Pittsburgh
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  Speaker 2: defense offense that has been really good with justin fields
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  Speaker 2: and very efficient. Uh, they were. They were incredible last week,
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  Speaker 2: considering the fact that they lost two more starters. Kenny
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  Speaker 2: Moore was out last week when he pay went down,
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  Speaker 2: they didn't have him. You know, they've already been without
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  Speaker 2: the Forest Buckner Samson Ebukam who led him in sacks
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  Speaker 2: last year. So all those things considered to hold it
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  Speaker 2: together the way they did. Jalen Jones was phenomenal. Some
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  Speaker 2: of these young corners that you know, we didn't know
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  Speaker 2: much about, to be honest going into the season, they
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: were flying all over the place. And so I think
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: it's a testament to Gus and his defensive staff what
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: they've been able to do. And as they get healthier,
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  Speaker 2: I think there's a potential for this defense to be
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  Speaker 2: you know, not just you know, maybe good, but I
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  Speaker 2: think potentially really good.
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  Speaker 1: All right, real quick power rankings AFC South. I know
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: who's last m.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: You know man obviously Houston at the top. Tennessee a
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: little bit of an unknown I mean, they looked a
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  Speaker 2: little bit better with their Monday night win, but obviously
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  Speaker 2: they are still figuring some things out. You know, Indianapolis,
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  Speaker 2: I guess number two would potentially what they can be.
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  Speaker 2: And if Jacksonville figures it out, JP, I mean, who knows.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe they don't make the playoffs, but maybe they make
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  Speaker 2: life miserable for some of their friends in that division.
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  Speaker 2: So man, it's a tough it's a tough division. You know.
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  Speaker 2: Every time we think the AFC South is maybe on
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: the way up, some of these teams kind of have
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: some issues. So we're all hoping they figure it out because,
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  Speaker 2: as you know, my my buddy out of March Letta
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  Speaker 2: and I kind of live in the a FC South,
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  Speaker 2: So we're rooting for these teams to to to get
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: into some smooth waters and to hopefully have a decent season.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: Never lacks for entertainment down here, and we always enjoy
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: getting to visit with you as well. Spireau. Thanks for
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: the time, man, We'll see you next time.
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: Thanks, JP. Always a pleasure.