Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Ep. 82: Ventrell Miller, Cooper Hodges & More Standouts at Joint Practice | Jags A.M. Podcast

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Ep. 82: Ventrell Miller, Cooper Hodges & More Standouts at Joint Practice | Jags A.M. Podcast · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

0:18
Speaker 1: Welcome into jags Am on this Thursday. The fans are
0:20
Speaker 1: already in their seats as they get geared up for
0:22
Speaker 1: day two of joint practices with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
0:26
Speaker 1: We are inside in the Miller Electric Center for the
0:29
Speaker 1: studio today as we get ready for jag Zam. I'm
0:31
Speaker 1: Kinnannie Stevens, Brian Sexton and John Oser are back with
0:34
Speaker 1: me as we get ready for day two of joint practices.
0:38
Speaker 1: That's our big thing number one today as well, Day
0:40
Speaker 1: two of those joint practices with the Bucks. As you
0:42
Speaker 1: kind of get settled in a little bit, Brian, we
0:44
Speaker 1: saw some of the action yesterday, but going through the
0:47
Speaker 1: motions getting used to playing with another team, what can
0:49
Speaker 1: you kind of look for specifically on day two.
0:52
Speaker 2: Well, if you go back to day one real quick
0:54
Speaker 2: and just talk about the fact that it was a
0:55
Speaker 2: physical performance by the Jaguars, they wanted to see it,
0:58
Speaker 2: they got it. Today they're in shelves and helmets, so
1:01
Speaker 2: it's not gonna be the same physical challenge that it was.
1:04
Speaker 3: But you want to see the technical side of it.
1:06
Speaker 3: So today's the day that.
1:07
Speaker 2: You watch the receivers in their routes and the defensive
1:09
Speaker 2: backs and their coverage and things of that nature. This
1:14
Speaker 2: is a Bucks team that made the playoffs last year
1:16
Speaker 2: and they're a good football team, so you want to
1:19
Speaker 2: see young players. We talked about the class of twenty
1:21
Speaker 2: three at nauseum here. You want to see those guys
1:24
Speaker 2: continue to play well no matter who they're matched up against.
1:27
Speaker 4: Yeah, and they went this route last year. They had
1:29
Speaker 4: a real physical day against the Lions on the first
1:32
Speaker 4: day of the dual practices last year, and then not
1:34
Speaker 4: so physical the second day because you went to shelves.
1:37
Speaker 4: I agree with Brian. You want to see them working
1:40
Speaker 4: on the skill positions. I thought the defensive backs from
1:44
Speaker 4: what I heard, played well yesterday against the Bucks receivers.
1:49
Speaker 4: You want to see a repeat of that, and you
1:51
Speaker 4: want to see them continue working on looks that they
1:55
Speaker 4: don't necessarily get from their own team. I expect to
1:59
Speaker 4: day be a little more about mental than physical because
2:02
Speaker 4: of that.
2:03
Speaker 1: Our second big thing is keeping it clean. Obviously much
2:05
Speaker 1: more physical yesterday, but kept things everything in between the lines.
2:08
Speaker 1: No fights. We know this can break out at joint practices,
2:11
Speaker 1: John when you switch out of pads. You touched on
2:13
Speaker 1: this a little bit, but focusing in on those key
2:16
Speaker 1: skill positions. What else can you learn, Like, what are
2:18
Speaker 1: the big guys kind of doing on a daylight today repping.
2:21
Speaker 4: I'm sure they'll get some pass rush in terms of technique,
2:24
Speaker 4: it won't be as physical, you know. I get that
2:28
Speaker 4: pads are important, but when you're controlling it the way
2:31
Speaker 4: they do, you can probably get eighty seventy five eighty
2:36
Speaker 4: five percent of the work that you normally would in
2:38
Speaker 4: pads because they're so understandably tentative about not tackling to
2:44
Speaker 4: the ground, about not putting players in tough situations. Brian
2:47
Speaker 4: that I get, you get a little more out of
2:49
Speaker 4: it when it's padded work, but they're trying to get
2:53
Speaker 4: the mental and some high speed stuff on the outside.
2:57
Speaker 4: I guess you might say, you know I.
2:58
Speaker 2: Did like today Kai Tony Selly said yesterday that blocking
3:02
Speaker 2: is about your feet, which seems countertuitive, right. Blocking is about,
3:06
Speaker 2: you know, being able to get your hands on a guy,
3:08
Speaker 2: but really it's about having a guy in between the
3:11
Speaker 2: pass rusher and the quarterback, and so it becomes very
3:13
Speaker 2: very technical. You'll hear Phil Rauscher talking about dropping their head,
3:18
Speaker 2: dropping their hips.
3:19
Speaker 3: Are your arms all the way out? Here.
3:21
Speaker 2: In fact, Mike Malarkey, the former Jags coach, was out
3:23
Speaker 2: here yesterday and he said, you ever see anybody rush
3:25
Speaker 2: with their hands way out here? And I said no,
3:27
Speaker 2: He goes, well, then why are they blocking with their
3:29
Speaker 2: hands way out here?
3:30
Speaker 3: Right?
3:30
Speaker 2: He was talking about one particular player who's technique was
3:33
Speaker 2: way off, and that's what they're looking for today. Again,
3:37
Speaker 2: Buccaneers have a talented defensive front. Dug Peters Snardi talked
3:40
Speaker 2: about Vitavea and what a handful he is in the middle.
3:44
Speaker 2: So you're looking to see where a guy's feet and
3:45
Speaker 2: hands are and then those are all coachable, correctable things.
3:49
Speaker 1: Our final big thing today is going to be flashes
3:51
Speaker 1: as we check in on the skill groups and as
3:54
Speaker 1: you talked about technique today as well. You did see
3:56
Speaker 1: some placid yesterday. Brian Thomas Jenior looks good. If he's
3:59
Speaker 1: really every single day, I feel like we've seen him
4:01
Speaker 1: out there. Brian, was there anyone that you saw flashing
4:03
Speaker 1: yesterday in not joining practice?
4:05
Speaker 2: I say it again, Ventral Miller's just everywhere you look
4:08
Speaker 2: you see fifty one. Maybe it's because he's got that
4:11
Speaker 2: big club on his handle, though it was you know,
4:14
Speaker 2: painted black, not the white que tip that Doug Peterson
4:17
Speaker 2: laughed a bit at on Monday in his news conference.
4:20
Speaker 2: Every time I look in the direction of fifty one,
4:22
Speaker 2: I see him near the ball, whether that was Saturday
4:24
Speaker 2: night against Kansas City or yesterday against Tampa. I don't
4:28
Speaker 2: know that he breaks the starting lineup, but he's pushing
4:30
Speaker 2: hard for it.
4:32
Speaker 4: Yeah, they have some depth there, and he's a guy
4:34
Speaker 4: if he can stay healthy, should be on the field
4:37
Speaker 4: in some capacity by the end of the year. A
4:40
Speaker 4: Christian Brasswell, Chad Muma, Parker Washington. Those are all the
4:44
Speaker 4: guys you're hearing about. You guys know me. I put
4:49
Speaker 4: very little faith in rookies actually contributing, But Brian Thomas
4:53
Speaker 4: seems to be developing at a pace that surprises me.
4:58
Speaker 4: I had some car troubles yesterday, wasn't on the field,
5:00
Speaker 4: but had a catch yesterday for a touchdown, had one
5:05
Speaker 4: on Monday for a touchdown, had one on Saturday. He
5:08
Speaker 4: started to stack stuff. It makes you think usually rookie
5:13
Speaker 4: wide receivers, if they get one or two plays that
5:15
Speaker 4: you remember, oh, pretty good year. I think he's going
5:18
Speaker 4: to be more than that, and that makes this receiver
5:21
Speaker 4: corp very interesting.
5:22
Speaker 1: I think one of the impressive things with Brian too
5:24
Speaker 1: is he seems to always be in the right place.
5:26
Speaker 1: The play might not always work out the way they
5:27
Speaker 1: wanted to, but he seems to be understanding the offense
5:30
Speaker 1: and in the spots that he's supposed to be at
5:32
Speaker 1: the right times. We'll talk a little bit more about
5:33
Speaker 1: that and what else we saw a joint practice on
5:35
Speaker 1: day one and what we're looking forward on day two
5:38
Speaker 1: here coming up after the break here on jags am
5:55
Speaker 1: geg XAM brought to you by Fields Atto Group. You
5:57
Speaker 1: can see Jacksonville's premier luxury auto group by going to
6:00
Speaker 1: Fields Auto dot com. Well, I've looked at joint practice
6:06
Speaker 1: day number two with the Bucks. Hopefully just as good
6:09
Speaker 1: as yesterday's fight free but you know, obviously we love
6:12
Speaker 1: to see some competition, but keep think a little more
6:14
Speaker 1: low key.
6:15
Speaker 3: After practice yesterday, I'm sure you guys noticed this.
6:17
Speaker 2: There were players from both teams all over the field,
6:22
Speaker 2: you know, congregating and talking. I mean it was so
6:25
Speaker 2: after really physical practice. They were all getting along well, right,
6:29
Speaker 2: they made a point of it.
6:30
Speaker 3: So I think that comes from the coaches.
6:32
Speaker 1: It does, for sure.
6:33
Speaker 4: There's nothing stupider than a football fight.
6:36
Speaker 1: But it's funny though, because they have comments on them
6:38
Speaker 1: and pretending a bunch but.
6:40
Speaker 4: A coaches generally consider them a waste of time as
6:43
Speaker 4: they are, and if coaches are encouraging it or allowing
6:46
Speaker 4: it anyway, come on, I mean, it's it's it's time
6:50
Speaker 4: to go to work. And might have disagreements, but at
6:54
Speaker 4: the end of the day, all these guys are after
6:56
Speaker 4: the same thing. They're trying to get better. Maybe an
6:58
Speaker 4: emotional flare up, but not.
7:00
Speaker 2: You know, let's be honest. How many times do you
7:02
Speaker 2: see a fight between frontline guys?
7:04
Speaker 3: You don't.
7:04
Speaker 2: I mean most of the camp fights are guys who
7:07
Speaker 2: are battling, you know, at the very bottom of the roster,
7:09
Speaker 2: fighting for a spot, fighting for a spot, They lose
7:11
Speaker 2: their temper, they let it go the starters. I can
7:13
Speaker 2: remember one night here in two thousand and eight where
7:16
Speaker 2: you had Big John Henderson fighting Maurice Williams. That's from
7:19
Speaker 2: the last time that you saw two frontline guys go
7:23
Speaker 2: at it.
7:23
Speaker 1: Who's fighting Big John?
7:24
Speaker 2: Not many people, but what was tough guys so he
7:26
Speaker 2: wouldn't back down fair enough.
7:28
Speaker 1: As we mentioned, this starts at the top right. This
7:30
Speaker 1: is the coaching staff. Todd Bulls spoke after practice yesterday
7:33
Speaker 1: and he said his respect for Doug Peterson and just
7:35
Speaker 1: they're both understanding of how to practice together is why
7:38
Speaker 1: he wanted to do this joint practice.
7:41
Speaker 5: No, man, some good work done, Doug, run's a good program.
7:44
Speaker 5: We try to run a good program with some good
7:46
Speaker 5: work done on both sides. We got to see different schemes,
7:48
Speaker 5: and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to
7:50
Speaker 5: make each other better. You know, the physicality is part
7:52
Speaker 5: of the sport. We did a good job of taking
7:54
Speaker 5: care of each other today.
7:56
Speaker 1: He did. We didn't see as we mentioned, didn't get
7:57
Speaker 1: too riled up. But it's nice to see, as he mentioned,
8:00
Speaker 1: in a different style of football, even like obviously the
8:02
Speaker 1: Chiefs come in the way they run things to and
8:04
Speaker 1: against a team that Jagged struggled against mightily, probably just
8:07
Speaker 1: because they weren't mentally ready going into that game on
8:10
Speaker 1: Christmas Eve, but to kind of see a different lineup.
8:12
Speaker 2: Did you hear what Jared Mayo, the new New England coach,
8:15
Speaker 2: told his team about fighting against the Eagles last week.
8:18
Speaker 2: I thought this was the greatest line of all time.
8:19
Speaker 2: You said, if your a starter and you fight, you're
8:21
Speaker 2: playing the whole game. And if you're a backup and
8:24
Speaker 2: you fight, you're not playing at all.
8:27
Speaker 4: The linebacker talking, you understand, Yeah, exactly, and it they
8:32
Speaker 4: scheduled these practices and to fight simply waste their time
8:38
Speaker 4: and Riff's injuries.
8:40
Speaker 2: You know, it's just I walked around the field, I
8:43
Speaker 2: saw a little bit of everything yesterday.
8:45
Speaker 3: There was an intensity level to it.
8:46
Speaker 2: I mean when when Todd talks about Doug running a
8:49
Speaker 2: good program, they didn't waste a lot of time. They
8:52
Speaker 2: moved from place to place. Camp practice is scripted. That's
8:55
Speaker 2: not a surprise to anybody. And Doug hat talked about
8:58
Speaker 2: how the coordinators had worked together a few days before
9:01
Speaker 2: the Bucks arrived to make sure that everyone got what
9:03
Speaker 2: they wanted.
9:04
Speaker 3: Out of it. Two things. First of all is these.
9:06
Speaker 2: Now joint practices are just part of summer, so everyone
9:09
Speaker 2: knows how to pull them off effectively. But I thought
9:13
Speaker 2: they got the most out of their time on the
9:14
Speaker 2: field with them yesterday.
9:15
Speaker 4: And I think Doug's approach is interesting and I think
9:17
Speaker 4: more coaches are doing this. The guys who really get
9:20
Speaker 4: a lot of work this week won't play Saturday, they've
9:23
Speaker 4: by necessity, even though fans I think like only having
9:26
Speaker 4: three preseason games, the coaches are turning this one dual
9:30
Speaker 4: practice into essentially a fourth preseason game, which they have
9:34
Speaker 4: to do.
9:34
Speaker 1: And we've talked about before. It's almost like two practices
9:37
Speaker 1: at once. So it feels like you get that added
9:39
Speaker 1: time as well because the coaches kind of divide up.
9:41
Speaker 1: You know, their offense, our defense, our defense, their offense,
9:44
Speaker 1: and because of that going on same time, you get
9:46
Speaker 1: twice the work in. It feels like at.
9:48
Speaker 4: Times, well think about it from a coach's perspective, you
9:50
Speaker 4: might not get a third Nate in rettle game. Because
9:55
Speaker 4: you just might not get third Nate. They can make
9:59
Speaker 4: sure they get the situation they won in this for
10:00
Speaker 4: all the guys.
10:01
Speaker 2: Well, how many times you need to see Denzel Mims
10:03
Speaker 2: line up against mont K Brown?
10:04
Speaker 1: Right?
10:04
Speaker 3: I mean, at some point you've made a decision, a
10:07
Speaker 3: decision as to.
10:09
Speaker 2: Who can play and where they fit in your scheme.
10:11
Speaker 2: Now you get to see one of those players line
10:13
Speaker 2: up against someone from Tampa that you haven't seen. Okay,
10:16
Speaker 2: that gives you a much better evaluation.
10:18
Speaker 1: You can't necessarily predict what they're going to do either.
10:21
Speaker 1: We talked to Josh Allen and Eric Armstead after practice yesterday.
10:24
Speaker 1: Josh obviously had a career year last year. Get that
10:27
Speaker 1: long term extension. He's going to be in town for
10:29
Speaker 1: quite some time. He earned it for sure, and he
10:31
Speaker 1: talked a little bit about how he feels he's playing
10:33
Speaker 1: at his best, he feels physically at his best, and
10:35
Speaker 1: how that helps him help the team.
10:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is right now.
10:40
Speaker 6: I feel the best I've ever felt being six years
10:44
Speaker 6: into the league, you know, and we just got better
10:46
Speaker 6: all around me as well. But now it's more team,
10:51
Speaker 6: you know, more championship, Phil, more bring everybody in and
10:56
Speaker 6: once everybody in hold this standard to a high standard.
11:00
Speaker 6: If I can be willing to.
11:01
Speaker 5: Do that.
11:03
Speaker 6: And bring everybody along, man, we're gonna be hunting for days.
11:07
Speaker 1: John, is that the next step of this He's set
11:09
Speaker 1: the standard now bringing everybody in on it.
11:11
Speaker 4: Well, I think with Josh and Brian, you've been around
11:14
Speaker 4: him as long as I have. I know every player prepares,
11:20
Speaker 4: but maybe because Josh is so open and candid about it,
11:24
Speaker 4: you feel like you know more about his preparation process.
11:27
Speaker 4: He missed the team because he comes back in the
11:29
Speaker 4: off season he talks about it, but I do believe
11:32
Speaker 4: that he spends each off season trying to figure out
11:36
Speaker 4: how to prepare better, trying to get rid of what
11:38
Speaker 4: didn't work before. So I think when he says he
11:41
Speaker 4: feels as good coming into this camp as he ever has,
11:45
Speaker 4: I think that has some weight. And I do think
11:47
Speaker 4: he's a guy who is gets better every year and
11:52
Speaker 4: feels more prepared, feels more gassed up, if you will.
11:57
Speaker 4: So I guess what I'm getting that is. I don't
11:59
Speaker 4: know if seventeen and a half sacks again, but I
12:03
Speaker 4: don't worry about him being as prepared as possible and
12:06
Speaker 4: playing at a high level after a contract years. I
12:08
Speaker 4: feel like again he just keeps Peyton Manning to this,
12:11
Speaker 4: and all the great players I've been around to it.
12:14
Speaker 4: You know, they just keep wanting to get better because
12:16
Speaker 4: they kind of know that if they don't physically, they're
12:19
Speaker 4: going to fall off. So I feel like Josh again
12:21
Speaker 4: him a big.
12:22
Speaker 2: Year because of that truly important to him. I mean
12:24
Speaker 2: that's what you don't know until you spend time around
12:26
Speaker 2: the player.
12:28
Speaker 3: He wants his name in the pride of the Jaguars.
12:30
Speaker 2: I mean, he wants to be the all time sack leader.
12:33
Speaker 2: I think he needs something.
12:34
Speaker 4: He's willing to work to do it.
12:35
Speaker 2: We're talking eleven sacks, and so because we know what's
12:38
Speaker 2: important to him, you can see him going out and
12:40
Speaker 2: having a big year.
12:41
Speaker 3: Two things.
12:42
Speaker 2: One, he had a bunch of sacks in December, which
12:45
Speaker 2: is important. I'd like to see him have a bunch
12:47
Speaker 2: of sacks in September this year as well. I'm not
12:50
Speaker 2: saying he got them in garbage time. I'm saying you
12:53
Speaker 2: want to see more consistency of those seventeen and a
12:55
Speaker 2: half sacks.
12:56
Speaker 3: I would at least like to see that.
12:59
Speaker 2: And the other thing is he proves how important the
13:02
Speaker 2: offseason program is because he goes to Arizona and works
13:05
Speaker 2: out and he looks incredible and is.
13:07
Speaker 3: Ready to go.
13:08
Speaker 2: Coaches will disagree with that because they want everyone here,
13:10
Speaker 2: but you have great players that go do their own
13:12
Speaker 2: thing and do it as well as he does. That's
13:14
Speaker 2: the most important part. He didn't miss anything by not
13:17
Speaker 2: being here. And I know people are like, hey, he
13:18
Speaker 2: got the big contract, why isn't he here. If that's
13:22
Speaker 2: what I get for my money, go anywhere you want.
13:24
Speaker 4: The great ones don't need it because they know how
13:25
Speaker 4: to prepare on their op Yeah, any yeah, you guys need.
13:27
Speaker 1: I think that's the thing it's important to point out.
13:29
Speaker 1: You guys have been around enough professional athletes as well.
13:31
Speaker 1: There's some people that are satisfied with certain things. Josh's
13:33
Speaker 1: not one of those people. I think when he gets
13:35
Speaker 1: to a point, he's like, no, I want more than that,
13:36
Speaker 1: and I want more than that. And that's kind of
13:38
Speaker 1: the mentality you need, especially at the professional level. If
13:40
Speaker 1: you want to get to a championship caliber level, you
13:43
Speaker 1: have to have that at different spots on your team.
13:44
Speaker 1: And I think that's great we have Josh in that
13:46
Speaker 1: spot on defense. I think he'll bring it around him
13:48
Speaker 1: as well. Another guy that we know that has a
13:51
Speaker 1: similar mentality to that. As a new addition, Eric Armstead.
13:53
Speaker 1: We haven't seen him out on the field yet beat
13:55
Speaker 1: until he was activated earlier this week. He took part
13:58
Speaker 1: into individual drills and do the team drills Yesterday's working
14:00
Speaker 1: his way back from a knee injury. But he talked
14:02
Speaker 1: a little bit about whether he you know, he thinks
14:05
Speaker 1: he'll be ready for the start of the season, but
14:06
Speaker 1: where his focus is really at for the season.
14:09
Speaker 7: My goal is to feel good, to feel good and uh,
14:14
Speaker 7: you know, get off to a good start in the
14:15
Speaker 7: season and prepared to have a dominant season, but also
14:19
Speaker 7: at the same time realizing that it's a seventeen game season,
14:23
Speaker 7: and you know why. My my goal is always to
14:28
Speaker 7: be my best when my best is needed, and I
14:30
Speaker 7: think I have a great track record of that, and
14:33
Speaker 7: looking at a season as a whole, I want to
14:35
Speaker 7: get off to a good start, obviously, but also I
14:37
Speaker 7: want to be, you know, there for my team when
14:39
Speaker 7: they need me the most in December, in January, in February.
14:44
Speaker 7: So that's always been my goal.
14:47
Speaker 1: Ryan or once again talking about somebody that's done this
14:49
Speaker 1: a couple of years in a row, knows why he
14:50
Speaker 1: needs to do to get his body ready and mentioning
14:53
Speaker 1: I mean, he played on that torminiscus throughout the playoffs
14:55
Speaker 1: into the Super Bowl, so he's someone that will play
14:57
Speaker 1: hurt if necessary, when needed, and now he's at a
14:59
Speaker 1: point where he's like, I need to do what I
15:00
Speaker 1: need to do to get ready to play one hundred percent.
15:03
Speaker 2: Just two years ago, maybe it was three, he had
15:04
Speaker 2: ten and a half sacks and you know, he's a
15:07
Speaker 2: hand in the dirt kind of pass rusher, that's a
15:09
Speaker 2: lot of sacks. In the last couple of years, he's
15:11
Speaker 2: battled some nagging injuries. Doug Peterson was asked this morning,
15:15
Speaker 2: you know, are we gonna see him on Saturday? Do
15:16
Speaker 2: want to se him Atlanta? Dougs like, I don't need
15:18
Speaker 2: to see him, don't need to see him. He knows
15:21
Speaker 2: how to get ready, and he's not He's not here
15:23
Speaker 2: for September, you know, he's here for Thanksgiving until the
15:27
Speaker 2: super Bowl. He's that guy that when things get really difficult,
15:31
Speaker 2: you want him in your locker room and in your
15:33
Speaker 2: huddle keeping everybody focused because he's been in super Bowls before.
15:37
Speaker 4: That's quote not a concern. Yeah, and it's not the
15:42
Speaker 4: guy like that ten year guy. Even playing for ten
15:45
Speaker 4: years at that kind of a level, you know how
15:50
Speaker 4: to prepare, because if you don't know how to prepare
15:53
Speaker 4: even be here, you're out of the league after ten year,
15:56
Speaker 4: after six years.
15:57
Speaker 3: I just serve a quick story. He came through.
15:59
Speaker 2: There was a time when the draft visits would come,
16:01
Speaker 2: you know, the guys come in and they would let
16:03
Speaker 2: us sit down with them. So in twenty fifteen, I
16:05
Speaker 2: spent some time with him over in the stadium. In
16:07
Speaker 2: one of the locker rooms doing an interview, and I
16:09
Speaker 2: remember seeing how big he wasn't thinking, man, I would
16:12
Speaker 2: love to have a guy like that right because he
16:15
Speaker 2: reminded me of the John Henderson Marcus stroudays where the
16:18
Speaker 2: physical size was so imposing. And here we are now
16:21
Speaker 2: ten years later, and I say, let's not see him
16:24
Speaker 2: until you need him.
16:25
Speaker 3: I'm kind of excited to see him.
16:27
Speaker 1: Trent Bulky measurements. He loves the wingspan on those ends,
16:30
Speaker 1: and he certainly is well.
16:31
Speaker 4: He's got one Mason Smith, same guy.
16:32
Speaker 1: I know he's molded after him. He's he will he
16:35
Speaker 1: wanted night, So I'll talk about him after the break.
16:37
Speaker 1: But stay with us. We're gonna take another live look
16:39
Speaker 1: at joint practice with the Bucks and tell you what
16:41
Speaker 1: we're looking forward to in the preseason game on Saturday
16:43
Speaker 1: as well. Sudith is Florida's trusted and reliable moving company.
17:04
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17:10
Speaker 1: Slash Jacks back Aaron Studio for Jagvam. As we get
17:15
Speaker 1: ready for day two of joint practice with the Bucks,
17:17
Speaker 1: and also it's gonna be a preseason game on Saturday.
17:19
Speaker 1: Ye we're gonna guess a little bit about who we
17:21
Speaker 1: think we're playing is playing in that game because we
17:23
Speaker 1: know they get a lot of work in during the week.
17:25
Speaker 1: So the starters probably won't play at all, maybe some
17:27
Speaker 1: of the rookies. So who are you gonna be looking
17:29
Speaker 1: at hopefully playing anything.
17:30
Speaker 2: We'll never let it be said that if I have
17:32
Speaker 2: a hammer, I don't swing it right, and I have
17:33
Speaker 2: been swinging on Ventro Miller, so I'm gonna go with it.
17:36
Speaker 3: He's not gonna crack.
17:37
Speaker 2: Look, listen, he will impress you on Saturday night because
17:43
Speaker 2: that's all he's done in training camp so far.
17:45
Speaker 3: He's where he needs to be.
17:47
Speaker 2: For a guy who is coming off an achilles guy,
17:50
Speaker 2: and Achilles normally is the kind of injury that if
17:53
Speaker 2: you do come back, it's a two or three year
17:56
Speaker 2: point before you start to see the guy. But I mean,
17:58
Speaker 2: he just run from place to plays, so he will
18:02
Speaker 2: impress you. He won't crack the starting lineup. That means
18:04
Speaker 2: taking foy Lucon right because he's a weak side linebacker,
18:08
Speaker 2: or even Devin Lloyd, and he's not going to take
18:12
Speaker 2: that this year. But he is a long term solution
18:15
Speaker 2: and a guy who will be on the field, and
18:17
Speaker 2: he might be a guy that because linebackers get beat up,
18:21
Speaker 2: steps in in November and December and makes enough plays
18:24
Speaker 2: that you're like, man, how do we find a way
18:26
Speaker 2: to keep him on the field. He's just been a
18:28
Speaker 2: really impressive part of the twenty twenty three draft class
18:32
Speaker 2: that has really had a good camp, so it plays
18:34
Speaker 2: with great energy.
18:35
Speaker 3: I talked to him yesterday, John.
18:38
Speaker 2: I know you have friends in the scouting world too,
18:41
Speaker 2: but a scout years ago said to me, if you
18:43
Speaker 2: get a chance to look a player in the eye,
18:44
Speaker 2: you can tell a lot about what he is, what
18:48
Speaker 2: it means to him. And as I talked to him
18:50
Speaker 2: yesterday about football and how much he missed it last
18:53
Speaker 2: year and how excited he is to try to stay
18:55
Speaker 2: healthy this year, it's just it's that eye, the tiger thing.
18:58
Speaker 2: I mean, he has got it and it would be
19:00
Speaker 2: fun to watch him play.
19:01
Speaker 4: Yeah, you just hope for his say he can stay healthy.
19:04
Speaker 4: There's some guys early in their career where you look
19:07
Speaker 4: at him and say, I know this guy can play
19:10
Speaker 4: eight or nine years in this league. No doubt he
19:13
Speaker 4: can do that. It's if he can stay healthy. He
19:15
Speaker 4: was injured to Florida, been injured so.
19:17
Speaker 2: Far, but thing on Fred Taylor and he ended up
19:19
Speaker 2: playing a long time.
19:20
Speaker 3: Yeah, So I.
19:22
Speaker 4: Went with Cooper Hodges and he will play on Saturday's
19:29
Speaker 4: gonna be one of those guys in that group, because
19:31
Speaker 4: why wouldn't he. It's sort of a similar thing. He
19:35
Speaker 4: won't crack the starting lineup to start this year, but
19:40
Speaker 4: to get very quickly to that he might. I think
19:42
Speaker 4: he's in a similar situation as Intreel, as with Cleveland's
19:45
Speaker 4: been dealing with the heel. I'm sure as of Cleveland's
19:47
Speaker 4: gonna play the whole season. Brandon Sheriff Older has dealt
19:51
Speaker 4: with injuries over the course of his time with the Jags.
19:56
Speaker 4: You can see Hodges being a guy just like Miller,
19:59
Speaker 4: who can come in play well enough during training camp,
20:03
Speaker 4: be forced into the line up at some point this season,
20:05
Speaker 4: and playing well enough to hold on to it. They
20:09
Speaker 4: would have liked that scenario last year, not the injury,
20:12
Speaker 4: but they would have liked to have seen him in
20:13
Speaker 4: camp long well if he had earned it. I mean,
20:18
Speaker 4: you know, he still has not been on the field
20:21
Speaker 4: or in practice long enough for them to say, yes,
20:25
Speaker 4: we know what this is for him. He needs to
20:29
Speaker 4: have that be this year because if if it's two
20:31
Speaker 4: years in a row where you're going to the off
20:32
Speaker 4: season not sure, then they start drafting over you. But
20:36
Speaker 4: he clearly has that ability, that skill set, and he
20:43
Speaker 4: might wind up doing this year. He might wind up
20:44
Speaker 4: proving that he's the guy in the future.
20:45
Speaker 1: There.
20:46
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's like Ventrel, a guy that they had high
20:48
Speaker 2: hopes for playing last.
20:49
Speaker 3: Year, didn't because of injury.
20:51
Speaker 2: But when you see him and yesterday he played pretty well,
20:54
Speaker 2: you know against a big, physical Bucks defense at front.
20:58
Speaker 2: I think he is a guy who by the end
21:00
Speaker 2: of the year because of injuries. I mean, give Shriff
21:03
Speaker 2: a ton of credit. He played with a foot ankle
21:05
Speaker 2: last year. Oh yeah, yeah, I couldn't practice at all,
21:09
Speaker 2: practice some, but couldn't practice both days last year year.
21:12
Speaker 2: So I think he's a guy who by the end
21:15
Speaker 2: of the season you'd be like, that's our starting guard.
21:18
Speaker 1: Tons of talent from both of those guys. Just injuries
21:20
Speaker 1: are concerned, so got to get them as much playing
21:22
Speaker 1: time keep them healthy. I'm going with Mason Smith. That's
21:25
Speaker 1: someone we were talking about. We've seen tons of slashes
21:28
Speaker 1: from him. I think he will continue to improve as
21:30
Speaker 1: things go along. We heard Josh heinz Allen singing his praises,
21:33
Speaker 1: just talking about his you know, God give an abilities,
21:36
Speaker 1: all his natural range, what he looks like out there.
21:39
Speaker 1: I think he won't get beaten the same way twice.
21:41
Speaker 1: He's very smart. He's one of those people that you
21:43
Speaker 1: don't have to tell this similar to Brian Thomas as well,
21:46
Speaker 1: Like when he makes a mistake, he doesn't make a
21:49
Speaker 1: repeated mistake, and I think that's huge, especially coming in
21:51
Speaker 1: his rookies. There's tons of stuff being thrown at you.
21:54
Speaker 1: But if you can take that in and be like,
21:55
Speaker 1: all right, that's something I can cross off the list.
21:57
Speaker 1: I won't do that again. That's how you improve as
21:59
Speaker 1: a rookie. And he might end up being one of
22:02
Speaker 1: the steals of the draft. Obviously, this was a high risk,
22:05
Speaker 1: high reward pick. He came in the second round. A
22:06
Speaker 1: lot of people thought that was an overreach. Trent Balke
22:09
Speaker 1: feels very strongly about this. Obviously, he was dealing with
22:12
Speaker 1: some injuries, then came back and played at LSU. Didn't
22:16
Speaker 1: look at the same player. He looks better now, doesn't
22:19
Speaker 1: seem to be hampered by anything. So if this pans
22:21
Speaker 1: out well, Trent Balkey's gonna look really smart for picking him,
22:24
Speaker 1: even though people are ragging on him to start.
22:25
Speaker 2: You know, on draft day, the first thing that stuck
22:28
Speaker 2: out to me was Chris Jones. He's got Chris Jones size, right.
22:32
Speaker 2: I mean, he's that big in that athletic. Chris Jones,
22:35
Speaker 2: who's probably the best defensive lineman in football today, and
22:38
Speaker 2: Jeffrey Simmons, who's probably the best interior defensive lineman in
22:41
Speaker 2: the division, were both guys who slid down the draft
22:43
Speaker 2: board because of injuries when they were a Mississippi State.
22:46
Speaker 3: And I asked him about that.
22:47
Speaker 2: I said, you've got all these measurables, you were highly acclaimed,
22:50
Speaker 2: and yet your injury cost you. I said, do you
22:53
Speaker 2: recognize And he's not. In his head he gets he said, Brian,
22:56
Speaker 2: I want to be great. I love that he's got
22:58
Speaker 2: that eye that look to him. Now, he's got a
23:01
Speaker 2: lot to learn. I mean, you start stepping up. He's
23:03
Speaker 2: twenty one years old, he's playing against twenty eight, twenty
23:06
Speaker 2: nine year old offensive lineman. He realizes the challenge in
23:09
Speaker 2: front of him. But it's really important to him as well,
23:12
Speaker 2: and Man's that is just one more thing when you
23:15
Speaker 2: get the size and the length and all that on
23:19
Speaker 2: the draft and then you get a guy to whom
23:21
Speaker 2: it's really important. Yeah, he was worth the second round
23:23
Speaker 2: pick for sure.
23:24
Speaker 4: He's really important because you figure Armstead is not going
23:30
Speaker 4: to be here three years, right, I mean, I hope
23:33
Speaker 4: he is for his sake, but realistically history tells us
23:38
Speaker 4: he's not. So you need Smith to come along and
23:43
Speaker 4: be that guy in a year, two years where it's
23:47
Speaker 4: Smith Trayvon Devon Howe. You keep all these guys together,
23:51
Speaker 4: but you need him to be that dominant force on
23:53
Speaker 4: the inside that you sign Armstead to be this year.
23:56
Speaker 4: And at some point, like we've talked about all off season,
23:59
Speaker 4: when you've got Trevor, Josh Heinz Allen, all these guys
24:02
Speaker 4: locked up taking up a lot of cap room, you
24:05
Speaker 4: need that guy. You need some dominant linemen. I think
24:09
Speaker 4: Hod just sort of feels that thing too. You need
24:10
Speaker 4: these guys to start developing that you drafted and being
24:13
Speaker 4: stars that you didn't necessarily picking positions where you would
24:18
Speaker 4: be sure of it non first round picks. Smith could
24:21
Speaker 4: be sort of that transition to being that sort of team.
24:24
Speaker 1: And also important in this process when you do the
24:26
Speaker 1: development part, you need Josh Eric those guys to help
24:30
Speaker 1: pull things along, similar to how Josh talked about when
24:33
Speaker 1: Klays was here, helped pull him along and learn the
24:36
Speaker 1: ways and then as it progresses things.
24:38
Speaker 4: And Josh's words yesterday about Smith mattered. Josh doesn't always
24:43
Speaker 4: like he doesn't do that to everybody. If you ask
24:45
Speaker 4: him about somebody, he'll praise him, but not to the
24:48
Speaker 4: point where he's saying, hey, he's got a chance to
24:50
Speaker 4: be that guy.
24:52
Speaker 1: That's interesting, absolutely noted for sure. Stay with us here
24:56
Speaker 1: on JAG XAM our final look at live practice, and
24:58
Speaker 1: we'll tell you what we think is gonna happened later
25:00
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25:27
Speaker 8: A lot of these guys, man, they I'm old enough
25:30
Speaker 8: to be some of these guys, dads man.
25:31
Speaker 3: So some of these.
25:32
Speaker 8: Guys, man, I remember, God was just like I used
25:34
Speaker 8: to watch you in seventh grade and I was just like, men,
25:36
Speaker 8: I'm telling me that no more. Man, It's like I
25:38
Speaker 8: was in the sixth grade when you came in the league.
25:40
Speaker 8: So uh, man, obviously it's just it's it's humbling that, uh,
25:43
Speaker 8: you know, the respect that the guys have given me
25:45
Speaker 8: since I stepped foot in this locker room, and uh,
25:47
Speaker 8: you know, obviously just being being any sort of assistant
25:51
Speaker 8: to these guys. Man got a lot of great young players, man,
25:53
Speaker 8: So I'm excited to just be able to give those
25:55
Speaker 8: guys what I got physically and uh mentally, for sure.
26:00
Speaker 1: Your face back in Jacksonville, John were he heard from
26:02
Speaker 1: Gibson yesterday. He was here on some good teams and
26:06
Speaker 1: now he's coming back around.
26:08
Speaker 4: Give Gibson credit because it is hard to play thirteen
26:12
Speaker 4: years in this league as an undrafted rookie, as undrafted
26:15
Speaker 4: rookie and a guy who you know has played on
26:20
Speaker 4: a lot of teams. Usually the path for a lot
26:23
Speaker 4: of guys is you play four years somewhere, you go
26:25
Speaker 4: play for a couple, then you're one, and then you
26:27
Speaker 4: really you're sort of in that NFL wilderness where teams
26:31
Speaker 4: don't want to pay anymore for guys they did in draft.
26:34
Speaker 4: So seven eight years of about thirteen and I'm not
26:40
Speaker 4: shocked because when he was here, he was a guy.
26:43
Speaker 4: He got it. He knew how to assimilate into a building,
26:47
Speaker 4: he knew how to keep preparing, and he's a smart player.
26:49
Speaker 4: He an underrated thing for fans who really really watched close.
26:55
Speaker 4: Not underrated, but wasn't the guy off the Saxonville team.
26:59
Speaker 4: He had Kalaya, he had Jalen. You had a million
27:02
Speaker 4: guys he talked about more than him, but he mattered
27:05
Speaker 4: a lot and I think it's a good signing for him.
27:07
Speaker 2: Well, here's why it was a great move by Trent Balkey.
27:09
Speaker 2: You've got a guy, a veteran guy that you're locking
27:12
Speaker 2: up now who's got a six week suspension, And how
27:16
Speaker 2: is that good? You don't need him right away, but
27:18
Speaker 2: the chances are you're gonna need him down the stretch
27:20
Speaker 2: at some point. Right Andre Cisco was banged up a
27:23
Speaker 2: bit last year. Dewey is already banged up. So now
27:26
Speaker 2: you've got a guy that you can count on later
27:28
Speaker 2: in the season, who's playing at a number that fits
27:31
Speaker 2: your salary cap very very well. It's a jar on
27:34
Speaker 2: the shelf, something that they can go to as opposed
27:38
Speaker 2: to you get to mid October and you're looking for
27:39
Speaker 2: somebody on the street who can help you, right, and
27:42
Speaker 2: there's nobody there. You've now got a guy that you
27:45
Speaker 2: can have for the stretch run and at a position
27:49
Speaker 2: that is super important in this game.
27:51
Speaker 4: And you're not paying him for the first six weeks.
27:54
Speaker 4: And it really is GMS think this way. It really
27:58
Speaker 4: is a fifty fourth guy in the ross yep. Because
28:01
Speaker 4: you're gonna need that death at some point, so let's
28:05
Speaker 4: make sure they're in a position where you're at.
28:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, smart move, a good.
28:08
Speaker 1: Front office move, and yes, if they're doing what we hope,
28:11
Speaker 1: which is win now, it will be very important on
28:14
Speaker 1: the back half of the season. So you have joined
28:16
Speaker 1: practice here again today. Second preseason game on Saturday. Jag
28:19
Speaker 1: XAM will be back on Monday to recap all of
28:21
Speaker 1: it for you. Make sure you check out all that
28:23
Speaker 1: and have a good weekend.