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Biggest Question for the Jaguars?! · Duval Daily: A Jacksonville Jaguars Podcast

• 0:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: Jacksonville Jaguar's fans, welcome in to Dove All Daily, present on mygingjag.com, and fuel by Brass Tax Coffee right now.
• 0:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: We were talking about the biggest questions facing the Jaguar as heading into this 2026 campaign, a campaign in which make no mistake about it.
• 0:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: The goal is to hoist the limbardy.
• 0:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Liam Cohen has said that.
• 0:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: James Gladstone and his press conference yesterday wasn't even asked about winning, but kept bringing it up.
• 0:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Everything they do is all about winning.
• 0:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: So this is a team that has massive expectations after a 13 and 4 season of season which they reach the playoffs.
• 0:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: And
• 0:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: had a juggernaut of an offense down the stretch, and one of the more underrated and better defenses in football.
• 0:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: We talked about all their strengths yesterday.
• 0:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now we're talking about potential question marks for the Jaguars heading into this campaign.
• 0:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: Really appreciate y'all tuning in.
• 0:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content, please like and subscribe.
• 0:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: You can also hit that high button.
• 0:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, starting off on the offensive side of the ball is the run game improved.
• 0:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: So for a lot of people in the national media, they look at the Jags run game and they say, well, they lost their best player in the run game.
• 1:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're most productive player in the run game of the last half decade in Travis CTN, right?
• 1:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: But Travis CTN's strength, I think, was his versatility and his explosiveness.
• 1:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't his consistency in the run game.
• 1:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is a question, right?
• 1:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: I lean towards, yes, the Jaguar's run game will be improved.
• 1:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: But they have to go out and improve that, and it is fair to say, is it improved?
• 1:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Because quite frankly, through training camp in preseason, you can't really tell.
• 1:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: You just can't.
• 1:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: You have to see it in the regular season.
• 1:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: And even if it starts off fine in the regular season, like last year, it started off much better than it ended.
• 1:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, I think part of that that a lot of people don't talk about is the Jaguar is faced really good run defense is down the stretch last year.
• 2:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: So part of it goes into that, but I think even it
• 2:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Even acknowledging that, like, there's still the question of if the wrong game is improved.
• 2:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: What did they do to try to improve the wrong game?
• 2:16
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, they let Travis C.T.
• 2:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: and Walk.
• 2:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: And again, his versatility, I think, was his calling card.
• 2:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: The fact that he was such a productive receiver out of the backfield.
• 2:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think he scored, including the playoff's seven receiving touchdowns.
• 2:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: He had a bunch of catches and yards, and, you know, he was good in past pro.
• 2:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: but that's not the run game.
• 2:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is the actual run game improved?
• 2:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: Well, they bring in Brian Picucci, right?
• 2:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that that is a big piece to how the Jaguar's think that they're improving the run game.
• 2:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: He has been an offensive line slash run game guy with Liam Cohen for a long time.
• 2:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: He coached Liam Cohen.
• 2:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: So that level of familiarity
• 2:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: and getting that level of kind of detail and knowledge of what Liam Cohen's trying to do in the building, they think is going to be a big deal.
• 3:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: They also brought in Chris Rodriguez, another player who Liam Cohen is very familiar with from his time at Kentucky, and then you kind of promote basal tuton from Travis CTN's backup to more of a 1a or 1b type of role, Chris Rodriguez basal tuton,
• 3:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Tutan is the one A and Rodriguez is the one B, but that really kind of remains to be seen and then look when Allen is your pass down back and I think I'm here able to look into a good bit of that too, but
• 3:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Travis C.T.
• 3:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: and was one of the least efficient starting running backs in terms of success right in the NFL last year he was in the 40s right out of all eligible running backs and then you look at Tutan and Rodriguez and they were both close to the top 10 and one thing that I've talked about it a bit but it's so impressive what Rodriguez did because when he was on the field
• 3:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: running the football.
• 3:58
  [SPEAKER_00]: He faced, I think, top three in the NFL in terms of stacked boxes, number of players in the box on average when he was running the football.
• 4:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's like teams knew the
• 4:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: almost had a slip up there.
• 4:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: The commanders were going to be running the football when Chris Rodriguez was on the field, and it didn't matter.
• 4:17
  [SPEAKER_00]: He was still running with good vision and pace and power running through tackles, getting to the second level.
• 4:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: So you have that part of it.
• 4:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think you also have Basial Tutan has just incredible speed.
• 4:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: He started to show some of that lateral agility, explosive cutting ability that you're
• 4:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: But we still just haven't seen it during a regular season game yet.
• 4:45
  [SPEAKER_00]: And they need to not only show that they are improved, but that they are able to sustain that running game for a longer portion of the season.
• 4:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then when it comes to upfront with the blocking, I think that on paper,
• 5:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: having a manual pregnon in there should be an improvement in the run game just in terms of his ability to move people to jolt people.
• 5:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then also being able to get into more effective 12 and 13 personnel, I think should be able to help the Jack Wars run game as well.
• 5:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: But again, I think it's fair to ask the question, is the run game improved?
• 5:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: If it's not, that's going to put a lot of pressure on the past game, the pressure that I think the past game can usually handle.
• 5:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: But you know, the final point I'll say about the run game is it was working like a charm in the playoff against the buffalo bills and they didn't turn to it enough.
• 5:41
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that was an issue as well.
• 5:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: I really do.
• 5:47
  [SPEAKER_00]: They should have run the ball more in that football game.
• 5:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: But that's that's where we're at with the run game.
• 5:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: I have confidence that it is improved but we've got to see it.
• 6:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: Um, and kind of to that point as well, extending off of that point, like, is the offensive line ready?
• 6:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is the offensive line ready?
• 6:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a huge question, because you have Anton Harrison, who a couple of weeks ago switched from right tackle to left tackle.
• 6:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, he played left tackle in college.
• 6:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: He has, you know, talked about being more comfortable at left tackle.
• 6:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: but you still haven't done that in an NFL regular season game or any NFL game since ever, right?
• 6:35
  [SPEAKER_00]: This is fourth year in the league and he's never played left tackle.
• 6:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Colvin Lannon switching from left tackle to right tackle, which again, he says he feels more comfortable on the right side at right tackle.
• 6:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's his number one position.
• 6:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: But he's coming off of an injury, right?
• 6:55
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he still hasn't even had a full team practice yet.
• 7:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: And so again, I said, is the offensive line ready?
• 7:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm not saying is the offensive line good enough.
• 7:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think on paper, if all these guys are healthy, it does look good enough.
• 7:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: But then you also have the fact that Ezra Cleveland has switched sides from left guard to right guard.
• 7:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: You have the fact that Emmanuel Pregnant is entering the starting line up as a rookie.
• 7:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously Robert Hansie is the one piece that hasn't really changed or moved.
• 7:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: On paper, I love Colvian land in it right tackling Antonia here's in a love tackle.
• 7:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: I love Emmanuel Pregnant getting in there.
• 7:33
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's a physical moller who actually has explosiveness, not just based on what I see on the field, but in the short area testing, there is explosiveness, right?
• 7:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's just like not a second, third-level guy, all that often in Emmanuel Pregnant.
• 7:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is that offensive line ready, not only to deal with really good pass rushes, which, you know, the Browns have some pass rush.
• 7:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're not like elite like Jared verse.
• 8:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'll say this, my Oscar is one of one, but I think Jared verse, the Jared verse of it all has gone a little bit underrated.
• 8:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: I really do.
• 8:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that Jared Vers is an excellent player who really helped wreck the jag wars against the Rams last year, but part of that too was Walker Little being out there.
• 8:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: He's not going to be asked to be out there, but it's Cole Van Lann and really ready.
• 8:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: His Anton Harrison really ready at Left Tackle.
• 8:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Can they fire on all cylinders early in the season when after they play Cleveland, they face Denver, New England, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Houston?
• 8:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: That is a gauntlet early in the season.
• 8:42
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is that offensive line ready to support the run game, to support Trevor Lawrence in a way that will make this offense super effective?
• 8:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, another thing that can be said is, Liam Cohen's offense, I think the way he designs things can mitigate some of that, being in more 12 personnel, or 13 personnel, or even 21 personnel,
• 9:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: But the jackwars are at their best when they're in 11 personnel, even if they want to get into more of those other personnel packages.
• 9:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: This team is going to be at its very best when you have Parker Washington on the field, with Jacobi Myers, with Brian Thomas Jr. That is their best personnel group right now.
• 9:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, that could change.
• 9:29
  [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, Borka Church could just be so good as a rookie blocking and you still have so much effectiveness with strange and two of the other receivers on the field
• 9:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Um, just as effective as 11, but I kind of, I still think 11 will be their most effective personnel package.
• 9:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: And again, when you're in 11, you're not really adding that many bodies to help with with the offensive line.
• 9:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: So that's a big question for me.
• 9:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: But one question I do not have is the my book, he lock of the season, it's back.
• 10:03
  [SPEAKER_00]: The first one is an absolute no-brainer, Patriots in Seattle for NFL kickoff.
• 10:07
  [SPEAKER_00]: My book is asking you one question.
• 10:10
  [SPEAKER_00]: Will the Seahawks raise their championship banner that night and the answers?
• 10:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: Of course they will.
• 10:14
  [SPEAKER_00]: They're defending champs.
• 10:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: That is what the home opener is all about for them.
• 10:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: You're getting that bet at plus money odds.
• 10:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: You're getting paid to say yes.
• 10:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: The Seahawks will do the thing.
• 10:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: The entire night is built around.
• 10:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's the first.
• 10:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: My bookie lock of the season, there will be more coming all season long.
• 10:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Get in before kick off, sign up at my bookie with my promo code, Duval DUVAL, all caps, and start your season off with a win.
• 10:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Anytime, anywhere that's my bookie code, Duval must be 21 plus 18 plus and selectoristic, in terms of conditions to apply, gambling, problem call Winner Undergambler, or visit 1800gambler.net for free confidential support available 24.7.
• 10:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, switching sides of the ball.
• 10:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: Is the Jaguar's past defense improved?
• 10:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: How improved is it?
• 11:00
  [SPEAKER_00]: And like you look down the stretch and you just talk about the statistics and they were one of the best past defenses in football.
• 11:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: They forced turnovers, they limit touchdowns, they limit points, they did a really good job, you know?
• 11:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: They did, but they also weren't facing the best offenses.
• 11:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, they did a really good job against the chargers, who had a really banged up offensive line.
• 11:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: They did a really good job against the Broncos, who, as much as I am a Bonax truther and I believe he's a fine-starting quarterback in the NFL and he can do some good things, he is not an elite quarterback, right?
• 11:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, that's when they faced really good quarterbacks,
• 11:49
  [SPEAKER_00]: The past defense kind of got eaten up and even sometimes it's not really good quarterbacks right they're able to dink and dunk their way down the field and because they're able to get the ball out so quickly.
• 12:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: It just doesn't offer much in the way of allowing your pass rush to get home.
• 12:09
  [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't offer much in the way of you allowing to get ball disruption.
• 12:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you're seven yards off the ball and they're willing to throw these three and five yard passes, that's a difficult.
• 12:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: that's difficult to figure out how to fix it, right?
• 12:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: I'm obviously getting closer to the line of scrimmage, I think should help fix it.
• 12:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, I think having Travis Hunter out there instead of Greg Newsom should be able to help fix it.
• 12:36
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I do lean towards the Jaguars, past defense being improved.
• 12:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like, these are questions that need to be answered.
• 12:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: I lean on the positive side of most of them.
• 12:48
  [SPEAKER_00]: I really do.
• 12:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think Travis Hunter being out there instead of Greg Newsom is massive.
• 12:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think Jordan Lewis being healthy is massive.
• 12:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think Antonio Johnson taking another step in this defense and actually playing the entire year is a huge deal for them.
• 13:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: The ascension of Buster Brown last year, the way Eric Murray played, Jari and Joan, like, yes, I feel good about that stuff.
• 13:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: defensively, pass game.
• 13:21
  [SPEAKER_00]: They bring in Matthew or Rujo to coach up the corners and be the pass game coordinator.
• 13:25
  [SPEAKER_00]: And he has a higher attention to detail.
• 13:30
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think focus on the little things.
• 13:32
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then,
• 13:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: Their team, as I mentioned, they played a lot of zone vision, and Liam Cohen just talked about this.
• 13:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Vision zone, you have your eyes on the quarterback and the back field.
• 13:44
  [SPEAKER_00]: You're going to give up completions, but you're also going to create turnovers because you've got your eyes on the ball.
• 13:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: They want to add more match principles to the defense.
• 13:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Do they have the players to execute that?
• 14:05
  [SPEAKER_00]: That's a big question for me.
• 14:06
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, that's mostly about the corners outside corners.
• 14:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think interior-wise, safety, up the spine.
• 14:19
  [SPEAKER_00]: I love what everything that Anthony Campany like did with the post-nap coverage rotations, moving guys around.
• 14:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: It ends up being a lot of, you know, similar coverages, but you don't know exactly who's going to be where as an offense and the picture changes post-snap and I think that's really great.
• 14:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: But I think the corners and the defense has to be able to be stickier has to deny the quick game throws.
• 14:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: More often than they do.
• 14:51
  [SPEAKER_00]: It doesn't have to be denied all the time.
• 14:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: But like when you're in a situation where you have to
• 14:59
  [SPEAKER_00]: can you do that.
• 15:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: They didn't do it a whole lot last year against really good teams when they had to do it.
• 15:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: So that's, that's kind of what I'm watching there with the past coverage.
• 15:13
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I say past defense, like, yeah, if the past coverage is able to do that, the past rush has to get home quicker.
• 15:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: It's a marriage that needs to work for the Jaguars to reach their
• 15:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: Um, one question I have individually, I think ventral Miller is going to be the based down run defense linebacker next to FOA, but if Branson, because they haven't said who really is going to start who's going to play more, if Branson comes is on the field.
• 15:46
  [SPEAKER_00]: When the opponents are trying to run the ball, I have a big question mark about that.
• 15:50
  [SPEAKER_00]: I have that circle.
• 15:52
  [SPEAKER_00]: Like if Branson comes is on the field and I am an opposing offense.
• 15:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: I am circling that match up in the run defense department.
• 16:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: I did not see a player who was able to get off blocks, a player who was able to play with enough physicality to make an impact in the run game with Branson Colms.
• 16:12
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, playing behind,
• 16:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: The backup says he did a lot during the preseason versus playing behind Devon Hamilton and Josh Hines Allen and Trayvon Walker and Eric Arm said him at Dickerson.
• 16:23
  [SPEAKER_00]: That is an entirely different beast and that could help clean things up for him just and completely make this a move point.
• 16:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: But if offensive lineman are able to get hands on him, I'm fearful of that.
• 16:38
  [SPEAKER_00]: Whereas with Ventral Miller, I have like...
• 16:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: Resolute confidence in his ability to defend the run and I think he's smart enough and athletic enough as a zone dropper to get the job done and most of what the Jaguars want to do from a coverage menu standpoint.
• 16:53
  [SPEAKER_00]: We saw it last year.
• 16:56
  [SPEAKER_00]: Then my final question is just like can they beat the big boys when it matters.
• 17:02
  [SPEAKER_00]: Really, they only had one game down the stretch last year where they absolutely had to win it.
• 17:08
  [SPEAKER_00]: And it was in the playoffs against the bills and mistakes abound, right?
• 17:15
  [SPEAKER_00]: So many little mistakes that if one of them wasn't made, would they have won the game?
• 17:20
  [SPEAKER_00]: Now, if Travis Hunter is in that game, would they win the game?
• 17:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: Good chance.
• 17:24
  [SPEAKER_00]: If COVID-19 is in that game, do they win the game?
• 17:27
  [SPEAKER_00]: Good chance.
• 17:28
  [SPEAKER_00]: If they run the ball more in that game, do they win the game?
• 17:34
  [SPEAKER_00]: but there was a lot of mistakes as well, you know, Trevor Lawrence had some turnovers that were big mistakes.
• 17:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: And I'm not putting it all on him because, you know, even though he had those interceptions, he also made drives late in the game that put the Jaguars in position to win it, multiple times.
• 17:54
  [SPEAKER_00]: And then the defense couldn't get their job done.
• 17:57
  [SPEAKER_00]: Obviously that a Bismal play where Josh Allen just ran
• 18:01
  [SPEAKER_00]: ruptured through the Jaguar's defense was horrible.
• 18:04
  [SPEAKER_00]: I think that was a aberration more than anything else, but it was in a really big moment.
• 18:11
  [SPEAKER_00]: So, I think all of this stuff that has led to the question can they win when it really matters?
• 18:18
  [SPEAKER_00]: Can they win when all the pressure is on?
• 18:22
  [SPEAKER_00]: Should help them?
• 18:26
  [SPEAKER_00]: If the answers are yes, if the answers are yes, these are improved,
• 18:31
  [SPEAKER_00]: offensive line, pass coverage, run game, but can you beat the big boys willing to matter?
• 18:37
  [SPEAKER_00]: That is a big question for me.
• 18:39
  [SPEAKER_00]: Really appreciate you all tuning in.
• 18:40
  [SPEAKER_00]: If you enjoy the content, you're pleased to like and subscribe.
• 18:43
  [SPEAKER_00]: Y'all have a great one.