Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / A Few Good Minutes: Inside Jaguars' Week 4 Challenge in Cincinnati
Transcript
- 0:16Speaker 1: Welcome to A Few Good Minutes. I'm Brian Sexton, and
- 0:19Speaker 1: it's been a busy week in and around the Jaguars.
- 0:22Speaker 1: I guess it's not that much different than any other
- 0:23Speaker 1: week of the regular season. Maybe it's just the intensity
- 0:26Speaker 1: I felt around this team this week as they get
- 0:28Speaker 1: ready to try and tame quarterback Joe Burrow and the Bengals,
- 0:32Speaker 1: something they've not done. He's 3-0 against them. Now, Cincinnati
- 0:36Speaker 1: isn't Denver or Kansas City or Seattle. It's not a
- 0:39Speaker 1: terribly difficult place to play unless you factor in Burrow,
- 0:43Speaker 1: who's one of the game's best, and wide receiver Jamar Chase,
- 0:46Speaker 1: who is clearly the best pass catcher in football. I
- 0:49Speaker 1: have the good fortune to have retired linebackers coach Mark Duffner,
- 0:52Speaker 1: also one of the game's best, working with us here
- 0:55Speaker 1: at Jaguars Productions. Duff was in Cincinnati from 2019 through 2024,
- 1:00Speaker 1: which means he knows these two guys and what makes
- 1:02Speaker 1: them so very good. Tell me who Joe Burrow is.
- 1:11Speaker 1: I mean, people see him on TV. He's got those cold,
- 1:14Speaker 1: steely eyes. Cold-blooded killer on the field, I think. Tell
- 1:17Speaker 1: me about him.
- 1:18Speaker 2: Superb person. I mean, a guy that's available to everybody.
- 1:23Speaker 2: When you talk to him, you have his complete attention.
- 1:27Speaker 2: He's a guy that enjoys a lot of things, likes
- 1:29Speaker 2: to laugh, likes jokes. You know, he's a free-spirited guy. Again, I...
- 1:36Speaker 2: I've said before that if you look for a template
- 1:39Speaker 2: that you'd want a quarterback, the qualities to have, not
- 1:41Speaker 2: just the physical skills, but the makeup, the character, the
- 1:45Speaker 2: thought process, decision making, he's got it all. Just a
- 1:48Speaker 2: superb guy.
- 1:49Speaker 1: Because you practiced against him and had to prepare to
- 1:51Speaker 1: practice against him. What makes him so good as a quarterback?
- 1:56Speaker 2: I think his preparation. He's very much into preparation. He's thorough.
- 2:02Speaker 2: He wants to know why. he's going to go beyond
- 2:06Speaker 2: the actual structure of plays and scheme. As far as
- 2:10Speaker 2: that's concerned, probably the most detailed. Peyton Manning, I know,
- 2:15Speaker 2: was that way in terms of preparation skills and details
- 2:19Speaker 2: and awareness. Joe's got all that and then some. And
- 2:23Speaker 2: it's just because I think it stems from how competitive
- 2:26Speaker 2: he is, how much he loves to make plays, to
- 2:29Speaker 2: have fun making plays. I think that's part of what
- 2:32Speaker 2: his makeup is.
- 2:33Speaker 1: I was sitting in the end zone at Arrowhead Stadium
- 2:35Speaker 1: in Kansas City the year that you guys beat Kansas
- 2:38Speaker 1: City in the AFC Championship game and went to the
- 2:40Speaker 1: Super Bowl. And I remember at the end of the game,
- 2:43Speaker 1: the Chiefs fans, my brothers, were so confident because they
- 2:46Speaker 1: had Patrick Mahomes. They didn't know enough about Joe Burrow.
- 2:50Speaker 1: And yet I said, you guys are screwed because this guy,
- 2:52Speaker 1: he's built differently. Tell me about Joe in big moments.
- 2:58Speaker 2: That's when he thrives. I mean, that's what he lives for.
- 3:01Speaker 2: He loves the big moments. I mean, again, in that
- 3:04Speaker 2: particular game, I mean, he was superb. But when you
- 3:07Speaker 2: looked at his senior season at LSU, my God, if
- 3:10Speaker 2: anybody's had a better season and made more big plays
- 3:13Speaker 2: and big moments than he did, show me. I mean,
- 3:17Speaker 2: he thrives and lives for that. He works every day
- 3:20Speaker 2: for those opportunities. And it's not just in ball. I
- 3:24Speaker 2: think it's in life. I mean, it's the way he
- 3:26Speaker 2: conducts himself. I mean, he's a great basketball player. I've
- 3:29Speaker 2: seen him in the gym. playing against our guys, and
- 3:33Speaker 2: the guy's got all the skills and competes fiercely. I mean,
- 3:37Speaker 2: just a rare individual for sure.
- 3:39Speaker 1: You've only had good things to say about him. Do
- 3:41Speaker 1: you have a perspective on his fashion sense?
- 3:44Speaker 2: I know he's got good fashion sense.
- 3:47Speaker 1: According to who?
- 3:48Speaker 2: Well, probably him, but no, he would never boast. He's
- 3:51Speaker 2: a humble guy, but he's out there a little bit.
- 3:54Speaker 2: He likes a lot of different things, and he's more,
- 3:57Speaker 2: I'd say, up to date, if you will, in terms
- 4:00Speaker 2: of fashion and and how he looks as far as
- 4:02Speaker 2: those things are concerned than anybody probably. But, you know,
- 4:06Speaker 2: he's not doing that for show. It's just something I
- 4:09Speaker 2: think he likes. He's not a look-at-me guy for sure.
- 4:12Speaker 1: Despite the fact that he owns a Batmobile, have you
- 4:14Speaker 1: had a ride?
- 4:15Speaker 2: I haven't had a ride. You know, I know that
- 4:18Speaker 2: that was a bucket listing I think he had. He's
- 4:21Speaker 2: done some great things. He bought the offensive line one year,
- 4:25Speaker 2: these ancient– sabers or something, you know, I mean, that were,
- 4:30Speaker 2: you know, really antique. I mean, more than antique, just
- 4:33Speaker 2: rare swords, I guess you'd call it. But again, he
- 4:38Speaker 2: likes to do things that are special.
- 4:40Speaker 1: Can I ask you about Jamar Chase as well? Because
- 4:42Speaker 1: your time with the Bengals, you're around one of the
- 4:45Speaker 1: best quarterbacks and also one of the best receivers.
- 4:47Speaker 2: Again, another superb person. Both of these guys are givers.
- 4:51Speaker 2: You know, for guys that are so... read about and
- 4:54Speaker 2: so famous in some respects you would never know it
- 4:57Speaker 2: they're both humble guys they're both givers they they're always
- 5:01Speaker 2: sensitive to the fan and to the to people that
- 5:04Speaker 2: seek them out in a proper way they act properly
- 5:08Speaker 2: i mean jamar i'm talking about as an athlete now
- 5:11Speaker 2: you know parker washington we have high regard for here
- 5:14Speaker 2: well jamar is a bigger parker washington both of them
- 5:17Speaker 2: when you look at them from the waist down they've
- 5:19Speaker 2: got running backs legs and and jamar are his ability
- 5:23Speaker 2: to control his body, to handle different twists, turns, torques.
- 5:27Speaker 2: I've never seen a defender tackle him on the first move.
- 5:31Speaker 2: In other words, he's beaten the first tackler every single time. So,
- 5:35Speaker 2: I mean, for any team, especially us as we play them,
- 5:38Speaker 2: you've got to be ready. This guy will shake you
- 5:40Speaker 2: every single time, the first tackler. Just a superb guy.
- 5:43Speaker 1: The confidence you must have had on the sidelines as
- 5:45Speaker 1: a defensive coach with the game on the line or
- 5:48Speaker 1: in any circumstance, down a touchdown at halftime. The confidence
- 5:51Speaker 1: you must have had with those two guys and Tee
- 5:54Speaker 1: Higgins and a big offensive line to know that you
- 5:58Speaker 1: were in every game.
- 5:59Speaker 2: Oh yeah, there's no question about that. Our objective on
- 6:02Speaker 2: defense was not to mess it up because we knew
- 6:04Speaker 2: that that offense in particular led by those three gentlemen,
- 6:08Speaker 2: Joe and Jamar and Tee, had a chance to be prolific,
- 6:12Speaker 2: had a chance to be explosive and very much confident
- 6:16Speaker 2: in them, watching them work day-to-day, competing against them, practicing
- 6:19Speaker 2: against them and seeing them go against opponents.
- 6:21Speaker 1: So if you were to pick one thing that the
- 6:23Speaker 1: Jaguars absolutely must do to beat the Bengals in Cincinnati,
- 6:28Speaker 1: I mean, there's lots of things. The list is long.
- 6:30Speaker 1: But one thing that has to happen, you can't win
- 6:32Speaker 1: if you don't do this. What would that be?
- 6:33Speaker 2: Hold on to the ball. Ball control offense is going
- 6:36Speaker 2: to be critical for us. Keep them on the sideline
- 6:39Speaker 2: because they're that good, in my opinion. I've seen them
- 6:42Speaker 2: operate like that. The six years I had the privilege
- 6:44Speaker 2: to be there and So we've got to keep the ball,
- 6:47Speaker 2: shrink the game, extend the clock, if you will, score
- 6:51Speaker 2: when we get an opportunity to do that. They're not
- 6:55Speaker 2: all world. I don't mean to make it like that,
- 6:57Speaker 2: but I think that if you had an objective, shrink
- 7:00Speaker 2: the game, control the clock, control the ball.
- 7:08Speaker 1: I grab one-on-one interviews with assistant coaches as they leave
- 7:10Speaker 1: the practice field on Wednesday and Thursday. Sometimes I have
- 7:13Speaker 1: to wait a few minutes as they answer questions and
- 7:16Speaker 1: go over details with the players. This Wednesday, I waited
- 7:19Speaker 1: for more than 30 minutes because Matt Arujo's guys weren't
- 7:23Speaker 1: close to being finished. Arujo coordinates the Jaguars' pass defense
- 7:27Speaker 1: and coaches the cornerbacks. And with Chase and his buddy T.
- 7:30Speaker 1: Higgins up next, those guys wanted to dot every I
- 7:33Speaker 1: and cross every T. judging by the way that your
- 7:43Speaker 1: group is the last one off the field, the way
- 7:46Speaker 1: that I saw that you had them all huddled up
- 7:48Speaker 1: a couple of different times, communication and trust are so
- 7:50Speaker 1: important in the secondary. That's obviously something you work on
- 7:53Speaker 1: every minute of every practice and even after practice.
- 7:56Speaker 3: Yeah, for us, you know, one, we have to do
- 7:58Speaker 3: our job, but part of our job is making sure
- 8:02Speaker 3: the ball never gets past us. So no matter what
- 8:04Speaker 3: happens at a second or first level, we need to
- 8:07Speaker 3: not only be able to execute when the ball's in
- 8:09Speaker 3: the air for us, but if something does break, We
- 8:11Speaker 3: got to get the ball on the ground. You know,
- 8:12Speaker 3: we're the insurance policy for whatever happens in front. So
- 8:16Speaker 3: there's got to be a level of detailed discipline and
- 8:19Speaker 3: execution that isn't going to be done just in the
- 8:22Speaker 3: regular hours of the day. You know, there's not enough
- 8:24Speaker 3: time to work on those things. So we take pride.
- 8:28Speaker 3: And honestly, it's all on the guys. They buy into it.
- 8:30Speaker 3: You know, I'll be there no matter what. It's on
- 8:32Speaker 3: them to buy in, which they do. But I think
- 8:34Speaker 3: you see that. It's continuing to improve each game, but
- 8:39Speaker 3: as we continue to sharpen that ax, we have to
- 8:41Speaker 3: make sure the game is never going to get out
- 8:44Speaker 3: of hand because the ball's going over our head or
- 8:45Speaker 3: it's getting past us.
- 8:46Speaker 1: You've had these guys for a relatively short time, obviously
- 8:48Speaker 1: your first year in Jacksonville. Do you have a group
- 8:50Speaker 1: of good communicators of guys that trust one another? Is
- 8:53Speaker 1: that something you're still working on?
- 8:54Speaker 3: Yeah, our group, when you look at them, almost every
- 8:57Speaker 3: guy plays a second or third position. So with that,
- 9:01Speaker 3: And most of them have been here for two years.
- 9:03Speaker 3: So they understand the defense. They understand what other roles
- 9:06Speaker 3: should be, whether they're playing that role or the other
- 9:09Speaker 3: guy in the room is playing it because of the
- 9:10Speaker 3: package we're in. So with that, you get a lot
- 9:13Speaker 3: of great communication because one, they're selfless, but two, they
- 9:16Speaker 3: understand it. So that's where we're able to do so
- 9:20Speaker 3: much because we've got a lot of smart players who
- 9:21Speaker 3: take pride in knowing what they've got to know.
- 9:24Speaker 1: Hopefully you don't hear the noise, but two weeks ago
- 9:26Speaker 1: there was all kinds of noise about how much Travis
- 9:28Speaker 1: was playing and rotating. But we saw last week, didn't we,
- 9:31Speaker 1: what it means to have another guy who can get
- 9:32Speaker 1: on the field and make a play for you in
- 9:34Speaker 1: Jarion Jones. Tell me a little bit about the rotation
- 9:36Speaker 1: process and what the methodology is.
- 9:38Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's simple. We have four guys who
- 9:42Speaker 3: can all start in this league and all deserve to play.
- 9:45Speaker 3: And on top of that, they make us better when
- 9:47Speaker 3: they all play and they're all fresh. So, you know,
- 9:50Speaker 3: for us, we want to win football games using our
- 9:53Speaker 3: best players to win those games. So it gives us
- 9:55Speaker 3: an opportunity When they can all be on the field,
- 9:57Speaker 3: we do that. And when we can make sure they
- 9:59Speaker 3: stay fresh and they're playing, we think every single one
- 10:02Speaker 3: of those guys gives us an opportunity to win. So
- 10:04Speaker 3: that's why you see them all playing.
- 10:05Speaker 1: There's an energy about this defense. And Campanile obviously has
- 10:09Speaker 1: a huge hand in that. Tell me, what about him
- 10:11Speaker 1: struck you when you first worked with him and what
- 10:14Speaker 1: you've noticed in the time since you've been back with him?
- 10:16Speaker 3: Yeah, he wears his heart on his sleeve. Um, he
- 10:20Speaker 3: trusts people with everything he has and he is as
- 10:23Speaker 3: genuine of a person you're ever going to meet. So
- 10:25Speaker 3: working for him or working with him, you have nothing
- 10:28Speaker 3: but respect for him because he works as hard as
- 10:30Speaker 3: anybody's going to work. He knows the information more than
- 10:34Speaker 3: anyone's going to know it because he puts the time
- 10:35Speaker 3: in to know it. And then the way he portrays
- 10:37Speaker 3: himself and the way he shows up as the same
- 10:40Speaker 3: guy every day, you have nothing but respect for, for
- 10:43Speaker 3: the guy that you're day in and day out in
- 10:45Speaker 3: the When I was working with him 10, 12 years ago,
- 10:49Speaker 3: however long ago that was, he is the same exact
- 10:51Speaker 3: guy now in a different role. So for me, getting
- 10:54Speaker 3: a chance to work with him again, it makes me better.
- 10:57Speaker 3: I learn something new from him every single day. And
- 10:59Speaker 3: now that I'm older, I try to make sure it's
- 11:01Speaker 3: a little give and take. But no, he's everything you'd
- 11:05Speaker 3: want to work for as a leader and work with.
- 11:08Speaker 1: Tell me about the challenge this week. Listen, it's a
- 11:09Speaker 1: challenge every time you step on the field in the NFL.
- 11:11Speaker 1: But these two guys are special. And the quarterback is, well,
- 11:15Speaker 1: he's as good as they get.
- 11:16Speaker 3: Yeah, I think as they're watching the film, it's got
- 11:19Speaker 3: to be the same thing on their end. You know,
- 11:21Speaker 3: as they watch us play with our technique and the
- 11:23Speaker 3: way we attack the ball, the way we attack the
- 11:24Speaker 3: line of scrimmage, they got to find a way to
- 11:26Speaker 3: play us. So for us, that's our focus is what
- 11:30Speaker 3: we do is good enough to beat anybody in the league.
- 11:32Speaker 3: And that's what we're going to do.
- 11:33Speaker 1: So that's what it's all about us means, because Liam
- 11:35Speaker 1: talks about that all the time. How hard is it
- 11:38Speaker 1: to get guys to buy into that mentality? Because, you know,
- 11:41Speaker 1: people look at matchups so often. They hear about matchups
- 11:43Speaker 1: so often. Is it a difficult transition for a guy
- 11:46Speaker 1: to just think about what he has to do?
- 11:48Speaker 3: I think if you don't have a culture that is
- 11:50Speaker 3: about that every day, absolutely. When they leave here, they
- 11:54Speaker 3: have their phones. I'm sure there's a bunch of stuff
- 11:56Speaker 3: on there that I don't care to look into. But
- 12:00Speaker 3: when we're in the building and we train a certain way,
- 12:03Speaker 3: and the point you made earlier of us being out
- 12:05Speaker 3: there past the whistle, all of that is so we
- 12:08Speaker 3: have faith I shouldn't say faith. We have pride and
- 12:12Speaker 3: understanding that no matter what we face on Sunday, we're
- 12:15Speaker 3: more prepared because we put the work in to do it.
- 12:18Speaker 3: And that just becomes a belief. And they're only going
- 12:20Speaker 3: to believe in that if the work is truly put in.
- 12:22Speaker 3: So we put in the work throughout the week, and
- 12:24Speaker 3: then we show up on Sunday and just have fun.
- 12:26Speaker 1: Liam went out of his way to talk about guys
- 12:28Speaker 1: who need to just forget and move on. Because when
- 12:31Speaker 1: you play some of these guys, they're going to make plays.
- 12:33Speaker 1: They're professionals. They're great players. You've got to put your
- 12:35Speaker 1: mindset on and say, next play, next play, next play.
- 12:39Speaker 1: Sorry to hit you with a similar question, but how
- 12:40Speaker 1: hard is it to get guys to trust themselves and
- 12:43Speaker 1: go on to the next play?
- 12:44Speaker 3: Yeah, that's absolutely. You're just fighting human nature on that.
- 12:49Speaker 3: But again, it's if we just focus on doing our
- 12:52Speaker 3: job over and over again, what we're trained to do,
- 12:55Speaker 3: then those plays that are made, they're just flukes.
- 12:57Speaker 1: It happened.
- 12:57Speaker 3: You know, that's going to happen there. They're paid their professionals, too.
- 13:00Speaker 3: But we we have the true belief that if we
- 13:03Speaker 3: keep staying steady in the boat, we're going to get
- 13:05Speaker 3: ours over and over and over again. They might make
- 13:07Speaker 3: a play.
- 13:08Speaker 1: Cool.
- 13:08Speaker 3: Good for them. Pat them on the back and we're
- 13:09Speaker 3: going to make the next one.
- 13:10Speaker 1: Let's end on this. Liam's been here now for 20
- 13:12Speaker 1: games and this team, it has a mentality that we
- 13:16Speaker 1: are expected to win. I can tell you, I've been
- 13:17Speaker 1: here for 32 years. That has not always been the
- 13:19Speaker 1: case here. There's something, I don't want to get ahead
- 13:22Speaker 1: of it, but there's something distinct about this building and
- 13:25Speaker 1: this group of players coming in from Miami and jumping
- 13:28Speaker 1: into this organization. Did you see that? Do you feel
- 13:30Speaker 1: it now?
- 13:31Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely. When you have that, you can feel that
- 13:34Speaker 3: on film. That's something you can see. So For me,
- 13:39Speaker 3: it was a decision in coming here was because I
- 13:41Speaker 3: knew the play style was going to be that. So
- 13:43Speaker 3: being able to see that on film and feel that
- 13:46Speaker 3: coming in here, it's how can I add to that?
- 13:48Speaker 3: You know, we we have guys that believe in themselves
- 13:52Speaker 3: and that's what you see. So it's a group of
- 13:54Speaker 3: guys that really care about each other and love each other.
- 13:56Speaker 3: And on Sundays, they just go let it loose.
- 14:00Speaker 1: Everything kind of tilts towards defense this week. That's what
- 14:03Speaker 1: happens when you play the Bengals. So let's pause and
- 14:06Speaker 1: spend a few minutes with rookie wide receiver Josh Cameron,
- 14:08Speaker 1: who's making a name for himself on that side of
- 14:10Speaker 1: the ball. I asked him what he learned after the
- 14:12Speaker 1: Denver loss that helped in the New England win and
- 14:15Speaker 1: what he thinks might work again this week in Cincinnati.
- 14:21Speaker 1: Tell me about it. this week in preparation for this
- 14:24Speaker 1: team because you look sharp, and that's coming off of
- 14:27Speaker 1: a big win. How do you keep the edge?
- 14:29Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that's the edge, what you just kind
- 14:32Speaker 4: of said, being sharp.
- 14:34Speaker 5: We learned kind of last week going into.
- 14:37Speaker 4: The week that practice, I mean, it equals game, game performance.
- 14:41Speaker 5: That's been the message that Coach Cohen's been just telling
- 14:44Speaker 5: us this entire time, and so that's what we're going
- 14:46Speaker 5: to continue to do. And so stacked another great practice today,
- 14:49Speaker 5: full pads, taking advantage of those opportunities because as the
- 14:53Speaker 5: year goes on, you get less of those.
- 14:55Speaker 4: So you have to be physical. You have to get
- 14:57Speaker 4: that feel for the game. That's what we did today.
- 15:00Speaker 1: How about your opportunities and your feel for the game?
- 15:03Speaker 1: It just seems to grow week by week.
- 15:05Speaker 4: For sure.
- 15:05Speaker 5: Yeah, I think as I continue to just get more
- 15:08Speaker 5: and more NFL experience, similar to college, the more experience
- 15:12Speaker 5: you get, the easier it becomes, the more it starts
- 15:14Speaker 5: to slow down. And so as we're into this next week,
- 15:17Speaker 5: it's starting to slow down for me. Even just like
- 15:19Speaker 5: during practice, just seeing the plays, hearing the calls, I'm
- 15:22Speaker 5: starting to get to that place where it's like, OK,
- 15:24Speaker 5: even less thinking compared to when I was last week
- 15:27Speaker 5: and the week before. So I'm just going to continue
- 15:29Speaker 5: to get to that place where it's just, hey, go
- 15:31Speaker 5: out there and play ball.
- 15:32Speaker 1: I've always heard that it's the speed of the game
- 15:34Speaker 1: that surprises college football players who start playing on Sunday
- 15:38Speaker 1: after playing on Saturday. Were you surprised by the speed
- 15:40Speaker 1: of the game? And how long did it take for
- 15:42Speaker 1: you to adjust to that?
- 15:43Speaker 5: For me, I wouldn't say the speed is that much
- 15:47Speaker 5: crazier to to tell you the truth i would just
- 15:49Speaker 5: say the mental aspect from college to nfl that's the
- 15:53Speaker 5: biggest jump it's a it's a night and day difference
- 15:55Speaker 5: just just to be honest just the whole mental the
- 15:58Speaker 5: film watch you have a little bit more time on
- 16:01Speaker 5: your own so what you do in your free time
- 16:03Speaker 5: is what separates um that's what say vets from like
- 16:07Speaker 5: the pros of the pros type deal and so it's
- 16:09Speaker 5: just more of the mental aspect for me i would
- 16:11Speaker 5: say the speed is i mean everybody's fast everybody's big
- 16:13Speaker 5: it was the same thing college and honestly.
- 16:15Speaker 1: I have heard that you use your free time here.
- 16:18Speaker 1: You're here on Tuesdays. Where'd you learn that?
- 16:20Speaker 5: I mean, that was more so just... I guess it
- 16:24Speaker 5: kind of started with Ross first and foremost, just kind
- 16:26Speaker 5: of getting me up here to watch some special teams
- 16:29Speaker 5: tape for the next opponent. And then really kind of
- 16:32Speaker 5: after that, I was like, okay, I have this free
- 16:34Speaker 5: time up here after I'm done. So like 30-minute meeting,
- 16:36Speaker 5: like let me build my own routine. Let me go
- 16:38Speaker 5: do something for my body. Let me take advantage of
- 16:41Speaker 5: this off time that we have. And then also I
- 16:43Speaker 5: like the rest of the day to just kind of chill,
- 16:44Speaker 5: hang out type deal. So that was just kind of
- 16:46Speaker 5: the mindset I had and how it kind of started
- 16:48Speaker 5: to tell you the truth.
- 16:49Speaker 1: Everybody's seen your mom on social media. Can you put
- 16:52Speaker 1: into words what she means to you?
- 16:54Speaker 4: It's kind of hard to put into words, but my
- 16:56Speaker 4: mom's my world. She's my why. She's truly a big
- 17:00Speaker 4: part of why I do this.
- 17:02Speaker 5: Just kind of seeing her at the games, seeing her
- 17:04Speaker 5: after the games, talking to her on the phone, just
- 17:07Speaker 5: hearing that joy that she protrudes and just having the
- 17:11Speaker 5: opportunity to share those moments with her, just remembering her journey,
- 17:14Speaker 5: knowing that.
- 17:15Speaker 4: You know what I'm saying?
- 17:16Speaker 5: I was that close to not being able to share
- 17:17Speaker 5: my dream with her type deal. So she just means
- 17:20Speaker 5: the world to me, means everything to me for sure.
- 17:22Speaker 1: Final thought, and you're focused on the game, but you're
- 17:25Speaker 1: going to London next week. Have you ever played an
- 17:27Speaker 1: international football game? And what are your thoughts about getting overseas?
- 17:30Speaker 5: Yeah, I haven't played international before. So that would be
- 17:33Speaker 5: a cool experience. I've been to Japan on a trip,
- 17:37Speaker 5: but that's the furthest I've probably been. And so I
- 17:39Speaker 5: kind of got that travel bug. So I've never been
- 17:42Speaker 5: to London, so I'm really excited about that, especially to
- 17:44Speaker 5: get in front of the UK Jags fans. I know
- 17:46Speaker 5: they're big on social media and stuff, so that will
- 17:49Speaker 5: be really exciting, real fun.
- 17:50Speaker 1: If you get a win this week, you can enjoy
- 17:51Speaker 1: the long plane ride over. For sure, for sure. Now
- 17:59Speaker 1: back to our regularly scheduled program, the defense. I could
- 18:02Speaker 1: listen to linebacker Foye Iluaka talk football for a long time.
- 18:06Speaker 1: It's as if he has a graduate degree in the game.
- 18:09Speaker 1: I'm not sure there is such a thing, but if
- 18:10Speaker 1: there was, he'd have it. The hours he spends in
- 18:13Speaker 1: the film room preparing each week are legendary, so I
- 18:16Speaker 1: figured it'd be fun to pick a play so you
- 18:18Speaker 1: could hear him lecture on ball, too. Tell me about
- 18:24Speaker 1: the play on the interception that Travis made. When you
- 18:28Speaker 1: watch the tape, you see you and all the defensive
- 18:31Speaker 1: backs talking, and then you screaming over and making him
- 18:35Speaker 1: make a decision. That shows the level that this defense
- 18:40Speaker 1: is communicating at, right? I mean, that's what it looked
- 18:42Speaker 1: like to me. Right.
- 18:43Speaker 6: Was it third down, fourth down? I think they tried
- 18:47Speaker 6: to run at one of them. Playing the percentages, you know,
- 18:50Speaker 6: third in goal in two or three, they're probably going
- 18:53Speaker 6: to try to throw it in. So they kind of
- 18:54Speaker 6: lined up close. A lot of people over to the left.
- 18:57Speaker 6: Quarterback's right-handed. Probably a lot of these coordinators do that
- 19:00Speaker 6: roll pass, give them a run pass option to the left.
- 19:04Speaker 6: So I just needed them to be on different levels
- 19:05Speaker 6: and on their matches. You know, the tight end did
- 19:08Speaker 6: a little fake shift inside trying to get our matches off.
- 19:12Speaker 6: Assuming it was a confirmation key, the back does not
- 19:14Speaker 6: go for a run. He goes straight to the flat.
- 19:17Speaker 6: and we played our roll pass play, and then Travis
- 19:18Speaker 6: got the interception off it. So it's kind of like
- 19:20Speaker 6: film study, understanding what plays come, but it's just the
- 19:24Speaker 6: confidence and trust in our defense, knowing what we're taught
- 19:27Speaker 6: throughout the week and over the years now, second year
- 19:29Speaker 6: here with the coordinator, what plays we get.
- 19:31Speaker 3: In those situations.
- 19:32Speaker 1: Two thoughts on that. First is trust and communication. I mean,
- 19:35Speaker 1: that doesn't come just by showing up on the field.
- 19:38Speaker 1: That takes a lot of time on task, right? Oh,
- 19:40Speaker 1: for sure. It does. I mean.
- 19:43Speaker 6: hit it right on the nail with that and we
- 19:45Speaker 6: have to keep building it because we're going to see
- 19:48Speaker 6: you know teams know that that's coming they're going to
- 19:50Speaker 6: to maybe have something off of it, maybe a little
- 19:51Speaker 6: throwback or something, and maybe a little shovel pass or something.
- 19:54Speaker 6: So just trusting that own your play and that the
- 19:57Speaker 6: guy next to you is going to do his part
- 19:59Speaker 6: of the play. And then when you do have your
- 20:01Speaker 6: play to make, go make it.
- 20:02Speaker 1: How much time in the film room do you spend?
- 20:04Speaker 1: I mean, it would seem to me that being able
- 20:06Speaker 1: to execute at that level with communication and trust, You
- 20:09Speaker 1: spent an awful lot of time preparing for that.
- 20:11Speaker 6: Yeah, I think our coaches, they want everything to be right, too.
- 20:14Speaker 1: So they give us a lot to look at.
- 20:16Speaker 6: But as a leader and a couple of the older guys,
- 20:19Speaker 6: we have our own little film sessions throughout the week.
- 20:22Speaker 6: But then going on your own and watching the film
- 20:25Speaker 6: and making sure that, you know, what you've been communicating
- 20:28Speaker 6: to the room is what you're seeing so that you
- 20:30Speaker 6: can see it just as fast in the game. I
- 20:32Speaker 6: think everybody on the defense does a good job of
- 20:34Speaker 6: going and owning the you know, what they're trying to
- 20:36Speaker 6: see out there and playing fast right now.
- 20:37Speaker 1: You've done this for a long time at a high level.
- 20:40Speaker 1: How much of that film study and that extra work
- 20:43Speaker 1: on your own away from everything else does it take
- 20:45Speaker 1: for you to play at that level?
- 20:46Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, this is kind of, you know, going
- 20:48Speaker 6: through the whole school part. Like, I've always been kind
- 20:50Speaker 6: of an independent studier. Obviously, you go to class and
- 20:52Speaker 6: learn what you're supposed to learn.
- 20:53Speaker 3: But you got to see it how you see it.
- 20:56Speaker 6: So going home and watching the film on my own,
- 20:58Speaker 6: breaking it down, how I need to break it down
- 21:00Speaker 6: in order to see the pictures. But I see in
- 21:02Speaker 6: the game, I think you got to put those hours in.
- 21:03Speaker 6: If I want to be successful, everybody learns differently, though.
- 21:06Speaker 6: But if I want to be successful, I kind of
- 21:08Speaker 6: got to do that. So when I see some stuff
- 21:10Speaker 6: show up again, even if it's jump or routes, like
- 21:13Speaker 6: a lot of times everybody's on their matches. Now the
- 21:15Speaker 6: quarterback got to pull it down. We don't get a
- 21:16Speaker 6: stat for that, but now the rest gets to go eat.
- 21:19Speaker 6: So me being on top of plays. And being able
- 21:22Speaker 6: to communicate the play that's about to happen gives me
- 21:24Speaker 6: a lot of confidence that I put in the right
- 21:25Speaker 6: amount of work during the week.
- 21:26Speaker 1: How about just one final thought, and that is this
- 21:29Speaker 1: defense through three weeks is playing at a very high level.
- 21:32Speaker 1: Do you see it that way? Do you allow yourself
- 21:35Speaker 1: to see it that way, or do you look at
- 21:36Speaker 1: it through a different lens?
- 21:38Speaker 6: I don't know the level. I know what it's supposed
- 21:40Speaker 6: to feel like, though. So I think we've got another
- 21:42Speaker 6: space to get to.
- 21:43Speaker 1: We're playing fast.
- 21:44Speaker 6: But there's another place we've got to get to, being
- 21:46Speaker 6: a little bit matchier, being more coordinated in our rush.
- 21:49Speaker 1: Stats are there. We're playing well.
- 21:50Speaker 6: Could be strained, we're violent, and we're physical, and we
- 21:53Speaker 6: play together. So stats are there, but we can't even
- 21:55Speaker 6: get better. And when we feel that any time we
- 21:58Speaker 6: step on the field, it should be squashed, whatever situation,
- 22:01Speaker 6: that's when I feel like we're playing how you say them.
- 22:03Speaker 6: But we're still building, we're still building. It's never a
- 22:05Speaker 6: finished product. I think that's also key to tell everybody.
- 22:09Speaker 6: But if we like what we're doing on the way,
- 22:10Speaker 6: that's a good sign.
- 22:11Speaker 1: Have you ever met Paul Prince listening?
- 22:13Speaker 7: I haven't.
- 22:19Speaker 1: The Jaguars can't score touchdowns and not field goals if
- 22:21Speaker 1: they want to beat the Bengals. You probably knew that already, though.
- 22:24Speaker 1: The guy in charge of the field goals is special
- 22:26Speaker 1: teams coordinator Keith Farwell, and he's considered to be among
- 22:29Speaker 1: the two or three best in the NFL. Special teams
- 22:32Speaker 1: coordinators are the only coach, other than the head coach,
- 22:35Speaker 1: who addresses the entire team during the week. So they
- 22:37Speaker 1: have a little gravitas. And since players from nearly every
- 22:40Speaker 1: position group contribute to teams, he has a global view
- 22:44Speaker 1: of the roster. Plus, he was a Pro Bowl and
- 22:47Speaker 1: All-Pro special teams performer himself who made it into the
- 22:50Speaker 1: NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent. So he not
- 22:53Speaker 1: only has an understanding, but a perspective worth your time.
- 22:59Speaker 8: I'm excited where we're at. Obviously, we haven't played our
- 23:03Speaker 8: best game yet, which is a great thing. Things are
- 23:06Speaker 8: trending up. I think the best thing we can say,
- 23:09Speaker 8: and we've talked to our players a ton about this,
- 23:10Speaker 8: we've got better each week. But there's still a lot
- 23:13Speaker 8: of details we can clean up, and that's the cool
- 23:15Speaker 8: part is these guys want to learn. They want to
- 23:17Speaker 8: get better every day, every practice. And so we're enjoying
- 23:21Speaker 8: the great plays that we have and then making the
- 23:23Speaker 8: corrections on the little things that we can even do better.
- 23:26Speaker 8: So the sky's the limits for this group. Just the
- 23:31Speaker 8: way they come out here and practice every single day.
- 23:33Speaker 8: You know, you watch them.
- 23:35Speaker 1: It's really cool.
- 23:36Speaker 8: It's fun to be around because it means so much
- 23:38Speaker 8: to them.
- 23:39Speaker 1: I watch you and Luke working in the special teams periods,
- 23:41Speaker 1: and the attention to detail is down to the minute level.
- 23:45Speaker 1: That's really what you have to do at this level,
- 23:48Speaker 1: isn't it?
- 23:48Speaker 8: Yeah, you're talking a game of inches, and sometimes that's
- 23:51Speaker 8: the footwork of an inch. you know, every little detail matters.
- 23:55Speaker 8: And if my guys are off by, you know, a
- 23:57Speaker 8: couple inches, it shows up whether it's a missed kick or,
- 24:01Speaker 8: you know, a missed block or a missed tackle. And
- 24:04Speaker 8: so the footwork, all the little details, the pad level,
- 24:08Speaker 8: the base, the position of their body, we're evaluating it
- 24:12Speaker 8: when we're getting it better. And that's a huge part
- 24:15Speaker 8: of football, a huge part of the game. And special
- 24:17Speaker 8: teams are no different.
- 24:18Speaker 1: When you had a couple of pickups in the return
- 24:20Speaker 1: game how long does it take to get that fixed
- 24:23Speaker 1: is that a one week thing or are you working
- 24:25Speaker 1: on that all season long.
- 24:26Speaker 8: That's an all-season thing i think that's a i i
- 24:28Speaker 8: think that's something we've improved uh but it's all those
- 24:31Speaker 8: fundamentals it's all those details uh there's a reason why
- 24:34Speaker 8: we do so much drill work out at practice um
- 24:36Speaker 8: you know we do a good amount of team reps
- 24:37Speaker 8: but it's that drill work you can really detail up
- 24:40Speaker 8: the fine uh the fine uh stuff with it so Um,
- 24:45Speaker 8: that's what, that's what this game's about is how can
- 24:46Speaker 8: we get them better? What tools can I give them
- 24:49Speaker 8: to put them in those positions to make those plays
- 24:51Speaker 8: on game days on Sundays, uh, where it shows up
- 24:53Speaker 8: and it helps us get that win.
- 24:55Speaker 1: I am amazed every time I watch round lane and
- 24:58Speaker 1: the way that he runs down the field. When did
- 24:59Speaker 1: you know he was going to be special?
- 25:02Speaker 8: Watch him in college. He was a guy that I
- 25:03Speaker 8: targeted out of college. He was a special player in college.
- 25:06Speaker 8: And then when you get to know the kid, you
- 25:08Speaker 8: really fall in love with him. And since he's been here,
- 25:11Speaker 8: that's all we've seen. His ability to get down the field,
- 25:16Speaker 8: get contacted with great balance. That contact balance, I don't
- 25:20Speaker 8: know if you can talk enough about with him. And
- 25:23Speaker 8: then the relentless effort to the ball. He can't be denied.
- 25:26Speaker 8: He gets double teamed in most of the plays. and
- 25:30Speaker 8: he still makes the tackle and still down disruption and
- 25:33Speaker 8: makes plays. So he's a special player. We're so fortunate
- 25:36Speaker 8: to have him here, and I love Ray. Ray's one
- 25:39Speaker 8: of my favorites.
- 25:39Speaker 1: Who else is rising? Folks don't pinpoint it like they
- 25:43Speaker 1: do a quarterback or a defensive end. Who else is
- 25:45Speaker 1: making a move on special teams right now?
- 25:48Speaker 8: I think Caleb Ransaw is a cool guy to watch.
- 25:51Speaker 8: He's gotten better every week. He comes up every day
- 25:54Speaker 8: to the office to just learn more details about You know,
- 25:57Speaker 8: you don't don't forget that he's you know, he's only
- 25:59Speaker 8: played his third game in the National Football League. So
- 26:03Speaker 8: he is improving tremendously and he's so talented. That's why
- 26:07Speaker 8: we got him here. But he but he is the
- 26:09Speaker 8: guy that I think is most improved in the last
- 26:11Speaker 8: three weeks. And he made it. You know, he made
- 26:14Speaker 8: a couple of tackles in that game the other day.
- 26:17Speaker 8: I'm expecting he is trending up in the right direction.
- 26:19Speaker 8: And and with those two guys as the Gunners, I
- 26:22Speaker 8: think we two are the better Gunners in National Football League.
- 26:24Speaker 1: I've got to get a global perspective from you. You
- 26:26Speaker 1: have a Super Bowl ring. You know what championship teams
- 26:29Speaker 1: are made of. When you listen to these guys, when
- 26:33Speaker 1: you pay attention, when you're around them, has this team
- 26:36Speaker 1: got championship medal?
- 26:37Speaker 8: It does, and I think that's the cool part is
- 26:40Speaker 8: whether we don't play so well in Denver in the
- 26:43Speaker 8: second half, they come out on a Wednesday practice and
- 26:49Speaker 8: they're laser-beamed in on how can we get better. And
- 26:52Speaker 8: then we have a big win last week I saw
- 26:55Speaker 8: the same focus. That's the cool part about it. Nobody
- 26:58Speaker 8: was letting down. Nobody was saying, we're good. We got
- 27:00Speaker 8: it made. We can just cruise this week. I could
- 27:04Speaker 8: make a statement that we're having a better week of
- 27:07Speaker 8: practice this week than we did last week. I think
- 27:10Speaker 8: we're in the right shape. I think these guys have
- 27:12Speaker 8: the right mindset. It means a lot to them. That's
- 27:15Speaker 8: a big part of this league and the National Football
- 27:18Speaker 8: League is is how much these guys care about it,
- 27:21Speaker 8: how much they care about each other, and how much
- 27:23Speaker 8: they care about winning.
- 27:24Speaker 1: Did you think he was in? 70 yards. That's a
- 27:28Speaker 1: long way away, and it looked like it had the distance.
- 27:30Speaker 1: It did have the distance.
- 27:32Speaker 8: You know, just watching his swing every single day and
- 27:35Speaker 8: seeing that swing, I knew off his foot he hit
- 27:38Speaker 8: it really, really well, and I just hope it stayed
- 27:40Speaker 8: straight for him. He'll make that kick. There's no question
- 27:43Speaker 8: in my mind. He'll break his own record. That's what
- 27:45Speaker 8: he does. you know, it's just a matter of sending
- 27:48Speaker 8: him out there. There was nobody on that sideline that
- 27:51Speaker 8: was wavering on should we kick this or not. We
- 27:53Speaker 8: want to send him out there. He wants those kicks
- 27:55Speaker 8: and we want him to have those kicks.
- 27:56Speaker 1: I almost wish this was a video segment because the
- 27:58Speaker 1: smile on your face tells me how much fun you're
- 28:00Speaker 1: having and having been around this game your whole life, right?
- 28:04Speaker 1: It says something about where this team is at and
- 28:06Speaker 1: what you guys have on Sunday.
- 28:07Speaker 8: I love being around these guys. That's the best thing
- 28:09Speaker 8: is as a former player, the closest thing I can
- 28:12Speaker 8: do is get around these guys and I've said before,
- 28:15Speaker 8: if I could play this game, I would, and I
- 28:16Speaker 8: tell them all the time, I would play, trust me.
- 28:19Speaker 8: And so to be around these guys, whether it's on
- 28:20Speaker 8: the field, in practice or game days, but even in
- 28:24Speaker 8: those meeting rooms and in the hallways, to have that camaraderie,
- 28:27Speaker 8: that's why I'm here. That's my favorite part of this job.
- 28:32Speaker 1: And we'll wrap the week with one of the best
- 28:33Speaker 1: stories in recent memory. Defensive tackle Devon Hamilton is playing
- 28:37Speaker 1: at an all-pro level. He leads the league, not just
- 28:40Speaker 1: the Jaguars, in run stops. And if you care enough
- 28:43Speaker 1: to watch the middle of the offensive line during a play,
- 28:45Speaker 1: he's that wrecking ball that keeps offensive coaches up all
- 28:49Speaker 1: night long. He is having a great season, but he
- 28:52Speaker 1: almost didn't.
- 28:53Speaker 7: I'm extremely blessed by God. Jesus really blessed me and
- 28:58Speaker 7: really took me on a road of you know, adversity
- 29:01Speaker 7: to get back to where I am right now, first
- 29:02Speaker 7: and foremost. But I just feel like, you know, I
- 29:06Speaker 7: worked very hard, you know, with the spinal abscess I had,
- 29:09Speaker 7: which is an infection to the spine. I wasn't really
- 29:12Speaker 7: sure if I was going to play football again. I
- 29:14Speaker 7: wasn't really sure how things were going to go as
- 29:16Speaker 7: far as.
- 29:16Speaker 1: Just living life.
- 29:17Speaker 7: But like I said, I prayed and God answered my prayers,
- 29:21Speaker 7: and he's gotten me to this point today.
- 29:23Speaker 1: From that point, not knowing, to the certainty of playing
- 29:26Speaker 1: your best football. The emotional side of that, as you
- 29:30Speaker 1: watch the tape, is there pride? Is there relief? How
- 29:33Speaker 1: do you feel knowing that you're playing your best football?
- 29:36Speaker 7: Oh just again extremely blessed man I mean like I
- 29:38Speaker 7: said from where I was to where I'm at right
- 29:41Speaker 7: now I mean I always had the confidence to do
- 29:43Speaker 7: the things I'm doing right now but I'm I couldn't
- 29:46Speaker 7: do anything without God.
- 29:47Speaker 1: So on the grass when did it turn when when
- 29:50Speaker 1: did you know oh I'm back.
- 29:53Speaker 7: Uh probably coming back after the obviously I played in
- 29:56Speaker 7: 2023 which was all right you know but going into 2024,
- 30:01Speaker 7: making the plays I had and having an extremely good year,
- 30:04Speaker 7: in my opinion, that's when I felt like I was back.
- 30:08Speaker 1: What did it mean to you at the end of
- 30:09Speaker 1: last season when Josh Hines-Allen was telling anybody and everybody
- 30:12Speaker 1: that would put a microphone in his face, you don't
- 30:14Speaker 1: need to talk to me, you need to go talk
- 30:15Speaker 1: to Devon, to know that people who know football understood
- 30:19Speaker 1: what you were doing?
- 30:20Speaker 7: You know, it was extreme respect, you know, I mean,
- 30:23Speaker 7: he's seen me obviously through that time and see me
- 30:27Speaker 7: put in work every single day. And I tried my
- 30:29Speaker 7: best to be the best teammate and overall the best
- 30:32Speaker 7: leader I can be on this team. And he can,
- 30:33Speaker 7: he sees that and I appreciate him for it.
- 30:36Speaker 1: In layman's terms, people who don't know all the ins
- 30:38Speaker 1: and outs of football. Yeah. What are you doing right
- 30:40Speaker 1: now that has you playing at such a high level?
- 30:43Speaker 1: Is it, is it technique? What, what is it that's
- 30:45Speaker 1: got you at that?
- 30:46Speaker 7: It's definitely technique, but it's also experience at this point.
- 30:49Speaker 7: You know, I've seen a lot of things over the
- 30:51Speaker 7: last seven years now. And, um, I got a lot
- 30:54Speaker 7: of good teammates to help me out with tips and
- 30:56Speaker 7: stuff like that. So it's really a combination of a
- 30:59Speaker 7: lot of things.
- 31:01Speaker 1: And Jeff Lagerman had the video he put out this week,
- 31:03Speaker 1: and he had people crowded around to see what you do.
- 31:06Speaker 1: Most people, you work in the dark, right? I mean,
- 31:08Speaker 1: for the most part, because guys can't see when the
- 31:10Speaker 1: pile gets there. So how is it to have people
- 31:14Speaker 1: pointing to you and saying, look at the way that
- 31:16Speaker 1: the guy's playing when you're so used to maybe not
- 31:18Speaker 1: having that adulation? You know, I just give all the
- 31:20Speaker 1: glory to God.
- 31:21Speaker 4: That's all it is.
- 31:22Speaker 1: You know, just have fun with it. Where does that
- 31:24Speaker 1: come from?
- 31:24Speaker 7: My faith?
- 31:25Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it's so strong. Have you always had that?
- 31:29Speaker 1: Did it come from your mom? Where did it come from?
- 31:31Speaker 1: It's definitely grown.
- 31:32Speaker 7: It's just an example I want to give to my
- 31:34Speaker 7: children and the people that look at me. I don't
- 31:37Speaker 7: want it to be about me. I want it to
- 31:39Speaker 7: be about Jesus Christ, someone that I leaned on in
- 31:41Speaker 7: dark times and been working with and have a better
- 31:44Speaker 7: relationship with.
- 31:46Speaker 1: So there you have it. The story of the week
- 31:47Speaker 1: around the Jaguars from a few of the good men
- 31:50Speaker 1: who delivered the win over the Patriots. We'll try and
- 31:52Speaker 1: bring one home from Cincinnati. We're live on the Public
- 31:55Speaker 1: Tailgate Show starting at 10 o'clock on Sunday morning. And
- 31:58Speaker 1: we'll have live coverage through the game and in the evening.
- 32:01Speaker 1: Thanks for spending a few good minutes with us. We'll
- 32:04Speaker 1: see you next week.