Latest / Jags A.M. / Ep. 74: What Is the Meaning of a Strong Veteran Presence at OTAs? | Jags A.M. Podcast

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Ep. 74: What Is the Meaning of a Strong Veteran Presence at OTAs? | Jags A.M. Podcast · Jags A.M.

0:16
Speaker 1: Welcome to jag Zam this morning.
0:18
Speaker 2: I'm Kindannie Stephens, you and fourth. We're on OTA number
0:21
Speaker 2: eight today, which means things will wrap up on Thursday.
0:24
Speaker 2: We're gonna start off with our big things. Brian Sexton
0:27
Speaker 2: and John Osier are with me. The thing Number one
0:29
Speaker 2: is o TA takeaways because we're closely, rapidly approaching the
0:33
Speaker 2: final days of OTAs. John, I know OTA's are definitely
0:36
Speaker 2: your favorite time of the year, but there is something
0:38
Speaker 2: to be taken out of this, obviously, to see everybody
0:40
Speaker 2: here working together, kind of getting on the same page
0:43
Speaker 2: in the sense that things did not end the way
0:45
Speaker 2: they wanted to last year and they.
0:46
Speaker 1: Needed to turn the page. And this starts with OTAs.
0:48
Speaker 3: Yeah, when you asked me at the top, what she's
0:51
Speaker 3: got to take out.
0:52
Speaker 4: Of it, I'm not sure because they were wearing baseball caps.
0:56
Speaker 4: But on the front that you're talking about, Kyle, there
0:58
Speaker 4: is going to be taken away.
1:00
Speaker 3: They're all here. There seems to be a good attitude,
1:03
Speaker 3: a good approach.
1:04
Speaker 4: Doug Peterson was good when he talked on Monday about
1:08
Speaker 4: talking about some young guys that he sees that have
1:11
Speaker 4: that look. Brian of guys who are coming along who
1:14
Speaker 4: are ready to make a second year jump. To me,
1:16
Speaker 4: at OTAs, you're looking for a vibe around the team.
1:20
Speaker 4: I can't tell if Parker Washington's improved when he's wearing
1:23
Speaker 4: a cap, sure, but I do feel like they're on
1:26
Speaker 4: the same page. They're enthusiastic, they're ready to be here,
1:30
Speaker 4: and things are as good as they can be going
1:32
Speaker 4: into the fall.
1:32
Speaker 5: And I'll take it from a different perspective. We had
1:35
Speaker 5: heard from Trent Bulk that they wanted to be bigger,
1:37
Speaker 5: they wanted to be stronger, more physical. Three words that
1:40
Speaker 5: stand out from these OTAs and probably will take forward
1:44
Speaker 5: into Mini camp next week size, speed, communication. The communication
1:49
Speaker 5: part in particular, Kai has stood out to me a
1:52
Speaker 5: because Doug Peterson stressed it in his different news conferences
1:56
Speaker 5: and we've heard different players talk about it, but also
1:59
Speaker 5: because they haven't been where helmets and they've been out
2:01
Speaker 5: on the field talking and you can hear them both
2:04
Speaker 5: lined up at the line of scrimmage and on the
2:06
Speaker 5: sidelines when other guys are in there talking, talking, talking,
2:10
Speaker 5: So those.
2:10
Speaker 6: Three words stand out to me.
2:12
Speaker 5: And communication probably the most meaningful because we don't see
2:15
Speaker 5: the size and speed and can't really balance that until
2:18
Speaker 5: you get to trading camp.
2:20
Speaker 2: Our second big thing today is going to be that
2:21
Speaker 2: veteran presence we've seen out there. There's been some good
2:25
Speaker 2: attendance so far we've seen and Brian, I think it
2:27
Speaker 2: bears to mention we've seen a lot of that veteran
2:30
Speaker 2: leaders on this team. They're here and that this is
2:31
Speaker 2: the time of year where you can really work with
2:33
Speaker 2: either newcomers to the team or rookies and just trying
2:36
Speaker 2: to get everybody you know moving in the same direction.
2:38
Speaker 2: There's you know, you really can't miss out on that.
2:41
Speaker 2: When you have all these people in the house, you're
2:42
Speaker 2: able to work on that together well.
2:44
Speaker 5: And listen, other than Joshua we know works out in
2:46
Speaker 5: the offseason in Arizona. I think everyone has been here
2:49
Speaker 5: and that's great in terms of getting set up for
2:52
Speaker 5: camp and making the most of the time. There are situations,
2:55
Speaker 5: I think Lamar Jackson's not working out in Baltimore. When
2:58
Speaker 5: you don't have your quarterback there, what are you really
3:01
Speaker 5: getting done? And so for the Jaguars to have everybody here,
3:04
Speaker 5: they're maximizing their time and it works to the veteran players,
3:08
Speaker 5: John because the coach is probably gonna take it easy
3:11
Speaker 5: on the next week in mini camp since they've had
3:13
Speaker 5: such great participation throughout the offseason.
3:15
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm gonna exaggerate this a little bit, as I
3:18
Speaker 4: want to do, but the veteran presence is sixteen being
3:21
Speaker 4: here because the quarterback has to be here. In my opinion,
3:23
Speaker 4: I don't know why Lamar Jackson is in there. I'm
3:25
Speaker 4: not sure what's going on, but a quarterback, everything else
3:29
Speaker 4: depends on him, so he needs to be there.
3:31
Speaker 3: He's looked good.
3:32
Speaker 4: I think that's really a huge takeaway from this is
3:35
Speaker 4: all his teammates are talking about how good he looks,
3:38
Speaker 4: how in command.
3:39
Speaker 3: All that stuff.
3:42
Speaker 4: To me, if Trevor's here, anybody else who's been here
3:45
Speaker 4: before can work out where they want.
3:48
Speaker 2: Trevor's here and he's focused as well. We heard from
3:50
Speaker 2: him for the first time yesterday, spoke to the media
3:53
Speaker 2: and he did weigh in on his contract talks. That's
3:56
Speaker 2: our final big thing this morning. Obviously, until that gets done,
3:58
Speaker 2: we're always going to be talking about that. Trevor said,
4:00
Speaker 2: he lets other people handle it, but he is hoping
4:03
Speaker 2: that it will get done soon.
4:05
Speaker 7: That would be ideal, you know, just to put it
4:07
Speaker 7: behind us and keep moving and feel good about that
4:11
Speaker 7: going into training camp. But either way, like I've said before,
4:13
Speaker 7: I have the same job, so you know, I can't
4:14
Speaker 7: always control all those factors, but I have the same
4:18
Speaker 7: job it do either way. But yeah, I mean I would,
4:20
Speaker 7: of course, that'd be ideals to get it done, you know,
4:22
Speaker 7: as soon as you can and kind.
4:23
Speaker 8: Of move forward.
4:25
Speaker 2: John, It's not if, but when At this point, it
4:27
Speaker 2: seems like everybody's kind of hoping it gets done in
4:29
Speaker 2: the next couple of weeks before training camp kicks off.
4:32
Speaker 3: Yeah.
4:33
Speaker 4: Listening to him, I'm thinking, if I had over one
4:35
Speaker 4: hundred million guaranteed coming my way, I want to get
4:37
Speaker 4: it done soon absolutely, and or whenever. Really, I mean,
4:41
Speaker 4: it'd be fine. I would take it whenever. Look, I
4:46
Speaker 4: don't expect this to go into training camp. I expected
4:50
Speaker 4: to get done before that. If it happens to go
4:53
Speaker 4: into training camp, it feels like such a given is
4:58
Speaker 4: gonna get done at some point. I would expect it
5:01
Speaker 4: to be a story day one of camp and then
5:03
Speaker 4: to sort of go away until it gets done. I
5:06
Speaker 4: just don't see as being a distraction, probably, Brian, because
5:09
Speaker 4: I feel like it's gonna get done. I feel like
5:10
Speaker 4: it's gonna be mind blowing and.
5:13
Speaker 3: He'll be happy. It'll be locked up and they can
5:14
Speaker 3: move forward.
5:16
Speaker 5: So it just feels to me like this is a
5:19
Speaker 5: Tuesday press conference the week of training camp that they'll
5:22
Speaker 5: get there. And I don't have any information that says
5:24
Speaker 5: that it's done and that it will We've been hearing
5:27
Speaker 5: that they've been working steadily towards it, So really I
5:29
Speaker 5: just get this sense that it's Hey, training camp opens
5:32
Speaker 5: this week.
5:32
Speaker 6: By the way, the quarterback is done.
5:34
Speaker 5: Because everybody sees what's going to happen, might as well
5:36
Speaker 5: clear the decks on that one real quick. I don't
5:38
Speaker 5: know whether you've noticed this, either one of you, And
5:41
Speaker 5: it's not that he's jacked, but Trevor.
5:43
Speaker 6: Looks bigger to me.
5:44
Speaker 5: I mean, he looks as if he has spent the
5:46
Speaker 5: off season getting bigger.
5:48
Speaker 6: Not that he was ever small, but he looks solid.
5:51
Speaker 2: We'll talk about that coming up after the break as
5:53
Speaker 2: we hear from QB one. He spoke to the media
5:55
Speaker 2: yesterday all that after the break here on jags am
6:21
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6:33
Speaker 2: Welcome back to jacks I'm here in the Hyundai studios.
6:35
Speaker 2: We're getting ready to wrap up OTAs. So we got
6:38
Speaker 2: to hear from Trevor Lawrence. Doug Peterson, also speaking to
6:41
Speaker 2: us yesterday, alluded to the fact that those veterans are
6:44
Speaker 2: probably not gonna be here next week. The last couple
6:46
Speaker 2: of seasons, he's excused the veterans that attend to OTAs
6:49
Speaker 2: and made mandatory mini camp just mostly for rookies and
6:52
Speaker 2: newer players or people working back from injuries. So we
6:55
Speaker 2: got to hear from QB one for the first time
6:57
Speaker 2: kind of during this OTA period, and he weighed in
7:00
Speaker 2: a little bit about, you know, a couple different topics,
7:03
Speaker 2: but he started off with what the team was able
7:06
Speaker 2: to do in the off season and those additions to
7:08
Speaker 2: the team, and also what OTA's have been like so far.
7:12
Speaker 8: Definitely a step up of the past couple of years.
7:14
Speaker 7: I know that was the point of emphasis for us,
7:16
Speaker 7: is to really take advantage of this time that we
7:17
Speaker 7: get because come training camp, you know, you want to
7:20
Speaker 7: feel like you're on your way to being a well
7:23
Speaker 7: oiled machine. Obviously you have work to do, but you
7:26
Speaker 7: want to use this time maximize it. So when you
7:28
Speaker 7: get a training camp, you feel like you're a step
7:30
Speaker 7: ahead of you know, where we were last year, even
7:32
Speaker 7: just other teams around the league. You know, you want
7:33
Speaker 7: to try to get every advantage you can, and I
7:35
Speaker 7: think taking advantage of these practices is important.
7:39
Speaker 2: It's a little bit of like this is the next
7:40
Speaker 2: step of business. It's kind of an understanding this is
7:43
Speaker 2: where we need to be here, and this is an
7:44
Speaker 2: important stage in terms of getting to where we want
7:46
Speaker 2: to go with our goals.
7:47
Speaker 5: Well, I think when he talks about the off season
7:49
Speaker 5: and what they got done, you know he has to
7:51
Speaker 5: look at those guys inside as or Cleveland and Mitch
7:54
Speaker 5: Morse and know that the ability to run the ball
7:57
Speaker 5: makes his job so much more, so much exponential easier.
8:01
Speaker 5: And that's not exaggeration. He will be a much better
8:04
Speaker 5: version of himself if they can convert on third down
8:07
Speaker 5: and three yards or less, which they couldn't do last year,
8:09
Speaker 5: and then well, then they can do this, They can
8:11
Speaker 5: send the ball down the field to all the different weapons.
8:14
Speaker 6: That are out there.
8:15
Speaker 5: If I'm him, they get the contract deal done, it
8:19
Speaker 5: might have been the perfect offseason.
8:21
Speaker 4: He sounds to me like a guy who's practicing rather
8:24
Speaker 4: than learning, which is what he's supposed to be doing
8:26
Speaker 4: right now. He's in his third year in this offense.
8:30
Speaker 4: He's from what the coaches have talked about. He's doing
8:35
Speaker 4: what you would expect, which is being vocal, helping others.
8:40
Speaker 4: He should be able to see when Brenton Strange doesn't
8:43
Speaker 4: do something right, because he's in his second year, he
8:45
Speaker 4: should be able to say, hey, run over there.
8:48
Speaker 3: You know, and know what he needs.
8:52
Speaker 4: Know what he's going to need in week six, Hey, Brenton,
8:55
Speaker 4: if you do that on that play, I'm not taking
8:56
Speaker 4: on brent Strange, but if you do that on that play,
9:00
Speaker 4: what's going to happen? So I need you to be
9:01
Speaker 4: two steps out, you know. And he sounds to me
9:04
Speaker 4: like that guy. He's walking with that kind of confidence.
9:08
Speaker 4: He's playing with that kind of speed and confidence in
9:10
Speaker 4: these baseball back yeah, baseball cap practices. That's what you're
9:15
Speaker 4: looking for in year four, but particularly year three in
9:18
Speaker 4: an offense.
9:19
Speaker 2: Doug Peterson talked to us about it as well, of
9:21
Speaker 2: kind of having that extra coach on the field. That's
9:23
Speaker 2: what you want your quarterback to be ideally, and we're
9:25
Speaker 2: seeing that a little bit more with Trevor taking ownership.
9:28
Speaker 1: He's entering his fourth season.
9:29
Speaker 2: He said he's putting the onus on himself to be
9:31
Speaker 2: a little more vocal and use that leadership style to
9:33
Speaker 2: help the rest of the team.
9:35
Speaker 7: Another year in the system. Just owning it more and
9:39
Speaker 7: more every year, and I feel like this year especially,
9:43
Speaker 7: I've been able to express more of things that I like,
9:46
Speaker 7: I want to do more of maybe things I don't
9:47
Speaker 7: like or whatever it is, and been able to communicate
9:51
Speaker 7: a lot with the coaches, which has been great. So
9:53
Speaker 7: I think just owning the offense more and more every
9:55
Speaker 7: year is the key, and it's going to help me
9:57
Speaker 7: get better and have a really good grasp of what
9:59
Speaker 7: we're doing, trying to do the things that we need
10:01
Speaker 7: to improve on. I feel like I'm really in sync
10:05
Speaker 7: with the staff and kind of what the goals are.
10:09
Speaker 2: John, You've covered different quarterbacks. Everybody has their own style.
10:11
Speaker 2: Trevor's always going to be a bit of a laid
10:13
Speaker 2: back guy, but he can still be a leader in
10:15
Speaker 2: his own way and take control of this offense.
10:17
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think Trevor's way of leading is I don't
10:21
Speaker 4: think he's ever going to be vocal guy. I think, meaning,
10:24
Speaker 4: I don't think you're going to see him on the sidelines,
10:26
Speaker 4: you know, grabbing people. But I do think he can
10:31
Speaker 4: show leadership by the way most quarterbacks can best show it,
10:36
Speaker 4: which is being in the building first, knowing more about
10:41
Speaker 4: what's going on than anybody else, so that when you speak,
10:44
Speaker 4: you speak from a place of authority. You don't want
10:48
Speaker 4: three guys on offense knowing the offense better than Trevor,
10:51
Speaker 4: because then when he says something, they're like, well, I'm
10:53
Speaker 4: not better than this guy.
10:55
Speaker 3: So I think he's getting there with that.
10:58
Speaker 4: Everything I hear from the billing is that his approach
11:02
Speaker 4: is getting better and better and better. But you would
11:04
Speaker 4: expect you coming as a kid, you don't know how
11:07
Speaker 4: to work to get to that next level.
11:09
Speaker 3: It's a learned skill.
11:10
Speaker 4: Everything I've heard is that he's learning that skill and
11:13
Speaker 4: operating in a much higher level on that front than
11:15
Speaker 4: he has.
11:15
Speaker 5: First in last out work on Tuesdays like the great
11:18
Speaker 5: quarterbacks do. If he does that, then that's the greatest
11:21
Speaker 5: form of leadership that he needs to to give it.
11:24
Speaker 6: As an example, we.
11:25
Speaker 2: Talked off the top about the importance of you know,
11:28
Speaker 2: having the number one quarterback in the building, and obviously
11:31
Speaker 2: he's been here all this week earlier as well in
11:34
Speaker 2: off season workouts working with this team. He talked a
11:36
Speaker 2: little bit about working with the rookie and what he's
11:38
Speaker 2: seen from Brian Thomas Junior so far.
11:41
Speaker 7: I really like him obviously, just talented, can fly, It's
11:46
Speaker 7: really smart. I think that's the one thing I'm most
11:47
Speaker 7: impressed with this. He's picking up the offense super fast.
11:51
Speaker 7: He's a quiet guy, so we're still you know, getting
11:54
Speaker 7: him to ask questions and stuff, but you know, he
11:56
Speaker 7: doesn't ask any questions.
11:56
Speaker 8: He always knows what to do. So I've been impressed.
11:59
Speaker 7: That's tough for I was there obviously at one point
12:01
Speaker 7: and I was swimming a little bit, and to see
12:03
Speaker 7: him come out here and pick everything up and really
12:05
Speaker 7: not skip a beat has been impressive. And then the
12:07
Speaker 7: more comfortable he gets in the system and knows what
12:09
Speaker 7: to do, He's just going to get better and better.
12:11
Speaker 7: But you know, I think our chemistry is growing every day.
12:14
Speaker 7: I'm starting to get a feel for how he likes
12:15
Speaker 7: to run routes. I'm starting to you know, communicate more
12:18
Speaker 7: on how I want things to look and the thoughts
12:20
Speaker 7: that I have based on certain coverages or techniques on
12:23
Speaker 7: the defense. You know, I think he's doing a good
12:25
Speaker 7: job of just soaking everything up. And that's what this
12:27
Speaker 7: time is about.
12:29
Speaker 2: Everyone is very complimentary of the rookie there, Brian. At
12:31
Speaker 2: this point, it's really just time on task, right. You
12:33
Speaker 2: just got to know and learn what each other likes
12:35
Speaker 2: to do and what.
12:36
Speaker 1: You do best.
12:36
Speaker 5: Well, you covered basketball, You covered the Celtics for a
12:38
Speaker 5: couple of years, so I'll use basketball terminology because I
12:41
Speaker 5: think that the passing game in pro football is like basketball.
12:44
Speaker 6: It's about spacing right, and a guy.
12:46
Speaker 5: Like Brian Thomas, with his size and speed, if a
12:49
Speaker 5: safety has to hesitate just that much right, Brian Thomas
12:54
Speaker 5: is buy him. If the running game pulls the safety up,
12:58
Speaker 5: Brian Thomas is gone.
13:00
Speaker 6: So think about the flip side of that.
13:02
Speaker 5: Brian Thomas, playing at a high level, moves the defense
13:05
Speaker 5: back off the line of scrimmage a little bit and
13:07
Speaker 5: there's some room now with blocking schemes to get the
13:10
Speaker 5: running game going. A guy like that is a chess
13:12
Speaker 5: piece because he spaces your field out for you can't
13:15
Speaker 5: wait to see what he does.
13:16
Speaker 3: Yeah, they didn't.
13:20
Speaker 4: I'm saying they never used the deep ball in the
13:22
Speaker 4: last couple of years, but they manufactured the deep ball
13:26
Speaker 4: more than they actually had had somebody who could strain
13:29
Speaker 4: the defense naturally. With Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas, they
13:32
Speaker 4: have two guys who can push the defense back. They
13:36
Speaker 4: may not have to always go thirteen plays, and it
13:40
Speaker 4: didn't always get their team plays before, but they should
13:42
Speaker 4: have more drives where they have impact plays.
13:44
Speaker 3: And to me, everybody's gonna at Brian Thomas, what are
13:46
Speaker 3: the numbers? What are the numbers?
13:47
Speaker 6: What are the numbers?
13:49
Speaker 4: If he strains the defense in the way Brian Sexton
13:52
Speaker 4: talked about, then I think he's a success this season
13:56
Speaker 4: and the numbers will come at some point.
13:58
Speaker 6: I think it's a great point.
13:59
Speaker 5: I think when you see it all thanks, when you've
14:02
Speaker 5: seen last year, what did we talk about how the
14:04
Speaker 5: offense just looked out of rhythm. It wasn't that they
14:06
Speaker 5: never got into gear. A guy like Brian Thomas can
14:08
Speaker 5: put them into that gear, but it might not always
14:11
Speaker 5: show in his stats. You might see it in Tank
14:14
Speaker 5: Bigsby and Travis Etn and Breton Strange.
14:17
Speaker 6: And a lot of different places. But a guy like
14:19
Speaker 6: that's a.
14:19
Speaker 2: Difference maker, opening it up for some other people on
14:21
Speaker 2: the field. Complimentary football.
14:23
Speaker 1: We love that. Stay with's here on Jagsam.
14:25
Speaker 2: Coming up after the break, We're gonna do some ozone
14:27
Speaker 2: mail bag questions.
14:28
Speaker 1: Get you all the answers.
14:41
Speaker 2: Daguars fans gear up at fanatics dot com with all
14:44
Speaker 2: the latest Jag styles. You can shop now and get
14:46
Speaker 2: today's special offer. Fanatics dot Com officially licensed everything this.
14:53
Speaker 8: Friend.
14:58
Speaker 2: Favorite time of the week. John Ozers shares his wisdom
15:02
Speaker 2: with us or little bits and pieces.
15:03
Speaker 1: You know you're not gonna share everything.
15:05
Speaker 3: My wisdom is to be shared, Kat, I'm a giving person.
15:07
Speaker 1: I appreciate you for that.
15:08
Speaker 2: Our first question Levi from Huntsville, Alabama.
15:11
Speaker 6: He says, do you.
15:12
Speaker 2: Get a feeling either way on if the Jags will
15:15
Speaker 2: resign Travis etn.
15:16
Speaker 1: I feel like he has.
15:17
Speaker 2: A major has been a major contributor, but with running
15:19
Speaker 2: back being a devalued position, I worry he'll.
15:21
Speaker 1: Be let go.
15:22
Speaker 3: Well, these are tricky spots.
15:25
Speaker 4: I think they will do what they can to retain
15:28
Speaker 4: Travis for the time that's projected for running back to
15:33
Speaker 4: be productive.
15:34
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I really like Travis.
15:38
Speaker 4: I wish for his sake that he played offensive tackle,
15:42
Speaker 4: because then at age whatever it's going to be a
15:46
Speaker 4: long term contract is very likely.
15:50
Speaker 3: Travis knows. I've talked to him about it before. I
15:52
Speaker 3: think in the Ozone.
15:53
Speaker 4: Podcast last year that the lifespan of a running back
15:56
Speaker 4: is different. He's trying not to worry about that end
15:59
Speaker 4: of it, was my interpretation. I would expect he's They've
16:03
Speaker 4: got him under contract for two more years and then
16:06
Speaker 4: the franchise tag is an option after that if he's
16:08
Speaker 4: still playing at a high level, which I think he
16:11
Speaker 4: will be. Realistically, that's how you have to sort of
16:14
Speaker 4: monitor the running back situation. It's just hard to give
16:18
Speaker 4: a twenty six year old running back a five year
16:21
Speaker 4: contract because then you're paying him at thirty when you
16:24
Speaker 4: think that he's not going to.
16:25
Speaker 3: Be as productive.
16:25
Speaker 4: So I think they will do everything they can to
16:28
Speaker 4: be fair to Travis etn and to make that situation
16:31
Speaker 4: work because they value him. But the running back position,
16:35
Speaker 4: out of all the positions, is the one that you
16:37
Speaker 4: have to be the most careful.
16:38
Speaker 5: Was Ezekiel Elliott the last big running back contract, and
16:41
Speaker 5: you saw how that one worked, right, Yeah?
16:44
Speaker 6: Right?
16:44
Speaker 5: I mean last year he played in New England, and
16:47
Speaker 5: I guess he's back in Dallas on a minimum deal.
16:50
Speaker 5: Running backs, as John said, just they don't get paid.
16:53
Speaker 5: Derrick Henry got paid, but he didn't get to the
16:55
Speaker 5: final year of the deal, did he because they had
16:56
Speaker 5: to let him go and they didn't want to let
16:58
Speaker 5: a guy like that go. He's so important to their franchise,
17:00
Speaker 5: the whole running back thing. I would just guess that
17:03
Speaker 5: he'll be here the next.
17:04
Speaker 4: Two years, yeah, and maybe one more with the tag.
17:08
Speaker 6: And you know, well that would include the tag, right
17:11
Speaker 6: because this is no.
17:12
Speaker 3: He's got one more a fifth year o question. So yeah, I.
17:20
Speaker 6: Who knows.
17:20
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's just tough for that position to have it
17:25
Speaker 4: seem fair compared to other positions. And that's the play
17:29
Speaker 4: of the running back right now.
17:30
Speaker 6: It's passing league, it is.
17:31
Speaker 2: And if he can adapt to that game a little
17:33
Speaker 2: bit like Christian McCaffrey, if he can become more you know,
17:35
Speaker 2: also a pass catcher, that can help as well. So
17:37
Speaker 2: we'll see if that's mccaf travis certainly able to do that.
17:40
Speaker 6: You mentioned McCaffrey.
17:41
Speaker 5: Great, he got a big deal from but he'd scored
17:43
Speaker 5: twenty four touchdowns.
17:44
Speaker 6: Sure, So it's a different sort of thing.
17:46
Speaker 2: We'll see how they utilize him in the offense. I
17:48
Speaker 2: think Travis is more than capable of being a part
17:49
Speaker 2: of the passing game too. So our second question for
17:52
Speaker 2: John today is going to come from Marty and Jacksonville.
17:54
Speaker 2: He said, John, you said the Jaguars would like to
17:56
Speaker 2: front load Trevor's contract as much as possible.
17:58
Speaker 1: But why would they need to do that.
18:00
Speaker 2: Unused cap space can be carried over, so frontloading and
18:02
Speaker 2: cap number in his contract has no particular effect.
18:05
Speaker 3: Yeah.
18:06
Speaker 4: Look, I try to answer these questions as best conceptual
18:09
Speaker 4: as I can, because I don't know the exact details
18:13
Speaker 4: of why you would structure everything every year, because the
18:17
Speaker 4: Jaguars are also trying to get things done within the
18:20
Speaker 4: cap to look at their long term as well, which
18:23
Speaker 4: we're not really privy to. The reason you try to
18:25
Speaker 4: front load is it keeps things in what I kind
18:28
Speaker 4: of call real time, and it keeps you from pushing
18:31
Speaker 4: numbers out that force moves you don't want to make
18:35
Speaker 4: later in the contract.
18:37
Speaker 3: Do they have to do that? No, because you.
18:39
Speaker 4: Can juggle the salary cap and realistically that's what starts
18:43
Speaker 4: happening with all these big contracts, with all these big
18:45
Speaker 4: quarterback contracts. Teams frontload deals if they can because it's
18:50
Speaker 4: just the best way to do it and sort of
18:52
Speaker 4: stay over your feet with the contract.
18:54
Speaker 5: Longtime Jaguars observers will remember back in the day, and
18:57
Speaker 5: it's been more than twenty years, when this team was
18:59
Speaker 5: doing nothingishing the money forward right the ideal scenario, and
19:03
Speaker 5: that's what what Trent Balky did the first couple of
19:05
Speaker 5: years he was here, was to pay as you go
19:08
Speaker 5: and never front load or backload, but just put as
19:11
Speaker 5: much money in the cap in a given year as
19:13
Speaker 5: you possibly can.
19:15
Speaker 6: I think that's the best scenario. But John just said it.
19:18
Speaker 6: It's about balance.
19:19
Speaker 5: It's about being able to as young talented players come up,
19:23
Speaker 5: because in a couple of years, if you want to
19:24
Speaker 5: pay Trayvon Walker, you don't want to be overloaded by
19:27
Speaker 5: pushing money out. So if you can pay as you go,
19:30
Speaker 5: I think that's the best approach.
19:31
Speaker 4: But the reader also made a good point in this
19:34
Speaker 4: day and age, because you can roll cap and because
19:36
Speaker 4: there's too much restructuring. When we talk about the cap
19:39
Speaker 4: this year, in February and March of the next year,
19:43
Speaker 4: Tim Watson Waukee go into their lab and it comes
19:46
Speaker 4: out of completely different caps. So you know, idealy like
19:50
Speaker 4: did I have to do that? But that's what all
19:52
Speaker 4: seasons are now.
19:53
Speaker 6: And with quarterbacks, they drive your cap.
19:55
Speaker 5: Everything you do with your quarterback is driven to make
20:00
Speaker 5: your cap work.
20:01
Speaker 1: They sure do.
20:02
Speaker 2: Let's check our final question from those one mail that
20:04
Speaker 2: bag today. It's Scott from Jacksonville. He says, getting rid
20:07
Speaker 2: of OTA's and extending training camp is a change that
20:10
Speaker 2: you don't want to see. John, He said, less ota
20:12
Speaker 2: more training camp sounds more like a return to the
20:14
Speaker 2: good old days than an annoying change. He says, I'm
20:17
Speaker 2: surprised you aren't all on board for that one.
20:19
Speaker 4: Well, that's so Scott evidently is a young man, because
20:24
Speaker 4: I'm fifty seven, and everybody knows that once you're fifty five,
20:27
Speaker 4: change of any sort.
20:28
Speaker 6: Of evil we don't like it.
20:29
Speaker 3: So that's the first answer.
20:34
Speaker 4: But look, OTAs to me are very close to worthless
20:40
Speaker 4: in terms of my job. They're not necessarily worthless in
20:43
Speaker 4: terms of the coach's job. My guess with this is
20:48
Speaker 4: if they do move OTA's, and what they're talking about
20:50
Speaker 4: here is OTA's are currently right now. Essentially they're talking
20:55
Speaker 4: about eliminating OTAs and extending training camp to start.
20:58
Speaker 3: In early July.
21:00
Speaker 4: My thought, Brian, is if that happens, what will really
21:03
Speaker 4: happen is the OTA concept of this light work, this
21:07
Speaker 4: ramp up work will be lifted up and put down
21:10
Speaker 4: on July fourth, and you'll have three weeks of OTAs
21:14
Speaker 4: leading into training camp. I guess in my opinion, old man,
21:21
Speaker 4: no kids, you know, I live two miles from the stadium.
21:25
Speaker 4: I can come over here whenever, so right, But I
21:28
Speaker 4: know where you're going with it. Well, it completely disrupts
21:32
Speaker 4: what has been the football schedule for thirty years.
21:35
Speaker 5: Well that's the human side of it. Let me give
21:36
Speaker 5: you that, and then I'll give you the football side
21:37
Speaker 5: of it. These coaches, when they hit training camp, they're
21:40
Speaker 5: rarely home. Okay, they have to have very strong wives
21:44
Speaker 5: who can manage everything. They get to the off season.
21:46
Speaker 5: There's a little bit more time for these guys to
21:49
Speaker 5: be normal. But their time is from the end of
21:52
Speaker 5: mini camp until the start of training camp. Their kids
21:55
Speaker 5: are out of school, and that's when they can go
21:57
Speaker 5: on vacation. That's when they can reconnect with their their
22:00
Speaker 5: immediate family and their extended family. And you know, because
22:03
Speaker 5: you've been around it, it's a really important time in
22:06
Speaker 5: the off season for these guys so that when they
22:08
Speaker 5: get back for camp they're fresh. That'll go away. And
22:13
Speaker 5: a lot of these guys have young kids. They can't
22:15
Speaker 5: go in May. You can't just slide their calendar up
22:17
Speaker 5: because their kids aren't all homeschooled.
22:19
Speaker 6: So you're taking a.
22:20
Speaker 5: Big chunk of the human side of it and you're
22:23
Speaker 5: just discarding it for cash.
22:25
Speaker 6: Right.
22:25
Speaker 5: It's not the only situation that happens in this world.
22:28
Speaker 5: But that's what I don't like about it.
22:29
Speaker 8: Now.
22:29
Speaker 5: I did have somebody just this morning, a football observer,
22:32
Speaker 5: share with me. Here's the downside to this. Phase one
22:35
Speaker 5: and phase two of the OTA program are generally seen
22:38
Speaker 5: as these guys getting into football shape and then OTAs
22:42
Speaker 5: and mini camp they're ready to go out on the
22:45
Speaker 5: field and perform. So now you're talking about doing away
22:47
Speaker 5: with phase one in phase two and OTAs become the
22:50
Speaker 5: time when you get into shape. So what's the real
22:52
Speaker 5: value of OTAs then, because you're not doing as much
22:55
Speaker 5: because they're not in football shape. They got to go
22:57
Speaker 5: run around without a football for two weeks and all
23:01
Speaker 5: the different phases, so it doesn't make a whole lot
23:03
Speaker 5: of sense, except that the owners may get their eighteenth game,
23:06
Speaker 5: which will be more revenue for them, and the players
23:09
Speaker 5: may get rid of part of the offseason.
23:10
Speaker 6: But it's the coaches and the football staff, the.
23:13
Speaker 5: Training staff, the equipment staff, all those guys that get
23:16
Speaker 5: screwed in this deal.
23:17
Speaker 6: I think it's I hate it.
23:19
Speaker 4: Well, the other side of that is there's also football people,
23:22
Speaker 4: meaning trainers, who believe that this may help with soft
23:25
Speaker 4: tissue injuries in terms of it's way too long to
23:30
Speaker 4: get into in this segment, but you sort of you
23:32
Speaker 4: get your body ready to ur an OTAs, then you
23:34
Speaker 4: take a month and a half off, and then you
23:36
Speaker 4: come back and you're ramping back up.
23:39
Speaker 6: Most of these guys don't take the whole month and
23:41
Speaker 6: a half and not do anything.
23:42
Speaker 3: Yeah, but.
23:44
Speaker 4: It's hard to stay in peak shape the way the
23:47
Speaker 4: trainers like them. So there is some thought that it
23:50
Speaker 4: might reduce soft tissue injuries. That's the other side of it.
23:54
Speaker 4: I'm with Brian, I like it, but that's the other
23:56
Speaker 4: side of it. In the conversation, curious to.
23:58
Speaker 2: See the link that we already talked about how long
24:00
Speaker 2: the NFL season is, right, if you're adding an extra
24:02
Speaker 2: game and you're starting training camp in July, they're gonna
24:04
Speaker 2: be July till.
24:06
Speaker 1: You know, late January. If you're making the playoffs, maybe February.
24:09
Speaker 1: You're going with one week off in that whole time period.
24:11
Speaker 4: From the player's point of view, From the player association view,
24:15
Speaker 4: I think they're getting this April June back in exchange
24:20
Speaker 4: for that, so they think.
24:22
Speaker 3: There's more real time off for the players.
24:25
Speaker 4: Again, that's the other side of the thought that I'm
24:28
Speaker 4: with you guys on it.
24:29
Speaker 2: We'll keep an eye on and see how things end
24:31
Speaker 2: up with that. I'm sure more to come. We'll find
24:34
Speaker 2: out more about it as this comes together. Say with's
24:36
Speaker 2: here on jagsaon we'll talk a little bit about the
24:38
Speaker 2: end of OTAs after the.
24:39
Speaker 7: Break well, especially the way our season ended.
24:56
Speaker 8: I mean, that's a little bit of a chip to
24:57
Speaker 8: your shoulder.
24:58
Speaker 7: And I mean for us though it's the same, it
25:00
Speaker 7: has to be the same goal though every week is
25:02
Speaker 7: just to get that much better in to put ourselves
25:04
Speaker 7: in a position to be playing menful games in December
25:07
Speaker 7: January and make a.
25:08
Speaker 8: Push at the end of the year and just get
25:10
Speaker 8: better every week.
25:11
Speaker 7: I think that's something where you look back last year
25:14
Speaker 7: it's almost we peaked a little too soon and we
25:16
Speaker 7: didn't finish the season the way we wanted to. It's
25:18
Speaker 7: important to be playing your best at.
25:19
Speaker 8: The end of the year.
25:21
Speaker 2: That late slide at the end of the season still
25:23
Speaker 2: on everybody's top of mind, of course, and the importance
25:26
Speaker 2: of every week to week maintaining that and playing your
25:29
Speaker 2: best football at the end.
25:30
Speaker 1: Of the season, hopefully doing a little bit of reverse
25:32
Speaker 1: of what we.
25:32
Speaker 2: Saw last year. Does it start in OTAs or does
25:35
Speaker 2: it start in the season In your mind, Brian.
25:37
Speaker 6: I think it starts the last week of training camp.
25:39
Speaker 4: Okay, yeah, I mean yes, OTAs are fine, they're good
25:45
Speaker 4: to get ready for all this. We will talk for
25:50
Speaker 4: three weeks, but how important OTAs are, And then in
25:53
Speaker 4: the first interview in training camp, the players will say,
25:55
Speaker 4: how this is what's important.
25:57
Speaker 8: Do you know?
25:57
Speaker 5: What's interesting is, as I was just thinking and listening
25:59
Speaker 5: to John, it used to be that there was nothing
26:02
Speaker 5: in the off season and players would report for six
26:04
Speaker 5: weeks of training camp, And it.
26:07
Speaker 6: Sounds like that's what we're going back to.
26:09
Speaker 5: It does back to the now that's back in the seventies,
26:12
Speaker 5: in the fourteen game schedule, right where there were six
26:16
Speaker 5: preseason games, so they're gonna go. They're not gonna have
26:19
Speaker 5: as many preseason games, but that looks like what they're
26:21
Speaker 5: doing ever changing.
26:22
Speaker 1: We'll see how things turn out.
26:24
Speaker 2: Ots wrap up this week, we will have mandatory or
26:27
Speaker 2: mandatory for some mini camp next week, so check in
26:29
Speaker 2: with us on Tuesday on Jacks Am