Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Mike Tirico's new role and his thoughts on the 2022 Jaguars | Countdown to Kickoff

Transcript

Mike Tirico's new role and his thoughts on the 2022 Jaguars | Countdown to Kickoff · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: With the call of the Hall of Fame game on
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: NBC Sports, It's Sunday Night Football play by play announcer
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Mike Tarko, and I must say, Mike, that kind of
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: rolls right off the tongue. How are you well, JPT. Thanks,
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: good to be with you. I think that may be
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: the first time I've been welcomed as such. So thanks
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: to the intro. I like the way it sounds of
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: without question, thrilled to be a part of this and
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: thrilled to be in that chair next to Chris. Get
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: a chance to do all these great Sunday night games,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: and good to open it up here in Canton with
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: the Jaguars and the Raiders. Got a long resumeent of course,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: twenty five years of the ESPN ten on Monday Night Football,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: their seventh year now at NBC Olympics, Notre Dame Football
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: PGA Tour. The list could go on and on. We
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: only have so much time. But is this there at
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: the top, I mean, the Sunday Night football packages the
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: gold standard. It really is, you know, the right there
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: with the Olympics, I mean, primetime hosted the Olympics. Is
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: uh a job that you don't even dream about and
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: it seemed true with this. I've always the low primetime
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: NFL to be a part of Monday Night for those
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: ten years you mentioned was one of the highlights of
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: my career and my assumptions this will be right there
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: with it too. To do these two premier primetime packages,
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: the Monday Night and of a Sunday Night package, do
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: one on cable and then this one here on broadcast
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: is uh for any of us who do the NFL
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: is a treat. You know that you can talk with
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: the ratings, certain windows and all that stuff, but um,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the Sunday Night football is the way everybody ends that
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: great day of football eighteen weeks a year now, and UH,
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: to have that after everybody watches their early games, the
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: pregame shows in the morning, that Big four Eastern game,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: and then just settles in for Sunday Night before the
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: slog of the week begins. It's it's gonna be great. No,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: the players have just jumped to the top of the
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: ladder on Sunday Nights over the years, and I'm sure
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: we'll see that. And the schedules unbelievable. We know we
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: start with the opener with the Rams Unveilion their batnery
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: against Buffalo and the Tampa Tampa Bay and Brady go
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: to into Texas to face the Cowboys and all the
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: way through the schedules grade So I couldn't be more
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: excited for the entirety of what's ahead this fall of winter.
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: Mike to Rico NBC Sports with a simple question but
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: a deep answer. I'm sure after last season's situation with
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: the Jaguars, what is the perception of the Jaguars organization nationally? Well,
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: you need to get it right, you know, it was
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: it was a swing. There was a swing for the
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: fences and it was a strikeout. Let's just be honest, right, Uh,
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: you know, things just didn't work with Urban And here's
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: the good news. It was only one year for Trevor.
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: You didn't ruin or lose a guy. Uh. Now, Trevor
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: seems to have a great fit with Doug Peterson personality
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: a quarterback, a guy who has won a superberbole has
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: developed young quarterbacks along the way, really has a sense
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: of what it takes and there's a professional approach to it.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: So you're not gonna have those mistakes and those highs
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: and lows that the team went through last year. So
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: if it was a two or three year thing that
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: ran it right into the ground, that would be one
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: thing it wasn't. And there's a lot of talent on
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: this roster, so you know, there's somebody who has gotten
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: the most out of professional players here and I think
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: you're gonna see that. So I think the good news
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: the perception is probably better than the record has been
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: over the last couple of years. And the reality is
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: when you start to look at this team, when you
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: do an exam, you go, you know what those three
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: receivers are. Okay, that's a pretty darn good tight end room.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: There are a lot of teams that would take Robinson
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: e t n. Let's say Stoop Connor develops as a
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: running back. That's pretty good. I like your left tackle.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: I like what you're doing throwing the right garden there
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: at at a big price for one of the veterans
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: with Brandon Shaff and then obviously the defensive side of
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: the ball. You've used the number one pick to bring
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: in a guy to go opposite your other first round
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: guy has been here for four years. It's a good
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: place to start. So I think overall, this is a
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: team that probably nationally has a better feel in hopes
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: of a positive couple of years ahead. Then last year's
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: story wrote out to be Mike to Rico with us.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: You say all those names, but it all comes back
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: to number sixteen quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence. Obviously, his rookie experience
• 4:21
  Speaker 1: was was not what you wanted, obviously with everything come
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: out around it, but it seemed like he handled it
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: with class and poise and and went through some learning
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: periods on the field, was healthy, played all seventeen games.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: He has that in his back pocket now as he
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: moves ahead. That's a good start. And for me, that
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: Indianapolis game Week eighteen, Game seventeen was this guy can
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: do this. That cold team had everything to play for.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: It was a good team, and Trevor played well and
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: I did so. Doug Foodie and I, like the third
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: or fourth year, did a corporate uh event right around
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: the bc HAS and CFP Championship game. Uh. You can
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: tell I'm old and like the BCS here it's exactly
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: and and Trevor was our guest. So we did a
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: zoom call for some clients and it was me Fluty
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: and we had Trevor for a half hour. So I
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: talked to Trevor beforehand that afternoon for a little bit,
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: and you could tell that he was he was beat up.
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: It was a tough year. We could tell how satisfied
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: he was to see it through and come out, come
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: away at the end with a big win. And to me,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: that told me this guy, given the right coach. We
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: didn't know it was gonna be done at the time. Uh,
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: he could be, he could be ready. So I think
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: you're gonna see a good couple of years out of
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: him here. And here's they did. We we've got we've
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: got what everybody's trying to get, a franchise quarterback, and
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: we feel like he has the ability to do it. Now,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: let's surround him and the additions on this team. There's
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: a lot of money they're spending, guaranteed signing bonus money,
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: but they are just surround the investment. What have we
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: see now the new shift the last five years in
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: the NFL, this is the time to win when you
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: have a quarterback on a rookie deal and you can
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: afford to spend around him and surround That's what this
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: team has done. I think they've done it smartly. I
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: think they've done with mostly proven guys who still have
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: room to continue to play at that level. So I
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: think it's it's a good fit. I'm excited about. You
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: don't have to be Um, you don't have to be
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: Tom Brady. You don't have to be this superstar quarterback
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: to succeed. Turn and handed off Robinson et N. Throw
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: it to his A Jones, throw it to Christian Kirk
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: out of a slot, throw it to Um, to Marvin Jones,
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: Evan Ingram down the down the scene, two tight ends.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: You can do a lot of stuff I have I
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: haven't mentioned, you know, using Chinault or Agnew in their
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: roles right with with lobs Chanal and Traps E. T
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: N and even Jamal Agnew. You got three guys you
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: can get the ball just so simple dump that they
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: can get your fifteen or twenty yards. What a best
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: friend that is for a quarterback. So I think this
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: has been well conceived and I think Trevor is gonna
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: really thrive this year. I really did. We've seen a
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: lot of that in training camp so far, behinding guys
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: up all over the place. You know, Christian Kirk said it,
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: he's got to learn every position at wide receiver, on
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: the offense because Doug Peterson, Press Taylor, those guys are
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: gonna rotate those guys around. Mike Riko is with us
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: from NBC Sports, and we mentioned the offense, and when
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: you're scoring fourteen point eight points per game, you just
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: can't compete in the NFL. So that was the priority
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: in the off season. But they also revamped the defensive side, Mike,
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: and they got a coordinator in there. Obviously new scheme.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: There's only a couple of players that were here in
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: twenty or before on this defense. Pretty much everybody else
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: is new the last year or two and it's a
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: full revamp there. And when you pick number one overall again,
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: you get Trayvon Walker in there. I hope we get
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: to see him Thursday night as a rookie. I'm curious
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: how long, if if at all, he'll play. But um,
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: this defense has to step up in a big way,
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: I think. But we just don't know what it's going
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: to look like. That's the real question right now, You don't,
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: So let's go buy positions and look. Everybody right now
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: feels like they could be good, right you can. You
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: can sit and make the case that every team could
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: be Hey, it could be seven and seven with three
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: games to go, and then who knows what happens. Right,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: But but let's just go position by position just from Afar. Uh.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: You know, Josh Allen is gonna be trying to prove
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: something here at the end of his deal. Trayvon Walker
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: has that versatility people like them. You spent the money smartly.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: I think on an interior guy in PROTOKASTI you could
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: really do it inside, and we saw that with the
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: Jets during his time there, for sure. Uh. Then I
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: go to linebacker position. You know, we'll see what Lloyd is.
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: I know what I saw at Utah if I was terrific.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: But uh, you know, for a play by play guy,
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: Falcons games are great to call because you can close
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: your eyes and say a look on the tackle and
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: you gotta one at four chance to be right. He
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: was in on like every third play or fourth play.
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: So you really have a proven guy. Seaquille Griffin feels
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: like he wants to be a leader over there. I
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: don't want to see what Tyson Campbell does, and I'm
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: gonna tell you and I'm partisan, but I saw most
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: of every snap with Andre Cisco play and that guy's
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: that guy's got a notice for the ball. Now Cisco
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: can play. I'm a syric piece of lum So I
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: saw all the games he played. I'm glad he got
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: into the starting job the last place. I guess two
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: or three games last year. Um, that's a guy you
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: can roll out there. So there are pieces in places. Right,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: I've mentioned everybody, but there are pieces in places. So
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: you feel kind of comfortable that this defense is not
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: going to be given up thirty points a game. So
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: can you give up twenty? Can you score twenty four? Right?
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: That that that's what we're talking about here. Um, And
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: the margin is very small in the NFL, So this
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: team has I think all the pieces in place on
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: both sides of the ball to grow. Is this a
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: playoff team? I'm not going to say that this is
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: a good division. I think the Colts are gonna be
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: even better with Matt Ryan. Um. I think seen Tennessee.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: You better be ready to play Tennessee. I mean they're
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: gonna physically pound you here, and that's gonna be very
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: important to this team. And Doug has said it multiple times.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: In this division, can you stop the run? And I
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: think if this team is based on that grows out
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: from there. On the defensive side, they'll get the ball
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: back enough for Trevor with a chance to score some
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: points with those offensive options we discussed. It always comes
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: back to Syracuse, though in one way, at all times.
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: That's our goal. Before you leave, you're told every broadcast
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: you got to figure out a way to work it in.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: And this is my first game to layup. I got
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: Andre Cisco, once I got cham with Jones was signed
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: on the other side by the Raiders. This one, this
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: one's a no brainer for me. Mike to Riko and
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: the Sports as the call of the Hall of Fame game.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: Of course, the Jaguars are in the Hall of Fame
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: game because Tony Basselli was elected to the Profile Hall
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: of Fame. He will be enshrined this Saturday and the
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, the first
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: Jaguars player to be inshrine in Canton, a major miles doing,
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: of course of the franchise, to to finally have a
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: player in that hall. What stands out to you about Basseli?
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: Is there a moment, Is there an interaction with him?
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: I have plenty of those, but what about you well,
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: I mean, look, the headlines are from sc Onto Jacksonville.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: Just facelities on the field left tackle, and you knew
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: that was proud and taken care of, right, But what
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: a what a true definition of the Hall of Famer?
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Think about in this sport. It's a one sport where
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: the guys go into the Hall of Fame who don't
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: touch the ball or score for the most part. Now
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: you can say, okay, goalies and hockey, your pictures pictures
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: of baseball touched every time, goalies and hockey and making saves.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: You've got to really stand out amongst the people at
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: your position to be recognized as an offensive lineman in
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And Tony Paselli stood
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: out year after year after year for his quality of
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: play and the quality of individual He represented that franchise
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: really well. If you think of a Jaguar, I think
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: the early days with coach Coughlin and building that thing,
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: Brunel and Baselli and the running backs and all the
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: stuff and the receivers and but Bassell was a standard
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: and he was terrific. So Tony obviously does the radio therey,
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: but he else has done national radio over the years
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: and I've worked with god, I don't know in all
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: my sports, maybe a hundred twenty analysts of different ilk
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: and Baselli is one of them. We did one game together,
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: but we did a hell of a game together. We
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: did Tom Brady's last game in Foxboro, the playoff game
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: that they lost, and it was a foggy night and
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: it was Tony was that it was Westwood one. Tonys
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: in the booth with me. Lord Oak was on the
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: sideline the game ended. It was just like a foggy
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: night in the place empty. We're just sitting there and
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: we didn't know his Brady's last game, but we kind
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: of felt it. And Logan Ryan made the pick at
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: the end of the game to kind of close it
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: out his former teammate. We're just looking at each other, like,
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: you know, we could have just seen the last game
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: for Tom Brady and in the stadium had this eerie feelings.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: And I'll never forget sitting there with Tony and just
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: kind of sharing that moment that he got a chance
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: to see one of the great players of all time
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: and the greatest run anybody's had with one team, and
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: uh man that I love him. On the air, we
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: had fun doing the broadcast. It was fun to do
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: it together. It's exactly the way you picture doing a
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: game with the Hall of Fame offensive lineman. He took
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: up most of the booth. He dominated the whole thing.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: He was kind of rough around the edges and gruff
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: and but like the most dang lovable and dependable guy.
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: Couldn't be happier for Tony and his family. It couldn't
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: be happier for Duval County and all the Jaguars fans because, uh,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: it's been a tough couple of years after Doug Maron
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: had that thing shockingly within a driver two of the
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: Super Bowl, right, which isn't all that long ago. Uh.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: To see this franchise just start kind of a new
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: era with a celebratory day is uh. Is good for
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: the good people of Jacksonville. And I couldn't be happier
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: for Tony and thrill the thrill to be here to
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: see him go in the Hall of Fame on set. Mike,
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: thanks for the time, Congratulations on the increased roll at
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: NBC and we'll talk to you soon. KP, thank you.
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: I am rooting for the Jags because I'm all excited.
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: At some point to get a Sunday night football game
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: back down there many times. Soon. Yeah, I'm ready to
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: come back. So let's get this thing wrong. Great to
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: talk to you have a great season.