Latest / Jags A.M. / Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 247 | Maintaining Momentum, Taking Advantage of Broncos' Slow Start

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Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 247 | Maintaining Momentum, Taking Advantage of Broncos' Slow Start · Jags A.M.

• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Good morning and welcome into the Hyundai Studios inside the
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Miller Electric Center. Time for Jags AM. We've got the
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: whole new crew here on Thursdays. Mark Duffner and John
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Ogier alongside. We've got big things. We've got a new
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: segment we call If coming up a little bit later.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: We'll also hear from Kai Fields.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Kai Fields.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: It's the Fields Auto Group. Kai Stevens to talk with
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Cody Rourke about the Jags and the Broncos. Ready to
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: get started? So am I. Big thing number one, Jags.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: Prove it.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: Let's be honest. All week long, we've heard since the Jaguars'
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: 34-10 win over the Browns is, you've got to go
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: beat the Broncos now, because the Browns are the Browns.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: The Jaguars have always been in a position where they've
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: had to prove it to the rest of the league.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: It's just been their reality, and they're more than willing
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: to go and do it at Empower Field and Mile High.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: We asked yesterday, Basial Tootin, the Jaguars' running back, about it,
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: and as you'll hear, he doesn't seem too concerned. He
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: started talking about football.
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: Just like any other week, you know, just do the
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: things that we need to do. You know, for me,
• 1:16
  Speaker 4: you know, being on the run keys, right landmarks, and then,
• 1:19
  Speaker 4: you know, the O-line, pass protecting, being on the screws
• 1:22
  Speaker 4: with their target in the run game, and just the
• 1:24
  Speaker 4: offense and defense. You know, in general, special teams, just
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: doing the things we do best, we train for. I
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: think just going out there and being us is the
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: biggest thing that will, you know, help us come out
• 1:33
  Speaker 4: with a W.
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: John, I think that's one thing that stood out about
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: this team all week long. They're not worried about proving
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: anything to anyone except the Broncos and themselves. Go play
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: good football and don't worry about what's on social media.
• 1:46
  Speaker 5: Yeah, and I think it may help that they went
• 1:48
  Speaker 5: out there and did what they need to do Sunday.
• 1:51
  Speaker 5: They did last December when they went out and really
• 1:54
  Speaker 5: handled the Broncos. I'm not saying that means they can
• 1:56
  Speaker 5: go out there and not play well and handle the Broncos.
• 2:00
  Speaker 5: But Duff, you know, being at that game, there are
• 2:03
  Speaker 5: some NFL games during the regular season that feel different.
• 2:07
  Speaker 5: The energy and execution and physicality that it took to
• 2:11
  Speaker 5: win that game, they have to repeat it. They know
• 2:14
  Speaker 5: what it takes because they did it. It was a
• 2:17
  Speaker 5: different kind of regular season game, a different, you know,
• 2:21
  Speaker 5: prove it, whatever. I think the Jaguars win this game,
• 2:24
  Speaker 5: but it's going to need to take an effort and
• 2:28
  Speaker 5: a focus like that.
• 2:29
  Speaker 6: I don't think there's any question about it. And they
• 2:31
  Speaker 6: demonstrated that really when they played against Cleveland. They played
• 2:34
  Speaker 6: at the Jaguar level, not at Cleveland's level. So there's
• 2:37
  Speaker 6: a maturity in outlook and attitude on this football team
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: that they'll come into play against Denver right now. You're
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: going to play a team that's desperate right now, that's
• 2:46
  Speaker 6: been embarrassed. You're going to get their best shot. But
• 2:48
  Speaker 6: I like our chances right now with the attitude of
• 2:50
  Speaker 6: our team.
• 2:51
  Speaker 5: One thing, Brian, I loved what Liam Cohen said after
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: the game on Sunday. about never worrying about this team
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: being prepared. I thought that said a lot about this franchise,
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: and as you said, I think they have to go
• 3:04
  Speaker 5: prove all of that stuff on Sunday.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, John, they're obviously in a good place, and they
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: intend to show the Broncos and the rest of the
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: National Football League that they are a consistent football team,
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: and that's really the word with our second. Trevor has
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: proven it. Over the last nine games, his numbers are
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: off the charts. And the Jaguars, no coincidence, are undefeated.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Let's take a look at those numbers. You can see
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: he's near the top of the charts in the National
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Football League in terms of touchdowns, passer rating, efficiency. All
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: of these things are in his favor. So I asked
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: the head coach on Wednesday, what's the next step? What
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: does he have to do to play at a super
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: high level with consistency? And he had a really good answer.
• 3:46
  Speaker 7: I thought it was a really good start to building
• 3:49
  Speaker 7: off of the things from last year that we really
• 3:51
  Speaker 7: liked and some of the areas in which we wanted
• 3:53
  Speaker 7: to continue to improve. And I thought he took care
• 3:56
  Speaker 7: of the football as well on Sunday, which was a
• 3:59
  Speaker 7: huge deal for us. And to see him use his legs,
• 4:02
  Speaker 7: as I mentioned, this early on is also very encouraging
• 4:07
  Speaker 7: to see and to let him just go play free.
• 4:10
  Speaker 7: And if we can continue to see that, that's the
• 4:13
  Speaker 7: consistency that we're all looking for.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: Duff, that's the mark of an elite quarterback. A guy
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: who plays to the consistency just like this. And you
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: see the numbers. They're off the charts.
• 4:28
  Speaker 6: Well, I'm telling you this. This is not new now.
• 4:31
  Speaker 6: This isn't a one-game situation. As you mentioned, he was
• 4:35
  Speaker 6: so consistent the last eight games of the season. He
• 4:37
  Speaker 6: carried that through the spring. He did it in the
• 4:40
  Speaker 6: training camp. No surprise to me right now with what
• 4:42
  Speaker 6: he's doing right now.
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: Let's also.
• 4:46
  Speaker 6: Understand that he is ascending right now. I don't think
• 4:48
  Speaker 6: he's close to the top of his game yet as
• 4:51
  Speaker 6: far as that's concerned, but I like the command, the confidence,
• 4:54
  Speaker 6: the drive that he demonstrated in the game against Cleveland.
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: Excellent ball game by Trevor Lawrence. Yeah, I agree, Dev.
• 5:00
  Speaker 5: I thought he had a great camp, but I also
• 5:02
  Speaker 5: thought Sunday showed something that has become more apparent about
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: Trevor that, yes, he's consistent, but he's also got a
• 5:11
  Speaker 5: thing for the spectacular. and the above the X's and
• 5:15
  Speaker 5: O's that you've got to have in this league sometimes.
• 5:18
  Speaker 5: Sometimes it has to happen when it's not there and
• 5:21
  Speaker 5: it's not exactly as you drew it up. He can
• 5:24
  Speaker 5: really do that, and it's not a fluke. He does
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: it all the time. Not all the time, but he
• 5:29
  Speaker 5: does it enough to make you think, okay, this is
• 5:31
  Speaker 5: what this kid does.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: I got a.
• 5:35
  Speaker 5: Question this week, Brian, in the Ozone mailbag about where
• 5:39
  Speaker 5: his next step is. And I'm like, well, except for
• 5:42
  Speaker 5: winning in the postseason, look at those numbers. You're throwing
• 5:46
  Speaker 5: four touchdowns, no interceptions, 23-5 over nine games.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Elite's elite.
• 5:53
  Speaker 5: Super elite, I guess, is the next step. So he
• 5:57
  Speaker 5: is ascending, as Duff said.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: And Duff, there's something about the player's demeanor. You don't
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: see that on television all that often. I sat with
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: him for a radio interview yesterday. He's as calm as
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: he can possibly be. He's relaxed. It's clear that he understands.
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: That look in the eye, did you take that away
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: from players when you got them ready for the week?
• 6:18
  Speaker 6: Oh, no question about that. And sometimes that's hard to
• 6:21
  Speaker 6: see a lot of times because guys do get amped up.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: I agree with you.
• 6:24
  Speaker 6: The poise that he demonstrates and the As you said,
• 6:27
  Speaker 6: the even keel attitude across the board, unbelievable. And I
• 6:30
  Speaker 6: agree with you, John, he has a flair for the spectacular.
• 6:33
  Speaker 6: Some of those throws he made, the bullet throw he
• 6:36
  Speaker 6: threw to Josh Cameron, my gosh, I don't know if
• 6:38
  Speaker 6: I've ever seen a better throw in my life. And
• 6:40
  Speaker 6: then the extended play he threw when he sprinted out
• 6:43
  Speaker 6: to his left and threw, I mean, golly, he's making
• 6:45
  Speaker 6: plays that, again, are in the spectacular range.
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: All right, big thing three, 41 plus 44, well, it
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: equals success. Look, last week you had Josh Hines-Allen and
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: Trayvon Walker wrecking havoc along that defensive line. They caused
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: all sorts of problems for Deshaun Watson, and the Jaguars
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: need that again this week. And we go back to
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: a conversation that Liam Cohen had with Trayvon Walker yesterday. Way, way,
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: way back when the offseason program began and he asked
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: for him to be disruptive, to be the kind of
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: player on the practice field that he had to ask
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: to leave so the offense could get anything done. And yesterday,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Liam was reminded of that conversation and he had a
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: great answer.
• 7:25
  Speaker 7: I thought he wreaked some havoc, especially early on in
• 7:27
  Speaker 7: the game. I think those guys all were doing a
• 7:31
  Speaker 7: nice job rushing and affecting the quarterback at times. Yeah,
• 7:37
  Speaker 7: like he can be a savage when he really wants
• 7:39
  Speaker 7: to be, right? And like when he's going and he's
• 7:41
  Speaker 7: staying low and coming off the rock and not hesitating or,
• 7:46
  Speaker 7: you know, kind of waiting for the set, like in
• 7:49
  Speaker 7: just going and causing havoc. And he can be that way.
• 7:54
  Speaker 7: And I was pleased to see that show up in
• 7:57
  Speaker 7: week one, especially.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: I think if I were a football player, I'd like
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: someone to refer to me as a savage.
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I.
• 8:06
  Speaker 5: That's every day for me, but I get that you
• 8:09
  Speaker 5: would want that, Brian. Look, on Wednesday in the locker room,
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: I happened to look over, and I saw Trayvon and
• 8:18
  Speaker 5: Trevor just talking. I don't know what they were talking about.
• 8:20
  Speaker 5: It was across the locker room, and I thought, boy,
• 8:23
  Speaker 5: there are your foundation pieces of this franchise, and what
• 8:28
  Speaker 5: better hands to be in right now, off the field,
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: all that stuff. Players can look at those, too, and
• 8:34
  Speaker 5: if you're wondering how to do it, You can look
• 8:36
  Speaker 5: at them. Beyond that, in specific to Trayvon, look, Mike
• 8:42
  Speaker 5: Tomlin said it two or three years ago, and he
• 8:43
  Speaker 5: used the word wrecking ball. Wrecking ball is savage. To me, Duff,
• 8:47
  Speaker 5: he and Josh Hines-Allen, their styles, meaning it's not all
• 8:51
  Speaker 5: edge rushing. It's not all using your speed to get
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: around the corner. These guys wreck offensive lines with their physicality,
• 8:59
  Speaker 5: with their ability to get the quarterback. They don't stop
• 9:02
  Speaker 5: the run on the way to the passer. They stop
• 9:04
  Speaker 5: the run and rush the passer. They're very unique, and
• 9:07
  Speaker 5: I think it's the identity of this defense is sort
• 9:11
  Speaker 5: of that wrecking ball type approach that they have.
• 9:14
  Speaker 6: Well, I like the competitiveness, like you're saying, of both
• 9:16
  Speaker 6: of these guys, and they're all about production. I mean,
• 9:19
  Speaker 6: I saw a snap the other day where Trayvon right now,
• 9:23
  Speaker 6: the play went to his left, to our right offensively,
• 9:27
  Speaker 6: and he runs over to the sideline offensively, protects his
• 9:30
  Speaker 6: legs and hits the guy out of bounds.
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: I mean, excellent finish.
• 9:33
  Speaker 6: You know, he had six, I think, quarterback pressures in
• 9:35
  Speaker 6: addition to the sacks and so forth. I mean, both
• 9:39
  Speaker 6: of these guys right now play the way you're supposed to.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: They finish. They play with their hair on fire.
• 9:44
  Speaker 6: And as you said, tremendous example to the rest of
• 9:46
  Speaker 6: the team in terms of how to play for 60 minutes.
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: Well, speaking of savage, where do you see Duff? Right
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: here where I'm standing. A little bit later in the
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: show with If. You're going to love it. But before
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: we get there, Kai Stevens joins us to share her story.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: conversation with Cody Rourke, a beat writer for the Broncos
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: about everything going on with Denver. Jags AM from the
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: Hyundai Studios continues on a Thursday right after this.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: Welcome to Behind Enemy Lines, where we check in with
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: a media member of the Jaguars opposing team. And this week,
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: Jaguars are heading to Denver. So we had to check
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: in with Cody Rourke, of course, beat reporter for Mile
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: High Sports and host of Locked on Broncos. Cody, appreciate it.
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: It's a short week, so I know we kind of
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: condense everything. And so thank you for joining us.
• 10:38
  Speaker 8: Yeah, no, thanks for having me. I mean, this is
• 10:40
  Speaker 8: this is what we've been waiting for all season long. Kai,
• 10:43
  Speaker 8: just football every single week and even on the short weeks,
• 10:46
  Speaker 8: at least for Denver specifically. You're just ready to go
• 10:48
  Speaker 8: right back at it and obviously break down another great matchup.
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: It was such a good matchup between these two teams
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: last year in December. But I wanted to kind of
• 10:58
  Speaker 2: check in with you guys. Monday night football, week one
• 11:01
  Speaker 2: can always be weird and primetime can be weird and
• 11:03
  Speaker 2: divisional matchups can be weird. The Broncos had a tough
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: time with the Chiefs. Were you surprised a little bit
• 11:08
  Speaker 2: with what you saw out there in week one?
• 11:11
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I'll be very honest with you, Kai. I was
• 11:13
  Speaker 8: very surprised to see the outcome. And I would just
• 11:15
  Speaker 8: even say the effort or the mistakes that the Broncos
• 11:18
  Speaker 8: made to open up the season. There was a lot
• 11:20
  Speaker 8: of hype surrounding them and certainly covering them. Every day
• 11:24
  Speaker 8: you get to see certain things. And I felt like
• 11:27
  Speaker 8: the Broncos, I felt like they had some of the
• 11:28
  Speaker 8: missing pieces that they were looking for last year. And
• 11:31
  Speaker 8: then they just came out and they laid an egg
• 11:33
  Speaker 8: here on Monday Night Football against Kansas City. And it
• 11:35
  Speaker 8: kind of snowballed. One mistake led to another. And it
• 11:38
  Speaker 8: transcended from the offense to the defense. And then it
• 11:41
  Speaker 8: snowballed into something that was out of control. So I
• 11:43
  Speaker 8: was very surprised, to be honest with you, at the
• 11:45
  Speaker 8: outcome of that game. And it's a short week for
• 11:48
  Speaker 8: Denver here. And they've got to find a way to
• 11:49
  Speaker 8: learn from that and prepare for a Jaguars team that, honestly, Kai,
• 11:53
  Speaker 8: gave them probably more fits last year than anybody in 2025.
• 11:57
  Speaker 8: And we saw Parker Washington really kind of emerge in
• 12:00
  Speaker 8: that game specifically. And the Broncos, they can't feel sorry
• 12:03
  Speaker 8: for themselves. They've got to get right back at it
• 12:05
  Speaker 8: and prepare for another tough test.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: I know they'll be motivated out there, ready to go.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: What did kind of progress over the offseason? Obviously, we
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: know Bo Nix got hurt. He worked his way back in.
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: You got a new play caller. Kind of fill us
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: in a little bit about the offseason for the Broncos, too.
• 12:19
  Speaker 8: Yeah, I mean, a lot of it was running it back.
• 12:21
  Speaker 8: Sean Payton doesn't like the term running it back, but
• 12:23
  Speaker 8: they brought back 94% of the roster that was here
• 12:26
  Speaker 8: last year. They had two departures.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: P.J.
• 12:28
  Speaker 8: Locke went to the Cowboys. John Franklin Myers ended up
• 12:30
  Speaker 8: in Tennessee with the Titans. And so Denver, their only
• 12:33
  Speaker 8: real new addition was Jalen Waddell via trade from the
• 12:37
  Speaker 8: Miami Dolphins. And so far, what we've seen from him,
• 12:39
  Speaker 8: at least in practice and this summer, exciting. Monday Night Football,
• 12:44
  Speaker 8: he only had three targets. We didn't get to see
• 12:46
  Speaker 8: as much from him in the Broncos debut opener here.
• 12:48
  Speaker 8: And we'll see how that changes going into this week's
• 12:50
  Speaker 8: matchup against Jacksonville. But really, the story was the Broncos
• 12:54
  Speaker 8: felt like they had everybody that they needed to make
• 12:56
  Speaker 8: a Super Bowl run last year. They found themselves one
• 12:59
  Speaker 8: game shy. Bo Nix hurts his ankle. And a lot
• 13:01
  Speaker 8: of the conversation was if Bo Nix plays in the
• 13:03
  Speaker 8: AFC championship game, they felt like they were going to
• 13:05
  Speaker 8: go to the super bowl and compete with the Seahawks.
• 13:07
  Speaker 8: But you always look in the NFL. It's what could
• 13:10
  Speaker 8: have been, but now you have to forget about last
• 13:13
  Speaker 8: year and you have to focus on now in the
• 13:14
  Speaker 8: Broncos offense, they just came out flat. And Kai, I
• 13:17
  Speaker 8: don't know if it's the lack of preseason reps specifically
• 13:21
  Speaker 8: for all those guys together, but that has to play
• 13:24
  Speaker 8: a little bit of a part of it in terms
• 13:25
  Speaker 8: of the rustiness that we've seen from them so far.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Uh, This game last year felt like a really marquee
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: win for the Jaguars, able to go on the road
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: in a tough environment and get the win in mile high. Now,
• 13:37
  Speaker 2: this year they play a ton of road games with
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: construction at the stadium and going forward. Is this, I'm assuming,
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: what the Broncos are hoping they can go, get some
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: home cooking and get things back going at home?
• 13:48
  Speaker 8: Nothing better than that mile high advantage, right? That altitude
• 13:51
  Speaker 8: advantage that they love to take advantage of. But once again,
• 13:54
  Speaker 8: I'll say this, Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars, they came
• 13:57
  Speaker 8: in when the Broncos had just won 11 straight games.
• 13:59
  Speaker 8: They're looking to win 12. Trevor Lawrence put on a
• 14:03
  Speaker 8: spectacular show in that game. And look, after watching Trevor
• 14:06
  Speaker 8: this past week and week one against the Cleveland Browns,
• 14:09
  Speaker 8: he was slinging it. He's got a lot of confidence.
• 14:11
  Speaker 8: He can hurt the Broncos with his legs. And this
• 14:13
  Speaker 8: is something they're going to have to account for because
• 14:15
  Speaker 8: they're coming off of a very bad tackling experience, and
• 14:18
  Speaker 8: Patrick Mahomes didn't have to do much in that game.
• 14:21
  Speaker 8: He just had to hand the football off. Trevor Lawrence
• 14:24
  Speaker 8: can hurt you with his legs. He can hurt you
• 14:25
  Speaker 8: with his arms, and it presents a little bit of
• 14:27
  Speaker 8: a different test to Denver this week. Once again, I'd
• 14:31
  Speaker 8: say Denver's got their backs against the wall after an
• 14:34
  Speaker 8: 0-1 start, and the Jaguars looking red hot after week one.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: Is Bo Nix completely healthy in your mind, ready to go?
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: Is it just rust at this point, or do you
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: think with the different play calling, kind of figuring things
• 14:45
  Speaker 2: out still?
• 14:46
  Speaker 8: Yeah, he's fully healthy. He's 100% cleared from the ankle
• 14:49
  Speaker 8: injury that he obviously suffered against the Bills. He had
• 14:52
  Speaker 8: a cleanup procedure right before the NFL draft in April.
• 14:55
  Speaker 8: He was full go all training camp, looked good, used
• 14:57
  Speaker 8: his mobility. That's still been a big part of his game.
• 15:00
  Speaker 8: I think so much of it was, in fact, Russ.
• 15:02
  Speaker 8: I mean, we only saw him play one and a
• 15:05
  Speaker 8: half series, you know, essentially for the Broncos in the preseason.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: And week two.
• 15:09
  Speaker 8: I don't know if that's enough to get you ready
• 15:11
  Speaker 8: for what is going to be a tough regular season.
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: You had a.
• 15:15
  Speaker 8: Tough game against Kansas City. You face a tough Jaguars team.
• 15:18
  Speaker 8: And then the slate for them afterwards, it gets even tougher.
• 15:21
  Speaker 8: So probably you would have invested a little bit more
• 15:23
  Speaker 8: stock in the starters playing a little bit more in
• 15:25
  Speaker 8: the preseason. But I also understand the concerns and the
• 15:29
  Speaker 8: risk of not wanting to play them as well, considering
• 15:32
  Speaker 8: what we've seen historically over the NFL. But rusty start
• 15:35
  Speaker 8: for Bo and the offensive line. They've got to find
• 15:37
  Speaker 8: a way to communicate too many issues. Kai, Bo Nix
• 15:40
  Speaker 8: was pressured on 45.5% of his dropbacks by the Chiefs,
• 15:45
  Speaker 8: and they weren't sending a lot of exotic looks. They
• 15:47
  Speaker 8: were sending four players, sometimes rushing the quarterback with three
• 15:50
  Speaker 8: and getting home. So that's what they're going to have
• 15:52
  Speaker 8: to account for from this Jaguars defense this upcoming weekend.
• 15:54
  Speaker 8: Because I guarantee you, they're looking at the tape and
• 15:56
  Speaker 8: they're saying, we can do this to get an advantage
• 15:59
  Speaker 8: going into Denver.
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: Any X factors for you, offense and defense? I know
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: Jalen Waddle wasn't as involved, but I have to imagine
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: they're going to try to get him more involved this week.
• 16:08
  Speaker 8: Yeah, he has to be involved. Three targets is simply
• 16:11
  Speaker 8: not enough for a guy you invested a first-round pick
• 16:13
  Speaker 8: in in terms of trading for him. He's too talented
• 16:15
  Speaker 8: of a playmaker, but maybe somebody to keep an eye on.
• 16:18
  Speaker 8: Pat Bryant, second-year wide receiver for the Broncos. He ended
• 16:21
  Speaker 8: up leaving the game last year against Jacksonville late with
• 16:23
  Speaker 8: a little bit of a scary injury, but he has
• 16:25
  Speaker 8: had a terrific offseason, and he was featured heavily early
• 16:29
  Speaker 8: on in Monday Night Football. He can be an X
• 16:31
  Speaker 8: factor not only as a blocker, but in the pass-catching department.
• 16:34
  Speaker 8: I would expect keeping an eye on him. And also,
• 16:36
  Speaker 8: the Broncos have to try to run the football, Kai.
• 16:38
  Speaker 8: They didn't do it on Monday Night Football. They only
• 16:40
  Speaker 8: had six rushing attempts in the first half and only
• 16:43
  Speaker 8: a few in the second half. That is not going
• 16:46
  Speaker 8: to be a formula for success.
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: So if the.
• 16:48
  Speaker 8: Jaguars can come out and try to stifle the run,
• 16:50
  Speaker 8: it puts the Broncos in a tough position that they
• 16:52
  Speaker 8: have yet to show that they can respond from.
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: All right, Cody, thanks for joining us. Look forward to Sunday.
• 16:57
  Speaker 8: Thank you so much.
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: That was Behind Enemy Lines. Stay with us on Jags
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: AM as we'll give you our predictions for Sunday's matchup
• 17:03
  Speaker 2: at Mile High.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: And welcome back to Jags AM from the Hyundai Studios
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: inside the Miller Electric Center. And our broadcast today and
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: this new segment with Mark Dubner is brought to you
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: by our friends at Sudduth. Sudduth is Florida's most trusted
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: and dependable moving company. Proud to be the official moving
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: company of the Jacksonville Jaguars. To get a guaranteed quote,
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: visit sudduth.com slash Jacksonville. And we're calling this IF. And
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: it's not the Rudyard Kipling poem, Mark, although I know
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: you know that one by heart. What's it take?
• 17:41
  Speaker 8: IF.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: The Jaguars are going to win on Sunday. What do
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: they have to do?
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: Thanks, Brian.
• 17:44
  Speaker 6: I can't wait to get started on this. If, I'll
• 17:47
  Speaker 6: tell you right now, we'll win the game if we
• 17:50
  Speaker 6: run the ball well. Denver's got a great defense. They've
• 17:53
  Speaker 6: been ranked highly in many, many areas right now. It's
• 17:55
  Speaker 6: the top of the league.
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: But an area they've struggled is stopping the run.
• 17:59
  Speaker 6: As evidenced in the playoffs, 141 yards rushing by New
• 18:02
  Speaker 6: England against them, 180 yards by Buffalo against them in
• 18:06
  Speaker 6: the playoffs, and 220 yards the other night against Kansas
• 18:11
  Speaker 6: City on Monday Night Football. Run the ball right at him.
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: What will that do? That'll allow us to control the ball.
• 18:16
  Speaker 6: That'll allow us to win manageable downs. It'll allow us
• 18:19
  Speaker 6: to protect our quarterback. We're gonna run right at him
• 18:22
  Speaker 6: as far as that's concerned. And again, that'll allow us
• 18:24
  Speaker 6: to have win number one. Number two, make Bo nervous. Really,
• 18:29
  Speaker 6: we wanna make their press box nervous. I mean, that's
• 18:31
  Speaker 6: our goal right now, but Bo Nix struggled mightily against
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: pressure the other night against Kansas City. to the tune
• 18:38
  Speaker 6: of what? Four sacks, three fumbles, an interception. Never really
• 18:43
  Speaker 6: could get in sync as far as the offense was concerned.
• 18:45
  Speaker 6: So again, we're going to pressure, use it properly, make
• 18:49
  Speaker 6: him nervous. That'll be number two. And number three is
• 18:53
  Speaker 6: cover kicks. Fix our kickoff and punt coverage problem that
• 18:57
  Speaker 6: we had the other day against Cleveland.
• 18:59
  Speaker 3: I think it's a blip in the radar.
• 19:01
  Speaker 6: We've got excellent special teams, but the strength that Denver
• 19:04
  Speaker 6: showed the other night against Kansas City was their special
• 19:07
  Speaker 6: teams return game. Their kickoff coverage returner right now is R.J. Harvey,
• 19:12
  Speaker 6: an explosive running back right now that had excellent production
• 19:15
  Speaker 6: in the kickoff return. And then in the punt game,
• 19:17
  Speaker 6: they've got wide receiver Marvin Mims, who right now is
• 19:20
  Speaker 6: the all-time record holder in punt return average.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: So they've got excellent return teams.
• 19:25
  Speaker 6: We've got to fix our coverage, win that field position situation,
• 19:29
  Speaker 6: and we'll win against Denver.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: All right, John, since we've got a football coach with
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: us and one of the best assistants the Jaguars have
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: ever had, We're going to use this segment to get
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: hardcore football. So here's the number I've got for you.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: 4.85 yards per rush. Duff, that was what we got
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: from the primary running backs last week against the Browns
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: defensive front, which we know is pretty good, right?
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: We take that every second. single week right now as
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: far as that's concerned.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: Is that good enough to win this week in Denver?
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: Oh, I think it is. I think it is.
• 19:56
  Speaker 6: And that's where I think the offense will make hay
• 19:58
  Speaker 6: right now running right at this group. They've demonstrated this
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: is an Achilles heel for a very, very good defensive
• 20:04
  Speaker 6: football team. So running the football, like I said, will
• 20:07
  Speaker 6: have good ball control, allow us to manage the chains
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: and be productive in the offense.
• 20:12
  Speaker 5: I was going to ask you, Duff, is this something
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: from what you saw of Denver where teams, sometimes it
• 20:19
  Speaker 5: takes the league a while to figure a team out.
• 20:22
  Speaker 5: The Broncos, like the Jaguars, sort of ascended last year.
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: Are teams seeing where they can attack the Broncos? Is
• 20:28
  Speaker 5: this something that they have to deal with? I mean,
• 20:31
  Speaker 5: obviously they've got to fix, but are they seeing something?
• 20:33
  Speaker 6: Oh, I think they are, John. I think that's a
• 20:36
  Speaker 6: good revelation by you. I mean, again, it showed up
• 20:39
  Speaker 6: in the playoffs. Games you have to have. They struggled
• 20:42
  Speaker 6: stopping the run against New England, as I mentioned, and
• 20:44
  Speaker 6: also struggled against Buffalo. So here's the first game, Monday
• 20:48
  Speaker 6: night football, and struggled again. Something they've got to fix quickly.
• 20:52
  Speaker 6: By the way, tackling also was an issue in that game.
• 20:54
  Speaker 6: They had 28 missed tackles. They had 248 yards of
• 20:58
  Speaker 6: missed tackle yardage and eight players with multiple missed tackles.
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: They've got to fix the run game. They've got to
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: fix tackling.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: Let's look at the Jags defense against the Broncos offense.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: The Broncos offensive line is generally considered one of the
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: better units in the league. So what's more important, pressure
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: on the quarterback or stuffing the run?
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: Well, I think both. I think both.
• 21:17
  Speaker 6: We've got to stuff the run to get us in
• 21:19
  Speaker 6: downs where we can rush the quarterback. We want to
• 21:21
  Speaker 6: earn the right to rush the quarterback. And I think, again,
• 21:24
  Speaker 6: their line, vaunted as its reputation is, did struggle the
• 21:28
  Speaker 6: other night in terms of both protection and and opening
• 21:32
  Speaker 6: holes in the run game. So I kind of like
• 21:33
  Speaker 6: where we are right now going into Denver with that attitude.
• 21:37
  Speaker 5: As a defensive guy, Duff, what did your eyes tell
• 21:40
  Speaker 5: you about Bo Nix? It's already the same question I
• 21:42
  Speaker 5: had about the other part of Denver. You know, first
• 21:46
  Speaker 5: year of ascension last year, now teams have spent the
• 21:50
  Speaker 5: offseason trying to figure him out.
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: It's what every quarterback goes through.
• 21:56
  Speaker 5: What did your eyes tell you about Bo Nix in
• 21:58
  Speaker 5: terms of injury and in terms of just being that
• 22:01
  Speaker 5: third-year guy.
• 22:02
  Speaker 6: Well, let me just say this to you. I was
• 22:03
  Speaker 6: highly impressed the way he played last year prior to injury.
• 22:06
  Speaker 6: I mean, geez, he moved that club really, really well.
• 22:09
  Speaker 6: But he's coming back off injuries you just mentioned right now,
• 22:12
  Speaker 6: and he kind of showed a little twinge of panic,
• 22:16
  Speaker 6: I think, a little bit. He looked rusty to me,
• 22:18
  Speaker 6: for lack of a better word, first game out. I
• 22:21
  Speaker 6: think he was pressing, too, to prove that, hey, I'm back,
• 22:23
  Speaker 6: I'm healthy, I'm ready to go. You know, I think
• 22:26
  Speaker 6: that plus the pressure that Kansas City applied intermittently throughout
• 22:30
  Speaker 6: the ball game was a factor too.
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: He could never get really in rhythm. They couldn't get
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: the ball to their playmakers.
• 22:36
  Speaker 6: In terms of Sutton and Waddell as far as that's concerned.
• 22:39
  Speaker 6: So never got on track. Keep in mind too, they
• 22:41
  Speaker 6: got a new offensive play caller in Davis Webb. So
• 22:45
  Speaker 6: I mean, there's some concerns there. He just couldn't get
• 22:48
  Speaker 6: in sync.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: This is one of the best road environments in pro football.
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: It's my favorite road trip. Obviously, we've got great memories
• 22:56
  Speaker 1: from some big wins out there, not the least of
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: which was what they did there last year. How do
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: you get your team ready during the week? I realize
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: you play noise during the practice. And you try things
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: like that. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: the physical element of it, right? 52-80, high elevation. Guys
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: know how to get ready for that. I'm talking about
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: handling the road crowd. You've got young players on both
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: sides of the ball. What would you be telling them
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: this week about Denver and how to handle it?
• 23:22
  Speaker 6: Well, I would say, you know, again, it continues to
• 23:23
  Speaker 6: be about us. This is still just the second game
• 23:26
  Speaker 6: of the season right now. Teams are still trying to
• 23:28
  Speaker 6: find out who they are offensively, defensively, and special teams.
• 23:32
  Speaker 6: Continue to focus on the technique and the fundamentals that
• 23:35
  Speaker 6: we have established in training camp and in the off season.
• 23:38
  Speaker 6: And I would follow the same pattern that really they
• 23:41
  Speaker 6: did last year when they went out there. This is
• 23:42
  Speaker 6: a mature team. They know how to travel well. They
• 23:45
  Speaker 6: know how last year's victory out there. at the height
• 23:48
  Speaker 6: of the season in December was outstanding. I think they
• 23:52
  Speaker 6: understand what it takes. They're focused in on where they
• 23:54
  Speaker 6: want to go.
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: They knew who they are. Let's go demonstrate it in
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: Denver on Sunday.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: All right, Deb, let me give you one more if.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: If you're this good every week, this is going to
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: be one of the most popular segments on Jags AM.
• 24:04
  Speaker 4: Congratulations.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: Nice work right out of the gate, rookie.
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: Amen.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: Appreciate you.
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: Well, the good Lord is looking after me.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: All right. Listen, our broadcast is brought to you by
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: Paramount Plus, the home of your live local NFL on
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: CBS broadcasts every single week. Paramount Plus. When we return,
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: we've got Monday's headlines today. Right after this. Well, Jax
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: AM is brought to you by the Fields Auto Group.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: See Fields first, Jacksonville's premier luxury auto group. Go to fieldsauto.com.
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: Time to take a look into the future, what we
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: think will happen on Sunday. We call it Monday's Headlines. Today,
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: I'll leave things offed up just to give you a
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: feel for it. I say higher than 5280, which is
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: obviously the elevation. You see it on the Broncos' helmets.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: They want you to know that the air is thin
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: up there. But I think the Jaguars find the thin
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: air of the very elite teams in professional football by
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: going and making a statement win for the second time
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: in essentially five regular season games. Out in Denver, I
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: like the matchups. I like the way this team is playing.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: I get that they're going to be riled up and
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: ready to go after the last result against the Jaguars
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: and after the last result against the Chiefs. I just
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: think this Jacksonville team is superbly coached. And, John, they
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: have a quarterback who is playing at an extraordinarily high
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: level right now. And that's the difference because Bo Nix
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: is not.
• 25:41
  Speaker 5: Yeah, look, I may as well go right into mine.
• 25:46
  Speaker 5: Mine was Rocky Mountain repeat. So it's sort of the
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: same thing with who I moved– They're a little faster
• 25:51
  Speaker 5: than normal. Look, the quarterback's playing at a high level.
• 25:56
  Speaker 5: There was some talk earlier in this show about what
• 25:58
  Speaker 5: they need to do. Are they equipped to go out there?
• 26:01
  Speaker 5: This team under Liam Cohen, they went out and beat
• 26:03
  Speaker 5: San Francisco in San Francisco. I've never felt like a
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: situation was what was causing any issues with them. They
• 26:14
  Speaker 5: went out to Denver in December. I think some teams,
• 26:18
  Speaker 5: the group of players... just has a collective belief that
• 26:22
  Speaker 5: this is not something unusual. Trayvon Walker's played in national
• 26:25
  Speaker 5: championship games. I mean, they have, Trevor has too. This
• 26:31
  Speaker 5: is a team that expects to be elite. They expect
• 26:34
  Speaker 5: to have to go places and play well. They weren't
• 26:37
  Speaker 5: intimidated at all by Mile High last year. The makeup
• 26:41
  Speaker 5: is the same. So it's not going to be the environment.
• 26:43
  Speaker 5: They might lose the game because Denver's good, but they're
• 26:45
  Speaker 5: going to be ready to play. And I think they win.
• 26:48
  Speaker 5: I think they're going to, I think it's a franchise
• 26:50
  Speaker 5: right now, Duff, that is getting used to being in
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: this situation. And I think they're going to be a
• 26:56
  Speaker 5: team that plays four o'clock big AFC games, wins a lot,
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: and is good.
• 27:02
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 27:03
  Speaker 6: I mean, again, the motto has been any place, anywhere, anytime. So, again,
• 27:07
  Speaker 6: this team is confident. This team is determined. They loved
• 27:10
  Speaker 6: the taste of winning last year. They want more.
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: Bring it on.
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: All right, Duff, bring us home. What's your headline?
• 27:16
  Speaker 6: Well, mine was a defense continue productive play. again, that's
• 27:20
  Speaker 6: going to be a key right now. This offense in
• 27:22
  Speaker 6: Denver right now has something to prove. They got embarrassed
• 27:24
  Speaker 6: against Kansas City. And, again, things didn't flow like they wanted.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: There's concern about play color, inconsistent play.
• 27:31
  Speaker 6: So, again, we've got to go out there, play our
• 27:33
  Speaker 6: brand of defense, control the game that way, get the
• 27:35
  Speaker 6: ball back for our offense.
• 27:36
  Speaker 3: That'll be the key.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: All right, there you have it. Productive play, Rocky Mountain repeat,
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: higher than 52.80. And there you have a Thursday edition
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: of Jags AM. This is the new Thursday crew, and
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: we hope you'll join us every week as we get
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: you set for kickoff. For John Ogier, for Mark Dupner,
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: for our entire broadcast crew, we thank you for joining us,
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: and we'll see you on Monday. Kai Stevens is back
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: in this chair, and we'll recap the Jaguars' performance at
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: Mile High Stadium. Enjoy the game, everybody.