Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Publix Tailgate Show: WR coach Keenan McCardell
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: Cheg Wars wide receivers coach Keena mccardelli's with us. It's
- 0:03Speaker 1: week seventeen, coach. The losing skid continues, but here we go.
- 0:08Speaker 1: This would be a good chance to snap it today,
- 0:10Speaker 1: it would. I mean, uh, we gotta step up. I mean,
- 0:13Speaker 1: it's great to be playing a team that's, uh, you know,
- 0:16Speaker 1: in the hunt for the playoffs. You know, we can
- 0:18Speaker 1: be the spoilers for these for these guys, So that
- 0:22Speaker 1: should give you some energy to go out and you know,
- 0:25Speaker 1: be a spoilers, make them sit at home with you,
- 0:27Speaker 1: you know. And plus we gotta break up. We got
- 0:29Speaker 1: break this losing street. I mean this, this is not
- 0:32Speaker 1: jag War football with this losing losing streets. So we
- 0:35Speaker 1: gotta we gotta snap out of this. I know you guys,
- 0:37Speaker 1: certainly the players have been working hard trying to get
- 0:40Speaker 1: on track and getting everything right during game day, but
- 0:43Speaker 1: the coaching staff too behind the scenes. I mean, this
- 0:45Speaker 1: is just seven day a week gig and you guys
- 0:48Speaker 1: just can't get that winning result at the end of
- 0:50Speaker 1: the week. But it's not for lack of effort. And
- 0:53Speaker 1: I know you guys put in the hours day after
- 0:55Speaker 1: day after day that has to be frustrated. It's very frustrating.
- 0:58Speaker 1: You know, as a coach, you know you you want
- 1:01Speaker 1: to win just as bad as the players. You know,
- 1:03Speaker 1: me being a former player and now a coach, it's hard,
- 1:07Speaker 1: uh for me because you know, you used to being
- 1:10Speaker 1: in control, being out there and being able to control
- 1:13Speaker 1: the actions out there, and now you gotta sit back
- 1:16Speaker 1: and and and let your guys control the action. And UM.
- 1:20Speaker 1: For a coach, you just gotta be able to put
- 1:22Speaker 1: that your mindset and your energy and those guys so
- 1:25Speaker 1: they can go out and execute the game play in
- 1:27Speaker 1: the way that we wanted to be executed. And Uh,
- 1:30Speaker 1: at our position, we understand that that we have to
- 1:33Speaker 1: go out and give maximum effort each and every week,
- 1:36Speaker 1: I mean each and every week. You you can't think
- 1:39Speaker 1: that you can just turn it on. I mean, I think,
- 1:41Speaker 1: uh this season is a true example of that. You know,
- 1:45Speaker 1: you you gotta go out each and if we can play.
- 1:47Speaker 1: If not, you know, it's every team is good in
- 1:50Speaker 1: this league. Ken card Ellis with a shake wars wide receivers. Coach,
- 1:53Speaker 1: let's touch on a few of your guys. Your d
- 1:56Speaker 1: J Truck on the injury report this week with a
- 1:58Speaker 1: shin issue. But big picture with DJ, towards the end
- 2:01Speaker 1: of another season for him, what did he do well
- 2:04Speaker 1: this year? Work could he improve his game moving ahead?
- 2:07Speaker 1: You know? DJ came out, came out in training camp
- 2:11Speaker 1: with a with a mindset to repeat the type of
- 2:13Speaker 1: year he had um at last year. And I think, uh,
- 2:17Speaker 1: it was a little surprising because people had to get
- 2:19Speaker 1: ready for him, and plus he moved from Z to
- 2:22Speaker 1: X and a little justin for him. But he came
- 2:25Speaker 1: out and took it well and started the season off
- 2:28Speaker 1: really high. And I think, uh, you know, he got
- 2:30Speaker 1: banged up a little bit through the middle of the
- 2:32Speaker 1: season and kind of slowed him down. But that's part
- 2:34Speaker 1: of being the go to guy. You know, when you
- 2:36Speaker 1: start faith, when people start to realize that you are
- 2:39Speaker 1: a number one, people tend to game playing a little
- 2:42Speaker 1: bit more. I think, Uh, that's the thing that he
- 2:44Speaker 1: has to get used to, uh, knowing that people are
- 2:47Speaker 1: going to game playing him. Uh. We as coaches also
- 2:50Speaker 1: have to try to figure out how to get in
- 2:52Speaker 1: the ball. But when we do get in the ball,
- 2:54Speaker 1: he has to go out and make those plays. And
- 2:55Speaker 1: I think, uh, he got banged up and kind of
- 2:58Speaker 1: slowed him down, so the looks that he got was
- 3:01Speaker 1: a little different for him. But as the season went on,
- 3:04Speaker 1: he starts to see it a little bit more and
- 3:06Speaker 1: understand what he has to do get open. And he
- 3:09Speaker 1: realized that, you know, our passing game goes with him
- 3:12Speaker 1: and uh, you know, like last week he came out
- 3:15Speaker 1: and made a big play early and then it opened
- 3:18Speaker 1: up everybody else. So you know, he just has to
- 3:20Speaker 1: continue to understand that he's a part of our scheme
- 3:25Speaker 1: that gets other people open sometimes and then when it's
- 3:27Speaker 1: time for you to get open and one on one,
- 3:29Speaker 1: you gotta go do it, I mean, and uh, that's
- 3:32Speaker 1: that's that's the good thing about having guys outside of
- 3:35Speaker 1: him like Colin Johnson, uh La Visca, Chris Connelly, Keith
- 3:39Speaker 1: and Cole that they can make place too. So you know,
- 3:42Speaker 1: he has to me, I think, to take the next step.
- 3:45Speaker 1: He has to demand the guy on the other side
- 3:49Speaker 1: of him to continue to make plays so that they
- 3:53Speaker 1: can stop rolling coverage to him. We saw that tandem
- 3:56Speaker 1: approach was you and a guy named Jimmy Smith, right,
- 3:59Speaker 1: and one guy would play well and then here it
- 4:02Speaker 1: opens up for everybody else, it does, I mean, uh,
- 4:04Speaker 1: and that's the thing that I kind of preached to
- 4:06Speaker 1: them all the time. I mean, you need to not alone.
- 4:10Speaker 1: If you can get three guys, it opens it up
- 4:12Speaker 1: for everybody, you know, and uh like I tend to
- 4:15Speaker 1: tell them the stories all the time. If they're rolling
- 4:18Speaker 1: and cover six and they're rolling to the X Z,
- 4:21Speaker 1: you should if you're playing Z, you're the guy that
- 4:23Speaker 1: should make the plays. And then now you even the
- 4:26Speaker 1: coverage up and make him play man and man on
- 4:28Speaker 1: both sides. And now the other guy goes out and
- 4:31Speaker 1: plays well. And then if they start playing cover two,
- 4:34Speaker 1: that means they're respecting the guys outside. And now we
- 4:37Speaker 1: used to always say, Fred, get the cover two off us,
- 4:39Speaker 1: and they should be talking to James and the huddle
- 4:41Speaker 1: like we used to talk to Fred, Hey, James, get
- 4:44Speaker 1: covered two off of us, start running the ball and
- 4:46Speaker 1: then we'll get eight men in the box and we'll
- 4:48Speaker 1: get one on one outside. So that's the thing about
- 4:51Speaker 1: you know, when you have guys that that understand how
- 4:54Speaker 1: this game is played, and you know Visca being a rookie,
- 4:58Speaker 1: he starts to understand that, and you know he's coming along,
- 5:01Speaker 1: Collins coming along, and the group is a group that
- 5:05Speaker 1: has a lot of potential. The next step for them
- 5:08Speaker 1: is to grow together. I mean they need to grow
- 5:10Speaker 1: together as a group and understand one one guy pulls
- 5:16Speaker 1: a string for the other and and vice versa, and
- 5:19Speaker 1: and it will get each other there, get each other
- 5:21Speaker 1: open McDill with us. Let's touch on one other guy.
- 5:23Speaker 1: And you mentioned his name a couple of times. La
- 5:25Speaker 1: Viscus Chenault Jr. He's been battling through some nagging injury things.
- 5:30Speaker 1: That's been the season for him. But here he is
- 5:33Speaker 1: in Week seventeen on the field contributing again. We've seen
- 5:36Speaker 1: throughout the year the way he uses his size and
- 5:39Speaker 1: physicality in the receiving game. We haven't seen that around
- 5:43Speaker 1: here in a little while. He's a different type of
- 5:46Speaker 1: body type, if you will, and he's starting to figure
- 5:49Speaker 1: it out. It feels like how to use that body
- 5:51Speaker 1: he is. Then he's starting to use it down the
- 5:53Speaker 1: field to as a receiver. I mean, I think a
- 5:55Speaker 1: lot of times, uh, we've used him a little bit
- 5:57Speaker 1: more as a specialty guy. But this week he called
- 6:00Speaker 1: a post or out for a touchdown. I think it's
- 6:02Speaker 1: probably one of his longest plays from scrimmage, Uh, down
- 6:06Speaker 1: the field I mean the more and more he understands
- 6:09Speaker 1: that you can use that same physicality down the field,
- 6:13Speaker 1: boxing out little little corners, catching the ball, being strong
- 6:17Speaker 1: after the catch. I think, Uh, he'll start to mature
- 6:20Speaker 1: even faster. I mean to be honest with you, I
- 6:22Speaker 1: I I really like what I saw from him as
- 6:26Speaker 1: growth wise, as a developing into it more of a
- 6:29Speaker 1: polished receiver. Uh, still got some things that he can
- 6:32Speaker 1: work on. His future is bright, man. I think, Uh,
- 6:35Speaker 1: he understands that he like he loves to play football.
- 6:38Speaker 1: He just doesn't like to play football. He loves to
- 6:40Speaker 1: play football. He wants the ball in his hands. He
- 6:43Speaker 1: wants to be a difference maker. And if you've got
- 6:45Speaker 1: a guy that's got that type of mindset that wants
- 6:47Speaker 1: to be a difference maker, you got a player in you. Kenden.
- 6:50Speaker 1: We appreciate your time all year long. Happy New Year.
- 6:53Speaker 1: Let's get a W. Let's get a W. I mean
- 6:55Speaker 1: we got one earlier. Let's get one that's against these guys.
- 6:58Speaker 1: Let's get one at the end. Also,