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Huddle Up | The Emotions of Roster Cuts, What to Look for in Preseason Week 3 · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome to huddle up jaguar senior writer john osher and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: nfl network analyst and former jaguar bucky brooks bring you
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: the latest on your jacksonville jaguar huddle up starts.
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: Right now all right welcome into huddle up with bucky
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: brooks i'm john osher from the hyundai studios in jacksonville
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: and bucky brooks as always is in uh i assume
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: it's sunny los angeles uh Bucky, greetings on preseason week three.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: How about this?
• 0:33
  Speaker 4: Preseason week three, I am in sunny L.A. It is
• 0:36
  Speaker 4: nice and hot and toasty. I think it's appropriate because
• 0:40
  Speaker 4: I'm sure it's warm and humid down.
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: Not bad today. Not horrible today.
• 0:44
  Speaker 4: Yeah, we're getting to it. And, John, I'm going to
• 0:47
  Speaker 4: tell you, like, I have a lot of anxiety this week.
• 0:50
  Speaker 4: This is we're getting the cut down week. This is
• 0:52
  Speaker 4: the final preseason game. There are a lot of guys
• 0:55
  Speaker 4: that are going to be playing for the NFL career
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: on Friday. I'm excited to be on the call because
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: I can relate to that anxiety. And so when we
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: talk about trying to put it out there and put
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: your best foot forward in a pressurized environment, I know
• 1:10
  Speaker 4: that coaches love seeing how these guys are going to
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: have an opportunity to perform and how they do perform
• 1:15
  Speaker 4: under pressure.
• 1:16
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: Quickly though, it's a little different than when you played.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: I mean, The practice squad expanding has changed that dynamic
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: a little bit. It's added, what, 300 jobs around the
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: league to go from five to 16. So it's a
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: little less anxious. That being said, it's still anxious for
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: these young guys. You're always watching these games. Look, I'm
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: not a huge preseason guy because nobody covering it loves
• 1:46
  Speaker 2: watching preseasons. But in the second half of those games, uh,
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: when I was younger, I used to really dismiss it
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: as I've gotten older. I do have an appreciation for, Hey,
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: there are guys out there who are doing what they
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: love for the last time. And there is an element
• 2:04
  Speaker 2: of that, of, Hey, uh, it's a tough emotional situation
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: for a lot of young people who have worked very hard.
• 2:13
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: I would say that not only tough emotionally, but I
• 2:15
  Speaker 4: would say this, um, John, for some of those years, man,
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: it's the only.
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: Time that I played a full four quarters.
• 2:21
  Speaker 4: Like to be a starter, to run through the tunnel,
• 2:25
  Speaker 4: to have your name announced, to go and play four quarters.
• 2:29
  Speaker 4: It is a bit of the dream that you have
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: as a kid. And it may not be exactly how
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: you may have dreamt it. But for a lot of
• 2:36
  Speaker 4: those guys, look, man, I'm in the NFL. I'm playing
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: four quarters of a game. I get a chance to
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: make plays. I get a chance to see my name
• 2:44
  Speaker 4: and face on the Jumbotron and all those things. And
• 2:47
  Speaker 4: then comes the opportunity to win a job, whether it's
• 2:51
  Speaker 4: on the 53 or on the practice squad, there's some
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: things to be gained by having a solid performance. And
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: we need to look no further than BJ Green. And
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: what BJ Green was able to do that final week
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: last year and how it helped himself. They're going to
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: be some guys that benefit from the performance that they
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: put on the field on Friday. that will not only
• 3:13
  Speaker 4: kind of springboard their career, but will give them a
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: greater opportunity to maybe do some things directly with the Jaguars.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I assumed, Bucky, that the anxiety you were referring
• 3:22
  Speaker 2: to at the top was me hosting for a second
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: consecutive week. So I assumed correctly that you would be
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: anxious about that.
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: I have no worries because you've got plenty of reps.
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: It's a seamless transition into the role. I worry nothing
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: about that. We're just working through the kinks to get
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: from preseason to regular season ready.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: I would say I am thankful that there is a
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: practice squad. Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks is brought to
• 3:53
  Speaker 2: you by Fields Auto Group Jacksonville. See fields first. Jacksonville's
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: premier luxury auto group. Go to fieldsauto.com.
• 4:07
  Speaker 6: Like last year, right, we didn't have a lot of
• 4:10
  Speaker 6: these opportunities. And so I think you look at from
• 4:13
  Speaker 6: New Orleans to today, you're pleased with the progression. You're
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: pleased with the response. You know, like I said, you
• 4:21
  Speaker 6: can't simulate this anywhere in training camp. So was pleased
• 4:26
  Speaker 6: with where we're at. I mean, there's always a ton
• 4:29
  Speaker 6: to clean up and a lot of our focus now
• 4:31
  Speaker 6: has to go to final cut downs, finishing this thing
• 4:35
  Speaker 6: up and really headed towards Cleveland.
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: All right, welcome back into Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks.
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: And Bucky, what Liam just said there I thought was
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: really a theme for the last couple of weeks. We'll
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: get into that a little more. I do want to
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: go back and talk about Panthers-Jaguars because you and I
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: were both there. There's some meat on the bone with
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: that game. It's a little tricky to try to talk
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: topics during these things. Because you want to get back
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: to the preseason game. They're not playing that many guys.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: But for a second consecutive week, I think the theme
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: last week plays into this week in the sense that
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: Liam has been happy enough with what's going on in
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: joint practices. that he's been okay not playing starters. And
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: I think that matters. I think the fact that he
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: likes what he's seen is a huge theme the last
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: eight or 10 days.
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: Yeah, look, from a coaching standpoint, what you want to
• 5:41
  Speaker 4: see is steady progression.
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: And people will talk about in various ways, the process, right?
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: Like, If you take care of the business on the
• 5:48
  Speaker 4: practice field, if you create good habits, the scoreboard will
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: naturally take care of itself. What Liam has really been
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: harping on throughout the course of the preseason is making
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: sure that we have steady progression from the ones and
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: twos to make sure that each and every week the
• 6:03
  Speaker 4: team is a little better than it was the previous week.
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: When we have these joint sessions, after being kicked in
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: the teeth against the Saints, let's make sure it gets
• 6:11
  Speaker 4: better and better. First against the Carolina Panthers, then you
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: heard about the dominance. against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, you
• 6:18
  Speaker 4: feel ending the preseason after this game, okay, we got
• 6:22
  Speaker 4: the work done that we needed to. We're still going
• 6:24
  Speaker 4: to have a week and a half, almost two weeks
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: to get ready for the regular season opener. How can
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: we continue to be at our best when we kick
• 6:32
  Speaker 4: this thing.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: Off against the Cleveland Browns?
• 6:34
  Speaker 4: Right now, it certainly sounds like we're training in the
• 6:37
  Speaker 4: right direction, and the coaching staff has to be pleased
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: by the way this team has started to take those
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: steps to being a really good team when it matters.
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: In the regular season.
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll get technical here. The Panthers did win the
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: game the other night, 34-17. It was a tricky game
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: to try to pull a lot of themes out of
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: because everything happened so deep in the roster. But I
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: did think, Bucky, that the play of Amir Abdullah.
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: Was a.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: Revelation for some fans. I doubt it was a revelation
• 7:11
  Speaker 2: for you because you follow the entire league, so you
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: know what kind of pro this guy is. Very interesting
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: that a 12th-year running back, I think he's on the roster. Now,
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: I don't know that for sure, but it just feels
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: that way. 12th-year running back, played for a lot of teams.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: You talk about a pro, a guy who has figured
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: out a way, here's what teams need from me. I'm
• 7:36
  Speaker 2: going to stay valuable. You talk about the more you
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: can do, all those cliches. he's the kind of player
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: that good teams like to have on their team.
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: Yeah, like going all the way back to my time
• 7:48
  Speaker 4: playing for the Green Bay Packers, Ron Wolfe was the
• 7:51
  Speaker 4: general manager. And then after that, when I scouted, I
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: always was able to tap into him for his wisdom.
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: He always talked about the importance of.
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: Having veterans in every position room. And even though their
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: skill set may be diminished, that experience, that wisdom, not
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: only allows them to play well when called upon, but
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: it allows them to set the table for the young guys,
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: show them how to be a pro, how to prepare,
• 8:15
  Speaker 4: how to handle situations, all of those things. Well, when
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: I look at Amir Abdullah, he not only checks those boxes,
• 8:21
  Speaker 4: but he still can play a little bit. And to me,
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: there's a role for him on this team as the
• 8:27
  Speaker 4: third running back, the pass down running back, the guy
• 8:30
  Speaker 4: that catches the ball out the backfield, the guy that
• 8:33
  Speaker 4: is smart enough to handle the protection calls, the guy
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: that when called upon, he is going to be able
• 8:38
  Speaker 4: to give you that production and whether it's a mix
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: of run, passing yards, whatever that is, he is a pro.
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: And I think the way that you described him is
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: why he has to be on the team. He is
• 8:50
  Speaker 4: going to be a guy that can jump in and
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: fill a role when needed, and I think there's some
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: value to that on this team.
• 8:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and the other part, I've been sort of thinking
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: about this all week and sort of getting to this idea,
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: he's the guy who, you know, every personnel department in
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: the league knows who he is. Fans may not, but
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: personnel people, they have their lists of guys. He's a
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: guy that I doubt you can get through to the
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: practice squad because any team that has a need knows
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: he's played for every team in the league. I mean,
• 9:24
  Speaker 2: I'm exaggerating, but he's played for 12th year. Unlike a
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: rookie running back who you might have to come in
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: and show the ropes a little bit, you know if
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: you fly him, he can walk in the door on
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: Wednesday and play for you on Sunday, which not everybody can.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: So to me, he's an especially dangerous guy to leave
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: on the practice squad because you can pick him up
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: and play immediately. He's no risk. He's turnkey. And again,
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: 12-year running backs, you see some 12-year defensive ends who
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: bounce around, offensive linemen, et cetera. It's rare for a
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: 12-year running back to be the guy who can kind
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: of keep playing. A testament to... Grant Udinski was talking
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: today on the podium about... He had been with him,
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: I think, in Carolina, he said.
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: And.
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: remembered vividly how Amir prepared himself then, just different stretching,
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: different preparations for practice. That's what you have to do.
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: Jerry Rice used to say he didn't get his longevity
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: in year 20. He got it preparing in year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
• 10:32
  Speaker 2: Sounds like Amir Abdullah, not Jerry Rice, but same sort
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: of approach. It's what you have to do to stay
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: in the league a long time.
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: Absolutely, and having known people who were working with him
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: when he was in Detroit, to talk about him being
• 10:44
  Speaker 4: meticulous about his diet and all the preparation that comes
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: with the body and the mind and those things. But
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: then let's talk about the performance, being able to catch
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: the ball out the backfield, being able to really cultivate
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: a role that is always going to be in need
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: in a passing league. Well, he can do that. And
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: the value that he has, even if he doesn't get
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: a jersey every week, because the special team's contributions could
• 11:08
  Speaker 4: maybe prevent him from getting a jersey every week we
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: know that he can go from being in a sweatsuit
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: to being able to play the next week in a
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: prominent role because he can lean back on all those
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: experiences as a 12-year vet he is someone that a
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: maybe you break out in case of emergency but that
• 11:26
  Speaker 4: value that it has makes it necessary to keep him
• 11:28
  Speaker 4: on the active roster.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: Did you see anything from the young wide receivers that
• 11:33
  Speaker 2: you liked I wrote about him a little bit. Anything,
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: enough meat there to make it matter?
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: I think when we talk about practice squad and we
• 11:44
  Speaker 4: talk about bottom of the roster, I think the young
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: guys that were drafted, C.J. Williams, Cameron, Josh Cameron, I
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: think those guys are certainly going to make it. I
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: think when we look at receivers five and six, I
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: think both of those guys can do it. And because,
• 11:59
  Speaker 4: I'll say this, this is where Travis Hunter's value as
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: a two-way player may afford them to keep an extra
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: wide receiver. Because he really can be counted in the
• 12:08
  Speaker 4: DB room, it allows you to keep both of these
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: guys potentially on your squad. Josh Cameron maybe as your
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: primary returner, because as Parker Washington takes on an elevated role,
• 12:18
  Speaker 4: maybe you shift some of the responsibilities to one of
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: the younger guys.
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: And then with C.J.
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: Williams, the importance of being able to be interchangeable, play
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: any position they're to be able to learn it with
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: mental reps. Trevor has talked about that in meetings about
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: his ability to grasp the offense. I think both of
• 12:36
  Speaker 4: these guys have earned the right to be.
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: On the team.
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: And I think, unfortunately, maybe the odd man out might
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: be Austin Trammell. Even though he's made great contributions over
• 12:45
  Speaker 4: the last years, I think it's an opportunity for the
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: team to get younger and find someone that can do
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: some of the stuff that he was able to do.
• 12:54
  Speaker 4: A younger, I don't want to say a younger, cheaper model,
• 12:56
  Speaker 4: but in essence, a younger, cheaper model. and Josh Cameron
• 12:59
  Speaker 4: and C.J. Williams being able to get on those squads.
• 13:01
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd be surprised if they don't keep five. And
• 13:06
  Speaker 2: by five, I mean I'm not including Travis in that.
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: I'd be surprised if the two young rookies aren't on
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: the team. And Trevor Pena seems like a guy who
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: can be on the– there's always risk when you leave
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: a guy open. But most teams have their young receiver
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: they're developing on the practice squad already. So you probably
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: can leave Pena out there and teams will– he's dazzled
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: for here. Has he dazzled enough to make teams commit
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: to a 53-man spot? Maybe not yet. But he's a
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: perfect guy for the practice squad to me. So, Bucky,
• 13:45
  Speaker 2: my depth on defense the other night is pretty shallow.
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: Brian Thomas, Jr., I know that they like meeting Brian
• 13:53
  Speaker 2: with a Y.
• 13:53
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: Anybody else defensively before we move on just sort of
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: dazzlingly that night? Anything to remember or watch?
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: Look, man, I think Brian Thomas Jr. is on a
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: similar track to B.J. Green in terms of I think
• 14:07
  Speaker 4: he has played his way into the conversation that he
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: is so valuable that you're worried about letting him go.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: His ability to get to the quarterback, his energy, the
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: effort that he displays. And I'm going to say this,
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: and it shouldn't play, but it does play a part.
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: He has legacy, the bloodlines. Sometimes, John, there's just a
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: belief that because a father or someone in your family
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: has played, you just understand it at a different level.
• 14:31
  Speaker 4: It's the family business. And I think for Brian Thomas Jr.,
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: he certainly benefits from that. I would say other guys
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: that we'll talk about, I am curious when it comes
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: to the young guys, Strigow, Wesley Williams, how these guys
• 14:46
  Speaker 4: come in and kind of contribute and where they find
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: their way onto the roster or practice squad. Rukeh. or
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: Ro Ro Ro, he certainly is someone that has come on.
• 14:57
  Speaker 4: Liam was very complimentary of him in meetings last week.
• 15:00
  Speaker 4: I think that continues to be a deal. And then
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: the competition in the safety room. I don't think any
• 15:08
  Speaker 4: of these guys can be exposed to waivers. I think
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: they're too valuable to the team. Ransar, Rayoon Lane, and
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: even Jalen Husky, to me, they're there. And I think
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: this is a situation where you're looking at the safety room,
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: and you're saying Eric Murray, Antonio Johnson, those three guys,
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: those five guys are there.
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: I think when you look at the corner situation.
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: Lewis, Jones, you're talking about Travis Hunter, and then it
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: gets a little thing.
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: Then you have to weigh the game.
• 15:38
  Speaker 4: Is this a situation where you keep five safeties, three corners,
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: five safeties? Monterey Brown is in there too. How do
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: you divvy that up? I just think five of the
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: safeties are going to be there. And then you have
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: to figure out how light can you get when it
• 15:56
  Speaker 4: comes to the corner situation?
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: We know Hunter's there. We know Lewis is there.
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: Brown is there. And Jones, do you keep another, or
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: do you say, Hey, Jabbar, Muhammad goes to the practice
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: squad and those things. I think you have to have
• 16:07
  Speaker 4: some of those conversations.
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: Over the weekend.
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: Muhammad and Braswell, they like them both. And I think
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: they're sort of going to be in the numbers conversation
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: that you're talking about. And, uh, The good news for
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: the Jags is there's a lot of positions on this
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: team where they're wanting to keep guys some, not necessarily
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: because they need them, but because they're good players and
• 16:29
  Speaker 2: don't want to let them go. And there's a little
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: bit of a difference there sometimes. So, all right. Friday's
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: game against the Buccaneers is presented by Wolfson Children's Hospital,
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: the official children's hospital of the Jacksonville Jaguars. And we're
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: going to hear this from Liam Cohen now.
• 16:49
  Speaker 6: You just can't simulate this any day of coming out
• 16:53
  Speaker 6: in training camp, scrimmaging against your own guys. Just can't
• 16:57
  Speaker 6: simulate the work. Was really appreciative of Tampa and Todd
• 17:01
  Speaker 6: and the way they worked with us to get this
• 17:03
  Speaker 6: thing organized. It was physical. I mean, it was a
• 17:06
  Speaker 6: good physical practice. Obviously, got to go watch the tape.
• 17:09
  Speaker 6: There's a ton to clean up. I was pleased with
• 17:11
  Speaker 6: the way they started faster. Had a little dips and
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: lulls that you just get frustrated with. But like I
• 17:20
  Speaker 6: told him, it's kind of how football games are. There's
• 17:23
  Speaker 6: ebbs and flows. How do we handle them? How do
• 17:24
  Speaker 6: we respond to them? But I was really appreciative of
• 17:27
  Speaker 6: the work.
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: Welcome back to Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks. And you
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: can hear that whole press conference on Jaguars.com or the
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: Jaguars YouTube channel. And Bucky, we're in preseason week three.
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: Preseason week three does not mean the same thing as
• 17:44
  Speaker 2: it used to mean when you were playing and for
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: a long time when I was covering. uh, preseason week
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: three used to be the dress rehearsal game for years.
• 17:51
  Speaker 2: That was it. And now, you know, I think we're finally,
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: you knew when they switched from four to three, that
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: there was going to be a few years where people
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: figured out the best practices of that. Uh, for a
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: long time, it was dress rehearsal on week three and
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: then rest everybody week four. Well, now a lot of
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: teams are resting everybody, which would have seemed insane three
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: or four years ago, but that's the way people are
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: going to it now. So, um, We'll get into that
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: in a second. I want to talk about the joint
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: practice today, or actually on Tuesday. Today wasn't much. I
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: think they didn't want to do much contact. They had
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: gotten through yesterday without incident, so I think it was
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: fine to just sort of say, hey, we got the
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: work done. But Josh Hines-Allen and the defensive line yesterday
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: was really good. I'm not surprised by that. I know
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: you weren't there, but.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: How important, how much do you like hearing that that
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: seems to be, it was always going to be a strength,
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: but it really seems to be playing to that strength
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: and showing up as something we're not just talking about.
• 19:04
  Speaker 3: Love it.
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: I love hearing about that. And more importantly, it's not
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: only like your observations or the observations of reporters that
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: were there. I love it when the other team has
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: to acknowledge that the team was playing at such a level.
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: That was a big acknowledgement, Bucky.
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: I mean, that was as much as I've heard.
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, it is rare that an opponent will
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: give a team flowers.
• 19:26
  Speaker 3: Like that in practice.
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: But for Baker Mayfield to go out there and talk
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: about the domination, talk about the physicality, and just kind
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: of talk about how in awe he was of the
• 19:34
  Speaker 4: effort and the energy that the defense played with throughout
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: the day, I think that's the tip of the cap.
• 19:40
  Speaker 4: And if you're a coach and you hear that, that
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: means that all the things that you've talked about wanting
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: to establish the standard that you wanted to create, the
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: feeling that you wanted to create, when opponents play you,
• 19:51
  Speaker 4: that mean that it's resonating and the team are taking
• 19:54
  Speaker 4: the words and their actions are matching the words.
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: So I love that. That's part of the joint practice thing.
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: That experience is to give you the competitive feel of
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: a game in a controlled environment. And when you get
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: that work done, It makes it where you don't need
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: to use the last game as a tune-up. You feel
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: like you got a lot of that accomplished in the
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: joint practice sessions that you participated in.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: I thought the physicality thing was really interesting, Bucky, because
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: you and I talked about it a lot on Huddle
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Up last year when that other guy was also on
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: the show, that I think maybe fans who watch and
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: even other teams that watch don't initially realize how physical
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: this team is under Liam Cohen. Maybe it's because Trevor
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: with the long hair is running and throwing. And Liam's
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: an offensive coach. So you think in this day and age,
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: offense means passing the ball. And they're a good passing team.
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: But more and more at the end of last year,
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: you started telling me, hey, John, this team's physical. And
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: other teams and people in the league that you talk
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: to were starting to pick up how physical it is. Now,
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: two weeks in a row... you've seen this team come
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: out and be very physical in joint practice. Sooner or later,
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: people have to realize this is a physical team, and
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: that's the identity.
• 21:18
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that's the identity, but it's on the Jaguars to
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: make sure the teams understand that. You don't get the
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: reputation of being a physical team until you show over
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: time that that is who you are and that is
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: how you play.
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: You've got to run better this year, basically.
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you have to run better, but not only that,
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: but on defense.
• 21:36
  Speaker 4: And to be honest, John, Until you show that you
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: can consistently win, people won't give you that acknowledgement of
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: being a physical team.
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: You can be physical.
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: All day, but if it's not translating into wins, no
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: one really cares about that.
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: And that is why this is so important.
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: And I heard a colleague, a former colleague, William McGinnis,
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: he was on Michael Irvin's show, and he was talking
• 21:58
  Speaker 4: about the Jaguars and how it feels like this team
• 22:02
  Speaker 4: is on the come and this team kind of knows
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: that they're pretty good. And now it's about making the
• 22:06
  Speaker 4: next jump. And the next jump is these things that
• 22:10
  Speaker 4: we talk about. Not only the games that you're supposed
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: to win, you win them, but every time the ball
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: is put down, people know exactly what to expect. And
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: so you become a brand name because your identity, your
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: playing style, you kind of have an idea of this
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: is what we're going to get every Sunday. When you
• 22:29
  Speaker 4: tune in to watch the Jaguars, I know that I'm
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: going to see a very physical defense, a physical offense,
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: and an explosive offense led by a quarterback, that is
• 22:37
  Speaker 4: worthy of being in the MVP conversation. So we can
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: talk about it, but now it's about making sure each
• 22:42
  Speaker 4: and every week that team shows up.
• 22:45
  Speaker 3: And when they start showing up.
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: Over time, then you begin to earn the reputation for
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: being the team that we're talking about them being when
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: it shows up in practice.
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: I have a question for probably the former player and
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: the high school football coach. Uh, but they had a
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: good running practice yesterday. I mean, they ran the ball
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: really well. Um, It's practice in the NFL where you're thudding.
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: Do I care that they have a good running practice?
• 23:13
  Speaker 2: Does that matter?
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: Yes, because the habits are all established there, right? So
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: here's what I know about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, knowing
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: Ty Bowles really, really well. Ty Bowles wants to get
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: this team back to being the identity on defense that
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: they have been for most of his tenure, a very physical,
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: aggressive team. The issue that they had last year, they
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: fell off. So this year they have a draft where
• 23:34
  Speaker 4: they go and get guys to kind of fit that mold.
• 23:37
  Speaker 4: Then they've talked about it all training camp about how
• 23:40
  Speaker 4: physical they want to be. So now when you get
• 23:42
  Speaker 4: a chance to square up on one of those teams
• 23:44
  Speaker 4: and you have success running the football, it matters. So yes,
• 23:48
  Speaker 4: it's only practice. It matters because that's kind of why
• 23:53
  Speaker 4: you want to play these teams. Look, it's very intentional
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: in terms of why you schedule certain teams in the preseason,
• 23:59
  Speaker 4: why you want to have these joint practice sessions. You
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: hear our guys talk about iron sharpens iron. Well, you
• 24:06
  Speaker 4: want to go against physical teams to use it as
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: a measuring stick to see kind of where you are.
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: And by all accounts, the last two weeks, the Jacks
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: have passed those tests with flying colors. So now you're
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: going to the regular season feeling great about the kind
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: of team that you're putting together.
• 24:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's some stuff in the last seven to ten days, Buck, that, again,
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: I always talk about stuff that translates. There's some stuff
• 24:30
  Speaker 2: in the last seven to ten days that feels like
• 24:32
  Speaker 2: it's going to translate to the positive direction.
• 24:34
  Speaker 5: So, yeah.
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: Liam talked this week about he's going to give off
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: the play calling. Spencer Whipple's going to call some plays.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: John Van Dam's going to call some plays. Is that
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: pretty cool? I mean, to give these guys the up?
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: I mean, I know it's becoming more and more the
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: norm around the league. It's not like Jerry's the only
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: team doing this. And then defensively, different guys are going
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: to call it. You know, I guess just talk about
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: that as a concept. I think it's pretty cool, and
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: it's probably pretty important– in the sense of you got
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: to give these opportunities and it's how you get, when
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: young coaches know you're giving those opportunities, you're more apt
• 25:14
  Speaker 2: to compile a staff. It's good for the staff, I
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: guess is what I'm getting at.
• 25:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's absolutely good for the staff. And here's why
• 25:21
  Speaker 4: it's good for the staff. I want to be at
• 25:24
  Speaker 4: a situation where I feel like I'm being developed and
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: I feel like I'm being groomed for more responsibilities down
• 25:30
  Speaker 4: the line. And from a retention standpoint, I'm more likely
• 25:34
  Speaker 4: to stay when I feel like the head coach is
• 25:36
  Speaker 4: going to give me more responsibility down the line, that's
• 25:39
  Speaker 4: going to be beneficial for my career. And Liam Cohen
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: stepping away and saying, Hey, I'm gonna give grant opportunities.
• 25:45
  Speaker 4: I'm gonna give these other guys opportunities to call the offense,
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: call the defense, to be in front of the room,
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: to run the room.
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: That means something.
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: That means that I am not just selfishly keeping you
• 25:57
  Speaker 4: on the staff.
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: I want you to grow.
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: And I want you to eventually have some of the
• 26:01
  Speaker 4: things that I've been afforded the opportunity to have.
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: So that is great.
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: It also is preparation in case Grant Udinski leaves.
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: Who's the next one up?
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: In a perfect world, you want these hires to come
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: from the inside, not the outside. People that already know
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: the Jaguars' DNA, the Jaguars' way of going about things.
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: When you're able to make promotions from within, it just
• 26:26
  Speaker 4: is so good for the chemistry and the continuity of
• 26:29
  Speaker 4: the program. So these things that Liam is doing, they're
• 26:32
  Speaker 4: great for the future of the Jaguars.
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: Because it kind of gives you.
• 26:36
  Speaker 4: In a backup plan, a parachute in case some of
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: the coordinators that have done really good jobs here, go
• 26:43
  Speaker 4: and move on to head coaching jobs. You now have
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: already started the process of preparing the next player, the
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: next person to take that, that seat that is vacated
• 26:54
  Speaker 4: when guys are promoted because the team is doing really,
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: really well.
• 26:57
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: Significant that Liam's a young guy. So he has been
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: in their shoes very, very recently and understands that. So,
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: We'll be back in a moment talking defense with Bucky.
• 27:07
  Speaker 2: This is Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks.
• 27:14
  Speaker 7: When they're on point, it's definitely going to be good.
• 27:16
  Speaker 7: That goes for us up front. When we're on point,
• 27:18
  Speaker 7: it's going to help them out. And when they're on point,
• 27:20
  Speaker 7: it's going to help us out. So everybody doing their 111,
• 27:23
  Speaker 7: that's going to play a big role on helping each
• 27:25
  Speaker 7: other being able to play off of each other. If
• 27:27
  Speaker 7: they're covering on the back end, we can get home
• 27:29
  Speaker 7: in the front, keep the quarterback from getting out quick.
• 27:32
  Speaker 7: And if we get home, that keeps them from having
• 27:33
  Speaker 7: to cover so long. So it works hand-in-hand.
• 27:35
  Speaker 2: All right, welcome back to Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: And that's Trayvon Walker in his camp beard.
• 27:41
  Speaker 6: By the way.
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: He says that will be gone as the regular season approaches.
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: Your defensive coverage of the game presented by GEHA, Government
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: Employees Health Association, benefits for federal employees and retirees. And, Bucky,
• 27:57
  Speaker 2: we're going to talk defense now. And it's a significant
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: happening in the joint practice the other day. Liam's been
• 28:04
  Speaker 2: talking about takeaways. Antonio Johnson gets one. Monteric Brown gets one.
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: They were clearly happy with that. Trayvon's talking about it.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: There's been a little angst about not having takeaways so
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: far during training camp. I tend not to worry about
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: not getting takeaways in the preseason in camp because there's
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: so much control involved. you're not really rushing the passer
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: and it's usually pass rush disruption that creates junk and
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: junk is usually where turnovers happen, but they wanted them
• 28:37
  Speaker 2: and they got them. And I think that's cool.
• 28:40
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 28:40
  Speaker 4: Now, I mean, the turnovers tend to come in bunches.
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: And so we talk about the habits and what you're
• 28:47
  Speaker 4: trying to establish. The number one thing that stands out
• 28:49
  Speaker 4: when you watch the Jaguars and you hear the Jaguars,
• 28:51
  Speaker 4: they talk about running to the football field. Anthony Campanelli
• 28:54
  Speaker 4: talks about good things happen when you run to the ball.
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: So that is true.
• 28:57
  Speaker 4: So continue to make sure that everyone runs to the ball.
• 29:00
  Speaker 4: And as Trayvon alluded to, 1-11th, everyone playing their part
• 29:05
  Speaker 4: when it comes to playing good defense and running to the.
• 29:07
  Speaker 3: Ball is a part of it.
• 29:08
  Speaker 4: The other thing in the secondary is about making sure
• 29:10
  Speaker 4: that you cash in on those opportunities on tips and overthrows.
• 29:14
  Speaker 4: This is a team that wants to play zone coverage.
• 29:16
  Speaker 4: They want to play what we call vision and break.
• 29:19
  Speaker 4: Vision on the quarterback, break early on the intentions. Of
• 29:22
  Speaker 4: the quarterback when he's ready to throw. And then when
• 29:25
  Speaker 4: you run into the ball, you're going to inevitably get
• 29:27
  Speaker 4: your hands.
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: On the ball.
• 29:28
  Speaker 4: So it's either going to be tipped or deflected and
• 29:31
  Speaker 4: you can pick it off. So continue to do those things.
• 29:34
  Speaker 4: And then the final part of the turnovers is being
• 29:37
  Speaker 4: very intentional about punching the ball. out when you get
• 29:40
  Speaker 4: a chance that means first person make the tackle second
• 29:44
  Speaker 4: person on the spot find a way to knock it
• 29:47
  Speaker 4: out punch it out strip it and rip it and
• 29:49
  Speaker 4: so it starts all of those things starts from running
• 29:52
  Speaker 4: to the ball but then it's having an intentional takeaway
• 29:55
  Speaker 4: mindset that leads to the turnovers it eventually happens and
• 29:59
  Speaker 4: it comes in bunches. We're just waiting for the first
• 30:03
  Speaker 4: one to come because after that, it kind of comes
• 30:05
  Speaker 4: in droves.
• 30:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I said this before. Liam is so good at
• 30:09
  Speaker 2: the podium, and he'll sort of give you a little
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: more about what they're thinking than a lot of coaches
• 30:14
  Speaker 2: I've been around. And I think it was this week
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: where Liam talked about, again, I think it was Liam,
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: and if it's not, it was Camp. But they talked
• 30:23
  Speaker 2: about how they're wrestling a little bit with, they're playing
• 30:27
  Speaker 2: a little more man, So you've sort of got to
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: figure out, do you want to play man, which can
• 30:33
  Speaker 2: lead to disruption and complete passes, or do you want
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: to play some zone where you're going to give up
• 30:38
  Speaker 2: a little more sometimes but have the benefit of the turnovers?
• 30:44
  Speaker 2: That can be a very philosophical decision, sometimes based on
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: what you want to do, the flow of the game.
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: So they're trying to figure that out a little bit. And,
• 30:52
  Speaker 2: you know, the takeaways are big, but sometimes you can
• 30:56
  Speaker 2: give up– it can be bend, but don't break. And
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: you don't always want to bend. So that's a little
• 31:01
  Speaker 2: bit of the philosophical discussions they're having behind the scenes.
• 31:06
  Speaker 2: Antonio Johnson.
• 31:08
  Speaker 4: To that point, just really quickly to talk about that.
• 31:11
  Speaker 4: Like that is something that is really, really difficult sometimes
• 31:14
  Speaker 4: for coaches to struggle with.
• 31:16
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 31:16
  Speaker 4: So there are times where we've heard coming out, people
• 31:19
  Speaker 4: want stickier coverage, what it means tighter coverage to take
• 31:22
  Speaker 4: away some of the things. But that also means that
• 31:25
  Speaker 4: when you're playing man to man and tighter coverage, your
• 31:27
  Speaker 4: back is to the quarterback.
• 31:29
  Speaker 3: So you don't see the ball.
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, the ball hits you in the back of the head.
• 31:32
  Speaker 4: So on the perimeter, you're more likely to get breakups
• 31:36
  Speaker 4: than interceptions. Whereas when you see zone coverage, you see
• 31:40
  Speaker 4: the ball come out the quarterback's hand. You understand where
• 31:43
  Speaker 4: receivers are. You now can break on the ball to
• 31:46
  Speaker 4: pick it off, or you can make big hits with
• 31:48
  Speaker 4: thin leads to turnovers. And so you have to make
• 31:51
  Speaker 4: a decision as a coach. Man, I love trying to
• 31:54
  Speaker 4: be a shutdown takeaway defense, which... is a man-centric defense
• 32:00
  Speaker 4: in terms of being a shutdown defense. But, man, turnovers
• 32:02
  Speaker 4: are the biggest determining factor in who wins and loses games.
• 32:06
  Speaker 3: So, I don't know.
• 32:07
  Speaker 4: I think that's going to be a struggle that you
• 32:08
  Speaker 4: have for a while. I can say this, being around
• 32:10
  Speaker 4: coaches for a long time, John, we're going to play
• 32:13
  Speaker 4: more men early. But as soon as we give up
• 32:15
  Speaker 4: big plays, I can guarantee you that Liam is going
• 32:18
  Speaker 4: to be on the headset like, go back to the zone.
• 32:20
  Speaker 4: Let's go back to the zone. Let's soften it up.
• 32:22
  Speaker 4: Let's do those things. So, they'll find a delicate balance.
• 32:24
  Speaker 4: But I still think this will be a zone-heavy team.
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: Not just because they had two picks yesterday, but I've
• 32:32
  Speaker 2: thought all offseason, and I'm not alone in this, that
• 32:36
  Speaker 2: the secondary with the rapid ascension and notable ascension of
• 32:41
  Speaker 2: Antonio Johnson, the addition of Travis Hunter, to me feels
• 32:47
  Speaker 2: like a place with Monteric, you know, feeling very, very solid.
• 32:52
  Speaker 2: And I think Monteric's only going to get better. He's
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: still young in terms of starting The secondary, along with
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: what I think will be at least a slightly better
• 33:02
  Speaker 2: pass rush or more consistent, doesn't the secondary feel like
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: the area where they can make the most improvement? Just tangible, oh,
• 33:11
  Speaker 2: they're better there.
• 33:13
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 33:13
  Speaker 4: And so here's the thing to think about when it
• 33:16
  Speaker 4: comes to that, like Jarvis Hunter being a big addition.
• 33:18
  Speaker 4: And I've said this and I believe this since I
• 33:21
  Speaker 4: watched him in Colorado and since he came on board.
• 33:23
  Speaker 4: He is the ultimate playmaker on the outside. And I
• 33:25
  Speaker 4: know people are going to discuss him in terms of
• 33:28
  Speaker 4: being a shutdown corner. To me, that's not really what
• 33:31
  Speaker 4: the strengths of his game are. The strength of his
• 33:33
  Speaker 4: game kind of rely on being a see ball, get
• 33:36
  Speaker 4: ball defender. The ball skills that make him a terrific
• 33:39
  Speaker 4: wide receiver are the same ones that will make him
• 33:41
  Speaker 4: a terrific takeaway specialist in the back end. Antonio Johnson
• 33:46
  Speaker 4: has also shown that ability to take the ball away.
• 33:48
  Speaker 4: Last year, you talked about five interceptions. And the other
• 33:50
  Speaker 4: guys have shown a propensity to take the ball away
• 33:54
  Speaker 4: when they're able to see it and break on it
• 33:55
  Speaker 4: and drop. So I think this team, they're going to
• 33:58
  Speaker 4: continue to deliver turnovers. I just think we have a
• 34:01
  Speaker 4: better product in the back end this year than we
• 34:03
  Speaker 4: had last year. And there's no disrespect to the guys
• 34:06
  Speaker 4: that were man in key roles last year. I just
• 34:08
  Speaker 4: think the maturation process of the group that's there and
• 34:12
  Speaker 4: the infusion of talent and athleticism makes this secondary better
• 34:16
  Speaker 4: than the previous version that we had a season ago.
• 34:19
  Speaker 2: Yeah. Antonio is, is a fascinating story. In real time,
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: you're seeing him grow up. You're seeing him become a leader. And,
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: you know, this time last year, weren't sure what his
• 34:30
  Speaker 2: role was going to be. And now he's arguably one
• 34:34
  Speaker 2: of the two or three, you know, four most important
• 34:37
  Speaker 2: players on the defense. So when we return, we're going
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: to talk about a significant, I don't know if it's honor,
• 34:45
  Speaker 2: role for the executive vice president of football operations on
• 34:49
  Speaker 2: Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks.
• 34:55
  Speaker 5: I always feel like there's always something around the corner
• 34:58
  Speaker 5: to stay ready for because, you know, next week is
• 35:01
  Speaker 5: kind of an in-between week as well. And we still
• 35:03
  Speaker 5: got some prep this week to finish up. But, I mean,
• 35:06
  Speaker 5: just in general, that feeling of the season being so
• 35:10
  Speaker 5: close and obviously in camp when you start off, it's just,
• 35:13
  Speaker 5: you know, you have so much camp ahead of you
• 35:15
  Speaker 5: and so much time to work on different things. And
• 35:17
  Speaker 5: it can be kind of a grind. But then now
• 35:19
  Speaker 5: when you get to this point, you're like, man, we got,
• 35:22
  Speaker 5: I mean, two weeks left. less than two weeks before
• 35:24
  Speaker 5: we're preparing to play Cleveland. But, I mean, we play
• 35:27
  Speaker 5: in basically two weeks. So, no, that sounds crazy thinking
• 35:30
  Speaker 5: about it. And just realize how close it is, how
• 35:32
  Speaker 5: far we've come, but still how much work we have
• 35:35
  Speaker 5: to do to get ready for week one. And we're
• 35:37
  Speaker 5: on track, but we just got to keep plugging away
• 35:40
  Speaker 5: every day.
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: All right, Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks is brought to
• 35:44
  Speaker 2: you by Fields Auto Group Jacksonville. See Fields first, Jacksonville's
• 35:49
  Speaker 2: premier luxury auto group. Go to fieldsauto.com. All right, welcome
• 35:54
  Speaker 2: back to Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks. And, Bucky, I
• 35:56
  Speaker 2: had to laugh a little bit. What you didn't see
• 35:58
  Speaker 2: there with the Trevor sound bite is he was asked
• 36:00
  Speaker 2: about camp wrapping up being the final day, and he said, oh,
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: is this the final day? Now, when you played, you
• 36:06
  Speaker 2: knew when the final day was. I'm not saying it's
• 36:10
  Speaker 2: softer for these guys, but it's a little different. I mean,
• 36:13
  Speaker 2: and it's a different league now, but the end of
• 36:17
  Speaker 2: camp with it not being a way like it used
• 36:21
  Speaker 2: to be for a lot of teams, with it not
• 36:22
  Speaker 2: being a way for their families, It's a little bit
• 36:24
  Speaker 2: of a different dynamic when camp, unquote, closes. Remember in
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: 95 when the concentration line closed? Guys knew it was closing.
• 36:32
  Speaker 2: They knew it was the last day of camp. And
• 36:35
  Speaker 2: I'm an old man, so get off my lawn, Bucky.
• 36:37
  Speaker 4: Yeah, they absolutely knew. Yeah, it's a different time. But
• 36:41
  Speaker 4: the best teams and the best coaches are trying to
• 36:45
  Speaker 4: modernize training camp where they do all the things that
• 36:49
  Speaker 4: you need to do for the day's player under today's rules.
• 36:53
  Speaker 4: but still create a bit of an old school feel
• 36:55
  Speaker 4: to it. There's some things that you have to have,
• 36:57
  Speaker 4: particularly if you're trying to be a physical team. You
• 36:59
  Speaker 4: got to put the pads on. You got to do
• 37:01
  Speaker 4: enough sparring to make sure that you're ready for the
• 37:03
  Speaker 4: fight when it kicks off in September. But you also
• 37:06
  Speaker 4: want to make sure that all your guys are there,
• 37:09
  Speaker 4: ready to go, and you haven't burned all of their
• 37:13
  Speaker 4: energy and wore down their legs where they don't have
• 37:16
  Speaker 4: anything those first couple weeks of the season. So there's
• 37:18
  Speaker 4: that delicate balance that you have to navigate. What I
• 37:21
  Speaker 4: love about what I'm hearing from Trevor, what I'm hearing
• 37:23
  Speaker 4: from the other guys, they are anxious and ready to go.
• 37:26
  Speaker 4: When we had a chance to talk to Josh Hines-Allen
• 37:29
  Speaker 4: in the middle of the game last week, they are
• 37:31
  Speaker 4: so ready for it to be the regular season. That
• 37:34
  Speaker 4: is what you want. There's an excitement. There's an anticipation
• 37:37
  Speaker 4: that they have. And I think some of that stems
• 37:39
  Speaker 4: from the fact that John internally, I think in the.
• 37:42
  Speaker 3: Building, they feel like they're going to be really good.
• 37:45
  Speaker 4: And they feel like they're going to exceed outside expectations,
• 37:47
  Speaker 4: even though I love when coaches and players say, oh,
• 37:50
  Speaker 4: we don't pay attention to anything. It seems like they
• 37:53
  Speaker 4: certainly know what the outside world thinks about them, and
• 37:56
  Speaker 4: they feel like they have a team that is going
• 37:59
  Speaker 4: to debunk some of the narratives that are out there
• 38:00
  Speaker 4: about them. Yeah.
• 38:02
  Speaker 2: Look, when I joke about this not being like 1995,
• 38:05
  Speaker 2: I'm not saying it was better then. I'm just saying
• 38:10
  Speaker 2: it's different. And This has been a really well-run camp,
• 38:15
  Speaker 2: you know, from my.
• 38:16
  Speaker 3: Point of view.
• 38:16
  Speaker 2: I'm not inside that, but I'm around it. And I
• 38:20
  Speaker 2: think the thing you just talked about is really significant.
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: There is a, you know, they have them ready to go.
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: They are wanting to get going. Josh Hines-Allen talked about
• 38:32
  Speaker 2: it on, I guess it was Sunday or Monday, whenever
• 38:34
  Speaker 2: you talk to the media, both he and Liam talked
• 38:37
  Speaker 2: about Josh having the itch, being ready to go. And
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: then he came out on Tuesday and had an outstanding practice.
• 38:46
  Speaker 2: And you get the idea that once he had that practice,
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: he's like, all right, I'm ready. But for veterans, Josh, Trayvon,
• 38:55
  Speaker 2: guys who have played this four or five years, they're
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: all pros, they're high-level guys, their process is supposed to
• 39:03
  Speaker 2: be their own process. And when they're ready, they know it.
• 39:06
  Speaker 2: And it certainly sounds like the way Liam approaches it
• 39:11
  Speaker 2: allows those guys to get there in whatever way they
• 39:14
  Speaker 2: need to get.
• 39:15
  Speaker 4: There absolutely it does sound like they have a a
• 39:18
  Speaker 4: really interesting way to get there uh the running the
• 39:22
  Speaker 4: conditioning uh the way they go about their practice anyone
• 39:25
  Speaker 4: would tell you like even when the Jags take the
• 39:28
  Speaker 4: pads off, those walkthroughs are marathon sessions when it comes
• 39:32
  Speaker 4: to how they tax the team mentally and getting them
• 39:37
  Speaker 4: ready to prepare to play a game, a season, and
• 39:41
  Speaker 4: to understand all the situations that go along with it.
• 39:43
  Speaker 4: So even though it's different and some of my contemporaries
• 39:47
  Speaker 4: would call it a little bit of a club midfield,
• 39:50
  Speaker 4: They're still trying to give you some of the things
• 39:53
  Speaker 4: that you have in an old school camp. Now, I
• 39:56
  Speaker 4: would not say this is a Camp Coughlin like training camp,
• 39:59
  Speaker 4: but I will say they are trying their best to
• 40:02
  Speaker 4: keep some of the physicality and some of the edginess
• 40:05
  Speaker 4: that you have to have in camp to make sure
• 40:07
  Speaker 4: that the team.
• 40:08
  Speaker 3: Is ready to go in September.
• 40:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a line to walk in. It certainly feels
• 40:11
  Speaker 2: the last seven or 10 days have been really notable
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: to me. in the fact that this team really had
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: two good practices when it mattered against the other opponent,
• 40:22
  Speaker 2: the energy, it just feels like a team that whatever
• 40:25
  Speaker 2: was going on for a couple of weeks with, you know,
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: not quite having the practice they wanted to against new Orleans.
• 40:30
  Speaker 2: This feels like a team going in the right direction
• 40:32
  Speaker 2: at the right time. Um, somebody who was in camp Coughlin's, uh,
• 40:38
  Speaker 2: Tony Buscelli, uh, the executive vice president football operation. We
• 40:41
  Speaker 2: haven't talked about this a whole lot on our show.
• 40:42
  Speaker 2: So I want to talk to you, Bucky. Um, he
• 40:45
  Speaker 2: was named to the competition committee this week and I
• 40:49
  Speaker 2: kind of went back to him and talked to him
• 40:50
  Speaker 2: for a second. I said, so this league has reached
• 40:53
  Speaker 2: the point where you're on the competition committee. And he
• 40:56
  Speaker 2: laughed because there's a little, you know, he grew up
• 40:58
  Speaker 2: like I did the same time of, of the competition.
• 41:02
  Speaker 2: The competition committee is a big deal. It's prestigious. And
• 41:07
  Speaker 2: as soon as I said that, I said, look, and
• 41:09
  Speaker 2: I'll share this with the viewers or, I think him
• 41:12
  Speaker 2: being on the committee is an absolute home run for
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: the committee. I think Tony Buscelli is exactly what you
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: want on the committee, a former player, an incredibly smart
• 41:23
  Speaker 2: guy when it comes to football who cares about it,
• 41:26
  Speaker 2: cares about the legacy of the game, the integrity of
• 41:28
  Speaker 2: the game. And this is what the competition committee is.
• 41:32
  Speaker 2: It's short-term rule. But people on the competition committee take
• 41:37
  Speaker 2: very seriously– I don't know if stewards is the right word,
• 41:42
  Speaker 2: but protecting the game and understanding what it is. So
• 41:48
  Speaker 2: as much as I tease Tony, I've known him forever.
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: This is a really, really good move for the league.
• 41:53
  Speaker 2: I think it's really cool for him. And I completely
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: trust that he will take this process seriously and it
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: matters to him a lot. I'm really happy that he's
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: on it.
• 42:03
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I love it from a few different perspectives. One,
• 42:06
  Speaker 4: obviously the role that he's currently in with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• 42:09
  Speaker 4: it's significant that the members would deem him to be
• 42:13
  Speaker 4: someone that you want to add to committee. What that
• 42:16
  Speaker 4: is is a tip of the cap to what the
• 42:17
  Speaker 4: Jaguars have done in the short time that he has
• 42:19
  Speaker 4: been in one of these leadership roles. Secondly, I'm going
• 42:22
  Speaker 4: to be honest with you, John, to have a former
• 42:24
  Speaker 4: player in that room is significant.
• 42:27
  Speaker 3: A gold jacket player at that.
• 42:29
  Speaker 2: Because a lot of coaches, but you're right, there's not
• 42:31
  Speaker 2: a lot of– Lynch is there. But Lynch and Buscelli, again,
• 42:36
  Speaker 2: those are the kind of guys who ought to be
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: in the room.
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: Go ahead, Bob.
• 42:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, two great players. You talk about two Hall of
• 42:41
  Speaker 4: Fame players who've done everything that you could accomplish on
• 42:43
  Speaker 4: the field. Now they're able to lend that expertise to
• 42:46
  Speaker 4: the competition committee when it comes to on-field and off-field
• 42:50
  Speaker 4: things to make the game better.
• 42:52
  Speaker 3: I love that.
• 42:53
  Speaker 4: And then finally, let's just be honest. Tony's just a
• 42:56
  Speaker 4: really good dude. And you love to see good things
• 42:59
  Speaker 4: happen to good people. So in a little over a year,
• 43:04
  Speaker 4: all of the great things that have happened to Tony
• 43:06
  Speaker 4: Buscelli are well-deserved. And I love that he is able
• 43:09
  Speaker 4: to kind of continue to climb the ranks as an
• 43:13
  Speaker 4: executive and as a former player who has really made
• 43:16
  Speaker 4: a lot of former players really proud of his progress
• 43:18
  Speaker 4: and the work that he's done.
• 43:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, those conversations that happen in that room are very
• 43:22
  Speaker 2: important to the league. And the conversations are better or
• 43:27
  Speaker 2: will be better with Tony Buscelli in them. So final
• 43:30
  Speaker 2: thing before we get out, Buck, camp's wrapping. You know,
• 43:35
  Speaker 2: there's one more preseason game, but it's evaluation– Are they
• 43:39
  Speaker 2: ready for it? I mean, are you excited about what
• 43:42
  Speaker 2: you've seen, heard? How ready are they for this? Because
• 43:47
  Speaker 2: the hay's sort of in the barn in the sense
• 43:51
  Speaker 2: of being ready. There's prep. There's game planning. But this
• 43:55
  Speaker 2: is the team.
• 43:57
  Speaker 4: This 100% is the team.
• 43:59
  Speaker 3: Now, here's what I was saying.
• 44:00
  Speaker 4: This is what will make the coaches sleep better at
• 44:03
  Speaker 4: night over the course of the weekend. They need to
• 44:05
  Speaker 4: play better in the preseason finale. Didn't play a lot
• 44:09
  Speaker 4: of good football the last week. So I think all
• 44:11
  Speaker 4: the backups, all the young guys that get an opportunity
• 44:13
  Speaker 4: to play, it is probably incumbent upon them to play better.
• 44:16
  Speaker 4: I'm sure that message will be stressed to them from
• 44:18
  Speaker 4: the coaches. And no matter who's out there, when you
• 44:20
  Speaker 4: take on the field in that uniform, you have a
• 44:23
  Speaker 4: certain standard that you want to see. For the veteran players,
• 44:26
  Speaker 4: it's about encouraging the young players. It's about sharing that information,
• 44:29
  Speaker 4: getting them ready. Because, John, we talk about this and
• 44:32
  Speaker 4: it's going to happen tomorrow. when you get to about
• 44:33
  Speaker 4: week 12, 13, 14, some of these young guys that
• 44:37
  Speaker 4: are playing in the game are going to be on
• 44:39
  Speaker 4: the field for the Jaguars in a stretch run where
• 44:43
  Speaker 4: you need those guys to play well.
• 44:44
  Speaker 3: So let's make sure those guys are prepared and ready
• 44:46
  Speaker 3: to play. So I'm excited to see it.
• 44:48
  Speaker 4: I think it's a big game for the backups and
• 44:51
  Speaker 4: the bubble players, but I think it's also a big
• 44:53
  Speaker 4: game for the veteran players to find out which of
• 44:54
  Speaker 4: their teammates they will be able to trust when it
• 44:57
  Speaker 4: matters down the stretch.
• 44:59
  Speaker 2: I'm about to say goodbye, as my notes from J.P.
• 45:02
  Speaker 2: Shraddick tell me I need to do now. So goodbye
• 45:04
  Speaker 2: to Bucky Brooks. This has been Huddle Up with Bucky Brooks.
• 45:08
  Speaker 2: Thank you to Brent Reber, Joy Fortunato, Dave DeCandis, and
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: thank you to Bucky Brooks. I'm John Osier. This is
• 45:14
  Speaker 2: the Huddle Up Podcast.