Latest / Jags A.M. / Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 263 | Holding Strong Within the Division: What It Will Take to Beat the Colts

Transcript

Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 263 | Holding Strong Within the Division: What It Will Take to Beat the Colts · Jags A.M.

0:16
Speaker 1: Welcome into the Hyundai Studios inside the Miller Electric Center.
0:20
Speaker 1: Time for a Thursday edition of Jags AM. Brought to
0:23
Speaker 1: you by GEHA, Government Employees Health Association. I'm Brian Sexton,
0:29
Speaker 1: the senior writer, John Ogier is here, and the coach,
0:33
Speaker 1: Mark Duffner, alongside. Here we go with big things, and
0:37
Speaker 1: we'll start with number one, which is.
0:40
Speaker 2: dominate.
0:41
Speaker 1: The Colts have traded away their best offensive lineman and
0:43
Speaker 1: their best defensive lineman. Look, at 2-5, they're not a
0:47
Speaker 1: great team anyway, but this week, you've got to go
0:50
Speaker 1: get the job done against a team that's raising the
0:52
Speaker 1: white flag. Now, that's not the approach that head coach
0:55
Speaker 1: Liam Cohen had. He shared it with the media on Wednesday.
0:58
Speaker 3: It's two good players. We can't deny that, right? But
1:03
Speaker 3: knowing what this team is, knowing what that team is
1:06
Speaker 3: going to want to do, this has to all be
1:09
Speaker 3: about our improvements, us getting back on track, got a
1:15
Speaker 3: good division opponent that we're playing at home. And, you know,
1:18
Speaker 3: the focus level getting in pads today has to be
1:22
Speaker 3: about our execution, our fundamentals and technique, you know, because
1:27
Speaker 3: you just can't control that stuff. And if you think
1:30
Speaker 3: about it too much, it typically doesn't help.
1:32
Speaker 2: John, we're talking about it.
1:33
Speaker 1: That's what we do, the trade deadline and players moving
1:37
Speaker 1: and what it means for the division, the Colts and
1:39
Speaker 1: We'll do that this morning. The coach says it's not
1:42
Speaker 1: about who's playing. It's about us and the way we
1:45
Speaker 1: get things done. Now, we've heard that a lot in
1:47
Speaker 1: recent weeks, but it seems, especially with the chaos and
1:50
Speaker 1: confusion in the Colts locker room, that this week the
1:53
Speaker 1: Jags can't listen to any of that. They have to
1:55
Speaker 1: focus on who they are and what they need to
1:57
Speaker 1: do better.
1:58
Speaker 4: Yeah, people never want to hear this because it sounds
2:00
Speaker 4: like coach speak. It sounds like you're channeling coaches. But yes,
2:04
Speaker 4: the Jaguars should dominate this game. But they're only going
2:07
Speaker 4: to do that if they play well, if they execute.
2:10
Speaker 4: If they play like what they are, then they are
2:13
Speaker 4: much better than the Colts. If they don't play well, Duff,
2:16
Speaker 4: then it's the NFL. And anybody who's been around it
2:21
Speaker 4: has seen plenty of teams get bit in a week
2:24
Speaker 4: where everybody outside is saying, oh, they'll win that easy.
2:28
Speaker 4: I get that people don't want to hear it, but
2:29
Speaker 4: there's no such thing.
2:30
Speaker 2: No, absolutely. I mean, that's the key. Every week, you've
2:32
Speaker 2: got to ignore the noise from external, if you will,
2:35
Speaker 2: and focus in on on what the task at hand is,
2:38
Speaker 2: and that's to play your best, to execute, to utilize
2:40
Speaker 2: good technique and fundamentals. And really, I think that is
2:43
Speaker 2: the focus for this team right now. Kind of anxious
2:45
Speaker 2: to get back after a loss that they had in
2:48
Speaker 2: London right now and get back into the winning ways.
2:50
Speaker 2: So that'll be the focus they've got, I'm sure.
2:52
Speaker 4: Now, Brian, sorry, I do think this is a game
2:56
Speaker 4: where if the Jags play to their identity, we've talked
3:00
Speaker 4: about it all week, Brian, if they're more physical on
3:03
Speaker 4: both sides of the ball, then I think they do
3:05
Speaker 4: dominate and will be helped by the fact that those
3:07
Speaker 4: two guys who could make you not dominate aren't there.
3:10
Speaker 4: So to your point, it should be dominate if the
3:14
Speaker 4: Jags play the way they want to play.
3:16
Speaker 1: If they're the more physical team. Well, speaking of improvement,
3:18
Speaker 1: the defense is our second big thing. It didn't have
3:22
Speaker 1: its best game. In fact, it had its least productive
3:24
Speaker 1: game of the season against Houston and London, giving up
3:27
Speaker 1: 34 points. They're still stinging a bit from that in
3:30
Speaker 1: particular the explosive plays down the field. Jaguars are 31st
3:34
Speaker 1: in the league in explosive play percentage allowed. They know
3:38
Speaker 1: that's got to get better, and the head coach yesterday
3:41
Speaker 1: talked with the media about the pass defense overall.
3:45
Speaker 2: It starts with get off.
3:46
Speaker 3: It starts with hand usage. It starts with mixing in
3:50
Speaker 3: pressure looks, right, to help get the back eaten up.
3:54
Speaker 3: Or now we've got one-on-one matchups, different spots. And so,
3:57
Speaker 3: you know, it has to get better. We need it
4:00
Speaker 3: to get it better, but it also has to help,
4:01
Speaker 3: you know, the back end's got to help. The second
4:03
Speaker 3: level of the defense has to help with some of
4:05
Speaker 3: those things. You know, when you get the ball thrown
4:08
Speaker 3: over your head, then it doesn't help the rush.
4:12
Speaker 1: So we can talk about the pass rush and the
4:14
Speaker 1: guys up front needing more from your marquee players like
4:17
Speaker 1: Josh Hines-Allen and Trayvon Walker. But Duff, there is an
4:21
Speaker 1: immediate area where the Jaguars are reinforced with the return
4:26
Speaker 1: of Monteric Brown, who was on the practice field on Wednesday.
4:28
Speaker 1: We don't know about Antonio Johnson. He's a big part
4:31
Speaker 1: of what they do. But getting Monteric back, getting some flexibility,
4:35
Speaker 1: getting Jarrion Jones into a situation where he can play
4:38
Speaker 1: more comfortably. He's the most targeted guy on this roster
4:41
Speaker 1: right now. So Monteric coming back would perhaps take some
4:43
Speaker 1: of the pressure off of him. They can play better
4:46
Speaker 1: with better communication on the back end. and improve the
4:49
Speaker 1: pass rush.
4:49
Speaker 2: Well, Brian, I think what you just talked about is
4:51
Speaker 2: critical in this communication. I think Monteric Brown is a
4:55
Speaker 2: key component to that. I mean, again, he brings confidence,
4:57
Speaker 2: he brings leadership, he brings experience, and he brings ultimate
5:01
Speaker 2: great communication to that group. And that's what you've got
5:04
Speaker 2: to have. When you don't have that, now the possibility
5:06
Speaker 2: of explosions... Explosive plays and missed assignments show up right now.
5:11
Speaker 2: So bringing back confidence, bringing back communication, bringing back leadership
5:16
Speaker 2: is going to be a big component to success our
5:18
Speaker 2: secondary continues to move forward with.
5:20
Speaker 4: Look, explosives are maybe the biggest issue for this defense.
5:26
Speaker 4: But you sort of trumped me from saying this, Brian.
5:29
Speaker 4: You can talk all you want about the back end.
5:32
Speaker 4: If pressure doesn't get there, it gives you so much
5:35
Speaker 4: time for explosives People were talking about trading for a
5:37
Speaker 4: corner at, I don't think they need reinforcements in the secondary.
5:42
Speaker 4: I think they're going to, you know, they need to
5:44
Speaker 4: get more pressure up front, but they also do need
5:46
Speaker 4: to communicate better. And some of this is just when
5:50
Speaker 4: the ball's in the air, Travis Hunter makes plays on
5:53
Speaker 4: the ball. The other guys need to make plays on
5:56
Speaker 4: the ball and knock it down in a couple of situations.
5:59
Speaker 4: That sounds so basic, but sometimes it's about executing and
6:02
Speaker 4: making the play in the moment. Uh, If they do
6:05
Speaker 4: that a couple more times, if you eliminate one explosive
6:07
Speaker 4: a game, then all of a sudden you're a lot better.
6:10
Speaker 4: But yes, it's the huge issue facing the defense right now.
6:14
Speaker 1: John, I do think that, and it wasn't talked about
6:17
Speaker 1: a ton, the absence of Antonio Johnson for most of
6:19
Speaker 1: the second half in the game in London against Houston
6:22
Speaker 1: was a killer. He is so important to what they do. Now,
6:26
Speaker 1: he didn't practice on Wednesday. We're not sure about the
6:28
Speaker 1: rest of the week. And obviously, you've got a quick turnaround. Sunday,
6:31
Speaker 1: they have the Colts. And Thursday night, they're in Baltimore
6:34
Speaker 1: against the Ravens. So we'll see what Liam Cohen's approach
6:37
Speaker 1: is here. But he is so critical to what they
6:39
Speaker 1: do in the back end.
6:40
Speaker 4: Well, sometimes when you're talking about games, storylines kind of
6:45
Speaker 4: get lost. I still think the footing in London in
6:49
Speaker 4: that Wembley game had a huge impact on there being
6:52
Speaker 4: 34 points. It was such an outlier of what this
6:54
Speaker 4: defense has done all year. So I don't think they're
6:57
Speaker 4: going to get up 34 every week. But to your point,
7:00
Speaker 4: Antonio Johnson is more than just a safety on this team.
7:05
Speaker 4: He allows them to be more versatile. He allows them
7:07
Speaker 4: to get into defenses and play schemes that you otherwise
7:11
Speaker 4: can't play. His communication is high end. With apologies to
7:15
Speaker 4: Travis Hunter, Antonio Johnson is as important as anybody in
7:19
Speaker 4: the secondary.
7:20
Speaker 2: Got it. And let me just add real quickly, I mean,
7:22
Speaker 2: his big playability is right there. I mean, this guy
7:26
Speaker 2: affects the run game. He affects pass rush, pressure, blitz,
7:29
Speaker 2: all those things. Again, he has a major impact on
7:32
Speaker 2: the defense. And, again, getting him back will be real
7:35
Speaker 2: key for us moving forward.
7:37
Speaker 1: All right, let's finish big things this morning with the
7:39
Speaker 1: division in the AFC South. Listen, the Jaguars, as we
7:42
Speaker 1: talked about, won on Sunday, and they were off. when
7:45
Speaker 1: all three teams in the division drop their games in
7:48
Speaker 1: week seven. So right now the Jaguars are sitting, and
7:51
Speaker 1: we'll take a look at the standings, two and a
7:53
Speaker 1: half games in front of the Houston Texans.
7:55
Speaker 2: Guys, I'd like your thoughts.
7:56
Speaker 1: Listen, the Texans are off this week, so if the
7:58
Speaker 1: Jaguars beat the Colts, who are two and five, then
8:00
Speaker 1: all of a sudden you've got a three-game lead heading
8:03
Speaker 1: into November, which is that time of the year. when
8:06
Speaker 1: the contenders and the pretenders separate from one another. I'm
8:10
Speaker 1: not sure the Titans are going to be a factor
8:11
Speaker 1: this year, maybe not even next year. They've got a
8:14
Speaker 1: lot of issues as well. But they're playing the Bengals, so,
8:17
Speaker 1: I mean, it's just they're still in their spiral. Listen,
8:19
Speaker 1: we talked about dominate. You can dominate the division standings.
8:22
Speaker 1: If you go win this week, you can be in
8:24
Speaker 1: a great spot, John.
8:25
Speaker 4: Yeah, I like to use tennis analogies, and I'm not
8:28
Speaker 4: sure how well this one works, but it's almost like
8:30
Speaker 4: the division– it's almost like the Texans double faulted. And
8:33
Speaker 4: all of a sudden, wow, you've got this opportunity to
8:35
Speaker 4: break serve again. They had a chance to go up
8:38
Speaker 4: three games in London and really feel like you had
8:42
Speaker 4: the division in your grasp. And then, boy, that deflated
8:45
Speaker 4: feeling out of London, everybody felt it. Well, all of
8:48
Speaker 4: a sudden, they kind of got a gift back, right?
8:50
Speaker 4: They doubled twice into the net, and now you've got
8:52
Speaker 4: a chance. I think if they win on Sunday, Duff,
8:56
Speaker 4: you really have that same feeling. You didn't beat the Texans,
8:59
Speaker 4: but you have that same feeling of it. It's all
9:02
Speaker 4: in front of us now.
9:03
Speaker 2: Oh, absolutely. And again, that's the focus right now. One
9:06
Speaker 2: game at a time. Keep stacking them up right now.
9:08
Speaker 2: You know, God rewards those that play hard. I know
9:11
Speaker 2: Coach Campanile says he rewards those that run to the ball,
9:14
Speaker 2: but God rewards those that play hard. And we got
9:17
Speaker 2: a good gift from the good Lord this weekend in
9:19
Speaker 2: terms of the way the standings are. Now we just
9:21
Speaker 2: got to take advantage of it right now with Indianapolis
9:24
Speaker 2: Colts and the Bulls on.
9:25
Speaker 1: All right, those are big things on a Thursday morning.
9:27
Speaker 1: We've got a great show for you. Coming up, Behind
9:29
Speaker 1: Enemy Lines, Kai Stevens gives us some perspective talking to
9:33
Speaker 1: a reporter from Indianapolis about all the going-ons around the Colts.
9:37
Speaker 1: We're back with more from the Hyundai Studios in Jacksonville
9:40
Speaker 1: right after this.
9:50
Speaker 5: Welcome to Behind Enemy Lines, where we check in with
9:51
Speaker 5: a media member of the Jaguars opposing team. And this week,
9:55
Speaker 5: it's right in the AFC South. so it's the Indianapolis
9:57
Speaker 5: Colts so we're checking in with Alexa Ross our Colts
9:59
Speaker 5: insider and it's been quite a week for you certainly
10:03
Speaker 5: busy to say the least but what's been going on
10:05
Speaker 5: try to sum it up if you can what's been
10:07
Speaker 5: going on in Indy lately?
10:08
Speaker 6: Yeah two big departures in the trenches on both sides
10:11
Speaker 6: of the ball for the Colts DeForest Buckner longtime interior
10:14
Speaker 6: defensive lineman he is heading back to San Francisco he
10:17
Speaker 6: was traded back to the 49ers and Quinton Nelson, longtime
10:20
Speaker 6: All-Pro guard, is also heading out the door. He is
10:23
Speaker 6: going to the Seattle Seahawks. So both older guys with
10:28
Speaker 6: hopes to do really well being traded to contenders. And
10:31
Speaker 6: I think that just goes to show the fire sails
10:33
Speaker 6: on with the horseshoe. And the focus might be more
10:36
Speaker 6: of the future than necessarily the present.
10:39
Speaker 5: As we look towards this week specifically, DeForest Buckner, we know,
10:42
Speaker 5: has been kind of an anchor in the middle of
10:44
Speaker 5: that for a while now. What's that going to look
10:46
Speaker 5: like now without him there?
10:48
Speaker 6: Yeah, I think you're going to see a lot of, truthfully,
10:51
Speaker 6: I think it's going to be a little chaotic. Edge
10:54
Speaker 6: rushers have been a bit of an issue for the
10:56
Speaker 6: Colts in years past anyway, but you always had that
10:59
Speaker 6: dynamic duo of DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, right, to
11:02
Speaker 6: kind of hold it down and make sure that they
11:04
Speaker 6: were able to at least try and get to the quarterback,
11:06
Speaker 6: try and make life a little more uncomfortable for Trevor Lawrence.
11:09
Speaker 6: But I think that we're going to see a little
11:11
Speaker 6: bit less of that. We have to see kind of
11:13
Speaker 6: who is tasked to fill that role, if it's maybe–
11:17
Speaker 6: a defensive lineman who's a bit younger, who maybe normally
11:19
Speaker 6: played on the outside that they're going to slide inward or, or,
11:23
Speaker 6: or what it's, it's one of those things that we're
11:25
Speaker 6: just going to have to wait and see this defense
11:26
Speaker 6: has struggled throughout the early, you know, this early season.
11:30
Speaker 6: And so they don't necessarily have a lot of flexibility
11:34
Speaker 6: to kind of figure it out.
11:35
Speaker 2: Right.
11:35
Speaker 6: So I think that in a defense that has already
11:38
Speaker 6: kind of lost its leadership over the years with the
11:40
Speaker 6: departures of guys like sire Franklin, Kenny Moore, the second,
11:44
Speaker 6: you are now in a place of, Hey, what we
11:47
Speaker 6: really have to rely on these veterans in the defensive backfield,
11:51
Speaker 6: like Cam Bynum and Mooney Ward.
11:54
Speaker 5: Offensively, Daniel Jones, last time he was here, unfortunately had
11:57
Speaker 5: that Achilles injury. He's been working back from that and
11:59
Speaker 5: still trying to get his footing. It seems like we
12:02
Speaker 5: don't know what the Jonathan Taylor situation is going to be,
12:04
Speaker 5: but offensively, does it just feel like Jones is still
12:07
Speaker 5: trying to figure things out?
12:09
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's crazy to think about, right? Because during training camp,
12:12
Speaker 6: it's one of the biggest questions we asked is how
12:14
Speaker 6: does Daniel Jones look? How has he, how have you
12:17
Speaker 6: as an offensive player kind of seen where he starts
12:20
Speaker 6: to shake out, right? And everyone said, you know, he
12:22
Speaker 6: looks great. He looks like he never got hurt. And
12:25
Speaker 6: it looks like a thing where we're going to be
12:29
Speaker 6: able to pick up right where we left off and
12:30
Speaker 6: have that hot start like we did. And clearly that's
12:33
Speaker 6: not been the case, right? He's had issues holding onto
12:36
Speaker 6: the ball, 10 turnovers so far through seven games. It's
12:39
Speaker 6: been a real problem, but Shane Steichen is committed to
12:42
Speaker 6: Daniel Jones as his quarterback because he lauds his ability
12:45
Speaker 6: to prepare and also just his work ethic as a
12:50
Speaker 6: whole beyond just game preparation, just what he does throughout
12:53
Speaker 6: the week, the kind of leader he is, things like that.
12:55
Speaker 6: But those kinds of things have to be seen on
12:58
Speaker 6: the field as well. You can't just have those intangibles
13:00
Speaker 6: just on the practice field, you have to be able
13:04
Speaker 6: to take that out as well.
13:06
Speaker 5: We always know the AFC South games, we never overlook
13:09
Speaker 5: because these teams know each other so well, anything can happen.
13:12
Speaker 5: But looking towards this Sunday, who do you feel like
13:14
Speaker 5: on offense, maybe giving an X-Factor player on each side,
13:17
Speaker 5: who needs to have a good game if the Colts
13:18
Speaker 5: want to get a win?
13:20
Speaker 6: Yeah, I mean, Jonathan Taylor is the easy answer, right?
13:22
Speaker 6: Because whenever he gets going, it's it spells wonder for
13:26
Speaker 6: the Colts. But he's had a relatively quiet season. He's
13:29
Speaker 6: not rushed for more than 100 yards yet this year.
13:32
Speaker 6: He has come close. He's had two 95-yard games, but
13:35
Speaker 6: that's still not what you expect out of a league
13:38
Speaker 6: leading back, a guy who's had MVP-like seasons. He ripped
13:41
Speaker 6: off his longest run of the year in Minneapolis this
13:44
Speaker 6: past weekend, a 38-yard touchdown run to start things off.
13:47
Speaker 6: And unfortunately, it all kind of went downhill from there.
13:50
Speaker 6: But I think that that'll be a good sign, too,
13:52
Speaker 6: just that the offensive line with the departure of longtime
13:56
Speaker 6: guard Quinton Nelson is able to hold it down. I'm
13:59
Speaker 6: eager to see if the Colts move their rookie in,
14:02
Speaker 6: which is Jalen Farmer out of Kentucky, if he fills
14:05
Speaker 6: that spot and to see what he can do, because
14:07
Speaker 6: ultimately that's going to be a big thing. But I
14:09
Speaker 6: think it's all going to come from the backfield anyway.
14:11
Speaker 6: I think Seth McGowan is going to be a huge
14:13
Speaker 6: guy as well. He filled in as both the kicker
14:16
Speaker 6: turner and came in to be a supplemental RB2 to JT.
14:20
Speaker 6: And he had the great game of his young career. So,
14:23
Speaker 6: so far, I think that he's going to be a
14:25
Speaker 6: guy we have to look at as a, I think
14:28
Speaker 6: if he has a good game, the Colts will have
14:29
Speaker 6: a good one as well. And then defensively, I think
14:32
Speaker 6: Cam Bynum is going to have to, going to have
14:35
Speaker 6: to run and be all over whatever the Jags have
14:38
Speaker 6: going on. I think that he has been able to
14:41
Speaker 6: force turnovers in a way that this defense has been
14:43
Speaker 6: struggling to do. So I think if they're able to,
14:46
Speaker 6: you know, intercept Trevor Lawrence or just kind of get
14:49
Speaker 6: in the way and make a little commotion.
14:50
Speaker 3: I think that things will.
14:52
Speaker 6: Feel a little more in control for the horseshoes, but
14:55
Speaker 6: the Jags certainly have that home field advantage coming up
14:58
Speaker 6: this Sunday.
14:58
Speaker 5: They do, but it's always going to be an interesting
15:01
Speaker 5: one when these two teams face off. So we'll see
15:02
Speaker 5: you on Sunday. Awesome.
15:04
Speaker 6: Thank you.
15:04
Speaker 5: That was Behind Enemy Lines. Stick with us here on
15:06
Speaker 5: Jags AM. Coming up, we'll give you our keys to
15:09
Speaker 5: victory against the Colts.
15:15
Speaker 1: Well, Suddath is Florida's most trusted and dependable moving company.
15:19
Speaker 1: Suddath is proud to be the official moving company of
15:21
Speaker 1: the Jacksonville Jaguars. To get a guaranteed quote, visit suddath.com
15:26
Speaker 1: slash Jacksonville. And we're back in the Hyundai studios on
15:29
Speaker 1: Jags AM. Brian John and the coach, Mark Duffner, who
15:34
Speaker 1: we send off the couch to the board to give
15:37
Speaker 1: us his what-ifs for Sunday and a Jacksonville win over
15:40
Speaker 1: the Colts.
15:41
Speaker 2: Coach, go get them. Brian and John, I can't wait
15:44
Speaker 2: for this segment right now. I love this now. It's
15:46
Speaker 2: going to be about matchups today. First of all, number one,
15:49
Speaker 2: win the run game. Right now, with Tootin and Rodriguez,
15:53
Speaker 2: that two-headed monster we got there, over four yards a
15:56
Speaker 2: carry right now, attacking Indianapolis' run game right now, which
15:59
Speaker 2: is about 22nd in the league, their run defense right now.
16:02
Speaker 2: So we've got to win that in the trenches. It's
16:05
Speaker 2: going to help us a little bit, the fact that
16:06
Speaker 2: they've got DeForest Buckner out of that unit right now,
16:09
Speaker 2: a dominant player for them. But that's something we've got
16:11
Speaker 2: to dominate to help our passing game, to help move
16:14
Speaker 2: the sticks. And then the other side of the football,
16:16
Speaker 2: we've got to stop the run. Again, we're number one
16:18
Speaker 2: right now in yards per carry and yards per game.
16:20
Speaker 2: Outstanding right now. But Indianapolis' running game last week, over
16:25
Speaker 2: 150 yards against Minnesota. Jonathan Taylor, 94 yards against Tennessee
16:29
Speaker 2: the week before, 95 yards against Minnesota. against Minnesota last week,
16:34
Speaker 2: and then McGowan, another running back right now. So their
16:36
Speaker 2: running game is spiking up right now. That's an area
16:39
Speaker 2: we've got to dominate in terms of play, big time
16:42
Speaker 2: in terms of their running game. Number two, Trevor stays hot.
16:46
Speaker 2: Right now he's at the top of the league in
16:48
Speaker 2: almost every category in the top five, passing, touchdowns, everything,
16:52
Speaker 2: playing great. Last two games, over 300 yards apiece. So outstanding.
16:58
Speaker 2: That's going to be an onus for our offensive line
17:00
Speaker 2: and running back to continue to protect him. But going
17:02
Speaker 2: against an Indianapolis secondary right now, it's a little bit
17:05
Speaker 2: banged up. They've got Sauce Gardner, I think, with a calf.
17:08
Speaker 2: They've got Wally, I think, with a groin right now.
17:11
Speaker 2: They're a nickel corner. Cam Taylor-Britt out on IR injuries
17:14
Speaker 2: right now. I had a practice squad player come up
17:16
Speaker 2: and play corner, so... A banged-up secondary right now. Again,
17:20
Speaker 2: Buckner out of the mix in terms of rush. Stay
17:22
Speaker 2: hot right now. Move the football. Attack a defense that
17:25
Speaker 2: will utilize disguise quite a bit. I know Lou Anarumo.
17:28
Speaker 2: I know where he's going with that. And number three
17:30
Speaker 2: right now, getting better. Getting better right now across the board.
17:34
Speaker 2: One of the big focal areas will be in our
17:36
Speaker 2: pass defense. Right now, we're towards the back end of
17:38
Speaker 2: the league right now. Uncharacteristic for us. Had over 300 yards,
17:42
Speaker 2: I think, passing the last couple games. and too many
17:44
Speaker 2: past explosives run, passes over 20 yards. So getting that
17:49
Speaker 2: fixed right now against, you know, Very good passing attack
17:53
Speaker 2: right now that's been streaky in terms of Daniel Jones
17:55
Speaker 2: and the receivers that they've got right now. Downs, Treadwell,
17:59
Speaker 2: Keenan Allen, Warren, a tight end that's one of the
18:02
Speaker 2: best in the league, and there are two running backs. So, again,
18:05
Speaker 2: rushing coverage, working together, playing sticky coverage as far as
18:10
Speaker 2: that's concerned, good communications. Let's get the ball from when
18:13
Speaker 2: the turnovers, those are areas to get better.
18:16
Speaker 1: All right, let's go to the top, Duff, and talk
18:17
Speaker 1: about stopping Jonathan Taylor, who we assume will play on Sunday.
18:21
Speaker 1: He hasn't been traded yet. It's Thursday as we talk
18:24
Speaker 1: about this. He'll probably be here on Sunday. Last year,
18:27
Speaker 1: the Jaguars held him to 74 rushing yards on 21
18:31
Speaker 1: carries here. They held him to 70 yards on 20
18:34
Speaker 1: carries there. They were pretty good against him, but he's
18:37
Speaker 1: been able to explode against them at times in his career.
18:41
Speaker 1: So what's the key to Jonathan Taylor, who seems to
18:43
Speaker 1: be a guy who can turn on a dime and go?
18:45
Speaker 2: Well, shoot, we're going to have to play disciplined defense
18:47
Speaker 2: right now. Everybody doing their responsibility, being run sound in
18:51
Speaker 2: terms of run fits, gap sound in terms of run fits,
18:53
Speaker 2: and tackling. This guy can get yards after the carry
18:57
Speaker 2: big time. So, again, tackling will be a factor for
19:00
Speaker 2: us right now. He's hot right now. Their offense is
19:03
Speaker 2: going to run through him. They want to have ball control.
19:05
Speaker 2: They want to control the clock. They want to run
19:07
Speaker 2: the football. That's going to be key for us. Duff,
19:10
Speaker 2: I'll go the other way.
19:12
Speaker 4: Jaguars, running backs, the running game– It feels to me,
19:17
Speaker 4: maybe not each week progressively, but overall, they are getting
19:21
Speaker 4: closer to being the running team they want to be.
19:25
Speaker 4: I think they've hit it at times.
19:26
Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
19:28
Speaker 4: I guess talk about Tootin and Rodriguez. And I think
19:33
Speaker 4: we knew that Rodriguez was this physical. But these are
19:37
Speaker 4: two physical guys, and it feels like by season's end,
19:41
Speaker 4: if everybody's healthy, This could be a playoff, grind it out,
19:45
Speaker 4: punch you in the mouth type of offense But I'm
19:48
Speaker 4: not sure people nationally see this team that way yet.
19:51
Speaker 2: Well, I'm with you, John. I see it that way
19:53
Speaker 2: for sure. And I think the offensive line, first of all,
19:56
Speaker 2: needs to be lauded for their play in terms of
19:59
Speaker 2: the run game. My God, they're committed right now to
20:01
Speaker 2: being a physical group that knocks you off the football
20:04
Speaker 2: and can get to tough yards. And then, as you
20:06
Speaker 2: just mentioned, what Basial Tootin has done And Chris Rodriguez,
20:09
Speaker 2: Chris Rodriguez ran over the Houston linebacker last week for,
20:14
Speaker 2: you know, the biggest explosive run that he had. I mean,
20:16
Speaker 2: the physicality that we're seeing from our running backs, and
20:19
Speaker 2: we're inches from breaking them. We have broken them. Penalty
20:21
Speaker 2: should have brought them back. But we're inches from getting
20:23
Speaker 2: the big, big explosive runs we want. But the physicality
20:27
Speaker 2: starts with the offensive line, the blocking schemes, the way
20:30
Speaker 2: they're finishing right now, and a little bit more finish
20:32
Speaker 2: as far as that's going to spring these big plays.
20:35
Speaker 1: I've got a thought on Trevor Lawrence. In all of
20:37
Speaker 1: your years in football, you've seen great quarterbacks playing at
20:40
Speaker 1: a high level. Can you put into perspective where he
20:43
Speaker 1: is as we head into week eight in the NFL?
20:47
Speaker 2: Brian, I really like where he is right now. I
20:49
Speaker 2: see confidence out there. I see leadership. I see command
20:52
Speaker 2: of the offense. I see really good throws. I see
20:56
Speaker 2: utilizing his legs way more now, and he feels the
20:59
Speaker 2: right time to use it, which puts stress on the defense.
21:02
Speaker 2: I mean, I I just, again, it's not a one-man show,
21:05
Speaker 2: but boy, what he's doing in terms of moving the chains,
21:09
Speaker 2: scoring points, making good decisions, getting the ball out, throwing
21:12
Speaker 2: the ball on time. I mean, it's been excellent. I
21:15
Speaker 2: see it only getting better and better. He hasn't reached
21:17
Speaker 2: the pinnacle yet. He's ascending.
21:20
Speaker 4: Duff, you know far more about what scheming looks like
21:23
Speaker 4: than I do, but it seems like they really put
21:27
Speaker 4: Trevor in positions to succeed, meaning The choices that he's
21:33
Speaker 4: asked to make seem very clear-cut. There's very little uncertainty
21:38
Speaker 4: in the pocket. I'm not saying he'll never throw a
21:39
Speaker 4: pick again, but they've really done a good job, I think,
21:45
Speaker 4: of playing to his strengths and putting him in a
21:48
Speaker 4: position to be confident when he goes out there.
21:50
Speaker 2: And, John, what you just described is great coaching. I mean,
21:53
Speaker 2: that's the job of the coach is to put players
21:55
Speaker 2: in a position to take advantage of their strengths and
21:58
Speaker 2: to be successful, and his staff's done it across the board.
22:01
Speaker 2: I like the communication that I feel and see between
22:05
Speaker 2: Trevor and Liam and Grant and Yudinsky. I mean, they've
22:08
Speaker 2: got a good feel, and that's where it starts. You've
22:10
Speaker 2: got to have that kind of connection with your quarterback
22:13
Speaker 2: if you're the coaching staff. And so they have clearly
22:16
Speaker 2: gotten all those other layers, whatever they are, for any player,
22:19
Speaker 2: and they've got a great situation right now where they
22:21
Speaker 2: can probably look at each other and know what they're
22:23
Speaker 2: thinking and how to make plays.
22:25
Speaker 1: All right, Duff, thanks so much. We'll see you back
22:27
Speaker 1: here on the couch for Monday's headlines today in just
22:30
Speaker 1: a moment. As we go to break, we'll tell you
22:32
Speaker 1: that Florida Blue has been here in the Jacksonville community
22:35
Speaker 1: for more than 80 years. They're proud to be presenting
22:39
Speaker 1: sponsor of Sunday's game. Florida Blue, committed to you, committed
22:44
Speaker 1: to Jacksonville. And we are back after this to wrap
22:48
Speaker 1: up Jags AM on a Thursday. Well, see Fields first.
22:57
Speaker 1: Fields is Jacksonville's premier luxury auto group. Go to fieldsauto.com. Brian, John,
23:03
Speaker 1: and Mark with you here on Jags AM from the
23:06
Speaker 1: Hyundai Studios inside the Miller Electric Center. And it is
23:09
Speaker 1: time for Monday's headlines today where we try to give
23:12
Speaker 1: you a little prediction on what we think will happen
23:14
Speaker 1: on Sunday through the magic of a Monday morning headline
23:18
Speaker 1: in our fictional newspaper. John, what you got?
23:21
Speaker 2: I went kind of boring.
23:22
Speaker 4: I went back to normal. and there should be a
23:25
Speaker 4: parenthesis there, their desired normal. Because, you know, I think
23:31
Speaker 4: it's normal for them to stop the run, and I
23:33
Speaker 4: think they want it to be normal to be a
23:36
Speaker 4: dominant running team. So I just feel like coming out
23:39
Speaker 4: of the bye, after the bad taste in Houston, you've
23:43
Speaker 4: got 11 games left. You're probably feeling healthier than you
23:46
Speaker 4: ever have. I think they want to flex this week, Duff.
23:49
Speaker 4: I think they want to show there's nothing better coming
23:52
Speaker 4: out of the bye after the bad taste in Houston.
23:54
Speaker 4: then if they walk off that field holding the Colts
23:56
Speaker 4: to 60 yards rushing and they've got a 140-yard rushing
24:00
Speaker 4: day in their back pocket with maybe a long run,
24:02
Speaker 4: that's what they want to be. I feel like they're
24:04
Speaker 4: going to get to that, and I feel like they'll
24:06
Speaker 4: do that on Sunday.
24:07
Speaker 1: So let me add to that. What else is normal
24:08
Speaker 1: is winning at home. The Jaguars have won six consecutive
24:11
Speaker 1: regular season games here at Everbank Stadium.
24:14
Speaker 4: By like 38 to 11, by the way, the margin
24:15
Speaker 4: of victory.
24:16
Speaker 2: It's incredible.
24:17
Speaker 1: Over 17-point margin of victory in all of them and
24:20
Speaker 1: scored more than 34 points in all of them.
24:23
Speaker 2: Duff, what you got? I got, Brian, I got 12
24:26
Speaker 2: in a row. And what I mean by that is
24:28
Speaker 2: 12 in a row against beating this team, Indianapolis, here
24:32
Speaker 2: in the stadium at home. I'm with John. This team
24:35
Speaker 2: came out with a bad taste in their mouth. I
24:37
Speaker 2: think they're determined coming out of the bye. to fix
24:40
Speaker 2: the things that they've got to fix right now, and
24:41
Speaker 2: to get back to winning ways in a dominant fashion
24:44
Speaker 2: against the Colts.
24:45
Speaker 1: Makes a lot of sense. It is a remarkable string
24:47
Speaker 1: the Jaguars have put together, winning 11 in a row.
24:50
Speaker 4: What's super unbelievable is that includes the win in a
24:54
Speaker 4: 1-15 season. Yeah, the first one against Phillip Rivers in 2020. Yeah,
24:58
Speaker 4: I mean, some of these wins in this streak, It's
25:02
Speaker 4: not like the Jags have been dominant during this streak.
25:04
Speaker 4: They've been bad a couple of years during this streak
25:07
Speaker 4: and still beat.
25:07
Speaker 6: The Colts here.
25:08
Speaker 1: But the Colts have been so inconsistent to quarterback. Among
25:10
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks who have started in that 11-game string, Matt Hasselbeck,
25:15
Speaker 1: Andrew Luck, Jacoby Brissett.
25:17
Speaker 4: There was a 6-3 win over Luck mixed in there, too,
25:21
Speaker 4: when the Colts were really good.
25:23
Speaker 2: Daniel Jones, Joe Flacco. It goes on and on.
25:26
Speaker 1: Eight quarterbacks, for sure. I went with how, not who.
25:30
Speaker 1: In other words... It's how the Jaguars win. John talked
25:33
Speaker 1: a bit about walking off the field, having run the
25:36
Speaker 1: ball for more than 100 and holding the Colts to
25:39
Speaker 1: less than 60, which is kind of the numbers where
25:41
Speaker 1: the Jaguars have been all season. It's how you win
25:44
Speaker 1: this game on Sunday. You dominate by imposing your will,
25:48
Speaker 1: playing your style. Liam Cohen loves to talk about play
25:51
Speaker 1: style with his team. This is our standard. This is
25:54
Speaker 1: who we are. Go and play to your standard. How,
25:57
Speaker 1: not who. Listen, they traded away Quentin Nelson. who's the
26:00
Speaker 1: best guard I've ever watched play football. And then they
26:04
Speaker 1: trade away DeForest Buckner, who is the one guy on
26:07
Speaker 1: their defense that you felt like could really disrupt, even
26:10
Speaker 1: if he should get his hands up in the middle
26:12
Speaker 1: and knocking balls down, making it difficult for Trevor to
26:15
Speaker 1: see down.
26:15
Speaker 2: They're gone.
26:16
Speaker 1: So it's about how you win this game, not who
26:20
Speaker 1: plays for the Indianapolis Colts. So we'll see. I believe
26:23
Speaker 1: all of us think the Jags win on Sunday. Glad
26:25
Speaker 1: to be home after we're 35 days away.
26:28
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, it's like.
26:30
Speaker 2: A year ago for me. I can't believe it. Yeah,
26:33
Speaker 2: glad to be home.
26:33
Speaker 4: It's and don't forget three more road games after this.
26:37
Speaker 4: So this is a enjoy Sunday.
26:40
Speaker 2: Enjoy.
26:40
Speaker 1: It's an important window for the Jaguars in terms of
26:43
Speaker 1: the construction timeline for the stadium. Mark Lamping is going
26:46
Speaker 1: to address that a little bit later today with the
26:48
Speaker 1: media and the Jaguars. If they can get through this
26:50
Speaker 1: with a record that puts them in a position to
26:52
Speaker 1: go into December in a strong spot, which it would
26:55
Speaker 1: appear that they could. then it will benefit everybody involved.
26:59
Speaker 1: So for John Ogier and Mark Duffner, thanks for joining
27:01
Speaker 1: us here on Jags AM. And we'll talk to you
27:04
Speaker 1: on Sunday with a full day of coverage for the
27:07
Speaker 1: Jags in Week 8 against the Indy Colts.
27:08
Speaker 6: Talk to you soon.