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O-Zone Podcast: Around the AFC South · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

0:08
Speaker 1: Welcome to the ozone Podcast featuring Jaguars dot Com Senior
0:13
Speaker 1: writer John Osher and Jackuars executive producer Dave Dekendis. This week,
0:18
Speaker 1: it's something a little different. We're gonna be previewing a
0:21
Speaker 1: FC South and I have three what I consider the
0:25
Speaker 1: three best beat guys from the division. Jim Wyatt, who
0:29
Speaker 1: is with Titans Online with the Tennessee and beat writer forever.
0:33
Speaker 1: Mike Chappell, who is the Indianapolis Star beat writer forever
0:36
Speaker 1: joins us from the Colts. And finally John McClain, who
0:40
Speaker 1: I think everybody who's ever been on Twitter knows as
0:43
Speaker 1: maybe the best in game Twitter following around. He joins
0:47
Speaker 1: us from the Houston Chronicle. He's been covering Houston professional
0:51
Speaker 1: football back before Warren Moon forever. These are the three best.
0:57
Speaker 1: We're gonna be talking about the division, focusing on their teams,
1:01
Speaker 1: going one by one around the division. So, without further
1:04
Speaker 1: ado previewing the FC SAUTU. We're joined now by long
1:08
Speaker 1: time Tennessee Titans beat writer Jim Wyatt, been doing this
1:13
Speaker 1: for five years, first with the Tennessee and now he's
1:16
Speaker 1: with Titans Online. Knows this team as well as anybody
1:19
Speaker 1: jim Is surprising season too many last year surprising finished
1:23
Speaker 1: for the Titans. Where are they now? What is the
1:26
Speaker 1: off season brought? Where do they stand going into training camp? Well,
1:30
Speaker 1: I think the important thing this offseason was to retain
1:32
Speaker 1: a couple of your own guys and UH, and the
1:35
Speaker 1: two biggest names on the offensive side of the ball
1:38
Speaker 1: Ryan tanney Hill and Derrick Henry both got long term deals. UH.
1:42
Speaker 1: That was huge. And as I look at this team
1:44
Speaker 1: headed the camp, I think there are reasons to be optimistic.
1:48
Speaker 1: You've got you know again Henry and tanney Hill back.
1:51
Speaker 1: You've got ten of a leverage starters back. You've got
1:54
Speaker 1: the offensive coordinator and Author Smith who's back for his
1:56
Speaker 1: second season back and he can build on what he
1:59
Speaker 1: did last season. I think the defensive all side of
2:02
Speaker 1: the ball is where you have some questions. I still
2:06
Speaker 1: think this group was capable of being good on defense,
2:09
Speaker 1: But the team said goodbye to Darrell Casey, Logan, Ryan,
2:14
Speaker 1: you know, Wesley Woodard whose role was maybe the minister
2:16
Speaker 1: little bit last year but still had a voice on
2:18
Speaker 1: that team. Those guys are going along with d Peace,
2:20
Speaker 1: the team defensive coordinator. Over the past couple of seasons,
2:24
Speaker 1: so that will be a challenge that to try to
2:27
Speaker 1: get you get things to pick up where he left off.
2:30
Speaker 1: But I think when I look at this team and
2:33
Speaker 1: um and and its strengths and weakness is going on
2:36
Speaker 1: the camp, I think I think Titans fans should feel
2:40
Speaker 1: pretty good about the returning personnel and the ability to
2:46
Speaker 1: hit the ground running. We talked before about the head
2:50
Speaker 1: coaches approach. Why did that work late last season? Was
2:55
Speaker 1: it just a matter of what he was selling the
2:58
Speaker 1: players finally buying, or oh they're having an effect not
3:02
Speaker 1: finally buying. Yeah, I think it's I think when you're
3:05
Speaker 1: a coach and you're preaching something, and Mike Gravell obviously
3:08
Speaker 1: been preaching over the course the last couple of seasons,
3:11
Speaker 1: what you want to have happen is success and you
3:14
Speaker 1: and and that's what the Titans got last season. You know,
3:18
Speaker 1: there were times early on when the team struggled and
3:21
Speaker 1: started off two and four and had to make a
3:23
Speaker 1: change of quarterback, going from Marcus Mariotte Ryan Tainey Hill,
3:27
Speaker 1: and I think a lot of people across the country,
3:30
Speaker 1: I know a lot of people in Nashville thought that
3:31
Speaker 1: that was really the beginning of the end for this team.
3:34
Speaker 1: But you know, Mike Gravel got the players to continue
3:38
Speaker 1: to buy in put themselves in a position to get
3:42
Speaker 1: some momentum late, you know, won a game in Houston
3:45
Speaker 1: the final week of the regular season and to get
3:49
Speaker 1: into the playoffs, and then when you go to New
3:52
Speaker 1: England and win, that just kind of allowed the team
3:54
Speaker 1: to point and say, hey, this is what we've been preaching,
3:57
Speaker 1: this is working. And from there built on that confidence,
4:01
Speaker 1: gonna you know, go to Baltimore win, I have a
4:03
Speaker 1: chance to play the NFC Championship game against the Chiefs. Um.
4:08
Speaker 1: I think when Mike Brable, when a lot of players
4:11
Speaker 1: on that team look back at last season, they can say,
4:14
Speaker 1: you know, our head coach has been telling us we
4:16
Speaker 1: did it this way, it would work, and that's exactly
4:19
Speaker 1: what happened. I'm not sure that any coach has specific answers,
4:24
Speaker 1: and maybe nobody's doing that much differently because of COVID,
4:27
Speaker 1: But how have the Titans handled that? Do you have
4:30
Speaker 1: any sort of a feel for how this team is
4:33
Speaker 1: coming out of, you know, a very strange off season.
4:36
Speaker 1: May not be a fair question because I'm not sure
4:38
Speaker 1: anybody covering teams really knows yet. No, I think you
4:41
Speaker 1: just have to make the best of a very tough situation.
4:45
Speaker 1: This is unprecedented for for everyone, and um, I look
4:51
Speaker 1: at this team, and I look at some of the
4:53
Speaker 1: players on this team who really would have benefited from
4:55
Speaker 1: an entire offseason that includes all the rookies from last year,
4:59
Speaker 1: that year one, a year two is huge. You know,
5:02
Speaker 1: you've got They've got some guys who who who could
5:06
Speaker 1: have been more probably made a bigger impact last season,
5:11
Speaker 1: but didn't for one reason or another. Those guys could
5:14
Speaker 1: have really benefited from having O T A s and
5:17
Speaker 1: many camps and in preseason games for that matter, and
5:20
Speaker 1: they're not gonna have any of that. So but I
5:23
Speaker 1: know that's the way it is across the league. I think, uh,
5:27
Speaker 1: if you're the Titans, I think you have to point
5:30
Speaker 1: to some of the pauses that were able to take
5:32
Speaker 1: place during this uh crazy offseason. You know, players on
5:37
Speaker 1: their own kind of rallied uh together to work out
5:41
Speaker 1: in Nashville. You know Logan Woodside, the team's backup quarterback,
5:45
Speaker 1: led A J. Brown, and Adam Humphreys and Anthony Ferser,
5:49
Speaker 1: and you know a lot of skill position players and
5:51
Speaker 1: workouts in town. You know Kevin Bayer, the team's safety,
5:55
Speaker 1: along with several the defensive players. They kind of ment
5:57
Speaker 1: on their own away from the facility and work together
6:00
Speaker 1: down in South Florida. Ryan Tannehill worked with with John
6:04
Speaker 1: hu Smith, the team's tied in at Darrenton Evans, the
6:07
Speaker 1: team's third round draft pick, and in a small groups.
6:10
Speaker 1: I think those are all positives that guys are taking
6:13
Speaker 1: it upon themselves without coaches there to to continue to
6:17
Speaker 1: get the work in and from all accounts, and I'll
6:20
Speaker 1: see these guys on the field obviously a whole bunch
6:23
Speaker 1: of training camp will be able to make judgment for myself,
6:25
Speaker 1: but just from all accounts, guys have really worked hard
6:30
Speaker 1: to get themselves ready to play during the season when
6:33
Speaker 1: they were allowed to do it at the facility. I'm
6:36
Speaker 1: curious about Tanny Hill from a national perspective. I wonder
6:40
Speaker 1: if people think of him as the guy. Obviously he is.
6:44
Speaker 1: He has the big contract. Is it his team is
6:48
Speaker 1: is that still in transition. It's an odd feeling because
6:52
Speaker 1: he took over so quickly last year, but now he's
6:54
Speaker 1: the franchise guy with the contract right, yes, and and
6:58
Speaker 1: I think he had all the right things last season,
7:02
Speaker 1: you know, when he first came aboard, uh, after being
7:05
Speaker 1: traded from Miami. You know, if all would have gone
7:09
Speaker 1: well last season, he never would have seen the field.
7:11
Speaker 1: And he thought he did a good job of just
7:14
Speaker 1: kind of of sitting back and deferring to Marcus Mariota
7:19
Speaker 1: during the off season during camp and let Marcus be
7:22
Speaker 1: the voice and let Marcus do his thing, and he
7:24
Speaker 1: didn't ruffle any feathers. He handled it like a true pro.
7:28
Speaker 1: And when the time came, UH for for Marcus to
7:32
Speaker 1: be replaced, and really there was no doubt that the
7:35
Speaker 1: move needed to be made, just because of the way
7:37
Speaker 1: Marcus was playing. Tanne Hill, you know, took the bull
7:41
Speaker 1: by the horns. You know, I sometimes laugh when I
7:44
Speaker 1: think back at that Week seven uh. You know, tanny
7:48
Speaker 1: Hill replaced Mariota in a Week six the end of
7:50
Speaker 1: that game, and then the Titans made it official that
7:52
Speaker 1: following week uh that Tanney Hill was going to be
7:55
Speaker 1: the starter moving forward, and video at practice that week
8:00
Speaker 1: of tanny Hill throwing and just kind of funny to
8:03
Speaker 1: look back to play. The song that was playing the
8:06
Speaker 1: background was A C. A C. D C's Highway to Hell,
8:10
Speaker 1: and several people I meant it on my Twitter post saying, well,
8:14
Speaker 1: this is an appropriate song to be playing here because
8:16
Speaker 1: this is where this team is headed straight to hell.
8:19
Speaker 1: And look at those those people in January. Certainly we're
8:25
Speaker 1: kind of halfway apologizing for selling Ryan tanney Hill shot.
8:28
Speaker 1: Because tanny Hill played extremely well. He was efficient, he
8:33
Speaker 1: was a really good leader. He uh you know, was
8:35
Speaker 1: was a great teammate and um and earned himself a
8:39
Speaker 1: contract extension, and and people that watched the Titans in
8:44
Speaker 1: uh you know, in the playoffs looked at it and said, Okay,
8:47
Speaker 1: this guy is a complimentary piece to Derrick Henry. That's
8:50
Speaker 1: that wasn't necessarily the case all season. Yes, he took
8:53
Speaker 1: a back seat to Henry and the playoffs, but there
8:55
Speaker 1: are a lot of games, you know, throughout the course
8:57
Speaker 1: of the season at Ryan tanny Hill, uh lad the way,
9:01
Speaker 1: And I think in doing so, he no question, he
9:04
Speaker 1: established himself as as the player here, the team that
9:08
Speaker 1: guys looked to with Henry of course, but I think nationally,
9:12
Speaker 1: I think here in a lot of respect as well,
9:15
Speaker 1: Titans were the team of the playoffs last year, Houston
9:19
Speaker 1: still owned the division. Is Tennessee a team that can
9:23
Speaker 1: catapult from what they did last year and sort of
9:26
Speaker 1: take that mantle. Do you feel that from what you're
9:28
Speaker 1: seeing or again, is it just too early? Well, I
9:31
Speaker 1: mean I do feel that, but I think the competition
9:34
Speaker 1: is going to continue to be tough, and I expect
9:36
Speaker 1: Jacksonville to be improved. I think the Colts have taken
9:40
Speaker 1: a big step and and they're gonna be you know,
9:43
Speaker 1: you know, are going to be a stiff challenge for
9:46
Speaker 1: everybody in the division. You know, the Titans have unfinished business.
9:50
Speaker 1: I mean, not only do they did they finish short
9:53
Speaker 1: in getting to the Super Bowl. And while it was
9:56
Speaker 1: a great accostman to get to the SC Championship game,
9:58
Speaker 1: you're that close, you know how it is. When you're
10:00
Speaker 1: not close, you want to capitalize and you want to
10:02
Speaker 1: get there. So this team is hungry because it missed
10:06
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. Uh you know, really thirty minutes of football.
10:11
Speaker 1: They played well for a half but just kind of
10:13
Speaker 1: ran out of gas in the second half. But the
10:15
Speaker 1: fact that this team still has not one day a
10:18
Speaker 1: f C South and so long and uh that you know,
10:21
Speaker 1: that's a motivation in itself as well. I mean, if
10:25
Speaker 1: you win the division, you get a chance to host
10:28
Speaker 1: playoff games. You get a chance to play in front
10:31
Speaker 1: of your fans. That's what this team wants to do.
10:33
Speaker 1: And unfortunately, you know with COVID nineteen, I mean, winning
10:38
Speaker 1: the division doesn't necessary to me. And you've got a
10:41
Speaker 1: jam Pack Nissan Stadium that support you know that. That's
10:44
Speaker 1: the unfortunate thing was what we're dealing with this year.
10:46
Speaker 1: You're playing to win the division, but you're not exactly
10:50
Speaker 1: sure what that's going to mean when the playoffs roll
10:52
Speaker 1: around from as far as the home field advantage goes.
10:56
Speaker 1: What do you think this team needs to do or
10:58
Speaker 1: what's the biggest step key to do what you're talking
11:03
Speaker 1: about to be in the division champ to be in
11:05
Speaker 1: the team that's hanging in se Sath Bannery next year.
11:09
Speaker 1: You know they're only good last year, but there was
11:11
Speaker 1: some some sort of dominance that didn't happen to get that. Yeah,
11:14
Speaker 1: I mean, I think it like for everybody and men starts,
11:17
Speaker 1: you've gotta stay healthy and you gotta win close games.
11:20
Speaker 1: I mean, that's the way you're going to every season.
11:22
Speaker 1: I think those two determine whether you're you know, a
11:25
Speaker 1: six seven win team, a nine or eleven win team,
11:29
Speaker 1: or even greater than that. I mean, you've got to
11:31
Speaker 1: have some good fortune along the way. When I look
11:34
Speaker 1: at this year's team going in, I mean again I
11:37
Speaker 1: feel good about where the Titans are on offense. When
11:40
Speaker 1: you can start camp and name ten of eleven starters
11:43
Speaker 1: and have a guy who I think will end up
11:45
Speaker 1: being a starter, or someone in Dennis Kelly at right
11:48
Speaker 1: tackle who's done it before play at a high level,
11:50
Speaker 1: I think you feel good about yourself and again have
11:53
Speaker 1: an offensive coordinator return is a big positive. I think
11:56
Speaker 1: for the Titans to take it to another level to
11:58
Speaker 1: be a conturner again, they've how to figure out some
12:00
Speaker 1: things on defense. You know, Uh, Mike Rabel has not
12:05
Speaker 1: named a defensive coordinator. I think a lot of people,
12:08
Speaker 1: you know, expect that he will um assume that role.
12:13
Speaker 1: Or Shane Bowen, who has been his right hand man
12:16
Speaker 1: or he's described as his right hand man outside linebackers coach.
12:19
Speaker 1: I think he's gonna have a big role. The combination
12:21
Speaker 1: of those two is going to have to you know,
12:24
Speaker 1: keep train moving so to speak. You know, iv Abel
12:27
Speaker 1: has been very involved even when he wasn't um, you know,
12:32
Speaker 1: the guy calling the shots last year. As far as
12:34
Speaker 1: play calling goes, I watched in practices. I saw him
12:38
Speaker 1: make corrections on on the field when a player would
12:40
Speaker 1: mess up. I know he had his fingerprints all over
12:43
Speaker 1: that defense, although it was Dean Piece's voice who was
12:46
Speaker 1: running the defense. Um, how that comes together and while
12:50
Speaker 1: you also try to replace some guys, UM will go
12:54
Speaker 1: a long way and determine how this team plays this fault.
12:58
Speaker 1: I mean Jonathan Joseph as a newcomer of the secondary
13:01
Speaker 1: who's played in the league a long time, Christian Fulton,
13:04
Speaker 1: you know, second round draft pick in the secondary. You
13:07
Speaker 1: know he's going to need to step up. They've got
13:09
Speaker 1: some other guys that they brought in in free agency
13:11
Speaker 1: in the draft to they're accounting a lot on and
13:13
Speaker 1: a lot of those guys are on defense. I think
13:15
Speaker 1: the question and and what needs to have happened is
13:19
Speaker 1: the defense needs to uh keep this team in games
13:22
Speaker 1: and uh because I think the offense is capable of
13:25
Speaker 1: scoring points and having success. Once again, Jim Wyant knows
13:30
Speaker 1: the Titans bet than anybody. Jim, we appreciate it, have
13:32
Speaker 1: a great training campaign. We hope theater in the season
13:36
Speaker 1: t point, I hope. So it's been great. Yeah, looking
13:38
Speaker 1: forward to football. Uh, you know practices and and um
13:42
Speaker 1: right for the opener, no doubt appreciated. Body appreciate it.
13:46
Speaker 1: All right. We're joined now by John McClain of the
13:48
Speaker 1: Deepston Chronicle, and anybody who follows the NFL and the Texans,
13:52
Speaker 1: really anything with the NFL knows about John. He's one
13:54
Speaker 1: of the leading voices and has been for probably going
13:58
Speaker 1: on four decades. Now. All right, John, I appreciate you
14:01
Speaker 1: joint us to talk about the Houston Texans. How do
14:04
Speaker 1: you feel about then? In this season they're the defending
14:06
Speaker 1: division champions. Doesn't feel like it's to you, John. They
14:09
Speaker 1: wanted a division for the last five years. Beat Buffalo
14:12
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. Last year, had a two oh league
14:15
Speaker 1: in Kansas City, which they choked and lost people one
14:19
Speaker 1: the thirty one. They didn't lose a player they wanted
14:23
Speaker 1: to keep. They traded DeAndre Hopkins. They got running back
14:27
Speaker 1: David Johnson. It will start. They used the second round
14:30
Speaker 1: pick on the biggest need, defensive tackle, Ross black Lock,
14:35
Speaker 1: And because they had gotten that too from Arizona, they
14:39
Speaker 1: were able to trade their two the Rams for Brandon Books.
14:42
Speaker 1: So really there's three components to the Hopkins trade, and
14:45
Speaker 1: then those tackle DJ Reader they weren't going to pay
14:48
Speaker 1: him thirteen million a year because he wasn't a pass
14:51
Speaker 1: riser and he only played on fifty seven per cent
14:53
Speaker 1: of the snaps. So he's gone. So should they got
14:57
Speaker 1: the best quarterback in the division? Uh? Um. They have
15:01
Speaker 1: winning tradition, but people are looking for a reason not
15:05
Speaker 1: to pick them. So most people are picking the Titans.
15:07
Speaker 1: I've seen a couple pick the Colts, assuming that Philip
15:12
Speaker 1: Rivers is going to bounce back from last season, which
15:15
Speaker 1: was one of his worst. The Texans bet him in
15:18
Speaker 1: l A last year, so I think it'll be a
15:21
Speaker 1: three team race. I think the Jaguars will be bringing
15:24
Speaker 1: up the rear. How how are they better or is
15:29
Speaker 1: good without hockeys safety through that one? Well, first of all,
15:32
Speaker 1: he had a hundred Ford catches, he had seven touchdowns
15:36
Speaker 1: and he only had three point seven yards yak. That
15:40
Speaker 1: was the second worst among receivers. But he was reliable.
15:44
Speaker 1: He was there every game. One of the things he's
15:47
Speaker 1: gone because he wanted a ten million dollar a year
15:50
Speaker 1: raised with three years left on the contract. People thanking
15:53
Speaker 1: God because Bill O'Brien didn't like him, but his relationship
15:57
Speaker 1: with O'Brien hasn't changed, and he was targeted hundred and
16:00
Speaker 1: fifty something times. O'Brien told us, said, if I didn't
16:03
Speaker 1: like the guy, why I called plays throwing in the
16:06
Speaker 1: ball all the time? ID and like was Hopkins never practiced.
16:10
Speaker 1: He was always beat up. Said he was beat up,
16:13
Speaker 1: but he always answered the bell. He was great on
16:16
Speaker 1: third down, great on getting first downs. You saw him
16:20
Speaker 1: twice a year, you know. But without Hopkins, they added
16:25
Speaker 1: Randall Cobb in the slot. He's coming off a career
16:28
Speaker 1: high fifteen point one yards a game with the Cowboys,
16:32
Speaker 1: and Brandon Cooks. Cooks, like David Johnson, had a bad
16:37
Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen, and like Philip Rivers, they're hoping he'll
16:41
Speaker 1: bounce back play the way he did in two thousand
16:44
Speaker 1: and eighteen when he upped the Rams to the Super
16:46
Speaker 1: Bowl with twelve four yards. So they have Kenny Stills
16:49
Speaker 1: coming back and will Fuller, Fuller kids stay healthy. There's
16:53
Speaker 1: not another team in the league, I don't think, and
16:56
Speaker 1: I've looked this up. John they can put three receivers,
16:59
Speaker 1: full Cooks and Steals on the field, legitimate receivers who've
17:04
Speaker 1: added at least forty catches at the same time, who
17:07
Speaker 1: ran into four twos and four three at their combine.
17:10
Speaker 1: Cobb only ran four four six. And David Johnson is
17:14
Speaker 1: one of the best receivers out of the backfil ever.
17:16
Speaker 1: He averaged ten point seven yards a catch last year,
17:21
Speaker 1: and what the Texans would like to get from him
17:24
Speaker 1: is his two thousand eighteen season when he had combined
17:27
Speaker 1: one thousand three or nine one yards and ten touchdowns.
17:30
Speaker 1: He'll rotate with Duke Johnson as Carlos I did, and
17:34
Speaker 1: so they've got They have plans put David Johnson and
17:38
Speaker 1: Duke Johnson on the field together at the same time
17:41
Speaker 1: and see what kind of mismatches they could create with
17:44
Speaker 1: defenses because both of them can line up wide, going
17:48
Speaker 1: to slot, going motion wide. So first time play caller
17:52
Speaker 1: Tim Kelly, the offensive coordinator, has been here with O'Brien
17:56
Speaker 1: every year. Not only is you have the best quarterback,
17:59
Speaker 1: he's got a lot of feed and talented receiver tied
18:03
Speaker 1: end where Darren Fells set a record with team record
18:06
Speaker 1: for tight ends with seven touchdowns, had another one in
18:09
Speaker 1: the playoffs, and then their offensive line comes back in
18:12
Speaker 1: tack for the first time since two thousand and eleven.
18:15
Speaker 1: So they reduced everything last year, John, when they they
18:20
Speaker 1: had a good offensive line for the first time since
18:22
Speaker 1: probably two thousand and sixteen, they had less sacks, hits, knockdowns,
18:27
Speaker 1: percentages of hit sacks, knockdowns, and uh and so that
18:33
Speaker 1: bought to be even better this year, since they've had
18:35
Speaker 1: a year together, eventually a couple of times to shine.
18:38
Speaker 1: Watson the best quarterback in the division, that's obvious. What's
18:41
Speaker 1: his task this year? Where does he need to improve?
18:44
Speaker 1: He's already wanted the best, but clearly he's young. He
18:46
Speaker 1: can still get better. He's like Bill O'Brien. He needs
18:49
Speaker 1: to get beyond the first second round of the playoffs.
18:52
Speaker 1: Texans have never been beyond the second round of the playoffs.
18:55
Speaker 1: The last time Houston had a team in an NFC
18:58
Speaker 1: championship game, which the Jazz Aguars did in two thousand seventeen,
19:02
Speaker 1: was nineteen seventy nine with the Oilers at Pittsburgh, and
19:06
Speaker 1: the last time Houston hosted a championship game was the
19:10
Speaker 1: sixty one Oilers when they beat the Chargers to win
19:12
Speaker 1: the second NFL championship. So last year, this was what
19:17
Speaker 1: was so disheartening for fans here and one reason they
19:22
Speaker 1: were so venomous towards Bill O'Brien, and they not choked
19:25
Speaker 1: that twenty four point lady in Kansas City, they would
19:29
Speaker 1: have hosted the NFC championship game against the former Oilers,
19:32
Speaker 1: the Tennessee Titans, a team they beat up there and
19:35
Speaker 1: then rested fourteen starters in the last game. That allowed
19:39
Speaker 1: the Titans to make the playoffs. So that made it
19:42
Speaker 1: even more disheartening. So uh, Bill O'Brien to Shaun Watson,
19:49
Speaker 1: they needed to prove they win the Vision again, maybe
19:52
Speaker 1: get a home playoff game in the divisional round, which
19:55
Speaker 1: they've never done. We talked a lot about offense. It
19:58
Speaker 1: sounds like you're confidence this is a good offensive. The
20:00
Speaker 1: team feel the same way on defense. No, last year,
20:05
Speaker 1: their defense took dramatic step back in the past under
20:10
Speaker 1: Romeo Carnell and two thousand and eighteen, they had J. J.
20:13
Speaker 1: Watt the entire season, he had sixteen sacks, First team
20:17
Speaker 1: All Pro, the Geneveon Clowney all season he had nine sacks.
20:22
Speaker 1: Say trade Clowney White this is the second half of
20:24
Speaker 1: the season. Came back for the playoffs and when he
20:28
Speaker 1: went down at the midway point, he was leading the
20:30
Speaker 1: league and pressures and so last year Romeo Carnell had
20:35
Speaker 1: to call blitz is on thirties something per cent of
20:38
Speaker 1: the plays trying to manufacture a pass rush they couldn't.
20:42
Speaker 1: Whitney Mersells led them with seven and a half. Only
20:45
Speaker 1: three teams had a leading sacred with fewer than his
20:49
Speaker 1: seven and a half, and the secondary got beat up
20:52
Speaker 1: bad in two games against Kansas City and Harrowhead Stadium
20:57
Speaker 1: Jexsans and lost fifty one. Already won the playoffs. My
21:01
Speaker 1: home's at eight touchdown seven in the red zone they
21:04
Speaker 1: were last, and red zone touchdowns last, and red zone
21:07
Speaker 1: points they were thirty first and third down defense, couldn't
21:11
Speaker 1: get off the field, and they were awful against the run.
21:14
Speaker 1: Those were three things two years ago. They did better.
21:18
Speaker 1: Now I say all that John, they got father in
21:21
Speaker 1: the playoffs last season. Then he did you hear before
21:24
Speaker 1: when they were so much better? And I think the
21:27
Speaker 1: defense depends on this. Watt's got to stay healthy and
21:31
Speaker 1: they were relying heavily on four young players. Ross Blackhawk
21:36
Speaker 1: defensive tackle second round pick outside linebacker Jonathan Grenard led
21:41
Speaker 1: the SEC in sacks and hurries at Florida and then
21:46
Speaker 1: a second year tackled Charles Manna, who who had three
21:49
Speaker 1: sacks as a rookie and a third year player in
21:52
Speaker 1: his second year with the Texas. Jacob Martin, an outside
21:55
Speaker 1: linebacker who came from Seattle in the Clarenny trade. He
22:00
Speaker 1: played the snaps. He had three and a half sacks
22:03
Speaker 1: in the Buffalo playoff victory. He forced the fumble and
22:07
Speaker 1: later he had it. I mean he had a sack
22:09
Speaker 1: and later he recovered the fumble. In there come back
22:12
Speaker 1: from a sixteen old deficits. So those four young guys
22:16
Speaker 1: have to help What and Merciless get the quarterback oppression
22:21
Speaker 1: of the quarterback to protective secondary. They got all their
22:24
Speaker 1: linebackers back the secondary. John last year they had eight
22:28
Speaker 1: new defensive backs. This year they have too. Is it?
22:33
Speaker 1: Is it all health with what? Is he the same
22:35
Speaker 1: player he was in his prime? Is he in his pride? Well?
22:37
Speaker 1: Two years ago he was great. So now he's thirty one.
22:41
Speaker 1: He got to take eight games off last year. He
22:43
Speaker 1: looked great in the playoffs. He said to hus in
22:46
Speaker 1: a zoom call dead He's had nothing to do but
22:50
Speaker 1: work out this offseason, and he says he feels better,
22:55
Speaker 1: uh in camp than he has any time since two
22:58
Speaker 1: thousand fourteen, and of team where which were his fourth
23:02
Speaker 1: and fifty years in the league. You mentioned the division earlier.
23:06
Speaker 1: Are you covering the division champions You think they do
23:08
Speaker 1: it again the division championship. I think they're capable of it.
23:11
Speaker 1: They should be favored. Although a lot of people are
23:14
Speaker 1: going with the Titans because of what they did in
23:16
Speaker 1: the playoffs, I think that when I have to make
23:20
Speaker 1: my picks in our football section later in the month,
23:23
Speaker 1: I'm gonna pick the Titans. Last year I picked the
23:25
Speaker 1: Polts like everybody did, and lux retirement fill their chances,
23:30
Speaker 1: and so I think I'll go with the Titans first.
23:33
Speaker 1: But John, we've seen three teams from this division make
23:36
Speaker 1: the playoffs before, and with an extra wild card team,
23:40
Speaker 1: it's possible we could see that three more this season.
23:44
Speaker 1: What do they have to do to live up to
23:48
Speaker 1: your expectations? They could be on the second round of
23:51
Speaker 1: the playoffs for the first time. Um, I'm gonna pick
23:54
Speaker 1: them to go ten and six again. Last year, I
23:56
Speaker 1: think they would have gone eleven and five and beating
23:59
Speaker 1: the Titans of the last game Titans had to win
24:01
Speaker 1: a game get in the playoffs. You know the Titans
24:04
Speaker 1: have been not have not been better than nine and
24:06
Speaker 1: sevens and two thousand and eight. They have not won
24:10
Speaker 1: the division since two thousand and eight, and last year
24:13
Speaker 1: they had to win that last game when O'Brien rested
24:16
Speaker 1: thirteen started fourteen starters to get the playoffs. So the
24:21
Speaker 1: Texans should be favored. But I think I'm gonna go
24:24
Speaker 1: with the Titans because I think they earned it based
24:27
Speaker 1: on what they did in the playoffs. They won two
24:29
Speaker 1: playoffs games on the road. Vexins have never won one
24:32
Speaker 1: on the road, and they got Garry Henry and Ryan
24:35
Speaker 1: Tannehill resigned, and I'm eager to see what Tannehill can
24:38
Speaker 1: do over a full season, if he actually turned the
24:42
Speaker 1: corner last year, or he's gonna end up being a
24:45
Speaker 1: pot flash in the pen. John united evern division those
24:51
Speaker 1: since it started. I was with the Colts for a while,
24:54
Speaker 1: but this might be the best year it's had in
24:58
Speaker 1: terms of three teams. Uh, if you could have Jaguars,
25:02
Speaker 1: most people don't. But three teams can make the playoffs
25:05
Speaker 1: at this division. I know it's been done, but this
25:06
Speaker 1: seems as competitives as it's been. I'll say this John
25:10
Speaker 1: about the Jaguars, I think the Mustache will be greatly
25:14
Speaker 1: improved because it's his second season. He came out of nowhere.
25:18
Speaker 1: You saw it, and I think he'll be improved. They've
25:22
Speaker 1: got a lot of young players that could have used
25:24
Speaker 1: the preseason joint practices and on field instructions. But everybody's
25:30
Speaker 1: in the same boat. And if some of those young players,
25:32
Speaker 1: you know, those those young receivers like Chart, they're tremendous
25:36
Speaker 1: and uh, even though they made a lot of changes
25:39
Speaker 1: on their defense. Oh. I don't think the Jaguars will
25:42
Speaker 1: make the playoffs, but I think they'll play a role
25:45
Speaker 1: and who makes the playoffs because they're capable of beating
25:48
Speaker 1: any of those three teams. Nobody does the Texans better,
25:51
Speaker 1: Nobody does the NFL better. John, I appreciate it, Thank
25:54
Speaker 1: you very much. We'll talk sin Johant's my pleasure. Thank
25:56
Speaker 1: you very much, and stay safe, all right. And joined
26:00
Speaker 1: now by a Fox fifty nine CDs for writer analyst
26:06
Speaker 1: Mike Tapple from Indianapolis. In addition to that, he covered
26:09
Speaker 1: the coldst Indianapolis Star for forever, going back to every
26:14
Speaker 1: good team knows the Coals as well as anybody. Mike,
26:17
Speaker 1: I appreciate you join us tell me about the Colds
26:21
Speaker 1: entering this season. A lot of changes. Most people feel
26:24
Speaker 1: like they're upgraded. Do you agree, Yeah, they are. If
26:28
Speaker 1: there's three or four ifs that really have to come through.
26:31
Speaker 1: The main one was their big offseason acquisition Philip Rivers
26:35
Speaker 1: at quarterback. I mean, people saw how the season went
26:39
Speaker 1: with Brisette really good early injury, not so good late.
26:44
Speaker 1: They had a chance to get Philip Rivers. If if
26:47
Speaker 1: he is two thousand and eighteen Philip Rivers and not
26:49
Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen Philip Rivers, this is a playoff team.
26:52
Speaker 1: It should be a playoff team. If not, they go
26:56
Speaker 1: back to Jacoby Brissette, which we saw that was hitting
26:59
Speaker 1: this last year, and that's really the great unknown, didn't.
27:02
Speaker 1: I mean, you have no idea what Rivers is. He's
27:06
Speaker 1: at the age where maybe he's on the decline, but
27:09
Speaker 1: you also see around the league guys at his age
27:12
Speaker 1: hartness on the decline, and there's just no way to
27:15
Speaker 1: know until the regular season, right, Have you seen anything? No,
27:17
Speaker 1: we've not seen him throw. We've not We've talked to
27:19
Speaker 1: him two or three times, which that's that's a detriment
27:23
Speaker 1: as well. They've they've not been on the feeling except
27:26
Speaker 1: for a handful of times during this offseason. Recently, he's
27:30
Speaker 1: only thrown once or twice with Dlton, who's got injury concerns.
27:35
Speaker 1: So you just don't know, and all you can rely
27:38
Speaker 1: on is Frank Right, long time quarterback, a long time coach.
27:43
Speaker 1: When it came time, he did all the leg work,
27:46
Speaker 1: He looked at the video, and he studied Rivers, and
27:49
Speaker 1: he's convinced that there's no decline in the physical skills.
27:53
Speaker 1: He's not lost something off his fastball. And one thing
27:57
Speaker 1: to keep in mind is they're not gonna be asking
27:59
Speaker 1: Rivers to Carrey in this team. This isn't Baton Manning
28:01
Speaker 1: going somewhere. It's they've got a top seven rushing team
28:06
Speaker 1: from the top offensive lines. So they want him to
28:09
Speaker 1: do his job, you know, make those four or five
28:12
Speaker 1: plays that Rocent didn't make, and not trying to do
28:16
Speaker 1: too much because I'm not sure he can do too much.
28:20
Speaker 1: It's really an amazing situation up there. And I mean,
28:23
Speaker 1: you're talking about a roster that most NFL people feel
28:27
Speaker 1: like is a growing young roster. People are really high
28:30
Speaker 1: on Ballard to be really high on Right, and yet
28:34
Speaker 1: the quarterback situation with Luck retiring, trying to find it's
28:38
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna say it's unprecedented, but it's really a
28:41
Speaker 1: strange situation for Frankie, Mike, You and I have been
28:44
Speaker 1: around this team, you know, I was gonna see for
28:46
Speaker 1: ten years, been around it forever. It was quarterback centric
28:50
Speaker 1: with a great quarterback for what years? All this and
28:55
Speaker 1: now it's almost like it's turned to where they are
29:00
Speaker 1: they are a marror of their former. It's really kind
29:04
Speaker 1: of funny, and Ballard really won't talk about it for
29:06
Speaker 1: obvious reasons. But the first thing he got here, I
29:09
Speaker 1: asked him how much did Andrew Luck be in here?
29:12
Speaker 1: Bring you here? He said, it could never be about
29:13
Speaker 1: one guy. But since Ballard has been here is three years.
29:18
Speaker 1: He goes into his first year and all of a sudden,
29:20
Speaker 1: Luck's not ready because of his shoulder. And then last
29:23
Speaker 1: year they've finally got to where it needs to be
29:27
Speaker 1: really strong and less than two for the season start.
29:32
Speaker 1: Luck says no more so two or three years have been,
29:36
Speaker 1: you know, in scramble mode. And the one year he
29:39
Speaker 1: had Luck, they were a playoff teams and they won
29:42
Speaker 1: Den in Houston. So yeah, but we went from having
29:45
Speaker 1: you know, so much continuity with with with Manning and
29:49
Speaker 1: the early part for the love. Now it's maybe they've
29:54
Speaker 1: seen how the rest of the league has been to
29:56
Speaker 1: where if you don't have that guy, you're always looking
29:59
Speaker 1: for that guy. Offensively, Mike, how good is this team?
30:04
Speaker 1: Let's take Rivers out of the equation, but how good
30:06
Speaker 1: are they aside from him? It sounds like you think
30:09
Speaker 1: they're pretty good well with what they want to do.
30:12
Speaker 1: And again, Frank r. People would argue across the league,
30:14
Speaker 1: but Frank right wants to this team to be run based.
30:17
Speaker 1: They were top seven last year, and you've got Marlon
30:20
Speaker 1: Mack who's only twenty four. This isn't an old guy,
30:23
Speaker 1: and Taylor the young the rookie coming in. But so
30:26
Speaker 1: much depends on how were the receiver's t wise thirty
30:30
Speaker 1: going into his last year, Paris Campbell early draft pick
30:34
Speaker 1: last year, heard all year, and then you go to
30:36
Speaker 1: Michael Pittman. So if it's like I said earlier, if
30:40
Speaker 1: things work, they're they're in really good shape, really a
30:43
Speaker 1: pretty good complimentary receiver group, solid run game, great offensive line,
30:50
Speaker 1: tight ends. You don't know what Trey Burken, you know
30:51
Speaker 1: what you've got with Jack Doyle so three or four
30:55
Speaker 1: things work. This have been pretty pretty diverse and potent offense.
30:59
Speaker 1: It is Eric you Bryan a big loss? Yes, well yeah,
31:04
Speaker 1: two thousand and eighteen, Eric Ebron was a big loss
31:07
Speaker 1: and then last year things didn't go well and sort
31:10
Speaker 1: of got off the rails. But no, when when he
31:12
Speaker 1: was in his Pro Bowl form. It's funny he came
31:16
Speaker 1: to India with the reputation of having drops. He had those,
31:20
Speaker 1: he had his many drops in two thousand and eighteen.
31:22
Speaker 1: But boy, he just made plays with the touchdowns and
31:26
Speaker 1: the big plays down the field. They need for Trey
31:29
Speaker 1: Burton to be that guy who gives them something of
31:32
Speaker 1: a downfield threat, and he has shown that at times.
31:35
Speaker 1: Had a good season with Ryke and Philly coming off
31:38
Speaker 1: an injury plague two thousand nineteen. So yeah, you can't
31:42
Speaker 1: be that guy to give him the intermediate stuff with
31:44
Speaker 1: what Jack You know Jack Doyle is you you need
31:48
Speaker 1: a Jack Doyle in your offense. Now, you can't have
31:51
Speaker 1: too many of them, but you need that guy who
31:54
Speaker 1: who does all the the dirty work and the he
31:58
Speaker 1: moves the chains. But they really need the two things
32:02
Speaker 1: that need if we get away from Rivers, they need
32:04
Speaker 1: to Y to come back and be yard receiver they need,
32:09
Speaker 1: and they need Paris Campbell to be that guy they
32:12
Speaker 1: thought when they got him early last year. And then
32:14
Speaker 1: you're gonna mix Michael Pittman and he hope he's a
32:18
Speaker 1: solid addition as a rookie. How good are they defensively?
32:24
Speaker 1: He's like they're improving, they're improving. It's it's still young.
32:28
Speaker 1: You've got the big edition of with the Forrest Buckner
32:32
Speaker 1: and he is that again. Through your years watching his team,
32:38
Speaker 1: I've tried to say who he's the best tackles since
32:42
Speaker 1: I mean goodness, I was there, Booger, that was one
32:48
Speaker 1: on that Rahean Brock. He gives him the three technique
32:52
Speaker 1: guy they've not had. So he's gonna make Houston better.
32:55
Speaker 1: He's gonna make the Nico Odfrey better, Como Coo Terrey better.
32:58
Speaker 1: He's gonna make a linebackers better. More important, if they
33:01
Speaker 1: do that up front, then the secondary where there's some questions.
33:05
Speaker 1: Hopefully it won't be exposed like it was last year.
33:09
Speaker 1: Is this uh the a f C South. It strikes me,
33:14
Speaker 1: you know, we've both been around it since the beginning.
33:17
Speaker 1: This may be as much of a three team race
33:19
Speaker 1: as it's ever been because I think the Colts are
33:21
Speaker 1: gonna be good. I think anybody. I think anybody's sure
33:24
Speaker 1: about the Jags yet. And you had two other playoff teams.
33:27
Speaker 1: People are talking about maybe three playoff teams out of here.
33:29
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't remember a season where it has
33:33
Speaker 1: been stronger than this. Who do you like the Coltal
33:35
Speaker 1: division chance I would come off as a bias. I
33:40
Speaker 1: like the colch again if if if Rivers is what
33:43
Speaker 1: they need him to be, I like this team. I
33:46
Speaker 1: have a problem. I think Houston is sort of I
33:51
Speaker 1: don't say scrambled moment. What are they doing when you
33:54
Speaker 1: get when management's decision is to get rid of DeAndre Hopkins,
34:00
Speaker 1: top five receiver? I don't. I don't understand that. And
34:04
Speaker 1: I realized those guys are expensive, but they're all so
34:06
Speaker 1: hard to get. I like Tennessee with Derrick Henry and
34:10
Speaker 1: I want to see Tannah He'll do it again. So
34:12
Speaker 1: many times we see these quarterbacks in that contract you
34:16
Speaker 1: had that great year gets back and then wat So
34:21
Speaker 1: I like what they're doing there Jacksonville. I it's are
34:25
Speaker 1: they in reboot mode? It seems like it with with
34:28
Speaker 1: with what's going on there getting rid of a lot
34:30
Speaker 1: of proven players for them for whatever the reasons. I
34:35
Speaker 1: think this is the case. You throw a blanket over
34:38
Speaker 1: the Colts to the Texans and in Tennessee and it's
34:42
Speaker 1: it's gonna be interesting how listening shapes out in December.
34:47
Speaker 1: What's they're feeling. How good can they be? If Rivers
34:52
Speaker 1: is Rivers, they're not. They're not Kansas City in Baltimore
34:57
Speaker 1: in the NFC South that this defense isn't there yet.
35:00
Speaker 1: But I think if if Rivers, and again that's that's
35:03
Speaker 1: because the wild card off season. Sure, if Rivers, if
35:07
Speaker 1: he's what they think he is, this is a playoff team,
35:10
Speaker 1: and to me it needs to be a team that
35:13
Speaker 1: wins a playoff game. Anything less and certainly a playoff
35:17
Speaker 1: will be a great disappointment for the way they've built
35:20
Speaker 1: this team and taken up still looking long term, but
35:23
Speaker 1: they've made movement, made moves during the off season to win. Now. Yes,
35:29
Speaker 1: it's an odd thing you mentioned earlier in the podcast.
35:32
Speaker 1: They went with Rivers, and obviously, to me, he's a
35:35
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame guy when he's right. But if it
35:38
Speaker 1: doesn't work and they get nine and seven, then all
35:43
Speaker 1: of a sudden. Are they in no man's land for
35:46
Speaker 1: the future at quarterback? What is that? But I guess
35:49
Speaker 1: that's the way you have to do in the NFL
35:50
Speaker 1: these days. You can't build for two or three years
35:52
Speaker 1: out when you've got the chance to go get a guy. Yeah,
35:55
Speaker 1: it's funny. We always talk to your people say what
35:57
Speaker 1: what what? What's the long term answer in the NFL
36:01
Speaker 1: if you don't have Manning or Brady or you know,
36:04
Speaker 1: the three or four guyss five guys, long term in
36:07
Speaker 1: the NFL is like four years. I mean, it's because
36:10
Speaker 1: it's crazy because again, if you don't if Rivers doesn't work,
36:15
Speaker 1: then you're looking at they've got Rivers. It's a free
36:18
Speaker 1: agent perset will be a free agent in the off season,
36:20
Speaker 1: so the only quarterback under contract would be Jacob Eeson.
36:24
Speaker 1: So if the Rivers thing doesn't work the next year,
36:28
Speaker 1: you're either going with Easton, who won't play this year
36:30
Speaker 1: barring injury, or you look for the guy next year.
36:34
Speaker 1: And you just don't want to be looking short term
36:37
Speaker 1: free agent quarterback every year because what are you getting done?
36:41
Speaker 1: So it's it's I'd say it's a gamble. They could
36:46
Speaker 1: have gone I guess back with Brissette and said whether
36:48
Speaker 1: the troubles last year is the injury, but the fact
36:52
Speaker 1: they went out and got rivers million dollars every again
36:55
Speaker 1: history with Syrian, so they knew the guy that really
37:01
Speaker 1: told me that, Yes, we're trying to build for the
37:03
Speaker 1: future with draft picks and all this, and even the
37:05
Speaker 1: trade for Buckner. He's a young player. But they want
37:08
Speaker 1: to win now. They don't. They don't want to build
37:10
Speaker 1: this thing slowly and see what happens to do two
37:13
Speaker 1: or three years. Final question, It really seems that I
37:17
Speaker 1: respect Ballard a lot. I knew Frank a little bit
37:20
Speaker 1: when he was there, right when I left. It really
37:23
Speaker 1: seems like that's a two headed monster that die no
37:26
Speaker 1: matter what happens this year. This feels like a franchise
37:29
Speaker 1: that's solid for a while. You've been around it in
37:31
Speaker 1: some lean years, some good years. Does this feel like
37:34
Speaker 1: a long term thing? You you're around Polin and Dungee
37:37
Speaker 1: and you're around before that when it was bad. Yeah,
37:40
Speaker 1: it's funny people around and here, some of them media.
37:42
Speaker 1: They talked about the prior regime with running Griggson, how
37:46
Speaker 1: Grigson's record is much better, thank Chris Ballard's with the playoffs.
37:54
Speaker 1: But I tell the guys you have but if you
37:55
Speaker 1: look at the roster top to bottom, this roster is better.
37:58
Speaker 1: This roster is better than what he and I like.
38:01
Speaker 1: Where they're going. What people need to realize. And I
38:04
Speaker 1: had to look it up, like three or four times
38:07
Speaker 1: they've been out of the playoffs in four the last
38:08
Speaker 1: five years. The last time that happened it started in Baltimore,
38:13
Speaker 1: like from seventy eight to eighties seven or what there,
38:15
Speaker 1: eighties six, whatever it was. So this team, for all
38:19
Speaker 1: the bad years that there were, and there was a
38:21
Speaker 1: god awful years, there have never been a dry stretch
38:26
Speaker 1: like this as far as playoffs. I would have thought
38:28
Speaker 1: in the nineties because they suck, but you're right, they
38:30
Speaker 1: would have a year where they correct. But for this
38:33
Speaker 1: to go this long again, Ballard and Reich aren't on
38:37
Speaker 1: the hot seat again. Ballard, I I could rationalize why
38:40
Speaker 1: it's gone this way, but the fan, this is a
38:43
Speaker 1: bottom line business. And and and then short of a
38:45
Speaker 1: playoff uh season this year will be a grave disappointment
38:49
Speaker 1: for everybody, including the owner. Nobody knows the Colts like
38:53
Speaker 1: Mike Chappell know he's been doing it as long an
38:56
Speaker 1: it happens as night Chapel, Mike, I appreciate you doing it.
38:59
Speaker 1: I look forward to see and hopefully it won't be virtual.
39:02
Speaker 1: The will see. Thank you again, Buddy, thank you, thanks
39:04
Speaker 1: for reaching out. All right. I want to thank all
39:07
Speaker 1: three for joining us. In days. As I was doing
39:10
Speaker 1: this and putting this podcast together, I thought to myself,
39:13
Speaker 1: between John McClain, who has been going for I think
39:16
Speaker 1: five years, been a business. Chap has been doing it
39:18
Speaker 1: since eighty four, Jim Wyatt I think of as a
39:21
Speaker 1: young guy. And Jim was the third guy on the
39:26
Speaker 1: Titans beat at the Tennessee and back when the Jags
39:31
Speaker 1: and the Titans were going at it for the division
39:33
Speaker 1: in nine. He was behind the Paul Kaharsky, who a
39:36
Speaker 1: lot of people know, longtime Titans guy, and behind Jeff
39:40
Speaker 1: Legwald who has gone on and he's covered the Denver
39:44
Speaker 1: Broncos forever. So a lot of power on that beat,
39:47
Speaker 1: but a hundred years of NFL experience. I found the podcast,
39:51
Speaker 1: so if you throw me in there, two years, so
39:55
Speaker 1: it's been a while, and uh, I thought it was interesting. Um, Dave,
40:00
Speaker 1: I think the thing that you draw from this clearly
40:03
Speaker 1: people think that the Jaguars are number four in this division,
40:06
Speaker 1: and why shouldn't you think that they were fourth last year?
40:10
Speaker 1: And everybody nationally doesn't really understand they're growing from within. Uh,
40:15
Speaker 1: but this maybe And I've been covering the division since
40:19
Speaker 1: the start. Oh too, I think it's the most competitive
40:22
Speaker 1: day of c South because really people believe that the Texans,
40:26
Speaker 1: Colts and Titans. I would think most people if you
40:31
Speaker 1: ask fifty people who's going to win the division, you
40:34
Speaker 1: might get a pretty even split between those three teams. Yeah.
40:40
Speaker 1: I mean the big kind of rise in this division
40:42
Speaker 1: is those quarterbacks. I mean you add in Philip Rivers,
40:45
Speaker 1: who looks like a future Hall of Famer, and added
40:48
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson who after Patrick Mahomes, he's in the the
40:52
Speaker 1: argument to be who's who's behind him? And then add
40:55
Speaker 1: in what Tannehill did last year and then minshew Um.
40:59
Speaker 1: I think that's kind of what gives the Jags Jacks
41:02
Speaker 1: the fighting chances. What what Gardnerman she develops too? And
41:07
Speaker 1: the other part of this, too, for talking about kind
41:10
Speaker 1: of the national perception and predicting the vision, is what's
41:14
Speaker 1: this COVID stuff gonna bring? I think ultimately right, it's
41:18
Speaker 1: gonna be some combination of how good the team is,
41:21
Speaker 1: plus how you handle all the protocols and if you
41:26
Speaker 1: get lucky not getting guys sick and hurt and all that,
41:29
Speaker 1: and you know that's where where it kind of evens
41:31
Speaker 1: out when you so this maybe not just in the
41:34
Speaker 1: ANFC South, but across the NFL, maybe the hardest year
41:38
Speaker 1: to predict. She's gonna win it all, you know, I
41:41
Speaker 1: hear you. I'm not even sure you can try to
41:43
Speaker 1: predict it, because if if life has been unknown for
41:48
Speaker 1: six months, the NFL is sure going to be unknown. Yeah.
41:53
Speaker 1: The way I've been approaching is when you talk about it,
41:55
Speaker 1: you have to talk about it just sort of assuming
41:59
Speaker 1: that everybody's going maybe it even strength knowing they're not.
42:03
Speaker 1: If that makes any sense, you know, because you can't
42:06
Speaker 1: really have a conversation because okay, yeah, if the Chiefs
42:10
Speaker 1: lose my homes for four weeks because of COVID, and
42:12
Speaker 1: that's that there's a different ball of acts than if
42:15
Speaker 1: you don't. I think what's fascinating about the a f
42:18
Speaker 1: C South. You talked about quarterbacks and John McClain, who
42:24
Speaker 1: I respect more than anybody, and he's right, says very flatly,
42:30
Speaker 1: Shaun Watson's the best quarterback in the division. He is,
42:34
Speaker 1: But much like every other quarterback, there's a major question
42:38
Speaker 1: with Watson and John kind of, you know, brushed over
42:42
Speaker 1: it a little bit, and I'll defer to him because
42:44
Speaker 1: he knows the team, but him without has nobody knows
42:47
Speaker 1: what that's gonna look like. Philip Rivers, nobody knows what
42:52
Speaker 1: that really looks like, meaning is he the quarterback in
42:56
Speaker 1: San Diego from two thousand eighteen or is he last years?
42:59
Speaker 1: So if Rivers looks like that, the Cults are contenders.
43:03
Speaker 1: If Watson is the same guy without Hopkins culture contender.
43:07
Speaker 1: If Ryan tanney Hill is last year, is Ryan tanny Hill,
43:11
Speaker 1: then maybe the Titans are the best. If Minshoe develops
43:16
Speaker 1: and is a guy like we all hope, then maybe
43:20
Speaker 1: the Jaguars jump in there. So while you say it's
43:24
Speaker 1: all quarterbacks, and I agree, And while on paper the
43:26
Speaker 1: Jaguars probably your fourth quarterback if if you ask most
43:31
Speaker 1: people nationally, you put Minshew fourth to that group, but
43:34
Speaker 1: you don't know what those other guys until the season starts.
43:37
Speaker 1: And for that reason, it could be a really competitive vision,
43:40
Speaker 1: like I said at the top, or it could be
43:44
Speaker 1: if two of those quarterbacks go south and what him
43:46
Speaker 1: is the real deal, It could be that that team
43:48
Speaker 1: is a prohibitive favor. So I still put the Texans
43:52
Speaker 1: up there until they don't win it, only because every
43:57
Speaker 1: year for the last four or five years, I hear
44:00
Speaker 1: people saying, oh, the Texans aren't that good. Well, they're
44:02
Speaker 1: gonna have to win the division every year four out
44:04
Speaker 1: of five, so to me, until the Jaguars start beating
44:08
Speaker 1: them consistently, I I put them as the best, and
44:13
Speaker 1: then they've got to start winning playoff games, just like
44:16
Speaker 1: really every team in the division sort of has that
44:18
Speaker 1: right now. They none of them have gotten over the hump.
44:21
Speaker 1: They're all sort of waiting, and yeah, that's the X
44:26
Speaker 1: factor for all of them. But I think it's a
44:27
Speaker 1: fascinating division this year, Dave, I really do. Tony Dungey
44:30
Speaker 1: told me this when I was covering the Colts. NFL
44:32
Speaker 1: people and good NFL teams know that you can improve
44:38
Speaker 1: from within with continuity more consistently than by going out
44:44
Speaker 1: and adding players, meaning you bring all these free agency
44:48
Speaker 1: you get a lot of uncertainty. So nobody thinks that
44:51
Speaker 1: the Jaguars can improve because so much of their hope
44:55
Speaker 1: is built on these young guys who are now forming
44:57
Speaker 1: the cord getting better. So that's a big factor. If
45:00
Speaker 1: Minhiw gets better, if Josh Allen takes a huge step,
45:03
Speaker 1: think you can Joan Taylor, d J Chart. You know
45:06
Speaker 1: there are guys who can ascend. I look at the
45:09
Speaker 1: division overall, and there are people in the league who
45:15
Speaker 1: wonder about Deshaun Watson without Hopkins because he has been
45:20
Speaker 1: so dependent on him for years. And that really goes
45:24
Speaker 1: through the entire division. What are these quarterbacks? So it's
45:29
Speaker 1: an odd division. I don't know that there's a dominant team.
45:33
Speaker 1: If I was picking right now, I would say that
45:35
Speaker 1: Texans win it. With the Birds, I think they're gonna
45:39
Speaker 1: knock off one of these three teams. One of them
45:41
Speaker 1: is going to split a little bit. The interesting thing
45:43
Speaker 1: about Tennessee there's sort of this year's darling a little
45:47
Speaker 1: bit because they made the AFC Championship Game. They've been
45:49
Speaker 1: nine and seven I think like fourteen years in a row.
45:51
Speaker 1: And I'm exaggerating, but I think it's like three years
45:54
Speaker 1: in a row. They haven't quite been able to do
45:56
Speaker 1: it during the regular season, and the Cults are such
45:59
Speaker 1: an interesting team. Because is they thought and most people
46:02
Speaker 1: thought they were going to have another Manning era with luck.
46:05
Speaker 1: You know, they draft him and then you're gonna just
46:07
Speaker 1: hit autopilot and be good for thirteen or fourteen years.
46:10
Speaker 1: That's sort of change. And now I thought it was
46:12
Speaker 1: interesting what Chapel said. I consider Ballard and Write a
46:18
Speaker 1: dynamo combination. You know, that is one of the best
46:22
Speaker 1: GM head coach combinations. But if they don't win this year,
46:27
Speaker 1: there's some pressure on him to get there. Yeah. I
46:31
Speaker 1: think the perception among football people in the league or
46:34
Speaker 1: that they are very, very strong, but as as chap said,
46:39
Speaker 1: they have not made the playoffs consistently. They need to
46:42
Speaker 1: get there. And you don't know, if you don't know
46:45
Speaker 1: what Rivers is, will he be able to get him there.
46:47
Speaker 1: So that's a fascinating dynamic of a situation that could
46:51
Speaker 1: be a long term great situation or it could be
46:53
Speaker 1: a lot of pressure if it doesn't go right. So
46:56
Speaker 1: that's why that's why you play the games to day,
46:59
Speaker 1: and that's why you play the game. That's what they
47:00
Speaker 1: always say, right, and let's help we play all of
47:03
Speaker 1: them this year, no doubt, no doubt. But I think
47:08
Speaker 1: people who listened to this will know much much more
47:11
Speaker 1: about the A s C Staff than they did before.
47:13
Speaker 1: And I hope people get and uh enjoyed the unbelievable
47:20
Speaker 1: amount of experience that we had in the call of that.
47:22
Speaker 1: I want to thank Joe Fortunatos always making this sound great.
47:25
Speaker 1: I want to thank David Cannie for making this look great.
47:28
Speaker 1: I hope we didn't suck. I don't think this one did.
47:30
Speaker 1: And we'll talk to you next week.