Latest / Jags A.M. / Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 259 | Analyzing "Punch Each Other in the Face" Rivalry w/ Texans, Late-Game Antics in Week 5
Transcript
- 0:19Speaker 1: Welcome to Jags AM from the Hyundai Library at the
- 0:23Speaker 1: Grove outside of London, where we're still trying to figure
- 0:26Speaker 1: out whether it was Professor Plum or Mrs. Green and
- 0:29Speaker 1: the candlestick or the wrench. Feels like a live set
- 0:31Speaker 1: of Clue when we sit here every year, and I
- 0:34Speaker 1: love it. It's fun stuff. The show is brought to
- 0:37Speaker 1: you by our friends at GEHA. GEHA, Government Employees Health Association.
- 0:43Speaker 1: Brent Martineau joins us. Although you've got a show of
- 0:45Speaker 1: your own to do at some point today. Hopefully we
- 0:47Speaker 1: can give you a couple of good ideas to talk about.
- 0:49Speaker 1: Give me a few topics. Yeah, we'll give that to you.
- 0:51Speaker 1: And you all know the senior writer, John Ogier, who
- 0:53Speaker 1: is haunting about this place like he owns it.
- 0:55Speaker 2: I did, by the way. In a clip. I mean,
- 0:59Speaker 2: I'll just confess right now. Yep.
- 1:01Speaker 1: All right. So let's get right to big things. And
- 1:03Speaker 1: we'll start with number one, which is Bullseye.
- 1:05Speaker 2: Listen.
- 1:06Speaker 1: The Texans are coming in here thinking that they can
- 1:08Speaker 1: completely right their season if they hit the mark on Sunday.
- 1:12Speaker 1: No matter that they just beat the winless Titans, they're
- 1:15Speaker 1: a talented team who's getting healthier. It's gotten a little
- 1:18Speaker 1: more talented, perhaps, if you think that Marvin Harrison Jr.
- 1:21Speaker 1: can help them this week. And you can't help but
- 1:23Speaker 1: think that they understand two and four, we can manage.
- 1:28Speaker 1: One and five, probably can't. So their whole season appears
- 1:31Speaker 1: to be sitting right here on the table on Sunday
- 1:33Speaker 1: at Wembley Stadium.
- 1:34Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm a big believer in this league, Brad. I
- 1:36Speaker 2: think you are too. Belief, focus, motivation matters very much.
- 1:42Speaker 2: all teams still have it in October. It's why the
- 1:44Speaker 2: early season games are almost always in doubt going into it. Um,
- 1:51Speaker 2: all the Texans have to do is, is reference last year.
- 1:55Speaker 2: D'Amico Ryan's doesn't have a very hard message to send. It's, Hey,
- 1:59Speaker 2: you saw last year, we can get back in this
- 2:01Speaker 2: thing and beating the Jaguars is a way to close
- 2:05Speaker 2: this gap. Keep us in it. It can be our springboard. Uh,
- 2:08Speaker 2: I don't think they will, but that's their belief.
- 2:10Speaker 3: Yeah, they should have some belief, too, because they can
- 2:12Speaker 3: close that gap, build the momentum, as you mentioned. And
- 2:14Speaker 3: the other thing that I believe is if you're going
- 2:16Speaker 3: to make the playoffs, you win your home games and
- 2:19Speaker 3: you have a pretty good division record. And so this
- 2:21Speaker 3: is the start of.
- 2:21Speaker 1: That for the Jags.
- 2:22Speaker 3: And this is a home game. So you obviously got
- 2:24Speaker 3: off to a good start with New England and Cleveland.
- 2:26Speaker 3: You'd like to continue to win in your home schedule
- 2:30Speaker 3: and then get off to this really good start because
- 2:32Speaker 3: we know at Houston will be very difficult. We figure
- 2:35Speaker 3: that Indianapolis series could be tricky. Tennessee, obviously, could favor
- 2:39Speaker 3: the Jags in a big-time way.
- 2:40Speaker 1: Let's flip your argument real quick. D'Amico Ryan has a
- 2:43Speaker 1: pretty easy runway to get that argument off the ground. So, too,
- 2:47Speaker 1: you would think Liam Cohen does, right? Last week, he
- 2:52Speaker 1: tried to tell everybody, the Eagles are going to come
- 2:54Speaker 1: in here and be a very difficult team to play,
- 2:56Speaker 1: despite the fact that Saquon Barkley and Devonta Smith are
- 2:59Speaker 1: not playing. Jonathan Grenard is inactive on game day. he's
- 3:02Speaker 1: got that, and he's got the fact, hey, listen, 19 points, guys.
- 3:05Speaker 1: We had a chance to put them down last year.
- 3:07Speaker 1: They were 3-5. We let them up off the mat
- 3:09Speaker 1: last year, and we had to chase them, or they
- 3:11Speaker 1: had to chase us, all the way to the division title.
- 3:14Speaker 2: Look, Trevor, when he was talking to the podium yesterday,
- 3:16Speaker 2: I was asked, is that still a thing? And he said,
- 3:20Speaker 2: it's not something they talk about. It may not be
- 3:22Speaker 2: something they talk about, but at some point, it'll come up,
- 3:28Speaker 2: or you'll think about it, It's too fresh. I didn't
- 3:31Speaker 2: want to say traumatic because they clearly overcame it. It
- 3:34Speaker 2: was a springboard. But you know, beyond even that game,
- 3:41Speaker 2: the fact that it is a real rivalry, it's a
- 3:44Speaker 2: punch-each-other-in-the-face rivalry, I can't imagine there's not a high level
- 3:51Speaker 2: of motivation and that it will be very, very... it'll
- 3:56Speaker 2: be a very ready, motivated team Sunday.
- 3:58Speaker 3: Well, in many ways, it was a thank you note
- 3:59Speaker 3: to Houston for doing that because it's changed the organization.
- 4:02Speaker 3: They've won 12 out of 13 regular season games. It
- 4:04Speaker 3: was the Volcom last year, but Trevor might've downplayed it.
- 4:08Speaker 3: I don't think Liam Cohen downplayed it on Wednesday. I
- 4:11Speaker 3: thought he kind of was like, Hey, we're.
- 4:13Speaker 2: Well, he talked about the rivalry. Trevor talked about the game.
- 4:16Speaker 2: Trevor was asked about the game itself.
- 4:18Speaker 4: Yeah.
- 4:18Speaker 2: I think anybody in the building, this is the South
- 4:23Speaker 2: rivalry right now. You know, uh, The Colts are in it,
- 4:28Speaker 2: but between the hit in 24, everything involved, this is
- 4:31Speaker 2: a real rivalry because these two teams have hurt each
- 4:35Speaker 2: other in the last year. You have to hurt each
- 4:37Speaker 2: other for it to be a rivalry.
- 4:38Speaker 1: Yeah, not only that, too.
- 4:39Speaker 3: This defense comes in heralded, even though they gave up
- 4:42Speaker 3: 109 points in the first month of the season. And
- 4:45Speaker 3: nobody's really talking about the Jags defense a lot.
- 4:48Speaker 1: They have a chance there.
- 4:48Speaker 3: So there's a bunch of different tentacles here that make this,
- 4:51Speaker 3: I think, one of the biggest games of the season.
- 4:53Speaker 3: That's why I was surprised it was over here in
- 4:55Speaker 3: London when the schedule came out.
- 4:56Speaker 1: I think it is. Let's hear from the head coach
- 4:57Speaker 1: since you mentioned him on this rivalry in last year.
- 5:03Speaker 5: Obviously, have a tough feeling in our stomachs from the
- 5:07Speaker 5: last time we played against these guys and know that
- 5:12Speaker 5: every time that you line up against this team, it's
- 5:14Speaker 5: going to be a fight. It's going to be a brawl.
- 5:16Speaker 5: And so that's what's great about football. That's what's great
- 5:20Speaker 5: about rivalries is that you have a level of respect
- 5:25Speaker 5: for each other, right? Because, you know, any given Sunday,
- 5:28Speaker 5: anything can happen, especially in rivalry type games and understanding
- 5:33Speaker 5: what you can learn from each of these opportunities that
- 5:36Speaker 5: you play against one another in and how well you
- 5:40Speaker 5: start to get to know each other in ways in
- 5:42Speaker 5: terms of what they want to do, what we want
- 5:44Speaker 5: to do. And that's the cat and mouse game. That's
- 5:47Speaker 5: the game within the game that you have to play.
- 5:51Speaker 1: So the head coach is not letting go of it,
- 5:53Speaker 1: and hopefully the Jaguars don't either. Let's move on to
- 5:55Speaker 1: big thing two. We'll call it line dancing. The Jaguars
- 5:58Speaker 1: this week having to shuffle things around. They were doing
- 6:00Speaker 1: it all throughout the course of August, and we heard, well,
- 6:03Speaker 1: this is going to be a strength at some point.
- 6:05Speaker 1: We're going to understand what we've got and who can
- 6:08Speaker 1: play where, and that's what you've got. You've got Walker
- 6:11Speaker 1: Little stepping out into the role that Anton Harrison vacates
- 6:14Speaker 1: with his knee injury. And that's a big one now
- 6:17Speaker 1: because you've got Daniil Hunter over there who had seven
- 6:19Speaker 1: quarterback pressures in Nashville last week.
- 6:21Speaker 3: Yeah, listen, this is a challenging part of it right
- 6:23Speaker 3: now for the Jags. We don't know how.
- 6:25Speaker 1: Good Colvin Lennon is playing, Ezra Cleveland on the right side.
- 6:28Speaker 1: And now you put Walker Little over there for a
- 6:30Speaker 1: tall task.
- 6:31Speaker 3: He says he's excited because he's going against his hometown
- 6:34Speaker 3: team in Houston. He's experienced it. Trevor, trust him. There's
- 6:37Speaker 3: all those good things happening. He's never played next to
- 6:40Speaker 3: Emmanuel Pregnant in a game. And Pregnant's coming off a
- 6:42Speaker 3: three-hold game. So I think there are a lot of
- 6:44Speaker 3: concerns and questions just because you're going against Houston, but
- 6:47Speaker 3: also just in general. Like, where is this offensive line
- 6:51Speaker 3: right now? Where will it be in a few weeks, John?
- 6:53Speaker 2: Well, I think if any of the 31 teams... They
- 6:58Speaker 2: were playing the Texans. This is the storyline. Can the
- 7:01Speaker 2: offensive line hold up no matter how good or bad
- 7:04Speaker 2: your offensive line is? Because I think most Jaguars fans,
- 7:08Speaker 2: my last memory of the Houston Texans up close was
- 7:11Speaker 2: them rolling last season on the Jaguars offensive line. And
- 7:16Speaker 2: they have that feeling of being able to overpower and overwhelm.
- 7:20Speaker 2: I think with that being such a storyline and such
- 7:23Speaker 2: a focus, I think the Jaguars will figure out a
- 7:25Speaker 2: way to get them blocked enough to make plays. But
- 7:28Speaker 2: it's absolutely– the Walker Little thing is why they approach
- 7:34Speaker 2: training camp the way they do, meaning they've always rotated
- 7:37Speaker 2: in and out to be ready. All that's great, but
- 7:40Speaker 2: he's going to need help, and I think you'll see
- 7:43Speaker 2: schemes offensively designed to help a lot of guys because
- 7:47Speaker 2: they've already talked about the 11. You need an 11.
- 7:50Speaker 2: You need a package. It's going to take a team
- 7:52Speaker 2: effort to counter– it's not only the Texans' strength, It
- 7:57Speaker 2: may be one of the strongest units that any team
- 8:00Speaker 2: has in the league, the Texans' ability to rush the quarterback.
- 8:03Speaker 1: Let's hear from the quarterback about his left tackle, the
- 8:06Speaker 1: guy he has to trust with his blind side the most.
- 8:10Speaker 4: That position, I've seen just over my career how important that,
- 8:13Speaker 4: if you want to call it swing tackle, spot is.
- 8:16Speaker 4: It's just, you know, unfortunately, obviously... Tonson be out. It
- 8:21Speaker 4: happens in this league, and injuries happen. It's an unfortunate
- 8:24Speaker 4: part of it, and just seeing how important it is
- 8:26Speaker 4: to have a guy that can step up, and Walker's
- 8:28Speaker 4: shown that he can do that.
- 8:28Speaker 1: I've played a lot of football with him. Trust him.
- 8:31Speaker 1: He had a great day today.
- 8:32Speaker 4: He seems ready to go, and he's been locked in
- 8:34Speaker 4: the whole season in case his number gets called, so
- 8:37Speaker 4: I don't have any hesitations about him.
- 8:42Speaker 1: The left tackle can be his best friend, and the
- 8:44Speaker 1: other guy he really needs is the coach. They have
- 8:47Speaker 1: got to Find a way, you mentioned scheme, to get
- 8:51Speaker 1: the quick throws and move on because these guys get
- 8:53Speaker 1: pressure faster than anyone else in the league. 2.48 seconds
- 8:56Speaker 1: to pressure is the fastest. Stay on schedule.
- 8:59Speaker 3: I'll give you one other guy. I think this could be.
- 9:00Speaker 3: We haven't heard much from him so far this year.
- 9:03Speaker 3: He was a big talking point last year. LaQuinn Allen.
- 9:06Speaker 2: Sure.
- 9:07Speaker 3: LaQuinn Allen chipping. I mean, do we see that show up?
- 9:10Speaker 3: And I know that's sometimes on certain downs. I get it,
- 9:12Speaker 3: but you want to be physical. He was a big
- 9:15Speaker 3: reason why you were last year against some of these
- 9:17Speaker 3: big teams and big edge rushers. Here in Jacksonville, we've
- 9:20Speaker 3: faced a lot of defensive tackles that have been very
- 9:22Speaker 3: good so far. This could be a Laquan Allen game, too,
- 9:24Speaker 3: to keep an eye on.
- 9:25Speaker 2: Even beyond the pass blocking, Bashell Tootin's what? He's been
- 9:30Speaker 2: between 70 and 80 every week. It seems like he's
- 9:32Speaker 2: right in that. Don't you just kind of feel that
- 9:35Speaker 2: this is a game where you can get him sprung?
- 9:37Speaker 2: Maybe it's the Bashell Tootin. I don't want to say
- 9:40Speaker 2: breakout because he's played very well. Right. But maybe it's
- 9:42Speaker 2: the breakout beyond the 75-yard barrier.
- 9:44Speaker 1: He might have had that last week had they not
- 9:46Speaker 1: had a couple of holding penalties that called back some
- 9:48Speaker 1: significant runs. Almost had it against Cincinnati. The other side
- 9:51Speaker 1: of the coin, too, is as big a friend as
- 9:56Speaker 1: Walker Little and the coaching staff is to Trevor, so, too,
- 9:59Speaker 1: is Basial, too. let's wrap up big things here on
- 10:02Speaker 1: a thursday with rate increase look they need to get
- 10:06Speaker 1: pressure obviously on cj stroud but the difference between pressure
- 10:09Speaker 1: and blitzing is distinct with this guy when you get
- 10:13Speaker 1: to him with pressure his numbers, his completion percentage, his
- 10:18Speaker 1: yards per attempt are significantly lower than when you attack
- 10:21Speaker 1: him with the blitz, which doesn't seem to make a
- 10:23Speaker 1: lot of sense. But last week, he was 9 of
- 10:26Speaker 1: 10 under pressure and is a guy, CJ Stroud, who
- 10:29Speaker 1: has not thrown an interception or turned the ball over
- 10:32Speaker 1: since that playoff game where he threw four picks in
- 10:34Speaker 1: New England last year. He has gotten progressively better, even
- 10:39Speaker 1: better with Nico Collins back in the lineup, but you
- 10:43Speaker 1: can't blitz him, he is the number one quarterback in
- 10:46Speaker 1: the league against the blitz so far. The four you've
- 10:48Speaker 1: got have got to get there predominantly.
- 10:51Speaker 2: Well, it tells you that they're doing a good job
- 10:53Speaker 2: of identifying the blitz and beating the defense when it
- 10:57Speaker 2: has an extra man coming. He's been much better in
- 11:01Speaker 2: the first four or five games than I thought he
- 11:04Speaker 2: would be. He's sometimes prone to throwing the picks. It
- 11:08Speaker 2: makes you wonder how much they're protecting that. And Also,
- 11:15Speaker 2: the Jaguars have two superpowers defensively. One is the ability
- 11:18Speaker 2: to stop the run. The other is the ability, once
- 11:21Speaker 2: they've gotten the run stopped, to be looking at the
- 11:23Speaker 2: quarterback and taking advantage of the possibilities. I think this
- 11:28Speaker 2: is a week where the Jaguars get at least one
- 11:30Speaker 2: off C.J.
- 11:31Speaker 4: Stroud.
- 11:31Speaker 3: I feel like the Jags' pressure, even with the four,
- 11:33Speaker 3: has been better than the numbers indicate, at least what
- 11:36Speaker 3: the eye test shows me. Getting the quarterback on the
- 11:38Speaker 3: ground has been a different story. But I even feel
- 11:40Speaker 3: like last week a row, row, row had some good rushes.
- 11:43Speaker 3: We're seeing Devon Hamilton in the rush game now, not
- 11:45Speaker 3: just stopping the run in the penetration game. So I
- 11:49Speaker 3: think this adds up to maybe a couple of mistakes, hopefully,
- 11:52Speaker 3: from C.J.
- 11:52Speaker 1: Stroud.
- 11:53Speaker 3: The thing about Stroud, and I think Liam Cohen said it,
- 11:55Speaker 3: and he's right on, he's playing with confidence.
- 11:57Speaker 1: And it's a confident position, right? You better be. He
- 12:00Speaker 1: wasn't last year. He is right now. He also gets
- 12:02Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison Jr. involved. Maybe that gives him even a
- 12:05Speaker 1: little bit more confidence. You have to break that confidence
- 12:07Speaker 1: a little bit. somewhere early in that game, in my opinion.
- 12:10Speaker 2: Pressuring early and breaking that comment is what he said
- 12:12Speaker 2: is absolutely key.
- 12:13Speaker 1: He's tough to sack because what the Texans like to
- 12:15Speaker 1: do is move the pocket, right? So it's not like
- 12:17Speaker 1: you're attacking a spot on the field like you would
- 12:20Speaker 1: with most quarterbacks, like Joe Burrow. They're moving the pocket
- 12:23Speaker 1: strategically to give him some flexibility and confidence, which means
- 12:27Speaker 1: the Jaguars' rushers have got to be on their game.
- 12:30Speaker 1: That's big things. When we return... we will look at
- 12:33Speaker 1: clock management, game management, and the importance last week and
- 12:37Speaker 1: the importance every week in professional football. Brent Martin is
- 12:40Speaker 1: with us for one more segment here on Jags AM
- 12:43Speaker 1: from London. And we're back at the Grove outside London,
- 12:58Speaker 1: the Jaguars' home away from home for another year. It
- 13:01Speaker 1: has been a wonderful week. At least it has from
- 13:04Speaker 1: my perspective.
- 13:05Speaker 5: Yeah.
- 13:05Speaker 1: It's a great place. Jaguars have outstanding food. They walk
- 13:08Speaker 1: right across the street to the practice facility, across the
- 13:11Speaker 1: parking lot. Actually, not even the street. And you just
- 13:15Speaker 1: get a sense of how much work they can get
- 13:18Speaker 1: done when they're all together all week long.
- 13:21Speaker 4: Right?
- 13:21Speaker 1: More time. There's nothing to do here but work for
- 13:25Speaker 1: a couple of days. That's true.
- 13:26Speaker 2: Right?
- 13:26Speaker 1: Yeah, the weather's been awesome, so can't complain.
- 13:30Speaker 2: Not that awesome. You're ready to go skiing.
- 13:32Speaker 1: I know. It's all about the logo, John. Did you
- 13:34Speaker 1: golf this week? Did you make it to the golf course?
- 13:37Speaker 3: I've been doing this for how many years now and
- 13:38Speaker 3: still never made it to that golf course, other than.
- 13:40Speaker 1: To walk around it. And it's a championship course, too.
- 13:42Speaker 1: It's a really nice course. I thought this week we
- 13:45Speaker 1: would talk a little bit about clock management, since it
- 13:47Speaker 1: was such a big issue at the end of the
- 13:49Speaker 1: game last week. I just want to remind people of
- 13:50Speaker 1: a couple of key plays. And let's start. We've got
- 13:53Speaker 1: the highlights of this. Parker Washington's punt return at 2-14
- 13:57Speaker 1: left to go in the ballgame. And what's important about
- 13:58Speaker 1: this one is the Eagles were hoping to get the
- 14:02Speaker 1: ball back to run a play before the two-minute warning.
- 14:06Speaker 1: And you see what Parker does here. Really heads up
- 14:09Speaker 1: coaching and performing by Parker as he's just milking the
- 14:13Speaker 1: clock and he goes out of bounds at 1-59 and
- 14:16Speaker 1: they have to go to the two-minute warning. I think
- 14:19Speaker 1: as most people watched that, they weren't paying attention to it.
- 14:21Speaker 1: But that's an important moment in the game. Game within
- 14:24Speaker 1: a game, John. So good. I mean, that's just great stuff.
- 14:27Speaker 3: And I also think it shows how slow the game
- 14:29Speaker 3: is right now for Parker Washington.
- 14:31Speaker 2: And I think what you just said is exactly right. He's, what,
- 14:33Speaker 2: now in his fourth year and is aware enough, just
- 14:39Speaker 2: like Amir Abdul at the end of the game, right?
- 14:40Speaker 2: Aware enough of situations to be able to not only
- 14:45Speaker 2: feel it, but calmly execute it. Shows you how the
- 14:49Speaker 2: game can change, too. It was a big play and
- 14:52Speaker 2: a good play. And then it sort of almost cost
- 14:55Speaker 2: him at the end, right? And you can't predict the
- 14:58Speaker 2: way that game ended. But, you know, what you're doing
- 15:01Speaker 2: with clock management usually is you are trying to increase
- 15:05Speaker 2: your percentage chances of success in a situation. You can
- 15:09Speaker 2: never predict how the ball is going to bounce in
- 15:11Speaker 2: this league. But incredibly heady play by Parker Washington.
- 15:14Speaker 1: Well, and here's another one, and it's not so heady
- 15:17Speaker 1: for the— the Eagles, Makai Lemon, the rookie receiver, ran
- 15:21Speaker 1: out of bounds, caught the pass with 21 seconds left
- 15:24Speaker 1: to play. If he stays down in bounds, then perhaps
- 15:27Speaker 1: the clock runs. The Jaguars are forced to burn their
- 15:29Speaker 1: time out, and all of a sudden you don't have
- 15:31Speaker 1: enough time. They're able to kick the field goal at
- 15:33Speaker 1: the end of the game. But you see, it's an
- 15:35Speaker 1: out-breaking route as opposed to an in-breaking route, and so
- 15:38Speaker 1: his momentum is carrying him that way anyway. And he's
- 15:40Speaker 1: a rookie and probably just not heads up enough, doesn't
- 15:43Speaker 1: understand what's going on enough. to be able to stay
- 15:46Speaker 1: in bounds. He just wanted to catch the ball.
- 15:47Speaker 2: It would have been a great play for a rookie
- 15:48Speaker 2: to have realized in that moment because there is an
- 15:52Speaker 2: element here of it's a hard game, and you're playing fast.
- 15:59Speaker 2: I've joked with some people in analyzing these games the
- 16:01Speaker 2: last couple weeks. Yes, we can analyze it, but I've
- 16:05Speaker 2: never been in that situation. You're moving that fast. You're
- 16:07Speaker 2: getting hit. You're trying to get down. Maybe he was
- 16:09Speaker 2: trying to get down and just all of a sudden
- 16:13Speaker 2: couldn't in that moment. Uh, so, but to your point,
- 16:17Speaker 2: veteran player in that situation, maybe is able to be
- 16:22Speaker 2: a foot over to the left.
- 16:23Speaker 3: Well, I also think they're in between there. They're not
- 16:26Speaker 3: just sitting on the clock. They were being aggressive to
- 16:28Speaker 3: get closer than a 51 yard field goal. And so
- 16:30Speaker 3: even as a young player, any player, you're like, well,
- 16:32Speaker 3: we're being aggressive here.
- 16:33Speaker 1: Let's get out of bounds. Maybe we want one more play.
- 16:35Speaker 3: So you just don't know what's communicated and obviously young
- 16:38Speaker 3: versus veteran player. But I think they were in a
- 16:40Speaker 3: bit of a pickle on, do we want to settle
- 16:42Speaker 3: for a 51-yarder or do we want a 42-yarder?
- 16:45Speaker 1: Well, listen, the other part of that is that Anthony Campanile,
- 16:47Speaker 1: the Jaguars defensive coordinator, is playing cover zero. He's enticing
- 16:51Speaker 1: them with a compressed field and a lot of bodies
- 16:53Speaker 1: in the blocks. He's enticing them to throw the ball there.
- 16:58Speaker 1: And they did exactly what he wanted, and it just
- 17:00Speaker 1: so happened that Mekhi Lemon ran out of bounds. And
- 17:02Speaker 1: so that brings us now to the fact that at
- 17:04Speaker 1: the end of the ballgame, two plays, and there were
- 17:06Speaker 1: probably two others somewhere along the way, where the Jaguars
- 17:09Speaker 1: had an opportunity to return. And time management, again, we
- 17:14Speaker 1: hear about from the head coach and his special teams coordinator.
- 17:19Speaker 1: Amir Abdullah is looking for the clock, which is not
- 17:23Speaker 1: as easy to find at Tottenham as it is at
- 17:26Speaker 1: some other stadiums. He's looking to get his knee down
- 17:28Speaker 1: at one. That's great coaching.
- 17:29Speaker 2: Yeah, he was just a guest on the Ozone podcast,
- 17:32Speaker 2: which taped right before this show. And he said, I
- 17:36Speaker 2: was expecting them to kick it into the end zone.
- 17:40Speaker 2: And then once they didn't, it's interesting, he went through
- 17:45Speaker 2: a lot of the things that you think about, and
- 17:48Speaker 2: he talked about having a checklist, Brent. And it was
- 17:53Speaker 2: fascinating because you realize, yes, there's this moment, and we
- 17:57Speaker 2: can sit in the press box and go through it.
- 18:00Speaker 2: They're having to pull up. the coaching points of that moment,
- 18:04Speaker 2: at that individual moment, only having a few seconds to
- 18:08Speaker 2: do it, I'm not sure a rookie makes the play
- 18:15Speaker 2: in that moment. that maybe the 12th-year guy does.
- 18:18Speaker 3: I think the hardest thing to do in that moment
- 18:20Speaker 3: is once he broke free and by the kicker, it's like, well,
- 18:21Speaker 3: now I can go, though.
- 18:23Speaker 1: I might be able to return this thing.
- 18:25Speaker 3: So you've got to still calculate that along with the
- 18:27Speaker 3: clock getting down. I mean, it's a heady play by
- 18:30Speaker 3: Amir Abdullah. There's a little bit of luck involved in
- 18:32Speaker 3: some of this that happened with the Jags. That's what
- 18:35Speaker 3: percentages are, right?
- 18:36Speaker 2: You're trying to increase your percentage, but you're still relying
- 18:40Speaker 2: on the fact that It may not play right into
- 18:43Speaker 2: what you're doing.
- 18:43Speaker 3: And I'm not sure, guys, what the percentage is on
- 18:45Speaker 3: any of the plays that the Eagles would have tried.
- 18:47Speaker 3: Kicking it through the end zone, Jags running a crazy play,
- 18:51Speaker 3: or this that happened, or kicking it out of bounds.
- 18:54Speaker 1: They might all be similar.
- 18:56Speaker 2: And this one was. 001.
- 18:58Speaker 1: Very slim margin, sir. And it's worth pointing out here
- 19:01Speaker 1: as we watch, because who isn't eager to see this
- 19:06Speaker 1: play one more time? The field goal from Cam Little.
- 19:09Speaker 1: That the Jaguars have a staff of coaches, John Dykema,
- 19:12Speaker 1: Shane Waldron, that work all week on scenarios. And they
- 19:17Speaker 1: will look at this game. They will look at other
- 19:19Speaker 1: games around the NFL. They looked at the game in Rio, right? Yeah, yeah.
- 19:22Speaker 1: Against between the Cowboys and the Ravens that a lot
- 19:24Speaker 1: of people have pointed to this week. And they are
- 19:26Speaker 1: constantly evaluating, learning, processing, and putting together points. Even through
- 19:34Speaker 1: the course of a game. You're trying to manage the
- 19:37Speaker 1: times out. You're trying to manage the clock. You're trying
- 19:39Speaker 1: to manage every aspect of it. You can field position.
- 19:42Speaker 1: So it's the mental side of the game.
- 19:46Speaker 2: And it's a remarkable kind of meshing is the right
- 19:48Speaker 2: word that I'm looking for. You do all that. And
- 19:52Speaker 2: that is at a scientific level beyond anything that it
- 19:57Speaker 2: was when I was growing up watching the NFL. And
- 20:00Speaker 2: yet you do that. And I keep saying, I keep
- 20:04Speaker 2: saying the same percentages at some point, The players still
- 20:08Speaker 2: have to go out there and react in the moment.
- 20:12Speaker 2: And like Amir Abdullah, well-coached. But once he's at that
- 20:17Speaker 2: 45-yard line, it's not about coaching anymore. It's about the feel.
- 20:20Speaker 2: It's about having a sense of the game. Well-coached. Once
- 20:24Speaker 2: it's out there, Cam Little still has to adapt to
- 20:27Speaker 2: the high snap stuff to be in the moment. Still
- 20:30Speaker 2: a player's game. And I thought that was... Unbelievable execution
- 20:35Speaker 2: at the end by those guys.
- 20:36Speaker 3: I think the one thing people haven't mentioned at all
- 20:38Speaker 3: is the fact that Philly is aware that he can
- 20:40Speaker 3: kick at 70 yards. So if they put the ball
- 20:42Speaker 3: to 35, you really just need 15 yards. I know
- 20:46Speaker 3: you got to get out of bounds, all that stuff,
- 20:47Speaker 3: but it's not like you need 30 yards going down
- 20:49Speaker 3: the field. That's what he brings to the table is
- 20:52Speaker 3: that people are now game planning and thinking because Cam
- 20:55Speaker 3: Little's got such a big leg. And, I mean, just
- 20:58Speaker 3: what a moment. And don't you get the feel when
- 20:59Speaker 3: he comes out there that he's going to make it?
- 21:01Speaker 2: Oh, yeah.
- 21:01Speaker 3: Like the Cam Little vibe to me, whether it's in
- 21:04Speaker 3: a preseason game or whether it's in this moment.
- 21:06Speaker 1: Is like, I think he's going to make this.
- 21:08Speaker 2: Yeah, it's funny. He's had a few hiccups in the
- 21:15Speaker 2: low 50s, right? But you get the idea that he's
- 21:20Speaker 2: money if it gets above about 55. Yeah. Because he's
- 21:24Speaker 2: almost playing with house money, and he knows it's what
- 21:26Speaker 2: he does. He's comfortable with the whole thing. I thought
- 21:29Speaker 2: the most interesting thing he said all week, I guess
- 21:30Speaker 2: it was after the game, was about how he's not
- 21:34Speaker 2: really a kicker. He was talking about young college kickers
- 21:37Speaker 2: who all try to do the same thing over and
- 21:39Speaker 2: over again, the repetition. And all that's important. But he
- 21:43Speaker 2: also talked about he figured out in college, sometimes you
- 21:45Speaker 2: just got to go kick it in the circumstance. I
- 21:48Speaker 2: think that helped him with the Devon situation. Cam wasn't
- 21:52Speaker 2: worried about everything being perfect on Sunday.
- 21:55Speaker 4: Yeah.
- 21:55Speaker 2: He was worried about getting the ball through the uprights.
- 21:57Speaker 2: And it sounds like the same thing, but I think
- 22:00Speaker 2: in his mind, it was like, look, everything's going wild. I,
- 22:03Speaker 2: I'm just going to kick the ball.
- 22:04Speaker 3: Less robotic and more feel is what he kind of referenced.
- 22:07Speaker 3: More like you would in golf or something. Just feel
- 22:09Speaker 3: around the greens. And he does that.
- 22:10Speaker 2: I think that served him well in that moment.
- 22:12Speaker 1: You bet it did. Absolutely. Brent, thanks for joining us.
- 22:14Speaker 1: Appreciate it. You got to go show. Good to be here.
- 22:16Speaker 1: Do your own show. So John and I will soldier on.
- 22:19Speaker 1: We appreciate you. You bet. Have a good day. We
- 22:21Speaker 1: are back with more from the Grove outside London. After
- 22:25Speaker 1: this on Jags AM. Well, Jags AM is brought to
- 22:32Speaker 1: you by Suttoth. Suttoth is Florida's most trusted and dependable
- 22:35Speaker 1: moving company, and they're proud to be the official moving
- 22:38Speaker 1: company of the Jaguars. To get a guaranteed quote, visit
- 22:41Speaker 1: Suttoth.com slash Jacksonville. Brian Sexton and Jaguars.com senior writer John
- 22:48Speaker 1: Ogier with you here for a segment we call If.
- 22:51Speaker 1: We say the Jaguars will win if. And John, you
- 22:54Speaker 1: and I and Brent, before he left, contributed. So we'll
- 22:57Speaker 1: go with if number one, and I think this one
- 23:00Speaker 1: was yours. The Jaguars will win if they beat the Texans'
- 23:04Speaker 1: pass rush.
- 23:05Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, it's not every game comes down to
- 23:09Speaker 2: one thing. I guess this one doesn't, but this feels
- 23:12Speaker 2: like the biggest thing to me. I mean, anybody who
- 23:16Speaker 2: follows the Jags has that nightmare memory last year of
- 23:20Speaker 2: the Jaguars just not being able to block them and
- 23:22Speaker 2: of Will Anderson looking like the toughest man on the field.
- 23:27Speaker 2: He's a great player. He's So if they can counter that,
- 23:32Speaker 2: and I keep saying, at some point in this game,
- 23:35Speaker 2: they're going to get to Trevor Lawrence. You'd be surprised
- 23:37Speaker 2: if it's one of those sackless games. But the Jaguars'
- 23:41Speaker 2: offensive line is also really good at creating opportunities, getting
- 23:44Speaker 2: them blocked. The other day, Philadelphia's getting pressure. But they
- 23:47Speaker 2: got them blocked a few times, and Trevor in that
- 23:50Speaker 2: moment took advantage of getting it to Parker, took advantage
- 23:52Speaker 2: of getting it to Parker again. To me, this game's
- 23:54Speaker 2: going to be decided on when they get them blocked
- 23:57Speaker 2: and when they get Trevor comfortable. Do they have the
- 24:00Speaker 2: right thing dialed up? And does Trevor Lawrence make the
- 24:03Speaker 2: play in the moment? He's gotten to the point where
- 24:05Speaker 2: he's exceptionally good at that.
- 24:08Speaker 1: Worth pointing out that on the fourth and five touchdown
- 24:12Speaker 1: throw to Parker Washington that we've all been admiring all
- 24:14Speaker 1: week long, it was the best pocket he had all day.
- 24:18Speaker 2: And he took advantage of the moment. He's got to
- 24:22Speaker 2: take advantage of the moments where he gets time. Because
- 24:25Speaker 2: in the NFL, you're going to play teams... that are
- 24:28Speaker 2: good at something that you can't stop every time. The
- 24:31Speaker 2: Texan superpower is getting to the quarterback. They're going to
- 24:33Speaker 2: get there. When you get them stopped, you've got to
- 24:35Speaker 2: make the play.
- 24:36Speaker 1: That'll bring us to if number two, and that was
- 24:39Speaker 1: from Brent. His was if they win the turnovers. And
- 24:43Speaker 1: that's not just protecting, as you mentioned, and making sure
- 24:46Speaker 1: that you don't give away possessions against this defense, but
- 24:49Speaker 1: it's also doing something to C.J. Stroud to force him
- 24:53Speaker 1: to throw you the ball. to create opportunities to get
- 24:56Speaker 1: extra possessions against a very talented defense.
- 25:00Speaker 2: Yeah, and it's also, I think, the turnover circumstance. Meaning,
- 25:06Speaker 2: like Trevor last week had a turnover where he threw
- 25:09Speaker 2: it downfield to BTJ. That was really a punt, right?
- 25:12Speaker 2: So I think you need to pick Stroud. You need
- 25:15Speaker 2: to get turnovers. You also need to get the turnovers
- 25:18Speaker 2: that matter most. And once you get them, you've got
- 25:21Speaker 2: to turn them into points. You can't just get turnovers
- 25:23Speaker 2: and say, hey, it's great, we got it. Can you
- 25:26Speaker 2: make it hurt that you got the turnover? I think
- 25:30Speaker 2: they will. I think that's the Jaguars' defense's superpower. I
- 25:35Speaker 2: think the odds will catch up to C.J. Stroud, and
- 25:38Speaker 2: I think he throws him one this week.
- 25:39Speaker 1: If you recall, the Jaguars in Houston last year did
- 25:41Speaker 1: take advantage of some turnovers to create some points, and
- 25:44Speaker 1: last year they led the league with 110 points off
- 25:47Speaker 1: of turnovers. This year, On their eight takeaways, they have
- 25:50Speaker 1: 38 points also, very near the top of the league.
- 25:54Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, Brian, against this team, I think you
- 25:56Speaker 2: really need the turnovers. That was how they got the
- 25:58Speaker 2: lead last year. It wasn't like they had dominated that
- 26:01Speaker 2: game on a line of scrimmage plays. They had gotten
- 26:06Speaker 2: some circumstances. They got Lee Parker at the long return.
- 26:09Speaker 2: So you've got to take advantage of some moments to
- 26:12Speaker 2: get up on a defense like this.
- 26:13Speaker 1: All right, our final if here on Jags AM is
- 26:16Speaker 1: if the Jaguars– win on first down. You can't overestimate,
- 26:22Speaker 1: exaggerate exactly how important first down is. The Jaguars have
- 26:26Speaker 1: been getting about 4.3 yards per rush this year on
- 26:31Speaker 1: first down. They've got to stay ahead of the change.
- 26:33Speaker 1: A successful run is anything greater than four yards on
- 26:36Speaker 1: first down. They've got to have a high success rate
- 26:39Speaker 1: to stay balanced so that they just can't let 51
- 26:43Speaker 1: and 55 tee off against those tackles.
- 26:46Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think inside of this point because this
- 26:50Speaker 2: is your point i think it goes hand in hand
- 26:53Speaker 2: with you can't have pre-snap stuff yeah like everything sort
- 26:56Speaker 2: of plays in got to run well on first down
- 26:59Speaker 2: you cannot put yourself in situations where you're trying to
- 27:02Speaker 2: pick up second and 12 on this team right because
- 27:04Speaker 2: they'll laugh and start.
- 27:05Speaker 1: Getting after you it feels like a holding penalty right
- 27:07Speaker 1: we saw one last week basial tune at a nine
- 27:09Speaker 1: yard run it was a beautiful run But all of
- 27:12Speaker 1: a sudden, it's first and 19. That's like a turnover
- 27:15Speaker 1: against this defense. That's like a turnover.
- 27:17Speaker 2: You can't do it against any team. You're really playing
- 27:20Speaker 2: into what they think they are and what they are.
- 27:22Speaker 1: The Jaguars, we think, win if they beat the Texans'
- 27:26Speaker 1: pass rush, if they win the turnover battle, and if
- 27:28Speaker 1: they win on first down. When we come back to Jags,
- 27:32Speaker 1: and we'll wrap it up with Monday's headlines today. We'll
- 27:39Speaker 1: see Fields first. Fields is Jacksonville's premier luxury auto group.
- 27:45Speaker 1: Go to fieldsauto.com. Welcome to the future. All right, time
- 27:55Speaker 1: for Monday's headlines. Today, our attempt to predict the ballgame
- 27:58Speaker 1: and to share it with you through what we think
- 28:01Speaker 1: Monday's headlines will be. Give you Brent Martineau's first since
- 28:04Speaker 1: he had to leave, and he says 2-2.
- 28:07Speaker 2: I don't understand what that means.
- 28:09Speaker 1: Well, I probably do. Do you not have your Toot
- 28:11Speaker 1: Toot shirt?
- 28:11Speaker 2: Toot Toot, okay.
- 28:12Speaker 1: Basialtootin.com, I think, is the website. He believes that Basial
- 28:16Speaker 1: Tootin is going to have a breakout game, which is
- 28:19Speaker 1: a bold statement against this defense because they're number two
- 28:21Speaker 1: against the run.
- 28:22Speaker 2: It is, but the Jaguars have been close on this.
- 28:29Speaker 2: You feel like they're really going to emphasize it. You
- 28:32Speaker 2: feel like it's going to break out. If Brent's right,
- 28:37Speaker 2: if it's a Toot Toot day. Yeah. then they'll be tooting,
- 28:41Speaker 2: tooting on the way home.
- 28:43Speaker 1: One thing to note, 60% of his yards so far
- 28:46Speaker 1: this year have come after contact. You think that's a
- 28:49Speaker 1: Chris Rodriguez number, because you just look at the size
- 28:52Speaker 1: difference between the two. He is a tough, smart runner.
- 28:56Speaker 1: And Brent Martineau says 2-2. How about you, John?
- 28:59Speaker 2: I went with flexing and in first. And I think
- 29:06Speaker 2: they solidify their spot atop the AFC South I was
- 29:13Speaker 2: trying to get to this and probably didn't quite do
- 29:15Speaker 2: it in the headline. What's cool about this rivalry, everybody
- 29:20Speaker 2: thinks about the Texans being a tough team nationally. That's
- 29:24Speaker 2: sort of their image. I don't know if the Jaguars'
- 29:27Speaker 2: toughness is as acknowledged from a national point of view,
- 29:31Speaker 2: but this is going to be a 1970s, 1980s type,
- 29:34Speaker 2: hit you in the mouth. I expect there to be
- 29:38Speaker 2: the referee to standing at the 50 saying, hey, we
- 29:41Speaker 2: have unsportsmanlike on both teams, warning them off of something
- 29:45Speaker 2: early because they will scrap. The Jaguars, the Texans identify
- 29:51Speaker 2: as tough, but the Jaguars identify, I mean, they believe
- 29:55Speaker 2: in that just as strongly, if not stronger. So I
- 29:57Speaker 2: think it's going to be a knockdown drag out. And
- 29:59Speaker 2: I think when they win, they'll be flexing in first.
- 30:02Speaker 1: Hopefully we don't have that penalty after the opening kickoff.
- 30:07Speaker 2: Well, that's what you don't want. And I'm not making
- 30:09Speaker 2: light of it. I'm not saying you need to do it,
- 30:11Speaker 2: but this is a team mentality. Historically, uh, these teams
- 30:15Speaker 2: don't like each other. Uh, when one pushes, the other
- 30:18Speaker 2: is going to push back. And, uh, if there's a
- 30:22Speaker 2: perception out there that the Texans are somehow the tougher team,
- 30:27Speaker 2: it's not a perception the Jaguars believe, nor should they.
- 30:29Speaker 1: All right. And I finished it up with the South Royalty.
- 30:32Speaker 1: And I'm not thinking about the crown and the scepter
- 30:37Speaker 1: in the hands of Trevor Lawrence. I was kind of
- 30:40Speaker 1: thinking of the shot with him with the grills and
- 30:42Speaker 1: the gold and the diamonds. I mean, it's This team
- 30:46Speaker 1: believes that they are as good as everyone thinks they are.
- 30:51Speaker 1: And they want to go prove it against this Texans team.
- 30:54Speaker 1: And let's be honest, the Texans have owned this series
- 30:56Speaker 1: going all the way back to 2002, which was their
- 30:58Speaker 1: expansion season. They have had the better of this rivalry,
- 31:02Speaker 1: especially since 2017. The Jaguars have had a fight and
- 31:06Speaker 1: scratch for every win. Jaguars want to turn that around
- 31:09Speaker 1: this year. They want to prove they're the best team
- 31:12Speaker 1: in the division and make the Texans chase them.
- 31:15Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think we always look at it from
- 31:18Speaker 2: the Jaguars' perspective, which is what our job is. But
- 31:21Speaker 2: I'm sure from the Texans' perspective, they have this idea of, hey,
- 31:25Speaker 2: we beat them last year. They won the South, but
- 31:29Speaker 2: the Texans, I'm sure, felt like, hey, we beat them here.
- 31:33Speaker 2: We're the better team. I'm sure their philosophy is they
- 31:36Speaker 2: have to come beat us. There's no lack of confidence
- 31:39Speaker 2: with the Texans. So the Jaguars need to, you know,
- 31:46Speaker 2: They're feeling in reverse. They want to prove to the Texans, hey,
- 31:50Speaker 2: we deserve that. We're the best team. It's really cool, right, Brian?
- 31:56Speaker 2: We've been doing this together, what, for 15 years now
- 31:58Speaker 2: since I've been back. There hasn't been that many times
- 32:01Speaker 2: where there was a clear-cut rivalry. You knew these two teams.
- 32:04Speaker 2: Maybe we talked about it, but you weren't sure if
- 32:07Speaker 2: maybe the teams felt it like we were talking about.
- 32:10Speaker 2: This is a rivalry, man. It is.
- 32:12Speaker 1: And I talked with Fred Taylor earlier today, and he
- 32:14Speaker 1: acknowledged that when he was playing, remember he was talking
- 32:17Speaker 1: trash in 99 back to Samari Roll and back to
- 32:20Speaker 1: that team, even though they beat the Jags three times
- 32:23Speaker 1: that year. This is that rivalry. This is that don't
- 32:27Speaker 1: like you.
- 32:27Speaker 2: Yeah. A rivalry, like I said to Brent earlier, a
- 32:31Speaker 2: rivalry isn't a rivalry if it's one-sided. These teams hurt
- 32:35Speaker 2: each other last year, meaning it was a win. The
- 32:38Speaker 2: Texans got it. The Texans had the win over the
- 32:42Speaker 2: Jaguars that they've acknowledged was a huge blow to them.
- 32:45Speaker 2: That hurt. The Jaguars winning the division hurt the Texans.
- 32:50Speaker 2: Both of these teams have something the other team wants back.
- 32:53Speaker 1: All right, and that'll do it for Jags AM. We'll,
- 32:55Speaker 1: of course, have great coverage for you from Wembley Stadium
- 32:59Speaker 1: on Sunday all the way through the post-game show. For
- 33:03Speaker 1: John Osier and Brent Martineau and our entire broadcast team,
- 33:05Speaker 1: thanks for joining us on Jags AM from London this week.
- 33:08Speaker 1: We'll talk to you on Sunday from Wembley Stadium.