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Kevin Harlan on 'Must Win Situation' vs. Buccaneers | Countdown to Kickoff · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

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  Speaker 1: Countdown to kickoff continues the Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: It is Week sixteen, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, the site
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  Speaker 1: for a battle of first place teams, the AFC and
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  Speaker 1: NFC South. Matchup. Man, it's Kevin Harlan with the call
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  Speaker 1: on CBS joining us now, and you know, hey, first
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  Speaker 1: place team's going at it. Jaguars in a three way tie,
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  Speaker 1: Buccaneers a two way tie in the NFC South. And
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  Speaker 1: it doesn't get much better than this on Christmas weekend? Kevin,
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  Speaker 1: how are you now?
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  Speaker 2: It doesn't jpfore. I hear your voice and I think
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  Speaker 2: of NFL football. It's great to be on with you,
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  Speaker 2: and you're right. I mean, this is a terrific matchup
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  Speaker 2: two teams that are in desperate need of wins, clearly
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  Speaker 2: at this stage of the season. I'm here talking December
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  Speaker 2: football now, late December football. It's like if you're a
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  Speaker 2: college team trying to get one of those four bids
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  Speaker 2: for the national Championship and getting that playoffs, you've got
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  Speaker 2: to win.
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  Speaker 3: You cannot lose.
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  Speaker 2: And I think especially for the Jaguars who have staggered
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  Speaker 2: here just a bit, and I guess still unknown about
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  Speaker 2: the quarterback. Now we're talking, you know, not not that
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  Speaker 2: far before kickoff, and I think there's still kind of
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  Speaker 2: a wait and see approach. But if it is Bethard,
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  Speaker 2: I think the team feels like he is up to
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  Speaker 2: speed and knows what he's doing. And of course if
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  Speaker 2: it's Trevor, we know that that they'll be in good hands.
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  Speaker 2: So either way, I think they're going to be fine.
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  Speaker 2: But this seems like a game that will go beyond
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  Speaker 2: just what each quarterback can do, not just the Jaguar quarterbacks,
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  Speaker 2: but Mayfield over on the Tampa Bay side JPI. I
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  Speaker 2: think that that it'll be at whoever wins, it will
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  Speaker 2: truly be a total team effort. You can't win with
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  Speaker 2: just one side of the ball in a game with
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  Speaker 2: this kind of you know, situation, with this much at
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  Speaker 2: stake at this point of the season.
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  Speaker 1: Kevin Harlan and CBS Sports with us. You know, you
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  Speaker 1: mentioned the quarterbacks and if it is Trevor that goes
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  Speaker 1: and it was trending the right way by the end
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  Speaker 1: of the week at least, you know, it's the third
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  Speaker 1: time this year he would have been on the injury
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  Speaker 1: report and then played on that Sunday he had the
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  Speaker 1: knee injury of the left knee and then the high ink
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  Speaker 1: will spraining on the right side, and now coming off
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  Speaker 1: a concussion protocol that has to rally a locker room
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  Speaker 1: somehow when your franchise guy is battling through and getting
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  Speaker 1: back out there.
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  Speaker 2: I totally agree the kids never missed a game. I mean,
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  Speaker 2: he's you know that better than anyone. Just you know,
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  Speaker 2: his durability has been one of his strengths. Is availability
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  Speaker 2: has been one of his best abilities. And and he
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  Speaker 2: has certainly shown that with with the different things. We
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  Speaker 2: were down there on that Monday night JP doing that
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  Speaker 2: Cincinnati game. He walked off the field like they're going
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  Speaker 2: to cut off his leg. I mean, like like as
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  Speaker 2: you saw, I mean, it was it looked like a
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  Speaker 2: real bad injury. And the kid pops up and he
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  Speaker 2: plays the next week, and like he's amazing, and he's
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  Speaker 2: got a he's a quick healer.
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  Speaker 3: Clearly, uh hopefully that's the case.
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  Speaker 2: And and and you know, just knowing the way Doug
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  Speaker 2: is and and and the way that medical staff is,
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  Speaker 2: the athletic training staff of the Jaguars, there's not an
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  Speaker 2: ounce of caution that they are not looking at and
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  Speaker 2: and a by. They are going to make sure that
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  Speaker 2: he checks every box, maybe double checks each box to
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  Speaker 2: make sure he is ready to go. They're not going
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  Speaker 2: to put him out there in harm's way whatsoever. If
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  Speaker 2: he's fit and they say he's ready to go, then
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  Speaker 2: you can rest his shirt as a Jags fan that
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  Speaker 2: he's you know, he has been completely cleared. Everything is fine,
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  Speaker 2: and he's set, and that is reassuring. That's one thing
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  Speaker 2: the league has done well is they've really stuck to
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  Speaker 2: the protocol of making sure that concussions are handled in
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  Speaker 2: the right way and clearly with the franchise a foundational
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  Speaker 2: player like he is, a franchise player that Trevor is,
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  Speaker 2: they'll make sure that they've taken every warning sign and
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  Speaker 2: knocked it to the side if they clear them.
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  Speaker 1: Kevin Harlan's CBS Sports has to call the Jaguars and
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  Speaker 1: the bucceteers, you know, December pressure. The Jaguars right now
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  Speaker 1: are not handling that very well. They've lost three in
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  Speaker 1: a row and some self inflicted mistakes the last three weeks.
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  Speaker 1: It can't seem to get out of their own way
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  Speaker 1: and get over the top and some of these games.
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  Speaker 1: But if anybody can turn a team like that. I
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  Speaker 1: feel like it's Doug Peterson, Kevin and then you know
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  Speaker 1: a guy who's been at it for a while. He
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  Speaker 1: has a pelt on the wall. He knows how to
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  Speaker 1: get a team up and ready. But at some point,
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  Speaker 1: the team that's up and ready has to go on
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  Speaker 1: the field between the white lines and execute and not
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  Speaker 1: hurt themselves. I'm sure Doug at this point it feels like,
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  Speaker 1: you know, I can only do so much, guys, But
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  Speaker 1: the leadership of Doug Peterson and this coaching staff, how
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  Speaker 1: can that help them get over the top the last three.
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  Speaker 2: Weeks, Well, I think you've get on the main core
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  Speaker 2: and the theme is that they know what's around every corner.
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  Speaker 3: They've been down this road multiple times.
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  Speaker 2: And listen, every good team in the league, and I'm
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  Speaker 2: including the Jaguars clearly in that as a first place team.
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  Speaker 2: Every good team has stumbled this season. We know that
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  Speaker 2: San Francisco at one time lost three straight games. We
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  Speaker 2: know that Philadelphia is stangering right now. Kansas City has
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  Speaker 2: not half the season they imagined has been offending league champion.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, Baltimore may be the only team that has
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  Speaker 2: kind of sidestepped any kind of direct enemy fire and fallen.
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  Speaker 2: They have been a team that has really survived week
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  Speaker 2: to week, and they've done it in unconventional ways, maybe
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  Speaker 2: in very fortunate bounds of the ballways, but they've done it.
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  Speaker 2: And and they're the kind of the one team. You know,
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  Speaker 2: Dallas has struggled on the road. Miami cannot beat a
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  Speaker 2: winning team. Like every team, and that includes Jacksonville. They've
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  Speaker 2: all had, you know, the imperfect season. But that's kind
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  Speaker 2: of what this season overall JP is, I think you
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  Speaker 2: degree has been. This has been a season league wide
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  Speaker 2: of imperfection, and and we don't have the clearly dominant
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  Speaker 2: team like San Francisco. I know people are putting that
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  Speaker 2: in that category. And certainly they got a huge game
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  Speaker 2: coming up against Baltimore this weekend. But but they had,
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  Speaker 2: you know, when they lost their starting left tackle and
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  Speaker 2: they lost s Deebo Samuel, the jack of all trades.
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  Speaker 2: They they struggled, and I watched it first hand up
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  Speaker 2: in Minnesota. So so this is a team when a
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  Speaker 2: Monday night game, So this is a team that has
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  Speaker 2: h that is really you know, uh come back and
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  Speaker 2: finished strong.
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  Speaker 3: The Niners.
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  Speaker 2: Right now, I kind of believe that that that the
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  Speaker 2: Jaguars have that same feel to them. I think that
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  Speaker 2: that you've you've got to hit a trough to understand
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  Speaker 2: what it means to maintain where you are. Seems to
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  Speaker 2: me like with Doug in charge and instilling the confidence
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  Speaker 2: and all the different different mechanisms they need to climb
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  Speaker 2: out of this, he's the right voice at the right time.
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  Speaker 2: And uh and it could show here this afternoon in Tampa.
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  Speaker 1: Kevin Harlan and CBS Sports. It doesn't have to look perfect.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure that whoever's holding the Lombardi Trophy at the
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  Speaker 1: end doesn't matter how perfect they were. I mean, they
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  Speaker 1: they've won the super Bowl at that point. That's that's
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  Speaker 1: kind of how it works in the league. Heys has
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  Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield, for lack of a better turn term turned
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  Speaker 1: the corner? Is he is this the real Baker Mayfield
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  Speaker 1: or is this kind of a one off situation right now?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I've always thought he was a terrific quarterback quite
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  Speaker 2: frankly from college and on into the NFL. I think
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  Speaker 2: when you're a number one overall pick, and you certainly
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  Speaker 2: know that with Trevor and Jacksonville, the number one overall
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  Speaker 2: pick is held in a completely different grading system, and
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  Speaker 2: it's got to be can't miss, basically perfect first day starter,
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  Speaker 2: Like all these things are attached to a number one
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  Speaker 2: overall pick. So you come into the league with that.
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  Speaker 2: He and as he told us the other day, JP said,
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  Speaker 2: you say, you know, the problem with being a number
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  Speaker 2: one pick is you're going into a situation that's got
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  Speaker 2: a lot of issues. Right, You're going to a team
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  Speaker 2: more times than not that is a losing team and
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  Speaker 2: is trying to change the culture. And then you were
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  Speaker 2: kind of the focus in the center of all that attention.
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  Speaker 2: And so if that's the case, you know, I think
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  Speaker 2: that you know, in a lot of ways, a lot
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  Speaker 2: was heaped on him. But Cleveland was dysfunctional, and maybe
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  Speaker 2: still to a degree they are a bit dysfunctional, although
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  Speaker 2: they're winning and got a they've got a shot here
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  Speaker 2: certainly getting past the regular season.
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  Speaker 3: Uh.
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  Speaker 2: But but just when they got to Sean Watson, the
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  Speaker 2: riding was on the wall and he moved on. We
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  Speaker 2: know he went to Carolina, then he went to the
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  Speaker 2: Rams and uh and and now of course he's with
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  Speaker 2: the Buccaneers and so resurrected is is I think a
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  Speaker 2: pretty good word to use. But but I've kind of
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  Speaker 2: always thought when healthy, all the things were there, the
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  Speaker 2: leadership qualities, the ability to connect to his teammates, the
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  Speaker 2: understanding of the offense, making good decisions at the line.
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  Speaker 2: Arm strength has always basically been there. The ability to
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  Speaker 2: do the off schedule plays, move outside the pocket, make
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  Speaker 2: things happen, you know, make bad plays good. The ability
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  Speaker 2: to run when he needs to on his own. So
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  Speaker 2: like all these things have always been present. I'm just
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  Speaker 2: wondering if this is kind of the right connection for him.
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  Speaker 2: The intersection of a first time offensive coordinator, you know,
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  Speaker 2: getting his his you know, feet wet, so to speak,
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  Speaker 2: at that position, calling plays with the quarterback that's looking
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  Speaker 2: for a little bit of redemption and a chance to
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  Speaker 2: really show what he can do, tailoring the offense to
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  Speaker 2: not necessarily what the offensive coordinator abides by, but but says,
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  Speaker 2: let's let's be it. Let's be at a joint force you,
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  Speaker 2: let's let's connect our thoughts and come up with our
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  Speaker 2: own offense, you and me, and I think they've done
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  Speaker 2: that to a degree. And Is Baker was telling us
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  Speaker 2: the other day at CBS, he feels like his fingerprints
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  Speaker 2: are on it yet doing what the coordinator wants, and
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  Speaker 2: that combination has proven very successful. What is it twenty
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  Speaker 2: four touchdowns, eight picks and the teams won three in
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  Speaker 2: a row. And he had the perfect rating at lambeau
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  Speaker 2: Field last week in a place which is hard to
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  Speaker 2: do for the first time ever in the history of
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  Speaker 2: lambeau Field, the oldest NFL stadium. He a continuous NFL state.
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  Speaker 2: He's had that perfect rating. So I like everything about
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  Speaker 2: his story. He's a very engaging kid. He's a man
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  Speaker 2: of faith, he's a husband and father. So off the
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  Speaker 2: field he is he has, you know, got everything button down.
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  Speaker 2: Not that that's a necessity, but it just adds to
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  Speaker 2: what I think at quarterback's got a show and that
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  Speaker 2: is kind of the complete package. It's hard, it is
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  Speaker 2: very hard to have that in this day and age
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  Speaker 2: with everything going on, but he has navigated it well.
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  Speaker 2: Sure he's had bumps in the road, but I really
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  Speaker 2: think that that he is, you know, in the wake
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  Speaker 2: of Tom Brady. Now think of this, how about taking
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  Speaker 2: Tom Brady's spot, And you really can't because of everything
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  Speaker 2: that historically Brady has done, but he has he has
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  Speaker 2: really answered the call for who's going to be the
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  Speaker 2: next guy you know under center. And he's done it,
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  Speaker 2: you know, in a very very impressive way.
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  Speaker 1: Final thought with the Kevin Harlan CBS Sports. It helps
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  Speaker 1: a quarterback when you have a guy like Mike Evans
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  Speaker 1: to throw to. And I think this is the matchup
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  Speaker 1: of the game, Evans against a secondary and two starters
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  Speaker 1: in that secondary coming back off injury this week to
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  Speaker 1: get back in the lineup. How is Tyson Campbell, how
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  Speaker 1: is Andre Cisco over the top, and how do they
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  Speaker 1: cover Mike Evans Because every time you look up on
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  Speaker 1: the highlights, Kevin, I mean, like Evans is running forty
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  Speaker 1: yards down the field for a touchdown, it seems like.
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  Speaker 2: Well, yeah, I agree, and and he and he's over
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  Speaker 2: a thousand yards again, I mean, he's doing historic things
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  Speaker 2: at that position, and he's incredibly consistent. It's going to
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: rely a lot on your edge rushers, and we know
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  Speaker 2: all about them. They they make waves around the NFL,
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  Speaker 2: and certainly the secondary is going to be called upon.
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  Speaker 2: But you may take a BELICHICKI in a view of
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  Speaker 2: this and say stop. Their strength and their strength seems
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  Speaker 2: to be not only Mike at the receiver position, but
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  Speaker 2: also Rashad White in the backfield, who is kind of
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  Speaker 2: the Christian McCaffrey etn. Type of guy, like he does
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  Speaker 2: it all, catches the ball well, he can pass block,
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  Speaker 2: he's a three down running back. He handles all these things,
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  Speaker 2: you know, with greater plumb and and that to me,
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  Speaker 2: I guess if I'm called well, those are the things
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  Speaker 2: that kind of stand out. How do I go about
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  Speaker 2: limiting what these two terrific weapons, this receiver and this
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  Speaker 2: running back do and if they can do that, and
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  Speaker 2: I think it will be a combination of the press off,
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  Speaker 2: the pressure coming off the edge as we talked about,
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  Speaker 2: and certainly some very sound secondary play by the Jags.
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  Speaker 2: To me, the feeling is this game is incredibly even.
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  Speaker 2: I watched twice their game last week in Green Bay
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  Speaker 2: in the week before during this Tampa Bay winning streak.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, listen, they give a lot. There's a lot there,
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  Speaker 2: and they're a sound team and well coached in their defense. Really,
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  Speaker 2: you know, answers the bell and the quarterback is playing
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  Speaker 2: maybe at an all time high. He had that great
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  Speaker 2: twenty twenty season for Cleveland when he won the playoff
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  Speaker 2: game in Pittsburgh, and then he came close to beating
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  Speaker 2: the Chiefs and Arrowhead Mayfield did when he was quarterback
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  Speaker 2: in the Browns.
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  Speaker 3: But I like this match.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's incredibly even, very very even, And of
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  Speaker 2: course Lawrence may be a bit of the tipping point,
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  Speaker 2: just because then you can really say, really, you know,
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  Speaker 2: matchup per matchup, this thing really really comes out as
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  Speaker 2: a pick them, as a flip of a coin.
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  Speaker 3: It's gonna be.
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  Speaker 2: I think it's gonna be everything as advertised as you
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  Speaker 2: began the conversation. With two first place teams going at
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  Speaker 2: it in a must win situation.
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  Speaker 1: Nobody better to call it on TV than Kevin Harlan.
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  Speaker 1: Always a pleasure, Kevin. Thanks for the.
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  Speaker 3: Time, JP, thank you.
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  Speaker 2: Happy holidays to you, your family and all your great listeners.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: As you may know or remember, I was the first
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: preseason voice for the Jaguars back in the mid nineties
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  Speaker 2: when they became a franchise, me and Mike Golick and
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: then later Paul maguire, and so I've always had a
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  Speaker 2: soft spot in my heart for the Jacksonville Jaguars because
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: of that and my three years doing the preseason. Wonderful memories,
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  Speaker 2: fond memories. Tom coffin the whole thing and really enjoyed
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  Speaker 2: those years doing it and wish you and your fans
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  Speaker 2: the very best and a wonderful new year coming up.
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  Speaker 1: Well, I won't tell the stories that Golick told me
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  Speaker 1: last week. I'll leave those out.
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  Speaker 3: Golic is a piece of work.
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  Speaker 2: Listen, Mike Golick is one of the best people in
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: this business as you can attest. And I'm sure you
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: had a great broadcast from Detroit on the international goal
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  Speaker 2: for Westwood One, but great to be with the JP
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  Speaker 2: Take care, my very best to you.