Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 260 | Notes And Hot Takes After Jaguars Loss to Texans

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Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 260 | Notes And Hot Takes After Jaguars Loss to Texans · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:16
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Jags AM.
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: I'm Kenani Stevens. Brian Sexton and John Ogier are with
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: me today as the team has returned from London and
• 0:22
  Speaker 2: they're getting ready for their bye week. Hopefully a restful one,
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: but we still got some stuff to go over after.
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: The loss to the Texans on Sunday. So we started
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: with our big things brought to you by GEHA, Government
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Employees Health Association. And big thing number one is that
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: London loss. They played two games across the pond in
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: the UK. They got a dramatic win in the first
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: matchup and a dramatic loss in the.
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Second matchup, Brian.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: So we got to experience the full set of emotions,
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: highs and lows.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: What's kind of the recap for you after coming back
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: from London?
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: Well, I was traveling commercial and coming back yesterday from
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: London with lots of fans.
• 0:54
  Speaker 4: They all were still excited.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: Elated about the win and unhappy with the loss. But
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: they enjoyed their trip. And I did too. So I
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: guess my takeaway is that the Jaguars are 3-14 in
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: their last 17 games against the Texans. Yay for beating
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: the Eagles. That's fine. That's great. But you've got to
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: find a way to beat the Texans. Had you been
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: able to send them to 1-5, essentially their hopes of
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: making the playoffs go so dramatically low. Now you've given
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: them exactly what I thought might happen if they won.
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: you've given them a boost. And they think at 2-4
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: that they've got their place in December for the division title.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: So the Jaguars' lack of success, historically, not just this
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: regime here that's 1-2 against them, but the lack of
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: success against the Houston Texans is a problem. John, they've
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: got to find a way to get past them. They
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: nearly did. It wasn't like it was this epic used-to-play
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: Peyton Manning and couldn't compete against those Colts teams 20
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: years ago. but they've got to find a way to
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: get past this Texans team.
• 1:55
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and you've got two woulda couldas in a row
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: where the Texans, I imagine, I'm not inside that organization,
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: but I imagine they're talking about, yeah, we've got their number,
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: we're in their head. I imagine that's their storyline. So
• 2:10
  Speaker 4: you're right. They've got to get through that if they're
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: going to, quote, own this division. So that's one storyline.
• 2:16
  Speaker 4: But I think the other one is, look, There was
• 2:20
  Speaker 4: some confidence and an interesting message from Liam Cohen both
• 2:24
  Speaker 4: after the game and on Monday when he spoke to
• 2:28
  Speaker 4: the media. It's a different vibe than coming back from
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: the Rams' loss in London last year. There was a
• 2:35
  Speaker 4: lot of resetting. Even Trevor Lawrence said, hey, we're not
• 2:37
  Speaker 4: going to be soul-searching. That doesn't mean they're not going
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: to go look for what they can improve. But there's
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: still a confidence. I don't think anything that happened in
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: London shook any confidence, Kai. It just sort of feels
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: like they got through a weird London stretch with a
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: lot of calls, the fans with the Eagles, a lot
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: of stuff. It feels like they got through that, my
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: hot take later on, and it's about this, but they
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: got through it and they're in good shape, so I
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: don't think there's panic.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: No panic button just yet.
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: Let's talk about one of the positives from that matchup
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: against the Texans. It was a breakout day. That's big
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: thing number two for Travis Hunter, and Trevor Lawrence talked
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: about what Travis Hunter was able to contribute on.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: Offense in that game.
• 3:19
  Speaker 5: Travis played awesome, made some huge plays for us, gave
• 3:22
  Speaker 5: us a spark. I mean, just made some unreal plays.
• 3:25
  Speaker 5: So I thought it was cool to, you know, obviously
• 3:27
  Speaker 5: get him involved. And he's special with the ball in
• 3:29
  Speaker 5: his hands. And I think obviously today was probably the
• 3:33
  Speaker 5: most work he's gotten offensively this season. So he did
• 3:36
  Speaker 5: some great things. And, yeah, it kind of just happened
• 3:39
  Speaker 5: that way. We always have a plan for him. And
• 3:40
  Speaker 5: it seemed like we got pretty much all those called today,
• 3:43
  Speaker 5: which was great. And he was making plays.
• 3:46
  Speaker 2: John, you offensively did it defensively as well, had that
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: big interception in the end zone, taking off C.J. Stroud
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: for the first time this season. And overall, I imagine
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: this plus more is what they expected when they drafted him.
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: Yeah, he's a playmaker with the ball in the air,
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: and he's a moment player. All fans are always going
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: to talk about what they traded up to get him.
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: Will it ever be worth it? All of that. I
• 4:16
  Speaker 4: don't know if numbers, Brian, meaning season-ending numbers, I think
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: you'll always be able to pick apart the pick because
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: I don't know that season-ending numbers are going to be
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: all pro, offense, any of that. But if you're looking
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: for moments that matter, that shift and shape games, that's
• 4:38
  Speaker 4: what they drafted him for in Sunday plus the Patriots interception.
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: I think it was against the Patriots. He's a moment guy.
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: I kind of wondered if he'd get the chances to
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: make those moments matter. You're starting to see what he is, Brian.
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: Trying to think the Jaguars have a roster of really
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: good football players, but they don't have those elite differential makers.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: Like some teams do. I mean, you just look at
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: the Texans. They've got their two defensive ends, and they've
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: got Daryl Stingley. I mean, not Daryl Stingley. Derek Stingley, right?
• 5:14
  Speaker 3: They've got some of those elite caliber players. Nico Collins, right?
• 5:19
  Speaker 3: I don't think the Jaguars have that. I think the
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: Jaguars have Trevor Lawrence, and I think they've got Travis Hunter.
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: Those are the two guys who play at the elite level.
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: Everyone else is really good. So you traded up to
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: get an elite player. There's a problem with that?
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: No.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: No problem with that at all. I don't care about it.
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: I never will. I'm kind of like the coach in
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: this one. I just want to see a guy go play.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: And he pulled you from down 10 to down 3
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: with his touchdown in the end zone. And then on
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: the very next drive, he gave you a chance to
• 5:47
  Speaker 3: go tie the ball game. No matter what you give up,
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: that's worth it to have a guy who in the
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: fourth quarter doesn't make one play.
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: He makes two.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: Who cares about what they gave up to get there?
• 5:57
  Speaker 3: He makes a And I think you'll just see more
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: of that. Will it be 10 touchdowns and five interceptions? No,
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: probably not. But it probably could be six or seven
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: touchdowns and three or four interceptions. And as you said, John,
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: go to the moments where they occurred, like the fourth quarter,
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: final five minutes when he does it twice. You're happy
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: to have what you have.
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: Go to our final big thing today, which is bye
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: week changes. We talked about not pressing the panic button.
• 6:23
  Speaker 2: I don't think anybody's doing that here in Jacksonville.
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: They are four and two.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: If you told anybody that earlier in the season, they'd
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: be four and two at the bye week.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: People would be happy.
• 6:31
  Speaker 2: But now is a bit of a break in time
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: where they have, you know, a week off and then
• 6:35
  Speaker 2: they come back and reset before they take on the
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: Indianapolis Colts at home. Brian, now would be time to
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: make some changes. Do you expect any or do you
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: think we might all be surprised by what they do when.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: We come back?
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: Are you talking about changes from the coaching staff and
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: the way that they do things? Because the coach said
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: they're not touching their process. And why would you? I mean,
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: you went up against the best defense in football, or
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: at least the most talented defense in football, and you
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: punched and you counterpunched. Your offense is more than capable
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: of taking on an elite-level defense. I wouldn't change anything.
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: anything at all process-wise. In terms of the roster, well,
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: my hot take kind of touches on that, so I'll
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: save it for that. But it wouldn't change a lot.
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: You're 4-2, for goodness sakes. Look at other 4-2 teams
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: in the national football. You think the Ravens aren't kicking
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: themselves for losing when they had a 10-point lead against
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: the Browns the other night? Look at the Cowboys. I mean,
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: there's lots of teams that would love to be where
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: you are at 4-2.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: John, I.
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: Don't think they're going 15-2, right? There's another loss or
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: two coming if they do things right this year. I
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: wouldn't even think about anything dramatic.
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm not sure you're going to see anything that
• 7:39
  Speaker 4: fans are going to look out during the Colts game
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: and say, oh, well, that's what they're doing differently. Again,
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: my hot take's a little bit about this. I'm not
• 7:46
  Speaker 4: going to spoil it because, boy, is it hot. But
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: you do wonder, they still need some, again, in-the-moment pass
• 7:58
  Speaker 4: rush late. I don't think Sunday was anybody's fault because
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: I thought the field had a lot to do with it.
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: But That's there. You do wonder, after Brian Thomas Jr.
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: not playing on Sunday in the second half, where that goes.
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: But I don't expect any very much roster-shaping, earth-shaking move.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Nothing crazy.
• 8:22
  Speaker 2: All right, we've got a lot of highlights from that
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: matchup against the Texans on Sunday. We'll look at the
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: tape when we come back. Welcome back into Jags AM
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: presented to you by Lowe's and we're doing our Monday
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: kind of recap show on Tuesday as the team traveled
• 8:39
  Speaker 2: back from London and they had their first AFC South
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: matchup of the season taking on the Texans who really
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: feels like those two teams just back and forth the
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: last couple of years and it's continuing on as the
• 8:50
  Speaker 2: While we were not happy with the results, that was
• 8:53
  Speaker 2: a great game to watch, back and forth, just competitive,
• 8:57
  Speaker 2: and that's what you want to see. And as nice
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: as it would have been to kind of knock the
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Texans out, you kind of felt like they were going
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: to still be in it in some.
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: Kind of way.
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: Well, they came over with a sense of desperation. They
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: knew where they were. I was a little concerned during
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: the week, and not because I saw anything, John, but
• 9:10
  Speaker 3: just knowing the emotional high the team was on after
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: that win at Tottenham, you've got to bring it back
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: down and be able to match that. the Texans level
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: of intensity and I thought the Jaguars did for most
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: of that game there were a couple of moments early
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: where they kind of got their feet underneath them but
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: I thought they did and that was a really encouraging
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: thing it felt like a playoff game Kai the way
• 9:29
  Speaker 3: that they were battling into the fourth quarter going back
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: and forth just sitting there at Wembley it felt like
• 9:34
  Speaker 3: a playoff caliber atmosphere it was a lot of fun.
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: Yeah and you got to give credit to the Texans
• 9:39
  Speaker 4: there's moments in the NFL now and uh you know
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: there's ways that they see the game maybe they didn't
• 9:45
  Speaker 4: see it 30 years ago uh And a lot of
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: it's about when you hold the lead, when you get
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: the lead. I didn't think about it as much during
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: the game as I did after looking back at it.
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: Jaguars go 14-10 at the end of the half. You
• 10:00
  Speaker 4: thought it was the end of the half. Then the
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: Texans get one that, time-wise, you feel like they should
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: have minimum or maximum gotten a field goal, and they
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: get a touchdown, and they're up. And then they score.
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: The Jaguars don't touch the ball, and they go from
• 10:11
  Speaker 4: up 4 to down 10. And then they just couldn't quite...
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: Liam Cohen's The thoughts on it were fantastic. Kept coming,
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: kept coming, kept coming. I thought that was a good
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: sign they'll be able to use. I don't worry about
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: anything that's happened so far this season because I think
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: there's a lot they're going to learn from it. But
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: I still feel like that game is one. It was
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: a weird game. And I feel like back there, they
• 10:40
  Speaker 4: feel like that's one that got away that probably shouldn't have.
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: But I don't know that they're kicking themselves as much
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: as there were weird circumstances involved.
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: Well, I mean, you just... Listen, there's a lot of panic,
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: if you will, not back there about the secondary giving
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: up too many big plays, but that quarterback for them
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: played a hell of a game.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: I mean, C.J.
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: Stroud was playing really good football coming in, and I
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: don't think anybody thought, well, he's going to come out
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: here and dice this defense up.
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: Well, he did.
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: He had a really big day. And Jordan Lewis made
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: a mistake in the final drive that allowed that 19-yard
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: catch and run. One mistake was all it took. One
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: play to put yourself in a terrible situation, and the
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: quarterback took advantage. They do that. One thing I want
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: to say, because I don't think it's gotten a lot
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: of play. I also had some concern about Walker Little
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: holding up because he hadn't played a lot of football
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: at left tackle. The way those two tackles played, even
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: though the surface was slick and all of that, I
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: thought the offensive tackles played well, and I think that
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: bodes really well for where this team is headed in
• 11:39
  Speaker 3: the second half of the season that they can count
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: on guys.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Let's take a look early on. This is the first
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Texans touchdown.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: They had a long pass connection to Nico Collins, who
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: has historically had field days against Jacksonville, and all credit
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: to Stroud for what he's been able to do this season,
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: because you may look at the box score and think, oh,
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: the Texans were losing because the offense wasn't playing well.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: That's not been the case. CJ Stroud has been playing
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: very well. This was early on with Travis Hunter.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: He was on Nico Collins a lot during the game,
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: and This is probably one he would like back, but
• 12:10
  Speaker 2: he had some other great plays on Nico, and it
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: was more Jalen Noel, I think, that had a lot
• 12:14
  Speaker 2: of success yesterday. And overall, the defense, it just felt
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: to me like some of the communication wasn't there. And
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: I know a lot of this is Eric Murray was
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: out for a game, so he's coming back in. These
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: are moving parts, but it just felt like there was
• 12:26
  Speaker 2: some miscommunication. This one over the middle was like Eric
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: Murray and Foye Aluokun trying to figure out who was
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: supposed to cover the ball there in the middle. So
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: for me, those are fixable things, yes. I don't feel like...
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: I'm sure they missed Monteric Brown some as well. He
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: hasn't been playing because of his soft tissue injury. It
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: feels like they just need to get their communication down. And, yes,
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: they're a victim to a really talented Texans offense.
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: Well, I think the Texans in a normal environment probably
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: get 20-24. I know fans don't want to hear this,
• 12:58
  Speaker 4: and even I don't like really talking about it that much.
• 13:01
  Speaker 4: I don't think that you can underestimate the impact of
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: the field the other day. The Texans had, what, two pressures,
• 13:09
  Speaker 4: and the Jaguars had three. Maybe it was switched. That's
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: really low, and you kind of felt it. There was
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: a play earlier where Parker Washington, who's usually like a
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: pinball machine, sort of couldn't hold his footing and stepped out.
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: Liam's been very open about it, not as an excuse,
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: but just trying to explain. It's an offensive field. It's
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: hard to cover. It's hard to pass rush. Now, I'm
• 13:34
  Speaker 4: not saying the Jaguars don't have issues give no explosives
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: this year. But I think you have to reduce your
• 13:41
  Speaker 4: panic and analyze that specific game within the context of that.
• 13:45
  Speaker 4: You have two quarterbacks.
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: Each throw for more than 300 yards and three touchdowns.
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: And how much can you blame the field, though? I mean,
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: I know people want.
• 13:52
  Speaker 4: To point to that. Because it's an offensive. It helps
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: the offense.
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: That's what you were saying, right? Parker Washington.
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Slick fields help the offense generally more than they
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: help the defense. Ask anybody who's played in snow.
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: I think there's some value in terms of when you
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: look at the pass rush for both teams, no one
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: getting home.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: On sacks in a game like that.
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: Five pressures total.
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: Exactly, where so much of that is leverage, and you
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: look at the defensive front for the Texans who always
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: seem to get home. That seems to be something that
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: sticks out and can point.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: To that as well.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: Let's give some credit to Basial Tootin, who had two
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: touchdowns on the day. And this was more of a
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: running game, as mentioned. But he showed some really great vision.
• 14:31
  Speaker 2: He bounced outside. This one is called back by the
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: holding penalty.
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: After he was five yards into the end zone.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, a little bit later.
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: And how can you call something you can't see?
• 14:40
  Speaker 2: So he would have had three touchdowns on the day
• 14:42
  Speaker 2: had this one gone through.
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: And then it kind of led to Trevor Lawrence's interception
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: in the end zone.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: So one of the mistakes that feels like it kind
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: of changes the momentum of the game as well. Ben
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: Tootin goes on later to get a touchdown. It was just,
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: as we mentioned back and forth, it just couldn't get
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: the rhythm going. And because if it's a game like
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: this where it's a shootout like that, you have one mistake,
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: as mentioned, and then it just.
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: Goes downhill from there.
• 15:05
  Speaker 4: And honestly, Brian, I'll let you talk about it because
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: I've already kind of mentioned it. I kind of think
• 15:10
  Speaker 4: the penalties... some of the weirdness of the penalties. We've
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: done a lot of shows together over the years. I
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: rarely talk about penalties because I think they even out-
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: Excuse me.
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: Over the course of the season, they do.
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: But in the last couple of games, there's been some
• 15:27
  Speaker 4: weird ones. And I'm not a conspiracy theory guy. I
• 15:29
  Speaker 4: think it's just been bad breaks against them. But I
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: think that's one reason they're not overly concerned about the
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: team overall. I think they can see it. They've had
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: a couple of weird things taken away from them that
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: shouldn't have been.
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: That you just can't explain. No one can explain it.
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: If you don't see it, how can you call it?
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: There was another one. I think it was in the
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: third quarter, and the quarterback, C.J. Stroud, was in the pocket,
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: and he turned and he threw it to the sideline.
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: It didn't get back to the line of scrimmage, and
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: there was no one within seven yards of where he was. Now,
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: there was a five-yard penalty on that play called against
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: Jarrion Jones that gave the Texans a first down in
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: the red zone, but not even a flag, not even
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: a conversation about the quarterback. intentionally grounding the ball. I mean,
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: there were just moments in that game that just played
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: into all the conspiracy theories. How can you not even
• 16:16
  Speaker 3: have a conversation about that?
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: And I think overall, I think as Travis Hunter's reputation grows,
• 16:24
  Speaker 4: I think he will get calls that he should already
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: be getting. I thought a couple of his interference, and again,
• 16:31
  Speaker 4: I'm not one to sit here and talk about it
• 16:33
  Speaker 4: a whole lot, but he's had some interference calls go
• 16:35
  Speaker 4: against him. There's no face guarding in the NFL.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: No.
• 16:38
  Speaker 4: And they basically called me the other day for face guarding.
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: Maybe there was some contact, but I don't know. It's
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: been a tough couple of weeks or tough few weeks.
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: And again, I think that's why there's not a level
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: of panic because I think they can see that they're
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: doing things correctly. And hopefully that does even out, like
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: you said.
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm not sure why people would panic. I left
• 17:01
  Speaker 3: this game feeling good about this football team's ability to
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: really take another step. Yes, and some guys had a
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: bad day, right, on the defensive side in particular for
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: the reasons perhaps that you mentioned that the field was
• 17:11
  Speaker 3: a problem for them. There's no reason at 4-2 to
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: feel bad about where this football team is.
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: How about another flash from one of your rookies, Nate Borkature,
• 17:19
  Speaker 2: getting his first career NFL touchdown.
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: And it was a doozy.
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: I'm a basketball girl, so I loved it. It was
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: like he was going up for a rebound, just comes
• 17:26
  Speaker 2: down with it with one hand, and I was making
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: a joke on Twitter the other day saying we should
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: all be able to reach a consensus and say that
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: that was.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: A great catch.
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: It was a great catch. It was a great pick
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: by the Jaguars at 56, no matter what anybody thought
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: back then. They didn't draft him because he had 10
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: of these at Texas A & M and Nebraska. They
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: drafted him because of the way that he would impact
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: the offense in moments like this in the red zone
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: and in the running game where he moves people. He
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: just physically takes people out of the play and is
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: a huge part of what they do. Great pick at 56.
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: Look, he's a good player, and I was happy for
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: him that he got this because, look, football people who
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: really study it can analyze him for what you're talking about.
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: Consensus is always going to love that, so good on
• 18:15
  Speaker 4: him for getting that and maybe silencing some of the
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: unfair criticism.
• 18:21
  Speaker 3: Six games in, he is everything they hoped he would be,
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: an impact football player.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: Let's jump ahead as well and look at some of
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: Travis Hunter's catches and then his touchdown because, as mentioned,
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: He had a breakout performance in London in front of
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: a national audience because it's an early game, so it's
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: the only game on. And this, running around without one
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: shoe on as well to get a huge gain. And
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: then later on he gets his first touchdown of the season.
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: It looks like they utilized him more in the second
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: half of this game after they kind of didn't use
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: Ryan Thomas Jr. in the second half. And he's just
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: so special when he gets the ball in his hands, John.
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: We say it so much, but you were seeing it
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: on Sunday.
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: Well, I run around without my one shoe on all
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: the time.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: You look just like that.
• 19:08
  Speaker 4: I do. It was hard as a rookie to get
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: a true feel for a potential impact because it was
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: so short. You're a rookie. You're trying to figure it out.
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: Game by game now, I've had some people write me saying, well,
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: you know, the interception was a miracle in the end zone.
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: I've done it twice now. And he's done it in
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: big situations. He makes plays on the ball. I remember
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: Bucky Brooks over and over again, when he got drafted,
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: kept saying, making plays on the ball is his superpower.
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: He's different than most players we've seen in a long
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: time in the NFL. He's, I don't know, at the
• 19:48
  Speaker 4: next level, whatever. He's unbelievable at making those plays. We're
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: starting to see it and, you know, good. It's big.
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: I use the term elite in the A block. He's rare.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: I mean, the things, the way he moves, the plays
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: that he makes, he is a rare talent and he's
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: still four games away. from his 17th game, which would
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: be his first complete season. His upward trajectory, still we
• 20:15
  Speaker 3: can't see how good he can be.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Let's take a look at his interception as well. So
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: we have a big catch that kind of put the
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: Texans in range in the red zone. And then on
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: that interception from Travis Hunter, which, which was so unique,
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: you didn't see it on the broadcast if you were
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: watching at home because they missed it, but on the replay,
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: you saw it. Travis Hunter stumbled a little bit and
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: then he's able to get.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: Back and make that interception.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: And that's that speed that people aren't familiar with, I
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: think as well, because this was the play to set
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: up the touchdown or the interception, but.
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: He's able to make up time.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: Cause if he does slip on a field like that,
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: he can still make it back and get the pick,
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: which a lot of people cannot do.
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: And I think CJ Stroup thought he had.
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: Them and then immediately let go of the football and
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: was like, no, and wanted it back because he just
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: flew in there and took it, took it right away.
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: I think it's a good point, Kai. I think I
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: missed it. He moves quicker than but it doesn't look
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: like he's moving quick. So I think people maybe don't, oh,
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: Stroud threw him the ball, right? He made the play
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: by recovering quickly, moving with uncommon quickness. In the NFL,
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: a split second makes all the difference. He's got an
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: extra split second in moments that quarterbacks don't expect because
• 21:37
  Speaker 4: they're not used to seeing a corner move that way.
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: It seems to me that's a little bit of, of
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: the reason that he's been able to make plays on
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: the ball.
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: He's also a top competitor. I mean, he wants to
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: be in that situation. They can't hardly get him off
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: the field if it's up to him because he always
• 21:52
  Speaker 3: wants to play, and that's a rare quality, too.
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: All right, stay with us here on JAGZAM. We are
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: going to give you our hot takes when we come
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: back after the break.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Welcome back into JAGZAM, brought to you by Lowe's.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: We're going to give you our hot takes as we
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: head into the bye week. The Jaguars come back from
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: London 1-1, Brian. 4-2 at the bye week. That's not
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: bad by any means. How are you feeling, and what's
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: your hot take?
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: I feel good about this football team.
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: 4-2?
• 22:18
  Speaker 3: I forget when we did our preseason run through the roster.
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: I forget what we had, but I don't think I
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: had them any better than 4-2.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: 6-0.
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: Okay, well, that's you, Mr. Optimist. My hot take is this.
• 22:27
  Speaker 3: No sauce, please. I know everybody is out there putting
• 22:31
  Speaker 3: their to-do list together for James Gladstone and who to
• 22:34
  Speaker 3: trade for and what they think the value is. But
• 22:37
  Speaker 3: you only have to look at what happened in Indianapolis
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: yesterday to see exactly how swinging for the fences can
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: go wrong. A year ago, the Colts were 8-1. Their
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: quarterback was playing very good football. It was making everything go,
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: so they bet the farm. Two ones, and they get
• 22:53
  Speaker 3: Sauce Gardner. Then the quarterback hurts his Achilles. Gardner has
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: not been an impact player for a moment since they
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: did it, and they now have a disaster on their hands,
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: an utter disaster. They need a quarterback because Daniel Jones
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: is not the guy, and they've mortgaged their salary cap,
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: and they don't have anything to work with. A year ago,
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: the Jaguars traded fourth and sixth round picks, John, to
• 23:15
  Speaker 3: the Las Vegas Raiders for Jacoby Myers, and he quietly
• 23:18
  Speaker 3: came in here and unlocked everything. So please, don't give
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: me the big swing for the fence if you're going
• 23:24
  Speaker 3: to make some changes. I get it. Maybe Brian Thomas Jr.
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: needs to go and find greener pastures this year, and
• 23:30
  Speaker 3: you can turn that into something. But go find me,
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: whether it's a pass rusher or a defensive back. Go
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: find me a Jacoby Myers, a guy that you love,
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: that fits what this team does, that costs me a
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: four and a six and not a one or a two,
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: but gives me the player that I need. I don't
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: need him to be a marquee name. I don't need
• 23:51
  Speaker 3: the fans and what do you call it, consensus? I
• 23:53
  Speaker 3: don't care what consensus is because nobody wants consensus about
• 23:56
  Speaker 3: Jacoby Myers. Go give me Jacoby Myers. No sauce, please.
• 24:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I agree. I don't think you need a splash.
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: I mean, a lot of times when you have a
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: big splash, you're standing in the pool naked. That happens
• 24:07
  Speaker 4: to you. That's not what you're looking for. I completely agree.
• 24:13
  Speaker 4: I think they will make a move of some kind,
• 24:15
  Speaker 4: but I don't think it's going to be that level.
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: I went with The Season Starts Now. I almost didn't
• 24:25
  Speaker 4: because it's sort of a cliche. It's sort of boring,
• 24:27
  Speaker 4: but I'm sort of a cliche and I'm sort of boring.
• 24:30
  Speaker 4: Four and two I was struck by Liam's mood after
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: the game, I guess, where he expressed confidence immediately. He didn't,
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: I mean, yes, he was upset about the loss, but
• 24:47
  Speaker 4: big picture with this team, they got out of London,
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: they have a two-game lead, they're two games up, four
• 24:53
  Speaker 4: and two, they have played as well as any team
• 24:55
  Speaker 4: in the league for the most part. They are in
• 24:59
  Speaker 4: such a great situation, and I keep remembering last year
• 25:02
  Speaker 4: where after the bye, They looked, I would say, like
• 25:07
  Speaker 4: a different team, but it was a team that kept
• 25:10
  Speaker 4: getting better and better and better. I have no reason
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: to think that that won't happen again. I think the
• 25:15
  Speaker 4: season starts now. I think it's all out in front
• 25:17
  Speaker 4: of them. And I think by week, what, 11 or 12,
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: the ups and downs of the first six weeks... will
• 25:26
  Speaker 4: sort of calm and people will say, oh, they got
• 25:28
  Speaker 4: a foreign tooth to break. That was what they wanted
• 25:30
  Speaker 4: to do.
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: Let me add to your point. Last week at a
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: news conference, a British writer asked Liam about the moments
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: in his first season where he felt things change. And
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: he pointed to losses, the loss to the Texans in November.
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: He pointed to those moments where they stumbled and fell
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: and got back up. Well, they got back up in
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: the fourth quarter of this ballgame, right? The quarterback threw
• 25:52
  Speaker 3: the interception in the first half in the fourth quarter.
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: They're down by 10. They cut it to three. They're
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: down by 10. They cut it to three. I mean,
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: they just kept coming. This coach is confident in his team.
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: So am I. How can you not be with what
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: this offense is capable of doing? It's an offensive league.
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: And this defensive coordinator. Okay, so they had a bad day.
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: And that other quarterback had a really good day. Four
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: and two? Count me in.
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: Really good coaches with perspective sometimes handle losses like this.
• 26:22
  Speaker 4: I had a coach tell me once after a two-game
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: losing streak, this is when they listen. This is when
• 26:28
  Speaker 4: the players listen.
• 26:30
  Speaker 2: Mine is a bit of a take off this as
• 26:32
  Speaker 2: well because it gets worse before it gets better and
• 26:35
  Speaker 2: worse is subjective. I'm not saying it's bad by any means,
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: but these are the games you learn from. When you
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: have a blowout victory, you don't get anything out of that.
• 26:42
  Speaker 2: And as much as fun as I had watching the
• 26:45
  Speaker 2: Eagles game when they won at the final second, When
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: you win, sometimes it takes some of the conversation out of,
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: you know, takes some of that hurt out of the conversation.
• 26:53
  Speaker 2: So you can still work on stuff after a win,
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: but it doesn't always hit home is when you feel
• 26:57
  Speaker 2: the pain of.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: The loss coming in.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: You lose a division rival matchup against the Texans, that
• 27:01
  Speaker 2: stings no matter what, and you lose it at the
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: last second.
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: So now is when people will listen a little bit more.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: I still stand by my thought that they're going to
• 27:08
  Speaker 2: have a worse record than they had last year.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: 13-4 is tremendous.
• 27:11
  Speaker 2: I just don't think with this schedule they are going
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: to get back to that. So there will be more
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: losses along the way, and those are learning points. And
• 27:17
  Speaker 2: I think for the betterment of this team, they will
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: have other losses that hurt a lot, but it's better
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: for playoff time.
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: Let me tell you why I like where they're at
• 27:26
  Speaker 3: right now, to your point. They've got two weeks now
• 27:29
  Speaker 3: to kind of grind on this. These guys are going
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: to get away and they'll enjoy their family and all
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: of that stuff. But they've got two weeks to grind
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: on it. Then they get a division rival, right? The Colts.
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: The Colts are a mess. They're probably going to go
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: get beat in Minnesota and come in here. So what?
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: You come in here or they come in here and
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: you hammer them. And then, John, you turn around on
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: a short week and you get one of the best
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: teams in football that will have Lamar Jackson back. Talk
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: about sharpening the axe, right? Talk about getting ready to
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: go and start swinging. I like where this team is at.
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: I like the way the schedule sets up for them
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: the next couple of weeks. If they're going to lose
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: a ballgame, and nobody thought they were going to be 16-1,
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: nobody thinks they're going to be 15-2, to lose this
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: ballgame with what's in front of them immediately, I think
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: it's a great position to be in.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: All right, stay with us.
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: We'll tell you what's coming up the rest of the
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: bye week when we come back after the break.
• 28:22
  Speaker 6: I'll say today, my teammates came to me and just
• 28:24
  Speaker 6: told me, after I give up that deep ball trap,
• 28:26
  Speaker 6: go out there and be yourself. Next play, mindset. I'll
• 28:29
  Speaker 6: probably tell you, the whole defense, they came up to
• 28:31
  Speaker 6: me and told me, we know who you are. Go
• 28:34
  Speaker 6: out there and shine. When your time is coming, go
• 28:36
  Speaker 6: out there and prove to everybody what you can do.
• 28:38
  Speaker 6: And they kept me uplifted.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: Kept motivating me.
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: I was able to shine on defense.
• 28:42
  Speaker 6: And then when I went to the offensive side of
• 28:44
  Speaker 6: the ball, that motivation just carried over.
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: I'm reflecting on his teammates supporting him and the success
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: he was able to have in that London game. And
• 28:53
  Speaker 2: Brian's probably proof positive. The Jaguars had a plan. They
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: wanted him full time on defense and to work him
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: into offense. Is this the beginning of that switch over
• 29:01
  Speaker 2: now that they feel comfortable with him on offense?
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: Well, from what I hear, he just doesn't he doesn't tire.
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: I mean, people are still amazed. at his energy level. So, yeah, listen,
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: the more he does, I'll go back and say it, touchdown,
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: interception gives you a chance to tie the ball game
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: on the strength of his talent and his ability alone. Yeah,
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: give me more. But as I said earlier when we
• 29:22
  Speaker 3: had this conversation about his snaps, just make sure you're
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: giving me the best of him. And if there is
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: a moment where he needs to sit because you need
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: to get the best from him and not just good enough,
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: then let him sit a little bit.
• 29:34
  Speaker 4: Things don't always happen right. now in this world.
• 29:39
  Speaker 3: And uh I feel like you have a son maybe
• 29:42
  Speaker 3: you've said that too.
• 29:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah the Jaguars had a plan with this uh and
• 29:47
  Speaker 4: we're seeing the plan yeah so uh I don't again
• 29:51
  Speaker 4: I don't know that we even know ultimately how it's
• 29:54
  Speaker 4: gonna look cause I'm not sure they necessarily know exactly
• 29:57
  Speaker 4: how it's gonna look every week um And I'm to
• 30:01
  Speaker 4: the point now where I think it's going to be
• 30:03
  Speaker 4: fun to watch and very secure in the idea that
• 30:07
  Speaker 4: it's going to help and it's going to be a
• 30:09
  Speaker 4: positive just a matter of how it looks.
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: That he did it in London when it was the
• 30:13
  Speaker 3: only game on for people all around the world to
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: watch just solidifies his future as a marquee player in
• 30:21
  Speaker 3: this league.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: Very nice.
• 30:23
  Speaker 1: All right, for the rest of the week, the players
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: are in today. They've got some meetings.
• 30:26
  Speaker 2: We will be back with you tomorrow for Jags AM,
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: our final one of the week, as we kind of
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: recap the first six weeks and also look around the
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: NFL and see what else is going on.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: We'll see you tomorrow.