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Publix Tailgate Show: CBS Sports announcer Ian Eagle · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: With the call of today's game on CBS Sports. It's
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: our good friend, I an Eagle. Week eleven is here.
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: Can you believe it? I am? How did we get here? JP? It?
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: It feels like a blur in many ways, and I
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: know it's been such strange circumstances, but somehow, week after week,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: the NFL is playing its schedule. And although it's been circuitous,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: here we are at week eleven, Week eleven, but the
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: league is on intensive protocol. Every team in the NFL,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: the rest of the way it was announced this week,
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: has to to do the intensive protocol. The Jacks had
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: to go through it a few weeks ago when they
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: had the practice squad. Every team has to be on
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: this and they're just doing it to ensure they're doing
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: everything they can to make sure all these games are played. Yeah.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I can just tell you from a personal perspective of
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: starting the season, CBS had protocols in place. We've followed
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: them from day one. We've had no production meetings in
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: person that include team meetings and our own personal group
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: Saturday nights. That was always a big part of the weekend,
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: getting together, getting into a conference room, swapping ideas, taking
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: a look at the graphics and the video and now
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: all of that is being done virtually, And what I
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: have seen over the last few weeks are some cases
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: popping up within the broadcast ranks, and that's not surprising.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: Just because you work for a broadcast network doesn't mean
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: that you are impervious to this. As the numbers rise
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: across the country, it's only natural that some of the
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: situations are going to flare up. So the NFL's perspective,
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: they want to keep their guys safe. That has been
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: the goal from day one, but a lot of it
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: is still on the honor system when the players leave
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  Speaker 1: the facility that they're doing the right things, and that's
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: the part that is a helpless feeling if you're the NFL.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: That was the difference with the end be A. When
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: they bubbled up, they knew where everybody was, they knew
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: what they were doing, and they understood that it was
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: going to take a collective effort to stay healthy and
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: they had no issues, very few hurdles. The NFL is
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: dealing with a completely different animal here. I am eagle
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: with us, and yeah, the other part of it too.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: You might know where your immediate family is, but uncle
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: Larry and for Thanksgiving, you have no idea where he's been.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: And that's the big challenge with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: Steelers Jaguars this week. You know it's always a physical matchup.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: Regular season series tied twelve twelve all time, the Jags
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: won those two playoff games. How many Steelers Jaguars games
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: have you called? Just to throw it out there, I
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: probably had three or four through the years. When I
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: broke into CBS and Jacksonville was starting to ride that
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: Tom Coughlin, Mark Brunel, Tony BISSELLI, Fred Taylor wave, they
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: were getting the premier game and a lot of times
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: it was Greg Gumbel and Phil Sims in town along
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: with armand Kitayan who was the sideline reporter, and rightfully
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: so they earned it. And then as the years went on,
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: like everything, these matchups change and where you are in
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: the standings, Pittsburgh has been so consistent. As we know,
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: they've probably been the most consistent team in the NFL
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: over my twenty three years at CBS. We know that
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: New England has been the championship level team for most
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: of that time, but Pittsburgh, truly, you know what you're
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: going to get there so few dips along the way,
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  Speaker 1: And I find it interesting because, look, I don't take
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: a lot out of previous matchups, certainly when the personnel changes.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: To look back at the divisional game that I called
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: for CBS a few years ago and try to apply
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: that to this Pittsburgh Jacksonville game, you really can't. But
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: you do know what you're gonna get with the Steelers,
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: and it doesn't matter who's wearing that uniform. They're gonna
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: play physical, they're gonna play hard, and they're gonna step
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: on your throat if they have a chance to do so.
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: Mike Tomlin I have a lot of respect for him
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  Speaker 1: for how he coaches his team, how he leads his guys,
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: and the kind of program that they continue to run.
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  Speaker 1: It's been pretty amazing stretch for this franchise, and right
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  Speaker 1: now there they're up there with all the teams that
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: you would talk about that could win a Super Bowl.
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  Speaker 1: There in that conversation, of course, undefeated, but even beyond that,
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure JP we've seen their offense at their
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: best just yet. There are still explosion plays to be had.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Their running game has been mediocre to subpar, and they've
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: replaced it with a short passing game. So it's working
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  Speaker 1: for them, but I still think there's room to grow offensively.
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  Speaker 1: You still have big been pulling the trigger back there though,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: and he's getting it out faster than anyone in the
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  Speaker 1: league this year. Two point three one seconds time to
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  Speaker 1: throw next gen stats and we're doing that now, all
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: the all that stuff. So he gets it out quickly,
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  Speaker 1: and it gets it out to those playmakers and if
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: they break a tackle, then those big plays come. But
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: it seems like they've they've changed a little bit of
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: that over the years, or over the last couple of years.
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  Speaker 1: We've been considering his health issues and such. You know,
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: he used to hold it a lot longer. It feels like, yeah,
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  Speaker 1: I think he's gotten smarter over time. Look, he is
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: really a fearless guy when it comes to holding onto
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  Speaker 1: the football trying to create a play. He will tell
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  Speaker 1: you that he might be more athletic than others have
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: given him credit for. And he is sneaky athletic in
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: getting away from defenders and and finding openings to to
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: make something happen down the field. But what I do
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: think they've done with Randy Feakner, with Matt Canada, the
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: QB coach. They put some new things into play here,
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  Speaker 1: and there's a new mentality of hey, you've got guys
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: that when they catch the football, they can make it happen.
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  Speaker 1: It doesn't have to be the forty five yard passed
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: down field anymore. That was their offense with Antonio Brown,
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  Speaker 1: and rightfully so, Antonio was a game breaker. Their receivers
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: are still explosive, but maybe in a different way, and
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: they've been really smart in how they run their offense.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: And I think Ben has been really smart, and he's
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: throwing the football as well as I've seen. It's it's
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: pretty incredible when you think of it. Look, there are
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: quarterbacks that can come into this league every year trying
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: to unseat starters. And the fact that we've had this
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: core group that could hold onto a starting job and
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: play at a Hall of Fame level for thirteen years, fourteen, fifteen,
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: seventeen years. I don't know if this is the norm
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  Speaker 1: or we've just grown used to it. I don't believe
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: we're gonna see this again and again. And I know
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: there are great players that come through the ranks. There's
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: a finite number that can play at this level and
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: We just happen to be at a time in the
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: NFL where we've seen a bunch of them. I an
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: eagle with us CBS Sports. Will go from that conversation
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: to a guy who's making his third career start in
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: the National Football League, and Jake Luton, Jaguar's quarterback. He's
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: done some good things. He's obviously has a very limited
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: sample size so far, but he's got the opportunity to
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: prove that he deserves to be in the league in
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: some capacity. I think that's the thing for him. His
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: performance the last two weeks and now the greatest challenge
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: he's had so far against the Steelers defense. It's another
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: young guy, another late round draft pick, and I feel
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: like that's been the story around here the last couple
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  Speaker 1: of years. Yeah, when you're a GM in the NFL,
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: the NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL, you will go to
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  Speaker 1: your grave telling people why you made the selection that
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: you made. And oftentimes it's the bigger names and the
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: higher scrutiny level of players that will curb and affect
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: your reputation. So if I'm a talent evaluator and James
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: Robinson emerges and you can get credit in some form
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: for finding and discovering James Robinson. You just grapple that
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: and and put it onto your personal resume as quickly
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: as possible. Jake Lewton would qualify if he has a
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: ten year NFL career, even in a backup role or
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: spots starter as a sixth round draft pick at quarterback.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: That goes on your resume, that's on there forever. So yeah,
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  Speaker 1: this is a really important time for him to show
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  Speaker 1: that he belongs. You nailed it not to be a
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: starter in this league. That'll take care of itself if
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: he's the real deal. Eventually, either the Jaguars will determine
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: that or other teams will figure it out first and foremost,
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: you have to prove that you belong. And I've seen
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: a few occasions, more than a few jp where a
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: guy who's been in the league at quarterback for four
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: years and he's making backup money, and he gets a
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: second contract and maybe he gets a little more than
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: backup money, and then the starter goes down and he's
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: got to actually play, and after one game you realize
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: he can't do it. He can't do it. So the
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: goal in some ways for backup quarterbacks that no deep down,
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  Speaker 1: they're not starting quarterback says hey, I'm just gonna keep
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: going on this path until somebody taps me on the
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  Speaker 1: shoulder and says it's over. Or if you're the guy
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: like Jake Luton that gets the opportunity, you gotta make
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: good on it. You gotta deliver to some degree. I
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: think in his first two games he's proven with his
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: attitude and enough of a command right now that he
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: can handle the bigger stage. This is a different level though.
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: He's going against the Steeler team. They're out for blood.
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  Speaker 1: Final thought with you here. You mentioned one of those names,
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  Speaker 1: James Robinson, rookie running back, undrafted guy playing really well
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: this year. Miles Jack on the defensive side. We know
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: him well. He's already on a second contract. He's playing
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: at what could be a Pro Bowl level. But the
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: challenges the team record there one at eight, they're not
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: going to get the recognition nationally because of the circumstances
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: around here, and that just doesn't seem fair. But that's
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: the lay of the land. First of all, I don't
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: even think they're playing a Pro Bowl this year, so
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: that that's the first thing. So the idea that players
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: won't go. Nobody's going as far as I know. With
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: that said, I think both guys are getting talked about
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: and they're not going unnoticed. Miles Shack is having the
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: best year of his career. He has certainly been the
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: best player on that side of the ball, and that's
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: not going unnoticed. And his reputation has been very good
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: before this year, so now it's just adding to it.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: And James Robinson, I remember when Arian Foster broke into
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: the league and there was this in crazy juelists, skeptical
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: feeling initially like I don't know, everybody didn't see what
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: we're seeing now, and at some point the bubble might burst.
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: No no, no no, no no. When you're talented and it
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: shows weekend and week out, people pay attention and James
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: Robinson will get the recognition. He's a tremendous story. But
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: the production also has has matched the narrative. I had
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: always great to visit with you. Always appreciate your time
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: and hopefully we'll see you again down the line very
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: soon and have a great call. Yeah, I appreciate it. JP.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: All the best to you and keep crushing it.