Latest / The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network / Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 243 | Week 1 Expectations, O-Line Rotation & Fan Questions

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Jags A.M. Podcast Ep. 243 | Week 1 Expectations, O-Line Rotation & Fan Questions · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Jackson.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: I'm kind of Stevens, Brian Sexton and John Osher are
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: with me today as the Jaguars are preparing for their
• 0:20
  Speaker 2: week one matchup against the Cleveland Browns, and we're excited
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: to talk regular season football.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Let's go over our big things brought to you.
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: By GEHA Government Employees Health Association.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Big thing number one is expectations. This team.
• 0:32
  Speaker 2: Overachieved by all means last season, going 13-4. And now
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: they're taking on a team that's among a rebuild, to
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: put it nicely, Brian. And I'm assuming they're going to
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: be big-time favorites on Sunday. But how do you go
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: out there, turn the page? I know Liam Cohen isn't
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: focused on last year, but to get everybody on the
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: same page and focused on game one.
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: Well, listen, just go back to last year and the
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: division race down the stretch. You cost yourself in Houston
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: last November and then had to win out every single week.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: Because the Texans won out. You won eight. They won nine.
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: You ended up taking the division. That's liable to be
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: how it is this year. Every game is going to
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: matter in a division that has one of the best
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: defenses in football and has the opportunity to compete for
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: the division title. So you ought to expect that every
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: Sunday you better be ready to give your best because
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: you're not going to have an opportunity with the Texans
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: in the division to And then a very talented AFC.
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: There are a number of teams that will make the
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: wildcard race very interesting. You got to be your best
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: every Sunday in this AFC, John.
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Kai, as you alluded to, the Jags will be
• 1:35
  Speaker 4: favored big. Maybe their biggest spread in an opener in
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: almost 20 years. But we all know from experience that
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: really doesn't matter. 23, remember, they went up to the Colts.
• 1:47
  Speaker 4: Everybody thought they were going to blow them out. The
• 1:48
  Speaker 4: Jaguars come off division title. And it was a tight game.
• 1:52
  Speaker 4: It Week one is weird in the NFL. If you
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: win and get out of it, you're doing well. I
• 1:59
  Speaker 4: expect this game to be close because week ones usually are,
• 2:03
  Speaker 4: and it could be really weird in the first half.
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: And at halftime, fans go, what's going on? Well, what's
• 2:09
  Speaker 4: going on is there's nothing to game plan for. It's
• 2:13
  Speaker 4: week one stuff. Get out of this one with a W, Kai,
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: and it's the same thing as winning by 14 points.
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: Win is a win in week one and always. Let's
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: go to our second big thing, which is the offensive line. Now,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: we don't know what the right tackle situation is quite
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: just yet. Maybe at the end of the week we'll
• 2:29
  Speaker 2: have a better idea as Colvin Landon works his way
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: back from that knee injury. But there's some familiar faces
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: on the line. They're just in different spots. Anton Harrison,
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: formerly your right tackle, now your left tackle. Your right
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: guard is now Ezra Cleveland as Emmanuel Pregnon slides in
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: at left guard. Robert Hainsey still holding down things in
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: the middle. John Should we expect everything to be perfect
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: week one?
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Do you think this is a situation.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: Where there's a lot of veterans on there, or is
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: it all a little bit different because they're in a
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: different spot?
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: Well, I never expect things to be perfect, so I
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: would say no. They've been trying to get Anton over
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: to the left for a couple of years, waiting for
• 3:04
  Speaker 4: the right opportunity, and it presented itself this offseason when
• 3:08
  Speaker 4: Cole was out. Cole's more comfortable on the right side,
• 3:11
  Speaker 4: make that switch. They certainly feel with Pregnon in there now,
• 3:16
  Speaker 4: it's going to be their best five if Van Lannen
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: is healthy enough to play Sunday. That'll be their best five.
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: With Pregnon being a rookie, will there be some young mistakes?
• 3:25
  Speaker 5: Sure.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: I expect this line to be just as good, if
• 3:31
  Speaker 4: not better, past pro than last year.
• 3:34
  Speaker 5: And Brian, with Pregnon... And he's going to be a
• 3:37
  Speaker 5: better running team.
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, listen, that's the key metric, especially with the Browns
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: not having Miles Garrett. Right. He's in Los Angeles. So
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: you don't have to worry about who's blocking him on
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: whichever side of the ball. But it was the run
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: game that it left the Jaguars wanting last year. They
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: were fine the first 10 weeks of the season. But
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: the last six weeks of the season, they averaged just
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: about 90 rushing yards per game. All the metrics fell off,
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: and the Jaguars just couldn't get anything going. This is
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: a pretty good defensive front, even without Myles Garrett. Mason
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: Graham is a big body inside. Jared Verst plays very
• 4:11
  Speaker 3: well against the run. And it's amazing that the Jaguars
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: were able, with their run game in such a state
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: of disrepair at the end of last year, to still
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: go 6-0, right? And it was a challenging schedule down
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: the stretch. That's not sustainable. This team is going to
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: have to be able to run the ball. The coach
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: said it from the very beginning of OTAs and all
• 4:29
  Speaker 3: throughout training camp. that it was a mentality they wanted
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: to have to be able to run the ball, and
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: the mentality comes from the offensive line. So Pregnon certainly
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: upgrades that. I think the way that we saw Ezra
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: Cleveland rebound from the Saints practice to Carolina Tampa gives
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: you a lot of hope. And when Cole Van Landen
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: does get back into the starting lineup, he's a very
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: good run-blocking tackle. But Walker Little is too. That's maybe
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: what he does best, is push guys off the line
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: of scrimmage. So I think this has a potential to
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: be a very good run-blocking lineup. And I think that's
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: critical on Sunday because the Jaguars have got to pick
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: that up.
• 5:04
  Speaker 5: Absolutely.
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: Do our final big thing today, which is rookies. We
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: saw a lot of the rookies contribute in the preseason,
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: whether it was during a joint practice or on the
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: preseason field when it was Brian Thomas Jr.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: the edge rusher, showing off. But, Brian, what are some
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: of the rookies.
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: That could have an impact out of the gate? Obviously,
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: Pregnon starting at left guard, but any other names that
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: people should be aware of?
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Well, I think Nate Borkature will, right? Same vein, the
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: running game. The Jaguars, when they went to 12 personnel
• 5:30
  Speaker 3: last year, one running back and two tight ends, They
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: were not as effective running the ball because they didn't
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: have that big body behind Brenton Strange. Well, now they do.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: Borkinger is not only a good blocker, he is a persistent,
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: determined blocker. Just go back and look at what he
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: did against Carolina and Tampa Bay. I think that really
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: upgrades that. That's the guy. You know, there are a
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: number of other guys around that you can talk about
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: as being impactful, but I think he is the number
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: one guy for this football team.
• 6:00
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I agree. I think tight end... with Borkature is huge.
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: I think the other rookies, what you feel good about
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: is not necessarily what they will do week one.
• 6:11
  Speaker 5: I think you feel good about the two rookie receivers.
• 6:13
  Speaker 5: I think I feel good about Albert Regis in terms
• 6:16
  Speaker 5: of the long season.
• 6:19
  Speaker 4: If they're needed, when they're needed, as they develop, there's
• 6:23
  Speaker 4: a strong feeling that they will be more ready to
• 6:26
  Speaker 4: compete without a fall off than maybe the normal rookie.
• 6:29
  Speaker 4: I don't know that you'll see rookies beyond Pregnon and
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: Porkett should be a huge storyline week one. But I
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: think you feel better about the floor of this team
• 6:40
  Speaker 4: because of some of the young guys.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: All right, stay with us here on Jags AM.
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: Coming up after the break, we'll play a little this
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: or that about the week one matchup against the Browns.
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: This or that.
• 6:53
  Speaker 3: This or that.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: Welcome back into Jags AM. It's game week.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: We're going to talk regular season football. Finally, we're going
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: to look ahead to that matchup against the Browns. We'll
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: do a deep dive tomorrow as well.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: But what are our.
• 7:07
  Speaker 5: Expectations, right?
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: We haven't seen a ton of the starters in game
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: play since probably last year or the beginning of this year. Many,
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: many months. So what do we think this is going
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: to look like? I'm looking at the running backs for
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: our first this or that. Who do we think will
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: lead the team in rushes this week? Because I think
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: Some people might think, oh, it's Tootin', but I also
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: think they might lean heavily on Chris Rodriguez, depending on
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: the style of play, of course.
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: But who do you think will lead the team this week?
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: Well, listen, I think if they're successful, it will end
• 7:33
  Speaker 3: up being Basial Tootin', because I think Rodriguez will soften
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: up that Browns front and give them the explosive options
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: that Basial Tootin' brings. But if, for some reason, you
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: don't soften them up, then I think you just keep
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: hammering them with Chris Rodriguez. So it just depends on
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: how effective they are early.
• 7:52
  Speaker 5: Who's going to get the most touches?
• 7:53
  Speaker 4: I think probably Rodriguez, especially early, because I really think
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: they want to establish that. And Liam has shown that
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: he will stay with it, whereas a lot of head
• 8:07
  Speaker 4: coaches will say they want to try it, and then
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: by the second quarter, if it's not working, they're saying, hey,
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: we've got to get some points, we've got to chuck it.
• 8:16
  Speaker 5: It's a hard question, though, because we have not seen.
• 8:19
  Speaker 4: I don't think, anything remotely like what they're going to
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: do on sunday i don't know what they're gonna do
• 8:24
  Speaker 4: on sunday but with the running game none of it
• 8:27
  Speaker 4: really matters until you're hitting and then to add on
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: to that none of it really matters to that third
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: or fourth quarter once you've grinded through the first half
• 8:36
  Speaker 4: once you've gotten there uh i think they're.
• 8:39
  Speaker 5: Going to be a run heavy team i.
• 8:40
  Speaker 3: Do too it's just that You've got Carson Schlesinger, who
• 8:43
  Speaker 3: is a linebacker who can really play the run well.
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: The one advantage you have is if you soften that
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: group up, and then you can run by him when
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: he's tired in the fourth quarter. That's what you hope
• 8:54
  Speaker 3: to do, is really soften those guys up.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: And it might be like we've talked about a split.
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: C-Rod has a lot of the carries. Toon has a
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: lot of the yards because of explosive plays.
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: Trevor Lawrence, obviously finishing last season like the best we've
• 9:06
  Speaker 2: ever seen him. But the Browns, historically, obviously a very
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: good defensive team, and I know it's a little bit
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: different without Myles Garrett out there, but they haven't allowed
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: a 300-plus yard passer in, I think, 44 games, which is,
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: you know, they're going for, I think, the Colts record
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: of 55, if I looked that up correctly at some point.
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: Will Trevor be able to come out really hot and
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: get over 300, or is this a game where maybe
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: that matchup isn't necessarily success for this team?
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I almost think the Jaguars would prefer him to
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: be around 250 just because I think they want to
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: have the run going. A great game for him this
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: year is going to be 17-22, 260 and three touchdowns.
• 9:45
  Speaker 5: That's sort of balance.
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: I think Brian will touch on this as well.
• 9:50
  Speaker 5: That 300-yard stat, that's great for the Browns.
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: They have to prove now they can do it without
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: the pass rusher on that side because that's such a
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: huge thing. You had to worry more than maybe any
• 9:59
  Speaker 4: other pass. rusher in the league the last couple years.
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: Get the ball out quick. Keep things short to get
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: it away from Myles Garrett. Are they still that team?
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: We'll find out.
• 10:12
  Speaker 5: Trevor could, but I think to do it, he's going
• 10:15
  Speaker 5: to have to hit two explosives.
• 10:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and they talk about explosives, and the percentage of
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: drives that end up with points that have explosives is
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: much higher. So they're going to focus on trying to
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: find a couple of those. The question, again, comes to
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: a dependence to me. Who has Jared Verse? And how
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: effective are they? Now, Vers is not Miles Garrett. And
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: we saw Vers last in London last year, and he
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: was wrecking havoc. But he had Brian Young over the
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: other side, and he had Kobe Turner in the middle.
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: So I think that the Jaguars can have a plan
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: to handle Jared Vers, which will allow Trevor time to
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: stand in the pocket. When he's got time, what Parker
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: Washington can do, what Jacoby Myers can do, and eventually
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: what that means for Brian Thomas and those explosives, I
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: think if they can handle Jared Vers, and I think
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: they will handle Jared Vers, they'll have an opportunity to
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: get those explosives.
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: To me, Kyle, on those lines, I get the 300
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: yards is a very dazzling stat. I care more about
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: what they do inside the 20. They looked really good
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: all preseason in that situation.
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: In the red zone.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: Even with the Saints, where they struggled. Once they got
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: into that red zone, this is a precision moment play league,
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: and they looked very good in those precise moments in
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: the preseason, meaning the joint practices. If they maintain that,
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: they're really good, and I think they can.
• 11:34
  Speaker 3: And Brenton Strange is obviously the key in the red zone.
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: He's such a difficult matchup. When you start assigning more
• 11:40
  Speaker 3: people to have their eyes on him, one of those
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: other guys is going to find a way to get
• 11:43
  Speaker 3: open too.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Hopefully opens things up.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: We'll look to the defensive side of the football as
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: well because Coach Campanile returning has been huge for them
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: and what this group was able to do last year
• 11:52
  Speaker 2: in terms of takeaways. And now that they have a
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: fully healthy kind of defensive line at this point, Where
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: do we feel like they'll show the most success early?
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: Will it still be the takeaways early? Do we think
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: the sacks are going to come now?
• 12:05
  Speaker 5: Well, I'm sorry, Ryan. I hope it's sacks.
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: Mainly because I'm an old school guy and I believe
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: you can control sacks a little more than you can takeaways.
• 12:17
  Speaker 4: And if you're getting sacks early, at some point you're
• 12:20
  Speaker 4: going to get takeaways because the ball is going to
• 12:22
  Speaker 4: come out or it's going to be flying in the
• 12:23
  Speaker 4: air off of.
• 12:25
  Speaker 5: A pass rush.
• 12:27
  Speaker 4: It's hard to duplicate 31 takeaways. They would love it
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: if they can, but I'm going to hope it's more sacks,
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: and I'll say it's more sacks.
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: This is the best secondary the Jaguars have had since
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Boye were together in 2017. Travis
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: Hunter coming back gives them a big-time playmaker with elite
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: ball skills. You like what you got from Monteric Brown and,
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: of course, Antonio Johnson. He's the number one strong safety
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: in the league, according to a number of different grading services,
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: whatever stock you put in those. It's an excellent secondary.
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: And what Tony Buscelli told me in June was they
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: wanted stickier coverage. And I asked him, what is that?
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: You know, it's a half a second if you can
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: count that quick. It's just a little bit more at
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: the top of the pass rush for Josh Hines-Allen or
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: Trayvon Walker to get there, to get to the ball.
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: We saw so much last year about Josh Hines-Allen being
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: near the top of the league in pressure rate, but
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: it's got to become sack rate. It's got to become
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: hurry rate so that that secondary can create some turnovers. So,
• 13:24
  Speaker 3: I'm looking on the back end just because alternate with
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: what you're doing here. But that's been a big area
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: of focus. They brought in Matt Arugio from Miami to
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: be the pass game coordinator because his style of defense
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: fit with what camp does better. And so they should
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: see results there this year. And I think if you
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: get a half a second to a second of stickier coverage,
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: you'll see what you talked about. More sacks.
• 13:48
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: With rapidly ascending Antonio Johnson, and I'm not sure there's
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: a more rapidly ascending player in this team. Not that
• 13:56
  Speaker 4: he hasn't already made it, but, I mean, he continues
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: to get better. And Travis Hunter in the lineup, this
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: has a chance to be the most improved area of
• 14:04
  Speaker 4: the team to me. You're watching the running game. Watch
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: the secondary. If those two areas are as improved as
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: this team thinks they are, you've turned questions into strengths.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: To add to more strength.
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: So those are two key areas on Sunday.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: So much of it is intertwined.
• 14:22
  Speaker 2: I'm hopeful that, as you say, that secondary play will
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: turn into more success for the defensive line and the
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: edge rushers.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: Stay with us here.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: We're going to look ahead to the schedule and give
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: you some of our predictions for the season. Welcome back
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: to Jag's AM, brought to you by Paramount +, the
• 14:37
  Speaker 2: streaming home of your live local NFL on CBS Games.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: Welcome back.
• 14:44
  Speaker 2: Paramount Plus also sponsoring our Around the NFL segment. And
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: this week, we're going to look ahead to the regular
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: season schedule for the Jaguars, and we're going to do
• 14:50
  Speaker 2: our best to predict what the season's going to look like.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: So let's start out with that first chunk of games
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: for us. As we look ahead, obviously the Browns are
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: in week one, but then it's not an easy start
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: by any means. It's the Browns week one. They head
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: on the road to Denver. They're back home to take
• 15:04
  Speaker 2: on the Patriots, and then they're on the road again
• 15:06
  Speaker 2: to the Bengals. So what do you guys think they'll do?
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: How will they fare with these four?
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: Well, I think you're happy if you get the 2-2, right?
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: I mean, you've got two road games against two playoff-caliber teams,
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: including a Broncos team that is not going to take
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: this team lightly. There's going to be no more talk
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: about a small-market team. The Broncos are going to be
• 15:25
  Speaker 3: geared up for that one. Listen, I think the high
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: end on that one is probably 3-1 because the Bengals
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: are an excellent team as well. But I think if
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: you get out of that winning your home games early
• 15:37
  Speaker 3: in the season, especially with the little bit of time
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: we saw them you know, on the field, working in
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: joint practices. I think you'd be pretty good about that.
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: I think you're in decent shape if you get out 2-2.
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: I don't think they'll be happy at 2-2.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: No.
• 15:51
  Speaker 4: But I think the way they have to look at it,
• 15:55
  Speaker 4: they're a good team now. So this kind of schedule
• 16:00
  Speaker 4: should scare a team that's not very good.
• 16:02
  Speaker 5: But it should be an opportunity for this team. I mean,
• 16:05
  Speaker 5: this is a chance right now. You've got to get
• 16:08
  Speaker 5: one of those two.
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: New England, and Denver, you have to get both of them.
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: But you need to get one of them because you
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: sort of think they're going to be the teams you're
• 16:15
  Speaker 4: fighting with. You don't want to be down two tiebreakers
• 16:18
  Speaker 4: if you think you're that kind of a team. So
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: I think they get out of it 3-1.
• 16:22
  Speaker 3: Well, listen, the Bengals are going to be a really
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: tough one out there because they really spent a lot
• 16:26
  Speaker 3: to upgrade their defense. I mean, they went and brought
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: Dexter Lawrence from.
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: I think that might be the tricky, hard one.
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: I think so, too. Listen, and you know with Joe
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: Burrow that they're capable of putting up a big number,
• 16:35
  Speaker 3: and you'll have to chase a big number, too. So I...
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: I just think that that first month is as grueling
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: as one I can remember.
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: Let's check out the next chunk as they head out
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: to London. They're going to have two games on the road,
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: on the road in London. They're both home games. So
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: they'll be facing off against the Eagles at Tottenham. Then
• 16:52
  Speaker 2: they take on the Texans in a divisional matchup at Wembley.
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: They have a bye week. Then they're back home against
• 16:56
  Speaker 2: the Colts. I'm going to write off the Colts one
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: and make everybody mad because I'm going to keep that streak.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: Going and call that a dub. How do you think
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: they'll fare in London?
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: I think, listen, I think they have an advantage in London.
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: I know lots of teams play over there now, but
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: they've got the systems in place. I think against the
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: Eagles at Tottenham in particular, you've got a team that
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: plays great defense and their offense is, it's a little
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: in flux this year. But you've got a great offense
• 17:22
  Speaker 3: going against that defense and you've got a defense that
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: you think is there. I love that matchup. I really
• 17:27
  Speaker 3: like their opportunity to take that one. And I think
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: the Texans, listen, that's going to, That is the one
• 17:34
  Speaker 3: that people will sleep on in London because they will think, oh,
• 17:37
  Speaker 3: it's the Big Eagles game. But that one against the Texans,
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: I can't wait for that one because all I hear
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: about is the Texans at all times. Generational defense, I
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: get it. And they think that that team is far
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: better than the Jaguars. So I think the Jaguars would
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: be excited about that one.
• 17:53
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's got a chance to be– I can't remember
• 17:57
  Speaker 4: all the London games, but in terms of mattering, in
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: terms of rivalry– it's got a chance to be the
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: biggest London game the Jags have played in terms of
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: this is the home game against the team you think
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: is your biggest division rival.
• 18:10
  Speaker 5: I mean, now the Colts, I think, are going to
• 18:11
  Speaker 5: be there, too. Don't sleep on them. But if you get.
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: Out of this one 2-1, out of the first one 3-1,
• 18:20
  Speaker 4: it gets you to 5-2, basic math guy.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: I'm keeping track over here.
• 18:23
  Speaker 5: Trust me.
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: I'm not a calculator.
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: If you're a good team, you get out of this
• 18:30
  Speaker 5: one 2-3, and I think they're a good team.
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: I think they have a chance to get out of
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: this one 3-0, and I think it's easier for them
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: to get out of this one 3-0 than the first
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: one 3-1. I just think these matchups fit the Jaguars better,
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: but we'll obviously see.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: You guys are even on the rankings right now.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: We're going to continue, though, as they get a little
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: tougher towards the end of the year because of the
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: away games, I will say. There's some tough matchups and
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: there's a lot of primetime games as well. So Ravens
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: on Thursday night football, two matchups against the Titans on
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: the road against the Giants, then on the road against
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: the Bears as well. For me, this is one of
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: those ones where you might drop one of the ones
• 19:07
  Speaker 2: you should win, whether it's New York or just one
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: of those Titans games because the division ones can be
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: so tough.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: I think.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: You want to be 4-1 out of here, but I
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: don't know if that's reasonable. Just knowing the NFL, there's
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: always a game you should win that you don't. I
• 19:26
  Speaker 2: think this might be somewhere in there.
• 19:28
  Speaker 4: First of all, what we're doing here is really difficult
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: because all schedules look a lot harder at the beginning
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: usually than they wind up. Because you don't know who's
• 19:34
  Speaker 4: going to fall off. Some of these teams are not
• 19:36
  Speaker 4: going to be what they think we are. I mean,
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: what we think they are. This team last year, if
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: they had a trademark, they did not lose, maybe except.
• 19:47
  Speaker 5: To Cincinnati, to teams that.
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: you worried about what you're talking about, like that bite
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: them in the butt thing. So they withstood that pretty well.
• 19:58
  Speaker 4: So I think they get through that stretch that you're
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: talking about. I understand the concern that in that little
• 20:03
  Speaker 4: phase of teams you're supposed to beat.
• 20:05
  Speaker 5: This team's been pretty good at doing that.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: Well, listen, you don't also know who you're facing, right?
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: Or who you're facing other teams with. You don't know
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: that you're healthy.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: Right. Sure. There's so many question marks.
• 20:16
  Speaker 3: It's such a guessing game to get to this point.
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: And I think you come out of this one three
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: and two, and you feel pretty good about it. You
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: mentioned that you might lose one of those three that
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: you think you should win. Well, then you should probably
• 20:28
  Speaker 3: take one of those that you don't. You've got the
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: primetime game against the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. And we
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: know what Chicago did last year. And so you feel
• 20:35
  Speaker 3: like going up there is a big challenge as well.
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: But if you're a good team... You take one of those.
• 20:42
  Speaker 3: So I'll say three and two.
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I think that's what people who follow the Jags
• 20:45
  Speaker 4: have to guard against. For years, we haven't been very good.
• 20:48
  Speaker 4: So there's this, oh, well, they're a good team, so
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: we're not going to beat that team.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: We're a good team.
• 20:52
  Speaker 5: This team beat the Broncos last year on the road.
• 20:54
  Speaker 5: The San Francisco 49ers on the road. They beat the Chargers.
• 20:56
  Speaker 5: They beat the Texans. They beat the Chiefs.
• 20:58
  Speaker 4: This is a team that handles these situations well.
• 21:03
  Speaker 5: So, again, I think they have three losses through this phase.
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: Okay. All right, so we'll go 4-1 for John. All right,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: and let's close things out.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: As they get that primetime matchup on Monday Night Football,
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: I know have circled on my calendar, and then some.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: Divisional matchups mixed in there.
• 21:20
  Speaker 2: They're on the road at Houston. They're in Texas two
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: back-to-back weeks, actually, because they then head back to Dallas
• 21:26
  Speaker 2: for Sunday Night Football against the Cowboys. Washington Commanders and
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: the Colts, both of those TBD, because they'll kind of
• 21:31
  Speaker 2: decide whether Saturday or Sunday are game times later in
• 21:34
  Speaker 2: the season.
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: What do we think? How things will end?
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: How will that look towards the end of the season?
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: Well, I thought that this was an 11-win team all
• 21:42
  Speaker 3: season long. So I'll say they beat the Steelers, Commanders,
• 21:48
  Speaker 3: and Colts. And drop a pair on the road. Obviously,
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: Houston will be an incredibly important game. And the Dallas game,
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: you know, I mean, they think they're a contender this
• 21:59
  Speaker 3: year in the NFC. I mean, there's two guys that
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: are really the best in there, but they're in that
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: next group in the NFC. So I thought this was
• 22:08
  Speaker 3: an 11-6 team. I thought that was a reasonable schedule
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: for a team that won 13 games a year before.
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: So I'll say they win the Steelers, Commanders, and Colts games.
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I've kind of gone cliche chalk here. If you
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: go 3-1, everybody likes to say, if you go 3-1
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: in every quarter, you make the playoffs, you probably have
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: a home playoff game.
• 22:28
  Speaker 5: I think they go 3-2 or 4-1 here.
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: And it.
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: It will be hard to get through that Texans road
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: stretch 2-0.
• 22:37
  Speaker 5: And that's the one that you think would bite them.
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: It's logical to think that you split with another power
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: team in your division, and then you figure out how
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: to win the division.
• 22:48
  Speaker 5: Outside of that split. So I'll go with that. I'll
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: go with them being 3-2 here. It gets them to 12-5.
• 22:54
  Speaker 5: I think it's a pretty decent prediction for this team.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: I still think they can win the division with either
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: of those records.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: Hopefully, obviously, a lot depends on matchups and, you know,
• 23:03
  Speaker 2: how the Texans games go.
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: Or the Colts.
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: Well, if you're going to do that, you've got to
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: sweep the Colts. You've got to sweep the Texans.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry.
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: Sweep the Titans. Sweep the Colts. Split with the Texans,
• 23:13
  Speaker 3: and you win the division.
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: That's usually the path to the division is you sweep somebody,
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: and then you've got your matchup.
• 23:19
  Speaker 5: It's what it was last year.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: If you're one of the best teams in your division,
• 23:23
  Speaker 4: that's usually how your season plays out.
• 23:25
  Speaker 3: And I think when you look at the AFC in general, right,
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: I mean, you're talking about the Broncos, the Bills, the Patriots,
• 23:32
  Speaker 3: the Chiefs, the Chargers, I mean, the Texans, the Jaguars.
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: I mean, there's seven teams there that you look at
• 23:39
  Speaker 3: and say, well, what do I have to do to
• 23:40
  Speaker 3: get into a wildcard spot? I mean, you really have
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: got to take care of every opportunity you've got. Winning
• 23:47
  Speaker 3: the division is what you want.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: It's going to be a fun one. These are our
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: predictor caps.
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: We'll see how things go along, and it all starts
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: on Sunday in week one against the Browns.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: Stay with us here.
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: We'll tell you what's coming up the rest of the
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: week as you get ready for the season opener. This
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: weekend's Jaguars-Browns game brought to you by Publix, where shopping
• 24:07
  Speaker 2: is a pleasure. You want to get your tickets, of course,
• 24:10
  Speaker 2: as well as soon.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: As you can.
• 24:13
  Speaker 2: That season opener is going to be a reduced capacity.
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: I think 41,000 and change will be welcome in. So
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: that'll be exciting as we continue the process on the
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: stadium of the future and finally get.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: To see this team.
• 24:24
  Speaker 2: It feels like forever since we've seen them all together. And,
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: you know, obviously that playoff game was a long time ago.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: So anything particularly this week you're looking to hear? Are
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: we just waiting for them to kick off?
• 24:35
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I think the things we talked about,
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: the run game and the secondary and I guess the
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: thing that I remember from last year, there were so
• 24:44
  Speaker 4: many unknowns going to Carolina, and then once they started
• 24:46
  Speaker 4: going to Carolina, that intensity, you started seeing Liam's play calling,
• 24:51
  Speaker 4: you started seeing the commitment to the run, how they
• 24:53
  Speaker 4: were running well, and you went, oh, this team's pretty good.
• 24:56
  Speaker 4: And I anticipate maybe Jags fans watching it, again, having
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: that feeling by the second quarter of, okay, this is
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: a good team. The eight wins last year, and they're
• 25:07
  Speaker 4: going to play well. I think it'll be close because
• 25:09
  Speaker 4: the Browns, you know, it's week one. But that intensity
• 25:13
  Speaker 4: and that change is what I always look forward to
• 25:15
  Speaker 4: in week one.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: If the Jaguars can run the ball, John, I don't
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: know that it's that close. They fell off so dramatically.
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: I can give you so many numbers, but the one
• 25:23
  Speaker 3: that sticks out the most is the final six games
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: of the year, the Jaguars led the league in their
• 25:29
  Speaker 3: running backs getting hit at the line of scrimmage or
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: behind the line of scrimmage. Nearly 60% of their time,
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: the guys were getting hit in the backfield and couldn't
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: make a play. If they can just take what's given,
• 25:40
  Speaker 3: if they can find something And then do something a
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: little extra, right? Have enough room to make a move,
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: to put your shoulder down and drive through a defender
• 25:47
  Speaker 3: instead of going down in the case of Chris Rodriguez.
• 25:50
  Speaker 3: I think this running game sets everything up. And I
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: go back to what the coach told me three or
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: four different times in conversations before preseason television broadcast. And
• 25:59
  Speaker 3: that is the running game is absolutely the basis of
• 26:02
  Speaker 3: everything we do. If we've got that, especially teams focused
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: on the middle, if safeties have to focus on what's
• 26:08
  Speaker 3: in front of them instead of what might be going
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: behind them, we'll get behind them. And I think if
• 26:12
  Speaker 3: you do that, this quarterback's had a great opportunity to
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: light him up.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: Football basics run the ball.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: We'll have more details, of course, on Jags AM and
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: our other shows throughout the week as we get ready
• 26:22
  Speaker 2: for the season opener against the Browns.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: Enjoy your day.