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Ian Eagle talks the evolution of the Jaguars & prime time playoffs | Countdown to Kickoff · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: With the call of the Chargers Jaguars game in the
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: a f C wild Card Playoff. It's I an eagle
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: of Westwood One, and yes, CBS Sports as well. I
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: believe it's your fifteenth year on Westwood one Thursday Night Football?
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: Is that right? Iron? Oh man, JP, I don't know
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: if I had looked up that number. I think you're
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: right that that sounds correct, but that's hard to believe.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: That's hard to wrap my brain around. This week, you
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: were named the National Sports Media Association's two National Sportscaster
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: of the Year. First off, congratulations, that's a fantastic honor.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, thank you so much. The best part
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: of that is that it's voted on by your peers,
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: so everyone that voted in this understands what it takes
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: to put on successful broadcast and the preparation and the collaboration,
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: So to me, that separates it from any of the
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: other awards. And then the fact that the uh, the
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: actual weekend of it, you get to see all of
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: these people that are doing it from each state and
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: we come together. It's an open bar, so that helps JP.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I think people get a little looser and it's just
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: been a fun event to be a part of in
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: previous years as the winner in New York and to
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: now have it happened on on a national level is
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: beyond anything that that I ever dreamed of. Well, I'm
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: looking forward to celebrating with you. I went for the
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: first time last year, so I plan on going moving
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: forward as well. So drinks on me about that and yeah, yeah,
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: well but no, no, but on them. I like that.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Good point. All right. So here we are wild card
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: weekend and who would have thought this? At three and
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: seven after week eleven for the Jaguars, they were down
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: four in the division. I don't remember many rallies all
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: time to win a division like this, as maybe once
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: in Jags history when they won the wild card six
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: they were down the middle of that season. This doesn't happen,
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: I mean, and this was the perfect storm for the
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: Jaguars this season to win the a f C sup JP.
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: Only twice in NFL history a team started two and
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: six and made the playoffs. It happened recently the Washington
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: football team and did it, and the Cincinnati Bengals did
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: it in that's it. You don't come back from two
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: and six and make the postseason very often in the NFL.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: So it shows you a couple of things. One the
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: way that the NFL is designed. I think parody stands
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: out in this sport more than any of the four
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: major sports because you can improve. There are attributes to
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: a team that can be changed year to year. Coaching culture, obviously,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: players draft, there are ways to get better, and that's
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: the other part of the equation for the Jaguars. The
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: one thing that does happen a lot in the NFL,
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: going from worse to first. Eighteen of the last twenty years,
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: a team that finished last in their division then made
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: the playoffs the next year, so not necessarily winning the
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: division the next year like Jacksonville did, but having success.
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: And now it bleeds over into why why did this happen?
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: You're around the team so much, you understand how a
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: coach can change the whole feel of an organization, and
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: Doug Peterson did that. He brought a professionalism, he brought
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: the right bedside manner, he brought a positivity, he brought accountability,
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: and it was needed. They needed a different voice and
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: he provided it. Players, of course, Trevor Lawrence taking big
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: steps year one to year two, there were moments though
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: during this season where you thought he hadn't taken the
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: necessary jump, that maybe there were things that they have
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: to go back to the lab and revisit. But then
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: when that cold streak ended, the hot streak really hit
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: and you could see the command and the presence of
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: a franchise quarterback. And that's what you look for, a
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: guy that can lead, a guy that can do it
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: on the field, someone who's still young but has grown
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: as a leader off the field, and then all the
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: other pieces falling into place. To win the way they
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: did last week against Tennessee defensively to get to the postseason,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: I think does wonders for this team that it wasn't
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: all on Trevor Lawrence's shoulders. In fact, the offense didn't
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: do much as we know in the fourth quarter they
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: had minus one yards and still won the game, and
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: that shows you that they're a complete team and that's
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: gonna mean a lot moving forward. I think whatever happens
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: in this game happens because l A has got their
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: own set of storylines that that they've got coming into
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: this game, and they've got their own friend chaise quarterback.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: But I like the vibe around Jacksonville. Uh there the
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: last time they hosted a wild card game. Did the
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: game for Westwood one, the Jacksonville Buffalo game back in
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: and nobody expected much from that team, and we know
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: what happened. They came within an eyelash have actually going
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: to the Super Bowl. I had Eagle with us. You
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: get a feeling, though this won't be a ten to
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: three final score like that game was. The way these
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: offenses go, of course, the way these play callers get
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: after it. So uh the head coaching comparison here, right,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: Doug Peterson has been in this thing before. He's one
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: of Lombardi Trophy. He's coached a bunch of playoff games.
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: Brandon Staley has not. So when it comes down to it,
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: these guys kind of look in the mirror. They go
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: forward a bunch on fourth down, they roll the dice some.
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: Is there something to the experience of coaching and and
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: calling plays in a big playoff moment that the Jaguars
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: should have an edge? Yeah, most certainly. I I believe
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: in that. I believe coaching goes along way in this league,
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: and decision making goes a long way, and knowing your
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: team and having a real feel for what your team
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: responds to. I think Brandon Staley is still working through
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: that and figuring out that part of the equation. If
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: you sit down with him, he's a very smart guy.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: He obviously got himself to this point because his knowledge
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: is there. It's impressive and now it's a matter of
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: experience and the only way to get it is to
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: be in it. And this is the first real taste
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: for him in that position of playoff experience, going against
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: a guy that obviously pushed all the right buttons when
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl and they did
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: it with a backup quarterback with a QB that Jaguars
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: fans are very familiar with and in Nick Foles, and
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: everything broke the right way. Doesn't mean that every decision
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: that Doug Peterson makes from here on out is applauded
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: and correct and accurate. No, it just means that there's
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: a reservoir of knowledge to lean on and instinctually, there
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: are some things that you would check as putting in
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: the trust column, and Brandon Staley just doesn't have that yet. Now,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: you win a game like this that will go a
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: long way and changing perception, and hey, let's face it.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: You know, jp you you follow all kinds of sports.
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: You take the NHL playoffs as an example. You get
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: a hot goalie in the NHL playoffs that can take
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: a team that was not expected to do much two
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: unexpected heights. And I believe that in the NFL as well.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Not to say that you always go out and win
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: a Super Bowl if a QB is on a hot streak,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: but a quarterback can change the way the team, you're
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: the team is viewed. Joe Burrow for me, last year,
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: the run that Cincinnati went on, that was him maturing,
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: taking troll and dominating at times, just having the right feel.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: I think back to the year the Ravens wanted not
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: with their defense, but with Joe Flacco at the controls.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: That was the best stretch of football Joe Flacco ever
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: played in his career. It happened to be in his
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: contract year. He bet on himself they win the Super Bowl.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: He was the guy that got it done and we
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: now remember the Ravens as a championship team. This is
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: something that you do have to be concerned with when
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: it comes to Herbert because he's capable of doing that.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: He is that talented, he is that good, and he's
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: one of those guys that could just go on a
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: heater and we might look back at this as the
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: Chargers ruining the party for what we think is the
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: Big three in the a f C between Kansas City, Buffalo,
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: and Cincinnati. Herbert is one of those types of players
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: that could have something else in mind. I an Eagle.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: Westwood one Sports has the call of the Charge a
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Jaguars game also of course on CBS throughout the season.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: All right, so let's stay with the quarterbacks here Herbert
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: and Lawrence this week. But every a f C team
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: in the playoffs, at the top of their quarterback depth
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: chart has a first round pick quarterback on it. There's
• 9:18
  Speaker 1: two that aren't going to play this week, obviously in Baltimore, Miami,
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: and then in the NFC there's only one first round
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: pick quarterback, and that's Daniel Jones. So and they're all young.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: All these guys in the a f C are twenty
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: nine or younger. I think Mahomes is the oldest one.
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: So it feels like this is truly pun intended an
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: arms race for a long time in the a f C.
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: But this Herbert Lawrence matchup similar numbers this year, similar
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: completion percentage, same amount of touchdown passes, Herbert through for
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: a little more yardage. Obviously, this is an early matchup
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: of these two and it feels like this could be
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: a playoff type meeting for a long time to come.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: And then yeah, in the next rounds. As you said,
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: with Alan and all the other guys in Borrow and Mahomes,
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: this is going to be a decade's worth of battles
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: in the playoffs. Yeah, and that's why you have to
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: get it right when you have a high pick in
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: the draft and their quarterbacks on the board. If you
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: don't get it right, it can set your franchise back
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: many years. The Jets are feeling this right now. The
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: Chargers in Jacksonville are very confident in the picks that
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: they made and the way that it's played out for
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: three seasons in l A's case, two seasons in Jacksonville's case. Yeah,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: I think you're right. I think we might look back
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: on this game many many years from now and say, oh, yeah,
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: that was the first one, because there have been multiple
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: over the course of the next decade. And I expect it,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: barring obviously any kind of serious injury for these two guys.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: They are more of the classic quarterbacks compared to guys
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: that run and take big hits. Lamar Jackson the one
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: that's sitting this one out. We saw it with Philadelphia
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: and Carson Wentz. It was a big hit that that
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: sent him two I R and allowed Nick Foles to
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: emerge as the guy in Philadelphia to win the Super Bowl.
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: Andrew luck Who's career came to a shocking halt because
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: I think he got concerned about his life after football
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: after all of those big hits. These two guys are
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: more of the classic qbs. Doesn't mean they won't run.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: We've seen it with Trevor Lawrence. He'll run if necessary
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: and he doesn't mind dishing out some punishment if need be.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: But you know, the comparison is what JP. It's always
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: going to be the Brady and Manning incarnation and what
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: came of that that first playoff meeting and then the
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: fact that those guys were winning championships regularly Between the
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: two of them. I think that Trevor is really real
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: league gifted and he looks the part, he acts the part.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: We just needed to see him play the part, and
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: now we've seen it. No longer. Isn't theater of the mind.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: We've seen it with Herbert Man. It was the first game,
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: literally the first game he played in when he had
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: to step in for Tyrod Taylor at the very last
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: moment against Kansas City, that we all saw, Oh whoa,
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: that's that's what an NFL franchise quarterback is supposed to
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: look like. Big, strong, ridiculous arm composed. Nothing seems to
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: rattle him. He's the prototype for what we're looking for
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: at that position, the rocket arm, all the physical tools,
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: and he's done everything that they hoped that he would do.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: And then some you know, he didn't have all his
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: weapons this year. And here we are again leading up
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: to this game, not exactly sure what's going to happen
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: with Mike Williams. So Herbert's dealt with it four and
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: he's just relentless in his pursuit of being the best
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: guy doing this job in the NFL. I an eagle
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: with us. Final thoughts with you here, And you know,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: it's been five years since the last Jags playoff run,
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: but it feels like it's been about fifteen with everything
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: that's happened between and now for the Jaguars, organization in
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: the front office, coaching staffs, everything that's gone with that
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: draft picks. You know, is the league ready for the
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: Jaguars to be good again? I don't think the Jaguars
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: really care. I think this team is focused and they
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: have a different drive and mentality to them. But it
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: doesn't It hasn't happened in a while. I don't know
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: if the league's ready for this. Yeah, it's interesting with
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: how teams are perceived and portrayed. When I started doing
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: the NFL for CBS, the Jaguars are one of the
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: best teams in the a f C. So getting a
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: Jacksonville game was a big deal. To get Mark Brunel
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: and to get Fred Taylor and Keenan Macartol and on
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: and on and on and Bisselli and that whole group,
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: that was a treat. You knew we were going to
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: get high quality football, well coached team and Tom Coughlin
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: and going down there was looked at as a plumb assignment.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: And then obviously things changed a bit. There was a dip.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: Then we we saw a little bit of a rise
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: under Jack del Rio and David Garrard had a couple
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: of years, but it wasn't sustained, and then Jacksonville fell
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: back into the abyss. And now what we saw a
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: few years ago was a blip on the screen with
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Blake Bortles and that one run that year. Not only
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: did I do that that radio game that year, but
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: I did the divisional game on TV against Pittsburgh where
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: they shocked everybody, including the Steelers fans that were walking
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: out of Heinz Field at the tight at the turn
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: and and couldn't believe it. They were shocked, shocked Jacksonville
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: could do this this iteration, I don't think it's surprising
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: people as much. I think there's now an expectation with
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: the pairing of Lawrence and Peterson that this team can
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: be good for a long time. Now are they championship
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: level good, that's a whole other conversation. But are they
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: credible and are they changing the way that they are
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: viewed around the NFL? Yeah? I think so. Obviously, you
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: want a playoff game that adds to more credibility and
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: belief in your team, but the steps are already taking
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: place that this team has a chance to stay at
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: this level for a long time. Looking in their division,
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: why not? They are ready They've got the squad and
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: they're just going to add to it over the next
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: few years. You're gonna have to pay some guys, you're
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: gonna have to go through the salary cap like everybody
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: else does in the NFL, and make some good decisions,
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: and you still have to hit doubles and triples in
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: the draft. But I just look at the pieces here
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: and think to myself that Jacksonville's got a chance to
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: be a mainstay, and not just for a few years,
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: for an extended period of time. Sounds pretty good to me,
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: I must say. I And let's hope it starts for
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: the Jaguars of the Chargers today of the wild Card round.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: Always appreciated. I am looking forward to seeing you. Yeah,
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: me too, JP, All the best,