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Publix Tailgate Show: Tight ends coach Ron Middleton · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What a fun offense to be a part of. So
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: far twenty eight and a half points a game. That
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: sounds pretty good to me week to week, no question.
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: I'll tell you it's something you can really really get
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: used to. I hope we can keep it going. But
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: you know, it's a new day every every week. But
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: it would be nice to keep to keep to keep rolling,
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: for sure, no doubt. And the tight ends obviously a
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: big part of the offense, and they certainly were last week.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Seven catches for tight ends in the game last week,
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: and that's a big piece of Jay Gruden's offensive attack,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: at least in the past, and it's starting to show
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: that tendency again. That's good news for your room, no question.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: It's I'll tell you to to be involved. Um. The
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: guys take a lot of pride in it. They they
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: understand their importance to the offense for sure in the
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: run game, but now that they're getting a few crumbs
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: in the passing game, that puts big smiles on their
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: face also. So yeah, last week was good man. We
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: got a few got a few targets. Um, guys made
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: some plays. You know. It's like I said, hopefully we
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: can keep it going. For sure. I mentioned the catches
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: you've brought up the run blocking of this group here
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: that a lot of folks who are just watching the
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: game might not really look at that two end depth.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: But it's certainly key for the tight end position to
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: take us through the run blocking of those guys effort
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: and it was Shaughnessy especially, and how that has helped
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: a guy like James Robinson come through and run the
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: ball effectively. They're not bruising blockers either, one of them.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Um that they got a lot of effort, and they'll
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: fight and they'll fight you, and they put a lot
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: of strain into their blocks. Good thing about it also
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: is they are too smart players understanding defenses and what
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: the role of the backers and defensive ends. Uh, if
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: they have contained, well, if they widen, they landmark a
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: little bit, that will get more movement. Um, get them
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: to widen a little bit more. Um, those craftedness I'd say,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: you know, the pleasant I'm more pleasantly rides with efforts
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: um blocking, then I expect I'm getting a whole lot
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: more from him than I expected. And not that he
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: couldn't do it or whatnot, but um, I'll tell you
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: he hasn't backed away, not one bit. Sure. I don't
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: get me wrong. I know what his bread and buddy is.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: And you know, hopefully we keep getting him the rock
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: or giving him those targets out there. But it's real
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: nice to um to be able to put him in
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: the game and defense is thinking that it's gonna be
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: a pass and James Robinson run up enough for ten
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: fifteen yards. That's a good thing, you know. So they
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: take a lot of pride and being complete football players
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: and that really helps Ron Middleton with a Jaguars tight
• 2:39
  Speaker 1: ends coach. Let's continue our conversation on effort here. He
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: had his twenty fifth career touchdown last week and he's
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: in his eighth year so on this Procester he is
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: an elder statesman on this football team. He's been banged
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: up a lot throughout his career, and we heard from
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: the in the off season from him about the mindset
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: of a lot of times being injured and missing a
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: lot of football games. He was finally on the field
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: last year and he seems like he has that confidence
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: back about him that he's gonna be able to go
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: out there and and not worry about anything that's happened
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: in the past. But only experience can help a guy
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: like that, No doubt he I think he's come to
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: the realization that some things are just out of your control.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: You can't dwell on it, you can't be scared of it.
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: You just have to go out and and let the
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: chips far where they may. He prepares himself to have
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: to play fifty six snaps a game. We definitely don't
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: want him to play that many snaps. We're gonna We're
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: gonna try to get the most out of his talents.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: But no, you can't worry about the injuries. Injuries are
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: part of the game, and in his case, Uh, it's
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: just been unlucky and unfair to a certain degree with
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: with the injuries that he's had. Um, But no, we
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: don't dwell on it. We we just go out and
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: we work. I say, it's like death, you know, you know,
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: it's it's it's possible. But we're not. We're not gonna
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: sit and dwell on it every day. You know, it's
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: just just deal with it. Ron Middleton with us taking
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: an interesting turn in this conversation. The Jaguars tight ends coach.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: He's the first founder for a reason. I think we'll
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: find that out. He has that ability. It's just a
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: matter of keeping him out there. Now. Another guy coming
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: off entry coaches James O'Shaughnessy. Of course, had the knee
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: injury last year. He's in his sixth year and it's
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: not like he hasn't had a lot of starting time
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: over his entire playing career, but he has a huge
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: role in this offense. How has he come back from
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: the knee so far, and it seems like he's getting
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: more involved now to last year. Let me start by
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: saying last year when he got hurt, I thought I
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: thought James was about to turn the corner into being
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: that that productive tight end in this league. Um. In fact,
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: that game, that the Carolina game where he where he
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: did get hurt. You know, he had I think a
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: hundred yards receiving, had a couple of big catches and
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: like I said, he was he was about to turn
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: that corner and damn bam, he gets hurt. Well, that
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: was the big question coming in this year's how is
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: he gonna come back after the injury. Anybody in the
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: in the training room will tell you that that he
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: busted his butt in the offseason. He busted his butt
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: to get back to get back out there. He did
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: everything they asked him to do and more. Um, just
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: a a star star rehab her in their words, you know,
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: and it's paying off for him, you know. Um, hopefully
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: he can get to that point where he was last
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: year when the injury came and and hopefully he can
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: go farther and turn that corner to be the player
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: that I think he's capable of being. Yeah, Ron Middleton
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: with his final thoughts here with the coach. He got
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: a couple of puppies in your room too. And Tyler
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Davis who hasn't had a lot of practice time yet
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: at least in the regular season with a knee issue,
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: has been on the injury report, has not been up
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: yet this season. And then Ben Ellison is on your
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: practice squad. He has been up coming off the practice
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: squad late in weeks. What have you seen out of
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: those guys and how can you expect those guys to
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: contribute as a move along? Yeah, it's all. It's all
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: been positive with those guys. I have nothing but positive thoughts,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: positive reports, um on those two my youngsters as I
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: call him, Um. I think Ben is a little more
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: polished than Tyler right now. I think Tyler is still
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: learning the offense, excuse me, learning the position. Being is
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: a tough, tough um guy with some tough player, with
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: some technique. Um that this isn't his, This isn't the
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: first time he's blocked anybody. Um. I think his route,
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: his route running, he has some some it to his
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: route running. Um. He's not the fastest in the world,
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: but I think he's I think he's got something that
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: he can get open, and he has good hands. Tyler
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: is a little bigger, a little faster, probably a little stronger,
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: but not as polished as Being. You know, he's um,
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: he hasn't played the position as long as as Being his.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: But the arrow is up on these guys now. The
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: error is definitely up. We think a hell of a
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: lot of both of them. You know, I think we're
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: gonna see Tyler pretty soon. Yeah, touch great stuff. Let's
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: get some tight ends in the end zone. This let
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: her boy, Let's go, Yes, yes, yes, no doubt