00:00:00
Speaker 1: JP Shadwick w withd you with our countdown to Kickoff interviews ahead of the Jaguars Colts matchup in week seventeen. Let's start with the Endie perspective. The voice of the Colts, Matt Taylor, shares what forty four year old quarterback Philip Rivers brings to the table.
00:00:14
Speaker 2: Well, Philip Rivers still has his mind, and that's his strongest muscle still to this point at age forty four. I mean, honestly, I mean he's the walking embodiment or the living embodiment in this case of just how much you know, I think the game is ninety percent mental and ten percent physical. I mean, I don't think there's any other way you can explain how a forty four year old quarterback who hasn't played in you know, prior to the game a couple of weeks ago in Seattle in eighteen hundred days comes in and almost leads that team to a win on the road and that environment, and then comes back, you know, six or seven days later and is able to throw for two seventy seven in front of the world, in front of the national audience on Monday Night football. So I mean it's pretty remarkable stuff. And you know, as it relates to the team, it was unfortunate that Rivers played as well as he did and as efficiently as he did and putting up twenty seven points and the Colts still lost by twenty one because the defense played that bad on Monday night football.
00:01:15
Speaker 3: So you know, we can talk.
00:01:17
Speaker 2: About how the Colts got here and you know, all that stuff, just a quick history lesson. I mean, Daniel Jones Terris is Achilles three weeks ago on that field against Jacksonville, and then I mean, you're you're in a tough spot. You lose your footing inside the AFC South. Now you're looking up at the Jaguars inside the standings. You know, the trade deadline is coming gone, it's early December. Not a whole lot of viable options out there. That's how the Colts landed on Philip Rivers because of his you know, still his football IQ, his acumen, his experience with Shane Steich and knowing the playbook inside and out, and he also has a great familiarity with a lot of the players that are still on this team, especially on offense. I think there's whatever the number is like fifteen total holdover teammates that are still here that were with them in twenty twenty when he quarterback the Colts to the playoffs. So he's been I think everything the Colts wanted and more given the circumstances happened to bring him off the street.
00:02:14
Speaker 3: You know, two and a half weeks ago.
00:02:15
Speaker 4: Bet Taylor willis voice of the Colts.
00:02:17
Speaker 1: Last time out, the Jaguars defense did a pretty good job against Taylor.
00:02:20
Speaker 4: It's a different game. Quarterback was heard early. You know, a lot of changes there.
00:02:24
Speaker 1: But what's the biggest concern for the Colts facing this Jaguars defense.
00:02:30
Speaker 3: Well, I think you hit the nail right in the head.
00:02:32
Speaker 2: It's you need to establish to some degree, you need to find some sort of substance in the running game with Johnston Taylor.
00:02:39
Speaker 3: I mean Taylor.
00:02:41
Speaker 2: He just hasn't been able to get going. In the last six weeks. The Colts have lost five in a row. He's been held under one hundred yards in all of those games. You know, he had a decent rushing total against Jacksonville three weeks ago. He was in the seventies, which I read where that's Jonathan Taylor is still the only running back to go over seventy yards rushing against Jacksonville, which just.
00:03:05
Speaker 3: Shows how good they are.
00:03:07
Speaker 2: But you know, since I think everything, I think everything kind of changed for the Colts, you know, right around that Berlin game when they played Atlanta overseas and come to find out, that was the game where Daniel Jones sustained his injury with the fractured fibula, and ever since then, you know, teams really were kind of coming closer to the line of scrimmage, playing the box, making sure they were taking Jonathan Taylor away first and foremost, and making Daniel Jones beat him through the air and playing tight coverage on the outside, just making it really difficult in the Colts on offense. And so they got to find him some somehow, some way get him going in the running game. And that's the most impressive part for me, is watching Jacksonville live and then also on tape in the last couple of weeks. Is Yes, everybody knows they're number one in the NFL and stopping the run right around eighty seven yards per game, But to me, the most impressive part about their defense is just how physical they are. Right when they tackle you, you're down, Like when they touch you you don't go any further. They leave the NFL and fewest yards after contact allowed this season, which is a big part of why that number is so good at being able to stop the run. They're really good in the back end too, because teams are in third and long a lot because they're not running the ball successfully on first and second down. So that's been a disappointing revelation the last six or seven games. It's just Jonathan Taylor is disappearing or getting further and further away from the MVP candidate we saw him to be in the first two months of the season.
00:04:40
Speaker 1: Matt, what's left with this Colts defense? What are they hanging their hat on right now? Buckner's done for the year, that was announced on Friday. Jaguars did what they did against him a few weeks ago. But what's some positive things about this defense?
00:04:53
Speaker 2: Well, personnel wise, some positivity there is you're getting Sauce Gardner back for this game. He didn't play in the first Backsonville game. He sustained a calf injury on the first series the game after Thanksgiving that Sunday after Thanksgiving against the Houston Texans, and we haven't seen him since, and he's really been on the field off the field, on the field off the field since the Colts made that trade for him the trade deadline, given up two first round picks.
00:05:18
Speaker 3: So he's going to be a welcome site for sore eyes.
00:05:21
Speaker 2: Because the Colts, I mean, you talk about their calling card and what they're hanging their hat on right now.
00:05:26
Speaker 3: Unfortunately, not too much.
00:05:28
Speaker 2: There's no real better way to answer that other than they're not doing too much well right now. You know, they giving up you know, twenty eight or I should say forty eight points against San Francisco the other day and five passing touchdowns to brock Purty. I mean, the biggest thing is they just haven't been able to quiet down the big plays in the passing game. You know, during this five game losing skid, not to nerd out on you, JP, but they have given up thirty eight pass completions over fifteen yards in that span. So you know, the middle of the field is wide open. I think because of personnel or lack thereof, right you haven't been able to play with Tarvarius Ward and also Sauce Gardner these last couple of games. You know, the Colts are I think they've shown a lot of reluctance to play an aggressive press man the man on the outside, So a lot of zone coverage middle of the field's been there for receivers and tight ends, and that's just giving up too much of a high volume number for the Colts in the passing game.
00:06:27
Speaker 1: On defense lately, Brian Sexton with a pair of interviews this week. First off, defensive backs coach Ron Milis, who's been a dB coach in the NFL since the two thousand season.
00:06:37
Speaker 5: A little bit just because it's been what five years since the last time he's put the pads on, But when you really look at it, the relationship with Shane and him and the situation in which they're in, it kind of makes sense because he's got a stranglehold on the offense. He knows that thing inside and out. No matter if he had been a high school coach down there in Alabama or coming back.
00:07:01
Speaker 6: You can see he's got command of what's going on.
00:07:03
Speaker 7: When you watch the tape, that's what you see, right, not necessarily the same physical guy, but the same quarterback.
00:07:09
Speaker 5: Absolutely you see him. He's the general on the field. He probably knows what we're doing as well.
00:07:14
Speaker 6: As we know what we're.
00:07:15
Speaker 5: Doing, just because of the fact he's done it for such a long period of time. And even when I was with the Charger and he was with the Chargers, he would know, hey, you're in the wrong spot, move over something. He has an idea of what's going on on both sides of the ball.
00:07:30
Speaker 7: So even though they've lost a couple in a row, they're still in this thing. This is an important game for both teams, and that brings an edge to it, doesn't it.
00:07:38
Speaker 5: Absolutely. I mean, they still got something to play for. Obviously, we have something to play for. We got a very good football team. Obviously, I've got some history with that organization coming from there, been there the last three years. Love to go in and there and see if we can get a win.
00:07:54
Speaker 7: The league has really tried to increase drama at the end of the year by putting all of these divisional games. I think they've done an outstanding job. Kind of expect that team and your team to both come out wound up.
00:08:05
Speaker 5: Absolutely, and like you said that, the league has done that over the years.
00:08:09
Speaker 6: You just kind of go back over time.
00:08:12
Speaker 5: I was with the Raiders one time and we were in a similar situation where he either had to win out and play teams such as the Colts or whoever it might have been. And I think it's been good for football, good for the National Football League. It's not like they have an understanding that who's at the end of the season, who has a chance to be good.
00:08:31
Speaker 7: Tell me about your room, because it seems like you've got a lot of guys who are playing different roles and yet everyone seems to be completely unselfish. Is that that room or is that that room plus this time of year and where this team is.
00:08:43
Speaker 6: I think it's a little bit of both.
00:08:44
Speaker 5: I mean, I think our room understands we're going to need them all and so we've been especially at the corners and the safety position, where it's been like a rotation when we started off with Greg and Buster, but Jarian gets his play.
00:09:00
Speaker 6: Same thing that's happened at the safety position.
00:09:02
Speaker 5: So we're lucky enough that we have enough guys that we feel very comfortable putting in again in a game in a crunch time, and we kind of have an idea what's gonna happen.
00:09:12
Speaker 7: What did it mean to you to get Eric Murray back on the field. It seems like there's a different level of cohesion with that unit with him on the field.
00:09:19
Speaker 8: Oh.
00:09:19
Speaker 5: Absolutely. He's a guy that's been around the league for a number of years. Obviously we missed him when when he was out. He's like an extra coach on the field or a quarterback on the field force. I think with him, Dewey Ajose, those three guys have done a wonderful job.
00:09:37
Speaker 7: Antonio Johnson's kind of been my example of how this team has grown because when Eric wasn't on the field, he wasn't and making plays. Did you see this incrementally or did it just turn on with him?
00:09:46
Speaker 2: Oh?
00:09:46
Speaker 5: He's been doing this. Really, he's been doing this since since the summertime. I think he's come on. Obviously, he's been able to catch the football, he's flashed in the run game. I think AP has done a really good job with those guys also, So at the end of the day, AP's where it needs to be.
00:10:04
Speaker 7: Give me a thirty thousand foot perspective. You've been around this game a long time. This team has something going from a chemistry perspective, it's tangible. I mean you can see it here, you can almost taste it.
00:10:14
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, Well, I think that comes from the top, how Liam approaches us every day as coaches, as players, and then what camp on the defensive side brings to the table. Then you know, the emphasis on turnovers, those type of things has helped us greatly.
00:10:30
Speaker 7: Final thought, how much fun is it to play football and coach football? You know, the week of Christmas with a lot on the line and with a lot in front of you, still, well, this.
00:10:39
Speaker 6: Is what it's all about.
00:10:40
Speaker 5: This is if you would have said back in the summer, we're going to be in this position, we would all say we'll take it. And we're in this position and we are fortunate. But we have worked hard enough to get ourselves in this position. So hopefully we'll keep on going for at least another month and next.
00:10:56
Speaker 1: Jaguars cornerback Jerry and Jones, who always has confidence.
00:11:00
Speaker 9: I think a little bit of both. I think it's just who I am. But I'm naturally like a super confident god. I believe in me, I believe in us, and I believe in everything we got going on.
00:11:07
Speaker 7: Tell me about this locker room, because there's a tangible level of confidence of chemistry. Wasn't here at the end of last year, just being honest, tell me about when it turned When did this locker room go from big yeah two WHOA.
00:11:20
Speaker 9: It's hard to like pinpoint a certain time that it kind of turned over. I always seen the belief, like in the players that we had in each other. But I think having like a young head coach that also has that same belief in himself and us, I think it's just kind of murdered and you knowing that it's like one big ball of confidence, you know what I'm saying. So I think we play with that, and he does a good job of emphasizing that as that we need to play with. And I think he you know what I'm saying, he's a great head coach, and I'm saying it's easy to believe in what he believes in.
00:11:46
Speaker 7: I think the secondary is a great example of this team playing unselfish because you all are going in and out of the lineup and it doesn't seem to matter to anybody. Everybody's getting theirs. Can you just talk about how you guys are as a.
00:11:56
Speaker 9: Room, everybody's doing they want to live in. Making the players that come to you out says the best when he says, like the like the constant belief and everyone doing their job like trust is the biggest thing. You can measure a defense by just trusting each other to be where it's supposed to be. I think that's what we got a lot of it right now. No matter who's in the line of who's in, you know what I'm saying, who's out? I think you just see a lot of trusts between each other.
00:12:17
Speaker 7: There's a lot writing on every game the rest of the way. Do you feel that pressure on game day or can you just cut it loose and let it.
00:12:25
Speaker 9: Rep because lose no person ain't no person being yourself. I think the pressure comes when you try to do something outside of what you always do. It ain't no pressure being yourself. And I think we're prepared a right way. So just doing everything that you're doing practice get you in the right position for the game.
00:12:38
Speaker 7: Colts, you just saw them a couple of weeks ago. How does that help in your preparation knowing what they do? And does Philip Rivers present a different challenge?
00:12:47
Speaker 9: Quality team Hall of Fame quarterback that you gotta always be on. You know what I'm saying, Your p's and q's and you going against a team like that especially with a quarterback like that. You know, send them a couple of days ago. You know, you you you know a little bit about you know who's seeing them already. But you know you can't take no game lightly, no team likely, especially a quality team like that. So you's got to come to work.
00:13:09
Speaker 7: You sat in the locker room in Denver famously, anyone anytime, anywhere, this whole locker room share that.
00:13:15
Speaker 4: Believe you know it. We ready to do it anyway.
00:13:18
Speaker 7: How much fun is this right before Christmas and you're playing for the division titled and everything in front of you. It wasn't this fun last year? I mean, this is great. This is why you play, isn't it.
00:13:29
Speaker 6: It's so fun.
00:13:30
Speaker 9: It's like, especially when it's time to nute up, when somebody got a nute up, Those are the moments I kind of like live for us. So now, yeah, this is real fun right now.
00:13:37
Speaker 1: Finally, this week prior to the Jaguars running back Fred Taylor, the Jaguars are eleven and four and it's onto Indianapolis. This is a fun time obviously to be around the Jacksonville Jaguars and be a fan of the Jags.
00:13:51
Speaker 4: Fred.
00:13:52
Speaker 8: Indeed, it is JP remember the group of the sixty nine boys from Jacksonville, they made the tutsie row. We have to remix that because we're on a roll. It's not quite the Tutsie row, but we are on a roll. It's the Jaguars role, and you know, it's it's good to be a Jacksonville Jaguars fan.
00:14:13
Speaker 10: And uh, I remember not too long ago, a few days ago, I'm rooting for.
00:14:17
Speaker 8: Other teams outside of Jacksonville, you know, for playoff positioning and all that stuff. Uh. But I feel like I just got to calm down, let things settle as they may. As the chips fall, the team just has to continue to go out there, stay the course and just handle their business as they have been in and I think that matters most than cheering for some stuff that's out of our control.
00:14:42
Speaker 1: Fred Liam Cohen is really getting a reaction from his team week over week, and it's just kind of as continued to grow obviously as the season has gone a long first year coach. Everybody's buying into what he's saying. The reactions after the game are pretty intensive and run locker room, but it kind of tells you how close this team is together.
00:15:04
Speaker 4: They're buying into it.
00:15:05
Speaker 1: Coach believes in them, they believe in him, and that's carrying this team to great heights.
00:15:12
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's about the fifty three you know player roster that's in there, along with the coaching staff. You know, it's along with the front office group, you know, along with the assistants, the secretary, the training room staff, the weight staff, you know, the people that feed and clean. It's about the people in that building, and they don't listen to the outside noise, which is what I absolutely love the most. I want the fans to be on the lookout for the podcast I did with Eric Armstead, you know, just getting some insider information, not a whole lot, but insider information from Eric, and he's just talking about the close knit locker room and the fact that they're all having fun, they're all bought in, they all believe in each other, and they trust each other. And that's what you need to be a successful team. You have to have that accountability factor. You know, when you leave the building, no one's got to get in trouble. No one's going to deviate from the plan, especially at this point in the season. Along with a sense of urgency and trust. So he mentioned that they had. They have all of that, and that's really been the focal point since they got since the Houston Texans game. Sorry, so they just got to continue it. Man, the season starts now, and the season starts now. Man, every week the season resets, no.
00:16:35
Speaker 4: Doubt about that.
00:16:36
Speaker 1: Fred Taylor with us pride of the Jaguars running back, and the quarterback's playing at an extremely high level right now as well.
00:16:44
Speaker 4: I mean the.
00:16:45
Speaker 1: Last four games over one hundred rating, all these touchdowns, no interceptions, I mean in key moments, situations, third downs, red zone. Last week they were great.
00:16:56
Speaker 4: He was great. So it seems like this sustainable for Trevor Lawrence.
00:17:01
Speaker 8: Moving ahead, Yeah, I love to see the consistency in Trevor's play. His output has been intentional. It's it's purpose field, right. This is the reason why we took him number one overall. And there were some questions out there, I mean quite naturally. There were moments where even myself said, Trevor has to play better. You know, I don't know if he heard that, but being trying to be unbiased and be a part of the media and taking the player of mindset out of it, Trevor, you know, myself, I would say Trevor has to play better, but Trevor would also be honest and say I need to play better. And I'm sure there are interviews and moments he's even said that. But this is the Trevor that we saw in college. This is the Trevor that we've seen glimpses of minus the four interceptions versus the Chargers a few years ago in the playoffs. This is the Trevor that we've seen. A guy who's playing with a sense of urgency, a lot of passionate, a lot of heart, a lot of grit, and the guy who's a leader so he stepped up.
00:18:03
Speaker 10: The world is loving him, you know, more than anything. He's loving him.
00:18:07
Speaker 8: He's having fun and I love to see that sort of energy in display of passion and attitude from my quarterback.
00:18:14
Speaker 1: Fred Jaguars Colts. That means Jonathan Taylor on the ground week. We've seen it already, but Jack's pretty much handled it well last time around.
00:18:24
Speaker 8: How do they do it again? Same way? A lot of discipline, a lot of sense of vergency. But it starts in the classroom with the fundamentals trusting and the process trusting the play call that you get and then effort a lot of effort the backup doing what they do in the event that a starter isn't available. They have to make sure that they're also ready to play because throughout the course of the game JP and we've seen injuries happen. But the jag Wars have done a great job with plug and play mentality because those guys are well coached, they're prepared, they're ready to go, and again, execution preparation, sense of urgency, execution.
00:19:06
Speaker 10: They should be able to shut down the Coat's run game.
00:19:10
Speaker 8: And then get to beat up on a forty four year old quarterback who shouldn't be out.
00:19:13
Speaker 4: There throwing it like a shot put these days.
00:19:17
Speaker 8: Hey, that just means a few interceptions should take place. They'll continue to pad their turnover stats as long as they'll get a few from filler.
00:19:27
Speaker 4: Brad grey Seffer's always and we'll talk to you in the postgame. Man.
00:19:30
Speaker 10: Appreciate you. I appreciate you. Man.
00:19:32
Speaker 1: The Jaguars isn't the Indianapolis Colts in Week seventeen.
00:19:36
Speaker 4: Enjoy the game.
Speaker 1: JP Shadwick w withd you with our countdown to Kickoff interviews ahead of the Jaguars Colts matchup in week seventeen. Let's start with the Endie perspective. The voice of the Colts, Matt Taylor, shares what forty four year old quarterback Philip Rivers brings to the table.
00:00:14
Speaker 2: Well, Philip Rivers still has his mind, and that's his strongest muscle still to this point at age forty four. I mean, honestly, I mean he's the walking embodiment or the living embodiment in this case of just how much you know, I think the game is ninety percent mental and ten percent physical. I mean, I don't think there's any other way you can explain how a forty four year old quarterback who hasn't played in you know, prior to the game a couple of weeks ago in Seattle in eighteen hundred days comes in and almost leads that team to a win on the road and that environment, and then comes back, you know, six or seven days later and is able to throw for two seventy seven in front of the world, in front of the national audience on Monday Night football. So I mean it's pretty remarkable stuff. And you know, as it relates to the team, it was unfortunate that Rivers played as well as he did and as efficiently as he did and putting up twenty seven points and the Colts still lost by twenty one because the defense played that bad on Monday night football.
00:01:15
Speaker 3: So you know, we can talk.
00:01:17
Speaker 2: About how the Colts got here and you know, all that stuff, just a quick history lesson. I mean, Daniel Jones Terris is Achilles three weeks ago on that field against Jacksonville, and then I mean, you're you're in a tough spot. You lose your footing inside the AFC South. Now you're looking up at the Jaguars inside the standings. You know, the trade deadline is coming gone, it's early December. Not a whole lot of viable options out there. That's how the Colts landed on Philip Rivers because of his you know, still his football IQ, his acumen, his experience with Shane Steich and knowing the playbook inside and out, and he also has a great familiarity with a lot of the players that are still on this team, especially on offense. I think there's whatever the number is like fifteen total holdover teammates that are still here that were with them in twenty twenty when he quarterback the Colts to the playoffs. So he's been I think everything the Colts wanted and more given the circumstances happened to bring him off the street.
00:02:14
Speaker 3: You know, two and a half weeks ago.
00:02:15
Speaker 4: Bet Taylor willis voice of the Colts.
00:02:17
Speaker 1: Last time out, the Jaguars defense did a pretty good job against Taylor.
00:02:20
Speaker 4: It's a different game. Quarterback was heard early. You know, a lot of changes there.
00:02:24
Speaker 1: But what's the biggest concern for the Colts facing this Jaguars defense.
00:02:30
Speaker 3: Well, I think you hit the nail right in the head.
00:02:32
Speaker 2: It's you need to establish to some degree, you need to find some sort of substance in the running game with Johnston Taylor.
00:02:39
Speaker 3: I mean Taylor.
00:02:41
Speaker 2: He just hasn't been able to get going. In the last six weeks. The Colts have lost five in a row. He's been held under one hundred yards in all of those games. You know, he had a decent rushing total against Jacksonville three weeks ago. He was in the seventies, which I read where that's Jonathan Taylor is still the only running back to go over seventy yards rushing against Jacksonville, which just.
00:03:05
Speaker 3: Shows how good they are.
00:03:07
Speaker 2: But you know, since I think everything, I think everything kind of changed for the Colts, you know, right around that Berlin game when they played Atlanta overseas and come to find out, that was the game where Daniel Jones sustained his injury with the fractured fibula, and ever since then, you know, teams really were kind of coming closer to the line of scrimmage, playing the box, making sure they were taking Jonathan Taylor away first and foremost, and making Daniel Jones beat him through the air and playing tight coverage on the outside, just making it really difficult in the Colts on offense. And so they got to find him some somehow, some way get him going in the running game. And that's the most impressive part for me, is watching Jacksonville live and then also on tape in the last couple of weeks. Is Yes, everybody knows they're number one in the NFL and stopping the run right around eighty seven yards per game, But to me, the most impressive part about their defense is just how physical they are. Right when they tackle you, you're down, Like when they touch you you don't go any further. They leave the NFL and fewest yards after contact allowed this season, which is a big part of why that number is so good at being able to stop the run. They're really good in the back end too, because teams are in third and long a lot because they're not running the ball successfully on first and second down. So that's been a disappointing revelation the last six or seven games. It's just Jonathan Taylor is disappearing or getting further and further away from the MVP candidate we saw him to be in the first two months of the season.
00:04:40
Speaker 1: Matt, what's left with this Colts defense? What are they hanging their hat on right now? Buckner's done for the year, that was announced on Friday. Jaguars did what they did against him a few weeks ago. But what's some positive things about this defense?
00:04:53
Speaker 2: Well, personnel wise, some positivity there is you're getting Sauce Gardner back for this game. He didn't play in the first Backsonville game. He sustained a calf injury on the first series the game after Thanksgiving that Sunday after Thanksgiving against the Houston Texans, and we haven't seen him since, and he's really been on the field off the field, on the field off the field since the Colts made that trade for him the trade deadline, given up two first round picks.
00:05:18
Speaker 3: So he's going to be a welcome site for sore eyes.
00:05:21
Speaker 2: Because the Colts, I mean, you talk about their calling card and what they're hanging their hat on right now.
00:05:26
Speaker 3: Unfortunately, not too much.
00:05:28
Speaker 2: There's no real better way to answer that other than they're not doing too much well right now. You know, they giving up you know, twenty eight or I should say forty eight points against San Francisco the other day and five passing touchdowns to brock Purty. I mean, the biggest thing is they just haven't been able to quiet down the big plays in the passing game. You know, during this five game losing skid, not to nerd out on you, JP, but they have given up thirty eight pass completions over fifteen yards in that span. So you know, the middle of the field is wide open. I think because of personnel or lack thereof, right you haven't been able to play with Tarvarius Ward and also Sauce Gardner these last couple of games. You know, the Colts are I think they've shown a lot of reluctance to play an aggressive press man the man on the outside, So a lot of zone coverage middle of the field's been there for receivers and tight ends, and that's just giving up too much of a high volume number for the Colts in the passing game.
00:06:27
Speaker 1: On defense lately, Brian Sexton with a pair of interviews this week. First off, defensive backs coach Ron Milis, who's been a dB coach in the NFL since the two thousand season.
00:06:37
Speaker 5: A little bit just because it's been what five years since the last time he's put the pads on, But when you really look at it, the relationship with Shane and him and the situation in which they're in, it kind of makes sense because he's got a stranglehold on the offense. He knows that thing inside and out. No matter if he had been a high school coach down there in Alabama or coming back.
00:07:01
Speaker 6: You can see he's got command of what's going on.
00:07:03
Speaker 7: When you watch the tape, that's what you see, right, not necessarily the same physical guy, but the same quarterback.
00:07:09
Speaker 5: Absolutely you see him. He's the general on the field. He probably knows what we're doing as well.
00:07:14
Speaker 6: As we know what we're.
00:07:15
Speaker 5: Doing, just because of the fact he's done it for such a long period of time. And even when I was with the Charger and he was with the Chargers, he would know, hey, you're in the wrong spot, move over something. He has an idea of what's going on on both sides of the ball.
00:07:30
Speaker 7: So even though they've lost a couple in a row, they're still in this thing. This is an important game for both teams, and that brings an edge to it, doesn't it.
00:07:38
Speaker 5: Absolutely. I mean, they still got something to play for. Obviously, we have something to play for. We got a very good football team. Obviously, I've got some history with that organization coming from there, been there the last three years. Love to go in and there and see if we can get a win.
00:07:54
Speaker 7: The league has really tried to increase drama at the end of the year by putting all of these divisional games. I think they've done an outstanding job. Kind of expect that team and your team to both come out wound up.
00:08:05
Speaker 5: Absolutely, and like you said that, the league has done that over the years.
00:08:09
Speaker 6: You just kind of go back over time.
00:08:12
Speaker 5: I was with the Raiders one time and we were in a similar situation where he either had to win out and play teams such as the Colts or whoever it might have been. And I think it's been good for football, good for the National Football League. It's not like they have an understanding that who's at the end of the season, who has a chance to be good.
00:08:31
Speaker 7: Tell me about your room, because it seems like you've got a lot of guys who are playing different roles and yet everyone seems to be completely unselfish. Is that that room or is that that room plus this time of year and where this team is.
00:08:43
Speaker 6: I think it's a little bit of both.
00:08:44
Speaker 5: I mean, I think our room understands we're going to need them all and so we've been especially at the corners and the safety position, where it's been like a rotation when we started off with Greg and Buster, but Jarian gets his play.
00:09:00
Speaker 6: Same thing that's happened at the safety position.
00:09:02
Speaker 5: So we're lucky enough that we have enough guys that we feel very comfortable putting in again in a game in a crunch time, and we kind of have an idea what's gonna happen.
00:09:12
Speaker 7: What did it mean to you to get Eric Murray back on the field. It seems like there's a different level of cohesion with that unit with him on the field.
00:09:19
Speaker 8: Oh.
00:09:19
Speaker 5: Absolutely. He's a guy that's been around the league for a number of years. Obviously we missed him when when he was out. He's like an extra coach on the field or a quarterback on the field force. I think with him, Dewey Ajose, those three guys have done a wonderful job.
00:09:37
Speaker 7: Antonio Johnson's kind of been my example of how this team has grown because when Eric wasn't on the field, he wasn't and making plays. Did you see this incrementally or did it just turn on with him?
00:09:46
Speaker 2: Oh?
00:09:46
Speaker 5: He's been doing this. Really, he's been doing this since since the summertime. I think he's come on. Obviously, he's been able to catch the football, he's flashed in the run game. I think AP has done a really good job with those guys also, So at the end of the day, AP's where it needs to be.
00:10:04
Speaker 7: Give me a thirty thousand foot perspective. You've been around this game a long time. This team has something going from a chemistry perspective, it's tangible. I mean you can see it here, you can almost taste it.
00:10:14
Speaker 5: Oh yeah, Well, I think that comes from the top, how Liam approaches us every day as coaches, as players, and then what camp on the defensive side brings to the table. Then you know, the emphasis on turnovers, those type of things has helped us greatly.
00:10:30
Speaker 7: Final thought, how much fun is it to play football and coach football? You know, the week of Christmas with a lot on the line and with a lot in front of you, still, well, this.
00:10:39
Speaker 6: Is what it's all about.
00:10:40
Speaker 5: This is if you would have said back in the summer, we're going to be in this position, we would all say we'll take it. And we're in this position and we are fortunate. But we have worked hard enough to get ourselves in this position. So hopefully we'll keep on going for at least another month and next.
00:10:56
Speaker 1: Jaguars cornerback Jerry and Jones, who always has confidence.
00:11:00
Speaker 9: I think a little bit of both. I think it's just who I am. But I'm naturally like a super confident god. I believe in me, I believe in us, and I believe in everything we got going on.
00:11:07
Speaker 7: Tell me about this locker room, because there's a tangible level of confidence of chemistry. Wasn't here at the end of last year, just being honest, tell me about when it turned When did this locker room go from big yeah two WHOA.
00:11:20
Speaker 9: It's hard to like pinpoint a certain time that it kind of turned over. I always seen the belief, like in the players that we had in each other. But I think having like a young head coach that also has that same belief in himself and us, I think it's just kind of murdered and you knowing that it's like one big ball of confidence, you know what I'm saying. So I think we play with that, and he does a good job of emphasizing that as that we need to play with. And I think he you know what I'm saying, he's a great head coach, and I'm saying it's easy to believe in what he believes in.
00:11:46
Speaker 7: I think the secondary is a great example of this team playing unselfish because you all are going in and out of the lineup and it doesn't seem to matter to anybody. Everybody's getting theirs. Can you just talk about how you guys are as a.
00:11:56
Speaker 9: Room, everybody's doing they want to live in. Making the players that come to you out says the best when he says, like the like the constant belief and everyone doing their job like trust is the biggest thing. You can measure a defense by just trusting each other to be where it's supposed to be. I think that's what we got a lot of it right now. No matter who's in the line of who's in, you know what I'm saying, who's out? I think you just see a lot of trusts between each other.
00:12:17
Speaker 7: There's a lot writing on every game the rest of the way. Do you feel that pressure on game day or can you just cut it loose and let it.
00:12:25
Speaker 9: Rep because lose no person ain't no person being yourself. I think the pressure comes when you try to do something outside of what you always do. It ain't no pressure being yourself. And I think we're prepared a right way. So just doing everything that you're doing practice get you in the right position for the game.
00:12:38
Speaker 7: Colts, you just saw them a couple of weeks ago. How does that help in your preparation knowing what they do? And does Philip Rivers present a different challenge?
00:12:47
Speaker 9: Quality team Hall of Fame quarterback that you gotta always be on. You know what I'm saying, Your p's and q's and you going against a team like that especially with a quarterback like that. You know, send them a couple of days ago. You know, you you you know a little bit about you know who's seeing them already. But you know you can't take no game lightly, no team likely, especially a quality team like that. So you's got to come to work.
00:13:09
Speaker 7: You sat in the locker room in Denver famously, anyone anytime, anywhere, this whole locker room share that.
00:13:15
Speaker 4: Believe you know it. We ready to do it anyway.
00:13:18
Speaker 7: How much fun is this right before Christmas and you're playing for the division titled and everything in front of you. It wasn't this fun last year? I mean, this is great. This is why you play, isn't it.
00:13:29
Speaker 6: It's so fun.
00:13:30
Speaker 9: It's like, especially when it's time to nute up, when somebody got a nute up, Those are the moments I kind of like live for us. So now, yeah, this is real fun right now.
00:13:37
Speaker 1: Finally, this week prior to the Jaguars running back Fred Taylor, the Jaguars are eleven and four and it's onto Indianapolis. This is a fun time obviously to be around the Jacksonville Jaguars and be a fan of the Jags.
00:13:51
Speaker 4: Fred.
00:13:52
Speaker 8: Indeed, it is JP remember the group of the sixty nine boys from Jacksonville, they made the tutsie row. We have to remix that because we're on a roll. It's not quite the Tutsie row, but we are on a roll. It's the Jaguars role, and you know, it's it's good to be a Jacksonville Jaguars fan.
00:14:13
Speaker 10: And uh, I remember not too long ago, a few days ago, I'm rooting for.
00:14:17
Speaker 8: Other teams outside of Jacksonville, you know, for playoff positioning and all that stuff. Uh. But I feel like I just got to calm down, let things settle as they may. As the chips fall, the team just has to continue to go out there, stay the course and just handle their business as they have been in and I think that matters most than cheering for some stuff that's out of our control.
00:14:42
Speaker 1: Fred Liam Cohen is really getting a reaction from his team week over week, and it's just kind of as continued to grow obviously as the season has gone a long first year coach. Everybody's buying into what he's saying. The reactions after the game are pretty intensive and run locker room, but it kind of tells you how close this team is together.
00:15:04
Speaker 4: They're buying into it.
00:15:05
Speaker 1: Coach believes in them, they believe in him, and that's carrying this team to great heights.
00:15:12
Speaker 8: Yeah, it's about the fifty three you know player roster that's in there, along with the coaching staff. You know, it's along with the front office group, you know, along with the assistants, the secretary, the training room staff, the weight staff, you know, the people that feed and clean. It's about the people in that building, and they don't listen to the outside noise, which is what I absolutely love the most. I want the fans to be on the lookout for the podcast I did with Eric Armstead, you know, just getting some insider information, not a whole lot, but insider information from Eric, and he's just talking about the close knit locker room and the fact that they're all having fun, they're all bought in, they all believe in each other, and they trust each other. And that's what you need to be a successful team. You have to have that accountability factor. You know, when you leave the building, no one's got to get in trouble. No one's going to deviate from the plan, especially at this point in the season. Along with a sense of urgency and trust. So he mentioned that they had. They have all of that, and that's really been the focal point since they got since the Houston Texans game. Sorry, so they just got to continue it. Man, the season starts now, and the season starts now. Man, every week the season resets, no.
00:16:35
Speaker 4: Doubt about that.
00:16:36
Speaker 1: Fred Taylor with us pride of the Jaguars running back, and the quarterback's playing at an extremely high level right now as well.
00:16:44
Speaker 4: I mean the.
00:16:45
Speaker 1: Last four games over one hundred rating, all these touchdowns, no interceptions, I mean in key moments, situations, third downs, red zone. Last week they were great.
00:16:56
Speaker 4: He was great. So it seems like this sustainable for Trevor Lawrence.
00:17:01
Speaker 8: Moving ahead, Yeah, I love to see the consistency in Trevor's play. His output has been intentional. It's it's purpose field, right. This is the reason why we took him number one overall. And there were some questions out there, I mean quite naturally. There were moments where even myself said, Trevor has to play better. You know, I don't know if he heard that, but being trying to be unbiased and be a part of the media and taking the player of mindset out of it, Trevor, you know, myself, I would say Trevor has to play better, but Trevor would also be honest and say I need to play better. And I'm sure there are interviews and moments he's even said that. But this is the Trevor that we saw in college. This is the Trevor that we've seen glimpses of minus the four interceptions versus the Chargers a few years ago in the playoffs. This is the Trevor that we've seen. A guy who's playing with a sense of urgency, a lot of passionate, a lot of heart, a lot of grit, and the guy who's a leader so he stepped up.
00:18:03
Speaker 10: The world is loving him, you know, more than anything. He's loving him.
00:18:07
Speaker 8: He's having fun and I love to see that sort of energy in display of passion and attitude from my quarterback.
00:18:14
Speaker 1: Fred Jaguars Colts. That means Jonathan Taylor on the ground week. We've seen it already, but Jack's pretty much handled it well last time around.
00:18:24
Speaker 8: How do they do it again? Same way? A lot of discipline, a lot of sense of vergency. But it starts in the classroom with the fundamentals trusting and the process trusting the play call that you get and then effort a lot of effort the backup doing what they do in the event that a starter isn't available. They have to make sure that they're also ready to play because throughout the course of the game JP and we've seen injuries happen. But the jag Wars have done a great job with plug and play mentality because those guys are well coached, they're prepared, they're ready to go, and again, execution preparation, sense of urgency, execution.
00:19:06
Speaker 10: They should be able to shut down the Coat's run game.
00:19:10
Speaker 8: And then get to beat up on a forty four year old quarterback who shouldn't be out.
00:19:13
Speaker 4: There throwing it like a shot put these days.
00:19:17
Speaker 8: Hey, that just means a few interceptions should take place. They'll continue to pad their turnover stats as long as they'll get a few from filler.
00:19:27
Speaker 4: Brad grey Seffer's always and we'll talk to you in the postgame. Man.
00:19:30
Speaker 10: Appreciate you. I appreciate you. Man.
00:19:32
Speaker 1: The Jaguars isn't the Indianapolis Colts in Week seventeen.
00:19:36
Speaker 4: Enjoy the game.
