Ready to toast to the Jacksonville Jaguars' fifth consecutive win? We're Phil Smith and James Johnson, your podcast hosts, and we're here to take you through a thrilling journey of the Jaguars' stellar performances, hard-fought victories, and game-changing strategies. We'll rewind back to the face-off with Pittsburgh Steelers, dissecting how Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, and the stingy defense steered us to victory despite the odds.
We'll also reveal some behind-the-scenes action, taking you through the electrifying trade deadline developments. We delve into the Calvin Ridley deal, the impact it had on our strategies, and the ripple effects it might have on our future games. Explore with us how the addition of Ezra Cleveland might just be the master stroke that propels the Jaguars further into dominance. But it's not all rosy; we too were left wanting more from the defensive line trades, and we'll discuss how this could potentially affect our Super Bowl dreams.
Player performance isn't left out. We'll scrutinize the struggles of offensive coordinator Press Taylor, and debate around the workload of Travis Etienne - is it too much? Find out as we propose potential solutions to our concerns. Highlighting our mid-season MVPs, we'll shine the spotlight on the key players whose hard work and skill are driving our success. Their incredible contributions so far have made this a season to remember. So, get ready for an episode packed with analysis, discussions, and heartfelt commentary on the Jaguars' remarkable season. We can't wait for you to join us on this exciting journey through the exhilarating world of NFL football.
Touchdown Jaguars Linktree
Download the SeatGeek app & use code " TOUCHDOWNJAGUARS " for $20 off your first SeatGeek order!
James Johnson and Phil Smith bring you the best and most up to date Jacksonville Jaguars news. "Touchdown Jaguars!" is a tribute to the prospective ownership group "Touchdown Jacksonville!" In 1991, the NFL announced plans to add two expansion teams and "Touchdown Jacksonville!" announced its bid for a team, and Jacksonville was ultimately chosen as one of five finalists. In November 1993, the NFL owners voted 26–2 in favor of awarding the 30th franchise to Jacksonville. James and Phil have been fans of the franchise ever since and have had the honor (and sometimes dishonor) of covering the team professionally since 2017. The rest as they say, is history.
Ready to toast to the Jacksonville Jaguars' fifth consecutive win? We're Phil Smith and James Johnson, your podcast hosts, and we're here to take you through a thrilling journey of the Jaguars' stellar performances, hard-fought victories, and game-changing strategies. We'll rewind back to the face-off with Pittsburgh Steelers, dissecting how Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, and the stingy defense steered us to victory despite the odds.
We'll also reveal some behind-the-scenes action, taking you through the electrifying trade deadline developments. We delve into the Calvin Ridley deal, the impact it had on our strategies, and the ripple effects it might have on our future games. Explore with us how the addition of Ezra Cleveland might just be the master stroke that propels the Jaguars further into dominance. But it's not all rosy; we too were left wanting more from the defensive line trades, and we'll discuss how this could potentially affect our Super Bowl dreams.
Player performance isn't left out. We'll scrutinize the struggles of offensive coordinator Press Taylor, and debate around the workload of Travis Etienne - is it too much? Find out as we propose potential solutions to our concerns. Highlighting our mid-season MVPs, we'll shine the spotlight on the key players whose hard work and skill are driving our success. Their incredible contributions so far have made this a season to remember. So, get ready for an episode packed with analysis, discussions, and heartfelt commentary on the Jaguars' remarkable season. We can't wait for you to join us on this exciting journey through the exhilarating world of NFL football.
Touchdown Jaguars Linktree
Download the SeatGeek app & use code " TOUCHDOWNJAGUARS " for $20 off your first SeatGeek order!
James Johnson and Phil Smith bring you the best and most up to date Jacksonville Jaguars news. "Touchdown Jaguars!" is a tribute to the prospective ownership group "Touchdown Jacksonville!" In 1991, the NFL announced plans to add two expansion teams and "Touchdown Jacksonville!" announced its bid for a team, and Jacksonville was ultimately chosen as one of five finalists. In November 1993, the NFL owners voted 26–2 in favor of awarding the 30th franchise to Jacksonville. James and Phil have been fans of the franchise ever since and have had the honor (and sometimes dishonor) of covering the team professionally since 2017. The rest as they say, is history.
Welcome to the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. Here's your host, james Johnson, and Phil Smith. Hey everyone, welcome back to a brand new episode of the Touchdown Jaguars podcast. I am your co-host, phil Smith, and joining me, as always, is your other co-host, james Johnson. And Jay, it is good to be back here with you here this evening, as we are talking about the Jaguars fifth straight victory.
Speaker 1:We will break down a little bit of the game. We always say around this time of the year we try and make it so that episodes don't get too repetitive. We see what the team is doing well, where they need to improve, and we pretty much just repeat those things over and over again. Some weeks are better than the others, but this week or this past week I should say they came away with another victory and find themselves at six and two. And, jay, I mean, I got to tell you.
Speaker 1:I think if you and I, I would have to go back and look at the episodes at the beginning of the year, but if we were to sit here and say to each other back in August that the Jaguars would be six and two at the break, I think you and I would both be quite pleased with how the season is going, the trade deadline has also come and gone and the Jaguars did make a deal with the Minnesota Vikings probably not the one that people were expecting, but that is where we will start off our conversation for the most part, after we talk about it very briefly, about the game, and then we're going to talk about a couple other things as far as player usage and then wrap up with our mid-season MVPs. So, jay, excited to get into that here with you this evening. And how are you doing tonight? Because, again, we talk about our six and two Jacksonville Jaguars.
Speaker 2:Yeah, man, it's nothing like a fifth straight victory episode. I don't think we ever had the luxury of doing five in a row, even dating back to the 2017 days. I might have to look back on that. But again, man, we've seen it gets a little repetitive saying this, but we've seen the worst of times here in terms of just the Jacksonville Jaguars being bad for so long, man. But again, I just you know you can't take it for granted, man Like it's a joy to sit here and talk about a team winning five in a row.
Speaker 2:By the way, five in a row or a five game win streak that the Jacksonville Jaguars currently have is the longest in the NFL right now. By over what? Is it a game? Yeah, nobody has a four game win streak, so nobody's in that tier. I think the most, aside from the Jaguars win streak would be a three game win streak, so hopefully they'll, you know, be able to continue that after the bye week. But, as you said, man, we would have been quite pleased if we could have had a crystal ball and looked into the future and saw the Jaguars being where they are now and albeit, look, all of the games haven't been 100% how we would have liked, but still none, unless you can't complain about where they are right now in terms of their win record. So excited to talk about the game that just passed and also excited to talk about the many, many other topics here, as we are in the bye week.
Speaker 1:Yes, and not only is the team going to enjoy a little bit of a break, so are we. So, to let you guys know right at the top, we will probably not have an episode next week, barring any type of major news. We always will take the bye week off, so looking forward to that as well. And yeah, jay, lots to break down here in this episode. Want to welcome in any brand new listeners to touchdown Jaguars? Thanks so much for checking us out. Make sure you find that link tree link in the show notes of this episode. You'll find everything you need Social media pages for not only the podcast but also Jay and I's personal pages. You'll also find a link to the website where you can keep up with us as well, and you will find a link to download the SeatGeek app and you can use our promo code. Touchdown Jaguars. Save yourself some money, get yourself some tickets down the stretch. Here.
Speaker 1:The remaining games I know a lot of talk has been going on online between Jaguar Twitter about the Jaguars and 49ers game. Sounds like, jay, that is going to be a very heavily attended game by the 49ers. They travel very well and not necessarily from the Bay area, but I mean there's just 49er fans sprinkled not only all over the state but also like in just surrounding areas. So it's going to be a rough one for those of us that are attending. I am bracing myself for a lot of red on that day, but we will see what happens. But, jay, let's go ahead and start off.
Speaker 1:We'll very briefly talk about the Jaguars victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jacksonville goes into Pittsburgh and wins 20-10. They extend their series lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers to 15-13. And this one was a game that I think, because of the weather, we knew was going to be a bit ugly. The offense it would move the ball downfield and then we would get a untimely error when it comes to turnovers, and that allowed Pittsburgh to stay in this game a lot longer than they probably should have.
Speaker 1:This was very reminiscent of the Bills game, right, jay, where that game could have also been a blowout, but again, just mistakes and decision-making from Trevor that you really just don't want to see at this point, you know, in year three. But lo and behold, they still were able to come out with a victory. And that's what we're seeing a lot out of these Jaguars, jay, is they are winning in different ways and it's, like you said, not the prettiest, but they still come out with a W at the end of the day. So what did you want to point out? Anything you wanted to mention here or highlight as far as positives or negatives in this victory over Pittsburgh?
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, first, what I want to say is, aside from a very, very head-scratching mistake that Trevor Lawrence made in terms of that pass in the red zone, which you would love to not see, because and he said it after the game you know you eradicate at the very least three points off the board, but aside from that turnover, I want to say this like he had a pretty solid game in terms of the weather conditions and the throws he was making, aside from that one, it was a few to Ridley that I saw were which had great placement, some to Kirk as well, which had great placement as well. So, bearing the circumstances with the weather, aside from that throw which was, you know, probably his worst throw of the year that's the unfortunate part about it is sprinkled in that performance he had the worst throw of his career or of the year, and it makes it look a little worse. The game looked a little worse than it should have. But, yeah, I mean I was still pleased with everything, aside from that out of Trevor Lawrence. And then in terms of just the game overall, man, I mean it gave us a lot of content in terms of afterwards man, like if I was still with the Jaguars wiring with USA today. Man, I would have had a boatload of content to write about after the game in terms of, just, we all know about the Jaguars and Steelers rivalry, right, and how far they go back, you know, back to the Bill Coward days and the days in the AFC central, really one of those teams that you can kind of group in there with our rivals in the AFC south in terms of how big the rivalry is.
Speaker 2:But yeah, just between, like do we grab in the terrible towels from fans. And you know, to lead up the build up to it, right, george Pickens saying the things he said. Shout out to George Pickens, by the way, who should be a Jaguar, but that's another story for another time. Goldogs, but igniting the fire within this Jaguar's defense, who were kind of quiet about it throughout the week, but then afterwards we heard them talk about it Ray Sean Jenkins, dewey Wingard, so on and so forth. So I think that was really the biggest takeaway from this game, aside from what went on the field, is the amount of pettiness and content we got from this game.
Speaker 2:And this game really did put a lens on the Jacksonville Jaguars because, look, they went against the story franchise right. A lot of people are doubting them. They go into a stadium that's known to have a very hostile crowd. Win prove a lot of doubters wrong. A lot of people didn't have the Jaguars winning this game for some reason in terms of analysts, that's another story for another time. But they came out with the victory and I think this game really will help the Jaguars get more of that notoriety. From the casual fan base which we've kind of been talking about, like how casuals don't really know about the Jacksonville Jaguars. This one could put them on the map. From that perspective, I wish it would have put them on the map enough to get them in that prime time spot for the game against the 49ers, but that's neither here or neither there. But I think that's really the biggest takeaway is like a lot of the things that went on aside from the on the field stuff that really really has a lot of people looking at the Jaguars right now.
Speaker 1:Yeah, man, I saw it was. I don't know if it was NBC's rankings or just Sunday Night Football's rankings, but they have the Jaguars listed at number one on their power rankings and avoid it. People freak out on that post Again, for whatever reason. People just don't want to see the Jaguars be successful or coming under a necessary fire from Fox Sports. One shows that no one has ever heard of. I just don't really understand it.
Speaker 1:Somebody pointed this out the other day. They posted the clip of how I think it was Dan Grasiano has the Jaguars as the best team in the AFC. Greeny asked if they had even won three games in a row. Grasiano was like yes, they've won five, they've won five games in a row. It just goes to show how a lot of these talking heads just don't pay attention. You know what. They have a lot of other responsibilities, but just like we talked about Chris Broussard last week, I'm not going to give these people a pass. It's their job to do this research, and not only do the research, but also, like you pointed out last week, jay, they have people that do the job for them in terms of just watching tape or keeping them informed.
Speaker 1:It's ridiculous. I don't cut any of those people's slack as much as I do like some of them. But you are right, I think this is a game that turned a lot of people's heads, not only because of the terrible little towel thing, but even though the Jaguars have beaten the Steelers in this stadium multiple times in the past. I think it was to see the record at six and two. I don't know Something about seeing just the two losses and also being up there with the other six and two teams. I think has just brought some attention to Jacksonville that people really aren't ready for. For whatever reason, jay, it just rubs them the wrong way. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of people are stuck on like this and this is just a lack of information and a lack of knowing what's going on. Oh, they beat on a bunch of bad teams. Charles Davis pointed this out when he was announcing the game the Steelers game, steelers and Jags game. A lot of their wins are coming against teams that are 500 or better. That's more misinformation that.
Speaker 2:Charles Davis has proven that if you do a little research and you actually assist the Jaguars before speaking on them, they are a legit team. Also, in terms of what you said with the power rankings for a Sunday Night Football's account on NBC, they have the Jaguars ranked second on the power rankings. Then for the AFC power rankings, they have the Jaguars ranked first in the AFC. Of course, that's going to ruffle a lot of feathers. I love seeing it personally. Hopefully we can continue that and beat the 49ers. I think that'll put us on an even bigger scale. At that point I don't think it'll be any excuses at all for people to not be informed about the Jaguars at that point. Yeah, man, glad that they're finally getting the notoriety that they deserve.
Speaker 2:Hopefully within the locker room they eliminate all of that noise that's coming in and just keep focusing on winning games. If they do, man, we're in for a special season.
Speaker 1:I don't know, man, what's going to happen if they beat the Niners. Well, brock Purdy isn't really that good. They were trying to get Chase Young implemented. They still Debo's, just getting back all of that nonsense. I can already see it happening now. Remember they were giving the bills excuses, for I think they still are giving Buffalo excuses just because they had to travel to London, which has been something almost every NFL team has had to do for years. Now, I don't want to hear it, but we are certainly going to. It's fine. Let them continue to sleep on us and we'll just continue to win games. Jay, you and I will continue to have a great time on this podcast. It was a great win to see. Like I said, you don't want to see Trevor make that type of mistake in year three in the red zone. Obviously, he knows that as well as do all his teammates. It's just a team that, in no matter the conditions, continues to find a way to pull out victories offensively, defensively, special teams they continue to get the job done. I'm excited to see what the second half of the season has to bring us.
Speaker 1:I want to move into the trade deadline, jay, which, of course, was all the talk yesterday as we were just watching the clock waiting for something to happen. Were they going to land one of these past rushers? The names floating out there Montes, sweat, chase, young, d'neal Hunter, josh, uche I think the Uche thing really started to gain a lot of steam as we tried to figure out how could we trade these picks because of the Calvin Ridley deal, what is available, what's not available, people debating whether or not you trade that number one pick for that past rusher. It doesn't end up being the past rusher, it ends up being offensive linemen as reclivalent. It's interesting, jay, because remember you and I were talking about it last week Offensive line is a little bit more difficult to implement and get acclimated in the middle of the year. But lo and behold, trent Bulkey, doug Peterson that is what they end up.
Speaker 1:Pulling off the trade with Minnesota that we did not expect. They end up bringing in a guy and then immediately cut ties with Ben Barche, as we have talked about this year, another guy that is certainly struggled and looks like it's going to be most likely we're going to see Ezra Cleveland implemented into the O-line after the buy week. Definitely a upgrade as far as the PFF numbers, jay, that you tweeted out as far as over, or compared to Ben Barche, so excited to see how that goes. This does certainly give off the idea that the Jaguars even though it's not the move we thought they were going to make they feel like they are primed for a run and they want to keep the guy that's obviously most important to that, trevor Lawrence, upright and healthy. What did you think about the deal and how does it change things here immediately as after the buy week? Like I said, we expect him to be, I believe, in the starting lineup right away, correct?
Speaker 2:I would think so and I think that's the luxury of it too, is they might not do this or make this deal if it was a few weeks back, because the luxury of it is they get the buy week to get him acclimated again, like sometimes it's not the easiest, as we talked about, to just insert a lineman into the lineup or offensive lineman that is, defensive line, it's a little easier to do, but offensive lineman into the lineup and expect camaraderie or expect immediate results. But the good news is, and another key that plays into this transaction being a little bit easier, aside from him also having like a week, five weeks, to get acclimated with the playbook is the familiarity with Phil Rauscher, the offensive line coach, who was a coach, assistant coach with the Minnesota Vikings. So he's familiar with Cleveland. So you're looking at probably a system that Cleveland is familiar with right, so that helps him as well. You know we've long, long had these conversations about how the interior isn't where we need it to be and as much as we want it, a pass for us. You're on the defensive side. Well, look, the defensive side of the ball has been the X factor of this year. They've been the really you can say they've been the better unit of the two, which is kind of surprising. So in theory they didn't need to help as much as the offense did. Right, the offense is the one at times that we're seeing underachieved for different reasons, obviously you know press Taylor and his play calling, or just different reasons. But going back to what I was saying is the defense is the side that probably, in theory, needed less help than the offense, which I still and we'll talk about it in a little bit I still would have got a pass for us or attempted to, but we'll have that discussion in just a bit.
Speaker 2:In terms of Cleveland, glad that they got him. I am cool with the addition because, especially it didn't cost that much right Cost, what a six round pick that you know. That's pretty harmless. I know it's a one year rental, of course, like he is on the last year of his deal, but still it helps you from the perspective of Cleveland. To me now and I've only seen one game of Cleveland and also, in addition to the one game I saw, I saw some YouTube videos of him of some Mike Vikings fans doing breakdowns of Vikings games and what happened, but I did watch the Kansas City Chiefs game, all 22 game that he had this year, because it was one of the games where he had his highest PFF grade and I think he even had a positive run grade, which that's the most important factor here is what does he offer as a run blocker? Because that's where the Japs are. I probably need them the most is in that department.
Speaker 2:How many times have we seen Travis Etienne get stuff behind the line of scrimmage or wish he could have got that one extra yard? Or how many times are we like rolling our eyes when the Jaguars in a third in one situation, because we know like, oh God, like either the Jaguars can't get this one yard the easy way or press Taylor is going to cause something weird, some crazy, because they can't get it the easy way. So now, as Rick Cleveland helps you from that perspective, then in terms of the game I saw with him on film again, it was all 22. It was the Chiefs game and, yeah, he, he immediately feels like an upgrade over Ben Barch or Blankin on Tyler Shatley, whoever you know. We've seen that that role.
Speaker 2:Don't know about if he's an upgrade over Walker little there, because we only saw Walker little take like 20 snaps at guard, so we can't really make that call he. He feels like an immediate upgrade over those two in terms of when he's fully healthy, so he should help them. From that perspective, they're in a unique situation where his transition could be a little quicker than your typical offensive lineman for the reasons I mentioned familiarity with the coach, familiarity with the scheme. So I like the trade because it's a win on all in all aspects. You didn't give up a lot to get him. He has a week to learn the playbook a little bit and he's coming into some place where, or coming into a situation where he's a little familiar with what's going on. So you certainly can't complain about that, especially when, as you said, also, it shows the willingness to invest in protecting Trevor Lawrence, who has taken some hard hits this year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you kind of already mentioned it there. So you're okay with this basically being a half-year rental, because I can't remember who had said it, but it was a I don't know if it was a Vikings insider or reporter or just a fan site that had stated that he wants to eventually play left tackle, which is why he wanted out of Minnesota, gets the opportunity to, of course, start here and then hit free agency. So you're okay with that in that sense. I mean, again, when you're sitting with a six and two record, you're tied with what people were going to assume are some of the best teams in the league. I mean, it sounds like this is a move where they are committed to making that Super Bowl run.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean like and look at it from this perspective. We talk about this all the time because we always were on Balkie's case all the time. But how many we? We've had this discussion many, many times. Balkie's track record with drafting in the late rounds is not great anyway. So who would he have drafted? That's better than Ezra Cleveland. You know what I'm saying. So, yeah, I'm okay with it from that perspective of it being a one-year rental. And then I'm glad you did mention the thing about yeah, it was a Vikings reporter that said he wants to play some tackle, which you would think here.
Speaker 2:His short term here Maybe he gets an extension, you never know but his short term in terms of this year with us would be at guard and you would think he would be more than okay with doing it. Because, for one, he's gone from a team that was losing where he was replaced essentially by another guard because I think he got injured. So he's gone to one team that was pretty much losing. I mean, they've gone on like a what a two, three game win streak lately. But he's going on from a team that was losing to a team that is, you know view as a team that could maybe make it to the AFC championship or, you know, some people think they have a shot at the Super Bowl. So for that reason, if you got to play guard in those circumstances, you're cool with it, at least, I mean, for a half a year. You know it's not like it's going to be a long term thing. So I think he will be more than okay with it, especially if it leads to him becoming a starter, because you rather play on a team anywhere on the offensive line than, as opposed to just sit away on the bench with a team that's losing. So that probably helps the situation.
Speaker 2:And, yeah, it makes things interesting from the standpoint of what if they extend them. And what do they do with Walker little and you know, so on and so forth? What do they do with Kim Robinson? What do they do with Anton Harrison? Because that's you know, a lot of guys that play the offensive tackle position, and even in Walker little's place you got somebody who can play a little guard as well. So it makes things interesting from that perspective. But I wouldn't be surprised, you know, if we could look back at this trade and say like, oh, wow, like that mid season trade actually worked out, despite how hard it is to just insert an offensive lineman into the mix. And also we might be having a conversation of like, oh man, like, how do we keep as recleave? You know, I wouldn't be shocked that if he can play guard at the level that you know, he's played it in Minnesota.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, I really love the committing to keeping Trev upright. And you know a guy we're going to talk about here in just a moment, jay, who's probably a static as well, is Travis Etn. So I'm going to talk more about him in our next topic. But, yeah, I really love the move, as we said, not the one that we were expecting, but maybe one, well, definitely one that we needed, as that was the other position of need that we had highlighted in last week's episode. But you know, the trade with Minnesota that people were expecting to CJ was, of course, that involving Daniel Hunter or Chase Young, maybe not so much as with Montez Sweatt, brian Burns, another name that was thrown out there. I didn't even really hear like his name come up at all for anybody yesterday, but you know, correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 1:And then, of course, josh Uche, which gained some steam towards the end of the day and, according to Mio, brian and plenty of others, they were talking and there was a little hang up as far as the compensation went. So but, jay, as you mentioned, you know, you still would have made the move for the past rusher, as would, I Sounds like. You know there were some hang ups on what they were and were not willing to give up. I know a lot of people were kind of confused as to what could have been offered because of the Calvin Ridley trade. I know they're going to gain some compensatory picks down the line as well for Joann Taylor, probably some others, but I don't know that you can trade those picks until you actually have them. So if you could share or shed a little light on that, like what they were able to do and not do. But also, you know what do you think about the trade deadline coming and going and that they weren't able to bolster the defensive line.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, you know the Calvin Ridley thing always made things difficult, so I don't want to like lighten the bulky too much because we don't know what that pick is going to exactly end up being right. Like, I mean, I think a lot of us, especially if he plays even better than he is down the road, would like us to see Calvin really get an extension and if that's the case, if he gets an extension that whites out your second round pick. If he does not get the extension, he should meet the playtime requirements. I'll have to read on the deal again, but he should meet the playtime requirements. You would think for them for Atlanta, when I say them, to get the third round pick. So there was the tie up there. Now, look, you kind of mentioned something that I was thinking about the compensation or the compensatory picks, which of course you can't, like you said, you can't really trade them until you have them. But one thing that crossed my mind, like with Chase Young, when I see Chase Young go for a third round pick, I can recall Trent bulky saying in a press conference that the Jaguars are for sure going to get a third round compensatory pick. That's probably for Juwan Taylor, because he got paid a crap ton of money by the Kansas City Chiefs and he's getting a lot of playtime for them as well. So they're going to have two third round picks. See well, if I can recall bulky's words were quote unquote they'll for sure get a third round pick. So, that being said, although you can't trade the compensatory pick, it makes me wonder that they at least consider trading their regular third round pick to Washington to get Chase Young, because I at least would have done that. I don't know if they did or they didn't, time will tell on that. And also, I mean, like, getting hung up on a fourth round pick, right, for Josh Uche, who like admittedly I want to chase Young, or like I want to, you know, a tier B, tier B plus tier player at the past Russian position added to this team. But even I mean for a fourth for Josh Uche, I would have gave that up as well.
Speaker 2:I don't understand how you get hung up on a fourth round pick again. It's not as if Trent bulky is good at drafting late, right. And that's one thing that's really, really confusing to me is the willingness to hang on to a pick, a day three pick, that you don't have a track record of really hitting on those Right. We're talking about people like well, I don't even know if I can put this one on Trent because I think Dave called when he was drafted but like you're talking about like pigs, like when you look at our history of fourth round picks, like Shaq Korderman, who you know.
Speaker 2:I'm not throwing dirt on Shaq Korderman's name, but what I'm saying is, if that's what you're going to get at best out of a fourth round pick and you can upgrade your past rush I'm taking up green, my past rush, nine times out of 10 over Shaq Korderman or whatever else like in their track record with fourth round picks probably hasn't been all that great.
Speaker 2:I'll have to go look at it, but just knowing my GM very well, knowing the GM of the Chatsville Jets very well, I don't think there's any fourth round picks on this team that we're exactly going crazy for Right.
Speaker 2:So how do you get hung up on a fourth round pick if that's what it would have taken to get Josh Uche?
Speaker 2:And again, it's not like you're in a position where you would be jeopardizing Trayvon Walker's time or anything like that. You're trying to replace essentially Caleb on Chasun, your third pass rusher on the team and a fourth round pick, for that is a small price to pay. So that's where I'm at with that, still like I won't light in the bulky too much because, again, like the addition of Ezra Cleveland could be very good. I'm not even mad at that, so this could turn out to still be pretty good for them. But what I will say is, without getting the pass rusher, I nobody should expect the Jetsville Jaguars to go to the Super Bowl and I say that with the mindset that I am filled with gladly go to the Super Bowl if we went. But I'm not expecting to go to the Super Bowl with the pass rush that we have and with only one elite or one good pass rusher and Josh Allen and Caleb on Chasun and others behind him.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean really just hoping that they were going to pull the trigger and make that move with whoever it was going to be. You know, I know, like I said, the Josh Uche thing really gained a lot of support and steam down the stretch and, like we said, me, oh, brian reporting that they got hung up on Whether that third or fourth round pick, whichever one it was going to be, and he ends up staying put and you know, talk about at the beginning of the year, letting Arden Keigo, letting Jadevion Clowney walk out of the building without a contract, not, you know, exploring or resigning yawn, I don't know if that was ever a realistic possibility. The thing that really frustrates me, j is that we've seen a lot of past rushers move this season. Right. There was Randy Gregory, frank Clark, a couple other guys that we've obviously that the trades that went down yesterday. But we've seen people add past rush Later into the preseason or even as the season had already started.
Speaker 1:I mean, the Niners have added to. They added not only chase young, but they also got. Who was it? Was it Randy Gregory? I think they got earlier in the year as well. So a team that you know is a little bit on a slide right now, but we expect them to correct things Eventually. Still a good team, but we've seen other teams make moves for past rush and even teams that don't necessarily Need it, although you know you can never have enough when it comes to rushing the, rushing, the quarterback.
Speaker 2:But we've seen teams make moves that were in less dire situations than the Jaguars and I think that's another reason it's so frustrating yeah, that's because John Lynch has that cutthroat mentality of Understanding how close you are to a Super Bowl, even though they got Brock Purdy as their quarterback.
Speaker 1:Understanding how close you are to a Super Bowl in terms of Super Bowl pick, is my Super Bowl picks looking a little rough right now? Ravens are playing well but, like I said, niners or Brock Purdy is not looking great. No, you also probably shouldn't have played that too.
Speaker 2:That too, yeah, I saw like he took a nasty hit to the head too, so he's been getting kind of beat up. So, you know, hope he Can make it through the season healthy, you know, or as close to healthy as can be right. But yeah, I mean, john Lynch has that cutthroat mentality of you know, and every GM doesn't have that right of understanding. When you're close, you know, you take a few swings at it, you know, when you're close, and that's just not in bulky nature. We say it all the time, is not in Trent's nature. So, and you make a good point about what's upsetting about it is seeing like what everybody else has done is to add past rushers and not even that. Okay, if you want to even sit here and make the point that, okay, bulky shouldn't have spent a pick on a one-year renaissance or a fourth round pick on Uche or a third round pick on Chase Young, okay, let's not excuse this either, this part of it either. There are past rushes sitting at home. That's better than Caleb on Chase on to, let's talk about that as well. Melvin Ingram, robert Quinn, still sitting at home, and we still trying now Chase on who? As much as I knocked the guy out, let's give him his props because he actually registered over a 70 on P this week. So Again, as we said in this podcast, when people play bad, we're gonna talk about it. When they play good, we'll let him know. But aside from this game against the Steelers, caleb on Chase son has not been it. Okay, it is what it is, and if he was a player and he'll tell it like it is, if he is wired that way to tell it like it is, he'll tell you that he hasn't been that great in terms of what we seen out him this year as well.
Speaker 2:But back to my initial point is If you want to even make a case for bulky and stand for bulky, not getting one of these guys that we were talking about on the trademark, what about guys that's sitting at home that won't cost you compensation at all in terms of a draft pick, that are better than chase on? So that's what frustrates me about it. That's where I'm at with it. If not get one of them the guys we mentioned in the trademark it get somebody one of these veterans, get one of these veterans a shot To be that third pass for sure, or whatever the case may be.
Speaker 2:So you know, maybe as we get closer down the road they might look at that, who knows? But the later it gets into the season is kind of harder to see you. You know, bringing in a veteran that later you get into the season, unless some catastrophic happen and knock on wood, that doesn't happen. But yeah, I mean it's frustrating, as you said, man, but again, what could save him is the Ezra Cleveland addition which you know. That could actually be something that sparks this offense, which is actually right now behind the defense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't even think about the guys that are still sitting at home. Like you said, you know, and people were pointing out online that the Kaila Monteson had a decent day setting the edge and even got it to the quarterback a couple of times. I know the one that highlight that was kind of making rounds, though he got in there unblocked, but you know it is what it is. But, like you said, you know we'll give people their props whenever they they play well. It's just, again, a consistency thing. We're not gonna talk about Kaila Monteson, probably in a positive way for the remainder of the season. Go ahead.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, when I was looking back at the Pittsburgh film, you could kind of get a hint that he would great Well, on PFF because and I think somebody actually put this tweet out as well he, it was one time where he set the edge against the run, I believe, and he got like a full extension on the tackle and I was like, oh my god, like is this the Kaila Monteson I've seen all year? But we know is a High percentage chance that he we won't get that out of him heading forward. But man, if we can, if Kaila Monteson can play as he did On Sunday against the Steelers throughout the rest of the season, that helps this defense Tremendously. But I wouldn't bank on that and I would have at least got one of these pass rushes off the trade market. Or Call one of these young Well, I want to call them young guys. Well, they're still young. But, um, get one of these guys. I wanted these veterans that have been sitting at home.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I mean the obvious answer would be that we'd like to see Trayvon Walker, you know, play up to what we, you know his expectation, or you know what we want out of a number one overall pick. But I mean, just be realistic, like that just has not happened and and that's why they need that additional guy in there to, and you know, to supplement that. And it hasn't happened. And ultimately, I just hope it doesn't cost us a trip to the Super Bowl Because, again, as we said in the beginning of the year, you know, that is the one thing that it prevented us from Selecting the Jaguars and putting them in the Super Bowl was this I mean, you see, since Natty is starting to get right, baltimore obviously playing very, very well You're gonna have to eventually, probably rematch with Kansas City.
Speaker 1:That's the team that's been standing in your way and in order to do that, you're gonna need to get to Lamar Jackson, joe Burrow, patrick Mahomes, and right now they, outside of Josh Allen, they lack that consistency to do so. So we will see what happens. We're gonna move into our next topic here, jay. No, you had something else to add on before we move on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, really quickly. I know we want to make this one short for editing purposes. You kind of like had a light bulb that went off in my head when you mentioned that about the playoffs. We might have to see the Chiefs if the Jaguars were able to avoid the Chiefs in the playoffs. I wanted to really quickly ask you this what team is it that you think could do our dirty work for us and get rid of the Chiefs in the playoffs for us, so we don't have to take Cincinnati.
Speaker 1:You think it'll be Cincinnati, cincinnati for sure.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 1:I think Cincinnati is Kansas City's like, I think they're. They're kryptonite, for whatever reason. Well, it's not for whatever reason. They're a good team. They're a good team and they're getting healthy. Yeah, I think it's since the. What do you think?
Speaker 2:Um, I don't really know. I mean I think, yeah, cincinnati, because Cincinnati is a little bit more well-rounded, right, they have, as much as we talk about all of these dudes on offense with Jeffers not Jefferson, but Chase young and the.
Speaker 1:Boyd and all of them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, jamar chase. I said chase, young goodness, tyler boy, and you know the weapons they have on offense. They also have a dude in trade Hendrickson on Defense. That's probably one of the most underrated players in football, you know. That helps them with rushing to pass, or so, due to the well-roundedness it probably would be them. I.
Speaker 1:Yeah, until I see Baltimore do it. You know they they've obviously struggled against Kansas City, as I mean, most of the league has, but We'll see. Miami, I think is a little bit fraudulent and you know we don't. Obviously dolphins fans probably aren't listening to this podcast, so whatever. But I think Miami is a is a little bit of fool's gold. We'll see what happens. Well, we did see what happened when you know they've played better teams up off, low and Philadelphia. So I don't know, I think they're a little bit flashing and I still don't trust to to stay healthy, unfortunately. Obviously you don't wish anything like that, but that is yet to be seen with the dolphins up a J.
Speaker 1:You know, one of the main reasons the team has been so successful On the offensive side is Travis Etn, and this came up. Actually earlier this week I was listening to To 1010 excel, listening to their morning show, and you know that was probably another Not a position to need as far as, like, the trade deadline. I don't think they had to address it that way, but it would have been nice to see them do something, maybe because I'm starting to wonder if you are getting worried, like I am, about Travis Etn's usage because they are committed to running the football, which is great. He's had a excellent season. I think the argument can be made and and national guys are making this argument too that Travis Etn is a top five running back in the league right now. But you are, they are relying on him quite a bit, and a lot of that I think well, a lot of that, I know, has to do with Tank bigs being not emerging and being the guy that you want him to be. I mean, three fumbles in what 20 something carries, not good, and remember, etn had a fumbling problem too. But when you're playing Winning football and you have deep playoff or an aspirations, he can't give the football to a guy like that In those situations.
Speaker 1:So what do they do here? And? And well, I guess, first, are you concerned? And if you are, what do they do? Is it giving dearness Johnson more carries, which I think they should do? Is it relying more on your Michael Hasty and bringing him back Into the rotation as opposed to tank bigsby? What do you do there? So, how do you feel about his usage? And and what do you think they can do to address it if you are concerned?
Speaker 2:He is getting a lot of usage as a plate and I didn't really, admittedly, I didn't realize how much usage he was getting because I went on the BS and beer media Park, as it said, like you know, to me it didn't feel like he was getting this crazy amount of usage. But yeah, when you look at um, you know his last game, the Pittsburgh game, which I mean I understand the usage he got. In the Pittsburgh stillers game he had 24 carries because it was raining right, so you typically rely on the run a little bit more there. And Then he had another game, the Buffalo game 26 carries. So that was a pretty high volume game for him, had 20 against the Falcons and 18 against the Indianapolis coach.
Speaker 2:So, in terms of, am I concerned? No, and the reason being is because, well, it's obvious, the Jaguars knew that they needed to lower his, his workload, right, and the reason is it's obvious is because they drafted tank bids be in the third round. Now, look, tank big speed has, you know, had his issues. You know there was the fumbles and the fumble in the stillers game. I don't think that should have been called a fumble, by the way. So I don't know if the Jaguars are holding that against him, that one against him, but still, you still want to secure the ball, even through the ground. Like you know what I'm saying, you don't want to rely on the rules to Save it from a fumble either. But that being said, though, the Jaguars are well aware that Travis E Tien don't need to be carrying the ball. That much is what I'm saying. And Even if it's not tank base, be who you drafted in the third round, and it should be him. But if it's not him, you got a guy in the earnest, johnson, who is more than capable of being a number two, and we've seen this struggle of Knowing who to go to and when to go to with press Taylor, since he's been the offensive coordinator.
Speaker 2:But I think, if the light bulb needs to go off in his head, okay, well, if it's not gonna be tank big speed, that it will alleviate these Carries off of Travis E Tien. The understunt is more than capable of doing it, and he's a guy that, when they got him in the offseason, we were making a case that they didn't need a running back. Remember, before they drafted big speed, we were making a case that they wouldn't need a running back, not at least that early. So that's one of the reasons why if hopefully press Taylor and Doug Peterson can Figure it out, that tank big speed can take some of those carries away from Etn. That's one of the reasons that I don't worry about it a lot. And also, like the Jaguars just have too many weapons for Travis E Tien to begin over 21 carries, you know, like 18 at the most, that they have Christian Kurt, they have Evan Ingram, they have Calvin, really they have. They will have, say, jones coming back.
Speaker 2:That's another factor thing, some of the factor into this the return of Zay Jones. You would think Zay Jones is going to alleviate something off of the other skill weapons as well too. So that's another reason why I think that eventually They'll figure it out and tank or, excuse me, a Travis E Tien's workload will decrease heading forward. So I'm not worried about it and I guess time will tell. But I think a lot of what the issue is is just press Taylor just not having this Steady flow when it comes to play calling or who to go to and him learning his way, which by now you would have hoped like that would have been figured out by now. But I think that Travis E Tien will be just fine. I think we will see that Workload for him decrease as the season goes on.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you said it right there, j, like Jairna's, johnson is more than capable of being a number two running back. I mean, we've seen him be a number one running back. I had him in fantasy a couple years ago and he he probably won me some games. But the thing with that is like you got to give those guys time To acclimate, right. You can't just throw a running back in there, get them one carry and then pull them right back out and you know either we don't see them the rest of the game or we don't see them again for another couple quarters. You can't even do that in Madden, like that's again. Like you said, the frustration of Press Taylor and not getting into that groove, you know, and that's something we didn't even mention At the top of the episode is just some of the frustrations that continue, will be continued to see With the play calling, like that fumble we saw In the game.
Speaker 1:But yeah, you know, the tank bigsby thing, like you said, it was a position that we didn't think needed to be addressed at the time that it was addressed and you know it just goes to show you that how easy it is to get fooled by you know that training camp tape. You know, look, look great there, look great in the preseason, when you know the games matter when they, when the games count the most, you can't rely really on any of that. And you got it. You know you got to make it happen and tank bigsby, unfortunately, is just not doing that. Is this yet you know I did. It's just another example. Listen, I think tank bigsby will eventually be fine, but if he is not, jay, I mean that's another Mid-round running back. Well, I think Snoop Conner went a little bit. Was he fifth or six?
Speaker 2:I can't remember, but I mean that's another mid to late running back. I feel some light it yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I thought like. That's another pick you spent on a running back and again Going to show that these late-round picks for Trent bulky they're basically useless because he's not hitting on any of them.
Speaker 2:Right. No, I wouldn't be concerned about big speed. And here's why because we've seen what coach why am I blanking out on his name Parmily, the running backs coach. We've seen what he's been able to do after a few years with a running back Right. It takes time with them in terms of getting them where you want them to be.
Speaker 2:I mean, you can argue like that's one of the Most easiest positions to draft and insert into the offense. But what I'm saying is sometimes it isn't because you have a running back with a fumbling issue, but a prime example of a running back who had fumbling issues who has cleared it up and we're talking about him right now it's Travis ETN. So that's exactly why you shouldn't lose hoping tank bigsby in his first year. It's because Travis ETN has cleared up his fumbling issue. And we have seen, you know we've seen running backs Clean this issue up. You know Tiki Barba was one. You know he had that earlier in his career kind of cleaned it up later in his career.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I just think like the more he works with the running back or the running backs coach and the staff, the more we'll see him clean up that issue. So, no, I'm not worried about him. But in the meantime what I am saying is get the Ernest Johnson out there until tape bigsby get his stuff together right. So We'll see again. Time will tell if you know they continue to Give Travis ETN the workload that they're giving him, or do they put some of that off on big speed. Do they put some of that off on the Ernest Johnson? That's certainly one of the more interesting things that nobody's talking about to watch with this offense going forward.
Speaker 1:Yeah, certainly would like to see them implement more de Ernest Johnson, but you know, in the meantime, and like you said, the Relying on him a lot in the pits per game makes sense because of the weather. But going down the stretch we're gonna need him and obviously gonna need him for that playoff run as well. And yeah, just want to get your opinion on that because, like you said, I also didn't really think about it until recently when it was brought up on 1010,. But let's move into our last topic here, jay, as we kind of wrap up. You know, midway point of the season, six and two, a lot of things are contributing to the success of this team, including Travis ETN, like we just talked about. So we want to talk about our our offensive and defensive MVPs and there are definitely some people that you can make a Big case for on both sides of the football.
Speaker 1:Now you know we've talked about Christian Kirk Zade Jones, when healthy, has been incredible. Evan Ingram you mentioned this before we got started. That doesn't necessarily have the big-time numbers, but man has he been one of the most reliable guys on the team and in the entire league. Honestly, I'll pay his yards after catch has been outstanding. I believe he leads at the league amongst tight ends, continuing to just build upon his outstanding season, and then also, I mean the continued leadership and poise of Trevor Lawrence at the quarterback is always going to get, you know, a lot of consideration and attention when the team is playing well. But is the MVP on the offensive side Simply Travis ETN, or are you going somewhere else, or is it? Is it number one?
Speaker 2:Oh, it absolutely has to be Luke Fortner feel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, definitely MVP of what not not not playing well set? That's certainly not the case.
Speaker 2:You know the funny thing about for that I hope he gets his stuff together, man, it's when we, when we made a move for Ezra Cleveland I almost tweeted it out, but I was too busy working. Can he play center, right, right? But that being said, he cannot know.
Speaker 2:Ezra Cleveland can't play center, at least from what I've seen he can't. But yeah, yeah, you're right, it has to be Travis ETN, and the reason for that it the reason I'm saying it might be a little bit different from others, though, but just how drastically improved he is as a player to plays into it, for me as well, he's Significantly better than he was last year, about a good margin, and I, you know you were saying earlier that Travis ETN belongs in the top five running bags. I think he's up top for three running back, for the reason being is, you know, he also offers Help as a receiver and he's a lot of in a lot of ways like Christian McCaffrey right, and we saw that in the Pittsburgh Steelers game. Remember the whole thing when I don't like to speak on Urban Meyer, but when we got Travis ETN, when we drafted them, they were trying to mess a receiver slot receiver, which Charles Davis mentioned in the podcast or in the game, the broadcast game. So, that being said, we got to witness his ability as a receiver to on that play. They were running cover to. The Steelers were where the safety got a little too close to the line of scrimmage. The cornerback also bit on Calvin Ridley's route as well and it just opened up Travis ETN for opportunity. But we just got that's just a glimpse of what Travis ETN can do as a receiver, let alone what he's done as a running back for this team. So I wouldn't doubt that we would see more of Travis ETN the receiver, saving us in some games as a receiver, just as he did on Sunday Later down the road as well, because, like, we haven't even seen the beginning of what he can offer from that perspective, and then again, you know, in terms of the run, you would hope they were lower his carry load, but We'll see in time We'll tell.
Speaker 2:We already had that discussion, man. But Travis ETN has to be it. Just looking at how leaps and bounds better he is, then he was last year in a core state in the obvious. He is the reason that they're generating offensive points, clear-cutting dry. He's the key reason that they they are coming away with the points that they are coming away with In a time where they're not performing at least Wholeheartedly like we wanted them to. So you know, hopefully the offense that in general will get it together, hold it headed forward, but he's doing a good job of keeping them afloat on his own. So I'm going with Travis ETN.
Speaker 1:Yeah, etn as well. For me I mean 583 yards. He only trails Zach Moss and Christian McCaffrey in terms of rushing yards. Seven touchdowns on the year and then rushing, and then one receiving touchdown. And yeah, like you said, jay, he sets the whole tone.
Speaker 1:They, the committee, committing to him as well, even when early on in some games We've seen them kind of get off to a rough start as far as running the football, but when they've shown that just continuing to give him the ball will eventually just result in Nothing but great things. So again, I said this comes up again as far as his carries, I mean he has I wouldn't say significantly more well. I mean he's got 26 more carries than Zach Moss and 14 more than Christian McCaffrey. But Christian McCaffrey is also, I think, catching the ball a lot more. You know, in the receiving he's got 32 catches for about 300 yards, does Christian McCaffrey, and Travis has, well, 27 catches, third, for 266 yards. I mean it's not the biggest gap. So they're both seeing a lot of usages there. But to see him pretty significantly above All the other guys in terms of the rushing category when it comes to attempts, well, certainly concerning. But without him, you know, I don't think we're seeing the amount of success that we've been seeing this year.
Speaker 1:What about on the defensive side? Jay? Once again a lot of good contenders we talked about this beforehand foyer luikon having another outstanding year Andre Cisco, tyson Campbell when they've been healthy. But I think you really can't go anywhere other than the guy that's about to get paid, that's about to secure the bag here in Jacksonville nine sacks and eight games, and that has been Josh Allen. You know, I think Josh Allen acknowledged, you know, he certainly didn't have the year that he wanted to, last year, but this year wanted to come out, prove himself.
Speaker 1:And you know it's just crazy to think about how much better, you know, he's playing outstanding right now, pro Bowl, all pro level. How much better could he be again? Just, I'm sorry to kind of bring it up again, guys, but how much better would he be with a running mate, right, with a consistent running mate. So he's doing what he's doing with without, basically, I mean, I won't say on his own, but doing what he is doing without the kind of guy on the opposite side that would really, really Just jettison him to the top of the list in terms of the top pass rushers in the league. So I assume we're both. We're going Josh Allen here, but, jay, there have been some really, really big time standouts and you can even make the argument for Mike Caldwell. This defense is playing so well and on a week-to-week basis, outside of the the debacle that was the Houston game. But Josh Allen, I think, has just set the tone for everybody else.
Speaker 2:Well, you make a good point about Mike Caldwell.
Speaker 2:I start with that first, because if Mike Caldwell Can get the JR Wars to the AFC championship game or the Super Bowl with the efforts he's put into this defense, that's the best defensive coaching job that we've seen in Jacksonville JR Wars history, because he's doing the success he has had is, with one pass, rusher right, and I mean, of course, like you know, he's scheme some other things into their timely blitzes right, which I'll get into that a little bit later.
Speaker 2:Timely blitzes and Just, you know, again, going back to what I said about ETN, he's leaps and bounds better than he was last year too. That's another X factor that's holding this scene together, and another X factor as to why this team is where they are with the record that they have. So, yeah, you, you mentioned somebody there and Mike Caldwell that I didn't even, you know, think about and he deserves his flowers. But I am going to go in terms of an MVP, yes, I am going to go a different direction than Josh Allen field and I'm going to go with the best blitzer on this team and that's Trey Herndon, boogie's favorite boogie's boogie's favorite player in Jaguar history.
Speaker 1:I Mean, oh, I didn't even mention. I feel so disrespectful. I didn't even mention Darius Williams. I am so sorry. Obviously Darius Williams listens to our podcast, but I didn't even mention and the outstanding season he is having. He is definitely up for consideration too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah and um, no, I'm not even trying to joke on Trey Herndon here because he, you know he, trey Herndon's made some plays, by the way, these last few weeks he's been pretty solid for this team again, like you put him in coverage, probably not his thing, but when it comes to playing downhill he's done that well in the timely blitzes that he's had. Going back to my joke there, but I wouldn't, I actually wasn't joking His timely blitzes and he's not the best blitzer on the team, I was joking about that, but his timely blitzes have helped this team get off the field to win crucial downs. So shout outs to Trey Herndon and what he's doing. But yeah, um, you, I guess you can't. Really I can make a case for a foyer. A lewitt can, but with how Josh Allen is playing and Him playing a more, a little bit more of a premium position in foyer, if you will, um, although four years, technically, I guess the quarterback of the defense, but the um with him playing a premium position, playing on the edge and affecting the pass rusher in the way that he is, yeah, you kind of can't go anywhere else. But Josh Allen here, not to like, keep agreeing with you. But yeah, man, he again. He's another player that's significantly better than he was last year. Now, I will say, a lot of his sacks may be From quarterbacks holding on to the ball a little longer than they should have, but that's still a testament of his teammates doing you know what's required around him, just enough, you know, for that extra second, whatever the case may be. But I still can't knock Josh Allen and what he's done in terms of answering the call and he spoke about this too as well, and I think it was after the London game, right, the post game presser after the London game, where he just wanted to answer the call and Doug Peterson it might have been Doug Peterson to actually mention this that he has answered the call and he means a lot to this defense and I, you know, like you said, man, it's just it's such a shame that Trent bulky won't go out and get this man a running mate, um, which would propel him to even better heights at this point. Like we be talking about Josh Allen hitting that goal that I said three years ago Remember my bold prediction was he him getting like 18 sacks? He probably could do that if he had, you know, josh Uche helping him out, or you know, chase Young or somebody helping him out, but I digress from my point. But yeah, man, josh Allen just has really really helped this team in a big way.
Speaker 2:Um, and you mentioned another guy that really deserves his flowers that doesn't get talked about in a lot, who's a significantly better player than he was last year in Darius Williams, who I wouldn't say he's an MVP, but Darius Williams is playing at a pro bowl level. Darius Williams is playing at a level where he's a top nine corner. You know, um, when you look at what he's done in coverage. So I just wanted to give him his flowers, because a lot of people don't talk about what he's doing and just you throw the ball anywhere near him. He's going for it, man. And um, he's just been so fun to watch. For the kids out there that want to be a defensive back, throw on some tape of Uh, darius Williams, you will not regret what you're seeing. He's been a fun player to watch. But it goes to Josh Allen. Foyer is a close second, in my opinion, though.
Speaker 1:And Darius Williams has left a couple on the board. I think he's had like two or three that he's dropped. He could easily be leading the league In interceptions. Actually, you know, who really could be leading the league in interceptions is probably Devin Lloyd. That poor guy keeps dropping interceptions because of that damn club and but I feel like he's going to get one eventually. But Devin Lloyd also having a good year.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, that freaking cast man. I I've never had to wear a cast. I did burn my hand one time, I think me, you and Josh talked about this and yeah, I had to play receiver after burning my hand, but I did not wear a club, so I can only imagine how hard it is to catch a ball with like casting going. But yeah, he's played great man. It's like it's an ongoing thing, like a lot of these people from last year that we're talking about Draftically have improved. He's another player who doesn't look anything like he did last year. Right, looks leaps and bounds better than he did last year. Devin Lloyd looks like he can go to the Pro Bowl, which is a good thing, and that certainly helps In terms of this defense being able to do just enough in terms of maybe getting us to the Super Bowl or the AFC championship. Yeah, I mean, how many times?
Speaker 1:on this podcast, have we had the the opportunity to talk about just multiple guys that could fill in this MVP role? That is how Well the team is playing and you know, after the break we expect that to continue as they get an opportunity to get healthier and implement. Ezra Cleveland, you know, and if they're going to be running the ball with Travis etn, that much you know. Ezra Cleveland, hopefully, is not going to do anything, but but help that out. But, jay, as always, when we say let's keep it shorter, it ends up running longer. So that's just how it go. We should just keep our mouth shut and just record the episode and see what happens. But anything else you want to mention as not only the team, anything else you want to mention as not only the team but also ourselves. Take a little bit of a break before we return, better than ever, as we will cover the san francisco 49er game. So anything else you want to mention to our audience before we get out of here for the evening.
Speaker 2:No, man, we covered it. Man, I'm glad we've reached a by week as well, just like the players, at least. Um, we're tired as well, but, um, not nearly physically as tired as them, man. Like they traveled all over the place and All of the physical aspects of it, I know they got to be tired. But, yeah, man, glad that, um, we could talk about another victory, can't wait to talk about the next victory, which will be against the san francisco 49ers, man. So, yeah, glad we could do it again. Can't wait to um, you know, get back with you after the break.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, guys. But even though we'll be taking a break here on the podcasting side of things, we will still be working over on social media. Twitter is where we are the most active, so make sure you click the link tree link in the show notes and you'll find j&i's personal accounts as well as the account for the podcast. I'm sure there'll be plenty to discuss, even when the team is not playing, so make sure you keep up with us there. You can also find the website in this in the link tree link. Um, make sure to keep up with that. And if you find yourself wanting to support the podcast, you can do it a couple of ways. If you are listening on apple podcast or spotify, leave us a five star review. That definitely helps us out as far as the podcast charts. Let's everybody know that we're doing a good job. Also, share the episodes, whether it be on instagram, twitter, facebook. Tag us, let us know that you're listening to the show. That is another great way to to support us. We really appreciate it and, um, monetarily wise, you can.
Speaker 1:You can use our promo code Touchdown jaguars over on seat geek. Save yourself some money and put some money in our pockets and help us run this show. So we appreciate you Folks. Enjoy the buy a week. Enjoy being a fan of a six and two football team. We will be back in a couple weeks stronger and better than ever. That is my co-host, james johnson. I am phil smith, and do not forget to touch out jaguars for every jaguar touchdown. We'll see you in a couple weeks, guys, take care.