Speaker 1: With the call of today's game on Chargers Radio, it's
Speaker 1: our good friend NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, good to
Speaker 1: talk to you. How you doing well. We're hanging in there, fri.
Speaker 1: Straight losses is never easy. There's a lot of football
Speaker 1: left to be played this year. So the Jags at
Speaker 1: one in five now heading to LA to face the
Speaker 1: Chargers at one and four. You know you're around the
Speaker 1: Chargers a good bit of course. Uh, this team is
Speaker 1: in games. It seems like they're fighting. They've got a defense,
Speaker 1: they've got a pass rush, they've got a young quarterback
Speaker 1: that a lot of people are excited about. So it
Speaker 1: feels like they've got some pieces in l A to
Speaker 1: get something done and the maybe not this year, but
Speaker 1: in the years to come. Yeah, it's interesting when you
Speaker 1: look at these two teams because you you look at
Speaker 1: the Jacksonville dropping five and how that has put them
Speaker 1: in a certain mood, and uh, you look at the
Speaker 1: Chargers they've lost four, and it's a totally different mood.
Speaker 1: It's a it's a hopeful, upbeat mood because it all
Speaker 1: comes down to the quarterback. And when you've got a
Speaker 1: rookie quarterback plane as well, as as justin Herbert has
Speaker 1: been playing against some good teams. I mean, he found
Speaker 1: out he was gonna play in his first start after
Speaker 1: the coin flip against the defending world champions and goes
Speaker 1: out there and gave the Charges a chance to win
Speaker 1: that football game. He's been you know, he's he played
Speaker 1: better than Tom Brady for three quarters of that game
Speaker 1: down there in Tampa, played well on the road on
Speaker 1: Monday night against the Saints. So he's been impressive. And
Speaker 1: and you know, I don't want to use injuries as
Speaker 1: an excuse because so many teams have have dealt with it,
Speaker 1: and Jags have as well. But when you look at
Speaker 1: the Chargers team with the right side of their old line, um,
Speaker 1: that's been pretty much gone. They've had, you know, other
Speaker 1: skill guys on offense missing, but more than anything else,
Speaker 1: it's you know, you miss Derwin James, who's as good
Speaker 1: as there is at safety in this league, Drew frank
Speaker 1: will who was going to have a big year for
Speaker 1: them at linebacker, Melvin Ingram it's not played a lot
Speaker 1: this year. Um, They've got Chris Harris, who they brought
Speaker 1: over as a free agent, who's been out. So despite
Speaker 1: all those pieces missing. You're right, they've been in games,
Speaker 1: they just haven't been able to make that one play
Speaker 1: they need to make to to finish. Tyrod Taylor, of course,
Speaker 1: the quarterback you're benching there, had the longest issue, the
Speaker 1: punction long of all things earlier in the year, and
Speaker 1: and that's what gets Justin Herbert in the lineup. And
Speaker 1: it's not really a fair way to get this the start,
Speaker 1: but it's just kind of how it is. He was
Speaker 1: going to get the starting role at some point, it
Speaker 1: just happened to be that earlier in the season. If
Speaker 1: it does feel like maybe Taylor has a little bit
Speaker 1: left in the tank to you know, maybe not in
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles down the line, but he could he
Speaker 1: could have a role somewhere in this league. Certain Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think, you know, I think Tyrod's probably in that
Speaker 1: range of the you know, twenty five to thirty five
Speaker 1: best quarterback in the NFL, which means if you're on
Speaker 1: the right team, you're a starter. You're on the wrong team,
Speaker 1: you're you're a really good backup. So that's kind of
Speaker 1: where he finds himself in his career. And I think
Speaker 1: that was they had a formula for how they were
Speaker 1: gonna win games this year, which was Tyrod Taylor was
Speaker 1: gonna protect the ball as he's always done. They're gonna
Speaker 1: play great defense, gonna win some low scoring games. And
Speaker 1: we saw the game they won and the opener against
Speaker 1: the Bengals, low scoring game, Chargers found a way to
Speaker 1: win a close when the Bengals missed a kick at
Speaker 1: the end. What happens with Tyrod, you know, that whole
Speaker 1: thing takes place Justin Herbert gets out there. As Herbert's
Speaker 1: getting out there, your whole defense is being decimated. So
Speaker 1: the don't you know, don't turn the ball over approach
Speaker 1: is not gonna work when you don't have a defense
Speaker 1: capable of keeping that score quite as low. So I
Speaker 1: think Justin Herbert's creativity and playmaking ability, uh has kind
Speaker 1: of added a whole new element here to this offense.
Speaker 1: Has he stood up to some of the traits that
Speaker 1: you saw in him coming in the draft process? So
Speaker 1: far Justin Herbert and and what can he improve upon
Speaker 1: a few games into his career here? Sure, he's he's
Speaker 1: exceeded what my expectations were. And I liked him as
Speaker 1: a player. I liked his size, his arm strength, his ability,
Speaker 1: you know, as an athlete, very very athletic. He's you know,
Speaker 1: as a four oh student character. All that stuff off
Speaker 1: the charts, so you were you were comfortable with that.
Speaker 1: My question with him was some of the off schedule things,
Speaker 1: you know, can you be creative when you get something
Speaker 1: you weren't expecting? Can you make somebody missing the backfield
Speaker 1: and by time and and make some of those off
Speaker 1: scheduled plays. Because he didn't do that a ton at
Speaker 1: or he did it a little bit, but not a
Speaker 1: ton I've seen it. Now. There's a handful of places
Speaker 1: every week that he's been out there where he's he's
Speaker 1: shown that creativity. Uh there's his touchdown to Keenan Allen
Speaker 1: against the Saints. They're in a you know, six man protection,
Speaker 1: it's a seven man blitz and you got you've got
Speaker 1: a hot. He decided not to take the hot and
Speaker 1: he just makes the free rusher miss and buys time
Speaker 1: and Keenan Allen uncovers and and he delivers a strike.
Speaker 1: So some of those playmaking things have been have been impressive.
Speaker 1: Now he still has, as you would expect, you know,
Speaker 1: two or three plays a week where he can get
Speaker 1: a little reckless and it cost him. In the Carolina game,
Speaker 1: he threw a pick. They were down there to kick
Speaker 1: a field goal before the half. Um, he throws a
Speaker 1: pick and gets returned all the way back inside the five.
Speaker 1: The Panthers end up getting a field goal right before
Speaker 1: the half, the six point swing and what ended up
Speaker 1: being a five point game. So, um, he's had you know,
Speaker 1: one or two of those each week. But the good
Speaker 1: so far far outweighs the bad. Daniel Jeremiah with us.
Speaker 1: He is the radio analyst for the Los Angeles Chargers,
Speaker 1: also an NFL net work analyst, and well the top
Speaker 1: NFL network analysts will will say that. So don't say no, no,
Speaker 1: no no, we do it in that And apologies to
Speaker 1: Bucky Brooks because we haven't on our shows too. Bucky's
Speaker 1: the best. The defense for the Chargers Gus Bradley revenge game, right,
Speaker 1: I mean not really at all. That's not Guss m o.
Speaker 1: But we know what this defense is. It's rushed for
Speaker 1: it's dropped the rest of them get home with the
Speaker 1: pass rush and they're able to do that pretty well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I think look when they can be healthy and
Speaker 1: have all their horses going. Um, it's it's been really
Speaker 1: effective this this year. Unfortunately, with Melvin Ingram not being
Speaker 1: out there much, they've missed him. And shennon Owos is
Speaker 1: a good player. He's he's been able to generate some pressure,
Speaker 1: but I think you just lose a little bit of
Speaker 1: your depth being able to roll those guys through and
Speaker 1: keep them fresh. Jerry Tillery showing some real positive signs
Speaker 1: early in the season, but still a little bit inconsistent
Speaker 1: for you know what. You what you take him in
Speaker 1: the first round, You're hoping you're gonna get um, but
Speaker 1: you know, Gus is you've seen it. I Mean. The
Speaker 1: one thing that UH that they have of now that
Speaker 1: they maybe didn't have last year is when they drafted
Speaker 1: Kenneth Murray. They've got a linebacker now that can scoot
Speaker 1: and you know, in that defense, the coverage responsibilities for
Speaker 1: the linebackers being able to run with some of those
Speaker 1: receivers on those deep over routes that you're gonna see
Speaker 1: over and over again against this UH cover three look,
Speaker 1: and Kenneth Murray can do it there. He ran stride
Speaker 1: for stride with Tyreek kill On on one of the
Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs games, So he's he's a big time,
Speaker 1: big time athlete. But you know, you missed Chris Harris.
Speaker 1: That's a that's a big loss for that defense, and
Speaker 1: and there's just no way you can replace in Derwin James.
Speaker 1: So they're they're fighting and they're scrapping back there. But
Speaker 1: I don't think this is the group they thought they
Speaker 1: were gonna have Daniel Jeremiah with us. The Jaguars offense
Speaker 1: in the hands of Gardner Minshew this year, it's been
Speaker 1: a struggle for him as of late the last few weeks,
Speaker 1: just hasn't looked a sharp forty plus attempts the last
Speaker 1: five games, five losing results. Of course, the the defense
Speaker 1: has a hand in that too. They get down early
Speaker 1: and then Jay Gruden has to go away from a
Speaker 1: running game that has actually played for do well this
Speaker 1: year in Spots and James Robinson. But with Minshew, now
Speaker 1: you're starting to get a little clearer picture of what
Speaker 1: he can and and maybe cannot do in the National
Speaker 1: Football League. And the clock's ticking because we know how
Speaker 1: long he's going to have to prove things. But it's
Speaker 1: just a matter of him being able to step up
Speaker 1: and improve as the rest of the season goes along. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and I think it's. Look, I've been a fan of
Speaker 1: what Gardner Minshew did last year, and I admire his competitiveness,
Speaker 1: his toughness, Um, you know, all the stuff with the leadership,
Speaker 1: all that stuff is off the charts and just finding
Speaker 1: ways to make plays. But but I likened him to
Speaker 1: somebody like a Jake Delone who when everything was was
Speaker 1: perfect around him, Jake Delone took a team to the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. Um, but it's uh, you know, it's it's
Speaker 1: not a situation where he's gonna be able to carry
Speaker 1: the team behind him. That's not that's just not who
Speaker 1: he is. And and he just doesn't have the physical
Speaker 1: tools to be able to do that. So you know
Speaker 1: that that's that's a little bit of the challenge for
Speaker 1: the team right now is as you're kind of trying
Speaker 1: to build up a young raw ster, you you're hoping
Speaker 1: that you have a quarterback maybe that can elevate some
Speaker 1: of those guys a little bit more. And um, I
Speaker 1: don't think we've seen as much of that this year
Speaker 1: from Gardner Minshew. And and you mentioned the clocks ticking
Speaker 1: because Jaguars are loaded with h with draft capital going forward,
Speaker 1: and this is a draft that looks like it's gonna
Speaker 1: be pretty interesting at the quarterback position, so they're gonna
Speaker 1: have to make that decision in that verdict once we
Speaker 1: get to the end of the year. That is a
Speaker 1: professional transition to our bonus content on the Official Jaguars
Speaker 1: Podcast Network presented by a Vice Star. We asked Daniel Jeremiah,
Speaker 1: top draft analysts on NFL Network, about the top college
Speaker 1: quarterbacks this year. We know about Lawrence Justin Fields gets
Speaker 1: cranked up this weekend in Ohio State. Trey Lance is
Speaker 1: a name everybody's throwing around out of North Dakota State.
Speaker 1: All of a sudden, the quarterback hot bed. Are those
Speaker 1: really the three and then the rest of the pack?
Speaker 1: How does it work at the quarterback position at least
Speaker 1: early midway through the college season? Yeah, I mean I did.
Speaker 1: I did my homework on the Big three over the summer,
Speaker 1: so I've I've got those guys a pretty good feel
Speaker 1: for them, and I'm looking forward to diving into to
Speaker 1: what we've seen thus far. Fields hadn't even out there yet.
Speaker 1: I only seen Trey Lance for that one, you know,
Speaker 1: exhibition game. Basically, uh so you get a chance to
Speaker 1: dig a little bit deeper, but so this time of
Speaker 1: year is where I'm collecting. So I'm I'm calling and
Speaker 1: collecting names and then I can start really jumping in.
Speaker 1: What the name that I keep hearing over and over
Speaker 1: again is this b y U kid? You know as
Speaker 1: b y U quarterback has got a lot of buzz
Speaker 1: with my scouting buddies. So I had somebody with a
Speaker 1: team the other day tell me the thought he could
Speaker 1: end up being the second quarterback picked, and I was like, whoa,
Speaker 1: But that's you know, that's somebody who's generated a lot
Speaker 1: of buzz um. You know, Trask at Florida is big, strong,
Speaker 1: you know, he's a he's a good player. Having done
Speaker 1: a deep, deep dive on him, but from what I've seen,
Speaker 1: I thought he looked like kind of a middle round,
Speaker 1: you know pick. So there's there's gonna be a bunch
Speaker 1: of other guys to jump into. But Lawrence has taken
Speaker 1: his play from last year, which I thought was a
Speaker 1: little bit underwhelming from what the expectation was. I mean,
Speaker 1: the year was incredible for for Clemson, but I thought
Speaker 1: at the end of the year he kind of tailed
Speaker 1: off a little bit, particularly in the last game. He's
Speaker 1: playing consistent, He's playing decise if he is throwing the
Speaker 1: ball accurately, and I think he's kind of separated himself
Speaker 1: a little bit um and then I think it's gonna
Speaker 1: be a fair fight, in my opinion, for the for
Speaker 1: the number two quarterback job. And I've been a big
Speaker 1: Trade Lance fan. I liked him over the summer when
Speaker 1: I studied him more than justin fields, and uh, you know,
Speaker 1: I make sure to see how that all shakes out.
Speaker 1: But there's gonna be those big three, and I think
Speaker 1: you're gonna have a chance to see a fourth and
Speaker 1: maybe even a fifth in the first round when it's
Speaker 1: all said and done. It's funny how that works, right,
Speaker 1: I mean, you'll have everywhere two names and then here
Speaker 1: come five in the first round every year. And uh,
Speaker 1: you know, the the good thing if I'm you know,
Speaker 1: if you're a quarterback coming into this draft class, and
Speaker 1: I would be excited because it feels similarly too. When
Speaker 1: we had you know, Mahomes who went to a really
Speaker 1: good team, Deshaun Watson who went to a good team.
Speaker 1: At that time, it was just happened to be picking
Speaker 1: up there and there there were moves to go up
Speaker 1: there and get those guys Um, you look at Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson falling in the first round. Well, there's a great
Speaker 1: team there at the bottom of the first round in
Speaker 1: the Ravens. So if you're a quarterback, the ideal situation is, yeah,
Speaker 1: you want to be the first we all pick. That's great.
Speaker 1: I'd rather go to a good football team that can
Speaker 1: nurture me and help me grow and develop. And I
Speaker 1: think when you look at teams like the Saints who
Speaker 1: could be in the quarterback market. Look at the Pittsburgh
Speaker 1: Steelers with an aging quarterback, the Colts with an aging quarterback. Um,
Speaker 1: there's been rumblings at San Francisco. You know, they might
Speaker 1: have had enough of Jimmy Garoppolo want to go in
Speaker 1: a different direction. And these are really really good organizations,
Speaker 1: good football teams that you'd have a chance as a
Speaker 1: young quarterback to being an ideal spot. Daniel Jeremiah with
Speaker 1: his final thought here and kind of big picture COVID
Speaker 1: world right now. In terms of covering games, obviously you
Speaker 1: do the Chargers games. You work in the NFL network
Speaker 1: things as well. You've got this Amazon business now on games,
Speaker 1: I mean, do you rest what happens? My wife says
Speaker 1: that my hobby is collecting jobs. So that's uh, that's
Speaker 1: been my hobby right now. But I think Bucky, you know,
Speaker 1: Bucky's doing doing his many jobs are more than I am.
Speaker 1: So we uh, we stay busy, but it's it's fun.
Speaker 1: Like this week you get a chance to do three games,
Speaker 1: so two with Amazon on Amazon Prime and then they
Speaker 1: stream them on Twitch. It's Twitch dot tv, Slash Moved
Speaker 1: the Sticks and Bucky's with me on those, so it's me,
Speaker 1: Bucky and Joy Taylor, who you may know from the
Speaker 1: from Colin Cowhard Show. So we have a lot of
Speaker 1: fun on those. So we've got um this week, a
Speaker 1: Monday game, a Thursday game, and then a Sunday game
Speaker 1: with with Jags and Chargers. So I love it. There's
Speaker 1: no such things too foot, too much football, you know that, Daniel,
Speaker 1: great stuff. Thanks for the time as always, and have
Speaker 1: a great call. I appreciate you.