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Speaker 1: Welcome to the ozone Podcast featuring Jaguars dot Com Senior

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Speaker 1: writer John Osher and Jackuars executive producer Dave Dekendis. This week,

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Speaker 1: it's something a little different. We're gonna be previewing a

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Speaker 1: FC South and I have three what I consider the

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Speaker 1: three best beat guys from the division. Jim Wyatt, who

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Speaker 1: is with Titans Online with the Tennessee and beat writer forever.

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Speaker 1: Mike Chappell, who is the Indianapolis Star beat writer forever

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Speaker 1: joins us from the Colts. And finally John McClain, who

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Speaker 1: I think everybody who's ever been on Twitter knows as

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Speaker 1: maybe the best in game Twitter following around. He joins

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Speaker 1: us from the Houston Chronicle. He's been covering Houston professional

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Speaker 1: football back before Warren Moon forever. These are the three best.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna be talking about the division, focusing on their teams,

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Speaker 1: going one by one around the division. So, without further

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Speaker 1: ado previewing the FC SAUTU. We're joined now by long

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Speaker 1: time Tennessee Titans beat writer Jim Wyatt, been doing this

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Speaker 1: for five years, first with the Tennessee and now he's

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Speaker 1: with Titans Online. Knows this team as well as anybody

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Speaker 1: jim Is surprising season too many last year surprising finished

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Speaker 1: for the Titans. Where are they now? What is the

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Speaker 1: off season brought? Where do they stand going into training camp? Well,

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Speaker 1: I think the important thing this offseason was to retain

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Speaker 1: a couple of your own guys and UH, and the

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Speaker 1: two biggest names on the offensive side of the ball

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Speaker 1: Ryan tanney Hill and Derrick Henry both got long term deals. UH.

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Speaker 1: That was huge. And as I look at this team

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Speaker 1: headed the camp, I think there are reasons to be optimistic.

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Speaker 1: You've got you know again Henry and tanney Hill back.

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Speaker 1: You've got ten of a leverage starters back. You've got

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Speaker 1: the offensive coordinator and Author Smith who's back for his

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Speaker 1: second season back and he can build on what he

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Speaker 1: did last season. I think the defensive all side of

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Speaker 1: the ball is where you have some questions. I still

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Speaker 1: think this group was capable of being good on defense,

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Speaker 1: But the team said goodbye to Darrell Casey, Logan, Ryan,

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Speaker 1: you know, Wesley Woodard whose role was maybe the minister

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Speaker 1: little bit last year but still had a voice on

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Speaker 1: that team. Those guys are going along with d Peace,

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Speaker 1: the team defensive coordinator. Over the past couple of seasons,

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Speaker 1: so that will be a challenge that to try to

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Speaker 1: get you get things to pick up where he left off.

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Speaker 1: But I think when I look at this team and

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Speaker 1: um and and its strengths and weakness is going on

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Speaker 1: the camp, I think I think Titans fans should feel

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Speaker 1: pretty good about the returning personnel and the ability to

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Speaker 1: hit the ground running. We talked before about the head

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Speaker 1: coaches approach. Why did that work late last season? Was

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Speaker 1: it just a matter of what he was selling the

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Speaker 1: players finally buying, or oh they're having an effect not

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Speaker 1: finally buying. Yeah, I think it's I think when you're

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Speaker 1: a coach and you're preaching something, and Mike Gravell obviously

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Speaker 1: been preaching over the course the last couple of seasons,

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Speaker 1: what you want to have happen is success and you

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Speaker 1: and and that's what the Titans got last season. You know,

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Speaker 1: there were times early on when the team struggled and

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Speaker 1: started off two and four and had to make a

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Speaker 1: change of quarterback, going from Marcus Mariotte Ryan Tainey Hill,

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Speaker 1: and I think a lot of people across the country,

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Speaker 1: I know a lot of people in Nashville thought that

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Speaker 1: that was really the beginning of the end for this team.

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Speaker 1: But you know, Mike Gravel got the players to continue

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Speaker 1: to buy in put themselves in a position to get

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Speaker 1: some momentum late, you know, won a game in Houston

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Speaker 1: the final week of the regular season and to get

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Speaker 1: into the playoffs, and then when you go to New

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Speaker 1: England and win, that just kind of allowed the team

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Speaker 1: to point and say, hey, this is what we've been preaching,

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Speaker 1: this is working. And from there built on that confidence,

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Speaker 1: gonna you know, go to Baltimore win, I have a

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Speaker 1: chance to play the NFC Championship game against the Chiefs. Um.

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Speaker 1: I think when Mike Brable, when a lot of players

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Speaker 1: on that team look back at last season, they can say,

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Speaker 1: you know, our head coach has been telling us we

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Speaker 1: did it this way, it would work, and that's exactly

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Speaker 1: what happened. I'm not sure that any coach has specific answers,

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Speaker 1: and maybe nobody's doing that much differently because of COVID,

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Speaker 1: But how have the Titans handled that? Do you have

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Speaker 1: any sort of a feel for how this team is

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Speaker 1: coming out of, you know, a very strange off season.

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Speaker 1: May not be a fair question because I'm not sure

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Speaker 1: anybody covering teams really knows yet. No, I think you

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Speaker 1: just have to make the best of a very tough situation.

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Speaker 1: This is unprecedented for for everyone, and um, I look

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Speaker 1: at this team, and I look at some of the

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Speaker 1: players on this team who really would have benefited from

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Speaker 1: an entire offseason that includes all the rookies from last year,

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Speaker 1: that year one, a year two is huge. You know,

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Speaker 1: you've got They've got some guys who who who could

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Speaker 1: have been more probably made a bigger impact last season,

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Speaker 1: but didn't for one reason or another. Those guys could

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Speaker 1: have really benefited from having O T A s and

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Speaker 1: many camps and in preseason games for that matter, and

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Speaker 1: they're not gonna have any of that. So but I

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Speaker 1: know that's the way it is across the league. I think, uh,

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Speaker 1: if you're the Titans, I think you have to point

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Speaker 1: to some of the pauses that were able to take

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Speaker 1: place during this uh crazy offseason. You know, players on

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Speaker 1: their own kind of rallied uh together to work out

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Speaker 1: in Nashville. You know Logan Woodside, the team's backup quarterback,

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Speaker 1: led A J. Brown, and Adam Humphreys and Anthony Ferser,

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Speaker 1: and you know a lot of skill position players and

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Speaker 1: workouts in town. You know Kevin Bayer, the team's safety,

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Speaker 1: along with several the defensive players. They kind of ment

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Speaker 1: on their own away from the facility and work together

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Speaker 1: down in South Florida. Ryan Tannehill worked with with John

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Speaker 1: hu Smith, the team's tied in at Darrenton Evans, the

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Speaker 1: team's third round draft pick, and in a small groups.

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Speaker 1: I think those are all positives that guys are taking

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Speaker 1: it upon themselves without coaches there to to continue to

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Speaker 1: get the work in and from all accounts, and I'll

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Speaker 1: see these guys on the field obviously a whole bunch

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Speaker 1: of training camp will be able to make judgment for myself,

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Speaker 1: but just from all accounts, guys have really worked hard

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Speaker 1: to get themselves ready to play during the season when

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Speaker 1: they were allowed to do it at the facility. I'm

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Speaker 1: curious about Tanny Hill from a national perspective. I wonder

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Speaker 1: if people think of him as the guy. Obviously he is.

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Speaker 1: He has the big contract. Is it his team is

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Speaker 1: is that still in transition. It's an odd feeling because

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Speaker 1: he took over so quickly last year, but now he's

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Speaker 1: the franchise guy with the contract right, yes, and and

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Speaker 1: I think he had all the right things last season,

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Speaker 1: you know, when he first came aboard, uh, after being

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Speaker 1: traded from Miami. You know, if all would have gone

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Speaker 1: well last season, he never would have seen the field.

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Speaker 1: And he thought he did a good job of just

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Speaker 1: kind of of sitting back and deferring to Marcus Mariota

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Speaker 1: during the off season during camp and let Marcus be

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Speaker 1: the voice and let Marcus do his thing, and he

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Speaker 1: didn't ruffle any feathers. He handled it like a true pro.

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Speaker 1: And when the time came, UH for for Marcus to

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Speaker 1: be replaced, and really there was no doubt that the

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Speaker 1: move needed to be made, just because of the way

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Speaker 1: Marcus was playing. Tanne Hill, you know, took the bull

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Speaker 1: by the horns. You know, I sometimes laugh when I

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Speaker 1: think back at that Week seven uh. You know, tanny

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Speaker 1: Hill replaced Mariota in a Week six the end of

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Speaker 1: that game, and then the Titans made it official that

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Speaker 1: following week uh that Tanney Hill was going to be

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Speaker 1: the starter moving forward, and video at practice that week

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Speaker 1: of tanny Hill throwing and just kind of funny to

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Speaker 1: look back to play. The song that was playing the

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Speaker 1: background was A C. A C. D C's Highway to Hell,

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Speaker 1: and several people I meant it on my Twitter post saying, well,

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Speaker 1: this is an appropriate song to be playing here because

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Speaker 1: this is where this team is headed straight to hell.

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Speaker 1: And look at those those people in January. Certainly we're

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Speaker 1: kind of halfway apologizing for selling Ryan tanney Hill shot.

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Speaker 1: Because tanny Hill played extremely well. He was efficient, he

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Speaker 1: was a really good leader. He uh you know, was

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Speaker 1: was a great teammate and um and earned himself a

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Speaker 1: contract extension, and and people that watched the Titans in

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Speaker 1: uh you know, in the playoffs looked at it and said, Okay,

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Speaker 1: this guy is a complimentary piece to Derrick Henry. That's

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Speaker 1: that wasn't necessarily the case all season. Yes, he took

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Speaker 1: a back seat to Henry and the playoffs, but there

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Speaker 1: are a lot of games, you know, throughout the course

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Speaker 1: of the season at Ryan tanny Hill, uh lad the way,

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Speaker 1: And I think in doing so, he no question, he

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Speaker 1: established himself as as the player here, the team that

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Speaker 1: guys looked to with Henry of course, but I think nationally,

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Speaker 1: I think here in a lot of respect as well,

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Speaker 1: Titans were the team of the playoffs last year, Houston

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Speaker 1: still owned the division. Is Tennessee a team that can

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Speaker 1: catapult from what they did last year and sort of

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Speaker 1: take that mantle. Do you feel that from what you're

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Speaker 1: seeing or again, is it just too early? Well, I

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Speaker 1: mean I do feel that, but I think the competition

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Speaker 1: is going to continue to be tough, and I expect

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Speaker 1: Jacksonville to be improved. I think the Colts have taken

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Speaker 1: a big step and and they're gonna be you know,

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Speaker 1: you know, are going to be a stiff challenge for

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Speaker 1: everybody in the division. You know, the Titans have unfinished business.

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Speaker 1: I mean, not only do they did they finish short

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Speaker 1: in getting to the Super Bowl. And while it was

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Speaker 1: a great accostman to get to the SC Championship game,

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Speaker 1: you're that close, you know how it is. When you're

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Speaker 1: not close, you want to capitalize and you want to

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Speaker 1: get there. So this team is hungry because it missed

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Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. Uh you know, really thirty minutes of football.

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Speaker 1: They played well for a half but just kind of

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Speaker 1: ran out of gas in the second half. But the

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Speaker 1: fact that this team still has not one day a

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Speaker 1: f C South and so long and uh that you know,

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Speaker 1: that's a motivation in itself as well. I mean, if

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Speaker 1: you win the division, you get a chance to host

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Speaker 1: playoff games. You get a chance to play in front

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Speaker 1: of your fans. That's what this team wants to do.

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Speaker 1: And unfortunately, you know with COVID nineteen, I mean, winning

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Speaker 1: the division doesn't necessary to me. And you've got a

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Speaker 1: jam Pack Nissan Stadium that support you know that. That's

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Speaker 1: the unfortunate thing was what we're dealing with this year.

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Speaker 1: You're playing to win the division, but you're not exactly

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Speaker 1: sure what that's going to mean when the playoffs roll

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Speaker 1: around from as far as the home field advantage goes.

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Speaker 1: What do you think this team needs to do or

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Speaker 1: what's the biggest step key to do what you're talking

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Speaker 1: about to be in the division champ to be in

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Speaker 1: the team that's hanging in se Sath Bannery next year.

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Speaker 1: You know they're only good last year, but there was

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Speaker 1: some some sort of dominance that didn't happen to get that. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean, I think it like for everybody and men starts,

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Speaker 1: you've gotta stay healthy and you gotta win close games.

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Speaker 1: I mean, that's the way you're going to every season.

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Speaker 1: I think those two determine whether you're you know, a

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Speaker 1: six seven win team, a nine or eleven win team,

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Speaker 1: or even greater than that. I mean, you've got to

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Speaker 1: have some good fortune along the way. When I look

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Speaker 1: at this year's team going in, I mean again I

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Speaker 1: feel good about where the Titans are on offense. When

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Speaker 1: you can start camp and name ten of eleven starters

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Speaker 1: and have a guy who I think will end up

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Speaker 1: being a starter, or someone in Dennis Kelly at right

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Speaker 1: tackle who's done it before play at a high level,

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Speaker 1: I think you feel good about yourself and again have

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Speaker 1: an offensive coordinator return is a big positive. I think

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Speaker 1: for the Titans to take it to another level to

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Speaker 1: be a conturner again, they've how to figure out some

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Speaker 1: things on defense. You know, Uh, Mike Rabel has not

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Speaker 1: named a defensive coordinator. I think a lot of people,

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Speaker 1: you know, expect that he will um assume that role.

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Speaker 1: Or Shane Bowen, who has been his right hand man

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Speaker 1: or he's described as his right hand man outside linebackers coach.

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Speaker 1: I think he's gonna have a big role. The combination

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Speaker 1: of those two is going to have to you know,

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Speaker 1: keep train moving so to speak. You know, iv Abel

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Speaker 1: has been very involved even when he wasn't um, you know,

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Speaker 1: the guy calling the shots last year. As far as

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Speaker 1: play calling goes, I watched in practices. I saw him

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Speaker 1: make corrections on on the field when a player would

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Speaker 1: mess up. I know he had his fingerprints all over

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Speaker 1: that defense, although it was Dean Piece's voice who was

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Speaker 1: running the defense. Um, how that comes together and while

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Speaker 1: you also try to replace some guys, UM will go

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Speaker 1: a long way and determine how this team plays this fault.

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Speaker 1: I mean Jonathan Joseph as a newcomer of the secondary

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Speaker 1: who's played in the league a long time, Christian Fulton,

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Speaker 1: you know, second round draft pick in the secondary. You

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Speaker 1: know he's going to need to step up. They've got

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Speaker 1: some other guys that they brought in in free agency

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Speaker 1: in the draft to they're accounting a lot on and

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Speaker 1: a lot of those guys are on defense. I think

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Speaker 1: the question and and what needs to have happened is

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Speaker 1: the defense needs to uh keep this team in games

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Speaker 1: and uh because I think the offense is capable of

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Speaker 1: scoring points and having success. Once again, Jim Wyant knows

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Speaker 1: the Titans bet than anybody. Jim, we appreciate it, have

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Speaker 1: a great training campaign. We hope theater in the season

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Speaker 1: t point, I hope. So it's been great. Yeah, looking

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Speaker 1: forward to football. Uh, you know practices and and um

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Speaker 1: right for the opener, no doubt appreciated. Body appreciate it.

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Speaker 1: All right. We're joined now by John McClain of the

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Speaker 1: Deepston Chronicle, and anybody who follows the NFL and the Texans,

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Speaker 1: really anything with the NFL knows about John. He's one

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Speaker 1: of the leading voices and has been for probably going

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Speaker 1: on four decades. Now. All right, John, I appreciate you

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Speaker 1: joint us to talk about the Houston Texans. How do

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Speaker 1: you feel about then? In this season they're the defending

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Speaker 1: division champions. Doesn't feel like it's to you, John. They

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Speaker 1: wanted a division for the last five years. Beat Buffalo

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs. Last year, had a two oh league

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Speaker 1: in Kansas City, which they choked and lost people one

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Speaker 1: the thirty one. They didn't lose a player they wanted

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Speaker 1: to keep. They traded DeAndre Hopkins. They got running back

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Speaker 1: David Johnson. It will start. They used the second round

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Speaker 1: pick on the biggest need, defensive tackle, Ross black Lock,

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Speaker 1: And because they had gotten that too from Arizona, they

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Speaker 1: were able to trade their two the Rams for Brandon Books.

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Speaker 1: So really there's three components to the Hopkins trade, and

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Speaker 1: then those tackle DJ Reader they weren't going to pay

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Speaker 1: him thirteen million a year because he wasn't a pass

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Speaker 1: riser and he only played on fifty seven per cent

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Speaker 1: of the snaps. So he's gone. So should they got

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Speaker 1: the best quarterback in the division? Uh? Um. They have

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Speaker 1: winning tradition, but people are looking for a reason not

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Speaker 1: to pick them. So most people are picking the Titans.

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Speaker 1: I've seen a couple pick the Colts, assuming that Philip

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Speaker 1: Rivers is going to bounce back from last season, which

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Speaker 1: was one of his worst. The Texans bet him in

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Speaker 1: l A last year, so I think it'll be a

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Speaker 1: three team race. I think the Jaguars will be bringing

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Speaker 1: up the rear. How how are they better or is

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Speaker 1: good without hockeys safety through that one? Well, first of all,

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Speaker 1: he had a hundred Ford catches, he had seven touchdowns

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Speaker 1: and he only had three point seven yards yak. That

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Speaker 1: was the second worst among receivers. But he was reliable.

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Speaker 1: He was there every game. One of the things he's

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Speaker 1: gone because he wanted a ten million dollar a year

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Speaker 1: raised with three years left on the contract. People thanking

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Speaker 1: God because Bill O'Brien didn't like him, but his relationship

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Speaker 1: with O'Brien hasn't changed, and he was targeted hundred and

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Speaker 1: fifty something times. O'Brien told us, said, if I didn't

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Speaker 1: like the guy, why I called plays throwing in the

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Speaker 1: ball all the time? ID and like was Hopkins never practiced.

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Speaker 1: He was always beat up. Said he was beat up,

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Speaker 1: but he always answered the bell. He was great on

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Speaker 1: third down, great on getting first downs. You saw him

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Speaker 1: twice a year, you know. But without Hopkins, they added

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Speaker 1: Randall Cobb in the slot. He's coming off a career

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Speaker 1: high fifteen point one yards a game with the Cowboys,

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Speaker 1: and Brandon Cooks. Cooks, like David Johnson, had a bad

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Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen, and like Philip Rivers, they're hoping he'll

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Speaker 1: bounce back play the way he did in two thousand

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Speaker 1: and eighteen when he upped the Rams to the Super

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Speaker 1: Bowl with twelve four yards. So they have Kenny Stills

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Speaker 1: coming back and will Fuller, Fuller kids stay healthy. There's

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Speaker 1: not another team in the league, I don't think, and

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Speaker 1: I've looked this up. John they can put three receivers,

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Speaker 1: full Cooks and Steals on the field, legitimate receivers who've

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Speaker 1: added at least forty catches at the same time, who

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Speaker 1: ran into four twos and four three at their combine.

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Speaker 1: Cobb only ran four four six. And David Johnson is

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Speaker 1: one of the best receivers out of the backfil ever.

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Speaker 1: He averaged ten point seven yards a catch last year,

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Speaker 1: and what the Texans would like to get from him

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Speaker 1: is his two thousand eighteen season when he had combined

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Speaker 1: one thousand three or nine one yards and ten touchdowns.

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Speaker 1: He'll rotate with Duke Johnson as Carlos I did, and

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Speaker 1: so they've got They have plans put David Johnson and

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Speaker 1: Duke Johnson on the field together at the same time

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Speaker 1: and see what kind of mismatches they could create with

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Speaker 1: defenses because both of them can line up wide, going

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Speaker 1: to slot, going motion wide. So first time play caller

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Speaker 1: Tim Kelly, the offensive coordinator, has been here with O'Brien

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Speaker 1: every year. Not only is you have the best quarterback,

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Speaker 1: he's got a lot of feed and talented receiver tied

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Speaker 1: end where Darren Fells set a record with team record

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Speaker 1: for tight ends with seven touchdowns, had another one in

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Speaker 1: the playoffs, and then their offensive line comes back in

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Speaker 1: tack for the first time since two thousand and eleven.

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Speaker 1: So they reduced everything last year, John, when they they

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Speaker 1: had a good offensive line for the first time since

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Speaker 1: probably two thousand and sixteen, they had less sacks, hits, knockdowns,

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Speaker 1: percentages of hit sacks, knockdowns, and uh and so that

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Speaker 1: bought to be even better this year, since they've had

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Speaker 1: a year together, eventually a couple of times to shine.

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Speaker 1: Watson the best quarterback in the division, that's obvious. What's

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Speaker 1: his task this year? Where does he need to improve?

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Speaker 1: He's already wanted the best, but clearly he's young. He

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Speaker 1: can still get better. He's like Bill O'Brien. He needs

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Speaker 1: to get beyond the first second round of the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: Texans have never been beyond the second round of the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: The last time Houston had a team in an NFC

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Speaker 1: championship game, which the Jazz Aguars did in two thousand seventeen,

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Speaker 1: was nineteen seventy nine with the Oilers at Pittsburgh, and

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Speaker 1: the last time Houston hosted a championship game was the

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Speaker 1: sixty one Oilers when they beat the Chargers to win

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Speaker 1: the second NFL championship. So last year, this was what

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Speaker 1: was so disheartening for fans here and one reason they

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Speaker 1: were so venomous towards Bill O'Brien, and they not choked

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Speaker 1: that twenty four point lady in Kansas City, they would

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Speaker 1: have hosted the NFC championship game against the former Oilers,

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Speaker 1: the Tennessee Titans, a team they beat up there and

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Speaker 1: then rested fourteen starters in the last game. That allowed

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Speaker 1: the Titans to make the playoffs. So that made it

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Speaker 1: even more disheartening. So uh, Bill O'Brien to Shaun Watson,

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Speaker 1: they needed to prove they win the Vision again, maybe

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Speaker 1: get a home playoff game in the divisional round, which

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Speaker 1: they've never done. We talked a lot about offense. It

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Speaker 1: sounds like you're confidence this is a good offensive. The

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Speaker 1: team feel the same way on defense. No, last year,

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Speaker 1: their defense took dramatic step back in the past under

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Speaker 1: Romeo Carnell and two thousand and eighteen, they had J. J.

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Speaker 1: Watt the entire season, he had sixteen sacks, First team

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Speaker 1: All Pro, the Geneveon Clowney all season he had nine sacks.

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Speaker 1: Say trade Clowney White this is the second half of

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Speaker 1: the season. Came back for the playoffs and when he

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Speaker 1: went down at the midway point, he was leading the

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Speaker 1: league and pressures and so last year Romeo Carnell had

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Speaker 1: to call blitz is on thirties something per cent of

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Speaker 1: the plays trying to manufacture a pass rush they couldn't.

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Speaker 1: Whitney Mersells led them with seven and a half. Only

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Speaker 1: three teams had a leading sacred with fewer than his

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Speaker 1: seven and a half, and the secondary got beat up

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Speaker 1: bad in two games against Kansas City and Harrowhead Stadium

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Speaker 1: Jexsans and lost fifty one. Already won the playoffs. My

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Speaker 1: home's at eight touchdown seven in the red zone they

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Speaker 1: were last, and red zone touchdowns last, and red zone

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Speaker 1: points they were thirty first and third down defense, couldn't

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Speaker 1: get off the field, and they were awful against the run.

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Speaker 1: Those were three things two years ago. They did better.

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Speaker 1: Now I say all that John, they got father in

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Speaker 1: the playoffs last season. Then he did you hear before

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Speaker 1: when they were so much better? And I think the

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Speaker 1: defense depends on this. Watt's got to stay healthy and

386
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Speaker 1: they were relying heavily on four young players. Ross Blackhawk

387
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Speaker 1: defensive tackle second round pick outside linebacker Jonathan Grenard led

388
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Speaker 1: the SEC in sacks and hurries at Florida and then

389
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Speaker 1: a second year tackled Charles Manna, who who had three

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Speaker 1: sacks as a rookie and a third year player in

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Speaker 1: his second year with the Texas. Jacob Martin, an outside

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Speaker 1: linebacker who came from Seattle in the Clarenny trade. He

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Speaker 1: played the snaps. He had three and a half sacks

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Speaker 1: in the Buffalo playoff victory. He forced the fumble and

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Speaker 1: later he had it. I mean he had a sack

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Speaker 1: and later he recovered the fumble. In there come back

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Speaker 1: from a sixteen old deficits. So those four young guys

398
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Speaker 1: have to help What and Merciless get the quarterback oppression

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Speaker 1: of the quarterback to protective secondary. They got all their

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Speaker 1: linebackers back the secondary. John last year they had eight

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Speaker 1: new defensive backs. This year they have too. Is it?

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Speaker 1: Is it all health with what? Is he the same

403
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Speaker 1: player he was in his prime? Is he in his pride? Well?

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Speaker 1: Two years ago he was great. So now he's thirty one.

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Speaker 1: He got to take eight games off last year. He

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Speaker 1: looked great in the playoffs. He said to hus in

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Speaker 1: a zoom call dead He's had nothing to do but

408
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Speaker 1: work out this offseason, and he says he feels better,

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Speaker 1: uh in camp than he has any time since two

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Speaker 1: thousand fourteen, and of team where which were his fourth

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Speaker 1: and fifty years in the league. You mentioned the division earlier.

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Speaker 1: Are you covering the division champions You think they do

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Speaker 1: it again the division championship. I think they're capable of it.

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Speaker 1: They should be favored. Although a lot of people are

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Speaker 1: going with the Titans because of what they did in

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Speaker 1: the playoffs, I think that when I have to make

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Speaker 1: my picks in our football section later in the month,

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna pick the Titans. Last year I picked the

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Speaker 1: Polts like everybody did, and lux retirement fill their chances,

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Speaker 1: and so I think I'll go with the Titans first.

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Speaker 1: But John, we've seen three teams from this division make

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Speaker 1: the playoffs before, and with an extra wild card team,

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Speaker 1: it's possible we could see that three more this season.

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Speaker 1: What do they have to do to live up to

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Speaker 1: your expectations? They could be on the second round of

426
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Speaker 1: the playoffs for the first time. Um, I'm gonna pick

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Speaker 1: them to go ten and six again. Last year, I

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Speaker 1: think they would have gone eleven and five and beating

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Speaker 1: the Titans of the last game Titans had to win

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Speaker 1: a game get in the playoffs. You know the Titans

431
00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:06,680
Speaker 1: have been not have not been better than nine and

432
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 1: sevens and two thousand and eight. They have not won

433
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:13,320
Speaker 1: the division since two thousand and eight, and last year

434
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,560
Speaker 1: they had to win that last game when O'Brien rested

435
00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,920
Speaker 1: thirteen started fourteen starters to get the playoffs. So the

436
00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:24,119
Speaker 1: Texans should be favored. But I think I'm gonna go

437
00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 1: with the Titans because I think they earned it based

438
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,000
Speaker 1: on what they did in the playoffs. They won two

439
00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:32,159
Speaker 1: playoffs games on the road. Vexins have never won one

440
00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,120
Speaker 1: on the road, and they got Garry Henry and Ryan

441
00:24:35,200 --> 00:24:38,639
Speaker 1: Tannehill resigned, and I'm eager to see what Tannehill can

442
00:24:38,680 --> 00:24:41,920
Speaker 1: do over a full season, if he actually turned the

443
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,040
Speaker 1: corner last year, or he's gonna end up being a

444
00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:51,840
Speaker 1: pot flash in the pen. John united evern division those

445
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:54,000
Speaker 1: since it started. I was with the Colts for a while,

446
00:24:54,080 --> 00:24:57,879
Speaker 1: but this might be the best year it's had in

447
00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:02,719
Speaker 1: terms of three teams. Uh, if you could have Jaguars,

448
00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:05,000
Speaker 1: most people don't. But three teams can make the playoffs

449
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:06,680
Speaker 1: at this division. I know it's been done, but this

450
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:10,360
Speaker 1: seems as competitives as it's been. I'll say this John

451
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:14,760
Speaker 1: about the Jaguars, I think the Mustache will be greatly

452
00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:18,240
Speaker 1: improved because it's his second season. He came out of nowhere.

453
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,960
Speaker 1: You saw it, and I think he'll be improved. They've

454
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,640
Speaker 1: got a lot of young players that could have used

455
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:30,040
Speaker 1: the preseason joint practices and on field instructions. But everybody's

456
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:32,840
Speaker 1: in the same boat. And if some of those young players,

457
00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,240
Speaker 1: you know, those those young receivers like Chart, they're tremendous

458
00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:38,960
Speaker 1: and uh, even though they made a lot of changes

459
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,000
Speaker 1: on their defense. Oh. I don't think the Jaguars will

460
00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:44,600
Speaker 1: make the playoffs, but I think they'll play a role

461
00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:48,439
Speaker 1: and who makes the playoffs because they're capable of beating

462
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:51,880
Speaker 1: any of those three teams. Nobody does the Texans better,

463
00:25:51,920 --> 00:25:54,040
Speaker 1: Nobody does the NFL better. John, I appreciate it, Thank

464
00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:56,800
Speaker 1: you very much. We'll talk sin Johant's my pleasure. Thank

465
00:25:56,840 --> 00:26:00,600
Speaker 1: you very much, and stay safe, all right. And joined

466
00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:06,080
Speaker 1: now by a Fox fifty nine CDs for writer analyst

467
00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:09,480
Speaker 1: Mike Tapple from Indianapolis. In addition to that, he covered

468
00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:13,960
Speaker 1: the coldst Indianapolis Star for forever, going back to every

469
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,040
Speaker 1: good team knows the Coals as well as anybody. Mike,

470
00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,760
Speaker 1: I appreciate you join us tell me about the Colds

471
00:26:21,320 --> 00:26:24,400
Speaker 1: entering this season. A lot of changes. Most people feel

472
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,480
Speaker 1: like they're upgraded. Do you agree, Yeah, they are. If

473
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,120
Speaker 1: there's three or four ifs that really have to come through.

474
00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:35,880
Speaker 1: The main one was their big offseason acquisition Philip Rivers

475
00:26:35,960 --> 00:26:39,479
Speaker 1: at quarterback. I mean, people saw how the season went

476
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,240
Speaker 1: with Brisette really good early injury, not so good late.

477
00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:47,120
Speaker 1: They had a chance to get Philip Rivers. If if

478
00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,399
Speaker 1: he is two thousand and eighteen Philip Rivers and not

479
00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,760
Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen Philip Rivers, this is a playoff team.

480
00:26:52,800 --> 00:26:56,520
Speaker 1: It should be a playoff team. If not, they go

481
00:26:56,640 --> 00:26:59,680
Speaker 1: back to Jacoby Brissette, which we saw that was hitting

482
00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,320
Speaker 1: this last year, and that's really the great unknown, didn't.

483
00:27:02,320 --> 00:27:06,040
Speaker 1: I mean, you have no idea what Rivers is. He's

484
00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:09,119
Speaker 1: at the age where maybe he's on the decline, but

485
00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:12,440
Speaker 1: you also see around the league guys at his age

486
00:27:12,520 --> 00:27:15,119
Speaker 1: hartness on the decline, and there's just no way to

487
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,639
Speaker 1: know until the regular season, right, Have you seen anything? No,

488
00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:19,600
Speaker 1: we've not seen him throw. We've not We've talked to

489
00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,080
Speaker 1: him two or three times, which that's that's a detriment

490
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,960
Speaker 1: as well. They've they've not been on the feeling except

491
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:30,880
Speaker 1: for a handful of times during this offseason. Recently, he's

492
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:34,320
Speaker 1: only thrown once or twice with Dlton, who's got injury concerns.

493
00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:38,359
Speaker 1: So you just don't know, and all you can rely

494
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:42,800
Speaker 1: on is Frank Right, long time quarterback, a long time coach.

495
00:27:43,880 --> 00:27:46,200
Speaker 1: When it came time, he did all the leg work,

496
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,119
Speaker 1: He looked at the video, and he studied Rivers, and

497
00:27:49,200 --> 00:27:53,800
Speaker 1: he's convinced that there's no decline in the physical skills.

498
00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:57,199
Speaker 1: He's not lost something off his fastball. And one thing

499
00:27:57,280 --> 00:27:59,200
Speaker 1: to keep in mind is they're not gonna be asking

500
00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:01,520
Speaker 1: Rivers to Carrey in this team. This isn't Baton Manning

501
00:28:01,560 --> 00:28:05,600
Speaker 1: going somewhere. It's they've got a top seven rushing team

502
00:28:06,240 --> 00:28:09,399
Speaker 1: from the top offensive lines. So they want him to

503
00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,480
Speaker 1: do his job, you know, make those four or five

504
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:16,359
Speaker 1: plays that Rocent didn't make, and not trying to do

505
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:19,440
Speaker 1: too much because I'm not sure he can do too much.

506
00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:22,399
Speaker 1: It's really an amazing situation up there. And I mean,

507
00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,359
Speaker 1: you're talking about a roster that most NFL people feel

508
00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,360
Speaker 1: like is a growing young roster. People are really high

509
00:28:30,440 --> 00:28:33,560
Speaker 1: on Ballard to be really high on Right, and yet

510
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,880
Speaker 1: the quarterback situation with Luck retiring, trying to find it's

511
00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:41,320
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna say it's unprecedented, but it's really a

512
00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:44,280
Speaker 1: strange situation for Frankie, Mike, You and I have been

513
00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:46,000
Speaker 1: around this team, you know, I was gonna see for

514
00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:50,000
Speaker 1: ten years, been around it forever. It was quarterback centric

515
00:28:50,720 --> 00:28:55,400
Speaker 1: with a great quarterback for what years? All this and

516
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,600
Speaker 1: now it's almost like it's turned to where they are

517
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:04,200
Speaker 1: they are a marror of their former. It's really kind

518
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,120
Speaker 1: of funny, and Ballard really won't talk about it for

519
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,000
Speaker 1: obvious reasons. But the first thing he got here, I

520
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,720
Speaker 1: asked him how much did Andrew Luck be in here?

521
00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:13,680
Speaker 1: Bring you here? He said, it could never be about

522
00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:17,720
Speaker 1: one guy. But since Ballard has been here is three years.

523
00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:20,280
Speaker 1: He goes into his first year and all of a sudden,

524
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,200
Speaker 1: Luck's not ready because of his shoulder. And then last

525
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,760
Speaker 1: year they've finally got to where it needs to be

526
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:31,880
Speaker 1: really strong and less than two for the season start.

527
00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,840
Speaker 1: Luck says no more so two or three years have been,

528
00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:39,440
Speaker 1: you know, in scramble mode. And the one year he

529
00:29:39,520 --> 00:29:41,360
Speaker 1: had Luck, they were a playoff teams and they won

530
00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:45,320
Speaker 1: Den in Houston. So yeah, but we went from having

531
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,640
Speaker 1: you know, so much continuity with with with Manning and

532
00:29:49,800 --> 00:29:54,000
Speaker 1: the early part for the love. Now it's maybe they've

533
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,400
Speaker 1: seen how the rest of the league has been to

534
00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 1: where if you don't have that guy, you're always looking

535
00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:04,080
Speaker 1: for that guy. Offensively, Mike, how good is this team?

536
00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:06,840
Speaker 1: Let's take Rivers out of the equation, but how good

537
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:09,640
Speaker 1: are they aside from him? It sounds like you think

538
00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 1: they're pretty good well with what they want to do.

539
00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:14,480
Speaker 1: And again, Frank r. People would argue across the league,

540
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:17,200
Speaker 1: but Frank right wants to this team to be run based.

541
00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:20,040
Speaker 1: They were top seven last year, and you've got Marlon

542
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:22,720
Speaker 1: Mack who's only twenty four. This isn't an old guy,

543
00:30:23,720 --> 00:30:26,600
Speaker 1: and Taylor the young the rookie coming in. But so

544
00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:29,960
Speaker 1: much depends on how were the receiver's t wise thirty

545
00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:34,120
Speaker 1: going into his last year, Paris Campbell early draft pick

546
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:36,640
Speaker 1: last year, heard all year, and then you go to

547
00:30:36,720 --> 00:30:39,320
Speaker 1: Michael Pittman. So if it's like I said earlier, if

548
00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,280
Speaker 1: things work, they're they're in really good shape, really a

549
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:49,440
Speaker 1: pretty good complimentary receiver group, solid run game, great offensive line,

550
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:51,880
Speaker 1: tight ends. You don't know what Trey Burken, you know

551
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:55,280
Speaker 1: what you've got with Jack Doyle so three or four

552
00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,600
Speaker 1: things work. This have been pretty pretty diverse and potent offense.

553
00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:04,600
Speaker 1: It is Eric you Bryan a big loss? Yes, well yeah,

554
00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,000
Speaker 1: two thousand and eighteen, Eric Ebron was a big loss

555
00:31:07,600 --> 00:31:10,760
Speaker 1: and then last year things didn't go well and sort

556
00:31:10,800 --> 00:31:12,640
Speaker 1: of got off the rails. But no, when when he

557
00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:16,080
Speaker 1: was in his Pro Bowl form. It's funny he came

558
00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:20,080
Speaker 1: to India with the reputation of having drops. He had those,

559
00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:22,280
Speaker 1: he had his many drops in two thousand and eighteen.

560
00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:26,160
Speaker 1: But boy, he just made plays with the touchdowns and

561
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:29,000
Speaker 1: the big plays down the field. They need for Trey

562
00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:32,120
Speaker 1: Burton to be that guy who gives them something of

563
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:35,560
Speaker 1: a downfield threat, and he has shown that at times.

564
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:38,240
Speaker 1: Had a good season with Ryke and Philly coming off

565
00:31:38,280 --> 00:31:42,120
Speaker 1: an injury plague two thousand nineteen. So yeah, you can't

566
00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,320
Speaker 1: be that guy to give him the intermediate stuff with

567
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:48,480
Speaker 1: what Jack You know Jack Doyle is you you need

568
00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,200
Speaker 1: a Jack Doyle in your offense. Now, you can't have

569
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:53,680
Speaker 1: too many of them, but you need that guy who

570
00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:58,240
Speaker 1: who does all the the dirty work and the he

571
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:01,960
Speaker 1: moves the chains. But they really need the two things

572
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,280
Speaker 1: that need if we get away from Rivers, they need

573
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:09,040
Speaker 1: to Y to come back and be yard receiver they need,

574
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:12,440
Speaker 1: and they need Paris Campbell to be that guy they

575
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:14,320
Speaker 1: thought when they got him early last year. And then

576
00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,880
Speaker 1: you're gonna mix Michael Pittman and he hope he's a

577
00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:23,320
Speaker 1: solid addition as a rookie. How good are they defensively?

578
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:27,120
Speaker 1: He's like they're improving, they're improving. It's it's still young.

579
00:32:28,120 --> 00:32:31,640
Speaker 1: You've got the big edition of with the Forrest Buckner

580
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:37,680
Speaker 1: and he is that again. Through your years watching his team,

581
00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:41,600
Speaker 1: I've tried to say who he's the best tackles since

582
00:32:42,240 --> 00:32:47,760
Speaker 1: I mean goodness, I was there, Booger, that was one

583
00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:52,080
Speaker 1: on that Rahean Brock. He gives him the three technique

584
00:32:52,120 --> 00:32:55,360
Speaker 1: guy they've not had. So he's gonna make Houston better.

585
00:32:55,440 --> 00:32:58,320
Speaker 1: He's gonna make the Nico Odfrey better, Como Coo Terrey better.

586
00:32:58,320 --> 00:33:01,360
Speaker 1: He's gonna make a linebackers better. More important, if they

587
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,640
Speaker 1: do that up front, then the secondary where there's some questions.

588
00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:07,600
Speaker 1: Hopefully it won't be exposed like it was last year.

589
00:33:09,400 --> 00:33:13,800
Speaker 1: Is this uh the a f C South. It strikes me,

590
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:16,440
Speaker 1: you know, we've both been around it since the beginning.

591
00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:19,400
Speaker 1: This may be as much of a three team race

592
00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:21,239
Speaker 1: as it's ever been because I think the Colts are

593
00:33:21,240 --> 00:33:24,080
Speaker 1: gonna be good. I think anybody. I think anybody's sure

594
00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:27,000
Speaker 1: about the Jags yet. And you had two other playoff teams.

595
00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,600
Speaker 1: People are talking about maybe three playoff teams out of here.

596
00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:33,000
Speaker 1: I don't. I don't remember a season where it has

597
00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:35,840
Speaker 1: been stronger than this. Who do you like the Coltal

598
00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:40,160
Speaker 1: division chance I would come off as a bias. I

599
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,440
Speaker 1: like the colch again if if if Rivers is what

600
00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:46,760
Speaker 1: they need him to be, I like this team. I

601
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:51,560
Speaker 1: have a problem. I think Houston is sort of I

602
00:33:51,600 --> 00:33:54,080
Speaker 1: don't say scrambled moment. What are they doing when you

603
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:59,120
Speaker 1: get when management's decision is to get rid of DeAndre Hopkins,

604
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:03,920
Speaker 1: top five receiver? I don't. I don't understand that. And

605
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,240
Speaker 1: I realized those guys are expensive, but they're all so

606
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,920
Speaker 1: hard to get. I like Tennessee with Derrick Henry and

607
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:12,360
Speaker 1: I want to see Tannah He'll do it again. So

608
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:16,400
Speaker 1: many times we see these quarterbacks in that contract you

609
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:20,239
Speaker 1: had that great year gets back and then wat So

610
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:25,680
Speaker 1: I like what they're doing there Jacksonville. I it's are

611
00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:28,759
Speaker 1: they in reboot mode? It seems like it with with

612
00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:30,640
Speaker 1: with what's going on there getting rid of a lot

613
00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:35,360
Speaker 1: of proven players for them for whatever the reasons. I

614
00:34:35,400 --> 00:34:38,400
Speaker 1: think this is the case. You throw a blanket over

615
00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:42,719
Speaker 1: the Colts to the Texans and in Tennessee and it's

616
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,760
Speaker 1: it's gonna be interesting how listening shapes out in December.

617
00:34:47,560 --> 00:34:52,000
Speaker 1: What's they're feeling. How good can they be? If Rivers

618
00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:57,040
Speaker 1: is Rivers, they're not. They're not Kansas City in Baltimore

619
00:34:57,640 --> 00:34:59,920
Speaker 1: in the NFC South that this defense isn't there yet.

620
00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:03,799
Speaker 1: But I think if if Rivers, and again that's that's

621
00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:07,880
Speaker 1: because the wild card off season. Sure, if Rivers, if

622
00:35:07,960 --> 00:35:10,439
Speaker 1: he's what they think he is, this is a playoff team,

623
00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:13,040
Speaker 1: and to me it needs to be a team that

624
00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:17,040
Speaker 1: wins a playoff game. Anything less and certainly a playoff

625
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,120
Speaker 1: will be a great disappointment for the way they've built

626
00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:23,719
Speaker 1: this team and taken up still looking long term, but

627
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,920
Speaker 1: they've made movement, made moves during the off season to win. Now. Yes,

628
00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:31,200
Speaker 1: it's an odd thing you mentioned earlier in the podcast.

629
00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:35,680
Speaker 1: They went with Rivers, and obviously, to me, he's a

630
00:35:35,719 --> 00:35:38,360
Speaker 1: Hall of Fame guy when he's right. But if it

631
00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:43,000
Speaker 1: doesn't work and they get nine and seven, then all

632
00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:46,080
Speaker 1: of a sudden. Are they in no man's land for

633
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,000
Speaker 1: the future at quarterback? What is that? But I guess

634
00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:50,319
Speaker 1: that's the way you have to do in the NFL

635
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:52,359
Speaker 1: these days. You can't build for two or three years

636
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,680
Speaker 1: out when you've got the chance to go get a guy. Yeah,

637
00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:57,719
Speaker 1: it's funny. We always talk to your people say what

638
00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:00,720
Speaker 1: what what? What's the long term answer in the NFL

639
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,160
Speaker 1: if you don't have Manning or Brady or you know,

640
00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:07,400
Speaker 1: the three or four guyss five guys, long term in

641
00:36:07,400 --> 00:36:10,080
Speaker 1: the NFL is like four years. I mean, it's because

642
00:36:10,120 --> 00:36:15,040
Speaker 1: it's crazy because again, if you don't if Rivers doesn't work,

643
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,359
Speaker 1: then you're looking at they've got Rivers. It's a free

644
00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:20,400
Speaker 1: agent perset will be a free agent in the off season,

645
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:23,840
Speaker 1: so the only quarterback under contract would be Jacob Eeson.

646
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:28,080
Speaker 1: So if the Rivers thing doesn't work the next year,

647
00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:30,799
Speaker 1: you're either going with Easton, who won't play this year

648
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:34,120
Speaker 1: barring injury, or you look for the guy next year.

649
00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:37,080
Speaker 1: And you just don't want to be looking short term

650
00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:40,560
Speaker 1: free agent quarterback every year because what are you getting done?

651
00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:46,160
Speaker 1: So it's it's I'd say it's a gamble. They could

652
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:48,960
Speaker 1: have gone I guess back with Brissette and said whether

653
00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:51,960
Speaker 1: the troubles last year is the injury, but the fact

654
00:36:52,040 --> 00:36:55,680
Speaker 1: they went out and got rivers million dollars every again

655
00:36:55,840 --> 00:37:01,080
Speaker 1: history with Syrian, so they knew the guy that really

656
00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:03,759
Speaker 1: told me that, Yes, we're trying to build for the

657
00:37:03,880 --> 00:37:05,759
Speaker 1: future with draft picks and all this, and even the

658
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:08,759
Speaker 1: trade for Buckner. He's a young player. But they want

659
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:10,719
Speaker 1: to win now. They don't. They don't want to build

660
00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:12,960
Speaker 1: this thing slowly and see what happens to do two

661
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:17,080
Speaker 1: or three years. Final question, It really seems that I

662
00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:20,120
Speaker 1: respect Ballard a lot. I knew Frank a little bit

663
00:37:20,200 --> 00:37:23,360
Speaker 1: when he was there, right when I left. It really

664
00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,120
Speaker 1: seems like that's a two headed monster that die no

665
00:37:26,200 --> 00:37:29,520
Speaker 1: matter what happens this year. This feels like a franchise

666
00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:31,600
Speaker 1: that's solid for a while. You've been around it in

667
00:37:31,719 --> 00:37:34,680
Speaker 1: some lean years, some good years. Does this feel like

668
00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:37,520
Speaker 1: a long term thing? You you're around Polin and Dungee

669
00:37:37,520 --> 00:37:40,000
Speaker 1: and you're around before that when it was bad. Yeah,

670
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:42,120
Speaker 1: it's funny people around and here, some of them media.

671
00:37:42,200 --> 00:37:46,080
Speaker 1: They talked about the prior regime with running Griggson, how

672
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:53,040
Speaker 1: Grigson's record is much better, thank Chris Ballard's with the playoffs.

673
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:55,440
Speaker 1: But I tell the guys you have but if you

674
00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:58,000
Speaker 1: look at the roster top to bottom, this roster is better.

675
00:37:58,120 --> 00:38:01,040
Speaker 1: This roster is better than what he and I like.

676
00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:04,400
Speaker 1: Where they're going. What people need to realize. And I

677
00:38:04,960 --> 00:38:06,399
Speaker 1: had to look it up, like three or four times

678
00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:08,759
Speaker 1: they've been out of the playoffs in four the last

679
00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:12,680
Speaker 1: five years. The last time that happened it started in Baltimore,

680
00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:15,879
Speaker 1: like from seventy eight to eighties seven or what there,

681
00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:19,600
Speaker 1: eighties six, whatever it was. So this team, for all

682
00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:21,640
Speaker 1: the bad years that there were, and there was a

683
00:38:21,880 --> 00:38:26,000
Speaker 1: god awful years, there have never been a dry stretch

684
00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:28,520
Speaker 1: like this as far as playoffs. I would have thought

685
00:38:28,560 --> 00:38:30,880
Speaker 1: in the nineties because they suck, but you're right, they

686
00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:33,360
Speaker 1: would have a year where they correct. But for this

687
00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:37,040
Speaker 1: to go this long again, Ballard and Reich aren't on

688
00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,160
Speaker 1: the hot seat again. Ballard, I I could rationalize why

689
00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:43,239
Speaker 1: it's gone this way, but the fan, this is a

690
00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:45,560
Speaker 1: bottom line business. And and and then short of a

691
00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:49,839
Speaker 1: playoff uh season this year will be a grave disappointment

692
00:38:49,920 --> 00:38:53,640
Speaker 1: for everybody, including the owner. Nobody knows the Colts like

693
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:56,239
Speaker 1: Mike Chappell know he's been doing it as long an

694
00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,160
Speaker 1: it happens as night Chapel, Mike, I appreciate you doing it.

695
00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:02,000
Speaker 1: I look forward to see and hopefully it won't be virtual.

696
00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:04,600
Speaker 1: The will see. Thank you again, Buddy, thank you, thanks

697
00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:07,200
Speaker 1: for reaching out. All right. I want to thank all

698
00:39:07,400 --> 00:39:10,799
Speaker 1: three for joining us. In days. As I was doing

699
00:39:10,880 --> 00:39:13,760
Speaker 1: this and putting this podcast together, I thought to myself,

700
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,000
Speaker 1: between John McClain, who has been going for I think

701
00:39:16,640 --> 00:39:18,920
Speaker 1: five years, been a business. Chap has been doing it

702
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:21,640
Speaker 1: since eighty four, Jim Wyatt I think of as a

703
00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:26,440
Speaker 1: young guy. And Jim was the third guy on the

704
00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:31,760
Speaker 1: Titans beat at the Tennessee and back when the Jags

705
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:33,680
Speaker 1: and the Titans were going at it for the division

706
00:39:33,719 --> 00:39:36,680
Speaker 1: in nine. He was behind the Paul Kaharsky, who a

707
00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:40,239
Speaker 1: lot of people know, longtime Titans guy, and behind Jeff

708
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:44,080
Speaker 1: Legwald who has gone on and he's covered the Denver

709
00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:47,399
Speaker 1: Broncos forever. So a lot of power on that beat,

710
00:39:47,480 --> 00:39:51,280
Speaker 1: but a hundred years of NFL experience. I found the podcast,

711
00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:54,840
Speaker 1: so if you throw me in there, two years, so

712
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:59,879
Speaker 1: it's been a while, and uh, I thought it was interesting. Um, Dave,

713
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,800
Speaker 1: I think the thing that you draw from this clearly

714
00:40:03,080 --> 00:40:06,280
Speaker 1: people think that the Jaguars are number four in this division,

715
00:40:06,880 --> 00:40:09,879
Speaker 1: and why shouldn't you think that they were fourth last year?

716
00:40:10,360 --> 00:40:15,200
Speaker 1: And everybody nationally doesn't really understand they're growing from within. Uh,

717
00:40:15,719 --> 00:40:19,359
Speaker 1: but this maybe And I've been covering the division since

718
00:40:19,400 --> 00:40:21,920
Speaker 1: the start. Oh too, I think it's the most competitive

719
00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:26,400
Speaker 1: day of c South because really people believe that the Texans,

720
00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:31,160
Speaker 1: Colts and Titans. I would think most people if you

721
00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:34,200
Speaker 1: ask fifty people who's going to win the division, you

722
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:39,960
Speaker 1: might get a pretty even split between those three teams. Yeah.

723
00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,920
Speaker 1: I mean the big kind of rise in this division

724
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,879
Speaker 1: is those quarterbacks. I mean you add in Philip Rivers,

725
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:48,360
Speaker 1: who looks like a future Hall of Famer, and added

726
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:51,880
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson who after Patrick Mahomes, he's in the the

727
00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:55,680
Speaker 1: argument to be who's who's behind him? And then add

728
00:40:55,719 --> 00:40:59,160
Speaker 1: in what Tannehill did last year and then minshew Um.

729
00:40:59,560 --> 00:41:02,480
Speaker 1: I think that's kind of what gives the Jags Jacks

730
00:41:02,520 --> 00:41:07,279
Speaker 1: the fighting chances. What what Gardnerman she develops too? And

731
00:41:07,440 --> 00:41:10,399
Speaker 1: the other part of this, too, for talking about kind

732
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:14,400
Speaker 1: of the national perception and predicting the vision, is what's

733
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:18,480
Speaker 1: this COVID stuff gonna bring? I think ultimately right, it's

734
00:41:18,480 --> 00:41:21,480
Speaker 1: gonna be some combination of how good the team is,

735
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:26,120
Speaker 1: plus how you handle all the protocols and if you

736
00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 1: get lucky not getting guys sick and hurt and all that,

737
00:41:29,400 --> 00:41:31,960
Speaker 1: and you know that's where where it kind of evens

738
00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:34,560
Speaker 1: out when you so this maybe not just in the

739
00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:38,200
Speaker 1: ANFC South, but across the NFL, maybe the hardest year

740
00:41:38,239 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 1: to predict. She's gonna win it all, you know, I

741
00:41:41,640 --> 00:41:43,840
Speaker 1: hear you. I'm not even sure you can try to

742
00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:48,440
Speaker 1: predict it, because if if life has been unknown for

743
00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:53,040
Speaker 1: six months, the NFL is sure going to be unknown. Yeah.

744
00:41:53,040 --> 00:41:55,000
Speaker 1: The way I've been approaching is when you talk about it,

745
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,120
Speaker 1: you have to talk about it just sort of assuming

746
00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:03,360
Speaker 1: that everybody's going maybe it even strength knowing they're not.

747
00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:06,520
Speaker 1: If that makes any sense, you know, because you can't

748
00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,920
Speaker 1: really have a conversation because okay, yeah, if the Chiefs

749
00:42:10,040 --> 00:42:12,600
Speaker 1: lose my homes for four weeks because of COVID, and

750
00:42:12,680 --> 00:42:15,359
Speaker 1: that's that there's a different ball of acts than if

751
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:18,840
Speaker 1: you don't. I think what's fascinating about the a f

752
00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:24,759
Speaker 1: C South. You talked about quarterbacks and John McClain, who

753
00:42:24,800 --> 00:42:28,400
Speaker 1: I respect more than anybody, and he's right, says very flatly,

754
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:33,279
Speaker 1: Shaun Watson's the best quarterback in the division. He is,

755
00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:38,680
Speaker 1: But much like every other quarterback, there's a major question

756
00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:42,040
Speaker 1: with Watson and John kind of, you know, brushed over

757
00:42:42,040 --> 00:42:44,160
Speaker 1: it a little bit, and I'll defer to him because

758
00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:47,359
Speaker 1: he knows the team, but him without has nobody knows

759
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:51,680
Speaker 1: what that's gonna look like. Philip Rivers, nobody knows what

760
00:42:52,440 --> 00:42:56,120
Speaker 1: that really looks like, meaning is he the quarterback in

761
00:42:56,200 --> 00:42:59,080
Speaker 1: San Diego from two thousand eighteen or is he last years?

762
00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:02,920
Speaker 1: So if Rivers looks like that, the Cults are contenders.

763
00:43:03,320 --> 00:43:06,640
Speaker 1: If Watson is the same guy without Hopkins culture contender.

764
00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:10,759
Speaker 1: If Ryan tanney Hill is last year, is Ryan tanny Hill,

765
00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:16,319
Speaker 1: then maybe the Titans are the best. If Minshoe develops

766
00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:20,440
Speaker 1: and is a guy like we all hope, then maybe

767
00:43:20,520 --> 00:43:24,560
Speaker 1: the Jaguars jump in there. So while you say it's

768
00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:26,880
Speaker 1: all quarterbacks, and I agree, And while on paper the

769
00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:31,040
Speaker 1: Jaguars probably your fourth quarterback if if you ask most

770
00:43:31,080 --> 00:43:34,279
Speaker 1: people nationally, you put Minshew fourth to that group, but

771
00:43:34,520 --> 00:43:37,560
Speaker 1: you don't know what those other guys until the season starts.

772
00:43:37,640 --> 00:43:40,759
Speaker 1: And for that reason, it could be a really competitive vision,

773
00:43:40,800 --> 00:43:43,360
Speaker 1: like I said at the top, or it could be

774
00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:46,399
Speaker 1: if two of those quarterbacks go south and what him

775
00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:48,560
Speaker 1: is the real deal, It could be that that team

776
00:43:48,640 --> 00:43:52,080
Speaker 1: is a prohibitive favor. So I still put the Texans

777
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:57,160
Speaker 1: up there until they don't win it, only because every

778
00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:00,239
Speaker 1: year for the last four or five years, I hear

779
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:02,600
Speaker 1: people saying, oh, the Texans aren't that good. Well, they're

780
00:44:02,600 --> 00:44:04,839
Speaker 1: gonna have to win the division every year four out

781
00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:08,160
Speaker 1: of five, so to me, until the Jaguars start beating

782
00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:13,080
Speaker 1: them consistently, I I put them as the best, and

783
00:44:13,160 --> 00:44:15,160
Speaker 1: then they've got to start winning playoff games, just like

784
00:44:16,239 --> 00:44:18,239
Speaker 1: really every team in the division sort of has that

785
00:44:18,440 --> 00:44:20,879
Speaker 1: right now. They none of them have gotten over the hump.

786
00:44:21,400 --> 00:44:26,040
Speaker 1: They're all sort of waiting, and yeah, that's the X

787
00:44:26,120 --> 00:44:27,440
Speaker 1: factor for all of them. But I think it's a

788
00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:30,120
Speaker 1: fascinating division this year, Dave, I really do. Tony Dungey

789
00:44:30,200 --> 00:44:32,480
Speaker 1: told me this when I was covering the Colts. NFL

790
00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:37,799
Speaker 1: people and good NFL teams know that you can improve

791
00:44:38,000 --> 00:44:44,040
Speaker 1: from within with continuity more consistently than by going out

792
00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:47,480
Speaker 1: and adding players, meaning you bring all these free agency

793
00:44:48,640 --> 00:44:51,160
Speaker 1: you get a lot of uncertainty. So nobody thinks that

794
00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:54,640
Speaker 1: the Jaguars can improve because so much of their hope

795
00:44:55,239 --> 00:44:57,840
Speaker 1: is built on these young guys who are now forming

796
00:44:57,880 --> 00:45:00,560
Speaker 1: the cord getting better. So that's a big factor. If

797
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,040
Speaker 1: Minhiw gets better, if Josh Allen takes a huge step,

798
00:45:03,239 --> 00:45:05,680
Speaker 1: think you can Joan Taylor, d J Chart. You know

799
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:09,360
Speaker 1: there are guys who can ascend. I look at the

800
00:45:09,440 --> 00:45:15,080
Speaker 1: division overall, and there are people in the league who

801
00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:20,120
Speaker 1: wonder about Deshaun Watson without Hopkins because he has been

802
00:45:20,239 --> 00:45:24,359
Speaker 1: so dependent on him for years. And that really goes

803
00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:29,080
Speaker 1: through the entire division. What are these quarterbacks? So it's

804
00:45:29,120 --> 00:45:32,799
Speaker 1: an odd division. I don't know that there's a dominant team.

805
00:45:33,600 --> 00:45:35,759
Speaker 1: If I was picking right now, I would say that

806
00:45:35,880 --> 00:45:39,040
Speaker 1: Texans win it. With the Birds, I think they're gonna

807
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:41,279
Speaker 1: knock off one of these three teams. One of them

808
00:45:41,360 --> 00:45:43,480
Speaker 1: is going to split a little bit. The interesting thing

809
00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:47,120
Speaker 1: about Tennessee there's sort of this year's darling a little

810
00:45:47,160 --> 00:45:49,400
Speaker 1: bit because they made the AFC Championship Game. They've been

811
00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:51,480
Speaker 1: nine and seven I think like fourteen years in a row.

812
00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:54,640
Speaker 1: And I'm exaggerating, but I think it's like three years

813
00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:56,120
Speaker 1: in a row. They haven't quite been able to do

814
00:45:56,200 --> 00:45:58,960
Speaker 1: it during the regular season, and the Cults are such

815
00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:02,160
Speaker 1: an interesting team. Because is they thought and most people

816
00:46:02,239 --> 00:46:05,239
Speaker 1: thought they were going to have another Manning era with luck.

817
00:46:05,960 --> 00:46:07,520
Speaker 1: You know, they draft him and then you're gonna just

818
00:46:07,640 --> 00:46:10,160
Speaker 1: hit autopilot and be good for thirteen or fourteen years.

819
00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:12,920
Speaker 1: That's sort of change. And now I thought it was

820
00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:17,719
Speaker 1: interesting what Chapel said. I consider Ballard and Write a

821
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:22,239
Speaker 1: dynamo combination. You know, that is one of the best

822
00:46:22,480 --> 00:46:27,160
Speaker 1: GM head coach combinations. But if they don't win this year,

823
00:46:27,560 --> 00:46:31,160
Speaker 1: there's some pressure on him to get there. Yeah. I

824
00:46:31,239 --> 00:46:34,440
Speaker 1: think the perception among football people in the league or

825
00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:38,439
Speaker 1: that they are very, very strong, but as as chap said,

826
00:46:39,040 --> 00:46:42,080
Speaker 1: they have not made the playoffs consistently. They need to

827
00:46:42,160 --> 00:46:44,840
Speaker 1: get there. And you don't know, if you don't know

828
00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:47,080
Speaker 1: what Rivers is, will he be able to get him there.

829
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,960
Speaker 1: So that's a fascinating dynamic of a situation that could

830
00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:53,480
Speaker 1: be a long term great situation or it could be

831
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:55,080
Speaker 1: a lot of pressure if it doesn't go right. So

832
00:46:56,080 --> 00:46:59,120
Speaker 1: that's why that's why you play the games to day,

833
00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:00,560
Speaker 1: and that's why you play the game. That's what they

834
00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:03,480
Speaker 1: always say, right, and let's help we play all of

835
00:47:03,520 --> 00:47:07,839
Speaker 1: them this year, no doubt, no doubt. But I think

836
00:47:08,280 --> 00:47:11,319
Speaker 1: people who listened to this will know much much more

837
00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:13,400
Speaker 1: about the A s C Staff than they did before.

838
00:47:13,840 --> 00:47:20,200
Speaker 1: And I hope people get and uh enjoyed the unbelievable

839
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:21,880
Speaker 1: amount of experience that we had in the call of that.

840
00:47:22,080 --> 00:47:25,120
Speaker 1: I want to thank Joe Fortunatos always making this sound great.

841
00:47:25,200 --> 00:47:27,640
Speaker 1: I want to thank David Cannie for making this look great.

842
00:47:28,120 --> 00:47:30,160
Speaker 1: I hope we didn't suck. I don't think this one did.

843
00:47:30,239 --> 00:47:31,319
Speaker 1: And we'll talk to you next week.